Tales Of Turtles (aka: Everything TMNT)

Leonardo: Spending the Night:

It's the same thing every time but somehow it's still as cute as the first time. Always busy juggling responsibilities of the family--those given and those self-inflicted--Leonardo prefers to schedule your 'spend the nights' to spare you the consequences of rushing above ground and carrying on with your human life. Leonardo is no stranger to you, a mix of polite and shy with a dangerous boyish smile, but there's a nervous fluttering in the air when you agree.

Donatello pointed out he twiddles his fingers more after you agree, which is a key behavior of turtles as they try to attract their mate. The eldest's fingers tremble like his heart. He's trying to yank his excitement beneath the composure expected of him as the leader and oldest brother. It doesn't work and everyone knows it, but he tries.

Leonardo puts extra energy into controlling or hiding his hands for the rest of the night.

Your 'spending the night' usually happens as a night on patrol bleeds into a stay-over. He's as gentlemanly as ever; you're always secured in the van, he shushes his bros to make sure your order is heard if you stop to get something on the way to the lair, and you're escorted through the sewers as if he's hand-delivering the most fragile antique.

Sometimes the boys pick and tease but Mikey is smart enough to stay back. Occasionally he'll pull the 'baby bro' card and flash those blue eyes. Raphael will shamelessly poke the bear, calling you princess as his lip curls up smugly with the way Leo's eyes cut dangerously to his while ducking under a low-hanging pipe with you in his arms. Leonardo may or may not have somehow hooked a toe under Raph's to put him off-center before they drop to a lower ledge; the second-eldest is forced to swing out, catch himself on the lip, and hold for a few seconds.

And get a face full of runoff while he's at it.

"Jackass," he hisses.

"Leo," you chide, Donnie and Mikey giggling at the other (dry) end of the pipe.

"What?" Leo's lips quirk in that 'I'm innocent and I have no idea what you're talking about' way. You stare at him, seeing right through that feigned innocence. "He's been on my tail all night," he defends as they finally enter into the lair.

Once you're in the lair, Leo is a mix of floating host and slightly standoffish brother who doesn't want to be made fun of. He doesn't know why, really, because Splinter and the bros have already accepted you and you're not new but something about it just makes him nervous.

He doesn't want to hover but he doesn't want to ignore you. HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS? Leo's thinking too much and he knows it. Mikey comes in clutch with the save, offering something general and harmless that would let him be near you and play it casual.

Movie night is not uncommon in the lair; you and Leo tend to shift towards one another unconsciously as the movie goes on. By the end of it, as the wee hours of the morning creep in, the boys have wound down enough to sleep. Leonardo takes your hand and navigates seamlessly through the darkening lair

His part of the lair is marked by two Japanese folding screens that he and Donnie fixed the wood on, Splinter touching up the stitching in the nature scene. They don't make for perfect privacy, but it's nice. The stone underneath your feet is clean and smells faintly of the incense he burns. Leo is very much a 'place for everything, everything in it's place type' but doesn't like clutter. He tends to collect what interests him; vintage and oriental themes comingle with health, strategy, self-care, and the occasional knickknack.

There's part of a practice mat where he does daily warm-ups prior to the dojo, dented with his routine, separate from everything else. He needs room to stretch. Flush where wall meets screen is a stout two-door cabinet that used to have three shelves. He let Mikey take a panel for a project; Leo reserves the top shelf for the tiny random treasures. Books take up the rest of the cabinet, a blend of philosophy, strategy, history, language practice workbooks, and mathematics. Most of it is related to plants, medicine, herbology, and agriculture.

Atop that cabinet is the zen garden Mikey got him to 'teach him the art of chill.' Raphael followed that with a Bonsai tree so he'd learn to 'cut the shit out.' He paints on the opposite wall, private kanji practice and graffiti hidden from curious eyes. When in a mood, he'll sit for hours and just paint fish, flowers, or water scenes. It's very calming.

There's a random red lantern from a festival in Little China town he snagged one year; it hangs on the fringe of his painting space. Above his bed is a rich wood curio cabinet shaped like the moon that Donnie mounted as a birthday present. The glass face shows script-like woven insides holding glass bottles of herbs and roots he and Splinter use for medicine and tea. Floating shelves sit on either side of it; one is for his incense and the other is for his tea set (complete with tray, mortar and pestle). You know when he lights his incense, he's getting ready for bed.

Leo stands off to your left, eyes drifting down to you while he waits for the kiss of heat on the inside of his hand. Smoke wisps up and he blows out the ember. A crude mannequin sits to the side of his practice mat; he meets it and begins to take off his gear. You watch, sleepy and intrigued, as mottled scales and plate patterns reveal themselves.io

His eyes are impossibly blue, you think, as you see the weight of family and expectation come off with his mask. In this moment he is as bare and vulnerable as any human. Leonardo's eyes seem to glow in the dark as he slides smoothly, wordlessly into the tangle of salvaged sheets and snuggles up to your warmth. Here, he is contented little spoon basking in the warmth of your skin and comfort of your embrace. A churr rumbles in his chest as he flicks a button on the white noise alarm clock Mikey got him, starting river noises and gentle wood clattering.

Waking up:

Leo is an early riser by nature and requirement. There are rare moments, like this one, where you wake up before him. Fuzzy with sleep and just recognizing the hypnotizing clang of his wood block white noise, you prop your chin up on your hand and look at him. At some point he'd rolled onto his shell and you'd tucked yourself into him. It was smarter to lie as you woke; any extra movement would trigger the light sleeper in him.

Once he was up, he was up. He rarely ever went back to sleep again.

You listen to him breathe; he breathes mostly through his nose with a small rumble coming out of his lips at the end. It's cute, especially with the way his little nostrils flare. Only his cheek is smashed into the pillow; one leg is stuck out behind him like he's doing katas. You're not sure how he keeps his torso straight. A hand is tucked between your bodies and it's holding yours.

You trace patterns into his plastron, cheek pressing into it. He hums, hand squeezing yours. Leo begrudgingly reaches up to feel for the off button of his white noise machine; he can hear the click of static and change in pitch as the alarm gets ready to whine. Even in his half-asleep state, he doesn't want to wake anyone up earlier than the already have to be.

Kisses are exchanged before he musters the motivation to sit up. The sleep falls from his eyes as he slow blinks. He leans into your touch as you massage his face and sympathize with being up so early. "Want tea?" Leo rocks onto his feet and draws to his full height, already formulating a blend.

You never get the same thing twice. It's always a surprise.

He picks and pulls, placing a small collection on the tray. Leo balances the tray in one hand, offering you the other as you reluctantly abandon the warmth. You shuffle out to the kitchen, noise masking any he'd make (not that he does). He can't help but smile at it. Leo puts water in the kettle and sets it on the burner while he works at the mortar.

You're just starting to wake up when you see Donnie materialize at the mouth of the kitchen. He must've deemed it unsafe to get a cup of coffee with Leo so close to the stove. Donnie's not a morning person and doesn't like to be told about his habits. He retreats, leaving you and Leo in blissful quiet as he puts the blend into sachets and ties them off. The smell of tea permeates the room, something spiced orange and floral.

It's cozy.

Leo kisses your cheek sweetly as he puts the cup in front of you, murmuring a warning into your cheek. You let the warmth seep through your fingers and up your hands as Splinter greets the eldest. He offers him a cup of tea and the three of you sit in a happy silence.

This is a good morning. His favorite morning, he thinks, and he'd like to do it forever. Make them a little less rare. Leo's cheeks begin to burn at the thought as Splinter's brow raises curiously. The sip became a flustered mouthful and Leo rasps 'the tea's hot' as a cover.

Leonardo:

To be honest, this guy is surprised one of the Foot got the drop on him.

Leo’s the leader, pushes himself the hardest, and has this Achilles heel of being there for his brothers so his margin of error is very slim.

He only starts to hear the whoosh of movement, get the sense that someone’s behind him after he’s counted all his brothers.

Before he can brace himself or turn so his shell absorbs the brunt of whatever it is, he hears this bite of electricity that makes him think Donnie’s slid in with a last-minute save.

He turns and is shocked to see a human, their finger adamantly on the trigger of a taser.

The battle quiets as the Foot back off, seeing they’re outmatched and that the second wave was cut off. Maybe they thought the turtles had more allies in hiding?

Leo has questions he wants to ask but they’re in the back of his mind as he tries to anticipate what this human will do--run, attack?

“You looked like you needed some help. More deserving than this guy.” you kick the stunned body lightly as you pack away the taser.

There was no fear, no ‘deer in the headlights’ look, just...a plain statement. So casual!

“I mean,” Mikey breaks the silence as Leo worries about being stunned to muteness and whether he looks intimidating or not, “we are the good guys so...good call!”

That kicks Leo’s brain into gear and he’s mumbling an introduction.

Getting to know his S/O is slow and cautious. Borderline mechanical because he has that worry in the back of his mind that this is a betrayal waiting to happen (mostly because they know 3 humans and you didn’t have the usual reaction)

The S/O somehow cozies their way into the family (default acceptance because she basically got to one-up him by protecting him? Raph thinks so) and Leo is pleasantly surprised how nice it is to have them.

Sometimes they get nagged for being the ‘parents’ of the group, but Leo thinks they’re all better with them around.

Lots of vulnerable late-night talks (Leo actually learns to text for them, but it’s clunky), comfort in enjoying each other’s company, Leo’s sly, gentle jokes, moments where they put him in place (followed by a day and a half of silent treatment for Leo, and about 3 days of apologies).

He has to learn they’re not someone to order around like his brothers (it’s a reflex, honestly) and the mini-arguments they have about pulling him away from his ‘duties’ and self-perceived demands turn into a lot of good memories he’s happy to have

They’re probably someone Leo didn’t 100% see himself getting with, but once that click happens he can’t see himself getting with anyone else

Raphael:

They’re breaking up a hostage situation and while he thinks everyone in his sector is heading for the exits to give the usual ‘good vs. bad showdown’, this blurry thing just fucking swoops onto the nearest Foot Soldier and takes them down like the raptors in Jurassic Park

He almost thinks it didn’t happen but there’s definitely screaming

Frankly, Raph doesn’t care about what’s driving the S/O to do whatever they can to the Foot Soldier’s face, but he appreciates it

Kind of beautiful in a ‘brutal NYC squirrel’ kind of way

It gives the bros the few seconds’ worth of advantage they need to clear the room since none of the ‘captains’ came. It was just a group of low-level scouts

The S/O swings themself up and off the Foot soldier, breathes deep, and turns around to face them. “Couldn’t come before they ruined my coffee?” it’s a joke. An unexpected one, and Raph doesn’t know what to think.

Does he laugh? Roll his eyes because that seems like a stupid fucking issue?

Mikey’s laughing--like an idiot--and Donnie did his weird laugh. It makes him feel like he should do something. “What, you want me to shake him down for money?” Raph rolls his shoulder towards the slowly wiggling Foot soldier trying to start his retreat

“Nah. Crime doesn’t pay.” it’s the most terrible joke he’s heard and Leo’s done the ‘churr of disgust’ so that’s a gold star in Raph’s book.

“Poor guys don’t even get health benefits,” Donnie laughed.

“And when they fight us, they should!” Mikey and Donnie are doing their own little high-five little brother celebration in the back and Raph is wondering why they don’t look absolutely disgusted

He’s lowkey impressed they’re not freaking out. Maybe New York really does desensitize you. Maybe they also have siblings and just don’t care anymore.

“Name’s Raph.” 

Raph expects it to be a one-time fluke but Turtle Luck must be doing him a solid because they keep running into them without meaning to. Before he knows it, they’re down at the lair. Very cat-like and disturbing.

And they have this damn smirk that tells him they KNOW he’s put off and trying to figure out how it happened and they don’t care. They’ve been accepted and they know it. 

Raph tries to be casual but he’s also on alert. Trying to figure out how they fit into their dynamic.

I headcannon Raph dating someone who’s a mix of Donnie and Mikey but not overbearingly of either one. It makes for someone logical and playful that knows when to back him up, when to caution him, and when to just let him vent.

He’s the type to have a slow burn relationship because of his insecurities and the internal fight. Long-term denial but he’ll be putting the nails in his own coffin because he can’t help but tease them when he sees them.

You know, gotta mess with them to be that cocky bro, but then he outs himself with something soft that he’ll deny until he’s blue in the face

If they like to workout, that’s a bonus, but Raph will definitely pull that ‘guest gets the remote card’ and binge out on TV shows because most of the time it’s not worth it fighting the bros for the remote

The bros know Raph’s sunk when the S/O only kind of has to referee their fights and Raph concedes for a trade-off of pizza or something

Leo’s happy for his bro but he’s gonna be a little salty if they’re a technical smartass that helps Raph win arguments against him because that’s never been a thing

10/10 the bros approve. He’s really become the giant teddy bear (even if he denies it) and he’s hooked because he looks at them like they’re the whole world

You really can’t go wrong with Raph because he’s going to give you the tough love attitude to pull you out of your dark moments, console you with the surprisingly thoughtful (if not dark) perspective that he could only get by being a total outcast, be your biggest cheerleader, and boy knows how to cook some good meals.

He’s the one who’s going to know what his S/O needs without being told. Raph has a radar for being stressed/emotional and a knack for making the perfect escape  

Donatello:

He had a rare moment of ‘fuck this, I’m leaving’ because he was frustrated with his own projects, his brothers needing things, and a severe lack of peace and quiet

In some ways, he was just bold enough to leave. Anger was just the reason.

Donnie can usually talk himself out of solo outings because he needs to be there to make sure no one messes with his stuff. And, you know, police the brotherly brawls and patch them up.

He’s not the most outgoing or social brother, so it’s mostly the fact that there’s other ways around things that decrease the need for going outside. Something really has to pique his interest to want to go outside. 

Maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t let himself be angry or spontaneous because he’s expected to be logical, at the ready, and the fountain of knowledge.

Donnie’s smart enough to bring his bo, his Shell Cell, and go to the parts of town that won’t care about a tall dude in a trench coat. He finds an unexpected pleasure in canned Starbucks and almost $20 worth of 7/11 junk food.

With these simple pleasures Donnie’s anger totally burns out. That leaves only shock as someone tries to rob him at knifepoint.

He doubted the Foot had seen them in their disguises, so this is just some low-level Foot scum trying to rob him because he got his hands full

Donnie’s making the tough choice of ‘do I sacrifice this coffee I just bought?’ because the thief’s going to try and stab his carapace at least once (that’s a couple seconds of a delay, right?) when the door slams open, knocking the thief off balance

It’s a classic bear tactic--make yourself seem big and scare them off. “Yeah, I see you! I know exactly what the fuck you look like! Fuck off!” expletives are scary and effective, and statistically most criminals run for it when the threat of being identified presents itself

It actually makes Donnie laugh that this tiny (to him) person can scare off ‘trained’ Foot but he’ll take what he can get

He senses an awkward bashfulness and they get into an amusing conversation around ‘yeah, you’re tall as fuck but you look like you needed some help.’ 

Donatello doesn’t know if it’s the relaxation of getting away, the sugar and carbs clouding his judgment as his body clamors for nutrients he’s denied it for far too long, or if they’re the type of person that just has a ‘tell all’ vibe, but he says more than he should or expected

Nothing revealing, but he never considered himself a good conversationalist. It’s easy with them for some reason.

Maybe it’s the special, secret privacy of meeting someone his brothers have never met?

They sit on a rooftop and share shitty snacks and talk about random stuff. Their interests don’t 100% align but given his household, Donnie doesn’t mind. It’s just nice to have a conversation outside of ‘what does that mean’ or ‘Donnie, what’s the plan?’ (not that he judges his bros too badly, because he doesn’t really get into their interests, either).

It’s not until his brothers come to find him that Donnie freaks out because HE DIDN’T BLOW HIS COVER, THEY DID!

His  S/O isn’t scared but lowkey confused because there’s turtle people yelling at the person they’re sitting next to??

Donnie resigns himself to all the bad things he’s afraid of, takes off his hat and pulls down the scarf covering his face. “You’re not scared? I don’t freak out you?”

 “Would I have come up to the roof to talk with you if you did? Kind of rude to hate somebody that shares food. I’m not that much of an asshole!” you joke with him.

“Why would you go up on a roof with a stranger anyways?” Raph grumbles out, pointing at them accusingly

“Because if things got weird I could push him off?” they answered without skipping a beat, giving him a milder version of his own venomous look.

Donnie snort-laughs at the idea of them being able to push him off a roof, and the quickness in which they bit back

Once they see the S/O home, Donnie resigns himself to that being a weird, once-in-a-lifetime night but Mikey refuses to let them be ships in the night and brings them into the fold…somehow.

 Even Donnie’s not sure how Mikey found them—“Ninja powers, bro. Ninja powers. And probably love. You’re ring that, I know it.”—but they’ve become a regular at the lair and Donnie  feels like he’s regressed a bit.

Makes mistakes more often, drops things, hits his head. Awkward, stumbly, blushy baby. 10/10 cute nerd.

When it’s just them his brain actually starts to work again (and he relishes their conversations).

It’s a give-and-take relationship, and it’s one of the ones Donnie scoffed at as improbable because it’s ‘like I’ve known them my whole life’ (which is inconceivable for strangers).

Donnie may still be rigid in a lot of his beliefs but they enhance his open-mindedness. He’s not as quick to call things without scientific backing a farce.

It’s one of those ‘agree to disagree’ but he’s interested in their point of     view.

He teaches, he pampers, he gets pampered, and he gets WAY more sleep because this boy’s smart but falls for cuddles every time. He just lets them think they won. He knows what the true smart choice was (cuddles, of course).

They pull him out of his head, stop him from internalizing as much, find him a medium between loquacious and ‘I’m pissed so I’m being blunt. CaN yOu HeAr Me NoW, LeO?’

He’s the logical reassurance and technicality delivered in a soft package that makes the world seem right for them when it’s falling apart.

Gets spoiled like a king, basks in it, and that turns him into a super cuddly baby because they’re just so precious and thoughtful? Absolutely perfect.

They’d be the couple that people assume arealready married because they’re comfy with each other and seem to movetogether. It’ll be a shocker when the ring and proposal come out (but notreally)

Michelangelo:

Given his natural speed and the thoughtless--FLAWLESS--way he deflected Foot attacks in the 2k14 movie, I think the Foot would only get the drop on Mikey one of three ways: completely overwhelm all four, gain leverage with the whole ‘your brother or you’ scenario, or separate Mikey from them under the DUMBASS ASSUMPTION that because they protect him all the time, HE’S WEAK

Boy will knock yo ass OUT

He’s got great reflexes and the nunchucks allow him a bit of radius to stop incoming attacks so they’d have to pull a shitty tactic to get him on the run, like making him think he deflected something but it actually activates a flash-bang. Something enough to disorient him and bring out the reflex to back off until he can see.

Or in this case, chase after him while he’s trying to recoup

It probably gives shrapnel damage around his forehead/temple so he’s bleeding and vision’s partially obscured but stuff’s starting to come back.

Even wounded, Mikey knows the city well. He ends up in the back lot shared by a couple of fast food places and thinks he and Mr. Dumpster can win the fight.

Mikey fixes his stance and prepares for more dirty tricks. The fight goes longer than he thinks, and he’s having to switch tactics. He manages to throw the Foot away from him and the back door swings open at the same time.

The guy’s a little wobbly but recovers. Before he can get a good run at Michelangelo, a person rushes out with some small but bulky thing. Three seconds later Mikey realizes it’s a wheeled grease trap thing because Foot bro is getting FRIED.

They only burned the back of his leg before all hell broke loose. Mikey locked eyes with his savior as the grease spray died down, darted up to the roof, and listened to a totally fake story about stopping the Foot bro from attacking a stray cat.

Cue being pinned down, kicked, and punched by a couple of coworkers until the police showed up.

The bros caught up to him. Mikey shushed them and squabbled with Donnie picking shrapnel out of his head while people gave statements and gradually dispersed.

He introduces his future S/O as the ‘totally awesome friend that helped me out’

Raph and Leo are INSTA-suspicious; Donnie reigns it in because 3 against 1 isn’t fair. Mikey vouches for you though, so you get a pass. Raph secretly admires the whole ‘burned them with grease’ thing.

When asked why you would help a mutant turtle you said, ‘because he was bleeding, I work minimum wage and don’t get paid enough for this shit, and those guys have robbed us twice. He deserved it.’

Fair enough. You’re accepted. Especially since you gave Mikey some leftover food (which you’re allowed to take home at the end of the night).

Leo tried to refuse on his behalf (the whole ‘it’s not yours) but the S/O is cheeky and overrules that by writing his name on it and giving it back.

Mikey brings them into the fold 100% and pretty quickly. He’s a ride or die kind of guy. Also the kind of guy to ask forgiveness instead of permission.

Luckily, the S/O passes the ‘Splinter test’ so it turns out to be fine anyways.

He’s so animated, genuine, and uplifting that it becomes addicting to his partner. Mikey just makes this happy, feel good space. A chill space.

And he’s a cuddler so for contact people it’s the perfect relationship with no pressure because Mikey’s a people person and knows how to read them

The S/O is probably a balance between being an enabler/defender when Mikey should get lectured or punished (able to further sweet-talk him out of punishment or promise to supervise his punishment, therefore making it less intense) and being the one that makes him realize ‘oh shit, this is serious.’

They’ll have their disagreements because Mikey tends to deal with things through humor instead of being serious (he can be, but he hates it) and the S/O will have a hell of a surprise waiting when they realize Mikey can be other things BUT happy (he’s so busy trying to keep the family happy that the other emotions happen behind closed doors), but they work it out

10/10 best couple because they COMMUNICATE. Mikey is an empath. They won’t go to bed angry and they’ll see as eye to eye as best they can. Both of them will have thorough understanding about EVERYTHING between them.

Mikey is dead serious on that. Shocked the whole family, honestly.

They’re the ‘find one, you’ll find the other’ couple because they’re always together. This is the couple that can just be taking a nap together, doing separate activities in the same room, or ‘one of us convinced the other into a spontaneous road trip, yes we’re fine, see you Tuesday.’ 

If Mikey’s a happy cinnamon roll on his own, he achieves St. Cinnamon roll status because his bae just lifts him up that much.