A King With No Crown

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing the usual disaster of wires, screens, half-built inventions, and at least three things that looked mildly explosive. Donnie sat hunched over a workbench while he tightened something tiny with a screwdriver. Shelldon rolled past your feet carrying what looked suspiciously like a melted toaster.

Donnie glanced up briefly. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Nice to see you too.”

“You’re interrupting a critical calibration.”

“You say that every time I come here.”

“Because every time you come here I’m doing critical calibrations.”

Fair enough. You crossed your arms. “Okay, serious question. Is Leo mad at me?”

That finally got his attention. Donnie stopped working. Not dramatically. Just enough to tell you the question mattered.

“…No,” he answered slowly.

“Then why’s he avoiding me?”

Donnie looked weirdly uncomfortable immediately after that. Which, honestly, was more alarming than if he’d just said Leo got trapped in another dimension.

He adjusted the googles of his forehead unnecessarily. “He’s not avoiding you specifically.”

“That is not comforting.”

“He’s just…” Donnie grimaced. “…going through something.”

You stared at him. “Wow. Mysterious. Helpful. Incredible work.”

“I’m serious.” Donnie sighed and leaned back against the table. “Look, this is gonna sound fake, but it’s not fake.”

Now you were concerned. “What happened?”

Donnie rubbed the back of his neck like he already regretted this conversation. “Okay, so, technically speaking, certain turtle species experience periods of heightened territorial and domestic instincts.”

You blinked once. “…What?”

“Nesting season.”

Silence. Then: “I’m sorry— nesting season?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

You actually laughed at first because there was no way. No actual way. But Donnie wasn’t laughing. In fact, he looked deeply annoyed to even be explaining this.

“He gets like this every year,” Donnie muttered. “Usually we can manage it before it gets too bad, but this time…” He waved vaguely toward the ceiling. “Well. You exist now.”

Your face warmed immediately. “…Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

You sat down slowly on a nearby stool, trying to process that information without combusting from embarrassment. “So what does that even mean?”

Donnie pointed the screwdriver at you lazily. “Means Leo’s instincts are currently screaming at him twenty-four seven. He gets overprotective, territorial, clingy, emotional— honestly kind of unbearable. Usually he hides in his room because he hates feeling out of control.”

“And he doesn’t want me seeing that.”

“Bingo.”

Something in your chest softened immediately after that. Because suddenly all those awkward texts made sense. Leo wasn’t ignoring you because he was tired of you. He was hiding because he was embarrassed.

Which honestly sounded exactly like him.

“So he’s okay?”

“Physically? Yes. Mentally?” Donnie tilted his hand uncertainly. “Debatable. Yesterday he hissed at Raph for touching a blanket.” you snorted and Donnie deadpanned, “I wish I were joking.”

“And you guys just… let him hide?”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Donnie said. “Every time Mikey tries to cuddle him, Leo wraps himself in blankets like a defensive burrito.”

That image nearly killed you. Still, despite the amusement, worry lingered in your chest. “Should I text him?”

Donnie considered that. “You can. Just don’t push him. He’ll come out when he’s ready.”

So that’s what you did. You gave him space. Even though it sucked. You stopped visiting the lair for a while because you knew if Leo really needed distance, the last thing he needed was guilt on top of whatever instinctive nightmare he was already dealing with. You still texted him occasionally — stupid little things, updates about your day, photos of things that reminded you of him — but you kept it light. No pressure. No asking when you could see him again.

Sometimes he answered immediately. Sometimes hours later. But every response felt strangely emotional underneath the jokes.

miss ur face :(

Donnie stole my good pillow btw. betrayal.

u still using that hoodie i left there??

The last one especially stuck with you. Because yes, you were. And somehow Leo replying with just “good” afterward made your stomach flip.

Then, nearly a week after this whole thing started, your phone buzzed at almost midnight. You were half asleep when you checked it.

Leon 🐢💙

u awake?

You immediately sat up.

You

yeah. everything okay?

The typing bubble appeared instantly, then disappeared and then came back.

Leon 🐢💙

Please come over.

Your eyebrows lifted.

You

Now?

Leon 🐢💙

please

The message after that came so quickly it almost felt frantic.

Leon 🐢💙

And uh

can u bring something that smells like you???

You stared at the screen.

You

“…What?”

Another message arrived immediately after.

Leon 🐢💙

NOT IN A WEIRD WAY

well maybe a little weird

just PLEASE

Your heartbeat sped up despite yourself. Because beneath the jokes, beneath the awkwardness, you could practically feel how badly he needed you right now. So you didn’t question it. You just grabbed the hoodie you wore constantly — the one he always stole whenever he visited — pulled on your shoes, and headed for the lair.

The lair is quieter than usual when you arrive. Not silent — never silent — but quieter. Somewhere deeper in the tunnels you can hear distant arguing, metal clanging, Mikey laughing loud enough to probably shake concrete loose, but the energy feels strangely subdued tonight. Like everyone collectively agreed to keep things calm around one specific turtle.

You barely make it down the fire escape ladder before Raph spots you from the kitchen area. “Oh thank god,” he says immediately.

You blink. “That bad?”

Raph points toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms with the exhausted expression of a man who has seen horrors. “He bit me over a blanket yesterday.”

“…Actually bit you?”

“Like a raccoon.”

“IT WAS INSTINCTIVE!” Leo’s voice immediately shouts from somewhere down the hall.

Raph cups his hands around his mouth. “YOU GROWLED AT ME.”

“I SAID I WAS SORRY.”

“You hissed after apologizing!”

There’s a pause. Then Leo yells, deeply offended, “Okay, wow, way to bring up my lowest moments in front of my partner.”

You can’t help laughing at that, the tension in your chest easing for the first time in days. Raph points at you again as he walks past carrying a mug.

“Please go deal with him. Donnie says if Leo steals one more pillow from his lab chair he’s gonna lose it.”

“THE CHAIR DOESN’T EVEN NEED SIX PILLOWS!”

“THEY WERE MEMORY FOAM, LEO.”

You shake your head, smiling despite yourself, and continue down the hallway. The closer you get to Leo’s room, the warmer it feels. Not temperature-wise exactly — though that too — but softer somehow. The harsh industrial feeling of the lair slowly disappears under layers of blankets spilling out from beneath his door, dim yellow lighting leaking through the crack underneath.

And you hesitate for a second before knocking. Not because you’re scared. Just… nervous. Because Leo asking for you like that had done something strange to your chest. Because you still remembered the frantic speed of those texts. Because despite all the joking, you knew he must’ve been miserable to finally cave and ask you to come.

Your hand tightens around the hoodie you brought. Then you knock softly. Immediately, there’s movement inside. Rapid movement. Something crashes. A muffled curse.

“COME IN.”

The second you open the door, you understand why Donnie called it nesting.

“Oh my god,” you whisper.

Leo’s room looks insane. Blankets everywhere. Pillows piled into walls. Hoodies, sheets, soft clothes, random cushions stolen from who-knows-where. His mattress is barely visible beneath what genuinely looks like a giant nest built by a touch-starved cryptid with access to several department stores.

There are fairy lights hanging crookedly along the walls. At least four plushies shoved into corners. One of Mikey’s giant beanbags somehow incorporated into the structure like structural support. And right in the middle of all of it—

Leo. Curled under three blankets, shoulders tense, eyes locked directly onto you the second you step inside.

For a moment neither of you says anything. And then his entire expression changes. Relief crashes over his face so fast it’s almost painful to witness. Not embarrassment. Not joking. Just pure, overwhelming relief.

“You came,” he breathes.

The words hit harder than they should.

“Yeah,” you say softly, lifting the hoodie a little. “I brought the—”

You don’t even finish the sentence. Because Leo moves. Fast. One second he’s across the room tangled in blankets, and the next he launches at you with absolutely zero dignity left intact.

“Leo—!”

He grabs you around the waist immediately, practically hauling you off your feet before you can react properly. You barely manage to laugh before he’s carrying you backward like you weigh nothing, dramatic as always, and then both of you crash directly into the mountain of blankets behind him.

The nest swallows you instantly. Soft pillows everywhere. Warmth surrounding you from every direction. The mattress dips hard beneath the combined weight as Leo practically drags you into the center of it with desperate urgency.

“Okay— wow—” you wheeze between laughs. “Little warning next time?”

“No.”

Leo buries his face directly into your shoulder before you can say anything else. And just stays there. You feel the shudder leave him slowly. Like he’d been holding tension in his body for days and finally let it collapse the second you touched him.

“Oh my god,” he mumbles against you, voice muffled. “You smell right.”

You blink once. “…That is the creepiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“I know.” He sounds completely unashamed. “I can’t help it right now.”

The honesty of it almost catches you off guard. Because usually Leo would joke his way around vulnerability. He’d turn this into flirting or sarcasm or some dramatic bit to avoid actually admitting how strongly he felt.

But now? Now he just clings to you tighter. Completely serious.

“I missed you so bad,” he admits quietly.

Something in your chest twists painfully at that. You lift a hand automatically, rubbing slowly over the back of his shell. “You could’ve told me.”

“I tried not to.”

“Why?”

He groans dramatically into your hoodie. “Because this is humiliating.”

You snort softly. “The blanket cave isn’t helping your case.”

“It’s not a cave,” he mutters defensively. “It’s a highly advanced emotional support structure.”

“Built from stolen pillows?”

“Those pillows chose me.”

You laugh again, quieter this time, and Leo visibly relaxes at the sound. Actually relaxes. You can feel it happening little by little where he’s practically draped over you now, one arm around your waist while he shamelessly steals the hoodie from your hands and immediately stuffs it into the nest beside him like treasure.

The whole thing should feel ridiculous. And it does, a little. But mostly it feels strangely intimate. Because Leo isn’t performing right now. There’s no cocky grin. No dramatic posing. No teasing little smirk after every sentence.

Just him. Needy, exhausted, touch-starved him.

After a moment, he finally lifts his head enough to look at you properly. His markings look darker in the low lighting. His eyes tired.

“You’re not weirded out, right?” he asks suddenly, quieter now. “By… this whole thing?”

The vulnerability in his voice nearly breaks your heart. You stare at him for a second before reaching up and smoothing a thumb gently beneath one of his markings.

“Leo,” you say softly, “you literally tackled me into a pillow nest within five seconds of seeing me.”

“…Yeah?”

“I still came in willingly.”

That finally gets a grin out of him. Small at first. Then bigger. Then suddenly he’s pulling you impossibly closer again with dramatic intensity.

We also have to consider that they are half-human mutants, and humans have a life expectancy of 70–73 years. So I would say that our protagonists lifespan would be something like this:

Raph: 86 years

Leo: 56 years

Donnie: 61 years

Mikey: 56 years

Since they are mutants (and I would say that being mutants makes them more resilient, although it could also cause more genetic instability or something like that, but I’m going to say it makes them more resilient), I’m going to add 20 to each of them. And I’m also going to add 10 to Donnie and Raph because the data I found didn’t include a maximum (all this just because I say so).

Raph: 116 years

Leo: 76 years

Donnie: 91 years

Mikey: 76 years

But I’m not done yet! We also have to consider that using mystic powers ages you, depending on how much you use them. We can assume that Donnie is the one who uses mystic powers the least, because he combines them with his technology, so we’re only going to subtract 5 years from him. For Leo and Raph, we’ll assume they use them about the same amount, so let’s subtract 10 years. And Mikey… yeah, I really think we’d have to subtract at least 20 years from him.

So their life expectancy, according to my not-at-all precise reasoning and just because I say so, would be like this:

Raph: 106 years

Leo: 66 years

Donnie: 86 years

Mikey: 56 years

So… yeah, they’re definitely not going to die at the same time.

Donnie and Raph cut episode </3

Raph feels more protective of Donnie and Donnie has a whole ass inferiority complex with it AUGHHHH THATS SUCH A GOOD DYNAMIC WHAT COULD’VE BEEN

One of the first ideas for the bad future in the movie was Donnie being dead, and his battle shell hung on the wall.

Donnie’s death was supposed to be Leo’s fault/ have Leo blame himself

We don’t know Junior’s bio father and theres very little chance we ever will. Not even Ron Corcillo knows </3

Yet again they have confirmed 2 other turtles in the mutation tank with the main four - one Big Mama’s assistant, as seen in the farewell comic

For favourite icecream flavour: mikey mixes them all together, Raph rocky road, and Leo likes pistachio. Donnie would probably not eat ice cream or he would create his own “ideal” ice cream.

GIANT PUMPKING LOST EPISODE </33333 :[

Gourd almighty - in which Donnie makes a giant pumpkin. Shenanigans ensue. We already know this.

Casey in the bad future was supposed to be dead RIP queen you would’ve loved the war </3

Ideas of Junior going around the world and exploring to see what it’s like were also mentioned. And him calling Casey mum which is just. So cute. And sad. Oh my god.

Also him randomly destroying shit cos he thinks it’s a threat lmaooo

Raph died in the bad future saving somebody :[

Raph was leading the resistance. Leo was responsible for Raph’s death and took over after he died :[[[[

Donnie died first. His final words to Raph were “I wish it was you” AUGHHHHHHHHHHH THEYRE KILLING ME. I’M DEAD. I AM DECEASED.

The start of the movie changed so much from the OG because they had to shorten it :[

(extended cut when?)

The section in the movie where they go “we are..” “the teenage…” “mutant…” “ninja…” “turtles…” “if this isn’t the poster shot someone’s getting fired” THAT SECTION. is and I quote ‘a Kevin section.’ Peak shit. Jay Jay borded the fight between Krang Raph and Leo <3 everyone say Kevin and Jay Jay :]

Concept art of the future timeline with Leo’s broken shell and Donnie’s battle shell WITH HIS SOFTSHELL STRETCHED OUT UNDERNEATH. WTAF

In the future is Master Michelangelo and Master Leonardo because they are the teenage mutant ninja turtles

The Krang were on the earth long before humans. There was also something about them being buried under the Brooklyn bridge?

Leo being more cocky in the movie was because they wanted to accommodate to new viewers and show clear character development. Also he just got promoted.

Josh Brenner being a huge germaphobe because a Donnie character trait lolll

OCD Donnie canon apparently??

Brandon Mychel Smith ate food in the recording booth LMAO

He was also a hugger which got translated into mikey. Josh Brenner however, was not, which was also translated into Donnie

Donnie made everyone’s tech in the bad future, mikey trained to be a mystic warrior, raph was the leader, Leo was the “Han Solo” and lost his arm. Mikey was “Luke” the roles switched up after Donnie and raph died :[

Leo is a medic canon?

Leo also canonically wasnt in the Prison Dimension that long. Time didn’t work differently in the prison dimension sorry folks

They could absolutely do another movie <3

Raph being afraid of Mrs Cuddles was done to add characterisation and contribute to that gentler feel <3

Another lost episode with stockboy and Albearto where they team up and stockboy is piloting a mech??? Super nonspecific lol

THEY CALL CASSANDRA CASEY JONES ONE AND HER SON CASEY JUNIOR!!!! CASSANDRA JONES IS THE CONFIRMED CASEY OF ROTTMNT <333333

Raph would still have some Krang in him post invasion

The ooze came from the Krang ship that crashed in the hidden city. The Krang are still influencing everythingggg

The turtles would stan BTS. I’d like to formally apologise for joking they’d be miku stans and making a minicomic </3

EPF if the show continued

ALSO CASEY FOLLOW-UP SERIES THATS MY GIRL. SHE WOULD GO AROUBD THE EARTH AND HUNT KRANGGGGG WITH THE TURTLES

Most of the lost episodes could be done in a post movie season 3 :]

Casey and April would’ve been friends rip Capril Yuri :,]

Hot soup was an organic catchphrase development. They were trying to come up with random catchphrases for the network loll

Raph was chosen as leader bc previous raph iterations wanted to be leader

If they had another season there would be more Big Mama and hidden city stuff

Also a cut episode of them smuggling someone through the hidden city?

SHELDON VELLA APPEARANCE YAHOO

“Got the rise treatment on tales again” ooof