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artbyremi · 27 days ago

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Part of the @tmnt-secret-santa-2024

@itzzaira I'm your secret santa!

I wrote a short one-shot with lots of 2003 turtle tot cuddles. I really hope you like it! I tried to focus more on Mikey because I was getting the vibe he was your favorite. He's honestly the hardest out of the four for me to write so I hope I captured him alright.

Prompt: Brumation- just a lazy day with softness and cuddles and fluff while the four turtle babies are just sleepy and clingy to each other.

Maybe it was his memory fading or his old age making him more susceptible to the cold, but Splinter was sure his winters spent in Japan were nothing compared to the New York winters he faced now. The old rat sipped on a cup of chamomile tea then turned the page of the book he was reading.

The lair was quiet besides the sounds of old cartoon reruns playing on the television. Splinter had learned during the boys’ first year that turtles got especially sleepy during the colder months. As mutants they didn’t enter a proper brumation as regular turtles would but the cold weather turned his usually rambunctious and noisy tots into little cuddle bugs.

Currently, the four were all snuggled together on the couch under a plethora of blankets that Splinter had tucked them in. Raph was on the end of the couch, his legs tucked up to his chest forming himself into a stiff little ball. Leo was on the opposite end of the couch, the hood from the slightly too big jacket he was wearing pulled over his head.

It covered his eyes to the point where he surely couldn't see the cartoon playing and his chest was rising and falling slow and even so Splinter figured he must have fallen asleep. Which only spoke to the exhaustion the small tot was experiencing as Leonardo usually liked to watch his brothers fall asleep before nodding off himself.

The two youngest, Donny and Mikey were in the middle, squished in between their two older brothers. Their chubby little arms were tangled together, their heads leaned close, and eyes planted squarely on the television.

It was nice to have silence in their little sewer home for once. As a single father to four under four, Splinter rarely had the opportunity to mediate or read for himself. However, it was the silence that gave his mind the opportunity to wander more than usual.

Their supplies were dwindling. Not enough that they wouldn’t have food to eat but Splinter could tell the boys were growing sick of congee and tea everyday. It was times like this that made him miss his old life in Japan with Yoshi and Tang Shen more than usual.

Things had been so much simpler back then when he had been a regular rat. There was no need to worry about dwindling supplies or staying hidden. Not that he regretted his mutation. It had brought along opposable thumbs and the intelligence and ability to properly practice ninjutsu just as Yoshi had. He was also finally able to understand the many Japanese soap operas he had spent many evenings watching from Tang Shen’s lap.

But most importantly it was what led him to the four little turtles whom he loved just as Yoshi and Tang Shen had loved him. Splinter had never pictured himself as a father and yet here he was single rat dad to four under four.

“Sensei, I’m cold.”

Michelangelo’s mewl brought Splinter’s attention to the pile of turtles nestled together on the couch. Even through all the extra layers and warm blankets, the cold was still getting to them. He wished he could have kept the old kotatsu from Yoshi’s home in Japan. That certainly would have done wonders for the four shivering little turtles.

“Shhh, Mikey,” Donny said, pressing his hand over his younger brother’s mouth. Then immediately turned his eyes back to the cartoon on the TV.

Donny shrieked the moment he felt a warm wetness on his hand. He should have known better. Placing his hand over Mikey’s mouth to shush him was only asking for the younger boy to lick his palm out of retaliation.

“Sensei!” Donny wailed, frantically wiping his wet palm on the side of the couch as Mikey broke out into uncontrollable giggles.

Splinter closed the book he had meant to be reading. He had enjoyed the momentary silence, but now it was time to get back to his 24/7 job as a father.

The rat adjusted the burgundy shawl around his shoulders then gathered the old blanket, he had been using for himself, into his arms. Even with his fur, the cold air was still a little much for Splinter. However, he could handle a little cold. The little turtles needed the warmth more.

The old rat walked over to the tots and tucked the additional blanket around their tiny shivering frames. “How’s that, my sons?” He knew it probably wasn’t much help. Certainly nowhere near the amount of warmth a kotatsu would have brought but this was the best he could do.

“But, Sensei,” Leo said. “Won’t you be cold now?”

The little turtle had said it with such innocence and sincerity that Splinter had to laugh. It was sweet how even at such a young age, Leo was worried about his old father.

Splinter patted the boy on the head, “I will be just fine, Leonardo.” Splinter adjusted the blankets around the tots. “I’m more concerned about you four. Any warmer?”

“I’m still cold,” Mikey whined, puffing out his flushed cheeks with a heavy little huff.

“I’m hungry,” Raph joined in on the whining.

Donny nodded, “Yeah, me too.”

Hungry?

Splinter checked the clock on the wall. It was nearing noon. He had been so caught up in his own mind that he hadn’t realized quite how late it had gotten. “How’s some congee sound?”

Mikey’s face wrinkled up, “Rice porridge?”

“Daad,” Raph whined, “We’ve had it like ev’ryday this week!”

It’s all we have supplies for, Splinter thought to himself. He doubted four four-year-olds would understand their situation and Splinter didn’t want to put that worry on them either way. He was the parent after all. He would handle all of life’s stresses just as Yoshi had done for him.

Splinter took a seat on the edge of the couch, cupping Raphael’s flushed cheek in his palm, “It's good for you and it’ll warm you up.”

Raph huffed, “Well, I’m sick of it!” He crossed his arms across his plastron and made the grumpiest face his four-year-old body could muster. Raph probably thought he looked tough but really he just looked like a chihuahua baring its teeth.

It was quite adorable.

“We have had it a lot this week, Sensei,” Donny said matter-of-a-factly.

It was true. Splinter had prepared the same congee at least four other times that week. Splinter loved it but maybe rice porridge wasn’t exactly the most appetizing thing to a couple of four-year-olds. Maybe he could at least spice it up this time with some chicken or maybe mix in an egg or add some pickled ginger. Of course, they would actually have to have those ingredients in the first place for that to be a possibility.

“I want chicken nuggets!” Mikey exclaimed.

Splinter returned his attention to an excitable Michelangelo.

What?

“Did ya’ hear me, Dad?” He tried again. “Can we have chicken nuggets, please!?”

The look on Mikey’s face melted Splinter’s heart. The small turtle looked so innocent as he stared up at Splinter with wide, pleading eyes. Maybe it was because he had been deemed the youngest and thus the baby of the family or maybe Mikey just had a natural charm about him but there was something about the little turtle that Splinter just couldn’t say no to.

But he needed to.

Splinter cupped Mikey’s chubby little cheek in his hand. “I’d have to go on a supply run, my son.”

The only food they had was enough rice to make a few more pots of congee that could feed all five of them as well as some saltines, a couple containers of yogurt, and a few other miscellaneous ingredients. Nothing that he could make chicken nuggets with.

Splinter knew he would need to go on a supply run sooner rather than later but today was not that day. There had been a massive blizzard the night before. The roads would be slick and slippery with ice and the shops would be barren from people snowed into their homes. It wasn’t exactly the best conditions for a supply run.

However, at the mention of a supply run, Mikey’s face lit up. “Can you get the dinosaur ones?”

“Oh, Please please, Sensei!” Donny joined in. “I really wanna eat a Brontosaurus!” The little boy exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. “Or a Raptor or a Triceratops or a Skorpiovenator!”

Splinter wanted to shut them down. It was too dangerous for a supply run. They could survive off of congee for a few more days until the ice melted. But Mikey’s cuteness mixed with Donny’s excitement for Dinosaurs made it nearly impossible.

How could he possibly say no to them?

A tiny sneeze from Mikey was the nail in the coffin. Donny wrapped an arm around his younger brother, trying to provide to him what little warmth he could even though he himself was shivering.

Splinter, maybe a little too frantically ripped the shawl from his shoulders and wrapped it around the two shivering boys. That was the last thing he had to offer them. There were no more blankets left in the lair unless they started stripping their bed sheets.

“I’m cold too, Sensei,” Raph muttered as he wrapped his shiering arms around his chest.

“You can have this, Raphy,” Leo said, as he began to unzip his sweatshirt.

“No–no,” Splinter zipped Leo’s sweatshirt back up. His oldest was always quick to think of his brothers’ needs before his own. It was sweet but at the same time Splinter worried how that might develop as Leo grew older. “You need to stay warm too, Leonardo.”

Leo settled back against the couch and pulled Raph close to his side. Raph, who usually wasn’t the cuddly type, leaned his head against Leo’s shoulder and let out a wide yawn. Splinter grabbed the edges of the first lighter blanket and tucked it up to the boys’ chins followed by another lighter blanket then finally the heavy wool blanket.

Donny yawned, then stuck his thumb into his mouth, a habit Splinter had been struggling to break him from. Mikey stared up at Splinter with tired eyes, “Are we gonna have dino nuggets for lunch?”

Splinter’s heart broke. They needed more food. They needed warmer clothes. They needed more blankets. As much as he didn’t want to risk his own safety and possibility of discovery out on the surface. He needed to risk it anyway.

Splinter cupped Mikey’s cheek, “Alright, my son.”

Leo sat up straight, “Am I in charge, Sensei?”

Splinter shut down a coming argument from Raphael almost immediately. “I don’t think anyone needs to be in charge. I’ll only be a few hours.”

Leo’s face fell, “But what if a bad guy comes?”

“I bet I could take ‘em!’ Raph but in.

Leo rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right.”

Raph glared at Leo then turned to look up at Splinter, “You said I’m doin’ really good at trainin’, right, Sensei?” The hot-headed toddler looked up at the rat with a fierce glow in his eyes.

Splinter let out a subtle sigh. “You’ve all been doing excellent.” It was the truth. The boys had all been doing very well in their ninjutsu training, which thus far had consisted of basic punches and kicks.

Splinter readjusted the blanket around the boys’ shoulders. “But remember, we are all very safe down here. No one will find us.”

“Are you sure?” Donny said, followed by a wide yawn.

Splinter chuckled quietly to himself, “Yes, I’m sure.”

Leo took his turn to yawn widely, which then spread to both Raph and Mikey. Splinter smiled at the cute sight in front of him. Whoever said yawns were contagious knew what they were talking about. Splinter bent down to adjust the blankets once more. “Looks like it's nap time, my sons.”

The boys all nodded, their heads falling to each other’s shoulders.. Splinter ran his hand along the tops of each of their heads. “Sleep well, my sons.”

“Sensei, you’re back!” Mikey cheered as Splinter entered through the archway, cloak still covering his head and grocery bags in hand. The tots scrambled their way out of the blankets and came running to greet their adoptive father at the door.

Mikey and Raph each attached themselves onto one of Splinter legs, while Leo and Donnie both grabbed a grocery bag from his arms.

“Hello, my sons,” Splinter greeted.

“What’s this, Sensei?” Donatello asked as he pulled out a small black electronic device from the grocery bag he had been carrying. The object was small and square with a large vent on the front.

“That’s a heater,” Splinter replied, struggling to move with two tots still attached to his legs. It wasn’t a kotatsu but at least they could finally have some heat. Splinter had always avoided snatching a heater out of fear that he would be caught but he was desperate. Luckily, the clerk barely even glanced his way as he walked out the door with a small heater under his cloak. Maybe they really hadn’t noticed or maybe they understood that someone stealing a heater was only doing so for a valid reason.

“A heater?” Leo asked, head cocked.

Raph and Mikey released their tight grips on Splinter’s legs to toddle over to Donatello. “A heater?” Mikey asked, giving the device a poke.

“Yes, my sons.” Splinter said as he grabbed the heater from Donny.

The boys followed behind like obedient little ducklings as Splinter carried the heater over to an outlet in the wall. “This is to help keep us warm.” He set the device on the ground and plugged it into the wall then turned the heat up to high.

Raph held his hand out in front of the vent. “I think it's brok’n, Sensei.”

Splinter chuckled to himself, “Patience, Raphael.”

Raph scrunched up his face in frustration. “But it’s s’pposed to be hot.”

“It’s hot now, Raphy!” Donny grabbed his brother's hand and held it in front of the heater’s vent.

“Whoa,” Raph held out his hand in front of the vent, mesmerized by its heat.

“It’s like magic,” Mikey exclaimed, stepping in front of Raph so he could feel the full force of the heater.

Raph charged at Mikey, “Move outta the way, Pipsqueak!”

Splinter stepped in before Raph could push Mikey to the ground. He knew it was only play fighting but after his trip to the surface he really wasn’t feeling up to cleaning any accidental boo-boos.

“There’s room for all of you.”

Splinter grabbed the four pillows from the couch and set them each equal distance from the heater. The boys each took a seat on an individual pillow and allowed Splinter to wrap them up on the several blankets.

“All snug?”

The boys all nodded, eyes drooping, and heads bumping against each other.

Splinter smiled at the four all cuddled together. “Lunch will be ready soon.”

“Okay, Sensei!” They all called back.

“Boys!” Splinter called, “Lunch is ready!”

Splinter had expected them to come running the moment they could smell cooked chicken. But instead he was met with an odd silence.

“Boys!” He called again.

Still no response.

Splinter grew worried for a moment.

Had they run off?

The old rat hurried his way to the living room and was met with an adorable sight. The boys had all pulled their pillows closer to the heater and were cuddled up together in an adorable ball of snoozing tangled turtles.

Raph, being the biggest, was on the bottom of the pile serving as the base. His arms were wrapped around a pillow and his head was buried into a blanket. Donny was laying across Raph’s shell, his head tucked into the crook of his neck. His thumb was once again shoved into his mouth, causing a bit of drool to run down his chin.

Leo was laying on the other side of Raph. Donny was taking up a bit too much space for him to properly sit on top so he settled for laying on his shell and using Raph’s shell as a footrest with his arms sprawled out at his sides like a starfish.

Mikey was curled up in a little ball on top of Leo’s plastron like a puppy in donut formation. His head was shoved deep into the crevice of Leo’s shoulder. Leo stirred a bit moving his arms to pull Mikey closer to himself.

It didn’t look like the most comfortable of laying formations but they certainly looked adorable. Splinter wondered how many more cute cuddly moments he would be able to catch like this before they grew too old for cuddles.

Splinter grabbed a disposable camera out of a nearby drawer and snapped a photo.

At the sound of the photo snapping, the boys each stirred but they didn’t wake. Instead they only attempted to snuggle closer to each other and the heater.

Splinter smiled at the sight.

Dino nuggets could wait.

He would let them rest for now.

#tmnt #my writing #tmnt 2003 #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt secret santa #turtle tots

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