#turtle time

Every surface they could reach had been decorated with wreaths, tinsel, garland, anything they could get their hands on over the years. In the center of the main room sat the massive tree that they’d worked together on assembling and decorating. It was a horrendous amalgamation of pipes, tape, yarn, and metal. It was a far cry from traditional, but it was theirs. 

Every year for the past few years, all five siblings would work together to challenge themselves to put all of their training to the rest. They would gather anything and everything they could use to decorate the base for the holidays, all with the additional challenge of putting it up without disturbing Splinter. It's not that he would be upset with them or anything, since he enjoys the holidays too. It's just another part of their training, another way to see how far they've come. 

“Now,” Renne hummed, sitting on Ralph's shoulders from putting the star on top of their makeshift tree, “time to go get bundled up for part two of our tradition?” 

Her brothers gave a series of affirmations, Raph setting her down before they all scattered to their respective rooms. 

Renne was quick to toss on an additional sweater and her heaviest coat, grabbing her hat and gloves and shoving them in her pocket for now. She also grabbed the bright green and pink scarf that Mikey made for her last year before heading back to the main room to wait for her brothers, pulling on her warm, fuzzy boots. 

Her brothers didn't take long to meet up with her, each in their own winter wear. Sweatpants and heavy boots of their own that were custom made as a combined effort, large coats over their own festive sweaters to hide their shells. They also each had color coded hats and scarves to further hide themselves, with mittens to match and hide their hands. Once they were all properly bundled, no one would spare them a second glance. 

“Oh I'm so excited!” Mikey beamed as he rushed over to Renne, hugging her arm to anchor himself. “I can’t wait to see what the display at the toy store a few blocks over looks like!” 

Donnie hummed his agreement while fussing with his scarf, trying to tie it in a more sophisticated manner while still covering his face. “Agreed, though I'm more interested in what the most popular gadgets are this year.” 

“So you can do, like, a billion times better?” Leo teased, tossing an arm around his twin’s shoulders with a smirk. 

“Hmmm… perhaps,” Donnie answered despite everyone present knowing full well that he'll be tinkering till the holiday itself. 

Raph laughed at the banter, even as he started to corral his younger siblings so they could leave the lair. “Come on, come on! Raph doesn't want to miss anything!” 

That was all it took for them all to hurry off into the sewers, scrambling to the nearest manhole. Renne went up the ladder first, scooting the large metal plate out of the way while she peeked up, ensuring the alley was empty. Once satisfied, she climbed out and motioned for her brothers to follow. “Coast is clear.” 

Once all five of them were safely on the surface and the manhole cover was back in place, Renne shoved her gloved hands into her pockets. “Do we want to keep up high to start, or start at ground level and do some sightseeing that way before we head to the rooftops?” 

“I want to see the shops!” Mikey insisted, vibrating with so much energy he wouldn't be getting cold for a while at this rate. Leo didn't even bother trying to pin him down, just took his hand so he can't go running off unnoticed. 

Donnie hummed thoughtfully, moving to cup his chin, but was blocked both by his scarf and his mittens. “Strategically, it’s best to start at ground level, and then if we get cold or tired we can head to the rooftops where we can move more freely to warm up.” 

“Then we’ll do that!” Raph decided with a grin, offering his hands to Renne and Donnie. Renne accepted the offered hand happily, while Donnie was a bit more hesitant, instead grabbing Raph's sleeve. That seemed to be enough to satisfy the eldest, who led the ‘charge’ to join the bustling population of New York. 

In past years, Raphael had been the last to be willing to try and blend in, not confident in their ‘disguises’. It took hours of convincing and coaxing to get him to join them, and even then his anxiety at being caught made it difficult for him to enjoy the outing. However, they have yet to be singled out for anything aside from his size, which he's used to even amongst his family. So now he looks forward to this rare, tiny taste of ‘normal’. 

Leo and Mikey followed behind the trio, taking in the brilliant lights and varying music from every storefront, as well as the occasional blast of warm air when passing an opening door. There were also vendors on the edges of the streets, selling hot drinks and snacks in competition with the plethora of cafes and coffee shops in the area. 

Renne gave Raph’s hand a squeeze before letting go, easily slipping through the crowd of humans to one of the stands selling hot chocolate. With some slightly shouted conversation and gesturing, Renne managed to place her order. As she gathered the drinks up in careful stacks, grateful for the travel lid, she caught the vendor’s doubtfully concerned look. Instead of bothering with a drawn out explanation, she simply picked up the two stacks of cups and shot them a quick grin before burying her face in her scarf once more. With the same ease as before she wove through the crowd to return to her brothers. 

“Here we go! Raphie, yours is on the tippy top,” she announced to her brothers, who had taken to making a circle around her off to the side against a store window so she wouldn't get jostled while holding the drinks. “Donnie, yours is on top of the other stack, Leo’s is under Raph’s, and Mikey’s is in my left hand,” she continued, letting them each claim their drinks before holding her own cup with both hands to safely bask in its warmth. 

Once they had each claimed their drinks, and their first sips, Mikey beamed. “Come on, come on! Let’s get going to the toy store!” he insisted, even carefully tugging on Leo’s unoccupied arm for dramatic emphasis. 

This time Mikey was the one taking the lead, dragging Leo behind him with Donnie and Renne just behind him, and Raph taking up the rear. 

“I would say that he’s going to run through all of his energy tonight and not have any for when Dad takes us to see what the Yokai do for the holidays,” Donnie commented casually as he sipped at his cocoa, “but even I know that Mikey has somehow mastered the art of never-ending energy, especially around the holidays.” 

Renne snickered next to him, holding her cup close to her chest protectively. “No kidding. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how hyper he is even in the cold and a bazillion layers,” she agreed. 

Turning his head back while Mikey still tugged him along, Leo focused on Renne. “I mean, this is the only time of year we can come surface-side like this and explore. Can’t blame him for being excited. And when Mikey’s excited, it’s almost impossible to stop him.” 

“Yup!” Mikey chirped happily from the front of their gaggle, not the slightest bit offended. He knows how he is after all, and they love him all the same! 

Any further teasing for their youngest brother was lost to the wind once they reached the toy store, all of their focus on this year's display of new toys. From models to dolls to action figures, board games and video games, everything they could dream of and more. 

“Donnie, time?” Leo asked, holding Mikey’s arm close to him to reign the youngest in. 

Donnie shifted his sleeves and mittens just enough to reach his wrist computer. “2 hours before Dad’s shows end and he wakes up.” 

“Perfect.”