This is not my main blog, my main is @jeidin. I will write from ROTTMNT and TMNT (2012) for now, until I'm more confident. Feel free to request something! I don't write NSFW. I'll use "#no reader" for all fics that exclude the reader. bet you can't guess my favorite character
The rubber ball bounced off the wall, hitting the ground before landing back in your hand. You sat on the floor in your room. Unfinished assignments on either side of you. Some of them, long past their due date.
There was a tapping at your window. You dropped the rubber ball, letting it roll away from you. A stray tear followed the trail of its predecessors, down your cheek. Behind you, you heard the window slide open.
"Hey," Leo called, watching you from outside. His brows furrowed, "You good?"
You wiped at your face, "Yeah."
He climbed into your room.
"What's wrong?" He asked, moving aside some assignment to sit beside you.
You glanced down at the work piled before you. Leo didn't understand. Though, he picked up a piece of paper and glanced over it.
"I'm really far behind," You croaked, tears welling up once again.
Leo frowned, but before he could speak you were on your tirade.
"I mean, this one was due weeks ago but I couldn't do it! Why? There isn't a reason, I'm just... Lazy! I guess!" You burst, vision blurred as you gestured. "My teachers are telling me to do better! My friends don't even invite me out anymore!"
"Hey..."
"I should be able to do this! Everyone else can! I used to be able to, why can't I now?"
"You're doing your best," Leo put his hand on your shoulder.
You shrugged it away, "No, I'm not! My best is better than this. I have no reason to be this bad at meeting deadlines. At doing things. All I have to do is do it."
Leo took your hand and squeezed it. You turned to look at him.
"Why am I so tired all the time?" You whispered.
You leaned back into him, head falling against his chest. It wasn't comfortable, but it was comforting as he ran his fingers through your hair.
"Maybe you're putting too much pressure on yourself," Leo murmured.
You snorted, "Says the fearless leader."
"Shh," Leo pet your hair, "Exactly, so as the leader I know what I'm talking about."
You rolled your eyes, but grinned nevertheless.
"Just because you could do better in the past or you 'should' be able to do better, doesn't mean you can do that now, you know? Your circumstances have changed," Leo explained. "I think you're really strong. And maybe being so tired, is just another scar you have from the battle of life."
"But scars are ugly," You frowned, leaning away.
"No, no, they're not," Leo pulled you back. "Scars tell a story."
"A bad story," You murmured.
"Or, one that made you who you are."
"A tired, lazy prick?" You snorted.
Leo flicked your forehead, "A sweet and loving person."
hihihi so,,, i feel bad for the wait for heisenberg AND cherry … soooo have this rough chapter one of a leo fic i thought of & wrote months ago
amnesia plot!!!! rise leonardo x reader. 3k :]
Waking up in the hospital was not what you had been expecting.
Instead of seeing the dark ceiling of your room, wrapped up in your cozy blankets, you were on top of thin sheets, arm in a sling, and bright hospital lights were shining directly into your eyes.
You squinted at the harsh light, groaning. Several nurses peered over your bed, checking your IVs, some speaking to you, some calling people on their phones. You were flattered that you had the honor of having so many in your room… but why? For a broken bone?
They even had a doctor come in and poke and prod you as he asked you questions. Did you know your name? Duh. Of course you did. How old were you? The current U.S. president? You passed the first few questions but screwed up the last few.
What month was it? What’s the last thing you remember? Neither one you had gotten correct, plus any of the other ones he had asked that you couldn’t remember. Probably not a good detail to tell anyone. You were embarrassed but you thought that it couldn’t be a big deal. So what if you didn’t remember the month? And whatever if you didn’t remember the gigantic car accident you had been in? Wasn’t it better off that way?
But while you didn’t think it was a big deal, the big man in the white doctor coat thought it was. And his opinion mattered more than yours, for some odd reason.
Amnesia. Apparently you had that.
Totally normal for such a traumatic accident, he told you. He even had your parents come in to question you about things that had recently happened. You didn’t remember your dad breaking his leg. You didn’t remember the new fluffy white cat your mother had adopted.
They released you after a few days of staying in the hospital. It felt like they had been running you through every test they could ever think of. But the truth was that you were able to function just fine on your own. You didn’t have dizzy spells (that they were informed of) and you didn’t pass out randomly like they had expected. You were able to tell when you grew lightheaded and you would quickly sit down somewhere safe to their absolute delight. The nurses adored you.
The only problem was your arm that hurt. It wasn’t actually broken so they couldn’t do anything about it except show you a few exercises to do daily. So they finally let you go.
After all the tests, you still weren’t quite convinced you had amnesia. You don’t forget a whole lot of things, just a few minor details. You were under a lot of stress too, so they shouldn’t be slapping amnesia on you when you didn’t immediately remember your dad breaking his leg.
Your parents made you pinky-promise to stay with them for a month, crying hysterically over how one of your pupils wouldn’t react to light like the other one did. Okay, so maybe you had a little brain thing going on, but you still weren’t convinced. Your head didn’t hurt too badly. Not enough to have amnesia, that’s for sure. More notably, you remembered other things just fine too. More important things. Like your favorite TV show was having a new season coming.
At least your parents let you out on your own every so often. You just had to give a lot of updates through text, just so your mother wouldn’t die of a heart attack. They were so overprotective. It annoyed you. Badly.
You arrived home from a quick solo trip to the grocery store and opened your front door, slipping your shoes off by the shoe rack. When you looked up, you froze at the sight of four green mutants also frozen in your living room.
God. Maybe you should’ve stayed in the hospital. What kind of brain damage would the doctors diagnose you with if you started talking about green turtles? You cracked a smile at the scenario in your head, watching as they nervously stared at you.
“Guys… you didn’t knock out my parents to get in here, did you?” you accused them, only half joking. You knew that your parents had probably just gone for a doctor’s visit for your dad. All four of them just looked at you, unmoving until Mikey finally broke out of his daze.
“You remember us!” Mikey lunged at you first. Raph and Donnie followed, the latter immediately claiming only to like hugs occasionally.
“‘Course I do.” You rolled your eyes fondly when he rubbed his cheek against yours. “It’s kind of hard to forget talking turtles.”
Don had apparently hacked into your medical chart, reporting to his family on your condition with each update that was logged onto your profile. The amnesia part had immediately terrified your friends at the possibility of you forgetting them. It was clear they were relieved to see you had remembered your friendship.
Mikey kept rubbing his cheek with yours. Raph rumbled happily and Donnie discretely stepped even closer into your space. Strangely, Leo stayed where he was, rubbing his hands nervously in a very uncharacteristic way.
You tilted your head, looking around Raph at him. “Leeeooo,” you called out his name like you always did, frowning at how he flinched. “What’s wrong?”
He stared at you, an odd look in his eyes. You hesitated, confused at where this was coming from, before continuing on.
“Come on, don’t you miss my hugs?” You widened your arms once Mikey finally let go of you.
He was in them in seconds, lifting you up into the air like he always did. You laughed, hugging him back tightly. He spun you around and you could feel his loud and happy churr vibrate through your skin.
This was how he was supposed to act, not that weird nervous fidgeting. Maybe he had just been scared of being too rough and accidentally hurting you. You cuddled into him more at the thought.
You almost didn't notice the looks the brothers gave each other, all looking shocked. They were probably just as spooked by his quiet behavior as you had been. Maybe he had really been afraid for you. Your poor Leo. He very rarely acted like that.
He set you back on to the ground but kept you pressed close to him, swaying you back and forth. You giggled as he nuzzled his nose into your hair, breathing in deeply. “Come on, Lee.” You patted his shoulder. “I was in the hospital for a few days at most. It wasn’t that long.”
“It was that long,” he insisted, but reluctantly stepped back.
You smiled at him reassuringly. You looked over to the others who were all whispering to each other frantically. Why, you didn’t know. Mikey and Raph were seemingly arguing about something as quietly as they could while Donnie stood there awkwardly.
You cleared your throat at them pointedly and they all snapped to attention, looking at you with owlish eyes.
Raph laughed nervously while Donnie looked away, refusing to meet your eyes with his tightly pressed together. Mikey had the best facade out of all of them, except for how he was profusely sweating. You gave them all a fierce look.
“If you have something to say, say it. You know I hate secrets and whispering.”
“It’s nothing,” Raph mumbled, brushing the back of his neck with a hand. “But, uh, we were wondering, do ya want to stay at the lair? For a few days? We wouldn’t mind.”
You blinked at him, surprised at the kind offer. Then you smiled, practically beaming with happiness. “Aw thanks, but I’m staying here at my parents’ in case I get migraines or pass out or something.” You shrugged. “I guess they got super scared… Was it bad?”
They all nodded mutely. You sighed, rubbing your forehead as you tried to think about it. You still had yet to recall what had actually happened. Oh. That was definitely the amnesia everyone was talking about. You thought that everything missing would be back by now, but it wasn’t.
“It was my fault,” Leo said quietly, suddenly. When you glanced at him in surprise, you saw how his eyes were dark and stormy.
You frowned at him and watched as Raph patted his shell. “You didn’t know what would happen,” was all he said, shaking his head solemnly.
You felt sick to your stomach as it all
finally became real. A part of your memory really was missing. You couldn’t remember your accident. At all. Most of the weeks and months before that was gone and lost too. It was supposed to be normal, since it was ‘traumatic.’ But how could it be traumatic if you couldn’t even remember it? All you knew was that you were in a car. But what did Leo have to do with anything about that?
“Were you in the car with me?” You asked confused. The brothers looked at you, unsure looks on their faces.
“No.” Leo crossed his arms, suddenly closed off.
“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, Leo.” You reassured him, rubbing your head. “Even if I did remember and it was somehow in some way your fault, I doubt I’d be mad still.”
He smiled weakly at you. “Sure.”
You frowned yet again at his response, ready to argue with him when Mikey cut in, stepping in between you two. “We better get going before their family gets back.”
Leo slowly removed his sword, halfheartedly swinging it to open a blue portal.
Mikey was the first to hug you goodbye, then Donnie, then Raph swamping you in a gigantic hug. Leo stood beside you, watching as his brothers surrounded the portal.
Mikey and Donnie waited by it, waiting for Leo to go first, but he stubbornly remained planted at your side. You looked at him, confused, and touched his elbow reassuringly.
He turned his head to you, looking almost shy. “Can I stay?” He ignored the violent looks his brothers sent him. You awkwardly looked over at them, unsure on why it mattered so much to them. It wasn’t like you were still helplessly fragile or anything. Plus, Leo stayed at your apartment all the time.
“‘Course you can.” You smiled at him reassuringly and almost melted as he gave you a relieved smile in return.
“Leo,” Raph hissed out. Leo shot him his own look, scowling at him. You rolled your eyes at the sudden change in his mood. You hated when they would hide things from you and not even bother to be obscure about it.
“What? Can’t I make sure they’re okay? I’m the most qualified for the job.” He crossed his arms, a defensive look on his face. You snorted. He gave you an affronted glance.
“What can you do that the doctors haven’t already? In case you’re in need of a reminder: you’re not even educated in anything medical.” Donnie rolled his eyes. “You learned everything on the internet.”
“I know enough with how much Raph has rammed his head into things. Plus, I can wait with them until they’re not alone in case they pass out or worse, have a seizure.” Leo stepped closer to you. You raised an eyebrow. The doctors had said nothing about seizures. “Come on.” His voice took on a pleading note that made your mouth gape open in surprise.
“Fine, but we’re talkin’ when ya get home.” Raph gave him a stern look before stomping through the portal.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Nardo.” Donnie and Mikey went through together and the portal finally closed.
“Is something wrong?” You rubbed your upper arm, giving Leo a nervous glance. “I don’t understand… Why are you all acting weird?”
“Everyone was worried.” He shrugged his shoulders, staring at the floor instead of you. Okay. Something was definitely up. He wasn’t telling you the whole story. But why? “Nobody thought that this would ever happen to you.”
He walked down the hallway, leaving you in the living room. So vague. You rolled your eyes and then winced at the nausea that was caused by it. You stumbled after him, flicking off the light he turned on in your bedroom.
He was sitting up against your headboard, fiddling with one of your smaller blankets. You crawled towards him until you could collapse with your head in his lap. He brushed his large fingers through your hair and your eyes fluttered shut at the feeling. You were so grateful that you were no longer in those thin hospital beds and itchy blankets.
“Please hide if my parents come home and come in here.” You nuzzled into his thigh, smirking at how he twitched underneath you. “They’ll totally freak double time.”
“Y-yep.”
You were practically dancing on the line between friendship and lovers, but you adored the rush you got from it. The fleeting stares, touches. The knowing looks from friends and family. The closeness without any expectations.
You peeked up at him, expecting his usual lovestruck and flustered expression, but to your shock, he looked sad.
“Leo?” He carded his fingers through your hair, pushing your head down so it tilted away from him. You muttered out your complaints into his skin.
“You should sleep.” Your heart stung at the clear dismissal. What was wrong? Why wouldn’t he tell you? Everyone had been acting so weird to you today. Why did everything have to change so suddenly just cause you bumped your head around a lot?
You decided not to push on it, not now. You could feel a deep pain starting to form in your head and you could tell he wouldn’t react well if you pushed further.
So, you closed your eyes and tried to sleep.
A few minutes later or maybe a lot of minutes later, you weren’t sure, Leo lifted you off of him so that your head rested on your pillow. You were about to voice your complaints when he shifted his body downwards just so that he could pull you up against his chest.
You molded yourself into him, nuzzling into him sleepily. He sighed against your hair and held you tighter.
“I hope you do realize you’re not allowed to drive anymore, right?” He teased you. You hummed in reply, not even bothering to open your eyes. So warm and comfy. “I’ll just portal you everywhere.”
Sounded just fine to you. No more paying for gas and fighting people to merge lanes.
His fingers trailed over your arm, pressing at certain spots that made you flinch. He brought your hand up to his mouth to kiss it as an apology and you squinted an eye open at him. You didn’t like this guilty Leo. Where was your cocky, annoying Leo? The one that would have teased you for almost dying—after fussing over you for a while, of course. He didn’t dare tease you, now. He just looked sad.
You could tell by the look in his eyes that he was already planning something. You sighed tiredly and pulled your arm out of his grip. “Leo. It’s alright.”
“That’s Doctor Hamato to you.”
“Absolutely not.”
He gave you a playful look, gripping your arm and stretching it over his side. You winced at the pull and he tapped his fingers against your skin to try and distract you. “PT Leo.”
“You wish.”
The headache started to pound in your head at full force. You dragged your arm away from him just so you could grab his hand and place it on your forehead. His skin was always so nice and cool to the touch.
“Headache?”
“Yep.” You leaned into his hand, humming in content when he shifted closer. You had missed your turtle-y friends during your stay in the hospital. You held onto him tighter. “I’m sorry… for worrying you.”
“It’s not your fault.” He tucked his head above yours, his hand falling off your forehead. You whined at the loss. “I should’ve portaled you home.”
“I hate being portaled.” You shivered. It made you sick. You couldn’t even imagine doing it now with the newly acquired head trauma. You could barely blink too fast or glance around without a striking pain going through your skull.
“Yeah, but you were crying and upset.” His voice got quiet. “I should’ve.”
“Seriously, Leo, if that’s why you blame yourself, then stop.” You pulled away from him to stare into his eyes. “It’s no one’s fault and I’m okay. That’s it.”
He stared at you and you hated that self deprecating look on his face. You grabbed his face, pulling him closer to you.
“Do you hear me?”
He grumbled and avoided your gaze.
“Leo,” you said firmly, huffing when he broke out of your grasp.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” He went boneless, defeated. You didn’t feel triumphant at all, it still felt like he didn’t believe you. You decided to table it for now. This was too stressful on your already strained brain.
Instead of worrying anymore, you happily curled into his arms, sucking in all the warmth he provided. You squeezed him tight, reassuringly, before sighing and relaxing, ready to nap until your overwhelming and overprotective helicopter parents came home to poke and prod you to make sure you were alive.
Maybe you would take up their offer to stay in the lair. They’d be quiet or at least try to for the first few days until they couldn’t take it anymore. But they would try really hard, just for you.
“Does Splinter miss me?” You murmured into his chest, curious.
He paused for a long enough time that you were about to repeat yourself in case he didn’t hear, but he finally answered. “Yeah. He talks about you all the time.”
Aw. You missed Splinter and his fuzzy hugs. You smothered a grin against his plastron. “I’ll have to come down and visit soon, then.”
“You’re always welcome.” He nuzzled the top of your head.
Finally, you fell asleep, at peace with a minor headache and a strong arm wrapped around your waist.
could u give some tips on writing the rise boys? Donnie is the hardest to me, but you write him flawlessly
😁😁 ok so! this is what i think about when i write them !
donnie - for donnie, he’s smart right!?? references smart stuff and says smart things
so he’ll probably not say smart but something like intelligent. so i’ll pull out the thesaurus & look at synonyms that sound smart and swap it w/ words i have in his dialogue
also i just like to assume he does things w/o telling other people if it benefits him to do so… like the whole episode where he makes his brothers just as smart as him
and he has his jokes or whatever in the show… like he’s ‘emotionless’ / a bad boy (lol) & he hates family bonding or whatever. obviously he’s not as open as the others but he does dramatise it & stuff. overly passionate about random things - video games, purple jackets…
he also doesn’t rlly listen to ppl’s warnings?? april is like i hate kendra & he’s like “but purple… & smart…” idk!!! he does it like once but could be fun to use
& i used to see posts where they’re like “how did u even think he acts this way, ur so dumb if you write him this way or think he’s like this” nobody cares that much promise! just have fun
leo - fun!!! silly!!!! likes to push buttons.
very very very intelligent hes so coolll. & he obviously has some clue how to work tech bc he rewires / recodes shelldon in that one episode :] he’s my guy
i think it really depends whether you’re doing pre movie or post movie how he is. obviously he doesn’t like the pressure of being the leader
he’s also very sporty!!! & always has good intuition - like he knows when to stop messing around & when somethings wrong. knew something was up w/ big mama immediately , knew to stop messing around when raph was missing, etc etc
mikey - i think he’s a really forgettable character in rise 😟 so you can probably get away with a lot ! but he’s fun! loves his hobbies. very trusting. loves giving people second chances, etc. like every mikey he’s just a loving dude & loves second chances & sometimes he gets taken advantage for that but that never stops him!!!!
raph - not good under pressure. does not think ahead. he’s a worrier!!!! he doesn’t like to be alone !!! speaks in the third person a lot, doesn’t like to confront people if it’ll upset them / he cares about them. obviously he confronts leo in the movie a lot, but he wouldn’t do it for scenario about like gifts like the ones donnie gave :] very sweet :]
also i think people forget rise raph is still RAPH. make him rage!!! make him angry!!!! make him punch stuff and people!!!
and also i mean you can just read fanfic and if you like how they write a certain character take notice of what they do!!! do they keep someone more quiet and u like it??? try and replicate it in your own way!!! obviously not plagiarise but take some inspo :] even from other tmnt iterations
desc- (April knows something is up with your story, and decides to investigate)
warnings - swearing (duh)
word count - 2.1k
READ PREVIOUS PARTS HERE- one - two
The first message pops up on your screen when you’re at one of the corner tables in the cafe, on your mandatory 30 minute break when she texts, drinking something that wasn’t on the menu. It’s from an unsaved number.
[hey! It’s April]
The first time she’s texted you after exchanging numbers. An easy smile comes to you.
[Can we meet up tomorrow? I’ve got a lead on a few break-in cases]
You set your cup down to respond, wiping your mouth with your sleeve and start typing back quickly.
[i’d love to, but i’m working a 6-9 :((]
She types and sends another message almost immediately.
[does tonight work then?]
She sure was relentless.
[sure! any place in mind?]
[would your place be okay?]
Your place? Your quiet, empty, drab apartment?
[yeah that works ! lemme send you the address. i get off at 7]
[awesome thxxx]
You laugh quietly to yourself while typing down the complex name and your room number. April seemed nice enough from the little you knew about her. Strong, independent, gorgeous. Vern was definitely trying to tap that. You really hoped he didn’t, but she read as a woman that could hold her own. You liked it.
Your coworker coughed to get your attention, indicating you’re 3 minutes past your break. You pocket your phone, and then stand to clock back in and finish the last half of another boring shift.
April’s already beaten you to your apartment, leaning against the outer wall by your door and looking down at her phone when you get there. Her head lifts with a pretty smile when you greet her.
“Hey! Sorry I’m running a little behind.”
Your hands fumble the key ring before shoving one into the lock and it twists with a click. She’s understanding.
“No worries. I’m glad we could meet up.”
“Sorry,” you’re quick to bring awareness to the nearly bare space when the door creaks open, “I don’t really have a lot going on in here.”
April scans the room while you shed your jacket and shoes, walking in and taking in stride the plain couch and old carpet.
“Wow. Kinda lonely.”
Ouch. Painfully truthful but, ouch. Way to beat around the bush.
“Yeah,” you huff, “I’m not here a lot. Or anyone else.” That statement proves false when a high-pitched meow and tinkle of a little belled-collar comes from the kitchenette. The cat is patting her little feet on the counter.
“Hey there kitty.”
Your visitor walks over to give her a little scratch under the chin, which she accepts gladly.
“Oh yeah, she’s here too. Watches over the house for me.”
April chuckles.
“What’s her name?”
“Vannie. Like Van Gogh.”
You thought the name was genius when you first picked it out, poking a little fun at her one missing ear. It sounded a little bit ridiculous now, when you were saying it out loud to another person. April’s eyes get this curious, excited little light behind them when she turns to look at you. What it’s about, you have no clue, and don’t care to ask.
“You named her after an artist.”
“Sure did.”
It’s odd to you, how that seems to be the kicker, but that thought doesn’t even reach the processing department of your brain before April reaches into her crossbody bag and pulls out a laptop.
“I wanted to show you some of these recent reports on break-ins in lower manhattan. Maybe we could try and find your guy.”
“Okay miss detective,” it’s a compliment you mean, well impressed with her dedication. She was just so cool. April flips open the screen and sets the device on the countertop next to Vannie, wasting absolutely zero time. You feel a little guilty there’s not even a table or chairs for the two of you to relax at.
She opens a file on the Home page with two clicks. Vannie paws at the clicker icon that darts around the screen.
The two of you share a little amused laugh, and then divert your attention to one of the worded documents that she’s scrolling through.
“Rising illegal activity… here.” April moves her face back so you can move in and scan over the report. It read along the lines of a few specific perpetrators and their repeated offenses of theft and breaking and entering in around the block you lived on.
“It’s weird,” April rests an arm on the counter in thought, “You said some guy stopped whoever it was trying to grab you from your window. A ton of the reports and witness statements I’ve read over mention similar stuff.”
This surprises you slightly. She opens a different report and lets you freely scroll.
All of the accounts have about the same cookie-cut story. A shadowed figure, moving in, attacking, and then disappearing with little to no trace. No descriptions, no clues to who they were.
You knew though.
“So like… a vigilante.”
“Exactly,” April confirms. The way she’s looking at your face, gauging a reaction, settles weird in the pit of your stomach. It’s like she already knows the answer, the big picture to this case you’re still trying to put together.
“And all of them seem to be, what, a guy with a weird amount of strength that’s kicking ass at night and leaving the NYPD to clean up their mess?”
“Or…” she knows you know something, and it’s making you break a little sweat under the building pressure. You’re suddenly uncomfortable.
“Or… More than one. You can’t cover that much area in such a short amount of time.”
“Right.”
You’re cracking under the weight of her curious stare in the silence of the room.
April O’Niel is fucking baiting you.
She wants you to tell her the truth about who, or what, stopped your attacker a few weeks ago on the balcony. And poor, unsocial, people-pleasing you just spills it out.
“Okay, I-I know this is gonna sound absolutely crazy.”
The words come flowing from your mouth, a sporadic spout of words that you can’t stop. Her eyes grow wider and wider as you admit you really did know what the guy looked like, and how he’d come to your window intentionally one night just last week. Maybe it was the pure lack of having someone personable (and also not a cat) to listen to your insane story that just keeps tumbling out. By the time you’re finished, April has the same look on your face that you did when you first encountered the giant turtle, like she was practically reliving the story in her own head. You’re breathless.
“I know it sounds like I’m insane, but I just couldn’t tell Vern,” you’re quick to your own defense, “He would never talk to me again. Nobody would.”
She just stands there for a minute in the quiet, gears clicking in that quick brain of hers.
“I don’t think you’re crazy.”
You don’t believe that for a second. Her baffled stare just moments ago were a telltale sign of someone’s concern. April was probably already thinking of how to transport you to the nearest psyc ward.
“I get it, it sounds-“
“Look… I gotta take go take care of something,” she shuts the laptop and is already shoving it into her bag, while you stand there fumbling for something to say to try and convince her of your story, “I promise I’ll get back to you, this is just super, super important.”
She definitely thinks you’re crazy.
“April, please,”
She grabs your pleading hand in both of hers and pats it like an old woman pitying the poor.
“I’ll text you, when I get the chance.”
April leaves you standing, slouched with your arms just hanging defeatedly at your sides while she practically runs out of the door.
“It was good seeing you! Have a good night!”
It’s quiet all over again when the door slams shut. Vannie meows, like it’s a question and you look at her with a pathetic expression.
“She thinks I’m batshit crazy.”
But you’re so wrong, because as you prepare yourself for another night of restless sleep, April’s quickly walking down the stairs and out onto the street with a phone to her ear, and a satisfied smile on her face.
“Donnie?”
“Hey April! What’s up?”
“We gotta talk. I’m swinging by the lair in a few.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
The boys are all standing around their booth table (the really cool one they’d dragged down into the lair forever ago), mouths agape while April explains in confidence the situation at hand. Splinter is sitting next to her, with a wise, attentive ear.
Raphael is trying to brood at his friend practically snitching all of his secrets to his brothers and dad, but he’s still so shocked at what he’s hearing that his brows are curling in confusion rather than anger.
“I told you to stay away from her apartment, Raph!” Leo’s first instinct is to point an accusing finger towards his younger brother. He seethes at it but before he can get a snide remark out, someone’s talking again.
“I didn’t know Vern had a sister.” Donnie is stuck on the main focus of all of their surprise.
“Or, like, any family!” Mikey cuts in, “He’s a lone wolf.” He lets out a horrendous impression of howl, and performance of ripping a nonexistent shirt from his body like a werewolf. April snickers.
“Vern doesn’t talk about her much,” she defends, “I just met her last week.”
It really was a ridiculous coincidence that the pretty girl Raphael has been so unintentionally drawn to was stupid Vern Fenwicks younger sister. Though he doesn’t think it would have made a difference in the outcome of him silently following her home some nights to ensure she makes it there without incident. Thankfully, April doesn’t know this, otherwise she would’ve outed that information to everyone by now. The oldest of the four speaks again, desperate to turn this into some sort of lesson.
“If you’d just listened-“
“What’s done is done, Leonardo.” Splinter's voice is calm, but commanding, “You cannot change that she’s seen him.”
That finally silences Leo, but he’s visibly unhappy. Donnie speaks up again.
“So what does this mean for us?”
This renders all of them unanswered. It’s a complicated thing. They can’t make you just forget the multiple interactions you’ve had with Raphael. But how do they approach forward from here? April has a suggestion she’s been thinking of since she left your apartment.
“I think she should meet you guys.”
“WHAT?”
All four voices are overwhelmingly loud and surprised at the idea.
“It would only make sense. She knows you guys are out there every night, she’s seen Raph,” she lifts her hand to acknowledge the turtle who just grunts in annoyance, “And she totally thinks that I think she’s crazy. I feel bad.”
“I don’t know,” Donnie’s hesitant, “this isn’t a dire, life threatening situation where human interaction is necessary.”
“What if she tells her friends?” Leo adds.
April bites her tongue. As sweet and kind as you are, it would come as a surprise to anyone on the outside that you pretty much only talked to people at your job.
“She won‘t.”
“So many people have seen us out there, and they don’t need to know who we are. Why should she?”
“Am I seriously the only one here who digs the idea?” Mikey says, “We have, like, two human friends up top.”
Raph is the only one who hasn’t spoken up. Secretly, it excited him to think about meeting you with, hopefully, no repercussions. But also, so many things could go wrong. He doesn’t realize everyone’s staring at him, waiting for his input, until the silence draws on for just a little too long.
“Man, I don’t know about this one.”
“Come onn,” Michelangelo throws a soft punch at his shoulder, “You can finally introduce us to your girlfriend.”
Raph pushes the youngests’ face away with his palm.
“Knock it off, dumbass.”
“Splinter?” Leo looks to his dad for guidance. The party’s torn and he’s left to be the mediator. After sitting in thought for a moment, the rat speaks.
“I don’t believe it would hurt to indulge. If April trusts the girl, I cannot see a reason not to make an acquaintance.”
“She really is sweet,” April’s on your corner of the ring, and Splinter’s words credit her immensely. She can see them all look at each other and wordlessly cave in, one at a time. Mikey pumps his fists in the air with excitement.
“Okay so even if we do decide to meet her,” Leo’s already made up his mind, but pretends not to, “We can’t just bring her down here.”
A good point.
April gets another idea. She pulls out her phone and holds up her finger to pause the conversation.
“Hold that thought.”
And with another text sent, the plan’s set in place.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
*hands you this chapter with a wink*
PART 3 BABY, THINGS ARE GETTIN GOODDD
Sorry this chapter is a little shorter, but trust, I've already gotten the next chapter fully written out, and it'll definitely make up for it ;)
lemme know if you want to be a part of my slowly growing taglist, so you don't miss out on the next chapter!!!
(rise Donnie x touch starved gn reader - little bit of angst, mostly fluff)
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Lazy circles drawn on hips.
Tender pats on the shoulder or head, conveying much more than mere words.
Nudges of encouragement or of endearment or at least conveying that someone else was there.
Various affectionate displays - all luxuries experienced in the most painfully infrequent intervals.
At least, they were to you.
Home definitely wasn’t the place to be seeking out stuff like that - your upbringing had all but made certain of that - nor was anywhere with your colleagues or friends. Any time anyone so much as got near, your skin seemed to crawl and spine shivered and-
In short, it seemed an endeavor destined to fail.
That wasn’t to say you didn’t like it. The physical contact part, that was; the yearning and all that was inarguably awful.
But the occasional touch or elbow rub or hug just absolutely made you melt. Only when you felt like it though. And normally only when you initiated it. And typically only with a certain purple clad significant other-
A hand grasped onto yours.
You snapped back to the present, sitting in Donnie’s lab where you’d been idly passing him tools and utensils as needed and he’d been discarding them back into your palm, and where a misunderstanding where each of you thought the other to be passing them something and extended two empty hands made quite the startling connection of the two.
“Sorry!” Your hand retracted as if repulsed by his. “Sorry.”
He jolted on his own accord before looking over at you. “You alright?”
“Are you?”
Donnie blinked. “You shuddered as if I transferred a few thousand volts which, considering my current field of experimentation, is feasible. Did I do something wrong?”
“No, not at all.” You shifted uncomfortably in your seat. What a way to get dragged out of a soliloquy. “It just, uh, caught me off guard is all. What about you? You just about leapt out of your seat.”
“All’s good on my end.”
“Yep. Same here.”
“Alright then.”
A terse moment passed. Despite how fervently you hoped he’d turn back to his work and drop the upsettingly awkward conversation, Donnie’s softly confused gaze stayed fixed on you.
It made your stomach churn in a manner halfway between flustered and unbearable - that was to say, leaving sounded like a viable option.
“You know what? I might go get a snack or something; it’s been a minute since I had anything so...”
“Right. Want me to have S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. fetch you something?”
“No!” You took a deep breath upon realizing you were nearly shouting. “No, that’s quite alright. I don’t mind moving around a little bit.”
“Oh. Okay.” Donnie remained wide-eyed and immobile, tracking you curiously even as you moved for the door. He probably kept that up as long as he could, as long as you were in his sight before going back to work, not that you knew for certain, of course. You had squared your shoulders and rushed out as swiftly as possible, only easing up when you reached the kitchen.
You set straight to work on that snack and a warm drink to help you recuperate.
With a sigh, you prepped a kettle on the stove, leaving it to boil as you ventured mindlessly to the pantry.
After retrieving something to munch on, something easily poppable, you returned to an eagerly whistling kettle, the contents of which you quickly emptied into an eagerly awaiting mug. You plucked a tea bag from the cabinet adjacent to the stove and dunked it in, setting a timer.
As the tea steeped, you tried not to do so in your thoughts. Swimming and swarming uncomfortably through your brain with unpleasant reminders of how unfairly you’d behaved earlier, how unfair the circumstances around how averse you felt toward simple contact were-
No, not going there right now. You busied yourself with snagging pieces of your snack, losing your thoughts under the fervent sound of crunching and grinding and-
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Right. The tea.
Steeping over and tea bag tossed, you gathered your bearings and paused in the doorway. On one hand, you could go back to the lab and talk things out like a sensible person. On the other hand, cowering away in Donnie’s room was also there.
“Psh.” You shook your head lightly at yourself and trudged your way to his room, ever the craven.
You sipped at your earl grey contentedly, navigating around stacks of thick books and planters filled with rich soil and plum-colored tradescantia. Donnie, ever the botanist at heart.
Following the oh-so-perilous journey across his purple-fluorescently lit room, you settled on his mattress. Something struck you as funny in a deprecating sort of way when you sat - going into his room uninvited and making yourself at home on his bed seemed less intimate than simply coming into contact with him. Maybe you were just desensitized to eradicating his personal space but still quite opposed to doing the same with his personal bubble.
Yes, it was funny. Pathetic, too, but ironically funny nonetheless.
You couldn’t remember the last time you purposefully came into contact with someone and liked it. Like, genuinely, when was the last time you were touched?
Yes, sometimes it happened out of necessity - someone helping fasten on a bracelet’s clasp or zip up an outfit or something of the sort - other times it happened by accident - like earlier - but other than that, you hadn’t the foggiest idea of when you’d last sought intentional contact with anyone. All you knew was that it had been a painfully long time which made it a painfully sore subject.
The quiet shuffle of steps made a sudden appearance, ones you could recognize as Donnie’s without even looking up. So you didn’t.
A weight settled a considerable distance away from you on the bed, the sounds of the anxious pops of phalanges and the wringing of wrists making it even more apparent it was him.
You took a long, slow sip of your tea, savoring the last bit of warmth cascading down your throat before deftly discarding the empty mug on his busied nightstand.
You shuffled.
Talking, right? That was what was supposed to, what needed to come next, right?
Hashing it out verbally, coming to a resolution, going back to sitting in the lab with hardly a word exchanged and certainly no skin brushing by skin.
How do you ask someone why they scarcely touch you without sounding inappropriate or impotent? Not exactly a normal thing to ask. Or feel.
And how do you describe the niche feeling of wanting to feel any kind of contact but only under the most specific of circumstances?
Daunting, it was. All of it.
“Do you want to talk about earlier?” Donnie broke the silence.
The shake of your head was nigh indiscernible, but he perceived it nonetheless.
He twiddled his thumbs.
You cleared your throat.
He looked up from his lap.
You cautiously extended your arms out. An invitation to skip the words and go straight to the resolution.
Hesitantly, his hand met yours, the feeling electric, burning as his digits slid across yours to take gentle hold of you.
The two of you met eyes and, upon seeing no disapproval, continued with the utmost care.
You couldn’t recall which one of you moved to lay down first, but the other quickly reciprocated the shift, both of you ending up facing each other on silken violet sheets.
Legs tangled lightly for the purpose of pulling each other closer.
Tridactyl hands lightly glided to your sides, as if handling something delicate.
Yours made their way up, joining together behind his neck.
“I’m being so honest right now: if you want to stop, we’re stopping,” you voiced quietly yet surely.
Lazy circles on your hips drawn by his thumbs drew you in, drawn by thumbs that had increasingly more bravado by the second.
“Seriously, any moment you’re done, we’re done.”
A low hum sounded his amusement.
“Not as in done done, like done with this specific-”
“Respectfully,” Donnie interjected lightheartedly, “shut up. I’m good if you’re good.”
“…”
The silence this time once again carried an awkward air, but it was decidedly less insufferable.
Another second was spent before he cleared his throat, not wanting to misinterpret your silence. “You’re good?”
“Mmhm.”
“Then it’s good.”
With that, you decided his advice to shut up was the best idea you’d heard all day and did so, nuzzling your face into his neck sleepily. The reverberating churr and tighter hold you received in return were exquisite.
Oftentimes words proved to be the best and most concise way to convey a message; however, sometimes actions took that distinction, able to show as opposed to tell certain ineffable things.
Starring the 2012 turtles, based on a conversation between me and my younger siblings.
"I'm stabbing you I'm stabbing you!!" Raphael exclaimed as he gestured as if he was plunging a knife into his little brother's back.
"I have a shield," Mikey managed to say through giggles.
Mikey had been trying to pet Spike while Donnie was holding him and Raph was petting him. Every time Raph would shoo him away, Mikey would just come back after only waiting a second. After a few moments of this, Raph had enough and whipped around to Mikey. Thus, here they are, using invisible weapons on each other.
"Wh- it doesn't even cover your back!!" Raphael exclaimed in disbelief.
"His knife is so fast it goes in between the atoms," Donnie joked from where he was holding Spike.
Mikey, somehow with a straight face, countered, "My shield doesn't have any atoms it's too strong for that!"
Raph and Donnie looked at each other, mouths agape.
"His shield is non existent but still protects him," Donnie said.
The three burst into warm, loud laughter.
"His shield is made of electrons and protons," Donnie added.
"Electrons and protons make up atoms???" Raph questioned in the midst of his laughter.
"His shield is just an atom," Donnie suggested.
"One, singular atom," Raph wheezed.
Mikey was practically crying on the floor with laughter. Spike was long forgotten, having moved somewhere else in the room. The lair was filled with cackles and jokes, each one playing off the last.
When Splinter entered the room to see what the commotion was about, nobody had the breath to explain to him why they were talking about a shield made of a single, giant, atom.
"My favorite part in every episode is when that guy slaps that other guy," You murmured, leaning into the couch with your arms crossed.
On the TV, space heroes was playing. You and Leo were currently watching it in the lair. An empty pizza box was a few seats away from you, the turtle brothers demolished it hours ago.
"That's Captain Ryan and Crankshaw," Leo corrected you. "And that doesn't happen every episode."
"We can agree to disagree," You shrugged.
"What? It's not a debatable fact?" Leo turned his attention from the show to you.
"Every fact is debatable," You said, matter-of-factly, "That doesn't mean it's subjective."
"Listen," Leo put his hand on your shoulder, "You are wrong."
"No, I'm not," You smirked.
"Yes, you are! Not every episode has Crankshaw panicking which leaves no reason for Captain Ryan to slap him-"
"See? You're debating me right now," You pointed out, puffing your chest.
"That's because you're wrong!" He stressed.
"All I'm hearing is confirmation that I'm actually right, though," You put a hand to your ear.
"But-"
"Ah? What was that? I'm right?" You patted his head. "Thanks, man. I know, I'm a genius."
Leo sighed and turned back to his show. There was no need to allow you to antagonize him. But he did continue to think about that argument for the rest of the day.
Sorry I've been quiet. I was hit with a sudden urge to sew, so...
Donnie originally was going to have a smile like the first two but his expression killed me after the first four stitches so I decided to keep him that way.
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