#aaand im rabling in tags again bye ✨️

[nights-flying-fox]

finding your stellar association

Moving Group, also called a Stellar Association.

A loose grouping of stars which travel together through space.

On their first trip to Earth, the brothers find a lost part of their family.

✨️ Click here to read on AO3 ♡

🌙 Celestial AU by @ashwii

☄️ 2,916 words || rottmnt au

☀️ based on/inspired by this ask

 "I don't think this is working." Raph whispered.

 "You kidding? This is working just fine!" Leo replied.

 "I'm pretty sure people noticed something's off." Raph said, glancing around.

 "Relaaaax big guy, just enjoy our trip in the city that never sleeps." Leo said in a laid back manner.

 Raph sighed but said nothing more as Leo stepped forward, taking the lead and turning to face his brothers as he walked backward. "Raph, please, if someone had suspected anything, we wouldn't be walking around freely like that." He pointed out. "Also even if they did, we'd still be fine. We're immortal!"

 "Somewhat immortal." Donnie corrected him without looking away from the scenery around them. The skyscrapers and the giant screens with bright lights had magnified Donnie. They never had the chance to see them like this from their home. Though Leo understood his enthusiasm and shared it a bit, he was still bitter seeing the light pollution.

 "It's almost the same thing." Leo shrugged. "What matters right now is our perfect surprise to April."

 "We'll blow her mind!" Mikey exclaimed as he jumped by Leo's side. He wrapped one arm around Leo's shoulders and began walking backward as well.

 "Definitely, her expression will be priceless." Leo grinned.

 Raph swiftly scooped them up, holding them from their shells with ease, while being careful to not rip their clothes. He didn't want to lose time by going through another search for clothes that would fit and hide their... well, whole situation. "Will you two stop walking so carelessly? You'll trip and fall into a sewer or something." He scolded them. "This isn't space, this is New York."

 "Thanks for the reminder, Raph."

 He glared at Leo, knowing well he could see Raph's expression even though shadows covered his face thanks to his hoodie. Without thinking twice, he dropped Leo and kept walking with Mikey in his left hand.

 While Leo yelped, Mikey cheered, "Free ride!"

 Donnie ignored his twin as he kept walking, other than snorting at his fall. "Raph, are you sure we're on the right track?" Then he asked, eyes still glued to everything around them.

 "Yeah, I have seen her walking to her apartment. More than once." The eldest replied, thinking of the days he'd try to make his friend's tiring days better with the perfect sunny weather.

 "I know, and I saw her walking to her apartment too during some nights-"

 "Don't underestimate yourself, Dee. We all know it's not just nights but days too, as our dear insomniac brother." His twin cut him with a smirk.

 "Shut up, Leo." Donnie glared at him. "You are as guilty as I am. Anyways, what I was saying is that seeing the planet like this" -he gestured at himself to emphasize his point- "is much different than the way we watched this planet from up there."

 "I know, but trust me we're not lost." Raph said.

 "I trust you, Raph, but I was thinking maybe using public transport for our favors wouldn't be bad." Donnie offered.

 Ah, so this is what he actually wants, Raph thought. "We're not using the subway."

 "But Raph-"

 "We can explore human things later." Raph stated. "Our priority is finding April. Then we can do whatever we want."

 Donnie huffed but didn't say anything else. He had gotten distracted by something else once again quickly. Raph kept an eye on him, just like how he kept an eye on Leo and Mikey too. This was their first time on Earth's surface, so it was better to be careful. Something his brothers were not good at doing. He constantly had to be sure that Donnie didn't steal something that caught his attention, Mikey didn't accidentally trip and fall, and Leo-

 Raph gave a startled yelp with the sudden weight on his shell. He turned quickly, only to see Leo. "What in the name of Venus are you doing on my back?"

 "Simple, I wanted a free ride too." Leo answered as if it was the most normal thing ever. "No fire shell means possibly perfect traveling spot."

 "Is it comfortable?" Mikey asked.

 "Yep." Leo answered.

 "I bid for the next shell ride." Mikey announced.

 Raph rolled his eyes. Leo's weight was barely noticeable now. He kinda liked it, even. It wasn't like he could hold his brothers close before, and just like Leo mentioned, his shell wasn't on fire, and he wasn't ablaze like in his actual form-

 His eyes grew with realization.

 Raph, the celestial being and protector of the Sun, could hug his brothers with no issue like this.

 And his first victim was Donnie. He pulled Donnie into a hug with his free arm, causing his brother to yelp with confusion. He also pulled Mikey into a proper hug. The two brothers looked at him confusedly, while Raph smiled widely. Leo had a knowing smile on his face and wrapped his arms around his big brother's neck.

 "What's happening?" Donnie asked, trapped in Raph's arms.

 "That's called hugging, Donnie." Leo informed helpfully.

 "I know that, I don't understand why now we're hugging."

 "Because this hug is different." Raph said happily. "No eclipse, no melting, no burning."

 Donnie and Mikey's faces lightened up with realization.

 Mikey immediately wrapped his arms around Raph's arm, "You're a genius!" he exclaimed. Donnie gave an offended gasp, and Leo laughed with joy. He wasn't sure if the happiness was simply because he enjoyed his brothers' antics or because of Raph's infectious (literally, considering how Leo could feel his emotions sometimes) joy.

 They had forgotten they were standing on the pavement until someone bumped at them. To be fair they were taking the back streets to be sure no one noticed them, hiding in the shadows. And yet, Raph looked down only to be met with a really short person.

 "Oh, pardon me." Raph apologized, stepping back. He didn't notice the trash bins behind him, which he (and his brothers) fell into.

 The stranger only could watch as the boys immediately squirmed out of the trash pile. Leo's face was in disgust, Donnie looked like he was going to throw up, and Mikey casually shook all the trash off him. Raph groaned at the smell, "April will not like this surprise." 

 They all seemed to have forgotten about their disguise and about the stranger until they heard a weak whisper:

 "My sons?.."

 The brothers, with a mix of panic and confusion, suddenly remembered the stranger. After a second of silence, "Excuse me, what?" Leo asked.

 "How... what..?" The man whispered again, looking as confused as they were.

 "Sir, I think you're mixing us up with someone else." Raph said, trying to stay calm.

 "Definitely, with some other teenagers with greenish skin-" Donnie started but couldn't finish when Leo elbowed and glared at him. "-which is certainly because of all of this trash. Definitely." Donnie quickly added, trying to save the situation. 

 "You're turtles." The stranger stated.

 "See, you ruined everything." Leo glared at Donnie. 

 "It's you who doesn't have his hoodie anymore." The twin with the purple moon-themed hoodie retorted.

 Leo gasped and looked at himself, realizing that Donnie was right.

 Mikey giggled while Raph tried hard to not push them back to the trash bin.

 "You..." The small man's whispers turned to soft sobs, gaining their attention again.

 Now, they may be celestial beings in disguise of mortals (kind of) with great power, but when it came to comforting a stranger, the only thing the boys could do was stare at him or look at each other in hopes someone knew what exactly to do.

 In short, they didn't know what to do. 

 Mikey walked towards the man, putting a hand on his shoulder, "There, there..." he said comfortingly. Then turned to his brothers in a scolding manner, "I can't believe you guys made an old man cry!"

 "O-old man?!" The stranger stuttered in an offended way, turning his head to face Mikey.

 That was when Mikey saw that the man was not exactly a man, but a rat... rat-man? He gasped, "OMIGOSH ARE YOU LIKE US?"

 "What do you mean like- IS HE A RAT?" Raph said, maybe a little too loudly, once he joined Mikey's side.

 Both were hit in the face with the rat-man's tail. "You boys need a lesson on manners." He scolded as he wiped his tears. Then he smiled softly, looking at each of them one by one, "But I think it is right to say I am like you. Sort of."

 "What, no, how? We never heard of another celestial being. We've been around for years! There is no way I or Leo or any of us could miss out on someone else out there." Donnie circled the man, no more uncomfortable around him. Instead, his eyes shined with interest toward the new information and person.

 "Celestial beings? Oh, no, boys. You are wrong." The stranger shook his head with a sheepish smile.

 "Then what are you?" Donnie asked.

 "A mutant."

 "What's a mutant?" Mikey asked this time.

 "Me, and you?"

 "No, we're not mutants. We'd know if we were mutants." Leo said, getting more and more confused by the passing seconds.

 "Then what are you?" The rat-man asked, raising a brow.

 "Uh, celestial beings. Protectors of space stuff." Leo answered. "You know... stars, moon, sun, comets..."

 The stranger looked at them as if they had grown another head. He looked confused, then like he was grieving, and then strangely relieved. Finally, he sighed. "We can talk about it later. Now, I believe I never introduced myself. I am Splinter."

 Raph shook his hand. "I am Raph, this is Mikey," -Mikey waved- "Leo," -Leo smiled- "and Donnie." -Donnie nodded.

 "Nice to meet you, boys." Splinter smiled. Something told Leo that smile hid more emotions. 

 "Since we have met, may you explain why you called us your sons now?" Donnie interrupted.

 All the eyes turned to Splinter, awaiting an answer. He was clearly hurt, but also there was a small piece of joy sparkling in his eyes. "Of course, but it would be better if we talked about it somewhere else." He looked around him. Right, they were still standing on the pavement. "Somewhere safer would be much better."

 For some reason, Raph trusted him. Something about the way he looked at them, the way he talked... it was comforting. Almost familiar. Almost. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I know somewhere we could talk." He said. "A friend... I bet she wouldn't mind."

☆☆☆

 "You brought a stranger?!" April whisper-yelled.

 "I wouldn't call him a stranger." Leo said, looking back at the living room his brothers and Splinter were chilling in.

 "Leo, you literally met the guy half an hour ago!"

 He turned his attention back to her, "Look. I know it sounds weird, but I feel like I know this guy."

 She huffed, leaning on the kitchen counter. "It does sound weird, Leonardo."

 Eugh boy, she's using full names.

 "Maybe he is just a guy you saw while watching Earth on a nice night."

 "No, April, this is different." Leo insistent. "Way too different."

 April looked towards the living room, "I can't believe you manage to come for a visit with a 'trick' you figured out and on your first trip you end up befriending a stranger who calls you his sons and bring him into my apartment ." She looked back at him tiredly. "Have you ever heard of 'stranger danger' by any chance?"

 "Aww, come on April. You're happy that we are here, aren't you? So what if we got company, it's fine." He pulled her into a side hug. "If he does anything bad, we can handle it."

 "If he does anything bad, I am throwing you all out of my window." She stated.

 "Isn't it a bit brutal?"

 "With my bat." She added.

 "Gee, okay, okay." Leo moved away with his hands up. "You win. Now, can we listen to his tale?"

 April sighed, "Alright. Let's hear what rat-man has to say."

 Leo beamed with a wide grin.

 "And you better take a bath, you all stink!" She gagged as they walked towards the living room.

 "Priorities, April. Priorities." Leo sang.

 She rolled her eyes.

 In the living room, Splinter was sipping from the tea April had offered him. A stranger he may be, he still was her guest. Meanwhile, the boys had sat on the couch, facing Splinter, who sat on the chair. There was an awkward quiet in the room, but Leo wouldn't call it an uncomfortable one. 

 "Alright, we all are here and ready." Leo announced, sitting on the couch's arm. April leaned against the wall, standing next to him. "You can start your tale." 

 Splinter took a breath. Then he began talking. He talked about the years he fought as a movie star and then as a Battle Nexus champion (whatever that meant, the boys didn't know). He told them how a yokai- 

 "What's a yokai?" Mikey interrupted, gaining a shush! from the others. Yet Splinter explained to them that the yokai were people who looked similar to them since birth.

 Then he continued to explain that a yokai named Draxum caused the whole mess. "He wanted to mutate… mutate four turtles." Splinter said, words as if they hurt him physically, grimaced. It wasn't hard to guess this memory was painful for him. "You." He gestured at them. "He believed with my DNA, you'd be the perfect warriors. For what, I do not know exactly. I disagreed and fought against him. Things… got out of control pretty fast." He looked down at his hands. There was a moment of silence. None of the boys or April talked, giving him the time to gain the strength to continue. 

 Finally, Splinter talked again, "I ended up like this. A mutant." 

 "And the turtles?" Mikey asked.

 "They… they didn't make it out… alive." Splinter shut his teary eyes tightly. Then he opened them to look at the celestials with a new emotion. "At least, I thought so until tonight."

 "But how can we be them?" Donnie questioned. "It doesn't make sense."

 "I'd recognize you no matter what. I don't know how, but you're them. Even your names, they're the same." Splinter's voice was excited, and he smiled widely. "Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo. The names of the four Renaissance painters."

 "You're telling me you named mutated turtles after Renaissance painters?" Leo asked with a smile.

 "Yes, for reasons. But that's unimportant. What is important is, do you know how you got your names?" Splinter leaned towards the boys with determined eyes. He knew he could prove the truth. He had to.

 Leo opened his mouth and then closed it. Noticing he had no answer, he turned to Raph. He was the oldest of them, he'd know this, right? But Raph looked as lost as he was. 

 "I never thought how we always knew our names actually." Raph revealed. "I just knew mine and yours my whole life." 

 "See? And I believe you have some knowledge of fighting, correct?" Splinter asked. 

 April answered instead of them this time, "Surprisingly, they know some fighting moves." Then she turned to them. "You never explained where you learned them or how you ended up with your weapons."

 Raph looked lost once again. "Fighting is more of an instincts thing." He admitted. 

 "But our weapons are inspired by our observation of humans." Mikey chimed in.

 "What even this has to do with all of this?" Donnie turned to Splinter. 

 "Draxum created you using my DNA so he could have the perfect fighters." Splinter explained. "The perfect warriors." He repeated.

 "And you're a fighter, right." Donnie was putting the pieces together, still unbelievingly.

 "See? How else would I know all of that?" Splinter laughed, even though his boys looked uncertain. 

 Until Mikey's face lit up with realization as if he remembered something he had forgotten, a memory buried deep down. Something from a long time ago. "You are the one that wished for a chance for his lost sons." He gasped. Everyone turned to look at him. "Please, give them another chance in life. Let their souls live the life they deserved, and..."

 "... wherever they are, let them be happy." Splinter finished with tears in his eyes once again. "Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, my sons." 

 The gap between the silence and loud exclamations was no longer than a millisecond. 

 Mikey ran and hugged Splinter, holding him tightly. Raph was laughing while Donnie smiled and teared up, and Leo was speaking about how he couldn't believe all of this. 

 "First we get a sister," He gestured to April, who in return smiled at him with equal excitement, "and now a dad! What are the chances of this?" 

 "Life's full of surprises." April sang. 

 Leo grinned at her. "It sure is." 

 He suddenly got pulled into the hug with April by none other than the eldest turtle. Donnie was already a part of it, and Leo could see how he seemed to like it. 

 And while none of them said, the boys felt something missing in their lives being filled. They knew the hug was right. Being together with Splinter- their dad!- and April was right. This was right. They knew it.

 That night the stars glowed brighter, and so did the moon. There was an unexpected comet passing by Earth. The next morning the sun had never been this bright and warm, yet not tiringly hot. It was like everything was right. Everything was perfect.