Glow in the Dark
Bayverse Donatello x Reader imagine
Info + Warnings: Comments on Reader's appearance (all positive, no identifying features described). No gendered language, pronouns, or Y.N used for Reader. Friends-to-lovers type beat, still in the friends era. Set a few years after OOTS.
Commentary: I think Donnie deserves to get a little short-circuited, as a treat.
"You're starin'," Raphael muttered behind him.
Donatello tried to come up with an eloquent response.
"What the fuck?" He managed, voice an awe-filled whisper. He blinked rapidly, spinning his desk chair away from you and meeting his brother's eyes, motioning back over his shoulder in an are you seeing this. "What.... the fuck."
Raph chuckled, patting him on the shoulder, just shy of patronizing. Donnie couldn't bring himself to care. "Good luck, genius." Then, he walked past Donnie and away from the computers, calling your name. "What's got you all dressed up?"
Donnie spun back, gaze landing on you again. You were offering his brother a bashful grin, saying something about the event you had attended- Don had known what it was, you'd told him what it was on the phone just the night before, but he couldn't remember the details now- and looking like one of his dreams come to life.
You were, in fact, all dressed up; more formally than he had ever seen you. Your clothes seemed tailor-made for you, perfectly highlighting all of your best features, the colors you wore contrasting your skin tone beautifully.
The cherry on top of Donatello's "I'm-thoroughly-screwed" sundae was the purple bracelet you wore. It was thin and elegant and caught the lights of the lair like the universe was begging him to see it.
Like he ever could have missed it.
And then you were laughing, damn it all, and Donnie was so swept up in you that he nearly missed the pillow flying at his head.
He caught it at the last possible second (thank you, Splinter) and whipped his head to the side to glare at Mikey.
"Go over there!" Mikey said in a stage whisper before Donnie could ask what his problem was. "This is your moment, bro!"
"What moment?" He asked incredulously in an actual whisper.
"To make a move! Because if you don't, I might- umph!"
Donnie, pillowless once again, glanced back at you and froze immediately when you were already looking at him.
You smiled- half warmth and half curious amusement, probably about his whipping a pillow at Michelangelo- and gave him a small wave. He managed one in return, urging his mind to please regain its balance already.
As much as he enjoyed the chemical soup you caused in his brain, he suspected Mikey had a point. This was a moment, even if he had his doubts about it being his moment, and the last thing he wanted was to be blinded by dopamine.
Your attention turned as Leonardo walked in. Donnie couldn't hear what either of you said, but he could see that almost shy smile of yours return as Leo spoke- another compliment on your appearance, judging by how you looked down and smoothed out your already-smooth clothing before responding.
Donnie nudged the floor with the toe of his boot, smoothly turning back to his monitors and exhaling heavily through his nose.
"Donnie," you called a few minutes later, startling him back out of his newly-found groove. "You got a minute?"
Like he'd ever say no.
"Um..." he muttered, hitting save on his spreadsheet and bracing himself before spinning his chair around towards you and leaning back. "I do now."
You smiled at him again, shooting butterflies into his stomach. "I got you something," you said, pulling a small shopping bag out from behind you. "It's a little silly, but- well, it made me think of you."
He took the bag with a smile and quirked brow, glancing at it and back to you. He reached inside, freezing when he bumped into crumpled packing paper. Setting the bag in his lap, he carefully pulled the paper-wrapped item out and discarded the paper, finding a blown-glass sphere with swirls of orange and yellow. "The sun?"
"It glows in the dark," you offered, a tension in your voice that he didn't anticipate. "from the museum. The venue was right near it, so I swung in. Found this. I thought maybe you would have a spot to hang it."
He nodded, a grin on his face. "I do! There's an empty space over my work bench that would be perfect." He turned the ornament in his hands. "Thank you."
"Yeah. It's uh... a light in the shadows, so..."
Oh, he had to be hearing things.
"Like you."
Or dreaming.
"Anyway!" You clapped your hands once softly before rubbing them together awkwardly, turning towards the kitchen. "I should go get something to drink, so-"
Donnie's mind finally caught up with your words, and he found himself stepping out of his chair and towards you. "Like me?"
You hesitated, glancing up at him. "Yeah, with the whole ninja thing, y'know? The shadows, all that."
He couldn't help a little smile, tilting his head slightly. "So, uh, you're- you're suggesting I glow?"
"Maybe a little." He definitely wasn't imagining you matching his gentle teasing, or the way your shoulders relaxed. "Or maybe I'm saying you're full of hot air."
He chuckled, looking back down at the sun he held.
"It's... probably more about the glow, though."
"If anyone here is glowing," he started, hearing Mikey's encouragement in his mind, "I believe it's you. You look amazing."
You let out a small huff of laughter, looking away from him with a shy smile. "Nice deflection."
"It's not deflection. It's the truth."
"It can be both."
He hummed, and you looked back up at him.
"...Deflection or not, thank you."
Donnie nodded, motioning with the sun. "Thank you. This was really thoughtful."
"Of course."
"Let me make you some tea?" The offer came out softer than it usually would, a tentative note that your exchanges usually did not have.
You smiled warmly, nodding. "I'd like that."
It probably wasn't- definitely wasn't- the move Mikey had meant, but Donnie couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back as he poured steaming water into your mug. It was something he had done dozens of times, but there was something different in your expression, your body language.
He was a turtle of science. He wasn't going to draw conclusions from one datapoint, couldn't be sure that the softness in your eyes wasn't a fluke.
But he could allow himself the most minute hint of optimism when he sat down next to you and you leaned against his shoulder.
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I have evolved into Scuttlespring anon, just say anything about them. I love them so much
THE ANON PANTHEON GROWS
Ok so.
Gorgug likes Mary Ann because she absolutely infuriates him but also, and perhaps more importantly, because she has a type of confidence I think a younger Gorgug would have deeply envied.
She's so weird, but entirely sure of herself. She likes what she likes and anyone who would have a problem with that is absolutely beneath her notice. She has friends not despite her oddities, but because she refuses to bend about them and that confidence is incredibly attractive in a person.
Mary Ann Skuttle see's something she wants and she just...goes and gets it, easy peasy. Tiny little kobald strides, but when she puts her foot down with force, Gorgug thinks she could crush a mountain under with nothing so much as a blink or falter of her stride. She's certainly physically strong enough for it, and while Gorgug is undisputedly the better fighter, Mary Ann has a physical strength hidden under soft pastel pink hoodies and can, has, and will knock Gorgug on his ass.
Gorgug got THRASHED at those Bloodrush field tryouts, and I'm certain he probably got his ass handed to him more than once during the year while at practice but before he quit the team. She made him so damn mad, everything that year was, and endlessly kind Gorgug got real mean to her over it. She was better than him, more casually confident, and didn't blink ONCE at his outburst.
And later? When she was resurrected and freed from possession? He talks to her, acknowledges that it was just a game but he had been actually mad to be so easily knocked aside. He never really had to work at Bloodrush to be good at it, he just was, until suddenly she proved herself better.
And yet, without flinching, Mary Ann, famous for not giving a shit but listening to Gorgug say how much he had, just....asks if he has a girlfriend. Unparalleled confidence, shooting a shot he was unprepared for. Planets aligned even as his own orbit was knocked off course.
And then, when he admits he doesn't even know where to get a quokki pet, something its been explicitly known to be something she really cares about? She writes down her number, letting him see that folded paper. She initiated this, and he got swept up in it, but instead of just handing over the number and allowing him to be swept up-
Mary Ann Skuttle puts the number away and tells him shes gonna put it where you get quokki pets, and if he wants her number he's going to have to go get it. He's not allowed to just be swept up in the force of her, she wants him to put in effort, prove to her and himself that this isn't just a moment but a starting point. He cant be swept up by the tide, he's gotta swim.
Gorgug liked Zelda, but their relationship started because they thought she was in danger and Gorgug had the best in. He stumbled into that relationship unsure and off balance, he never would have had the confidence to pursue Zelda without his friends hands on his back and their advice in his ears. Later on he gets more serious, he did love her and he put in the work to maintain that relationship, but it didn't work out and that's ok.
Ever confident Mary Ann tho? She doesn't want unsure stumbling steps into this relationship. If Gorgug doesn't make the active decision to chase her, to WANT to be with her and putting deliberate effort to get there, then she doesn't want him at all.
Gorgug, confused, asking where you even GET a quokki pet?
And she smirks, calls him a loser, and walks away leaving him reeling and dumbfounded.
Mary Ann Skuttle wants Gorgug to work for this.
And who is Gorgug Thistlespring, but someone who puts in the work for things he wants? He did the seemingly impossible by creating his own subclass of Barbaficer, even if he had to take four years of schooling all at once. He puts in the work and makes the impossible possible, the greatest wizard of this age.
So yeah. Yeah.
Gorgug Thistlespring likes Mary Ann Skuttle because she makes him work for it.
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luis. (sweet talk)
note: fem. reader. implied to be latina/hispanic; no physical features are mentioned. can also simply pass as a spanish speaker. spanish was kindly corrected by @angi-writes-filth ; translations are included at the end for your convenience.
“¿dime, chula, qué pasa entre usted y el oficial?”
his question has leon turning to you with a serious curiosity, no doubt hoping you’d translate something useful. unfortunately for him, and for you, it’s nothing more than what luis hopes will turn into flirtatious banter.
you shake your head at your partner, leaving him unconvinced. you hope his meager grasp of spanish keeps him from understanding too much. “¿qué con que?” you beck your head at luis, who grins upon receiving your attention. “es mi socio, nada más.”
your coy reply does not escape him. at once he slinks to your side, playful gray eyes flicking about your pretty face. “parece que le caes muy bien, ¿eh? te ha cuidado más que a la niñita.” he bumps shoulders, a teasing gesture. gets you rolling your eyes with a hint of a smile on your lips.
across the room of the safehouse, ashley looks on with girlish interest, her brows raising suggestively at the sight of you two so close. you send her a face, a code between young women, that has her fighting back a laugh.
leon, ever responsible, busies himself by placing whatever broken wooden planks he finds onto the dirty glass windows by the entrance door. you catch him glancing ever so often back at where you stand, unable to hide the wary way he eyes the man cozying up beside you. you ponder luis’s words.
“quiero pensar que somos amigos. los amigos se necesitan quererse, ¿no?” you reiterate, shifting your weight opposite of him. a thrill runs up your heart when he inches closer, intentions all too obvious.
“eso es lo que quiero saber, cariña. usted, el chaval, sólo sois amigos, ¿verdad?”
“vaya…estás muy interesando en él. ¿por qué me hablas a mi?”
“supongo que quiero saber si tengo una chance, ¿que mas?” luis chuckles, moves to prop his shoulder onto the wall behind you, one arm loosely caging you, the other resting on his hip. “y, pues, la cosa es…” he leans in, the tip of his nose brushing against the shell of your ear, “que difícil ignorar a alguien tan hermosa.”
heat rises up your face, a trained façade breaking as you laugh him off, unable to stop from smiling this time. luis hovers, incredibly pleased, watching from up close how your beauty lights up. he lingers even when you give him a lighthearted shove, stammering an excuse of having to check upstairs for supplies.
he lays back against the wall, feels the vibrations of your heels clicking up the stairs. knows you won’t find anything, anyway — if you weren’t so flustered, you’d remember he had already gone up there to check as soon as the group arrived.
a satisfied smirk refuses to leave his face, despite the severe way leon glares at him from across the room.
“i’m guessing you didn’t share any valuable input?” leon asks curtly, broad shoulders tense.
friends, my ass, luis thinks. he throws his hands up innocently, appearing clueless to leon’s envy. “no, no, it was. valuable for her to know, at least.” he winks impishly, earning himself a scowl. “c’mon, yanqui, i’m just being friendly, you know?”
though his jaw sets tight, leon says nothing in return, remembering ashley stands not too far from his place near the front door.
“everything’s clear up here.” your voice comes down the stairs before the rest of you does. you pointedly ignore both men eyeing your figure as you make your way to ashley’s side. “there’s a relatively clean bed upstairs if you’d like to rest, sweetie. i know it’s hard to relax in our situation, but i think it’s best you try.”
ashley quirks a brow. i’ll go if you tell me everything.
you offer your hand. well, duh.
“yeah, you’re probably right.” ashley agrees, voice feigning hesitation, placing her hand in yours to lead her away. she gives leon a passing look to gauge his reaction, but can’t seem to look past what she now recognizes as his “cool, calm, agent guy” persona. that, and, he’s a little too occupied watching you walk away to really react.
at least luis shows a little disappointment when you walk by without looking his way, even pouting at the lack of attention. the air sours as the two men are left alone, for plenty of reasons she’s clueless for.
she should really brush up on her spanish when she gets home.
translations below:
“tell me, cutie, what’s up with you and the officer?”
“what’s with what? he’s my associate, nothing more.”
“it looks like he likes you quite a bit. he’s taken more care of you than of the girl.”
“i like to think we’re friends. friends have to like each other, don’t they?”
“that’s what i’d like to know, sweetheart. you, the guy, you’re just friends, right?”
“wow…you’re seriously interested in him. why are you talking to me?”
“i guess i wanna know if i have a chance, what else? and, well, the thing is…it’s difficult to ignore someone so beautiful.”
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