#this is surely going to be inscrutable but~ oh well hehe~

[queenofbaws]

these weeks just...just keep comin, huh??? like they don't stop or something ;P

another quick update from queenie hq: things are going to c o n t i n u e to be sporadic and strange on my end for the next couple weeks. i'm going to be hosting family, again, until roughly the end of the month, so alas, i'm not anticipating a ton of writing time. or relaxing time. or time where i'm not gritting my jaw and screaming internally. SUCH IS LIFE!

however, i'm totally psyched to report i fiiinally got to cross one long-running wip off my list (the tale(s) of the champion), and oooh the feeling of seeing a complete checkmark for that baby over on ao3 is fueling the fire for me to wrap some others up too ;P my plan for the time being is still to try and get out a chapter or two of like wringing blood in the near future, but i'm also going to be working on finally wrapping of mummy men & bathtub soup so i can open the door for other CREEPs projects. we shall see.

as always, i've thrown some snippets under the cut - strictly supermassive projects this time, hehe - and i hope you're all doing well <3

of mummy men & bathtub soup

“Uh huh. Look. I’m sure you guys have something hilarious planned for me tonight. Another A+ jumpscare courtesy of Washington Pictures, Inc. And I’m also sure that the more of this crap you get me to gobble up, the antsier all your cloak and daggers bullshit makes me, the funnier it’ll be when I fall into a swoon or whatever, but it’s not happening. Am I the brightest bulb in the lamp? No! I’m not! Am I the sort of moron who gets bit by a dog and tries to pet it a second time? Also no!”

Sam had barely started shaking her head when Fliss joined them, an unspoken question in her eyes. She latched onto her instead. “People keep talking about last night. I've heard someone mention weird stuff happening on at least three separate occasions already, so if anyone could give me just a little context, that would be so great.”

“Weird is…one way to put it,” Fliss said. “It’s not the word I would’ve picked. Freakish, maybe. Terrifying, definitely. It must’ve taken you guys forever to set that up! It was—”

“Oh no,” she breathed, dropping her head into her hands. Conrad almost expected her to sink into a nearby chair or go full-on crisscross-applesauce on the floor, so intense was her reaction. She didn’t: If anything, she set her shoulders and squared herself off, assuming the air of a battle-hardened soldier. “Okay. Okay. Okay. Listen to me. I know you think this is about you because you think everything’s about you, but I am telling you, it's not."

upcoming CREEPs project with a title that 100% spoils ALL the surprise of it and thus will not yet be included asdlkfjalskjfklsjdf

“Any word from our housetergeist?”

“Uh, not unless they suddenly share yours and Josh’s love of absolutely inscrutable inside jokes,” Ashley called back, equal measures relieved and disappointed to see the fridge decorated with the same message the guys had put up before their trip: DO THE BARTMAN. Rolling her eyes, she pulled the door open and rummaged around, making a happy little sound when she spotted what she’d wanted. “Hey,” she called again, “are you gonna be upset with me if I drink the last cream soda?”

“Josh might be!”

“I wasn’t asking about Josh, you dip! I was asking about you!”

“Oh. Then, yeah, heartbroken. I-I-I don’t know how I’ll survive! I might have to reassess this whole relationship thing. Honestly, I can’t believe you’d do something as heinous as drink the last cream soda! I thought I meant something to you!”

She grabbed the can and shut the door, groaning, “Ha ha,” before stopping cold.

The fridge magnets had moved.

a fic that started as a joke post but now has almost 40k words written for it

“Hey,” he said, giving the grate a hard shake. They all winced, pulling even farther away until they pretty much fell on top of each other. “Chill. They’re fuckin’ dead. Shit’s fine. Don’t be weird about it.”

Good deed done, he turned back around to rejoin the guys, and—fuck.

Right away, Bobby knew he didn’t like the way Chris was sizing them up. He didn’t know why he didn’t like it, he just knew it spelled trouble, one way or another.

Jack seemed to agree with him. “No,” he said long before Chris even opened his mouth. “Whatever it is you’re brewing in that snowglobe you call a skull, quit while you’re ahead. Or while you still have a head.”

“Your plan didn’t work.” For someone who usually stayed at base during their hunts on account of ‘not wanting to die the world’s stupidest death,’ Chris sure was sticking his finger awfully close to Jack’s face. That was biting range. And Jack could move quick when he wanted to. “Your plan worked even less,” he continued, moving that finger to Travis’s face instead, and Jesus Christ, that was worse!

Travis didn’t answer him. Not at first. He sucked his teeth, though. Stared at Chris’s finger. Probably thought about breaking it off if he didn’t get it out of his face. “If you don’t get that outta my face, I will break it off, so help me God.”

Yeah. Checked out.

[vilehated]

I got invested in my AU... a young eliv thade becomes very attached to Gilly, an older girl who works at his local library 

more details under the cut !

these details are based on me and my gf’s collaborative HCs and little backstory we have made for Thade (which you could read here ~!) the gist is, Thade was born on Roo Island and has notably neglectful parents. In this AU, Gilly just happens to be a local, having moved here after her parents passed away years prior.

this AU is not a ‘traditional’ age swap in that, their ages are not the flipped versions of what we imagine ‘canon’ Thade & Gilly to be. It’s more like.. Thade is kindergarten age(6) and Gilly is an older teen (17). it’s not exactly a roleswap either.. Gilly provides company and attention for young Thade, who does not have any close relationships with anyone, and is rejected by both his family & peers. he’s pretty much focused on his special interest only, before Gilly, and now is.. overly attached. Gilly tries her best to be responsible and navigate this odd friendship, as she finds him quite sweet. A thoughtful little lad. 

there are of course.. issues... when there is a crush involved. but such things are expected from children, as much as you could expect them to have a crush on any teacher or what-have-you... It is no reason to retract Gilly’s time and attention away from this lonesome little boy. she does her best

[elf-osamu]

hii! can i request haruka hashida (bp) when reader meets his sisters for the first time? like how they'd react and stuff i think its a cute topic to think of hehe (gn reader please!)

hi ! since, to my knowledge, not many information about haruka and his family were disclosed (almost none, except the fact that he has three sisters), this scenario is purely based on my imagination so there isn't really anything canon about his relationship with his family 🚶🏻‍♂️ btw this request was so cute to write, hope you like it <3

also, i've tried to add some elements of traditional japanese houses to describe haruka's house (even tho i say only one thing about it 💔), however if i've written smth that it's wrong please let me know and i'll edit it.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

MEETING HARUKA HASHIDA'S SISTERS FOR THE FIRST TIME

[ masterlist ]

fluff, romantic relationship, haruka hashida x gn!reader, headcanons + scenario

warning(s) : none that i can think of, perhaps there could me grammatical errors but that's it ig.

words count : 1,201 words (I'M SORRY IF U WANTED SMTH SHORTER 😭)

[ ☆ ] ah, haruka hashida, a person who has a caring yet inscrutable personality indeed.

[ ☆ ] from what we've seen, he isn't the kind of person who shows his emotions, instead he seems to hide them.

[ ☆ ] this leads to the following question: how is like haruka around his family, especially his sisters?

[ ☆ ] imo, although he wouldn't disclose much information about his life — at least not on his own initiative (y'know, the sibling dynamic where one teases the other to get information/lh), i like to think that he has a good affinity with them — a genuine and strong fraternal bond built on the support of each others' activities and passions, also helping each other when times are tough. of course, little fights happen once in a while, but they are generally an united family, even though the youngest sister (and sometimes also haruka) prefers to be on her own most of the time.

[ ☆ ] well, let's begin, shall we?

“haruka... are you sure they'll react well? wouldn't it have been better to warn them of my presence? i... you know, i don't wanna make them uncomfortable,” you said, a bit nervous about meeting your partner's sisters.

it all started with a mere thought of yours, which however haruka wanted to transform into reality.

“from what you're saying, they already seem to adore me,” you jokingly commented after listening to your boyfriend telling you how his sisters were growing more curious about you.

“oh, rest assured, they do adore you,” he smiled, gently holding your hand while you two were walking through the streets of tokyo.

“i guess it'd be nice to meet them, one day or another. they truly seem lovely people,” you stated, unaware of what that sentence would then trigger.

and now here you were, on the way to their house. honestly, you should have expected this from your partner, he did that kind of things.

to be honest, you weren't really against it, however you didn't want to be a nuisance nor you wished to disappoint their expectations.

of course, he wasn't forcing you to go there; haruka asked you multiple times if you were fine with the whole situation, and you were — you just didn't know what to expect.

your boyfriend gently squeezed your hand, applying light pressure to reassure your almost tormented soul. “you don't have to worry, my dear. you don't have to demonstrate anything to anyone — be your true self, even if it can be difficult sometimes. they won't stop liking you,” he said with his quiet and thoughtful voice. “but, we still have time to go to your house, if that's what you want.”

“no, it's just that...” you sighed, a sheepishly grin appearing on your face. “dunno how they'll react”.

“you'll do just fine,” haruka left a soft kiss on your temple, while rubbing little circles on the back of your hand with his thumb.

[ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ]

after crossing the hashida house's threshold, you felt a welcoming air warming your chest, along with a scent similar to haruka's — except for the lack of oil paints' pungent smell, which was probably contained mainly in your partner's room.

you had never been to his house, because your dates usually consisted in outdoor activities, art exhibitions or museum explorations, in need of something which could stimulate your intellects; perhaps a couple of times you two had been to your house, discussing artists' paintings or books' plots, yet both of you managed to be yourselves doing something almost vitalizing such as admiring and surrounding yourselves with beauty. an artist's painting could captivated your spirits, allowing you to openly talk about the emotions it evoked in your souls — while simultaneously being critical about it. sometimes, it didn't inspire anything at all, and that was fine too; it was a new discovery for you anyway.

haruka and you took of your shoes and arranged them so that they didn't get in the way, proceeding to wear slippers — which you would have then to take off before you entered in a room with tatami floor.

“it's rather strange that my sisters haven't noticed our presences yet,” haruka commented just as the two of you finished washing your hands. “if so, i suppose they are in the living room, perhaps playing something. shall we join them, mh?”

you nodded, almost cheerfully, between excitement for meeting them and nervousness.

and, once you two entered in that room, a quite peculiar picture showed up in front of you: the older sisters were light-heartedly discussing about something involving the board game they were playing, while the younger one was patiently waiting for a twist in that too familiar situation. in fact, she was the one who noticed your presences first.

“haruka! you're home,” she said smiling, though refraining herself to get up and run towards her brother because she didn't know who was the person next to him — you.

while the other sisters stopped 'fighting', he returned the grin.

“[name], i present you my sisters,” haruka said, proceeding to let you know their respective names. “and, sisters, they are [name], my partner”.

[ ☆ ] from this moment, there could be quite a few scenarios to think of, but i'll stick only with one of them.

[ ☆ ] at first, they would be taken by surprise: they didn't see that situation coming.

[ ☆ ] but after a minute or two, they would break off their trance state and become really interested in you.

[ ☆ ] i mean, they have waited so long to make your acquaintance.

[ ☆ ] the youngest sister would ask you all kind of questions, wanting to know everything about you — she can be very friendly, if she wishes so.

[ ☆ ] she'd also propose to do a board game (or a videogame, which one you prefer) with you.

[ ☆ ] and if you're really good at them, a slight (light-hearted, of course) competition could arise :), she must win at all costs.

[ ☆ ] meanwhile, the older ones would ask you more about formal topics, even though a few questions about your hobbies would slip from their lips.

[ ☆ ] and if y'all have interests in common, oh, they would talk about them for hours.

[ ☆ ] imo they and haruka love listening to people's interests and stuff, so they would let you talk freely about your passions !! they love the spark in your eyes when you do so.

[ ☆ ] needless to say, they also love you!/p.

[ ☆ ] ngl, they would be so engrossed in knowing you that they'd almost forget about their own brother, always present in the room.

[ ☆ ] haruka, my man, i'm sorry for being a guest of such great importance/j.

[ ☆ ] jokes aside, he would be quite amused by the whole situation.

[ ☆ ] and also happy, 'cause seeing the people he cares about the most, peacefully talking with each other, in the same room, is an endering sight.

[ ☆ ] after all, haruka was right: his sisters adore you.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[ do not copy, translate, repost, etc. | by @ elf-osamu ]

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. #14

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's.

Chapter #14

*Saturday May 31st, about 2:00p.m. Channel 6 news station*

April was talking to Irma, one of the receptionists at the Channel 6 news building. The two friends were having lunch in April’s office when they heard a knock on the door. To April’s surprise, two young teenagers were standing in the doorway to her office, and one of them she had seen before. “Oh, Kris. Is your game over already? We still have some time before I have to take you to your appointment” Irma said to her son. “Yeah. Both teams were all ready to go, so we got to start early since the game before ours had been canecled. One of the teams was from out of state and they had some complications in finding the field. So here we are!” Behind Kris was a silent but smiling Sam, who felt a bit awkward at the moment. She knew where Irma worked, and she also knew that April was a new reporter for Channel 6, but she wasn’t really prepared to meet the woman just yet, but Irma’s presence helped lessen the awkwardness that Sam felt in this situation. “Oh Sam! It’s been way to long since the last time I saw you!” Irma said as she stood up and quickly walked over to the young girl, throwing her arms around her and giving her a big hug. Sam laughed as she hugged the woman back. “Hey future family, long time no see.”

Irma took a step back, playfully glaring at the girl. “And where have you been all this time? Even if you’re not my family yet, I still worry about you very much.” Irma’s expression then softened some. “Have things slowly started to go back to the way they were before, in anyway?” Sam looked at the woman and gave her a sincere smile. “Yes, things have gotten much better. They’re still really tough, but I’m slowly crawling out of the cave I’ve been hiding in. Things will never be the same, but I can honestly say that they have been much better lately.” “Umm, should I go?” April asked, feeling a bit odd just standing there as the two seemed to be having a personal moment. “Oh April! I’m so sorry, let me introduce you two, since you’ll probably see each other again at the wedding anyway. Remember when I told you about Brenda’s boyfriend, Jay, the man everyone KNOWS that she will be marrying one day? Well, this is his younger sister, Sam.” Sam walked over to April and extended her hand out. “Hello ma’am, my name is Samantha Allan Park, it’s nice to meet you” Sam said sincerely. April smiled at the girl and shook her hand. “Hello, my name is April O’neil, it’s nice to meet some of the future family that Irma has told me so much about.” Sam raised an eyebrow at Irma. “You talk about us?” “Just a little bit, I mean jeez Jay and Brenda spend so much time together. It’s impossible for me not to talk about all of you, haha.” Sam chuckled. “Hey Irma, what’s the name of those juice box looking drinks that you buy every so often?” “Ummm, well it depends, since there’s a lot of different brands with a lot of different flavors.” “Can you text me a list later of stores that have a variety of these different brands and flavors?” “Yeah sure, no problem!” “Hey mom, we better go soon or I’m going to be late to my doctor’s appointment” Kris chimed in. “That’s right, Sam are you leaving with us? I’d rather you not go walking around on your own even if it is still sunny outside.” “Actually I can stay with her” April cut in. Both Irma and Kris gave her an odd look. “Are you sure April? We do still have some time before we have to-” “Irma, its fine! You’re always helping me out in many different ways. I can easily give the girl a ride home. That is, if Sam’s okay with it” she said as she turned towards the teenager with a questioning look. Sam pursed her lips and nodded. “Sure, why not, how often do you get escorted by a celebrity?” Kris chuckled. “That’s definitely a Sam response.” “Alright, well if either of you need anything then call me! No texting if it’s an emergency, I expect calls!” Irma exclaimed as she pointed at both women in front of her. “I hear you loud and clear Irma. Bye Kris, nice seeing you again” April said as she waved to him. He replied with a sincere smile and returned the wave. “You to Ms. O’Neil. Have a good day.” Irma and Kris left, leaving Sam and April in the room together. Sam didn’t want there to be any awkward tension between the two, well she actually wasn’t sure if there was any. She knew that she had been a bit jealous of April when she first met her, but now knowing her relationship to the turtles made her feel guilty of these original feelings. So, did April feel any weird or awkward feelings towards her? Is that why she had offered to take her home? “So, Ms. O’Neil, what’s the motive behind you offering to take me home?” Sam asked as she leaned up against the wall. April smiled at the girl as she began packing up her belongings. “Nothing serious, I just wanted to get to know the ‘thief’ that is now supposedly allowed back into the lair” she said as she started walking towards the door. “Where are we going to talk about this exactly?” Sam asked, concerned about talking about the turtles in an open location where eavesdropping ears could listen in, including Foot members in disguise. “Don’t worry, we’ll go somewhere private. I know it’s dangerous to talk about them in public” she said as she gave a face that said ‘Seriously? I know better than that, have some faith in me.’ Sam followed April out of the building and into the Channel 6 news van. The two got settled in the back. “So, we’re just going to sit here?” “Of course not, Vern’s going to drive us. He’s already met the turtles so it’s safe for us to talk about them in front of him.” “Yup, you can trust me” a voice said from the front of the van. A head then turned around and smiled at the two of them. Sam’s eyebrows went up. “You met the turtles? How?” “Somehow I got wrapped up in helping them fight off Shredder, you know, hero stuff, the usual.” Sam saw April roll her eyes, making her laugh softly. She extended a hand to Vern in the front seat. “My name is Samantha Allan Park, nice to meet you. I’m the newest member of the turtle’s band of misfits.” Vern shook her hand and the two went back to their seats. “So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?” Sam asked. “Well,” April began, “I just wanted to know who you were, what you want out of being their friend, that sort of thing. I don’t want to seem vicious or threatening towards you in any way, I’m just…looking out for them.” Sam smiled. “I understand, you’re just looking out for them like an older sister would, I mean you are the great hogosha” she teased,” and I can relate to that, the sister part that is. Well, the first time I came across the lair, it honestly was just by chance. I wasn’t specifically searching for it, it just happened to be the mysterious thing that was there. I stole the flash drive from Donnie’s lab because I wanted to learn more about what I had found, but within a week they hunted me down and I got my answer as to what was hiding down in the sewers. I wanted to get to know them better since, well they’re incredible! Both in the sense of them scientifically being one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, but personality wise they’re all so unique as well. Mikey came to visit me the following night that I met the four brothers, and he’s become my best friend ever since. I just…feel happy and comfortable with him, with all of them…oh god please don’t tell ANY of them that I said that or they’ll be weird about it I just know it!” Sam said as she cringed a bit. April laughed at the girl’s reaction to her own words. “Don’t worry, anything said in this van will stay in this van. But your comments answered some thoughts I’ve had in my head for a while.” Sam gave the woman an inscrutable look. “What thoughts would those be?” “Well, let’s just say that Irma has talked A LOT about her daughter and future son in law, which means I’ve also heard a lot about his past, which means I know a lot about what’s happened to you as well.” Sam just sat there silently with a bleak expression on her face. She wasn’t sure exactly how to respond for a few reasons. Her main fear was that she may tell or might already have told the turtles about her harsh past, and she wasn’t ready to talk to any of them about that yet. Sam was also now trying to stay calm and collected since she was now being forced into a situation where she had to talk about her past, something that she hated very much. Little to no notice beforehand to allow her to calm herself ahead of time made talking about this very difficult, and she hated showing this weakness to people. As she sat there silently, April began to talk again. “If you’re wondering if I told the guys, then you have nothing to worry about.” Sam’s head shot up as she heard this.

April gave her a small smile. “If I may be brutally honest, the night I first met you and you told me your name, I knew it had sounded familiar. Once it finally clicked in how and why I knew you even though I had never met you before, it made some sense to me as to why you would be creeping around the sewers looking for ‘adventure’ as Leo put it, hehe. That’s also why I hung back in advising them to look further into any background information on you. I actually convinced Leo and Donnie to drop those thoughts and convinced them that I would take care of it, and I sort of white lied and said that I was still in the process of looking up information when really I wasn’t looking into your background at all. I wanted to confront you before ever telling them anything personal about you. I wanted to see if your intentions in seeing them were good or not, and if they seemed so, then I vowed that I would continue to keep your secret. If you seemed suspicious or anything then honestly yes I was planning on telling them. But I know that you’ve lost a lot, and based on what you just told me a minute ago, the reason you seem to like hanging out with the guys so much is because they remind you of what you lost years ago.”

Sam paused to collect her thoughts. “Honestly, it sounds like you’ve put a lot more thought into why I feel so comfortable around all of them than I have. But you’re right, each of them has qualities that are so similar to all of my siblings. You might as well label Leo as Jay junior” she said with a laugh. “But I swear on my life that I just want to be friends and hangout with all of them. Ever since…the incident, I’ve been alone a lot more than ever before, and within the past few years I’ve really grown to look for something adventurous, something that will give me a huge adrenaline rush, and Mikey alone has helped with that. I more so recently just got the other three to really start talking to me, but that’s another first for me as well. Kids at school only talk to me when they need to or when no one else is around, and I’ve grown to not care about that, but…for whatever reason I don’t want it to be that way with these guys. Even if they’re just starting to or still barely even care for my company, I really do want to get to know them. Thinking back on it, what you said about wanting to hang out with them because of their similarities to my siblings makes a lot of sense.”

April smiled and put a hand on the girls shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re all very protective of one another, and as they get to know you bit by bit, they’ll open up to you. But that means you also have to slowly open up to them as well. That doesn’t mean telling them every detail of your past at one time, but slowly talking more about your siblings, things like that. Prove to them that you really do want to become their friend.” April then turned her head towards the front of the van. “Hey Vern, can you drop me off at the usual place?” “Yup, sure thing April. Tell the guys I said hi when you see them.” He then started the van and merged in with the traffic. Sam smiled at the woman in front of her. “Thanks for this April, it really means a lot that the great hogosha approves of me seeing her friends.” April rolled her eyes and smiled. “Well, thank you for talking to me with seriousness and honesty. And hey, if you ever need anything,” she said as she stuck her hand out and waited until Sam put her phone into her hand, “let me know okay?” Sam nodded her head as she looked at the new name and number in her contacts list. “And I can’t thank you enough for keeping my past a secret.” “Don’t worry about it, you’re not the only one that’s lost someone.”

Vern parked the van and let the ladies out, covering for them as they made their way into the sewers. As Sam and April exited the van, they continued to talk the entire time they walked to the lair. April shared about losing her father at such a young age and how that affected her, and for the first time ever, Sam was able to share how she felt about losing her own family members, in a comforting setting that is. This wasn’t therapy, this was a real person who wanted to talk to her and get to know her, and that meant everything to Sam, especially since she hadn’t had someone that she could view as a sister figure in a long while. Sam had sadly cast Irma and Brenda out some time ago, but slowly she was letting them back in bit by bit, and this conversation with April made her realize that as much as she loved being a tomboy and hanging out with guys, she truly did miss talking to other women. Sam was happy that she had the chance to talk to April like this and she hoped that it wouldn’t be the last.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Saturday May 31st, the lair, late at night*

Raph had been watching t.v. in his room and had headed towards the kitchen for a late night snack. As he entered the main living area, he noticed someone laying in one of the hammocks in the top left opening that lead into the dojo. He was prepared to prank whichever brother had fallen asleep there, but as he got closer he realized that it was Sam who was laying there. He knew she must be thinking about something personal and emotional again, or else she would have cracked some type of joke at him once he had entered the room. She always knew when someone had entered the room when she was training with Mikey, even when she couldn’t see them. She had proved that she had incredible sensory skills, but whenever her emotions got the best of her, those skills went flying out the window. Raph climbed up to where the hammocks were and laid in one, leaving some space between where he and Sam were lying. He could tell by her glassy eyes that she must have let a few tears slide earlier, but that she was much calmer now.

“You know you can’t see the stars from down here, right?” he said as he looked up at the ceiling, just like Sam had been. She continued to look up as she spoke. “Tch, I know. Just because I’m looking in one direction doesn’t mean I’m focusing my eyes on anything. My gaze just drifts off when I’m lost in thought.” “These thoughts have anything to do with your little brother?” She squinted as she looked over at Raph. “You’re so interested in meeting him now, aren’t you?” “It’s not every day you meet a fellow sai master.” “Sai master?” she asked mockingly. “Yes, I’m a master, a pro at what I do.” “And I can fly around this room with my eyes closed.” “Yeah, you can with that board of yours.” Sam was silent for a second. “Oh hey I actually can now” she said with a laugh. “Aw crap, I just agreed to calling you a master without meaning to. I have dishonored my family.” “Way to go slick” he teased, happy to see the girl smile again. “Happy? Why the heck am I happy that she’s smiling? I don’t care about how she feels. That’s right, I don’t care about this chick, so then why the heck am I up here-” “So why are you up here anyway?” Sam asked, cutting off his thoughts. Raph’s face was blank and calm, but mentally he was freaking out. He didn’t want her to know that he sensed she was upset and then went to talk to her, he couldn’t believe it himself that he was up here for that reason. He needed an excuse and fast. “I needed a spotter.” She gave him a questioning look. “You’re working out in the middle of the night?” “Yeah, I finally have some peace and quiet now that you two aren’t training and goofing off in the dojo” he said as he tried to maintain a serious look and sound tough as usual rather than revealing how nervous he was. Sam shrugged her shoulders. “Fair enough.” She sat up and walked over towards the pole near the opening and slid down to the ground floor where the workout station was. Raph was just relieved that she bought his excuse. “Alright, I already exercised earlier today, so I’ll make this as quick as possible and I’ll head back to my room. Then I won’t have to talk to her anymore.” As Raph headed down towards the workout station, he was shocked to see Sam adding weights to the barbell. “Where does your strength come from?” “Hella sports” she said as she placed the last weight on. Raph grinned. “You need to add more weight to it. Her eyes went wide. “The weights 450, how much more do you need?” “All the way up to 580.” “…I feel like a twig…” Raph laughed. “I’m sure you still bench press a lot more than most people your size.” Sam looked over at him. “No way, I’m not telling you.” He put his hands up in defense. “I promise I won’t judge.” “…150…” “How much do you weigh?” “Dude! You NEVER ask a woman how much she weighs!” “You do when you’re trying determine whether she’s pulling her weight, literally.” Sam glared at him. “I’m 120” she mumbled. Raph nodded. “Then you’re actually doing better than you should be” he said as he laid down and grabbed onto the barbell and started his reps. Sam stood behind some, but still made sure to keep an eye on him just to be safe. “I am?” “Yeah, someone your weight should be lifting somewhere between 80 to 125 pounds, so you lifting 150 is pretty damn good. Guess I can’t call you a twig anymore” he said with a grin.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Sam realized that she should take advantage of this time where Raph was calm and be honest with him. “Sorry for beating your high score in that racing game. If I had known it was such a big deal than I wouldn’t have played it.” Raph peeked over and noticed her gloomy expression as she stared at the t.v. over in the living room. “Tch, I just wish I knew how you reached a score that high. I’ve never gotten that close. Must be lucky, since it was your first time playing” he said bluntly. “Heh, obviously that was a lie. Sorry for that as well. I’ve played that and other racing games tons of times, so I’ve gotten really good at finding cheat codes and secret techniques and all kinds of things that help boost my score.”

Raph could tell that Sam was slowly starting to get depressed again, so he decided to change things up. He placed the barbell in its holder and stood up. “So, how many pushups can you do?” She shrugged. “You don’t know?” he asked as he paused his reps and stilled the barbell, placing it in its holder. “I’ve never counted before.” “Well, start counting now.” He motioned for her to follow him as he walked into the dojo, and with a smile she did just that. The two faced each other as they got on the ground and began their pushups. “So, do your brother’s bench press?” Sam asked. “Yup.” “How much?” “Ummmm, from what I can remember, Mikey was next in line at about 540, Leo wasn’t far behind that at about 525, and then Donnie comes in last with 450.” “Jeez, being thin doesn’t mean shit when it comes to that guy” Sam said in amazement “I mean the other day when you guys were training, he literally flipped Mikey over his shoulder. How is he not the same size as the rest of you guys?” “Heh, he used to wonder the same thing and it really bothered him for a while. Then he got older and when he beat us in speed and height he didn’t care so much, he can be a real ass when it comes to being the tallest though.” “You just called someone else an ass? Is it snowing outside?” she mocked.   He stopped and glared at her. “I’m not always an ass you know, I can be a nice guy.” “And I’m a Victoria’s secret model” she said as she miserably failed at holding in her chuckles. Playfully, he leaned his weight onto one arm and pushed Sam over. Jokingly she glared at him. “Dude! What gives?” “Oh well, guess you have to start all over.” “And what was that about not being an ass?” Just as she was getting ready, he pushed her over again. “That’s it” she said as she swung her foot around, hoping to knock him off his balance as well. Of course, he just stayed still, knowing that her kick wouldn’t harm him at all. Sam withdrew her foot and pouted at the fact that she couldn’t do what he had done to her. “How’s it feel to hit steal?” Raph said with a huge smile. “Soft and squishy, like flubber.” Raph rolled his eyes as he stood up. “Well, since you failed to keep your balance while doing pushups, we’ll try pullups next.”

Without either of them realizing it, the two talked while going through one of Raph’s normal workout routines for many hours throughout the night. Raph enjoyed working out with his other brothers, but sometimes it was more annoying than anything. Some days Mikey was a fun and serious work out partner, and then some days he just goofed off a bit too much. Leo was odd in the sense that one day he might talk away while working out, and other days he wanted it to be dead silent. Donnie had his own workout routines and usually completed them when others weren’t around, since he still slightly detested that he couldn’t keep up with his brothers strength. Knowing all this, Raph enjoyed having someone he could talk to while going through his normal routines. Of course he would never admit to himself or to anyone that he actually enjoyed the girls company. He would take it to his grave that she was the one who came to him and wouldn’t leave him alone. Sam knew this, but she didn’t mind. She knew that everyone needed a first step when getting to know someone, and even though she had a feeling Raph would always deny it, she knew that this was his, and early the next morning around 6a.m. when Mikey wondered where Sam had been since she wasn’t in his room and he found her and Raph asleep on the couch together, as he moved Sam to the bed in his room he also secretly knew this about his older brother as well.

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*Sunday June 1st, early morning in the lair*

“Okay, now you crack the egg on the side of the pan. You have to do it hard, but gently at the same time” Sam explained. Leo looked confused as hell. “So, which is it?” “Ummm, right in between. As best as you can get to that” Sam said as she shrugged her shoulders. “You’re not good at explaining things, are you?” “Not really, I know what I do and try my best to put that into words. Sorry.” Leo did his best to crack the egg ‘hard but gently’ and luckily he got a solid crack on the egg. He went to open it and put it in the pan, but Sam lightly grabbed his arm and slid a small bowl in front of him. “Drop it in here.” “Why would I put it in a small dish?” “In case there’s any shell. Trust me you don’t want to eat that.” Leo nodded. “Makes sense, good call.”

Sam had recently learned that it was Mikey and Donnie who did a lot of the cooking in the family, and that Raph and Leo knew little to nothing. So, she offered to teach him some basics. She wasn’t a master chef or anything, but her older brother Brian had taught her everything she really knew about cooking, so she tried her best to pass these basic teachings on to Leo.

“This is just fun to watch” Mikey said as he sat at the table in the eatery, his chin resting in his hands, his elbows resting on the table. “Hey! Hushity-hush! Don’t distract my student!” Sam exclaimed. Leo turned towards her and gave a blank expression. “I’m sorry what?” “You can call me sensei” she said with a beaming smile. “Not. A chance. Ever.” “Master?” “Nope.” “Teacher?” “Never.” “How about-” “You should just stop now” Leo said with a sarcastic smile, resulting in chuckles from Mikey in the background. “Whatever you say oh fearless leader” she said, throwing the sarcasm and mockery right back at him. As Sam turned back towards the stove, Leo shot his younger brother a small grin. The two boys could tell that Raph must have allowed some time to talk to the girl, since Raph was the only one that called Leo this literally all the time. Leo’s suspicions seemed to prove true when later on Raph entered the room and walked over to where the dojo was, since this was one of the times he usually trained on his own. Leo heard the sound of some paper crinkling and when Raph had left the room, he noticed Sam staring at what it was that he had dropped, a magazine that he had been reading.

Throughout the rest of the day, Leo knew that something was up since Raph kept looking around for the magazine, and later found it in a place that they both knew wasn’t where he had left it, but of course Raph wouldn’t question it because that would be him asking others for help, and he tried to refrain from that as much as possible. “Huh, I wonder what that kids up to” Leo thought, as he then wondered why he cared in the first place, since he was supposed to be like his younger two brothers and not care about the girl or what she did. At least, that’s what the three continued to tell themselves.

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*Monday June 2nd, 4:00p.m.*

Donnie was currently working on his and the brothers truck when Mikey walked over asking for his assistance. Donnie hopped out from the back opening of the truck and walked over to his brother. “Hey Mikey, what’s up?” “Follow me!” he said, a skip in his step. “*sigh* why now?” Mikey turned back to face him with an irked look. “Dude, it’s nothing major, but I think you’ll like it. Come onnnnnnnaaa!” Donnie rolled his eyes and followed his brother. They walked out the exit way that the truck would use to get onto the streets. When they reached the exit way that lead into the city, Mikey pulled up the door and there was Sam, using all her strength to push an extremely old and worn out motorcycle into the sewer walkway. Donnie was shocked, and very confused. “Why? And how?” Sam stopped and leaned on the wall, catching her breath. “Your annoying older brother keeps complaining that he doesn’t have his own wheels, and he’ll never admit that he actually talked to me first and not the other way around. He thinks he hates me, but he’s wrong” she said as she pointed to Donnie in confidence of her words. “So, after I fix this up, we’ll see how much he still ‘hates me’ then.” “Sam, where did you get this? Did you pay money for this?” Donnie said with a mix of amusement that she would go so far to help Raph, but also in frustration that she would spend so much money on helping them. She shook her head. “Naw, found it in a junkyard. And it only cost the truck that got it here about 8 bucks since the drive wasn’t that far away. I might have to spend some money on certain materials like paint, but if I got help finding spare parts and things like that then it would be a lot cheaper” she said with a wide all teeth showing smile. “Heyyyy, how come you’re not asking me to help?” Mikey pouted. “Do you know how to get a motorcycle up and running?” “…no…” he said in defeat. “Don’t worry fam, if your brother helps me out, then you can assist us. I don’t have the strength to do everything on my own” she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. “Hmmm, I don’t know,” Donnie cut in, “I mean I already have a lot to work on right now with the truck and the med wing, things that could really benefit us in the long run.” “I can help with those.” “Really? How can you help?” “I have some basic skills when it comes to construction and rewiring, you know, things along those lines. Plus I can help you get materials. My brother somehow has friends in all types of different career fields. Oh! And I have these!” she said as she tossed him a bag. Donnie curiously inspected the bag. It seemed to be a cooling bag that could keep materials that needed to be refrigerated cold. He unzipped the top of the bag and inside were tons of different Japanese juice boxes of all different flavors. His eyes went wide as he rummaged through the bag, observing the countless flavors. “How did you know I drink these?” he asked in amazement. “Not gonna lie, it was a huge hunch. I had a strong feeling you would like these. Guess I was right. Told you owing you wouldn’t be a big deal” she said with a smile. “So, whaddya say?” she asked, raising her eyebrows and nudging him with her elbow. “Alright, it’s a deal” he said as he playfully pushed her away from elbowing him. “Come on Mikey, we’ll find ways for you to help out if you want.” “Sweet! And don’t worry I’m the best at keeping secrets!” he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around the other twos shoulders, and they all walked off to find a spot where they could work on the motorcycle in secret.

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*Friday June 6th, later in the evening*

Throughout the week when she wasn’t teaching Leo how to cook or helping Donnie with their new projects, Sam continued to train with Mikey. The two were currently on break from another training session. Raph was working out at the moment, mainly because this is what more than half of his day consisted of, but also because he liked to monitor the girl’s progress in her training. Actually, all the remaining brothers liked to see Sam progress in her training with Mikey since she was already decently skilled to begin with, but her movements had gotten much faster since the first time they had all met her, and visibly she was changing as well. Her muscle size hadn’t increased dramatically, but they were a bit more toned now, and even though she was still very thin, the fact that she even had muscle was very recognizable, unlike in the past when her muscles couldn’t be seen except when being used.

Raph glanced over at the two friends who were getting a drink in the kitchen when he noticed that Sam was staring off into space. He looked in the same direction she was and noticed that she was staring at the spot on the weapons wall where the sais were. Raph kept a straight face, (there’s no way he could smile in front of the other two) and walked over to where they were sitting. Sam was still staring off into space for a few more seconds before she realized Raph was heading over in their direction. Mikey on the other hand instantly sensed when his brother began walking over in their direction and quickly turned to face him. He saw that Raph’s eyes were on Sam and he paused, nervous about what his brother was going to say to the girl.

“Wanna take em for a test run?” Raph said facing Sam. She turned to him, her eyebrows raising. “Hm?” she asked as her brow furrowed in curiosity as she wondered when Raph had entered the room. “Do you. Want to. Practice with them?” he said as he pointed towards the smaller set of sais. Sam turned towards Mikey. Even though her face was blank, he knew that she was asking for his approval since she didn’t want to just abandon her friend. Mikey smiled at her. “Your brother has been distracting you for the past half hour. Go make him proud” he said as he tilted his head towards the back wall. Sam gave him a huge smile and darted towards the weapons wall. Raph looked at his brother with curiosity. “You knew about them belonging to her brother?” “Yeah, she told me about them belonging to him and she brought the second one every day once she discovered its partner was here, waiting for a safe moment to put it back. How did you know they belonged to her brother?” he said, squinting his eyes at his older brother. Raph froze before he spoke. “She got caught, but I decided to let her off easy. She seemed upset about it” he said, trying to shrug off the situation. “So why didn’t you take advantage of that? You passed up a chance at attacking her at her weakest point? You didn’t continue to verbally beat the shit out of her?” he said in a bogusly serious tone. “Oh I’m about to beat the shit out of someone” Raph said as he cracked his knuckles.

*Themes: BTS-Back Breaker (audio) BTS-Silver spoon (audio) G Dragon-Obsession (audio)*

“Are we doing this or not?” Sam called out from the dojo. The two boys looked away from each other and over at her, both interested in how these events would play out. Sam was standing on the right side of the dojo, lightly jumping and getting her body warmed up for the sparring that would soon prevail. Raph leaped down from the small ledge and walked over to the left side of dojo. “You ready?” “Eh” she shrugged. “Don’t expect anything great, I’m still rusty.” “Heh, well let’s see how you hold up” he said with a grin.

And as soon as those last few words left his lips, the two were charging at each other. The two moved swiftly as the sais from one fighter clashed with those of their opponent. Raph waited for an open moment and swung his elbow in an attempt to push the girl forward, but what he wasn’t expecting was for her to jump back some when he did this and to then hook her sai with his and try to move them around together. Usually when someone did this, it was to move and then pull the sai out of their opponents hand, which normally this would have worked, but since Sam was obviously much weaker than Raph, this move backfired and it was Raph who actually knocked Sam’s sai out of her own hand.

“Dang, if only she had more strength” Donnie said in excitement. Sam looked over at him in confusion, wondering when the heck he got here. She then noticed that Leo was sitting on the other side of Mikey who was sitting in the middle of the group of three. She wondered what was with these guys wanting to watch her whenever she was sparring with someone. “Hey slick, stay focused” Raph said as he tossed Sam back the second sai. She shrugged. “Okay” and then ran back towards him at full force. That quickly the brawl was back on and the sounds of clanging sais could be heard all throughout the lair, which was what drew the other two brothers over towards the dojo in the first place.

“How does she know how to hold them correctly?” Leo asked aloud and then turning towards Mikey. “I don’t know what you’re asking” he stated with his eyebrows raised. “What he’s asking is how does she know where to place her fingers when using the sais? Since if you place your fingers in the wrong spot and if you hold them incorrectly then every time you pull the weapons back you can easily cut yourself. But Leo’s right, she’s holding them the correct way, and she’s doing a pretty good job at defending herself, though she has to fight very defensively since Raph’s strength outweighs hers.” “Oh, I guess her younger brother taught her” Mikey replied. “Her younger brother?” questioned Leo. “Hey man, you’ll have to ask her about that, it’s not my story to tell” he said defensively as he gave his brother an innocent yet serious look. Leo nodded and continued to watch the fight.

The two fought on for a good while longer. There were a few times where Raph was able to knock Sam back or knock her down, but each time this happened, Sam would always swipe and curve her sai upwards in attempt to bring his leg up and have him fall on his back. The first couple of times she tried, she came close to succeeding, but by the third attempt she knew she was making herself easy to read, so she had to try out a new move.

Sam ran forward and twisted the blades so that they were facing away from her opponent and then threw her right arm up towards Raph’s shoulder. He twisted his blades so that they faced away from Sam as he blocked her hand. At the same time, Sam had performed the same move but with her left arm swinging down towards Raph’s waist. This was also blocked, but for a split second Sam had a chance to perform a move she had only seen once in her lifetime. While both Raph’s arms were currently blocked, Sam leaned back as far as she could without falling, brought her knee up, and then aimed at kicking Raph in the chin. Raph however had performed this move thousands of times and knew that Sam’s positioning was a bit off, so he easily dodged the attack. Right after, he swung his right arm out of Sam’s grip and lightly hit her in the shoulder, resulting in her jumping back and calling a truce.

“Anddd I’m out!” she exclaimed as she put her hands up in defense while still holding her sais. “Awww, what? Come on!” she heard multiple voices calling out behind Raph. “Aren’t those my lines?” he joked as he turned around to face his brothers. “Hey, you three take a solid blow from that!” she said, pointing towards Raph, “and then you can complain!” Raph chuckled. He enjoyed when people pointed out how strong he was. He then turned towards Sam. “Who taught you how to do that last move?” “No one. I saw someone do it once and I attempted to copy it. I was running out of moves so I had to come up with something.” “Was it your younger brother?” Leo asked. Sam turned towards Mikey with wide eyes and a fake smile, signaling that he wasn’t in trouble, but that she was still irritated depending on what exactly he had shared with his brothers. “All I said was that you younger brother might have taught you to fight that’s it!” he exclaimed in one breathe. She nodded as her expression softened. She then turned towards Leo. “Yeah, it was my younger brother actually. He took some self-defense classes with me in the past and these specifically were his weapon of choice” she said as she held up the weapons in her hand. “I saw him perform that move once during training and I tried to copy it.” “Wait, you only saw him perform that move once?” Raph asked. “I told you my moves were rusty!” Sam exclaimed. Raph rolled his eyes. “I ain’t complaining, I’m asking because that was way too accurate for a first time try-out.” “That was good? I totally missed.” “Yeah, because you’re going up against a pro. What you just did would have easily knocked out any amateur on the street.” Sam started brushing off her shoulders, pretending to act like she had known what she was doing all along. “Did you guys ever practice with any other weapons?” Donnie cut in. “Uh, yeah a few different types. Why?” “You ever learn to fight with a bo?” “A little bit yeah.” “Alright, my turn!” he said as he hopped off the ledge. “Do I get any say in this?” she asked playfully. He breathed in, and exhaled a “No” with a smile. “Eh okay, hey Mikey-” “Already on it!” he shouted as he ran back into the room and tossed Sam her two tonfa. She then extended them both, collapsed the handles, and then connected the two together. Raph smiled as he walked by Donnie. “Don’t go easy on her, she’s tougher than she looks.” “That or you’re just weaker than you thought” he teased. Raph nudged his brother. “Heh, smartass” he joked. As Raph took his seat next to Mikey, Donnie got his bo ready as he pushed it forward and it also extended some. He got in ready position on the right side of the dojo as Sam also prepped herself on the far side of the dojo. “321go!” Mikey shouted, and the two charged at each other. Donnie was shocked at how easily Sam was able to keep up with his movements. Every time he brought his bo up to swiftly bring it down for an attack from above, she always knew how to position her weapon so that she could block the attack. The two were neck and neck for a while until Sam got a quick second for a fake attack. She made it seem like she was going to push her bo forward for a central attack, but instead, when Donnie moved his bo forward to block the attack, she pulled her bo back and then grabbed his. Once he was in a position where for a split second he couldn’t move, Sam turned some and brought her leg up and pushed Donnie back some.  

Raph rolled his eyes. “What part of ‘don’t go easy on her’ didn’t he understand?” he mumbled. “He’s not going easy on her, he’s shocked that that even happened. She’s obviously way more skilled with this weapon” Leo said, not realizing that there was a small smile creeping upon his lips. He found this girl intriguing. You never knew what she was hiding up her sleeve or what she was going to do next.

Donnie stood for a couple of seconds in shock at the strength that this girl now had. He knew her muscles were much more visible now compared to when they first met, but he hadn’t realized just how strong she had become. Knowing this, he knew he could play a bit more on the offensive side now rather than just fighting defensively.

It took a while for Sam to realize just how fast she and Donnie had been moving. Both of their movements had been so swift and fluid that she hadn’t realized just how much the fight had picked up speed. Unfortunately for her, Sam ended up moving a split second to short at one point and Donnie took full advantage of this as he hit his bo against hers and then swiftly moved the two in a curved downwards position where Sam’s bo was pushed outwards, leaving the entire front of her body wide open for an attack. As Donnie moved forward and swung his bo with him aiming for the center of Sam’s body, he could see in her eyes that she knew she had messed up, and because of this she knew exactly which way to move when dodging the attack. As she dodged in the same direction that his bo was moving in, she then just as quickly spun around and tried to attack with her bo as it was held in a long upwards position, but already Donnie had moved back to a position where he could block the attack. With quick spontaneous thinking, she then tried to swing the bottom half of the bo back up in an attempt to knock the opposing weapon from Donnie’s hand, but he sensed this attack coming and quickly moved back some with his bo in front of him. He then twisted his bo sideways and pushed it forwards when Sam’s was in the middle as he then spun around and swung his leg up. Sam was able to duck in time, knowing that with the momentum of his swing, he wouldn’t be able to stop in time and bring his leg down to hit her.

The two continued their back and forth fight of attacking and dodging until Leo had grown impatient. “Times up!” Leo called out. Donnie stopped and faced his eldest brother. “Exsqueeze me?” “This fight been going on longer than Raph’s.” “Oh, really?” Donnie asked. “I dunno, but you’ve stopped now” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. “HA” Sam quickly shut her mouth and looked away, trying to hide how hilarious she thought that situation played out as Donnie turned back and playfully glared at her. Mikey couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing. Even Raph was chuckling a bit. “Dang Leo, that was messed up, I totally approve though.” Donnie rolled his eyes as he turned back towards Sam. “You’ve studied the use of that weapon wayyyyy more than the previous one” he said with a smile. Sam rubbed the back of her head. “Hehe, yeah. This almost became my weapon of choice, so I practiced with this one a lot more than the others. Yes those others include katanas” she said as she gave Leo a playful yet serious look. He paused for a moment, a bit dazed by the fact that she had answered a question he hadn’t even opened his mouth to ask yet. As the two opponents continued talking, Leo walked over to the weapons wall to get some katanas for Sam. “So” Donnie began, “what made you turn towards your weapon versus mine?” “Well for one, tonfa allow wider and more flexible movements, which I personally liked better. Second, your weapon is good for people whose strength is more so in their legs than their arms, not saying that bo users have no arm strength, but from what I’ve seen it’s a good weapon when it comes to being quick on your feet. Overall I was good at this, but apparently various tests showed that there was a slight difference in how I applied strength using my legs and feet versus my hands and arms, so I was also recommended my weapon.” Donnie nodded. “Makes sense, I get this feeling you were also told that it would have benefited you more if you were taller because then it might have been a bit easier for you to provide stronger blows from your legs rather than your arms” he said with a  smirk. She squinted her eyes at him. “So you are smart enough to read minds.” “Heads up” Leo called as he tossed a sword towards Sam. She caught it and gave him a doubtful look. “Are you expecting me to fight with this? Dude, how strong do you think I am?” she asked as she tossed it back to him. At the same time he had tossed her another sword, and she replied the same way. This went on for a few seconds until finally they found a perfect match. Sam looked over the katana and was glad that there was a set that had some strength behind it, but wasn’t too heavy for her to swing and fight with. “Alright, this will do.” Leo tossed her the matching katana and the two went to their sides of the dojo. Donnie took a seat on the other side of Mikey as the three boys got ready for the next fight. “Annnnddd 321go!” Mikey called out. For the most part he had actually been watching quietly, but that was because he had been taking mental notes on both how his best friend had been fighting and things she needed to work on another day during training, and also on how his brothers acted and reacted towards her fighting and to her personally. Overall, Mikey was satisfied with everything that he had observed so far that evening.

Leo and Sam rushed towards each other, once again creating the loud crashes of their katanas colliding with each other and echoing throughout the lair. Instantly Leo could tell that Sam was back to the way she was when she had been fighting against Raph. She knew some basics like how to hold and slice with the katanas and how to quickly dodge attacks, but her movements definitely weren’t as fast as they were when she had been fighting Donnie. Knowing this, Leo decided to try something different. He anticipated that she would block his attack when bringing both his blades forward, and she did just as he predicted and blocked in the exact stance that he foresaw as well. Instead of standing in place when he attacked, he began walking and pushing forward. Sam hadn’t anticipated this and not knowing what to do, she continued to push forward as well. Leo continued to quickly walk forward and push Sam with him, waiting to see what she would do next. “You gonna fight back, or are you dead already?” he mocked. Sam struggled as she continued to push forward until she saw a crack in the floor that looked to be about a decent size. Without time to think, she shoved one of her katanas into the crack and quickly swung around, so as Leo went forward, she was now behind him. She would have had the upper hand if she could have pulled the blade from the crack, but she had used too much force to get the katana in, and now she couldn’t pull it back out. Sam backed up some and put her hands up in defeat. “Well guess I’m dead” she said with a mix of humor and frustration in her voice, upset that the fight was already over because of her blunder. “Not yet” Leo said as he pulled the katana out of the crack and then tossed it and one of his own off to the side. Sam understood and smiled to signal so, and the fight went on. The two sliced, swiped, and dodged for a while. Sam seemed to be much better at fighting with one blade rather than with two since her movements were suddenly much quicker. Leo thought that if the girl just had more strength to her, then even masters like Karai would shiver in fear when fighting her. If she was this quick and this skilled as an amateur, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to fight her as a trained ninja with more strength, speed, and skill behind her. What amazed him the most was that every time he thought she was at a weak point, she quickly found a way to try and use that to her advantage. If he moved closer and used his arm to push her back or knock her down, she somehow found a way to then come back at an unexpected angle. Leo stepped forward and pushed her so that the only way to block the attack would be to turn and leave her backside wide open. Instead, she turned completely around and swung the blade over her head and behind her to block her back, and then as she pulled her blade forward and made Leo’s katana pull back up, she then swiftly turned and tried to swing her leg near Leo’s thigh. Once again, he knew that in a normal fight she would have spun further and aimed for her enemy’s stomach and landed the kick there, but because her weight was outmatched, she aimed for a lower ‘softer’ part of his body instead.

The two continued to fight some until Mikey grew tired of sitting in silence. “Leooooooooo! I want a turn!” Mikey whined. The fight ended, but Leo noticed Sam shaking her head with wide eyes and slowly backing away. “If you want me to fight with your weapon then I’m out, I surrender now, I’m bailing.” All three of the older brothers looked over at her, their jaws almost touching the floor. “Wait, why?” Leo asked in shock. “Because I don’t know how! After all I’ve done so far, I’m not embarrassing myself by fighting with a weapon I don’t EVEN KNOW HOW to fight with yet!” “Lameeeeee” Mikey teased, “but fine, pick whatever weapon you want.” Sam went back over, disconnected her tonfa, and ran back over to her side of the dojo. “This ought to be interesting” Leo mumbled as he sat between Raph and Donnie.

It was this fight that truly displayed how much Sam’s training had paid off. All three observers were blown away with how rapidly she threw punches and kicks and with how swift and fluid each and every one of her motions was. It was extremely obvious that this was the weapon she had practiced with the most.

“Hey do the move” Mikey said as the two continued to spar. “What? No way. I’m not going to attack with a move when you know it ahead of time!” “That’s because you can’t do it.” Sam glared at her friend as they fought, playfully signaling that she hated that he could read her like a book. With his short amount of teasing, Mikey backed up as Sam ran forward as she swung her right leg around, leading her to leap and spin herself in the air as she brought down one of her tonfa above Mikey’s head. He blocked the attack by holding each handle of one of his nunchuks and pulled them so that Sam’s tonfa connected with the chain of his weapon. “Nice, but you still need to get higher” he said as the two continued to fight. This continued on as Mikey continued to call out moves and techniques that he wanted her to try, and their actions went more so from fighting to having Sam display all the moves she had been practicing. After a while, it was obvious that Sam was tired out. “Awww there’s no round two?” Raph called out. “Dude, I just fought four people in an amount of time that surpasses any of my games or performances. Give a girl a chance to breathe” she said as she fanned herself with her hand. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Leo raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re not going home?” “No, it’s Friday, and I have a late game tomorrow, and then an even later rehearsal. I always stay late on weekends.” “Might as well just move in” Raph said, his speech filled with sarcasm. “OKAY!” Mikey shouted, followed by a small grunt after being shoved by Raph. Ignoring his brother’s antics, Leo walked over towards Sam. “I get this feeling you’re going to be here even more once school ends right?” “Yup!” Sam replied with a beaming smile. “You interested in training with us?” She stared at him with a blank expression. “What’s the joke?” “There is no joke.” “…So you’re serious?” “Yes.” “You swear?” “Yeah.” “Positive?” “Do you want me to say no?” “No I’m good!” Sam said, failing to hide her smile.

She expected to hear complaints from the other brother’s as Leo turned away to head towards the kitchen, but they never came. All she heard afterwards was Donnie talking to Leo about some stuff he had found online about the Foot clan, and Raph teasing and wrestling with Mikey. Not too long after, Splinter had entered the lair from the entrance closest to the kitchen. He saw Sam standing in the entryway to the dojo and walked over to her. “Ah Samantha, how are you doing this evening?” “…what?” she asked, seeming a bit dazed. “Did something happen my child? Something good, bad?” “Um, that depends. Are you okay if I join you and your family every now and then when you guys train together?” Splinter successfully hid his joy in knowing that things must be going well between her and his sons for her to be able to ask him this question. “Hmmm I don’t know, do you think you’ll be able to handle the same rigorous routines that they go through?” “Sir, I got this, especially after what happened today.” “Then I don’t see why not. Oh, but you’ll have to call me sensei from now on though.” “Got it, understood.” “Come, why don’t you join me in getting some refreshments from the kitchen.” “Alright, thanks sensei” she said with a sincere smile as she walked over with him and joined the brothers in the kitchen.

Splinter continued to act natural, but he couldn’t wait until much, much later that night when he would get a chance to sit down with Michelangelo who would update him on all that had happened while he was away from the lair.

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*Later that night*

It was about 3a.m. when Leo awoke on the couch. He had been sitting in a half upright half slouched back position with his head leaned back against the top of the couch. He slowly lifted his head up as he realized that he must have fallen asleep in the living room. Just as he went to stand up and head to his room, he realized there was some weight on his left thigh. He had to squint for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted to the darkness (there were various small lamps throughout the lair, but overall it was still hard to see unless the lights were turned on.) As his eyes adjusted, he realized that it was Sam who had laid her head down where his thigh was. The last thing he remembered was watching some re-runs of The Big Bang Theory with Sam and his brothers, so he assumed that maybe he had fallen asleep on the couch first and that everyone else had headed to bed before Sam decided to get cozy in the position that she was. He began to blush a bit, but then he realized that he had seen this happen a few times recently.

One of the more recent times was earlier that week on Monday. Sam had been working with Donnie on the truck when they both discovered they were both fans of the new Planet of the Apes films and decided to watch the first two so that they could start preparing for the third. The two had fallen asleep together on the couch with Sam’s head at one end and her lying across the couch so that her feet were at the other end, and then Donnie vice versa. He had seen this happen a few times between the two now that they were finding more movies and shows that they were both fans of.

Also, a couple of days just before this, Leo woke up in the middle of the night and decided to go to the kitchen to get some water only to find Raph and Sam asleep on the couch together. They were in the same position that he and Sam were in now, except it was Sam who was sitting upright and Raph who had his head on Sam’s lap. He assumed that Raph had curled up in this position once Sam had already fallen asleep and assumed that he would wake up in time before anyone had caught him, even though both he and Mikey had caught Raph like this.

And then there was Mikey who was always snuggled up with his best friend. Sometimes Leo wondered about the two of them, since they would lay on the couch together with Sam lying right in front of Mikey. When he confronted his younger brother, he insisted that they both found lying down to be more comfortable than sitting up. When he then asked why sometimes Mikey would have his arm around the girl when lying on the couch, again he said that that way was more comfortable. Mikey also insisted that there could never be anything romantic between the two because A. he was into blonde girls with blue eyes, and B. because Sam was into Asian guys, so their relationship ‘obviously’ would never work out. There were a few times where Leo also confronted Sam when no one was around and asked her similar questions and oddly got extremely similar responses. She said the same thing about their personal preferences, but she also admitted that being a tomboy, she saw it no different than when she saw close male friends from her k-pop groups do similar things with each other. It didn’t mean there were any romantic relations between the groupmates, it just meant that they were all that close with each other, that they each had unique friendships and just did what felt comfortable (though in their cases it was also for fan-service). Both Sam and Mikey recognized that they were a guy and girl hanging out, but since Sam dressed and acted in a way that made it seem like she was just ‘one of the guys,’ it broke some barriers, resulting in the non-romantic feelings of cuddling up with each other on the couch. It was a bit odd and sometimes didn’t really make any sense, but it was just how the two were.

Leo decided to roll with it, since both Sam and Mikey were very unique characters in his book. He continued to think back to moments where he could sense Donnie and Raph slowly warming up to Sam as he also began to realize that there hadn’t been as much arguing and yelling, well, at or with Sam that is, since Raph was always yelling about something, and Mikey was just always loud in general. He carefully lifted her so that he could stand up, and then he gently lay her back down. He walked and got a blanket from his room and draped it over her as she slept soundly.

As he headed back to his room he realized that as much as he felt defeated by it, he couldn’t deny that he now saw the girl as a friend. She was talking with all four of the brothers more and more and had even been holding conversations with April, and he’d be a liar if he said that he didn’t enjoy the conversations that he had had with her himself. He’d also be a liar if he said that he didn’t enjoy the sparring from earlier that day. Each of his brothers had chosen their own weapon that only they had truly mastered, so it was fun getting to fight someone else who could use the same weapon as him. Once again, he had walked all the way to his bedroom without realizing there was a smile on his face, but there was a difference in this situation. This time, if someone had told him that he had been smiling, he wouldn’t have denied it.

 Author’s Note: So, are the fight scenes still decent? Is there anything I need to improve on? Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! J