Dont | Donnie X GN!Reader

Don’t | Donnie X GN!Reader

A/N: This was so lovely to write. In my opinion, Donnie would be the most challenging of the four brothers. I think there are specifics to his behavior and personality, so trying to accurately replicate it does take some time. Apologies for any out-of-characterness from Donnie. Remember that constructive criticism is always appreciated, especially for characters, and enjoy! 

Requested: @sunnyselks 

Summary: You were wounded from protecting Donnie. When you were waving off his demands to treat you, he had to take it into his own hands to tend to you.

Genre: Hurt-Comfort

Reader: Second POV. Gender-neutral pronouns if any.

Pairing: Rise!Donnie X Reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood, needles, cuts. Argument over each other’s safety.

Word Count: ~1060

~

“Don, I’m fine.”

“Oh, sure, tell me that while your clothes are soaked in blood!” Donnie yelled. “Take off your shirt, (Name), or I’m not letting you leave the grounds of this room.”

“Donnie,” you stressed, clutching the wound on your arm. 

“(Name), don’t.”

You turned away from him, about to leave his room despite his warning. “It’s a minor injury, I’m perfectly fi—.”

Suddenly, small chips leeched onto your arm, catching you off-guard. They unfolded into wrist binds, where you realized this was his way of forcing you to stay put.

“Don!” you grunted, as the binds pulled you toward facing a wall. “Are you serious!?”

“As Galileo is about his heliocentric model.” Donnie took a binder clip from one of his desk drawers. “You leave me no choice, (Name).” As soon as the turtle lifted your shirt up from behind, chills ran over your skin from the cold air hitting the other cut on your back. He wrapped the hem over your collar, then proceeded to clip it.

“I could’ve done this myself or gone to a hospital,” you muttered.

Donnie scoffed. “And let them force you to pay expensive bills as your last resort when you have me? I thought you knew better than that.” He cleaned the blood around your wound with a wet paper towel before applying an alcohol wipe to disinfect.

“You know full well you can’t stitch your own back either. You wouldn’t want to risk inquiring your parental guardians for help in the end and being forced to give a whole explanation.”

“...”

From the corner of your eyes, you could see Donnie picking up a needle. The thought of it puncturing you made you shudder. There were vaccinations and blood tests, but they never changed your tension with needles.

You wanted to get this over with— the suspense was only making you more vulnerable.

“Are you going to inject the needle, Donnie—?” Your nails immediately dug into your palm as pain struck. "Argh..!" You winced badly.

“Don’t move,” he paused, “if that wasn’t obvious enough.”

“Easier said than done when I'm not used to having my skin pricked—!” You seethed, “Urgh.. couldn’t you have numbed it?”

“What, with lidocaine?” Donnie replied monotonously. “No, because you wouldn’t learn and would try to save me again—,” he pricked the needle the fourth time, “even though you are a human who could’ve gotten killed— God—why in the name of logic did you do that, (Name)!?”

“I did it to protect you!” you argued.

“Don’t you dare ignore the fact that you could’ve gotten killed!”

“I am capable of my own safety.”

“Scoffs. Think common sense, (Name). You’re a human,” he reminded, the anger in his voice showing. “I’m a mutant turtle; I have the biological features to defend myself!”

“You’re a soft-shelled turtle.”

Donnie stopped moving the needle. "Really, assuming that my soft-shell automatically makes me vulnerable? Are you trying to tell me I’m unable to protect myself because of that, (Name)?”

He frowned. “I have my technology— my intelligence to accommodate, so don’t put yourself in danger whenever the hell possible and let me handle myself. End of discussion.”

You wanted to slam your fists. As he was about to add another stitch, your body shook.

“They destroyed your battle shell!” Anguish scratching your voice. “Just because you're a mutant or because you have your military-grade tech, doesn't mean you won't get murdered, crushed!

God, don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not trying to assume or belittle neither you nor your tech. All I'm concerned about is keeping you alive!”

“...”

“You weakened your voice. “If me getting injured means you’d be okay, then that’s enough for me.”

Donnie’s breath hitched.

..You knew your turtle wasn’t great at apologizing, but his silence told you everything. He didn’t make a snarky or sarcastic remark.. instead, he listened.

“..I’m sorry.”

“I know. But don’t put yourself down.. I never once thought you're supposed to be perfectly strong or invulnerable. That applies to everyone all the same. Flaws happen, whether we're fine with it or not.”

You turned your head to look at Donnie. Something was still bothering him.

“But I’ll try not to scare you again if that makes you feel better.” The tension left his face, and he proceeded to finish the last few stitches.

It was all calm and quiet until he dragged his cold finger lightly over the stitched-up wound. You shuddered.

“You keep flinching so much.”

“You’re one to talk, you’re sensitive to touch as much as I am, if not so much more.”

“No, no, not that. I find it interesting, because.. I don’t see you reacting so violently when April stitched up the other cut on your back. You know, from falling off the table.” As Donnie applied a cotton pad and tape to cover your wound, he looked up to meet your eyes.  

But you quickly faced away to the other direction.

Donnie leaned the same way, one of his brows raised.

And you avoided eye-contact yet again.

.

.

.

Ah.

“You’re flustered.”

“What?” The red rushing to your ears.

“Flustered,” he repeated. “Its definition being ‘agitated, confused, ruffled—.’”

“No, I meant: how am I flustered?”

Donnie dragged his finger along your skin again. You felt your face heat up.

“You’re flustered from having your back exposed to me.”

“I’m not.” You sensed his ego returning.

“Tell that to my lie-detector and we’ll see how that goes.”

“You have a polygraph?”

“Of course not,” Donnie actually scoffed. “We all know polygraphs are never accurate enough to be trusted.” He unclipped your shirt and released the binds on your wrists.

You groaned, rubbing your aching hands. “You had me binded to a wall, and lifted my shirt to stitch my cut— so of course— I would feel exposed.. and flustered.” You sat in your turtle's desk chair.

“Yes, exactly, I did that to treat you." He crossed his arms. "And I find that hypocritical, considering you exposed yourself and your whereabouts on the Internet."

You gave him a look, before holding your knees to your chest. There was a change in expression as you whispered, "..Thanks."

Donnie stood awkwardly, rubbing his arm once he heard you and finding sincerity on your face. The soft-shelled turtle stepped closer to you and slowly wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

"Hey, I thought you don't like this intimate stuff," you joked.

Now Donnie himself became flustered. “Don’t, (Name).”

Before You Go | Future Leo X GN!Reader (Part IV)

A/N: Any constructive criticism is appreciated.

Summary: You’re both adopting-parents of Casey. What was expected to be a calm rainy night turned out to be more ominous than you would like.

Reader: Gender-neutral pronouns are used, except the terms “(Mama / Papa)” are also used. Second POV.

Pairing: Rise! Future! Leonardo X Reader

Warnings: None.

Word Count:  ~960

Parts: One / Two / Three / Four / Five / ...

~

All was quiet..

For once in a long time, rain poured down onto New York City and its boroughs. It almost felt like a rainforest. The climate growing hotter over the decade had the water vaporized into a fog. Though you found it suffocating, it prevented the Kraang from seeing clearly. 

Except.. that was only an assumption.

There were many things undiscovered about the alien race and their weaknesses. For now, your base was once again deemed safe.

The red-eared turtle laid on a rock-hard bed, snoring soundly. It was recent when some refugees ran across large segments of concrete. Used not just for sturdy walls, but to replace having to lay on soil. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but you’d never felt any cleaner.

Beside Leo was your sleeping form, arms around Casey. Or so he assumed.. up until something— rather someone— sharply jabbed into his jaw.

THUB.

“Augh!” Pain surged in his teeth and Leo recoiled. He groaned. He hissed. He was ready to yell, ready to complain, but then.. came a young voice to his inner ears.

“..Papa.”

The turtle loosened up his shoulders.

A loud huff out.

It was Casey. The going-onto-five toddler crawled onto his plastron and managed to kick his chin. Leo did not mind him climbing up, except, him rolling around….

“Case,” Leo whispered, “Come on, buddy. I’m trying to sleep here.” The red-eared slider dragged his hand across his face, his fingertips lingering on his chin as if it would help soothe the pain.

Then, he picked Casey up and positioned him between your sleeping form and his. However, the toddler whined and flailed his arms, thrashing not only onto Leo but also your back.

“Noo! Don’t sleep Papa! I don’t want to sleep yet.”

You mumbled in your sleep. That was the cue for Leo to hold Casey down, fearing you would wake up mad. Sleep was precious in a time like this. He knew it himself how much losing any could affect your ability to fight.

He sighed, grimacing. “God, you’re a hyper one. I miss that energy.” This was definitely Cassandra’s son. “Man, if only I know how to sing a lullaby.”

Casey huffed and climbed back onto Leo’s plastron. “What is it, buddy?”

“Red.. stripe,” he muttered.

Leo was taken aback when the kid began to tap his hands up his neck and onto his red markings. This genuinely made the turtle embarrassed, flustered. Sometimes, he forgot he had those features.

At least he was reminded of how unique he was.. and how much you would talk about your infatuation for his stripes back then.

“Cool..”

“You just noticed them now, huh?”

“Where is it from?”

“I..” Leo wouldn’t know how to answer that.

“Can I get one?”

Ah.

“Ohoho. When you go to sleep, bud.” Leo snorted. “You get these cool stripes if you let your Papa and (Mama / Papa) sleep.”

The toddler grumbled, throwing hands at the turtle’s plastron again. “But I don’t want to! Why do I have to sleep?”

Thump..

“Shh shh.. Sleep is important, bud. Do you want to know why we have to stay underground?” This piqued Casey’s interest. He’d never seen the overground, only heard it from the refugees’ stories. He’d also heard about the Kraang, though generally that they were enemies.

“Why?”

“Because the Kraang are monsters who don’t get enough sleep.”

“R-Really?”

“Mhm,” Leo warned. “Stories have it that if you don’t try to get enough sleep, you’ll slowly become crazy and a Kraang—.”

He immediately stopped once he noticed Casey tearing up a bit. The kid whimpered, “I don’t want to be a Kraang..”

“Ah, don’t worry too much about it, bud. If you at least try not to bother others and fall asleep, then you won’t become one.” Leo tapped onto Casey’s chest. “You see (Mama / Papa) over here?”

“Yah.”

“They’re sleeping. You don’t want to get them mad, do you?” Leo brought Casey closer to his face and tapped their noses together. He smiled when the child calmed down and began to giggle. 

“No, Papa.. I want (Mama / Papa) to stay the way they are.”

“Now that’s a good kid.”

—THUMP! THUMP! 

The ground suddenly shook. The dust and dirt falling from the dugout’s ceiling had Leo pushing himself upright.

His heart dropped. Oh no.

“Papa.. What’s that noise—?”

“Shh shh. Probably just Uncle Raph turning over. Get to sleep, bud.” He brushed the bit of dirt off of Casey’s back and carefully placed the toddler on the bed. “Papa’s only gonna check on something real quick.” 

“But.. where are you going!” Casey cried out his questions but was ignored. His father had already hurried his way through the underground base.

.

.

.

“Lee?” The younger brother stepped out of his room rubbing his eyes.

If Mikey heard that.. Leo was not going crazy then. Those noises.. they’d been getting close. 

“What’s going..?” 

Midway in his question, he quickly quieted down, seeing a harrowing expression on Leo’s face. Mikey had a feeling; he had some bad feeling when his bed shook. Was he willing to accept the worst however? He would never be able to. 

“Don’t tell me..” Mikey followed behind. 

“Lee. Lee! It’s not what I think it is, right?!” 

“I-I don’t.. I don’t know.” His older brother’s chest felt heavy as worse outcomes clouded his head. “We.. we’ve gotta check.”

“No no.. God no..” The box turtle prayed. “We can’t move! This was our place for so long!” Leo had never heard nor seen his brother so alarmed, fear behind those wide-eyes. The idea of leaving behind all those memories.. 

It was disturbing him.

“Mikey. We might not have a choice. It’s everyone’s safety above all else.”

“But where do we run to then?!”

Leo winced. He did not want to think further about this right now. 

The two climbed to the top of a ladder, a sewer plate that met their base with the overgrounds. Reluctant, Leo lifted the plate, eyeing around only to see mist against a red sky, glowing faintly under the moonlight.

“Crap. The fog’s not just a disadvantage to the Kraang,” he cursed.

“Anything, Leo?”

“Can’t see anything..” Leo tapped his foot on one of the rungs of the sewer ladder, and his brother began to climb down.

“..They’re not gonna stop,” Mikey mumbled.

He watched his older brother grimace, indicating he was still have a hard time accepting their situation: everyone seeking refuge underground in fear.. having so few resources and life left in them.

Mikey narrowed his eyes. 

“C’mon,” he spoke, reaching the floor, “You said to put everyone’s safety’s above all else.” He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know anything can happen, but.. as long as we take care of each other, we can push through this, Lee.”

.

.

There was a long silence before Leo took a deep breath. His hand reached over and returning Mikey’s touch, letting him know.. he was still there. 

“..Right. Thanks, Mike.”

Separating ways, Leo stumbled back to your bedroom with half-lidded eyes, expecting for Casey to have fallen asleep in your arms. 

Which did happen, just not in the way he was imagining.

You were up leaning by the room entrance. The kid was snoring in your arms as you held him close to your chest.

“Agh...” A drained laugh escaped his throat. “And here I was hoping he could be trusted with letting you sleep.”

“Don’t worry,” you smiled. “I’m not mad.. this time.” Leo would’ve returned it, if only he hadn’t seen your expression falter. “They’re trying to find us, aren’t they? They know we’re alive.”

Leo winced again.

“I have to admit.. I’m scared, Leo,” your voice wavered. You could feel it: the outcome was slowly becoming inevitable.

“No.. Stop that, (Name).” He held your shoulders, his thumb rubbing to soothe you. 

One of his hands then lifted your chin up as he leaned closer to kiss you on your lips. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Casey, or anyone else.. I won’t let them win.”

You furrowed your brows. “We. We won’t let them win.”

You let yourself get pulled close to Leo. You felt his arms wrap around your body, while you stilled yours around Casey, a tight embrace that showed more fear than reassurance. 

Before You Go | Future Leo X GN!Reader (Part V)

A/N: This is legit the longest part yet. How time flies when I write. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. To be honest, reader feedback boosts my motivation to write anything in the first place.

Summary: You’re both adopting-parents of Casey. After years of being raised in an underground base, seven-year-old Casey got to finally see the overgrounds. Bunch of fluff and family interactions.

Reader: Gender-neutral pronouns are used, except the terms “(Mama / Papa)” are also used. Second POV.

Pairing: Rise! Future! Leonardo X Reader

Warnings: None.

Word Count:  ~3660

Parts: One / Two / Three / Four / Five / ...

~

“Woo! Let’s go Leo!”

Beneath the surface was a battle, surrounded by refugees onlooking their leader, Master Leonardo, against one of Big Mama’s top fighters.

Cheers boomed and echoed the cavern. It was supposed to be a practice round for Leo to better his swordsmanship. Alas, nothing could stop the interest of spectators.

Leo leaped over a giant shuriken being flung at him, making his way right at his opponent. Right when he managed to get close, a hammer smashed him into the ground. Dust and dirt flying from the impact.

The crowd groaned, feeling the phantom pain.

You stood high above in a ledge, watching alongside Leo’s brothers and April. You couldn’t help but wince, worried that all these battles might do your blue wrong if the Kraang ever discovered your base. 

In fact, shouldn’t anyone be concerned at the slightest that the Kraang might hear the commotion? All caution was thrown out the window. You hadn’t even realize Donnie had all the time in his world to build an arena. 

..He hadn’t happened to bother the DIGG band to do this, did he?

In your peripheral vision, a short figure hopped up and down next to you.

“(Mama / Papa)! You promised to take me above!” Casey whined. Though his patience was running low, his youthful curiousity was on high.

“I’m aware. But just be a bit more patient,” you assured. “Your father’s having a big show right now. He’s fighting one of Big Mama’s strongest.”

His eyes glimmered. The seven-year-old hopped again, wanting to see past the ledge. He always had a big interest for fighters and becoming a skilled one. Did he know how? He wasn’t sure at the moment. 

“Really!? I wanna see, I wanna see!”

He yelped as Raph picked him up and sat him on his shoulders. “Gosh, Casey, you’ve got to chill out. Papa’s not goin’ anywhere.” The snapping turtle grinned. “Seeing things better now?”

“Thanks, Uncle Raph!”

The audience roared loudly again. Leo swiped his ōdachi to open up multiple portals. He leaped across from one to another to another. Making a strike. Yes, Leo’s challenger was much larger, strength incomprehensible even, but could they match his speed?

You smiled, seeing Casey in absolute awe.

“You can do it, Papa!” he yelled.

Leo jumped onto one of his opponent’s many arms. His form front-flipping to slash the head. Moments passed and a gash sent the fighter recoiling.

To top it off, he opened a portal underneath them, before another one appeared high above. This time, he anchored his ōdachi in the dirt. He gave his wrists a few twists. And as Big Mama’s fighter fell through.. Leo took a swing and—!

WHHIIIRROOSH!

A heavy wave. A burst of wind. A strong blast from Leo’s contact with his opponent went and knocked everyone off their balance!

Some chunks of the ledge you and your friends were standing in even broke off.

.

.

.

The stunned crowd erupted into cheers. Casey was leaning off of Raph’s head, wide eyes and beaming astonishment on his face. 

“WOW, THAT’S SO COOL!” 

Raph, on the other hand, felt cold sweat the moment he had his own balance faltering from the kid’s movement. “Woah woah! Easy there!”

“Let’s go, baby!” Mikey jumped. “There’s our Leee-oh!”

April examined the knackered ledge. “Yeesh! If he was any stronger, Big Mama’s fighter ain’t gonna be the only one going down.” 

“A safety hazard?” Donnie was appalled. “Great.. another thing for my agenda..”

A quick sigh of relief fell from your lips and you laughed. “Okay okay, you guys. Casey’s been waiting for his time above-ground. Let’s get Leo before we head up.”

.

.

.

“Don’t get too worked up, Big Mama.” Leo smirked. “It’s all just practice.”

The old Spider yōkai huffed. “Yes yes. I was simply hoping that it could’ve been just a tad more entertaining of a show..” She turned her head to her knocked-out fighter, laying against the wall of the arena. “Unfortunate it is to have my Champion thrown off his feet with ease— do you not have other turtley-doos partaking? Perhaps the orange one would do nicely.”

Leo let out a laugh. “Unfortunately, for you, Big Mama, we got another schedule going for today. So how ‘bout you give us a call.. a week later. Sound good?”

“Bu—.”

“Muy bien. ¡Adiós!” He waved.

“Papa!” Leo saw Casey running. He opened his arms for the boy to catch a hug. “You were so cool, Papa! You were like: swish, swash, woosh!”

“You guys were watching me!?” He seemed embarrassed.

“Hello? You got a whole ass arena here, and you think we wouldn’t check out all this screaming going on?”

“Tsk. I mean, I would’ve continued on with my projects if only Mikey and April didn’t drag me outside my lab,” Donnie spoke monotonously.

Leo then faced you.

“Wasn’t he cool, (Mama / Papa)!”

You only grinned, arms crossed. “Yes, sweetheart. He was so cool.. as expected of the greatest ninja I’ve ever known.” A flush of red caught Leo’s face as he coughed into his scarf, and everyone else being mildly amused.

“L-Let’s get moving everyone.”

“Now, child, it’s imperative for you to know that you shouldn’t be all too excited about traversing above-ground,” Donnie lectured, while the group arrived by the elevating system. “I assume your Papa and (Mama / Papa) told you about the Kraang?”

“Yes, Uncle Don!”

“Good. Be aware you are always at risk of being caught in their sight. One detected motion and they could be running here—.”

“Why do we have a ladder when we could just use this thing?”

“That’s a ridicu— I mean, good question, Casey.” Donnie saved himself. “The way up the ladder is far more narrow, a better option if you want to exit the base in a more discreet method. What we’re using can take multiple beings at the same time. 

A big risk in return, however, is that we can easily be spotted. When we reach the top, you’ll see that this Eleva-Don has a dome covered in rock and soil.”

“To camoflauge?”

“Hm.. Can’t necessarily consider it camoflauge, but sure, the purpose is to hide the entrance to this base.”

.

.

“How long does it take to go up?”

“..Now that you mentioned it,” Raph wondered. “Shouldn’t we be up a minute ago?”

Donnie hummed. “..Give me a moment— my bad, I forgot I had implemented another button to push, because some morons kept forgetting their equipment.”

The group reached the entrance. It was like the purple’s description. There was a sturdy dome over and a sealed doorway being the only thing separating Casey’s eyes from the outside world. But he had to admit: he felt a bit nervous. His small hand took yours, and you tightened your grip to comfort the boy.

Leo stepped on the other side of Casey, eyes narrowing.

“Casey, before I open the entrance, you must brace yourself,” Donnie warned. “There are hot winds blowing and dry air outside. Move your eyes away from any flying dust too. 

In fact, be quick to cover your eyes. You’re not used to the light.

..Do you understand?”

“Yes, Uncle Don.”

The hinges turned. And as told, a bright light beamed through and the boy had to clasp his hands over. It was blinding, especially for someone who had spent his whole life in dim undergrounds. 

It took a long while. 

He felt the winds drying the moisture off his skin, even the sweat he released.. Bit by bit, Casey’s fingers separated. His sights eventually adjusted to seeing his shoes. Then, from side to side upon his parents’ footwear. Then, some prickly brush nearby. 

And then.. the horizon.

He didn’t know what to expect. He heard all the recreations from his uncles and aunt. He heard more from the refugees. They all said the same thing: red skies and dried.

However, somehow, this was more than he could’ve dreamt of.

There were skeletons, bones of different kinds on the ground. Large boulders to play hide and seek in. Flying cotton balls to make a snow ball.

Casey looked back at the horizon. There afar was a giant city. Broken, yet it was still a magnificent city in his mind. Tall skyscrapers were shattered in half, ragged edges remained.

But his amazement stopped at the sky, bloody-colored skies and dark clouds. Right above New York City was a floating.. ship of some sort. It looked like that one yōkai’s eyeball, always plopping out and back in.

The boy cowered behind your leg. 

He tugged onto your hand. “Hey (Mama / Papa)?” You looked down. “I thought you said you found bunch of things and food here. Why is it so empty?”

“Empty?”

“Yeah.”

“..It might look like that. But I promise you, Casey, there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s been many years away, so expect that a lot is buried in sand and dirt.” You began leading him. “Come along.”

“..That’s.. kind of boring. What about fighting Kraang and stuff?”

“Hm.. You know..” You just noticed: there were barely monsters in your area. Could they have gone to the city? Best of luck to the others going then.

“How can you find anything?”

“That’s easy,” Mikey spoke up. “The best way is to catch a glimmer, some sort of sparkle on the ground. Sometimes, you’ll find something valuable.”

“..Oh! Like this?” The boy picked up an empty plastic chip bag. Mikey deadpanned.. and cleared his throat. “My poor boy, of course not. That’s useless trash.” For a moment, Doctor Delicate Touch came out. He snatched it away and threw it behind him.

“If you see anything more like that, toss it right behind you. Or even better, don’t pick it up. Trust me, it’ll save you so much time.” 

Casey slumped. This wasn’t the finders-keepers experience he was... He shook his head. Whatever, he should just follow you instead—.

Another sparkle in the distance. This one gleamed brighter than that chip bag.

He glimpsed around. You were a couple of feet away. Mikey disappeared. His Papa in a couple of feet in the opposite direction. The red-eared turtle appeared to be casting his gaze at the landscape, arms crossed. The others? Didn’t follow their path.

At least, he had his parents.

The boy moved closer. It was in an open box? There was some really smooth-looking cloth on the inside. Cushioned in it, there was.. a long necklace.. He recognized what a necklace should look be, many refugees had one of their own to cherish. 

Oh, hold on.. there were two necklaces?

He examined the pendant. Shiny. Silver-like. It looked like a heart, except there seemed to be a gash right in the middle. “Oh..” 

It was broken..

.

.

An idea lit up.

Casey took the box, brushing off the sediment, closed it, and shoved it down one of his pockets. Maybe Uncle Don could help him.

“Oho? What do you have there, Case?” He flinched when he heard his father from behind. “Don’t think I didn’t see that.”

“Don’t scare me, Papa!”

“Pfft. You’re just like (Mama / Papa).”

The boy fiddled his fingers, before reaching back into the pocket. He pulled out the box. “I found this necklace.. but.. it’s broken. I thought Uncle Don might fix it!”

Leo took the box from his hands. He chuckled.

“It’s not a broken necklace, buddy. These are couple necklaces.”

“Couple necklaces?”

“They can be two separate ones.. Put them together though..” Leo clicked the two halves in place. “..And they become a whole.”

“They look.. a lot shinier together!” Casey admired.

“Yeah.” Leo’s eyes squinted as he smiled. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“What about ‘friendship’ necklaces? Are those any different?”

The red-eared turtle blinked. He realized he assumed these were meant for couples. Maybe it was because everything that came in pairs reminded him of he and—.

“Oh, I have an idea!” Casey proposed, grabbing the box from Leo’s hand. He faced himself in your direction. “Maybe these can be for you and (Ma / Pa)—mmrph!”

“Hm?” Your head turned towards them. “Did you two call me?”

“Uh! No no!” Leo frantically waved his hand off. “We didn’t say anything.. at all! You can keep doing your own thing, (Name).”

Blinked once, twice. You shrugged, eyes down on the ground.

Leo sighed, releasing his other hand from the kid’s mouth. “Bah! Papa! What was that for? Don’t you show (Mama / Papa) about this? They’ll love it a lot!”

“Shh shh.. I’m sure they will, Case. But.. I have another idea on how we can show them. Okay?” The red-eared turtle proceeded to whisper into the boy’s ear, hoping you wouldn’t catch it if you tried.

The seven-year-old clasped his mouth, eyes sparkling. He nodded his head.

.

.

“Find anything, (Name)?” April asked, the group rendezvousing.

You sighed. “Only packets of vegetable seeds.”

“Hey, more food, the better.”

“Let’s just hope Todd will be able to work his magic on them.”

“Knowin’ he raised who-knows-how-many puppies back then, m’sure he could handle a couple of plants.”

“What about you?”

“The city’s tough to get through as ever. We only got a couple of blankets and scraps of metal for Don. You didn’t come to the city?”

“With a child who barely knows how to nagivate out here?”

“Point taken. How’s the kid doing?”

“..I.. I think he likes the rummaging.” 

“Why’d you hesitate to say that? Giving me a scare for a sec.” April laughed behind her hand. “That’s good, that’s good. Gives ‘nother reason for him to go out more.”

“Just as long as he watches himself.”

“Have some faith in him, (Name).”

“Of course.” You closed your eyes. “Commander O’Neil.”

“H-Hey!” She wrapped her arm around your neck, while you laughed. “Thought I said I don’t want my own friends calling me that.”

“Do you not like it?” 

“Yeah I do, but..” April pulled away and rubbed her arm. “I don’t want you guys to forget what we all were before.”

Your breath paused.

She continued, “We were all close friends. If we start calling each other these formalities, I.. don’t know how different we’ll treat each other.”

“...”

“Man.” April almost felt her eyes sting. “Young me wouldn’t be this emotional over some title. Only in our late twenties, and we’re already talkin’ like we’re gonna die.”

You chuckled. “This world’s making us old, isn’t it?”

“Sure is..” 

Your friend slowly faced the base entrance. “Guess we better return. Boys! Let’s head back!” she called out. They moved along, except for Leo and Casey. They stood in place and gave a knowing look at each other.

You raised an eyebrow.

“Leo! Casey!” April shouted again, only to be stopped by Donnie. He pushed her off, whispering something in her ear. Raph, strolling behind and past you, tapped your shoulder. Then, Mikey winked.

You were confused.

What was going on?

“(Name),” your blue called, signalling for you to come with them. “Casey and I got something to show you.”

They led to a short hill, where the three of you sat watching the horizon. The whole world might’ve changed dramatically, sunrises and sets still exist.

“Vegetable seeds weren’t the only thing you found, was it.”

“How perceptive.” You snorted. “No.. there was something else. When we walked further an hour ago, there was something I recognize..”

You pulled out something wrapped in a brown cloth and unwapped it.

It was.. Cassandra’s hockey stick.

Leo’s eyes widened. “You.. No way..”

“I can’t believe it was intact after many years..” You teared up, holding the stick close to your chest. “I thought it disappeared with her..”

“..She probably dropped it, switching to her hyperbeam guns..,” Leo guessed. “You chose not to tell April?”

“Hey.. I get emotional talking about anything related to Cassandra to anyone else. You’re the only other guy who knew exactly what happened anyway..”

Casey was perplexed. 

He tugged onto the blue scarf. “..Papa? Why’s (Mama / Papa) crying over a.. wooden stick? Who is she talking about?”

“Don’t ask me, buddy. Your (Mama / Papa) knows this person a lot more than I do.”

You moved your arm, pulling the boy close to you. “Casey.. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while..” You gazed down at him. “Did you know you have another parent?”

“...”

Casey was absolutely shocked, flabbergasted, open jaw and wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Leo was dying on the inside. You couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Heyy! Are you trying to joke around?” 

“Sorry sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh,” you quieted down. “But it’s true.”

You pulled out a photograph. There was you, Leo, and everyone else.. except for an unfamiliar woman with piercings and a paler complexion in darker clothing. Casey took a closer look. “She’s also my Mom?”

“Yes, she is.”

Casey then glared at Leo, who was taken aback by the kid’s offended expression. “..(Mama / Papa),” he not-so-quietly whispered. “..Did Papa cheat on you?”

The red-eared turtle coughed hard. He was ready to argue, charge at the boy for even thinking he would do that to you. Where did he even learn the concept of cheating? Those gossiping girls who somehow remembered everything from their high school career?

“Hey—!”

“Don’t worry, he may seem like the kind, but he would never.” You teasingly smiled, testing Leo. “You actually have two fathers.”

“How come he isn’t in the photo?”

“..He just.. doesn’t like pictures.”

“Oh.”

“Mhm.”

“What about other Mom? How come I’ve never seen her?”

You sighed. “Casey.. You know how sometimes Papa and I go out to make sure no Kraang comes near us?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you miss us when we’re gone?”

The boy fiddled his fingers. “Even though Uncle Mikey.. Uncle Raph.. Auntie April.. and sometimes Uncle Don take good care of me, I still wish you were there with me.”

“And we miss you too.” You tightened your embrace. “That’s because we love you, Casey. We are both always worried that something can happen and we won’t be there to help you. 

But we also have a job to do for everyone, to make sure we are all safe.”

“..Is that why other Mom is not here?”

“Correct. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. In fact, she was willing to fight the whole world to make sure you’re in good hands.” You tapped his chest. “She had to fight the Kraang too. She knew she won’t be able to see you for a long time. Because she loves you so much, she wants only the most capable to raise you.”

“...It’s okay, (Mama / Papa). You don’t have to say it like that.”

You felt yourself freeze.

“I’m growing up. I can handle it,” Casey assured. “..Is she up in the stars?”

“..She is.”

His arms wrapped around your back and Leo’s shell. “Well.. In my heart, you’ll always be my (Mama / Papa) and Papa to me. Nothing will ever change how much I love you.”

You inhaled, struggling to keep a stoic face.

Leo covered half of his face in his scarf. In the end, even he couldn’t hide his feelings. He decided to give you both a sudden big hug himself. “Gah! Come here, you two! You really know how to make a grown man cry.”

“Ah, Leo! You’re.. hurting.. our lungs..!” In reluctance, the turtle released you. “Look what happened, your Papa’s turning into an sobbing mess.”

“This was a heartwarming moment for me, (Name). Don’t you dare judge.”

Casey bit his lip. This was when he made his move.

“Oooh. Did you know Papa can also turn into romance?”

Leo froze.

“Hey hey, hold on there, buddy..” A nervous chuckle. “Couldn’t you give a cue? We’re.. doing this right now, no warning?” 

“But this was your plan!” Casey countered. “Stand up, both of you!” You followed along. The hockey stick set aside for now. At this point, better not to ask more questions.

“(Mama / Papa).. Papa says he has something special to show you.” The boy gave Leo a box.. Indiscreet as he was, he tried. A grin appeared on his face when he scurried off behind a nearby rock.

“So.. I’m guessing this had to be related to my name called back there.” You put your hands on your hips.

“He’s still learning his social cues. He’ll get his self-awareness from me, you’ll see.” Leo cleared his throat. “Anyways.. (Name).. it’s been a long time since we got together. Even longer when we first met.. say about twelve years ago. 

Gotta admit.. first impressions weren’t special.

You were just another high school kid. You were the second human I know to ever like hanging out with us mutants. You just seemed like another person to me.

But you were.. considerate.. kind. I wasn’t used to having someone actually listening to me, ‘cause we were all idiots back then. The gang and I would only fool around, bite each other and all.

It wasn’t until you.. said something.. Those words to me..” He felt his hand reaching out. 

You took it in both of yours. There was a light in your eyes. You remembered exactly what that moment was. Your voice slipped, 

“..You have always been my champion..”

Leo’s grip tightened as he immediately went down on both knees. “No one.. no one’s ever said that to me... I couldn’t help it anymore. 

I couldn’t help looking your way every time you were there.

As much as I hate to swallow my pride, I couldn’t help but act all cool and badass whenever you’re looking.. even though most times didn’t work out so well.

You were the only one who believed in me.. and I knew it has to be you.”

Then, Leo released your hands. He took the box out and opened it. “I know it isn’t an overrated ring.. but..” The two heart halves revealing themselves on separate chains.

“(Name).. Will you.. marry me?” 

.

.

.

“..Yes.” You were tearing up again. “Yes! But..!” 

His heart suddenly chipped itself off. That last word was never assumed to be a good sign. “Is there something wrong? ..God.. did I do this too soon?”

You, though, were trying not to snicker. “No no. It’s just.. you’re supposed to propose on one knee, Leo! Not both!”

“They chose to question that over the whole ‘apocalypse proposal’?” Donnie muttered to the others. “How does anyone even consider that as romantic?”

“Donnie, shut your aro-ace ass.” 

Your blue turned red. Embarassed, his face was flushed. He groaned, “Not the teasing right now. Is being the only person to get me on both not enough for you?” 

“Hm. We’ll just have to see how we do in bed.”

Leo choked. 

“WHAT—.”

“(NAME), NOT IN FRONT OF THE KID!” Raph screamed.

Even If We’re Different | Turbo X F!Reader (Human AU)

A/N: This is based off of the Turbo F.A.S.T series. I decided to make this a human a.u., otherwise I’d be automatically tagged as insane for a snail and reader pairing. Now, if I did do that, the reader would have to be a snail too. 

The snails’ names are considered racer nicknames in this a.u. I cannot imagine having “Turbo” as an actual student name. Turbo is Theo. Whiplash is Whitney. Chet is Chet. Burn is Bernice. Skidmark is Yahir. Smoove Move is Darion. White Shadow is Matthew. 

(Picking these names other than the canon ones is hard as heck.)

You’ll only see Turbo (Theo), Burn (Bernice), and Smoove Move (Darion) here though.

–

Pairing(s): Turbo (Theo) X Reader

Universe: Human, where the F.A.S.T Crew are university students with racing as a hobby. Turbo is officially the youngest racer, winning a national competition at 18 years old. (I have no exact clue how car racing competitions work in real life, so take this fan fiction with a grain of salt.)

Summary: You get insecure of your friendship with Turbo when you start believing that he and Hayaku get along well. (You also have a crush on him, but you haven’t confessed yet.)

Word Count: ~1700

Warning(s): Insecurity of appearance and interests.

– 

You could only scoff. Your pencil scribbled harshly across your notebook. All while you overheard Hayaku giggle at whatever Theo said. 

You glanced up at the man to find his eyes and infatuated smile for her. You scowled. The sight irritated you, but you could not help yourself from your insecurity. 

Hayaku did look beautiful with her silky hair. Besides— you thought as you frowned to yourself— she was a professional drift racer and a celebrity for her infamous hot sauce back in Japan. She had something in common with Theo, while you were only a university student taking on art minor and computer science major. 

Speaking of which, you sometimes wondered how you even managed to become friends with Theo’s bunch of racecar drivers. You and Theo’s brother Chet were the only ones not obsessed with the sport. Regardless, you were grateful for having such friends at least. 

Though your heart felt bitter, you shook your head. You needed time to debug a program, not to grieve over Theo. You groaned, “I forgot the other brace at the end of the if-statement—.”

“You’re a very funny man, Turbo-san!” Hayaku laughed behind her hand. “I surely look forward to our official drift race.”

Theo smiled. “As do I.”

The grip on your pencil tightened. You could not handle this, so you turned away from the race track, putting in a pair of earphones to distract yourself. Your arm leaned on the empty row behind you. Then when you were finally about to settle down, somebody snatched your earphones out, holding them overhead.

“H-hey Smoove!” Darion, otherwise known as Smoove Move, was one of yours friends and a member of the F.A.S.T crew. 

“You’re looking deep down in the dumps, hun,” Darion hummed, dropping the earphones back into your hand. “This ain’t the (Name) I know— the one always down to go with Turbo.”

“Yeah, her man’s busy talking to that Japanese girl,” Bernice, nicknamed as Burn, remarked, blowing a bubble.

You sighed. “Don’t say it like that, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yet.”

Your hands covered your face. “Can’t believe you guys know about my crush on Turbo except him himself,” you mumbled. “What’s worse is that he’s falling in love with someone else in front of my eyes.”

“Ay, don’t be hard on yourself. The right kind of love moves slowly.” Darion sat beside you on the bleachers. “There’s more to it than you know. I mean, even Turbo’s feeling all kinds of emotions for you too.”

You closed your notebook and faced your two friends. “What?”

Bernice shoved you. “Don’t tell us you never noticed a single thing the past few months. Especially our 2nd year party that one night.”

“Whoo, I remember it like it was yes-ter-day!” Darion laughed. “That look on Turbo’s face had me rollin’!”

Bernice smirked. “Hell, he was so pissed off when he caught you hanging out with one of our rival team’s star, Fusion.”

“Fusion?”

“Nickname. His real name’s Aiden.”

The name clicked in your head. “Ah….” You recalled how cocky he sounded, belittling your friends to make himself look good. You had to admit: Aiden was an entertaining guy, but when he asked you to a dance, you turned him down.

“You weren’t there, but he challenged our boy to a race. Couldn’t win even when they tried so hard to copy him.”

“But he still got a hard spot for Fusion.” Bernice crossed her arms. “Turbo was crushing his can and ruining Chet’s suit with soda all over him. At least you gotta have seen that.”

“How ‘bout that time when Hardcase tried asking her out, Burn?”

“Ah man, Turbo’s face was priceless!”

“Got his finger tapping so quick on the table and everything—.”

“If you are trying to tell me Turbo’s been crushing on me, then explain why does he look like he’s going to marry Hayaku after a few minutes of meeting her?”

“Hey, hey, I’m only telling you this from a man’s view: first sights in love are with the looks. I bet you even if they do get together, Turbo ain’t gonna last two dates when he sees what’s really behind her.” Darion grimaced. “And I’m picking up a bad groove. See how her smile’s turned over ‘round—. Hey, where’d my boy Turbo go—?”

“What ‘bad groove,’ Smoove?”

The three of you were startled by a voice from behind. You turned to find Theo walking down the bleachers.

“Don’t you scare us again, Turbo,” Bernice remarked.

Theo chuckled. “Sorry guys, I had to change out of my suit. Why are you two here anyway?” he asked. “You don’t usually come to my practices.”

“Team meeting’s not on until a couple of minutes later,” Darion answered. “Got nothing much, so might as well spend our time here. Besides, (Name) here’s looking a little lonely, so why not be her company?”

Theo’s eyebrows furrowed. Your eyes peered toward Darion, whose hand signaled you to wait. 

“So anyway,” Darion spoke again, “what’s new for you, Turbo?”

The man shook his head, a smile returning to his face. “Man, there’s this girl from Japan, right? Her name’s Hayaku. She traveled to here from Japan to race against me! Well, more like her hot sauce manager challenged Tito. But I think she likes me.” Theo grinned.

“Watch it,” Bernice warned, “I heard this Hayaku girl’s a competitive one.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“No, no.” Darion shook. “She mean she’s a hothead. May be pretty, but pretty rude too.”

“Look, Turbo,” Bernice said, “every competitor you meet who looks nice always backstab you.”

Theo crossed his arms. “Not everyone’s like that. I’m sure Hayaku’s different.”

“My boy, you’re racing over who has better hot sauce.”

You opened your notebook again, not getting into the conversation.

“Well I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s even offered to teach me how to drift!”

Bernice rolled her eyes. “Oh my god.”

Theo huffed. “Anyway, the sun’s about to set. We better get going before Whiplash starts lecturing us.” 

Darion and Bernice shared a glance and snickered. “Sure, brother, take. your. time.” 

Theo’s eyes widened. Flustered, he glared down at them as they stood up from the bleachers and walked off. Theo tapped his shoe, waiting until his two friends were gone, before he faced you. 

…

But of course, there was an awkward silence. You continued jotting down some notes, thinking Theo would leave you be.

“…You’ve been pretty quiet, (Name).”

You pursed your lips. “There’s not much to tell you, so I rather not bother you by talking.”

“What? You’re not bothering anyone. I actually like your voice— I mean— I don’t mind you talking at all,” Theo stumbled. “The only time that’d be a problem is when Skidmark is convinced the aliens are going to invade the stock market.” He leaned forward to see your face, but his small smile disappeared when he found no reaction out of you. “…I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were feeling lonely,” Theo spoke up. “If I’d known that before, I wouldn’t have forced you to come every practice, (Name).”

“I’m fine, Turbo,” you assured him. “I don’t mind watching you on my own. Plus, it makes for a great chance to study.” You paused for a moment. “It’s just that… there’s a larger crowd here today than any.”

“It happens when an international racer decides to visit.” Theo chuckled, trailing off into another silence. He rubbed his nape nervously. “…You’re also not coming with us?”

You huffed. “You forget that I’m not a racer like you, Turbo.”

“I—. Well, I don’t ever remember that stopping you from hanging out with us.”

“This is a crew meeting?”

“(Name), come on.” He pushed you. “I know for sure Whiplash doesn’t mind. You’re our friend.”

“A friend who isn’t into racing like you.” The words slipped your tongue this time.

“(Name),” Theo said sternly, “What’s gotten into you today? You never cared about this just a few days ago.”

You sighed. “I just don’t—. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re friends and all,” you closed your notebook and hugged your legs, “but I’m not sure how it even began. I’m an art and computer science student. You’re into mechanical engineering and racing.”

Theo sat down beside you. “Are you worried we couldn’t stay as friends just because we’re not into the same interests?” A frown formed on his lips. “Okay— I admit: most friends fall under that category. But you and I— the crew do have something in common. Something outside of our hobbies. For one, we all have dreams to work for. We’re big competitors in our fields. And….” 

Theo had to stop himself from mentioning his meeting with you at the university library, where he spotted you sprinting past him to borrow a well-liked book before someone else claimed it. Theo had to stop himself from talking about the time he watched you hype your teammates up for a competition. 

“There are times when I really admire your determination, (Name).”

His eyes told nothing but his true feelings. Theo himself was determined to stay friends with you.

“Stay.” 

Your ears reddened, and you turned to hide your flustered smile while pushing Theo away. You missed the way Theo’s eyes softened when the sunset’s golden light reached your features. 

“Yeah,” he spoke softly, “Hayaku’s wrong about you.”

~

Bonus:

“(Name)!” He waved his hand towards you, but your back was turned to him. “Huh, I guess she’s really busy with her project.”

“Is this friend of yours also a racer, Turbo-san?” 

“Well actually, she’s not.”

Hayaku peered at you. “But surely she must be a distraction to you, no?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Please excuse me. My experience is having friends who don’t have the same interests can pull you down, Turbo-san. Since we’ll be having a drift race against one another, I must teach you the art of drifting for a fair—.”

“You know, I don’t appreciate you talking down on my friend like that.” Theo narrowed his eyes. “But I’ll take on your offer for drifting lessons. See you.” He scoffed and walked off to the changing room.

Before You Go | Future Donnie & April Insight (Part VI)

(Reader Included)

A/N: Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Reader comments and feedback are also welcomed a lot. 

I have been gone for a long time. Just occupied with my studies! No fan fiction author curse or anything (yet).

Summary: You’re both adopting-parents of Casey. The story follows the perspective of Donatello and April O’Neil during the Kraang apocalypse. You and Leonardo decided to ask them to watch over thirteen-year-old Casey.

In other words, familial interactions between April, Donnie, and Casey Jr.

Reader: Gender-neutral pronouns are used, except the terms “(Mom / Dad)” are also used. Second POV.

Pairing: Rise! Future! Leonardo X Reader

Warnings: Bittersweet.

Word Count:  ~3490

Parts: One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six / ...

~

Donnie knew how much of a genius he was.

It was no surprise after all. In his late teens, he improved NASA’s satellites to communicate with planets light centuries away. He cured breast cancer through the use of protons in radiation therapy to target specific cells, rather than affecting the harmless. Hell, he even managed to discover a new type of radioactive particles: mutons. By that point, he—.

“—should have been given a Nobel Prize in Medicine and in Chemistry.” Donnie cursed under his breath. He strolled over to his lab bench, equipping his goggles.

Squeeeak. 

April– who was found seated on Donnie’s roughed-up, spinning gaming chair– raised an eyebrow. Her hair had grown out and was left unbounded. Faint wrinkles and eye bags on her features displayed maturity, in contrast to a couple of years ago. However, everyone was well aware that time was not the only factor. 

“Whatcha going on about now, Donnie?”

The softshell huffed. “Recall when I wrote a report about my experimental findings with an invention meant to revive a deceased human being?”

“...You mean the one where you thought it was a good idea to open up Curie’s tomb? Even gone as far as to ask for my help?” April grimaced. “Who’d ever forget that.”

She proceeded to massage her temples. 

“God. You were in all kinds of messed up for that, Don.”

Lightning-like yellow sparks flickered as Donnie had his robotic hands occupied with a butane torch. His goggles were sealed tight around his eyes as he built a oval-looking device on his lab bench. Titanium outer-layer over a seriously complex circuit-board; appearing as if Samsung marketed grenades.

He scoffed. “Oh please. It wasn’t as if I’d taken long to understand how Marie Curie deserves her rest for her great contributions to radiation. Thus is why–.”

“–You decided to take a poor random husband of an old wife,” April interjected.

“Ahem.” Donnie pronounced. “The poor woman was begging me for her husband to be alive again. I was simply gracious and generous enough to not charge her for the process.” He set aside the butane torch. “At least it progressed well; he stayed alive for an additional two years. It gave his wife psychological comfort, and I was able to submit my paper to the N.S.F..” 

He picked up a screwdriver. “Except....” 

April could tell her friend’s eye was twitching. 

“They rejected my findings, nearly had me detained, and claimed it was far too ‘unethical.’” Donnie raised his volume. “Scoff! As if those researchers weren’t committing the crime themselves! Taking bodies away from families and claiming them as scientific property without permission.

If I could go back in time and shove my documents in their jaws, you bet I would.”

April smirked. “Well, I have my regrets too, Donnie.”

“You sound rather amused, April. Is that so surprising? And here I never thought you would regret your part-time job at Albearto’s. Or the fact you wasted money to switch to journalism in university.”

WHACK!

April threw her bat at Donnie’s head, flying back to her hand like a boomerang.

“Watch your mouth, mister. I may have regretted Albearto’s, but not a single moment in my life did I ever regret my journalism passion.” She stood up.

“Ouch.” The softshell vocalized, squinting his eyes toward her. His robotic clampers paused, setting aside the torch and taking off his goggles. 

“Mind yourself, April. Horse-playing is forbidden in the laboratory. I am not consenting to having yet another silver-titanium apparatus get scratched because of you.” Donnie gritted his teeth. “Can you hear the negative connotation?”

“Seriously, Donnie? Where’d that come from? Not only was that years ago but it ain’t anything except a simple accident.” 

“‘Simple accident?’” the softshell repeated with dramatic offense. “An accident, like many others in science labs, which could have caused severe damage! Remember the incident when your teacher dumped bleach and vinegar into the trash bin?

You know, if you had paid any attention in your chemistry class, those two would make mustard gas?” Donnie side-eyed his friend. “Simple accidents can have serious consequences, O’Neil.”

A hand crept up the lab bench.

“Uh-huh, and I’m supposed to believe an instance of me knocking over your phone and books would kill somebody?” April crossed her arms. “If anything, the blame’s yours for not organizing your desk when you got drunk on coffee.”

The hand took ahold of the butane torch.

“Donatello? Disorganized? Sounds cheap coming from you, a student majoring in Journalism.”

April pulled up her coat’s sleeves. “Oh boy, you’re about to get it—.”

Squeeeak!

Heads spun and found a 13-year old boy, replacing April’s spot on Donnie’s chair. Casey eyed the torch with a great yet concerning amount of curiosity.

“Yo, what’s this for, Uncle Don?”

At lightning speed, while April ran to move the gaming chair away further from the workbench, Donnie snatched the tool from his hands. “Child. Casey. Young man.” The softshell heaved loudly. “I must inform you this is NOT meant to be handled with such casual ease. How in Hawking did you even—.”

“Don’t your lab have a passcode or something?” 

“–Is what I am wondering myself, O’Neil. I refuse to believe this child remembers the beginning thirty numbers of π–.”

“Nope, only us.” April and Donnie lifted their gazes to his lab entrance. You leaned on the frame while a dear red-eared slider stood just behind. A couple of steps inside, and the metallic lab door shut close. 

Donnie– strangely– was quick to hide his device-in-progress off to the side.

“You’re back!” April grinned. “Hell, you would not believe the convo Donnie and I were having a minute ago.” She hurried to hug you.

“Figures,” Leo remarked. “We could practically hear you yards off.”

“Sounds like things never get old.” You smiled.

There was a side-eye between Donnie and April, before the Commander proceeded to inquire, coughing: “Anyhow.. care to explain the occasion? You two don’t seem to be in a hurry.”

“The only times you ever visit my laboratory are to prepare for immediate combat engagement, and you look awfully collected.” The softshell furrowed his brows.

“No, no.” You waved your hands, shaking your head. “Thank God no. We came here to ask if you two could take care of our Casey here while we head out.” The other turtle scrunched his in-quote eyebrows. “You— You came here to request us to... babysit him?”

April jabbed him in his plastron.

“You see? Just like I said.” Leo turned to you. “I know my brother, love. Don’s not the kind of guy to take responsibility for a kid. Or anyone, really.”

“Hold on.” Donnie narrowed his eyes. “I never said I refused, Leo.”

“Don’t know, it sounds like it to me.”

“Well, my misinformed brother, contrary to your belief, I am perfectly capable of handling a child.”

You huffed with amusement. Your husband only winked back.

“If you say so, Don.”

“Where are you two heading off for if you needed us to watch over him?” April inquired. “Wondering, ‘cause this never happened even when you two leave for patrol.”

“Just finding some time for ourselves.”

April exclaimed, “As in a honeymoon? Why not just say so? We’ll leave you two alone–.”

“–In this economy and climate?” Donnie interjected. “Has it also not been six years since your yet-to-be-legal marriage?”

“Alright, alright,” Leonardo chuckled. “Cut us some slack, bro. Finding time wasn’t easy when there’s Kraang above our necks.”

“Right, and you’re going on a honeymoon, how?” The softshell crossed his arms. “Simply because you’re the leader does not equate to you making wise decisions, Leo.”

“His ōdachi can teleport anyone to anyplace, we have some hope we can easily teleport to a remote area,” you answered. “One without Kraang infestation. It’ll be hard, but we may as well try.”

“Bonus points if we find clear skies and an ocean.” The red-eared turtle grinned, wrapping his arm over your shoulders.

“What’s a honeymoon, (Mom / Dad)?”

Your hand went to caress Casey’s cheek. “Parent quality time. It just means you get to handle yourself like the responsible grown-up you’ll become one day. Just promise me you’ll be on your best behavior around Uncle Don and Auntie April?”

“I promise, (Mom / Dad)!”

“Good boy,” Leo laughed, ruffling the kid’s hair.

“You didn’t ask Mikey and Raph to help out too, or?”

“Between you and me, I think you guys are better of making sure Casey doesn’t get into any chaos,” you whispered to April. “Don’t tell them that, though.”

She laughed. “Okay, I see how it is. You both have fun.” 

Donnie bit his lip. Right as Leonardo and (Name) turn to exit the laboratory, he extended his arm out to them.

“Leo, (Name).”

You two faced back to him once more.

“Don’t kill yourselves out there.”

Everyone’s eyes widened– April, you, and Leonardo himself. But the brother in blue snickered, holding a smile that reached his eyes. “So you do also care for me, Don. And all this time I thought you were plotting to put me in my grave or something.”

“We won’t.” Leo placed a hand on your shoulder. “You got my word.”

“Bye (Mom / Dad)! Bye Papa!”

“We’ll be back soon, Casey!”

Donnie stood in silence as you finally left, leaving himself with none other than his best friend and his nephew. “I refuse to believe this is the future we have to deal with.”

“Times changed all of us, didn’t they?” April spoke. “One day we wish each other a good one, and the next, we hope we just don’t die. I could’ve been a famous news anchor by now, make my mother happy, fight crime without worrying about dying the next second.

..I wonder if there’s anyone else out there besides the small number of us down here.”

“..I doubt it.”

Donnie pulled himself together and walked back to his workbench, operating his clampers to work once again. He put on his goggles. Casey, being a young teenager of enthusiasm, peeked over.

“Watch yourself, boy,” April warned.

“Don’t worry about me, Auntie. I’m only standing over here.” Casey narrowed his eyes upon the glowing and metal-like ball his uncle had his tools on. “What are you working on, Uncle Don?”

“A sphere.”

“A sphere?”

“You heard correctly.”

“That sounds kind of boring.”

Donnie had to hold himself back from remarking with: ‘That is exactly what every child whose intellect is doomed would say.’

“I’m sure your mother would find it rather moving.”

“(Mom / Dad)? I don’t understand what’s emotional about a ball, though.”

“Hey Casey.” April coughed. “Why not tell us about your mask here? Haven’t taken a good look at it before. Maybe Uncle Don would like to hear it too.”

“You actually want me to talk about my mask?”

“Ain’t a problem, is it?”

“No.” He fidgeted with his fingers a bit. “You don’t have anything else to do?”

“We were just told to watch over you, kid.”

“Yeah, but everyone I know is always busy with the Kraang or supplying weapons. I never really get chances to hang out.”

There was a brief pause in the butane torch’s flame.

April’s expression softened. Her hand came up to brush his black hair. “Things have gotten calmer up there. So you’ve got plenty of time with us now.”

Casey smiled.

“So your mask?” 

The boy alternated between covering his face and removing it. “(Mom / Dad) gave it to me. She told me it is based on the one worn by my biological mother. (Mom / Dad) also said that my birth mother was kind of crazy-funny and likes to be loud. She would have a stick to play– what was it– hockey?

I don’t know what kind of game hockey is supposed to be, but I guess it’s nice to know how life was like before all the Kraang.”

A sad smile crept on April’s lips. 

“Anyways, I thought the mask looked kind of plain, so I decided to draw red marks on it. See?” Casey showed his mask off, fingers tapping the surface. “Guess who it looks like!”

There were two bold and thick streaks of red. Each one ran through one eye, truly a defining characteristic. The Commander chuckled, already imagining how much pride her friend in blue would feel from the fact a kid– let alone one he had been parenting– looked up to him so much.

“You know, I am seeing someone familiar here.” April hummed as she put on a thoughtful facade. Fingers holding her chin and everything. “Got to be Uncle Don.”

Named turtle paused for a moment and raised a brow.

“Seriously, Auntie April?” On the other hand, Casey gave her an incredulous look and shook his head. “You probably want to get your eyes checked out, ‘cause Uncle Don doesn’t have any red stripes.” Off to the side. “And even if he did, he won’t look as cool as Dad.”

April snickered behind her palm as Donnie eyed the boy from behind his goggles.

“You’re right, you’re right. Just messing with you, kid.” Her hand ruffled his hair once more. “Sounds like you really admire your Papa, don’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Dad has an awesome sword that opens up portals. He always moves so quickly whenever he’s fighting. Bam! And the Kraang’s gone!” The teenager stretched his arm for emphasis. “Even as the leader, Papa knows when to get serious and when to make people laugh. He also cares a lot about me, (Mom / Dad), you guys, and everyone!”

It made even Donnie himself smile. 

However, the way Casey’s enthusiasm died down had not gone unnoticed. “I’ve always wanted to help out though.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I want to fight the Kraang right by his and (Mom / Dad)’s side. Except I barely get the chance to, because they keep telling me to stay close to base and hide behind a giant rock.”

April crossed her arms and went quiet. His feelings were nothing new. In fact, she experienced the same thing herself, seeing she had always been a human. It was like that until–.

“Have no hard feelings,” Donnie spoke up, his hands and eyes remained on his spheric gadget. The sparks were flying. “Your parents are merely worried about your well-being.”

“I know, I know. They won’t have to though, if I can have enough training or something.” Casey sighed. “Then again, I also know I’m only a normal sensitive human.

...Why can’t I be a mutant instead?”

“Ahem. You are classified as a human. That is a true statement and one you cannot change.” Donnie hummed. “However, that does not mean you cannot be strong and capable in other ways.”

“Why does it sound like you’ve been in my place before?”

“Perhaps I did. Did you truly think being a soft-shell turtle is easy? I happened to be born as one of the only Testudines species whose outer shell cannot protect.” Donnie remarked. “Casey, your mask.” His hand signaled.

“What about my mask?”

“I merely want to add something.”

Confused, he hopped off the chair and handed the mask over. “Hmm. As long as you don’t mess with the stripes, Uncle Don.”

“Who says I won’t?”

Casey kicked Donnie’s leg.

“‘Ow,’ I say sarcastically without feeling physical pain.”

“Hmph.” He crossed his arms. “Why do you keep saying things like that?”

“Such as?”

“You say those action verbs, even when you’re already doing them.”

April snorted. “Just his thing, kid. Uncle Don’s got his special quirks.”

“Do you have a quirk?”

“Picking unnecessary fights for one,” Donnie commented.

“You only call them ‘unnecessary,’ because you never want to fix the problem.”

He rolled his eyes. “My solution would’ve been ten times more efficient if you had allowed my technology and I to do the work.”

Casey wondered. “Does your tech ever go haywire, Uncle Don?”

“No.”

“Oh man,” April began, “you should’ve been there for this one time. Your Uncle Don was building some kind of overprotective bed to keep your late Gramps from waking up from his beauty sleep.”

“Gramps likes to sleep?”

“You’d be surprised to hear that he sure does.”

“Then what happened?”

“Uncle Don asked your Dad, Uncle Mikey, and Uncle Raph to try punching, slicing, throwing whatever they could on the bed. They were attacking it like crazy!”

“And then?” 

“And the bed was even more insane, ‘cause there were actual missiles shooting out! They went straight for his brothers. At some point, it got overboard, so Uncle Don tried to command it to stop.”

“I’m hearing a ‘but’ coming.”

“But it malfunctioned and thought Uncle Don was the enemy!”

“However!” Donnie pointed his finger up, interrupting the story-telling. “It did not take long for my creation to recognize his master.”

“Still went haywire in my book,” April remarked. 

“Ignoring that.” His robotic hand tapped the edge of his workbench, grabbing Casey’s attention. “Come here, young man.” He slid back the mask, except in his hands, it felt as if the frame had thicken.

“It looks the same, but it doesn’t feel the same?”

“Try wearing it over your face.”

The boy did as told. All of a sudden, a bunch of green rectangles and words appeared in his vision. He gasped in awe. He spun around slowly, watching the rectangle focus on a figure through the wall.

“Yes yes, I know. I am well aware of how amazing I am.” Donnie huffed in pride. “I have opted to construct an interface with your mask. I cannot see why you shouldn’t have something to defend yourself with,” he reasoned. “I have other updates in mind later on. As of now, however, your mask will help you detect life forms across other rooms or through other objects.” 

“That’s so cool!” The boy hesitated though. “But I don’t want to break it or anything.”

“Hey.” April rested her hand on Casey’s shoulder, giving a firm squeeze. “Our resources are already scarce. Using then losing them is better than nothing. You better make the most of our tech. Understood, soldier?”

Casey grinned underneath his mask. He fixed his posture up and saluted. “Gotcha–! Understood, Commander!” 

He faced the inventor, whose hands were already back to being occupied with the “sphere.” “Thanks so much, Uncle Don!” Casey exclaimed, leaping towards the turtle to give a tight hug. “You’re the best!” 

Upon contact, Donnie stiffened up, but his lack of experience with physical touch did not prevent a smile forming on his face. He extended a robotic arm, patting Casey’s back. 

The boy then scanned around curiously with his mask. “Hey! Think I spot Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph two floors down! They’re holding hands over a table or something. Why are so many people circling around them?”

April rolled her eyes. “Sounds like another arm-wrestling match between the our youngest and oldest brother.” 

Just like that, Casey booked it out of the laboratory so quickly, it reminded her of a certain red-eared slider. “What the–! Casey!” April groaned. “And here I thought we don’t have to deal with runaway kids. I better catch up to him.” 

“Would not worry about him too much,” Donnie commented. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Considering we will not always be alive to protect him... the sooner we leave him to himself, the easier it will be for him to survive alone.” 

“Hey. Come on now.” April walked to her best friend’s side. “Don’t you say things like that. We’re all going to survive this together–.”

“April.” Slight pain wavered in his voice. “You know as well as I do how our current reality is. It is only a matter of time before the Kraang finds everyone.” 

“Yet you’re still here trying.”

No response.

“It’s all because of the kid, isn’t it?” April affirmed. “He ain’t any genius prodigy you were expecting long ago. But he gave you a reason to try– he became someone worth fighting for.”

“I would not put it as simply as that.”

She shrugged. “That’s how I’d say it. You know you’re not the only one whose life changed because of Casey.”

Donnie paused his work, turning off the butane torch and finally pulling his goggles off his eyes again. “...Casey reminds me of when we were young, being rash and immature teenagers like any other. I hate admitting to such thing, but I was one too. And I hate admitting much more how much I missed those times.

The child has known nothing of the trouble we’ve experienced outside, April: when Cassandra was killed, when Draxum was torn apart, when Dad decided to sacrifice himself despite the slim odds.” His hands clenched into fists.

“Do not expect me to have any false hope for our future, but do not assume I would want Casey to feel the same way. For as long as he can, I want him to hold onto that false hope.”

“...” April had her arms crossed. Her eyes slowly came to linger on the workbench. “Is that ‘sphere’ his false hope?”

“..No. Not his.” Donnie traced his thumb over his contraption. “It’s for (Name).”

Like You | Donnie X GN!Reader (Part II)

A/N: I had to do something with Donnie. In order for me to try and replicate his character, I had to repeat his sarcastic voice in my head over and over. It was an absolute pain, because to focus on this entire imagine (both parts), I had to try and shove all the trauma I got from the movie away for a couple of hours.

Summary: You were trying to ignore your feelings by avoiding the turtle himself. What you did not expect was that he’d be at your homecoming dance, confronting you.

Pairing: Rise!Donatello X Reader

Reader: Gender-neutral. Second POV. 

Genre: Hurt & Comfort

Warning: Good luck on being confronted.

Word Count: ~1260

Part: One / Two

~

You stood on the roof, arms resting on the concrete. It was frigid at night, especially with the wind blowing along your skin.

You weren’t into dances. You weren’t supposed to be here, but not only did your friends beg you to come to homecoming, Leonardo had asked you to meet up on the roof tonight. 

Sure, you had to pay him back for asking him to sneak calculus material out of his soft-shelled brother. Though, you didn’t expect that his request would be to prank you like this.

You sighed. “It’s Leon. I should’ve seen this coming—.”

“Oh Fibonacci.” You heard someone mumble, followed by a creaking of the door. You turned around, facing the mysterious person— or rather— turtle. 

Your eyes widened. “Donnie..”

Oh God. This was Leon’s plan. You wanted to collaspe into embarrassment. You were well aware that you had been avoiding his brother. Maybe this was Leon being pissed after doing so. 

You never wanted to push him away, but the logic was there.

You eyed his tuxedo, features of violet to match him. That and the bandana together. Donnie looked.. incredibly handsome, so much so you felt your face heat up.

No. You shook it off. 

“(Name)..” Your eyes met his again. There was a trace of pain in them, and.. your heart ached. You gazed away as Donnie walked closer to your side, facing the city. “Strange that I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Your hands gripped your clothing.

“...Remember the name?”

You followed his sight to a dot in the sky, shining bright. You knew it well. “..Sirius A.”

“Define a logarithm.”

“The power of a number being raised.”

“Base two logarithm of 32.”

“Five.”

“...Suppose that explains why you haven’t answered my texts.. You didn’t even need my help.” Donnie faced down, eyebrows furrowing. “(Name).. What have I done wrong?”

“No!” You were quick to deny that. “You did nothing wrong.” How could he think of himself like that when you were the one avoiding him without an explanation?

“Then.. why were you avoiding me?”

“I.. I didn’t mean to—.”

“I have common sense, (Name),” he scoffed. “If the lack of it is what you’re trying to take advantage of.” 

You had nothing to say.

“You haven’t contacted me in so long. I thought you might have some family issues or even an existential crisis, but then, you and Leo....” Donnie shook his head. “I know I have something to do it. Why were you avoiding me?”

“I already told you—!”

“For the love of Galileo, (Name), you’ve avoided me enough, so quit dodging my questions!” he snapped. “Tell me, so I don’t have to keep beating myself up over every possible reason that could separate you from me!” 

Donnie heaved, before a couple of tears form in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but the pain was overwhelming. “I like what we had before, hanging out together in libraries, tutoring you, experimenting with tech.” Though he was hesitant, he let the words slip from his mouth. “As much as it’s not my thing to say affectionate words.. I’ve... missed you.”

You froze as he took and held your hand.

“And I mean it, a-all right? There’s no one else who has a passion for mathematics like you. There’s no one else who would try to memorize a hundred different stars with me like you would. There’s no one else who appreciate my sciences, my passions, my intelligence, like you—.”

“Stop.”

Donnie stopped rambling. “..What?”

Your face was turning hot, burying it into your hands. “Why do you have to make things so hard for me...”

He was starting to panic. “I.. I’m sor—.”

“No! It’s not like that!” You used one of your hands to wave it off. “You.. So this is what it’s about?”

“What’s what about?” Donnie tugged on his collar.

“Are you trying to confess to me?” you laughed. “I never took you for the romantic type.”

You opened your eyes through your hand to find the turtle with wide eyes and a blush darkening his face under the night. “Well—. I—. You—.” He was trying to fight back his short-circuiting. “That’s absurd! Donatello Von Ryan never involves himself with romanc—.”

“I like you too, Don.”

Suddenly, he’s the one hiding his face. You looked away with flushed ears. All this time, your fear—. Oh. The vibrant colors from your moment faded when you remembered your fear, the reason why you were avoiding the turtle.

You.. did owe him an explanation.

“...I was avoiding you,” Donnie uncovered his face, “because I started to like you romantically.” 

You crossed your arms as another gust of wind blew. 

“I was afraid you’d find that weird: a human— a much different.. biological being— falling in love with a mutant. And then, we were becoming really close, so I separated myself to prevent either of our— no, my feelings from getting hurt.”

His brows furrowed

“I am so sorry, Donnie.” 

“...”

WOOOOOOOO!

Cheers from behind the door grew louder as music blasted, startling the two of you. Donnie looked back and huffed, “Way to ruin the moment... I was wondering why no one was actually dancing at a ‘homecoming dance.’” 

You snickered.

The turtle faced you, to see you more light-hearted in his presence had a smile growing on him. “(Name).” Donnie held his hand out. “May I have the honor of holding a dance with you?”

Your face fell. You found yourself backing away. “R-Right now?”

“Oh, of course, I’m asking you for a dance that’ll happen in a century,” Donnie remarked, his face holding a smug look until he realized. “Unless.. you don’t know how to—.”

You quickly interjected, “I’ve told you once that I had never attended dances..”

Donnie proceeded to take your hand anyway. “I’ll show you.”

There was still hesitation in your eyes. He lifted your hand in his left up, and placed your other one on his shoulder. Donnie pulled you closer, making you heat up yet again. 

He definitely has confidence in dancing, that’s for sure. 

“Don’t move too quickly.”

“Don’t fret,” Donnie lowered his voice, “I know how to take it slow.”

Ignoring the shiver on your skin, you deadpanned. “You were so flustered just a moment ago, and here you are.”

“Oh, but (Name)! That’s the fascinating power of dancing: growing comfortable in your own shoes. Try not to watch my steps closely, and simply move along.”

He gave you a spin, he led you a step to the right, behind you. Then, as “Dandelions” played in the background, he twirled you out before bringing you back in. 

Palm to palm, you both moved clockwise and counter, like as if you were dancing in a ballroom. No longer minding the footwork, you were enjoying yourself.

“Were you jealous of my other tutor?” you spoke.

“What an assumption.” Donnie scoffed, “Surely, he can’t be as great as moi, Donatello Von Ryan.”

“Nope,” you answered with no consideration. “In fact, he’s so much worse of a tutor than you that I had to ask Leon to sneak calculus material from you to me.”

He went stiff. “You asked him to get it from me?”

“Don’t tell me you were also jealous of—.”

“Ahahem,” Donnie coughed. “I merely thought he taking my credit.”

You laughed. “Oh come on, we both know well enough that Leo is never interested in calculus, or any subject besides physical education.”

You leaned in closer, hand caressing his face. 

“You know, calculus is still biting me by my ankles..”

“Mhm.”

“I’m wondering.. Donatello.. if you would be interested in being my tutor again?”

“..Always.” He pulled you into a kiss.