Bad Future Rottmnt - Blog Posts

Protective older twin

Sillies

YOU SAID THAT NOT ME GOD KNOWS I DIDN'T WANT THIS i tried to hold myself from drawing angst FOR ONE MINUTE and then i see THIS /j

(who am i kidding i had the same idea from the beginning but thought "hey, maybe try making something light and fluff this time? it's gonna be fun")

Full version

Throughout the years

Rise doodles

Dynamics: Part 2, <Next!>

For Apocalypse F! Mikey: Now see Uncle Tello content is great and I love it. But consider this, it’s alr everywhere AND think bout Master Michelangelo /Uncle Mi/ lowkey unspoken Dad!Mikey supremacy ✨👀 think bout uncle Mi being the warm/comforting/ steadying presence that Cj clung to when Leo and April are stuck being the sole two pillars of leadership for the entirely of sentient life on earth and Donnie is off doing his mad scientist things(No hate to D but we know our boi has low empathy and tends to get hyper fixated to the point he ignores everyone. Not that he wouldn’t absolutely try for Junior cuz he would but ya know what I mean) which leaves the Mikey cuz our poor Raphie and Casey Sr died early.

Like Cmon guys hear me out Mike alr has Dr feelings and his ole mediator shtick. you can’t tell me that as he grew and matured it didn’t not grew stronger. Plus he defo Leaned into the whole mediator thing esp with the apocalypse cuz someone defo needed to be the calm mediator in the chaos that was the kraang. Plus he was ALR the most mentally/emotionally stable out of all the fam and a child in a chaotic environment (cough the apocalypse cough) is gonna unconsciously gravitate towards that. And mikey being mikey is then absolutely gonna white knuckle his “I’m emotionally healthy” even more cuz we got a kid now. We gotta make sure he grows up with SMTH.

Plus I like to think everyone had diff roles in raising Cj. Eg: Cj spends time with tello if he wants to hang out and blow shit up or wants to brainstorm tangible solutions. but if he needs/wants emotional support or emotional safety he goes to Mikey and if he wants all of the above plus advice in general it’s Leo and Comander April lmao (but 7/10 times it’s Leo). Side note: Before Raph died he and mikey used to tag team M’s role and April’s role was formerly Cassandra’s but welp we all know what happened 😭. Also I just wanna make it clear that these roles weren’t always hard and fast rule. It’s just generally the common status quo but was still subject to change depending on the circumstances cuz ppl are ppl and ppl are complex. Like if Cj was feeling particularly scared for Dee or April’s mortality I can guarantee he glomped them. And they let him.

Edit: In any case, their dynamic is basically all round calm, slow and cozy vibes. Cuz like I said, Mikey was acting as Cj’s living sentient equivalent of a warm, weighted blanket. Plus mystic overuse/cursed aging gave Mikey a lot of chronic fatigue and plus Mi leaning hard into the whole mediator thing rlly made him mellow out esp when he had to be responsible for a kid. So most of their hanging out was either sitting around talking about their day, making up stories bout random objects they found like ‘I bet that cup has a chip in cuz an alligator got it’ ,Cj ranting, mystic training, lots and lots of snuggles or (big shocker I know) Mikey reading to Cj (don’t Judge Cj, he finds Uncle’s Mi voice calming. And as tor Mikey, options are limited when you’re old, physically frail and in an apocalypse) or them reading whatever they can find in comfy silence with the occasional comment of ‘man this character is so stupid’ and ‘I know right!’ Or ‘im pretty sure this accident report is faked.’ Also In the earlier days when resources weren’t so scarce and Mikey had more energy they used to draw on the walls tgt using chalk but well.. stuff like that don’t last very long in the apocalypse.

.

For Past/present time: Once Cj starts to properly distinguish between future and present and feels a little more ready to start properly interacting with P!fam. He starts to build a stable relationship with Mikey. their dynamic is one of more equal standing cuz of the lack of age difference aka the big theme for this dynamic is all abt growing up tgt. This creates a more free and unrestrained dynamic where both feel more encouraged/safe to try new things cuz they don’t have to worry bout any hovering from any older siblings (sorry Leo he tries but even he can’t fully escape the big brother instincts even towards Case. Which is hilarious cuz Cj is the most self sufficient out of everyone XD ) and cuz they don’t have to worry bout looking stupid in front said older siblings if they fail/ being coddled if they fail. Initially it was a very big whiplash for Casey to adjust to the fact that someone he used to look for answers/ be a pillar was just as clueless as he was AND the fact he could freely argue back with said someone due to the lack of age difference.

But once both parties settled in, they have alot of fun just being kids and messing around. Honestly their dynamic is adorable. With Mikey’s more adventurous and more hopeful personality helping Cj start to relax a little more and start acting more like the 15 year old he is. And Cj’s more serious and sensible mindset helps Mikey become a little more thoughtful/cautious as he’s more open to Cj’s criticism cuz it feels alot less condescending than the rest of the fam due to the age similarity.

This dynamic also plays a part in Cj’s adjustment to the past. Due to said adventurous behaviour, Mike always wants to show Cj new things. And his emotionally intuitive nature helps him pick up when Cj is uncomfortable but doesn’t always feel comfortable saying it or can just generally quickly pick up the warning signs of a trigger. So after some trial and error Mikey gets pretty good at knowing when to push and pull Case out of his comfort zone or just out right cancel an outing cuz Dr feelings can sense the ensuing panic attack/ PTSD triggers. Which Casey rlly appreciates. On the flip side, Cj is the biggest advocate (second to Leo) for letting Mikey do his thing cuz he knows what Mikey is capable off and isn’t blinded with older sibling instincts. Which Mikey greatly appreciates. We stan mutually supportive siblings.

And as the youngest, they both bond (mostly Miguel talks, Cj listens oh how the tables turn) over how frustrating it is to see the rest of their family (for Cj it’s him using his experience with F!Fam to relate to P!Mikey cuz the P!Fam don’t rlly baby Casey the same way/the obvious extent they do for Miguel. For Mikey, it’s more they water down info either intentionally/unintentionally or try to stop him from doing stuff cuz they want to protect him. And for Cj, it’s more them trying to be extra subtly careful of his sore spots. Like Legit cuz of Cj, everyone at some point had independently googled ‘how to care for war-torn ptsd riddled relative’ and ‘how to help someone with material insecurity issues’ or ‘how to support someone going thru bereavement’. For once it wasn’t only Mike reading psych stuff lmao) trying to water things down for them like dums dums XD.

They also tag team the rest of their family with the combined powers of their puppy dog eyes and shared status as “baby’s of the family” to get out of trouble/get what they want like the gremlins they are 😂. Generally when hanging out they’re either doing things action driven stuff (a stark contrast to F!Mikey and Cj. Cuz P!Mikey is younger, less traumatised and hasn’t been peepawed) like graffiti (Mikey sprays full on masterpieces and Cj loves spraying colourful doodles cuz he’s delighted to play with all sorts of bright colours and see the pretty art Anglo makes that Cj didn’t have the luxuary of seeing in the apocalypse, so despite the huge skill gap, which is rapidly becoming smaller, they still have fun tgt), skateboarding, playing video games, parkour or Mikey kidnapping Cj to show/get him to try smth he didn’t get to do in the apocalypse, *cough the occasional arson cough* Like I said they’re awesome lmao

On a side note: both Cj and Mikey are very happy to have a cool brother/friend who is the same age as them. For Cj it’s cuz fellow kids were very rare back in his time. Meaning the kids that were round him were either much older or much younger so same age friends is very much a novel experience lmao. As for Mikey, although he does call Cj baby brother( he doesn’t actually enforce that unless in certain situations like Cj in distress or trying to get Cj to do Miguel’s part of chores lmao) most of the time he’s happy to not be alone in his age grp of family/friends cuz it can get a little lonely sometimes. Raph, April and Casey have each other, Donnie and Leo have each other and now Mikey and Cj have each other! Yaayyy

Dynamics: Part 1, <Next!>

(Warning for word vomit ahead!)

I did say I have more storyish/lore stuff planned XD

.

.

So in this Au, F!Raph died when Cj was 5. So there’s not much to say future wise. Cuz Cj rmbs zilch

Present wise: there was inital awkwardness for Cj meeting someone he’s only ever heard stories off plus that awkwardness of meeting someone new. But it was a breath of fresh air for Case, cuz surrounded by these reminders and unfamiliarity, Raph hurts the least. In the first few days post invasion, Cj hung out a lot with Raph cuz everyone was kinda down for the count. April couldn’t be around 24/7 cuz she had to check in with her human family, Mikey was spending the first 3-5 days sleeping alot cuz mystic exhaustion plus his hands. Donnie was in his lab a lot trying to process all the events, plus fix everything the Krang broke and Leo was in his week long coma. And Splints who decided to get off the couch for once was stretched thin trying to look out for everyone and so as a result the two were kinda just smushed tgt allowing them to bond.

.

Overall I picture their dynamic as the most laidback (drama free). Largely in part cuz; A)Cj has less emotional hang ups cuz he doesn’t have to expand mental energy to manage his expectations or manage * cough push down cough * any crushing grief/feelings of abandonment/anger cuz said feelings of abandonment cuz he doesn’t rmb F!Raph to have an attachment, tho he does occasionally feel a bit guilty sometimes for hanging out with Raph but that’s a comic for another time.

B) while Cj is a menace. He’s also a sensible and kind (everyone say thank you F!Mikey) menace who sees how stressed Raph gets trying to wrangle all 3 brothers and feels bad about adding more to his plate. And plus is also very much aware of his mortality and others mortality cuz apocalypse. So the menace only comes out during chill time. Not on missions. Misson wise he’s just like he is in the movie trying to get everyone to stay on track. Which Raph rlly appreciates. But even during chill time Cj is arguably the “calmer” one cuz that’s just how he is as a person. Tho that calmer is debatable cuz it’s by Raph’s skewed standards of his other siblings not normal ppl standards to normal ppl Case still looks unhinged lmao.

.

but generally if they’re hanging out 1 on 1 (in a group setting it’s a whole diff story) Cj tries his best to not stress Raph too much. Unless the menace/cain instinct is hitting hard that day. Cuz he’s a sweet boy liek that. 😂. so they’re usually doing typical chill friend things, watching movies, sparring, sharing bout their day, . causally wandering around topside/Hidden city. With the undercurrent of Raph trade mark mother-henning and Cj depending on the circumstances either goes along with it or tries to get Raph to back off cuz it worries/irritates Cj. All in all they’re just your typical very wholesome older- younger brother dynamic

.

Side note: Raph and Cj are honestly lowkey relieved their hangouts/dynamic are so chill. They love their family but man do they both need a break sometimes XD. For Junior it’s cuz seeing the dead not dead version of family plus struggle of grief/ juggling his expectations for said family is exhausting and having someone whose removed from that whole situation is like phew thank god. For Raph he’s just so glad he has a little brother/sibling/friend who doesn’t have a 95% chance of turning anything (even fricking ice) into a grease fire when left unsupervised unintentionally or not. Tho tbh causal theft, looser morals and gratuitous use of blackmail and occasional pranks may not be much better. Cj is truly his fathers son 😂

It's a bad moment for him.

It's my first time trying animation...as you can see. It's extremely raw, I realize, and I'm so ashamed of it. But also why not? I will have plenty of time to eliminate it when my mind will be clearer after sleeping.

An idea inspired by reading the chapters of Mutant ninja midlife crisis by @mutantninjamidlifecrisis

Song: Farewell Wanderlust - The Amazing Devil

Turtle pile, but this time with a good ending

Ok so. Disclaimer. This is my first fic ever and its about @somerandomdudelmao rottmnt AU. (this shows how much I am into this AU, it's seriously a masterpiece)

I was thinking about the arc just before all the turtles (past and future) reunited... and I had an idea of how the turtles would react to a sick Future!Donnie.

anyways, here it is!

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

After coming back to life in another time branch, bringing back his brothers from the apocalypse and concluding that death is fixable, Donnie forgot that he is not actually omnipotent, God or a perfectly oiled machine.

This grounding truth became obvious when one evening, while he was working on the time-machine, his movements became sloppier, and a pounding headache started to grow from the sides of his head. The irrational part of his brain (a very little part of his brain to be honest) brought him back to his time branch, in those days in which the symptoms of the krang infection started manifesting. But no, he shook his head as if to obliterate that stupid irrational thought. It’s not possible that the krang infection remained in his body, both Barry and Mikey confirmed it.

Now, he just had to hide it from the rest of his brothers, which could be quite a challenge given the fact that they now lived all together and there isn’t an active apocalypse that is trying to kill them at any moment to distract them. Nice.

 Thankfully CJ was spending the night with their younger versions and April.

But really, it wasn’t that bad, after running a few quick tests on himself he found that the reason of his unwellness lied in the fact that his body became accustomed to the terraformed New York’s weather… aka as dry as the fucking Sahara Desert. Right now, in the normal New York it’s almost winter and let’s just say that the sewers’ humidity index is a tad bit higher than what he is used to…

Suppressing a few coughs, the softshell decided that it’s time to go to catch a few hours of sleep. He stood up from his chair, missing the heat and pressure it provided against his shell. Galileo… he hasn’t worn his battleshell in ages.  I have to add it to the list of things to do; now it’s not the right time. He lethargically made his way to his bed and carelessly flopped down. It was in that moment that he realized just how tired he was, his eyes burned from looking at his computer’s screen too much, his head was now throbbing in a very piercing way and all his body felt heavy. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was utterly exhausted he would have noticed a big red figure looking at him from the doorway of the lab.

When Leo woke up after a long and (finally) continuous 8 hours of sleep, he wasn’t feeling as relaxed as he thought. The slider looked at the time twice to confirm the amount of hours he actually slept, but not even a truckload of confidence could erase the deep feeling of anxiety in his gut. The anxiety wasn’t unusual; it was a feeling that he had to come to terms with during the difficult times of the apocalypse. What bugged him was that he hadn’t felt this particular type of anxiety for almost two years. The twin sense. But Donnie was ok; he was the one that brought him, Mikey and Raph to safety, he wasn’t frail like the last time he saw him, he didn’t have eyebags that were darker than the night sky. He. Is. Ok.

Groaning, he decided that it was time to get up, at least to shake off his irrational thoughts and to see with his own eyes that his brother was indeed fine and healthy. When Leo arrived in the kitchen he was met with the mouthwatering smell of Mikey’s pancakes. God he didn’t even realize how much he missed them. Raph was already at the table  eating the pancakes, he smiled at the view, he would have never thought this moment could ever be possible, but here we are.

“Hey, Mr sensei? You done staring? Do you want the pancakes or not?”. The box turtle was leaning on the stove, his air put up in a bun, on one hand he had a spatula, on the other a ladle with some pancake batter in it.

“Good mornig hermanos! Michael, my dearest brother, right now, to my eye, you are an angel that has just blessed my day. I would die for just one piece of your pancake”. His orange brother chuckled and poured the mix in the pan. “No more dying, please. I’ll make as many as you want; go sit down”.

The slider made his way to the table, sitting in front of his older brother. He looked around, trying to find some trace of his twin.

“Has Donald already eaten?”

He knew that the answer was going to be negative; Donnie has always been a night owl, never too eager to wake up early in the morning. What he didn’t expect was his red and big brother to freeze mid bite.

“You ok big guy?”

Sensing the mood shift, Mikey approached them, putting a comforting hand over the snapper’s left shoulder. “You know you can talk to us Raphie” he smiled.

Raph sighed putting down the fork and placing his right hand over Mikey’s.

“I know… I just…” He sighed again, this time looking directly at Leo. Were those worry lines on his brother forehead? “'Look, I’ll bite the bullet or whatever. I have been having trouble sleeping, you know, with all the ‘I haven’t slept in more than 5 years' situation, and it’s fine! It really is! I know that it’s difficult to adjust, but I kind of liked my old routine. Back in the apocalypse I used to patrol the base and make sure you all were ok… it was the least I could do”.  The snapper lowered his gaze, frowning deeply. “The only person that Raph had some trouble looking after was Donnie… at the time I didn’t realize it, but at some point, he started to lock the lab the night… I guess that was when he started getting sick.”

That was a stab in the chest for all of them. No one had noticed their brother’s decaying health; it took Casey to physically make contact with Donatello’s ribs to get them to open their eyes at the situation. Leo didn’t particularly enjoy thinking about how irresponsible of a leader, of a brother, he had been... everything could have been avoided if he just thought about doing periodic checkups on his brother, it wasn’t that absurd, but he overestimated the softshell’s capabilities of taking care of himself. Right now, though, his twin sense was screaming at him, and he had a feeling that Raph wasn’t just expressing his feelings in a little breakky therapist session. “Raph… look at me.” He searched his big brother’s eyes. Black eyes met black eyes. Red bandana met red stripes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tonight, I heard Donnie cough. Badly.”

In that moment, Leo’s heart shattered.

After  a few freezing seconds that felt like ages the cold dread was broken by Mike, bless his heart, he really was an angel.

“let’s not worry too much about what we still don’t know. This place is quite dusty, it could have been that, right? We’ll let him sleep it off and in a few we are going to check on him.” The mystic warrior squeezed his brig brother’s finger (his hand was too big).

Leo looked at his little brother, one could have been fooled by his light smile, but that smile wasn’t reaching his eyes, and his hand was gripping too much Raph’s finger.

 The slider took a deep breath, he had to say it, to voice it in some way or he was going to go crazy.

“Do you guys think it could b-“

A loud crash interrupted him mid-sentence. Raph stood up immediately “It came from the lab!”.  Mikey started levitating, his eyes becoming that fluorescent hue of orange and began to sprint-fly towards the lab, followed closely by his brothers. They soon arrived at the lab which, thanks to Draxum’s interior design sense, didn’t have heavy metal doors that are extremely difficult to open.

“DONNIE?!”

Mikey’s scream was like an arrow to their chest, a waterfall of panic washed over Leo. Why didn’t he go to his twin sooner? Why didn’t he dare to check his brother? Why couldn’t he learn from his mistakes?

The lab was still dark, the only source of light were a few LED lights that Donnie started installing to the time machine and the original green/yellow lights. In the shadows only one thing cold be distinguished, their brother’s body on the floor, next to his lab chair.

“shit shit shi- Raph turn on the lights!”

The slider reached next to the softshell Mikey, he had a hand on his forehead, he was trembling slightly, his eyes had come back to their natural color. “L-Leo… He won’t wake up! I-I tried to call him, but he doesn’t respond “.

Raph returned and put his big hand on Mikey’s shell and began making circling movements to try and soothe him, but his eyes were glues to his other little brother unconscious body.  In the meantime, Leo had already taken on his role of medic, assessing the pulse and the breathing, noticing also the deep dark eyebags. He sighed in frustration; Donnie wasn’t  going to get out of this easily. “He definitely has a fever, but other than that I can’t say anything more…”  

The first thing that Donnie noticed was that his shell was cold. On a more accurate analysis, he found out that all his body was cold. Cold and sore to be more specific. Mh… he would rate this nap a solid 1/10. Wait. Nap? He didn’t remember falling asleep and his bed surely wasn’t this cold. As he slowly regained consciousness he became aware of other sensations and stimuli, like the pounding headache in his temples, dry throat and someone who was touching him. Right now the feeling wasn’t particularly appreciated.

“ghh- cough- cough”

Where was he??

“ie? Yo- th us? Donnie??”

A rough hand was positioned on his forehead. Ew it’s sticky. Gross.

“Leo?”

He slowly opened his eyes, his retina adjusting to the blinding lights in his lab. His lab? Wait the last thing he remembered was getting up to go rest, he was starting to feel shitty and- Ohh fuck.

“yeah, ‘oh fuck’. Donnie, it’s quite important, look at me.” He directed his gaze towards the source of the voice, to his left. Leo was on his knees, worry lines dug into his forehead. Behind him there were his brothers, both of them had similar expressions on their faces.

“Donald?” oh right, focus.

“yeah?” God, his voice was raspy.

“Do you think you can get up on you own?”

He really really really (3 reallys) hoped so. “I- yeah I think so”. The softshell began to get on his elbows, ignoring the blinding pain on his back and how much his vision was swaying. He couldn’t ask for Leo’s help. Not right now, because now thing are different, he is fine, he isn’t weak, frail or uncapable of doing the most basic things, like getting up or walking aided by a stick, like an old men. He had it, he fixed it. He managed to sit upright, his vision went black just for a few seconds as his body was trying to adjust to the change of position. When his vision returned normal, his eyes were met with a comforting and warm light which definitely wasn’t coming from the lightbulbs of the lab, it was coming from Mikey’s ninpo. His mystic brother was so gentle that he didn’t even realize that he was floating mid air.

“wait Micheal, I can walk, I swear”

He heard a few scoffs, coming from different directions.

“yeah, keep telling yourself that. Dummy.”

The warming feeling of his brother’s ninpo was a bit too comforting and sleep felt like a good idea.

“Donnie please try not to fall asleep”. This was Raph, he used his ‘big and responsible brother voice’, oh how much he missed that.

“mh, just resting my eyes”

Suddenly he flopped on the big couch in the ‘livingroom’. Mikey was in front of him, a frown of worry on his face. “Leo, I’m going to use my ninpo a bit harder now, I think you should stand back a little.”

Leo actually listened to Mikey, his gaze though didn’t leave the softshell. Raph looked worryingly at Mikey “Are you sure you are going to be alright?”

Mikey raised his arms towards Donnie, “Don’t worry big guy! A little Krang research didn’t aver hurt no one!”

Wait, Krang? It was in that moment, that Donnie realized that his brother thought that he was still infected. That he was still sick and weak. His brother was going to risk overusing his ninpo on a little cold.

“No wait Mikey!” Cough cough. “It’s not the Krang, I’m sure of it!” another cough.

Leo walked closer to the couch, positioning in front of him, his eyer on fire. “Donnie don’t be stupid. You couldn’t see it coming the first time, so why would you predict it now? Why wouldn’t we check after finding you unconscious?! We can’t lose you AGAIN Donnie! You can’t fix everything! And even if you can, sometimes prevent is better than cure!” His brother’s eyes began to water. “I can’t keep losing you… please let us check”.

Raph reached the slider and put a big hand on Donnie’s shoulder, “Leo’s right Donnie… we can’t be so sure, things are already too complicated right now, let us be sure about at least one thing, let us do it. Let Mikey check.”

The box turtle turned to him with a  bright smile, “It’s going to be quick, trust me”

Cold shivers run through the softshell’s body, and resulted in a shiver. “promise me that if you start feeling that something is off you are going to stop.”

All his brothers looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Said the turtle who fainted, probably because of exhaustion.” Ok fair enough.

“touché”

The process was actually quite quick. As soon as Leo and Raph took a few steps back Mikey began to glow (he never got tired of seeing it), and when his little brother took his hands a hot sensation ran through his body, banishing the shivers from just a few seconds earlier.

After a few minutes the warm feeling was already gone, replaced by the sewer’s humidity.

Mikey smiled at his brothers “Donnie was right, there is no Krang.”

“told you so” cough cough.

A general sigh of relief could be heard from all of them.

“it’s this place’s fault, it’s too cold and humid compared to what we were used to.”

Leo flopped on the couch, right next to him and punched him on the shoulder. “Oh no! It’s totally your fault! You have again neglected your health like the workaholic you are! You can’t keep doing it!”

Mikey sat on the floor in front of them, “Leo… why don’t we argue later? Dr Delicate touch is going to pay a vist for sure,” he looked at Donnie, who was looking like he could fall asleep in any moment. “why don’t we make a turtle pile? It’s been ages”.

A turtle pile. Everyone remembered the last time they did it. That time Raph was a robot with a metallic and cold voice. Donnie was as frail as a stick, he was so weak that he couldn’t even sit.

But this time it was different.

Raph was real.

Donnie was just under the weather.

Death is fixable.

They are ok.

They are together.

------------------------------------------------

the End. Comments and suggestions are always welcome!!

Heyyy, how are you all doing?

I have done this drawing(I think I made it in October?)on paper but I managed to make it digital and painted on ibis paint on my phone.

Many things happened, my laptop went to Valhalla in mid-January, and many other things in my home broke too, I'm studying quite a lot, I downloaded Twitter(the worst choice in my life), I went from center-left to full-left to maybe radical left, and now Elon Musk is attempting a coup in my country just because n4z1 propaganda is illegal here and he considers this 'censorship'. There are other things, but those are the main ones.

Well, anyway, again, how are you all doing? 💕💕💕

Settled

This is a little somethin somethin inspired after this post by @mrabubu. Happy Really Late Birthday?

ANyHoO please listen to this song to set the mood

”So that's what I want to give them, as many forms of softness as I can.

Because everyone should have a little softness in their lives.

Including you, anon-chan.

And even if it has to be secret, even if it's just between you and four walls, I hope you do find some time to be soft.” ~ @luckycharms1701

Cookies and Cream Rating: 16+ and up please 🙏🏼

Settled

One of the things you don’t think you would ever get used to about living in these underground bunkers was just how cold it could get.

A constant temp of 50 something degrees in the summer. Or well…what used to be called summer. With the Kraang invasion and what not, the stupid aliens messed with your seasons in their attempt to make the Earth atmosphere more like their heralded “Dimension X.”

It wasn’t the only thing the stupid pink buggers had messed with besides the obvious glaring fact that they were attempting mass Earthen genocide and planetary colonization and what not.

No, the Kraang had a nasty habit of being unfairly unpredictable. Which made sense because they were, you know, aLiEnS. Aliens who had no need of following humans preferred sense of having at least SOME semblance of structure. 

That unpredictability was causing its fair share of grief across the entire Resistance. Aliens, you had decided, had certainly lost their “awe factor”  the minute they started to decimate the planet and permanently engrain “Raph Chasms” on every single face you passed.

A heavy disgruntled sigh escaped you at that thought, one face in particular coming to your concerned mind. A face who’s brow was often furrowed with the weight of said Kraang unpredictability.

One face that you had not seen all day even though he had promised to come to bed earlier just once he had finished planning for an upcoming Kraag ambush he was leading. 

He had promised you that. 7. Hours. Ago. 

You hated that that had become his norm of late. Granted, you knew that he had always struggled with insomnia, but usually if you smiled at him just right and caught him sitting down, you could get him to snuggle in close and at least take a nap. 

Now though? You weren’t sure the last time you had even seen him with his eyes closed for more than a minute or two. It was almost to the point that his sleep hours were rivaling Donnie’s due to how miniscule and spaced out they were. It was starting to worry you. Even more so than usual. 

You let out a soft hum of thought at that and shifted your feet in the direction of where you had left him last. Looks like desperate times really did call for desperate measures.

So with a plan of action once again set into play, you just shook your head wearily, tightened the worn blanket around your shoulders as your shield against the chilly bunker air, and marched off to find your stubbornly still awake man.  

After wandering the ever puzzling interlocking halls and bunkers, you finally found him exactly where you had left him: stone faced with that ever deepening Raph Chasm on his brow with his gaze hyper-focused on the paperwork laid out in a heap in front of him.

His hand anxiously rubbed his chin, one that you had absently noticed that he had grown into rather nicely through out the years. While he forever seemed to face each day with his “devil may care” kind of attitude, you could see the way his eyes constantly flicked around. His movements only emphasizing the fact as he seemed more…agitated than usual, lacking that oh so signature lithe agility that always seemed to accompany him. 

You stepped up to the doorway frame, a small frown pursing your lips as you watched him mutter to himself, pacing around the table in thought as though his nerves would never let him settle. Resting your shoulder against the frame of the doorway as a support, you wrapped the blanket more snugly around your shoulders, pulling the fabric in a slowly tightening fist as you watched Leo with an ever deepening “Raph Chasm” of your own. 

Ever vigilante, always watching, ever the ninja lying in wait. It was only in these small private moments when you could see the facade of bravado fall and the religiously clandestine truth finally rise to the surface. 

It was a truth. A statement of unchanging fact that was never to be eroded with time.

Leo never settled.

He really was never one to stay still. A line used from an old videogame you used to play, would often come to mind when you watched him pace like this: “The Endless Spirit of Timeless Unrest” or however it went.

Part of you wondered if this…ansgty unrest… was because he genuinely cared for these missions. Or if it was more of some desperate attempt to try and redeem himself for what he considered was his unforgivable sin.

Yes, Leo never settled. 

Well…at least until now. 

You smirked softly at that thought and adjusted in the doorway, taking a step forward as you softly called out.

“Leo.”

Hm. Nothing.

“Leo.”

Still nada. He had moved at least, this time his hands coming to brace either side of the table as he all but hunched over the strategy plans like some geriatric gargoyle. 

“Leonardo Hamato.”

Interesting. Even the full name had no response. Leo must really have been in the zone if not even the full seven syllables could grasp his attention. This was more serious than you thought. Looks like it was time to pull out the big guns.

“Oh Husband~...”

Leo’s head shot up at the gentle croon of your voice with a speed that you could have sworn would have popped a blood vessel, his eyes immediately zoning in on you in the doorway.

He snapped to attention, immediately stretching to his full height as his body went tense at the perceived danger at the sound of your voice. Your eyes immediately followed the movement, watching as the body of intimidation, the weapon of the “Greatest Ninja in the World” literally rose in front of you.

You would never breathe a word of it, never in a million years, but such a look directed at you from Leo always made you feel like a chicken being circled by a fox.

Something of a dance of death, a toying tease as you awaited with baited breath for the inevitable strike. It was only for a moment, it was always only just for a moment, but it admittedly would make you freeze, have your stomach clenching, at the intense look in his eye.

You knew Leo would never hurt you. Well, at least not until recognition flicked across his gaze. 

He just stared at you with that ever impenetrable gaze before shifting into his more familiar dastardly delicious, one sided, smirk that forever seemed plastered onto his face. Except this time, the smirk was a little bit more sheepish, looking the picture of a naughty child with their hand stuck in the proverbial cookie jar. 

Leo was caught. You knew it. He knew it. And he knew that now you were here, there was no chance of getting out of it. 

So Leo did what Leo always does, turned on that signature “Face Man Charm”  to try and slip out of trouble. In a voice that just happened to be a little bit lower and perchance a hint more sensual than normal, Leo all but purred out, ”Oh hey~ Didn’t see you there. What’s up?”

Your eyebrow quirked up at the sound of the attempted burr in his voice, and you couldn’t help but shake your head with an amused roll of your eyes. Keeping the blanket wrapped snugly around your shoulders, you pushed yourself off from the door frame and sauntered forward till you reached Leo’s side. Placing one hand on your hip, you looked up at him with a soft smirk and quipped off a dry reply, “Obviously. What’s up is you apparently. Do you have any idea how late it is?”

Leo blinked owlishly at you for a moment before he let out a very confident, “Uhhhhh…n-no?” 

The flat look you shot at him at his very convincing reply, had him wincing slightly. Your arms came up to fold exasperatedly around you with a small cock of your hip. Leo’s eyes flicked to your body with the motion, and he wouldn't meet your eye, choosing to instead shoot you another sheepish smile and nervously rub the back of his neck. When he saw that you were not having it, Leo’s smile dropped, and he held both of his hands up placating with a heavy sigh.

“Look, you don’t even need to say anything. I know. I know I promised, I’m sorry Love, but I just really need to have this all hammered out before-”

“Abepbep, let me stop you right there, Cowboy.”  

You didn’t even let Leo finish before you raised a hand to cut him off, pressing your fingers against his lips. The motion obviously surprised Leo, all with the face touching, being a red-eared-slider and what not, effectively shutting him up for the time being. You tried to bite back a smirk at the thought of using Leo’s own biological behaviors against him to assert dominance in the moment, but hey, desperate times called for desperate measures and whatever. 

You looked up at him and slowly shook your head, letting out a sad chuckle as you reached out to gently slide your hand over his cheek, down his arm until you could finally capture his hand. Maintaining eye contact with him, you slowly curled his hand into a fist and held it snugly over yours. Slowly raising it up so you could press a soft kiss to the back of his knuckles, murmuring softly into the cool skin.

“Boy, you are just as bad as Donnie. I figured if you weren’t coming to bed, I’d just bring bed to you instead.”

Now Leo was never one to lose his cool; it was something he was actually rather proud of, keeping his head in the heat of the moment and what not. But there was something about the way that you looked up at him, holding and kissing his hand like that, that got him feeling some kind of way.  

He tried to resist, he really did, but admittedly he was getting kind of tired and he maaaaay or may not be somewhat distracted by the way the blanket looked so invitingly wrapped around you and how his loose shirt was beginning to slip, showing off the delicate and smooth curve of your shoulder.

Leo cleared his throat and quickly turned his head, a muscle thumping in his jaw as he tried to hide the sudden warmth that was heating up his cheeks. He stammered out, his voice soft and apologetic as he lowered his hand with yours.

 “Look, Love, I-I can’t…”

At hearing Leo’s quiet and hesitant denial, your heart sank, and suddenly the bunker just felt that much colder. He really was serious about this, and you didn’t think anything you could say or do in the moment would change his mind. 

You continued to look up at him searchingly, his hand still being held tightly with yours as you watched with growing worry at the way his eyes creased on the side, at the hollowness found there and the furrow further deepening on his brow.

Sure, he wasn’t going to change his mind, but that didn’t mean you were going to let him keep standing on duty like this. Not if you, as a good wife, had anything to say about it. 

Shaking your head with a small huff, you reached up with your one free hand to adjust the slipping blanket, not wanting to let go of Leo with the other now that you had his attention, and took a step back tugging Leo along.

“Oh very well, you can still work, but at least come sit down. It’ll help you get a new angle at least.”

Leo stumbled slightly with the tug, blinking in surprise that you had even gotten him to move. He must have been more tired than the both of you had previously thought. But he just fondly rolled his eyes with a small sigh of his own, reaching behind him to swiftly grab his papers before you dragged him off to who knows where.

“Goodness! So bossy.”

Leo all but chortled to which you respond with a dry chuckle, playfully shooing Leo backwards until his legs hit the back of a couch that had been left in the corner of the room. Without giving him a chance to recalibrate, you all but shove him down onto said couch, and plopped down next to him to prevent any chance of escape. To further ensure your snare, you unwrapped the blanket and gently shifted it until it was resting on top of the both of y’all, effectively nestling y’all under the fabric together. 

You chuckled with a shake of you head as you pulled your legs up onto the couch and turned so you could nestle into Leo’s side with a soft smirk, gently slapping his plastron.

“Maybe, just a little but that's because your stubborn arse won't listen to anything else. Now be a good husband and put your arm around me.”

It was turn for Leo’s eyebrow ridge to raise at the slight demand, and he just chuckled softly, obliging you as he lowered his arm around your shoulders to pull you close to his plastron.

“Yes Mrs. Hamatoooo.” 

You rolled your eyes at the slight whine in his tone with a soft huff and squirmed a little to get more comfortable. To do so, and to just cover all your bases in making sure Leo was NOT going anywhere, you lazily threw your arm over Leo’s waist and snuggled in close. You nuzzled your nose against his plastron with a soft mutter as sleep began to already encroach on the corners of your mind now that you were next to him.

“Well someone has to keep you humble.”

Leo looked down at you in surprise as you wrapped your arm around him, that all too familiar heat beginning to crawl up his cheeks. You really were a little Mrs. Feisty Pants weren't you? Not that he minded or anything. It was honestly one of the things he adored about you, being able to call him out like that and doing so in such a way that always made him feel like a million bucks. Still, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to you actively and consistently reaching out for him like this.

He couldn’t hold back the soft smirk that inched across his face as he saw the sleepy expression cross yours and before he had even realized he had even done it, found himself leaning down to press a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Good, I’d miss it if you ever stopped.”

You let out a small snicker at that, your nose wrinkling at the brush of his lips against your crown and reached up to cover Leo’s face with your hand, playfully pushing him away.

“Shhhhh shhh baby, it’s sleepy time.”

Leo chuckled at your pet name, and you could feel more than hear the rumble against you ear as you all but lean up against his chest. He slowly rubbed a palm up and down your blanket covered arm before leaning to press another absentminded kiss with a soft mumble.

“Naw, it’s time for you to get some sleep, Love. I still have some work to do.”

You let out a small grunt at that, your face scrunching in a small pout as you instinctively tightened your arm around his waist, your hand coming to mirror his as it slowly stroked up and down the side scutes of his plastron.

“Fiiiiiine…just…don’t stay up too late, mkay?”

Leo’s smirked softened at the obvious worry and displeasure in your tone and the feeling of affectionate tenderness grew as he watched your eyelashes flutter against your cheeks as you vainly tried to stay up. His hand continued its slow trek against your arm, and his voice dropped into a sacred whisper, not wanting you to stay up any more than you have to.

“Don’t worry Love, I won't.”

So back to work Leo went. Er…at least tried to. There was just one teeny tiiiiiny itsy bitsy wee little factor that was preventing him from doing so. 

Work. Was not working.

Leo’s brain could be described to something akin to an egg on the summer concrete the way it felt so fried. Nothing was clicking. Even the “new angle” as you so called it, was not helping in the slightest. Shell, he’d be staring at this page for so long that the words had started to swim like little black fish between his eyes. 

A hand came up to slowly drag down the length of Leo’s face accompanied with a most exhausted sigh. Yeah, he wasn’t getting anywhere with this tonight.

As if to emphasize said point, like the Universe itself was trying to grab his attention, Leo’s tympanum was caught by the subtle sound that had begun to escape from your parted lips as you all but lounged against his plastron. Leo blinked in surprise at the feeling of the heavy -laded breath that brushed across his chest before his lips curled up into a soft smirk at said sound. 

A sound that could only be described as a snore. Just a light little thing, more of a exhale of air than an actual sound. But it was the fact that you only snored when you were completely out of it.

Leo chuckled softly at the thought as he placed his paperwork onto the ground next to the couch and with his now free hand, curling a knuckle to gently knock your chin up so as to prevent you from drooling against him. It wouldn't be the first time.

Your face instantly scrunched up into a small frown at the displeasure of having something touch you in your sleep, and you instinctively raised a hand to swat against the unseen foe. Letting out a disgruntled little mumble, you shifted against Leo’s side, curling into him as if to try to hide your face against the intrusion. 

Leo’s smirk softened with fond amusement at your decidedly very grumpy face. You were always just so expressive, even in sleep, and he would never tire from trying to memorize each and every face that you would make. Even if he had to be a little turd at times to do so.

Still, you must have not minded, not really, not if you had continued to stick around like you did. Even going as far to marry this poor sap of a turtle he’d become.

He didn’t understand it, and he supposed that he never really would. Understand the fact that you could drop all walls and just fall asleep so quickly next to him without even a second thought. Mikey had said something in passing once that people only fell asleep in places where they felt safe or secure. And Leo, for the life of him, couldn’t fathom what he had done that made you feel safe enough to do so around him. 

Acting on pure instinct, Leo couldn’t help but reach up from where his hand had rested against your jaw to instead lightly trace between your brows, trying to ease the tension that had formed there with a gentle massage of his thumb. Watching with satisfaction at how with each stroke across your brow and cheek line, your eyelashes fluttered and you all but further slumped into his hand, the tension leaving you with a soft sigh.  

While your brow smoothed, Leo’s own brow furrowed, and his hand went still while cupping your cheek.

How on earth could you feel safe? How could you still reach out for him, still care about him, after everything he had done?

He was the reason that the entire world was in this mess, the reason behind every “Raph Chasm” on the faces of the people who passed by, and why you couldn’t sleep soundly anymore unless he was there. 

You and his brothers had told him repeatedly that what had happened wasn’t his fault, that there were more pieces at play then he could have ever handled. Despite all the reassurances, all the never ending support and dedication, it was in these still quiet moments, Leo found himself being haunted by the shadows of his own consuming demons. 

This was his fault.

All of this was his fault. 

And yet despite this, despite all the destruction and heartache his stupid stupid pride and self ego had caused, you still wanted him. You still could stand to even be in his presence, to still care and call him friend.

Enough so that you had…you wanted…you asked if he wanted…would be willing to create a future with you.

Leo’s breath hitched softly at the thought as he looked down at you, curled up so tightly against him, sleeping peacefully at his side like everything was right in the world now that you were close to him.

The realization that THAT is what you felt about him made his hand begin to tremble slightly against your skin. 

Not wanting the chance of his shaky hand to disturb your slumber, Leo quickly slid his hand from your face, back to cup your shoulder instead, thoughts of any previous failures or work fading away the instant he could feel the warmth of your body through the blanket underneath his hand, grounding him instantly into the present.

Feeling that warmth, that comforting and grounding weight, Leo suddenly decided that while you were close sitting by his side like this, you weren’t close enough.

He wanted more, wanted more of you. 

Moving ever so carefully, only as a well seasoned ninja could, Leo gently wrapped both of his arms around the back of your shoulders as he slowly fell backwards onto the couch, pulling you in tow until you were resting on top of him, laying flush upon his plastron.

The sudden shift of positions had you stirring from sleep, causing you to let out a soft questioning hum as your head blearily raised from Leo’s chest. 

Leo acted instinctively not wanting you to awake and to possibly see the unbidden moisture that had begun to form in his eyes, his hand coming up to cradle the back of your head and gently push it back down to strategically rest against above his heart. 

“Shhh shh, it's just me Love, just me. I’m finally going to get some sleep now. You ok with being my weighted blanket for a little bit eh?” 

Not waiting or really wanting a response, Leo’s hand came up to gently card his fingers through your hair in long smooth strokes, hoping to soothe you back into sleep. He watched with satisfaction as your eyes began to flutter close again and you let out a soft appreciative hum, resting more heavily against him into his hand. He couldn’t help but smirk softly at the feeling. Everybody had their happy spots, he supposed.

Leo could understand why. He knew that you tried your very best to take care of you tresses as best as one could during an alien invasion. But what he didn’t know was what woman magic you wielded here during the apocalypse that still made your hair silky smooth as it was. It was so soft. You were so soft.

His hand absentmindedly ran over the curve of your back and shoulders, always amazed at the slight give of your skin against the pressure of his hand. It made him think of how you were always giving, in every way you could. To him, to the rest of the Resistance, to every single soul who had the privilege of coming into contact with you. Such softness and warmth couldn’t be contained, to the point that it was engraved upon every inch of your delicate frame. 

Being a good-for-nothing ninja turtle, who was created literally to be a weapon, a tool, Leo didnt think he'd ever get the opportunity to be soft with someone with someone like this. Have the chance to take comfort in someone else’s body and presence, or have someone take comfort in the likes of him.

And yet here you were, resting on top of him, locked within the protection of his arms, sleeping as soundly as a babe. 

It surprised him even in the beginning of y’alls relationship. It still surprised him to this day because Leo, didn’t think he deserved anything good. Not ever again.

Leo looked down at you. If it were not for the heat and the comforting weight of you on top of him, he was pretty sure that he was dreaming. But for once, it wasn't a dream. Wasn't just a passing wish. No, you were here. You were really here. And that was all that mattered. 

Cradling you closer with one arm wrapping around your shoulders, Leo pulled you protectively flush up against his plastron. His other hand coming to gently dig his fingers through your hair at the back of your head, cradling you close enough that he could press a soft kiss to the top of your head.

His lips lingering over your skin as he absentmindedly peppered slow kisses on your crown and hair at random intervals whenever the affectionate urge hit, indulging in the tenderness that only comes out in these small moments.

Leo would fight any number of Kraang, plan as many ambushes as needed, and take any and every single chance if it meant he could keep you close like this.

Maybe, just maybe. For this one moment, he could let go. Leo could believe in good things again, he could believe in life, settle down and just appreciate this little tender moment with you.

Special thanks to my Beloved L’appel du Vide and @anobodyinabog for being my beta readers!

As well as a shout out to @firefly-graphics for the beautiful dividers!

Ok so like my friend told me that something is considered good because it moves you. Well friends…*deep deep inhale* I’ve been FrIcKeN moved by this entire comic.

Like this is just so rawly human?! And I am literally transported into this world through perspective (Empath skillz is that you?) It hurts in a good way because I literally feel like I’m there and all the characters are so in character?!

I’m just sitting in my car trying to figure out the words to express my awe at this level of skill and talent, but once again words fail me so

@2aceofspades please take my humble keyboard smash to show my appreciation for you blessing my eyes with this today. *clears throat* sudbwudhevwodbdhsixnrjekznfjslsmdbe😭🙌🏼🤧

Y’all please read dis. It’s that good.

Blemished

Stained

Next