#rottmnt sunita x reader

[acesgarden]

Lowkey based off of an old fanfic of mine that got accidentally deleted :<. So to the person who requested the og Rise!April sleepover fic (if you’re still here), This one goes out to you 🫡.

|| Girl’s Night

Pairing(s) ->

Rise!April O’N. Sunita, and Cassandra J. + F!Reader

Warning(s) ->

N/A.

Summary ->

Sleepover at April’s ft. Sunita and Cassandra.

1k Words : Masterlist

Worn shoes beat against old stairs. Climbing them has become a second nature to her. The hallway of the second floor wasn’t dim, but not harshly lit either. Though there was this one light that constantly flickered. Always some strange rhythmic pattern. She continued on, passing door after door while she counted the numbers as they went by.

213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 21- she stopped immediately, backtracking to apartment 216. giggling to herself and readjusting her backpack. Raising her fist she knocked on the wooden door. There was faint talking coming from deep in the apartment. Then there were footsteps approaching and the door opened.

“Oh! I’m happy you could make it, honey. April, Sunita, and Casey are in the living room waiting for you. I’m just about to head out, so do take care of the apartment.” She loved April’s mom, most everyone did. She treated all of April's friends like her own kids. The older woman followed after her to the living room and gave April a quick peck on the forehead. All four girls waved goodbye as April’s mom left for work. A late call in. Not that April ever minded, nor the three other girls. Who turned to the latest arrival.

“Soooo, what snacks ya get?” Casey was the first one to speak up. Casey leaned in close as she plopped on the floor. Pulling the bag from behind after she sat and unzipped it.

“I went and raided the nearest convenience store.” She flipped over her bag and various kinds of chips, candies, and other goodies fell out of it.

“And-“ she flipped the bag right side up, unzipping the front pocket. Shoving her hand in and pulling out a few extra bags of popcorn.

“I came prepared.”

“You are a lifesaver! I completely forgot to grab extras.” April laughed, she had been very busy with setting up for their monthly girls night.

She smiles big, passing things out, everyone has their tastes and when plain popcorn is made it goes by quickly. They all began setting up for the night, blankets, pillows, foods, movies, and other activities.

They talked as they did. Casey talking about her life after leaving the foot, she was trying out for hockey again. Reminiscing over her childhood team. Sunita talks about her new job on the surface and her work with integrating Mutants, Yōkai, and Humans. April mentioned more of the integration project as well as the work she does now as a news journalist. The later arrival intrigued, asked questions and eventually updated about her own life.

The chatter quieted as the group got settled. April sorted through the movies as they decided which one to watch first. She had grabbed five, a few favorites, a musical and three newly released movies. Each with their own tastes, but eventually they all decided on Howl’s Moving Castle. Sure they’ve watched it hundreds of times but it was good! With them in agreement they fully settled into their spots and started the movie.

a decent portion of the movie had passed when Casey started dozing off. Sunita noticed her first, grabbing a nearby pillow and whacking her on the head. Casey jumped up.

“You started it.” Casey snatched a pillow and threw it at Sunita, but she missed and it hit April in the back of the head. Name remained oblivious to the pillow fight stirring as she was engrossed in the movie. Until a stray pillow hit her in the back of her head. To which she turned and looked at the scene. April pillowless, Casey with a pillow in hand bonking Sunita who’s pillow lay in her grasp below Casey.

Name turned to face them. Before grabbing a pillow as it went flying. The pillow fight continued with pillows flying, giggles and laughter, and light hearted shrikes as the group of girls lost track of the movie.

That was till a knock at the door sounded and all four of them froze.

“The pizza!” April scrambled up rushing to the door. The other three settled and tidied up just a smidge. They turned as April closed the door with her foot and headed to the kitchen. Everyone followed after her, talking and helping her set up. Grabbing slices and then leaving the leftovers of pizzas in the oven for April’s mom once she returned.

Everyone returned to their seats, munching on pizza as the movie continued. Each time starting up a new one, followed by chatting and jokes and the occasional person getting up for another slice. Cracking open the bags of chips, candies, and other goodies occurred throughout the night. Once April went to the kitchen and came back with four tubs of icecream.

Maybe stopping to play a game or do another little activity together before eventually returning to a new movie. This went on for hours.

The movies ended, games and food put away. Pillows and blankets readjusted. Everyone was readying for bed. Doing a quick thing of skincare, helping with hair and everything else needed.

All of them were quick to doze off, tired and exhausted from their previous ventures. it quickly became quiet and the room filled with sleeping kids. Mayhem curled up by April like an actual cat would do.

They all whispered good night to each other and some managed to fall asleep faster than others, while some quickly scrolled on their phone to fall asleep. They too eventually fell asleep.

It was late- or well early in the morning when Mrs. O’Neil returned home. Tired from work and relieved to not hear any screams from the apartment. Opening the door to find all four girls passed out line a light. Their weird dog thing curled up by April. She smiled and quietly stepped into the kitchen, seeing the note about the leftover pizza. Getting herself a quick two slices before turning back to the four girls laying dead asleep. Missing April’s forehead and giving them all a quietly whispered goodnight.

Tags: @fluffybun24

[adorkablecringeworks]

That Color Looks Good on You

| First | Next | Previous |

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Pairing: rottmnt x gn!reader

Warnings: Mild swearing

Summery: You show off your new lipstick to your favorite dork, Leo. After a series of events, you and Leo come up with a plot for a perfect prank. You’ll ambush every one of his siblings and smother them in kisses with your new lipstick all the while Leo films the whole thing. Let the Shenanigans Commence!

Author’s Note: I originally came up with this as a Leo x Reader. But the way the story progressed, it can be read as any rottmnt x reader as well as either romantic, platonic, or familial. The same can be said for the gender. I was putting on my own lipstick when I thought up this scenario and I thought ANYONE CAN WEAR LIPSTICK!!! So gender neutral it is! Writing in the 2nd person made it easy too.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Part 1: Neon Leon

You are excited about your new lipstick.

Berry pink.

Not too light. A deep shade without it being too dark.

Putting on the final touches, you admire yourself in your bathroom mirror. It made you feel strong, confident, Dazzling!

“Whadda ya think?”

You strike a pose in your bedroom doorframe, framing your face with your hands. You have returned from your shopping trip and eager to show off your spontaneous purchase. Your favorite mutant turtle ninja lounges on your bed with his snout deep in the newest issue of Jupiter Jim: New Universe H2G2. Not only is he claiming your space as his own… he’s out right ignoring you.

Leonardo Hamato. Your other half, partner in crime, bestie, your first mate. Although Leo would beg a differ on that last part, claiming that since he’s the only one with pirate experience that you would be HIS first mate.

Eeeehhh… Tomato Tomahto.

The point being that you and your Neon Leon give April and Donnie the run for their money for the ‘Besties Awards’.

You deadpan at him. At this point in time, you’re thinking about accepting new applications for the Bestie role.

Meanwhile, that said comic (that is apparently Soooo much more interesting than you) was the purpose of your errand. A favor for him for it was sold out online and the one comic shop that still had it in stock was for pick up only. Donnie had gotten caught up in his newest project, something about a portal device to alternate realities, alternate selves, (other Mad Sciencey stuff) and Apparently forgot to preorder the damn thing. That particular shop just happens to be down the block from your apartment as well as you are the ‘bestest-most-awesome-supreme-person-ever-and-he-loves-you-sosososo-much’.

So much for being the ‘bestest most awesome supreme-’ so on and so forth.

With a huff, you pick up a hoodie you left on the floor, balled it up, and chucked right into Leo’s head. With a ‘THWUMPH’ and ‘hurmf ’, you pounce on him, snatching his comic from his grasp (carefully for you just bought the damn thing), setting it to the side during which you grab your pillow and whack his still covered head.

“I was joking!” He cries out as you laugh maniacally. “I heard you I heard you!”

Fully satisfied with his punishment, you stand up and plop to the side all the while you let him get his bearings. Leo finally frees himself from your shirt and throws it back on to the floor simultaneously sticking his tongue out at you.

Such a drama queen.

You roll your eyes and return the gesture whilst you adjust yourself to sit facing your Leo with him doing the same, finally takes in your lips.

“I like it.” He nods approvingly, “Muy Bien!”

You grin so big your checks begin to ache. But then you notice your turtle going quiet, grabbing his chin as he goes deep in thought.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keeps that up.”

You know to well how clever he is but that doesn’t mean you won’t give him a ration of shit. It’s in your job description.

It’s Leo’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I was just thinking on about how it would look on me.”

You lean back on your hands and squint at his face for a moment. You then pull out your lipstick form your pocket to hold the color bottom sticker up to him.

“Hmmm I don’t know… I think something more of a red shade would be better for you. You know, to match your moons.”

You love those moons.

“Are you kidding?!” The Bratticus Maximus snatches it out of your hand, “I can totally pull this off!”

You gasp and quickly reach for it back, but Leonardo (being a stupid fucking turtle ninja) easily keeps it out of your reach. Keeping you at bay by smooshing his hand against you cheek.

Where’s the respect?

Then a wicked idea creeps into your mind. You drop your arms and let them hang for a moment causing Leo to pause. You switch your effort. Grabbing his wrist, subsequently tearing it off your face. You then yank him towards you, pulling his face close to yours.

“Well then let’s try it out shall we?”

You lean in, planting a firm kiss to his cheek with an exaggerated ‘MWAH’ .

You take in his face for a moment as he gapes at you.

“Hmm I can’t tell, I need a larger sample size.”

A mischievous grin spreads across your face and in turn Leo balks. He’s on to you. You both are on the same wave length. Even though it isn’t possible, everyone swears you two can Mind Meld together. He goes to shove you with his free hand but you catch that wrist as well, leaving him open.

You attack.

Smooching all over his face, leaving kiss marks in your wake. He cries out as you leave no spot uncovered.

You fall back and admire you work while your dear slider sits there stunned

“I guess I was wrong,” you release him, “That color does look good on you.”

Leo bolts up and dashes to your bathroom to assess the extent of the damage during which you almost fall to the floor cackling.

You await his return, biting your lip, trying to stifle your giggles. However, you fail when he appears back in your doorway.

There Leo’s tries to put on his best sulk (adorable really), crossing his arms as you devolve to wheezing. But who’s he kidding. You got him good. Plus watching you turn blue in the face and on the verge of passing out is pretty hilarious in on it self.

He returns to your bathroom and you're able to gather yourself enough to follow. He give you his signature smirk once he sees you in the mirror where upon poses with his finger and thumb in the L position to under his chin.

“I told you a could pull it off .” His smugness oozing off of him as he looks over himself again. You swear you saw sparkles.

You’re finally able to get yourself under control and you meet his gaze in the mirror as you come up from behind him.

“Yeah ya did stud muffin.” You shoot him a wink. “That’s a good look on you.”

A furious blush blooms across your favorite blue boy’s face to which he responds by bumping his hips against yours as you pull up next to him. In turn, you bump back, pushing him over to make room for you in the mirror.

Chuckles are shared and you lean towards the mirror to reapply your lipstick.

There’s a moment of comfortable silence as you focus on the task at hand while Leo watches you. You and him share glances between each other through the mirror when a plot begins to form. Your shared glances become knowing ones. Insouciantly, you turn to face each other, Leo crossing his arms as you lean against the counter.

Your wicked grin returns to which the leader in blue bares one to match.

Once again, evidence that supports the conspiracy that both you can Mind Meld.

“Sooo…?”

“Sooooo…?

“We should show my brothers how good I look.”

“They’ll be sooooo jelly. We should totally include them so they don’t feel left out.”

Nonchalance is evident in your voices as you converse.

Leo reaches into his pouch to pull out his phone, his brows bounce up and down as he holds it up between you two. Your brows return the gesture in agreement. So, with your lipstick and his phone in hand, you both set off. At your front door, the true blue slider casually opens it and stands off to the side, bowing while holding his hand out. You play along, responding in a curtsy before placing your hand into his. The two of you are barely able to contain excitements check as you both leave your apartment.

You and Leo soon arrive at the lair, ready to set you plan into motion.

| First | Next | Previous |

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This is my first ever fic!!! For many years I’ve attempted writing. Most never made it past the notes and plot outlines while a few never made it past the first paragraph. My main medium for my creativity has always been drawing so this is a HUGE deal for me!!! Especially since any of possible skill for creative writing I had apparently died back in high school. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!❤️

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

[artemisia-the-turtle]

Cass:"Leo's mom has got it goin' on"

April:"She's all I want"

Sunita:"And I've waited for so long"

Cass:'Leo, can't you see?"

April:"You're just not the one for me"

Sunita:"I know it might be wrong but"

All three together:"I'm in love with Leo's mom"

(Name):"why thank you girls"

Leo:"I hate all of you"

Donnie:"... Last week they sang that as Donnie's Dad"

Leo:"Thats way worse, that's wrong with you all"

April:"and that the reaction we wanted out of this"

Cass:"though to be fair your mom is hot"

(Name):" I mean Lou was beautiful and Draxum isn't all that bad to look at either"

Donnie:"can everyone please reframe from talking about our parents attractiveness, please"

Leo:"it's disgusting"

Raph:"and it makes Raph uncomfortable"

Mikey:"yeah, even if our mom is the most beautiful person alive, our friends shouldn't comment on it"

[hypocriticaltypwriter]

so like, mixing both my hyperfixations in a TMNT×Lost Boys AU, amiright?

I'll make more screenshot redraws with the other characters I promi 🙏

[chairwritexv]

☏﹏﹏﹏[ 🇷 🇴 🇹 🇹 🇲 🇳 🇹

[ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ]

ʀᴀᴘʜᴀᴇʟ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

ʟᴇᴏɴᴀʀᴅᴏ

leo with a sibling that looks up to him

leo with a crush on a reader with audrey’s (BATIM) ink powers

leo with a crush on a reader that’s the drummer of his favorite band (part one) (part two) (part three)

leo with an embarrased!sibling!reader who enjoys girly things

ᴅᴏɴᴀᴛᴇʟʟᴏ

donnie with an insomniac!reader that wakes him up in the middle of the night for cuddles

ᴍɪᴄʜᴀʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

sᴘʟɪɴᴛᴇʀ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

ᴀᴘʀɪʟ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

ᴄᴀssᴀɴᴅʀᴀ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

ᴄᴀsᴇʏ ᴊʀ.

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

sᴜɴɪᴛᴀ

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...

ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ

rise!boys with an insecure!chubby!healer!sibling!reader

rise!boys + april/cassandra/casey jr with a reader that likes getting roasted

rise!boys with a sibling!reader that plays a lot of audio memes

rise!boys with a vtuber/streamer!sibling

rise!boys finding an anxious!leatherback sea turtle mutant!child!reader

[punkeccentricenigma]

!!HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!!

Relationship status: Platonic

Reader prounouns: They/Them

Words: 1565

TW: Mentioned Leo x Usagi ship, Kinda crack fanfic, Some grammatical errors because english is not my first language.

A/N: Happy Halloween, my dear ones! I wanted to write a special oneshot for this day, even though I personally don't celebrate this holiday. Poland is a 'Catholic' country, so such parties are not widely welcomed on a larger scale here. But that's nothing; I hope you'll like it, as I was in a bit of a hurry while writing this. Enjoy!

"Donnie, did you really have to order so many of these packages?" Donatello's sharp black eyebrows raised as he glanced over his shoulder at the red-headed turtle leaning against the mentioned items.

"Oh, Nardo, do you have to breathe?" Soft-shell responded with a shrug, continuing to type rapidly on the keyboard. "Of course! That's going to be the theme of my Halloween stream today—unboxing mystery boxes." Donnie's gaze returned to the screen in front of him as he organized all the tabs in OBS to avoid unnecessary issues.

"Wait, a stream?" Raph grabbed attention, setting down larger packages on the floor. "How do you even envision this, Donnie?" His tone suggested less than enthusiastic approval.

The genius's eyes started to sparkle as he began to gesture. "So, first, I'll greet the viewers with very enthusiastic manners, I have everything rehearsed. Then, I'll present today's plan with an intelligent joke, and after that...!"

"No, no, wait! That's not what I meant!" The red enthusiast furrowed his brow, shaking his head in disagreement. “What about ‘this whole situation’??” Donatello sighed in annoyance, rolling his eyes when his older brother made a characteristic hand gesture.

"My dear spiky brother, there's such a thing as 3D avatars used in VR, or Vtubers with other enhancements, so it's not a problem," Donatello declared, crossing his muscular arms. Sometimes he got frustrated with the lack of internet culture knowledge from those close to him. "Besides, it's Halloween today! No one will question the fact that giant mutated turtles are walking across the screen."

"Well, kind of right." Raphael slightly embarrassed himself, adjusting his arm from behind his neck. Suddenly, Mikey emerged from behind him, holding a small package.

"Oh, oh! Will you tell about my Tumblr!? I've been losing followers lately," the youngest of the brothers asked, throwing the object directly at the purple lover, who barely caught it.

"Yeah, yeah, maybe someday." Donatello mumbled, throwing the item at Leonardo, who took a hit on the head, letting out a soft 'ouch.' "Okay, get ready, it's about to hit six pm," he reminded his brothers, returning to his computer.

The atmosphere in Donatello's room was filled with movement as the sound of rustling cardboard boxes filled the air. Occasionally, the silence was interrupted by April's distant but loud voice as she entered the room with Sunita and [Y.N].

"Yo, guys!" April called out, her voice resonating in the room. "Wow, that's a lot of packages!"

The turtles looked at them in harmony, noticing their unusual costumes. April was dressed as a pirate, probably based on Captain Sparrow with feminine additions; Sunita, despite being in her original Yokai form, had an outfit reminiscent of Rosalina from the Mario series. And [Y.N]? Just plain white rabbit ears on their head.

"Not too much, is it?" The rabbit teenager added, nudging one of the packages to get through.

"I'm not starting that topic again," Soft-shell announced with a quiet sigh.

"But it might take ages to unpack them, and we wanted to go trick-or-treating today!" [Y.N] observed, standing next to Leonardo, who wanted to touch their hair accessory. Of course, the teenager hit his three-fingered hand. "Your boyfriend has the same, if not better."

"He's not my boyfriend!" His voice was sharp, but a moment later, a malicious smile appeared on his lips. "...Yet."

"I want to be invited to your wedding," [Y.N] winked with a smirk, lightly elbowing the center of his plastron.

"Okay, we're starting, everyone take your seats!"

And so the stream began, initiated just as Donatello had tried to explain earlier.

"...So, moving on to the first package, Leo, catch!" Leonardo's dark eyes narrowed as he saw another incoming package, so out of reflex, he pulled out his sword from the sheath and impaled the cardboard on the blade.

"Oops?"

"LEO, YOU IDIOT, I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE YOUR WEAPONS IN YOUR ROOMS!!"

"MAYBE IF YOU DIDN'T THROW STUFF AT ME RANDOMLY, I WOULDN'T FEEL THREATENED IN THIS PLACE!"

"And here we go again..."

Fortunately, there was nothing more valuable in this box than simple fabric hairbands used for makeup.

"Do you think there will be anything cool, D? Like the latest iPad, or at least good coffee?" [Y.N] asked, handing a small, fluffy package to Donatello.

"I hope so because I spent over 4 thousand dollars on this palette!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, DONATELLO??"

□□□□□□□□

"Aww, this little octopus is so cute!" Sunita declared as she unwrapped a small blue octopus from the foil. "But why does it look so sad?"

"Oh, oh! Wait, I'll show you something!" Michelangelo tossed the camera up (which Raph caught at the last moment), practically jumping to the sitting girl on the floor. With a nimble move, he took the plush from her and turned the material to the other side, revealing a pink octopus, this time smiling.

Sunita's eyes sparkled, and she easily hugged the toy.

"Okay, viewers, if anyone wants this plush, message me on...!"

"I want it!"

"But...!"

"Please, D!" The charming Yokai's voice caused a slight panic on Donnie's part, who couldn't maintain eye contact with the girl.

Finally, he sighed heavily, turning towards the camera. "Okay, take it," he said quietly, glancing at the chat from the corner of his eye. "Sorry, viewers, content creators' friends come first!"

□□□□□□□□

"Hey, hey, people!" Leonardo started, almost sinking into colorful styrofoam as he tried to reach for something. Finally, he raised his arms, revealing a costume based on the character Lou Jitsu.

"Woah!"

"I'm taking this!" The high-pitched voice of the red-faced turtle woke his brothers from admiration.

"Hey hey! That's not fair, Leo!" Raphael was visibly displeased. "You had such a costume when you were at Big Mama's!"

"Hahaha! But this is a limited edition~!" Nardo replied with a malicious smile, pointing with his hand at the entire suit, then putting on his distinctive glasses. "So, no, no defeat!" And so he began to escape from the Laboratory amidst the protests of his brothers. The remaining trio of friends stayed in the room, giggling.

"Well..." April began, taking off her pirate hat. "Let's keep opening."

Sunita nodded energetically, grabbing another package, also trying not to knock the plush off her arm.

[Y.N] uncertainly picked up the camera and turned it towards themself. "I still don't know why you willingly want to watch this nerd," the teenager commented with a malicious smile, reading the chat. Her eyebrows suddenly raised "No, it's not Markiplier in a turtle costume. Start reading Ao3, not Wattpad, you pervs."

□□□□□□□□□

"We have about 6 packages left, good job, guys!" Donatello's empty joy echoed through the room. Raph rolled his eyes, getting up from the chair.

"I'm going for chips," he declared straightforwardly, heading towards the exit. Suddenly, in front of his face, he saw the characteristic red eyes and puffed cheeks along with a loud 'BOO!'

The teenager screamed in horror, jumping backward and accidentally knocking over packed items. A chorus of laughter filled the room, causing a groan of pain from the red enthusiast.

"Hahaha! Sorry, big guy!" [Y.N] took off the 'Saw' horror series mask they were wearing. A proud smile was on their face. "I'll give this mask to Casey Jr. It seems to be in his style."

Raphael muttered quiet curses, pushing some things aside to stand up. "I'll revenge, [Y.N]!"

"Mhm, then Mrs. Cuddles will come into play."

If turtles could miraculously turn pale, Raph was feeling it perfectly now. "Okay, I take it back..."

A moment later, after a brief commotion and endless jokes about Raphael's fear, everyone sat down again at the table, ready to continue opening the remaining packages.

Determined, Donnie started talking to his viewers, trying to encourage them to donate, ignoring the earlier incident. This time, Leo carefully observed everyone approaching with a package, waiting for any surprises.

Suddenly, April's laughter resonated as she pulled out one of the many candy packages.

"I know what will help lighten the mood!" April exclaimed, holding another package in her hand. "Who wants the gummy bears bag first?"

Everyone immediately jumped up, reaching out to her.

"May the fastest win!" [Y.N] shouted, trying to grab the gummy bears package. It could be said that it was the favorite candy of the gathered group.

"I'll never lose!" Michelangelo already had the package in his hands, but suddenly Raphael's hand appeared and grabbed it before him.

"It's for me!" he exclaimed, holding the bag in the air.

A mix of joy, laughter, and sighs of disappointment filled the laboratory.

And when the last package was opened, and the contents exposed on camera, everyone looked at each other with a smile, after ending the stream. "So, can we go trick-or-treating now?" Sunita innocently asked, bouncing.

"We already have plenty here," Leo pointed out, swallowing the bitter chocolate that was found at the beginning of the stream.

"Give me a break; it's not such a pleasant experience!"

"Ohoho! The youth is going trick-or-treating?" from behind the frame, none other than Splinter himself peeked out, wearing his attire from the days of glory. "I am going too!"

"Aren't you too old for this?" Donatello sarcastically asked, shutting down the computer. Their father's muzzle revealed displeasure at his attitude.

"No one is too old for sweets! Let's go before Cassandra grabs them all!"

[dancingdonatello]

Hello, could you write a headcanon about Leo de Rottmnt on how he would react when he realizes he is in love with a human?

rise leo x gn reader

How many blind dates had he been on? Too many to count. He’d even agreed to be set up with Sunita’s cousin, who was the same sort of goop yokai except she was blue.

Every yokai he went out with, he always ended up ghosting them. Ignoring their messages, pretending not to know them when they ran into each other in the Hidden City. No matter how exasperated April and Sunita got, he just never felt right with any of them.

They all just seemed the same to him and he hated having to do small talk over and over again to just end up ignoring them a few hours after. It was a waste of time at this point. He should just pull a Donnie and write his age, favorite color, and hobbies down on a notecard and hand it off to the next yokai he went out with.

Not even at the bars or clubs he had followed Raph into had he spotted anyone. He always ended up slipping away into the crowd when everyone approached him.

His family was getting sick of him acting antisocial and then complaining about not having anyone. Hell, even Donnie was sneaking out at night, probably to meet someone.

The only one who ever listened to him without complaining was you now. Not that he could complain all the time, you were always busy and with your new… friends. He rolled his eyes at the thought of them.

You were always off with your completely 100% normal and human friend group, leaving him, his brothers, and April behind most of the time. April was always welcome but not them for obvious reasons.

You used to be at the lair everyday. Leo would share his comics. He’d teach you to skate. He’d throw popcorn at you when you ‘ooh’ed over a hot guy on love island. He barely saw you anymore. He’d portal into your room and it’d always be dark and empty.

And in every photo you had shown of your new friend group, there was always one bland looking dude right next to you. Always close, shoulders touching. Once you even giggled shyly when he mentioned it. It still made him mad just thinking about you going out with some shmuck that looked like every average guy walking around in the city.

He didn’t even look half as muscular as Leo. He didn’t have any of the flashy markings that glowed that Leo had. He couldn’t portal you to Paris or to the ancient pyramids. He didn’t even save the world. And yet you were probably more with him than with Leo.

Did you think of how Leo could effortlessly pick you up when that guy tried to do the same? Did he think of how Leo who could hold you up with one arm? Leo who could take you wherever you wanted?

At the very moment he was about to call you to find an excuse to complain about your guy friend, he finally realized what was actually doing on.

Of course he’d fall in love with someone he couldn’t have.

And it wasn’t like Leo could actually do everything with you like he tried to convince himself he could. You were a human and wanted to human things with human people. He couldn’t go into public with you. Kids would cry. Women would throw their purses at him. You’d be lonely with him.

So he didn’t call you. He’d let you hang out with your real friends and hopefully as you forgot about him, he’d be able to move on.

[afreakingdork]

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Moonshine - Chapter 14

RotTMNT x Reader

Mikey's experiencing something new in this week's chapter art by @2aceofspades

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?

Another screeching shout out to @marwhoa for giving this chapter not one, but two sensitivity reads because I kept re-writing it!

First 💛 Previous

This chapter was unfortunately a little too powerful (read as long) so it is only available to read on Ao3

Recommended listening to pair with this chapter:

💛 NEXT 💛

Still shouting out my darling betas of whom I hope things are starting to improve @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83 🤞

[crystalandparrot]

Rottmnt x Reader

Chapter 1

Please don’t steal or use ideas without permission :)

This is an AU! The reason will be explained in later chapters, but in this AU, the yokai and mutants are fully integrated with humans. The hidden city mainly consists of Yokai and mutants with the occasional human visitor or partner.

Donatello is an independent scientist who still goes by Othello Von Ryan. He found out through trial and error that he was not made for a group laboratory. Now Donatello mainly confides himself in his lab at the lair, he's expanded of course, a man of his caliber shouldn't have to deal with such a small area. He's made great strives in the scientific community, solving some of the world's leading problems. Having won numerous awards, he still finds himself unfulfilled somehow.

Michelangelo is a successful artist, both on paper and in the kitchen. He records himself on the internet, hoping to inspire young minds to fulfill their dreams, no matter how they may look. He prefers to try anything and everything he can, gaining many new skills and discovering new things about himself. Although his desserts were delicious, the feeling of being alone only left a sour taste in his mouth.

Neon Leon. Successful actor, known for being one of the first openly Yokai actor. He inspired other Yokai's and mutants to remove their disguises and embrace what makes them unique. Leon made the world laugh with his one liners and his comical timing. His range is crazy, going from musicals to action, his talent knows no bounds. Although he has romance on the screen, he couldn't hope for something a little more...real.

Raphael (and don't skin me for this), the sweet turtle, became a guidance counselor for trouble youths. You know those kids that throw chairs? Yeah, Raph helps them. More often than not, Raphael recommends the wrestling team, which Raph just so happens to coach. Raph's helped a lot of kids figure out how to reel in their anger and get to the root of their problems. Raph's even managed to give a few select students permission to cut class and go to the weight room if they felt too angry. But no matter how many people Raph's saved (and no matter how much Raph spoke in the third person), Raph couldn't help but feel like there was one more person he needed to help.

April O' Neal. Some say she's the greatest hands on reporter of all time. With Sunita as her partner and camerawoman, the two get dirty, discovering the real problems that people won't report. April's most successful and controversial paper, "Yokai, Mutants, and Humans, oh my!" gained incredible popularity after people read just how many Yokai and Mutants were feeling neglected. Due to April's paper, the government passed a law, allowing Yokai and Mutants to come up to the surface and reveal themselves with no prejudice. It's still an ongoing battle to give everyone the fairness they deserve, but April and Sunita O'Neil fight for justice.

(Y/n) (L/n). Oh wait! That's you! You're a kind hearted soul who's just gotten a job at the School's library. You must really love the Dewey Decimal System...oh you have a nickname for it? Wonderful...You're a creative soul with a passion for helping. You have a myriad of skills, all of which may not have helped in getting this job, but they might help in getting something else. Your day starts off, relatively normally...

Having just moved back to New York after living in the Hidden City for five years was...different, to say the least. Saying goodbye to the nice old tortoise Yokai you had been staying with, you headed out, bags in hand. "Bye, Mrs. Shapiro! Call me if you need someone to water your plants!" You said, waving to the wrinkly tortoise.

"Oh, goodbye dear. I'm gonna miss you. Oh! Drop by Erin's on your way out!" The tortoise Yokai, Mrs. Shapiro, waved a long clawed hand at the you.

You nod with a smile and shut the door behind you. Heading down the street, you waved to friendly Yokai and mutants that walked past. After seeing the street clear a bit, you pulled your phone and headphones out of your pocket. Popping in the earbuds, you played your favorite playlist you found on Spotify. It was titled, 'Jammy Jams', the description being 'Songs for elite music listeners'. The playlist and many more like it, all with a theme of some sort, Studying, Building, (crime fighting?) Jogging, all came from one account by the name of Othello.

As you scrolled through the playlist, you saw the little notification. 'Othello is listening to Weird Science'. With a shrug, you tapped the notification, the song blasting through your headphones as you matched where Othello was in the song. Definitely an oldie, but it fit him...or her...or them—it fit the vibe! As you continued scrolling, adding some of the songs to your own playlists, you didn't hear the three voices yelling nor the shocked gasps of the onlookers that quickly moved out of the way.

A sudden PUSH and you were on the ground, groaning next to a stranger as Technologic blasted through your headphones.

"C'mon, Dee! He's getting away!" A turtle Yokai with dark hair in a half up, half down bun, ran in place and pointed to the direction that they needed to go. He wore an orange mask, had stickers and paint all over his shell, and in his hands sat a Kusari-fundo.

"No, no, I'm fine, Michael." The turtle Yokai next to you, (Dee?), stood up so suddenly, you thought he teleported. He wore a purple mask that wrapped around his head, his-tech goggles sitting on top. On his arms were multiple hi-tech screens and buttons that wrapped around his arms on large bands. Looking on the ground, he spotted his phone and your own, both faced down. He quickly swiped one up, and tucked it in his pocket, "May this be a lesson never to text while running!" The turtle pointed up at the sky almost heroically.

"You crashed into me!" You said defensively.

The turtle Yokai made a noise of surprise and looked down at you, as if suddenly noticing you for the first time. "I was actually referring to me." He muttered, coughing awkwardly. Without warning, two metal arms came out of his...shell? It had to be a shell, right? But it was more purple and armor like. The cold metal of the arms shook you out of your thoughts as they lifted you onto your feet.

"Oh, uh, thanks." You said, now just as awkward as the Yokai in front of you. "Don't you have to—" you pointed your thumb behind you, where the other turtle was freaking out.

"Donnie!" The orange clad turtle whined.

"Right." With a bit of showmanship, the purple clad turtle picked up your unlocked phone off the ground and handed it to you. As you took it, you noticed how he made sure your fingers did not touch. "Adieu, madam." He gave a slight bow and left, joining his accomplice in their efforts.

You giggled as he left, the whole interaction being odd. You looked down at your phone, the screen dimming. You tapped it to ensure it stayed unlocked and reopened Spotify...except, why were the apps in a different format? And your headphones were cutting out, and the background is different, and...what's the use? You know the truth, you switched your phone.

[ju1cyfru1t]

HAIII mootie :3!! I just got back from an ✨ ExHaUsTiNG ✨ day (literally, I was on the verge of sleeping but still ofc reading you’re hc one shots) and I had this idea for one shot!! My mind will NOT sleep if i don’t type this request (pls send help/j)

Okie!! It’s Rottmnt x female sibling reader (ALL PLATONIC) , so this is the scenario!! The Reader is the Kemp's ridley sea turtles and they are the youngest, they maybe small! But they are strong, thanks to the training her brothers would give her! Alright, so she’s the only one who goes to schools thanks to the cloak (sunita gave to her since it was a spare one) she got a into a fight with another girl because the girl would call her a ‘freak’ because she would talk about her brothers being hero’s, and mutants!! But the girl started it tbh, so they’re fighting and reader is not beating the crap out of them she’s hitting her slightly but the girl took it TOO far and picked up a pair of scissors and CUT READERS HAIR!! (Like they cut it to make it short like a boys haircut yk?) And reader would just start balling and FINALLY a teacher would come in and bring them to the nurse first then the principals office and the principal called the brothers (+Casey JR, and April if you can!) , if you’re wondering why they first got in a fight anyways is because like the girl got mad at reader for talking too much to her friends and pulled her hair and… you know the rest happened.

AND THEY STORMED IN (with their cloaks on ofc) they’re fuming because reader loves her hair it would make her so happy!! The brothers would play with it, help brush it etc. But I would like HC’s of them reacting to that please?

Take as much time as you need, dear!!/p (platonically)

Hope you don’t mind I took this kind of in my own direction 🫶🏻

ROTTMNT x Sister! Reader

fluff! :D, comfort?, Sister! Fem! Reader, mild swearing

Rise! Donnie, Mikey, Leo, Raph x Fem! Sister! Reader

Donatello and Michelangelo were sitting in front of the TV in your living room playing a video game when the heard the front door creak open and the familiar clack of your favorite shoes.

“Y/N?” Mikey called out, only taking his eyes away from the game to check the time quickly, “You’re home early.”

They heard your sobbing as you sniffled and whipped their heads to look at you.

You were pretty scuffed up, with a few fresh, developing bruises scattered on mostly your legs but a few on your arms. And your hair! Your beautiful, prized hair was all chopped up.

“Oh mi gosh! Y/N, what happened to you?” Mikey jumped up and practically teleported to you, placing his hands on your arms and looking you over.

“This- this girl in- in my-“ You hiccuped, desperately wiping away your tears.

Mikey pulled you against his plastron, shushing you, “It’s ok, I’m right here. Just focus on calming down.”

Mikey looked at Donnie from over your shoulder, sharing a ‘what the fuck?’ look. He carefully led you over the couch, sitting down next to you and rubbing your back.

After a few moments of taking deep breaths and your breathing turning back to normal, Donnie spoke up. “Now, Y/N. What happened?”

“I- I was talking to my friend in the lunch line, and- and I was telling her about how my brothers are..are heroes. And this girl in my grade, Abigail, she- she called me a freak. So, I stood up for myself like you guys taught me..and she hit me, so I hit her back. Then she- Then she cut my hair.” You spoke quickly with a shaky voice, raking your fingers through your messy, choppy hair.

“WHAT?!” Donnie and Mikey shouted in unison.

“Y/N, what? Where was a teacher during all of this?” Donnie was furious, but not at you. Mikey kept rubbing your back in soothing circles.

“I don’t- The principal just told me to give you this and for you to sign it..” You slipped your backpack from your shoulders, unzipping it and pulling out a paper.

“Su..suspended?!” Donnie and Mikey both leaned over your shoulder to read the contents on the page. “For fighting? That wasn’t fighting, that was self defense!” Mikey scoffed, crossing his arms.

Donnie took a deep breath, glancing back up at you. “Y/N…do you think this ‘Abigail’ girl deserved it?”

“Mhm. I wasn’t even doing anything to her. She started it, I swear!”

“Then you shouldn’t have been suspended!” Mikey said.

You looked back over to him with a nod, “I know! Don’t tell me that-“

Donnie interjected, “No, No. We are going to talk to the school. This is injustice!”

“Yeah! This is unethical! Incredulous!” Mikey agreed.

"Unfair! Unreasonable! Outrageous! We shall NOT stand for such atrocity!" Donnie yelled while standing up.

“Yep. I agree.” Mikey nodded, keeping his arms crossed.

"I say, we march up to the principal right now and make them undo this blasphemy! WHO'S WITH ME?!" Donnie yelled while pointing out to the rest of the house.

Mikey hesitated, “…it’s just you and me, D.”

"I SAID, WHO'S WITH ME?" Donnie repeated.

“OH, I mean- YYEEAAAHHH!!” Mikey cheered with him, throwing one hand in the air with the other on your back.

"HELL YEAH!" Donnie took his phone out and started dialing the principal's number.

Mikey turned his attention to you, leaving Donnie to take care of business. “Y/N, you didn’t deserve this, ok?” He tried to reassure you with a smile while running a hand through your short, chopped-up hair.

“I just don’t understand why…I wasn’t doing anything wrong, was I?” You looked up at him.

Mikey shook his head no, “Of course not. You were just being yourself. Some people are just hateful for no reason, ok? Try not to let her get you. It’s obvious she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” Donnie was yelling in the background, but you were too focused on Mikey to make out what was being said…most likely something that shouldn’t be repeated anyways.

“But…but my hair.” You started to tear up again but Mikey was quick to wipe them away before they could fall.

“It’ll grow back! You still look beautiful. We just need to…touch it up is all.” Mikey was trying his best to cheer you up.

After he finished calling, Donnie put his phone on the coffee table and sat back down on the couch next to you. "There. We march at dawn."

“Yeah! You show ‘em!” Mikey cheered, clapping.

"Indeed I will. They'll rue the day they suspended my little sister! RUE IT!” Donnie huffed.

“What is with all the yelling- woah.” Leo stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway as he took in your present condition.

Mikey shot him a look that said ‘don’t say a goddamn thing.’

“W-wow..Y/N, I really like the, um- the new look…” Leo laughed nervously, walking over cautiously.

Donnie narrowed his eyes at Leo, “Some little heathen cut Y/N’s hair at school today.”

“What?! That’s terrible!” Leo shoved Donnie to the side to take his spot next to you. He observed the straggly mess of hair left on your head.

Donnie opened his mouth to yell at Leo, but decided for your sake to just let it go this one time.

“Yeah! And Y/N got suspended for defending herself.” Mikey added, huffing.

“Y/N GOT SUSPENDED?” Raph yelled from the doorway of the living room, making you, Mikey, and Leo jump in surprise.

Raph stood there, shocked, as he waited for an answer.

You were about to speak before Mikey beat you to it, “It wasn’t her fault, Raph! She was attacked! All she did was stand up for herself.”

“Attacked?” Raph raised an eyebrow. Well, at least the area where an eyebrow would be. He got closer and saw your tear-stained cheeks, your cut-up, ruined hair, and your disheveled appearance and his expression immediately softened into a frown.

“Awww, come here! Let Raphie hold you!” Your oldest brother spoke to you in a babying voice, lifting you by your armpits and pulling you close to him, “it’s ok. Raphie’s here.”

“Raph! You’re scaring her!” Mikey stood up.

“No, I am not.” He scoffed.

“Guys! Just relax, we’ll get this all figured out-“ Leo spoke calmly, trying to keep everybody calm.

Donnie cleared his throat, “If you had allowed me to explain further before you viciously shoved me, you would know I have already spoken with the school.”

Leo looked at him in surprise, “why didn’t you start with that?!”

Donnie gasped in offense, “I tried! But you pushed-“

“Enough!” Raph snapped, still holding you in his arms and petting your head.

“Stop fighting! Y/N needs us.” Mikey shoved Leo gently.

You couldn’t even get a word in through all this chaos and panic so you just grumbled into Raph’s shoulder.

“First things first, boys.” Raph spoke up, “let’s get you cleaned up, Y/N.”

There was silence for a moment before Leo brought up a good point, “…Do any of us know how to cut hair?”

Silence.

Donnie sighs, picking his phone back up from the table, “I’ll call April.”

[goosewriting]

Hi I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your writing. What if the turtles got cloaking broches and wanted to show their partner, and the partner was like “yeah you’re pretty as a human but I miss your markings/stripes etc.”?

Cloaking broach (rottmnt x reader)

summary: reader and turtle’s reaction to seeing him in human form for the first time.

relationship: Rise Leo, Raph, Mikey, Donnie x GN reader (separate) 

warnings: simping ✊😔, innuendos? sort of? nothing spicy or anything but idk it’s a different tone than my usual stuff XD, i guess it still counts as fluffy ending tho

word count: 1.9k

A/N: ty for the kind words anon! i have to say i went kinda hard on the simp reader here but can you blame me? this ended up being 100% self-indulgent lmao check the human designs i used for this one under the cut and you’ll understand 🫡 still, i hope it’s to your liking ;;w;;

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

for this one i wanted to give you guys a visual lol for the human!turtles: i’ll be using these designs by @redbeanp13 (source), who was kind enough to let me use them :D the drawing below is by @soldrawss (source) whose art you should really check out because it’s top tier 😤👌

with that settled, let's get to it~

— — —

The turtle made his way to your apartment, moving swiftly between the buildings, unable to hold in his excitement. He had borrowed a cloaking broach from Sunita, and he wanted you to be there when he transformed for the first time. After all, he hoped you’d like how he looked. 

When he got to your place and explained the situation, you suddenly got nervous. You had never even thought about him as a human, and while you were certainly curious, you also felt strangely uneasy. What if he was shocked about how he looked? What if he was disappointed because it wasn’t like he expected? On the other hand… What if he looked even better? What were you supposed to do with that knowledge after he turned back to his turtle self?

You shook your head to rid yourself of those thoughts, focusing instead on the almost child-like glee your boyfriend had, waiting for you to join him in front of your full-length mirror.

Giving him a nod, he was just about to place the broach on his strap when you spoke, suddenly remembering a very important aspect of the transformation.

“Wait!” you stopped him, holding up your hands, and he looked at you slightly irritated but waited for you to continue, as he saw how flushed your face looked all of a sudden. “How does the whole clothes aspect work? Will you have those or will you transform, like… naked?”

“Why, would you like to see that?” he teased you.

You didn’t nod nor shake your head, instead only bringing up your hands to cover your face.

“I’m just kidding” he laughed and placed a hand on your shoulder reassuringly, giving it a bit of a squeeze. “The broach gives you the clothes you imagine, so no worries.”

“Right…” you replied sheepishly, uncovering your face. “Let’s see it then.”

And with that the turtle placed the broach on the strap around his torso, and got engulfed in a greenish smoke.

🔵 Leo

When he emerged, he was smug about it.

You blinked a couple of times, trying to process what you saw.

There were a lot of feelings happening. 

Meanwhile he quite literally checked himself out in the mirror.

He had no shame about it. 

You ran your hands through his hair, and the new sensation startled him, but he didn't pull back.

It felt kinda nice actually.

You traced over his face; his stripes had translated into scars and birthmarks of sorts.

As you were admiring his facial features, Leo suddenly pulled you closer by the waist, leaning in, and stopped just before your lips touched, quietly asking if he could kiss you. You replied by closing the distance.

The kiss felt different and yet the same, as it still was Leo in front of you. Again, your hands came up to run through his hair, lightly tugging at the base of the neck, which made him softly groan into the kiss. At the unexpected sound you pulled back and looked at him with big eyes and heated cheeks.

“I could get used to that” he said with his signature grin, and quickly pecked your nose. 

“So, you like it?” Leo asked, placing his arm over your shoulder and pulling you into his side, so you stood next to each other, facing the mirror.

“I mean… yes? You do still look very handsome” you replied, and trailed off, biting your bottom lip, as if hesitating to continue. He gave you a soft smile through the mirror.

“But?”

“I don’t know, it’s like there’s something missing? Your half-moon markings that bring out your eyes, the stripes that seem to glow in the light, your whole ninja-ness. This feels like more of a costume than anything else… I like you in green; it feels realer.”

His gaze suddenly softened, looking vulnerable for a split second. That was not the reply he was expecting, but maybe deep inside the one he was hoping for. 

“I do like the hair though” you said to go back to your banter. “And it looks like you finally can get a good posture without the shell.”

“Hey!” Leo gasped in mock offence, and you stuck out your tongue at him. “Turtle or not, I can still totally kick your butt!”

You had no time for a clever remark, as he was already playfully tackling you to the ground, with you squealing and trying to get out of his grasp to evade his relentless tickling.

🔴 Raph

He was still tall, almost as tall as his turtle form. 

Just not as big.

Which was kinda weird to see.

As if there was a part of him missing in the space before you.

You hugged him and could almost reach around his back, which was impossible in his turtle form.

Also he was warm for once, which was nice.

As you were hugging him, his arms also wrapped around your form.

That’s when you noticed.

He was so soft.

“So, what do you think?” he asked at your reflection in the mirror.

You pulled back from the hug and just stared at his chest for a second. His chest was usually rather hard because of the plaster, even though it was quite flexible for him to move in. Still, you couldn’t help but wonder.

Without saying anything you gingerly placed your hands on his chest, making him slightly flinch, a violent blush spreading on his face and neck.

“This is gonna sound so weird” you said, unable to look him in the eye. “But can I… feel you?”

“Ah- Uhm- Sure.” Raph went a little stiff, unsure of what you were about to do.

Your hands traced his chest, which was still rather firm; you assumed his muscles still were present in this form. Then your fingers slowly wandered down to his tummy, which was softer, and to the sides, where you softly pinched his hip, making him squeak in surprise. You took a deep breath to recover from the sheer adorableness of his reaction, and made a mental note of doing it again in the future if you had the chance.

“So… You like it?” he asked after you seemed satisfied with your exploring.

“To be honest? Yes and no” you replied, going back to hugging him and talking to his reflection with your cheek smushed against his chest. 

“I like that I can hug you like this and almost reach around you without the spikes. I like how warm and soft you feel” you explained and he smiled. “But I also really like green and spiky Raph, who is so very gentle with me and makes me feel safe.”

Raph’s arms tightened around you, giving you a kiss on the top of your head.

“Maybe we can borrow the broach in winter for cuddles?” he suggested, slightly swaying you from side to side. Now that was a compromise you could get behind. 

🟠 Mikey

The only way to describe how he looked was adorable.

Since he was more petite and lighter, you figured you could give him a piggyback ride for once.

You also loved that he went with a colourful outfit and lots of accessories.

It suited him very well.

And you couldn’t get over his freckles, they were too cute!

For a while, you both just stood there curiously looking at all the details in the mirror. 

Then Mikey took your hand in his.

“Whoa, so this is what it’s like to have 5 fingers!” he exclaimed, intertwining your fingers with his. You had to admit, it felt pretty nice. 

While he admired his digits alongside yours, with your other hand you ruffled his hair, to which he snorted.

“That feels so weird” he laughed.

“But I bet I know what will feel nice!” you said, letting go of his hand and bringing both of yours up to softly massage his scalp. 

“Oh, oh wow” Mikey basically melted away as you worked your fingers through his hair from the top of his head to the back of his neck, being careful not to get tangled in his locks. He just stood there in pure bliss, with his eyes closed. So when you were done, you couldn’t help yourself from giving him a quick peck on his lips.

He blinked a couple of times, coming out of his stupor.

“You think you could do that even when I don’t have hair?” he asked. You told him to remind you of doing so whenever he wanted. He thanked you and went in for a hug; that's when you realised there was one more thing you could do with his non-turtle self.

Without much of a warning, you bent down ever so slightly to reach under his thighs, and lifted him up with a ‘whoop!’. Mikey held onto your shoulders and instinctively wrapped his legs around your torso. You gave him a smug smile.

“This is new” Mikey commented, an ever so light blush adorning his cheeks, and you tightened your hold on him so he wouldn’t fall. 

“Is it nice?” you asked. If Mikey nuzzling his face into your neck was anything to go by, you’d guess that it was. 

You both knew he loved being held, especially by his brothers, so now that you could do it, he’d never want to let go. 

🟣 Donnie

The only way to describe your internal reaction: that anime gif 

You blushed heavily when you saw his human form.

He was too handsome for the world to see.

“It’s too much power, he’s too dangerous” you thought.

You tried to keep your cool, you really did.

He had somehow managed to bring out his bad boy persona perfectly, without losing the nerd touch. 

Seeing your reaction, he gave you a knowing grin through the mirror, resting his arm on your shoulder.

“So, what do we think?” he asked with a mock nonchalant tone. “I’d love to hear your current thought process in depth.”

“Shut up” you muttered under your breath, shoving his arm off so you could face him. You looked at him for a second, then reached up to cup his face in your hands. Now it was his turn to blush, and you gave him a smirk of your own as you realised something. You didn’t wanna ruin the moment, but you just couldn’t help yourself.

“Look at you, a real boy with real eyebrows!” you cood. Donnie scoffed.

“Don’t ‘Pinocchio’ me” he retorted, but leaned into your touch. It was a somewhat unfamiliar sensation for him too, his skin being different and all.

“May I…?” you asked, gingerly stroking his cheekbone with your thumb, silently asking for permission to further touch around his face, knowing that he wasn’t a fan of that. Deciding to make today the exception, he gave you a short nod.

“How do you feel?” you asked, this time for real, as you further inspected his face and all the features he didn’t have as a turtle: nose, ears, lips, the little freckles speckled around his cheeks. 

“To be honest? Kinda like a wet noodle” he replied, earning a chuckle from you. “I feel way too exposed. Too much soft flesh… everywhere. On the outside. I don’t know how you can walk outside like this every day.” You just gave him a sympathetic smile and hummed. 

Once you were done with your inspection, you withdrew from Donnie, giving him one last once-over.

“Well, that was a fun experiment” you concluded. “But I feel like your human form lacks a certain… mad scientist factor, if you will.”

Donnie agreed and took off the broach, albeit correcting you with a “not mad, just science”. 

~~~~~

🐥 taglist: [more info in my pinned post!] @hearteyedracoon, @koalaray, @maribatshipper, @whygz, @lovelylovelydreams

[milks-thoughts]

Rottmnt x human sister reader, splinter decides she should go to a human high school so she could be around her own kind and learn more. And the bros are all pretty protective over this and are worried about her being in human school.

I’m trying out a new header style! Tell me if you enjoy it or if I should go back to the color strips!

Summary: Reader goes to school, hell ensues

TW: vomiting, a nasty panic attack in a public space, talk of animals insides

Notes: anyone mentioned in this that isn’t from Rise is an oc of mine! Please don’t use them in any works without explicit permission

Study Sessions

You stared at your father as he called a family meeting, usually, these go horribly wrong. Especially as of recently, when your father decided that you, the youngest and the only girl (other than your older sister, April) should go to school…and not the school Donnie and (as of recent) Draxum have been teaching. No, human school. A human high school. You sat down at the table and hugged your knees to your chest, Donnie leaning on the wall, Raph and Leo sitting in the chairs and Mikey sitting on the counter. Splinter smiled but before he could speak Red spoke “ Pops- if this is about school I’m sure Donnie could teach her about algebra and..whatever else human kids learn! “ Donnie snarked “ I could teach her rocket science! “ Splinter nodded “ I’m sure you could purple but, she needs to be with other humans, learn to socialize “ you looked away as he slid papers on the table “ April’s parents did me a favor and enrolled her with Casey Jr! “ you felt doom and anxieties cloud your chest, you took the papers and read it, the papers were illegal documents that Donnie made…you read through each line before getting your schedule. How fun. It was seven classes a day with each class being an essential skill…apparently. What I’m the actual fuck is Home Ec.

The next few weeks came quicker than anticipated. Donnie made you and Casey matching bracelets, they were emergency bracelets (ignoring that your ninpō could just…tell them if something was wrong). And of course they were genius tech! He was making an empire after all! You did clothes shopping with April and also learned how to be socially acceptable with not only April's help, but also Sunita…and finally, the dreaded day. You and Casey stood shoulder to shoulder and stared at the high school, it was bustling, a few interesting faces but mostly everyone already knew each other. There was a larger group, of about seven people. You noted how one had a pretty sapphire necklace and a prosthetic arm that was so fluid it rivaled Donnie’s own he made for Leo. You gave Casey a hopeful smile and walked into the high school, you were immediately overstimulated. Going from a rather empty sewer to a high school was anxiety filling. A blonde haired girl bumped into you, when you turned to apologize for being in her way she immediately apologized. She was probably 5 '6 with sea green eyes and blonde hair “ my names Nyssa, you two seem a bit lost- do you need some help? “ Casey immediately nodded, Nyssa smiled and held out her hand “ oh right! They/Them! "Oops. You smiled and spoke your name, Casey following your lead. Nyssa led you two to your first class “ Your schedules are exactly the same, I didn’t know they could do that. You may get separated when testing comes up, you could be boosted into honors or lowered to just skills class “ Nyssa stopped at the first door. How amazing, math at 8 AM.

When the class finished you saw the white haired boy meet up with a brown haired girl with a tiger eye brooch. All the jewelry you’ve been seeing was very similar to Sunitas cloaking device, the brown haired girl seemed to be a senior based on how old she looked and sounded. You smiled and led Casey to your other classroom. Science.. how lovely, you knew you’d get this fine. Casey had a bit less of knowledge than you, they didn’t exactly have a need for schooling in the apocalypse. While you…well your brain has been nurtured by your older brother since the both of your youth. You could speak four different languages fluently, you could do some math that college students learn, you could do most things. Your biggest problem? American history. You learned Japanese history, your father telling you myths and legends that he learned. And you knew a bit of history from China. A sudden electrical feeling ran through you and Casey, it was simply a blue warmth, less like a fire or a sun and more like an electric heat. You were more than happy to welcome it into your ninpō, walking with it through your science class. It was simple biology, you slept through most of it with Casey and answered any questions sent your way. It left soon after second period and left you alone during third.

Then it was time for your language class…you spoke flawlessly, holding a full conversation with the teacher in Spanish before halfway switching to Japanese to see if the teacher could too. He couldn’t. Casey suddenly spoke up next to you and you turned, the two of you happily chattering in Japanese, sometimes clicking at each other before you realized that was weird, so you continued in Japanese. Yes, both you and Casey are fluent in the “ turtle language “ but shhh that doesn’t matter. Language class moved quickly and then off to fourth. You met Nyssa again, they said hello as you sat down next to Casey in biology. It was announced that you’ll be dissecting something. When you questioned what the teacher smiled “ oh! we’ll be dissecting something super exciting tomorrow, a red eared slider! “ you felt queasy. Quickly shooting up your hand to ask for the restroom, you sped off and found yourself emptying your stomach in the school hallway, a trash can in your hold, your ninpō going crazy and altering not only all of your brothers of your panicking but also a feeling…someone who was spewing mystic energy somewhere in this school, and no, it wasn’t Draxum. His mystic powers felt a certain…way. It wasn’t long before Casey found you and rubbed your back. The feeling of Raphs sturdy ninpō wrapping around your panicking one helped calm you down. You breathed and wiped your mouth with a sanitary wipe Donnie was demanding you keep with you. Slowly you and Casey went back to class, you still looked clammy and jumpy as you sat down and looked anywhere but the board that was a display of snapping turtles insides, Casey was holding it together, but barely. Like an overstuffed suitcase. The bell soon rang after that.

You made your way to lunch where you spoke to Draxum a bit and then was swept away by Nyssa. Brought to a table with the same few interesting people you’ve seen that day. When you really got closer to them, most of the jewelry was spewing mystic energy…cloaking devices. The brown haired senior was named Bellezza, there was a tan girl with short curly hair and a seal coat named Öskra, a blonde senior with blue eyes named River, she had a opal gemstone in a choker on her neck. A brown haired girl named Ésme who shared a ruby ring with the white haired boy (whom you learned was named Mason) and was the only one who didn’t buzz with mystic energy. And the last person, a black haired boy with burgundy eyes named Alexander, he had a garnet bracelet on. They all seemed to be able to pick up on your free flowing ninpō, and how it was prickling from previous panic. You were stuck close to Casey as you rested through lunch, your ninpō reaching and searching for two in particular. One that kind of felt like Mc Donald’s sprite and the electrical warmth. They both responded immediately, their ninpōs like two cats curling around a scared kitten. Your ninpō is the metaphorical kitten.

You didn’t eat lunch that day, moving into fifth period, ELA. The teacher gave you a free period and you simply slept. Your lashes attached to your cheek before you woke up with a startled noise, your eyes wide before looking up. There was your purple clad brother, staring at you as you looked at the ceiling tiles. You glared at him, before looking around and getting yourself into the roof quickly “ what are you doing here?! “ you hissed “ I’m just seeing how my dear sister is doing! and if this school is really better than my teachings! '' you sighed “ it’s super easy right now- “ Donnie laughed “ of course it is! He said confidently “ you smiled at your brother and sighed “ How’s everyone holding up at home? '' Donnie hummed “ Nardo has been fighting Raph to not just portal in this school and hunt you down. I didn’t let him come! “ you stared at him dead panned “ and you can? '' Donnie stared and then slowly backed away into the shadows of the dusty air vent. You dropped down quietly after that and slipped back into your seat, knocking dust off yourself. The bell rang again…god you were tired of that damn bell. Time for sixth period.

Next was a world history class. The teacher had turtles as a class pet, you were immediately drawn to them. Casey watched as you quietly chirped and rumbled at them. The turtles craning their heads closer to you as you made noises at them, their quiet voices responding. You quickly scampered to your seat, far away from Casey. Squished between two boys that made your ninpō scream and demand you return to Casey’s side, anxieties pulling your brain into mush. The teacher put on a video about ancient Egyptian mythology. Stuff you already knew. Your eyes grew heavy as you fell asleep, halfway through your rest the sound of a large bang startled you awake.

You whipped back with a noise and fell out of your chair. Backing up a bit, you didn’t see a classroom. You saw the tunnels, kraang infested as they chased you and your brothers. Raph missing. That was your whole mission, to retrieve your oldest brother. Leo and Casey Jr got separated. Mikey and Donnie hid in the tank. Leaving you, to get stolen away. You fumbled and looked around for something, anything to fight the kraang. Someone grabbed your arm and you started hitting it, the arm didn’t relent, it was softly pulling you away from the tunnel. The whole…incident… was traumatic for you. any really, everyone. You, Casey, Raph, and Leo got the nastiest of the flashbacks. The yokai therapist that the family got said they were classified as panic attacks. Even as the soft arms pushed you to the floor you continued hitting and thrashing, pausing when the feeling of something wrapping around your ninpō entered your brain. Your body is basically shocked to real life. Casey was holding you by your arms, you had hot tears running down your face and hurt vocal cords. You stared at him and blinked before letting out a quiet sob and leaning forward, him just holding you throughout the entirety of sixth period.

You guys didn’t go to seventh period. You just sat in the corner of a hallway and breathed, at some point the same blonde senior, River, came and sat down with you two. And after that? Mason, the albino boy, and Bellezza the senior with auburn hair joined her. They were all siblings, Casey theorized that they were wolf yokai based on how they flocked like a pack. Seventh period ended quickly, when April came to get you guys she immediately noticed the tense mood from you two, walking back to the sewers…she could only wonder how the brothers would react. When the three of you walked in, Raph was the first to notice you being back, he looked at your and Casey’s sour faces and lowered his snout so it rested on your head and hugged you, chuffing hard enough your entire body vibrated. You made small similar noises, but they were weak and halfhearted. Raph was so worried about what happened to you at school. Leo and Donnie soon returned to the main area and joined the upwards cuddle session, Casey and April being pulled into it as they all wrapped around Raph to feel his churrs, Mikey soon attaching to Raphs shells and starting to chur as well, you forgot how amazing it felt to be held like this. You took off your cloaking device and the scars that were hidden from the public eye became known. Oh how much they wanted to ask about school, why your ninpō wailed in pain, why your chirps that normally sounded so nice were half hearted and deflated

[miso-sopas]

In My Arms │ ROTTMNT Leo x Reader

Cross-posted in Ao3

Summary: Leo's arms are the safest place in the entire world.

Warnings: Angst, Hurt no Comfort

1324 words

▸▸▸🍜▸▸▸

It was all a mess; everything was so frantic, urgent shouts and worried whispers among your crowd. You can’t keep up in every turn, cracks and energy flowing around you. Despite being a civilian, you were thrusted in the very front of the fight that you don’t know whether you’ll come alive after or not.

Today was supposed to be a beautiful day. After finishing your assignments, wanting to hang out with April, Cass and Sunita then ending your day with your beloved Leonardo and his family, you expect more of a calm and sweet day to spend time around your favorite people. Not being passed down like a ragdoll, keeping you safe and away from the clutches of this alien they call themselves the Krang Prime. It becomes a sadistic game that the alien enjoys, keeping you safe as Leo and his brothers fight against them. Truthfully, it's making you dizzy with all the back and forth shielding but it seems that the Krang Prime recognizes you as the turtles’ weakness, especially to the blue one, focusing on making sure to either give you injuries or worse, kill you. 

Being in the middle of an alien invasion wasn’t in your to-do list for today. 

After being wrapped by Mikey’s kusari-fondo and taking you far enough from them, nobody noticed a crack swimming towards your footing. As their senses sharpened for trouble, Krang Prime suddenly slammed their metallic foot down, surprising all the turtles and you. The warriors were confused at the alien’s actions but continued to fight nonetheless, you however hear small cracks beneath you. Not satisfied, the alien stomped their foot again, this time not only breaking the floor beneath you but also making you stumble backwards into the open air. 

You realized you’re falling; in panic you shouted his name. His heart jumps from the sight of your falling and scared figure, quickly running towards you. Leo ignored his brothers’ calls as he solely focused on you, now jumping at the edge of the building. No hesitation for his safety, only yours. 

As your body keeps falling, he frantically opens portal after portal to come near you, even by an inch to your raised hand. He was stupid to not portal you out from the harm’s way sooner! Now he’s doing his best to not fail you. Not you, not to you.

Even as you fall there is this peace between you, while your heart beats frantically from danger, your mind settled on something. You heard your beloved whisper, “I got you okay!” Despite having a slight tremor in his voice, it doesn’t waver your hope to him. You never gave up on his eccentric yet good intentions. You know he got you; he always does. No matter what the odds both of you face, he’s always there to keep you near him. You are safe as long as you are in his arms, and he in yours.

You felt your feet being roughly grabbed up to a glowing blue, all of its mystical elements comforting you momentarily. The rush of air as you feel yourself being suspended. That slight disturbance, the slight wrongness in movement, the slight accidental of the placement of your head to a surface you both didn’t account for. The taste of salt, and iron and you felt pain somewhere in your head.

Quickly, he opens a portal near you as his hand grabs what he can reach. As he feels your warmth on his, he knew he didn’t mess up. He didn’t disappoint himself in saving you, he didn’t disappoint you.

If only he didn’t mess up. If only before engaging to Krang Prime, he transported you far away from all the mess, maybe in April and Splinter's side. If only Mikey was not occupied and might save you with his weapon. If only he did not mess up, again. Again, and again, and again. Again.

Again, he doubts himself. 

No, he shouldn't. He caught you! 

Your favorite sneakers caught in his hands. Well-worn and beautiful, always beautiful no matter what you dress and what you style. Giving every chance to compliment you, and you giving all of it back more. Leo started crying in relief as he carefully pulled your body into him, supporting your torso and hugging you tightly. Traveling away, he walks down the sidewalk filled with rubble and broken glasses. Tightly hugging you as your warmth comforts him. You are safe.

You are safe, back within his arms.

"You keep falling to me huh? Guess I'm that charming," chuckling to ease his nervousness and calming you down. He did it! You’re safe and back in his arms. Your nails lightly scratching his plastron and your nose pressing underneath his chin. You are safe. You are safe. You---

Are you breathing?

You remain silent, not moving despite the lack of danger. You don't cry and you don't grumble. Not even a groan or giggle on his joke, not a peep from you. 

Slowly revealing your face, you are peaceful. Almost sleeping. Maybe the adrenaline was too much, and you fainted? Yeah, that must be it, right? Right?

At first, he was hesitant in shaking you. He does not want to add more stress on you, but you need to see him. He needs to see you! Frantic, he shakes you like rocking a baby in a lullaby. From careful to desperate, even carefully slapping you to wake you up. Nothing was happening, you were still sleeping. He panics again, this is worse than before.

You're in his arms but why does it seem you're still miles away from him. 

"Hey! Hey babe, this is not funny! I know that you hate some of my flirting but right now I need to hear you groan! Or snicker! Even an insult! Anything! Just please, open your eyes!"

Hearing his distress, April slowly walks towards them. Her eyebrows furrowed from confusion as she sees Leo shaking your body. She can’t really see much other than his brother’s shoulder rising rapidly and your legs slacking above glass and concrete. She can hear the shouts from her other brothers, calling for Leo to get back into fighting and help them. It was chaotic around the scene, but she feels dread when you still don’t move.

Mikey, the ever-thoughtful brother, comes down safely from above and shakes his older brother’s shoulder. April heard Donnie’s ever helpful quip, "What's the hold up? Finish your lovey-dovey and help us here!" She can tell that the purple clad turtle is aggravated, that despite the big threat in front of them right now, his blue-clad brother chooses to coddle with his beloved. At all times.

"Come on Leo! Let her walk, man!" Raph’s booming voice above also adds to the tirade of frustration and chaos, even with the noise there was nothing coming from either Leo or you.

Worry creased between Mikey’s brows as he called for his motionless brother. His soft voice becomes the loudest towards Leo, who seems to grip your body tighter into his. 

He can feel tremors from his brother’s shoulder, hands never letting go of your body and your face becoming paler. It was strange, he’s used to seeing both of you being lovey-dovey towards each other. Always noisy with giggles and kisses, smiles permanent between your faces and your feet always swings whenever Leo carries you. 

Now your legs remain still and eyes never opening, Leo refuses to accept his biggest mistake as he slowly curves his warmth around you. Shielding your body from his failure as your hero. "Leo? Leo, what is going on?" Mikey’s scared now, scared for you, and scared for his brother.

As if the world needed to prove his mistake, a lone drop of blood shows itself from your nose. Eyes still closed and your body resting. Dead, you are dead.

In his arms, you lay stiff but remained beautiful as ever. 

[n3onstarss]

Headcanons; How the Rottmnt boys deal with a reader with depression and muscle pain

Relationship; Rottmnt boys x reader

romantic or platonic?; either!

reader type; reader with depression, possible bipolar and constant muscle pains (projecting again)

Raph

Definitely tries his best to help

will nab you some Tylenol if it's bad, or mother hen you till you do something to relieve the pain and get yourself moving (eating, hydration, shower, etc.)

doesn't take shit during your mood swings, if you tell at him he'll yell right back. he knows what he's doing, probably

will let you wrestle or train with him during high energy episodes to blow off steam

on the other hand, will cuddle and comfort you during depressive episodes

Will gladly let you vent or talk shit with him

he encourages you to repair whatever is messing with you, be it a relationship or an activity or just yourself

love language is acts of service

Donnie

He tries his best but it may not work at certain points

He also struggles with taking care of himself, so it's kinda a symbiotic relationship with y'all

you remind him to eat or moisturize his shell or even sleep and he'll remind you to drink water and brush your teeth and wake you up if you sleep too much

Will gladly let you camp out in his room or lab and just parallel play while he works

when you're high energy he either has you come help with moving heavy projects or helps you find an outlet for it (or just straight up banishes you to hang out with Splinter, it depends)

Will reluctantly but happily split his hoard of Tylenol and ibuprofen (that battle shell HAS to hurt)

Gets a lil territorial over his giant heated lamp, but after about a week he didn't mind anymore and would just flop down back to back for together alone time (Raph got to name it because he tried to explain it to Mikey after you both passed out one time)

love language is quality time

Leo

Eugh boy. he tries so hard but he doesn't notice that sometimes you need space and copic mechanisms aren't universal

will cling to you all the time during depressive episodes if you let him, and will gladly watch movies with you to keep you both busy

hyper episodes are his specialty though! blue boy is always down for chaos and will gladly portal you both to, like, the middle of Disney world if you're both stupid enough

insists that cold showers are better for muscle pain than lava showers, gets bit.

doesn't mind parallel play, but something in him eggs him to be constantly talking and expecting a response (that man is not neurotypical) so he usually just rambles about how everything will get better and little affirmations till you return them or ask him to stop

Will share his heated blanket, unless it's winter, then it's his unless you bribe him with a turtle pile

does his best to remind you to take care of yourself, but is also forgetful and so it's just chaos

love language is words of affirmation

Mikey

Will try to doctor feelings you and let you know you have someone to talk to

when it gets especially bad he organizes a movie binge and turtle pile with all the siblings (which includes April, Cass, CJ and Sunita!) and heated lamps until everyone feels better than before

Very much avoids babying you. he grew up with it, knows it's not nearly as fun as people make it out to be

will leave little sticky notes about very important things, but doesn't tend to be overbearing

will ask you to help him cook during any mood because it's calming and not too stressful

Definitely enjoys parallel play or cuddling, as long as you're cool with it! Will walk over and just cuddle you while you're sitting on the counter while he cooks (arms around your waist, head on your stomach)

Steals Tylenol from Dee for ya (aka asks for some) and encourages you to steal Leo's shampoo for shits n giggles

love language is physical touch

[thatturtleleon]

TMNT Masterlist

TMNT 2012

Trans-fem Casey Jones Coming Out Headcanons

ROTTMNT

Being Friends with Mikey Headcanons

ROTTMNT birthday card headcanons

Sneaking out - [Mikey x reader scenario, platonic!, oneshot drabble]

Where are you? - [little drabble, casey jr and leo talk after the events of the rottmnt movie, angsty i guess?]

ROTTMNT APOCALYPTIC FUTURE TIMELINE

A Talk in Donnie's Lab - [platonic donnie + april, little angsty, oneshot]

I Would Share My Orange With You - [sunita x april, fluffy ending, oneshot]

[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