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Summary: Tomorrow arrives at your doorstep… but Raph doesn’t. Instead another brother does that leads to a perilous night out.
A/N: Woo! Part three! This one is a bit more angsty but cute and well, who doesn’t love some good angst? I love you guys so much and all of the feedback that you offer. Always keep fighting.
Music played softly as it rained again, and I waited by an unlocked window. Some part of my memory knew that he would be here, though I couldn’t tell what the truth happened to be or what happened to be a dream. It all seemed like a dream to me. A wonderful dream.
A knock interrupted my thoughts as I opened the window, expecting one turtle and getting another.
“Leo?” I asked curiously. “What’s… why are you here?”
“Is Raph here?” He demanded; his eyes swept my apartment not even looking at me as he talked.
“No?” I frowned. “What the hell is going on?”
“Raph went out tonight and he hasn’t been back, and I assumed he was here.”
“No,” I shook my head, fear growing in my chest for my lost rider. “Give me a minute, I’ll help you look,” I arrived at the conclusion.
“You can’t. Not in this weather, it’s not safe,” Leo scolded. “You stay here.”
“Damn it, Leo! I can do what I want when I want, and you know you need me out there! You know I know him better!”
Cold blue eyes met mine, but I dug my heels in. Nothing would sway me from this. Looking for Raph became my number one priority.
“Meet at the alley in twenty minutes. Donnie will get you connected with the rest of us.” Leo didn’t meet my eyes as he ducked out the window. “And whatever happens to you is not on me.”
With that he vanished.
“Gee,thanks,” I mocked at the window and quickly changed for the ride ahead, my anxiety racing out of control as I muttered to myself the questions that I needed answers to.
The one above them all: Where was Raphael?
I didn’t enjoy riding in the rain, it was cold and wet and hurt if you went fast enough, but I’d do it for him. Anything for my reckless rider. Sliding my helmet on, I sped off.
I arrived at the alley way and like Leo said, Donatello stood, equipment in hand.
“Hello,” He greeted, stammering slightly, “This will connected to your com system that you have set up and will pick up our radio frequency,”
I unlatched my helmet and handed it over, running a hand through my hair as the rain started to soak it through.
“Do you have any idea where he would be?” I asked as the turtle in purple worked quickly.
“Your guess is probably better than mine,” He muttered. “I figured that you would be the first place he went to after fighting with Leo,”
That was new information. That Leo conveniently left out.
“Fighting with Leo? About what?” I pressed, urgently. “Please Donnie this is important. If I’m going to find him… I need to know what happened.”
_____________________________
“You’renot going out tonight. There’s no need.” Leo stood in front of his brother.
“Get out of my way Leo,” Raph muttered. “I’ll be fine,”
“It’s too dangerous!” Leo shouted.
“And since when do you care whether I get hurt or not? Since when do you stop me from going out? Who do you think you are?” Raph stalked up to his brother agitated.
“Since you met her.” Leo answered coolly. “She’s dangerous,”
Raph scoffed and almost laughed as he paced away, growing more aggravated as each second passed.
“She’snot dangerous! Are you fucking kidding me!?” Raph pulled out his sais: a reflex.
“Even now, she’s turning you against me,” Leo circled with his brother, keeping a distance.
“No, I’m pretty sure you’re doing that all on your own fearless,” Raph snarled. “So, don’t you dare go blaming her,”
“You think she actually wants to see you Raphael? We don’t belong in her world and she doesn’t belong in ours,” Leo hissed.
“Ohyeah, and it was okay for you to go after Karai!Sure! That makes total sense!” Raph roared.
“Karai was forced into our world! Are you really selfish enough to make her belong in ours!?” Now Leo had his blades drawn.
“Wedon’t belong anywhere Leo! But she’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to belonging, even when it’s with you three,”
“We are your family!” Leo shouted.
“Then fucking act like it!” Raph yelled, fighting back tears.
He had to get away. He had to get to you. You would know what to say, or at least what to do… or maybe you could give him solace from it all.
So, he took off and didn’t look back.
________________________________
I stared at Donnie in shock as he handed me back my helmet after testing it.
“And Leo had the nerve to…” I growled slipping it back on.
“He went to apologize,” Donnie tried to soothe my fury.
“Oh, I’m sure he did,” My voice dripped venom through the comm.
“Yo!Y/n!” Another voice chimed in over the headset in my helmet. It had to be Mikey, the only brother I hadn’t met face to face yet.
“Hey Mikey,” I gritted out, taking a left down Jefferson.
The wind and rain picked up step, making it hard to see. But I had a good idea of where I was going, a few ideas actually.
I sped to the tunnels, slowing as I reached the outskirts, killing my engine and slipping of my helmet.
“Raph!?” I called into the hollow caverns.
No response. I growled and dove back out into the storm.
“Do you guys see anything!?” I demanded over the intercom.
“Nothing,” Leo’s voice held an air of calm and collected.
Oh, I was so going to punch him in the face next time I saw him.
My next destination located itself in the middle of the Brooklyn bridge. Raph and his bike were nowhere to be found. Huffing, I set off again.
“Come on Raph,” I muttered. “Where are you?”
My hope waning, with one more spot left on my mental checklist, I turned carefully and headed towards the outskirts of the city. To a place Raph had never been. A road I had taken what seemed like months ago, leading him out of the city lights.
The city ways quickly became dense forest.
“Come on Raph, please,” Tears of fear and worry started to blur my vision. “Please, come back to me,”
I slowed my bike, having to. Through the rain and my tears, there was no other option. On the side of the road, I got off my bike, and took off my helmet, leaving them on the side of the road as I started to keep walking down the dark road.
“Raph!”
Stupid seemed like a good word to describe what I was doing.
Soaked to the bone, my tears fell freely.
What was I doing?
I was alone on a road, with no hope of finding a way back until the rain cleared, looking for someone who didn’t want to be found in the entirety of New York and I had nothing to go on.
“Please,” I begged to no one.
“Y/n!?”
I almost dropped in relief.
“Raph?” I called.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” He was beside me instantly, his figure shielding the rain that seemed to be coming in sideways with the wind.
_________________________________
“What are you doing out here!?” She shouted back. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Why… what the hell were you thinking!?” Her voice sounded raw as tears mixed with the rain.
“You’ve been looking for me? In this? Y/n, were you seriously riding in this!” Raphael’s voice rose.
“Whatelse was I supposed to do! Leo came to me; said you were gone! Then Donnie told me about what happened and God Raph!” Trembles racked her frame as she continued to yell. “Do you know how worried I’ve been!? How scared that something happened to you!?”
In a desperate attempted to stop shaking, her arms wrapped themselves around her frame. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her close, to give her comfort.
He never thought that she would care enough to come out looking for him. Or why the hell Leo would go to her of all people.
“I’m…sorry Y/n,” He mumbled, barely audible above the howling wind.
“Please, come home,” She shivered. He could see her paling and her lips turning blue.
“No, we’re gonna get you home, and dry, and warm,” Raph, against his better judgement again, picked her up and walked over to where her bike waited.
Sitting her in front of him, helping her with her helmet, he tore off down the road, back to the city. Back somewhere where he could get her warm and safe.
__________________________________
Whimpers let my lips against my will as I shuddered from the bitter cold. I could hear voices over the comm, but the words didn’t make much sense… not that I paid much attention.
Every cell in my body was screaming to get warm, and fast. I barely processed the effort it took to stay on the bike until Raphael pulled up to my apartment complex.
With head he lifted me and climbed the fore escape, forcing my window open.
I collapsed in the warmth, against him and his warmth. His face was fuzzy… everything was fuzzy. I tried to blink the haze from my eyes, but soon my eyelids were too heavy to reopen.
__________________________________
“Donnie get over here and fix her,” Raph hissed into his comm.
“Raph?” The three brothers all responded.
“Yes. Donnie, she passed out from being in the rain and cold too long and I need your help,” He growled, trying to keep his panic and worry to a minimum.
He had already stripped her riding jacket, shoes and socks, and currently, he cradled her in his lap cocooned in her throw blankets. Anything to give her warmth.
Donnie was ducking in through the window in minutes, and his brother looked at the limp girl in his arms and got to work. Taking her pulse and checking her vitals, Donnie seemed to relax.
“She’s in a stable condition, just a bit of hypothermia. What you were doing is what you should have been and need to keep doing until she wakes up and can shower and get dry clothes,” Donnie spoke softly.
Raph nodded, and his brother neared the window, hesitating slightly before ducking out into the driving rain.
Raphael held her closer in his arms as he moved to sitting on the floor, trying to keep himself together. He didn’t want to lose her, not like this. And he didn’t want to admit that maybe Leo was right… she didn’t belong in his world; she could get hurt… or worse.
But her eyebrows furrowed as her eyes fluttered open, and he knew that there couldn’t be any other place that he belong except right there.
Summary: Rain prevents you from riding the next few days and you’re growing restless. You wanted to ride. You wanted… to see him. You missed him against your better judgement. But what was wrong with missing him? Nothing at all. What happens when he misses you too?
A/N: As requested a Part Two to Midnight Rider!! I loved the responses on it and I wanted to thank you all for such positive feedback. Here’s something a bit softer and cozy for the hard times. Let me know if you want another part and what you think of this one!! I love you guys! ((P.S. I just finished my last paper-a twelve page research paper-for the semester so now I have more time for creative writing!!))
Rain pattered against my window as the sun went down leaving New York in total darkness. I sighed and wished for sunshine or a clear night when I could ride again. When I could see him again. It had been a few days of constant rain and I was becoming stir crazy. But I wasn’t stupid enough to go riding in the rain. It wasn’t worth the risk.
I stared out my opened window and watched the raindrops race against each other. Curling up in a large sweater with a cup of tea, I settled down for the night.
A dark form in front of my window made me jump and curse, adrenaline racing. Then I realized who blocked my window. It was my daredevil rider.
I pushed the window open, throwing my hands up in dismay.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I scolded. “It’s raining, it’s not safe to be out there,”
“I had to see you,” Raph admitted sheepish as he ducked in through my window.
I headed to my small bathroom and threw him a towel or two to dry off, turning a light on in my wake. The gentle fairy lights glowed with the candles it accompanied.
“Gotta say, didn’t think your place would look like this…” Raph trailed off, his eyes taking in my studio apartment. “It’s so… cozy,”
“Thank you,” I smiled and stood by his side admiring my handiwork with him.
I had made it cozy. My solace. My safe space.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked, picking up my mug of tea.
“Fine,” He replied a bit too quickly.
“Well, you’re welcome to come and hang out… if that’s what this is.” I gave him a dopey smile. “I can make tea for you if you want.”
Raph stared at me like I had two heads.
___________________________________
“Not what you were expecting?” A smile played at her lips as she curled up in an armchair.
“Not at all,” Raph muttered.
In his head he had this version of her.
Y/n. Her name forever engraved into his mind.
She was strong, confident, badass. She took no prisoners and always knew what to say. But this?
She was soft, and gentle, and he had seen it the other night in her concern. But what he saw before him, he wouldn’t have imagined. She was kind, and soft behind all of the edge and angst she gave off.
He almost loved it more, knowing that she offered both in who she was.
Y/n,
“So, what brought you around?” She mused, tucking herself under an afghan.
“It’s been raining, I haven’t seen you in a while,” He admitted again, taking a spot on her rug leaning against her couch.
A smile played at her lips and in the soft light, she was just as beautiful as she was in leather on a motorcycle. She didn’t make fun of him either, His brothers did. They thought it was ridiculous that he went to find her. Leo ordered against it. As if.
He had grown bored again with the rain coming down and he wanted to see her.
“You haven’t been riding have you?” She asked, concern coloring her voice.
“No,” It was the truth.
Mainly because he knew that if she found out, she’d have his ass for sure.
“Good,” She seemed pleased.
______________________________
Knowing sleeping had left my short-term plans, I uncurled from my chair and headed over to my record player and started the Bob Seger vinyl that I didn’t put away from earlier.
“You’re a classics fan?” He mused as the music started
“My mom was… I picked it up from her,” I admitted. “Now that I’m up do you want that tea?”
I made my way to the kitchen despite his answer and began to make another cup.
“You like classic rock then?” I asked back, leaning against the counter.
He had shifted so that he could still see me from my vantage point in the small kitchen.
“Zeppelin,” He offered. “Though my vinyl collection isn’t as impressive as yours,” He muttered. I smiled and rolled my eyes.
“Why am I not surprised you like Zeppelin,” I laughed. “Find something more original, Bon Jovi, Meatloaf! Hey, you might actually like Meatloaf,” I paused in thought. “Not that I know what you like… it just seems like… a very you band.”
“Whatthe hell is that supposed to mean?” He acted offended, but there was a smile on his face.
“I dunno,” I could feel my face flushing. “They just seem like… you.” I gestured. “I can let you borrow my record.”
“No, I can’t ask that.” Raph shook his head, standing in protest.
“You’re not asking, I’m giving it to you.” I smiled and offered him his tea as we both settled back in my living room area.
________________________________
Raph still tried to figure her out. There was still the fire in her veins that he had seen when he rode with her. This was that same fire, but in a softer way. In one that made him take care of himself, and that allowed her to be selfless.
She hummed softly to the music and sipped her tea absentmindedly, lost in thought he presumed.
“How is your family?” She asked after a while. “It’s been a while since you guys have done anything.”
Raph laughed.
“Yeah, there isn’t much to do anymore. It’s why I started to ride again. And we’re okay, I guess. Mikey has vowed to watch ever Doctor Who episode with Donnie and it’s taking them a while to get through it all.” Raph rolled his eyes.
“I should do that.” She murmured. “I haven’t watched it in a while.”
“You like that nerdy show?” He raised an eyebrow.
A laugh bubbled from her lips. It was soft and carefree. Somehow, even though he wasn’t racing through the streets of New York, he still felt free. A sort of freedom that crept in slowly and comforted him like a blanket.
“I do,” She smiled. “You might,”
“You keep saying that,” He challenged.
“Oh?” A smirk grew on her face and a fire in her eyes.
“That I’ll like things when you don’t really know me,” Raph contested.
She went quiet, a smile still on her lips.
“Maybe I don’t know you that well, but I think I have a good idea of what you might like.” She quipped.
“Yeah?”
She nodded, her smile growing.
A clap of thunder shook her windows as lightning flashed. She didn’t flinch. Fear didn’t occupy her features. He knew Mikey was afraid of thunder, and Donnie didn’t prefer it, but she seemed almost at home among it.
_________________________________
“Tell me then,” I whispered. “Who are you?” I moved onto the couch and curled up on the side, waiting and listening.
“What do you wanna know?” His voice held a note of uncertainty.
“How old are you?” I mused. “That’s an easy one.”
“Is this twenty questions now?” Raph raised an eyebrow.
I chuckled. “That would mean yes or no answers, this is just… a conversation.” I decided.
“Alright, but if you get to ask questions, so do I,” He countered.
“Deal.”
“Eighteen, you?”
“Eighteen,”
We went on like that for a while, question after question. His favorite singer was actually Billy Joel; I hated the Beatles; he never thought to read anything other than magazines; I couldn’t remember the last time I had read a book; he had never been out of the state; I had been along the east coast on road trips; he hated spinach and cucumbers; I hated smoothies and tomatoes; he had four brothers; I had one.
“Where did you learn to ride?” He asked as it neared one am.
“My mom,” I yawned, blinking slowly. “She’d take me on her bike when I was little… my dad was a mechanic…” I gave a small shrug. “Why do you ride?” I countered.
“It’s…freedom.” He replied.
I nodded, knowing what he meant. It’s why I loved to ride. No one telling you where to go or what to do or who to be, you could just ride and not stop.
“Did you miss me?” His question came softly and hesitantly.
I nodded, my eyes slipping closed from tiredness. Talking to him like this made me feel safe and more at home than I ever had before. Like I was a child, curled up on a winter night waiting for Christmas as snow fell softly into the quiet of the night. A simpler time.
“I did. It’s not the same when I’m not around you… I looked forward to our rides.”
______________________________
Raphael watched her eyes droop closed as the hours passed. He was on a high learning so much from her and letting his walls down over stupid trivia that had him laughing and her blushing.
But being up late tonight didn’t seem to rest well with her despite their late-night rides the week before. He wondered if it was the rain that lulled her to sleep.
It didn’t really matter what it was, she was all but fast asleep on the sofa above him. Peace washed over her like this, though no smile was on her face, a gentle expression rested in her features.
“Y/n?” He asked softly, standing and stretching. He loved the feeling or her name on his lips.
She hummed a response, not opening her eyes. He wanted to laugh.
“You need to get to bed,” He muttered, taking her mug and his and carefully putting them into her sink, very conscientious of the space around him.
“Too far,” Her voice grew jumbled. “I’ll sleep on the couch,” She seemed resolved about this.
“No, you’re not,” He smiled and shook his head at her antics. “It’s not that far, lazy,” he teased gently.
“M’fine,” She tried again, her words slurring.
Raph stared at her curled-up form and her bed that rested against the back wall of her apartment.
Maybe the rain had calmed him too, or maybe being near her had let him be someone who didn’t thrive on anger and deflecting, but he carefully lifted her from the couch and walked her over to her bed and gently laid her down.
She immediately stretched out and found her way under the covers, cuddling a pillow. Her eyes never opened.
“Thanks,” She mumbled, the faintest smile playing at her lips. “Tomorrow?”
Being mutants living in the sewers, they only ever had the scraps of society. Broken toys, beat up books with missing pages, disks scratched to near oblivion, and discarded consuls in need of repair. Unwanted things taped, tied, and glued together as much as they could be. They were grateful for what they got but maybe there was something they’d always wanted…
“Is that Samurai Ren?”
Leonardo looked up, blue eyes catching a glimpse of his favorite childhood toy…an old action figure of the hero Samurai Ren, beat up and beloved. His swords were cut from cardboard and his left leg was missing but still…he had loved that toy. Memories flooded in, a smile slowly spilling upon his face as Leo picked up the toy.
“Yeah…it was my favorite show as a kid.” He murmured. “Samurai Ren, brave and kind! Always showing up to defeat bandits or monsters, searching through Japan for his lost love…Raph was the one who found him for me.”
“Really?”
Leo nodded, returning the samurai to his place on the shelf.
“Found him in some dumpster and came running home to give it to me. I didn’t even care that he was all beat up, I was just so happy to have my own toy. Besides, most of our stuff was in rough shape anyway.”
“Did Ren ever find his love?”
“Lotus Blossom…they were reunited in the final arc of the show. They released a doll of her too, but it was limited edition and I never was able to find one…I think I just used a little cut out of her from an advertisement to play with instead. They’re crazy expensive now.”
There laying on the shelf was a folded and rather worn out piece of paper, frayed at the edges and starting to lose color. Pulling it apart, Leonardo smiled at the familiar sight of Lotus Blossom’s long hair and red lips, so lost in childhood memories that he never saw the glimmer of recognition in your eyes…and as the night went on, he quickly forgot about the whole thing.
Butyoudidn’t.
A week later, you were back in the lair after visiting your parents back home for a couple of days. After a dinner with his father and brothers, the two of you slipped into his bedroom for a little bit of alone time…
“I have a little something for you.”
“Oh?”
“Before I was born,” you explained, “my uncle and dad had a falling out and didn’t speak for years and years. When I was nine, they made up and Uncle Teddy showed up with a gift for all of the birthdays he’d missed. And one of them was this really pretty doll…”
From out of your bag you pulled out an old but rather lovely doll, one the Leonardo recognized at once. She was dressed in a pink and white kimono painted with flowers, a red obi tired neatly around her waist. Her long black hair hung to her tiny feet, a red smile painted on her face. Though her dress was a little worn and her hair a little messy, she was still nearly perfect.
“Lotus Blossom!”
There was the doll he’d been looking for since he was a turtle tot, having been sitting in a box in your closet for years and years. Handing him the doll, Leo couldn’t stop smiling. All those years spent looking for Samurai Ren’s lover…only for her to be with his own love this whole time.
It was fate.
The doll was tiny in his large hands, looking up at him with darkly painted eyes as you smiled at him excitedly.
“I always meant to give her a samurai boyfriend and I happen to know a pretty lonely one.”
“Are you sure?” Leonardo asked. “I mean, she’s yourdoll…”
Which means that I can do whatever I like with her…so now she’s yours. I think they deserve to be together, after spending all these years looking for one another…I know that they’re only toys but it’s still a little romantic in my mind.”
Setting her on the shelf, Leonardo smiled at the sight of them: a beat-up samurai and his flower. He felt you beside him and wrapped a large hand around yours, squeezing softly as he did.
“Thank you…”
He moved so slowly, watching you carefully to make absolutely sure that you wanted this, that you wanted him…and you did. You had always wanted him and always would. Pulling you into him, Leonardo kissed you softly and slowly and so terribly sweetly…the ninja and his blossom locked in a perfect, wonderful embrace.
“What’s up, Mikey?”
Michelangelo almost didn’t hear you, those baby blue eyes still looking at the screen. But your voice, sweet and familiar, slowly pulled him back to reality as his name fell from you lips…something he loved to hear.
“Oh…it’s just nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing.
You knew that and he knew that you knew it…so he didn’t bother hiding his screen away. Instead he allowed you to look over his shoulders at the laptop, the video still playing on the screen. It was an old advertisement and you didn’t even need to have the sound up to hear the song. It was still playing in your head after all these years.
“Oh! I remember those! This was always playing on TV.”
“Yeah!” Mikey laughed, glancing at you with a smile. “I used to love watching this…I always wanted one but, you know…it just wasn’t gonna happen. It was too expensive for us to buy and impossible to find…so I just never brought it up.”
Sometimes it was easy to forget.
They had such a cool home and great stuff but…it was mostly scavenged and repaired, almost nothing was ever new to them. Mikey loved his father too much to ever complain, not wanting Splinter to feel guilty for their lot in life, you knew that…
And you knew how much Mikey lovedart.
He’d been using odds and ends of supplies that he’d found and painting on pieces of cardboard for years, taking whatever he could get his hands on. But looking back at the screen and watching those kids open the art set made you remember that Mikey had been a kid too…just a little turtle tot, watching this advertisement over and over again and wanting things he knew that he could never have.
Finding the case wasn’t hard.
The red plastic briefcase like thing came empty, just in need of a cleaning and waiting for the second phase of your plan. Art supplies soon filled the empty slots: oil pastels, acrylic and watercolor paints, color pencils, markers, and pens too. You bought brushes and erasers and sharpeners, setting everything in its place until it was finished, filled, and perfect, even getting him a thick black sketchbook and some painting paper too.
“Mikey~”
He was playing some game, eyes on the screen and face breaking into a big, goofy grin when he heard your voice.
“Babe!” He laughed. “Did you come to cheer me on?”
“No, not this time. I actually came to give you a surprise…so close your eyes!”
Ar once his eyes were shut and you were giggling as he guessed all of the things it could be. A fleet of Ferrari’s, a space ship so he could fly to the moon, maybe even the moon itself! Oh, you would give him the moon if you could! But perhaps this would do for now…
“Open!”
Those brilliant blue eyes snapped open and for a moment, still laughing…until he saw it. Mikey looked shocked for a second, green hands running over the smooth red box, the very one he’d spent years dreaming of.
“No way…you found this?”
“It was empty when I bought it but I got all the stuff it would have come with if it had been new! Better stuff, not the kid’s stuff.”
“You…you did all that for me?”
“Yeah, Mike.” You said softly, unsure of what to say or how to say it. “Of course I did. You make me happy so I wanted to -oh!”
Before you could finish saying a thing, Mikey was was pulling you into his arms. The hold he had on you was tight but not in a painful way…in a wonderful way. It was warm and safe and he was holding on like he would never let go. It was a kind of hold that felt right and good, made for lovers holding onto one another.
“You’reamazing,” Michelangelo sighed. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
The rest of the night was spent laying at his side as Mikey tested his new stuff. Color pencils moved across the page, slowly creating a scene before you…a city sketched against a sunset sky, two figure sitting on the roof together.
“I didn’t know you liked Yu-gi-oh.”
Donatello grinned, putting away his work for a moment to look at the tin of old cards you’d found on his shelf. The box was half rusted and falling apart (it actually would fall apart if one didn’t handle it right), a pile of old cards inside. The cards were damaged, torn or cut or taped together, some were even water damaged to boot, but they were his.
“Oh!” He laughed. “Oh, yeah, I was really into it when I was a kid.”
Flipping through the spells and traps and monsters, Donnie pointed out his favorite cards as you looked through them together.
“I used to make my brothers duel me sometimes. But mostly I just collected whatever card that I could find, even if it was kind of lame. People were always tossing out the weaker cards and I would pick ‘em up. Oh, hey!”
There were four card that were held together by an old paperclip, almost like some Frankenstein creature waiting to be summoned. Golden arms and legs were bound by chains, the cards themselves wrinkled from water damage.
“Exodia the Forbidden One! I almost collected all of the cards to complete him…just never got the head.”
“Hard to find?”
“Yeah.” Donnie said. “I always thought I’d buy it one day but then we started, you know, fighting crime and as it turns out, that is a really expensive hobby. So I just put this aside and forgot I guess…jeez, it’s been forever since I looked at these.”
“Can we duel?”
“That, my dove, was a big mistake…I happen to be the King of Games.”
It was just a silly little thing to do, Donnie dueling you and talking all about his favorite episodes and characters. Getting the turtle away from the lab (or some other work that needed doing) could be a difficult task at times, but when you managed to do it, oh, it was so worth it! Still, you didn’t stop thinking about that card…the image of little Donnie searching through scraps and trash for that one card, that one little thing he wanted…it was sad.
So you found it for him.
Once more Donatello was in the lab, working away. He heard you before he saw you, the sound of your footsteps and voice coming closer.
“Later, Raph!”
And then the door was opening and he was smiling, setting aside his tools in order to greet you with a kiss. The feel of you in his arms was like heaven, the both of you melting together so perfectly…just what he needed right now!
“Got you something.”
From behind your made came a small box, made out of gold-painted metal and covered in Egyptian designs.
“Oh! The Millennium puzzle box!”
“I saw it and thought of you…look inside.”
Opening the lid, Donatello was amazed to see the very card his childhood self had dreamed of and searched for endlessly…Exodia the Forbidden One.
“Oh…dove…”
“I know how much you wanted it.” You said. “And I thought it was time that poor thing finally got a head! He’s been all arms and legs for too long.”
Quickly, Donnie placed his cards inside a box, the rusty old tin now empty and waiting for a new purpose…though he knew that he might just keep it around for sentimental purposes. The now completed Exodia was the last to fall in, all five pieces neatly sliding into place and he smiled like a little kid.
“Thank you, darling.” He sighed. “It almost feels like it’s too much.”
“Nothing’s too much for the King of Games.”
“You know…” Donnie said with a teasing little grinned. “If I’m the king, that ought to make you my queen.”
“Oh?”
“Oh, yes!”
And then he was pulling you into another kiss as you laughed, falling right back into his arms…right where you belonged. Playful kisses were peppered all along your face and neck, your laughter filling his ears and he kissed and kissed and kissed you.
“Raph, what’s this?”
Raphael turned to see what you were talking about, only to jump up at the sight of a very old, very beat up red notebook.
Oh. Crap.
“That’s just-”
“Are these song lists?”
“It’s nothing, babe.”
“Then why do you got that look on your pretty face?”
He sighed, a large hand rubbing the back of his neck. As embarrassed as he was, Raph figured that he might as well just tell you…he told you everything after all.
The big stuff, small stuff, and now…stupid stuff too.
“There was this show I watched, when I was a kid,” he said as he sat down next to you. “Kinda sucked…but the guy, he gave his girl a mix tape…and I liked that. Wrote down all the songs, used to listen to ‘em all the time.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah…I just liked it. Making something like that for someone…”
And then he didn’t bring it up again.
You knew that things had been hard for Raph. Growing up surviving off of the discards of society, he’d been hungering for a lot. He’d been lonely.
And he was a lot more romantic then he appeared to be.
It was one of those things that you loved about him. That sweetness hiding beneath a tough exterior, just waiting to come out. Bit by bit you had encouraged it, allowing Raphael to leave behind the tough guy act when it was just the two of you. And because you took every chance you got to encourage it, you immediately got to work.
A couple days later, he was picking you up from work.
Though he’d practically had to rip the keys to the van from Don’s hands, Raph was finally able to get his turn. There was something so right about sitting with you at his side, music playing as he drove through the city streets.
“Hey.”
Your lips pressed to his skin several times, teasing his jaw and neck as Raphael just melted away for you. It was something he’d always wanted, a weak spot of his that he’d kept hidden for years…until he met you. Laughing breathlessly, Raph allowed you to kiss and tease to your heart’s content before slipping away with a smile.
“Made you something.”
“Yeah?”
It was a tape. Glancing at you, Raph took the tape and slipped it into the slot, allowing a song to start playing…and then he knew.
“There’s a time and place for everything, for everyone, we can push with all our might but nothing’s gonna come…”
“Did you…you made made the tape?”
“Yeah.” You replied. “I was feeling romantic.”
“Oh, could you let it be? I wanna hold you and say…”
He felt like…there wasn’t any words to describe how he felt. It was like fire, but nothing like he was angry. It was like he was flying but he wasn’t dreaming, not anymore. This was real, this was perfect…this was you.
And he was kissing you.
“And no matter what you say or do, you know my heart is true, oh, I can’t stop lovin’ you…”
(Just something short and sweet for my fave boys…I write a lot about the turtles giving gifts but I wanted to write something where they were the ones receiving. After all, they deserve just as much love as they give!)
Imagine stumbling into the turtle’s lives by pure accident, falling from a fire escape and landing right into their arms. They’re expecting you to be shocked or scared or something…but you’re barely even phased at the sight of the giant turtles standing in front of you.
Why?
“Well, I’ve seen at least one of you over the years…like, a lot.”
Leonardo is stunned.
Stupidly, obviously stunned. Always so proud of his ninja training, he takes great pleasure in being the “unseen.” Just a shadow in a darkened alley, a swift blur in the corner of a stranger’s eye, a stolen sight that one might brush away as mere imagination and nothing more. So knowing that you’ve caught them numerous times is, well, a little embarrassing for him.
Okay, it’s more like a lot.
“Who have you seen?” He asks quietly.
“Well,” you said as you carefully gathered the books and papers that had spilled from your bag, “I’m actually pretty sure it was you. I’ve seen you running over the rooftops a lot and I remember your swords.”
And now it was just plain humiliating. Raph scoffed in utter delight, already coming up with a million and one smug remarks to make, and he could see Donnie and Mikey sharing smiles. All the times he’d scolded his brothers about being more careful, warning them to avoid being seen, were now coming back to haunt him. Oh, he was never going to hear the end of this, he just knew it! They would be bringing this up for years and years.
Leonardo looked away from his brothers and back towards you, watching as you carefully inspected your phone for chips and cracks.
“If it’s damaged, I can fix that,” Donnie said helpfully.
“I think it’s okay…” you replied, “But thank you. And thanks for catching me before I, you know, fell to my death.”
“Uh…anytime.” Leonardo replied, his brain feeling fuzzy from the embarrassment and confusion.
“See you guys around.”
And just like that you were gone, walking off into the city and leaving Leonardo standing with his brothers. At once the teasing he’d already been expecting started up, Raph ragging on him and the other two only joyfully encouraging him, but for once…he didn’t care. Not even when Don joked about telling Splinter, not when Raph told him he ought to train more. Instead he watched you walk away and wondered when he might see you again.
Perhaps next time he was running across the rooftops, he’d stop and say hello…
Donatello isn’t really too surprised.
Statistically speaking, a good number of New Yorkers have seen that turtles from time to time. After all, they’ve been living in the city for all of their twenty-two years and have been active on the surface for eight of those now. There are quite a few humans out there who’ve caught a look at them, leading to stories of some sort of man-eating turtle cryptid living in the city waterways…there are some interesting sites out there.
But math doesn’t lie and you’re not the only one who has seen them…just one of the few who has gotten to actually meetthem.
“Really?” Mikey piped up.
“Yeah,” you replied with a shrug. “But it’s not really a big deal or anything. I mean, this is New York City after all. I’d honestly be a lot more surprised if there weren’t giant turtles running around here at night.”
“How many times have you seen us?” Leonardo questioned, his blue eyes glancing sharply at his brothers.
“A lot of times through the years. Running around on the rooftops, getting into a few fights with gang bangers…actually, you know, I think I’ve seen him more then the rest of you.”
You had pointed right at Donatello when you made that little comment and already he could feel Leonardo’s glare settle on the back of his shell. He wondered if his elder brother would care too much about his argument for statistics…probably not! But you were smiling a little, brushing the dirt off of the Dittos that covered your black dress.
“And…you’re cool with that?” Donnie asked.
“Yup.”
“Then…so are we! Right, guys?”
His brothers chimed in, agreeing with the sentiment. And with that, you were off, grabbing your button-covered bag and walking away to catch your bus.
“See you around…?”
“Uh, Donnie. My name’s Donnie.”
“Later, Donnie.”
Forgetting about the impending doom that loomed over him (he could already hear Leonardo’s scolding and feel that sting in his muscles from Master Splinter’s punishment, which was sure to be brutal and terribly clever), Donatello grinned to himself as you vanished into the city…but he was certain that he would see you again.
And maybe you wouldn’t mind that at all…
Michelangelo is curious.
You saw them? For years? And you didn’t freak out or anything? That was rare for humans. Even compassionate people like April got a little freaked and, yeah, he couldn’t really blame anyone for screaming…still hurt though. They were no monsters, even if some people thought otherwise (Donnie had shown them those cryptid sites and he hadn’t liked that much). He’d been expecting screaming or fainting or something…
And yet here you were, cool as a cucumber!
“Just one of us?” Donatello asked, clearly eager for answers. “Do you know which one?”
“Oh…I dunno…” you murmured, running a hand through your hair as you thought it over. “He’s an artist.”
At once Michelangelo felt his Leo and Don glaring at him and Raph, both who claimed that honorable role as artists. The two brothers shared a guilty glance, each of them wondering who had earned himself one of Leonardo’s long lectures.
“I’ve seen him spray painting these gorgeous pieces! There’s these blue angel wings and this neon melting heart by the place I work-”
“Mikey!” Leonardo snapped, Don slapping the back of his head simultaneously.
“You’reIl Divino?”
Well, his secret was out. Michelangelo had been sneaking out every so often to paint the worn out brick and cracked concrete of New York City with his art…and now everyone knew. Including the pretty human in front of him. The fact that she liked his art so much made it possible to pretend that he wasn’t about to be destroyed by his brothers.
“I love your art…especially that roses beneath the bridge!” you chirped happily. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen it around.”
“I’ve been, uh, busy.”
“Well…” you said, picking up your sharpie-covered messenger bag, “if your schedule clears up, I hope to see your work again.”
“Yeah…”
Then you were gone, giving the turtle a little smile as you walked away. Already he was planning a new piece, something with neon pink…and a girl with a bright smile. Leonardo’s lecture began as Raph and Don walked away, laughing to themselves.
And Mikey was stunned totally stupid, wondering what you would think of his next piece…
Maybe he’d get to ask you!
Raphael is unsure.
From the second you nearly fell on top of Leonardo, he’d been expecting the whole shebang. Screaming, panicking, all that good stuff. It happened to them about every time a human managed to find them, a guy starts to expect it. But you could not care less and he…
He’s the confused one right now.
Since getting back on your feet, you hadn’t been even a little phased. Perhaps the fall had scared you but the turtles had not. Straightening your jacket, the metal and plastic pins caught his eye. A lightning bolt, several sarcastic phrases, a red eye. They were cool. You were cool, sighing as you looked back at the turtles.
“When have you seen one of us?” Leonardo asked. “Who?”
“I dunno…which one of you likes to stand on rooftops and angrily scream into the sky a couple times a week?”
At once all of his brothers turned and looked right at him, an unspoken answer to your question. Raph looked away, face hot and eyes burning. Raph’s temper was well known to his family…and apparently to you too.
“Uh…ya heard me, huh?”
“Actually, I screamed back at you once. I believe I told you you to get your crap together and stop throwing fits at four in the fucking morning.”
“That was you?”
Hands on your hips, you looked at the turtle with confidence and attitude. It was almost like you were daring him to snap back, ready for a bite back…he almost wanted to take you up on it! You were not, he realized, even a little bit afraid of him. Shocking for a human but strangely comforting at the same time for the turtle.
“Yup.”
“Why ain’t ya mad at me?”
“I was for a while. But then I saw you beating some Purple Dragons into the dirt and I thought, eh, give the guy a chance.”
Raphael grinned, chuckling beneath his breath. Clearly, you were not like most other humans. He felt certain that if aliens landed right here in font of you, you’d probably just tell them to get out of your way because you were late and trying to get home.
“I gotta go. It’s nice to finally meet you…?”
“Raphael.”
“Later, Raphael.”
He liked it. The glint in your eyes and edge to your grin, the way you said his name…there was just something about you that he liked. And there was something else telling him that this wasn’t the last time he’d see you.
Request: “Can I have 2012 Donatello solving mysteries with his Sherlock Holmes type darling (very intelligent, quiet, and observant)?”
A/N:Thank you for requesting! I had a lot of fun writing this, it combined two of my favorite things, TMNT and Sherlock Holmes!
Pairing:Donatello x Reader (female).
It seemed like the twists and turns of Donatello’s life would never cease to amaze him.
One would think that being, ya know, a teenage mutant ninja turtle would leave life with little ability to surprise or shock you but one would be wrong. Very, very wrong. Life seemed to enjoy sending Donatello and his brothers through the weirdest twists and turns…which was exactly how he ended up meeting you.
A routine patrol had gone off the rails when he found the Purple Dragons chasing down a young girl.
Trench coat flaring in the wind and camera in hand, you ran through the city streets as the furious cries of gangsters followed you. Having separated from his brothers, he had no back and only one chance to act.
asking raph for literally anything, is SUCH an ego boost for him. Specifically only when *you* ask him to do something, with your long pretty lashes. Looking up at him, “Raph, could you change the light bulb in this room for me?”
It never fails to send a shiver down his spine or give him like, asmr tingles in his brain.
with all of the fuzzy, tingly feelings going on.. he can never resist any request from you. With a half smile and a daze look in his eyes, staring down at you. “Sure sweet stuff. Can’t have you stacking up boxes again. could’ve killed ya’ self.
He gets a little jealous when you ask his brothers for stuff. He wants to be the only one you need, you know?
Anytime you ask ANY of his brothers even for the tiniest thing like “hey can you get that off the shelf?” He ALWAYS gotta say something.
“Why does he need ta’ do it?” Huffing and shit, he’s such a pissy baby.
Shit hits the fan when it’s Vern or Casey. He’s sitting down? Nah, he’s jumping up to do it himself. He’s a few feet away? Man is SPRINTING
I think you would find it funny and adorable. How he just wants to be the one to help you. After you guys get together, he calms down a bit. The jealousy isn’t as high as it was before.
To me, Raph has some issues with feeling insecure. So, when you ask him to do these things, I don’t know it’s like.. it makes him feel wanted.
TW; porn with no plot(?), afab!reader, female pronouns used for reader, male masturbation mentioned, creampie (use protection irl<3), dacryphilia. 18+ ONLY. Minors stay away.
I can totally see Splinter having to literally hide all the binkies from Raph as a kid, because he has such a strong oral fixation, the boy sucked on those things well past toddler hood.
Maybe his aggression came from lack of having his soothing mechanism against insecurities.
+ Y/N is known for coming over to the lair a lot. She even stays the night quite often. It was one of those nights where she stays but it goes a little different this time. In the middle of the night, she has a nightmare that shakes her to her core. Unable to get back to sleep alone, she goes to Raph in search for some comfort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Y/N’s POV
I laughed uncontrollably as Mikey whipped out off the skateboard ramp. He shook his head as he sat on the ground, literally swaying back and forth. Master Splinter and Raph were openly laughing while Donnie was trying not to and Leo was just shaking his head smiling.
“That’s how many times now, Mike? 10?” Raph cracked as Mikey finally gained his composure. He glared at Raph before getting up. Raph sat on the back of the couch next to me and nudged me with his foot. I looked up at him. “You should show him how it’s done, Skids.”
“Alright.” I got up and walked to Mikey. “Let me have a whack at it.” He smiled and let me have the board. I was able to get the trick he has been trying to do you an hour on the second try. Once I stopped and stepped off the ramp, he just looked at me.
“How!” He yelled before turned and walking away. He threw his hands into the air and whined. That got us all to laugh. My laugh was cut short by a yawn.
“Looks like it’s someone’s bedtime.” Raph said. I gave him a half glare but nodded.
“I’m exhausted.” I said stretching. “I think I am going to hit the sack.” I set the board down.
“Alright. Goodnight my dear.” Master Splinter bowed her head. The others all said goodnight as I jogged up the stairs. I turned left and headed to the room that was mine when I stay here. I heard yelling as I closed the door.
“Things are definitely back to normal.” I said. I changed into a loose shirt and some shorts before plopping on the bed. I snuggled under the blanket and quickly drifted off.
I hit the ground running after bursting through a set of doors. I don’t know what exactly I was running from but I was running as fast as I could. I could hear yells and pounding behind me. I turned a corner and tripped. I rolled a feet and onto my feet and ran again.
“What the hell is going on?” I exclaimed. I looked up at the top of the buildings trying to see the guys were anywhere. I didn’t see any of them. I bit my lip and kept running. That was until a bang of a bullet hit the wall in front of me. I jerked and skidded to a stop against the wall. The bricks dug into my skin of my left arm and I felt blood run down my arm.
“You’re not going to get away girlie.” I saw three men down the street. One of them had a gun pointed at me. I saw him pull the trigger and a brick just above my head exploded.
“Ah!” I screamed and ran again. I ducked into the ally and jumped onto the fire escape. I climbed up and heard them enter the ally.
“Up there.” I heard the gun go off again and pain exploded through my right bicep. I stumbled and clutched my arm. Tears sprang to my eyes as I froze in pain.
“A, a, ow. Shit.” I forced myself forward and got to the roof. I ran over the roof tops. I thought I had gotten away when I was tackled. The person landed on top of me, winding me. I gasped for air as the person got up. I kicked back with all the force I could muster.
“Shit!” I heard the yell as my foot collided with something. I pushed up and forward, trying to get away. My ankle was grabbed and yanked back. I landed on my stomach. My hair was grabbed.
“Hey!” I was yanked up and onto my knees. I grabbed the person’s wrist, trying to lessen the pressure. I froze when a knife was produced in front of me. I heard a dark chuckle.
“Now we have your complete attention.” He waved the knife around a bit. “Told you, you couldn’t get away and now you are going to die.” He moved the knife closer to me.
“No! I didn’t do anything to you.” I jerked back away from the knife. “Please!” Where were the guys?
“Sorry girlie. Bye, bye.” He moved the knife to my throat and pressed down. I screamed as he swiped it across my throat.
“No!”
I shot up in bed in a panic. I looked around frantically. I clutched my throat and backed up into the wall. I didn’t feel a cut or blood and saw I was in my room in the lair. I closed my eyes in relief and let my head fall back. I tried to control my breathing.
“Holy shit, holy shit.” I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my head in my knees. I took a big breath and held it. After a few seconds, I let it out slow.
I laid back down and tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. I kept seeing the knife and hearing the gun. I sat up and looked to the door. I got up and walked out the door. I looked out over the railing and saw the lair was empty and quiet. I made my way down the platform to the other side. I stopped at Raph’s door. I knocked and waited. No answer.
“Raph?” I opened the door. I saw him lying on his stomach. He was snoring a bit. I walked over and knelt next to the bed. I reached and shook his shoulder. “Raph.”
“Hmm.” He stirred and buried his head in his pillow before peeking out at me. He say it was me and pushed up onto his elbows quickly.
“What’s wrong?” He asked and reached forward and wiped a tear away.
“Umm.” I looked away and rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s stupid but I had a nightmare and couldn’t stand to be alone.” It was silent for a few minutes and I could feel him staring at me. I suddenly felt his hand on my arm.
“Come on, get off the floor.” He pulled me up and I sat on the bed. I pulled my knees up to my chest as he sat up. “Do you want to tell me what happened in your dream? You look petrified.”
“It was…I was…” I stuttered before taking a breath. “I was being chased and shot at by three men I didn’t recognize. I got hit in the arm with a bullet. One of the caught me and then he slit my throat. I woke up right then.”
“My god.” He whispered.
“And you guys were nowhere in sight. I was totally alone.” I set my head in my knees. I felt him place his hand on my back.
“It was just a dream, Skids. We will always be here when you need us. You’re one of our best friends Y/N. We would die before anyone could get the chance to get to you.” I sniffled and looked at him. “Come here.” I nearly launched myself into his lap.
“I was so scared. It felt so real.” I buried my face in his neck and he wrapped his arms around me. He lifted me and readjusted me in his lap. H pulled the blanket up and over my legs and he held me.
“I know. I’ve had those nightmares. They scare ya and rock ya to your core but ya have to remember that’s all they are. Nightmares. They’re not real.” I nodded and moved my head to his shoulder. He pet my hair. “Do you want to stay in here tonight?”
“Please?” I lifted my head and looked at him pleadingly. He chuckled. He nodded and ruffled my hair. He looked towards the door and saw I left it cracked. He grabbed a basketball that sat on a shelf above us and threw it. It hit the door just right and it shut firmly.
“Bullseye.” I rolled my eyes and moved off his lap and onto the bed. I laid down on the far side of the bed and I felt him lay down too. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I felt a hand on my waist and pull me backwards. My back hit his plastron. “Beds not big enough to put space comfortably.”
“Alright.” I chuckled and settled. I was nearly asleep when I felt him nuzzle my hair. I opened my eyes and listened to check if he was awake. His breathing was a little too heavy for him to be asleep. I turned and saw his eyes closed. “Goodnight Raph.” I pecked his beak. His eyes shot open in shock.
“Um. Goodnight, Y/N.” He whispered. I smiled before turning back around. I heard him take a stuttering breath before he pulled me tighter to him. He buried his head in my hair and I internally chuckled. I closed my eyes in content, feeling safe in his arms.
Some part of you would have liked to say that you’d been seeing him for what he was but the truth was…you hadn’t. Eyes closed toght, you had been blind to it for far too long. It had been going on for so long and you had gotten to the point where you just took it.
When he called you names…
According to him, you were stupid and useless, never ever doing anything right.
When he criticized you endlessly…
According to him, you were so damn difficult, so hard to please, alwats screwing up anything you touched.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell.
But you took it all, every word and every barb, always saying nothing. Doing nothing. Like a good little punching bag.
Somehow, the toxicity of your relationship had become your new normal. You had begun making excuses for Adam for years, telling yourself that every boyfriend acted like this. It was a bad day, a bad mood, a bad time. Or it was a rough patch, right? Everyone went through rough patches but…it would be fine. It was normal, it was okay, everything was okay.
Until it wasn’t.
Until you met the turtles.
It had happened so suddenly, a series of accidents that lead to a masked turtle saving your life. And from there, a friendship begsn to blossom. You never told your boyfriend about any of it. He never wanted to hear what you had to say anyway so…you kept it to yourself.
Everyday, you came home to the same old thing.
Useless. Disastrous.
Insults thrown your way, a screaming fight in which you never uttered a word. You only sat there and let yourself be screamed at before Adam stormed out, leaving you to weep.
And every night, you ran off to something new…something wonderful.
One turtle in particular had taken to you, always slipping away when no one was looking. A rooftop overlooking the city and stars became a special sort of place. There you would hear and feel everything you didn’t even know you had wanted.
Beautiful. Intelligent. Funny.
He told you that you were all kinds of wonderful. That you were everything he had ever dreamed of, all that he had ever wanted…and that you deserved so, so much more then that bastard.
And for the first time in forever, you believed it.
They weren’t the biting remarks you were so used to, they were like honey…warm and sweet, and you began to crave it.
You began to fight back.
When your boyfriend snapped at you, you snapped back.
Teeth bared, claws out, you weren’t backing down anymore! He was shocked the first time you dud it, standing there with a stupid look on his face. Damn, did that feel good! When Adam tried it again, he found that this wasn’t a fluke. It was courage. It was you, the you that had been gone for so long, broken down by cruelty…and brought up by love.
“Shut up!” He had screamed, storming towards you.
But you didn’t back down.
You didn’t run and hide.
Pushing back, you glared up at him and, for the first time, you saw Adam for what he really was. Ugly. Evil. A tyrant that had ruled over you life with cruelty and abuse for far, far too long. But tyrants fall and empires crumble, new life springing ftom the ruins of what once was.
“No!” You screamed back, “No! I’m sick of this and I’m sick of YOU! People don’t act like this when they love each other so you don’t love me…so just leave!”
He’d laughed bitterly, smirking that smug like smile, it made you want to smack him.
“Who could ever love you?” Adam sneered. “Who could ever want you? You’re lucky that-”
No. No.
He wasn’t doing this anymore. He wasn’t going yo break you to bits again. You weren’t going to let this happen, not now and not ever. No one else was going to treat you like that ever again. Fire burned within, a raging anger bursting forth and interrupting his little tirade.
“I love me! I want me!” You shouted, shoving him away. “And I am so fucking done with you.”
“Y/N-”
But you weren’t going to hear any more of it. Throwing him and all his stuff out into the rainy street, you glared down at the man you had once loved…the man that had become your nightmare. Every nasty thing he’d ever said to you ran through you mind, destroying any pity you may have felt for the pathetic little creature. There was no parting kiss or kindness for him. The last thing you would ever say to Adam was a simple order:
“Never come back.”
The door was shut. The locks were changed. In fact, you changed everything. New sheets (you hated the ones he had slept in), a new look (you wore everything he had told not to), a new you.
It was…awesome.
Laying back in the sunlight, you felt as though everything had changed for the better. The nightmare was over and your eyes were wide open…and your phone was going off.
The name displayed on the screen made you smile, a message flashing brightly.
“Meet me on the roof?”
“Always.”
Waiting on the roof, you wore a smile on your face and a dress in his shade. The sun set slowly, stars beginning to appear one by one by one, and from out of the shadows, a figure appeared.
“Y/N!”
“Hey, you~”
That toxic love had up and died but you would not mourn it. A sweeter love had taken its place…and you were ready to live again.
(This is based of According to You by Orianthi. Moral of of the story, treat your girlfriend right or she will find someone else who will)
A lot of you guys seemed to like the Apocalypse AU with 2012 Raph (I know it’s an older post that isn’t looked at much now but still)…so what if we got a Donnie’s perspective in the same AU?
Donnie’s tirelessly trying to find the cure to this mutagenic/viral hybrid ?
:) I know it’s been a lot of time in between each chapter, but I’m glad I saw it through, I think it’s a nice wrap-up to this.
Pacing her apartment, the girl, covered in little bruises still, slapped a palm to her forehead. Stupid, stupid! She’d just let him take off before they could even work anything out, no place, no time—what had she been thinking?
“I am such an idiot,” she moaned into her hands. As Raphael had instructed, she had, in fact, called the police once her strange rescuers fled from the scene, but the procedures that ensued from an assault case had occupied her for a few days. Three, it was; too long for her liking. She racked her brain trying to figure out how to find him again. And if she didn’t, all she could do was hope he was the smarter of the two and would find her.
Raphael. The corners of her mouth dared to smile a bit despite her current issue. That name suited him.
It appeared that he’d lived a rough life in some capacity. There were scars on his face from God knew what, and he carried weapons and tough stride. Though, his colleagues were all a little different in appearance and gestures. Where did they rest their heads, she wondered. Not in a place like hers, clearly. And his clothes…
Yes, Raphael was gruff. But maybe just a little handsome, in a way—she blushed at the thought. You can’t not remember that character. He looked like he could bench a truck.
She’d lately been taking a cab home due to the incident, but there was only one place they could possibly convene: the alley. A dank, kinda dirty, rat-here-and-there kind of place. Or the rooftop, if she could even get up there. Who wouldn’t want to get to know their prince here, she thought sarcastically.
What do people usually do when they’re getting to know their one true love?
On the window sill her phone chimed twice, calling her over. She wandered to her window and gazed out. On the sidewalk below, a couple strode down the concrete, both holding a bag of takeout between them. And suddenly, she had an idea.
Where exactly was that alley again?
He jumped past one, thought it didn’t look familiar and went on to the next. It was about the hour that they’d crossed paths and he felt rushed like he was running out of time, impatient as he was. Until his phone vibrated from his pocket and demanded his attention.
The screen lit, Donnie’s ID. He pursed his scarred lips and picked up.
“Need some help?” asked Don in his cheeky way. Raph could see the smile across the phone.He’d been expecting some kind of nagging or squawking over his departure, but it was just Donnie trying to be helpful as usual. He would have to pay him back for the solid.
“Sure,” answered Raph.
“Sending the location now. It should show up on your GPS. Oh, and don’t worry about you-know-what."
"Say what?”
Studying the address, he opened his mouth to speak, but Donatello was already cutting him off. “Gotta go, bye!”
“Don?” Raph said. The call ended and he stared at the address, puzzled. This was four blocks over and not where he remembered it to be. He wasn’t that unobservant. It was the only real lead he had to go by, though, so he set off toward the new destination.
He flipped over an AC unit and landed on the lip of a roof adjacent to the one that marked the tiny red dot on his phone, skidding to a stop at what he saw.
Little candlelights littered around a blanket with white boxes and a couple of plates, the girl in question scuttling around trying to get things prepared. There was a container of some kind of sweet. Raph watched as she multiple times relit the same candle, only to have the breeze blow it out, followed by her anxious groan. She went back and forth with it until she gave up and fell back onto her rear.
You’re kidding me, Raph thought, scooting to cover. The whole display was a bit pitiful. Now he understood the mysterious address. But how did she know to come up there? Don’t tell me Don contacted her?
A typical dinner date with a mutant, stuck onto the top of a building to accommodate his…conditions. She didn’t really think that was how it could go, right? That they could just sit down and have a meal together like nothing was wrong with that picture? It all seemed so wrong, too casual for what it was, false comfort. All of the candles went out and left her sitting alone in the dark, making her dig through her bag for her phone.
She rubbed her forehead and leaned back onto her hands, looking all around her as if surveying the cityscape for something. Her foot was tapping more and more rapidly. Cracking open one of the boxes of takeout, notably, no steam rose. Raph felt a pang of pity.
It was awkward and he just couldn’t understand the idea of hers, but never had anyone do anything like that for him. Not like I ever had ‘em lined up to take me out to dinner. But after some consideration, for someone like him, he supposed that it was the thought that counted. It didn’t make the approach any easier. He stepped out into sight and whistled curtly, holding up his hands as if to say he wasn’t a threat.
No, this ain’t awkward or weird at all. Couldn’t be, he mused with sarcasm. His long strides had him there a little quicker than he would have liked. He felt lumbering and intrusive.
“You’re not serious, are ya?” he asked from the distance, eyeing the setup skeptically. She closed the gap between them as she fixed up everything and made it neat again. He waited for her to finish, shifting around on his feet.
She responded, “Your…brother told me to meet you up here. I don’t even know how he got my number.”
“He’s got the means. And the fancy little dinner was his idea, too?” he snorted.
Her face fell almost imperceptibly. Back it up, put it in reverse, he sighed to himself. Why was he like this? Why did he always have to say what he was thinking?
“'Cause it just…seems like something…he’d do,” he added reluctantly, wanting to wince. “That’s Donatello for ya.” A few uncomfortable seconds went by. He started to panic when she gave him a questioning look. “But I know he didn’t, I’m just bein’ an ass.”
“You’re not,” she let a breath out, mustering a hesitant smile, “I know it’s kind of stupid. I just thought that…"
He rose a brow.
Sitting herself down on the blanket, she looked up at him, and his heart started to quicken. "You ever had takeout from here?” she asked in a soft tone, forcing a laugh. He knelt down rigidly. The whole thing was uncomfortably small for him. "I don’t know what you guys eat in the sewers, but I figured that this was the least I could do. For us.“
He’d been opening up one of the boxes and inspecting the contents when his eyes went wide. ”'Us’?“ he parroted, dropping the container and spilling some of the noodles.
"No, no, no, not ’us’ us, I meant as in, getting to know us, we—getting us to know each other,” she stammered. “Sorry. No, that’s not what I meant. I just thought it would somehow be less weird.”
“You’re sittin’ across from a mutant turtle freak, don’t you think that’s weird?” he said.
Raph could have let out a sigh of relief, but felt he wasn’t out of the thick of it yet.
He wasn’t expecting the smile, the warm eyes. The “I don’t think you’re weird.” he heard.
Needing something to occupy himself with, he snatched one of the cans of cola and popped it open. Before he started to chug, he replied, “Sure, ya don’t think I’m weird."
"Okay, then I’m weird too,” she said, tilting her head to catch his eye. He glugged the whole can of cola.
“Oh, you’re weird, alright,” he chuffed as he wiped his chin with the back of his hand. “I mean, look at ya. Putting together all this so you can eat cold noodles with a giant turtle ya just met. Is this what you call 'fun’?”
“They’d still be warm if you’d gotten here earlier. And for the record, I am having fun,” she said, dipping into her own food. “Come on, eat, Raphael. Please."
He started to refute it, tried to get his guard back in place again, but his mind couldn’t find the words. How badly he wanted to say "you’re not having fun, you’re just tolerating me,” or “you’re kidding yourself”.
After a moment of squirming and trying to find something to bite back with, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. “Nah,” he finally said. Then mumbled, “No way."
"Way,” she chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. Raph shook his head.
A silence befell them. The self-consciousness was somehow worse when he was only being observed, which he knew by the gaze he could feel on himself past the chopsticks feeding noodles into his mouth. She can’t possibly like what she sees. Get real. I’m gross.
“Can you stop your starin’?” he eventually snapped, narrowly avoiding crushing the takeout box on the concrete beneath them. “Didn’t your mom or whatever ever tell you that’s rude?"
It was pretty dark around them, but between talking and eating, she’d managed to keep a few of the candles lit. The warm glow it casted on her face didn’t miss him, neither did her sheepish expression that held the possibility of a blush. She uttered an apology and averted her eyes. She couldn’t have been looking upon him with any kind of joy. That’s what Raph truly believed, at least. So why did it feel bad?
"I think I just can’t stop looking at you, Raphael, truth be told,” she said. His heart did skip that time. Oh, how he hated yielding.
He narrowed his eyes, “Whaddya mean?"
"You’ve got a lot of scars,” she mumbled, leaning in. Without the disgust he’d imagined she would. “And your eyes are pretty."
"Pretty?” he scoffed. He was getting up, now. She scrambled onto her feet as well and reached out, just missing his arm.
He’d yanked his arm away. She corrected herself, “They’re not like anything I’ve seen!"
Well, you don’t have any business looking at me that close.
”(Y/N).“
Her smile left. He stood square before her as if on display. But his brow ridges were furrowed in, creating the intimidating visage she recognized as the first thing she’d ever seen of him. "What?” she asked.
Motioning to all the stuff at their feet, he questioned, “What’s all this for, really?”
“I–I don’t think I understand."
"You, doin’ all this. Over some silly birthmark?” he pressed. “I can’t figure out what’s goin’ on in your head and it makes me—"
She interrupted him. He went still as she slowly took his hand and balled his shaking hand, cupping it in hers. Lightly trembling, not from anger, not from fear. Those trepidatious shakes he’d felt many times before, but never with another person. Never like that.
"Confused? Mad?” she finished for him. All the words he couldn’t quite find found themselves in the flutter of his stomach. They were caught on his tongue.
She was wrong. That wasn’t it. “No,” he could finally say, his voice low. “I don’t know.”
It took two of her hands to wrap fully around one of his, but she wouldn’t let go. Raph wouldn’t dream of trying to tear away from her delicate grip. “Do you think we can figure it out together, then?” she inquired softly.
“I…I don't—"
Lifting his hefty hand, she planted a light kiss on his knuckle, feeling the rough skin on her lips. Raph was absolutely stunned and could not move.
"I hope this tells you all you need to know,” she stated, drawing away. Her back turned to him. The longest ten seconds of his life passed and he only regained the ability to move once she started to walk back to the stairwell, lunging forward to grab her shoulder before she caught the door. Careful to not hurt her.
Turning her around to him, he swallowed, “We ain’t had dessert yet.”
Raph never wanted to stop seeing her eyes shine like they did.
He prompted them to sit down this time, his hand running down her arm as he leaned back. Even then he was too shocked to smile, or make any other face, for that matter. She simply smiled at him.
“Right. Dessert,” she winked.
In the end, Raph still couldn’t totally shake his tough shell off. But he suddenly had the patience to try, just maybe, a lopsided grin forming as she divided the cake.
“…and two for you, because you’re a big guy…"
He let her continue for a moment before getting closer. "Ya know, think I want to get to know ya without these stupid birthmarks, (Y/N),” said Raph with a smile that he didn’t bother to hide. She glanced up at him, wondering. “So let’s do it over again. I’m Raphael, but it’s Raph to you."
Taking her focus off the cake, she slid his plate to him. "Without the marks?"
"Forget about 'em. We’re strangers."
She laughed sweetly, "Then I’m (Y/N). Nice to meet you, Raph."
After that, they shook on it over dessert, and marked the night that the walls Raphael had put up began to crack.
*Story Summary: Sometimes, sorry really is the hardest word.
*Note:This one-shot takes place after the episode ‘Slash and Destroy.’ It’s a companion piece to my works ‘Mikey’s Worst Move Ever’ and ‘Slash’s Revenge.’
*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.
In the history of rotten days, this had to be one of the worst. Hamato Donatello breathed out a sullen sigh that no one could actually hear. Unlike him, the rest of his family was probably fast asleep by now, but he just could not seem to settle into a comfortable position. This was not for lack of trying. He had spent the lion’s share of the past hour shifting in his bed, vainly attempting to find peace, but alas, comfort was not meant to be. Maybe that’s because he had been beaten to a pulp not all that long ago.
Everythinghurt.
Whether he laid on his side, his front, or his back, the pain would radiate throughout his body. A harsh, relentless reminder of what had happened that night.
That awful, awful night.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Donatello wearily gazed out at the shadows enveloping his room. Something about the darkness sent a chill creeping up and down his spine.
It was so menacing.
So very sinister.
So eerily reminiscent.
A whimper threatened to escape the confines of his parched throat as a flood of memories came rushing back without mercy. Disturbing memories he’d just as soon forget…
The Race to Find The Cure (Donatello x reader) Chapter 2
The warehouse was quiet for the night. Donne sat up at his work station, adjusting his microscope to peer down at a sample of fluid he’d gathered from a fallen infected. He hummed as he magnified in and saw the molecules of mutagen mixed with other bodily things.
“Need a centrifuge,” he muttered, trying to see past the particulate matter to get a good look. His had gotten left behind in the sewers when it was overrun, and they were not equipped to take that task on currently. Home would be theirs again, one day. Just not then. He pulled away from the microscope and saw the map out of the corner of his eye with the big red circle around the lab he was eyeing. “They’ll have a centrifuge,” he said. We just have to get there. Hold out for me, [y/n], I’m going to get you what you need.
This study was useless if he couldn’t separate the actual mutagen from the other bodily fluids. He sighed and stood up. Listening in on the chatter between the two unknowns on the walkie-talkies had become a kind of past time for him; sometimes, he tuned in just for some background noise. He did that, deciding to dig out his journal from his box of few possessions to write down everything so far. He scribbled his pen to activate the ink. The radio next to him crackled as a man’s voice on the other end asked; “You still alive, jackass?”
“November 6th, 2013—11:42 PM
Subject: Worst day since Splinter
Back at the journal again. I have to document everything, it’s how I am. Who’s going to tell the story otherwise? Or maybe I’m coping. Doesn’t matter anyway.
I haven’t gotten the time to mention until now we’ve been going out a lot trying to get supplies before winter. All hands on deck lately. Everything was going pretty smooth, which is weird because it’s nevereasy with us, but we all needed a break. I sure wasn’t complaining. But something always has to go wrong, right? Because it did. I don’t want to be bitter, but it’s getting really hard.
I’m afraid I’ve made some miscalculations. [Y/N]’s infected. And now I’m sitting here writing it down in a diary. Shouldn’t I be working? I can’t even think. Well, barely. I just need a breather. I’ll be quick.
There’s not much to say about the events leading up to it. Like I said, it was all going somewhat okay. We just wanted to go find supplies to make our lives easier when it gets cold. We can’t be stuck in here freezing all winter! But some of those infected are quiet. (More like half asleep due to lack of a food source.) Nobody knew it was behind those crates. We were even checking for that very thing. But [y/n] was just a little close and a little too slow, and all it takes is a couple of seconds to get the jump on you. We should be glad she’s not a goner…but I feel like a failure. I know everyone’s blaming themselves a little. I don’t know if it’s anyone’s fault, if I’m being honest. Cruel luck like usual? I’ll get back to you on that.
So, that’s been it, until now. She went into shock afterwards; I stabilized her as quickly as possible. It’s been six hours since the attack and I’ve been checking on her constantly, but the disease can be unpredictable. Everyone’s worried, but I can’t give an answer right now. I. don’t. know.
I need to get in gear and solve this thing. She’s already showing signs. I think we’ve got a little time though, so I have to make use of every minute. Can’t waste it on sleeping. I know everyone’s worried, they’ve been on my shell about it for days, but I just can’t stop. Even Casey tried to get me to walk away from my research to go sleep. I snapped at him…I didn’t mean to, but they don’t understand. I think I’m getting closer. Meanwhile, I’ve bought her and me some time in by using a very diluted form of Retro-Mutagen to keep the mutating at bay. It’ll only be so long before that stops working. And knowing that I’d been touching her, no doubt I’ve shed some DNA on her, but I think I’ve got it under control. April helped her out with the bath. She did the best she could. Mutagen is highly reactive towards biomaterial, so I don’t want to introduce anythingthat could possibly react with the Ooze currently in her and trigger any changes. No change for as long as possible is a good thing, or we’re going to have more problems on our hands.
Even writing this now I still feel guilty. Raph tried to comfort me, I guess…emphasis on “tried”, but that didn’t help. I should have been looking out more. And now I’m worried that I won’t make it in time. Can a fully infected person be cured? It’s never possible in movies, but if this disease is a virus literally mutated by Ooze, then my answer is somewhere here. I just have to find it. Retro-Mutagen concentrate hasn’t worked. Curse the viral part of this; it’s thrown a wrench in my plan and now I don’t know what to do. But I won’t give up. [Y/N] needs me.
In the meantime, I’ve been picking through the different frequencies with my radio receiver and found one two unknown people have been using. Knowing how Lower Manhattan’s a mess, they’re actually probably somewhere near us, but I don’t need to find them to listen in on their convos. What’s got me more worried on top of everything else is that these two were just in hiding from a horde in the city. Lucky for them, they escaped, but bad news for us, because it looks like it’s coming our direction. Unless it magically decides to change course, but New York is becoming a wasteland, anyway. Last night running back home we found infected on the rooftops. Who knew they knew how to open stairwell doors? Are they really as brainless as we think?
It turns out that the mutagen part of all of this behaves like it normally does. While travelling through one of the not-overrun sewer passages, we found a person half mutated with a rat.It was…chewing on something. I didn’t get close enough to look. But my heart skipped a beat. I swear my stomach fell. Even just for a split second, I think all of us saw Master Splinter in him. I couldn’t believe it. Leo’s hands were shaking; I saw the blades trembling. Logically, all of us knew it couldn’t have been Father.. We laid him to rest already. He’s not coming back. We ended up just going back from where we came. I had to hold Raph back. I’m glad I did. I don’t think any of us are strong enough for what we would have had to do if we hadn’t silently backed away.
Well, it’s just past 12 o’clock. I hate to wake [y/n] up to take her temperature, but it has to be done. I’ll have to monitor it very carefully.
Donnie signing off”
November 7th, 2013—4:34 AM
Medical notes
• 12:00 AM: temperature reading 99.1°
•3:00 AM: no change.
• [Y/N] says she tired. That’s all for now.
I’m pretty tired, too.“
“So, what’s up with this ‘horde’?” Raph asked while twirling his sais. He propped a leg up on the busted window sill he sat on, looking out at the dark city as a chill came through the air. His leg dangled idly on the outside as if the cold didn’t bother him. Everyone was gathered up in the open makeshift living room keeping warm by the fire drum. Donnie held out his cold hands near the flame. He hated the cold. Raph set his sais down in his lap, briefly seeing his reflection in the metal. “Two days, huh…” he mumbled. He turned his head to hide to hide his face.
“More or less,” Donnie responded. “Technically less,” he added plainly. No one seemed to appreciate the dry humor, so he shrunk a little with an apologetic smile, saying, “But, that’s plenty of time for us to pack up and hit the road. I’ve been fixing up the van just for this, you know. The Shelleraiser and Party Wagon won’t fail us yet…right, Raph?”
Raph looked over at the warm glow of the circle, seeing everyone close together and [y/n] there as well. Mikey passed around the cans food that Leo had rationed out that night. Raph smiled a bit and shook his head. “It better not break down on us halfway there, or I think we’re going to be the roadkill,” he said, hopping down from the window. He joined everyone around the fire and settled down. “Come on, don’t be shy with those peaches.”
Donnie noticed [y/n]’s distracted gaze at the fire. The way the light danced off her glum face and made the dark circles apparent. Donnie wasn’t all brains and no feeling; he could sense her gloom, and for a minute, felt powerless—what could he do besides try his hardest?
He contemplated. The firelight shone in his russet eyes as he thought, with the idea that the warm glow against the backdrop of the blue city out the window reminded him of a sunrise.
Raph sighed and leaned back onto the cushions they’d fixed to a pallet. He chuffed. “Two days. It feels like we’ve already been here so long,” he said. “It’s been two months, right?” He glanced at Leo for confirmation, who prodded the fire with his poker.
“Yeah,” Leo answered. "Wow, that’s weird to say.”
Mikey tossed his empty can behind him into their trash bin, falling back into soft cushion. “Time doesn’t fly when you’re not having fun,” he said.
Fun. He was right; they hadn’t had fun in ages. Donnie suddenly had his lightbulb moment.
[Y/N] needed a spirit-lifter then just as much as she needed medical attention. Donnie couldn’t let her keep sulking alone with herself, and then putting on a brave face when he came to check on her. It was only moments like when she stared at the fire that she left anyone know how bad it was all seeming.
I can’t only try my hardest. I can’t just be her doctor. I have to be her friend, Donnie answered his former question, knowing what he wanted to do.
“[Y/N],” he said. He set down his can. “How much energy do you have?”
She could tell he had an idea, the boy’s face always showed it. Her eyes left the fire as she looked at him with interest. “I’m not totally inert. What do you have in mind?” she inquired, curious.
Everyone gave Donnie a wondering look which he winked to as he checked the time. “When’s the last time you saw the sunrise?” he asked, already on his feet and holding out a hand for her to take. “If we head out now, we can find a good spot,” he tempted. Donnie’s face was sweet as ever, as if everything would be alright for a few minutes.
Any of the boys or April could have questioned that decision, but they kept their mouths shut, understanding that they’d want to be allowed a moment of peace in all the chaos if they were in her shoes. Leo held back his reluctance.
A chance to see the sunrise over New York City again? She could muster energy for that. She wiped her eyes of the lingering tiredness and grabbed his hand, letting him help pull her up. “I don’t think I’ve seen a sunrise in a year. It sounds great, Donnie,” she responded. “I’ll just…give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go,” she said, putting some pep in her step as she left to go to the lab. Donnie considered following her to see what she was up to, but decided against that, instead going to get his staff before they left. Casey strode up to his side while he geared up.
“Goin’ out?” queried Casey, resting his bat on his shoulder. “Shouldn’t she be in bed or something?”
Donnie grabbed his grappling hook and fastened it to himself. “We’re not going far, Jones, and she could use the vitamin D,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
“What about nasties?”
Slipping his staff into his belt, Donnie replied, “Infected don’t attack other infected. They’re like, invisible to them. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about more than you.”
Casey didn’t say anything and watched as Donnie went to his lab to find [y/n] slipping in through the door from outside, wiping her chin of something, he noticed. She coughed a little and composed herself just as he spotted her. “Some fresh air,” she laughed, and staved off a thick cough. She felt like there was something in her throat. “We can go now. Lead the way.”
She walked out into the dim morning, pulling her coat in. Donnie stood still a few seconds watching her, somber. With a deep breath, he set out after.
Moving swiftly through the low rooftops, Donnie was sure to avoid infested buildings. About a mile away was the one he had his eye on, the highest accessible point nearby for them to see the horizon from. He helped her out wherever he needed to—which were a lot of places—but, eventually, they came to and were only level with the second story of the building, and [y/n] was too weak to climb like him. The grappling hook wouldn’t hold two people, either.
“Here, get on my shell,” Donnie instructed, taking a knee. He looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t drop you. I’m no Raph, but I’m pretty strong.”
“If you’re sure,” she said. He hooked his hands underneath her knees and stood up as she adjusted her grip on his shoulders. He was telling the truth—he handled her weight well, for the thinnest of the turtles. He definitely was as, if not stronger than he looked. She gazed up at the roof. “It’s pretty high up!”
Gauging what the easiest way up there would be, he replied confidently, “And no problem for a ninja.”
He started the climb up, utilizing stairwells, ac units, water towers and higher roofs to ascend as far as they could the easy way. He vaulted a gap between buildings and grabbed into the beam of a billboard, pulling them up. He denied himself the pause he almost took remembering when it felt as though the city was passing themby under their feet as they ran the rooftops at night, not himpassing these still, empty streets. A wave of nostalgia washed by as he made his last jump, gripping the edge of a window. Back then, the city had been alive. People shouting, cars honking all through the night, sirens; the ruckus of New York had always been a background noise in his life, and the silence was unsettling. He channeled his momentary glimpse of sadness into his drive to fix everything. All that he needed was in that lab.
Grunting, he heaved them over the lip of the building and let her down. He checked the time on his T-Phone—6:06 AM. They’d made it just in time.
“Perfect timing,” he said, satisfied. They walked to the edge of the building, the grey-blue sky above them slowly getting lighter. On the horizon, the sun was starting to peak, an orange strip of light spanning the edge of the world.
At least if something were to happen, she’d gotten to see a sunrise again, [y/n] thought as she looked out. The city was foggy, with slivers of pale light starting to filter through buildings. With bleary eyes, she couldn’t quite distinguish everything, but she knew it had to be even better clear.
“It’s pretty,” she said softly. She turned to him. “Donnie, thanks for—”
He looked surprised. His mouth hang slightly open, eyes trained in the distance instead of the sun. “No way,” he breathed out. His hand instinctively reached for his staff. She tilted her head seeing his concern and was about to ask what was wrong, but squinted her eyes instead, and saw it: a moving mass of unknown proportions plodding through the streets in the distance. In silence, Donnie’s brain worked out the math.
A population of approximately 8.3 million as of 2013. A few thousand evacuated and a few thousand fled as the plague broke out—subtract about twenty thousand, he guessed. A lot of people unaccounted for, there. Whatever the numbers were, they were huge.
“Oh, my God…” [y/n] whispered.
Seeing it for himself, time felt like it has come to a halt. Both of them simply stood there for a minute straight looking out at the enormous cluster of infected, neither saying anything. Donnie felt his eyes go wide. He’d been expecting bad, but not like this. Reality hit them; they needed to get home and pull the vehicles around. Immediately.
Donnie was able to break from his trance before she had, so he touched her upper arm, getting her attention. “We gotta tell the others,” he said with a sudden sense of urgency. He pulled her along with him, “Right now. Let’s go!”
Based off of my apocalypse AU that I created for Raph a while back. Here is Donnie’s version. :) (written in third perspective but using [y/n] in place of a name.)
Running out of time.
The solution had to be somewhere amongst all his papers.
Time is running out, thought Donnie again as he stared long and hard over his notes. Data he’d gathered and extrapolations he’d made over and over again—what was missing? He knew how to create retro mutagen. He had the formulas. He had the tools. He had the mind. But there were holes in his research. Things he had no access to. This wasn’t just Ooze he was dealing with; it was a hybrid, pathogen and mutagen spliced together to make a catastrophe that spread. And it spread fast.
He glanced over at the map pinned to a corkboard, routes and places of interest he’d drawn sprawling all over it. But one fat red line stuck out the most: the projected path of the horde that was currently accumulating. Just another addition to his list of problems.
Donnie’s brain worked every which way. His attention was divided between a set of different things, a heavy burden on his drooping shoulders. Between the cure, taking care of other things that needed to be done, and her, he was stretched thin.
Behind him on a mattress on the cold floor was his newest patient, which he was reminded to check the temperature of when he heard rustling in the sheets. His tires eyes lifted from the papers quickly, grabbing a thermometer off the shelf to head over to the girl starting to toss awake. Without fail, he felt a pang of guilt every time.
If anyone was strong when it came to this situation, it was him. And maybe Leo. Though their leader was preoccupied, he still came to check in, and even he had a grimace at it. Donnie knelt down. Don’t look bleak, he instructed himself as he pulled a tender smile and took one of her hands. “Sleepy, are we?” he asked as she roused awake. “Gotta take your temperature again. How do you feel?”
She sat up against the wall, obviously drained but fighting sleep. She, too, managed to force a smile through the waves of nausea and headaches as if to say “all better”, which made her happy too see his face soften. “I feel a little hot, but that’s all,” she said.
Then the virus hasn’t progressed, he thought with a glint of hope. We still have some time. That was all he needed.
He gave her the thermometer, her flinching back as their fingers touched. “Won’t you get it too being around me like this?” she asked with concern, having put some distance between them.
“Well, you aren’t developing pustules or any open sores, so it’s okay for now,” he replied, handing the thermometer back to her. And when she did? He’d copped a hazmat suit and more than enough disposable gloves a month prior. They both waited with bated breath for the little beeps. Both jumped as a gunshot sounded from the platform upstairs—it was Casey picking off incoming infected from the window again, as was his evening shift. A straggler here and there was not welcome in their compound. Casey was quick to dispatch any that wandered too close so long as his pistol had a silencer.
The thermometer beeped, and Donnie took it, inspecting the numbers. 100.1°. Not great.
She saw his face fall ever so slightly. His brow ridges stitched as he slipped the notebook from his belt and scratched in a log of her temperature, among a growing list. It had been on a steady incline since three days prior and the…incident.
Hearing the shot fire above them, she played with her thumbs. She knew Donnie was under a lot of stress. And to add onto that? She felt guilty.
“Seems like Casey’s becoming quite the sharpshooter,” she commented in the silence. “And seems like we’ve been hearing those more often. I wonder why the infected are out more these days.”
Donnie set his notebook on the tray next to the mattress and sat back on his legs. “They’re starving,” he said, “most of the city’s been turned, so…they have to look. But they can survive a lot longer without food than us.“ The air between them was filled with a looming feeling of uncertainty. Donnie was sure he could find the cure. He’d done it before for mutants, he could do it for infected people, too. But time of was the essence and resources were running out. He had to work harder.
“Hey, not so different from us, then,” she joked in a low voice, letting her head fall back and eyes close shut. Being sick was really taking a toll. How much longer would she be able to keep a straight face for him with the body aches, the skin burning, and the chills? Oh, the chills. Along with the fever, it was turning Autumn in New York City. She cracked an eye open to find him deep on thought.
“Donnie,” someone called from the entrance to his lab space. There were some empty crates they’d stacked up and around the corner to give him some privacy to work. He snapped out of his thoughts it to find Leo leaning in. Leo motioned with his head for him to follow.
Another family meeting, she thought in dry humor. Probably a game plan on how to deal with her when push came to shove. Which was looking inevitable, but she’d never let Donnie know how she felt that way.
“I’ll be back, okay?” Donnie said, reassuring her of the fact that he would not leave her side for long. He’d been practically glued to it, even moved the mattress into the back corner of his pseudo lab to be able to pay more attention to her. They could always count on Donnie for that.
“I’ll be here,” she mumbled, laying down to face the wall.
Donnie met at kitchen table with everyone else. They were all a little awkward and downtrodden, but Leo poised himself, clearing his throat. “There have been more infected on the move here lately. Casey, you say you shot three just in the last two hours?” Leo started. His eyes flitted over to Casey, who sat halfway on the table. Casey nodded and continued chewing his gum; the sound was driving Donnie up the wall. Casey acted flippant as ever, but even he was troubled by the turn of events.
“Hit ‘em right in the head, bull’s-eye,” said Casey, pretending to fire a finger pistol.
Leo turned his attention back to Donnie. “And [y/n]? How is she?” he inquired.
Feeling everyone’s expectant eyes on him, Donnie went by all of them with his, one by one, and answered: “Stable. Doing….okay.” He wasn’t known to be obtuse on purpose, but everyone around the table could tell he wasn’t going to speculate to them. That was fine, thought Leo. She still had time; in turn, they did as well. Leo would have to make a note to check in with her more often to gauge their next move. For now, they had other issues.
“Look, guys,” Leo said with a sigh, “I know you like the warehouse—I do too—but it’s just not safe here anymore. We’ve had two fence breaches this month and it’s only going to get worse from here. We’re in a bad spot. We need to move. I’m thinking upstate, less people and April’s got a farmhouse out there.”
Raph was glaring down at the table. “So, what? We get pushed out of our old home in the sewers and now we’re getting pushed out of here, too? Is that what we’re doing now? Being pushovers?” he spat. “What’s a few more infected? Last time I checked, we didn’t have a problem. Just fix up the fence and we’ll be fine.” As usual, he focused on Leo, his mounting anger directed right at his older brother. Leo ignored the bitterness in his tone and continued.
“Donnie, tell them what you heard,” Leo said, rubbing his face.
Way to put me on the spot. His fingers drummed the edge of the table as all but Leo waited to hear the latest update, but they weren’t going to like what he had to say. “I—I picked up some radio chatter about a week ago about a horde supposedly starting to form,“ he said uncomfortably. “I didn’t know if it was true or not, so I watched the channels over the last few days, and…yeah, a horde’s on the move, and it’s headed our way. Pockets of infected are assimilating and I don’t know why.”
Scowling, Raph turned heel and stormed out of the room with Mikey on his tail trying to get him back. April put a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Let him cool off,” she said, and Mikey reluctantly came back round, downcast.
“So…that’s it. We need to pack up. I know, I like it here, too. Donnie, how much time do we have?” Leo looked his way.
“Not enough,” he always wanted to say, but he bit his tongue and opted for an estimate of about two days given that the infected didn’t exactly move with purpose. As far as they were concerned, they only knew one speed when unstimulated, and that was: meander. “Considering it’s not really moving in a straight line and they’re not the smartest, we have some time to get out. If that’s what we want to do. Maybe the warehouse will hold?”
"But my equipment!” he’d wanted to argue. Not all of it would fit between their two vans. He feared for the worst that he wouldn’t be able to save anyone without it. If they left, his only option would be to start from scratch again, and for [y/n], that was not an option.
But to seize a lab was an option.
For everyone’s sake, we can make one petty crime.
Leo crossed his arms, tapping his chin. “I can’t take that chance. It’s my job to keep you guys safe. I’m sorry, Donnie.”
“Whatever,” murmured Casey as he hopped off the table and went to join Raph.
“I miss Master Splinter…” Mikey said under his breath. April sensed some unspoken words between Donnie and Leo and took her leave as well.
And then there were two. Donnie gripped the edge of the table, fixing his gaze away from the harsh orange light dangling above them. After a moment, he spoke. “There’s a lab East of here. A real one. I don’t know its status right now, but if I could just get in and get the research, I know I can make a cure,” he said hopefully. “I need to get to that lab, Leo. If not for the sake of everyone, but for [y/n].”
“What if there are still people there?” Leo asked.
“Then we’ll break in at night,” Donnie responded. “Like we always do. I need to do this, Leo.” Only the fate of [y/n], my family, and possibly the whole country is resting in my hands, no pressure, right?
“We’ll figure it out,” Leo concurred. “We know you’ve got what it takes, Donnie. We’ll do everything we can to help.” He gave a reassuring smile, the one that always makes them feel like it all might just be okay. If Leo could muster one, Donnie could, too, which he did after they all dispersed from the little kitchen table and he headed back downstairs. “[Y/N], do you need any—” he started, but stopped upon seeing her sound asleep. Though mostly comprised of mutagen, the pathogenic part of the virus was the part the body tried its hardest to fight. But the unstable nature of the mutagen made it a tossup of how strong each case would be. Donnie could only hope that hers was a weak one.
On his tips of his toes he went to her side, pulling the fleece blanket up to her neck. It was getting cold out. Anything to make her more comfortable. Then he prepared a bowl of cool water and a rag for if she got hot, placing it on the tray next to her for her to find in case he wasn’t there. His hand lingered there hovering above her shoulder, wanting to feel the warm comfort of knowing that she was in fact still with them and still had a chance. Should he wake her up to tell her Leo’s verdict? It seemed like the right choice. But she looked far more peaceful than any of them in her own world just then, and he wanted to keep it that way only for a little longer, so he whispered a goodnight and went back to his station.
Seeing that she was taken care of, he quietly resumed his work over yonder, unaware that she had been laying still, but fully awake.
Me posting this anyway even though I’m unsure and don’t know if I’m digging it yet
