#tmnt raph oneshot

[hotheadedhero]

Daft Pretty Boys

AN: I was going to try and get something Halloween-like out but it's been busy lately. Have some fluffy angst with Raph, instead :D

Raphael x Reader

Warning: kinda angsty, soft-hearted Raph ahead :)

When you blessed the turtles with your bright presence and inevitably befriended them, Raphael didn’t realise just how much of an emotional rollercoaster it would be. As a person, you are amazing. You always make a point to engage with him and his brothers, even for the small things. Other than April, they’ve never felt more welcomed by human company before. The thing is, if he were to put one fault on you, it’s your taste in men. 

You fall fast and hard, and it’s not because of their looks. It’s the ones who have this idea that they know they look good: the confidence they exude, sharp-witted flattery on the end of a hook that you can’t help biting into. You get caught, pulled in, they have their fun, and then you’re chucked back into sea awaiting the next juicy-looking cast of bait. One would think you’d be smart enough to not fall for the same routine tricks over and over again but here we are.

Each time you say, “He’s really sweet,” followed by a “This one is different,” but he never is. You’re always taking that chance, betting on the next guy being Mr Right, only for it to end in heartbreak, and every time Raph’s at your aid when you come crying to him. That isn’t said with any malice for you. He will always be there to pick up the pieces. Maybe broken pieces of these stupid shmucks if he just had five minutes alone with them.

You grasp so desperately to hope. Raph would commend you for your optimistic persistence if it didn’t break him to see you in tears. There’s only so much one heart can take. He doesn’t want you to become some calloused husk of your sweet self, too afraid to take another chance. He doesn’t want you to end up like him. Raphael knows he’s unloveable. Regardless of his appearance, he has a temper - one that he keeps as far away from you as he possibly can. His feelings for you never seem to pass despite how much he tries but he isn’t meant for love. That isn’t how this world works. You, on the other hand, should be cherished and he’ll beat the next sorry sucker who does any less than that.

How? How can someone be so foolish to drop you like these men have? He doesn’t get it. Were it him, he’d spend every waking moment appreciating you, letting it be known just how precious you are and how lucky he is to be the one to call you his. But he isn’t. The same daydream can play as many times as it likes, it’s never going to go in that direction. He needs to keep reminding himself of that.

You just deserve so much more than the cards you keep getting dealt. You’ve probably got to be the sweetest person he’s ever had the luxury of meeting. A little bubble-brained at times but that’s in part what makes you so cute. It’s also why you end up in and out of these short-lived relationships, he reckons. Much like now, for instance. It’s almost routine, weirdly systematic in a way, how you waddle into the lair glassy-eyed and red-faced wearing that grey sweater - the one he calls your breakup sweater - that’s two sizes too big for you. So much for the macho man with the green eyes. Making it to one month is a record, so there’s that at least.

Raphael doesn’t say anything, just holds a hand out whilst the other cradles the back of his neck. By now, he’s learnt that there’s nothing he can say. It’s better to wait on you until you manage to find your words. You slowly trudge towards him and smack your forehead into his chest. All he can do is stand there and stare at the top of your head whilst he battles the urge to pick you up and take you away from all this frivolous bullshit. His arm falls to his side as he watches you, and you just about say what he would expect you to.

“I really thought this one would be different,” you whimper quietly and the hiccup in your throat makes his chest burn. “He seemed so genuine.”

Raphael’s heart clenches. He wants to scream that he’s the one who’s genuine, that he’s the one who’s been here through every heartbreak, every tear. But instead, he swallows his words, feeling the weight of his own unspoken feelings pressing down on his chest.

He pats the top of your head, almost awkwardly, and sighs, “I know.”

A pained laugh muffles against his chest. “I’m the problem, aren’t I?” you ask rhetorically, playing it off as some joke at your own expense but it only angers him further.

“It’s not you,” Raph replies, a hint of a growl edging into his tone. “They’re the ones who don’t know what they’re missin’.”

“But there’s a common denominator here. It feels like it’s me.” You pull back slightly, just enough to meet his gaze. “Like, maybe if I was just different-”

“Stop right there,” he interjects, his brow furrowing. “You are not the problem. They are. Trust me on that.”

You always say the wrong things about yourself: the things he thinks about himself on a daily; if he was different. You are such an honest person and yet you lie so frequently when you talk about yourself. A nasty bi-product of those worthless scumbags treating you the way they do. You want to believe him on his word but you also can’t ignore the facts. It’s always the same song and dance. You stupidly cling to hope, searching for the silver lining that never seems to come, and end up in this sad mess of a person.

Raphael watches as you pull away, the warmth of his body replaced by the chill of reality. It’s painful to see you so vulnerable, so exposed. He wishes he could shake you out of this cycle, snap his fingers and make you see what’s right in front of you. But he can’t. All he can do is stand there, the silent sentinel, while you cry into the fabric of your sweater. The moment lingers, heavy and full of unsaid words. He wants to tell you that you deserve better, that you should never settle for the likes of those clowns who don’t recognize your worth. Yet, the words stick in his throat, tangled with his own fear of inadequacy.

He clears his throat, trying to break the tension. “Tell you what, let’s grab a couple sodas and a slice. Sit up top for a bit, yeah?”

You pull back slightly, wiping your eyes. “I don’t know if I can eat right now, Raph.”

“Doesn’t matter. You need to get outta this gloom. Plus, I’m starving,” he responds with a half-hearted attempt at humor, but the grin doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Finally, you yield. Begrudgingly, he might add, but food and the fresh night air is what you need right now, especially seeing as you’ve been cooped up in your apartment all day crying. He takes whatever pizza he had leftover - it’s only lasted because Mikey has luckily been out - along with a couple cans and leads you through the sewers. Whilst he’s essentially forcing you outside, he goes at your pace, never pushing you beyond that. Sure, it takes longer than it should but you get to a nice rooftop eventually, and before you know it, he’s already got you venting with a slice in your hand.

“And then he pulls out the classic ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ shtick,” you say and Raph follows with a quiet “Of course, he does,” before you continue, “and I swear, I could’ve just slapped him.”

“You should have.”

You hum shortly against a bite of pizza and shrug. “Ah, the moment’s long gone, anyway.”

The two of you glance at each other with a small laugh before returning to the view ahead. This feels better. Much better. Once again, your knight in shell-y armour has helped you bounce back from your foreboding. If you had it your way earlier, you would have loved nothing more than to curl up on the couch and watch some bad reality TV to cheer you up. Not where Raph is concerned. He’s soft-natured when you need that shoulder to cry on but knows when to crack out a bit of that tough love, too. You’re always thankful for that - him - and you hope he knows just how much of a difference he makes.

"Hey.” He nudges you with his elbow and you look up, noting the light smirk on his face, though the seriousness behind his eyes isn’t something to be ignored. “Next asshole that breaks your heart, you just point me in the right direction.”

"And be an active participant in murder? Not a chance," you laugh and playfully swat him, earning a low chortle. You think you know what he’s getting at and it’s sweet in weird kind of way. With a perma-smile now glued to your face, you rest your head on his arm and speak more gently, "Thanks, though."

He glances down at you and tempts the idea of stroking a hand over your head. His fingers clasp into a fist and he looks ahead again, taking a gentle breath before responding quietly, "Yeah... don't mention it."

[xtreklx]

Bumpin' ~ Raphael x reader

One-shot: bayverse Raphael x reader

Word count: 1k

Warnings: SFW, fluff, slightly mature themes (rated 17+, see my masterlist for disclaimer)

A/N: a self-indulging one-shot I thought up for Raphie boy. thanks for reading!

__________

"Y/N, I'm boooooooored."

Michelangelo let out a long, drawn-out sigh and turned to look at you. You were both strewn about the living room of the lair, him on the floor and you on the couch. This time was normally used for your weekly Mortal Kombat sesh, but Donatello had shut off the lair's power to make a repair, so the two of you were forced to find an alternative activity. Which sounded like a simple task, but had since proven the opposite.

You mimicked your friend's long-drawn out sigh with a smirk on your face. "Yeah, I bet Don decided on purpose to do this right now," you replied. "Not that I blame him, we do get pretty loud when we game." You were laying on the couch as you spoke, scrolling absentmindedly through your phone's home screen and hoping that an app or notification would give you some sort of inspiration.

You thought for a moment as Mikey continued his mock sighs, which were rising in both volume and drama, before turning to him with an idea. "Hey Mikey, do you use Spotify to listen to music?" He looked to you again before pulling out his phone. "Yeah, team Spotify all the way! Why?"

You sat up with a new invigoration. "We should create a blended playlist!" You exclaimed, opening the app on your phone. "We can compare our music tastes and see what we have in common, it'll be fun!" Mikey sat up from his spot on the floor and handed you his phone with the Spotify app open. "Hell yeah, girl! I'm always in the mood to bump some tunes! Lemme go get my speaker." And with that, he took off to his room.

You got to work with both of your phones in your hand. When he returned, you hit shuffle on your blended playlist and the music started flowing from the speaker. You moved to sit next to him on the floor.

"When I look at the playlist story, it says we have a 56% music match." "Okaaaaaaay, that's not too bad," Mikey replied. "Where do we match up, dudette?" You tapped the screen again, showing him. "Our number one match is Tyler the Creator. That makes sense, I listen to him a lot!" "No way, me too!" Mikey exclaimed. "He's definitely one of my fave artists."

The two of you began chatting away and singing along to songs as they came up, while unknowingly summoning a third party.

"Poor Don'll never get the quiet time he wants," Raphael spoke, shaking his head as he walked into the living room from the dojo. His gruff voice startled you from behind and your heart rate increased, as it often did around the short-tempered brother. You had had a crush on him for a few months now, but were far too intimidated and nervous to make a move, so it went unaddressed. The turtle in question strolled over and plopped down on the couch, looking down at you both on the floor. "What're you two idiots doing, anyway?"

"We're just bumpin' some tunes, bro!" Mikey called, shaking his head to the beat of the song playing. "We're comparing our music tastes!" You excitedly said. "And actually, we're using a very technical algorithm, so this is in the name of science! Donnie couldn't argue with that," you grinned up to the turtle in red. Raph rolled his eyes but let a small smirk grace his features in return. Dork.

"Alright dollface. Since it's so impressive, show me how it works."

You explained the process to him as Mikey continued to jam to the music playing from his speaker. Raph listened and examined the blended playlist you had created. "Hmm... Y/N, see what ours would look like," he pondered, reaching for his phone. Again, your heart sped up, but you breathed out an "O-okay" and took his phone from him. As you tapped the screen, you ignored Mikey wiggling his brows at you in your peripheral vision, knowing about your feelings toward his brother.

When you finished, you gasped slightly, and turned the screen to Raph. "We're at 84%!!!" you squealed, showing him where your favorite artists intertwined. You scrolled through the playlist to see a mix of heavy metal, grunge, classic rock, R&B and rap. Tyler the Creator was also listed as one of your top matching artists.

"No way," the brute scoffed, leaning towards you so that he could look over your shoulder at your blended playlist. You both pointed out which songs were your favorite and why, and also chatted about the favorite artists you had in common. Your nerves eased as you connected with him, your heart thrumming at the realization that he was being... kind of vulnerable with you. You were getting to see a part of Raph that he had never shown you before.

All of the sudden, the song changed to 'Dogtooth' by Tyler the Creator, and Mikey jumped up, hollering. You gasped with joy, and you both looked to each other with excitement. "I love this song!!!" You both yelled, and then: "JINX!" You laughed hard as Mikey ran from the living room, yelling the lyrics at the top of his lungs, 100% looking to annoy his other older brothers.

As your laughing ceased and you turned back to Raph, you took in a quick breath as you realized how close you two were leaning in before the outburst. You were still on the floor, but had scooted towards his spot on the couch until you were practically leaning on his lap. You could feel his warm breath brush your face, and he got an amused look on his face as he gazed at you.

Your eyes widened naturally with the proximity, and after a moment of silence and staring at each other, you opened your mouth you speak. But before you could, Raph began rapping along to the song playing from Mikey's speaker, a growing smirk on his face and a unique glint in his hazel eyes as he watched you.

"She could ride my face, I don't want nothin' in return. Except for some her time and all her love, that's my concern. I'm tryna buy my neighbor's house..."

The eye contact he was giving you in this moment could only be described one way: heavy. And your face turned beet red. The closeness, his gaze, his smirk, the words- it was all too much for your poor heart to take.

"R-raph, w-what are you doing?"

"I'm just bumpin' some tunes, dollface."

[ghostytoad]

hey so how do you think the rottmnt turtles would deal with the boys being busy and s/o comes up behind them and gives them a hug and then lets go and somehow they had snuck a xmas gift bag on their lap and s/o is gone from the room. Inside the gift bag is three things; Something they’ve been wanting for fun, something domestically useful and homemade cookies?

i'm gonna have to break this up into 4 parts again because it's a bit too long for tumblr's block limit agaiiin

* Season of Surprises *

ROTTMNT Boys receive an unexpected gift

Summary: The boys have been working themselves to the shell. Between patrols, kicking villanous butt, and general hero business, it leaves little time for their darling Reader. Fortunately, 'tis the season of gift-giving.

Oneshot for: Raphael

GN! Reader; Romantic; Fluff; Mild angst; Pre-established relationship || Words: 1k

Donnie | Leo | Mikey

Raph:

His fun gift: A giant turtle plush

His useful gift: Phone big enough to fit in his big hands

His cookies: Chocolate chunk cookies

It had been an entire week since Raphael had gotten any sleep and the low, unintelligable mumbling that rumbled in his chest made it obvious that he could really use the rest. His body, mind, and very spirit were aching for a peaceful night's sleep and Raph was determined to will himself into bed despite the aches that riddled his body threatening to topple him over. He had barely reached past his room's doorway before he collapsed forward with a thud and a delayed groan, his face colliding with the cold, hard floor.

'Well, this isn't any better-' he thought to himself and struggled to wriggle and worm his body across with floor, the dragging of his spikes leaving scratches and cracks on the unmoving concrete. He'd worry about the scuff in the morning For now, his bed was far too inviting for his overworked body to ignore and by god was he going to get some sleep tonight. The week prior had been nothing but back to back patrols, the brutal rate of which started taking a major toll on the titan's massive form. The long-neglected bruises, scratches, and scrapes dotting his body made his quest for a good night's sleep all the more pressing. He was only inches away from the foot of his bed when his trek was interrupted by the pattering of soft footsteps beside him.

"Mikey, I'm not carrying you back to your room." he deadpanned, flattening his raised torso back onto the floor hoping to discourage his playful little brother from jumping onto his back and demanding a piggyback ride. As the footsteps stopped right next to his face, Raph turned his head and looked up through squinted eyes. Instead of olive green legs standing beside him, he was met with what he recognized as his significant other's kneeling form next to his face, a wrapped box being held out toward him. Raph blinked slowly up at Y/N and reached a tenative arm up to accept the gift.

"Babe, hey!" his voice was deeper and much slower than he'd wanted it to be, "What's with the-"

As soon as the parcel left their hands, Y/N wordlessly smiled down at the snapping turtle mutant and started back out the door in a haste.

"Uh… Th-Thanks! Love ya too!" he'd called out after them, the last part sounding uncertain considering they'd left in a hurry without so much as a greeting. Did they hate him all of a sudden? Were they mad at him? Did they mean to leave him a present sooner? Did they think he was unattractive lying on the floor like that? Okay, maybe the last one was a bit of a stretch, but nothing was off-limits in Raph's overthinking mind. But they'd left a gift, surely they must still at least LIKE him?

The turtle had glanced at the box that sat in his large palm, sitting himself up to examine his partner's handiwork. Chuckling to himself, he admired how delicately the red foil wrapping paper had been folded, edges neat and free of crinkles. The golden lace bow that sat so beautifully on top could only have come from their careful and precise hand; if there were ever someone with a knack for gift wrapping, it was his beloved Y/N.

In a thoughtless swish and tear, he unwrapped the plain medium sized box that hid underneath. His attention was caught by the little sticky note taped to the side of the box, reading:

Merry Christmas, my Red Angel!

I know you've been working extra hard and I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you and everything you do! Let me know how you like your new gifts!

Love, Y/N

PS. I named him Raph Jr.

"Raph Jr, huh?" he'd hummed while a cheeky, lovesick grin stretched across the boy's face and a dark blush colored his green cheeks. What did he ever do to deserve someone so wonderful and thoughful? How could he ever hope to repay them for such a kind gesture? His dreamy eyes read over the love note again and again, drinking in every sweet little word. All he could do was flail his hands and giggle like a little girl, fangirling quietly on the floor of his room not wanting to bring his brothers' attention to his silly little display. If they knew what a lovesick mess their big brother was and how easily Y/N could fluster him, the teasing would be merciless.

Lovingly, he eagerly dug in, tugging and pulling at the stubborn object packed tightly into the little box. After a few gentle and ineffective yanks, he gave a strong pull and forced the soft gift free of its tight enclosure, causing him to stumble onto his back in the process. The plush gift decompressed mid-air with an audible POOF and in a bounce, landed on top of the unsuspecting ninja.

"Wh-What the-?!" it took him a minute to focus his eyes on the large, green turtle plush that continued fluffing itself up to its full huggable capacity.

"Raph Jr…?" he snickered and sat himself up once again with the oversized stuffie letting out a squeak as he rested his elbows on its fleece shell.

"You can't sneak up on people like that!" Raph cooed in his baby voice, "Must've been a rough ride being stuffed into that itty bitty box, poor lil' guy. Don't you worry, wittle one, Papa Raph's gotcha now~"

Giving the plush a tight squeeze in his large arms, Raph let himself fall back onto the floor, nuzzling into the cozy warmth of the stuffed animal and slowly started to drift off. Falling deep asleep in a matter of seconds, he hadn't realized the cookies and even smaller box that still sat in the gift box. By far, the plush was more than enough for him now.

[tmntxthings]

一∑ Navigation・゜・。

【 a b o u t m e 】 — name: grace ｜age: 23 ｜pronouns: she/her sporadic fanfic writer ｜ tmnt enthusiast ｜ semi-editor ｜ hopeless romantic ｜ trying to do her best

Requests? ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ Open ☑️

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♪ rules *･゜ﾟ↓

1.) This blog is for all tmnt characters/versions, so if you don’t see someone on my masterlist, it means I have yet to write/receive a request for them!

2.) If I have not done your request it could either be because I got super busy with real life, or I did not have enough inspiration/motivation. If you absolutely want me to write something specific pm me and we can talk it through

3.) I do not write nsfw content for underage characters.

4.) writing gender neutral has just become easiest for me but if you specify fem/male reader i can try!

【 l i n k s 】

☆ fic recommendations *･゜ﾟ

【 m a s t e r l i s t s 】 ↓

rottmnt — [full] includes headcanons/oneshots/series/drabbles for all the boys + some april & casey (last updated 2/27/24)

more rottmnt — each post is only allowed 100 links, the first masterlist is full so here is a second one! (last updated 9/23/24)

tmnt 2k12 — includes headcanons/oneshots for the boys (last updated 2/22/24)

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【 f a n f a v o r i t e s 】

turtle taps >\\\\\<

(in which the turtle-y instincts kick in) fandom → rottmnt

love potion series <3

(in which the boys & their readers deal with the effects of a love potion) fandom → rottmnt

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【 r e c e n t l y w r i t t e n 】

moth to a flame

(where donnie realizes he wants to be more to you than just a friend) fandom → rottmnt

[probably-not-a-rutabaga]

Ok- so i don’t know if you have been asked this before and I apologize if you have and that I’m probably bothering you but-

I just re-watched the like “apocalypse” multi-episode of 2012 and saw chompy and I was wondering if (you’ve seen the episode), what would mutant chompy look like in that like “apocalypse” setting?

Would we stay with Mikey like he does in the show or like go try to find his dad? And what would he look like 🤩

(BTW - love your AU and art <3 please make sure you are drinking water!!)

i accidentally redesigned all of them 🤪

more ideas abt this under the cut

chompy was closest to mikey when the mutagen bomb went off, protects him from the blast (shell gets damaged due to that)

he was unable to find raph, donnie, or leo, so he gets mikey to safety (later returns for ice cream kitty)

since chompy can't get back to space and there's no reason for him to anyways, he just ends up getting huge

stays with mikey/ick because he wants to protect the only family he has left

raph doesn't remember chompy at first

donnie's mind was transferred to metalhead's body, and essentially replaces his son's mind (not his choice, but metalhead's)

the mutagen bomb not only permanently disfigured leo and altered his mind, but also caused her leg injury to act up... amputation 👍

[thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos]

NSFW Grind On Me

18+ content - Minors DNI

Bayverse Raph One-Shot

Listen to buy u a drank by t-pain to set the mood haha

all turts are in their 30s, mentions alcohol

It was game night at the lair, which had turned into having a few drinks and some fun, clumsy dancing with your four mutant turtle friends. You loved how easy it was to let go and have a good time with them, enjoying the slow buzz of the alcohol thrumming through your body as you twirled around to Mikey's favorite playlist.

The guys were feeling the buzz too, and as each new song would come on a different turtle would grab you by the hand and steal you for a dance. The smile plastered on your face was permanent as you swayed and laughed with Leo and Donnie, who were both more interested in singing along to the tracks than dancing.

Mikey was thoroughly enjoying your squeals when it was his turn, flipping you around and twirling you like he was on Dancing With The Stars to a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" from his brothers. Mike was such a great dancer, you were almost sad when his song had ended, but you were also sweating like crazy and needed a break. He let you up from the dip over his knee, and you patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

As you sauntered back to the game table and took another drink of your tequila pineapple, you grinned to yourself as Mikey bragged to Leo and Donnie about your moves. You were a great dancer, and you knew it.

As the next track came on, a familiar sound came over the stereo. You loved this song.

"Hey."

You turned around and were face to face with an oh-so familiar wall of green muscle and red accents. Raph smirked down at you, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Wanna dance?"

You smiled and nodded slowly back at him, and let him lead you back to where he had been standing near the impromptu "dance floor". The song had kicked into full gear now, and as the lyrics played over the speakers he twirled you into his chest, his leg coming to rest in-between yours and his hand resting low on your hips.

I know the club close at three What's the chances of you rollin' with me? Back to the crib, show you how I live Let's get drunk, forget what we did

Your skin was buzzing with excitement as you danced together, deliciously close. Raph was surprisingly light on his feet, moving you around the dance floor swiftly but keeping you close to him all the while. As the song went on he spun you out with a flick of his wrist, but brought you back in so your back was to his plastron, his hands catching you at your hips.

Let's get gone, walk it out Just like that, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout We gon' have fun, you gon' see On that Patrón you should get like me

You could feel his hips gently grind against you in time to the beat, sending shivers up your spine. You ground back against him, leaning back into his plastron and rubbing your ass into him. His breath hitched at the contact.

We in the bed like, ooh, ooh, ooh We in the bed like, ooh, ooh, ooh

You reached a hand up as the music enraptured the two of you, grazing over the skin of his neck and twisting your fingers in his mask tails. Raph released his grip of your hips and let his hands roam over your body as if burning it to his memory.

As he continued his sinful grind to the beat, he lifted your other arm up to his neck and lightly scrubbed his lips over the skin of your bicep as he huskily sang along.

I'm checking your body language, I love the conversation And when you lick your lips I get a tingling sensation Now were both 'bout tipsy, you say you in the mood All I need is 'bout a hour, better yet maybe two

You could feel the heat settling in your core as you felt his breath on your skin, the way his luscious lips grazed the delicate spot on your arm had a breathy whine escaping your lungs before you could think twice about it. He smiled into your arm, and turned his head to graze the shell of your ear with his pout as he continued singing quietly along, just for you.

We in the bed like, ooh, ooh, ooh We in the bed like, ooh, ooh, whoa

You bit your lip to keep from mewling in front of his brothers. You couldn't believe this was finally happening, after years of pining for Raphael he was finally making a move. And holy shit, was this a move.

As you kept swaying your hips together, trying to not melt into a complete puddle on the dance floor, Raph let his canine scrape over your ear and you lost all semblance of composure.

A sudden, needy moan tumbled from your lips, and Raphael tensed behind you. You closed your eyes in embarrassment, sure that his brothers had heard you. But before you could think about anything else, Raph stepped in front of you, taking your face in his hands.

He leaned in, hesitant now, and gently kissed you, placing the sweetest of kisses on your rosy pout. His lips were softer than you had imagined, but still firm enough to be addictive. As he pulled away you licked your lips, eyes pleading him for more. He watched your tongue swipe over your bottom lip, and you saw your own hunger reflected back at you. He cleared his throat nervously.

"My room?"

"Yes please."

With a smirk, he nodded at you and lifted you up into his arms, your legs straddling his core and his hands under your ass as he carried you off.

The turtles looked at each other as Raph's bedroom door closed shut.

"Well it's about time, am I right guys?!" Mikey joked, putting his hand up for a high-three from his brothers. A chorus of groans were covered by the next song coming over the speakers.

[moxfirefly]

Please please please with a cherry on top! I am in NEED of a thigh fuck with Raph xFemReader. I’ve had this scene stuck in my head of Raph and his girl making out and she’s finally had enough of him pushing her away when she’s about to bust so she straddles him on the lair couch. They’ve only made out with some semi-heavy petting before he pulls away and gets all “tough” and tries to change the subject. She’s a needy woman and she needs some attention and validation or at least an explanation as to why he’s so hesitant. She doesn’t get it because she’s been after him forever & now that she has him she’s not about to let him go. This could be completely filthy ❤️‍🔥 I just need my big boy to come undone (pun intended) No pressure but I just love your writing & have been going through and rereading all of your amazing stories! — Much love, Phera

Ngl this has been festering my noggin for a while because I’ve been in a big Raph mood lately. I hope you don’t mind but this is a combination of something I’ve been working on with like a portion of your request into it but I think you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.

Rated Explicit (18+ only)

Raphael always found the word “obsessed” to be a tad too exaggerated.

Whenever Donnie said he was obsessed with some new tech thing, or Mikey was obsessed with a new song, or even Leo was obsessed with some new form of meditation.

Obsessed sounded too big of an adjective to explain it.

Raph didn’t consider himself obsessed with his workouts or even knitting. He liked them sure, maybe even loved them because they brought some semblance of balance to an already complicated brain. But obsessed felt too outrageous of a word.

That all went to hell the second his eyes had landed on yours. Because suddenly the word began to ring out loudly in his brain in blood red caution style letters. Something chemically switched in his brain the very moment you had spoken. He felt sweaty, clammy and downright sick to his stomach.

How many hours in the day could somebody think about another person?

He felt like his ass was going numb from sitting on the bench thing long contemplating this situation. He’d only done one rep of his bench presses when he had to sit up and breathe and quiet his mind.

You were April’s friend, her latest and most stable roommate and somehow the idea of mutants in the sewers had been easier to swallow than he could ever hope for in human reactions.

He felt pathetic, a little dirty but overall weightless whenever you were near by. You’d stepped in several times to help whenever April simply couldn’t. You’d come down with groceries, hand me downs and all sorts of necessities simply because you wanted to help. Raph wasn’t some inconsiderate chump though, he was thankful, he’d (somehow) engaged in his fair share of small talk with you.

And sure your eyes had lit up with him.

Sure there were moments he wanted to do a double take because he swore your eyes had lingered on him.

Pesky pesky pesky ‘ifs’.

Quite often the sensation of your eyes lingering on him had taken him to places he hardly entertained. He didn’t want to place you in that box, that ‘potential’ box where he wondered what a normal life could feel like. He much less wanted to stuff you in the other box.

The one where when he slept and saw nothing but your eyes and mouth and hands all over him. The one where when he woke up and felt like a fever was burning him in the very pits of hell, all because he swore he heard you moan out for him. How many ruined sheets carried your name. How many showers he’s tried to burn you off of him only to simply get off to the idea of your skin against his own.

God he was obsessed wasn’t he?

The hypocrisy alone wouldn’t mortify him.

What would kill him is if you suddenly developed mind reading powers and saw one third of his thoughts on you.

From the fruity gushy romantic ones.

To the filthy debauched images he painted daily ones.

He felt sick again.

Sicker the second you walked in the shorts you wore when summer was approaching.

You had a scar on your knee cap he wanted to taste. He saw how skin spread when you sat down, the plushness, the softest of chubbiness that had him thinking how divine it would be to wake up to those thighs crushing his face. A tremble in his hand urged him to lay a palm on your thigh, just to touch, just to get a taste of human flesh against his calloused scales. Raph wanted nothing more than to feel you sit on his lap and ask him if he could be a good boy for you and-

“Yo bro if you ain’t taking a plate I’m eating it” When had Mikey gotten in front him and why was food being shoved into his face?

Oh, right, you brought dinner tonight.

He had mumbled a grunt of an apology and had poured the rest of his energy into eating.

Unbeknownst to him, you had felt that shift that could only be described as the earth shaking. Raphael wasn’t necessarily subtle, sure he’s gotten away with it a few times but there’s no way he expected you to not notice his eyes burning a hole through your thigh as you sat next to him.

And who said you couldn’t be a little cruel in your endeavors of letting him get the fucking hint that you wanted him too?

So when you had finished eating and Casey and Donnie had started up one of their heated debates, you had placed a hand on his knee to push yourself up from the couch.

You had dug just a little bit of nail.

You had let your palm slide on your way up.

If Raph could implode he would’ve.

If he could set himself on fire he would’ve lit a match by now.

That had messed him up for days. He had rutted against his pillow three nights in a row and none of it had been enough to silence the voice, the itch of his skin.

All it had done was open his eyes a little wider, to watch you like a damn hawk.

And he began to notice things. Notice the little games you played with him.

From the way you crossed your legs when his green eyes landed on you. To the way your smile felt just mischievous enough to let him know he had been had.

You knew.

God, could you read his thoughts?

He had been tasked one evening to walk you to the exit of the Lair. It wasn’t too late, but work and deadlines were impeding you from torturing him longer this evening. He had quietly gotten you to the latter that led closest to your place.

“Ya let us know when ya make it home safe” Came that gruff voice of his, that almost constipated pit nesting in his stomach. Just before your hands could grip the ladder, you had gripped the length of the white cloth that adorned his shorts. You twirled the fabric, gentle twists and a knowing smile that made him hold his breath.

“And you let me know the next time you’re thinking of me at night. I think we’re past this little game.” You didn’t give him a second to recover let alone form a coherent sentence before you were up the ladder and gone.

Raphael looked up, the beam of light as the cover was opened to allow you out into the buzzing city. It felt too much of a spotlight highlighting his desires. You watched him down below, the shadows hiding just enough but not the stunned hungry look. If he were a religious man, he could say that you looked like a god, above him all knowing and with the power to turn him into ash.

And how he wanted to fall to his knees and pray in between your legs.

He hadn’t slept that night.

He had watched the ceiling of his and Mikey’s shared room and contemplated your words. He turned them over and over, examined every vowel and consonant. He tasted the sounds in his mouth. Your haughty smile as the wind blew a few strands of hair.

He lasted a week.

Seven days of self loathing.

A hundred and sixty eight hours of working up the courage.

Ten thousand and eighty minutes of wanting to even the playing field.

So on that last day, last hour, last minute, he had snuck out after patrol and a shower and headed to your apartment. He had climbed up the fire escape with every intention of telling you how evil you were for making him so obsessed.

His simply texted,

‘Window.’

His tried to mask a neutral face as you pulled back the curtains and found him crouched there.

The second you smiled though…

He had lost.

You lifted the window open and rested your hands on the windowsill.

“Couldn’t stop thinking of me?” Your words stabbed him, and he loved it.

He wanted to snarl, wanted to show you that this was stupid of you to even consider. So when he moved forward, brought his face close to yours, you didn’t flinch.

“Don’t be such a coward and show me what kept you up this late?” Your warm breath caressed his scarred lips.

Raph blinked, taken aback on how easily you had taken hold of him. When your hand reached up, knuckles caressing his jaw before they rested on the lip of his plastron, he closed the distance with an innocent kiss. A pressing of lips that froze him against your mouth. He felt that hand run up his neck, a scratch of your nails bringing some life back to him as your lips moved against his own.

Just as his mouth began to catch up, to lose itself against the wetness of your tongue you had backed up into the room and beckoned him inside the living room.

And like a trained pet he slid inside and felt smaller than he had ever imagined he could.

And god, he loved it.

He let you lead him to the couch, watched obsessively as you straddled his lap and kissed him with every intention of devouring all the secrets he possessed inside of him. He can’t and won’t be able to forget the sensation of your hands grabbing his own and letting them hover over your chest.

“Do you want me? Do you want to keep doing this?” You had asked cautiously, adamant in letting him know this could stop the second he felt it needed to. It took every power in him to not yell out a resounding and firm ‘yes’.

“Good, that’s a good boy” And fuck his dick twitched and almost came undone right then and there. He felt his hands cup your breast, the soft tender flesh from above your sleep shirt, just as you rolled your hips against his painfully hard erection.

Between the kisses he groaned out a desire.

“Wanna feel more of ya, can I?” He whispered it against the corner of your mouth as desperate as he ever could.

Your reply came in the simple gesture of lifting your shirt and your reward came in the form of hungry eyes and lips finding your breasts.

He was gutted, how could something this beautiful also be perfect and soft and right now against his lips?

Raph felt your hand on the back of his head and the quiet little yelp as he bit down gently on your nipple almost be his second undoing of the night. He kissed the perked bud, wrapped his tongue around it and savored the texture, the taste, the way that with each suction you grew needier and wetter.

He could feel you so perfectly through the fabric of your underwear just gush against his clothed crotch. His hands held your waist as he devoured your other breast and delighted ‘ha!’ escaped your lips when he his bit down just a little harder than before. Raph’s eyes looked up, the flush pink of your neck, the sweat starting to form.

The two of you still needed to be quiet, you weren’t alone after all.

And this was simply still a taste of things to come.

“I want you, so fucking bad, but not here, not like this” You kissed it up his neck, felt those big hands grip your rear. His eyes held confusion and a stupor that could only mean he was drunk off of this.

“We’re gonna be a little creative and very very quiet” Your hands rested on his shoulders, to which allowed yourself the luxury of a good firm squeeze to the muscle. God he was a fucking sight to behold.

With a remorseful push you got up on wobbly legs and slid your underwear down and off. He had followed the path, mesmerized and hungry. Just to tease, just to be the cruel god you could be, you rubbed along your folds, gathered slick and offered up to his willing and devout lips. He sucked greedily, loved the way you slowly pulled out the digits from his mouth.

Next to his spot you climbed on the couch and rested against the backrest and urged him closer. “Y/n I um, I’m too big-“ And he wanted to cringe at the admission that there was no way this could happen like this without some lube and patience.

“Thighs, use my thighs Raphie” That stupid name sounded like salvation when spoken in your voice. Nervously but ever so in need he settled behind you, pushed his shorts past his hips and saw the mess he had become due to you, much like he did on nights.

His hands ran up the globes of your cheeks and found your waist. He slid himself between the thighs he had dreamt off for far too long and just as he hoped, they felt better than he could ever imagine. “Oh-fuck…” Was his breathless response to the first slide, your thighs locked up as tight as they could be. The move allowed his cock to perfectly slide along your core, rub against your clit and you tighten your lips in a muffled moan.

The next thrust wasn’t as gentle, as slow. But enough to have his navel slap against your rear in that all to familiar lewd slap he often heard in ‘videos.’

He fell slightly forward, massive arms wrapped around your stomach and lips at the top of your head. “God, Y/n, fucking wanted this” He grunted against the crown of your head. “Me too baby, me too” You braced yourself better, if he was like this…

The thought alone made your toes curl as he began to thrust, building a rhythm that had the two of you on the brink of screwing up and moaning louder than allowed. A hand clasped down on your breast as the couch began to protest with the force of his movements.

“Come on Raphie, just like you dreamt of, do just like you’ve always wanted to” You turned your head, did your best to catch a glimpse of his debauched features as he thrusted faster, that squelching sound combined with your moans making him lose control.

“Shit-I’m gonna…” He buried his face against the back of your neck.

“Do it, do it for me, make a mess” Your own undoing so close you could taste it.

It’s a gut punch, it’s like a bomb going off in his chest and stomach all at once. It’s the hardest he has ever cum, and he’s clutching you and not a pillow for once. He can feel it mix in with your own release, feel it drip down against your thighs and shot against the couch. He feels you slap against him as you ride your own wave whilst biting down on your forearm.

He feels dizzy, tired and drained.

He feels you against him. Sticky and sweaty and panting.

He feels so fucking obsessed.

He feels so fucking obsessed.

[honeylief]

Hey, sharing my first one shot of Raph x Emmy! They're also on my A03 I recently got an account for! Feel free to leave any thoughts on them and my writing, thank you <33

For a Slice of Cake by Honey_Lief - Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018) https://archiveofourown.org/works/60323023 via @ao3org

For a Slice of Cake

The day had been long in the tooth and the two finally aligned in time together with a whole weekend to look forward to. Superhero movie marathon. Pantry full of snacks. Chinese takeout leftovers for dinnertime. Nighttime reading for lightweight and heavyweight divisions. It felt good to have an apartment space meant for couples only fun. Very vanilla. Very routine.

Nothing ever stayed truly routine with these two however.

"Raph, you know I can't handle it when you use the tickle jitsu! Get away from me!"

Emmy tried to make a break for the next room over, only to be yoinked off her feet by her bigger turtle partner. She had her favorite camisole on and sports shorts for maximum flexibility. They weren't much help in escaping her current situation.

Raph playfully pulled her into a one armed grip, his free arm ready to 'attack' her weak points. He had his usual fit on except the ninja wraps. Didn't need them for this slippery target. "How dare you inhale that cake slice like a savage, you miscreant."

Emmy struggled and squirmed like a cat. "Not my fault you're being extra soft and slow on my account. I love when you wait on me like a gentleman, but it makes for fun getting away with anything around you."

At that remark, Raph lifted Emmy over his shoulder in one quick swoop. No amount of hitting and kicking by her fazed him, he'd have a cut on his lip by now if she really wanted to hurt him. With girlfriend secured, he moved her and himself over to their massive couch. This was a heavy investment piece, with enough space and support made for mutant alligator snappers who could pass out anytime of the day.

Raph plopped her on his lap, arms secured around her torso for further grilling. "Well we're not going anywhere until I know for sure it’s all gone. What’re you gonna do about that?"

Emmy fluttered her eyes up at him. "Maybe I still got cake frosting on me if you're lucky. You got the better angle tho to check if I'm really clean."

Big red turtle man keened down on her, his exaggerated fake scowl slowly forming into a cheeky grin. "Raph's gonna mess you up for that talk."

Emmy shuddered as he started cuddling her up. Raph made good on his word and also started playfully poking her to get her giggling. Nothing and nowhere risque, he just really enjoyed her bubbly laughter. How she buried into his chest when she tried to muffle her occasional cackling outbursts. It did help that she gave him a whole cheat sheet, and as they did this more frequently, Emmy was constantly thinking up new strategies so he wasn't having too easy a time figuring her out.

Raph’s usual mode of 'friendly soft giant' was always nice, but she's head over heels for him when he’s a little less restrained in all that he does for her. He had of course voiced wanting to sometimes act on raw muscle, to which Emmy assured him in kind she's a tough cookie who can handle it and like it a little rough.

She can be affectionately rough like him right now.

Would this be an intrusive thought though? She had to know he'd feel it.

**CHOMP**

Raph's eyes flew open to see Emmy really sinking her teeth in on his snout. This feeling wasn't new, but damn she really had been full of little surprises since they started being together. And positively crazier now that they have their own crib.

She didn’t seem to pick up he'd caught onto her literally smitten on him.

"You're biting me?"

Emmy's eyes opened at his question. She regarded him in a state of confusion before the slow realization hit and she let him go slowly. "Haha, oops, when did that happen?"

Raph let her go entirely as he patted a hand over his snout. "You really bit me!"

Emmy put a hand to her mouth. "I didn't draw blood, did I?"

Raph didn’t feel broken skin or anything like it under his fingers. The initial tingle was already gone, but something about that sneak attack still seemed to stick.

"Don't think so. But mind telling me what that was about?"

Emmy averted her eyes as she fidgeted her mask tails. "I don't know. Maybe I read this as a thing turtle partners do with each other."

She continued to fidget as she flustered for the right words. "I thought since we do these clockwork couch cuddles, maybe you would like something with more teeth to it. I really wanna match how much you already give me every time. Adding more to that face value."

Raph's done his share of quick turtle courtship reading and his eyes lit up piecing it together. "Y'mean like the face tapping?"

"Uhm yeah, that." Emmy trailed off before half-heartedly laughing. "Sorry, is the biting… too weird for you?"

Raph seemed to ponder on it, and Emmy felt herself wilting on the spot. Was that stare he was giving her a good or a bad one?

"Now you got me thinking how I wanna try it on you."

Emmy stopped fidgeting. She had half expected this answer, but she hadn’t expected how straightforward he was about wanting to try. "Wait, really?"

Raph shrugged. "I mean, between the four of us knucklehead brothers, I lost count how many times we bit each other over anything. Dad had to carry a newspaper or swatter so we'd let go. Just never thought to try it on someone who ain't family, and not that way."

That way. Emmy's face rapidly turned red at the scenarios in her head, and Raph hastily amended extra assurance with shaking arm motions.

"If you're okay with it first of course!"

"Oh. Ohhhh," Emmy struggled on followup. "U-Um, Raph, know that I do trust you with my life, you have a winning smile 24/7, you're the best at kissing me head to toe. I would be lying tho if I wasn't a little nervous about bites from you. And uh…"

Raph didn’t look away as he intently hung to her every word. "I’m listening."

"I really am sorry I sprung that on you," Emmy blushed as she tucked in on herself. "I wanted to be grand about giving back as much as you give me. I still sometimes feel I'm all take and no give with you, even with all the tricks I pull. I can't swing you around the way you’re always doing it with me. I'm never enough in my head."

It was all Raph could do to hug her on the spot, but maybe Emmy needed to be held differently here. She was so so much more than her size, physical or other.

He reached for her hands. "You’re enough for me. Maybe it would be nice for Raph to be held or carried in bigger arms, sure." He proceeded to lean over so their heads touched. "But then I know I’d have to give up how we butt heads like this, the eyes and small hands that see/take care of little scratches on my back, a shell size just right for my head to rest on. I wouldn’t trade those away for anything."

He gave her hands a firm squeeze. "You being in Raph's life like this? All the biggest experience he could ever want. All you gotta know. You’ll always be enough, bonita."

His girlfriend snickered at the left field pet name. "You've secretly been word training!"

Raph smirked. "That’s what you get loving a ninja turtle who's stupid dedicated to any training."

Emmy visibly relaxed at his word play and found her smile again. "Yeah, okay. I’m down for it now. But can we start small?"

"Absolutely," Raph guided her hands so they cupped his face. "Wanna give me a dental once over first?"

Emmy giggled as she did a quick glance over of him, Raph’s head completely rested in her hands. She idly rubbed her thumbs on him as he slowly bared his teeth. He really did take immaculate care of his pearly whites since he was finally off the corrective braces. Emmy and him both were so glad he got to keep his signature snaggletooth look. Up close, it was hard to believe his set of intimidating chompers was capable of saying the sweetest things and mostly free of meanness.

"Looking and smelling like minty fresh breeze to me, big fella."

Raph shut his lid. He looked quite pleased with himself. "Thank you, I try."

Emmy squished his cheeks together. "I bet you a dollar you're more excited about this than I am."

His smile only got wider and toothier at her assumption. "How would you like to be treated, my queen?"

Raph’s eyes didn’t leave her, and he also didn’t move as Emmy had him wait. Her hands eventually pulled away from his loosened grip. She laid down on the sofa, with only her head propped up against an arm rest. Her thighs and arms folded towards herself. She looked back up at him before making both a face and a noise that can only be described as impish–and inviting.

"Come here and mess me up, 'good boy'."

At 'good boy', Raph felt electric. He silently shifted to loom over Emmy topside, right where he wanted her. She looked beyond cute at this angle under him.

"This is entirely your fault for being so dang sweet and saucy, by the way. Close your pretty eyes for Raph."

Emmy did just that, breathing in deep and sinking into the sofa as though she was in a bathtub. His breath felt warm, but also cooling from the lingering menthol. She could feel his scraggly chin dig into the crook of her neck as he sniffed her down. His usual musk of ‘happy’ took hold of her senses. It was a strong earthy smell every time he leaned in this close.

With this new angle to his maw, Emmy could take in the hesitant, cool tongue licks against her skin. She could feel the edge of his snaggletooth glide over her face, a mix of delicate strokes and gentle pressure. It never ceased to amaze her how much deliberate self control he had, his size never a hindrance to his movements. In and out with precision. Ebb and flow that kept her guessing. Completely valid application of master ninja techniques.

Emmy wasn't completely lost at the moment though. She opened one eye to see how much he was enjoying this. Raph once again made off with an idea she got them both into and doing all the work. His scent made it hard to think straight.

"Nnngh, Raphael."

Raph gradually intensified the earlier motions. Hungry. Famished. Emmy quietly grasping for his proper name only goaded him on to keep on giving. Make sure every inch of her face was lovingly caressed the best way his chops could appreciate. She was her own tier of plush softness unlike anything else. Silky smooth cheeks, a ticklish chin, familiar lips that tasted so jazzy fresh without fail.

Maybe he'll save that for last? It was too much fun riling Emmy up now.

Emmy was stiff as a board while Raph nuzzled and nipped. Every time she tried to bite her lower lip, she could feel Raph tug back at it, stopping short of kissing her outright. The nerve. His licks were brief, but eager like a puppy's. And that tongue, he did not disappoint flexing it physically as much as he did with words only meant for her ears. Oh gods. Emmy won't hear the end of it if Raph starts calling her his squeaky toy after this play biting experiment was over.

She wanted so badly to give back as he was giving now. Her hands wanted to cradle his head again. Or arms to loop around his neck. She had to give back now. Reach out. But she was stopped in her tracks when she felt one wrist restrained. Raph also paused his ministrations.

Emmy dared a peek to see her turtle man so focused on her. He looked very determined. She felt her cheeks heating up at his stupidly steely gaze.

"Safe word?"

"No, but–"

"Then let Raph finish."

"Raphael–"

His mouth fell on hers to shut her up and immediately Emmy saw stars with the sudden tongue-to-tongue contact. Both of them sunk completely into the couch. Both her hands were also now pinned under Raph's. Their fingers intertwined in short order. She could really take in the minty mouthwash he was on when he's in this deep. He pressed forward and maintained his pace, his bigger tongue doing all the swirling and savoring movements. Her whole body trembled from all the sensations, and it took a bit of time to compose the big thoughts.

He was her everything right here and now. Or she was everything to him? It made her heart race and belly flutter in butterflies at both thoughts.

If he wasn't gonna let her touch, she's gonna make this kiss something he won't soon forget in other ways. She had to. But how to without her hands?

Raph eventually pulled away without warning and it sent Emmy reeling on the exit. His mouth didn’t really leave her for long however, as she soon realized.

He went back in with renewed determination, alternating between the teeth grazing, small kisses and nibbles all over her pretty face. Her exposed neck and shoulders were lovingly attended to in the same manner. He felt Emmy go a little limp at his hurried onslaught. She'd completely given up on form, reduced to making small tickled noises or slurred, churring words on how good he was doing. How he was too good to her. How he was always, always a good boy.

One last affectionate nibble to her cute snoot, and Raph returned Em's earlier gesture in full. And a parting gift of a smooch on the same spot for good measure. He let her wrists go, slowly withdrew back to give her breathing space and looked down on her.

She looked like a deer in headlights, blinking dazed and mouth a little hung open.

Despite his work and all the positive affirmation earlier, he needed to hear her feedback loud and clear. "So, how'd I do?"

Emmy was still dazzled in place taking in the last five minutes of everything. "I am never taking your smiles for me for granted ever again."

Raph beamed, even as Emmy got her senses back, crossed her arms and gave him a puffed up pout. "But you didn’t let me bite back either, you monster."

"Cake theft."

Emmy had completely forgotten about her earlier transgression. "Okay, fair."

Raph eventually helped her up so they were both sitting facing each other. "Were you scared at all through it?"

Emmy replayed the moments in her head. "A little, but some fear made it fun. You wanna go back for seconds and take a bigger bite of me right now?"

Raph's face immediately scrunched funny. Conflicted, nervous and redder all at once. "I–"

"Just teasing!" Emmy cheekily stuck her tongue out and pressed a finger to his lips. "We'll train up to that level like always. I promise neither of us are gonna hurt bad with practice. And I know you’re all about serious training, my king."

Raph’s earlier doubts instantly vanished at her assured words. Emmy quickly scooted up and planted a kiss to his cheek. "To my amazing and wonderfully talented boyfriend. I’ll be better about the intimate warnings." He churred at her show of affection. "Mmm. Sounds good to me."

It felt bizarre to be grounded again after what just happened. It took a bit, sorting out all the thoughts, but Raph finally remembered what started it all.

"Thank you for being you, Em. Forget the bet, but I really am hungry for sweets."

[yorutsuki]

Yan!Rise! Raph x Reader

[ Heavily Inspired by: Fried-milkfish (Please check out there work!)]

↳ Why did you think you could escape? Can't you see? Everything he's done is for your own good.

Tags:

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────

You tiredly stared at the motionless white ceiling, one you've seen too many times to count.

Your eyes were puffy and swollen red, your breaths slow and shallow. Small bandages were scattered onto the rugged floor as the wounds they once bandaged, were freshly scratched and smeared with blood.

You didn't know why you thought you could make it, you didn't understand why you even thought you had a chance in the first place. Just as your hand brushed against the cold metal cover, separating you from freedom, he dragged you back.

Raph was fortunately never the type to harm, well, you at least, but his outburst was...livid to say the least. He begged, shouted, yelled and eventually shards from a flying ceramic vase managed reflect it.

So here you laid, a white noise of defeat and hopelessness defeaning your ears. You lacked the motivation for doing anything, all your energy, drained.

Your hope lost on ever getting out of this hell hole.

Your eyes widened, hearing a knock on the door. You scrambled against the bed as it opened, a dreadful feeling washing over you as your heart sank, fearing the mutant you'd lay eyes upon.

"I brought food! Mikey made some soup with a side of pasta...it's a weird combination but it still tastes good!" The voice boomed with delight, humming as he set the tray of food down onto the floor. Glancing towards your form, his eyes landed to the messy pile of bandages and open wounds. He quickly sprinted towards you, grabbing the small med-kit from under the bed.

"Why would you do this!?" He hissed, his tone soft yet heavily concerned as he began to re-bandage your wound yet you remained silent.

The alligator turtle sighed, "well, you should eat up before the food gets cold." He spoke, reaching for the tray of food and bringing it closer.

A few seconds pass by as silence filled both your ears.

"You really should eat, the longer you wait, the colder it gets." He frowned but still no answer.

You wished he would just get the message.

With each passing moment, Raph grew more annoyed. "You need to eat." He demanded, pushing the try towards you yet you still didn't move. "Why won't you look at me." You only shrugged in response.

The turtle let out a annoyed sigh, "Look, if this is about last night, it was for you own safety. Do you know what could happen up there?!" He spoke, his voice raised with lowness but you couldn't give a damn. Being anywhere would be better than this prison of a 'home'.

"Answer me." He snarled, his teeth gritting with now irritation.

"I know that it would be better there than here in this shit hole.." You mumbled. Raph's brows furrowed, "But you don't. All i've been doing is keeping you safe, to keep you protected—"

"But you aren't. You've locked me up here against my will, won't even let me see anyone else—not even your brothers, because of your own fear. For fucks sake, I can't even do the simplest thing on my own without you having to watch over me like i'm some sort of—"

"No. You just can't see it! Everything i've done is to keep you from harms way and out of reach from things up there!" He retorted, getting up. "I've been up there too many times, I know what dangers lay on the surface, the whole reason why your down here is to protect you from them!" He snapped, his voice raised.

"How delusional can you be..."

"What?"

"Your so far stuck in your own ass that you actually believe this is keeping me safe—protecting me?" You hissed, anger surging through your core as you looked at him in disbelief.

"I'm not delusional." He spoke, his words laced with anger. You watched warily as he made his way towards the metal door. "Everything i've done is for you and your own good."

"And you will stay here whether you like it or not until you can understand that."

.

.

.

Erm, I actually hated that. It was doing fine at first then writers block hit and I just feel like most of it's a copy from Fried-milkfish's story. Might remake it (probably won't since procrastination hits like a truck) but if I do, it'll probably be different.

Anyways, first post in weeks! And I think I can say; it's a shit post. Though thank you for those who do enjoy it. Promise the next one will be better!

[daflangstlairde-art]

attached, severed (you're here, you're not), word count: 4,763

Work 2 of DFL's Whumptober 2024

Summary:

The Technodrome never wanted to let Donnie go of its own volition. Krang One quite literally had to pull him out. Something terrible lingers, not quite gone. (Alternatively, The Prison Dimension never wanted to let Leo go of its own volition. Mikey quite literally had to pull him out. Something terrible lingers, not quite gone.)

Okay, so, everything was a little woozy. Leo would be right back on his feet, like, tomorrow at most—sure, Krang One beat up pretty solid, after they’d already had a whole big time fighting, but they're tough! Mutants, huh? Couple of bruises, couple of strains, that sort of thing. Some cracks along his carapace, yeah, yeah, nothing lethal. 

But he was still bed-bound, mostly due to his fam’s worries. He didn't wanna worry them, because he will be okay, he was fine. It was really a very small price to pay for, y'know, saving the entire world. Heroes simply do this kinda thing. It's what they do. 

Anyway, point was: Leo was on pain meds and maybe kinda had just a little concussion. Just a tiny bit. 

So. He was dozing off. The lights in med bay were pleasantly low, and the beeping of the heart monitor and Donnie’s tapping around on his tech were pretty soothing. 

Leo was just focusing on resting. Feeling the way his plastron would gently rise and fall, as the air passed through his nostrils and throat and lungs and abdomen. Yeah, okay, the sensation had to pass through some obstacles, like bruised ribs or a bruised throat, but really, it was okay. Considering everything, it was okay. The bruises were already halfway faded after just a day or two of resting. Or however long it’s been. Not like he was all that conscious for it.

He still had all four limbs. He still had all three brothers alive. Earth kept spinning. Leo kept breathing in the faint smell of antiseptic and bandages. 

So, he didn't really care for a random tap-tap-beep from somewhere off to the side. Donnie was just moving around quietly, doing whatever Donnie did. It was sweet, the way he also fussed. Heck, Leo heard him shoo Mikey and Raph away to go make dinner. 

Leo’s eyes were closed, but he sorta just sensed the presence of his twin approach. Probably to fuss over him more, haha. Man was Leo lucky to have brothers who love him so much. Even when he was being a bit of a dunce. 

He loved them so much. So, so much. It was so much bigger than some bruises and sprains and whatnot. 

He swallowed and oh, he should drink some water. Tried to crack his eyes open. His eyelids stuck, and when they finally gave way to vision, they were heavy. Leo breathed. He blinked lightly, to clear up his sight. 

“Hey,” he said, voice a bit raspy, to the sight of his twin standing over him. Couldn't help but smile up at him. 

...

Donnie was... looking at him weird. A kind of... stare. Kinda like the way your sleep paralysis shadow man stares at you at 3 a.m. haha.

“Wha’s with th’ look?” Leo huffed in amusement. “Got somethin’ on m’ face?” 

Donnie stared. 

He wasn't... really saying anything. Or reacting. Ooor doing anything except keep his hands to his sides. That couldn't be good.

Leo’s mood wilted a little. 

Y'know, it’s fair, it made sense, that Donnie would be mad at him, actually. Or otherwise upset. Leo did kinda cause a whole apocalyptic event... and then almost got himself killed too... and right after he'd given Donnie the chance of a lifetime—to control a spaceship! Probably totally rained on his parade. Leo should ask him how that went later. He was sure it must've been totally badass. 

Maybe asking him now would help his mood...? It was understandable that everyone would be feeling... complicated, after the Krang stuff. But Leo wanted to make them feel happy. He wanted to help them as much as he could. 

“Hey you–” Leo started, and then blinked, trying to catch up with– okay, Donnie’s hand was at his throat. Alright. Maybe that's what he was concerned about. Him and Mikey did watch Leo get a little strangled and almost killed by the Krang-controlled-Raph, yikes. 

Leo tried to make his smile soft and reassuring as best as he could. 

“Hey, I’m alright,” he placated his twin. “I really am, I knew Raph wouldn't actually–” okay, well, he didn't know know, but he had hopes– 

–Donnie’s hands circled his throat. When Leo swallowed, he felt the tight press of it against his brother’s palms. 

“Pretty sure my throat is structurally sound, Dee, you don't have to check,” he joked, voice rasping. He just needed to drink some water. “Hey, can you–”

Donnie squeezed. 

“Okay, okay, keep your water, yeesh!” Leo reacted, sounding appropriately strangled. Except–

Except Donnie started squeezing much harder, and, okay, that was actually hurting–

“Donnie, hey–” Leo tried to speak around his constricted airway, hands lifting, placing them at Donnie’s wrists. “Bro, chill, loosen up a lit–” his words cut off entirely from the pressure, and okay, okay. Uh. 

Donnie was positively gripping his throat now, zero mercy. And sure, Leo could hold his breath for a hot minute, maybe a dozen or two, but his throat was bruised. And the sensation of the walls of his airway pressing against each other and the harsh jab of his larynx and–

Leo’s throat reflexively started spasming, and he gripped Donnie’s wrists in return, legs curling under the blanket. The pressure building in his head. 

Leo tried to jam his fingers between Donnie’s hands and his throat, the way he did with the Krang tentacle thing Raph used. To get just those precious few moments of air, to talk, because it worked with Raph, it had to work now–

But, well, Donnie isn't the Krang. Donnie is smarter. Donnie knows Leo’s affinity for blabbing and with the pressure pressure pressure at his throat, he was giving Leo zero leeway. 

Leo couldn't even yell for help. 

Instead, Leo’s jaw worked soundlessly, popped open with the building pressure, the pressure. It felt like his eyes were going to burst from his skull, and he was choking, now. Lungs spasming, the bottom of his throat convulsing and gurgling. Feet kicking uselessly, tangled under the blanket. 

Leo’s hands were weakly thumping against Donnie’s arms, desperate but never, never hard enough to actually hurt his brother. He was slamming his heels into the gurney to make noise, scrabbling for anything, he didn't have his panic button, anything to grab onto, anything to do, he can't BREATHE–

Lungs convulsing, straining, aching–

“You don't get to escape that easily, little pest,” Donnie spat–

There was drool sliding down Leo’s chin now and hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. And he stared up, up into Donnie’s cold eyes, and past the confusion, he tried to plead, Donnie, Donnie it's me, it's Leo, Donnie it’s okay, please just calm down, you're hurting me bro– 

—

After all the stress of the Invasion, Raph only felt a little ridiculous when he finally BUSTEDthat door open. He’d just– he heard the heart monitor! And it was way too fast! Leo could be freaking out after a– a nightmare or something! Who the heck locked the med bay door anyway?! It was usually with a sensor, automatically opening when someone passed, why did someone need to lock–!

And at once, all that sheepishness was blasted away through the sight that greeted him.

In two strides Raph was by Donnie, grappling him and wrenching him away from Leo. 

Leo, who immediately gasped for air like he hasn't breathed in a week. But it was too thin, too weak. Immediately, Raph heard him start choking and coughing and spluttering. 

Meanwhile, Donnie broke away from his stupor, still in Raph’s tight hold. He didn't waste a moment to start thrashing and snarling and biting! To the point where Raph was struggling to hold him! Especially ‘cause he didn't wanna accidentally hurt Donnie! The guy still had his entire torso BANDAGED!!! 

(Raph’s had enough of hurting his family for a lifetime.)

“Donnie!” Raph cried, “Don, chill! What the heck is goin’ on–?!” sure, the twins bickered, but all of them bickered! It was never like this! 

“Let me go you PARASITE–” Donnie sneered at him, and, what??? What?! 

Leo was still gasping and choking, and, and– a-and Raph couldn't handle this on his own, he, he–

“MIKEY!” Raph yelled, “DAD! HELP! SOMETHIN’ IS GOING ON A-AND RAPH CAN'T–” 

Donnie fighting in his arms, clawing at his arms, Leo’s awful awful desperate gasps–

—

“Hold him, Raph!” Mikey’s voice raised against his will, “I think– I think he's infected–!” his hands (hurting, trembling, swathed in bandages) hovered uselessly. 

“INFECTED–?!” Raph’s voice cracked, still wrangling the feral Donnie.

“How?” Splinter’s head snapped towards them. He was taking care of calming Leo down, and the beeping of the heart monitor was still too fast.

“From the ship!” Mikey exclaimed. “It makes the most sense!” right??? Right?! 

Leo, in the middle of coughing and gasping, turned to gape at him. 

Oh. Right. They hadn't told Leo about the ship yet. 

...MORE IMPORTANT THINGS! 

Raph yelped as Donnie finally bit down on his forearm. And Mikey practically saw the word INFECTED slam in Raph’s poor panicking brain, and he wrenched his arm away–

No, no, no– 

Don't panic Mikey, THINK. 

He yanked open a cupboard and then a second and a third–

“DAD!” Mikey yelled because his hands, they were useless right now, he couldn't do it himself–! 

“To me!” Splinter exclaimed and Mikey tossed him the syringe and the bottle. 

“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE KRANG, WE ARE INFINITE–” 

And in a few swift moves Donnie collapsed, knocked out by the tranquilizer liquid thingie. 

Splinter drew the needle out of his neck in order to catch him, so he didn't crack his skull on the floor.

They all, collectively, sagged in relief. Heavy breathing filling the room. The loudest of which was Leo’s, labored and struggling. Raph held his arm, where a little bit of blood trickled. 

“O...kaayy,” Splinter drew out. Cleared his throat. “Good thinking, Orange. Uh. Do weee... have... a second bed maybbeeee–?” 

Raph sighed, already moving. “I’ll get it–” 

“Uh, you're bleeding and might be infected, I’ll get it,” Mikey snarked. 

“...Mike, your hands–” Raph hesitated. 

“Can handle a bed on wheels, Raph,” Mikey deadpanned. And then softened up a little, “Do us all a favor and take care of that dang wound,” 

“Yes,” Splinter agrees. “We don't want a second case of this,” 

Or third, rather, but Mikey prided himself on being emotionally intelligent, so he kept that comment buried deep, deep down, and moved along to bring out the second hospital bed. 

—

Donnie is... well. April supposed his reaction was fair enough. 

She’s the one that took charge of driving while the others took care of each other in the back, so she couldn't see that much of it. But she saw enough. 

While she was... okay, sore and sticky with sweat and tired as hell, and probably gonna bruise ugly; she was, objectively, not that bad compared to some others in their group. She was a human, sure, but she knew how to take care of herself, and Splints and Casey Two really helped. They themselves were about in the same boat as her.

The guys? Yeah, they were mutants or whatever, but man. 

Raph’s eye was jacked up, and there was a whole hole in his shell, and his left hand was shaking. Mikey’s both hands were crawling with some worrying mystic nonsense, and through his manic-delighted laughter, she'd caught something about a portal. Leo was... well. Leo, apparently, cracked a quip and dropped unconscious. April thought that spoke volumes about his current state. It ain't easy to knock these thick-headed turtles out.

Donnie’s right hand was also shaking. That was the least concerning part about him. 

His back was... eugh, Casey was taking care of it in the back while April kept her eyes on the road. But she'd seen it for a few moments, when the construct of his battle shell dissipated to make way for treatment. 

It was bad. 

So bad. It was gross. Skin pulled and stretched and torn, like the worst amalgamation of flaccid stretch marks and bloody cuts. Like prosciutto made of dead flesh. April has never seen skin be torn by being pulled apart. Like ripped fabric, but all loose and mangled and eugh. That stuff only happens in horror movies!!! 

She shuddered, clenching her jaw. Trying hard not to gag, because it would not help. Stay strong, O’Neil. 

Maybe it would've been better if Donnie acted normal. And he did! ...For a few moments. After they'd (apparently, somehow, they hadn't shared the details yet) saved Leo, and informed everyone else about this through the comms, Donnie sounded fine! He sounded just as vibrant and relieved and elated as everyone else! 

But in the few minutes it took for Sister Squad to free the Turtle Tank and drive it to Staten Island to pick ‘em up... 

Maybe it was an adrenaline crash. She turned the wheel again, waited for the garage door to open. Entered into the Lair. 

Maybe it was just a simple adrenaline crash. Everyone was visibly exhausted. Raph was swaying on his feet and Mikey was trembling and Splinter was basically limping. 

“Commander–”

“Got it,” April immediately joined Casey’s side to help him lift Leo. He needed a lot more than just emergency first aid, though he seemed stable. “Dee, wanna–” she turned to ask–

Donnie... just stared. 

He just stared. 

This. This is what was worrying her. 

Maybe it was an adrenaline crash. Maybe a shutdown. Maybe processing everything was just too much for him at the moment. 

She was trying really hard to not judge how he was just staring. 

At Leo. 

“...Ooor not, nevermind,” April said quietly. 

Maybe... maybe it was grief. Or something. They did have that whole “twin” thing after all. So. 

“Casey, uh–” April turned back to the guy as they started moving Leo to med bay. “Donnie...?” 

“Not great, but he'll live,” Casey said quietly, picking up where she trailed off. “There was leftover matter, but I couldn't tell if it was dead Donnie flesh bits or dead Krang flesh bits. Just... a lot of dead flesh,”

April shuddered. Gross. Casey, however, kept speaking like the grossness of it didn’t affect him.

“I had to wrap him quickly to stop the bleeding, but I think I’ll need to cut off more of that skin, he'll definitely need stitches in some places but hopefully no grafting–” he spoke briskly, getting onto the task of filling her in on everyone’s condition. As they brought Leo in to med bay, she prepared herself to assist Future Boy with medical treatment. 

Thank fuck for Casey Jones, huh? They always seemed to save the situ at the most critical times. Bless.

They started hooking Leo to an IV drip and a heart monitor and stabilizing him, a flurry of movement. April doing her best to follow through on whatever instructions Casey handed out—man, he was definitely experienced with this, the way he worked fast but efficient and calm. 

And to her even bigger relief, Donnie joined in. He seemed to be in a daze, disoriented maybe, but he started pulling up scanners and data on some monitors in the room. 

His hands kept... kinda lagging. His face remained... well. Well. It's like his face simply wasn't a part of the rest of his system, just slapped on top. 

But, well. He was helping them. So. 

Maybe it was okay. 

...April would just... pull him aside, once Casey’s done with him too. Donnie was definitely not in a talking mood right now, but leading him through some grounding, maybe some comfort, it might help. Get him to drink water, get his headphones on, that sort of thing. 

Oh, and then she should also do that for the rest of the fam too. 

With an action plan in mind, April O’Neil focused on the task at hand.

—

There was something wrong with Leo, Donnie was sure of it. And he was sure it happened while he was in the Prison Dimension. 

He just didn't know what. 

It was fine mere moments ago! It was fine during his altercation with Raph dearest! It was fine. 

It was not fine anymore. 

But no matter how much Donnie stared at Leo, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He didn't stop staring at Leo’s prone form in the Tank, in fact. And all he had as proof at the moment was this wriggling, invasive pulse of something's wrong, something's wrong, something is seriously wrong.

Something was so, so wrong with his brother. 

Donnie couldn't help but feel a... revulsion, looking at him. Something that made him curl his hands into fists, nails pressing in. 

He felt like if he stopped looking at Leo for even a smidge of a moment, he would... he would... he didn't know. Donnie didn't know. And he hated it. 

He felt like Leo would snap up and lunge at him. Or their brothers. He felt like Leo would die on the spot. He felt like– he didn't know. 

All he could do was stare. 

He didn't register anything else. It was only this. It was only this. 

Buried in his shell, this bone-deep conviction that something was disgustingly wrong, and the moment he took his eyes off of Leo, it would all surface with a bang. 

He wanted–

He needed–

Donnie needed to know. 

So he stared. He watched, he observed, he waited. 

When they brought Leo home, he took advantage of the moment. While O’Neil and Jones took care of the... remnants of violence on Leonardo, Donnie did one of the things he did best: he collected data. 

It was simple: just a scan whilst the other two hurriedly patched up wounds. And when that scan showed nothing out of the ordinary—a second one. And when that yielded no more results—a third one. 

And when Leo’s injuries were taken care of, when everyone’s injuries were taken care of–

(Skin flesh living snipping away from his back–

No, no, no, they would live. They would live, they would triumph.)

–Donnie simply sat and watched. 

For a bit, Raphael and Michelangelo and the rest were with him. For a bit, everyone took care of each other. Then–

Oh who cares?! 

It was waiting, it was injuries, it didn't matter. None of it mattered! It all fell into a blur. 

Until, finally, finally. 

Donatello knew. 

It was as easy as locking the medical bay’s entrance. It was as easy as a few steps to his “brother”’s body, laying on the hospital bed, bruised and cut and ruined and wrong wrong wrong. 

That was not Leonardo. 

Donatello knew. It. 

He knew it the way he knew his own heartbeat. 

That... thing, inside that body, was not his brother. 

He saw it. He saw its true nature, the way its skin wriggled. Tendrils under the surface, eating away at the insides and taking their place.

It was something so ugly, so heinous, so repugnant that it was difficult for the mind to conceptualize and therefore circled right back around to awe-inspiring. 

It was as easy as his hands around its disgusting little throat. 

It spoke to him in his brother’s voice, the wretched thing. How dare, how dare it use his brother’s voice, his smile. 

Donatello wanted to rip it apart. It was a nuisance, a parasite, a pest. Lowly and disgusting and undeserving of its breath HOW DARE IT BE FREE HOW DARE IT LIVE–

—

Donnie woke up sore and dazed. 

“Wh... huh...?” he muttered, swallowing dry, trying to blink for the sake of his vision clearing. What... did he fall asleep...? 

He lifted his arm to–

He– couldn't lift his arm. Huh. That's... odd...

Donnie blinked, everything a bit blurry at the edges. A little cotton-y. He felt a bit nauseated, to be quite frank. Not a pleasant thing to wake up to. 

There was... noise. Speech. Somebody was saying something. To him. 

“What...” he muttered again, lifting his arm– nope. Right. Right right right, he... couldn't do that. Hm. 

Did he get kidnapped by the government? 

...Mmm, no, no. There was the beeping of a heart monitor, the smell of antiseptic, yes. But he's always had sensitive senses. Beyond that, he could hear... papá’s shows? Breathing in the same room, as well. He could smell home. Raph was here. 

Raph smelled like... hm. Something sharp, tangy, sort of unstable. But warm. 

Worry, concern? Perhaps hesitation? Meh, Donnie has never been good at parsing emotions. 

“Donnie? ...You with us?” floated in his older brother’s voice.

“Mm,” Donnie affirmed, trying to look around more properly. Yes, the medical bay. Yes, Raph, alongside Mikey. 

...Hm. That's... odd. Why was Donnie strapped down on a gurney, exactly? 

“Wha...” he vocalized, staring down at the restraints. He didn't even know they had those. Maybe The Fam simply used a couple of belts. 

“Heeeyyy buuuddd, how... are you feeling?” Raph approached, with a careful smile.

“Confused, disoriented even,” Donnie stated. “Uh. Nauseated. Do I... do I have a concussion?” he tried blinking, squinting.

“...You could... say that,” Raph said, trying to be gentle in an off-putting manner.

“Boy you were infected!” Mikey delicately informed him and–

And.

Donnie’s brain blue-screened as it loaded the history of what he'd done.

Oh, dear Cain. 

What has he done? 

The way he’d stared at and spoken to Leo, contemptuous, inimical, disgusted. Murderous. 

The way his palms had wrapped around his very own twin’s already bruised throat, feeling the fragile pulse under, the pulse he’d scrambled to preserve. Head deluded by thoughts and visions of parasites, of wriggling little things under the skin, hidden and revolting and deadly. 

The way he’d squeezed–

A single tear rolled down his face, soaking into the bed sheet of the gurney. 

“BUT WE FIXED IT!” Raph was quick to exclaim, worry cranked right up at Donnie’s absolute stupor, the horror no doubt glinting off the whites of his eyes. “We, we–!”

“CJ and Barry cut it all off!!! You're totally clean, Dee!” Mikey attempted with increased cheer. 

But all Donnie could think was no, no, no, how could he do this? Is this how Raph felt? How could this happen? 

What had he done? 

“Donnie, hey, hey, it's okay, you gotta breathe,” Raph reached out a hand, forehead scrunched in anxiety. Donnie flinched back, but it's like it wasn't him. He could hear the rapid alarm of his electrocardiogram, but he could not connect it to the existence of the heart beating within his ribcage.

It's like he wasn't himself. 

How could he possibly recognize if he's not himself? 

His older brother was talking to him, but it was all static, it was all ringing. It was sinking into a squirming-squelching-living nightmare, repugnant and alive and all-encompassing oh unholy Lorecraft– 

Shouts, a clattering– 

Red and green turned away from his face, and, and– 

Replaced by green and red and blue, blue, blue. Standing over him, smiling. Green skin and red markings, white eyes and red bruises, blue mask, blue bruises, colors of the flesh of the flesh the flesh– 

“Heeyyy bro,” a jarring moment, a smile, how could he be smiling? “Wanna help me calm down real quick? I’m feeling a lil’ panicky here,” 

Something inside Donnie reached out, fell into line at that. His hand shot up–

–no, it didn't, they were restrained, the hands he'd used to– 

Lighter green. Unlatching the restraints.

“Leo–!”

“You said he's fine now, so chiiilll it's fiiine! Donnie would never hurt me,” 

Donatello never would, but how could he possibly be sure he’s Donatello? 

Hand freed. He jerks them back close to himself, pushed himself away. 

“Hey, hey, naw don't do that, or I might get sad,” pouting, silly, like it's all fine and not horror-inducing. “Mikey, could you get a glass of water, and Raph– yeah the blanket–” 

“His headphones too–?”

“Oh great idea, yeah, totes– Dee? Donnie-dee? Wanna show me how to breathe, huh? I can't get my numbers straight,” Leo’s eyes back to him, smiling, smiling. 

The image of his beatific smile as Donnie’s hands strangled him to death– 

The way he’d smiled at Raph as he was being STRANGLED TO DEATH–

Why was he SMILING?! 

There was something wrapped around Donnie’s lungs and squeezing, and his brain screamed KRANG KRANG KRANG–

“Donnie, focus on me,” Leo snapped his fingers in front of his face and Donnie wanted to bite him, Leo knew how much that irritated him–!

Wait, why the flippity pancakes was Leo OUT OF BED?! 

The panic, jittery and sharp and ringing, was suddenly replaced by anger, jittery and sharp and ringing.

“Why,” Donnie hissed, and his suddenly narrowed focus picked up on Mikey stiffening several feet away. Leo, smiling, calm, subtly moved to cover it. 

“Why wh–”

“WHY ARE YOU OUT OF BED.” Donnie seethed, high-pitched, hands on Leo’s shoulders. Shaking him a bit. Leo was smiling and it felt surreal.

Leo was smiling the entire time Donnie was strangling him to death. 

Leonardo, his beaten and bruised brother, his brother wrapped in bandages– the idiot, he must've torn something getting up to reach Donnie because he was bleeding through said bandages–

Leonardo, his brother who’d dished out serene reassurances before throwing himself into a death trap– 

–was just smiling at him. 

God, he hadn’t even fought back. 

He didn't even fight back. 

“Why didn't you fight back?” Donnie’s voice broke over whatever Leo had been saying. “Why, why did you– I-I w-was going to kill you–” horror, oh horror. 

“What?” Leo blinked, and he turned as Raph walked back in, yet Donnie had mind only for one thing and it was his stupid, stupid twin. 

“Why didn't you fight back? Leo, why didn't you do anything?” Donnie spoke in desperation. He needed to know. It would ruin him, but he needed it. Just like the stream of information from Technodrome, the knowledge was cursed and horrifying, and yet he needed to know. “I could have killed you are you listening to me? Leonardo you could have DIED–” 

“Hey,” Leo, bleeding, supposed to be resting, smiling, was putting a weighted blanket over Donnie’s shoulders. He offered Donnie his noise-canceling headphones, and Mikey was finally handing over that water he’s been holding for minutes now, hands shaking. Leo was looking him in the eyes, and saying “It wasn't your fault, bro,”

Donnie stared back at him, shaking with the shock of– of– frankly? Of everything. There was a parasite in his brain, apparently, right after the Invasion, so it was all crashing on top of him in the worst way possible. 

“Took you guys long enough,” Leo had said, had smiled and laughed and hugged them, like it was fine, but it wasn't, it. Wasn’t. 

There was absolutely no conceivable way for Leo to have known Mikey could rip apart reality itself. There was no conceivable way he’d known there was any way out. 

And the Krang were hateful, hateful things. Donnie would know. 

So Donnie stared at his twin, smiling and saying something to Mikey that made their little brother crack a laugh. Donnie held a glass of water in one hand and noise-canceling headphones in the other, given to him by his twin Leonardo, Leonardo whom he’d strangled with those very hands. 

“I’m so sorry,” broke out of Donnie, crushed and angry and disbelieving and sad and loving and grieving and ecstatic. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry–”

“It’s okay,” Leo said, easy, “Hey, it’s okay, it wasn't your fault,” he opened his arms and Donnie put the items aside to drag Leo into a hug. Leo oofed and laughed, and a tension dropped from Raph’s shoulders as well. 

“You're okay Marsh-Tello,” Leo said, teasing and lighthearted, rubbing the back of Donnie’s neck instead of his bandaged shell. “It wasn't your fault, mkay? It was those big dumb aliens, and we got it all off. It wasn't your fault,” he reassured Donnie, Donnie, as if Leo wasn't the hurt one, as if Leo wasn't the one who’d nearly died several times. What a moron, apparently caring for others even at the end of his own rope, what a dummy. 

Donnie just shook his head, holding the idiot closer. He reminded himself to not hold him too closely, because Leo was still littered with injuries, including cracks in his shell and his inner ribs. And now Donnie knew, if he wasn't careful, Leo wouldn't even eek in pain about it. 

His twin. His idiot. Gah.

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut and held him close. 

[imashoe69420]

Rise!Bros X Reader: Christmas Mistletoes

Summary: The turtles react to being under the mistletoe with them.

Pronouns: Gender Neutral (they/them)

Relationships: Dating but not official

===============================

Leo

• You were helping him carry groceries into the kitchen to prepare for Christmas dinner when he began using Christmas themed pick-up lines on you while you both stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

• Soon, Mikey gasped, pointing between the both of you.

• “You guys gotta kiss now!”

• Shocked at his exclamation, you both gazed up at where Mikey was pointing to see a mistletoe hanging down in the middle of the doorway.

• Leo sputtered while you avoided eye contact. You guys didn’t kiss that often, so it was always awkward at first.

• “Well, rules are rules.” The blue turtle chuckled with a shrug in an attempt to ease the tension.

• Without much thought, you stood on your tippy toes and quickly peck his lips.

• Leo stood astonished at your sudden authority, a dark green gracing his cheeks.

• He then grabbed your face and kissed you softly. When you two parted, he laughed.

• “This better be your best Christmas present to date.”

Raph

• You and Raph were putting up Christmas decorations. (You two were the ones who put all the mistletoes up in the first place.)

• When you were trying to reach a doorway, Raph quickly offered to help.

• Your hands made contact at the top of the doorway and your heart nearly jumped into your throat.

• Raph had the same feeling as he glanced down at you.

• “I think we screwed ourselves.” You laughed.

• The snapping turtle snickered before cupping your cheek and pecking your lips.

Mikey

• “Hey, (Y/N), look!” Mikey drew your attention.

• When you turned to look at him, you instantly cringed.

• In his hand was a mistletoe and he was headed straight towards you.

• “Mikey, no, it has to be in a doorway!” You stood to your feet.

• He ignored you and chased you around the lair with the mistletoe in hand.

• Eventually, you ran out of breath and he held the plastic leaves and red berries between the both of you.

• “Don’t be a sore loser, (Y/N).”

• You grumbled and ended up kissing him on the cheek.

Donnie

• Donnie was a special case because he didn’t believe in traditional holiday festivities.

• “C’mon, Dee,” you tried to convince him, “they can be fun!”

• “I refuse to partake in the glorification of a large man coming down the chimney to rob me of my cookies and milk but then leave me and my whole household gifts that he somehow knew we all wanted.”

• You weren’t exactly sure what he meant, but you shrugged and strutted over to him.

• “Fine. Then I guess you don’t wanna kiss me then.”

• Donnie furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

• “You can only kiss me under the mistletoe.” You pointed across the lab towards the entrance where a mistletoe hung in the doorway.

• The turtle hummed to himself before a robotic arm extended from his Battle Shell. It reached across the room and grabbed the mistletoe off the doorframe.

• When it drew back, it hung the plant above the both of them.

• Without a word, Donnie leaned forward and pecked you gently.

• “I—you—you can’t…” you stuttered. “You have to be… under the doorway.”

• He smirked and then returned to his stoic expression so quick you weren’t sure if you’d even seen it.

• “You should’ve led with that.”

[cowabungacafe]

Welcome to Cowabunga cafe. This is a SFW blog for my Tmnt passion.

~°~° How to place an order °~°~

You should specify what you want and with which character. For example - *" Hi, i would like a pancake 🥞 with Raph where the reader is going through panic attack and raph is comforting the reader"*

Leonardo🫐

Raphael🍓

Donatello🍇

Michaelangelo🍊

Matchups - ur mbti, personality, physical description,likes and dislikes, hobbies and any other stuff u think is relevant.

Headcannons/imagines/oneshot/- Must be SFW

Here's the menu

🍰 Cake🍰

You will get an oneshot with your preferred character.

🥞 Pancake 🍮

You will get headcanons (sfw)

🍵 Matcha 🍵

You will get a matchup

Read rules first please

☕ Cappuccino ☕

You will get an ANGST story with your preferred character

Leonardo 🫐

Endearing Affections

Tender Return

Raphael 🍓

tENDER MOMENTS

Homecoming comfort

Donatello 🍇

Donnie's Delight

Homelight serenity

Michaelangelo 🍊

Midnight Respite

Mikey's Melody of Affection

[fabuloustrash05]

Summary:

While at the lair waiting for Raphael to return from a late night patrol, Mona Lisa runs into Leonardo. The two then decide to kill some time waiting for Raph with some friendly chit chat. The problem? They have NOTHING to talk about!

Leo and Mona Lisa would've been great friends if the show wasn't a coward! lol

[acefiree]

𝗯𝗮𝘆! 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 | bedtime argument

Raphael ✷ Grayson ( dating ) MASTERLIST

ᕦ(๏益๏)ᕥ: when stupid argument turn into a cuddle session with the hotheaded ninja.

WARNINGS: ocs, first pov, cuddling, slight tension, harsh words.

NOTE: this can be read as a reader insert, so enjoy ❤️

      IT WAS A PETTY argument, one that I couldn’t even remember how or why it started. But it was still an argument, and it left me fuming with my boyfriend. My very hotheaded, burly, boyfriend – who right now, was lying on his side of the bed, eyes sharp as the Sai he wields as he stared down at me.

      "Why are ya' actin' like a brat?" The fuck? His words came off gruff, and the tone he used caused my blood to boil. Did he really just call me a brat?

      "Brat? Seriously?" I snipped, the angle I was in giving me a perfect view of his face. I squinted my eyes up at him. I know this was childish, but the petty side of me was strong. So I did the most logical and expected thing any girlfriend would do when pissed off at their boyfriend. I grabbed a handful of my thick duvet, jerking it up my body until it reached under my chin, “I’ll show you a frackin’ brat!”

      This time, instead of egging him on to get a rise out of him, I swiftly rolled over and faced away, curling under the blanket to hide myself from his glare. I could feel the bed shift from behind me, dibbing deep from the weight of the burly turtle. There was a gruff huff, and I knew Raphael was even more annoyed now.

I felt the bed shift again, and I could only assume he was rolling onto the back of his shell, given the fact the matress jostled with his movements, as if he were having a little trouble getting comfortable. After that, a deafing silence filled my room and the only sounds was of us breathing. I'm sure a whole hour passed, and by then, I had calmed to the point I started to feel bad.

All I wanted to do now is roll over, curl into his arms, and pepper kisses on his face until he showed me that breath taking smirk I loved so much. But the stubborn side of me wouldn't allow that. Raphael couldn't think what he said earlier was okay. Sure, calling me a Brat pissed me off, but that wasn't the reason I was upset.

He had just come through my window in a pissy mood because things at the lair where tense, him and Leo butting heads again, so naturally he was already upset, with his quick temper and rebellious attitude. I know he had a hard time controlling his actions when it came to following his older brothers demands for their team. But what started our argument was something so so stupid, and I should have known telling him to give Leo a break would set him off.

Raphael just wanted someone to take his side for once, but I didn't, instead I took his older brothers side. Though, it wasn't with ill intent. I only said what I said because it was true. Leo could be an ass sometimes, but the guy had the stress of protecting his younger brothers, and on top of that, he was the leader. And when I tried telling Raph that, it didn't play out the way I had hoped.

"If ya' wanna defend Fearless so bad, why don't ya' date him instead,"

Those words had hurt, but I knew he didn't mean them. It was very, and I mean very rare for Raphael to get snippy with me like that. But tonight, I caught him in one his worst moods, and I should have approched the situation better. Though, I wasn't going to give in and let him think speaking to me like that was okay.

Cause it's not, and he won't do it again. I couldn't give in to his tough-guy charm, which always made my heart flutter in the most alluring way.

      I kept my eyes closed, hoping soon, sleep would take me so I wouldn't just fold.

      Just as I was starting to relax, and drift into sleep, the feeling of three large fingers incasing the side of my shoulder had me wide awake and on guard. At first, I reached up, pushing his hand away, trying to show him I meant business. But then, the bed dipped as he rolled to face me and a muscled arm around my mid-section made my stubbornness melt away as I was tugged backward into a hard, plastron chest.

      His arm slotted under mine as he gently turned my upper half a little so he could see my face, his beak burring into the dip of my shoulder as he laid a small kiss on my skin. A tiny shiver ran down my spine as he let out a small rumble, the deep sound vibrating against my back as he left a trail of soft kisses until he got to my ear and lowly whispered.

"I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn'a spoke to you that way..."

His lips were ghosting over mine as I turned my head, finally getting a good look at those green eyes I loved so much. There was a softness to his gaze, and I could see the regret shining in the pools of his eyes.

My own gaze softened the longer I stared into his eyes, and no words had to be shared, because I knew, he was honestly sorry and he knew he messed up. And he also knew I couldn't stay mad for long, especially not when was staring at me like that, a look I was sure he had learned from Mikey, who oftentimes got anything he wanted when he pulled this expression.

      His soft apology had me like putty in his hands, and all I could do in response was nudge my nose against his, laying a soft peck on the scar on his upper lip before grasping the hand that somehow wedged its way on the other side of my head. Turning back around, I sunk into his hold and tugged his arm under my chin, which was slunked over me like a protective blanket. I kissed his knuckles, earning a deep churr in response as he relaxed and laid back, effectively pulling my smaller form closer.

      I felt him bury his face into my hair, inhaling deeply "Ya' drive me crazy, babe."

      This time, a tiny giggle escaped my lips and I ran my fingers over his forearm, marveling at how rough he was compared to my softness. "You love me for it,"

      "Yeah, I do." He murmured, kissing my head once more before dropping his hands to trail the curves of my body that were slotted against his larger form. He rumbled once again, "So fuckin' much,"

MASTERLIST

[xtreklx]

Summer Heat ~ Michelangelo x reader

One shot: bayverse Michelangelo x reader

Word count: 1.5k

Warnings: SFW, fluff, slightly mature themes (rated 17+, see my masterlist for disclaimer)

A/N: thank you all for the love on my latest works! it's so motivating and it has been helping me access my creativity in so many new ways! anyways, with the summer months here, this is just a fun little summer-themed one-shot that I thought up for our favorite jokester. enjoy!

__________

It was mid-July, the boiling point of summer, and in New York City, this meant humidity. Everywhere. While you were able to hang out in the sewers with your mutant turtle friends for a slight escape from the temperature, it was still hotter than you would have liked, and you were trying desperately to keep cool.

Hence why you and the turtles were sprawled throughout the lair, barely able to move because of the suffocating heat. Normally, you were all able to push through the summer days and go about your usual routines, but today was supposed to be the hottest day of the year (Donnie didn't trust the weather channel, however, and ran his own predictions to confirm that this was going to be the case). Thus, routine was abandoned and any attempts at relaxation were welcomed.

You could hear Donnie fumbling around in the lab from your horizontal spot on the living room couch. The three other brothers were in the living room with you: Raph in the arm chair ("there ain't no way I'm workin' out in heat like this"), Leo meditating in the corner ("I think this might be the only way to make the situation more bearable"), and Mikey sprawled out in the middle of the floor, periodically exclaiming "I don't know how much longer I can take the torture! The agony!" Although his brothers rolled their eyes at his overly-dramatic outbursts, none of them had the energy to protest, and it made you giggle every time.

Mikey loved the sound of your laugh. Like music to his ears, angels chorusing from the heavens. He had decided that it had to be his favorite sound in the universe. He looked up at you now from his spot on the floor, admiring how you looked as you lounged on the couch, practically nodding off into a summer nap. How could he help having feelings for you when you were out here looking like that?!

You had no idea that there was a double meaning behind Mikey's outbursts. While he was primarily referring to the torture of the paralyzing heat, he was also referring to the torture that you were causing him today. The hot weather had you wearing the tiniest little outfit: daisy duke jean shorts and a tight white tank top. He could see so much of your skin, a thin layer of sweat glistening in the overhead lights and making you look like you were glowing. He called you an angel all the time to your face, but he was serious; you looked like a straight-up angel. And with the way you were laying on the couch on your back, he was able to let his eyes roam all the way up your long legs, up to your waist, up to your chest...

Mikey had to shake himself out of his current thoughts before they went off the deep end. He was a gentleman-ly, respectable dude, he thought to himself. And even though he had feelings for you, the two of you were just friends. He couldn't let his mind go too far; it wasn't right. It made Mikey think about all the lectures that Master Splinter had given in the past about temptation and desire, and how giving in to them too frequently could result in an "unquenchable greed". But he was determined to not give in. Splinter would be proud of him for the restraint he was exhibiting!

As this was all running through his mind, Mikey unconsciously sent another glance your way. You had flipped over to lay on your stomach, your perfect ass in those tiny jean shorts taking over his line of sight. He quickly re-averted his gaze, trying to focus on anything but you.

God, this was going to be harder than he thought.

Suddenly, Donnie rushed out of his lab and into the living room with something in his arms. "Guys! I think I've crafted something that could help us get through the summer heat!" He exclaimed. Everyone turned their heads at the sound of that, even Leo breaking out of his meditative state.

Donatello set whatever was in his arms onto the side table next to the couch and plugged it into an extension cord by the wall. "I was messing with the settings of one of our old mini-fridges, and with the addition of a few new pieces of machinery, I was able to turn it into a flash freezer! We can put any liquid into these popsicle trays here," he gestured to the inside of the mini-fridge, "and it will freeze instantly! Pretty cool, right?"

Everyone present stared at the contraption, an awkward moment of silence falling over the group.

"I'm going to go meditate in my room," Leo deadpanned, standing from his spot in the corner, while Raph groaned. "Really, Donnie? You wanna solve the heat wave with... popsicles? Why don't ya put a giant band-aid on the melting ice caps while yer at it?"

But you and Mikey had eagerly sat up to attention as the two grumps left the living room. "Don't listen to them, Donnie! I think this is the perfect idea," You beamed up at him. Mikey had to avoid looking at your dazzling smile too closely in order to form coherent sentences. "Yeah, dude! Don't listen to those buzzkills, this is so sick!" He looked closer at the machine. "So, it'll really freeze anything instantly? Like... anything?"

Don eyed Mikey warily for a moment. "... I don't think I want to know what you're thinking when you say anything like that but, in theory, yes. Let me demonstrate." He pulled a can of orange crush from a box on the floor and poured it into two popsicle holders, adding two straws as the sticks, before putting them into the mini-fridge and closing the door. He pressed a button on the outside, and then the machine beeped. When he opened the little door, a gust of cold air flew out, and from the holders he pulled out two orange soda popsicles.

You and Mikey awed and wowed in excitement, taking the popsicles from Donnie and thanking him. He smiled, and picked up the mini-fridge. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make a large batch of grape soda popsicles. And I'm definitely not going to use them as ammo in my grenade launcher towards Raphael and Leonardo. That would be ridiculous." He stood there for a moment with a calculated look on his face before turning and heading back to his lab.

You and Mikey exchanged a pointed look before simultaneously cracking up at the thought of what Donnie was definitely going to be up to later that day. When your laughter had died down, you took your first lick of the orange soda popsicle and hummed with happiness. "Mmm, this is awesome! Orange crush is my favorite!" You exclaimed, putting it back in your mouth.

Mikey gulped as he watched you suck on the popsicle, your eyes drooping and another hum of approval sounding from your mouth. Come on bro, you can do this. Everything is fine, everything is fine, he thought to himself. He took a moment to try the popsicle, too, and couldn't help but agree with you. "Yeah, Leo and Raph are definitely missing out. Don't worry, angelcakes, luckily I'm not as much of a Debbie freaking downer as they are."

You couldn't help but laugh at his comment, the popsicle still in your mouth. You pulled it out with a pop, but with the hot weather, some of the orange soda had already begun to melt.

Mikey watched the moment pass as if it happened in slow motion: the orange liquid trailed off your bottom lip and down your chin before dripping onto your chest, running down the exposed, supple skin and meeting the white fabric of your tank top.

Oh, boy. Everything is not fine.

The poor turtle froze as his mind launched down the gutter. He couldn't help his staring at you, drinking in the vision that you had so accidentally just granted him. He couldn't help the want that spread like fire within his chest. He was definitely experiencing greed, and it was definitely the unquenchable kind.

While Mikey was lost in his thoughts, you looked down at your spill. "Ugh, I just washed this top!" You exclaimed, rubbing your chin and examining the bright orange stain for a moment before shrugging. "Oh, well. I guess the popsicles really will help us cool off!"

You turned to your friend, who had gone slightly pale and was standing up from his spot on the floor, his popsicle sticking halfway out of his mouth. "Mikey, are you okay? You don't look so good. Is the heat getting to you?" You asked him from the couch, sitting up straighter with concern.

"Ummmmm, yea-- I mean.. no! Actually, I just remembered, uhhhh... there's.. something I'm supposed to talk to Master Splinter about. I'll be right back!"

[ashbub]

it's you

leo (rottmnt) × gn!reader

contents: mild cursing, bullying, harassment [9.6k]

IN WHICH: you find a strange turtle as a little kid and develop an odd friendship

Subway cars coated with a fresh coat of paint clanged softly across the rusted tracks, rocking rhythmically back and forth as your mother hauled you with one hand through the bustling streets of New York.

You had just returned from a long baseball practice, the ends of your hair plastered to your prickly forehead from all the sweat as both chubby cheeks shone with the freshly colored coats of your little league's sports colors.

"Gosh, I barely made it in time, huh?" Your mama's apron was still tightly snitched around her waist from her shift at the local diner, patterned with your favorite foods to finely stitched with your colors. Whenever you would see her apron, the aromas of her fresh scent of freshly flipped pancakes after her long day came flooding into your thoughts. 

"Had to take my break a little early!"  She weakly smiled while continuing maneuvering through the brushing shoulders of afternoon shoppers, small wrinkles furrowing as her lips warmly stretched, "I missed you, Bud." 

Your mom worked hard every day, balancing her two part-time jobs and raising a loud-ass 10-year-old in the mix of it all to add the cherry on top. You glanced up at her as her nimble fingers tightly laced with your stubby ones, a few strands of her hair sprayed grimly across her face, most likely from dashing across the city to pick you up from the park on time.

Sure, you guys weren't filthy rich by any means. You lived in a tiny cramped apartment in downtown New York that barely could handle the worn-out mattress you guys had tossed on the wooden floor, the creaky mailbox filled to the brim with thick late fees and threatening electricity bills crammed inside. 

Regardless, your mother would always manage to scrape enough together for food in both of your bellies and somehow to pay for your freshly ironed baseball uniform when the blistering summer rays rolled around.

"Stay here just a quick second by the door where I can see you, alright?" Your mother firmly spoke to you, placing a light hand on your shoulder before fiddling her fingers through the small pockets of her purse for a few wrinkled dollar notes. "Just gonna pick up some veggies for dinner, it will just be a moment."

The cracked store bell that hung from the top of the door softly rang along with the faint click of her sneakers, watching as your mother spoke to the shop owner with a quick greeting and a small smile. The metal bat that stuck out from your patched-up backpack peered at the harsh sunlight before you carefully unwrapped the lollipop you had stashed in your uniform pocket and stuck it in the corner of the inside of your cheek.

The air was thick with exhaust and the sun beating down as the sugary watermelon sweetness hit the tip of your tongue. You looked at the line of traffic on the two lanes that ran between the rows of brownstone houses before your eyes flickered toward a colorful cardboard cut-out.

"Lou Jitsu!" Your lips curled into a bright smile, the hot pink sucker rolling to the other side of your cheeks in adoration of one of your favorite movie stars that were in a shimmering display across the street.

Cars were lined up behind one another creating a long snake-shaped traffic jam as gas fumes from the exhaust pipes filled up the air, making the atmosphere stuffy and clotted. Your eyes noted the bus driver that had stopped at the flickering traffic light pulling out his handkerchief and wiping away the sweat on his forehead for the third time that day. 

Looking both ways like you had been taught by the local crossing guards, you scurried across the street and eagerly plastered your grubby fingers across the display case. Skipping proudly, your nose practically smeared on the glass.

Sure enough, your idol smiled back at you with a flashing printed smile and beaming orange-tinted glasses. Behind him were all of his commercially produced toys & action figures stacked neatly in their plastic glory.

Digging through your pockets, you managed to fish out a couple of single dollar bills that your mother had stashed for you on the kitchen counter every morning for lunch at the school cafeteria. Instead, you had been saving up the cash and skipping out on lunch for a month to buy an extra figurine for your little shelf.

You heard a faint echo of laughter while running your fingers over the last remaining dollar bills, a few chuckles accumulated in the air as your ears perked up from your excitement.

"God, what is that thing doing here?"

Peeking your head towards the noise, you took a glance while bending your knees which were notably trickled with band-aids of cartoon superheroes. 

You had wandered into a garbage-strewn space between two shops. The crumbling brick walls had bowed with age, and laundry hung from lines strung from second-story windows across the gap overhead. Their footsteps echoed as they dodged around loud laughs.

Your eyes finally took in the scene in front of you as a group of no more than four boys was tightly huddled around something while snickering. They were smacking on bright pink bubble gum and the tip of their sneakers was busted up with faint scratches. 

You squinted at the sight, barely making out what they were surrounded by till one of them bent down to poke the huddled figure with a crooked tree branch.

They had been surrounding a dark green shell, barely the size of your bookbag from what you could tell. For a moment, you could see two dark eyes peering back at you, the faintest red marking etching the turtle's face.

They continued to snicker, one of the boys proudly placing their shoe on top of the shell with a snarky grin etched across his lips as if he had won the biggest trophy.

You had truly considered turning back to get your mother from the store to help or tell the boys off, your sneaker tips flickering from the scene in front of you to the glass display of the local bodega before a faint 'crack!' whistled harshly by your burning ears.

The bully continued to press down on the surface of the shell as all the kids continued to chuckle in encouragement at the sight.

"Hey!"

The group of pre-teens all turned to look at you in acknowledgment, their pudgy faces becoming clearer to you under the flicker of the exposed light bulb. They looked maybe a year or so older than you, their oversized jerseys wrinkling over their baggy basketball shorts that seemed a few sizes too big.

Whom you could assume was the leader of the group opened his crooked mouth to acknowledge and take in your presence as his lanky legs were freckled and coated with scabs, "What do you want?"

Taking a few steps forward, you allowed your shivering shoulders to relax as your voice was ever so slightly quivering, "Just leave the turtle alone, it probably just got lost from its owner." You retorted with a light spat, your strawberry-flavored lollipop hitting the roof of your mouth lazily.

"We just found the thing wandering on the street." One of the boys snickered back, colorful metal braces glimmering on his jagged teeth before sneering at you, "Doubt it has an owner." The kid finally mused dryly, his dirty sneaker still resting its sole on the smooth surface of the shell.

You felt fear in the feathery hair on the back of your neck like invisible fingers running along the length of your spine, a few inches in height over you outnumbered you if you decided to pick a fight. 

You weren't a bad kid by any means, but you sure as hell had your share of times sitting your ass in the principal's office waiting for your mom to pick you up.

Regardless, your mama taught you better than to leave anyone on their own- You straightened up with a slight jut of your chin towards the small circle, eyeing the turtle carefully through the corner of your eye.

"Just leave it alone-"

He took a casual step forward with a lazy grin before lifting a single bushy eyebrow as you swallowed the lump that had swelled up in your throat, "And what are you gonna do?" The boy mocked with a fat jutted bottom lip in your direction.

As he grew closer, his outstretched fingers landed harshly on the edges of your tightened shoulders. You whirled your arms frantically at the sudden movement, a sickening sense of no longer being supported by your feet as your stomach did a flip. 

Stumbling back, your thick shoe dug quickly into the cracked cement of the alley as the clique crackled laughter amongst themselves at your light tumble.

Your eyes had squeezed tightly. Ten seconds passed, later twenty, thirty, and finally, the pain started to pull back like the tide going out. It left your tightly curled-up fingers first and then slowly worked its way up your stiffened arm sprinkled with faint cuts across your skin, the lollipop that had sputtered out of your mouth crushed underneath his muddy shoe.

What did your mother say to you? You wondered while examining the fresh scratches that flickered across your wrists- That a punch was fair game if they threw the first one? If they hit first, at least make sure you win? It seemed pretty applicable to the situation you were currently in. 

Heart drumming against your chest, you're frozen on the floor. The seeming leader of the group began to stare at you boredly, your other stiffened hand lingering over the soreness of your right cheek before staring back into black eyes with wide ones. "Don't-"

Your cracked voice got caught in the dryness of your throat, and your bottom lip slightly cracked before something cool brushed against the area of your bare neck from your bookbag. 

The eldest of the group once more took another step towards you while his patchy eyebrow curled upwards- Right as he could lay another hand on you, you swiftly yanked out your metal bat from the carefully tucked away spot in your bag. Your scraped knuckles had run across the cooled surface briefly in consideration before you had slammed it across his pointed knee.

The initial shock of it all is passing, and you feel your shoulders hike up with the tension. Your light fingertips fumbled with the grip of the coolness of the handle of the bat as it clattered harshly across the smoothness of the concrete underneath you.

The hit was quick, imagining that in any other scenario that your baseball coach would have been grinning ear to ear at how nimbly you adjusted to hold the bat. The pain, however, was seemingly like fire burning up his legs. The boy winced as his reddened hand flew to further cradle his leg with a scrunched-up expression close to his chest. 

Before another word or threat could escape his curled-up lips, you had snatched up the turtle shell frantically into your arms with a hurried swipe. The smoothness of the distinctive shell now brushed on the grim of your striped uniform as it huddled to the warmth of your sprayed-out hands.

You stumbled over the muddy laces of your sneakers, and the steady pound of your footsteps echoed into your crackling ears. You felt a thick bead of sweat roll down your forehead and splatter to your wobbling chin with each stride. The soles of your shoes hit the cracked pavement of the alleyway with each thundering step.

The boys had huddled around their friend from the corner of your eye, a faint trickle of purple hues already blooming across his freckled skin where you had ever so precisely struck him.

"Metal doesn't taste too great, huh, amigos?" A voice had trickled out with a mingled laugh, unfamiliar but full of childlike wonder and teasing fluttering in the air, "Oh! I wish you guys could see your faces right now!"

You couldn't focus on the sudden voice or give it a second thought about where it may have escaped. You had fled away from the cramped alley, your eyes desperately scanning across the bundles together shops & boldly printed signs exclaiming exciting daily new deals. You spend around a tight shop corner, nervously bouncing off one wall, arms flailing to keep your balance. 

There was a harsh sting in your hand as you were stumbling through the crowd of shoppers mingling across the sidewalk through the building, passing by each shop display and ignoring the worried looks passing buyers shot at you. A person calls out to you as you accidentally brush shoulders against them, whispering following your jagged path.

You scurried behind a couple of dumpsters that had begun overflowing with plastic trash bags stuffed with rotting leftovers from barbecues and old pizza boxes, holding the turtle shell close to your chest as you pressed your sore back against the brick wall with a faint breath.

The crowds gradually disappear as the afternoon market starts operating in the late evening. The crowds once again had begun swarming around for the evening snacks at the various food stalls and restaurants near the theater or to pick up some refreshing drinks. 

Peeling your eyes away from the stream of people once the coast was clear from any scrambling bullies, your slumped shoulders pressed against the surface of the dumpster before hazily examining the detailed shell in front of you, lightly tracing the lines with your warm fingertips.

"Are you okay?" You tiredly mumbled to the turtle somewhat absent-mindedly with a shrug, wiping away the dirt that smeared across your puffed-out cheeks. Your tightened knuckles were grazed with faint scratches as you let out a raspy chuckle. "Seemed like you were handling yourself just fine."

You briefly thought about the voice that had seemingly called out to the bullies during your escape, tilting your face to observe the delicate details of the firm shell a bit more closely before finally setting down the heavy figure between the wobbling feet of your muddy shoes.

Your eyelashes fluttered a moment to a close, grazing across your cheeks before bringing the edge of your thumb off your nose to wipe it half-mindedly.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing." A voice had trickled back finally, a youthful laughter mingling in its tone.

Your posture changed almost instantly, like a cracked whip, and you straightened up at the sudden unexpected response. Your lofty, schoolboy pose quickly transformed while your crossed feet had now spread apart as you backed slowly away from what lay in front of your brightly colored shoelaces.

 A sharp face was staring back at you with a wide-eyed expression and rather expectantly. His brightly shimmering green skin scribbled with huge yellow markings as his eyes shone like pebbles washed by the ocean waves. To finish it off, he had a smile that rested coyly on his lips that ignited an inner laughter of mischief.

No longer refrained from having to remain in his shell, the figure crouched in front of you was a few inches shorter in comparison to you. He couldn't have been much older than you as the grinning turtle sported a baby blue bandana that wrapped carelessly over his forehead that was scrunched up with a few lines.

"Holy fuc-" 

His lanky hand hurriedly clamped over your mouth at the possible escape of a curse, the three fingers lightly covering your lips before motioning with his other hand- His seemingly pointer finger pressed over his slightly outstretched lips.

The turtle's brightly colored crimson streaks coated the corners of his face as his expression tilted towards you to the side, eyes furrowed in mild disapproval.

"Raph doesn't like those sorta words-" His smile never diminished, though his shoulders lowered a bit and his look fell into something more curious before carefully removing his hand from your mouth slightly. "Says it'll rot our brains."

Your brain seemingly stutters for a moment as your flared-up eyes begin to take in the faint hue of light from the flickering neon store lights nearby, every part of you going in a sputtering pause while your thoughts catch up.

"You talk-?" You finally choked out.

"And you just pulled a fat metal bat on those guys, amigue-" He retorted back with a slight chuckle, his smile lazily spread across his face along with the casual shrug of his shoulders. "I'd say we both had our fair share of surprises!"

Blinking a few times at his chipper joke, you tentatively patted for your bat with your open palm as your fingers lingered over the empty spot in the gaping pocket of your ratted bookbag. 

"In case you are looking for your lil ole bat to clobber me with-" The red slider mused while eyeing the notable panic of your hands but deciding to give off a dramatic shake of his head to refute you. "Dude, you dropped it while getting us away from the bullies that I was handling on my own just fine, remember?"

You blink. The freshwater turtle wordlessly gestures to your bag, eyes flitting down to your back before coming back up again as if to say, 'go ahead', and you do.

Shit. You buried your hands into your palms with an exaggerated sigh seeping across your lips. Your mom had bought you a nice bat at the second-hand store and to arrive home empty-handed to practice would earn you a fat scolding surely.

Peeking between your fingers, you stared at the turtle staring expectantly back at you blankly with a snort- "You were totally handling it back there?"

"I was!" He declares, finger raised in the air. The turtle then leans down comically, hand pulled up against the side of his mouth as if he were sharing a secret, and 'whispering' in a loud manner that only he can do. "Leonardo never admits defeat to a bunch of chumps-"

"You were quite literally getting stepped on."

"I was giving them a fake sense of confidence!"

At first, you blink dumbly at him, then you snort after the goofy smile he has is contagious. Light sarcasm comes naturally to him, you assumed.

"Leo-" You nodded, his name carefully rolling across your tongue as you sounded it out. You give a half-hearted shrug, mouth downwards into a frown, eyebrow raised. "What were you even doing? How did you even get caught by those guys?"

He leans back, hands clasped together lazily. His eyes turn downwards towards the floor before wiggling his feet, smile softening, "Sorta got lost, it's actually the first time I've been up here." One of Leo's fingers nervously circles over his bare knee, drawing little stars across his freckled skin.

You fiddle with your uniform's pockets as your hands are stashed away before blinking at him curiously. "Here?"

"The surface-" Leonardo glanced at you before he clarified, signaling outwards with one of his hands. As if to emphasize, Leo's smile widened with a row of sharp teeth revealing a few of his baby teeth missing, his lanky fingers coming to the side of his mouth in a grin with a slight twist, "Handsome guys like myself kinda give people the creeps here, sorta like with you just now."

You pause for a moment, still, then the slight sway of your intertwined hands wiggle as you press your back further to the wall. "I thought you were a turtle. A pet one with a cute lil tank and stuff." You lightly scratched the back of your neck before blowing a dragged-out raspberry defensively, "The talking part caught me off guard, bro."

Leo's demeanor is still cheerful at your response, the voice lighthearted for being in the stance of someone unbothered by being mistaken for a domesticated pet. "Touché."

The ongoing flow of pedestrians talking on their cell phones and drinking some coffee was still lingering as you quickly peeked your head around the rusting dumpster. The constant commotion of conversing voices rages up and down the streets as someone calls for a fast taxi.

"I am not even allowed to be up here yet-" Leo goes to speak, then halts before doing, leaving the air hanging with his realization. His enthusiasm dampers a bit, molding into a flash of confusion before his bandana flattens and his look turns deadpan.``My brother's totally make it sound like such a scary place! So I sorta snuck out just to point to them that nothin' scares me.``

Your eyes flicker over to Leo's hand specifically, his fingertips almost aggressively tapping on his knee for seemingly a semblance of comfort despite his beaming smile. You open your mouth to bring this fact to his attention before deciding otherwise as to whether he noticed your hesitation, you couldn't tell.

Cupping your chin into the palm of your hand, your eyes shimmered in a light glint, "Your brothers, huh?" You muttered out, admittedly more so to yourself but Leo simply grins at your slight dabble of comfort.

"They are probably losing their minds right now, especially Raphie-" Leo chuckled, the blue bandana he wore slipping down his face before hooking his finger around the fabric and eagerly tugging it upwards. "Bet ya in 30 minutes they are gonna be calling dibs on my room though."

You couldn't believe you were engaging in a conversation with a talking turtle. You probably had pinched yourself through the fabric of your baseball uniform a couple of times throughout the conversation to remind yourself that this was your current reality. Still, though, you found yourself incredibly intrigued by the life Leonardo had with his brothers.

Getting up with a small grunt escaping your curled-up lips, you calmly dust off your pants with your fingertips before offering Leonardo a grin of your own, "We should go find them." You announced before extending him a friendly hand where he was crisscrossed on the floor.

Smiling widely, Leo reached out for your hand contently before pulling himself up. Taking a few steps back at the light stumble at his sudden closeness, you scratch the back of your neck before glancing at star-struck turtles, "How exactly do we find them?"

"Easy, muy facil-" Leo's eyes flickered before he managed to snag a tree branch from the top of the creaking dumpster, comically bending down a bit and doodling the start of a rough map.

You peered over his slim shoulders as the turtle sketched out an extremely neat underground network of New York on the muddy concrete floor. Thick lines had been sketched crossing over smaller ones as some blocks indicated subway stations nearby while others displayed local pizza restaurant locations. 

"You've never been up here," You noted lightly  with crossed-over arms as the turtle scanned your puzzled yet amazed expression that likely had little sparkles captured in them, "How do you even know the layout of New York so well?"

Finishing up his sketch, Leo wiped his hands over his padded knees before carelessly tossing the crooked tree branch to the side in satisfaction, "Pizza takeout menus." He proudly admitted through a light rub underneath his nose and a cocky glint in his eyes.

The tip of your fingers lingered over the drawn-out display of New York's network system before hovering over a particular drawing at the very edge of the illustration.

It was a doodle of four distinct figures. One of them was bulkier in comparison to the other three with an exaggerated sharp tooth, the other sported a pair of thick glasses while the third had cute drawn-out paint splotches across his chubby face. "Your brothers, I'm assuming?" You quipped to Leo before tapping at the final drawing: A hefty and unkept rat figure with a fluffy bathrobe swallowing his pudgy figure. 

Lips pursed, you wiggled your pointer finger curiously with a small waggle, "And your?-"

"Well, my dad!" Leonardo's eyes twinkled brightly and matter-of-factly as if this revelation was a rather obvious aspect of his family tree. 

"I see." Your eyebrows stitched together in confusion before curling up your bottom lip. You decided against questioning Leo's parental figures since before this day, you would have busted your ass laughing if someone insinuated you would have met a talking turtle. The idea of him having a rat as a father should not be as far-fetched as a concept.

Placing his finger on the map, Leo motioned at one specific area where the lines crossed and intertwined. "Bro, here it should be perfect!" Leo moved his shoulder after that sentence passed his lips just a bit with an excited thumbs-up shot in your direction. 

Before you could even open your mouth to offer any sort of protest, Leo already had elegantly swung himself onto the surface of the abandoned dumpster and gripped onto one of the metal handles of a rusting ladder that was bolted to the side of the creaking brick building. 

His three fingers maneuver to a lazy surfer sort of gesture as his slightly ripped bandana flickered back and forth at his swaying movements, "Plus, I got someone who can build you a way better bat, no charge since you are my plus one!"

"He's been gone for nearly an hour!" Donnie fumbled with the frames of his thick glasses that were propped on his face before glancing back toward the tablet that illuminated his scowl. "Raph, we have literally no clue where he could be."

The brown dirty water squashed inside the hollow cylinder-like tunnel. Grizzling walls of this tunnel-sewer sprinkled dust due to their age perhaps. These walls were like the inside of a circular tube and were swollen and soft due to wetness. Two parallel platforms were raised in the hollow of the tunnel to serve the dual purpose of forming a cavity, a way to maintain the water flow in the form of beds, and also serving as the footpaths if one had to walk inside this sewer tube.

The place reeked. Light seldom traveled in this tunnel and that too in scraps--now and then when a manhole is opened. The structures like ladders that were kept on the platform, the pipes on the wall, and the steel garters to support the tunnel; all were crowded by gossamer spiderwebs.

Raphael brought his cramped hand to the surface of his scrunched-up forehead, his shimmering yellow tooth peeking out as he spoke to his younger brother. "C'mon Don, you are great with stats!" The snapping turtle warmly smiled towards his sibling, placing a light yet comforting hand on Donnie's bare shell, "We surely covered tons of ground already! Share the facts, little bro."

"Statistically speaking," Donatello stared boredly at the concrete ceiling with sarcasm mingling in his voice as he admired the faint cracks that decorated above the group. Donnie began smiling blankly back toward Raph, his purple mask wrinkling at the sides of his face. "We are screwed." 

Before Raph could protest Donnie's foul mood during their search, Mikey gingerly took the opportunity to tug on his older brother's spare arm for comfort. 

Mikey trudged along the path with his little coloring book & a thick jumbo-sized orange crayon jammed between the clutch of his chubby fingers. "Raphie? It has been a while-" The youngest turtle questioned with the slightest tilt of his head, baby blue eyes widening at the increasing amount of time away from his older brother. "Is Leo really missing?-"

Raph fondly rubbed Mikey's head with a slight ruffle, a hearty chuckle brimming at the ends of his toothy grin. "C'mon? Leo? Y'know our brother, Mikey." Adjusting the sleeves of Michelangelo's bright orange hoodie warmly as his sentence dragged out any sort of lingering worry. "He's just out and about, our job as the Mad Dogs is to check up on him!" 

Mikey, seemingly convinced, nodded before holding his Jupiter Jim coloring book closer to the comfort of his chest. His nimble fingers looped tightly around one of Raph's.

"And when we do find him, we'll give him a big hug." The snapping turtle curtly plucked up his youngest brother before swiftly tossing him onto his shoulder with a slight tug of the lips. "And I'll strangle the blue outta him for thinking that leaving without telling us nuthin' was a brilliant idea."

Donatello's eyes flitted to offer a sideways glance at his oldest brother in curiosity, his fingertips remaining on the faint hue emitting from his tablet. "We should at least tell Splints." 

Raphael paused his hurried pace as Mikey innocently looked up at his brother's sudden stern expression, his usual friendly tone constructing into something more adamant. More serious.

 "No-" He finally retorted in response before scratching the tip of his muzzle in earnest frustration, "The last thing we need to tell dad is that our mutant baby brother is wandering the streets of New York right about now alone." 

Finally reaching a thin metal ladder leading out of the sewers once more, Raph began climbing up the rigid steps as his small claws began sharply curling around the metal bars. 

"Donnie!" Raphael's voice carried across in a faint echo as Mikey's small arms tightly looped around his eldest brother's neck for support, "Which stop is this one?"

Donnie gripped tightly onto his tablet as his glasses began sliding down his snout. He didn't necessarily agree with Raphael's objections to informing Splinter of the situation. Rather, it seemed almost essential for him to be aware of the lack of knowledge of Leo's whereabouts. "Our 45th stop, Raph!" Donatello blinked before gripping the rusting handles that led toward the surface.

"We'll get him home before dinner time." 

You both sat contently on a curb of an abandoned street. Your stiffened fingers warmly cupped your chin in between the palm of your hand as the other dug contently into a half-empty bag of cheese puffs you had bought from a local convenience store with the extra cash you stashed away in your pocket. 

"Leo- You barely left any for me!" You muttered through furrowed eyebrows, plucking one of the cheese curls from the plastic bag with a scowl. 

Leonardo had never tried cheese puffs before this moment so his eager gobbling of the snack was to be expected from him. Ten whole years of his life had gone by and had never even gotten to try such a delicacy before living in the sewers. His smile was comically smothered with orange stains that coated his fingers.

"Can you possibly blame me? It is delicious!" He proclaimed victoriously with a gurgle of delight at the discovered snack before placing two cheese curls at the corner of his outstretched mouth to mimic a walrus. "I can even do tricks with this snack!"

He's only slightly disappointed that you only snort in amusement rather than drop your jaw open, overcome by unmitigated awe, but that sliver of dismay is swiftly knocked out of him once you reach over and lay your palm flat over his wrist.

Leo stares at you quizzically with the two curls hanging oddly from his agape mouth before you manage to snap one of them in half and toss it into your mouth contently.

"Dude! Not cool-" The red slider attempts to reach for another chip with an extended hand gingerly fishing for more. "It just tastes cheddar than anything else!" 

You paused with a few blinks, stifling a loud chuckle with your other free hand that wasn't attempting to keep your cheesy snack safe from Leo's grubby hands.

A cheese pun?

"Leo!" You hum warmly before taking a swing of your grape soda can that crinkles underneath the pressure of your lingering thumb, "That was a bit cheesy, no?"

"Finally!" Leonardo hummed before taking a sip of his can of orange soda while peeking in your approval. "Someone who understands my comical and untapped talent!" 

To his dismay, you don't even bat an eyelash at the turtle's cool, unfazed act. You only tut softly and side-eye him with a gentle reprimand creeping to the front of your tongue.

You had both enjoyed each other's company. Had anyone decided to walk upon the both of you, from a distance it most likely would have appeared as two friends hanging out after the movies? Tossing snacks playfully at one another and taking exciting sips of their fizzy drinks.

The color of the sun was now a light creamy yellow, and it was easy to distinguish it from the light blue color of the sky. There were few clouds, but they were far away, so the sun was taking up all the space above the horizon. As the sunset was starting, the sun was going down slowly changing its color from creamy yellow to shades of glowing orange.

You almost would have forgotten the true reason the both of you had resided for so long at the abandoned street. The rusting pothole wiggled a bit from the concrete surface by your sneakers before being pushed aside to reveal a tentative green head peeking out to examine its surroundings.

"Raph, he's not here- Why on earth would he be so close to Staten Island." An annoyed voice whined out.

Leo's face perked up instantly at the looming complaints. If he was a dog, you could quite literally imagine his ears stiffening upwards dramatically at the familiarity of the voice.

The end of his blue bandana loosened at the seams ever so slightly. "Donna! Is that you?" The turtle stumbled before he quickly rose from the side of the curb with one sole cheese curl propped in the side of his puffed-out right cheek. "Only you, mi hermano, could be the voice of such cynicalness." 

You decided to stand up as well to introduce yourself at the mention of his brothers with an embarrassed cough brushing past your lips before flinching at the light blur of orange that had managed to eagerly tackle Leonardo to the ground.

Having dropped his unfinished coloring book to the side with a thud! the youngest turtle's lanky arms had snaked around his brother's waist with a loving warmth. "Leo!" The little turtle sniffled out in relief, small bubbly tears brimming the corner of the brightest baby blues that were rapidly blinking. "You are okay!"

Carefully placing the tip of his chin onto his brother's shaking head, Leo had softly run his three fingertips across the brightly colored surface of his brother's shaking shell before chuckling. "Mikey!" He whispered with a toothy grin as Michelangelo's fat tears continued to leak over the fabric of Leo's shredded top. 

As they shared a warm embrace, a larger figure emerged. In comparison to the previous three brothers, who were shorter and lankier, this figure was frankly the opposite as you swallowed the gasp you had been quietly holding. He was truly massive in size, his thick scales decorating his body a potent mossy green, lightly glistening under the faint hue of the descending sunshine. A sole yellow fang revealed a row of jagged teeth encasing around it.

Of course, Raphael's size was hardly intimidating to any else except yourself or your sudden squeak at his thundering approach. "Raph! Hey big guy." Leo perked up from his hug with Mikey with a devilishly wide grin as the eldest brother placed a warm hand over Leonardo's lazy shoulder. "Don't get emotional on me now"

Raph wrapped his bulky arms around Leo's waist- A gentle yet rather nervous Leo whispering hurriedly almost squawking at the sudden tightening grip of his older brother's hug. "A little t-tight, no?"

You hear another hiss of air escape from between his gapped teeth, snout gruffly wrinkled at his baring claws that began digging almost threateningly. "Next time, you decide to go prancin' about on your own, I will personally ensure that it is your last time." Raphael's steel grip loosened just as swiftly at his humorously loud chuckle, sharp features softening to something you could only assume was an actual smile. "Other than that, I'm so relieved to see you, little bro."

Finally sinking into a more genuine touch, Raphael's crimson mask crinkled before smothering Leo into his chest with a jagged sigh. "Please don't ever scare me like that again." 

It takes Donatello a moment to find the right steps to bring his legs back into motion, trailing after his brothers like a titanic, unsettling shadow and only halting once he's standing far distance to avoid being hurled into the affectionate embrace.

"This is good!" Donnie finally heaved in shallow gasps before placing his large palms on the surface of his knobby knees, his glasses threatening to slip down his gasping expression. He had seemingly taken the brunt of the travels under the sewers, meticulously peeling off a worn-out sock that had sloppily stuck across his leg with a furrowed frown of disdain. "And you didn't get discovered by any humans-"

It seems at that selective moment, the group had finally acknowledged your presence that had been standing cautiously behind Leonardo. The reunion clouded their vision from the very obvious human kid who was fiddling with their fingers and suddenly very interested in the pattern of their shoelaces.

So even when Raphael takes a step towards you, rising to his full height while towering over you and lifts one enormous claw towards your chest curiously, causing you to lock your shaking knees and refuse to budge.

He's glaring back down at you, his dark crimson eyes somehow piercing right through the red sheen of his mask. "And what were you doing 'round my little bro, kid?" 

You could admit that the situation itself didn't look the best out of context. You and Leo had been peppered with jagged scrapes & bruising across both of your skin. Both of your clothes are slightly tattered and rustled up.

Leonardo takes this opportunity to hurriedly step in between the both of you and the sudden tension, casually sliding in with two hands raised defensively in the air. "They are cool! They are cool!" He proclaims with a coyly posed grin all the while placing a soft hand on your shoulder, "They saved me-"

The snapping turtle's eyes narrow to thin slits at the claim from his younger brother. He scans you diligently for a moment, searching for any ulterior motive behind his brother's statement defending your honor. He finds nothing but genuine curiosity instead. Your tone was rather nervous and your eyes refused to properly meet his.

Blinking slowly, he remains quiet for a long time, but when he does speak, his voice is softer than you've ever heard it. "Introduce us." Raphael finally remarked.

"Ah-" The red slider turtle chuckled heartily with a light wheeze, nervously twiddling his fingertips. "Their name, what a great question-"

You offer him the courtesy of thinking about his answer first, brows knitting together and your nose scrunching up at the thought that you hadn't actually revealed your name to the squirming turtle.

Donatello is the first to break the silence, obvious disapproval fixated on his scowl, "Nardo! Have I taught you nothing about talking to strangers on the internet?" The spiny-shelled turtle muttered with two fingers pinched together before sharply waggling them at his slumped-over twin. "You learn their information while I stalk their internet presence and search for their address! God, I'm surrounded by amateurs-"

"[y/n]." You return, resisting the ingrained compulsion to reach out and shake the brother's hands, instead opting to keep your hands chummily into the pockets of your stained pants.

"Well, [y/n]," Donnie began repeating your name, pushing his glasses up his scrunched-up snout in almost annoyance that the conversation was even being held before blankly clapping his hands together. "We are quite frankly gonna have to kill you for discovering us. It's just protocol, so really, nothing personal. No hard feelings?"

Stiffly, the eldest turtle peels his lips back and pushes a low, guttural challenge from his throat, twisting his neck around to glower at the younger turtle. "What Donnie is tryna say-" The snapping turtle corrected, his eyes softening ever so slightly into something more genuine. "We can't have you talkin' about this to anyone, alright? We got a family to look out for, if humans started stickin' their noses out for us-" His voice quivers before finding strength again as little Michelangelo clings lightly to his leg. "-It would be unsafe for all of us."

A cool summer breeze blows lightly through your hair and whistles past the grouped turtles, causing goosebumps to arise on your crossed arms. With your eyes closed and facing toward the final glimpses of the sun, you welcome the little warmth you can gather and breathe in the salty air.

"Lips sealed-" You hummed out finally in agreement as your soft lips stretched out smoothly before mimicking a pretend key with your nimble fingers, a lingering chuckle rushing past your smile. "No one would believe me anyways."

Your delicate fingers touch Leo's curled ones and you step around the blue-tinged turtle, peeking timidly at Raph as you venture a little closer to his face.

"Donnie, I promised [y/n] you would whip them up something for them?" Leonardo pressed his pointer fingers together sheepishly before his palms tentatively skimmed over the back of his neck with a small laugh. "They totally lost their baseball bat 'cuz of me. I owe em-"

Truthfully? You had forgotten all about your missing bat. You probably wouldn't even have mentioned the fact that Leo offered a replacement earlier even if you had a recollection of him encouraging you to accept a new one.

Rolling up his sleeves figuratively, Donatello seemed to genuinely light up at the challenge as his glasses glinted with a cartoonish shine. His seemingly stoic face perked up rather quickly before fishing into his pockets with a hurried and rather maniacal giggle.

"You truly do underestimate my skills, Leon-" The masked figure remarked coyly with the waggle of a mini screwdriver he had stashed away with other random metal scraps and trinkets. 

You toss him a quizzical glance as Donnie's back remains turned away for a moment of tinkering at the flickering light that started to emit from his hand, though just as quickly your eyes meet his, he abruptly halts in satisfaction. He tilts his head down before tossing you a small rectangular shape box about the size of your palm.

Holding it up to your squinted eye, you rotate the small box carefully to examine it further. You truthfully had no idea what you were looking at. It was a compact box with a thick button at the very edge that the surface of your thumb curiously teetered around. "Thanks?-" You muttered, your teeth carefully gnawing at your bottom lip.

The box easily sprung in size at that very moment, almost defiantly to make up for your mellow dramatic reaction. Gears faintly churned inside the tiny structure before reconstructing themselves into the size of a narrow bat. A little gasp escaped your pursed lips as it snuggled into your fingertips, fitting perfectly in the grip of your hands.

Afterward, everyone began giving their goodbyes before submerging into the warmth of the sewers. Michelangelo had given you a comforting embrace, the very top of his head reaching barely your hips and leaving you with his prized orange crayon in your possession. Raphael offered an embarrassed smile, shaking your hand contently with the slightest scratch at the back of his neck. Donatello kept his distance from you during his goodbye with a light nod of acknowledgment, though the slick metal arm from his shell carefully gave you the smallest head pat, ruffling up your hair at their departure. 

You were left with Leonardo, his dark eyes shifting over to yours carefully, revealing the soft swirls of light brown amidst them. His expression was no longer pulled into a snarky grin, but rather a smaller and oddly more sincere smile.

"Thank you-"  Leo softly remarked, his head sinking warmly into the crook of your shoulder, his blue bandana slipping once more down the length of his forehead. He didn't specify what exactly he was thanking you for. Had it been for finding him in the alleyway? Traveling across New York and reuniting him with his family? The cheese curls he had scrummaged for himself? Strangely enough, you didn't need an answer to any of those questions. His warm arms encasing you into a light embrace was answer enough.

Pulling away, Leonardo's eyes ever so slightly widened at your fingertips softly brushing against his cheek. You had pulled down the fabric he had tied lazily around his forehead. Gently pressing enough force with your thumbs, you tore two symmetrical holes with a content hum lingering over your curled back lips. 

Tying the fabric once again as you bit down on your tongue, you brought the mask over his eyes tightly. His eyes never left yours before you gingerly patted the cloth down with a satisfied hum tickling the back of your throat at your work.

"There." You murmured contently to him, "You look like a hero."

His face felt a bit warmer. Perhaps it had been the earlier summer weather that led to such heat across his face or perhaps it had been the expression of pure admiration etched across your softened features for him, little was certain. Regardless, his half-lidded eyes flickered with a delicate shine at your tentative praise. He had never quite met someone like you, had he?

Taking a moment, Leonardo allowed his legs to take off at a hurried pace. He stumbled a few times through his dash before allowing his body to dive into the opened pothole, his charming smile still bright. 

"See ya on the flip side, [y/n]!"

The streetlamps that weren't burned out projected little circles of white light onto an empty, cracked sidewalk. The traffic light swung in the breeze, telling all the nonexistent drivers to stop.

The wet, desolate streets of the city rested in silence as the starry black sky wept over it. The water in the portholes shimmered by the glow of the bright, yellow street lamps at every corner.

It had been raining for hours now, the steady patter of water against your coat long since faded to a dull rush in the back of your mind. 

You were clutching the handle of a tiny plastic bag, pulling your coat closer around your shaking frame. Roaming around the streets of New York City in the middle of the night was the last thing you were planning on tonight, but after your roommate had caught a fever, the idea of staying inside was tossed out the window. Before she could even protest through her weak cough, you had already tugged on your sneakers & hooked your keys through your fingertips with a soft jingle. 

Glancing down into your wrinkled bag as you strutted, you hadn't bought much on your trip to the local pharmacy. Some Tylenol clanged happily in the plastic, a few different Gatorade flavors & a couple of cans of chicken soup that had been discounted at the clearance section. 

You tramped your way along the rutted, muddy trail in irritated silence. It was supposed to be a full moon tonight. Not that you could tell; the clouds above you grouped grayly. You had your cracked cell phone to emit some light in your bag-any good man does-but God knows it wouldn't light in this weather.

A piercing gust of wind shook the trees above your head, showering your already miserable frame with a fresh deluge. You wiped the water from your eyes with a wet sleeve and tucked a lock of hair back under the protection of your hood. What you wouldn't give for an umbrella.

You continued your walk home with your hands stuffed into your pocket for an added bit of warmth, only a few more blocks till you were home at your dingy apartment and could badger your roommate for not bundling up properly. 

You pulled the black hood over your saturated form as you sauntered in the soft rain, small pellets of water spitting on your hands as the remainder of the drops quench the scattered puddles decorating the asphalt.

Though, in one of the pools of rainwater on the street, an oddly familiar flash of blue lingered in the reflection of the puddle that earned your attention. You managed to lift your head just a bit, craning stiff your neck to the flickering streetlight instead. 

Squinting- The flicker of blue seemingly disappeared into the shadows. 

"Crap," You mumbled to yourself before your half-lidded eyes adjusted back as your phone slipped from your quivering grasp. The cellular device skittered a few steps in front of you across the smooth pavement, faint curses escaping your warm breaths loosely. "Just my luck, huh?" Placing your shopping bag carefully on the sidewalk before closely inspecting the possible damage to your phone, the surface of your thumb inspecting for new cracks on the busted-up screen protector. 

Looking relatively unharmed under your inspection, you gently wiped off some of the raindrops that had smeared across your phone screen during the tumble with a satisfied hum and dropped the phone into the pockets of your sweatpants for safekeeping.

"Are you done with these then?"

Startled, your head turned around at the sudden voice that lingered behind your crouched figure. Two young men in thin, dark jackets were inspecting your abandoned bag near your muddy feet. Their black shoes were shimmering from the trickles of the rain. One of the guys, in particular, was handling the crinkled receipt paper that you had mindlessly tossed into the bag after purchasing any items of higher value. His sausage-like fingers skim down the items.

Your eyebrow quipped upwards at the blunt question, carefully peeling back some of the hair strands that clung to your warm forehead before staring rather dumbly at them. "What are you even talking about?" 

"These," One of the men answered gruffly as his large nose wrinkled up at your confusion, still rooting around the food you had just recently purchased from the store with his gloved fingers. "Your bag, kid." A gold ring gleamed softly under the pitter-patter of the rain.

Honestly, if these men thought you had any cash on you at the moment and targeted you for that reason, you were flattered. Perhaps even start chuckling at how amusing the situation was. You were lucky to have enough money for the weekly bus fare to your part-time job on the other side of town every morning, much less to hand these guys over any currency.  

Stumbling upwards to your untied shoelaces, your narrowed eyes glanced carefully around your surroundings at the street corner you were on. Fat blobs hit the display windows of many empty stores hard before sticking for a moment, then oozing down toward oblivion. Businesses were seemingly and hurriedly packed up for the night, the neon sign that spelled 'open' at the local Chinese buffet burnt out to only a soft flicker in the hue of the rain.

 "No." 

"You left them," Suddenly the other man said, his soft jaw-dropping before releasing a hollow laugh that's about as far from friendly as one could get. It's bitter and mocking.

Digging your curled-up fingertips into your pockets casually, your fingers began twisting the fuzzy fabric of your pants. You kept your cool, your usually softer eyes firmly holding both of their gazes with a stiffened expression. "I put them down for a second." You clarified quickly and matter-of-factly, remembering to bite down on your tongue to stop any sharp retort from escaping your curled-up lips.

"Same thing, if ya ask me," The first man responded with a blank chuckle, peeling his lips back to reveal rows of sharp, jagged teeth. He pulled one of the dented cans of soup out of the bag he was holding that had a slapped clearance sticker on it, lazily throwing it back and forth between his tight grip. "You don't mind if I take one of these, do you?"

"Fine," You rasped out in a small spat. A weary sort of resignation crept into your stomach at the sight. You wanted nothing more than to snatch your bag away from them, your white knuckle grip tightening at your phone that lingered warmly in your pocket but you stayed frozen in place with no sudden movement. You didn't want a fight.

"What kind of bitch buys this cheap shit anyways?" The second man chimed in under the dim light with a wrinkled-up expression, casually whipping out a fat cigarette from his pocket and rolling it between his fingertips. He was a bit larger than the first man with a round stomach that chunkily jutted over his leather belt, standing a good head taller than you even in his slouched-over position.

As the minutes pass in silence though, you continue to hold your ground, albeit with trembling hands that sift through your pockets slowly. "Look, I don't want any trouble," You piped up, trying to attract the attention of anyone who may be passing by. You purse your lips before chewing a welt into your lower lip, stealing a glance towards the deserted street.

Though your request seems to fall with little reception. The shorter of the pair slips forward with a gapped smile, his greasily slicked back hair sparsely covering the bald spots that revealed from his head. "No? Good," He hissed out contently in an attempt to seem friendly, extending his waggling fingers. "You won't mind giving us your wallet then."

"What?"

"Your wallet." The pudgy thief remarked with a low spat, picking at his crooked teeth with the edge of his pinky boredly. "Hand it over. You gotta have some sorta cash on ya."

"I don't have any money," You remarked plainly, your voice creeping up higher than expected before coughing. "Just take the bag." You tiredly dug for your wallet in your pockets, fishing for it and tossing them your wallet anyway to their satisfaction, knowing full well the only things they'd find in it would be a few mostly used-up gift cards and the wrinkled-up change for the food you had bought earlier.

Rustling through your wallet once more, both of their faces melted into pure disgust. Their thumbs hovered shakily over the few crinkled dollar bills that they had managed to tug out from the depths of your wallet. Their rough faces begin to dip into a heated scowl with a rough breath, licking the frantic sweat off their upper lip. 

"Grab 'em'."

As soon as the order was made, your eyes widened before you felt two sturdy hands wrap firmly around your wrist in a sharp snatch. Long nails harshly dig into your supple skin as you begin thrashing your arms to loosen his tightening grip.

Blanching, you immediately try to back up, but your head knocks painfully at the wall behind you and you realize, with a sinking sensation in your gut, that you're well and truly trapped as a behemoth of two men closes in on you, their motions far more ungainly.

Wincing, with your other free hand, you managed to swipe the final object deep into the crevices of your pocket. A black little box with a small button gleaming proudly at being pulled out for this moment. Granted, the paint had chipped away over the years and a few scratches had been added.

The metal baseball bat rose to life, the little gears gleefully turning at a rapid speed to be used once more before reconstructing contently into your shaky palm.

Before anything could happen though, around you the room had begun to pulse, the blue-ish illumination flickered in front of you burning brightly as you felt a faint pressure in your perked ears, the walls and floor cement vibrating intensively.

Both the men had scrambled to the ground at the sight, their gruff voices beginning to croak at the lingering silhouette that had slowly stepped out. "Get the fuck away from me, freak!" 

Magic roared from the sudden appearance of two narrow blades and rebounded with a savage eruption that smashed the two men down.

Before you, you saw the faint outline of a figure, coyly hanging in the dark with only the white glint of their eyes sharpening. Plunged back into darkness, the sound of a sword's sharpened tip began sliding sweetly across the cement floors sending chills down your spine. 

Even in the dark, you could tell that the figure moved with perfect control. Their movements almost toying with the two men boyishly in boredom, doing quick backflips over their slumped shoulders as their playfully chipper laughter began mingling the air.

"C'mon, boys, it can't be that easy, now?"

You urgently fumbled to get a better look at the silhouette. When you looked back up, the outline was gone, and cold footsteps echoed around the empty street. 

As you inhaled deeply, you heard a loud crash of thunder, feeling a small, cool raindrop hit your bruised cheek, and flow down your quivering face to your neck. It was followed by one more raindrop, and then yet another. A gasp passed through your lips, as they curved into a tremulous smile. 

That voice sounded so- familiar. Deeper, but familiar.

The drops of rain hung on your lashes and then ran down your cheeks, kissing your pursed lips. Behind you, a large figure in a blue bandana looms protectively over you. His almond eyes scanned you carefully as his grip tightened on the hold of his swords that were still emitting a soft blue light.

His eyes widen the smallest fraction from behind the mask in a glint of recognition. Turning your head just a bit, your eyes wander over his bright green scales and the blue bandana that harshly flowed behind his hesitant step. Leonardo's breaths had become jagged at the soft droplets that beaded through the tuffs of your hair.

"It's you."