#mikey is the only one who got to live a full life

[jellybelly-may]

❝𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐑𝐞𝐯 𝐒𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬!❞

‎‎‧₊˚✧[this is why i don't bring anyone home!]✧˚₊‧

Sano Siblings + Izana (with a younger sibling!) ft Grandpa Sano [platonic!]

cw: -

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General Hcs:

living with this family is…chaotic lively

Grandpa Sano usually sits at the table, reading his papers as the chaos unfold

there’s always a mix of teasing, laughter

and occasional bickering

scratch that - a shit ton of bickering

and mostly it comes from mikey vs izana

emma pops in now and then

shinichiro tries to butt in but gets targetted instead

you’re the baby of the family

usually you get coddled by your older siblings

not that you mind

they sure have their own ways to show their love to you tho

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Shinichiro

the classic doting oldest brother

takes you for rides on his bike 

at safe speeds unlike mikey

teaches you all the basics of bike maintenance

even though youre not interested 

if you are, then it’s a bonus for him

he’s the one you go to when you need advice

or when you’ve had a rough day

his shop is your safe haven, where you can hang out and watch him work on bikes

occasionally you meet his friends from his previous gang

speaking of which, you always get to listen to stories about his younger days (which he subtly hints the life lessons learned) 

and of course you know his embarrassing stories thanks to waka-nii san

of course shinichiro denies it

he might not be the strongest, but he’s got a heart of gold and always puts you first

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Manjiro/ Mikey

the overprotective brother!

mikey’s protective instincts kick in full force when it comes to you

anyone who tries to mess with you quickly regrets it

mikey ends them with a roundhouse kick to their head

he has a soft spot for you that most people dont see

surprisingly shares his food with you 

when hes not leading toman or fighting in general, he spends time with you usually by napping with you during the afternoon

that or he takes you on rides that are a little too fast for your liking

secretly happy when you express interest in bikes, just like him and shinichiro

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Emma

the caring, nurturing older sister

she’s the one who helps you with schoolwork, does your hair, and gives you advice on friendships

although you really can’t trust her with relationship advice because of that incident with a certain blond  

forgive me emma

loves loves loves going shopping or visiting new cafes with you

loves treating you sweet treats and sharing gossip

emma is your go-to for any girl talk or when you need a listening ear

likes to show you off to her friends because

youre the cutest and smartest thing ever!

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Izana 

the distant protective brother

while izana is more distant, he has a soft spot for you

that he doesnt show 

he’s protective of you in his own way

keeps tabs on you from afar to make sure you’re safe

probably makes the tenjiku members to keep an eye on you too

when hes around tho, he often acts like he’s not interested

but you catch him watching over you or giving you advice in his own cryptic way

izana might take you to places that are meaningful to him 

will snowball fight with you ONLY if you start first

lets you care for his pet fish and plants when hes not around

quietly plays some songs for you on his guitar when you’re napping 

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Grandpa Sano

makes sure you all don't fight to the extreme

pretty sure he teaches you karate basics for self defense ofc

or he makes mikey to do it

tells you old stories of your siblings

especially embarrassing ones

nags your older brothers to look out for you since they’re involved in gangs 

incredibly proud of all his grandchildren 

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Bonus scene:

The Sano household was anything but quiet on this sunny morning.

The smell of freshly cooked eggs and toast filled the air as you hurriedly set the table, trying to dodge the occasional flying object—usually something small that Mikey and Izana had tossed at each other in their ongoing spat.

"Shin, tell Mikey to stop being a brat!" Izana growled, his eyes narrowing as Mikey smirked across the table, arms crossed proudly.

"Mikey, stop riling him up!" Shinichiro pleaded, stepping between them and waving his arms in a desperate attempt to keep the peace.

"We’re supposed to be having a nice breakfast!"

"Tell him to quit being so sensitive!" Mikey shot back, sticking out his tongue.

"Both of you, knock it off!" Shinichiro’s voice had that exasperated tone you knew all too well. He looked at you for backup, but you were too busy trying to keep the plates from tipping over in the chaos.

Meanwhile, Emma was at the stove, completely unfazed by the ruckus.

"You guys better sit down and eat before the food gets cold," she called over her shoulder.

You finished setting the table, carefully placing Grandpa Sano’s favorite tea cup in front of him. The old man sat at the head of the table, newspaper in hand, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil unfolding around him. He hummed contentedly as he read, occasionally sipping his tea.

As you took your seat, Mikey and Izana finally settled down—more due to the smell of Emma’s cooking than Shinichiro’s pleas. Mikey grabbed a pancake from the stack before it even hit the table, while Izana rolled his eyes but followed suit.

"Calm down, there’s plenty for everyone," Emma said, placing the platter in the center of the table. She then took her seat next to you, reaching over to serve herself some eggs.

Shinichiro sighed in relief, finally sitting down as well. "Can we please just have one peaceful meal?"

"Maybe next time, Shin," you teased, nudging him with a grin.

Grandpa Sano lowered his newspaper, peering over the top with a twinkle in his eye. "Ah, nothing like a good, lively breakfast to start the day," he said, completely unbothered by the earlier commotion.

Despite the chaos, the room was filled with laughter, chatter, and the clinking of utensils as everyone finally started eating. It might have been a mess, but it was your family’s mess, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[ivrxquack]

Lame, okay.

Toxic! Tokyo revenger headcannons

(Back in my Tokyo revenger era 😭)

Mikey

Too clingy.

Acts like you’re his life support…literally.

One time you woke up in the middle of the night to get water, you were gone for about 5 minutes and in that short time Mikey was able to have a full blown panic attack.

“Y/N, where did you go?” He whined as you sighed shaking your head going to hug him, as he wiped his tears on your pajamas. “Mikey, I just went to the kitchen it’s ok.” You said as he rubbed his cheek against yours, pulling you back into bed with him burying his face in your chest mumbling about how you should never leave his side again.

Every time you guys go in public like the store, mall, out to eat or anything like that he has a death grip on you. You’re always to hesitant to tell him that it feels like you’re hand is about to snap due to his unnecessary grip.

The first red flag in the relationship was in the first few weeks of dating. You and an old guy friend spotted each other at the park you two were at, you didn’t realize it but Mikey was shaking like a mad man his eyes wide and full of rage. Mikey, didn’t want to beat him to death especially infront of you so he “politely” excused himself from the situation.He was gone for about 30 minutes you and your friend were only talking for about 5 or 7 minutes, you couldn’t believe what he said he was doing when you asked him about it.

“Mikey!? Where did you go!?” You asked spotting him sitting by the lake throwing pieces of bread, “I was feeding the ducks!!” He said smiling widely hoping you wouldn’t notice the giant hole in the tree beside you with blood stains on it. You’ve thought about breaking up with him but he’s honestly so sweet to you, so you’ll learn to deal with his behavior but it naturally will get old soon.

Baji

Very very very overprotective.

“Babe, I don’t think you should be around here.” Baji said holding onto your arm pressing your body against yours, as you two walked around downtown which was surprisingly kind of empty. “Baji, my aunt needs these” You said holding the bag of different medicines your aunt lived in one of the neighborhoods downtown.

“Yea, ok.” Baji said rolling his eyes hardly as you two turned a corner to see a homeless man “ma’am..do you perhaps have some money?” He asked as Baji’s guard was immediately up. “No, get lost” Baji said tugging you away from him only for to you push him away, as you pulled your wallet out and handing the homeless man a few dollars. Baji couldn’t believe his eyes and before you could even blink the homeless man was knocked out on the ground, Baji standing on his head.

What the fuck?!” You said pushing Baji off him. “Sorry…..I thought he was about to punch you.” Baji said as you stared at the poor man before tucking the money in his coat pocket, and storming off making sure to give your boyfriend a lethal death glare.

He’s like your own attack dog if you were crazy enough and ordered him to fight someone for you, he definitely would and wouldn’t stop until they couldn’t walk. He doesn’t care if it’s a old man, old lady, kid, girl, woman, boy, man, cat, rat, bat he’ll fight them cause he’ll do anything to protect you!

“Y/N, why are you crying?” Baji asked rushing up to you as you fell into his strong arms sobbing. “A-Abby” he heard you whisper as his adrenaline started to race(idk if I worded that right). Abby was your bully who so happened to have a “crush” on Baji, she had been so rude to you at work normally you would ignore her but today…she really got under your skin. After calming you down and making you a big comfy spot on the couch, Baji said he was going to go get your favorite snacks.

Later that night you and Baji were sitting on the couch watching a movie. Baji was half asleep laying his head on your lap, as your phone dinged from an unknown number You hesitantly clicked it. What you saw made your jaw drop it was Abby getting jumped by 4 guys. “What the freak” you muttered quickly deleting and blocking the number throwing your phone across the room onto a different couch.

Completely unaware of the wicked smile on Baji’s face.

Mistuya

He babies/ enables you.

He has child proofed certain things in the house.

“Mistuya, are you serious.” You said in disbelief as you stared at the plastic knifes and forks in the drawer. “Safety first!” Mistuya said patting your head as you saw him put the actual knifes and forks into a drawer with a lock on it. You felt more like one of his little sisters then girlfriend, sure he was the definition of perfect but damn. You wished he’d understand that you could do most things by yourself.

“Oh, your shoes are untied, here let me get that for you.” Mistuya said as you two stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, he smiled at you softly patting his knee gesturing for you to put your foot up.

“I can do it myself!” You bending down as you quickly tried to tie your shoes somehow tangling the string. “Come on don’t be silly, you still do bunny ears!” Mistuya said bending down pushing your hands away as you watched his cute little delicate hands undid the strings.

Sometimes without knowing he would embarrass you especially infront of his friends. “Remember that one time you tripped on the baby gate? I had to put up cause you’re so clumsy” Mistuya asked laughing as Mikey and draken started to laugh at you. “Baby gates? I didnt know Y/n was a toddler!” Mikey teased as Mistuya chuckled but quickly stopped seeing the way you were staring at him like you wanted to murder him.

Despite the fact you always check him on what he does, and how much he apologizes and promises not to do it again he obviously still keeps doing it.

But at the end of the day he’s still YOUR man so you can’t say too much since you’re choosing to date him!

Hakkai

Wayyyyy to obsessed with you.

At first you thought it was adorable how often he checked up on, how often he hung out with you, how often he was thinking and talking about you. Until it became weird and weirder.

“There’s motion at your front door.” The notification on your phone said as you sat up out of your bed, checking the camera to see two big indigo eyes peering into the camera scaring you to death. “Y/N, its me Hakkai” Your boyfriends soft voice said as he revealed his jaw dropping stunning gorjus smile. You quickly rushed downstairs and let him in as he hugged you, when you questioned him he nervously explained on how he had just been in the area and wanted to see you.

He clearly has the mind of a bed bug cause after he left after a few hours of talking, something was telling you to check all of the cameras you had around your house and when you did boy his ass was grass. You saw Hakkai, walking around your house his eyes glowing in the night vision camera like he was a wild animal or something. He was peering into all your windows as you heard your dog barking. ‘That’s why she was barking?!’ You thought as you saw Hakkai jump at the noise as he ran to the back of the house where your bedroom was.

It turns out he was actually taking pictures of you while you were sleep, you were a little nervous but the next morning you two met up at a cafe and you brung it up as soon as you two sat down at your table.

“What? I would never do that.” Hakkai said as he took a bite of the cake he had, as you tried showing him the footage only to not find it all. And you knew that you saved it to your camera roll.

“You feeling ok, baby? Are you sick?” Hakkai asked with a worried look as he cupped your cheeks in his hands, and you nodded sighing.

‘She didn’t realize I hacked into her phone!’ Hakkai thought happily

The first time you went over his house probably should’ve been the last….

“Wow, your room is cute.” You said looking around it was surprisingly neat and smelt like lavender, you were pretty sure he only cleaned up for you thought. “Thanks!” He said as you looked at the posters on the wall of many different things like sports and stuff. “I’ll be right back, I’ll go get you something to drink make yourself at home” Hakkai said excitedly as you nodded sitting down on the bed to see a picture of you framed on the nightstand next to his bed. There was also a picture of you and him together, him and his sister, and of course him and Mistuya, and a few with him and his other friends. You smiled widely at the thought of the love and devotion he had for his friends and family, before you noticed light shining behind a door. It wasn’t his closet cause his closet was one of the first things you saw when you walked in.

You walked up to it cracking the door open slightly as your jaw dropped. You saw a few dim lights surrounding pictures…:pictures of you, what really got you were the pictures from last night of you sleeping.

“Y/N?” Hakkai asked as you quickly back away from the door as he had a tray of drinks and snacks on it. “What were you doing?” He asked as you put on a fake smile . “I was just curious to what was in there, I didn’t see anything” you said as he tilted his head to the right as you sat down on the bed.

“Whatever you say, love” Hakkai said as you thought about ways to distant your self from him. (It doesn’t work and it never will.)

Smiley

What’s not toxic about his bitch ass🙄 there’s a lot of things but let’s only go through the worst one, the way he’s roasts you like his life depends on it.

“You kind of look like a cracked out ferret in that jacket, take it off” Smiley said as you side eyed him zipping up the jacket that was actually cute asf. “Shut up for once, damn” You said frowning as you and angry stared at him like he was crazy.

No matter how many times you(really just angry) try to check him it just plays it off as joking, you’ve always been skeptical if he was. But angry always reassures you that’s his brother means no harm if he did he would’ve been made you bite the curb.

“Babe, you look like you eat mattresses for a living.” Smiley said as he helped you put on eyeshadow. “Are you kidding me? Why do you have to say things like that?” You said as his smile only seemed to get wider. “Like what?” He said snarkiliy as you rolled your eyes standing up to stare at your perfect face in the mirror. “You always make fun of me for everything I do…” you said walking out to the living to see angry sitting on the couch, you guys were going out to eat. “Don’t be stupid. You know I love you” Smiley said following you throwing his arm around your shoulder as angry stared at you with sad eyes.

A good thing is if anyone were to try to come for you he’d be very quick to put them in their place!

When you two were in the beginning stages you were getting picked on and smiley was the only one to help you out. “You wanna come for my, Y/N? First of all your lace front is literally lifting up, your underwear is probably crusty and musty just like your mom. Your built like a watermelon” Smiley went on and on until the girl finally went away tears in her eyes.

You can always count on him to have your back!

Angry

Delusional.

He got on smileys nerves so bad when he had a crush on you. Everyday smiley had to hear “she looked at me she must love me!” “She waved at me in the hall ways she wants to get married!” If smiley was out of his mind he would lay hands on angry, but he has some self control and he loves his brother a lot so he learns to silence him out. Angry’s delusional got 1000”x worst once you guys started to date.

“Y/N, told me to pick a box up I picked it up and she said thank you, she’s clearly madly obsessed and in love with me.” Angry said with a lovesick look as a few of the other members of Toman stared at him like he nuts.

Usually his delusionals are harmless but one time they got WAY Too out of hand.

You were going to the mailbox and the way your house is positioned, the window to your room is facing the whole front yard. Angry was watching you like a hawk with love in his eyes, well the love quickly turned into sadness as he saw a man a friendly looking man approaching you.

“Hi, Mr. Ronald! Long time no see” You said as you two started talking. Mr. Ronald was your old babysitter he was always kind to you and a joy to have around. Angry wasted no time in calling his brother “bro, I think Y/N is cheating on me!!!” Angry hollered as soon as smiley picked up the phone. “What?” Smiley said in confusion anger in his voice already planning on how he was going to beat you until your face was unrecognizable.

You were making your way inside when you heard angry yelling on the phone but is ceased once he heard the front door open. “Baby, is everything ok?” You asked walking up the stairs to see him with the most hurt look ever. “You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?” He asked as you saw him fighting back tears in his eyes. “My Little cotton candy head, is this about Mr. Ronald?” You said sighing as you made sure to keep your distance since you knew his alpha came out when he crowd.

“I love you please don’t leave me for him, I-i promise I’ll change!!” He said as he ran up to you hugging you extremely tight, it felt like your lungs could burst any minute. “Angry, he’s like family to me, let me go” You groaned out trying to shove him off you as he kept sobbing about how you and your neighbor were getting married, and all types of dumb stuff. “Angry…” you said feeling life slowly getting further and

Further from you, as you heard thundering footsteps racing up the stairs.

“Woah, angry! Chill” Smiley said as he rushed over using all his strength to pull his brother from you, normally he wouldn’t interfere with stuff like this but he knew that his brother would never be the same if you died especially from his own hands. “Y/N? Honey? What have I done?!” Angry yelled out crying as he let you go watching as you gasped for air on the ground. “I’d never cheat on you angry…” you said coughing as smiley roughly patted your back as angry stared at his hands before running out wailing hysterically smiley following instantly.

Let’s just say you couldn’t bring yourself to even look at angry. Let alone speak to him after this(you guys got back together cuz you love you’re little blueberry)

Takemichi

He’s. Such. A. Crybaby

It’s like every little thing that goes slightly wrong sets him off.

You got a paper cut? He’s already crying a river. You passed a test? He’s crying while planning a special suprise for you, it’s honestly just ridiculous.

“Takemichi, why are you crying?” Mikey asked watching his friend cry while staring at his phone.

“Y-Y/N, only put one heart in her message!” He said wiping the snot off his face showing Mikey the message you sent him. ‘Have a great day I love you♥️’ the message said as Mikey stared at him in confusion.

Ngl that about it for him cause there’s really nothing wrong with him but being with a crybaby is mad toxic trust me I know😭 (I was going to make it he still clings into Hina but I passed on that cuz yeaaa)

[yanderederee]

MeetMyGang

April25th, 2004

a/n: Please enjoy!!♡ // BajixTutor!Reader series // ct:fluff

lol lowkey inspired by this behind-the-scenes clip of the live action actors having a push-up contest!

before › now! › after

Just after the events of Rooting for You!

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“Bring her by next meeting,”

Mikey ordered.

Baji sweat under the intense seriousness Mikey was radiating.

“It’s really not what you think, M-“ Baji tried to disagree, but Mikey simply wasn’t taking no for an answer.

This was an order, not a request.

“I just wanna meet her!” Mikey pouted. “Anyone who can get You to stop on a rampage is worth meeting.” Draken agreed, smirking at Baji. “It’s not everyday we get to see Baji Keisuke shy,” Mitsuya shoved Baji playfully. “She’s got to be a saint of some kind to put up with your stubborn ass!”

Baji groaned, glaring at each and every one of the Toman founders, who were simultaneously grinning wickedly back at him.

“I said, no.”

He was determined.

Everyone went quiet, and soon all eyes landed to the ominous aura in the air: all eyes on Mikey.

Baji wasn’t budging.

“Fine,”

Mikey shrugged, outwardly appearing indifferent. “Not like I can force you.”

And that was it.

The meeting ended.

That was way too easy.

Baji didn’t have a good feeling, when the room started to file empty.

“Good luck,” Draken, the last person in the room, had sighed, before leaving Baji in a cold sweat.

— April27th, 2004

“Hmm~mh-mm~”

Whisper

“Who is that guy?”

“I’m not sure, be looks like he’s waiting on someone…”

“He kinda looks.. like a delinquent, doesn’t he?”

“Well he’s driving a bike, so…”

“Maybe he’s waiting on a girlfriend?~”

“Don’t joke like that! Who would even…”

Whisper

“Yyy/nn-chinnn~ y/n-chin~” Mikey whistled to himself, scanning the ocean of student heads while he wait leisurely on his CB250.

Baji was PISSED.

“What is that guys deal?!”

“Who?” You asked, behind him like a little duckling.

“No one!” Baji bit back full force, practically red, trying to hide Mikey from your window viewing pleasure.

Barely taken aback, if at all, you hummed casually before shrugging. “Guess I’ll go find out ~” you gathered the last of your materials before pulling your bag neatly over your shoulder and starting your way towards the door.

“Wait!” Baji tried stopping you, but just as he reached for your hand to try and halt you, you did a quick sprint to the door, avoiding his touch. You grinned wickedly, yet so sweetly, actually, wait, what was with that giggle? He was so caught up in how cute you looked giggling at his bewildered expression, that he lost sight of you completely.

“Shit, wait, y/n!! “ he yelled, trying to make quick work to catch up to you. His glasses slid, the frames blocking his vision only for a moment, enough to make him bump against the door way in his quick pursuit.

“Damnit, Chifuyu!” Baji yelled, and up popped Chifuyu’s blond helmet. “Yes sir!”

“Don’t let Mikey get ahold of Y/n!” He ordered, and just like a good subordinate, Chifuyu clicked his heels. “GOT IT!”

As Baji and Chifuyu both went different directions, Ryusei couldn’t contain his laughter. “What the hell is going on?”

Just outside the school entrance, you snuck to-and-fro between mingling students to make sure you went unseen.

You were just curious after all. Baji never wanted to introduce you to any of his friends, and while it wasn’t like you two were dating, but you were curious about Baji’s personal life.

About his super cool biker gang friends!

You peeked a spying eye out past the gate, scanning the area to spot the culprit of Baji’s stress. It didn’t take long, given the low rumbling of an engine.

Biking boots.

Loose black trousers.

A white belt.

An oversized white v neck, shoulders covered with another school’s jacket. Not the same Tokyo Manji uniform you’d seen just the other day.

And as your gaze wandered to meet the face of this lazily dressed delinquent, you made direct eye contact with Manjiro Sano.

Your heart stopped. What kind of presence was this, that you were feeling? It felt like the wind had been knocked right out of you. Your lungs deflated and suddenly you were lightheaded. Were you holding your breath? Why couldn’t you breathe? Why was he looking at you so intently? Like you were—

“Y/n!” Whispered Chifuyu, bringing you back to reality.

But just before he got his hands on you, so had Mikey.

“Y/n-chin!~ there you are, I was looking for you!” Mikey laughed happily, his bike’s kickstand having been shoved in the ground with haste.

“Too late, shit-“ Baji hissed, just making it in time to witness Mikey holding your hands in his with glee. “C’mon, before your boyfriend snatches you away,” Mikey grinned at you, then glancing at Baji, who seemed to hear every word.

“You low hanging bastard! Don’t you dare—“ Baji started, but it was too late before Mikey was pulling you past your restrains- over and onto his bike, sitting in front of him.

“WHAT THE HELL!” School be damned, Baji couldn’t hide the hot rage that came from Mikey’s overstepping. But even when he tried reaching the two of you, Mikey was already throttling the gas.

The last thing Baji saw of you was your mildly worried expression.

“Seee ya~” Mikey laughed, so so very clearly amused, before riding away full speed.

“Mikkkeeeeyyyyy…” Baji was boiling over, further and further as the day went on.

Couldn’t he just respect one thing? One? Baji said no, No, damnit!

“Baji, we should follow them,” Chifuyu spoke, as though there wasn’t all hope lost. “C’mon.”

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“‘The hells your problem, knock it off!” Baji yelled.

Everyone was just surrounding you— trying to get a look at Baji’s Girlfriend. Or, that was the rumor.

“Baji-San has a girlfriend?!”

“No way! She’s just his tutor!”

“But he brought her here! That’s strange!”

“It’s unlike Baji to bring someone…”

“Shh he’ll hear you!”

“I didn’t say anything wron—“

“QUIT WHISPERING I CAN HEAR YOU BASTARDS!”

Baji groaned. This was the worst.

Chifuyu had good intentions, bringing you around to get a better understanding of who Baji really was, the side of him you didn’t know anything about.

And now here you were in the heart of it, and you looked amazed.

“Is that a real tattoo?” You asked one of the guys, peeking when the thug drew back his sleeve to show it off. “No, fuck off.” Baji pushed past, taking you away from the crowd.

“H-hey! Baji,” you tried to argue, but he wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t care, we’re leaving.”

*reader begins using Baji instead of Kei/Keisuke while in front of his friends, to avoid being seen as disrespectful*

“Woah woah! Where’s the fire!” Smiled a nice looking boy with short hair and a cross earring. “You must be the famous Baji charmer,” he opened his hand to you, to which you shook politely. “Name’s Mitsuya, Mitsuya Takashi.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance Mitsuya-san, I don’t much about charming, but I do my best to keep Baji on top of classes.” You giggled.

Mitsuya paused, starring at you for a while, charmed. Quickly, he looked back up to smirk at Baji. “Lucky bastard.” He almost soluted before giving your hand a final squeeze, and backed off.

But you were a popular guest star, it was only a matter of time before you were swept away again. Much to Baji’s dismay. In the crowd of delinquents, it was getting hard to keep track of where you were being taken.

“Chifuyu, I’m about to lose it.” Baji informed, ready to throttle the next guy who put his hands on you. Chifuyu gulped. “J-just, hang tight boss!” He groaned, dreading the turn of events.

“I-is THAT a real tattoo?” You gasped, the next time you were spotted was with Draken, who was crouching for your convenience and chuckling at your bright eyed excitement. “I-is it a dragon? How cool!” You threatened to trace the ink outline.

“Ken Ryuguji, nice to meet you,” Draken had introduced himself, now standing up to full height.

“Wow, even your name means dragon? That’s kind of bad ass, right?”

Draken laughed, like you’d just said a hilarious joke. “It is bad ass isn’t it!” He laughed even harder. “She’s great, you should’ve brought her around sooner, Baji!”

And while Baji was off fuming, you stood there happily content.

“Hey, yaknow, I’m like, way stronger than Baji, right?” Mikey grinned, leaning in for a fake flirty gesture. Stalking you like a shadow, Mikey’s been having you make your rounds, all within his own supervision.

Mikey did find you rather adorable, after all.

Mikey liked the way you handled yourself, composed and confident in a crowd of scary looking thugs. He liked the way you respected them and treated them in a friendly manner. But Mikey really liked the way you smiled, the lovesick doe eyed puppy that adored Baji. He knew you and Baji were in the process of becoming an item.

But you weren’t yet, so he thought it no harm to pseudo flirt before Baji could have a valid reason to tell him off.

“I saw the way you kick! I was really impressed,” you praised him with an admiration. “Considering Baji is the strongest person I know, I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.”

This seemed to light a fire in Mikey. “Oh no, take more than just my word. Baji! C’mere so I can kick your ass!” He joked loudly.

Baji was almost thrilled when he finally found you again. And what made it all the better was the way you jogged over to be by his side.

Your presence alone was enough to allow him catch his breath.

When he looked down at you to assess your comfort levels, what with being pawned around like a shiny new toy, he was released to see your carefree smile.

“I’m also way stronger than Baji, by the way.” Out spoke Pah, almost startling you.

“Oh really? Maybe we should test which one of us is the strongest!”

“Stupid~, I’m just gonna win! Don’t even bother,”

“Now that’s a challenge I think I’ll take you up on.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you guys!”

…

And that’s how you ended up refereeing Toman’s first official strength and endurance competition.

Between Mitsuya and Draken, you made sure both of them seemed prepared enough for your the starting signal.

“… Go!”

And in traditional arm wrestling fashion, the twin dragons fought with all their strength, gripping for dear life to not be the loser.

They had a good few seconds of beefing back and forth, but soon became obvious it was Draken’s game.

“No fair! No one can beat Kenchin at arm wrestling! This is rigged!” Mikey yelled from the sidelines, not eager to be the one to follow up.

Next in the lineup, they wanted to try push ups. All ready in position, in a line so everyone was visible.

It didn’t take them long to tire themselves out— only a few seemed like they never would stop.

“Just give it up Mikey, I ain’t losin’ to you!” Baji huffed out, still fighting Mikey’s childish need to win. “You’re just sayin’ that cause you’re getting tired~ I could keep this up for hours!” Manjiro quipped back with barely a huff of exertion at all.

All that remained was Mikey, Baji, Draken and Chifuyu. Though, just as they rounded off to the fifteen minute mark, Chifuyu practically lost consciousness. And Draken honestly started getting bored.

“This is fun ‘n all, but don’t you guys have better things to do?” Out emerged another girl, with long blond hair. A wide smile bloomed over your features when you saw her.

“W-wow, you’re like, really pretty… Oh! Um, s-sorry, hi, I’m–“ you tried to introduce yourself, but Emma already knew. “Y/n, yeah, heard lots about you just from passing through.” She held out her hand to you, smiling in unison.

You shook her hand happily, “So, is it true?~ Are you and Baji shacking up?~” she whispered with a grin. Your face heated up dramatically at her question and shook your head. “No! No, n-not like that! We just go to school together!” You defended.

“Hmm~ if you say so.” She let off. “I’m Emma, by the way. Mikey’s my brother, if you couldn’t tell.”

You blinked a few times, turning the idea in your head. “Oh, that makes sense! You guys do look alike!” You nodded, and looked over at Baji and Mikey still squabbling on how to settle the score.

“Oi! Come on! We ain’t got all night!” Draken called to them, now that he finally had his fill of the excitement. “Just settle it with a good ol’ fashion fist fight and be done with it!”

Both Mikey and Baji huffed out some kind of reply, to their feet. “I’m so going to kick your ass.” Baji glared at Mikey. “Oho~ I’d like to see you try.” Mikey grinned back.

“Are they always this competitive?” You leaned closer to Emma in inquiry. “Yes, literally all the time.” She replied quickly, a unanimous nod waving over all else who heard the question.

That made you smile.

Overlooking the petty little dispute, you couldn’t help but feel warm inside. Before, you’d only ever seen Baji with a mild temper, holding his tongue and being the voice of reason in some cases. His thick rimmed glasses hid half his face, and you’d have never guessed his hair was actually as long as it was with the way he tied it back.

You began to fall for him ever since you saw the way he took such good care of the injured kitten, barely a month ago. You began noticing the cracks in the character he played up, and found it cute. The way he would stifle curse words, diverting his ever growing tempter.

Until eventually he began also showing interest in you as well. Meeting you anytime you asked for his presence, gradually asking you more about yourself, and reassuring you about things you couldn’t control.

This, too, was Baji Keisuke. Hot tempered, brash, snarky, confident, handsome… you knew you liked Baji before you knew how he really got along. He was a gentle person underneath it all. He loved animals, just as they loved him back.

Would you have feared him, if you saw this side of him before meeting him in school? Surely not, you’d been surrounded by delinquents for the last hour, and felt no discomfort whatsoever. That had to mean something, right?

“You got this, Baji-san!!” Chifuyu yelled out, snapping you out of you day dream. Everyone was cheering all around you as the fight was in full swing. Push after hard punch, they were fighting for blood. It took you off guard at first, the blood, but this was normal for them.

A swift kick to the side of the head, a block to counter, Baji looped his arm around Mikey’s foot to falter his landing. Before he could meet the ground, Mikey used his palms to push off, and send his uninterrupted foot under Baji’s chin to clock him in an undercut fashion. That definitely had to hurt.

Yet they fought on. In amazement, you starred. With everyone else cheering, the hype of battle began building inside you, until you felt ready to burst. “I believe in you, Kei!” You yelled out. In front row, he definitely heard you. It felt embarrassing having a girl root for you so explicitly, but damn did it work to fuel the fight in him.

Baji grinned wide, regaining his composure. His next punch really hurt, you could tell. Mikey’s expression was a dead give away of that. “Damn, you really pack a punch whenever your girl’s involved,” he teased. “Maybe we should bring her around more often.”

“Try it,” Baji bit back, taking the initiative. The two have sparred so much in their life, they could read each other’s moves easily. And Baji knew Mikey was losing on purpose.

Sure, losing to Baji left a bad taste in his mouth, losing in front of you tasted even more bitter. But at the end of the day, Mikey knew Baji really cared about you. He would have chances in the future to sweep you off your feet and let you reconsider who you liked best. But for now, he wouldn’t dare ruin the glow of excitement that lit up that cute face of yours.

“Winner! Baaajiii!” Draken’s voice rang with a roaring hoot. All of Toman hooted back in response, all in good fun. Mikey could afford losing petty fights in front of his subordinates every now and again. He was still The Invincible Mikey, and he’d be sure to whip anyone who actually questioned that standing.

You jumped in excitement at the declaration, clapping for your classmate. “Way to go Kei!!” You called out happily.

Baji knew he won by default, but he didn’t really care to rebuttal the outcome. Not when you looked so happy. He grinned at you and rolled his eyes. “Had it in the bag,”

“Mmhm~ good fight.” Mikey chuckled past the two of you. “Meeting adjourned!”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

“See you ‘round!” Called out another Toman member, zooming past on their bike. You waved back politely, standing back while Baji worked on getting his bike ready to go. “Y/n~!” Emma caught your attention, hugging you warmly. “Nice to meet you, make it home safe, kay?” She smiled.

You smiled back. “I’ll be sure to do that! Make it home safe!” You waved her off when she hopped onto the back of Mikey’s bike. “Don’t be a stranger~” Mikey called back with a wide grin and a wave.

Baji rolled his eyes, and roared his engine. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride back home.”

You paused, worried. “Don’t you usually drive home with Matsuno?” You asked. Chifuyu grinned and patted your back. “Sounds weird having you call me that, just call me Chifuyu, alright?”

“And second, don’t sweat it! I can walk home just fine.”

You gave a weary look. “Well, if you’re sure..” you said uneasily. “Hop on,” Baji encouraged, leaning the bike to one side so you could get on easier.

A few attempts later, you only managed to get yourself situated onto the back of the bike by using Baji’s shoulder for leverage.

Holy shit, Baji only just realized. You were so close. Way too close. Chest pressed flush to his back, you shakily gripped the sides of his uniform. He could feel you breath against the back of his neck.

Your legs felt weird being so close to the hot metal of the exhaust pipe, but Baji assured you it was probably safe.

(*please wear a layer of fabric to separate your skin from touching exhaust pipes/bike motors! It can in fact burn you if you are not careful!)

“Don’t worry so much, you’re fine. You rode on Mikey’s bike just a while ago, right?” He tried reassuring you when he started for takeoff.

“Y-yeah but I was sitting in front that time!”

“You want to sit in front now?” He joked.

“Can I?”

“No, that’s dangerous as hell.”

You laughed. “Then why’d you ask?”

“It was radical.” He rolled his eyes. “Rhetorical!” You yelled back.

“Whatever.”

[taleeater]

Fragile Part 6

😈😈😈

(This chapter got too long- I had to cut it short,,,, :]]] Enjoy!)

Generation: Bayverse TMNT

Tmnt x Reader Fanfic

Pronouns: Gender Neutral (except ‘dudette’, 'miss', and ‘princess’)

Warnings: injury, blood, electrocution, graphic depictions of torture, not proof read

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Today you were spending time with Donnie while he worked in front of his monitors. You liked it there much better than in his lab. He had a map of the city up with little marks indicating spots where the Foot had been spotted. But that wasn’t what he was working on right now.

No, you and Donnie were doing much more important things at the moment.

Like playing the new update in Stardew Valley.

“Fishing mods are cheating.” 

You gawked at him in mock offense. “But you can’t pause in a multiplayer farm, there’s no time to play the fishing mini game!!”

“That’s why it’s more of a challenge!” He stuck his tongue out while he clicked his mouse rapidly to fight off a slime in the mines.

You pouted, adjusting the laptop in your lap. “I don’t need my cozy farming sim to be challenging…” 

Donnie did not miss the cute grin that graced your face after, his heart fluttering in his chest. 

These past few days you found yourself smiling more and more easily. Whether it was Mikey getting covered in flour while you baked cookies together, or Raph teaching you how to purl stitch, or Leo showing you how to wield a sword. You were enjoying spending more personal time with the turtles as you got to know them better.

Your toes curled where you were perched in the chair beside Donnie, glancing up at the map again. Your eyes always drawn to the blinking red dot marking the location of the lab you escaped only weeks before. The police had raided it and found it empty, which only increased your unease as to where Dr Stockman might be hiding. It already felt like a lifetime ago, that night when the turtles first found you. 

You owed them your life.

“Hey (y/n), you almost ready for afternoon training?” Leo came over, snapping you out of your thoughts. Leo leaned against the back on Donnie’s chair, earning a dismissive swat from his younger brother.

“We’ll stop after we finish up this day, Leo.” Donnie said not even taking his eyes off the screen. You giggled and got back to fishing on the beach.

You were two hours into your training session with Leo. 

“Okay, good. Now when you kick, focus on your balance. Stay firmly planted and your leg should have more power.” Leo coached you. 

Master Splinter was supervising while sipping his tea. It had barely been 5 days since your mutant abilities had manifested. But you were already making astounding progress in unlocking its potential. Leonardo had played a big part in the process, being the one who had helped you work through your fears of using your mutant reflexes, so the abilities came more easily to you when training. He trained with you every day, while Master Splinter provided guidance. Everyone was doing their best to support you through all the changes.

Casey suddenly jogged in through the entrance of the lair. 

“Guys! Just got word, the Foot are planning to rob a warehouse full of high tech weapons tonight. We gotta go intercept it.” He said waving around his cellphone.

“What? Where? Their communication frequency has been quiet since they moved those chemicals to the old Sacks building!” Donnie spun around in his chair to face Casey, you and Leo walking into the living room with Raph and Mikey close behind.

“Queens. Our contact in the Foot Clan leaked the info to us just half an hour ago.”

“Huh, that’s strange. That’s all the way on the other side of town. Aside from Sacks Tower, they’ve only really been active around the East Village and ChinaTown this past week. Maybe they changed their frequency again to throw us off track.” Donnie was quickly typing up info on his keyboard. 

“Well, regardless, we better go check it out.” Leo sighed. He wanted to keep training with you, but it would have to wait.

“Heck yeah! I’m bringin’ the steak-out snacks. Who wants Doritos?” Mikey grabbed his ratty old Jansport backpack and started shoving cans of Orange Crush into it. 

“(Y/n), you stay here and keep an eye on Donnie’s computer. The Foot might try to communicate about their raid tonight. Donnie’s program will intercept it. April will be here in about an hour, so just tell her if anything suspicious comes up.” Leo asked you.

“Right!” You said standing to attention and giving a military salute with a silly little grin on your face. 

It made Leo’s heart melt in his chest and his expression turned soft. 

“Just, stay safe, okay?” He patted you on the head then headed for the exit. 

As the rest of the boys filed out of the lair, they each stopped by you. Mikey getting a high five, you quickly cleaned Donnie’s glasses for him, and Raph, always last, ducked down for a quick hug when his brothers weren’t looking. Casey rushed ahead of them.

Master Splinter waved goodbye to his sons next to you. Once the boys had left, he informed you he was going to go meditate, and to come find him if you needed anything.

About 45 minutes later, you were casually watching YouTube videos on Donnie’s computer when a flashing red light appeared on the screen. It was indicating that Donnie’s program was intercepting a message from the Foot’s closed communication server. A message popped up on the screen, and you gasped.

“We have captured the turtles. Continue with the plan.” 

Then a video feed loaded up on the main screen. 

Your blood ran cold.

It looked like the feed from a security camera, depicting Leo, Mikey, and Donnie all locked in glass cages, restrained with thin tubes of red connected to their arms. They looked weak, they looked bad.

“What….? No… No, not this… please no…!”

Where was Raphael? He was nowhere to be seen. How did they get captured so fast…? They had barely been gone an hour!

Your mind was racing. You recognized those machines. Dr Stockman used them to take blood samples from Bebop and Rocksteady. If that was the case, there was no time to lose.

You made up your mind.

You snuck past the dojo and muttered a quick apology to Master Splinter. You knew Master Splinter wouldn’t let you go, so you kept quiet. Then you grabbed the handheld GPS device Donnie left on his work table. You entered the location on the map where the message was sent from. 

The old Sacks Tower. 

Time to move.

April arrived at the lair much later than expected. She and Casey had just finished speaking to the commissioner about police activities being leaked to the Foot. When they entered the living room, they were confused to only see Master Splinter waiting for them. The old rat was pacing and anxiously stroking his beard. 

“Splinter? Where’s (y/n)?” April asked, confused.

Splinter shook his head. 

“You don’t know where they are?” April became concerned, walking further into the lair. 

“It appears, that our greatest fears have been realized.” His expression deeply troubled. Before April could ask, she noticed what Splinter was looking at. 

Playing in a loop on Donatello’s monitor was old CCTV footage from when the turtles had been captured 10 years ago by Shredder and Mr Sacks. April breathed a sigh of relief, immediately recognizing the scene.

“Splinter, the turtles are safe. I spoke to Leo on the phone only 10 minutes ago. They’re staking out a warehouse in Queens. This is old footage.” 

Splinter’s eyes widened and looked back to the screen. His expression turned contemplative. 

“If that is so, then perhaps Miss (y/n) has made the same mistake.” He spoke gravely.

April had a look of shock. She quickly pulled out her phone and speed dialed Leo’s number.

Leo thankfully answered quickly. “Hey April, anything new?”

“Leo, is (y/n) with you?”

Leo paused a long moment and sent a look over to his brothers, getting their attention. “No…. Aren’t they at the lair?” All of his brother's eyes were suddenly on him. Leo turned the phone on speaker.

“No!! They’re gone. And there’s a video playing on Donnie’s computer. It’s a recording of you Mikey and Donnie locked up at Sacks’ estate from over 10 years ago… I think this is what (y/n) saw before they left.”

“They left?” Leo felt his heart drop into his stomach. “To go where, Sacks’ estate?” His brothers immediately started packing up their stakeout equipment to leave. 

“No I don’t think so, the sender’s location was tracked, it’s still on the screen. It says it was sent from Sack Tower in Times Square.”

Donnie came over and joined in the call, typing furiously at the keyboard on his wrist. “Sacks Tower. That’s where they were spotted smuggling those stolen chemicals into the other day…! From my notifications, it appears that the message was sent through an older Foot Clan communication frequency approximately 43 minutes ago.”

“Donnie, how long will it take (y/n) to get to Sacks Tower.”

“From my calculations, if (y/n) left the lair heading to the Sacks building about 40 minutes ago, going by subway, they should arrive in about uhhh, approximately 8 minutes.”

“And how long will it take us to get there.” Raph asked.

“From where we are now, if we manage to hitch a ride on the next nonstop train to Times Square…… about 1 and a half hours.”

“Shit!” 

Raph cursed loudly and turned away frustrated, and Mikey put his hands on his head. Donnie was typing away at the keypad on his arm, trying to find any kind of faster route and muttering about how stupid he was for not making you a shellcell.

“We don’t have a minute to waste. Let’s move out.”

That’s all they needed to hear. Everyone sprung into action and booked it for the closest subway station manhole cover.

“April, we are headed to Sacks Tower as fast as we can. And get ahold of the police commissioner again. Whoever gave us the information to come to this warehouse tonight was intentionally planted with misinformation. There was no sign of the Foot at the warehouse. …..It was most likely a diversion.”

“Right. I’ll get back to you soon.”

Leo hung up the phone and jumped off the apartment building and dove down towards the street’s manhole cover.

Leo grit his teeth.

“Hold on (y/n).”

The halls of the building were eerily empty. This place made your skin crawl. The laboratory felt all too similar to the one you had been trapped in before. But this one had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Broken glass, graffiti, turned over chairs, scattered paper. But strangely the power was still on. You didn’t dare try to use the elevator in fear of giving away your position. But you were confused as to why you had yet to see any guards. This is where the message was sent from, the turtles had to be here, right?

You climbed the steps to another floor, but paused as you creaked open the door exiting the stairwell. This floor felt like a world apart from the previous ones. It was clean.

And the lights were on.

You kept low, and hyper vigilant. Steadying your breathing like Leo had taught you, you crept into the sterile white hallway. There were glass windows along the hall looking into different labs. One held chemistry equipment, another held big bulky medical equipment that clicked and beeped. Finally, the last room at the end of the hall, a room with no windows. You had a sinking feeling in your gut, but still you crept towards the door. Slowly and quietly you pulled open the heavy door, and revealed a large lit room with a high ceiling, and there you saw it.

“Guys….!”

There along the back wall were 4 glass boxes with 3 of the turtles strung up and being drained of blood. You had found them! Seeing no one else in the room, you rushed in. 

“I’m going to get you out of here, just you wait!” You went to the first machine in front of Donnie and reached out to touch the screen-

Your hand passed right through.

“What…?” You tried to touch it again but there was nothing there.

The hologram distorted, and then the turtles disappeared. You gasped.

It was a trap.

You turned around to book it towards the exit, but the door was opening again. Bebop and Rocksteady squeezed through the small door one at a time, and blocked your exit. Then over an intercom you heard the familiar laugh that sent a shiver down your spine.

Stockman chuckled darkly. “Just how I planned it! Like catching a fly with honey. So predictable!”

You backed up slowly as Bebop and Rocksteady approached you. 

“Did you miss us, little kitty?” Rocksteady sneered.

The intercom buzzed as Stockman spoke again. “Bebop, Rocksteady, keep them occupied until I arrive. I will be there momentarily. And let’s not have a repeat of last time, please!” There was a clicking sound and the intercom went quiet.

Bebop chuckled. “Hell yeah! It’s been so long since we last played! Let’s make the most of it.” 

“That’s right! And we gotta pay you back for all the trouble you caused us! We missed you so much after you left. You wanna go first Beebs?”

“My man!” Bebop smiled at Rocksteady and clasped his hand, they both laughed. 

You tried your best to steady your breathing like Leo taught you. Your hands were trembling. But you needed a way out. Bebop and Rocksteady were not fast, if you timed it right, maybe you can get past them to the door.

Bebop approached you. You stayed still and waited. Then when he got close enough, you ran right towards him, surprising Bebop. He reached out to grab you but you slid right between his legs, then jumped up behind him and tried to run past Rocksteady before he could react. He was still too close to you and managed to grab you from behind, but you were ready for him. Just like in training, you reached up and grabbed him around his neck, and taking a deep breath, you threw all your strength forward and down and managed to flip Rocksteady onto his back- stunning him. You quickly jumped over him and ran for the door, slamming into it fast and wretched the handle to pull it open. 

Locked. (Warning for graphic depictions of torture ahead.)

“No…!” You felt a bruising grip close around your arm, and you were torn away from the door. “NO!!” You cried out as you were thrown hard onto the floor between the two oversized mutants. 

“See? Now that’s your problem. You gotta go makin’ our job harder than it needs to be!” Bebop complained. 

Rocksteady was picking himself back up, rubbing the back of his head tenderly. “Don’t let them get to ya Beebs, we’ll sort them out quick before Stockman gets here.” Bebop then reached into his pocket and pulled out an all too familiar black taser. 

Rocksteady took the taser and chuckled. “Little kitty needs a check-up!” 

You tried to get up and run, but Rocksteady stomped down hard on your left arm. There was a sickening snap and you screamed, writhing in pain. You were pinned. 

“Tsk, tsk. You know what happens when kitty gets naughty!” The taser was flicked on, all you could do was close your eyes before a strong surge of electricity was shot into your ribcage and throughout your body. You convulsed as the shocks seized you, your shoulder getting dislocated from the spasms, then collapsed back on the floor. 

“Just like good ol’ times!” Rocksteady passed the taser to Bebop.

Rocksteady laughed and removed his foot from your arm, then Bebop tased you in the ribs again. You yelped and rolled onto your stomach, tucking your very broken arm underneath you and tried to crawl away. 

“Hey, where ya goin? We’re just getting STARTED!” Rocksteady punctuated his sentence by kicking you in the stomach hard enough to throw you across the room. You hit the ground and your body rolled another few feet until you stopped on your side and curled in on yourself, the air knocked out of your lungs.

Bebop took his time strolling over to you, and grabbed you by the hair to lift you up. You coughed and gasped for air, grabbing at his hand and tried to pry his fingers off of his grip. 

“Think you can just up and leave whenever you want, do ya?” He growled in your ear, then dropped you down haphazardly to the floor. You were on your knees, buckled forward and holding your left shoulder, when suddenly Bebop’s foot stomped down on your right ankle and you heard a loud crunch. 

You shrieked. 

Exhausted and riddled with unbearable pain, you crippled to the floor. It took everything you had just to pull breath. 

“Alright, I’m back! How is our lovely patient doing?” Came the cheerful sing-song voice of Dr Stockman entering the room through the locked door, Karai tailing behind him. 

“Hey boss! Uhhh, we were just warming them up for ya! See? They can’t run away no more.” Bebop nudged your side with his foot, knocking you onto your side so Stockman could see the pain riddled on your face. You were barely conscious by this point. 

“Excellent! Bring them to me.” Stockman ordered.

Bebop picked you up by your good arm and carried you over to where Dr Stockman was walking to in the back of the room. Karai stepped in Bebop’s way for a moment, taking in your beaten appearance, and back-handed your face hard for good measure, leaving a shiny bruise and angry red gash across your cheek. That woke you up a bit. 

Just enough to retaliate.

You took a deep breath and tore your arm out of Bebop’s grasp and punched Karai in the stomach, hard enough to throw her into a large display screen next to where Stockman was standing. Stockman squawked in surprise. She rolled onto the floor, and pushed herself up onto her side. Spitting a bit of blood onto the ground and wiping away at her lip. 

You tried to stand on your good leg but you were too weak and collapsed back to the floor. Bebop and Rocksteady grabbed you by each of your arms and brought you in front of Stockman.

He was looking at you in awe, and reached out tentatively to swipe at the blood on your cheek. He rushed over to his desk, jumping a bit in excitement. He put a drop of your blood onto a slide, and observed it under his microscope.

“Ha…! HA HA…! YES!!” Stockman shouted in excitement and did a little dance. Bebop and Rocksteady exchanged a confused look and Karai stood up and walked over to Stockman, eyeing you angrily and rolling her shoulder.

“What does this mean?” She questioned him. 

“It means that the mutation was a SUCCESS!!! Those stupid turtles must have triggered it somehow. And now we can finally proceed with the plan!!!” He grabbed something off his desk and skipped over to the stairs leading up to the circular titanium base in the middle of the room. “Bring them here!!” He called over, waving his hand to Bebop and Rocksteady.

They dragged you over to Stockman, and were deposited on the round podium that sat under a large glass tube. Stockman started to pull down long rubber tubes from above, and attached large thick needles to the ends. You tried once again to crawl away with your good arm, as Bebop and Rocksteady retreated. 

But Stockman approached you from behind. In a quick jab, he stabbed the two needled tubes deep into your back. You grunted and groaned in pain, but could do nothing, collapsing on the podium. Beaten, bruised, and bleeding.

When Dr Stockman was finished, he descended the stairs and rushed over to his computer, giggling excitedly he typed in a command and the glass tube descended over you until it clicked into place at the sturdy titanium base. Locking you inside.

“They’ll be placed in suspended animation. Once the tank is completely filled with the preservation fluid, they’ll become nothing more than a convenient blood bag, supplying an endless supply of mutagen for our mutant army.” Stockman rubbed his hands together evilly.

“And what about the turtles?” Karai asked. 

“It is already too late for them to stop us. Even if they manage to get through your guards, they will be unable to free them from this tank. Once I start the filtration process, I will delete the programmed command to empty or release the containment cylinder. They won’t be able to free them without my help!” Stockman typed away quickly at his computer. 

One of the tubes connected to your back began to pull blood from your body, leading up through a small opening in the top of the cylinder then down into a canister at the base. Then from the second tube, a white milky substance full of liquid nutrients began to filter through and down into your body. It did nothing to numb the pain you felt as you laid there in a state of half consciousness. 

Suddenly, the loud banging of gunshots could be heard somewhere outside the door. 

“We’re not ready yet! Hold them back!” Stockman ordered Bebop and Rocksteady, who positioned themselves between Stockman and the door. 

The door suddenly blew wide open, and the four turtles rushed into the room, angry and weapons at the ready.

“Where’s (y/n).”

Part 7

@itsberrydreemurstuff @thecreat0r64 @eli-chris @kurlyfrasier @autisticnutcase @drenix004 @donniesgirlie @cherryp-op @foggyturtleknightangel @blackrockshooter780 @l-n-g-t @peachesdabunny @silverwatergalaxy @willy-the-witch @caeliasaida @veri-varily @xnorthstar3x 

If anyone else wants to be tagged for the next update, let me know in the comments! :]

[afreakingdork]

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Moonshine - Chapter 16

RotTMNT x Reader

@2aceofspades had such incredible vision for this week's chapter art! I'm so glad to have been party!

Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Relationships: Michelangelo (TMNT)/Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT)/You, Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Donatello (TMNT)/You

Warnings: POV Second Person, Gender Neutral Reader, Anxious Reader, Introverted Reader, Stuttering, Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, Romance, Love, Love Confessions, Falling In Love, Unrequited Love, Rejection, Aromantic Asexual Michelangelo (TMNT), Bisexual Donatello (TMNT), Pansexual Leonardo (TMNT), Lesbian Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit, Demisexual April O'Neil (TMNT), Implied Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit/April O'Neil/Sunita, Endgame Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Romantic Love, Platonic Love, Panic Attacks, Sexuality Crisis, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety, Happy Ending, Fluff

Synopsis:  You’ve lost most of your life to anxiety and fear. Now, in your late 20s, you are desperate to reclaim it and during one such outing you encounter the sun personified. With his and his similarly celestially inspired family, will you finally reach your goal or will you lose yourself along the way?

Also available on Ao3

First 💛 Previous

Six months.

This had gone on for half a year.

Donnie held his phone up as a pretense. There were things he could look at. He even had feeds he wanted to scroll through, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. In the last 179 days, this was the closest he had been to you. From where he was currently laid out on the couch, he had an arm craned behind his head so he could optimally hear your laughter bubble up below him.

He missed that.

He missed everything.

Waiting was necessary. 

At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. 

Time came with perspective and that had been at the forefront.

Mikey needed time.

As a dutiful brother, Donnie showed up like the rest of them. There had been stages. Mikey had gone through multiple routes of expression that bordered on mania to deal with his heartbreak. Donnie, being the most prone to such flights, accepted the phases best. If Mikey said he had to keep painting until he fully captured the illusive sensation in his chest then who was he to tell him to stop to eat?

The others weren’t as understanding, but they had Mikey’s wellbeing in mind.

The care was good natured in that sense, but that hadn’t meant Mikey didn’t occasionally snap. The youngest amongst them also happened to be the most powerful, both in a physical, mystical, and emotional sense, so, in the end, he got his way. If any one of them pressed too hard for Mikey to deviate from how he wanted to process his grief, then they risked life and limb. In all, it had taken three months for Mikey to work out all he needed. It had concluded by the youngest walking into the living room one day and announcing that he was ready for a new hobby. It was Mikey’s way of saying he had exhausted himself on what had come before and was ready to return to his sense of normality in his constant pursuit against boredom. 

Donnie had kept his mouth shut as he wondered if that meant you would join him.

He buried the thought immediately. 

He was supposed to be happy that the youngest had recovered.

He meant to congratulate Mikey with the rest of them even if Mikey didn’t understand what ranks he was joining or what he was being honored for. 

Mikey lived.

Mike came out the other side of heartbreak.

Donnie felt like the one full of shrapnel.

From art to reading to eating to talking, Mikey had done what was necessary to move on.

Where did Donnie start?

He had no basis.

When he examined his connection to you, he found the first flames of attraction at best. You two had only had a few paltry conversations about interests. The only notable facet was that once the two of you started talking, the rest of the world seemingly disappeared. You would enter a vacuum sealed bubble and he liked how he had all your attention. It reminded him of the contact high he got when in the throes of a project. It was a chase he pursued when it came to construction. It percolated in certain video games. It even appeared amongst science texts that explained or laid the foundation for that which others found just as mysterious.

What did he know about you?

He knew he liked you.

He knew little else. 

You had a crane game plushie, but did you collect stuffed animals?

You had movie facts, but did you enjoy watching films?

You had eaten a litany of snacks, but there seemed no commonality for a favorite.

How was he supposed to move on when he knew so little?

How was he supposed to start when everything had ended before it began?

This was his usual tipping point. He only needed the faintest interest in something to kick off a journey to becoming an expert. That first ember was a flame to be fanned and he was always in need of fire. He couldn’t even say he was flighty. When he committed to something, it was with his entire being. He found science at the age of seven and never looked back. Sure, he had projects that he had shelved, but that was because they themselves had run out their use, not their larger purpose.

You were a supernova.

A stunning and luminous explosion. 

No, that was intrigue talking. 

He was fantasizing without coming up with a scenario to run through. 

What he had done was research. Love came in stages and he didn’t need articles to tell him that. He could break down the chemicals released in regards to fondness and spell them forwards and backwards. He knew all the internal mechanics. Those who believed absence made the heart grow fonder were too tied up in theatrics to see the point. 

Being apart was about work.

You either appreciated what you missed about the person or you put in the additional effort necessary to maintain a relationship of distance. It was hard enough to navigate sharing yourself with another when they were right there. When you were separated, all of that was doubled with doubt and unknowns. Honesty was the key and communication was a house of worship. He detested the latter, but knew its barb all too well.

Yet again, none of this related to you.

He had no parts of you to miss because who he had come to know was an acquaintance at best. He had nothing to maintain because you’d never gotten to a point where that was necessary. You’d left him in the kitchen that night with an agreement to see each other again. It wasn’t even a promise. He didn’t even have your contact info. He had resorted to stealing your number from Mikey and putting it in his phone, but he couldn’t actually message you.

That would reveal too much.

He had his duty as a brother.

It didn’t matter that Mikey had actually given him the number without prompting.

It didn’t matter that the younger had asked him once or twice if he knew how you were.

Four times to be precise and it wasn’t because he date stamped any mention of your name in his recordings.

That would be absurd.

Borderline creepy.

He just had so little to go off of.

He needed knowledge.

Mikey needed time to process.

Donnie should have moved on from the crush.

After that three month marker had been announced, Donnie watched the youngest avoid his phone. Not in a sense that he stopped using it, but instead he was painfully aware of its existence. Every time Mikey got a message ping or his phone gave the slightest vibration, he would startle as if he had never seen such technology before. He would then immediately go taut in a way that said all he was fighting feral instinct to check the notification. The odd dichotomy escalated until Mikey bought an alarm clock if only to avoid setting similar ones on his phone. Donnie made it exactly one week before he had enough and took the device away from the youngest. He then threw it back in Mikey’s face and told him to call you.

In a bout of yelling, their father had been forced to step in as he had quite a bit in the passing months.

Donnie needed to make a reminder to bulk up his usual father’s day gifts this year. Splinter had been doing his best to be present. On his own accord, he had fumbled his way through online research and spoke of how the type of love didn’t matter. What was important was happiness and with that he asked if you made Mikey happy. Mikey had hugged their dad long past the point where he should have let go. Their father had held out with minor complaints that were mostly for show.

Donnie was left standing on the other side of the room.

He was the only brother to bear witness. 

He instigated the event. 

Why?

Did you make Donnie happy?

He hadn’t seen you in months. 

By all accounts, you caused him far more misery than joy if he were to weigh the scales. 

He hated the state of his acquaintanceship with you.

He wanted more.

He sulked.

Donnie sulked as you and Mikey started talking once again. 

He sulked as you agreed to meet Mikey for coffee. 

He sulked as you tested the waters of your new friendship. 

He sulked as you realized things were still okay. 

He sulked as you both remembered how you liked to hang out and went back to doing it regularly. 

He hadn’t seen you, but he saw Mikey leave.

He avoided the youngest whenever he returned.

Mikey could take his time dipping his toe into the body of water that Donnie so greedily wished to dive in.

Donnie wasn’t proud of the thought.

He may have prematurely torn up some schematics because of them. 

Mikey could be so altruistic.

Donnie had none of those markers.

Donnie was selfish.

Donnie was possessive.

Donnie was.

He was alone.

He was by himself in heartache and longing and there was nothing he could do about it.

Even work lost its luster. He moved like a hollow shell just to keep busy. Nothing quieted his mind, so he didn’t bother. He moved his hands for the sake of it and creations came at an incredible pace. He got praise for his speed and utility. He wasn’t over embellishing as he usually did. The machines were simple and to the point. The others made remark after positive remark, but Donnie saw the edge. They noticed immediately how he hadn’t lavished in the praise. They put two and two together in relation to what had been made.

They worried.

They knew.

Bickering had revealed his feelings, but there had enough talk.

Long nights with Leo had Donnie coming the closest he ever had to admitting they were twins. Sessions with Raph where little was said until a lot was unloaded. Joining April in reconnaissance even after he blew her cover because he couldn’t stop his mouth from rounding on his misery. Even Mikey, an unintentional catalyst for his current dilemma, had trapped him under the talk of food science and there had been light mentions of what could be done.

They all had one common response: if his feelings persisted then there was a reason.

If there was a reason then it needed to be explored.

Donnie knew that much. That was the basis for all science. The only problem was that he couldn’t and that came with its own cascade. One brother agreed he should stay away, one brother fell neutral, his sister said it was okay as long as he was honest, and the last brother told him to go for it. Paralyzed by the split decision, Donnie had opted to do nothing.

He suffered for it, but at least he owned it.

Until he saw you again.

The first time had been innocuous.

It was around the four month mark and you had come down the lair to drop off some leftovers in their fridge. There had been mention of a secondary location and you hadn’t wanted to let the food go bad. The lair had been close so you both popped in for only a moment. Donnie had been across the room, discussing something with Leo when you walked by. You hadn’t seen him. Mikey yammered on by your side, taking your attention, but Donnie had stopped to look.

He only realized how long when Leo pressed him with an annoying whistle. Donnie really needed to enact vengeance on the bird call situation. Leo had always done it to personally piss him off. Leo’s flimsy excuse of having learned them for signaling was an enormous load of crap. Donnie was translating exactly this when you passed through on the way out and made eye contact.

He watched it in slow motion.

The dip of your lashes.

The small smile that appeared on your face.

The way your lids translated how you felt about him.

How you still felt about him. 

The way Mikey screamed that he’d be back later and tugged you away.

Leo hadn’t even made fun of him the second time. He’d pulled a ‘that’s rough’ and Donnie yanked Leo’s mask down to choke him. Leo had lived because Donnie hadn’t had the time to set up proper manslaughter. Donnie survived on scraps alone.

For two months, he lived on fleeting glances as you passed him by. Both of you were somehow always busy and you were never in the same room long enough to spare more than a few words. Eventually, it was six months from the heartbreak date and Donnie wandered in on you and Mikey hanging out in the living room like it was nothing.

He received no notice, but he hadn’t expected any. In fact, he hadn’t meant to leave his lab as he was deep in the construction of a shuttle, but he had gotten notice that a necessary part was just delivered. Goggles down and only oil free because he’d shucked his coveralls, there you were, sharing the same bean bag with Mikey as if it were a pillow. You were amongst a lively conversation about a mobile game that Donnie vaguely remembered Mikey had been going on and on about.

Donnie walked toward you before he could stop himself.

“Heyo!” Mikey chirped, hammering his thumbs into his device. “Y/N! Look! It’s Donnie!”

“Uh!” You squeaked out, similarly banging your screen. “J-just a sec!”

“Almost got him…” Mikey’s tongue flipped side to side.

“Ah!” You sunk back with relief and some fanfare played from both phones.

“Heck yeah!” Mikey held up a hand.

You high fived it.

Donnie had a wrench.

He wasn’t supposed to be here and he had a wrench in hand.

“Hi.” You didn’t seem to notice his folly as you looked up at him with an eager shine.

Nothing about the rocket was that pressing. “Mikey snared you as well it seems.”

You gave a sheepish smile. “You mean Leo?”

“Ugh!” Mikey grunted and moved something on his screen. “He’s playing in the worst way! He’s not even playing! He paid for a bunch of buffs so he could rush the first region and skipped all the dialog! No story!”

“Y-you have like twenty… seven…? levels on me…” You murmured.

“So?” Mikey squinted at a menu. “You’re playing. You’re trying. You called me to talk about the story last night. Then, you listened to me go on about pulling best boy in my first ten!”

“You were about to have me pull.” You giggled.

“See! That’s different! You care!” Mikey punctuated the last word with a nod.

“Do you play, Donnie?” You sent your gaze over.

You folded him into the conversation.

You cared.  

Maybe he would.

Maybe he would download the game right now.

Maybe he would hack it and make himself the same level as you.

Maybe he would make himself a higher one than Mikey so you’d come to him to play with instead.

“No.” Was what came out of his mouth.

“He gets too upset about the free-to-play thing because he had a bad experience once.” Mikey finally pulled his eyes from the screen and sent Donnie a lethal gaze.

“I almost leveled the city and destroyed you all in the process!” Donnie brought up his hands to complain.

Mikey shrugged. “Whatcya doing out here? Weren’t you building a rocket?”

“You bring up a complaint only to drop it!” Donnie hissed.

“Level the…?” You looked between them in horror. “Rocket…?”

“Those events are unrelated!” Donnie rushed.

“Yeah, he’s making a rocket. Didn’t I mention that?” Mikey tilted his head and returned to tapping on his phone.

“N-no…” You gaped.

“Mikey…” Donnie grouched.

“Huh? What? You still here?” Mikey couldn’t keep a creeping smile off his face. “Y/N, wanna keep going?”

“Um…! Well…!” You sat a little straighter with what Donnie read as a plea in your eyes.

Did you need a break?

Were you having trouble telling Mikey?

You should be able to do as much.

What was the point of your friendship otherwise?

Donnie was left again, unsure, and in stasis.

“I… guess… that’s fine…” Your eyes dropped, sad, to the floor.

A guilt cropped up that Donnie offset.

He couldn’t help you with something so simple.

Rocket.

He could keep working on his rocket.

Donnie moved to leave and saw you perk up in his periphery before you wilted again.

He wouldn’t be some easy out.

“Or did you wanna take a break?” Mikey wondered in a loud way that Donnie knew was for him.

“I was grabbing a package.” Donnie spoke both remembering why he’d come out here and to answer.

“Too bad.” Mikey hummed.

You sank down into the bean bag.

“Why…?” Donnie rounded close to the couch that was beside the two of you.

“You could use a break. I’m not sure, but it’s been what… 9 hours? I can tell from how shrimpy you are.” Mikey fiddled with his phone.

You rose up enough to study Donnie.

He avoided your gaze and bore holes into Mikey as he tried to figure out what his goal was. “My back is fine and it’s been 7 hours and 42 minutes.”

“Back making fried rice.” Mikey snickered.

“Yes, because now I obviously want to rest where I am ridiculed.” Donnie touched one hand to the couch’s arm and threw the other up in gesture. “Sarcasm!”

You were still watching.

“Back curved like a wok.” Mikey’s smile split his face.

Donnie rolled his eyes to leave.

“Y-you could-!” You spoke up.

Mikey stayed quiet save the tacking on his phone.

“Yes?” Donnie watched you openly struggle.

“L-laying down… for your b-back… I mean… It might… help?” You pleaded with him. “The sofa is… um...”

He would not be your scapegoat. “My back is fine.”

“Oh…” You sank beneath your third pitfall of the night.

His stomach was gutted.

He couldn’t take anymore of your guilt.

“I’ve got to get that package. Excuse me.” Donnie left.

Just as he exited he heard a soft curse from you followed by soothing words from Mikey.

It wasn’t for him, Donnie reminded himself.

Maneuvering to the chute that he had installed so dropped packages would be safely stored below ground, Donnie opened the hatch and pulled out an envelope. Holding it and the weight of the part inside, he sighed as he made the return trip. He would have to pass the damn sitting room again on the way and slowed to make the mental preparations.

If he didn’t look at you then he wouldn’t get hung up.

Deciding that was the best strategy, Donnie moved forward with purpose and his head high.

Your voice drifted across the brick.

“L-look at this one…”

“Oh, that’s cute. I have another from that artist! Let me-!”

Donnie just needed to walk by.

Unseen, undetected.

Maybe he should have opted for a sneakier approach.

Mikey was further reclined though his phone was still in his face. “Get your package?”

“Yes.” Donnie rounded the sofa with his guard up.

“D-Donnie?” You called out.

To say he hadn’t seen you would be a lie, but you were being swallowed up by the bean bag as of now.

Pretending not to hear you would be rude. 

“Yes…?” He tried to keep you in his periphery by looking just beside your head.

“We… Um… Well, we’re taking a b-break if you w-wanted to… I know you were b-busy, but…?” You held your phone close to your lips, hiding behind it.

Mikey smiled as he clearly scrolled.

Donnie stared.

There had been some sort of development that he had missed.

He wasn’t sure what.

You had wanted to stop playing, but you hadn’t used him.

Was that because he avoided you?

Why would you ask him to join now?

Mikey elbowed you.

Donnie watched on, feeling that creeping territory that said he shouldn’t be here.

You sank down in further misery.

You looked near tears.

Don’t wipe them.

They weren’t worrisome.

You were safe.

You obviously needed to process.

Mikey bumped you harder.

“I’m t-trying!” You complained.

Mikey had his phone up to show you something and frowned.

You blinked out of your concern. “O-oh… You weren’t trying to e-encourage me…?”

Mikey chuckled. “Where’s your head? I’m showing you the art I told you I was going to.” 

“It’s nice…” You mumbled. “Send it to me?”

Mikey nodded back into his spot. “I’m sticking to the fanart thing. Have fun failing to invite D to hang out.”

You fumbled your device.

Invite him?

He already said he wouldn’t play the game.

Had he not been clear?

Donnie shifted his weight to one hip to think.

You took a deep breath. “T-that’s n-notI…! I w-wanted… to m-make sure you… didn’t f-feel uncomfortable be-because you thought that m-maybe we were e-excluding you…?”

“Excluding me?” Donnie reared with further confusion. “We didn’t have plans.”

You looked like you wanted to disappear into your seat.  

“Okay.” Mikey sighed and let his phone fall onto his plastron. “I know you both too well. Here’s the deal.”

You made a nervous little noise.

Donnie felt the pull to flee again.

“I thought you should take a break. Y/N worried you thought you were intruding, which isn’t wrong. I know that you get all up in your head when… how do you say it? Something like, ‘your attendance isn’t expressly requested?’” Mikey gestured between the lot. “So here’s the invite: if you wanna hang out, we’re all gonna mess around on our phones. That’s like your fourth favorite parallel play. Join us! How’s that?” He turned his head with a rustle towards you.

You gave a nod that appeared to confirm your portion.

Donnie blinked once. “Huh.”

“D-don’t f-feel like y-you have t-to…” You rushed to add.

“Yeah, that too.” Mikey picked his phone back up.

Mikey moved on and you appeared to be the only one waiting for Donnie.

Donnie finally looked at you properly and you jolted.

You noticed he hadn’t been gazing directly and, after the initial shock wore off, your lids lowered with a beckoned question.

He was laying out on the couch and staring up at the ceiling before he realized it.

Pathetic.

It wasn’t even comfortable because of his battle shell.

He’d preferred to be sitting up.

The couch was too old.

“D-Donnie have you seen…?” You were on the floor, but you were almost right next to him.

Technically Mikey was closest, but you were the next.

He turned his head to look at a meme you showed him.

Had he seen it?

Yes.

He asked to see more anyway.

Mikey’s body buckled under a laugh and suddenly there was a flurry of messages being discussed. Donnie’s phone appeared as a safeguard. Conversation continued on about gossip this and breakthrough that. You kept him from being a third wheel. Nine total times you brought Donnie into the conversation. 

Donnie felt oddly settled. By now, Mikey would have forgotten about him. Donnie knew his brother. It wasn’t done out of cruelty, but because they’d known each other their whole lives. Mikey didn’t feel the need to include him. Donnie was often plugged in and half listening in gatherings anyway. 

Did you know that? 

He didn’t care. 

He ate up the attention and if Leo were here, he would have called bullshit on the many lies Donnie told just to keep your attention. Whether Mikey noticed or not, Donnie didn’t care. Mikey could be equally oblivious. On more than one occasion the youngest had feigned innocence on a topic if only to allow another person more room to talk. 

Altruistic.

Donnie felt like a liar in comparison.

He wanted you to include him.

He played dumb so you would keep supposedly helping him.

He was painfully selfish.

The conversation eventually drifted.

Each person was supposedly doing their own thing except Donnie who was staring at a feed he hadn’t touched. He should try, he thought. He had only prompted you through the entire verbal exchange. It was meant to be his turn. A conversation was between two or more parties. That meant he needed to instigate something. He only had to choose a topic.

Which?

Hadn’t he treaded all over the usual ones?

What else was there to say?

This spelled doom.

You had nothing in common.

What a farce.

“Oh… Oh!” Mikey piped up.

You turned lightly to give him your attention.

“Y/N, that night market you wanted to go to finally scheduled another date!” Mikey held out his phone.

“R-really?!” You sounded excited.

Good.

Donnie was happy for you. 

“Yeah, so it’s now on… Oh…” Mikey brought his device back, crestfallen.

“What’s w-wrong?” You moved to rotate your body as your head wasn’t enough.

“It’s the same nights as my Italia fair…” Mikey wilted. “I’m working.”

“O-oh…” You similarly sank.

Donnie needed to beat his passivity and he supposed this was an opportunity. “What sort of night market? There always seems to be one.”

“Y/N wanted to go to the dumpling one!”

“D-dumplings!”

You both tittered at speaking in unison.

It made Donnie feel sick. 

“You said another?” Donnie directed his question toward Mikey.

“Yeah, Y/N and I were gonna go to the last two, but there was… stuff… that came up!” Mikey swiped through his phone to move on.

The period of sadness Mikey went through and the subsequent distance that had been exacted between you both.

Donnie let his phone go to sleep.

That made sense.

He also understood if you weren’t ready to go out on your own in this case. He knew what a sensory nightmare the night market was and it was not an experience he imagined anyone survived alone. Lights, smoke, yelling, and lines, he avoided that sort of thing himself if he could help it. 

He turned his head enough to peek at you.

You had pulled up the night market page on your phone.

You stared sullenly at the date.

You were excited. 

You wanted to go. 

His lips parted, but he froze.

It wasn’t his place.

This was Mikey’s territory.

Mikey probably told you about the event.

Mikey probably knew the vendors.

“When is it?” Donnie spoke in spite of himself.

“Fourteenth and fifteenth.” Mikey bobbed his head to his own beat before he stalled out. “Wait.”

His little brother was like an emotional bloodhound.

Donnie’s eyes shot wide at his error.

He tried to bury it as he watched in horrified slow motion as Mikey spun around with a craning elbow to view him with starry eyes. “You!”

Jostled by the bean bag, you looked up, not comprehending what had transpired.

“Mikey…!” Donnie warned and sat up in preparation.

Mikey dropped right back down into his spot and started scrolling.

That was unusual. 

What was he going for?

With a cold sweat, Donnie remembered their shared family calendar.

His blood pressure plummeted as he switched to trying to get his own app up to revoke Mikey’s access.

“Ha! Perfect! You’re free!” Mikey announced, beating him to it.

Donnie winced against the calendar’s color coding.

“I don’t…?” You wondered.

“Well?” Mikey shot him a look and waggled his brow ridge.

“I was only curious.” Donnie got hold of his tone and forced out neutrality.

Mikey continued to study him.

He could play it cool.

Donnie switched back to the thread he hadn’t read.

He felt his little brother’s eye hover for a few moments longer before he dipped into the bean bag again. “Really? Again? Fine… Whatever!”

You made a little curious sound at having been left in the dark. 

“Nothing, I guess.” Mikey shrugged. “Seems like I’m the only one who knows how to ask questions tonight. I thought someone was going to ask if you two could go together.”

There was a whack and you squeaked.

Both men turned to find you plucking your phone from your face. “D-dropped i-it! S-sorry!”

“Silly.” Mikey hummed affection before shimmying into the bag once more.

“It was an a-accident…” You held your phone tighter to offset your shame.

You both bickered lightly while Donnie was stuck.

You could go together.

Mikey seemed fine with the proposition.

It was weird.

Wasn’t it?

How had Leo put it?

He’d said something about no matter how chill Mikey was, there’d always be an inherent weirdness to you and Donnie doing anything together.

You didn’t do that to family.

Raph had announced his faith.

If Mikey said something then he should be trusted.

Neither brother was wrong.

April had told him to be true to himself. 

Donnie wanted to know you.

He wanted to have his own inside jokes.

His own shared activities.

He wanted to be selfish.

Mikey had given his blessing. 

“You’re… grouchy tonight…” Your voice broke through even though your tone was a quiet one. 

“Am not!” Mikey huffed in return. 

A silence stretched between you and quieted Donnie’s mind. 

“Okay, fine!” Mikey relented. “I just want to keep playing the game and you’re both being ridiculous.” 

“T-that’s not f-fair…” You verbally pursued him. 

“It’s a little fair and you know exactly why.” Mikey had a knowing tone. 

Your mouth audibly clicked shut. 

Mikey hummed in victory.

“Just d-dont… a-assume for… him…” The last part was spoken in near silence. 

Donnie heard Mikey turn toward you. 

Something he couldn’t catch was exchanged and by the time he looked, you were returning Mikey’s gaze. 

“He’s here.” Mikey whispered. “Isn’t that proof enough?” 

“You asked…” You responded and tucked into the bean bag. 

For a moment Mikey gave an affectionate, but hopeless look at you. 

He then trended upward to share that look with Donnie. 

There was an obvious expectation there. 

Donnie had been meant to extrapolate something from the exchange. 

What was it?

He reviewed the facts thus far and tried his best to sweep away the errant thoughts. 

There had been murmurs of a secondary conversation. 

He heard it now and when he went to get the package. 

Mikey had said you failed to ask him to hang out, but that had been a joke. 

Hadn’t it?

Donnie searched Mikey. 

The younger only gave him a knowing smile before his gaze dropped obviously to where you were still hiding. 

Did that mean you wanted to spend time with him?

Donnie was speaking before he could stop himself. “I can’t say I enjoy events like this. I won’t know the chefs. I prefer to critique outdoor food prep as it’s never up to New York code. I won’t conjure a peppy demeanor. The sounds. The sights. I will surely be in a bad mood.” 

That sounded terrible. 

If he was trying to sell himself he was doing the opposite. 

Was he trying to talk you or himself out of going?

You and Mikey were painfully quiet. 

Mikey was right; he was too much in his own head. 

His eyes closed.

“I d-don’t mind any of that…”

Right.

It didn’t matter with who, you just wanted to go. 

He was moronic for letting his little brother convince him otherwise. 

You needed a body and barrier for the crowds. 

It didn’t make sense for you to go alone. 

Donnie didn’t want to be used and yet here he was offering himself up. 

He held off a sigh.

That was his own doing.

“I d-don’t… e-expect you to… be Mikey…” You were firm even in your stammer. 

His pupil trailed off, afraid to search for you.

“You’re… you.” 

Him. 

“As l-long as M-Mikey d-didn’t force you…? Um… I-if you really d-don’t mind going…? I… w-want to go…” Your legs slid out of his vision as you pulled them up close to your body out of fear.

You.

“With you…” You looked straight at him. “I want to go… with you.” 

There was a moment where Donnie could only hear his heart in his tympanum. 

“It’ll be fun.” Mikey interjected casually.

You nodded a little too furiously.

How did you do that?

Donnie thought his heart might escape the cae of his chest. “If you’re that determined and don’t mind my lack of enthusiasm then I suppose it’s settled.”

“D-don’t you want… d-dumplings?” You turned to him with a sort of offense. 

“A dough with a wide ranging definition?” Donnie shared a look he hoped translated some levity.

You took note of it and pouted.

He smiled.

Your features softened and you gave one of your own. “W-we’ll f-find one y-you like.”

Donnie gave an interested hum.

He did like an objective.

“Good for you, Y/N.” Mikey spoke encouragement. “You can finally check something off the mega list.”

Donnie blinked once towards his brother and back to you. “Mega list?”

You flushed and disappeared from his sight. “I-it’s nothing!”

Mikey clucked with laughter. “Y/N is actually a fiend at making lists. I called it the mega one, but it’s like their anxiety bucket list of things they want to do someday.”

“You make lists?” Donnie turned an alluring gaze on you. “Let me see.”

You made lists.

He loved that.

He could barely contain himself.

There was so much he didn’t know.

He wanted more.

He wanted every detail.

He was voracious.

“It’s not…” You started to protest, but moved to flip through your phone before offering a page up. “D-don’t expect m-much… M-Mikey m-made it seem b-big… but it’s just a few things that I’ve n-never been able to… do…”

Donnie took great care in plucking your device out of your grasp and read.

Dumpling Night Market

Planetarium Show

Theater Performance

Amusement Park  

Donnie smiled. “Nice formatting.”

Mikey hummed agreement.

Donnie rolled his eyes and held your phone out.

You took it with a tentative look in your eye.

“It took forever to convince Y/N they were ready for even one list item.” Mikey mentioned to Donnie before looking at you. “I’m really glad you won’t miss it again.”  

You gave an excited nod and held your phone close.

“I will escort you with that in mind.” Donnie told you.

Mikey put a hand on your head. “Now, kids! I better see you back by curfew!”

Mikey was scolded from two sides until he couldn’t contain his laughter.

-

You were late.

You were so late.

Your keychain thumped in tandem with the lightweight bag against your hip as you ran. Plowing forward, you did your best not to bump into anyone. You managed, but still received several dirty looks. Trying to shrug them off as you felt bad enough, you hit a crosswalk buzzing with traffic. Mingling with the others, you checked your phone to find Donnie’s last message was the one confirming he’d meet you there.

You hadn’t meant to be late.

You wanted to meet him beforehand.

You’d wanted to talk to him in a place where you didn’t have to battle against the noise of a crowd. 

You wanted more time.

You were finally going to see him.

There was a blip and pedestrians were given the go ahead. You picked up the pace and moved with the throng as you grew closer to your destination. Only a few streets away from the night market, you jogged as best you could with the thickening crowds. The group was converging on the same place and your heart sank as you realized it would be nearly impossible to find Donnie.

That was until you saw him, lifted above the other heads with his goggles down, and doing an obvious scan of everyone entering.

You moved as obviously toward him as you could and when he spied you, he clicked his goggles up and dropped down from whatever had lifted him. Within a few more steps you were united and he snagged your arm against the pull of the crowd before gesturing behind him. You trailed with him, trying not to linger on the warmth of his touch until he tucked you in beside an open area of fence.

You were with him. 

You were finally together. 

For every terror you had about this event, it was immediately either worth it or forgotten. 

“Let’s see…” Knowing he wouldn’t lose you gave him the confidence to observe you. “Your footwear is sensible. Perfect and what’s this...?”

He turned his hand over in an obvious gesture as he carefully took the Black Bean plush clipped to your bag.

“A good luck charm…” You told him.

He appraised it and you with an appreciative eye before he released. “I find your outfit commendable.”

You looked down at yourself with a smile. “I thought long and hard. I have this bag so it’s easy to get to my stuff without being a pickpocket target. I tested out to make sure the plush wasn’t going anywhere. These are my most comfortable shoes and I picked clothes that didn’t stick out or have loops so I won’t get caught on anything!”

When you brought your gaze up, you found him staring with large eyes.

“U-uh, i-is s-something w-wrong?! I t-thought…” You almost wished you had an errant sleeve to tug on.

“No.” He reached out tenderly and took both of your hands. “Nothing at all.” 

“I-I?!” You squeezed him. “Then w-what is it?”

He shook his head. 

There was something to him. 

The carefree nonchalance said everything was as it should be. 

You believed him. 

“Can I also assume you have a plan of attack?” He asked with a bright gaze. 

You perked up. 

All your planning was not only worthy, but requested. 

You pulled from him immediately to get your phone.

He leaned in and you showed him the map you had drawn up. “I researched the past events and then tiered the vendors based on what we have to get. It’s impossible to eat everything, unfortunately.”

You peeked at him and found that same warmth on his face.

It translated to yours and your lips warbled in not knowing how to ask what was stirring him.

Whatever it was, you hoped it kept up.

You felt indebted to him.

Both because you could finally spend time with him and attend this event.

You wanted to do anything that would make this outing easier for him.

You wanted to do anything for him. 

You liked him.

Overwhelmed by a rush of butterflies, you pointed out a nervous finger. “I-if I h-had gotten h-here earlier, w-we could have g-gotten at line for the m-most popular booth… N-now I doubt it’ll m-matter… They’ll s-sell out…”

“I’ll monitor. I can estimate crowds and chart approximate movement.” His chin bobbed and with a sharp snap his goggles fell into place over his eyes.

You hid your giggle behind your phone.

His observation skills were adorable. 

It was hard to recall the time you dreaded them.

You guessed that was the case for everything in your life as of late. 

“Show me your map once more. I’ll log it.”

You adjusted the size and held it up to him.

His goggles made no sound, but his head eventually moved away with a purpose that said he got all he needed. “Only three people are in line at booth option 104. Let’s move.”

You gave yourself one last mental pep talk as you walked. While you coached yourself, Donnie took the lead position in line. Once there, he appropriately judged the people in front, the vendor, and then finally you as he turned to speak.

His mouth was open when you realized you hadn’t started a single conversation the entire time you’d been with him. 

You hadn’t even told him hello.

You went straight into a stupid spiel about yourself before tending to the one man you wanted to take care of more than anything. Flushed at your sudden mountain of failures, you waffled on options and made a pitched sound. His brow cocked an exaggerated high for you to see and he closed his lips so you could take your turn. 

You had interrupted him on top of everything else. 

You could not be ruining this date anymore.

Date.

Where your cheeks were already hot, they exploded.

That wasn’t what this was.

You were barely friends.

You’d barely seen him in 7 months.

Half a year was the time lost from when you told him you liked him in his own kitchen.

You presumed nothing.

You had gone through this already.

You had no idea if he still liked you.

By all accounts, he seemingly didn’t.

In all the small moments you had seen him since, he hadn’t reacted at all. You’d tried sending your lingering intentions to speak to him with your eyes alone, but none of them had coaxed him. You had worked so hard to be appealing. You didn’t dare consider it flirting, but you had looked up non-verbal techniques from ancient magazines. There was a shifting gaze under your lashes that was supposed to be alluring. You’d practiced it for hours in a mirror until you attempted it on him. He hadn’t even glanced at you for more than a second before he was gone. You did it wrong, you were sure after that, but you tried again and again.

All until Mikey had taken notice and asked why you were giving Donnie the stink eye.

You had nearly burst into tears.

A few talks later and Mikey encouraged to actually talk to Donnie, but that was easier said than done.

You need to get his attention, but catching him felt more like hailing a busy waiter in a restaurant. Walking up to him out of the blue was a moot point. The tenuous steps you would take in his direction would undoubtably match the time necessary to talk yourself out of it. All you could do was wait for his attention. For weeks, then months, you waited with darting eyes and hope he would walk your way, but he did. 

He caught you off guard by appearing on a day when Mikey said he would be busy. Despite failing that conversational tree in every way possible, you still ended up here. All your previous worries were founded as here you were, once again getting ahead of yourself on top of a mounting trash pile of shortcomings. Your lip warbled and you felt your throat tighten around sound, but it was swallowed up by the crowd.

The line moved. 

Donnie took his dutiful step with it. 

You followed after and stared at the ground. 

What were you doing?

You were wallowing.

You rolled on the bottom of your comfortable sneakers.

Their cushions kept your feet safe.

You were safely buried in your own psyche.

It felt like too much was on you.

You needed to lead.

You needed to have a good time.

You needed to make sure Donnie did too.

Feeling mixed up, you screwed your eyes shut.

The only thing you could thank the crowd for was that it blanketed your misery. 

For now you were alone in your cold, dark mind.

The empty void where time wasted away.

A smell wafted up to your nose.

One of many that seemed to come and go, this one lingered.

Cracking an eye, sound rushed you first before you realized a small brown tub holding two dumplings in it was being held at your chest level.

It brought your eyes which you traced up to find Donnie’s arm extending them.

He was on the other side with a casual look on his face and his own boat in his other hand.

Your breath came out stuttered and you looked back to the vendor where you were clearly in the way of the line.

You scrambled a few steps to the side while murmuring a string of apologies. 

Donnie followed after, still trying to get you to take the dish.

You grabbed it with both hands. “I don’t… I didn’t tell you what kind… I’m sorry. You had to pay and-”

“I got the one you marked: traditional vegetable momo, aka the most famous at the stand along with the spicy dipping sauce, which was mistakenly placed in my container.” Since you freed his hand up, he plucked the little plastic cup and placed it into your boat.

“But…?”

“Your list.”

You looked down at the faint steam wafting from your food. 

“Your plan was thorough.” He urged you to go ahead and used a toothpick to scoop up one of his momos. 

You rushed to catch up to him and took an immediate bite. Piping hot to the point it scalded, you blew out a few times before the flavor and juices hit your tongue. You then shot starry eyes in Donnie’s direction which he received with a nod. “There’s this girl-” You were careful in pouring a bit of sauce over your other momo. “-she’s obsessed with any kind of chili oil and makes it look so good, but I’m a little scared it’ll be too much.”

“A girl?” He asked as he chewed.

“Someone I follow on social for food in the area. Her videos are so good and she’s super honest. I can’t go to sleep until I’ve watched one. It’s a good thing she posts daily!” You took your second bite with a bit more care and felt the spice blend mingle into the dish. “So good!”

“Quite.” Donnie tapped his tech gauntlet.

Your mouth was full so you couldn’t ask, but you tilted your head in question at his action.

He extended his arm to show the screen had a list of what he would eat and his ratings. “Michael told me to bring back a full report. He knows not what he’s wrought!”

You giggled as you swallowed. “I like doing that t-too! I can look back and think ‘yes, I did love the veggie one!’”

Donnie made it obvious as he added another table and punctuated it with your name. “How many categories would you like to rank them on?”

You stepped a bit closer to him and took his boat to free up his hands. “I’ll stick with one.”

Donnie had a slight wrinkle to his beak in judgment, so he added notes for item, stall, and then an open blank for review.

You dictated your thoughts to him and he took them down word for word.

You watched him then switch back to his own list where he noted food temperature. 

He wrote until you built up enough steam yourself. “Donnie…?”

“Yes?” He didn’t look up.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He wanted to linger on his review, but he drug his eyes to yours.

You saw a clear expression there.

Had he really not noticed?

He usually noticed when you were upset.

Had you banked on that too much?

This was an easy situation to get over-stimulated in.

Did he just not care?

You had no idea where he stood.

“Y/N.” His head lowered some, closer to your vision.

“Y-yes?”

“For what?” He pressed again and one corner of his lips turned up the slightest amount.

He had known.

You hadn’t overestimated.

He cared.

He just wasn’t making it a big deal.

Because it wasn’t.

Your heart filled and you gave him a watery smile. “I was so excited I forgot to say hello!”

His lips expanded with a bit of bright teeth. “True. You were so tardy that it interfered with our entrance.”

You jolted. “I’m sorry! I s-swear I had packed everything in my bag, but suddenly I couldn’t find my emergency kit and I can’t leave home without it!”

“Emergency kit?” He took back his trash and yours with some amusement.

“It’s…” You looked up the top corner of your vision in an attempt to seek out a way to explain it without making you sound insane. “Not… like a first aid kit, but a kit… to well… Um… Cover anything? It has bandages, burn gel, mint chapstick, a to-go pack of antacids, a fishing line, an emergency blanket, hand sanitizer, a granola bar….”

Donnie eyed you with a growing smile.

“Everything's tiny!” You made a box with your hands no bigger than your fist. “The whole thing is like this! It’s compact!”

“Tell me about the fishing line while we head towards number seven on your list; the line has been moving fast.” He swept a hand, but led toward said stall.

You followed after trying to explain how fishing line could be used for not only its intended purpose, but also as thread for clothing or stitches. You went into far too much detail about its utility for your liking and hadn’t realized until it was too late that you’d launched into a story where you’d once helped a friend with it when her bra strap had broken. He seemed undeterred by your babbling and eventually took his turn in explaining his battle shells. They had a litany of their own emergency provisions and you eventually had soup dumplings in hand. This time you let them cool and you shared that you had misplaced the kit because you’d refreshed its supply of stomach medicine for just this event.

“Worried about adventurous eating?” Donnie gestured to his dish.

You gave a guilty nod.

He pushed no further and switched gears to eating and exchanging notes.

Both from the delicious dumpling and because Donnie had not only indulged, but sympathized with your preparedness, you were warmed. He took extra time writing his review and you watched him unabashedly. Letting affection leak on your face, you only wanted to know more. You wanted to know what he thought about every stall even if you couldn’t eat at them. You wanted to walk with him and learn about every invention he ever made. You wanted more of those not so sly confirmations that he was present when with you.

When he finished and moved to pass you a comment, you hadn’t had time to put the love struck expression away.

You also didn’t bother hiding it.

You watched him take it in before he gave a metered one of his own that held a tinge as if it couldn’t be helped.

“Hi.” You spoke the syllable in a voice that sounded melodic to your ears.

It caught him off guard and his brow bent. “Hello…?”

“I wanted to… thank you for coming with me.” You shifted your weight and tried your best to open you body language. 

You wanted to hug him, but had no idea how to initiate. 

You didn’t like relying on him, but it was all you could do. 

He studied you very closely before he seemed unsure in offering one of his hands. 

You remembered how he’d grabbed you when you’d entered the night market. 

It warmed your cheeks and you slid your fingers past his palm to instead grasp his forearm. 

He allowed it. “Glad to be here.”

You moved your other hand up as a signal. 

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised.” This time he placed his arm into your hand to match the other side. 

You held steady as you ramped yourself up for more. 

“The crowd is otherwise tame.” 

You moved your grip up to his elbows. 

“The food’s been enjoyable.” 

You stepped into his space. 

“I can’t say I mind the company.” He spied you. 

Your shoulders rose, sheepish. 

“I wonder…” His head lowered, but he pointedly looked away as if searching for something else. “You seem to want something.” 

“Y-yeah…?” Your fingers curled around his upper arm. 

“You can’t hide a thing on that face of yours.” 

“My face…?” You tried to look up to him, but he was already there, hunched close. 

You were caught by the teasing in his eyes. 

He chuckled lightly and moved to encase you. 

You were ready to return his affection when you caught a glimpse of someone walking by.

You dipped out of Donnie’s hold and started jogging towards that direction. “Donnie! One is open!! Number one! The number one!”

You couldn’t look back where you’d left him behind. 

This seemed like your only chance. 

He appeared with longer legs to surpass you and snapped up the first spot in line at the stall against several other people trying to do the same. 

You joined him at his hip and sent him the full brunt of your gratitude. 

You didn’t feel great about ducking him, but you hoped he understood. 

You never saw his face as the vendor had his attention. 

“Good timing!” The man at the stall cheered. “I just got a fresh batch ready. Almost ran out, but my son came through!”

“This early?” Donnie had a judgmental tone.

You bumped him lightly as you tried not to dance in place.

“You see…” The man opened a steamer and disappeared in a meat-scented blaze. “I usually have a surplus, but there was a party earlier today and my best staff member is on maternity leave!”

“I see…” Donnie nodded, evaluating.

“Surprise boy! Three weeks early.” He placed three dumplings each in two bags. “You won’t see me close. We shall continue on!”

“Good luck to both of you.” Donnie paid and took the food which he immediately passed off as you couldn’t wait.

The man cheered behind before taking the next customer’s order.

Your hands were warmed and you cradled both crinkling sacks while staring through the steam at Donnie. “I can’t believe you tried to sass number one!”

“I’m allowed judge. You got your results.” He cocked a lazy grin as he pinched his portion free from your hold.

“I didn’t think we’d get these!” Your grin was so wide you felt the wafting mist brush your teeth. “I can’t wait. I’ll deal with the burns tomorrow!”

“The list says bao, but there are a litany of varieties. They need to stop curtailing their naming conventions for Americans… What kind are they…?” Donnie pondered as he searched for something.

You secured a bit of fluffy dough and sank your teeth into the scorching softness. 

This was the stuff famous stalls were known for.

You couldn’t help it.

You tossed your head back and gave a full mouthed moan.

You heard a shutter click and shot to attention.

Donnie lowered his phone from where he’d spun around to take a selfie with your euphoric moment. “Good one.”

“H-hey!” You tried to grab the device.

He pulled it away before showing you the well composed image.

You didn’t look bad.

You looked ecstatic.

You dropped a certain level of your complaint.

“Come on…” He held out a hand and flapped his fingers for you to give him his compliment.

“You should have asked.” You told him as if that was a tip and stuffed the rest of the bun in your mouth.

“Well I never!” He feigned a scandalized gasp.

You hummed the notes of ‘I can’t hear you’ as you chewed.

He took another photo and you chased him. “But those cheeks!”

You swallowed hard. ”Donnie!”

“Cute.” He jeered and led you purposefully to another stall.

You bumped annoyed into his battle shell as you waited behind him.

“This one wasn’t listed…” He spoke with a new cadence as if he hadn’t realized where he’d gone.

“Huh?” Your phone was out as soon as his goggles came down. “How can that be…?”

“It’s not on the vendor map.” Donnie turned and pulled his goggles up in time. “How do you account for a situation like this?”

“Try it!” You pulled eager fists up. “A surprise contender!”

He chuckled and seemed to remember his last purchase which he munched on until it was your turn to order.

He quizzed the stall owner on their admittance to the market and came to learn they had slipped in last minute due to a friend of a friend. Donnie openly criticized the sloppy admission process, but you still came away with a set of gyoza. You listened to him pout as you ate yours and eventually prompted him to try. He was only slightly abated by how tasty they were and you cycled through stall after stall.

Talking all while you walked and ate, you eventually grew fatigued of all the wrapped foods and got a pair of fruit teas in bags. The dark coloring and vague menu meant you hadn’t known they were packed with grass jelly which Donnie choked on with his first sip. Put off from the texture and experience, he dumped his while you sipped more carefully on yours. A drink a little too large, you ruminated over wasting it, but it also weighed heavily in your hand. 

While you switched it to your other palm, Donnie tapped your shoulder and gestured for you to follow him. You trailed after and he brought you to a clear spot against a planter box. He hopped up to sit on one side and you stared at its height. It was something you would have to jump up onto you and you weren’t prepared. Struggling further as your drink wasn’t really made to be put down, Donnie took it. You thanked him abysmally as that wasn’t a solution to your true problem. You didn’t have the best track record with getting up on high seats, but you willed with your entire being for this to work. Lowering your core, you hopped up the best you could. 

You missed and scraped your leg as you slid back down to your feet.

Humiliated and hanging onto the planter for dear life, you waited for the inevitable shutter of Donnie immortalizing your humiliation.

Only the sounds of the market continued to drone on.

Peeking at him, you found him looking ahead where his eye darted lazily as he people watched.

You jumped, but missed yet again.

This was the part where Mikey would swoop in.

This was the part you assumed Donnie would too.

Your failing.

Waiting to be scooped up like the child you were, again nothing happened.

This time checking on Donnie found him reviewing the map.

“You’re… not…?” You murmured even though you hadn’t meant to.

“Not what?” He didn’t give you his eye and flicked his thumb to scroll. “We’re nearing the end of your required targets. When we return, let’s get a sweet bun so our taste buds don’t fatigue as quickly since we had a failing in our… drink debacle.”

“Sure…” You looked down at the brick you clung to.

Was he downplaying again?

If you asked, would he help?

You had several more questions stewing, but for the first time tonight you narrowed your gaze and told them no.

Uncharacteristic of yourself, the negative thoughts shirked away into the recesses.

You were tired of it.

You were tired of missing out when none of the things you’d worried about had once gotten in the way. Tonight was a rousing success and you weren’t even feeling that sense of doom that happiness would inevitably lead to ruin. It felt only like everything was as it should be and with a heave, you hoisted yourself up onto the planter and right next to Donnie’s side.

He gave a light chuff. “Look what Raph just sent me.”

Careful and with a certain distance, he tucked an arm behind your back to stabilize himself as he leaned in to show you the projected screen on his gauntlet. You looked at it and felt yourself sinking into his presence. Everything he did tonight was calculated and non-intrusive. While he helped lead, everything he did was orchestrated from your plan. 

You giggled for many more reasons than just the video he showed you. Donnie hummed a sort of affection and swiped so a related video would come up. It almost seemed like he wanted to hear you laugh again. He wanted you to be happy. He wanted to share his light with you as it was shared with him. You leaned in enough that you could play it off as bumping his shoulder, but you gingerly rested your head against him.

He stilled.

You lifted off and commented something about what you had just seen.

You gave him cover. 

You made a mistake.

You assumed.

Just because one wanted their companion in good spirits didn’t mean they had adjunct feelings.

That was fine. 

You were here with him. 

You were having a great night. 

It was okay that his reply was taking too long. 

You had misjudged his intention. 

You knew your place. 

You wouldn't touch him again. 

That almost hug earlier would have been too much. 

It was a blessing that you had interrupted it. 

You logged the information.

It was fine.

You were fine.

His arm shifted and he gripped the brick on the other side of your hip which tucked you in against him.

From the side of his body to his entire arm, he pressed around you. 

It was your turn to tense.

He didn’t shirk away and brought up another video.

Still waiting for his retreat, you let that one cycle for exactly one minute until you found he hadn’t moved. 

Was that an offer?

You were terrified to find out. 

Yet your head tipped and pressed against him a second time. 

For a millisecond every one of your atoms screamed guilt. 

He squeezed you ever so slightly. 

It dispelled your concerns in an instant. 

He’d been startled just as you had. 

You felt drunk off the moment and laughed a little too loud as a lovebird tossed a toy in a jealous fit.

Scrolling there and onto other videos, you spent so long going back and forth sharing things that you only sot of registered that the crowd was tapering off. Donnie shut his gauntlet down while clearing his throat and said the timeline would need adjusting. You hopped off the planter for a relatively alright landing. He stood next, showing you your drink bag that loosely hung from his wrist and tipped his head toward the trash. You nodded furiously, thankful you had an excuse to get rid of it, and he made the quick trip to dump it.

You followed after him, having made some mental adjustments to the schedule and you shared them with him. He agreed with your calculations and together you rushed one line. There you each got dampfnudel and meant to take it with you to the next stall. The line there appeared to be good cover so you could eat your current faire, but time caught up with you. You were still waiting with empty trays after the German dish was devoured. You hummed nervously as you looked across the walkway to see the final stall on your list, your last must have, looking like they were about to close. 

You bumped Donnie in your anxiety. 

He only had to take one look to see what your concern was. “It would make the most sense to split up.” 

“You’re right…” You nodded, trying not to show how downtrodden you were.

“I’ll be quick.” He brushed by you as he slipped away.

You meant to watch after his form, but he spun around and walked a mechanical backwards toward the stall so he could watch you instead.

You giggled and, at first, covered your mouth before you shifted to cup your lips. “Behind you! Your left!”

Donnie dodged a group of kids who rushed around his feet.

He sent you a thumbs up before he neared the cart and finally turned around.

“Move!” Someone behind you shouted and you scrambled as your line moved.

Heart thudding out of your chest for more than one reason, you only spared Donnie glances where he seemed to be talking to the vendor for a little too long. Knowing that probably meant they were sold out, you resigned yourself to having missed one. The trip was nowhere near a loss, but there was something frustrating about getting so close to a perfect run. Stepping forward one last time, you felt Donnie near you and turned to find him toting one single cup.

You looked over it and then him.

He held it just out of your reach.

“What’s up?”

“The last of the night was sold ten minutes ago.” He looked over his holding.

“Then what is…?” You moved up on the tips of your toes to try and look inside.

“How did you put it? Try something new when there’s a surprise contender?” He finally lowered the object so you could see inside.

You spied a splash of warm looking stew topped with a few springy balls of dough.

“I told him about your conquest and he found it impressive. He made me wait as he showed me his dinner. He said it was Madombi that his sister made. He insisted it fits the dumpling theme and that we take some. He talked up his sister’s cooking and forced me to accept an invitation to his brick and mortar restaurant. He tried to give me an entire pot, but I bargained him down to a sample.” He passed you the dish.

You took it with radiating surprise.

“I hope it's suitable… It was the best I could do.”

“Donnie-!”

“PAY ATTENTION!!!” The guy behind you looked to be one step away from body slamming you.

Donnie rose to his full height and glowered down at the man. “We were in the middle of a conversation.”

The man made a peep very much like a scared chicken.

Turning, Donnie tucked a hand behind your back and led you the few paces forward that had you fallen behind in line.

“You didn’t have to…” You murmured, cradling the warm cup.

“True. I wanted to.” He clarified, his hand not moving.

You snatched a spoon from the closest stall as you hadn’t gotten utensils and worked carefully in creating a perfect little bite.

You felt Donnie watching you and the line.

Once you crafted everything you hoped, you held it up to him. “You s-should get the first bite…”

His face was painted with affection. “It’s for you.”

You didn’t relent and only said, “If you d-don’t want it, that’s one t-thing, but…”

He came down in a snap bend and popped the tip of the spoon in his mouth while maintaining eye contact.

You inhaled sharply and watched intently as he came away from the utensil clean.

He then adjusted his posture and considered the taste.

You came away from the one heart throbbing interaction and went straight into the next as you now saw your spoon as an indirect kiss. There was always the option to get another utensil, but you used the excuse of the line stepping forward to abandon that and got your own bite. When you came up to share your thoughts, Donnie was making notes and had your section ready. You dictated your thoughts for him, but you were cut off when the vendor suddenly asked, “What’ll it be?” 

“O-oh, can we get two…?” You checked the menu and found it to be a sleek one food item and one drink. “… bowls, please?”

The worker thanked you and you took a turn to pay while suddenly feeling terrible that you barely had all night.

Now juggling three containers, you turned them to Donnie where he took one of his own.

The two of you walked out of the way of the grumpy man behind you and you debated cross contamination in finishing both dishes so close together.

“I need to pay you back…” You murmured and ate the last bite of Madombi.

“Hm.” There was an airy dismissiveness to Donnie’s tone.

You shot him a look that he pretended to ignore as he sipped the broth from his cup.

You shook your head at him and worked through your new offering while sharing your thoughts. There was another pit stop at a trash can where you worried over how filled they were and all the trash that had been created by this event. Donnie spoke of future technology to deal with waste and you listened with warm interest as he did a good job in simplifying the technical jargon. When you praised him, he only said he had years of practice with a haunted look.

Knowing the audience he was referring to, you gave him a wrinkled gaze. “Do you want to get them something to-go?”

Donnie’s beak scrunched up.

You giggled.

He waved the thought off, but you could tell you planted the idea.

You didn’t make a big deal out of him bringing back up his list and scrolling back through it to see if any contenders were applicable for transport. You mentioned the bao and he seemed to like the idea. You both then wandered with a belly filled saunter back towards that stall.

Night truly reigned over the market as many of the stalls were no longer lit. People were leaking out of the space and seemed to appear between pockets of light from overhead lamps. You drew close to Donnie and were just lulled enough to consider taking his hand when you reached the bao stall to find it closed.

“Well! That’s too bad!” Donnie seemed pleased until something else occurred to him. “We… did we complete your list?”

“I think so…” You got your phone out to double check and listed the stalls you meant to try.

Donnie filled in each notation with what you’d eaten.

“That’s… all of them…” You slowed and stared at your phone with a growing gooeyness to your gaze.

You’d done it.

You’d managed to do the event.

You’d completed your quest with only minor delay. 

Now it was over.

Watching your screen darken, you felt a tug in your chest. There was no excuse now and it had been a few hours since you met. You and Donnie would go your separate ways. It seemed all too fast and there no longer seemed like enough time. In a small fit of dismay, you turned that worry up to him to find him scanning the market with his own urgency.

A bubble of hope said he felt the same.

“Walk me home…?” You whispered as quiet as you could, fearful of your own boldness.

You watched the question permeate him regardless and he came down at you with metered lids. “Of course.”

You gave a withheld nod, joy flooding where you earned yourself another block of time with him.

You might have been projecting, but he seemed just as happy for it and he gestured for you to lead.

You feigned a courteous bow before doing so and he moved beside you to give you his closing remarks on the whole event. He held nothing back, complaining loudly of disorganization and poor line management. You watched on with an obvious fondness. Even though he pulled eyes with his volume, you liked how honest he was. It was how he always carried himself. It felt as though you never had to worry about bothering him because he was going to abashedly let you know the moment something did.

In your distant periphery, you saw a huge swing of movement.

It was a stark contrast to the people meandering around and you slowed.

Donnie took a few more steps before noticing and you got a clear view across the lot.

Just outside of the market proper, there was a stall set up. Something informal, a man stood before a giant flaming pot. He swung high with some type of squeeze bottle in hand and spiraled out what appeared to be dough in perfect coordination. He had amassed a small crowd and you saw another man behind him scoop golden loops out of the burning pot with a comically large spider. The two moved in perfect harmony and you saw fried spirals fly between them. 

“Jalebi…” You spoke with knowledge you didn’t possess as you hadn’t actually seen the dish crafted.

“Pardon?” Donnie fumbled back to your side while also trying to catch what you were looking at.

“I’ve never seen a jalebi stand for real.” You told him, mesmerized as more dough was spun. “There’s videos of street markets online, but never one here. They have it at restaurants, but you don’t see this part…”

Donnie finally located the stall in question and griped. “That is not legal. An open flame like that? They’re begging to be run off.”

You moved closer to Donnie as his complaint broke your intrigue.

He was right. 

You would stay at this distance.

You could watch safely without culpability.

Even the chance of getting yelled at was something you preferred to avoid.

“Yeah…” You forced it to the ground. “Y-you were s-saying s-something about… um…? Oh! You were upset about the stands closing at different times?”

“Yes.” He waited beside you. “If they’re a coordinated effort then…”

He immediately tapered off.

His silence weighed heavily so you looked up to see what had stopped him.

Instead of elsewhere, his gaze was keenly trained on you. 

“What is it?” His head tilted.

You stuttered your confusion.

“Why did you give up just now?” He appeared to loom.

You shrank. “G-give up?”

“Jalebi!” He gestured behind him. “You couldn’t look away. You clearly wanted some, so what changed your mind? Is it because I lacked interest? Are you simply full? Was it the spectacle?”

His attitude change seemed harsh and you flinched further.

He held his stance.

The weight of his gaze became suffocating. “D-Donnie, I-”

“Be honest.” It was a plea.

It was unlike his body language.

It pulled your eye.

This time you tried to examine him without pretense.

Where you’d read anger, you now read frustration.

His drawn brows said it was less with you and more about what he didn’t understand.

He’d been so good to you this evening.

He’d been watching.

The thought repeated and you stepped a little closer to him.

The sharpness of his eye softened, but he continued to beg you for information.

He’d been trying harder than you even noticed to be supportive.

Now that he was faced with a situation where he didn’t know the best course, he’d piped right up with his honesty.

You moved close enough and lightly touched his arm. “I-I’m worried s-since it’s illegal…”

He chuffed into a smile. “You’ve kept the wrong company.”

You blinked up at his insinuation.

“I am very often on the supposedly incorrect side of the law.” He explained with a cock of his brow that said you should very well know that.

You looked down and remembered clearly how he’d terrorized you.

He’d also been building a rocket.

Among a dozen other little borderline nefarious notes you’d heard.

You tapped him once to illustrate you recalled and a second time to give yourself a moment before you looked at him anew.

“I… d-don’t want to get yelled at.” You tried again.

“You won’t.” His face was set in determination and you thought you should always clarify your responses from now on. “How about this? I’ll keep watch and you get yourself one of whatever that is.”

“M-me-!?” You squeaked out until the rest of your horror at having to order something alone took your tongue.

He seemed ready for it. “What are you worried about? You’ve already made one independent purchase tonight.”

For a moment, you didn’t know what he was talking about.

Then it struck you that you’d been the one to order at that last stall.

You hadn’t even noticed.

You’d been distracted.

You’d been out of your head.

He watched on with a half cocked grin as you came to all those realizations.

You resisted sinking into him and offset the feeling by leaning close. “W-was it a t-trick?”

“No.” He reached up and lightly traced your arm. “It was all you.”

“You…” You fought a million more worries and thought of the strength you could siphon from him. “… don’t want any?”

“I don’t know what it is. I’ll reserve the right to taste if that changes your order. You will surprise me with your decision upon you return successful.” He had a levity to his voice.

He made it a game.

He gave you a challenge.

One that was achievable and had a clear reward.

You turned up watery eyes to him and gave a sharp nod.

He stepped out of your way.

You marched straight toward the stand and held your anxiety by the throat. You weren’t going to let a drop of your resolve slip away and you entered the line. You added one caveat to the contest; you weren’t going to make it harder and instead, you were going to sweeten the pot. You decided you weren’t going to look at Donnie until you had your treat. 

The line stepped forward.

You followed suit.

He was there.

He was watching.

He was your safety net.

You would see him the moment you were successful. 

You could do this on your own.

You didn’t need an obvious guiding light.

It was always hanging there above.

Supposedly cold, but in actuality made of overflowing warmth.

Another step and you were next in line.

The men running the stand laughed between themselves.

You had a sense that they were putting on a display to make the most of their time. 

You decided the laws regarding food carts in this city were silly.

Everyone was just doing their best to make it.

It was your turn.

You ordered two with a punctuated peace sign and the man taking your order beamed you a smile for it. He passed something off to the other guy glazing the dough and you watched as there was a flourish of sugar crystals. You were then passed a folded wad of paper with two sticky treats folded inside. Translating your thanks first with your gaze then your wallet, you turned and felt invincible as you headed toward Donnie.

He had a casual lean to his stance and offered you a slow clap as you approached.

“I did it.” You spoke highly.

“You did.” He agreed with a similar sweetness to what was in your hand. “Now tell me what jalebi is.”

You chuckled and unfurled your pack to walk and talk. You told him what you knew and the travel videos you watched. You admitted your guilty pleasure of having them on in the background along with cooking videos. Donnie related that to you getting along with Mikey and you dispelled the notion. Sharing with him your concerns of inadequacy, you took your first bite and had to stop. It was an intense burst of flavor. Pricked with happy tears, you took a few more bites and skipped to catch up to Donnie.

He almost timidly asked about his portion. You split the two you had and fumbled an apology as you gave him one. He took it by steadying your hand and you felt heated when he pulled away. You buried your flush into fried dough and he probed you about what other street foods you wanted to try. It became a steady back and forth that morphed as you walked. You felt like you had gone a great distance as your current topic of discussion was what TV universe you were each best suited to survive in. 

“Ah, to fight alongside Atomic Lass…” Donnie mooned.

You drank in his cuteness like a fine wine.

“Oh.” He said suddenly and stopped.

You missed the cue and made it a few more steps before turning back. “What?”

“We’re here.” He was looking up at your apartment.

“O-oh…” You hadn’t noticed.

His pupil darted for a moment before he swept it up to you. “I have become a big enough mutant to admit when I am wrong: I was wrong about dumplings. They are truly a wide spanning dish that is worthy of a dedicated market.”

You smiled and shifted side to side in an obvious way that you were eating up his admittance.

“Yes, yes.” He let you have it with an eye roll. “Thank you.”

You shook your head. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Yes.” He stepped closer. “You could have.”

Hug.

You were overcome with the desire to hug him. 

You wanted your hug from earlier. 

Was that alright?

You suddenly weren’t sure.

You wanted to wipe your hands.

You knew they weren’t sticky because you’d been careful, but you didn’t want to chance making him uncomfortable.

A handshake.

Was that a normal goodbye?

How did you sum up your gratitude?

“I’m proud of you.” He said.

Your heart could have exploded out of your chest and you would have been none the wiser.

“I hadn’t brought attention to each and every victory as that is not my style of learning, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you overall praise. You did wonderfully tonight and your progress is phenomenal. Good job.”

You reached for him at an aching pace. 

You had to touch him. 

You had to. 

He met you with a flowing lift of his arms. 

You used them as obvious leverage as your face drew close to his chest. 

He moved in for the motion of a hug and his arms tucked behind you.

You ghosted up his limbs on a trek for his neck. 

He dipped close ready to slot your bodies together.

You caught your hands behind his head, brushing his mask tails in the process, before you used your locked digits to pull him flush to you.

He came easily and trended toward the side to tuck his cheek beside yours.

You wove your head, interrupting his course, and gave him a single lashed look. 

You perceived desire off him and you leaned in just shy of kissing into him.

His beak wrinkled with a squiggly grin and his lids swung shit as he closed the distance.

In a near instant shift, you deepened the lip lock.

You missed this.

Monumentally so.

His sweetness was enhanced by the treat on his tongue.

You needed more. 

You weren’t going to waste a second. 

You released your hands to instead coil your arms around his neck. 

It bumped you apart where he tugged you back in a needy press. 

Kissing once for each month since your last, you were forced to part only because you required oxygen.

Don’t apologize. “I couldn’t help it…” 

“Good.” He spoke heat.

You kissed one more time to grow on before he shifted his grip.

He hugged you tightly.

He squeezed until it was almost too much before he lifted you off the ground and joy brought him to spin you.

“Finally!” He raved.

You were both giggling as he set you back down and peppered you with an assault of kisses. “Donnie!”

“See me again. Planetarium. Let’s do your list.” He told you with a fire in his eye. “Together.” 

How could you deny that? “And that restaurant?”

“Dinner and a show. That will be our proper date.”

“Because this…?” You flushed off to the side.

“I don’t care for retroactive naming.” He squeezed your attention back. “I’m looking forward. I’m asking you out now, right now.”

“I accept…” You told him. 

“You accept.” He repeated to cement the words.

“Yes.” You kissed his cheek. “Yes!” He hoisted you up and you only made it back inside when the jeers from passersby became too embarrassing.

💛 NEXT 💛

I'm currently on vacation so maybe my poor overworked betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83 get a break too

[darlingshane]

Something Crazy

Pairing: Michael Berzatto x F!Reader

Summary: On Natalie's wedding day, life takes an unexpected turn when you learn that your former crush, Michael, might be interested in you.

Content/Warnings: 18+, Explicit, Smut, P in V, Vanilla, Alcohol, Eating, Fluff, Crack, Pet Names, Kissing, Dancing.

Word Count: 4,6k

— You can read below or at AO3.

Today is the big day for your best friend Natalie. She's marrying her long-time boyfriend, Pete, and you've come back to Chicago for only two days to celebrate this lifetime milestone with them.

They've picked a perfect Saturday in the middle of spring to celebrate their union. Flowers are in full bloom, gardens are lush green, wind has calmed, welcoming a balmy weather to allow having a wedding ceremony outdoors.

Bright Sun rays slip like gold ribbons through the sheer fabric of the curtains as you carefully hang Natalie's gown and remove the garment bag. It's a simple but stunning empire dress, strapless, with lace and pearls adorning the corset. Though you've never fantasized about your own wedding before, as your hand slides softly along the skirt, you can't help but imagine yourself as a giddy bride, wearing that same dress.

Tying the knot is not on top of your list right now. Settling with someone? That's more likely to happen. But there's nothing like being chosen as the maid of honor, especially if you're single, to find yourself trapped in that Disney daydream of getting to meet your prince charming and live happily ever after. Hopefully, that unwelcome, sudden longing will vanish after a few drinks at the reception. Until then, your top priority is making sure your best friend's special day is as magical as she planned.

You're in the designated dressing room of the hotel with the rest of the bride's party laughing, sipping rosé, telling stories while the beautician works against the clock, getting all four of you primped and ready.

While you help Natalie get into her dress, Gigi comes back with a tray of pastries to soak the alcohol before anyone gets too drunk.

“You guys gotta see Mikey. He's so fucking hot I could die. I've never seen him all dressed up and clean like that,” she announces loudly, going around the room like a whirling handing croissants and muffins. “I swear to god his pants are so tight, it’s like looking into an x-ray photograph… you can see everything. And I mean everything,” Gigi stares at you, raising an eyebrow, while you stuff part of a croissant into your mouth.

“Ew, that's my brother,” Natalie frowns in disgust.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you say after swallowing part of your pastry.

“She's looking at you like that because, as we all recall, it was you who had a crush on him for the longest time,” the bride sharply indicates.

“She's got a point, babe.”

“I was like fifteen,” your tone pitches a little higher, as if you were still that age. “Why do you always have to bring that up?”

“Cause let's be honest, you were hung up on him for way longer than you said, and your face still lights up every time you see him. Why can't you just admit you're still love-struck?”

You open your mouth to counter her accusation, but words refuse to come out. You can't even lie for dear life cause admittedly, as fucking annoying as they are, they're also right. Michael was one of those crushes that was hard to shake off. Your friends quickly jumped from one infatuation to another, but you pinned for Sugar's cooler, slightly older brother for longer than you should have. And that's probably the reason every time all your friends get together, they use that embarrassing piece of information to tease you. Even if you ever wanted to forget, they'll never let you.

The last time you saw Michael in person was a few weeks ago for only a few minutes when you came to help Natalie with the last details of the wedding and barely exchanged a couple of words. You moved to Detroit for work three years ago, and the few times you've come back here, you haven't crossed paths with him that often. The soon-to-be married couple also forgo the rehearsal dinner altogether to save money, so you didn't get a chance to see him before the ceremony.

“All I'm saying is if you wanna take a stab at that, this is the perfect time. He's single, he has great hair, he's wearing a dope suit, and did I mention hot?” Gigi keeps cajoling. “Hell, I'll hit that, If you don't. So better act fast.”

“He always had great hair,” Samira agrees, downing the rest of her wine.

“And he asked about you the other day when I showed him the pics of our trip,” Sugar adds.

“Oh,” you try not to sound too pleased, cause you doubt he ever paid any attention to you. Why would he start now?

“Yeah, he was definitely checking you out, and loved that video of you at the karaoke bar,” Samira chimes in as she pours another glass.

“Okay, you're making that up. No more wine for you, missy,” you promptly snatch the bottle from your friend and put it away while they all laugh. “Wait… he saw the video of me singing?”

“Uh-hm.”

You file that information for later and once you are all dressed up, you hand Natalie a stunning bouquet of roses before leaving the room.

“Thanks,” she grabs your arm for a second as Gigi and Samira head out. “Sorry for making fun of you… again. You know we love you and that we just want the best for you.”

“I know,” you mumble timidly.

“Sweetie, you don't need my permission, but if you wanted to ask Michael out, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He'd be lucky to have someone like you.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because… You've always been like a sister to me, and part of me wanted him to see how amazing you are, so I kept telling him about you. I showed him photos and videos, hoping that he would. And he did! He really loved that one of you vibing to TLC. Thought you were funny.”

“You told him, didn't you?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“I'd stab you if you weren't about to get married,” your serious tone makes her snort.

“Look, you’re not dating anyone. He’s not dating anyone… I could ask him if he's interested before Gigi swipes him up.”

“Nat,” you sigh into a heavy pause, looking into her clear blue eyes. “We’re not in school anymore, you don’t have to play matchmaker. And it's your day! The last thing on my mind is hooking up with someone. Let alone your brother. So drop it.”

“Just saying. It could really be a wedding present for me if you two were to…” you scowl at her, which makes her leave that thought unfinished.

“Okay, that's gross, let’s get you married, so I can kill you right after.”

“Alright, alright. I promise I won’t mention it again.”

In your lavender dress and matching heels, you wait for your cue as the wedding starts. The quartet starts playing. Once the officiant and the groom are in position, groomsmen, and bridesmaids walk down the aisle in pairs. You line up with the bridesmaids by the floral arch on the side of the bride in the lush garden and watch as Natalie walks down the aisle, escorted by both brothers, Carmen and Michael.

She looks radiant, but your stare darts slightly to your former crush. He’s dressed in a dark suit and royal blue shirt, no tie. His fluffy hair pushed back, shining under the sun like black licorice. His features are sharply defined as usual, but there's definitely a certain glow around him that makes him look more handsome than you remember.

Credit where credit's due, Gigi was right. They all were. He still manages to stir those intense feelings and butterflies in your stomach that you thought gone when your eyes meet for a split second as they get closer to the altar. There's also a glimpse of a smile in his lips, directed at you. Or so it looks like. Maybe you're making it up in the chaotic mess that is your mind.

Carmy and Michael kiss either side of Natalie's face when they reach the altar, and then they take their seats on the first row as she stands face to face with Pete.

The quartet stops playing, the officiant starts speaking, and you aim your focus to the ceremony.

Once Natalie and Pete are pronounced husband and wife, there's a time dedicated to take a few pictures of the wedding party in that very same garden before losing the natural light.

Despite promising she was going to let it go, your now-married friend insists on making sure you and Michael end up in several pictures together.

“Mmm… Marcus, is it?” you shake hands with him, pretending to have forgotten his name.

“Michael,” his grip is firm around your hand.

“Oh, sorry, Mario. I have a terrible memory.”

“Don't be cute. I know you remember,” he scoffs, amused, linking one arm around your waist per the photographer's instructions.

You swallow, nervously placing your hand on his firm back, trying to keep your cool. As the photographer takes a series of snapshots, Michael starts humming a familiar song. No scrubs. The one you sang in that famous video your friends filmed.

You press your lips together, and pretend you're not hearing it. It seems like they've all been scheming together against you, or in your favor. You're not sure. You know Sugar wouldn't do anything to make you uncomfortable, but this is getting ridiculous.

“Save me a dance later, would you?” he requests with a wink once the photoshoot session is over.

“I can't, Mitchell. I've already promised that to one of the groomsmen,” lie.

“You're gonna keep that bit the rest of the day?”

You shrug your shoulders, “it's not up to me, Marley.”

“Alright, come find me when you grow up.”

He presses his lips in a tight smile and walks away, leaving you dwelling in that awkwardness that washes over you, and wondering if he's messing with you or if he's suddenly into you. Those are good questions that you can't leave unanswered. If there's a chance that Michael Berzatto likes you, and that's a big IF, you really need to find out. The ball is in your court now. The question is… Do you want to throw it back?

The party moves to the banquet room in the hotel. There's plenty of food, drinks, music, and people in the room, but none of it can't distract you from the presence of Michael. This isn't how you expected to spend the day of your friend's wedding. And it's really going to bother you if you don't at least try to have a nice conversation with him. This is probably your last chance, so right after your heartfelt toast, you wipe your tears, throw back some liquid courage to walk up to his table.

He's nursing a glass of scotch, watching people on the dance floor, when you quietly take the empty chair besides him.

“No Richie today?” you break the ice.

“Oh, you remember his name but not mine?”

“Get over yourself, Michael. You know, I always got a little awkward when I was nervous. And unfortunately, it still happens.”

“Think you're doing pretty good right now.”

“Had a little help,” you tilt your glass in his direction.

“Well, I'm glad you decided to join me,” he nods and points at the bar where Richie is conversing animatedly with your friend Gigi. “I had to convince Sugar to invite him. Hope he behaves for my sake.”

“Oh no, you're a dead man. Nothing good is gonna come out of that.”

“How so?”

“They're both insane, divorced and desperate. That's a dangerous cocktail nobody wants to drink,” you point out.

“Yeah, you're right. I guess I didn't really think it through.”

“You're screwed, Berzatto,” you take a sip of your glass and turn your eyes from the bar to Michael. “You know I was just joshing earlier, right? It surprised me that you were so… Direct.”

“Men aren't usually direct with you?”

“No, I guess I haven’t been very lucky in that department… Or maybe I’m just a bitch with unreachable standards that scares away any potential suitors.”

“That would explain a lot.”

“Gee, thanks!”

“I’m kidding. I’m sure your standards are reasonable. And I don’t think you’re a bitch if that helps.”

“Yet you’re wondering why I came here alone?”

“Not really. I didn't bring a date, either.”

“Yeah? Why is that?”

“I dunno. Maybe I have really high standards, too,” he winks casually at you, knocking you out of your game.

You should have come prepared for this, but you never thought in a million years that Michael Berzatto would ever show any interest in you.

Still trying to figure out if you're picking up the right signals from him, you prop your elbows on the table and let out a sigh as he presses the rim of his glass to his mouth to take a swig.

You bite your lip and watch the guests swaying animatedly on the dance floor.

“So. Do you wanna dance?” he softly taps one of your arms.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Did your sister put you up to this?”

“Why would she?”

“Don't play dumb. I used to have the biggest crush on you, and if you didn't notice, I'm sure your Sugar has told you.”

His lips draw a lopsided smile. “She might have mentioned something a while ago, but she didn't put me up to this, I swear. This is all me. I only asked you for a dance. I didn't ask you to marry me.”

“I suppose a dance wouldn’t be that bad.”

“I'll take that,” he throws back the rest of his drink in one gulp, stands up, offering his hand up to you, “shall we?”

You were hoping to have some more time to prepare, but his sharp conviction is something you can’t reject. That’s part of Michael Berzatto’s appeal. He’s always been such a bold and outgoing guy, it's daunting. It’s good to see that hasn’t changed at all. The only thing that’s different is that now he’s wasting his charms on you.

With some apprehension, you follow his steps into the dance floor. There’s a mid-tempo song playing that you don’t recognize that makes you forget altogether how to move your body. So you just stand there, three feet away from him, like a deer caught in headlights, bobbing your head, avoiding his eyes.

Michael stares at you, slightly entertained by how uncomfortable you look right now, and throws you a lifeline by stepping closer, picking up your hands and placing them on his shoulders.

“What are you so afraid of, sweetheart?” he asks, planting his palms on your waist, guiding you slowly to move with him.

“I'm afraid that I'm not a very good dancer.”

“I doubt that.”

“Wait till I step on you,” you subconsciously look down at your feet.

“Follow my lead. You'll be fine.”

“Okay, Johnny Castle, but don't make me mambo, salsa, waltz… Or anything that requires taking my feet off the ground.”

“Who the hell is Johnny Castle?”

“Patrick Swayze? Dirty Dancing?” you question, as if it was the most outrageous thing that he hadn’t heard about that film.

“I’m more of a Road House kinda guy.” Of course, he is. “Was that another crush of yours?”

“Oh, big time!”

“Ok, got it, nothing fancy, we're just swaying. See?” His hands guide your body to move side to side, but it's impossible not to feel a little clumsy in your steps.

“Hey, what do you think of Pete?” He asks, using his head to point at the newly-weds.

“Uhh,” you glance to the side to see Pete wrapping an arm around Natalie, “he can be a total douche sometimes, but he's always sweet to her. I guess that's what matters. Why? What do you think about him?”

“Words out of my mouth.”

“Michael?” You glance up to his deep dark eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Be honest, why did you want to dance with me?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you?”

Your lips pull up on the sides as your head nods.

“Cause I wanted to dance with the prettiest girl I've ever met.”

If this is a dream, you don't wanna wake up to find out that this was just a concoction of your mind. It's not. It feels real. If you weren't holding onto him, you'd fall to your knees after hearing his words roll past his beautiful lips.

There are so many questions you wanna ask, but you can only sigh, and smile wider under the sweet glow of his brown eyes fixed on you.

“You really think that I’m that pretty or interesting?” your mouth opens after a pregnant pause, at the same time the song switches to something incredibly romantic.

“I've always thought that. It just took me a while to realize it.”

“God, you have the perfect answer to everything. That's really annoying.”

“I don't. I swear. You just caught me in a good mood.”

“I don't remember you ever being in a bad mood.”

“I have my moments. Trust me.”

He unexpectedly picks one of your hands from his shoulder, lifts it in the air to have you spinning ungracefully under his elbow before quickly wrapping his opposite arm around your waist to dip you. He grins at the shocked expression on your face for a second before bringing your body upright.

“Please, don't do that again,” you brace your hands to his chest right after.

“Why? That was perfect, sweetheart,” he laughs, “Johnny Castle would be proud.”

Your lips curl softly, letting your palms tentatively slide on his blazer until they're caught on the warm surface of his neck.

“Am I making you nervous?” he dares to ask, knowing pretty much that he's driving you crazy.

“A little,” a lot, actually.

He whispers, – sorry – as you run your fingers at the hair at his nape. You observe up close how he licks his lips, noticing his hands clutching harder to your waist. His head leans closer, and you draw a breath, preparing yourself for having his lips colliding against yours. It feels like the world stops spinning for a second and just about when he's about to kiss you something, someone in this case, crashes against your back making you lose your balance. Michael anchors you to the floor quickly before you can fall, as a slurred-drunk voice apologizes at your back.

“Fucking idiot,” Michael mutters and checks on you, “you okay, sweetheart?”

You're not. The spell is broken, and your dress suddenly feels cold and wet from the drink that was spilled along your hip.

You excuse yourself, and rush out of the dance floor, so you can clean yourself up.

There’s a big surprise in the nearest bathroom you find, and that is your friend Gigi making out with Richie with such passion, they don't even notice you opening and quickly closing the door.

The tiny glimpse that you caught of Richie propping your friend on the sink and sliding his hands under her skirt makes your jaw almost fall to the floor. You wish you could erase that from your memory immediately, but at least it has made you forget momentarily about your dress.

When you turn around, you’re faced with Michael again. You ran out so fast you didn’t notice him following behind.

“What’s wrong?”

“Richie and Gigi,” smacking your lips, you point with your thumb to the door with no further explanation.

“Wow, they didn’t waste any time.”

“That's the thing about weddings. They make people do crazy things.”

“Tell me about it,” Michael looks down for a beat, licks his lips, and steps closer.

He holds your chin between his fingers, tilting your head up. As he leans to capture your mouth, you flinch, “what are you doing?”

“Something crazy,” the corners of his mouth quirk up, making another move, and you jerk your face a second time in reflex. It’s not that you don't wanna kiss him, you absolutely do. You just need another moment to process it.

“Damn, girl. Can you just stay still, so I can kiss you already?” He demands without an ounce of entitlement. Just driven by the desire to taste your lips.

“Alright, okay… just give me a second,” you yield to his craving, letting him slowly guide you, so your back is pressed against the wall.

There’s no escape now, this is the moment you’ve dreamed with many moons ago that seemed like a pipe dream back then. All those thoughts vanish the moment his lips are pressed against yours firmly, before letting them bounce a couple of times together. His alcohol-tainted breath mixes with yours as his lips part wider. He captures your lower lip with a light suck, followed by the tip of his tongue shamelessly drawing the curve of your mouth. It's deliciously sexy and sweet and everything in between. You close your eyes and follow his lead, opening your mouth and letting him slot his lips against yours. His tongue invades past your teeth without resistance. It challenges you to kiss him back. It takes you a moment to respond, but soon enough, you're fully immersed in the depth of his mouth, taking the reins of the kiss.

You haven't been kissed like this in a while. Maybe ever.

When your mouths separate, you realize your hands are anchored to his back, and he's fully pressed against you. His lips are covered in your saliva and vice versa.

“I'm going to change my dress,” you sigh, giving him a little push, so you can put yourself together.

“Oh… Okay,” there's a hint of disappointment in his tone.

You clear your throat and harness an ounce of confidence to ask, “do you wanna come? I might need some help. The zipper is a little tricky in this thing.”

Right.

His expression turns on a dime, eyes wide open, white edge teeth showing behind his slightly parted lips. Speechless by the implication of your proposal, he cleans his lips on his palm before responding, “I… sure.”

Proud of yourself for taking a gamble and hitting the jackpot, you go back inside the banquet hall first to collect your purse from the table and then head up to the elevators with him following closely behind.

A palm lands at the small of your back while you press the button. The anticipation makes your stomach flutter wilder than ever. Who would have thought you'd be taking Michael to your room on this day? It feels surreal. Absolutely bananas.

You don't say a word during the elevator ride up to the fourth floor.

When you reach your door, you notice his palms framing your hips from behind. His touch makes your pulse tremble while using the key card. It takes you a couple of tries to open the door.

There's a strange force, an electricity buzzing, that grows more powerful the second you're inside.

You hit the light switch, drop your purse on the chair and turn to face him.

Following that unstoppable whim, you place your palms on his chest and push back his blazer. He shrugs it off as you move to undo the few buttons he's fastened. Your fingers tremor anxiously as you uncover his defined torso. You want to stick out your tongue and trace those two lines forming a V oh his abdomen that leads to the outline of his cock behind the tight fabric of his dress slacks. It’s too bold of a move for you right now, so you let your fingers do your bidding.

When your hands reach his belt, they proceed to unbuckle it under the lust-filled shadow of that flame of his gaze that could scorch the surface of the earth if he wanted to in a second.

He’s already half hard when you unzip his fly, and that's as far as he allows you to go. Michael's dying to touch you, to undress you and fuck you. He quickly turns you around, making you gasp, and finds the zipper of your dress. Your skin rises into goosebumps when he pulls the tab down. He nibbles at the crook of your neck, pushing the top of your dress down to your waist. You shimmy your legs out of it as his hands invite themselves to your skin.

His all hands and mouth around you as he removes your strapless bra and guides you to lay down on the bed.

The fire that lights up his eyes sears through yours as he slips out of his unbuttoned shirt. He then props a knee on the bed, hovering over you, and lowers his head to kiss your stomach. His tongue darts out and draws a circle around your navel. Your head falls back on the mattress, as he leaves a trail of wet kisses up your torso. He nibbles once more at your neck, increasing your arousal up to eleven.

“Michael, please,” you groan as he presses himself between your legs, grinding slowly behind layers of fabric, coaxing your juices to stain your underwear and growing himself a hard-rock erection that can barely be held by his boxers.

Lifting lifts his head, he props himself on his elbows, and surveys the tortured expression on your face as his hips keep relentlessly moving.

“Fuck, you're goddamn gorgeous, baby,” he exhales, proceeding to swiftly rid you off your panties, and pushing his pants and underwear down.

He drives his hardness inside you with great care, pushing inch after inch of that monumental erection that stretches your slicked walls. You close your eyes as he experiments with his thrusting, molding your opening to its generous size.

“Is this how you imagined this?” he pants against the corner of your mouth.

“No. This is better… Much, much better,” you purr, palming his ass, encouraging him to move faster.

If you had a free hand, you'd pinch yourself to check if this is really happening right now. It still blows your mind thinking that Michael Berzatto is deeply buried inside you, wanting you, claiming every cell of your body for his enjoyment. You gladly surrender to his desires as the cadence of his hips drive you into madness. As much as you try to contain your moans, he does everything in his hand to force every moan, curse, and breath to fly out past your teeth.

He slams into you with passion, bites your skin, grips your tits, devours your mouth, setting every inch ablaze. It’s as mind-blowing as it is fast, but he earns himself a good squeeze of your walls when he brings you to orgasm. He comes undone just merely a second after, releasing a wild grunt that ripples all over your skin, and pouring all his warm seed into the depths of your pussy, having his hips jerking erratically until he’s spilled every drop.

His cum sticks to your walls as he rolls to the side of the mattress with a grunt. Your head is spinning out of its usual axis, overtaken by that powerful boost of endorphins, and your lungs struggle for a deep breath.

For a long minute, you both stare at the ceiling while you regain your breath.

When he composes himself, he turns to the side to look at you, sweetly letting one of his fingers brush your cheek, “do you wanna do this again tomorrow?”

“Can't. I'm leaving, remember?”

“Right.”

“But you can stay the night if you want. And repeat later. And maybe one more time even later. Would you like that?”

“I'd love to, sweetheart.”

[gatitties]

Caring you

─ Yandere!bonten x motherly!reader (Platonic)

─ Summary: these men are just trying to take care of you so you're just theirs

─ Warnings: stalking, toxic behaviors, obsession, yandere stuff

Part one / Part three / Part four / Part five

@simpingfor-wakasa, @luno-614 did you want the second part? here it is!! 🫂

You sighed leaving the shopping bags at the entrance of your house, turning on the lights in the living room while you carried the bags back to the kitchen, only before you could even take a step you screamed when you saw Mikey sitting on your sofa eating a cookie quietly.

"Holy fu-, do you want me to have a heart attack one of these days?"

You had not seen his figure before so it was normal for you to be scared, although in recent weeks you had had these intruders breaking into your house, you did not recriminate them for breaking into your home because they practically "spared" your life that day in which they kidnapped you, yet the Bonten leader kept insisting that you should stay with them in their headquarters because the city was full of predators who could take advantage of the likes of you.

"You know that you still have time to come with us."

You had denied his offer by active and passive but nothing seemed to make Mikey reason, he didn't want to resort to kidnapping because he had already experienced that look from you once when you found him binging on the cookies you had made for everyone, of course he didn't want to share them, he snuck into your house at night so that they would only be his. Receiving that look of disapproval and disappointment made his heart sink, as if he were a kicked and scolded cat.

They had discovered that threats ─even if they were empty─ were useless against you, you had lived long enough for that kind of thing to affect you and you already had some loved ones waiting in the other world, besides, no matter how sadistic Sanzu was, he flatly refused that none of the other executives could even think of raising their hand to you or thinking of torture to make you bow down to them.

So Kakucho was the one who discovered that the best thing they could do to 'protect' you was blackmail, well, he thought it would work out considering that you didn't deny helping them whenever they came to your house looking for comfort or help, but you weren't an idiot. They were men old enough to take care of themselves, besides being criminals.

“Mikey, really, I don't know why I'm not six meters underground yet, I appreciate that, but I like my ordinary life."

Of course, Kokonoi offered you countless kinds of luxuries to try to take you into a comfortable life with them, which you refused just the same. Mikey got up walking towards the kitchen where you were placing the purchase, an action that was completely interrupted when the man hugged you, letting his face rest against your back.

"It's not fair… why can't you accept it? we just want you to be safe, I- I need you by my side, I want you to pay attention to me!"

And there he is… you didn't know Mikey's personality when he acted like a leader everyone feared, but next to you he was like a spoiled attention-seeking kid who throws a tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants. You turned so that his head rested on your chest, tightening your embrace a little and rubbing his back in circles, you had to push the atrocities these men engaged in very deep, but there was not much you could do about it either, it's not like if you could change their lives of crime, so as in all your life, swallow and follow the course of things, if these guys wanted your attention you were not going to deny it as long as they cut you out of their business and behave moderately around you.

"You don't need me seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day by your side, plus you always invade my apartment when you want."

He didn't respond to your words, he only clung to you more, almost squeezing you to get every last drop of your affection, Mikey knew he couldn't with your will to continue with your daily routine, but if that was going to continue like this the least he could do was spend as much time as possible with you.

Although as much as it bothers him, he is the leader and he has things to attend to, so he lets you have time with the others, much to his displeasure of course, he doesn't like to share very much, but he knows that you will scold him if he doesn't let the others have their time with you. Takeomi was in charge of making a schedule, taking into account your work hours and even leaving you one day off so that you had privacy and peace, although on those days off Rindou or Sanzu would surely escape to see you even though they weren't allowed to.

Kakucho would always accompany you when you had to cook, before you only had to make food for yourself, and now you find eight grown men clamoring for your homemade food, you appreciated the boy's help and he was more than happy to hear your praise about how well he cook, oh boy, Kaku's chest swells with joy every time you taste his food and you smile at him like a proud mother who has taught her son a new recipe that he has mastered perfectly. Although he doesn't show it as openly as the others, he yearns for your hugs in silence.

Kokonoi always accompanied you when shopping, this man will not let you spend a penny of your money while he is there, he makes sure that you don't lack for anything, although he is a bit annoyed that you refuse to buy stupidly expensive clothes, they just want to spoil you for everything you do for them, even if you don't even realize that your simple actions drive them crazy.

Mochi is undoubtedly the one that stalks you the most, he has to make sure that no creep gets too close, if this happens he will be calling Ran to find out information about that person and they will immediately contact Sanzu to eliminate them. After all you only need them and other people are harmful to you, of course they will still let you keep your close friends and family because they make you happy, and they wouldn't do anything wrong with you, unless they do, when someone close to you does something to you that they don't like, they will comfort you after that person died mysteriously or in an 'accident'.

Which happened… it had to happen, it was a friend you made relatively recently, just a few months before Sanzu collapsed at the door of your house that dawning. You felt comfortable with him and you got closer quite quickly, although you usually used to communicate more by messages than face to face, you always made time to go out one day, the Bonten men controlled all the people you interacted with, even if they were a simple supermarket clerk, if their tone were apathetic with you, they wouldn't last much longer in this world.

Just as they knew everyone you talked to, they knew about this man and they didn't like him one bit, they looked up information about him and Rindou found out that he was a filthy gambler who spent a few nights in brothels, had some history of violence and minimal arrests, it was enough. But the worst thing was the way he looked at you, Takeomi described it when he was following you secretly, his eyes looked at you with disgusting love when you only saw him as a good friend, that thing shouldn't even deserve a second of your time. Mikey asked you about him one day ─because he's a 'curious' boy and wanted to know things directly from you─ and they found out that this disgusting guy simply lied to you about his job and hobbies, although you already found out on your own and complained to him, he promised that he was trying to fix and run his life again, you accepted it by deciding to keep the friendship.

And the guy really started to straighten his life out a bit, but still… that look he gave you kept bugging your boys, plus if you got a partner your attention would get harder and harder to get and they weren't passing by. Even though you weren't interested in having a partner, it didn't convince them, that guy was going to make you feel uncomfortable because he planned to declare himself and you didn't feel the same, it was the breaking point and the end for him.

Today was your friend's funeral, not much in the mood to stay there any longer, you gave your condolences to the family and went home with tears running from your eyes, maybe he wasn't the best person but you still considered him a friend. When you got home, what you least expected was to see those eight men waiting impatiently for you, they knew it, they knew that you were a little more vulnerable now and they wanted to take advantage of that.

"Why is everyone here? Something has happened? I'm not going to launder money or hide weapons here if you want any of those favors."

You wiped your tears leaving your jacket on the coat rack, the first to approach you was Mikey, murmuring your name as he dragged you to the sofa.

"We just had a bad feeling, are you okay?"

"Oh…"

They acted worried even though it hurt to see your tears, a little upset because they were tears for that scum, but now they wanted to focus on making you feel better in their arms. Mikey self-proclaimed your lap as his seat, passing his arms around your shoulders, resting his head on your chest to listen to the sound of your heart, the rhythm of your pulsations was too relaxing and addictive for him. Ran and Rin were on either side of you, clinging to your arms, Sanzu and Kokonoi sat on the ground, leaning their foreheads against your knees, hugging your legs while Kakucho stood up comfortingly stroking your head. Mochi and Takeomi looked askance as they all clung to you without giving them space to do so as well.

Takeomi was not one to go against his leader's orders, however, he would take it upon himself to limit Mikey's time with you just by taking up so much of your time.

"Okay guys, I don't feel half of my body."

You asked to be released because you began to stop feeling your arms, which had fallen asleep due to the iron grip of the Haitani, reluctantly everyone released you or gave you your necessary space.

"Are you feeling better?"

Kakucho asked without stopping massaging your scalp, you let out a shaky breath, you had already had your fill of crying all morning and you had barely eaten anything, you nodded closing your eyes, feeling tired from all the emotions released today.

"Yes, thank you very much guys, I love you."

You muttered without taking into account the weight of those words on the criminals, they all froze, planning to crush you in a desperate embrace right then and there if the rumbling of your stomach didn't stop them. Your cheeks began to take on a slight pinkish tint, cause of embarrassment, they were usually the ones who came to you to be fed, their guts rumbling, but not you.

"So I guess we're ordering food?"

Koko already had his phone ready to call the most expensive restaurant in the city, you knew what he was planning to do so you got up and gently took the phone from him, denying it.

"No, I can do something quick."

"Okay, we can do something quick."

You smiled sweetly at Kakucho for offering to help, receiving death glares at his cunning, Mikey immediately jumped up grabbing onto your leg, pouting like a complete child.

"I can help too."

"Mikey… I would like you to help too, but last time you burned my pan."

[mybreakofdawn]

✨️Dirty Diana✨️

Paring: Michael Jackson x reader

About: Michaels concert in Wembley stadium changes a bit because of Princess Diana, and he needs you to play Dirty Diana with him because you are the only one who knows it by heart.

Request: Yes / No @heyitstial

Authors note: i dont know who reguested again because my app crashed, but here it is. I hope you guys like it!

Btw

(Y/f/n) is Your Full Name

(Y/b/s) is your birthstone

Enjoy!

*(Y/N's pov)*

It was the 6th of July 1988, London England. The big concert day was when Princess Diana and Prince Charles were attending, and it was already chaotic. Behind the stage, everyone was running to make everything perfect, what i can understand, but damn people were stressed. So i had a brilliant idea, i grabbed my acoustic guitar and began to play liberian girl while also singing softly with it.

After a few seconds, i saw them all calm down and smile at me they always appreciated me when i came with them on tour. I ended the song with a smile, and i heard clapping. I stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you," i chuckled as the people started to get everything ready again, but now more calm. I lay my guitar in my bag as i heard someone scream my name.

"(Y/N)!! WHERE IS (Y/N)!!!" i turned around and saw Michael sprinting my way. "There you are!" He grabbed my shoulders tightly.

"Hey Mikey, what is it? You sound distressed, " i asked worried, he just gave a worried smile back at me. Oh no, this isn't good.

"Baby, i need you to do a favour for me, please!" He said seriously as i looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Princess Diana, she is in the audience tonight, and her favourite song is Dirty Diana. i know Jennifer doesn't know it, and i know you know it by heart, please, please!!" He kept holding onto me with his eyes begging me. I smirked and crossed my arms.

"What's in it for me, my dear Michael?" i said while smirking even bigger. Michael looked at me with big eyes and got an idea and smirked also softly cupping my cheek, lowered his face next to mine.

"My love, i will make you feel out of this world after the concert..eventho it depends on how you play your part, of course," he whispered into my ear, making me have goosebumps I love his seductive voice. it's so different from his usual voice. He stood straight again, looking into my eyes. I smiled and played with one of his curls.

"Alright, I'll do it for you, my love," i said as he smiled happily and picked me up, turning me around.

"I can't live my life without you~" he said while stop turning me around and putting me down.

"I love you too, Mikey." i chuckled and gave him a kiss on those soft lips of his.

"Alright, uhm, i have an outfit for you. I need you to put that on, alright?" he grabbed my hand and dragged me to his dressing room. Finally, in his room, i saw this leather outfit, and i think this was the outfit he was talking about. "Tadaaaa, this is it~~" he smiled like a kid, so proud of what he had just shown me.

"Wow Mikey its amazing." i looked at it in awe damn this suit is amazing.

"Mike, whe have 30 minutes till the show begins!!" We heard yelling from the door.

"Yes, thank you!!" He screamed back and turned back at me. "Now, let's get you into this outfit~" i chuckled and rolled my eyes.

(Time skip)

"Alright, sweetie," Michael double looked at me and smiled, his curls luscious and his outfit on point with his jacket i love this outfit. "I need to get up on stage my love after Smooth Criminal you wil get picked up and just do what feels right alright" he hugged me and wanted to walk away but i grabbed hem by his collar and kissed him on his lips.

"Dont forget the good luck kiss Mikey go get them." i saw him smile after the kiss with a hint of blush and nodded. Michael disappeared into the curtain, and you could hear the people scream as the concert began. After 40 minutes of watching him dance and sing his soul out, it was time for me to go onto the stage. I walked through the backstage area. My thoughts were running everywhere, but as soon as i was on stage, my mind went calm. I got helped with plugging my guitar in, and they also told me what i could do with my cable range, i nodded and smiled. Jennifer, Michaels head guitarist, gave me thumbs up. I can do this. Michael stepped out of the tent, and as soon as the lights went on, i began playing. It felt so unreal but also so good. I looked into the crowd and smiled, thinking Michael really was something else. The solo was close, so i began to move closer to the stage where Michael was. Now it was my time to shine, the spotlight shining on me, and i gave it everything i got. Michael smiled and moved his fingers, knowing he liked it and wanted more, so i gave it to him, standing really close to him. The solo was about to end, and i took my distance a bit. He fell to the ground as i stopt my solo and the spotlight was on him. I walked behind him, seeing his hair was stuck on his forhead because of his sweat, and i reached out to unstuck it and walked back to my place and began playing normally again. After a few seconds, i saw Mikey looking at me and signed me to come back again, i walked back to him, and i took a deep breath and improvised a solo. The crowd was going wild as he started walking to the left side of the stage and of course i would follow him giving it more power making him bite his bottom lip and wave his hand in front of my guitar. I turned around and "shoot" with my guitar and ran up to where the other guys of the band were standing, still going on with my solo, Michael followed and i smirked and ran away again to the middle of the stage shredding the solo, i was feeling it. I looked at Michael with a smirk and saw him running towards me and then passing me to the right side of the stage. Fucking dick i thought and followed him giving even more then he would ever know from me. He looked at me with big eyes and a big smile. I smirked again and ran to the other side of the stage and going on the little platform on the front shredding the solo some more, i did notice Michael following me and standing behind me and singing his heart out. Standing there felt so fucking amazing i didnt care that all eyes were on me i wanted to make this song perfect what Mikey wanted. I knew the song came to an end when Michael went to the center of the stage, what was also kinda sad but i can understand. Everyone was involved of the end of the song the drums the keyboards and even me. I ran a bit on stage to both sides and dramatically pull om my string to get that perfect effect and as soon as i saw Michael turning i knew what i had to do, eventually Michael jumped and i jumped with him ending the song strong. But i knew Michael he moved his hand and we shredded with all of us still a few notes and stopt again really ending the song as the lights went out. Michael gave me a quick hug and walked to the tent again, sadly is my signal to go backstage again so he could finish the concert. As i stepped off from the stage the people cheered even more as i heard thriller being played. I smiled and sat on the couch. I was full of the adrenaline it was soooo cool and awesome.

"I can not believe i did that!" I squealed excited and watched the screen of Michael performing. I kept watching it mostly and ate some snacks till the concert ended. I saw him leaving the stage with the band still playing Man in the mirror. I suddenly saw him running towards me and grabbing my hands, dragging me back on stage. "Mike wha-" before i knew it, i was walking on stage with him, the crowd going wild again. He grabbed his microphone and brought it to his mouth.

"And i almost forgot my talented girlfriend (Y/F/N)," he said through the mic, and i widened my eyes, not noticing the crowd screaming even wilder than before. Michael was a bit nervous but smiled and showed me off by dancing with me to Man in the mirror and ending it with a soft kiss on my lips. The people screamed, loud even louder than before when we shared a kiss, making me blush a bit. He turned away from the kiss. "Dear fans and our royal quests, tonight i wanted to do something very special" he began and grabbed my hand tightly looking at me, still a bit nervous i really dont have an idea what he is going to do. Suddenly, he grabbed a box out of his pocket and went on one knee. I widen my eyes, not looking away at the sight in front of me. "My dear (y/n) you have been there for me since my younger days and so on went with me almost everywhere. I can not see myself without you in the future so~" he said into the microphone and opened the box, showing a very beautiful (y/b/s) ring. I couldn't believe it. "(Y/f/n) The lady in my life will you marry me?" He said almost out of breath because he was so nervous and i.. i felt extremely happy. I looked at the ring and then to him, the love of my life, i even forgot the crowd, that was going berserk, was still there. I smiled the biggest smile i could ever give and nodded.

"Yes!" I screamed a bit too enthusiastic and jumped onto Michael, hugging him. I felt his heartbeat fasten and hug me back. I broke the hug and let him put the ring on my finger. He smiled and looked at me, holding my hands both tightly. Eventually, our trance was broken by the crowd, who were, omg really going nuts at this point. Michael stood up and scratched the back of his neck. I just stood next to him, holding the mic when i suddenly got an idea. "How about one more song?" I asked into the microphone, the growd going nuts again meaning a yes. "Mikey? heartbreak hotel?" I said to Mikey, and he nodded and grabbed the microphone. "Yes hehe lets do it, but you'll need to do the guitar." he chuckled into the microphone, and i already stood ready. Michael gave the sign, and we began with a heartbreak hotel, my favourite song. Michael gave me a mic stand and a mic so i could sing with him. The bassist came forward, and Michael stood in front of him dancing and moving his arm on the beat. He walked away and walked to me for the guitar screaming whoohoo as he was with me.

(From now you will sing together)

"Live and sin~" i sang and saw Michael looking at me with a smile, singing the next line with me.

"Ten years ago on this day, my heart was yearning~" we sang in harmony as he danced next to me. "I promised i would never ever be returning~, where my baby broke my heart and left me yearning~" he turned and walked the other way, continuing to sing with me in harmony. We continued singing til the chorus came on me singing just a heartbreak hotel and Michael running to the left side of the stage.

"London, thank you!" he waved and bowed a bit, then came back singing again while dancing to the centre of the stage next to me.

"Hope is dead~" he danced around me and my guitar, enjoying me being on stage. "She thought that i had cheated for another lover." he walked a bit to the right side. "I turn my back to see that i am undercover." You could see he was extremely happy he couldn't stop dancing, making me sing his next line alone. "Now i can't convince this girl there ain't no other~" He walked back to me. "Someone's evil to hurt my soul~ every smile trail thought in Beguile." i already knew what he would do and sang it with the sounds of his hip dance. We sang further, going back to the chorus again. Michael ran to the right side, bowing again.

"Thank you, London!" And blew a kiss to the crowd before singing again together with me. I walked to the fire canon not too close and waited till my moment wil come. I have dreamed about this moment. Let me show Mikey how much i love this song. Mikey started the canon, making me appear and beginning the solo. He bites his lip a bit and enjoyed the moment of his soon to be wife, me heheh, playing one of her favourite solos. He danced in front of me, moving his hand on the beat i made.

The official solo of the song ends soon, but i am not done yet. When Mikey sang his adlibs i kept going on with the solo standing next to him losing myself into the solo that sounded amazing in Michaels ears, he was a bit taken a back by it as what i could see from his reaction. Eventually, the song did come to an end, and we stopped with me hitting the highest note i could make.

"London! Thank you so much!! I love you!!" Michael screamed into the microphone and grabbed my hand. "You were amazing!! My love," he said full of excitement as he guided me to the back of the stage, unplugging me from the speaker, towards backstage.

"I dont know what overcame me. i was living the moment, but omg!!!" I squeeled again and looked at the ring around my finger, becoming speechless.

"Darling, what's wrong?" He asked, worried, looking at my face. "Is it not the right birthstone? I can buy a new one -" he began to rant before i stopped him.

"No, my love i.. i can't believe you asked me on stage with almost the world watching." I said softly, still in unbelieve.

"(Y/n) i want to whole world to know that i have the most amazing and lovable woman in the entire universe, i love you (Y/n)" he grabbed my hands and kissing them softly. I blushed at what he said.

"I love you too, my husband~" i giggled and guided him to his dressing room, pushing him inside. "Now fiancé~~" i looked at Michael, who was a bit confused but excited. "Now for my reward," i said with a smirk and a wink. I saw Michael Gulp when i walked to the door and locked it. "Dont say you forgot." i giggled and turned back around, looking at him. He was a blushing mess, but i could see he was excited. "Wel, let's get started, shall we~?" i said before walking to him. All i need to say is i made Michael feel out of this world heheh.

-the end-

>____________________<

>Authors note<

Well, i hope you guys love it hehehe it took a while, but here it isss hehehe. Tell me what you guys think i haven't written for a long time. I did enjoy writing this a lot, and i hope to do more in the future!!!

[rinrinx2]

imagine a bonten rin x best friend reader where they had to stay in a safe house for awhile just the two of them, and since rins getting no hoes cause they can’t leave, the sexual tension is high😼

Day 13

Rindou x reader

Warnings: Smut, inappropriate language, Mature themes, language, dom/sub, dub con

Day 12

Rindou sat on the couch was as the clock on the far end of the room ticked away, second by second.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.....

"I'm going crazy" Rindou whispered to himself, hands running through his hair for the 15th time in the last thirty minutes, as he sat in nothing but some sweat pants that was long over due a wash.

You in no better condition than Rindou as you sat in your shared room starring at the ceiling waiting for something to happen anything.

It was only your 12th day at the safe house, after a failed assassination to a rival gang, Rindou and your names were on the lips of nearly every Yakuza boss leaving Mikey no choice but to keep you in the safe house until the threats surrounding the two of you had calmed down.

But at this point you would rather be fighting for your life outside than spending another second in this safe house.

You and Rindou were on mutual bases, you were neither friends nor enemies, simply just two people who happened to be in the same gang.

But slowly and surely you began to get irritated with Rindou. The way he'd chew loudly on his morning cereal, how he walked around shirtless after a workout with the sweat gleaming down his defined body, the way he'd sleep nude with his semi-hard cock brushing against your ass, it was all driving you half insane.

And just as you were irritated at the younger Haitani, he was just as annoyed by your behavior, the way you wanted to have everything organized all the time, the way you constantly who those short skirts that caused him to see your sheer panties everytime you bent down, how you left the bathroom door wide open while you showered giving him full view of you naked body covered in soap as your hands roamed all over your body. Your actions were so irritating that Rindou would even dream about it, causing him to wake up with the worst morning wood ever.

Day 13

You and Rindou sat at the kitchen table, quietly eating your respective breakfast. You eating a bland piece of toast with your morning water, trying to give your body whatever nutrients it needed to live through the day, while Rindou ate his cereal.

The cereal that he would chew loudly, hearing every crunch of each piece he bit into.

Crunch, crunch, crunch....

"Could you chew any louder" you said bitterly, looking at Rindou with a stare that could kill a man.

Rindou abruptly dropped his spoon in his bowl looking at you face painted with a scowl.

"You got a problem with my chewing?" Rindou said with a sarcastic tone, watching as you became even more annoyed.

"Yes, you chew like a fucking cow" you spat back with venom.

"Well you hump like leg like a bitch in heat while you sleep" Rindou said watching as your once cocky attitude slipped, your eyes now wide and you mouth slightly agape, clear shock on your face.

"Yeah I bet you didn't even know you grind your leaky little pussy all over my thighs, like a real fucking whore"

Rindou looked at you with a smile on his face, clear happiness at his victory over you. Gloating in his victory as you remained silent.

"What cat got your tongue?" Rindou mocked at you silence with a chuckle, as he brought his attention back to his cereal that you were commenting on mere seconds ago.

Just as Rindou was lifting his cereal filled spoon, a piece of hard toast came flying down at it, causing the contents of milk and cereal to spill all over the table as well as the sweat pants he had been marinating in for days.

And now you were the one smiling at your victory, watching as Rindou dropped looked down at the mess your actions had caused and then at you.

You didn't say a word watching as a pissed of Rindou starred back at you.

But quickly your mood changed as you watched Rindou stand from his chair, walking over to where you sat, standing right infront of your chair.

"Bend over the fucking table" Rindou said as his hand came around your neck.

You looked up at him with eyes of fear not knowing what to do, but at the tightening of hand around your neck you quickly stood up and did as he said.

You were now bend over the table with Rindou bending over your body as he whispered into your ear.

"You've been getting on my nerves alot lately" Rindou said, as he body against your.

"Every fucking day you wear these short fucking skirts" Rindou said as his hands one hand traveled up your thigh reaching for the hem of your skirt while the other remained around your throat.

"And every fucking day you shower with the door wide open" he said as you felt his fully erect cock pressing into your ass causing a soft moan to slip from his lips.

"Do you know what it does to a man. Of course you fucking do" he said with a snicker as his hand bunched up your skirt pushing the soft material up.

"And then you come with all this attitude, well you know what's going to happen now" Rindou said as your skirt was now pushed fully up, and his hand began to pull at the waist band of your panties.

"I'm gonna fuck that pretty pussy of yours till your head fills with my cum and you start to act like a proper lady" he said gently licking your ear.

The sensation of Rindou's wet tongue licking at your ear caused tingles of pushing to shoot down your spine. And the way his hands pulled your pantie down was making your pussy leak out with juices that now stained the inside of your thighs.

"Come on (Y/N) say something, you had alot of fucking attitude earlier on" he said as his hands massaged your thighs feeling of wet they were.

"You not talking cause your pussy is the one that's going to be speaking for you?" Rindou asked with a laugh, as his hands moved up now sliding his thick digits along your puffy folds.

You bit your lip as you felt Rindou prod at your pussy hole that began to clench, as he continued playing with your pussy gathering your slick on his fingers, until he removed them bringing them to his lips.

"Taste so sweet" he said as he lapped the slick on his fingers off.

You heard as Rindou pulled down his sweat pants, feeling as his now unclothed cock was against the plush of your ass. His cockhead leaking pre-cum all over your ass.

"My dick is about to have a taste of that sweet pussy of yours" Rindou said as he aligned his cock to your pussy entrance, and in one swift motion he pushed himself inside you.

You groaned out as Rindous cock was long and girthy, ever so slightly poking at your cervix which only caused your pussy to tighten.

Rindou began to thrust into your pussy deep and slowly, hitting the soft spongy part deep inside your pussy that had your crying out for more.

"This fucking pussy had been calling out for me for days" Rindou said as his hips bucked against your ass, as moans slipped out between your lips.

"Rin please" you begged out not quite sure for what, but knowing you wanted to feel more of him.

Rindou let out a chuckle under his breath at your words and began to speed up his thrusts. He was now fucking into your pussy so fast that white foam was dripping out of your pussy and all over his dick.

Rindou felt as his balls contracted with each thrust, the cum inside them just aching to shoot out into your womb and fill you up.

The only sounds that could be heard in the kitchen was the loud squelching noises of Rindou fucking into your pussy, the lewd noises only making you more desperate to cum.

And you could feel it deep in your pussy, as the pressure began to build up, the urge to cum was getting stronger and stronger and Rindou could sense it by the way your walls kept getting tighter with each thrust.

"You wanna cum" Rindou growled out with a laugh at your desperate moans.

"Yes please" you begged as your hands clawd at the table.

"No fucking cum, make a mess on my cock" Rindou said slamming into you over and over as his hand came down pinching at your clit.

And finally the pressure in your tummy became to much as your walls contracted and you came, with clear liquid squirting out of you all over Rindou's cock and onto the kitchen floor.

"Yeah make a fucking mess" Rindou moaned out feeling at you released around him, soon Rindou felt as his balls ached and finally hot ropes of cum shot out of his slit coating your womb pearly white.

Rindou pushed his cock deeper in feeling as your pussy milked every drop of cum out of his cock.

"Fuck" Rindou said with a sigh as he lifted his body up from yours, gently pulling his cock out, watching as his cum dripped out of your pussy.

"Shit, weeks worth of cum dripping out" Rindou said with a soft laugh, his words causing you to laugh as well.

Carefully Rindou lifted your body up against his own, looking down at your exhausted figure in his arms.

You looked up at Rindou with eyes of wonderment as he began to speak.

"I'm gonna fuck the rest of my cum into your pussy later, so rest up"

.

.

.

All rights reserved to @rinrinx2

[melfinawins]

My partner started watching the new season so I joined in. Oops?

The spoiler tag is at the top. I recommend not reading this until you've watched the entire season.

Well. That season was all over the place. Big lack of cohesion.

I wound up watching it because my partner did. And I just marathoned it.

I like all the long conversations, but it got taxing and too meandering by around episode 6. I kinda hit my limit with Mikey and Tina. I loved their interaction completely, but instead of it being a unique/special moment, they applied it to every fucking character on the show.

I liked that Claire told the Faks to fuck off. That was nice!

I loved Ted Fak and Sweeps/Gary's conversation. Got teary-eyed.

Loved everything to do with Marcus. I've said it before and I'm going to say it again: he's getting a star before all these other jokers. He's the only one who has balance. He has climbed the mountain of self-actualization and reached its peak.

Loved in the finale where the camera just recorded real life world famous chefs talking and being happy about food. I was so starved for a sense of joy, I rewatched that part over again because I just wanted to see happy smiling faces. But they kept showing Carmy's dumb ass.

Things I hated: nothing was resolved, only secondary storylines (Marcus, Nat). Literally EVERYTHING ELSE IS OPEN. We didn't even get Syd telling Carmy she wanted out (didn't have to resolve that shit, just fucking START THE PROCESS OF RESOLVING IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE), or Cicero being straight with Carmy. We didn't get Nat showing off the baby to her brother, we didn't even get Carmy meeting the baby. WE DIDN'T GET RICHIE FINDING HIS JOY AFTER LOSING IT-- HE DIDN'T EVEN GO TO THE WEDDING OR NOT GO--NOTHING. Like, the fuck? This show goes on and on about the heart, but we barely got any moments with the characters reminding us what we watched for.

I hate that Carmy passed down his abusive behavior and trauma he got from the EMP chef to Syd, so now her ass is panicking in a hallway when THE FORMER EC OF EVER IS DOING JAEGER BOMBS IN HER LIVING ROOM. Carmy ruined that for her. They didn't get trapped by a star, Carmy ruined that opportunity the moment he got out of that freezer. They were never going to get the star. It was always a shot in hell in the first place, but with Carmy at the helm, it was fucked from jump. HE SHOULDN'T BE EXEC CHEF OF JACK SHIT.

I'm mad that Carmy doesn't even realize how hard he's fucked literally everything. I know that's a part of the point, as EMP chef didn't give two fucks either, but I'm mad that Carmy let the trauma get the best of him and then fucking PASSES IT ON.

WHY DIDN'T CARMY APOLOGIZE TO CLAIRE. I feel like even with his traumas, it was overblown. Like, a lot. As a person who was raised by two Donna's, who fucked off and left the state like this fictional character did with like, 24 hrs notice, a person who would have also skipped their parents funerals had not they had to pay for it, ect, where are his motherfucking balls? CLAIRE FUCKING DESERVES BETTER. THIS MAN IS IN HIS THIRTIES.

This review isn't even about SydCarmy, because I'm just mad about the season in general lmao

Like, I hate Carmy right now. There are sooo many people depending on him to support their families and their way of life. He was so self absorbed this season that he imploded his restaurant over fucking menu choices. The damage may be too great. And he may have fucked it beyond repair. I kinda don't care about his head space, because Donna is/was shit, but she didn't fucking implode a restaurant full of people depending on her.

He's turning into his parents.

I said previously that his ass was on thin ice. I meant that shit. Like, I'm not rooting for him as of right now. He's done too much damage. It's like Syd said in the 2nd episode or whatever: this is a him problem, not a them problem.

And Donna can fuck right off lmao And no, being women who can experience and bond over childbirth doesn't heal fucking wounds, actually. As a person who has been in that exact situation, I skipped half the episode once Donna showed up. Because I also thought my mother with severe mental health issues could relate to her daughter giving birth. But then that shit didn't happen and once the baby has arrived, the story gets rewritten. Donna, in her current state, is incapable of change. Sorry not sorry.

And when has Nat ever been that fucking dense? Anyone with eyes could see Syd and the rest of the staff are miserable. And she saw the numbers-- that place won't last a year if they don't fucking bring in the budget. What good is a star if the place is closed a week later? CICERO HAS PUT DOWN ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS. If the storyline is to be believed, they would be making a nice dent in the loan if not for the daily changing menu. And for what? Recycled, uninspired food that Carmy is just regurgitating from his former bosses who actually put in the creative energy to accomplish it? Very 2014 of him indeed.

I usually really love dark seasons of shows, or the mid point of a movie franchise (think Two Towers of LotR). I was going in expecting it to be fucking really dark. But something that's really important when you're doing the midpoint of a story is giving the audience something to hold onto. You have to show the audience that though it's dark, the dawn will come. There needs to be hope, even if it's just a flicker.

Not the case here.

In this 3rd season, every time the story would show some positive moments in a tiny storyline, they'd reiterate how shit is fucked and possibly permanently. And the characters are unlikeable, but not in a Succession kind of way!

My hopes for the characters of The Bear is that they get the fuck out and find other spots at other places where they can self-actualize and be happy.

I hope Syd gets every one of her dreams and spending time with Carmey will seem like a drug induced psychosis from the stale waffles she ate in her freezer. I hope she and Luca fuck. I hope she, Luca and Marcus fuck. I hope she opens her dream spot with those two and they get everything that Carmy inadvertently sabotaged at The Bear.

I hope Tina goes if she wants to go around the world, even if it's just at Syd's new place. I hope the staff walks and goes with her. Honestly, I hope they all just go to a spot Syd creates. Syd has the potential to be Terry when she "grows up". All she did this season was babysit Carmy and put out fires that Carmy himself lit. Even if Carmy promises to fix himself, like, HE CAN'T BE TRUSTED. Because his "relapses" are fucked and terrible and severe. Even though we see him kind of get a catharsis from telling EMP chef off, Syd and the crew didn't see that shit and there's not much left of his word to them.

That's it for now. I got progressively more angry as I started writing.

I think that episode 1 of this season was one of, if not the best, hour of television I've watched in a long time.

I'm surprised that the season as a whole left me so disappointed.

Also, it's really funny that they got Thomas Keller to do a cameo, since Joel McHale is based off him lmao

[j-nope-not-today]

Ok, so I've got quite the doozy for you! how would each of the turtle brothers try and help their bro if one of them was getting married and they're trying to put together a wedding ceremony?

TMNT helping with their brothers wedding

A/n: thanks so much for requesting! I hope I got what you were imagining and sorry it took so long!

Raphael

Alright so for starters..he's gonna tease the all living hell out of his brother... doesn't matter who it is.

Their getting teased.

Then he's gonna throw in the sincere congratulations, but it's only gonna be him and said brother.

Raph isn't getting sentimental with anyone else around. No way

He isn't the best planner

Let's be so for real he'll probably need help from everyone else to plan any sort of wedding ceremony

The only thing you can guarantee he'll have done is his speech

Ohh..he's gonna have a bomb ass speech and he's definitely gonna have someone shedding tears

But despite his planning fallbacks he is really happy for his brother and I can definitely see him secretly crying at the wedding and defending himself with

"what? Did someone cut an onion?"

He's a softie..we all know it..but he's gonna act all tough.

Leonardo

Surprisingly I think Leo would be the life of the party..which hear me out

Yes he's all serious and leader-ish

But when it comes to his brothers wedding he lets loose

He plans the fuck out of the wedding

He goes all out with everything

It's definitely gonna fancy

One word..well two: chocolate fountain

Yeah.. that's right he's got one for the buffet table.

He'll invite everyone he absolutely can

It's gonna be a blast for everyone present

He's gonna freeze up on his speech though but float past it because he planned a great ceremony

And when the night winds down before his brother takes off with his new partner..

Leo is going to be shedding a tear and squeezing his bro in a death grip hug with the words

"I'm so proud of you.."

Donatello

Let's start off by saying he is very happy for his brother

But he isn't gonna be the best at showing it

Donnie can't really express his joy completely..he's weird like that

But he does put in a lot of effort to help plan the ceremony

He'll help with the banquet and who will sit where..

Donnie will take on the unfun planning stuff and plan it so his bro can be stress free

That's donnie's way of showing his happiness for his brother

He isn't gonna give a speech unless he's thrown into it

Then it's gonna be a stuttered mess of a speech but at least he's doing it

And he's probably gonna pull his brother to the side where no one can hear to tell him

"sorry if I'm being weird..it's just hard, because I'll see you less..and I don't know what to do without you around.."

It is then and only then that he'll crack a smile and hold his brother tight

Michelangelo

Mikey is HYPED

All caps because he is just so beyond happy for his brother

Though the planning of the ceremony is going to be absolutely hectic

He is chaos

So someone is going to have to keep him on track

Otherwise Mikey is honestly pretty good at planning

Though don't ask him why the buffet has like five different types of pizza

Because he doesn't know how that happened?

His speech is all over the place and he's crying in the middle of it

Full on crocodile tears

"I'm so happy for you..I can't wait to see you have little babies bro and i-"

He could go on and on all night

But he's truly super happy!

[asummersday]

Share some more ROTTMNT headcanons?

the hamatos have movie nights and board game nights. there’s no schedule for them, sometimes someone will go “movie night tonight?” or will text the gc “board games? i’m feeling some murder mystery tonight” and that’s how it goes. everyone participates. even splinter, and he complains but only to put on a show. he enjoys it. they play uno, clue, game of life, they play new and old games, play the ones they like more often, and throw out ones that suck. donnie has a spreadsheet for it (of course he does). mikey and splinter, surprisingly, are fucking RUTHLESS during monopoly. the wins are always tied between the two and that one time leo won by complete accident (thats what he says. donnie doesn't believe him ONE BIT because his twin is a lying liar who lies). everyone loves monopoly just because the chaos and the backstabbing is the most entertaining part.

mikey had a “copy everything donnie does/eat/likes” phase and leo had a “copy everything raph does/eat/likes” phase. (i am a firm ‘leo is the younger twin’ truther)

april an leo are face mask and skin care routine besties. she’s the reason he even KNOWS what both of these things are. she’s also the reason he even makes his dumb puns, because SHE makes them (and 9y/r leo was smack in the middle of his ‘copying his big bro’ phase. it extended to april, who basically became his big sister). donnie constantly tells her he still has not forgiven her for that (jokingly)

Lou Jitsu was ABSOLUTELY Sexiest Man Alive at one point i'll tell you that

donnie’s eye starts twitching when he’s annoyed (mostly when leo annoys him). it happens so often that it starts twitching when leo isn't even in the same room and donnie will go “leo's doing something stupid again”

leo doesn't fall asleep easily but when hes a sleep my mans ASLEEP. nothing can wake him up. hes usually a light sleeper but when he hasn't slept in 3+ days and passes out at 12:30pm on the couch? he's literally dead to the world. his brothers take FULL advantage of this. stacking food/objects? yes. drawing on his face/arms/legs etc? for sure. mikey paints his shell sometimes. he once painted all of starry night without leo waking up once.

raph is wary of cass when she first joins, but when they find how many interests they share, they become almost instant best friends. they're inseparable and hang out all the time its amazing. everyone is terrified of them because they've seen how violent their sparring sessions get.

mikey watched lilo and stitch when he was like 5 and instantly zeroed in on the whole ‘voodoo spoon’ thing and tries to do the same thing. his dad and raph are extremely concerned (and slightly off-put. mikey was a weird child)

when he was younger, he had a terrible case of separation anxiety. it gets better as he grows older, and then comes slamming back full force after the krang. if his brothers aren’t in his immediate sights, he will just. panic. it takes… too long for him to stop having panic attacks when he wakes up and one or two of his brothers aren’t present (especially leo. he latches onto leo the longest after. it takes nearly as long as leo’s recovery does for mikey to be able to sleep without leo in the same room)

splinter, the old sap, actually has hundreds of pictures of his boys growing up. so much that he has dozens of photo albums spanning the years. you can tell exactly when april shows up in their lives because one day she’s not there at all and the next its like he got a fifth kid. he loves leafing through them on occasion, reminiscing and definitely not crying. not all the albums survived the shredder, but enough did to still recount the years. after the invasion, splinter moves the albums from his room and into a shelf in the living room. (hes caught his kids more than once poring over the books, either alone or huddled together on the floor. he always leaves, allowing them this moment alone.)

[craacked-splatters]

"I know"

"Do u want to see what I added today?"

"Sure buddy"

(insane rambling below!)

Scrapbooks! Scrapbooks! Hell yeah!!

Hello to the 5 ppl seeing this👋 Ima be real Im running on 7 hours of sleep after 5day grind brain mushy rn and I scribbled everything maniacally by memory at 3am after having one of those revelation moments so I have no idea what I'm missing lmao. This is actually the first time drawing them like this 2. Really proud of it

and B4 u ask anything hear me out.

So like tmnt2012 mutant apocalypse am I right?

Yeah it's flawed and pacings off and stuff BUT! The implications it left behind are haunting and it has been stuck in my brain for years. One of the things that stuck with me was the fact that Raph and Don had stuff like April's tessen, Mikey's stuffed bear head, The Creeps containment jar, and Casey's skull(horrifying btw) with them and that it's like :((

I fully believe it was Donnie who collected and carried them everywhere in their car. Not only for Raph(to help with this memory)but also for himself.

Why? Well maybe I'm reading 2 much into it and it's also partly a HC of mine but also bc canonically Donnie has a bit of a hoarding habit collecting trinkets and pictures and stuff. He likes to keep things around that hold a lot of significant value to him.

We see this in The Creeping Doom during the intro

AND I swear he's got a literal wall of family photos in his lab somewhere I can't for the life of me find it but I know he did! He even took some to the farmhouse with him when they escaped during the invasion.

They're memories yk? Reminders..

Ok im having difficulty expressing this shit rn words r failing so like give me ur brain 4 a sec.

Imagine ur donbot.

You're stuck in a cold metal limbo for the rest of ur last remaining family members life. Everything and everyone you knew and cared about is dead and gone. Over thousands of species and ecosystems that made ur world unique wiped out. No more animals no more wild things no more blue clear skys. Death can't come for you. Not in a way that matters anymore.

And no matter where u go you are haunted by shadows of what once was. There are so many echoes and ghosts and cultures and stories and lives that were buried & left to rot by the gaping maws of fear & the desperate need to survive. No one cares for the past and the only other person around you can't remember it. Time will claim its domain again and there will be nothing left except empty metal husks to show sentience even existed in the first place.

Like holy shit he was just a kid bro and he never got the chance to even reach full adulthood!!! I can't possibly imagine the grief and guilt he must've carried with him all those years. He lost EVERYTHING

His family. His home. His world.

Did Donnie even get the chance to mourn??? Do u think his new body allowed it? Do u think he even ALLOWED himself to mourn? He had a hurt amnesiac brother who still needed to eat, who could still starve and bleed and die if they weren't careful enough.

So between his habits and the ✨Angst✨ and human pollution, him hoarding random ass things Wall-E style and making these shitty little scrapbooks or keepsakes didn't seem so far fetched to me. I also highly doubt there was enough time or resources to build shrines or graves in the middle of apocalypse. But yk honoring/preserving the memories of the things and ppl we love is natural for us so like SORRY if its a bit cringe of me wanting him to have SOMETHING to comfort him during the really bad days.

Even if its more bitter than sweet

Bonus doodads cuz I was indecisive:

The 1st was purple tinted cuz of donbot vision get it hehehe

[starlightshadowsworld]

Why do you like takemichi so much. You can go into a long rambling about what you like about him

That’s a relief because there’s no way I would’ve been able to just summarise my thoughts.

Of which I have many.

When it comes to Takemichi I didn’t have particularly have any strong feelings regarding him. That is until I watched the Battle of 8/3 and he became my favourite.

It’s where him as a character comes full circle. Where he shows everyone and himself who he is and what he’s capable of.

It’s before anyone knew about the future. Before Chifuyu and even before Takemichi joined Toman. This is the night his name became known. He’s all alone and the first thing he does is fail.

And he carries on. He picks up Draken and stumbles his way down an alleyway. Only to get cornered by the man who almost beat him to death previously, Kiyosama.

Who tells him to run if he knows what’s best for him. Because he sees Takemichi as a coward. And Takemichi himself saw himself as one. And yet after a second of hesitation, Takemichi puts Draken down and stands to fight.

He is completely out numbered and outclassed. It would’ve been so easy for Takemichi to ditch Draken and run. It’s the cowards way out and Takemichi has said that this future is already lost.

It would make sense to give up but that’s not who Takemichi is. He sees Draken, Emma and Hina all with him. Mikey who trusted him to take care of Draken. So while they’re here, while he still has people to protect.

It’s not over.

The odds are completely against him and he’s well aware if he loses their all dead. He rips the knife out of his hand, bites Kiyosama and chokes him out till he’s out cold.

It is one of my favourite fights and favourite moments in this series. It shows how far Takemichi will go for the people he loves. And he proves to himself and everyone else that he’s no coward.

He lived a whole life of running away and he will never run again. He’s not Mikey, he’s not Draken. Lord knows someone’s probably better suited to saving the future than him. But it’s his responsibility so he’ll do it anyway.

Takemichi who gives everything his all no matter what. He lived a life running away from everything and himself, and he’ll never run again.

He cares so much for his friends that he would set himself ablaze to keep them warm. He puts himself through hell, saving strangers at times (Hakkai, Inupi and Koko) all because they need his help.

Takemichi is so selfless that it has consequences. Which we don’t often see but it genuinely has a negative impact on him. He would’ve stayed in that burning car with Hina if she didn’t push him out.

He breaks down in the hospital.

He’s a light in the darkness while not being immune to that darkness. He wanted to kill Kisaki. Theres a future where he was the one who had Hina killed. And learning that just about destroys him.

And he still keeps going.

Takemichi inspires people in a way that makes sense. And I love seeing them look up and help him too. The best way I can describe Takemichi (other than the living embodiment of “I’m still standing) is that he’s so completely and utterly human.

He’s not the invincible Mikey or the unmatched Senju. He’s just a guy who got lucky one day and doesn’t know when to quit. He got a second chance and he won’t waste it. He’s great because everything about him tells you he shouldn’t be.

And he is anyway.

Takemichi has so much heart and all he wants is for his friends to be happy. He would do anything for them, even at the cost of himself. And his friends want him to save them and they want to save him too.

Because he wasn’t alone in that fight. Because Hina called the Mizo Middle. Because Draken stood up beside him and said if we fall we fall together.

He is the embodiment of this series and he’s my favourite character in all of Tokyo Revengers.

[an-idiot-in-fandoms]

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT THE MEMBERS OF MCR???

A-FUCKING-TTENTION. I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS SOMETHING.

as my followers may know i am a giant mcr stan. i love their music. i think most of the band are good people. however, something came to my attention.

i haven't made it a secret that i am NOT a fan of Lindsey Way, Gerard's wife, who is a racist, pedophile apologist. learning about her being a giant piece of shit made me very sad to acknowledge that if Gerard is willing to not only marry her, but use the reunion tour as also an opportunity to uncancel his dear precious wife or some bullshit, then he's not obviously the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to race and racism in general. the fact that they even endorsed and was a fan of MSI, a "shock humour" band, which used slurs to get attention (which is fucking pathetic by the way), says a lot already. perhaps it speaks to the rock scene's general tolerance for racism at the time in the 2000s, but it wasn't the 1800s. Jimmy Urine was still a white man using the n-word at full volume, and profiting off of it during his concerts and releasing his music.

and maybe shut the fuck up if you're going to call me a "snowflake" about it, because chances are you're white, and you have no fucking clue how dangerous this rhetoric can be towards POC, who have to put up with the normalisation of slur use that the band encourages. i am a POC, and i find the fact that he used that language for money and fame absolutely disgusting. the whole band is disgusting. they can rot in hell.

anyway.

i came across a blog, not going to say which one, but one where it called out Lindsey Way. i was like "ok cool someone else who can use critical thinking in this fandom and doesn't just blindly support Gerard even though he's still definitely not the goddamn messiah". so i go on a scroll through their blog. they were a big fan of Frank, and i respect that, Frank deserves all of his flowers and more.

and then it got weird.

i came across posts where they speculated on the dynamic of the band. and a lot of things were spoken about, where they talked about Gerard being manipulative towards Frank, and how Frank didn't like going on the American leg of the tour during the reunion, and how, basically, they weren't friends, and how Gerard wasn't a good person.

the point is - there was A LOT of speculation. it made me upset to be reading it because i felt as though i'd been punched in the face, reading all this stuff about a guy i look up to partially. i sort of fell into a rabbit hole scrolling through their tumblr, getting more depressed, feeding into the logic that i could never truly feel happy about liking mcr again, reading about all of these theories, and---

hold the phone.

did you read that?

THEORIES.

it occurred to me that these were THEORIES. and the way they were demonising certain people, such as putting down Ray in certain posts to make way for Frank, made me realise that there's a problem with this fandom and how people like to assume what happens with the band members' personal life, and how they interact with each other. people like to speculate in this fandom. like, a lot.

i'll assume it's partially due to how most of the band don't shed a lot of light on their personal lives, only really Frank and Mikey are active on social media, usually showing appreciation for their families/or Frank's countless side-projects (which are all great btw, go listen to Parachutes again). so a lot of the fandom turn to speculation, to come up with these theories that "oh there's in-fighting", or "Gerard is secretly an evil genius who manipulates the whole band".

these are real people. Gerard isn't a saint, despite what some people may believe (cough, girlgerard, cough), but what we don't have to do is start making up bullshit about them being a certain way with no evidence. it's all speculation. and it's demeaning, not only to Frank and Gerard, who've probably had enough with the rumours about them over the years, but for Mikey and Ray as well.

these people aren't your friends. they're not some mystical beings shrouded in darkness that you have to find everything out about either. they are people in a band.

going too deep into speculation robs them of their autonomy. it makes everyone in the fandom look like creeps as well. it's horrible to see, and it takes away the real importance of critical thinking.

you can think critically about Gerard for marrying and excusing a racist woman, because there is EVIDENCE of her being racist. there is EVIDENCE of her being a pedophile apologist. that brings up questions about his own views on race, and how much he's willing to excuse, if he could love someone who willingly takes part in racism.

you can't do the same for Frank and Gerard's relationship. we know JACKSHIT about that. they have never said anything negative pertaining to each other in interviews, whatever "beef" people have made up between them is entirely manufactured by the fandom's overactive imagination. it's like a dead-dove fanfic on AO3 for fuck's sake, where Gerard is tagged as an asshole.

i'm aware it is only a small proportion of people who do this. but the extent to which they do it is honestly shocking. so i got pissed off.

we don't need to know everything about what happens with the band members. Frank has LS Dunes. Mikey has his family. who the fuck knows what Ray and Gerard are doing.

(now, no one's complaining about the lack of Ray on social media, but when people see a picture of Gerard's hand they flip out and beg for a face reveal - but no one's ready for that convo...)

point is: let them be. work with what you get. there's no need to make up things to make it all interesting, to create conflict - you've got that with the heavily problematic connection to MSI. evidence is key. you do not need to analyse these people like they're fictional characters.

because they are PEOPLE. and people are neither completely good or bad, they are usually in the grey area.

[rfxiii]

Okay, so I'm the person who made the request about Michael and his wife being toxic about each other.

Since then I can't stop fantasizing about Michael taking his wife to a bank robbery with Trevor and Franklin... I just imagine Michael and his wife yelling and cursing at each other (she totally slaps and pushes him, and he just curses her) in the back seat in the car only to be kissing and dry humping the next second. All while Franklin and Trevor are sitting up front in the car lmao.

(This is…incredibly late. Life hit me hard and fast the last few months, but I apologize for the delay.)

TW: light smut

Minors DNI

Rain droplets trail in little rivulets down the tinted windows of the van Trevor had stolen earlier in the night, leaving streaks of wet that mimic the twinkle of fairy lights as the street lamps make each drop glow against the inky black of the night. Normally, a night like this would be full of long silences only curtailed by Franklin changing the low tune on the radio, or Michael and Trevor’s usual bickering. Even for this usually lively group of bank robbers, a stakeout grew boring quickly.

But tonight, much to the displeasure of Franklin and Trevor, there would be no silence— as tonight, Michael had opted to bring you along.

“Mikey, oh my god! Could you breathe any louder?! You sound like an asthmatic!” You snap at Michael for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. You’re not even sure why you agreed to come along. It’s like he goes out of his way to be extra obnoxious when you tag along on jobs with him.

Michael scoffs out a loud laugh, the sounds of the beginning of yet another argument. Franklin and Trevor each cringe from their places in the front seats of the van.

“Oohoh, you’re seriously going to start this already?” Michael chuckles sardonically. “Fine! Maybe I wouldn’t be fightin’ to breathe if you didn’t put on perfume like a cheap hooker!”

“Or maybe it’s because you chain smoke like you’re a fucking train! It’s probably the cancer suffocating you!” You snort back without thought, more than used to making quick retorts in these arguments with Michael.

“Great! Ya see? I can’t even have one ounce of enjoyment in my life without you bitchin’ at me for it!” Michael shouts back at you, lighting up one of his damn cigarettes just to spite you. And as if that little act of defiance wasn’t enough, then he addresses your two companions in the front seat. “Lemme tell you guys something— never get married! You especially, Frank. Let us be a lesson!”

“Oh, fuck you, Michael,” you shout at him with a firm slap to his broad shoulder, “don’t bring them into this shit! Besides..being married wouldn’t be so bad..if I wasn’t married to you!”

“Yeah, well, the same goes for me, angel! I’m startin’ to think I shoulda just left you right where I found you! My biggest mistake was to let you keep hangin’ around!” Michael snaps at you with such disgust you may have actually taken him seriously…had you two not been having this same argument for years now.

If there was one thing about you and Michael, it was that you just couldn’t leave each other alone. And after several years of being married, you were both more than sure that no matter how hard you fought, nobody was going anywhere.

“Bullshit! Before me you were fucking paying for your blowjobs!” You spit at him with equally matched venom. “So, unless you want to go back to that, I suggest you rethink your attitude!”

Michael reclines further in his seat, speaking from around a mouthful of cheap smoke, “You still end up with my money! And you don’t even put out half the time! At least those other girls knew when to shut up and blow me!”

“Fine! Bring it over here and I’ll bite it off, Mikey!” You all but scream at him, giving his shoulder another firm shove in the process.

“Oh, I’m sure you would!” Michael shouts back with equal ferocity, jerking away from your violent touch. “But I’d love to watch you choke on it, sweetheart!”

The two of you always got so absorbed in your petty little arguments, so absorbed that you’ve both failed to notice the increasingly dark energy brewing in the front seat. You see, Trevor usually didn’t give much thought to you and Michael’s toxic interactions—usually laughing it off or disregarding it as just an annoying facet of his best friends relationship. But, trapped for hours in the confines of this van, the arguing is beginning to wear thin his already flimsy patience.

And while neither you nor Michael notice Trevor’s agitation, Franklin finds himself cringing as he hears Trevor’s irritated mumbling rise in frequency until he’s finally shouting over both you and Michael.

“Would you two SHUT the FUCK UP?! If you assholes think it’s necessary to air your marital problems in front of an audience, then do it in front of a divorce lawyer, or your shrink, or some other poor bastard that’s getting PAID to listen to it! Now, unless you’re planning on writing me a check for whatever those rates are…SHUT THIS SHIT DOWN!” Trevor finally explodes, fists gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white.

The silence falls heavily in the van, only Trevor’s labored breathing permeating the stagnation. And it’s only once he’s certain that neither you, nor Michael, are planning on continuing the argument, that Trevor turns back around in his seat and turns up the radio just a fraction to fill the, now blissful, silence.

Franklin feels the tension slowly ease from his shoulders, and he lets out a barely audible sigh of relief, too cautious to make any louder noise. And as the quiet stretches for the longest duration since you’d all gotten into the van together, he’s relieved to finally get back on the task of staking out the warehouse Lester had sent you all to begin with. That is, until he hears something that makes his skin prickle.

You hadn’t really given much thought to being quiet or not. Once you’d caught Michael giving you that look from across the seats, all rational thoughts had left your head—just like they always do after you two fight. And the next thing you know you find yourself straddling Michael’s hips and letting out soft moans into the messy kiss you’re both desperately sharing.

“Come on, man..” You hear Franklin mutter softly to himself— you know you’ve been caught. But you’re so overwhelmed in the euphoria, and adrenaline of yet another fight, that you completely disregard it.

Your hips roll in well timed thrusts against the stiff fabric of Michael’s suit pants, and it’s not long after that you feel his thick cock prodding against you. Michael’s hands slip under your shirt, gripping firmly at the soft skin at your waist while he drags you more aggressively against him. And damn him, if he doesn’t pull another gasping, desperate moan from your lips while you now know you’re being watched.

And Michael knows it too. He’d caught Trevor’s persistent gaze in the rear view mirror, but he makes no move to stop— more than used to Trevor peeping in, or blatantly watching him, while he’s in the act. And frankly, Trevor is the least of his worries at a time like this.

If you were being quite honest, both you and Michael enjoyed these fights just as well as you enjoyed foreplay. You could spend all day, sometimes even all week, in some hateful argument just to end up tangled up together on the nearest available surface to fuck away all of the built up tension. It’s what’s always made your fucked up relationship work, and you knew nobody else could match that energy except Michael. And you knew he knew it too. There’s nobody in the world that would put up with the shit he puts you through the way that you do.

“Hey, hey! Heads up!” Franklin interjects, pulling you and Michael away from your frantic groping. “I think this is it.”

You reluctantly peel yourself from Michael’s lap, biting back a smirk when you spot his throbbing boner straining against his pants. And when he spots that taunting grin on your lips, Michael’s hand snaps out to firmly grasp your ass before you plant it back in the seat— letting you know that this is far from over.

“Alright, perverts.” Trevor calls to you both from the front. “As much as I love watching a good hatefuck, it looks like it’s time to work!”

“Yeah, yeah. Shut the hell up, T.” Michael grumbles, shooting you a quick side-eye paired with his most charming crooked grin.

And god, now you can’t wait for this night to be over for a whole other reason.