Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

”Ohmigosh! Look at all the lights, Dee!” Mikey gasped with delight and darted away from the manhole cover, causing Donnie to grunt as the full weight was thrust upon him. The soft shell grumbled slightly and struggled to shove it onto the street.

”Angie, don’t run off!” Donnie finally succeeded in moving the heavy metal and crawled out into the alley. “We have to stay together!”

”Sorry Dee Dee!” Mikey hurried back over. “Did I hurt you?”

”Scoff. It was just a stupid manhole cover.” Donnie grumbled, but his face softened at the sight of his younger brother’s starry eyes. He sighed. “C’mon Jello. Let’s just hurry this up.”

”Thanks Tello!” Mikey’s tail wagged furiously as he darted circles around the soft shell. “It’s so pretty up here!”

”Remember to look both ways at the street.” Donnie warned, all the new sights and sensations making his skin crawl with worry. “And don’t let the people see you.”

”Yes yes yes now let’s go!” The energetic box turtle pouted.

”And stop at red lights and red signs!” Donnie struggled to recall all the research he had done on New York City the night before. “And… and watch out for strangers…”

”Hello?”

”Ack a stranger!” Donnie flew into a panic at the sound of an unfamiliar voice right above them and tried to shield Mikey with his body. “Go away! I bite!”

”Hi!” Mikey squirmed under Donnie’s grip, eyes fixed on the balcony above them. “What’s your name?”

”Mikey, don’t talk to strangers!” Donnie hissed before glancing up to see a young girl leaning over the railing of the balcony and staring straight at them. “Um… we are totally normal humans in a totally normal human alleyway…”

The girl squinted. “Why’s your skin all green? Are you sick?”

”We’re turtles!” Mikey called back. “Are you a person?”

”Jello! Not now!” Donnie tried to cover Mikey’s mouth with his hand.

”Talking turtles? Cool!” The girl almost squealed. “Where’d you learn to talk!”

”Where’d you learn to talk, he repeated sarcastically.” Donnie grumbled back.

”What’s ’s-s-sar-cast-ic-al-ly’ mean?” Mikey asked, struggling to sound out the word.

”It means ‘in an ironic way intended to mock or convey contempt’.” Donnie explained with a haughty air, but Mikey only looked at him blankly.

”What’s ‘ironic’ mean?” He asked. “And ‘convey’ and ‘attempt’?” Donnie sighed.

”’Contempt’, and I’ll explain later Angie.” He promised before looking back up towards the balcony to find the human girl gone. The soft shell startled. “Where’d Mystery Girl go?”

”Do you really bite or were you trying to scare me?” Came the girl’s voice from right behind them, and Donnie hissed and jumped away. The girl stepped closer. “Mama says that bad guys will hurt you at this time of night. Where’s your mama?”

”Hi I’m Mikey!” Mikey hurried past Donnie and stood in front of the girl with his tail wagging furiously. “What’s your name?”

The girl brightened with excitement. “I’m April! You’re really a turtle! You have a shell and everything!”

”And you’re a human! Ohmigosh this is so cool!” Mikey squealed.

”I know! This is crazy awesome!” The girl jumped up and down, equally as excited. “You’re actually a talking turtle! I’m talking to a talking turtle! Where do you come from? How do you talk?”

”We came from there.” Mikey pointed to the manhole cover and April wrinkled her nose.

“You came from the sewer? Mama told me that’s where the toilets flush.” She stepped closer experimentally, plugging her nose and peering down the ladder. Her eyes widened. “Woah, it’s spooky down there!”

“So… human…” Donnie started, still disoriented from everything. “You’re not scared of us or anything?”

“Why would I be scared? You guys are like Todd and Copper! Or Cinderella’s mice! Or Flik!” She rambled excitedly. “And all of them were nice.”

”Who?” Donnie’s brow furrowed even as Mikey’s eyes lit up with delight.

”You know other mutants? Can we meet them?” The box turtle almost squealed, and April tilted her head.

”Mutants?” She rolled the word around in her mouth a bit and nodded. “I like that. Mutants. But those were all movie characters, Silly! Can you guys even watch movies?”

Mikey crossed his arms. “Dad hogs the TV.”

”You have a dad? Is he a turtle too?” April’s face lit up.

”He’s a rat.” Donnie told her bluntly, but if anything this information only made her more excited.

”Oh my gosh he’s just like Ratatouille!” April bounced on her feet. “I can’t wait to know more!”

Mikey nodded and smiled back. “Us too! Let’s be friends.”

Chapter Text

Donnie’s leg bounced up and down as he typed away on his computer. He glanced over at his present for Mikey: a shiny orange art stand that had various art mediums organized by color in the drawers. He programmed the artificial intelligence to comprehend his little brother’s voice and if all went to plan (which, since he was a genius, it should), Angelo would only need to ask for a certain palette and medium and the correct drawer would open. The soft shell’s leg bounced harder and he clenched his jaw, glancing over the artificial intelligence code once more. It appeared to be correct, no flaws or typos. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Hopefully it would go better than his past experiences with gifts.

Donnie hugged the new remote control to his chest, trying to calm his nerves as he snuck into the living room where Splinter always was nowadays. The young tot had finally completed a remote control that not only hooked up to the tv but also could start the microwave, so if a habit began of always placing a popcorn bag in there after an old one was used then his father could simply have a fresh, steaming batch ready and only had to move from his chair once. Mikey had convinced him that they should both choose birthdays (Donnie had obviously gone with the date Jupiter Jim first landed on the moon), but Splinter never got in on it so Donnie had to wait until Christmas in order to vie for his father’s attention. Splinter rarely did anything other than the bare minimum needed for parenting and Donnie was grateful, but was it so wrong that the young soft shell just wanted a teeny bit of praise from his father?

Donnie shifted the remote in his hands so he could push his chunky square glasses further up his face. He was sure Splinter would love his gift—why wouldn’t he? Then Donnie was sure to get one of his soft hugs and maybe Splinter would read to his sons or play a game or some sort of interaction.

Frankly Donnie wasn’t even sure if his father knew it was a holiday.

”Um… dad?” Donnie muttered, cringing slightly as anxiety made his voice crack. Oh how he wished that he could just sign what he wanted to say but he knew he had to be brave. Just be like Mikey.

”Just say you love her without blubbering like a fool James!” Splinter scowled at the screen, but his face softened slightly when he saw Donnie. “Ah, Purple. Did you need something? Papa’s a bit busy right now…”

”I… um…” Donnie swallowed hard. “I made you something for Christmas…”

”That is very kind of you Purple, but I believe holiday presents should wait until the day of…”

”It is Christmas, Dad.” Donnie reminded, and Splinter blinked in surprise.

”It is? Oh how time flies…” Splinter glanced at his screen, then back down at Donnie. “I am very sorry, my son, I had forgotten. Perhaps we could celebrate tomorrow as a family?”

”But I have this present for you.” Donnie ducked his head shyly and held up his remote. Splinter smiled.

”A TV remote? Oh my son, I have one of those right here.” Splinter chuckled and held up his old remote. “But I appreciate the gesture. Tell you what, I’ll save this special one for when the old one dies out. Thank you my son.”

”But Dad, this isn’t a normal remote.” Donnie’s chest puffed out in nervous pride. “This one can…”

”Yes yes, it is very special because you made it. I am very proud.” Splinter’s eyes flicked back to his screen. “Perhaps we could discuss this later after the show is over? I am in the middle of a program right now… I will give you your presents tonight. How does that sound?”

Donnie bit his lip and nodded, scurrying out of the room. He didn’t want to be a bother… but maybe he could explain his present better when Dad came to give them their presents.

Donnie sighed, recalling how Splinter had soon later fallen asleep from cake and milk. The rat had apologized in the morning, but by that time Donnie was feeling to anxious to speak up. All his courage and excitement had been in giving the gift, but Splinter hadn’t even seemed that excited. The soft shell now grimaced at the disappointing memory and pulled a canvas blanket over Mikey’s present.

”Donnie!” Came an exuberant voice, and Donnie didn’t even have time to register turning around before an excited box shell was hugging him. “I love you.”

”Ugh… Angelo what did we say about bursting into my lab?” Donnie’s heart pounded, realizing how he had been mere seconds from Mikey’s surprise being ruined. Mikey pouted slightly and the soft shell sighed. “Sorry Mikey. Bad time. I love you too.”

”I know.” Mikey rested his chin playfully on Donnie’s shoulder. “Whatcha working on?”

”I… nothing important.” Donnie glanced over fondly at his little brother. “Did you need something?”

”I’m boooooored.” Mikey groaned dramatically. “And I miss you. Wanna do something fun?”

”Well I was kinda busy…” Donnie stiffened as he recalled his memory with Splinter and cleared his throat. “Ahem, I mean, I could probably use a break.”

”Great! Dr. Feelings says that you need fresh air, healthy food other than pop tarts from the box and a little dash of excitement.” Mikey tugged at Donnie’s arm. “Come on!”

Donnie allowed himself to be dragged from his comfy desk chair and through the lair. “Michael, if we’re going to the surface then…”

”Yeah yeah don’t be seen, I know.” Mikey nodded. “You’ve told me before Dee!”

”And I’ve also told you not to mix vinegar and bleach when cleaning.” Donnie pointed out, and Mikey rolled his eyes.

”That was, like, two times!” Mikey hesitated. “The second time was just to see if Splinter’s rat-flu-prevention suit could keep out toxic gas.”

”And why would you wonder that Angelo?”

”I don’t know! Just saw the suit and got a spark of inspiration. Chase the butterfly, Tello!” Mikey waved off Donnie’s protest and practically skipped toward the exit ladder. “And now I know. Curiosity quenched.”

”Hooray, he said without a hint of sarcasm.” Donnie drawled. “But seriously in this past year alone the population of New York City has raised by eighty-seven thousand people, bringing the total person count to approximately eight point four eight million people.”

“Cool! Best city in the world, baby!”

”My point was that with more eyes there is more chance of us getting seen.”

”Half glass full, Dee. Let’s go!” Mikey was already halfway up the ladder and Donnie sighed before following. “Those EPF guys you keep talking about are on the other side of the city! And no one takes them seriously anyway.”

”Well pardon me from being slightly concerned about an organization who would love to experiment on beings like us.” Donnie muttered. “And just because no one takes them seriously yet doesn’t mean they won’t.”

”Yeah yeah got it.” Mikey chirped. “Don’t worry Donnie! We’ll keep a good lookout and you still have those Donnie Pods if things go south.”

Donnie blinked. “I… didn’t realize that you were listening when I discussed those.”

Mikey laughed. “I like hearing you talk about things you like. Besides, it’s a great idea in case we ever need a quick retreat.”

Donnie felt a tug of pride in his chest as he followed his little brother out into the familiar New York Alley. The two mutants glanced around cautiously before finally closing the manhole cover and scaling the ladder. Once on the roof Mikey took a deep inhalation of the fresher-than-the-sewer air and sighed happily. “I love it up here.”

”It’s certainly… something.” Donnie didn’t know if it was purely because of his soft shell DNA but he always felt particularly exposed out in the open like this. Those EPF articles were no joke, and if one of them got their hands on Mikey…

Donnie shuddered. He knew that the box turtle was plenty capable but any thought of that precious innocence that his little brother radiated being shattered sent a chill through the soft shell’s body. Mikey was so carefree and compassionate… something that Donnie definitely didn’t envy (he thought very convincingly and succeeded in fooling himself). But his little brother always seemed to know the right thing to say. No, more than that—Mikey always knew what Donnie was trying to say even when the soft shell was emotionally constipated. How, one might ask? Donnie had absolutely zero clue, but all he knew was that he was grateful.

”Whatcha wanna do Don?” Mikey asked before smirking. “Bet I could make it to Lou Mike Tony’s Pizzeria first.”

”Scoff. With my advanced tech you don’t stand a chance.” Donnie snorted. “However, if you want me to prove that fact…”

”READYSETGO!” Mikey blurted, starting to sprint. Donnie blinked in slight surprise before chuckling.

”Oh sweet sweet Angelo, how naive you can be at times.” Donnie’s battle shell engaged his jet pack. “The race is on.”