The ghost living his best afterlife in your walls

The lair was still half-dim when Raphael opened one eye, the kind of gray-blue morning light barely reaching down into the underground hideout.

Everything was quiet in that rare, soft way it only ever got in the early hours, when even Mikey was too asleep to be noisy and Donnie’s lab had gone still for once. Raph lay stretched out on his bed, one arm behind his head, the other draped loosely over your waist where you were curled up against him beneath the blankets.

You’d come over late the night before, exhausted in that sweet, sleepy way that made him look at you a little longer than he meant to, and somewhere between a few quiet words and a quick mumbled goodnight, you’d ended up tucked against his side like you belonged there. 

Which, in his opinion, you kind of did.

He blinked at the clock. Then blinked again.

No alarm. You forgot to set your alarm.

His brow furrowed. He waited for the shrill buzz he was expecting, or the sound of you fumbling for your phone, or even a sleepy apology from the other side of the blanket. 

Nothing. Just the low hum of the lair, the faint drip of water somewhere deeper in the tunnels, and your slow, even breathing against his plastron. 

For a second, he just stared at the ceiling, then looked down at you, expression flattening into disbelief. You were still completely out, face relaxed, hair a mess across the pillow, one hand curled into the fabric of his blanket as if you’d been holding onto it in your sleep. Raph huffed a quiet breath through his nose and shifted carefully, trying not to jostle you too hard. 

“Hey,” he muttered, voice rough with sleep. “Ya gotta wake up.”

You made the tiniest sound in response, something between a whine and a groan, but you didn’t open your eyes. He leaned a little closer, the edge of his mouth twitching despite himself. “C’mon. It’s mornin’.” His hand gave your shoulder a gentle nudge, firm enough to try again but soft enough to keep from startling you. 

That earned him a frown from your half-asleep face, your nose scrunching before you burrowed deeper into the blankets with a little miserable noise.

“Nooo,” you mumbled, words thick and slurred with sleep. “Don’t wanna.”

Raph froze for half a second, then snorted under his breath. 

“Yea? That so?” He tried to sound amused and unimpressed, tried to make it sound like he expected you to get up any second, but there was already a softness creeping into his voice that he couldn’t quite hide. 

You cracked one eye open just enough to squint at him, your entire face slack with exhaustion. There was no real annoyance in it, just that deeply offended, deeply sleepy refusal that only made sense when somebody was being asked to do something unreasonable at an unreasonable hour. “No,” you mumbled again, dragging the word out like it physically hurt. “I don’t wanna.”

“Ya gotta get up sometime,” he said, though even he didn’t sound convincing anymore. He watched you try to negotiate with consciousness for a few seconds, your mouth pressing into a pout before you let out another helpless little whine and tugged the blanket closer around yourself. Raph was about to try one last time when you shifted closer instead, pressing your face back into his plastorn and wrapping both arms around him like the decision had already been made for you.

“Five more minutes,” you murmured, voice vanishing into the fabric against him.

Raph let out a quiet, amused grunt. “You always say that, but then ya don’t get up...”

You went still. “…Do I?”

“Yeah, sweetheart,” he said, and now there was a full smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, like he couldn’t help it. “You do.”

There was a long pause, followed by the most reluctant, sleepy little, “...Well, I promise I mean it this time.”

And just like that, you were gone again.

Raphael stared down at you, one brow lifting as your breathing evened back out almost immediately, your body completely surrendering to sleep as if the whole conversation had been a dream. For a moment, he just looked at you in quiet disbelief, like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or be impressed by how fast you’d gone back under.

Then he exhaled through his nose, the sound half a chuckle and half a sigh, and all the stubbornness left his shoulders at once. 

“Unbelievable,” he muttered, though there was no real bite in it. He reached for the blanket with care, tugging it higher over your back and shoulders until you were tucked in properly again. You responded instantly, making a small content sound and curling tighter into him, your fingers loosening only enough to slide sleepily against his arm.

He looked down at you for another second, the warmth of you settled into his space, and his expression softened in that quiet, private way he never showed around anyone else. Raphael brushed a few stray hairs off your forehead with the back of his hand, clumsy but gentle, and leaned down just enough to press a brief kiss there. “Sleep, then,” he rumbled softly, like a promise and a surrender all at once. “I’ll deal with the rest later.”

You didn’t answer, not really, but the corner of your mouth twitched like you’d heard him anyway. Raphael stayed where he was a while longer, one arm snug around you as he settled back against the pillows and let the morning stretch out around the two of you.

 For once, there was nowhere else he needed to be. No rush, no noise, no brothers shouting in the hallway. 

Just you, warm and half-buried under the blankets, and him, quietly deciding that if this was how mornings looked with you here, then maybe being late wasn’t such a terrible thing after all.

── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──

A/N: I just wanted an excuse to share this edit of Daryl Dixon I found on Tik tok….

He’s baby girl#2

₊˚‧︵‿꒰୨ leo ୧꒱‿︵‧˚₊

dating leo would feel stable most of the time because he’s protective, dependable, and the type to always make sure you got home safely. if you’re upset, he’ll try to help instead of ignoring the problem since he takes commitment seriously and doesn’t date casually.

but leo can be frustrating because he often thinks he knows what’s best; sometimes his concern turns into controlling behavior without him realizing it. if he thinks something is dangerous, he might try to make the decision for both of you. he’s also terrible at relaxing, so there would be periods where you feel like his responsibilities come before your relationship. arguments with him can become exhausting because he hates admitting he’s wrong and tends to double down when stressed.

he’d love you deeply, but there would definitely be moments where you’d have to remind him you’re his partner, not another mission he has to manage.

₊˚‧︵‿꒰୨ raph ୧꒱‿︵‧˚₊

raph would probably be the most intense partner cuz when he loves someone, he loves them hard. he’d be fiercely loyal, protective, affectionate in private, and surprisingly attentive to small things about you. he’d remember who upset you, what food you like, and exactly how you take your coffee.

the downside is that raph has anger issues, tho not in a “he’d hurt you” way, but in a way that makes arguments bigger than they need to be. he says things when he’s upset that he doesn’t actually mean, then regrets them later. jealousy is also one of his biggest flaws, i mean, he trusts you, but not necessarily other people around you, so if someone was obviously flirting with you, he’d struggle to hide how annoyed he was.

dating him would mean getting the sweetest boyfriend one day and the most stubborn man alive the next. he’d apologize eventually, but you’d probably have to wait until he cooled off first.

₊˚‧︵‿꒰୨ donnie ୧꒱‿︵‧˚₊

donnie would be incredibly thoughtful; he’d make things specifically for you, remember random facts you mentioned months ago, and genuinely enjoy spending hours talking about things you love. if you had a problem, he’d immediately start trying to solve it.

the problem is that donnie can get stuck in his own head and sometimes he’d be so focused on a project that he’d accidentally neglect you without realizing it. he’s also prone to overthinking: if you seemed distant for one day, he’d probably spend the entire night wondering if he did something wrong.

he can become possessive in subtle ways too; not necessarily controlling, but emotionally dependent if the relationship becomes very important to him. he’d want a lot of reassurance, even if he’s embarrassed to admit it, and when he’s insecure, he sometimes tries to compensate by acting like he’s the smartest person in the room.

being with donnie would feel like dating someone who loves you intensely but occasionally forgets the world exists outside whatever is currently occupying his brain.

₊˚‧︵‿꒰୨ mikey ୧꒱‿︵‧˚₊

dating mikey would be fun, super fun. he’d make you laugh constantly, turn ordinary days into adventures, and never judge you for being weird; he’d be affectionate, emotionally open, and surprisingly good at cheering you up when you’re having a terrible day.

but mikey can also be immature and sometimes when serious conversations need to happen, his first instinct is to joke his way through them. he also gets distracted easily and isn’t always great at thinking ahead, so there would be moments where you’d feel like the responsible one in the relationship.

he’s also more sensitive than people realize and because he acts carefree, people forget he gets hurt too. if he felt rejected, he might pretend everything was fine while secretly taking it very personally. and instead of confronting problems directly, he’d sometimes avoid them until they became impossible to ignore.

dating mikey would mean never being bored, but it would also mean occasionally having to remind him that not every problem can be solved with pizza and a joke.

Leo doesn’t usually come in through your fire escape, but he will turn up unannounced sometimes when he wants to see you. He’s secretly very needy and will take any excuse to come see you so expect him to turn up with flowers and a sheepish smile asking you to let him in.

Most of the time he will text you before he turns up, because he knows you don’t really like getting caught off guard and he likes making sure you’re available before he turns up. Has actually just sat on your fire escape being a tragic brooding yearner at some point and very much prefers to know that you’re at home and want to see him (which you definitely do).

He’s also turned up unannounced after a mission gone wrong before and his massive arm flexing when he sheathed his swords to come in through the window made you accept any and all unannounced visits. Leo decides to show up unannounced one night to see you after a long four days of not being able to…

Leo dropped down quietly onto your old rusty fire escape balcony. A couple of stray petals floated down from the bouquet he was carrying and he padded closer to your window. It was open, your blinds were rolled up and swaying gently in the breeze; Leo silently slipped in, brushing against the blinds. He wasn’t sure you were at home for a second, but there was the sound of music playing from the kitchen and he smiled. You were making dinner no doubt. He shifted as softly as he could over the floorboards, wincing when one creaked a little. He angled himself so you wouldn’t see him from where you were in the kitchen. He peered from where he stood hidden and was met with the sight of you waltzing around the kitchen as you cooked, moving along to the song you had playing on the speakers. You looked completely cheerful, mouthing along to the song lyrics as you stirred the pan over the stove and the delicious smell of cooking wafted down the hall to where Leo was standing. You spun around to reach a drawer, grabbing a fork. Leo forced himself not to smile. He’d never seen you like this, completely carefree and dancing around your kitchen to the beat of the song you had on. He could hear you mumbling the lyrics under your breath, giggling to yourself when the song got to a part you liked. Leo felt his chest ache and he just stood there, staring at you and wondering if he could somehow memorise this. You were light on your feet, tiptoeing to reach one of the spices on the shelves and moving your shoulders to the melody. The leader in blue suppressed a laugh, looking down while he smiled and shaking his head at how adorable the scene was. You moved on the spot while you waited for your food to finish sizzling in the pan, stirring the contents every so often to keep them from burning. Leo decided he’d been staring long enough and needed to stop before he considered a marriage proposal. Making a little noise so as to not scare you, he moved out of the shadows towards where you stood in the kitchen. You were startled regardless, squeaking slightly and immediately feeling the hot flush of blood rushing to your cheeks in embarrassment.

“Leo!”

“I wanted to drop by ‘nd see you, but I see I’ve interrupted your little dance session, huh.” Leo couldn’t stop the stupid smile on his face as he came over to you, gently pressing the flowers into your hands and leaning down to kiss your forehead. You groaned, a rush of different feelings flushing through your system as you buried your face in the soft flower petals. The scent calmed you down some and you sighed “How long were you there? And these flowers are so pretty… You really didn’t have to but they’re so lovely. Thank you.”

Leo had a hand on your lower back and was idly rubbing his thumb over it. He coughed awkwardly. “Not that long. You got some killer moves hon.” He smiled and kissed your hairline. The overwhelming urge to smother you with affection had filled him to the brim and you could tell by the way he was looking at you that you didn’t need to feel embarrassed. Leo couldn’t stop cheesing. He was more in love with you than before if that was even possible.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re cute. Now that I’m here, would you like a dance partner?” Leo held his hand out. You took it, rolling your eyes playfully at him. His rough, calloused one met yours and he thumbed over your knuckles. “Let’s dance.” You chuckled and just held onto him as he very quickly changed the song to something slower and more relaxed. As he turned the both of you around he slid the pan off the stove, letting the residual heat do the rest of the cooking and turning the gas off. You huffed. He was too damn smooth. You rested your head against his plastron and the both of you swayed to the slow oldies tune Leo had picked; the light above the stove served as your only source of illumination as the two of you danced. “This is a cliche.”

“Probably. It’s cliche for a reason.” Leo smiled as he responded, gently shifting the two of you around. You gazed up at him. A lady’s muffled voice echoed from the speakers into the night and the jazzy twang of a guitar set off each step Leo pulled you into. You shut your eyes.

Mikey

King of dropping by unannounced. Is genuinely in agony when he can’t hang with you and will take full advantage of being able to show up on your fire escape whenever. You’ve gotten so used to it that he has a key to unlock your window if he drops by and you have it locked.

Has planned dates on your fire escape balcony before, you’ve manage to keep it fairly clean so the two of you dragged out blankets and pillows and cuddled up on there with snacks and a movie. Mikey helped you string up fairy lights on there to make it more aesthetic. Sometimes he’ll send you a text before he shows up, but often forgets to check his phone before he arrives and just trusts that you’re going to be there. He also likes chilling for a few in the alley by your apartment if you’re not home, before he heads back he legally has to pet the alley cats.

Is usually super loud upon entering so he doesn’t freak you out because he knows you dislike unannounced visits. Mikey decides he needs to turn up quietly one night and catches you dancing…

Mikey dropped oh so quietly onto your balcony. Or at least he intended to, the orange slider stubbed his toe and silently cursed and hopped in a circle to get rid of the pain. He peered nervously through your window, hoping you hadn’t heard him. Thankfully, the sound of music drifting from your apartment had muted the sound of his footsteps and he smiled, shifting the window further up so he could roll in. He dropped to the floor with a soft thud and began to shuffle to where the music was playing from. He slowly set down the bag of snacks he’d brought with him on your coffee table. The faint crinkle of the bag made him wince. He was excited to surprise you with your favourite snacks and the prospect of hanging out on a cool rooftop spot he’d discovered to make cute little charms together. He walked slowly. You were in the bathroom, speakers blasting some sort of sexy music while you got ready. Mikey had texted you about a date earlier and you had no clue when he was getting there, but decided to get ready. Your little makeup pouch was on the sink counter; hair ties and mascara and a packet of makeup remover wipes and some really old crusty lipgloss you hadn’t got around to getting rid of were strewn around. You were absentmindedly dancing, fixing your appearance in the bathroom mirror. Mikey watched quietly from the hall, awestruck by how pretty you looked. The faint scent of your body wash drifted from the bathroom and Mikey was left in a sort of daze; the sight of you in your casual, unaware state and smelling like dessert made him want to barrel in there and squeeze you. He kept himself in check. You looked lost in your own world, twirling and singing along as you zhuzhed up your appearance. You picked up one of the many soap bottles in the shower caddy, using it as a mock microphone as you waited for your body lotion to dry down a little. Mikey was conflicted, stuck between wanting to keep watching you and wanting to join in on the fun you were having. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, a large smile plastering his face and nothing but love in his eyes. You neatened your hem, doing a spin for the mirror and mouthing along to the song playing through your speakers as you leaned closer to the mirror to inspect your eyebrows; you placed a hand on the edge of the sink to stabilise yourself. Mikey smiled when you smiled, eyes sparkling with adoration.

“That’s my girl.” Mikey whispered to himself in the corridor. He couldn’t stop himself and with a cough and a purposefully loud “babe!” he entered your small bathroom. You were a little surprised, but threw your arms around him without hesitation. Mikey squeezed tight. He breathed in the scent of your lotion and sighed. You pulled away, a little shy.

“When did you get in? I didn’t even hear you this time.”

“I been here this whole time girl.” Mikey flashed you a silly grin and you sighed, pushing down your embarrassment. Mikey loved when you had fun and just looked happy that you had seemed so happy getting ready. He was definitely remembering this.

“Next time remind me to come by earlier, I totally need to dance with you.” He pinched your cheek and you batted his hand away playfully, opting to hold it instead. “Uh huh. Will do, Angel.” Mikey lifted your intertwined hands to kiss your smaller ones.

“Do you need a few more minutes? I can wait.”

You nodded, but pulled him closer. “Yeah, but you can stay in here. Pick the next song? My playlist has literally just been on repeat and I need some variation.” Mikey smiled, kissing your hand again and reaching for where your phone was balanced precariously on the edge of the sink. He scrolled until he found a good one, shifting awkwardly in the small bathroom. Mikey wrapped his arms around you from behind and rested his scarred chin on your shoulder. He pressed play. You smiled and continued getting ready in the mirror. Music filled your little bathroom.

Raph

Raph likes to drop by occasionally. He’s not too casual about it because he’s worried he might bother you if he turns up unannounced, but he will if a) he knows you’re free, b) he needs some respite from a mission and c) if he just needs to see you. Is also the type to brood dramatically on your fire escape. Has just sat there while you were home before to feel close to you without having to deal with communicating that he didn’t feel the greatest.

He adores when you greet him by the window and will lean in to kiss you before he comes in when you do. It’s literally a ritual for him every time. He likes the domestic stuff even if he doesn’t admit it, and will sit and watch the sunrise with you on your fire escape or occasionally from your rooftop; he’s the best blanket you could ask for and sits you in his lap because that guy runs hot and a blanket just doesn’t do it for you. One evening he decides he wants to come and see you while he’s on his way back to the lair…

Raph thudded onto the roof of your apartment building, heaving out a sigh. He swayed himself down onto the fire escape, descending until he reached your floor. He could hear the music from where he kneeled already and it relaxed his brow, he felt his tension ease out. He’d been super high strung recently and just wanted to drop by to check in on you. The thought of seeing you made his limbs loosen up and his mind clear of the worries and stressors bugging him. He crouched low on the fire escape, hidden by the shadows of the night. The rough ridges of his shell were illuminated ever so slightly by the moon, casting him in a contrasting backlight that outlined his silhouette, only seen if you squinted hard and knew where to look. For someone so big he made himself hard to notice. Years of training and refining his technique had led him to learn to completely conceal himself in the deep shadows of the night. Raph peered in through the window. You were moving around your living room. You held a stack of books in your arms, twirling around to the music and winding up at the opposite end of the small living area to deposit the books on the couch while you whisked back to clean off the coffee table. You were humming. Raph had never seen you quite so unbothered and in your element. It was mesmerising and he decided to sit and watch you- or rather- he couldn’t help but sit and watch you. Ruining your flow now felt wrong. Raph’s eyes followed you around the room, he smiled and ducked his head when you drummed your fingers against the little storage cubes you had in the corner. The soft knit blanket Raph had gifted you lay crumpled on your sofa and you slid over to it, singing along to your music as you began to pull over the corners and fold it back into a presentable square. Raph felt an unprecedented cuteness aggression fill him when he watched you smile as you folded it, you held it up to bury your face in it for a second before setting it back down, now neat, on the back of the couch. You thought about him when he wasn’t there. You were as distracted as anything from the outside world as you danced in your living room and you still smiled at the thought of him. God he was so lucky. He watched you shimmy your hips back over to the other end of the living room and decided he couldn’t stay on your fire escape anymore. With a great heave he rapped twice on the window pane and pushed it up to let himself in. You jumped, startled. Relief flooded you once you recognised the hulking figure of your favourite turtle filling the small corner where the window was situated. Then the embarrassment hit.

“Raph! What’re you-“

You had no time to finish your sentence before he came over and pulled you into his arms. You broke into a smile and hugged back, giggling.“Hey sweetheart. Droppin’ by to check on you. How’s my baby?” Raph was smiling like a fool as he held you close, nuzzling your hairline. You smiled and he set you down.

“I’m good, I just wasn’t expecting you to come by. I’m um- I’m cleaning.” You gestured awkwardly to the living room. Raph squished your cheeks with one of his large hands, leaning down and planting a sloppy kiss to your lips. You huffed.

“You were dancing. Where are those moves wi’me, ah?” You rolled your eyes and stood on your tiptoes to give him a kiss him back in retaliation. “Dance with me, then.”

Raph was for sure dying happy. “Focus on me.” He gave you a cocky smirk and you held onto his arms. Without warning he picked you up to spin you around. You squealed, hands anchoring onto his shoulders; he was grinning at your face as it contorted into embarrassed happiness. You were melting his stress away with just a smile.

Donnie

Donnie has seriously considered putting in monitors by your fire escape for safety purposes. He doesn’t want anything putting his baby in danger and is, on the low, a fan of being able to keep track of you. It has been speculated he has some control problems. Of course he never does anything without your express want of it and resorts to just checking in on you every so often. He’s a bit of a hopeless romantic in the sense that he’ll text you to come to the window and bam, there he is with tiramisu and a very detailed spreadsheet on a date.

Has sat by your window and looked in a few times and felt super embarrassed and ashamed afterwards because he got an identity crisis and was thoroughly convinced he was a creep. You just found it funny. He likes taking you to places to stargaze and shows up excited and unannounced if there’s a forecast for a clear night sky or meteor shower. He keeps you close and points out the constellations until you fall asleep. Donnie comes by one night to drop off your watch he fixed…

The tall turtle swung down to land on your fire escape. He sighed. He hasn’t seen you in what felt like forever and he usually wouldn’t come by like this but he just needed to see you. He hadn’t even texted you in his haste. His excuse was dropping off a watch he’d fixed for you a good while ago and even he knew that was a poor excuse. How else was he supposed to just show up? It only just occurred to him as he was crouching on your balcony, gear in hand, that he could just… show up. You always loved seeing him. Why was he getting all shy now? He shook it off and peered in through the corner of the window to see whether he could come in. Immediately he caught sight of you dancing. You were swivelling around your bedroom, a pile of freshly washed and dried laundry on your bed. A candle burned on your bedside table, it filled your room with the scent of vanilla cake. You had your music on loud and were singing along as you methodically folded your clothes to put them away. Donnie stared. He pushed his glasses up as though pressing his eyes to the lenses would help him see you better. You were completely ignorant of his presence, humming away with a lost smile on your lips as you folded your clothes to put in your chest of drawers; you had each tray open to have easy access to each drawer and you narrowly avoided bumping your hip against them each time you waltzed back and forth between your bed and the rest of the furniture. Your speakers played a vaguely familiar song and you chucked a few clothes to the other end of your bed as you sorted through the pile of clean laundry. Donnie noted you were in shorts and an oversized shirt that he was pretty sure was his. You danced away, nodding your head along and pausing your singing only to curse when an item of clothing refused to fold right the first time. Donnie caught himself smiling. He was smiling like an idiot. You were unaware and lost in your own little world, gently kicking the bottom drawer closed to the beat of the song as you whirled back over to your bed to continue folding. The purple turtle wanted to burn the image on the insides of his eyelids. He dryly swallowed, licking his lips to wet them as he watched you. He couldn’t stand being so far from you. Without ceremony he pushed up your window. The noise spooked you, but the familiar scraping sound of Donnie’s staff against the window frame told you who it was.

“Donnie, wh- hi?”

“Hey y/n. Sorry to drop by like this, but I… wanted to give you your watch.”

Donnie fumbled in one of the pouches on his utility belt for your watch, and hastily handed it to you. You took one look at it, put it down and pulled at Donnie so he’d be at your height. You leaned up to kiss him.

“Thank you. But seriously, how long were you there?”

“…8 minutes. I just needed to see you.” Donnie sheepishly kissed your cheek and you sighed, a smile formed on your lips. He gazed down at you with a steady, warm expression. “I didn’t expect to see you dancing, though. Pretty awesome. You been holding out on me?”

You dropped your forehead onto his chest, hiding your face in embarrassment. “No. Forget everything you saw.” You laughed when Donnie let out a chuckle and looked up at him. He cupped your face thoughtfully. His eyes brimmed with affection and the spark of an idea that popped into his overactive brain. “You wanna dance? Let’s dance, love.”

You made to protest, but his gentle hands and softer look than normal made you nod. He clumsily leaned down to kiss the bridge of your nose. Oh, right, he had his shoulder cam. ‘Please let it be on’ was his only thought as he held you close to him. If it was, he was treasuring that audio and whatever visible video he could scavenge forever. The hopeless romantic in Donnie was alive and well.