Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, Nightmares, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,160 (Total: 17,493)
Everyone was in the arcade, playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo switch. Leo was smoking them all, and boy, was he letting them know it. Mikey’s Rosalina was struggling, the turns for this map too narrow and tight for him to easily move the joystick. Raph’s Princess Peach zoomed by him.
Mikey huffed as he tried to move the controls, frustration beginning to build. He was so sick and tired; everyone else was fine, why wasn’t he? Hell, even Leo, who survived a one-on-one with the Krang was fine, so why?
The round was over now. And he was dead last.
“Who wants to go another round?” Leo asked, tone bordering on gloating.
“I think I’m done,” Mikey said softly, setting his controller down and getting up.
The chasm immediately appeared. “Is everything—”
“I’m fine, Raphie. Just, uh, tired.”
He got up, hoping there wouldn’t be any more questions, which he knew was hypocritical because if it was anyone else he’d immediately try to find the root of the problem and get them to open up. The relief that washed over him as he exited the room with not even a peep was immense.
The box turtle went to the kitchen, flipping through the recipe book (ignoring the more complicated recipes he’s been wanting to do for the past three months), and finally landing on a simple cookie recipe. He grabbed a handful of ingredients, beginning to work on it.
Splinter walked in, nose twitching. “Mm, something smells very yummy! Orange, is that your doing?”
“Yeah, just making something simple.” His tone was more bitter than he’d intended as he cracked the eggs into the bowl.
“Is everything alright?”
He began stirring the butter and sugar together. “Just peachy.”
Mikey hissed under his breath as pain shot up his arms, forcing him to drop the whisker.
“Is it your arms that’s bothering you?”
He bit back the tears that threatened to form (he was so frustrated). “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Orange, I am unfamiliar with how to deal with your type of injury.”
“It’s not your fault, dad.”
“It is,” the rat said. “I should’ve trained you boys when you were young. If you had more knowledge over your mystics, perhaps you wouldn’t have been so gravely injured that day.”
“You couldn’t have known that would happen—that any of this would happen.”
“A lot has happened these past few months, yes,” Splinter said, chuckling. “But we managed to survive. The Hamatos are strong.”
Mikey nodded, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“Do you have anything else you want to say, Little Orange?”
“It’s been over three months, dad. Do you think I’ll ever get better?” Mikey hated how desperate and small his voice sounded just then.
He hummed, stroking his beard. “Have patience, my son. I’m sure your injuries will heal, and the pain will fade soon.”
There was a small pat on the back of his legs, and then Splinter was gone. Mikey shook his head. Time to get back to finishing these cookies. Maybe a nice ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie would help him feel a bit better.
He took it slower this time, using the mixer to help ease the burden. It was a slow process; what used to take only about ten minutes took twenty. After putting the cookies on the pan, he popped it in the oven and sat down.
The box turtle closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sensations in his fingers when a timer went off. Using oven mitts, he took them out of the oven, taking in its scent. Oooo, it smelled good. He transferred them to a cooling rack, deciding to pour himself a glass of milk to go with it. He couldn’t wait for it to cool and picked one up, the malleable cookie sinking against his hand as it threatened to break. Dunking it in milk and chewing it, he immediately felt a little better. How could you not?
As he was munching on his cookies someone walked in. It was Donnie, surprisingly.
“Did you beat Leo?”
Donnie grumbled, sitting down and laying his head on the table. “Alas, I did not, ‘Angelo.”
Mikey gestured towards the goods. “Want one?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Oh, okay.”
He chewed as quietly as he could. A nerve or muscle or something in his hands seized again, and he hissed under his breath. “Son of a—!”
“What’s up?” Donnie asked, head turning slightly to look at him.
“You know.” He waved his hands ever so slightly, groaning as it twitched a few more times before the pain died down.
His older brother got up, humming. “You know, I’ve been working on something. Come on.”
Donnie got up out of his chair, and Mikey looked at him curiously. Just what was he talking about? Mikey obliged, getting up out of his chair and following his brother. They made their way upstairs, taking a left to Donnie’s lab. The soft shell typed in a few buttons and the door opened, and he held it open for Mikey. So sweet.
The lab seemed to be a bit messier than usual but it wasn’t as bad as when he was really in the depths of a project. Donnie headed over to a wall of built-in vaults, humming as he typed in a code, pulling out a thin, long box. “For you.”
“Oh, really? Thanks! Is it an early Christmas present?”
“Just open it,” he said with a small huff.
Mikey obeyed, opening it and ripping off the small parchment covering the gift. It was sleek black fabric, just like his..
“Arm wraps? I already have those.”
Donnie remained undeterred. “Put them on.”
Mikey complied, taking off his usual ones and putting on the new ones. As soon as he pulled them up his elbows, he immediately felt a difference. It was… heavier? Tighter? Whatever it was, it was nice.
The softshell looked at him expectantly. “Do you feel it?”
“Yeah. What are they?”
“They are called compression gloves, dear ‘Angelo. Custom-made by moi to (hopefully) help your hands.”
“Omigosh!” Mikey threw himself onto Donnie, clinging on like a little koala. “Thanks Dee! You’re the best! Brother! EVER!!”
“I know.” There were a few pats on his shell before he grabbed his little brother’s waist, setting him down.
“I’m going to show the others!” Mikey eagerly ran past Donnie and out of the lab, spotting Splinter in his chair. “Dad dad dad look what Donnie made me!”
Splinter hummed. “Hmm. I’m not sure.”
Mikey stuck out his hands, wiggling his fingers. “He made me some compression gloves!”
“Ahh, I see. Do they help your hands?”
“They’re supposed to, yeah.”
“That’s good, Orange. Soon you’ll become big and strong.”
Mikey beamed at that. “I’m going to show the others now!”
And with that, he began the descent downstairs to the arcade to show Leo and Raph.
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, Nightmares, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,039 (Total: 16,333)
When Mikey exited his room, he noticed Raph and Donnie putting on their cold weather attire. He gasped, putting his hands to his cheeks. “Are yall going out?”
Raph finished putting his scarf around his neck. “Yeah, we are big man.”
“Affirmative. We are running low on groceries.”
“Can I come?”
Raph and Donnie looked at each other, before Raph shrugged. “Sure. The more the merrier, right?”
He nudged Donnie’s side, who shrugged. “I don’t have a particularly strong opinion either way.”
“Cool!” Mikey ran inside, quickly throwing on his puffy jacket. He knocked against the end of the cart, the metal ringing. “Leo! Wanna go out with the others?”
He heard a muffled “sure” and continued getting ready. By the time he went out, Raph and Donnie were fully ready. Instead of Donnie’s usual winter jacket, he’d replaced it with his hoodie, hood up.
Leo swung open his door. “Let’s vamanos, hermanos!”
He swung his sword, summoning a portal. “And you're welcome.”
“We have functioning legs, but thanks for the brief time save, ‘Nardo,” Donnie said in his normal monotone.
“What did you say? Did I hear a ‘wow, thank you so much Leo; words can’t describe the gratitude I’m feeling right now?’”
“…no.”
With everyone up, Raph put the manhole cover back down and they were all good to go.
They walked inside the store, almost immediately splitting up and grabbing everything they wanted. The very last person to arrive at the register was Donnie, who had a full cart of food for them. The cashier quickly rang them up, and Donnie swiped the card, paying for them.
Leo was going to summon a portal, but Mikey intervened. He wanted to enjoy the winter air as much as possible and his older brother sighed, saying they should at least teleport the groceries. They all agreed that was very reasonable and did so.
There were a little more people than usual, surprisingly. It must be because of the construction being mostly complete, Mikey deduced. (Ooo, deduced, so fancy!)
Mikey spotted a candy shop, nudging Raph’s arm and eagerly pointing. Raph shook his head and Mikey nodded vigorously until he sighed. “Do any of ya want to go there?”
“Sure!” Leo exclaimed. “Do you think there’s any sour candy?”
“Dunno.”
“I guess we can,” Donnie said. “We just have to be quick or else the groceries back home will thaw and be ruined.”
They all got a little something—Mikey a giant lollipop, Leo a jawbreaker, Raph a mini milk chocolate teddy bear, and Donnie a small box of dark chocolate. The youngest eagerly licked at it and Donnie shuddered, pressing a button on his headphones, most likely muting him.
As they were nearly home, Mikey heard a meow and immediately swiveled his head to its direction. There was a cat sitting down by one of the shops, its white and grayish brown fur gleaming. He gasped, slowly approaching it while making clicking noises at it. It looked less than impressed as he came closer and closer.
The box turtle squatted and held his hand out. The cat hesitated, sniffing it before bumping against it. Mikey gasped, biting his lip as his heart swelled with cuteness overload.
“Guys guys! Do y’all want to pet it?”
“Of course!” Raph was one of the first to be by Mikey’s side, allowing the cat to sniff his hand. It made a figure eight around his legs, earning a squee of happiness from the eldest. He gave it some good chinny-chin scratches and it started purring.
“Leo? Donnie?” Mikey asked as he joined in on the pets.
“Nah, I’m good, hermano,” Leo said, shaking his head.
Donnie shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
He approached it, holding his hand out like the others. It sniffed, pupils constricting. A hiss left its throat as it swatted at his hand before scampering off.
“That wasn’t very nice Mr. Kitty!” Mikey exclaimed. He redirected his attention to his rejected brother. “Donnie, did it get you?”
He put his hand back in his hoodie pocket, brows furrowed. He almost looked angry about it. “Yeah, tch. I’ll have to put some antibiotics on it later so it won’t develop into cat scratch fever.”
“Don’t worry, Dee, you’re not alone in the animals-hate-you club,” Raph said solemnly, pulling Donnie into a side hug.
“Can we just drop this?” Donnie asked, tone bordering on frustrated. “It’s just a stupid cat.”
“Someone’s mad the kitty cat didn’t like him,” Leo said in a sing-song voice, wrapping his arms around his twin. Donnie threw them off with a huff.
“Let’s just go home. We’ve got what we came for.” Before they could say anything else, he stalked off with a huff.
Leo looked at Mikey, and he just shrugged back. He could relate to Donnie; he too would feel upset and a little hurt if a lil fluffy fur angel rejected him.
They grouped together behind Donnie, watching him. A while he stopped, turning around. A brow was raised as he said, “I’m not contagious, you know.”
“Of course not!” Raph stammered. “It’s just, we, um, thought you needed space?”
“Space for what? Oh, that. You really think I’d be that hurt over a simple creature? Come on now, don’t be ridiculous.”
“Yeah Don’s right,” Leo said, stepping forward. “He’s not the kind of guy to let this stuff get to him unlike someone. Cough cough Raph and/or Mikey.”
“Hey!” Raph exclaimed.
Raph and Leo caught up to Donnie, yet Mikey lingered behind, feeling weirdly unsure. Donnie wasn’t as keen to feeling hurt upon being rejected by an animal, but he never looked angry over it. Yet after being scratched, it almost looked like he wanted to do something.
Mikey lightly slapped his cheeks. What was he thinking? Why would he ever—
He sighed, taking a deep breath. He was just overthinking things, which was usually Donnie’s thing, ironically. Yet Donnie has been acting a little off as of late. It’s been getting relatively better(?) as of recently, but there were still certain moments that caused some concern. And he’s been obsessed with his lab, even more so than usual. Donnie…Donnie would tell Mikey if something was wrong, right?
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, Nightmares, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,138 (Total: 15,296)
It was seven p.m, one hour past the scheduled study night start-time, and Donnie was nowhere to be found. April sighed as she scribbled out another wrong answer. “This doesn’t feel right, Leo.”
“Just trust me bro,” Leo said casually, waving a hand in dismissal.
She huffed, crossing her arms. “It would be a lot easier if Donnie was here.”
Mikey sighed, popping a piece of pretzel in his mouth from the near-empty bowl. “I’m going downstairs to see if he’s back.”
He rolled off the couch, walking down the two sets of stairs to the train carts, leaning up against Raph’s as he waited. He pulled out his phone, shooting him a quick text asking where he was. There was an almost immediate reply, saying he was in his lab. Liar.
There was a little more waiting until Donnie walked back in the lair, looking conspicuous as all hell.
“Well, well, well,” Mikey said, making his brother flinch.
“Hello, Michelangelo. Were you waiting for me?”
“What were you doing for the past hour?”
“I was improving security around the sewers. I don’t want another Shredder incident. Why?”
“Do you not remember what day it is today?”
“It’s Saturday.”
“What time is it?”
Donnie pulled out his phone with zero urgency, Mikey noted. “Seven o’six. Why?”
Mikey put a hand to his mouth, guffawing. “No way you of people forgot.”
Donnie shifted uncomfortably. “Of course I didn’t forget anything.”
“Haha, April’s gonna chew you OUT! She has this study guide for an exam she’s been struggling on and been waiting for you since the others don’t really know how to help. Come on!” Mikey pulled him along to the living room upstairs, and sure enough, April was glaring, tapping her fingers on the floor.
“It appears that while checking up on the security system and adding new cameras, I might’ve lost track of time?”
“Donnie, you knew what tonight was! You could’ve chosen any other day to do that. You know I have work tomorrow and I need to get this done.”
The softshell’s hands curled together as he averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, April. Now, what do you need help with?”
He sat down next to her, clearly uncomfortable as he examined the paper. “Midterms already, huh?”
“Yup.”
“Well, lucky for you this subject is easy.”
April rolled her eyes. “For you.”
“Yeah, everything's easy for Jimmy Neutron over here,” Leo said, flicking the back of his head.
“Luckily the subject is easy, so I should be able to explain it relatively easily to you. Now, starting with the first question…”
Mikey didn’t pay too much mind as Donnie did his thing, using Raph as a head rest. Raph placed a hand on his head, giving Mikey a light noogie before twisting his mask to where the mask holes were misaligned, blinding him.
He giggled, punching him in the arm. “Hey!”
Donnie shushed them and Mikey rolled his eyes, realigning his mask so he could see properly. When he did, he saw that Leo was moving his hands along to Donnie’s voice, and he had to slap his hands over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
‘Stop it!’ he mouthed. ‘You’re gonna get us in trouble.’
Leo responded by making a silly face, making Mikey snort. So they were playing these games, huh? Upon Donnie’s look they both inconspicuously whistled until Donnie rolled his eyes and went back to the paper.
Mikey responded by making an equally ridiculous face, only increasing in intensity and silliness as their smart brother remained oblivious. Finally, a laugh escaped Leo.
“Got you!” Mikey blurted before remembering the hush-hush rule.
“Guys, keep it down. We’re trying to take this seriously,” Donnie said.
“Didn’t seem that way to me,” Leo said, “considering you were late.”
“Can you not bring that up?” he hissed. “I said I was sorry.”
Leo huffed, crossing his arms and sinking further into the couch. “You were never this controlling during study nights.”
Donnie blinked, opening his mouth before closing it. He shook away the thought with a wave of his hand. “Whatever. We’re almost done so just do whatever, I guess.”
Mikey’s phone vibrated and he looked at it. It was Leo in a new group chat with just the three of them.
whats got his panties in a twist?
R: Don’t be mean Leo
Mikey decided to chime in.
Maybe he’s just embarrassed he forgor?
*forgot
L: usually he has like, a million reminders set tho rite??
M: I mean, he has a massive calendar in his lab.
L: yeah so youd think he wouldnt forget this kind of stuff. this is more of a Mikey thing to do
L: No offense
M: oh I take offense
Mikey tried kicking him, but Leo was too far away. The red eared slider stuck his tongue out mockingly.
“If you have any more questions, feel free to let me know, but otherwise all you need to do is just finish these last few questions and you’re done. Text or call, I don’t mind.”
“Thanks, Dee. I will.” April gathered up her belongings, saying her goodbyes and grabbing a handful of pretzels, and then she was gone.
“So why were you late?” Leo asked, turning himself around on the couch so he was on his stomach, arms propped up and kicking his legs.
“I told you, I lost track of time. I can admit that I made a rather foolish mistake. Sigh, I knew I should’ve worked on it earlier this morning.”
“We all make mistakes, Dee,” Mikey said, crossing his legs.
“Yeah, don’t sweat it,” Raph added. “Leo’s just being an ass.”
Leo gasped, putting a hand to his chest. Donnie merely hummed, picking up the remnants of the study session. “Okay, well, if that’s all, I’m going back to my lab.”
“You’ve been there a lot,” the eldest said, chasm threatening to show. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just want to make sure the cameras I just put up are working, and then I’ll go to bed.”
“You better, or Raph’s gonna make you. Same for you Leo.”
Leo’s jaw dropped. “Wait what? Why did I catch a stray in the middle of this? Unlike him, I can’t help it.”
“Raph said what he said.”
“Ugh, whatever man.” Leo got up, stretching. “‘Night.”
Mikey decided to get up too, since the party was over. “Goodnight yall!”
He wasn’t going straight to bed himself—he still wanted to paint some, and then he needed a shower, get in his pajamas and brush his teeth before hitting the hay. The box turtle grabbed his paint set, making his way to lay down on the wooden structure, and began to paint.
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, Nightmares, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,056 (Total: 14,158)
Raph had finally allowed them to train again, leaving everyone (especially Leo) ecstatic. It was one step closer to finally getting true freedom again, and boy, Mikey was missing the New York air he only got a brief moment of a month ago with Donnie. Ugh, both him and Raph were so lucky, now that Raph joined Donnie on his little escapades to the store.
Everyone was in the dojo, Leo eagerly hopping back and forth on his feet. “What are we going to do Raph? Spar?”
Raph averted his gaze. “Well, technically yer the leader, so it’s your call.”
“Oh, um, right. I say we spar! Me and Raph, Mikey vs Donnie. Ninpo is allowed.”
“No fair!” Mikey yelled.
“Don’t worry brethren,” Donnie said, giving his head a small pat. “I shall go easy on you.”
Mikey threw him a glare, competitiveness burning deep in his chest. He grabbed his nunchucks, spinning them. “Oh now you’re SO going down!”
Donnie pulled out his bō, twirling it in a show before getting into a stance.
Leo held up one of his hands. “Y’all ready? Good. Go!”
Donnie was the first to charge. With the long range of his weapon vs Mikey’s short range, it would ultimately favor Donnie’s. Mikey stepped forward, feet light as he twirled his weapons in a deadly circle.
The softshell put out his weapon at an angle, clearly trying to catch the chain and bring it to a screeching halt. He slightly tilted his weapon, causing it to bump against the wood rather than stop it completely.
Mikey concentrated greatly—which was a struggle given he was currently occupied on not losing any of his weapons—delving deep into the contents of his soul. The lightning scars along his hands glowed softly as the chains of the nunchucks began to glow, sparks coming out of it before a new entirely mystic chain came out of it, latching onto the center of the bō.
Both Mikey and Donnie’s eyes widened in surprise before Mikey dropped his nunchucks and yanked the bō towards himself, throwing it over the head while dropping towards his feet and picking up his discarded weapons and sweeping Donnie’s feet from underneath him. His older brother toppled, falling on his battleshell as Mikey pointed the nunchucks at him. He sighed, putting his hands up.
“I yield.”
“Oh.” Mikey was expecting a fancy light show of mystic weapons Mikey would dodge with exciting adrenaline running through his veins, not immediate surrender. He offered a hand which Donnie took, getting up.
“You’re supposed to continue the fight,” Mikey complained. “That was boring.”
“You’ll live.”
They both turned to watch their older brothers. Leo’s blades were caught on Raph’s sai, at a stalemate. Eventually Raph was over to fully overpower Leo, knocking his weapons aside and sai rushing to—
And Leo flinched.
Raph immediately froze, face crumpling as his gaze focused on Leo’s neck before running off.
“Shit, Raph, I didn’t mean to—” Leo pinched the bridge of his snout, a deep sigh leaving him.
“Uh oh,” Donnie commented, and Mikey jabbed him in the ribs.
“I’ll talk to him Leo,” Mikey said, giving his blue brother a light squeeze on the shoulders before following after Raph.
The box turtle eventually trailed to Raph’s room, which was now shut. There was a muffled sound of what appeared to be crying. He lightly knocked on the door, and it stopped.
“Raphie? Can I come in?”
“….yeah.” The answer was hesitant and unsure, but it was an answer.
Mikey opened the door. Raph was burrowed under his blankets and stuffies, holding onto the one that resembled Splinter. Upon seeing Mikey, Raph turned over so his face faced the wall.
“Hey Raphie.”
“Don’t… don’t call Raph that. I don’t deserve it.”
Mikey walked closer, sitting at the edge of the bed. Raph curled in closer on himself. “And why’s that?”
“Because I nearly killed y’all! I nearly killed Leo with my bare hands.”
“But you didn’t.” Mikey didn’t mention it wasn’t his fault because it was technically the Krang’s fault, but he always reacted poorly to that. Still, it doesn’t matter if I was ‘mind controlled’, he said, I still nearly killed him.
Raph was silent at that, tail thumping in contemplation. “I don’t… I don’t think I can stand the sight of my sai anymore. It reminds me too much of…” His voice trailed off as he swallowed thickly.
“Okay, that’s okay. I’m pretty sure Dad can make you some new ones.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! After all, he’s the one that made us weapons to use when we were kids. I’m sure he still remembers how to.”
Raph hummed. “I think I’d like that.”
“Cool beans! I’ll go tell him then.”
His oldest brother chuckled a little at that, which is just what Mikey wanted. He patted the bed before getting up to ask Splinter to make those for him.
***
So sparring, at the moment, was currently banned until further notice, as decreed by Leo, but that didn’t mean they were exempt from other forms of training. They were currently stretching at the moment, which Mikey deeply appreciated as he had been slacking a little bit in that department, and if he ever lost that ability he’d be devastated. His flexibility, given his hard shell, was something he took pride in.
Mikey did notice that as they walked in, Leo was wearing a choker around his neck, covering the scar. He noticed him staring, and smiled. “Jealous?”
Mikey stuck out his tongue. “Psh, you wish!”
Splinter walked in and they all went quiet. “Red?”
Raphael straightened. “Um, yes?”
Splinter handed him a newly built tonfu. “I heard you requested these.”
“I—I did. Thanks, pops.”
Splinter nodded before exiting, and Raph stared at them.
“Lemme see!” Mikey exclaimed, clambering over his shoulders. It was the same type of wood his old ones were made of, but now there was the Hamato symbol carved into it, as well as decorative cherry blossom flowers.
“Ah, the cherry blossom,” Donnie commented. “Known to symbolize renewal, new beginnings, and hope.”
Raph shook them in his hands, tearing up.
“Awww,” Mikey gushed.
“You’re allowed to cry, big guy,” Leo said, and Raph quickly crushed them all in a giant bear hug.
“I love y’all.”
They all squeezed back. “We love you too, Raphie.”
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,119 (Total: 11,769)
Today Mikey was taking a break from painting the ceiling (he’d painted twenty sheep total so far!), and decided to focus on something more simple. He was a little tired of paint, to be frank, and it’s not like he could go outside and spray paint (he could technically paint in the lair, but he doubted his brothers wanted to deal with the fumes), so he picked up a ballpoint pen and began scribbling on his notebook.
After a while he tapped it against the book, humming. He needed music. The box turtle got up and grabbed his phone and headphones, putting them on and shuffling his favorite playlist, immediately feeling inspired. It was nice, making loose figure sketches, not really caring about keeping it incredibly neat. His non dominant hand tapped the desk as he drew a woman kneeling, touching a pond, the water rippling as a little fish swam away.
He continued this dance, aiming to make a new sketch whenever a new song came on, and maybe even making the sketch based on the song itself. It was fun and challenging, hand struggling to keep up before the music faded out and the next one began. Before long an entire page was filled with various doodles. He smiled, turning the page and starting something new.
Mikey first drew a thin big box, followed by a few lines and a few more boxes by its side. A few more heavy lines and figures quickly took shape. He took care as he drew his expressions and making sure to catch every single detail he could with the ink accurately. Raph was soon done, and he started working on Leo. He wanted to capture Leo’s liveliness, making short, quick and slightly messy strokes with the pen, making quick work of his brother. Now it was time for him and Donnie. He decided to work on Donnie first, quickly making work of him. It was the most complex; the headphones and battleshell giving him the most difficulty.
Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned his head, curious. There was a cockroach on the floor. A loud scream left his throat as his hand and body jerked away, pulling himself completely on his desk.
Donnie opened the door, looking slightly dazed. “What’s wrong?”
How did he get here so quickly? Mikey wondered. The lab is two floors up.
Oh, he was sleeping in his room. Mikey shrunk in on himself sheepishly before remembering the danger. “Watch out Dee! There’s a massive super creepy cockroach on the floor!”
Donnie looked down, blinking. “Oh.”
He grabbed a lamp from a nearby table, pressing it down on the bug and squishing it. That wasn’t how Mikey was expecting things to go at all. Usually, if one of them found a bug, it would go the same way—Mikey and Donnie screaming their heads off; Leo putting on a nonchalant facade until the bug charged at him (in which he would join their screams), and Raph would try to protect them from it but eventually join, ultimately leading either April (if she was there) or Splinter killing it.
Donnie grimaced, looking under it. “Do you have a towel?”
“Not right now.”
The softshell placed it back on the table. “Alright then, you have to clean it later.”
“Why me? You’re the one that killed it?”
“Correct—I killed it and saved you.”
“Hmph.” Mikey puffed out his cheeks.
Donnie surveyed the room, eyes briefly glancing upwards. Mikey followed his eyes, frowning. “What’s up?”
His brother shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just that your messy room never ceases to amaze me.”
“Hey! It’s actually pretty clean compared to usual.”
“Sure, sure,” Donnie said. “Eye roll. Anyways, if you need help just ask S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and he should help you.”
“Alright, well, thanks for saving me.”
“Mhmm. Well, now that I'm awake, I’m going to my lab. Cíao.” He threw up a hand and walked out.
His phone dinged. Mikey grabbed it, noticing the new notification coming from his messages. It was Leo.
youre still alive right?
Mikey rolled his eyes.
Yes, Leo. I am.
A few dots appeared as his brother typed.
k good. thats what I thought but raphs worrying
Massive cockroach. Donnie killed it.
wowowwwww surprised
well now that that’s settled bye
Bye.
Mikey sighed, placing it back down on his desk and returning to his drawing. There was a massive scribble going from the battleshell up across the face and crossing over one eye, causing Mikey to have a double take. “Wha?? How!?”
It must’ve happened when he saw the cockroach; he did jerk violently, after all. Mikey groaned, placing his head against the table. Maybe that was a sign to take a break. He had been doodling for the past hour.
He got up out of his chair, stretching out his limbs. There were a few pops here and there, but nothing too bad.
The box turtle exited his room and made his way to the arcade, where Leo and Raph currently were. They were currently in a battle of basketball, trying their best to make the most goals in a certain amount of time. Leo was laidback as he shot, the goal swishing as it went through. Raph was having a little more struggle, eyes squinting as he tried to aim; more often than not it bounced off the rim.
The buzzer went off and Leo cheered. They both turned around to see the newcomer. Leo’s eyes turned half lidded as he smugly turned to Raph.
“Oh, hey Mikey. See, I told you he was alive and that it was his ‘oh-my-god-there’s-a-giant-ass-bug’ scream.”
Raph rolled his eyes.
“You could tell based on my scream?” Mikey asked incredulously.
His older brother nodded. “Yeah, you have very distinct screams depending on the situation.”
“Cool! What other distinct screams do I have?”
“Well, there’s your ‘There’s something scary’ scream, your ‘horror movie’ scream, your ‘I think I’m about to die’ scream… Mmmm, yeah. Pretty sure that’s it.”
“Can you distinguish anyone else’s screams?”
“Nope, just yours hermano. You do scream the most in most given situations.”
“Like Ms. Cuddles,” Raph added with a nod.
“No fair!”
Leo shrugged, looking at him with a glint in his eyes. “Sorry.” (He did not look sorry at all)
The box turtle decided to relocate to the TV room, where Splinter was watching commercials as usual. He plopped down on one of the bean bags, mindlessly listening to them as one stared how you totally needed this invention in your life to make it easier.
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,075 (Total: 10,650)
Mikey was in the kitchen, grabbing only two ingredient and one pot to make some buttered noodles, one of Donnie's favorite comfort foods. Which he didn't really understand; it was so plain, but who was he to judge?
It was nice to make something simple, he discovered, and it was hard to mess up plain noodles even with his hands. It was quickly made, and add a little bit of room temperature butter and… Violà!! Perfect, if he did say so himself (which he totally did and Donnie will too!).
He spotted Donnie going down the stairs into the kitchen, which was perfect! He didn’t have to go in his lab, which would definitely make it seem like he’d made it just for him.
"I made some nice plain noodles. Want some?" Mikey stuck it in his face, hopefully making it extra tantalizing.
Donnie's snout scrunched slightly (which was a little rude), and he shook his head. "Not in the mood for that right now, Mikey."
Mikey gasped, rejection slapping him across the face. He quickly put a smile on to not make things worse. "No problem Dee! I'll just go see if the others want some."
He quickly turned around and walked away, frowning. How could Donnie not want noodles? His cheeks puffed slightly as he contemplated on what else to do to make it up for him. He could make him a drawing...yeah, that could work! He skipped to his room, humming.
As he drew he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated that it looked very elementary. He missed the precision he once had, and he tried replacing it with some more positive thinking. Soon he would get better. He...he had to.
But what if I don't?
Noooooope! he thought as he picked up his drawing, exiting his room. He was not opening that can of worms right now; he had to focus on making things up with Donnie. Yeah, he'd deal with that issue later.
Donnie was in the living room with his headphones on, hoodie on hood-up when Mikey entered, putting it behind his back. After a few seconds Donnie looked up, touching the side. “What is it now Mikey?”
“I made something for you,” he said in a sing-song voice. He displayed it in front of him, gesturing for him to take it.
Donnie sighed softly, reaching over for it and staring at it blankly. “Thanks.”
Mikey couldn’t help but feel a little bit of annoyance. He put a lot of effort into that! “I’m sorry about the other day.”
“Okay.”
Okay. Just okay? This would not do!
“Is there anything I could do to make it up for you? Juggle—no, can’t do that. Uhhhhh how about a ballet dance? Jam out to music together? Spelling bee?”
“I said it’s fine Mikey.”
“Really? Because you were like, really mad.”
“Because you kept pushing my buttons just like you’re doing now. I said. It’s. Fine.” He pulled the drawstrings until only a small sliver of his forehead was showing, effectively ending the conversation. A small huff escaped him as he turned around. He should be happy that Donnie forgave him, but it felt so.. hollow? Was he a bad person for thinking that? No, not hollow. It was too easy. Yeah. That’s the word. Other than Leo, Donnie’s the one that’ll hold things over peoples heads for foreverrrr (see Lair Games incident). So how could Donnie just forgive him like that? He didn’t even rub it in once.
He hummed, startling Mikey out of his thoughts. “Well, actually, I need help with something.”
“What?” the box turtle blurted a little too overeagerly.
“I need to water my plants. Would you care to help me?”
“Yeah! Let’s go!!” He basically yelled as he spoke, and Donnie winced.
“Alright, then.” The softshell got up, stretching. He then nodded his head and left, Mikey trailing after him.
Mikey hadn’t been in the garden ever since they moved lairs, and wow, it was big. Dozens, if not hundreds of plants lined the walls, all organized by type of plant and knowing Donnie, alphabetically organized too. Above them was a sprinkler system which Donnie only reserved whenever he was unable to water them for a prolonged period of time. Donnie grabbed a watering can from a shelf, heading over to the water pump and filling it up. Mikey grabbed one of his own, waiting in line. Once Donnie got up and began watering plants did Mikey put his under the tap, humming as he waited for it to fill up.
“Donnie?”
“Hmm?”
“How will I know what plants to water?”
His older brother smiled, setting down his can as he went over to the shelf, grabbing a laminated sheet of paper and handing it to him. “The plants marked with ‘x’ are the ones you should water. It also shows a diagram of how much you need to water them, as well as having a visual image of the plant.”
“Oh, wow. That’s very thorough.”
“I like to plan ahead, and besides, I doubt any one of you would immediately know what an ‘Antirrhinum’ was.”
“What is it?”
“A snapdragon, often associated with strength and grace.”
“Cool! Can you tell me what these other flowers mean?”
“I can tell you what they symbolize,” Donnie emphasized, earning an eye roll from Mikey.
“You know what I mean, Donnie.”
Donnie snickered. “I know. I’m just messing with you.”
Mikey listened as Donnie began infodumping on basically everything about the plants—its family name, history like where it originated and how it came to the U.S., and common themes associated with it, the most common ones seemingly love, innocence, and loyalty.
Mikey had just finished the last one on the list when he asked, “Hey, Donnie?”
“Do you have any questions about anything?” He paused for a moment. “You were listening, right?”
“Of course!”
“Okay, good, good. Usually people just zone out whenever I ramble. So, what’s up?”
“We are good, right?”
“Like water under a bridge.”
“Alright. But just so you know, you do know you can tell me anything, right?”
Donnie walked past him, putting his can back on the shelf. “I know.”
Mikey wanted to say something else, but he decided against it. Sometimes it was best to let things be, and besides, he trusted his older brother.
He only hoped that Donnie would actually come to him if he really needed to.
Description: After the near-end of the world, everyone is finally beginning to heal and put the past (somewhat) behind them. But when Mikey notices Donnie becoming more and more distant, he becomes determined to figure out what’s up with him—no matter what it takes.
General Tags: Mikey Centric, Donnie Centric, PB&J Duo, Mikey POV, Family oriented, No romantic relationships, Post movie, Recovery, Slice of Life, Slow burn, Brotherly angst, Mystic Mikey, Good sibling Mikey, TC/ST DNI, Genre shift, More tags to add later
Words: 1,357 (Total: 9,575)
Mikey was in his room creating a slideshow on his laptop. A Dr. Feelings type of slideshow. Yes, unfortunately, it was time to resort to his therapist persona, because there have been some unresolved issues making the lair nearly suffocating to be in.
He stuck his tongue out as he typed in google, copy and pasting the material into his slides (of course making sure to change the text to match the rest of the presentation; mismatched text looked horrendous and lazy as hell). Only .edu or .org websites here! He didn’t want to risk any chance of accidentally saying anything misinformed and Donnie calling him out.
There was a knock on his door, and he pulled his head up from his laptop, huffing in frustration.
“What is it?”
“We ordered some pizza.” Raph asked. “Want some?”
“I’m busy go away!!” Mikey yelled. Alright, that was a little mean. “Pretty please?”
“Yeah, sure. Just come out when yer hungry, okay?” Mikey couldn’t discern if Raph was offended, but he hoped he wasn’t.
“‘K.”
He could hear him leave, and he resumed his work, continuing to pretty-ify his slides (and adding plenty of rebuttal slides in case they said something) until he was satisfied with his work. By now the time was 12:47, which meant that they were probably finishing up on eating.
The box turtle picked up his laptop, tucking it and his Dr. Feeling’s costume under his elbow and made his way up to the TV room. He set up the room for the presentation rather quickly, tucking the outfit under the beanbag. Now, to gather his brothers in an inconspicuous manner so they wouldn’t suspect anything.
He spotted Raph in the kitchen, absently washing his dish. Mikey tapped his shoulder, preparing the little sibling eyes. Raph turned around, looking down at him.
“What’s up big man?”
“When you’re done with that, can you help me reach something up tall in the tv room? I can’t reach and really don’t want to hurt my hands.” He flexed them with a sad face for good measure.
“Of course! It’ll only be a moment.”
“Okaythankyoubye!” Mikey ran off to find Leo before Raph went in there and became suspicious.
Leo was in his train car, chilling at his desk.
“Hey Leo,” Mikey said. “You wanna watch Jupiter Jim Sails Across the Seven Galaxies?”
“Sure. I’m sure it’ll be way better than that movie last week.”
“Okay, meet you there in a minute!”
Now Mikey sprinted up two sets of stairs all the way to Donnie’s lab, knocking. Donnie opened the door, looking down at him.
“The projector is broken and I want to watch a movie. Can you fix it?”
“Can this wait?”
“Nope! Needs to be fixed now! Pretty please?”
Donnie sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Fine, just give me a second to grab the supplies and I’ll be there.”
“Awesome! Thank you!”
Mikey skipped off to the next room, quickly turning off the lights and displaying his slideshow with the projector. He also adorned his sweater, pants, and glasses. And now, the only thing he could do was wait.
Donnie was the first to go in, as he was the closest. He immediately turned on his heel, but Mikey was prepared, using his nunchaku as a lasso to wrap around his waist, preventing his escape.
Leo and Raph walked in, the former groaning when he saw the setup.
“Welcome, everyone, please take a seat.”
The slider pressed his palms against his eyes. “Mikeyyyyy.”
Mikey put a hand to his ear slit, looking around the room wildly. “Hmm? Who’s that? I don’t see a Mikey in here.”
“Mikey you know what I mean—”
“Ah but but but!” Mikey wagged a finger at him, silencing him. “Now, gentlemen, you might know why I’ve brought you in today.”
“Gee, I wonder why, he said not sarcastically,” Donnie grumbled, shaking off the chains.
“It’s about our recent behavior,” Mikey said. He flicked out the pointer, pointing at the projection.
“We’re just going stir crazy in here, nothing more,” Leo said. “As soon as Raph lets us go I’m sure things’ll get a lot better.”
“We’re not leaving until we’re all better, Leo.”
Leo threw a hand at the box turtle, exasperated. “Then tell Mikey to hurry up!”
“So it appears you two are at a disagreement,” Mikey said, ignoring the flash of hurt in his chest. “Raph, how does—”
“Why does he—” Leo complained.
“I’ll get to you!” Mikey yelled. Much more calmly, he continued his previous statement. “Now, Raph, how does this make you feel.”
“A lil’ frustrated that Leo keeps trying to pressure me into letting ya’ all on the surface when ye aren’t ready.”
“Hmm, and what feelings do you feel when you imagine us on the surface?”
Raph put his hands together, squeezing. “Scared. I.. I don’t want to lose y’all again. Or y’all getting hurt.”
Mikey nodded, putting a hand to his chin. “I see. Thank you, Raph; I can always trust you to be honest with your feelings. Now, Leo. What do you feel when Raph keeps denying your requests?”
Leo huffed. “No offense, Raph, but it pisses me off. I’m the leader now, so I should be making these decisions. It just feels like, I don’t know. You still don’t trust me.”
“I do—”
“Wait your turn, Raph,” Mikey gently interjected.
Leo sighed, closing his eyes. “That’s basically it? Or all I can think of at the moment.”
“So why am I here exactly if it’s a squabble between those two?” Donnie threw a thumb to his older brothers.
“Raph, Leo, how do you feel whenever Donnie leaves the lair on his own to get supplies?”
“Jealous,” Leo muttered.
“Raph’s never liked it to begin with.”
Donnie put a hand to the bridge of his snout, exhaling. “Raph and I have already discussed this. We’re going back to the buddy system; he’s going to be accompanying me on the supply run from now on until he gives the all clear for all of us.”
Mikey blinked. “Oh, okay, that settles one thing. Now, how have you been feeling lately, Donnie?”
“I don’t know, fine? Maybe a little tired, but that’s because of my sleep schedule.”
“We’ve all noticed you’ve been a little off lately.” Mikey hoped he said the right word, but when Donnie’s face darkened he knew that oh crap—he did not say the right thing abort abort!
“What do you mean ‘off?’”
“We’re just a wee bit worried about you,” Mikey said, trying to recover. “That’s all.”
He arched a brow. “Worried how?”
“I haven’t seen you without your battleshell off in, well, ages,” Raph said. “I don’t think anyone has.”
“Oh so now that’s an issue?” Donnie snarled. “Maybe I just like wearing my battleshell. Maybe it helps me feel normal and safe. But sure, if taking it off,” he put his hands against the unlock mechanism on his shoulders. “Helps you not worry about me, I’ll oblige.”
“Woah woah woah,” Leo said. “Calm down Dee. You don’t have to go for the nuclear option.”
There were two clicks and a clang as the battleshell dropped. He turned around, glowering at them. “Happy?”
His shell was the same leathery green and brown it always was, with his protruding spine and four giant slashes from the Shredder. Donnie grumbled, grabbing his mechanical shell. “Whatever. I’m done with this stupid thing.”
“Donnie, wait—”
He stormed out of the room, followed by a resolute SLAM of his lab door. Mikey lowered his head, feeling tears begin to form. Shit, he messed up big time.
“What’s his deal?” Leo mumbled. Raph flicked him on the forehead and the slider shot him a glare.
“Just give him some time, Mikesters,” the eldest reassured.
“I should probably go,” Mikey said softly to prevent a waver in his voice, speed walking out of the room before full on sprinting down the stairs to go to his bedroom. Tears began to escape and he put a hand over his face as he slammed the door, sliding to the floor.
