I think you fuckers know exactly what and who I'm about to gush over for a bit! Let 's do this shit! XD
So for those that are new to me and my content, Hi! And I'm not sorry for the lore dump I'm about to bash you over the head with! For those of you that ARE aware of me, heyyyy! I'm gunna hit you over the head with my lore once again!
This is Sasha The Cheetah!
I guess you could call her a "Turtlesona", but I don't really see her as an extension of myself, so she's really just a Fan Character! One of the first ones I've ever made actually. If you wanna know more about her and her other versions (She has 11 for fuck sake!) I'll link her very own in depth post, along with the posts I made for Fortnite and Mutant Mayhem Specifically as well, since they came along later. The major Sasha Post, Mutant Mayhem, and Fortnite!
2003 Sasha (The one in front with the pointy crystal on her neck), was the first version I ever made. She started out VERY different then what she now, and when the Turtles Forever movie came out, that's when I started playing with the idea of more versions of her. And Well...you see where that led me!
Each version, while the same character, all have their own distinct personalities and goals. Their relationships with the turtles even differ in a few versions. Even their Backstories differ a lot, as in some, she's a mutated Cheetah, others she's a human turned into s mutant! Their powers and abilities are also vastly different from version to version! In some she has power over electricity and wind, others she's a healer, some only have the ability to cast magic, in some they have no powers what so ever, and in one in particular, SHE A LITERAL FUCKING GOD!
The core similarities tho at the heart of each one are:
She is a Cheetah. (Of some variant.)
She has a strong bond with Donnie. (Be that romantic or otherwise.)
Cares deeply for their motivations in life.
And with each version, I do my best to convey which version of the TMNT through how they are drawn! Now, of course, some of my own style will peek through in each one. But I do my best to make it easy to tell which Sasha goes with which set of turtles. And I've done my best to make each version fit with the lore and story that their version of the TMNT goes by. (In some cases not enough is known, so I'll play with it a bit in those cases.)I've even thought about Voices for each one, currently still working on that post. (It's a monster of a post, but I'm hoping it will be worth it.)
I could keep going for hours, but. I don't wanna waste more of your time then I already have! Thank you for your time! And I hope you like my cheeb baby! She's my pride and joy, and i hope you at least found her interesting! (And if you checked out her other posts, uhhhh, let me know what you think. you know....if you want. X3)
Each of the versions of Sashatello would like to wish you a Happy (late) Valentine’s Day! And the only reason it is so late, is that they spent their days with each other. Let’s take a peek at what they were up to, shall we? 👀
First up~ 🐆💜🐢
87 Sashatello: Cat Kisses
Little pecks on the cheek are nothing strange to this couple!
2003 Sashatello: Flowers
This is kinda a spoiler for something in the next part of my Fic, Spring Stars. Regardless, I love drawing these two just being cutesy together. Especially when they both get all blushy and Shy while interacting!
2007 Sashatello: Proposition
07 Sasha is a bit blunt with her way of thinking, and especially when she wants something. So when asking if Donnie would “Be her mate.”, it was quite a lot for the turtle to take in all at once. He was down, of course, but it didn’t erase the intense embarrassment he felt from her wording.
IDW Sashatello: You’re so cute
Get you a lady that looks at you the way Sasha does Donnie. To her, he is the cutest thing she’s ever encountered. and this is coming from a God! Someone who has met many souls, seen countless lovers, and traveled the world many times over! So…who is Donnie to argue with her when she calls him Cute?
2012 Sashatello: Be My Valentine
Ah yes, these two. Honestly, a romance between these two is so hard to write, it’s painful! But, I’ll keep trying damn it! 2012 Sasha is just so smitten with this moron that it’s almost a meme in my head at this point that canonically, I don’t see them becoming an item until the Mutagen Bomb ending where Donnie becomes a robot! (I’ll draw that one day…) For now, I’ll just keep trying till it makes sense to me!
Bayverse Sashatello: Hold Me
You know, if it weren’t for how detailed their designs are, I’d draw them way more than I do now. I mean, LOOK AT THEM! Cute af, and the part of me that has a size kink can’t help but drool at just how TALL Bayverse Donnie is! I really need to do more art of these two, but for now, here we are! And I’m not complaining.
Batman VS TMNT Sashatello: Kiss Me, Sugershell
Not gunna lie to you folks on this one, I was very tame compared to what I originally wanted to draw for them. But I still thought that what I came up with was still pretty hot! The whole Bad girl & Good boy dynamic they have is just….so DAMN good! I love it! (And I adore the Pet Name Sasha calls Donnie in this version so much!) I can’t wait to draw more of them together. I have a rather cute/humorous idea in the works for them in the future.
Mutant Mayhem Sashatello: Young Love
Ah, young love! MM Donnie has got that Rizz going, but I could still see him sweating a bit when talking about having a crush on Sasha. (Especially since he was a fan of her’s to begin with before they met!) And MM Sasha is a shy mess to begin with, but would try her hardest to toughen up, if it meant she could somehow impress Donnie. I could see them making gifts for one another on Valentine’s Day, becoming two blushing messes trying to come up with things to say.
And that’s a wrap! Hope you all had a good Valentine’s Day! 💜
I figured it was about time I formally introduced Sasha's older brother! I keep mentioning him in Sasha's lines for my fics, so what do you say we put a face to the name!
A little of his info his already written out on his sheet here, but just in case, I wanna run down a few facts about him with you folks!
Unlike Sasha's Kenai isn't in his teens, in fact, he's 26. Making him about 11 or 12 when he, Sasha, and their Grandmother where mutated.
Like Sasha, he had mystical abilities too. He can cast spells, make portals, and can control two elements of his own. Fire & water.
The one thing he can do that Sasha and His Grandmother can't is that he can see dreams. Sometimes this is on purpose, but most of the time he has no control over it. But he can only see the dreams of those he's close to.
Like Leo, Kenai is a sword boy! He's skilled with the Twin Gurades, but has trained with many swords.
Sasha describes Kenai to Leo as a mix of himself, Raph, and Mikey. Kenai is mostly an upbeat and easygoing guy. He's firm in his training and with his friends while helping them train, but he's always in the mood to have a good time. However, when he's serious, it's truly unnerving. When he's like this, he has the chance of snapping at whoever he's around. Thankfully, this isn't at all common.
He's a major show off, be it his musical talent, fighting skill, Dancing feats, or even showing off how awesome his friends or sister are! The man feeds of the awe of others, and loves to entertain when he can.
Kenai is highly skilled in magic, being a pretty high raking Magic Keeper. Which is pretty uncommon for someone of his age with no "Proper Training".
There's only one day a year that Kenai goes completely quiet and tried to fall off the grid, and it the anniversary of the death of his first and only lover.
He was the first to teach himself how to completely hide his "Savage Strength". He called it "Savage Taming", and has passed it down to his friends, hoping to keep them from making the same mistakes he made years ago.
He hasn't seen Sasha in years, but keep regular contact with her and his grandmother through letters they send back and forth via magic.
When it comes to his duties as a Magic Keeper, Kenai sorta does them reluctantly. Like Sasha, he resents the culture of the job and how it fucked up their lives. But unlike Sasha, he's accepted this as part of him now.
He's not related to Sasha or his grandmother by blood, he was found as a fresh adult cheetah by his Grandmother and her Coalition after he had been abandoned by his original Coalition.
He's very tall and big compared to the turtles and Sasha, proudly standing at a massive 6 feet tall.
Kenai didn't like the situation he or Sasha where put into after they were mutated, but he knew they couldn't really fight it. So, for years, before leaving to go out on his final training mission, he did his best to try and teach Sasha how to accept herself and be more confident.
He unfortunately had to leave behind and went out on his journey, where he would be training all by himself for 10 years in many different countries. While on said journey, he actually met other mutants like himself. they were lost and looked for guidance on who and what they were. Kenai taught them how to fight, and even a few mystical incantations. the Magic Elders tied to call them his disciples, as it was common practice for high raking Magic Keepers to eventually gain these fallowers and use them. But Kenai refused to see them like that! They were his friends, and they would always be that.
Eventually, after Sasha was forced to come back to Africa to complete her Magic Keeper training, Kenai made the case for himself to be her teacher. He really didn't want their grandmother trying to teach her as it clearly didn't go well originally. And maybe him and his friend could help her train much faster! Mostly so she could hurry up and get back to New York! (And be with that cute Turtle she seemed to gush over in her letters to him.)
That's really all I have for now, I'll talk more about his other versions later on, but for now, I hope you like him!
It's almost 12 at night, my tooth hurts like hell and I can't sleep. So I'm just gunna go ahead and ramble about some of the different versions of Sasha! Enjoy!
🐆
2003 Sasha: So this Sasha is a Pescatarian. Most of the time, if she's eating meat, it's strictly fish or even eggs. But the sight of eating meat makes her very uncomfortable.
2012 Sasha: While not being the most tech savvy version, still knows the in's and out's of her Kraang Gauntlets and Scythe.
IDW Sasha: She has a very weird way of speaking. I really have to be careful with how I write her dialog. She has moments where her God side is speaking, and times where SHE is speaking. It makes for an interesting character if you're not 100% sure if it's truly one or the other you're dealing with.
Bayverse Sasha: She's a bit of a freak....if you catch my drift. A real wild cat if you will.
87 Sasha: She and Erma HATE each other. 87 Sasha is not above being a petty jealous bitch if she gets too close to Donnie.
Mirage Sasha: She and Donnie have a very complicated relationship. While Sasha would 100% kill him or his brothers at any opportunity, she never does, and more often then not will assist them if they're in deep shit. This is mostly due to a "jealousy/Territorial" trait of her's for Donnie in particular. Sort of a "He's my pray! And if you want him dead, you'll have to kill me first!" In reality, i feel like if she was a canon character for the turtle lore, this is the trait that would've led to the Shipping her with Donnie thing.
2003 Sasha: She's one of those introverts that seems chill around a bunch of folks so long as she knows them a bit. But stick her in a situation where she knows absolutely nothing and can't use her current knowledge to navigate it, she becomes a very reserved and shy individual.
Batman Sasha: While this is canon for all of her versions, it's especially relevant for this lady. Sasha is a MASSIVE Batman fangirl. (Hint's the cape and over all esthetic of her Assassin's uniform.)
2007 Sasha: While she's is nowhere the most commanding version of herself, she is however VERY combative with her brother. And she's the only version that don't have the most loving relationship with her brother.
Rise Sasha: I've talked about it before, but Rise Sasha is a lot like Rise Donnie, and uses a mostly over the top confident mask to hide her insecurities. When she was human, she wasn't in anyway the strongest or most sociable kid. After being mutated, see saw it as an opportunity to be better then her human self. But this had led to her hating her old self. She HATES talking about it and keeps it a secret. (The only ones to know are April, Donnie, and Mikey. April was the only one she outright told, Donnie just happened to overhear it. And April later told Mikey.)
Rise Sasha: Canonically, I have a storyline that involves she and Donnie getting "Married". Though it's mostly just him giving her a handmade Promise Ring. (In the Krang Apocalypse Future though, this never happens. Instead, it's replaced with one night of "Physical Intimacy" *Wink wonk*. The next day Donnie ends up losing his life while on a mission with Leo. A missions Sasha had told him not to go on. Sasha later finds the ring along with a note that explains how much he loves her, and wanted to be with her once the world was safe again.)
Bayverse Sasha: She was developing a serum to make herself and her pack mates human. as each of them had dreams that supposedly couldn't be made true without being human. (Sasha's being using her knowledge of science to make things better for the world. And also to find love like she'd seen in movies and TV.) Turns out you really don't need to be human for that last one. ;3
Mutant Mayhem Sasha: She may or may not have written a fanfic or two about Donnie before meeting him IRL after seeing him and his brothers fighting Superfly. She never posted it of course and will more then likely have this secret die with her!
And now for a special entry! A little peak into what's to come for Fortnite Sasha!
Fortnite Sasha: She's from another planet inhabited by other cat people who use a mixture of Technology and Magic! They're at war with a race of reptilian people. So when she first met the Turtles, she wasn't very friendly. Not helped by the fact her Lingua was damaged when she crashed on earth, so now she can't understand or speck to them. Her native language sounds a lot like Swahili on earth. While she's no warrior, she's no slouch in a fight. She's a hunter by trade, and her weapon has five modes: Spear, Sword, Bow, Dagger, and Whip. Only the females of her race are hunters, and while they aren't allowed to marry and start families, they aren't restricted from having romantic relationships. Especially if it's with another hunter. In otherwards, a lot of the hunters are either Pan, Bi, or Lesbian. Sasha herself, being Bi, not realizing so until meeting Donnie and getting to know him more. He's the one who actually fixes her Lingua so she can finally communicate with them. (While writing, i was debating on making her species a lot like The Tamaraneans from Teen Titans, where they learn languages through lip contact. But eh, don't really think Sasha would wanna get in that close with a stranger right off the bat just to learn how to talk to them. Much less if they look like a race they're currently at war with.)
And finally, I'll share a little WIP of her design. I may add or take a few things, but I love her so much already!
Author’s Note: Holy shit, it’s been a hot minute since I made Part one! I just wanna say a quick thank you (and a very big sorry) to those of you who read it! Means a lot to me that you even attempted to sit through my garbage writing! And now, you’re here looking for more punishment, and deliver it I shall! Plenty of OCxCC ship trash to go around, and more art with it too! Also, MAYBE a slight CW on this one for mentions of possible Spicy thoughts & a little angst! Other than that, it’s all just some fun character interactions! There will also probably be one more part to this story because I love torturing myself, and I can't seem to make anything easy! So enjoy! :3
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“Is this a… date?”
The question felt like a switch being flipped, turning the world around them into nothing. Donnie froze, feeling his heart start to pound. He hadn’t really planned for this kind of question, and to him this didn’t FEEL like a date. Though, thinking back on what he had in mind for this outing, it did seem like one. The idea making his face burn even more. But, he had to be honest, the look on Sasha’s face was more studious, and she’d surely be able to tell if he was trying to lie.
“W-we don’t have to call it that just because tht’s what everyone else does. It can be a j-just two friend having fun and getting to know each other better!” Donnie said, nervously smiling as he gulped. Sasha chuckled a little while an unsure grin came to her lips, “That sounds like a date though…” “Fair…” Donnie admitted. There was another pause between them, Sasha now looking at the floor again, then back up at Don. She approached him, getting in so close that Don felt the need to back up, but he stood his ground. While not being much taller then Donnie, Sasha’s stature always made it seem like she was bigger then him. This was a test, and she stared him down to see if there were any signs of wavering. And he just stared back.
“So…what do you say?” Donnie asked, trying to break the silence. Sasha tucked her bottom lip in a bit, her eyes not leaving him. The look in her eyes was thoughtful, then she opened her mouth to speak.
“YO GUYS! WHAT’S THE ETA ON THAT POPCORN? YOU TWO LOVE BIRDS DONE YET?”
The interruption from Mikey calling out for them, along with the ensuing swoons from others mocking them as well, made them both quickly jolt back from one another. Sasha actually seemed rather pissed off by it and she growled back, “ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY! AND NEITHER IS GOOD POPCORN! JUST SETTLE YOUR SHELL!” The others could be heard laughing in the background. Sasha caught her breath and hissed a bit in irritation, before sighing, looking back at Donnie with a disappointment look. “W-we’ll talk more after the movies. Okey?” Donnie had caught his breath too, but now looked disappointed. “S-sure…”
With that the two finished making the Popcorn, and finally came out to the living room where everyone was waiting to start the movie. “Bout time you two joined us! Donnie burn something again?” Raph teased. “Nooo, he actually did quite well. Though maybe it would’ve been done faster if SOME turtles had tried helping out!” Sasha chastised, only to be met with the remaining three turtles looking away, whistling a tune. Sasha rolled her eyes, looking over to April, hoping to get some actual conversation going! “Soooo, did you guys finally decide what to watch? I’m pretty curious!” April nodded, putting in a DVD, “Yep! Casey’s movie is the first!” “Booyah! You’re gunna love it! You’re from like, the desert and stuff, right? The Mummy is the best horror film ever!”
Donnie placed down a few bowls of popcorn onto the coffee table, as Sasha moved over to the side of the couch, still holding a huge bucket of popcorn for herself and Leatherhead. “The Mummy? What’s so scary about Mummies?” She seemed genuinely confused. “You don’t think they look creepy! Dead bodies wrapped in bandages, trying to eat your brain!” Casey argued, getting up and out of his seat and lunging at Sasha playfully, imitating a mummy. Sasha’s ears tilted back, and she stepped back from him, “Yeah…mummies aren’t like that at all! Having seen some up close, they’re more fascinating then anything. You humans are spooked by the weirdest things…”
Casey scoffed, sitting back down and crossing his arms, “Says the girl who can’t look at a kiddy pool without getting shaky…” He muttered under his breath to April, who rolled her eyes at him. “What was that Jones?” Sasha hissed as she turned her head to look back at him, her ears still back. “N-Nothin’! Nothin’ at all!” He scrambled to keep her from jumping him, April and the others having to stifle giggles. “That’s what I thought…” Sasha huffed, turning her attention on trying to find a seat.
Sasha quickly noticed that all the seats where taken on the couch and chairs, with only Leatherhead sitting on the ground, as he was far too big to sit on anything really. As small as she was, she still didn’t like the idea of having to squeeze into any of the seats, getting a little too close for comfort with anyone. But he didn’t need to worry as Leatherhead patted his lap, sitting cross legged on the ground. “It’s easier to share popcorn this way.” He said, giving her a warm and toothy grin. Sasha thought nothing really about it, and agreed. Walking over to him and plopping herself down in his lap. Being this close to Leatherhead was pretty normal to her, having spent plenty of nights by his side, calming him down from his nightmares and helping him get to sleep. However, it was a new sight for a certain terrapin ninja. Donnie had scooted into the couch next to Mikey and Honeycutt, and if she had asked, he would’ve gladly moved to the floor. But instead, here he was, staring at his crush in the lap of another large male mutant!
The normally levelheaded turtle had to admit to himself, it made his heart sink and his blood boil. Truthfully he’d always envied, to some degree, how close Leatherhead was to Sasha. She lived with him, spent most of the day with him, and judging by how comfortable she was touching him and sitting in his lap, spent a lot of time getting…cozy with him. As the movie started on the TV, Donnie started to feel a bit sick, watching Letherhead and Sasha in the corner of his eyes. He’d hold out his hand, and Sasha would take a bit of the Popcorn and place it into his palm.
“Why isn’t she like that with us? With me?”
And after she left his offer for a date unanswered, it made this even harder to watch.
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Movie after movie, the night continued, until it was time to start getting to bed. Everyone set up sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets in the living room. Casey and April shared the couch, Mikey and Donnie taking up the Lazyboy chairs, and the others all scattered along the floor. All except Honeycutt who decided to return to Leatherhead’s lair. While getting ready for bed, Donnie ran into Leatherhead, who was washing the bowls and cups they had used all night. “Oh, Donatello! I need to ask you, which soap do you tend to use for your dishes? The Green Apple scent or the Original?” Leatherhead asked, turning his head to see his turtle friend standing in the doorway. Donnie was stunned for a moment, as he wasn’t sure how to feel. His voice was caught between wanting to snap at him cause he was still upset about Sasha. But the more rational side of him told him to cool it for now. He shrugged, “Oh uhhhh, I think we use Original…” he replied, sounding a bit mopey as he crossed the room and grabbed a cup from the cabinets, doing his best to not make eye contact. But Leatherhead noticed immediately, “What is wrong my friend? You seem upset.” Donnie stayed still, staring at the cup in his hand, trying his best to not snap at him, debating on whether or not to say anything.
“I really don’t have the right to be upset. I don’t own her…” Donnie said flatly. His eyes flew wide open, and he gasped a bit at what just came out of his mouth. He really didn’t wanna say it out loud, but it just…came out. Even Leatherhead was a little spooked, it was a tone he had never heard from his terrapin friend. He sounded almost, bitter and childish. “What are you talking about? You don’t own who?” As soon as he said it, it’s like the answer came right to the front of his mind, but it still didn’t make sense. “Are you…talking about Sasha?” Hearing her name come from Leatherhead’s mouth brought Donnie back to reality, and brought back his earlier frustration. That’s when he finally looked up at the taller reptile, with a face that made Leatherhead actually step back for a second. “Look, Leatherhead. I-I…need you to be honest with me!” Donnie started, he looked like a mixture of determination, worry, and possibly anger. “Of course my friend…” Leatherhead’s brows turned down in concerned confusion.
Donnie sucked in a breath, clenching his fist before finally breathing out, a slight shake coming from the puff of air. “Are and Sasha…involved at all?” The words felt painful coming from his lips, the meaning of which almost made a tear come to his eyes. Even his voice hitched as he spoke. He trusted Leatherhead so much, he was one of his closest friends. For sure he knew how he felt about Sasha, even without being told directly! And if he was having a relationship with her while knowing this, it was a betrayal on a level he hadn’t dealt with before. Leatherhead’s eyes went wide as the words finally met his ears, his jaws gaping open in an attempt to speak. “W-what? Have you gone mad?” “Just please answer me Leatherhead!” Donnie snapped back, he was trying his best to sound tough, like he wasn’t about to cry. And still trying not to be heard by the others. “I-I don’t know what you’re going on about friend! What Sasha and I have is purely platonic. Nothing more! Where on earth would you get the idea otherwise?” Leatherhead asked, but Donnie didn’t answer back, he just stood there, keeping eyes contact with him. That’s when it hit him.
“This is about her sitting on my lap…” he stated, his voice starting to sound less startled and more cold. If the Croc was being honest, he was kinda offended by the implications this question brought on. “And the touching and the feeding you popcorn…” Donnie added, starting to sound a bit more argumentative. A growl started to form in Leatherhead’s voice now, “You can’t be serious Donatello! I would never-“ Before he could finish his words, Sasha’s voice coming from the doorway spooked both of them. They whipped their heads to see Sasha standing there clutching a couple of chip bags that were now rolled up and clipped shut. She had a confused look on her face, looking back and forth between the two. “Did I interrupt something?” She asked.
“So…she didn’t hear anything…”
The thought alone made Donnie relax a little bit and he stammered out a response. “N-No nothing really.” Sasha squinted a bit at him, then looked at Leatherhead, who straightened up at her gaze. “Yes, nothing really too pressing.” Yeah, she didn’t buy that for a second, looking back and forth between the two again. “Alright then…well…I’ve got these leftover chips. Where would you like me to put them Donnie?” She asked. Donnie stuttered a bit but approached her “I’ve got it for you!” He took them from her arms and walked over to a random cabinet and shoved them in there. “Ah! I s-see…thanks…” Sasha said, feeling a little weird now. It was clear the two were in the middle of a conversation, one she wasn’t welcome to, so she made herself scarce. Sasha then stretched and yawned, “Well then, I’m just gunna…uhh start getting our blankets ready Leatherhead!” She chirped. “Thank you Sasha! I’ll be over to help in a minute!” Leatherhead nodded her way, prompting the turtle to give him a side glance. Sasha nodded back, giving the two of them another look before walking off.
There was silence once more between them, before Leatherhead huffed and looked back down at Donnie. The Turtle already looking back up at him. “I don’t know what is going on with you my friend, but I’d never willingly hurt you. I’d hope that after what happened with bishop and your transformation, I would have proven myself more then loyal to you and your brothers.”
“Ouch…he really had to go there…”
Donnie bristled a bit at that. It had happened a while back. And while he didn’t remember anything that happened during it, from everything Leatherhead and his brothers told him, he was a lot to deal with. He didn’t know if Sasha had been told the story of that or not, but the thought of her knowing made him cringe a bit. With that, Leatherhead went back to the dishes, turning his back to Donnie.
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After getting something cold to drink from the fridge, Donnie left the kitchen to see everyone getting settled down for the night. Including Sasha, who was making a big spot on the floor for Leatherhead. A smaller spot lay right next to it. Sasha, looked up for a split second to see him staring. Her face becoming a bit flustered. Donnie bit his lip and quickly walked over to his bedroom. Raph happened to look up and see him making a beeline for his room and let out a quick “Yo Donnie!”, prompting the purple clad turtle to stop dead in his tracks, squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment. “What are you doing? We agreed on a full crew sleep over!” He had to think fast, come up with an excuse, any excuse that would keep him out of the same room where Sasha and Leatherhead would be laying together.
“Oh uhh, yeah I know! I-I was just gunna work on something real quick, just till I get sleepy! Then I’ll join you guys!”
Donnie chirped, just as Leatherhead came out of the Kitchen. He turned his head just in time to meet eyes with the Croc once more, then he looked back at the others, the ever friendly smile still on his face. “Promise! You guys just go ahead without me!” The others looked at one another confused, meanwhile Sasha just looked at him confused, ears tilted low. Leatherhead himself looking at the turtle with a stern stare. With that, Donnie booked it into his room and shut the door behind him, breathing in a sigh of relief, shell against the door.
After his retreat the others decided to play a few card and board games to wear themselves out. But the whole time, Sasha seamed a bit, distracted. Leatherhead had to get to the bottom of this. It was clear now to him that something had to have gone down between both of his friends. It was the only way to explain Donnie’s sudden jealousy. So after excusing himself to the kitchen, he gestured for Sasha to come with him. Sasha was confused, but agreed, as she was pretty thirsty. Once she entered the kitchen, Leatherhead was leaning against the countertop, staring right at her with an expectant look on his face. She flinched a bit, but then tried to play it cool. “H-hey big guy, what’s up?” “I was hoping you would know.” Leatherhead responded flatly, letting his thick tail flop loudly on the ground behind him. “Know about what? I don’t fallow.” Sasha asked, now genuinely curious and a bit annoyed. Leatherhead was quite for a moment, looking like he was trying to choose his words carefully. “Donatello is acting strange, and I was hoping you’d be able to tell me why.” Sasha raised a brow, her lips turning into a frown, “Well, yeah, he’s acting weird. But why would I have anything to do with it? The more likely thing is that whatever it was you two were talking about in here earlier is what set him off.” Sasha shot back, crossing her arms, “Maybe I should be asking YOU why he’s acting weird.”
Leatherhead snorted loudly, narrowing his eyes at the feline. “You know, Michelangelo told me he overheard you two talking earlier in here…” Sasha seemed to freeze as her eyes widened, her face somehow starting to burn with embarrassment. She gulped, but tried to play it off, though her tone wasn’t convincing at all, “W-What did he hear?” “He didn’t give any details, said that the two of you were far too quiet to be understood. But whatever it was, it was charged. So to speak.” Sasha’s eyes looked down at the floor, as she absentmindedly sighed. Both with relief and frustration perhaps. Then her eyes looked back up at Leatherhead, still a bit miffed at this interrogation, “Still not sure where you’re going with this then.” Leatherhead hummed a little under his breath, before deciding it was better to be blunt about this. “Donatello seems to be a bit jealous with our relationship.”
Sasha’s face went from annoyed to being downright stunned in a matter of seconds. And she just stood there, mind spinning like a video game loading screen, before words finally started forming in her throat, “I-I w-what? How does that work? What do you mean by our ‘relationship’!?” Sasha asked, in a hushed but clearly angered tone. Doing her best to keep the others in the living room from hearing. Leatherhead shrugged, “He just really seemed to be upset with how close we seemed. Especially physically. Had a problem with you sitting in my lap during the movie and handing me popcorn.” Sasha shook her head and started rubbing her temples in frustration. A hissing sound escaping her lips. “I told him that he should be able to trust me, given our history together. But I wanted to know if there was actually something going on between the two of you that I should know about. Because I’m clearly missing something.” Leatherhead added. Sasha huffed, now crossing her arms. Having her back turned now at the Croc.
Even from behind her, he could see her staring at the ground, her tail and ears twitching with aggravation. Clearly thinking. He gave her a few moments, before her ears drooped in defeat and she sighed, “Promise me! This doesn’t leave this room!” She looked back at him over her shoulder. Leatherhead silently nodded. Sasha then turned to face him, eyes still low to the ground and arms crossed in front of her, but now her cheeks actually started to show a slight pink hue. “D-Donnie sorta…asked me out…” She muttered.
There was a pause, and Leatherhead’s eyes slowly widened.
“Oh!” He said, finally putting two and two together. Sasha growled and her eyes snapped up at him, she wasn’t sure why, but his almost lackluster reaction to this news pissed her off. “Oh! Just Oh!?” “Sorry! Sorry I just wasn’t expecting that! You mean like…asked you out! As in a date?” Leatherhead asked. Sasha’s irritation dropped a bit and she shrugged, “He said we didn’t have to call it that. Just two friends hoping to get closer to one another and understand their feelings more…” She muttered, looking back down at the floor. Leatherhead raised and eyebrow at that, a slight smirk tugging at his lips, “That sounds a lot like a date.” “That’s exactly what I said.” There was another pause.
“So, did you say yes?”
“No…”
“You rejected him?”
“What? No! W-we got interrupted before I could give him an answer…”
“Ooohhhhh…” he said, looking off to the floor. Mulling over this new information. Now Donnie’s attitude made a lot more sense. To pour your heart out and finally ask out the girl you’ve been crushing on for the last few months, only to then have no clear answer and watch as she gets closer to another dude. And his close friend at that! He’d be a bit miffed too. Maybe even violent. Though, Sasha can’t really be held responsible for this alone. “So what did you end up telling him?” He asked, finally looking back at her. “I told him that we would talk more about it after the movie. But…then I saw you two in here talking, and now Donnie seems awfully upset…” Sasha responded, leaning against the counter. Leatherhead sighed, This whole thing was a bit of an emotional mess. And communication would be the obvious answer. “You need to tell him your decision tonight. Irreparable damage could be done to your relationship if you don’t let him know soon. And frankly, I can’t stay. I’ve never seen Donatello so angry before, and while I won't hold it against him, if I stay the night, I’ll only make it worse…” Leatherhead muttered. Sasha’s ears drooped, he was right. This needed to be settled soon.
With that, Leatherhead left the room with Sasha closely following. He said his goodbyes to the others, but explained that he had to head back home to be with Professor Honeycutt.
As he left, Donnie peaked ever so slightly out of his door, to see Leatherhead leaving…with Sasha close behind him. It stung, he couldn’t deny that! But, he also couldn’t blame them. After being the kind of ass he was being, he’d be surprised if either of them wanted to talk to him ever.
“So much for…getting closer and figuring things out…”
With regret and shame in his heart, he slumped back over to his bed and flopped down onto it.
✨💛💜✨
A few hours had passed since Donnie passed out, and he looked over at the clock across the room. “2:30 a.m…” he muttered, yawning as he did so. He felt his mouth was dry and his head seemed to hurt quite a bit. “Should probably get some water…” he thought, before remembering that the others were still in the living room, and that he had promised to come out to join them all. He cringed, guilt tugging at his nerves. He tiptoed over to the door and peaked out again, relieved to find everyone had fallen asleep. The pressure of them badgering him was now gone, and replaced with a new fear and mission. “Get to the kitchen and get some water without waking them.” He thought.
As silently as he could, he cracked the door open and stared tiptoeing his way to the kitchen, putting his ninja training into practice. Only stopping shortly to look over at the entrance to the Lair, more guilt seeping in as he remembered seeing Leatherhead and Sasha leaving together. But, he got to the kitchen without waking anyone, and he quietly got a small cup and turned the faucet on. After filling his cup, he peaked out of the kitchen, and after seeing that the coast was clear, he tiptoed back to his room.
He turned to softly close the door behind him, but as soon as he turned back to look at his bed, he saw Sasha sitting there. Blue eyes staring right at him in the dark room. The surprise alone of someone being there, made him flinch and almost scream, but he was stopped when Sasha zipped off the bed and was now in front of him, covering his mouth with the back of her hand. “Shhhhh! It’s me, relax!” She whispered harshly. After a few seconds of hyperventilation, Donnie blinked a bit and relaxed, Sasha then moved her hand away from him and stepped back. “W-when did..” he tried asking, but Sasha answered promptly, “About the time you were on your way to the Kitchen. You stopped and looked my way. Thought you saw me, but it didn’t seem like it…” “Oh…I see.” He muttered, then froze realizing that his cup was missing and nearly having a heart attack, thinking that he dropped it and alerted the others. But just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Sasha holding up the cup in the dark. “Getting yourself a drink after working for so long?” She said softly, a tinge of sarcasm and bitterness in her tone. Donnie’s heart shriveled up a bit. She knew he was lying.
Donnie took the cup from her fingers and chugged it down, but it really didn’t help much, her being here like this made his stomach feel sick. The silence between them was the loudest thing in the world now, and it made Donnie feel so clammy. But he had to say something. But once again, Sasha spoke first. “Leatherhead told me everything…” And just like that, Donnie’s heart dropped to the floor so hard he was surprised it didn’t wake everyone in The Lair. He felt heat rise to his cheeks and he felt tears beginning to come to his eyes. “I-I don’t know what came over me…” he started, “…and I’m sorry…” “I’m not really the one who needs to hear that…” Sasha piped up. “I know, and I plan to tell him sorry in the morning. But, I’m also sorry to you…” Sasha raised an eyebrow at that. Donnie sighed, “I had no right to act Ike that. You didn’t belong to me, you still don’t, and you never will. I was being selfish, entitled, jealous, and…just plain stupid…” he said, taking a seat over by his deck, slumped over, face in his hands.
Sasha kept her eyes on him the whole time, and after hearing that, a soft red started to creep up on her cheeks. She stayed silent for a bit, waiting to see if he would say more. But he didn’t, so she continued, “You’re the furthest thing from stupid Don. Cut yourself some slack. Not every guy out there can admit that sorta thing out loud, ya' know?” Donnie let out a dry chuckle, no humor was there though. “I don’t know if I should be praised so highly. After all…I-I…” his cheeks went dark red before continuing, “I still can’t admit how I feel about you…not to myself, to anyone, and…” his eyes trailed up to her, and seeing her rosy cheeks and blue eyes staring at him, he swallowed his words and just clammed up, looking back down at the floor. Sasha blinked in shock, her mouth slightly agape. But this shock only lasted a moment, and it was replaced with a rush.
Confidence, Determination, and Excitement!
An ever so slight grin came to Sasha’s lips, her cheeks getting warmer. “Well… at the very least I’m glad you plan on apologizing to Leatherhead! I wouldn’t wanna spend the night looking at stars with you if that was gunna be the case.” Donnie softly nodded, the words “Yeah…” muttered their way out of his mouth as he stared at the floor. Until what Sasha said finally clicked in his brain, and his head snapped back up to look at her. She had a soft smile on her lips, a small red tint peaking its way through the fur on her cheeks. Donnie’s eyes started growing wide as his heart started gaining speed in his chest. “W-wait, w-what? Did you just..” he was about to question, but Sasha just nodded softly in response. “REALLY?!” Donnie said, almost shouting, before noticing how loud he was and flinching, bringing his hands up to his mouth, clamping it shut. He quickly got up and rushed around to his door and peaked back out into the living room. Everyone was still sound asleep, and he sighed in relief.
Donnie closed the door back behind him, and faced back to Sasha. A sheepish grin pulled at the corners of his mouth, “I-I..I’m happy you’re up for it.” Sasha let a small giggle out, crossing her arms in front of herself, “Well, I was always up for something like this, but finding an activity that didn’t necessarily involve being all ‘Sciencey’ and what not was a bit difficult. Especially finding something we’d both like equally.” Donnie nodded in agreement, having had the same thoughts before talking with April about all this. Happy to see he wasn’t alone in that. “But…Stargazing actually sounds really fun! Used to do that all the time back home. And…it’s pretty romantic…” The heat on her cheeks getting stronger as those words came from her lips. Don wasn’t sure if that was a bad reaction or if she liked the idea of that, so he reiterated his earlier statement, “Y-yeah…I know. But again, we don’t…have to call it a date if that makes it too…well…you know.” “Y-Yeah, I know….” There was a very tense pause between them, before Sasha spoke up again. “Well then…Uhhh…” she stuttered out, looking at him, almost like she wasn’t sure what to do next. Her arms now kinda lifted like she wanted to reach out to him, almost like a hug or maybe something else. But she quickly shook her head and brought them back down to her sides, “Y-you have a good night, ok?”
Donnie was about to protest a bit, after seeing that, but decided not to try and press his luck. The girl he’d been crushing on for a while now had just agreed to go out with him. He wasn’t about to try anything stupid now! He softly nodded, “Y-yeah… you too Sasha…”
✨💛💜✨
With that everything was set in motion! Splinter was told about his plans and his blessing was given, though not without the embarrassing implication that he “Expects that they’re not going to do anything that would be irresponsible.” Donnie promised no such thing would get even close to happening. Not that the idea hadn’t crossed his mind before in a few dreams he’d wish would leave him alone. And of course April knew about the plan. The only one’s not in the loop where Casey & his brothers! And if he had anything to say about it, none of them would ever know about it. Though hiding the fact that he’d be gone for about a week was gunna be impossible.
For the next few days, Sasha and Donnie texted back and forth, disguising the details of the trip. Sasha was a little surprised to find out that it wouldn’t just be a single night out alone with him, but it would actually be a six day long trip! One day to make it there, two days hike out to where they would actually be star gazing, Two days back to the farmhouse, and then a one day trip back to the city! This made Sasha just a tad bit more worried about the idea, and it made a pit form in her stomach.
“Oh god…am-am I gunna be able to handle being alone with him for that long...?”
Sasha looked down at her claws, noting the sharp nails again. The memory of the other night where she accepted his offer replaying in her head again for the 30th time that day. She was about to hug him, but she had to stop herself again. Those feelings, Those thoughts, those…urges, they showed no sign of stopping. And it really started to scare her more. Worried about how she would handle it all, she went to Leatherhead for advice. If it was this hard to hold back being all cooped up, she could only imagine how much harder it would be to keep herself under control while not only being out in nature again for the first time in months, but it was also spring time. The Time of Passion for a lot of species, including themselves. Leatherhead assured her she’d be fine, but if she really felt uncomfortable, she could just change her mind about going.
But no, Sasha snorted, “I can’t keep being a coward. And I’ve already gotten this far. I might as well see how this goes. And I trust Donnie, so I need to start trying to trust myself.”
Finally the day came, and with it, butterflies galore for both of them. Donnie was in his room, getting his final preparations ready. All the gear he’d be taking with them laid out over his floor. “Let’s see…Blankets, Pillows, Telescope, Flint, Matches, Water Canteen, Notebooks…” He muttered to himself, before a knock at his door spooked him. “Hey yo, Donnie! You in there bro?” called out Raph’s muffled voice from behind the door. Donnie panicked a bit and quickly started to shove the items into his duffle bag, “Uhhh, j-just a minute Raph! I’m here!” Raph raised a brow at that, “The heck does that mean? The hell are you-“ Raph asked as he opened Donnie’s door anyways to see his brother haphazardly slamming his duffle bag under his desk and him quickly plopping his butt into his deck chair. There was a pause while Donnie tried playing it cool, “Oh hey! Sorry about that Raph, I was just…uhhh…you know…reorganizing my stuff…” trailing off in the last part a bit. Both in a way that made it sound like he was questioning what was coming out of his mouth and instantly regretting it. He had been able to hide the trip from his brothers for the whole week, but this is where shit was gunna hit the fan.
It was pretty obvious that Donnie was lying, he was never good at it! Raph’s eyes flicked down at the duffle bag and then back up at his brother, then they narrowed, “You always stuff your bag full of your crap when you ‘Reorganize’ things?” He asked, really not amused. “I do now.” Donnie stated, quickly rushing past his brother. If he was gunna be getting ready for this trip and getting the snacks packed, he was gunna have to do it now while he still could. But Raph wasn’t letting him go that easy. The whole week leading up to today, he, Leo, and Mikey had been feeling like something was up with him and Sasha! Big time! Mikey said that during the sleepover, he overheard Sasha and Donnie talking in his room, but couldn’t exactly understand what they were saying. And ever since that, the two of them have been a lot weirder around each other. They could be seen starring at one another more often, they’d be whispering to one another, and it seemed like the super awkward air they had between them was nearly gone almost over night! And now, this morning, Donnie hadn’t come out of his room and was now packing a bag with god knows what!
“Like Shell you do! The heck is up with you today?” Raph asked, fallowing close behind his brother who was heading to the kitchen. “I have no clue what you’re talking about…” Donnie said quickly, trying to shake off the praying. But it wasn’t gunna work. Leo stopped his training to walk over to them, “What’s going on?” Leo asked, concerned that the two might have gotten into another fight. “Donnie here is packing a bag in his room!” Raph said, still fallowing Don and not stopping. “What?” Leo asked, genuinely concerned hearing this. “It’s not how it sounds…” Donnie said while digging through the cabinets for a few sandwich bags and filling them with a few small snacks. “It’s exactly how it sounds! Don’t give us that!” Raph barked back. “What the shell are you doing packing up your stuff Donnie?” Leo asked, now getting really worried. “I’m…going on a short trip…” Donnie’s said, figuring he might as well give them that much. “What!? Why? Where? Does Splinter know about this?” “Any particular order you want those answers in?” Donnie snarked back as he quickly gathered up some juice pouches into a cooler along with the snacks, still not making eye contact with his brothers.
“Stop it Donnie, I’m serious! What is going on?” Leo tried to plead, but it fell on deaf ears as Donnie slid a few extra things from the fridge into his cooler and made his way back out of the kitchen, cooler in hand. “Nothing that you two need to concern yourselves with! I’m just gunna be gone for a week! I’ll be fine!” Donnie said, obviously getting annoyed and stressed by the badgering from his brothers, speed-walking his way back to his room. And just as he saw his open bedroom door, he could see Mikey, looking through his Shell Cell. The duffle bag he had on the floor now open.
“MIKEY!” Donnie shouted in anger as he charged into his room, quickly whipping the Shell Cell from his hands and quickly slinging the duffle bag over his shoulders. “Whoa! Easy Donnie, I was just-“ “Snooping through my things when I’ve told you about a thousand times not to…” Donnie quickly retorted, clearly not amused. “Come on dude! You aren’t telling us what you’re up to, and I KNOW you’re up to something!” Mikey said back, sure he could be a little shit stirrer, but he was just as worried about this “trip” as much as his brothers were. Donnie rolled his eyes, letting out and exacerbated huff, “Look I’m gunna be fine! I have my Bo with me, and if I need anything, I have my Shell Cell!” He said, now packed up and ready to leave. He had already texted Sasha to let her know he was ready to leave.
Walking into the living room area, Donnie just stood there, looking through the Shell Cell at his messages. But his brothers weren’t gunna let up. “Can you at least tell us where you’re going?” Leo asked. “Why, so you three can fallow me? I don’t need any praying eyes!” He brothers all just threw up their brows and that, and looked at one another. They had to admit that fallowing him was kinda on the table, but no way they were admitting it. “What does that mean?” Leo asked. “Yeah!?” Raph asked. “You got some super secret vehicles you’re working on or something?” Mikey asked. Donnie turned to look at his brothers, “What? No! Look, I’m not telling you guys what I’m doing or where I’m going! And that’s final!” Donnie snapped. The brothers had to take a step back for a minute, looking a bit concerned now. Donnie sighed, “Look, I’m sorry, ok? I just need to be alone for this! Splinter and April know where I am if something happens to me. But I’m gunna be fine, I just, need to face this on my own.”
Leo narrowed his brows a bit, Donnie made it seem like a very important mission, “Face what on your own?” But before Leo could get any kind of answer to his question, a voice came up from behind Donnie at the entrance to the lair! “Hey Donnie, sorry for taking a while, I had to find all my old camping ge-“ Sasha chirped as she entered the lair, to see Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Raph all looking up at her. The latter three looking up at her a bit bewildered. Donnie looking back at her over his shoulder, now smiling. There was a short pause before Sasha let out a nervous chuckle, taking in the scene right in front of her. “Oh…Am I interrupting something?” She asked, a crooked smile crossing her face. “Nope! Just finishing up here!” Donnie chirped back, giving her a sweet smile, his brothers now looking at the two of them with wide eyes and slacked jaws.
Sasha, noticed the light signal from Don that she needed to run, and she nodded. “Ah! I see, well…meet you in the Battle Shell then! See you in a week fellas!” She said, giving them another smile and backing up a bit. And before any of them could react, Sasha turned tail and sped off on foot. Another awkward pause wafted through the room, before Don looked back at his brothers, “Welp, you heard her! And it’s not polite to keep a lady waiting!” “WHAT?” His brothers shouted, but Don was already booking it out of the lair, disappearing in to the darkness of the tunnels. “The shell was that?!” Raph asked, genuinely thrown off by how bizarre and quickly that went down. “I-I don’t know…” Leo muttered, honestly too shocked to really understand what just happened. “Huh…well that explains what I found in Donnie’s bag…” Mikey then starts to giggle a little, that impish smile he gets when he’s just played a prank on someone slowly growing on his face. “What? What’s so funny?” Raph looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Oh nothing…sure we’ll find out in a week…” Mikey grinned.
✨💛💜✨
Donnie was nearly out of breath by the time he made it to the warehouse, where Sasha was already sitting besides the Battle Shell, leaning up against it. But once she heard his feet approaching she straighten up and waved. She looked nervous, but was clearly trying to hide it, “How did it go?” She asked. Donnie shook his head as he approached her, “About as good as I figured it would…” he said. Sasha cringed, “Ooof. Sorry to leave you behind like that…” “No need to apologize, probably would’ve gone way worse had you stuck around.” Donnie admitted, opening the back of the Battle Shell, loading up his duffle bag and cooler. “Fair enough!” Sasha said, also placing her duffle bag next to his. “With that said we should probably get outta here pretty quick before they have a chance to fallow?” “Oh you bet! Hop in!” Donnie said, climbing into the Battle Shell first, turning around once inside, holding out his hand to her. Sasha blinked a bit, surprised by the offer. Her eyes looked up to his and he was giving her a soft smile, cheeks the slightest bit dark. “N-need a lift?” Sasha looked back down at his outstretched hand, lips pressed into a thin line, contemplating and nervous. Finally, she tentatively reached out and gently took his hand. Donnie then pulled her up into the Battle Shell, finally sliding the back hatch behind them down.
Sasha had been in the Battle Shell a small number of times before now, and it always impressed her just how much work went into it. It was one of the first projects Leatherhead ever told Sasha about when she first met him, and was telling her about how brilliant Donnie was. When she finally got to meet him and he decided to show her the Battle Shell, she was smitten with it! Such a beautiful machine made from only scraps and junk. It was truly a sight to behold. Since then, she’s been allowed to help in making adjustments to it. Specifically, Donnie wanted her to help with making it go faster, which the cheetah was more than delighted to help with. Speed was part of who she was after all, and her tips on making the Battle Shell more aerodynamic were incredibly effective. Only now further demonstrated by how fast Donnie pulled it out of the warehouse and into the back allies! When they finally made it onto the main streets of the city, Sasha’s eyes seemed to grow to the size of dinner plates!
“Oh my spots…” She said in amazement. Seeing the city at night from the rooftops was one thing, but during the day it was a whole other beast. The sun was so bright, there were so many people it was impossible to make out any one face in the crowd, and all the noise going on was insane. A stray thought made Sasha wince as her ears drooped and she moved her face away from the windows a little. “Uhhh aren’t you worried someone is gunna like…see us?” She asked, honestly not having thought about that until now. “No need to worry! I tinted these windows to the maximum legal limit! They won’t be able to make us out.” Donnie chimed up. Sasha sighed, feeling a lot better now. “Oh good! Thought I was gunna get us caught there of a sec…” She started shifting her gaze back out the window again, partly to keep looking at the world around them, and partly to try and keep from making eye contact with Donnie. She was hoping that the new sights would keep the butterflies that had been doing back flips inside her stomach down, but that wasn’t happening.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Donnie asked, noticing her wondering look. “It’s definitely something! They have cities in South Africa too, but…nothing like this!” Sasha responded, still not looking back at Donnie. Donnie nodded, his eyes now wondered over from the road to Sasha in the passenger's seat. He didn’t say anything about it before and had no plans to bring it up to her at all out of fear of being seen as a creep, but…something seemed…different about her today. Almost…prettier. Not that he ever thought of her as not pretty, far from it actually. But for some reason, her fur seemed smoother, more groomed then she normally looked. Her coat shining in what little sunlight was making its way through the windows. And…if he wasn’t mistaken, she had to be wearing some kind of perfume, or maybe it was her shampoo. It was a fruity smell, like a watermelon maybe. The smell of which was filling the cab.
“Did she really get all dolled up just for this?”
This staring went on for a bit, till he noticed something, her tail was wrapped around in her lap. Her nails lightly playing with the fur at the ends, hands seemingly shivering. Of course, she was nervous. Not that he blamed her, so was he.
A honk from a car behind them made Donnie jolt a little, focusing his attention back onto the road, nearly making him leap out of his shell. Sasha then glanced back at him, “Y-you get everything you needed?” She asked. “Huh? O-oh, yeah! Well, just the essentials. I was packing over the span of the week so my brothers wouldn’t get suspicious. B-But uhhhh…you saw how well that went.” Donnie answered, his hands gripping the steering wheel every once in a while. Sasha nodded, taking notice of his hands, it was pretty clear he was nervous but was doing his best to seem relaxed. And that’s when a faint hint of sunlight made her notice something else. A short but noticeable glimmer came from behind Donnie.
“D-Did he polish his shell? All for...this? For...me?”
The thought made Sasha’s face burn, though she really couldn’t judge. She was the one that called April and had her come over way earlier in the day before she left to help her get ready. And for moral support.
Feeling like she was starting to stare a bit, she quickly looked away and started trying to think of something to say, keeping her eyes anywhere but at him. “I-I'm really glad you asked me to come with you…” She said, sheepishly. Donnie blinked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, “Oh…Really?” Sasha nodded, “Yeah, I mean, I not only get to spend a bit more time with…well, you. But I also get to see a forest for the first time!” Donnie took a second for those words to set in his mind, the idea of her never seeing a forest before was baffling, but then logic kicked back in and he nodded. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” “This closest I’ve ever gotten to seeing one was a Jungle, but it wasn’t very big. And of course, pictures online and in books don't really count.” Sasha added. “Well, I’m hoping to show you more then just that! We have a two day hike ahead after we get there. Casey, April, and my brothers have had a few…adventures out there. I can even show you where a spaceship crashed!”
Sasha’s eyes grew wide and her head snapped up to look at him, “Are you for real?” Donnie laughed, “I wouldn’t lie to you! Yeah! I can also show you a nuclear power plant that we shut down because it was killing off some mutant fish folk that were living in the river!” Sasha’s mouth curled into a wide grin, “This so cool! I can’t wait to see it!”
With a little bit of the tension lifted, the rest of their drive out of the city was a little more comfortable. And once they started hitting the wilderness, Sasha’s eyes wondered even more. Without much traffic around them now, Sasha felt safe enough to roll down her window a bit to see everything better. The trees were just beginning to sprout fresh leaves, and the grass seemed to already be bringing out colorful flowers and weeds! The sun was high in the sky, giving the daytime a pleasant warmth, something for the plants and newly awoken critters to soak up to prepare for the new season. The scent of clean spring air hit Sasha’s face, her smile turning soft as she took it in. Her fur seemed to shiver a little, as if a new wave of energy was going through her body.
That’s when another feeling creeped into her body, and she froze a little, a rush of embarrassment and worry slowly starting to take over. Her eyes glanced over at Donnie, who seemed more relaxed, but was still focused on the road. A very slight smile on his face. Taking in his features, Sasha felt that weird tingle in her body and she frowned.
“T-this is…gunna get…weird…”
Sasha started looking down at the floor, thankful that the window was down now so that she could get a soft cool breeze on herself as her cheeks began to burn hard. “H-Hey uhhh, D-Donnie?” She started softly, starting to feel her paws shake. Donnie almost didn’t hear her over the sound of the wind, but his eye’s could see her lips move from the corner of his eye and he turned his head slightly, “Huh? What’s up?” He asked, honestly looking a little concerned now. She didn’t look too hot, and her cheeks could be seen turning red through the fur on her cheeks, “You getting sick? Should I pull over?” He asked. Sasha shook her head, “N-no it’s just…I-I’m a bit worried.” She muttered, her hands coming together in her lap, clamping onto one another tightly. Donnie’s brows curved up, taking quick glances at her, still trying to keep an eye on the road. “What about? If it’s the hike and camping-“ He was cut off pretty quickly. “N-No! I-It’s not that…I-It’s…about me…” Donnie cocked a brow and looked at her for a good long second at that. “What do you mean? Thought you said you weren’t sick.” Sasha grimaced a bit, looking back out the window at the beautiful woods just beyond the road, as if she were looking for a way to put it. “I suppose you could…see it as being ‘sick’, in a way…” She said.
Now that REALLY confused the poor terrapin, but she was clearly getting at something, so he prodded as gently as he could, “Okeeeey…care to explain?” Sasha gulped, “Tell me…W-what does spring usually mean?” Donnie felt like he had to pause and reboot his brain for a moment. The vagueness of that question only making his worry and confusion more tangled. But, he trusted she was going somewhere with this, so he tentatively answered, “Uhhhh, well I think Blooming Flowers, Bugs, Warmer weather, and maybe allergies?” Sasha has to hold back a small laugh at his last statement, but it seemed like he didn’t notice. But the laugh was replaced with a loud sigh, as she started coming to the realization that she was gunna have to spell it out for him. Her face getting even hotter. “It also happens to be the season of procreation for many species…”
"..."
The silence is incredibly loud in the Battle Shell, even the wind coming in through the cracked window seemed to be drowning in it. Donnie’s eyes went wide as a slight heat creeped up into his cheeks, waiting for a second for what she said to sink in. He turned his head slightly her way, only to see her still facing out the window, but her eyes staring right at him. Her cheeks were a bright red, ears drooped and her mouth was in an uncomfortable frown. “…that includes yours and mine.” She concluded, her voice almost hitching, but the statement still hit like a semi-truck. That’s when Donnie’s face started turning bright red and he quickly looked away just to try and save himself from every thought racing into his head at once. But, it was too late! He really wasn’t sure what to say to that!
“I-I uhhh, w-well, I mean…you’re right. But-but that d-dosen’t mean anything. W-we’re not like…well normal animals! We have more control!” He said, just trying to get something said out loud. Though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself and her, but it didn’t, as a hoard of butterflies started churning in his stomach again. Nights worth of dreams finally flooding his brain with any and all scenarios his teenaged mind could conjure. Sasha just whimpers a bit, shifting in her seat so that she’s scooted a bit further from her turtle friend, but still facing him. Her eyes started drifting down to the floor, “Y-Yeah, I know. B-but it’s less you I’m worried about, and…m-more me…” Donnie glanced at her, and she continued, “Being a cheetah, we a-aren’t that tough, but we’re still big cats. And cats are…p-pretty…aggressive during this kind of season…” a tinge of worry coming across Donnie’s face a little hearing this. “And it get’s more intense when w-we’re…in our element. So to speak…”
“Y-your not gunna…like…hurt me, or anything like that are you?” Donnie asked, honestly a little confused by her words. The way she was talking it was like she was scared she might try to eat him. Sasha’s eyes flew up and she looked really scared, “My Spots! N-no! Never in my life! It’s just…remember that night how I-I…” she trailed off, looking down. She slowly opened her paw to look at it. He knew what she was getting at almost immediately, bringing his own hand up to his cheek, it getting warm again. “Y-yeah…I remember…” “When I’m…in my element, I tend to be a…bit more bold. And I start to show a bit more of myself…” she continued, “You’ve likely noticed before…” Donnie thought about it, and she did seem to be a bit more open when they’d be out on missions, or in the heat of battle, or even just when she’s in the zone while in the lab. Calm, tactical, and cheery most of the time, but Donnie started seeing glimpses of something else during these other occasions. A Sly playfulness here or a small trace of bashfulness there, little peeks into Sasha’s true personality.
Donnie let his mind wander a bit, before Sasha sighed, “I’m sorry for having to bring it up NOW, but… I didn’t wanna seem like I didn’t wanna…go out with you like this…” she said, her eyes glancing back out the window, leaning against the door with one arm up against it, the other on her lap and cradling her stomach. “N-no! It’s ok! I-I’m happy you’re being honest with me! That’s the whole point of this trip after all! To get to know each other more!” Donnie said, reassuring her. A slow nervous smile passed over Sasha’s lips, “…just promise me that… if I get too…” her cheeks turned bright red and her ears lowered “…Frisky…, you’ll stop me if I cross a line. And p-please don’t…take it too personally…”
The word ‘frisky’ coming from Sasha of all folks made Donnie nearly laugh, but he held it in immediately. “Of course! I promise, nothing you could do would cross a line for me! But, uhhhh, I suppose the same should be said for me…” Sasha looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Donnie nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck some, “I’m assuming you know how turtles get w-when…uhhh…” he trailed off, cheeks burning immediately. Sasha smirked a little, nodding.
Of course, Sasha was always more into the Biology branches of science, it was something he admired about her. He swallowed, “R-right, so…stop me if I cross a line too.” Sasha nodded again, “Deal… though…” a light devious glint hit her eyes “I don’t think I’ll need to worry about you. I know more about your body than you do about mine…” Donnie eyes grew at the sound of that, and his looked over her way. She was blushing still, a slight smirk on her face, but she was leaning against the window again. Staring off at the passing trees. The butterflies in his stomach were going insane now, his face practically wanting to melt off.
"W-what the shell?"
Quickly looking back at the road so they wouldn’t crash, Donnie kept driving. Sasha felt pleased with that, but the pit in her stomach still hadn’t let up. She had been honest with him. Right?
✨💛💜✨
After about another hour or so, they finally pulled up the long dirt road leading up to the large Farmhouse. Sasha let out a long whistle, looking at the size of the property and seeing the woods just beyond it. “Talk about some fresh air! This place is so…beautiful!” She said, taking off her seat belt, still keeping her eyes trained on the tree line. Donnie huffed out a small laugh, “I know right! Plenty of wide open space for us to just stretch our legs a-“ The sound of Sasha’s door opening and her hopping out made him stop. The speedy pattering of her feet on the grass was so quick that Donnie hardly started unbuckling his seatbelt yet. By the time he finally climbed out, he turned his attention to the back of the Battle Shell, and Sasha had already made it halfway across the property. She was looking all over the place, slowly turning, her tail softly flicking behind her. She was wonderstruck!
A soft smile spread on Donnie’s lips as he watched her. “I guess she really HAD been needing some time out in nature.” Sasha only stopped moving when her eyes landed on the sight of the distant hills, a huge smile spreading on her face. A present spring breeze blew through the trees and grass, and as it made its way into her fur, Sasha closed her eyes and took in a huge breath of it. The tips of her ears and tail now softly twitching. She then let out with a sigh, the wind suddenly changing direction and strength along with it, almost in sync. That’s when her ears flicked to something behind her, and she quickly turned to see Donnie approaching her, carrying both his and her own bags. “Huh, that wind gust was pretty strong!” He chuckled, getting closer and holding her bag out to her.
Sasha seemed to flinch at him taking notice of that and her ears drooped a bit, but she quickly shook that off and took her bag from him. “O-oh yeah, you know! These Spring winds they…uhhhh…always seem to…you know…move with the hearts of those who let it in.” Donnie raised a brow at that, “I’ve never heard that one before…” he said, a small smile on his face. While it was strange, Sasha always seemed to know a few weird sayings, most of which were kinda funny but mostly endearing. Maybe even a little spiritual at times. “Y-yeah, it’s something my Grandmother used to say…” She said, seeing to be in a hurry to stop talking about it, quickly slinging her bag onto her shoulders. “Well, I hope you’re ready to move like the wind, cause we’ve got a LOT of ground to cover before we make it to were we gotta be.” Donnie piped up, tilting his head in the direction of the woods just ahead of them.
She looked at him of a second, her ears perking back up again, the cat-like smirk returning to her lips, “Born ready my terrapin friend! Lead the way!” Donnie walked ahead a bit, “Well, We’ll have to move a bit stealthily from here for about a mile through these woods! Casey has a neighbor here who once sent his pitbull after Mikey.” “Oh! Crazy Man Hatchet?” Donnie froze for a second, looking back at her surprised that she knew. “How did-“ Sasha shrugged, “Mikey told me the story! You three saved a furry green man thing and it’s baby.” “Right…well, I’m hoping we won’t be seen like he was. But, like I said, we only got to get past a mile and then we should be in the clear.” Sasha nodded, “You got it…” she started walking ahead of him, only stopping to get right next to him, giving him a playful bump on his shoulder “Ninja Boy…” The way her voice came out was so sultry and almost teasing. Donnie froze a bit, feeling her soft tail brush his arm as she passed him. The tingle from such an action traveled through his whole body, making him shutter as his face began to burn. “Oh shell…is THIS what she meant by ‘being bold’?” He thought to himself, staring at Sasha, slack-jawed as she walked ahead of him. Noticing the way her tail swooshed, moving in time with her steps and the sway of her hips. He gulped, “If so, I just hope I can handle all of…that!”
The cheetah looked back at him, over her shoulder, “Race you to the other side?” She shouted back, a sly smirk on her. The return of that competitive spirit in her, and the quickening of her steps made Donnie flinch, before springing to life himself. He smirked and ran to catch up, “Sure, but aren’t I supposed to lead the way!?” He yelled back, with a laugh in his voice.
