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nerves-nebula · 1 year

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Shrek the Third:

——

Raph learned after Mikey.

He was out with Casey. Not, like, out out. Just out. Not that he really wanted to be out out with Casey. Haha. Whaaaat? That would be weird.

“Dude, five bucks I can shove this whole thing down my throat.” Casey beamed, holding up the enormous hot dog he’d just bought from a street vendor.

“You lubed it up with enough ketchup and mustard to drown most humans.” Raph gestured to the thing, dripping as it was, “I’m not taking that. You just want me to watch you choke on some long meat.”

Casey snorted with laughter, jabbing his elbow into Raph’s arm. He still decided to try to swallow the whole thing down, looking like one of those weird birds at the park while he did.

The theme song to Revolutionary Girl Utena chimed through the air and Raph pulled out his phone, answering Mikey’s call.

“Bro, what-“

“Raph, you have to get to the hospital. I tried calling Leo but he’s not answering.”

“Whoa, slow down, bud, what’s going on?” He immediately got to his feet, turning his back to Casey.

“It’s Donnie. Donnie, he- he…” Mikey broke down crying, unable to finish his statement.

Raph’s heart shattered. Donnie was hurt and Mikey was crying. He hated not being close by to comfort his brother, and being able to still hear him sobbing only made it hurt worse. His instincts told him to grab Mikey, to hold him close and shield him against anything and everything, but he couldn’t, not when Mikey was so far…

“What hospital?”

Mikey’s voice cracked a few times before he managed to speak up again, “M-ma’am, what’s the name of this hospital?” His sniffled loud, directly into the microphone, “Hidden City Main Hospital. Go through the Emergency gate. I- I can’t get ahold of Leo, Raph. She doesn’t know, she- she was shopping today. You know she ignores her phone.”

“I’ll get ahold of Leo. You call April. They probably won’t let her or Casey in but it’s better to keep everyone informed.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Mikey. Take a deep breath. I need you to tell me what happened.”

He heard Mikey follow his instructions.

“Did Donnie text you?”

“A little while ago. He said he left something for me in my room, but I’m up top with Casey.”

“It’s a suicide note, Raph. At least, I think it is. He had one here with him, too. He drank something, I don’t know what it was but the doctor said it wasn’t good.” Mikey’s voice was breaking again, “It was addressed to whoever found him. He’s been planning this, Raphie. He had all of our numbers written down and April’s and Casey’s. Fuck, he even had Splinter’s old number on there, he was just gonna- he- if I hadn’t turned around, he would be-“

“Mikey!” Raph snapped, “Mikey, focus, okay? The doctors will do what they can, but we need to be together. Call Leo and April. I’ll get there as soon as I can.” He turned, looking at Casey, who had since bitten and swallowed his hot dog. He mimed the words ‘Text Leo’ to him, which he immediately pulled out his phone to do. “Look, buddy, I’m up near Time Square so it’ll be a bit before I can get there. Focus on getting Leo and April, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“I’m gonna hang up and try getting Leo’s attention too, okay? He has to answer one of us.”

“Okay.”

Raph hung up and turned to Casey. Casey just nodded. He didn’t need Raph to explain, he could hear the worry in his friend’s tone, the fear in his posture. Casey didn’t care what the problem was, just how he could help. He followed Raph without question, getting them on his bike to find the nearest entrance to the Hidden City. Raph filled him in on the way, in clipped sentences that only provided what he knew.

Donnie had made a suicide attempt.

Mikey found him.

He was in the hospital.

Leo wasn’t answering.

—

Casey got them to the hospital quick. Given that he didn’t actually have a license, human or yokai, he didn’t actually care to much about breaking traffic laws. Two officers stopped them when they finally parked, but Casey let Raph hurry inside and while he dealt with the cops.

Mikey was in the waiting room.

“Leo still isn’t answering, but April is on her way. She said she’d stop by the apartment to get him.” Mikey grabbed Raph’s hands, tear tracks staining his face, “I haven’t seen any of the doctors that took Donnie since they brought him to the back.”

“You did good, Mikey.” Raph pulled him in close, squeezing him tight, “You did such a good job, you did everything right. I’ve got you, Mike. Raph is here. Raph has you.”

Mikey broke down again in his arms. Raph cried with him. Partway through he registered a human hand resting on his shell, soothingly tracing the pattern of his scutes in the way Casey liked to do.

When Mikey finally settled, they all got to work texting and calling Leo.

——

Damn, Donnie, your depression interrupted Raph’s gay thoughts. RIP.

-Monster Anon

you're really savin my ass with this today. i am having a BAD ONE. also goddamn if you aren't on a roll. i posited this idea last night at like 2 AM and you've already written 3 whole whatchamacallits.

im swirling this shit around in a glass like its wine. hell yeah.

also i had to look up what a scute was lol.

#nnstuff #ask #asks are sweethearts #teenage mutant neglected turtles #neglected fic #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #suicide tw

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eveandtheturtles · 10 months

Text

Started with a kiss Chapter 9: A new development

Summary: Brothers try to be nosey, the brainy duo has a conversation

Ship: Donnie x OC (Kara)

A/N: this one is probably super short in comparison to previous chapter but that's bc I decided to cut it in half bc I wanted to give y'all something and keep some material for the delay of the current wip chapter. Amazing Beta Work by @thoughtfulraven (amazing writer and artist as well, ty so much for the help).

Tag list: @madammuffins @m1dnyt3-w0lf @tinkabelle19 @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @leosgirl82 @scholastic-dragon @pheradream-15 @sharpwindow @dilucsflame33 (if anyone wants to be added/removed lemme know)

During Donnie’s recovery, the brothers had to manage without him during the anti-organized-crime mission fueled by intel received from Kara. Of course, Donnie didn’t just let them go without him. He supplied his brothers with his drones and support from the lair as much as he could. They had to be extra careful now that Boxman was back and with weapons that could easily kill them.

Kara tried to help as much as she could. Unfortunately, she’d often end up frustrated. She was used to a sterile lab. Ready materials, if not limited by budget,. Things were different in the sewers. Donnie meanwhile, could whip out technological wonders out of literal junk. It amazed and impressed her to no end. His brain worked so quickly to overcome his obstacles, while she struggled. Comfort made her lazy. So she had to work twice as hard.

Donnie observed her closely. He noted her frustrations, which was quite adorable. It slowed her down and took her down a peg or two, but not too far down thankfully. He lo-enjoyed her spitfire personality. As expected, she quickly overcame her limitations and his usual work went twice as fast.

Unfortunately, two geniuses called for twice as much space. The blueprints usually contained to Donnie’s lab, random notes, and projects were slowly spilling out into the rest of the lair.

Leo cursed as he got up from the sofa and pulled a wrench out from behind a pillow. This was the third time in two days he found a random tool in a place it clearly didn’t belong. He sighed and went to the kitchen.

“You know, you’d think that when Donnie started talking to a girl, he’d spend less time in the lab,” he told Raph as he placed the tool on the table.

Raph snorted. “Not when the girl’s a brainiac too.” He slathered his sandwich in mustard. “At least we don’t have to worry about these two eloping. All they do is talk science. My head hurts.”

At that, Mikey, who was also at the table, started eating his lasagna faster. Raph frowned and exchanged looks with Leo. That was clearly ‘guilty Mikey’ behavior.

“Mikey, what do you think?” Leo said slowly, half sitting on the table.

Mikey looked up, alarmed. “Mphm?” His mouth was comically stuffed with food.

“Come on buddy, you can tell us,” Leo tried to encourage the youngest brother.

“Yeah, Mikey, tell us what you know,” Raph said. He stood up, placing his knuckles down on the table, leaning forward.

The orange-clad terrapin swallowed. “Uuuuuh, I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

“Mikeeey, you wouldn’t lie to your brothers, now would you?” Raph grinned, tilting his head to the side.

“Noooo?” Mikey’s eyes shifted between his two elder brothers. “Listen, I uh- have this thing to do-” He started getting up slowly from his chair. “I’llcatchyalaterbye!!” He took off running.

“Get him!” Leo shouted, taking chase. Raph was right behind him. “Don’t let him get on the skateboard!”

Raph threw his kusarigama just in time, knocking the skateboard out of Mikey’s hands. Mikey yelped and rushed towards the exit. Leo launched himself and tackled the youngest.

Mikey tried to wiggle himself out but both Raph and Leo sat on top of him.

“Come on guys!! Let me goooo,” he whined. “I’m gonna tell Dad!”

“We’ll let you go, dum-dum, once you tell us what you know,” Raph snickered.

“Spill it, Michael,” Leo added. “We’ll go easy on you.”

“What about Leo!? We still don’t know who you’re dating!” Mikey tried distraction. But it had no effect.

“We’re gonna unpack that later,” Raph shot back.

“Hey!” Leo protested but that went on ignored.

“Alright! Alright! Just get off me!” Mikey stopped wiggling.

“No way, you’ll try bolting again.” Leo knew the tricks of his youngest brother all too well.

“Okaaaay! But you didn’t hear it from me! I don’t want Donnie to cut off my wi-fi!”

“Sure, spill it already!” Raph said impatiently.

Mikey took a deep breath in. “I overheard Donnie and April talking and apparently Donnie and Kara were making out in California! And she kissed him first!”

“Bullshit!” Raph’s jaw dropped.

“It’s what I heard, I swear! Now let me go!”

“I mean, I knew he was interested in her,” Leo stood up, frowning. “I didn’t think…”

“Dude, they keep staring at each other!” Raph also released Mikey. “I didn’t think they actually went for it.”

“They have been spending a lot of time alone now as well…” Leo said, deep in thought then glanced back at Raph. “They are alone now.”

“You think-?”

“What? What are you guys talking about?” Mikey picked himself from the floor.

“Last at the lab is a rotten egg!” Raph slapped Mikey’s shoulder and started running.

“Hey!” Leo shouted after him.

Mikey followed after them. This time he used his skateboard and was first at the lab. Immediately he collided with Leo who got there second. Raph crashed into both of them.

Donnie and Kara stared at the unexpected turtle pile in front of the lab. They had welding tools in their hands.

“You guys good?” Donnie asked, wondering if he wanted to know what the newest bullshit his siblings were on was.

“Yup, peachy,” Leo, wheezed out.

“Aha…”

<What’s with them?> Kara asked Donnie, gesturing to the pile.

<They are idiots, don’t pay them any mind.> He replied and she snorted, shaking her head amused.

Donnie watched with the corner of his eye, while he and Kara worked, how his brothers leave. Were they concerned for him? Worried? Or just nosey? He looked at the short woman next to him. Was he worried?

He remembered his drug-induced ramblings and Kara’s response. Was it wrong he kind of wished she kissed him on his mouth instead of his forehead?

He placed the wielder down. Kara took a closer look at the weld and overall construction. This was going to be a part of something they thought of building in the tunnels. Hopefully, neither Leo nor Splinter would catch on too quickly.

<Looks good.> She decided. <We can sneak it out later.>

<Sure,> Donnie replied, absentminded.

<You okay?> She looked at him with mild concern. <Need to sit down?>

<What? No, no,> he quickly reassured her. <We’re just,> he tried to think of something to bring up, <short on the components for your project.>

<Oh, right. Which ones?>

He grabbed the list they made earlier and pointed to the positions he checked that weren’t in his inventory.

Kara leaned in, analyzing the missing components.

They looked at each other. That might be a problem. His leg wasn’t 100% there. She wouldn’t be allowed on her own to leave the lair. Both desperately needed to leave the underground. Neither wanted to ask any of the other three turtles for assistance.

While Donnie could keep his hands and mind busy, his body was feeling the lack of exercise. Kara was working out on her own but unlike him, she grew up with the sun above her head. They both sighed.

she said.

<Oh that won’t be a problem!> Donnie grabbed his crutch and hobbled to his scrap pile. <We can just make you a new rig.>

<Thanks,> she smiled. That was true, she could have just asked for parts. It seemed Donnie had enough to even custom-make everything from scratch.

They sat next to each other at his desk. Kara needed a booster for herself and was basically kneeling in her chair. It was probably why she was leaning towards him. They kept bumping elbows or their hands would almost touch when they’d try to reach for the same tool.

<Sorry.> They both signed at the same time and then chuckled, embarrassed.

<So… what are you going to play first?> Donnie asked her while she was still facing him.

she grinned with the last suggestion.

He snorted. <Wow, so tame.>

<Thanks.> She winked. She glanced at her work. <Hey, Donnie?> She looked back at him.

<Yes?>

<Like… join you on a stream?>

<Yeah. I mean all things considered, you can act as my voice while I try to recover my VR model, but I think it will be fun to stream with you. If you’d feel better we can get your brothers and try out Among US. It’s pretty fun with a group of friends.>

Somehow in all this, Kara’s leg slipped off the seat. Somehow with the angle their knees touched. Donnie swallowed but didn’t move back. Neither did she.

<That sounds fun,> he said slowly. <When we finish here, sure.>

<Great,> she smiled and he could swear this smile reached her eyes. It softened her features. Was it the light or did she blush?

<Donnie?>

<Yes?>

Donnie blinked, taken a bit by surprise. Oh. She bided her time, huh? Honestly, he expected to be cornered about this so much earlier.

<Thanks,> he replied slowly, not sure what he should do.

She shook her head a little. <Yeah, I wouldn’t buy it either.> There was a slight disappointment on her face, a drop in her shoulders. He didn’t like that. She was about to go back to her work but he placed his hand over her wrist.

<No. I mean it. Thank you.> He reached for her hand. It might have been awkward at first but she found out she liked how her hand looked in his. The big, warm, calloused hand of his seemed to swallow her smaller one.

<We didn’t have the best beginning, huh?> She signed with one hand. She didn’t want to let go of his.

He shrugged. He also didn’t let go. <It doesn’t matter,> he signed and spoke. <We’re good now.>

She smiled at him. Something inside her swelled. It was warm and a little alarming. She had a hard time looking away from him. The hazel shade of his eyes was so beautiful. Captivating. She swallowed, feeling her breath catching in her throat. She was about to look away when his other hand landed on her cheek. Oh. He was leaning forward but paused looking uncertain for a moment. Kara sighed and straightened up, arching up to reach him. Her free hand rested on his bicep as a boost. Almost… almost…

“Dinners ready!” Raph bombed into the lab, shouting. “You nerds better come out of this cave or I’ll drag you in here!”

The duo in question immediately jumped away from each other.

“W-we’ll be right there,” Donnie said, standing up so abruptly he almost flipped his chair over.

Kara was so glad that Donnie's form hid her completely from Raph. Oh, they were in trouble.

#eve scribbles #tmnt 2016 #bayverse turtles #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 2014 #tmnt fanfiction #donnie x oc #donnie x kara #donatello x oc #bayverse donnie #bayverse tmnt

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downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles · 3 years

Text

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 6]

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, chapter 5 here

Come on, save it, save it, Donnie chanted to himself later that night, at home and tucked away in his room trying to figure out how to neutralize the situation. He paced along his bed back and forth, phone in hand as he wracked his brain thinking about how he'd get her to let it go. He could tell her that she was...overtired? Go the stereotypical route and say it was just her eyes playing tricks on her? Try to play it off as human teenagers messing around on the roof?

She'd gone to bed already. He hated that he couldn't pursue the subject until morning, her morning, but by then, he'd be tired. When she woke, he slept. But he needed to get it resolved as quickly as possible, so he reckoned it was time to pull an all nighter. Luckily, that wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He figured he'd get the preliminaries out of the way so he could get right to it when she eventually texted back.

"Good morning

I know you're not awake yet but I figured I'd get an early start today.

I want to know, what exactly did you see last night?"

He shut his phone off and set it down on the bed, fingers rubbing his temples. Depending on her answer, this would either be difficult, or near impossible.

The rest of his time was spent just waiting around for her to finally wake up, dodging all his brothers and trying to occupy himself with something. He was fiddling with the radio he kept on the floor next to his bed when his phone notified him of a message. Turning the volume up, some old-school rock played softly. He didn't always keep music on when he worked, which was what he was doing felt like, but something needed to fill the silence. It also made it feel more casual to have the radio on, for both himself and for whoever might stop by his room.

"Good morning to you too

That was...sudden??"

How nice it was to read those words coming from someone who wasn't his family. Not that they said it like that often anyway, but the small gesture hit differently.

"I'm just really curious about what you said you saw."

Curious? Not quite. More like dying to know, and not because he fancied himself some cryptid hunting.

"That's fair I guess

But don't laugh, ok?"

"I'd never, [y/n]"

"Well

Okay

They were big

But no like not the overweight kinf, not even just 'tall guy' kind of big

kind*

You know?"

Yeah, I aware. I'm 6'8" and have a giant shell on my back.

"They?"

He was hoping she'd only seen one of them. Maybe it would have been easier, but, of course, that wasn't the case.

"I think there were two

Idk it just looked really weird, it was dark but the silhouette from the light made them look bulky, I don't know what it was"

Lips pursed tight, he looked up from his phone, and all of a sudden that music in the background was suffocating. He quickly reached over and shut it off. He needed to be able to divert all of his attention to one thing. Except, even though he should have been spazzing over her spotting them (even if just for a split second), a concern crept up in the back of his mind that made him scoff at himself. The need to know was too great.

His eyes fell on his scaled, three-fingered hand as he typed.

"Did it scare you?"

Perhaps it wasn't what he should have been focusing on. But he was. He knew she hadn't seen much, but what if she quipped that it was frightening, or gross, or…?

"I don't know, Bo

I guess it was kind of freaky

Uh, do you actually believe me? That I saw something?"

"'Freaky?'" he repeated to himself in a whisper, brow ridge furrowed. What was I expecting?

He had to shake himself of whatever was going on in his head at the moment, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Like what he was going to answer her question with. Theoretically, he could go two routes; one, invalidate the experience and try to walk on the line of telling her that it was not real without making her feel crazy. And then probably get mad at him. Or two, go along with it, if he didn't have the heart to do that to her. The answer was already here; he let out a deep sigh. Two, it is.

Nothing could make him want to make her feel that way, even if it meant he'd have to put in a little extra effort in fixing his mistake.

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement, [y/n]."

"Thanks

That makes me feel a lot better

You're a really good guy, Bo :)"

Freezing, he sat and stared at the screen before slowly taking the phone away from his face, lips moving, but no sound coming out. He had no idea what to say; all he could focus on was the fact that the girl he undeniably liked thought he was a good guy. And that, presumably, it meant she might have liked him as well. Big on the "might", he realized as the logical part of his mind took over once again. Regardless, he licked his lips and got to preparing a worthy response. He didn't want to come off as flustered as he felt. Donnie was aware he was not particularly suave—he took solace in the fact that she couldn't see his face or hear his voice. He contemplated on acting a bit more "cool guy" than he actually was, but wanted her to like him for him, not a facade. Which was a major contradiction to all that he had done up to that point, but the least he could do was be the person he was on the inside!

"You there?"

"Sorry, I got distracted…

You really think so?"

"That I think you're a great guy?"

"Well...yes."

"Totally. 100%"

His heart was going, he was stammering to himself, and a new feeling enveloped him. He was no stranger to the different emotions; he'd gotten familiar with many of them. Because though he didn't always show it, he had a lot of feelings. These, he felt most viscerally. But he had to get back on track. If he could push last night's incident under the rug, all would be well. More well than it already was, considering.

"Thank you, [y/n]

To be honest, I've never had a friend like you

So, do you want to talk more about what you saw? I know I'm switching tracks quickly, it's just very….interesting."

It was a jarring and awkward subject change, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to get it out of the way. The sooner, the better.

"I suppose

You seem pretty interested in it"

Maybe she wasn't hanging onto the experience like he'd thought she would. There were so many tales of people seeing inexplicable things and becoming enraptured by the experience that he guessed he should only expect the worst, but it appeared that she was not so obsessed. Crisis averted?

"Not too much, I was just wondering

We can forget about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to forget about it, Bo"

There it is, he thought, not surprised.

After thirty minutes of attempting to throw her off without coming off as suspicious himself, he had to take a breather, reorganize his mind. Only to come back and find that she had to go take care of things, and that she'd talk to him later. He'd done as much fixing as he could; at that point, it was as good as it was going to get. The thought of being looked for by his unknowing friend loomed about in the coming weeks as they did their patrols, when they would pass by her residence, and the times that he snuck off to stop by himself. Sometimes accompanied by Mikey, but he tried to keep it as solitary as possible. Soon, watching her on her balcony from that roof became part of his routine. He vaguely thought sometimes that watching her like that could be considered creepy, but that ship had already sailed.

For the third time in the last month he was there yet again, on the same roof, watching the same balcony, watching the same girl. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they didn't. The times he wasn't talking to her as he sat there were the times he daringly crossed the threshold onto the fire escape. There were only a few instances of that. But did he still feel out of his mind doing so? Yes. The window only looked into part of the living room and kitchen, but he felt scandalous to do it. Most of his time there was spent only with his shell against the wall next to the window, just out of sight. He could always hear her faint but noticeable footsteps coming and could easily vault the railing and climb up or drop down. She couldn't get past his keen hearing unless she knew to tread lightly.

Mikey was with him once again, this time out to look for scrap rather than patrol. He'd been buddied up with his younger brother more often ever since their talk that night in Donnie's room. They only stopped by because they were already out and had a viable excuse.

"Does she know about us? Like, me, Leo, Raph..." rambled Mikey, curious, as he practiced one of his new moves with his skateboard. He kicked up onto the ledge of the roof and skidded before hopping off, tucking the board under his arm. "You guys have been together like, what, two months? And she doesn't even know your name."

Fiddling with the strap reaching around his shoulder, Donnie replied matter-of-factly to hide the embarrassment that was ailing him at the thought, "Okay, for starters, we're not 'together'. And secondly, she hasn't mentioned voice chatting in a while."

"And?" He got back on his board, zooming by Donnie.

"My name? It just hasn't come up," Donnie shrugged.

"Call her, then!" Mikey smiled, still preoccupied with his board and trying out his new tricks. Donnie gave a light scoff and shook his head. His brother passed behind him where he sat leaned against the water tower.

"I don't want to just call her out of nowhere, Mikey, she might be asleep."

He also didn't want his brother there when he did.

"You gotta not be so shy!...oh, look, in the window. Right there. See? She's up," he quipped with a small smirk. The curtain was drawn, but the light had turned on at some point, and they could see her silhouette moving past. Donnie looked over his shoulder to say something but felt a hand slip into his pocket on the other side, stealing his phone right off of him. He was fast, but Mikey was faster in jumping into his board and gliding all the way to the other side of the roof with the fussy turtle hot on his trail.

"Mikey, quit it!" Donnie barked, lunging toward him for the phone.

"You'll thank me later!"

The two wrestled for the phone, Mikey holding it just out of reach as he tried to navigate the screen without dropping it.

"Come on," grunted Donnie as the tussle led them near the edge, where Mikey held it precariously over the alley below. His glasses were jostled off his face when a stray hand bumped them, causing them to fall amongst their feet. Squinting, he partially knelt down and searched for the pair while still looking at his brother and his phone, trying to stretch his arm long enough to snatch it. "Really?" he groaned, "just give me the phone!"

Donnie slung out his staff and used the other end to whack his wrist from underneath just as he pulled away from the edge, losing his grip on the phone. Mikey tried to catch it but it bounced off his hand, going right over the side of the roof and plummeting down into the alley.

Mikey froze. Donnie finally found his glasses.

Laughing nervously, Mikey turned back to him, "Whoops…"

When he didn't immediately find the phone on the ground, Donnie knew what happened. He looked over the edge, and there it was, sitting on the pavement in the alleyway. The building wasn't incredibly tall, but enough to do some major damage. He'd have to switch for one of his spares if he didn't want to deal with a busted-up screen.

"I don't need your 'help', Mikey, so leave it alone next time," Donnie said and gave him a narrow-eyed look, huffing as he leaped down to retrieve it.

Mikey may have been insistent, but he knew then it was time to stop. All he wanted to do was help. For his shy, flakey brother to come out of his shell (no pun intended). Donnie, at that time, had the biggest shot out of all of them for something unique and good. He hadn't yet worked out the logistics of how to bridge the gap between the two, but it was a calling of his to help him along.

Donnie watched for people from behind a corner before creeping out to get the phone, which was face down on the concrete. No doubt cracked to all hell if not completely shattered, though it did have a case.

But as he got closer, he heard a voice. From the phone.

He picked up the phone timidly and shot a glance up at the roof, where Mikey was peeking over the edge in apprehension. Without a word, Donnie activated the taser in his staff, pointing it at his brother and zapping it briefly. He flinched and retreated out of sight.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Bo?" she asked again, tone riddled with confusion. "What was that?"

"Uh, yes—hol—hold on, please," stammered out donnie, flying around the corner and pressing flat against the wall as a group of laughing people passed by the alley. "Just one second," he said nervously. Above him, Mikey was rapidly motioning for him to get up there, eyes wide and body trying to stay low. Baffled, Donnie gestured back at him, mouthing at him to keep his pants on for one more minute while he made his way up.

"Hey, what's going on there?" she inquired, concerned.

A street cat abruptly skittered out from between his legs from the dumpster he stood next to, and he had to stifle a startled yelp. He hopped up onto the nearest fire escape, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hello…[y/n]," he half-chuckled, distracted by working up the building one-armed as he kept as quiet as possible.

"What was all that? And who's 'Mikey'?"

There was suddenly a shout—Mikey's shout—and his stomach did a jump. He sputtered as fast as he could, "I'm sorry [y/n] but this really isn't a good time, and I mean it really isn't," he pulled himself up onto the roof, and there was Mikey, fending off men clad in black, "so I have to go, but—"

"Don, dude! I need help over here!" cried his brother, sliding out of the way as a sword was jabbed towards him. He countered with a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him stumbling backwards. The blade fell to the concrete with a clank.

"'Don'? Bo, what the hell?! Who is with you? And—"

Donnie jumped into the battle, a mix of nine or ten armed men with swords other weapons, and Mikey trying to stave them off, swinging his chucks with nothing short of reckless abandon. But he still didn't hit himself with them.

Ending the call, he secured the phone in his pocket. He wailed the guy closest to him in the side of the head with the heavy staff, then kicked him in the chest. The man fell to the blow, and Mikey ducked underneath the length of Donnie's weapon just in time as the two came together. Stray bullets flew past them, some colliding with their shells as they spun around for protection.

"How was it?!" Mikey yelled over the clamor, breathless. Donnie sidestepped from the rapid hit he sent towards the human to his left.

"What are you talking about?!" Donnie loudly questioned, flummoxed of what could have been going on in his brain during a fight. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Your phone call!"

"Yeah, the hell's the talkin' about, Don?" a gruff voice cut through the jumble.

Both of the boys whirled around to see their older brothers there, weapons drawn.

"Oh, right. As soon as I saw those bad guys coming, I let them know," said Mikey casually to Donnie, throwing his fist into the face of the man coming up behind him. "You know, standard biz."

With the rest of the team there, the fight was over twice as fast. Some groaning in pain and some unconscious bodies littering the area, along with their weapons. Leo finished the last one and sheathed his swords, eyes on their tallest brother while Raph kept watch around them. Donnie swallowed as Leo approached him.

"Don, you said you were going out for scrap metal," Leo stated.

In the background, Mikey grabbed his skateboard and was going to try to kickflip over one of the knocked out guys, but Raph yanked the board from him, growling. He checked all of the men to make sure they were down and would stay down.

"We were...just on our way back?" Donnie answered. Nearby, there was a small pile of scrap he'd collected, though definitely not enough to justify being out that long.

"So you stopped at your friend's place?" Leo deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you think that this could get her in trouble, too? Her apartment's right there, dude!"

Mikey budded in and corrected him, "Ah, we stopped by [y/n]'s. And nah! It's all good."

Donnie's face twitched. "Of course I thought about it! That's why I've only come here three times since, and only thirty minute intervals!" he bit back, throwing his hands up. The rest of his brothers all looked at him and his specificity. "I'm not naive, Leo."

The leader pushed past the both of them, signalling that it was time to leave, and they followed. Not before Donnie got what little metal he had collected and put away his staff, tucking the stuff under his arm. Raph joined alongside Donnie as they ran. "What's with all the secret' stuff, Don? First, ya hide it to begin with, then, ya make out like you were done, and now you get jumped by Foot guys by her place when you shoulda been gettin' scrap!" he said. "How were we supposed to cover for ya if you're lyin' even after we let you off?"

"Technically, I did get some!" Donnie remarked. He held up a piece of the scrap for him to see, and Raph snorted. "But..."

Well, his question would be a little harder to answer.

Next block was the nearest manhole, where each turtle swiftly jumped in, knowing by heart (and years of wandering) most of the sewers and the way back home. In some tunnels was Mikey's telltale graffiti, but it was scattered throughout the place enough to not be a giant arrow to their hideout. In the last portion of the run was the tunnel they always slid down, and once they were actually home, Donnie knew what was coming. Master Splinter was already waiting for them by the time they arrived.

"Uh-oh," Mikey said upon seeing him, sinking behind his brothers. Raph pushed him back up front.

Dropping the scrap in his arms, Donnie squeaked, "That's not good." He quietly cursed how high pitched his voice became when he was nervous.

"Yeah…" Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him. The situation had an awkward tension for everyone in it, save for Raph, who was immune to it by then and Splinter himself. "We took care of the soldiers," he added more seriously. "Got out of there before too much attention was drawn.

"The police may be able to handle them from here, but it will not make a dent in the Shredder's forces," explained Splinter, grave as he paced along the line of brothers. "He owns the city. Until I say so, there will be no venturing to the surface. You are all lucky to be unharmed."

"That ain't it," Raph piped up. "But they'll be bringin' the big guns, next time."

"Oh, I am well aware."

"Um...of which thing?" the nervous turtle questioned, exchanging glances to Raph and then Mikey.

Splinter raised his brows knowingly, and that was all it took for Donnie. The floodgates of his signature anxious chatter opened. He grabbed the edge of Mikey's shell and pulled him over into the spotlight with him, "I met someone over an online game and we started texting after a few weeks, and—and Leo found out and I said I would stop, but we never told you," he gestured toward their brother in blue, who refused to make eye contact, "so I told her that it was through and then Mikey somehow convinced me to go back on it," he sucked in a breath, and Mikey grinned uncomfortably, "and then we started talking again and I don't know why, but I went back there to her apartment building and it was just…stupid."

There was a cumbrous pause. Donnie was stiff as a board, Mikey couldn't look at any one thing too long, Leo stood in his polite but awkward stance, and Raph started to whistle.

As poised as ever, Splinter spoke. "I know."

All four pairs of eyes shot to their father.

"What?"

"Uh..."

"Huh?"

"Wait."

They expressed their collective confusion at the same time, and Splinter chuckled. Donnie wanted nothing more than to be able to retreat into his shell, but that was physically impossible. "Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello. You are scratching that spot on your neck again, son."

Flinching, Donnie pulled his hand away. He'd be damned; Splinter was right.

But unbeknownst to them, there had been spectator of their fight on the roof that night.

————————————————————————————————

shh do not think too deeply about this my children

a/n: haha plot device go brrrr

i need to finish this cursed fanfiction

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jadethest0ne · 4 years

Text

When the Moon meets the Morning, Chapter 3 - A Sense of Familiarity

Summary: Raphael is going on missions with Captain Jupiter as he always does when he meets an orange-wearing turtle yokai who feels oddly familiar.

Word Count: 2690

Ratings/Warnings: General Audiences; some minor harrowing moments, but mostly fluff, emotional overload, emotional manipulation, self-deprecation

Notes: Longer chapter this time, but lots of good brotherly bonding! Big thanks to @undercoverwizardninjaturtle, @fraymotiif, and @frasierverse for helping me workshop this (especially to Charmy for the “friend-cheese” exchange). Also, special shout-out to @dovelydraws for creating the concept art for Infinity the phoenix and Buddy the aurax.

Read on AO3 For the RotTMNT Fantasy AU

———-

Raph thought that going on a trek with Mikey would help him understand the kid better, but it only proved to make him even more confused. A few of Raph's initial assumptions about Mikey were correct. He was indeed a turtle yokai - a box turtle to be exact. And he was only about 2 years younger than Raph making him 15. And the reason why he was so far north, despite apparently coming from the Soothing South, was that, like his attire suggested, he was a courier. But between those things, Raph was left with more questions than answers.

For one thing, Mikey was really good with animals. When Raph first introduced him to his aurax, Buddy, Mikey was enamored with what most people took as a rather large and intimidating cattle beast. But Mikey immediately started complimenting his fluffy curls and powerful stature, begging Raph to let him braid his fur. Buddy himself, who, while usually quite friendly, often had trouble distinguishing between roughhousing playtime and calm pets, and yet seemed to understand that Mikey was someone that he should be gentle with. The curly-horned creature even relented at Mikey's touch and flipped over onto his back to beg for belly rubs, which Raph had never seen him trust anyone else to do besides himself and Red Fox. Even the Captain had trouble getting on Buddy's good side sometimes.

Not only that, but it turns out Buddy wasn't even needed all that much to carry the packages, since Mikey owned a phoenix, an actual phoenix, to help him with his cargo and carry Mikey around. The large beautiful bird, he called Infinity, with iridescent feathers of reds, purples, and golds, snuggled up with Mikey often when they slept during their journey. He'd never heard of a phoenix being so close to another being before - yokai or human.

The other thing that really confused Raph was Mikey's personality. The kid was just so trusting.

"You don't even have a sleeping bag?" Red Fox asked when they were packing their supplies.

"Well, I DID have one, but there were these guys in purple who asked if they could borrow it a while back. They took some of my other supplies as well and said they'd meet me after I ran an errand. I came back at the meeting time, but they took so long and I had to deliver another package, so I had to leave. I felt bad for missing them so I left a note with a drawing. I hope they're okay," Mikey explains in his usual long-winded way.

Raph starts to say, "Are you sure they didn't just steal--" before Red Fox cuts him off. "I'm sure it's fine, sweetie, I think I have a spare that you can use."

"Really?! Thanks! Oooh! It's orange! My favorite color!" Mikey says, happily taking the sleeping bag and hugging it as though it was the best gift he had ever received.

Raph was just perplexed how he hadn't been robbed completely or had something worse happen to him. Then again, another mystery about Mikey was that it was really difficult to say no to the guy. He had somehow perfected the puppy dog look and turned any conversation, even the more negative ones, into something positive and light.

"You mean you somehow convinced the owner of a castle to let you use it whenever you wanted?" Raph says incredulously.

"Yeah! He liked my cooking so much he said I could use his summer home in the Soothing South, too!"

"Man, Mikey, do you have some sort of niceness power?"

"No, that'd probably be Todd - he's the nicest guy I know! Taught me practically everything! But that's why I wanted to travel! I wanted to learn more!"

Raph pushes past the fact that he has no idea who Todd is and asks the more pertinent question. "Aren't you afraid of, I don't know, thieves or people tricking or hurting you along the way?"

"No, not at all. Besides, if there was danger, then Infinity's instincts would let me know!" He gives the large bird he's riding a friendly pat, to which the bird replies with a cheerful squawk.

Raph highly doubts that Infinity, who seems to be as cheery and naive as Mikey, would be able to sense anything like that.

Then there was the question of why Mikey seemed so familiar. After thinking back on it, Red Fox did often talk about the people she helped guide through the mountains, but he'd rarely met any of them. And he had a hard time conjuring up a memory of any time that he'd met Mikey with Red Fox in the picture. He almost felt closer than that. Like a friend he hadn't seen in a while. Mikey himself certainly kept acting like they were long time friends; constantly hugging him, invading his personal space, grabbing at his belongings to ask about them. Even Raph was beginning to think they had known each other for a long time. Then again, Mikey seemed to act like that with everyone.

“What do you think of this?” Mikey asks Raph after they had set up camp, suddenly shoving a spoonful of the meal he is cooking into the snapper’s mouth.

“Mmnghrff--” Raph says intellectually around the wooden spoon and hefty portion of meats and hearty root vegetables that it held. He chews slowly, at first trying to think of some helpful feedback, but then just to savor the flavor. He closes his eyes and hums in pleasure, as the savory sauces roll over his tongue. Raph could see why that one guy let Mikey have free use of his castle and summer home.

“Mikey,” he says with absolute seriousness. “This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.”

“Really?!” Mikey says sheepishly. “You don’t think I went a little heavy on the cumin?”

“No, it’s perfect!” Raph says, even though he’s not exactly sure what spice cumin is.

“Ah great! Well, then dig in!” Mikey says handing some plates over to Red Fox and Raph. As they take the plates, Red Fox chimes in, “One of the reasons why it’s such a joy to guide you on these treks is that I get to taste your cooking again, Mikey!”

“Aww shucks, Red! Thanks!” Mikey grins widely.

Raph thinks to himself that maybe it was Mikey’s niceness that kept him alive. His naivety was worrisome, but he was also really good at lots of things like that - caring for animals, cooking, and after all, he did help save him from the fire, which brought Raph to a question that he finally voiced out loud on the third day of their trek.

"So how did you do that thing with the fire? You were in the middle of it all and then you like, ate it?"

"Oh, I'm a fire mage!" Mikey says while riding atop Infinity as they make their way through the mountain paths. As a way of demonstration, Mikey cups his hands and produces a tiny ball of fire within them. He holds the fire gently, almost as if he's carrying a tiny animal in the palm of his hands. “Fire doesn't hurt me and I can use it to help with cooking and stuff. It's also why I can keep pretty warm in the winter.” He lifts up his palms and lets the small flame dance in the air. Infinity explores the flame with her beak and nips at it, but Mikey maneuvers the fire just out of her reach. He twirls the small fire around her and she tries to catch it in her beak. He giggles and she squawks happily as they play their little game.

Raph smiles at the display. "Thanks again by the way, for helping out back there."

"No problem! I mean, you had a lot of it handled by yourself. You saved a bunch of people! I'm surprised that you didn't make it into any of the Aetherwave announcements or the news clippings. Just some guy named, er..., Jupiter Jim, was it?"

"Uh, it's Captain James Jupiter, actually." Raph fails to hide his appalled tone. "And of course he was talked about! He saved everyone! He's a famous hero!" Seriously for all his travels, how did Mikey know so little about James Jupiter?!

"Did he, though? I mostly just saw you and Red Fox while I was trying to stop the fire. I saw another guy in some sort of hero suit, but he was mostly staying outside of the forest."

"He was leading! Everyone would've been a mess without his guidance!" Raph tries to bury the annoyance bubbling up in his chest with his adoration of the Captain. "His strong, guiding hand of justice makes us all feel safe!" Raph tries to gain validation from repeating the mantra often used by the Captain himself, but he felt more upset and defiant - as if he was trying to defend the Captain. The Captain shouldn't need defending. Obviously he was great! So why did Raph's stomach twist in such a way?

For once Mikey has something less than a smile on his face. Instead his eyes wander around Raph's entire frame as if seeing something new on him he didn't like.

"I just..." Mikey hesitates. "I just think you should get the credit you deserve. You pulled like three families out of that fire, and at one point you were carrying almost ten people." His face shifts back into a smile. "That's pretty heroic if you ask me!"

Raph eyes him warily. Something about his statements don't really connect at first in Raph's mind. The Captain is the one who is the hero. He's just a student at best. But why did happiness flutter in his untwisting stomach at being called such?

"OH MI GOSH I JUST REMEMBERED!"

The sudden shout makes Raph jump, and a small yelp would've escaped his mouth if Mikey weren't immediately in front of him squishing either side of Raph's face and beaming at him excitedly.

"’Remembered...?’" Raph tries to ask between squished cheeks.

"What I wanted to tell you!" MIkey threw his hands in the air, releasing Raph from his hold. "I wanted to tell you that I like your cape!"

"My cape?"

"Yeah it's like super heroic looking!"

Raph looks at his cape as if trying to see what Mikey sees.

"Oh, and I wanted to know if Buddy knew any female aurax's that could make friend-cheese for me,” Mikey continues.

"Oh, um, thank you?" Raph lets out a small chuckle. "Also, I could, uh, ask around when we get back to town about… ‘friend-cheese?’" Raph thinks a moment before continuing. "Why was that so important though?"

"Because friend-cheese is Todd's favorite, because of the method of farmers asking aurax’s nicely before they milk them."

"N-no, not that." Raph can't help but smile; man this kid's attitude is infectious. "Why did ’ya have to ask about my cape?"

"Because I thought it looked really cool with the flames and the moon and your powers and I wasn't sure then that I'd get a chance to tell you again." Mikey beams brightly enough to show off his gap tooth and rear molars.

"Well, thank you." He's still not used to so many compliments.

He looks to Red Fox with a confused expression, but she just smiles back and says, "He's right, it does make you look rather heroic."

Before Raph can sort his thoughts out on the image of himself as a true hero, he suddenly feels something land on his neck hard enough that he jumps and nearly goes on attack mode, until he sees Mikey's legs trail down the side of his neck. Raph looks up to see Mikey craning his head downward looking at him with round, inquisitive eyes. "Can I ride on your shoulders for awhile? I wanna give Infinity a break," Mikey asks.

Raph gives Mikey a soft smirk and a quiet chuckle. This guy really does have some sort of niceness power. "Yeah, sure," the snapper says.

Mikey punches both fists in the air and his legs stick out as he shouts out a triumphant "Yes!"

"Hey Mikey, we've still got another hour or so before we make our first stop," Red Fox says. "Why don't you tell us one of your stories from your travels?" She then says as an aside to Raph, "He's a very good storyteller by the way; he was able to keep me entertained on our previous trips through the mountains, as well as many other folks along the way."

Mikey looks at her with joyful, watery eyes. "Red Fox, you really think I'm a good storyteller?!"

Red Fox nods sweetly.

Mikey bows as best he can while perched on Raph's shoulders. "Aw shucks! Why thank you, my friend."

The rest of their trek for the day is filled with Mikey's melodious voice recounting several strange tales which continue to add questions to Raph's mind.

---

Mikey's storytelling stopped only long enough to deliver his first package. It was to a local store in a tiny grouping of houses nestled in the mountains. Afterwards, they went to the barely-a-village's tavern to get something to eat before resting for the night. Once in the tavern, and in between mouthfuls of food, Mikey continues to tell his stories to the patrons, which seem to grow in number as the evening wears on. Raph guesses that they don't get many travellers here this high up in the mountains, because they're all enraptured by Mikey's tales. Raph is just finishing up his dinner and he is feeling rather content, allowing Mikey's voice and the patrons' reactions to drift into background noise when he perks up at the mention of his name.

"What?" Raph snaps to attention looking to where he was called.

"Mikey is right, Big Red was indeed quite heroic." Red Fox gives him a pleased look.

Before Raph can figure out if Red Fox is playing some sort of joke on him, Mikey glides over to Raph's side and puts an arm around his shoulder. "And that's when I saw him under the blood moon, with glowing eyes and glowing arms, picking up an entire family of squirrel yokai!" Mikey says sweeping his arms wide. The patrons’ eyes are all on Raph now, and the attention has his heart pounding, though out of sudden stage fright or pride he's not sure. Either way, Raph is sure his face is burning more than it ever had in that forest fire. But luckily the patrons quickly turn back to Mikey as he continues his story. It's weird for Raph to hear Mikey talk about something he did in a similar way that the Aetherwaves trumpet the stories of the great Captain Jupiter. Raph is not worthy of such a grand retelling, but Mikey is so excited about it that Raph just puts on an easy smile and focuses on his theatrics, drinking a bit from his cup to hide his face.

When the story ends the people in the tavern clap in amazement, some even patting Raph on the arm, offering congratulations, but he respectfully waves them off. He's caught off guard a little bit by the look Red Fox gives him. There's a twinkle in her eye and an earnest smile on her face, wrinkling the scar above her nose. Raph buries his face in his cup again before getting up to start pitching a tent for them to sleep in when the tavern keeper insists that they stay the night free of charge as payment for Mikey’s wonderful stories.

Raph feels bad for the tiny hint of suspicion that he has at that moment that maybe Mikey is actually using some sort of niceness spell or something, but he quickly changes his mind when he looks over at Mikey. He's not unhappy, per se - the kid is still smiling - but there's something in his face that falls almost imperceptibly at the suggestion that they stay at the tavern. Noticing Raph's observation of him, his smile brightens and he thanks the tavern keeper for his generosity.

<–previous /// next–>

#rottmnt #rottmnt fantasy au #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt raph #when the moon meets the morning #marcus moncrief #jupiter jim #captain james jupiter #red fox #brotherly bonding #my fic #my writing #jadethest0ne #fanfic

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