#romnt

"Shit, Donnie-" A curse fumbled past your lips carelessly. The soft glare of your cellphone glosses over your scrunched-up features as your plastic toothbrush dryly hangs from your left cheek.

You propped yourself on the edge of the bathroom counter, your fuzzy-socked feet barely grazing the marble tiles as the tip of your thumb fumbled with the keypad buttons of your phone. You should be in the middle of snoring away in your bed to wake up early morning to catch the first bus to commute to school, tugging bitterly at the end of your oversized purple hoodie that you were sporting.

Instead, you were impatiently tapping away for your little reckless shit of a boyfriend to text you back as soon as he finished his mission. 

Sure, Donnie was a hell of a fighter. An even better inventor. You could attest to his skills firsthand as the first few meetings between you and Donatello were of him saving your ass from hitting the patchy New York City pavement or shielding you from the rumble along with other civilians. Still, Donatello would be a fool to assume you would go to bed without getting at least a word from him that he was alright.

And your Donnie was no fool.

You absentmindedly wandered your way to the living room with your cell phone glued to your hand, your feet sinking happily into the warmth of your wool rug. There was a medium-sized leather couch with a dark wooden end table containing your precious family photos scattered across the surface.

Some were pictures of you and your parents when you were younger, and others were notably more recent. One framed picture was a selfie of you & the turtles sneaking into the movie theater to watch some re-runs of Lou Jitsu's martial arts movies. Buttery popcorn bits were spilling all over you as the image caught you mid-laugh in the theater seat. The other captured you & April O'Neil having ice cream together at a local fare, vanilla sweetness accidentally smeared over your scrunched-up noses.

Your eyes fondly flickered to the colorfully mishappen-scented candles that Mikey had made for your home as your housewarming gift when they first visited your home.

Not exactly your home, but rather your parent's home- You noted to yourself before sinking into the comfort of the armchair. Your parents often were away on trips for work-related endeavors overseas for long durations of time. It never really bothered you too much the idea of being left at home most of the time, you welcomed it more often than not to focus on your studies with little to no distractions.

 It never struck you as a less-than-ideal situation till you briefly mentioned it to Donnie during one of his late rooftop visits before you guys officially started dating. You could almost pinpoint the exact moment when his thickly drawn eyebrows furrowed together when you spoke, his glossy bottom lip slightly upturned as he processed your words before turning to stare at the sky once more.

He never said anything about it after that night, which you assumed was the end of the conversation until the next morning when you heard the faintest tap on your window, the coffee mug you had been holding sending warmth from your fingertips. Donatello's awkward smile as he fumbled inside your bedroom with Leonardo, Raph & Mikey following closely behind, cradling a bunch of eccentric 80's posters, CDs, and random trinkets they had collected from all across New York for you. 

"We have come to decorate your humble abode with some of our most prized possessions for you, [y/n]!" The spiny soft-shelled turtle had sputtered out after the berating from his siblings, his face growing notably hotter as his brothers blew amusing sloppy kissing noises at his hint of sudden shyness in your presence. 

You approached the ledge of your window; the palm of your hand warmly cupped your cheek at the hidden smile that toyed with the ends of your pursed lips as your elbow rested lazily on the ruddy brick ledge at the recollection of the sweet memory.

Your eyes raked over the city's twinkling lights of the traffic meters and busted-up car lights. There were cars stamped brim to brim with sports team bumper stickers parked all along the streets and traffic jams on every bustling corner of New York City. The newspaper vendors sell the evening newspapers in a sugary sweet manner. They shout out the sensational news but keep the paper folded.

Your fingers hugged curtly around the two brown-and-green ceramic mugs that had been left on the ledge edge of your windowsill, breathing in the faint scent of tea that lingered on the rims of the cup.

Donnie had a habit of leaving different assortments of tea for you every afternoon by your window when you would get busier for school, a hot drink greeting you when you arrived each time you moved aside the curtains. Your soft lips pressed on the edge of the mug, taking a small sip.

 It was still warm.

Your cell phone faintly buzzed beside you before you, fumbling for the source you flipped the screen over.

'Heading back.'

His text was short yet simple. Knowing your boyfriend, he would be in the middle of racing over the rickety rooftops and buildings of New York but would still pull out his phone to shoot you a quick text in the middle of it.

Turning your back towards the window, your thumbs lightly skimmed over your phone screen to type back. The only thing that was now giving off light in the room was the bright shine of your phone, flickering faintly from the notifications that appeared.

‘I can't sleep,’

‘Who cares?’

‘Don't you care about me now?’

‘I always don't care.’

Your flushed cheek lightly nuzzled into the warm sleeve of the hoodie you had on. The smooth fabric lingered across the side of your face, and the faint scent of freshly baked pizza mingled intertwined with the musk of laundry detergent as you softly sighed.

Another text bubble appears and types for a long time then disappears.  

After a pause, a few more buzzes emerged from your phone, ‘Open up, stupid.’ The text finally read, the irritation palpable from the one line as the faint tapping noises on the glass pane grew increasingly louder. ‘It's cold out here.’

You blink at the text, looking up from your phone. 

Opening up the window latch for him, Donnie wiggled his way inside as complaints sputtered from his mouth, stumbling in an attempt to regain his balance. "One more minute out there and I would have frozen my shell out there, [y/n]. Y'know hyperthermia can happen around above 40°F?"  Donnie's dark eyebrows knit together, harboring a soft annoyance there, although it didn’t spread to the rest of his face. He was smiling satisfyingly and his dark brown eyes gleamed. 

There were faint cuts across his emerald cheeks, one, in particular, ran down his bottom lip. Donnie seemed to catch your sudden observing before raising both of his hands defensively to reassure you with the waggle of his eyebrows, "Ah! Tis but a scratch, my dearest.” The turtle mused, “Don't you worry your pretty little head-"

Breath held without thinking, the suspended air caught at the top of your throat like a minute grasped instead of recklessly spent. Before he can say anything else, you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss.

You nearly missed, his lips a tad too far left and the tip of your nose bumped against his cheek. The crinkling of your smile fainted as you tilted your head so that your lips could meet firmly and happily at last, his neck burning up at your sudden peck of affection.  As he pulled back sheepishly, he kissed the bridge of your nose with a light chuckle and his eyes opened to see yours shining bright.

He halts when your fingertips bump the stretched fabric of his purple mask, laying his warm finger on the tip of your bottom lip. His head tilts the slightest bit, just enough for his spilled-ink irises to latch onto yours. "You doing okay?" Donatello whispered through half lidded gaze before your eyes flickered down to the jut of his chin. 

Lips ever-so-slightly parted, you nodded then a soft, warm exhale ending in an almost imperceptible hum into his chest.

LEONARDO HAMATO ¡! ❞

━━━ leo is known as the most easygoing of the group amongst the turtles, with his nonchalant catchphrases and somewhat dramatic demeanor, the guy breezes through life like a piece of cake.

━━━━ but even so, leo cares about you a lot. probably more than he would care to admit even to himself. sure, he puts up a laid-back front for you, but he quite frankly worries when you aren't around playing video games with him in the lair. sees you going through a rough time at school or struggling to interact with your peers? leonardo hamato portals his ass to sit with you outside on the bleachers during lunchtime without missing a beat.

━━━ you find it quite endearing that despite sitting on the cool metal bleachers outside with a stale hotdog and quite possibly expired milk carton, leonardo happily opens a portal next to you and shares a freshly bubbling pizza slice with you

━━━ this man is practically sweating bullets.

━━━ he purposefully occasionally asks donnie to hack into the security cameras of your school to make sure you are doing alright from time to time- especially if he knows that there is a big event going on that might make you nervous

━━━ "donnie, c'mon, mano! just check for me on how they are doing? they haven't texted me yet and it's their first day! what if they haven't found anyone to sit with?"

"leo, i believe that is what many consider to be stalking." 

━━━ he taught you how to skateboard for a while and even offered to help you customize the board that he bought for your birthday! (he pretended to be in a street costume and offered to take pictures with tourists for a couple of weeks to save up the cash.)

━━━ he lets you ramble all about your interests when you guys hang out on your favorite rooftop spot when you have trouble sleeping- just contently nodding with a bright smirk over the fact that he has managed to get you all excited to talk about your favorite movies or artists.

━━━ when you notice how long you have been talking, he reassures you with an easy smile and waggles his three fingers lazily in the air. honestly, the man could listen to you for hours.

RAPHAEL HAMATO ¡! ❞

━━━ spoilers. raph is the biggest teddy bear around you.

━━━ he was the most nervous among his brothers concerning interacting with you when you had met for the first time. raph was terrified of scaring you off with the way he would tower over you and how you would initially avoid eye contact with him when he would try to spark up a conversation. he even avoided smiling for a while because the big guy was a lil' nervous that his fang was intimidating you.

━━━ nottomentionyouaresotinycomparedtohim

━━━ raph honestly melted into his shell when you comfortably rested your head on his arm while watching a movie together. you didn't even seem to notice your slight shift towards him, he almost forgot to breathe for a second as he just watched you quietly enjoy the film, buttery popcorn gathering close to your lips. you just seemed so happy.

━ he always wants you to feel comfortable. perhaps a bit too comfortable. raph is constantly knitting you soft scarves and mittens when winter begins approaching in new york. warm and fuzzy yarn being crocheted into cute hats. (despite his brothers teasing him over how they could practically only see your eyes peaking out from all the layers he has managed to throw on you)

━"raph, hermano, give it a rest! that is way too much yarn-"

"but i gotta make em' some a scarf, a hat, gloves, some leg warmers-"

"or you can have them looking like a sesame street character, that works too."

━ he is always asking about what you are interested in doing when the gang hangs out. if he notices you want to speak up or your eyes begin to brighten up, he'll always turn the focus of the conversation toward your suggestions.

━ even though it's rare when you do, sometimes you'll mumble out whenever you need a hug from raph. a soft glance in his direction and he already had bent down with his large arms scooping you up tightly. 

DONATELLO HAMATO ¡! ❞

━ donnie is probably the most reserved when it comes to his affection towards you, but when he sees you scratching your arm or nervously glancing at the ceiling frequently, he does what he can to make sure you feel alright and to soothe your nerves.

━ you are probably one of the few people he lets into his workshop willingly to roam around- the only person he doesn't quite mind that tinkers around with the unfinished inventions scattered across his desk with crumpled-up coffee cans and random sticky notes. he'll let you peek over his shoulder to admire his blueprints and ask questions as he works, even when you think he doesn't notice.

━ donatello always has the mini fridge in his workshop filled with your favorite snacks and drinks in case you happen to come in for some company. he would always give you a small shrug and claim that he just so happens to like the same refreshments you do or that the local store April stopped by only carried that kind of chips currently. it had nothing to do with you, or how he knew your eyes would light up munching on your favorite snacks. really. nothing to do with you at all.

━ "i didn't know you had these, donnie!" you murmured excitedly, the surface of your thumbs running over the bright plastic of the salty treat with a light astonishment. 

glancing over his shoulder at the sound of your voice, donatello's eyes flickered over the snack you had been gripping tightly between your hands- his furrowed expression remaining casual before turning back his attention to the burning slight sparks emitting from his project.

"oh, those old things?" he replied with a small laugh, sliding down his mismatched goggles down his face, his brow slightly quirked upwards plainly and his squinting eyes at the snack you lifted towards him, "i eat those all the time."

"really?" your head tilted at the claim, scanning all the neatly stacked snacks lined up neatly on his shelf that were organized by brand, looking almost completely untouched. "this is the first time i've ever seen you-"

"I EAT THEM ALL THE TIME, [y/n]-"

━ donnie plays your favorite music on his speakers while working on new inventions. he remembered when you were excitedly smiling at him, raising your earbud sheepishly towards him about the newest album of a band you liked and offering him to listen- he still could recall from when you showed him your Spotify playlist one time and the glimmer of pure joy in your eyes.

MICHELANGELO HAMATO ¡! ❞

━ THIS BOY LOVES COOKING FOR YOU (it's his love language really)

━ he is always asking you about your favorite meals and searching up tutorials online to perfect them with the proper amount of spices and garnishes by the time you visit the lair for supper.

"raph? can you try this please~?"

"mikey, they ain't gonna be here for another hour and dinner is practically done- it already tastes great!"

"but i need it to taste amazing for them!"

━ if you have a cultural dish that is dear to you, mikey puts extra attention to the details to make sure he has it down to make sure it tastes exactly like how you adore it- it makes his day when he watches you contently take a sip from a dish he has prepared from you and begin to glow up at the turtle's accuracy on perfecting each dish

━ cooking was one of the ways you both bonded with one another. mikey was determined to become your friend, even at your slight apprehension at the sudden brightness of the bumbling turtle waving his cookbooks towards you or dragging you to sketch with him.

━ he also loves drawing for you! sketches and such, he will always eagerly smile at your requests for your favorite comfort characters. he could spend hours dragging his pencil across the paper of his sketchbook, tongue cutely stuck out in concentration before flipping his eraser to clean up the fine details.