Work Text:
You hate your job. Working at Albearto’s is your own personal hell. Not only do you have to maintain an overly cheerful attitude at all times, but you also have to clean up after messy children and sing birthday songs nearly every hour. Furthermore, the animatronics that are supposed to sing the songs with you rarely ever work. Your boss loves to yell at you for that, which you think is a bit unfair, since you have no control over the animatronics.
“Get through the birthday song this time,” your boss orders, crossing one leg over the other in his fancy office chair. You’re currently standing in his office, resisting the urge to cry, scream, or even run away. You grit your teeth and bite back your objections. Once you finally manage to escape the interrogation, you make your way to the stage and, subsequently, the bear animatronic. You press the button on the back of Albearto’s neck, only for it not to move. Your heart is positively racing, especially when you notice the group of children waiting expectantly. You take a deep breath and rush behind the stage, dialing a familiar number with shaking hands.
Thankfully, Donnie answers the phone. “Dude, I really need your help,” you say, biting your lip. You pause for a moment to take in the scene before you. Donnie is standing in front of the camera, his attention on you. Mikey and Raph appear to be fighting in the background, while Leo watches on with a disgruntled expression.
“For you, anything,” Donnie says with a worrying amount of sincerity. You feel yourself getting flustered for a moment. “As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.” You chuckle, a warm feeling rising in your chest.
“It doesn't involve any of those things,” you reassure him. The turtle sighs in relief. You take another deep breath, needing to keep yourself calm amidst the chaos. The children standing in front of the stage scream and you grimace. “Can you fix Albearto?” Donnie moves to say something but he’s interrupted.
“You still haven’t gotten through the birthday song yet?” Leo’s voice reaches your ears. Raph and Mikey say something along those lines, too, and you stay silent. You can’t help but feel incredibly embarrassed at failing to do something so simple.
“Just help me, please.” Your desperation must be evident in your voice, because Donatello’s eyes widen and his expression turns serious. He nods and says that they'll be there in a few minutes. You try to tell him that you don’t need all four of them, but Donnie ignores you and hangs up. You exhale slowly and close your eyes, hoping that they arrive quickly.
Thankfully, Donnie and his brothers arrive within five minutes. Leo, Raph, and Mikey quickly disappear—likely to look for pizza—while Donnie walks over to you. You resist the inexplicable urge to hug him in gratitude and instead try to explain the situation. Donnie nods and goes to look at Albearto. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like anything will blow up or break apart.
“You know you’re too good for this place,” Donatello remarks, as he's tinkering around with the animatronic’s wires. You raise an eyebrow, shocked that he’s talking to you while doing his work. The turtle has always been weirdly insistent on having silence while he works. At least, until now. “I mean, a bunch of gremlin kids…”
“I don't really have a choice,” you admit, picking at a thread on your sleeve. You look up at Donnie, only to find that he’s already staring at you. “This was the only place hiring.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Donnie says before turning back to the animatronic in front of him. He works in silence for the next few minutes. Your eyes are drawn to him as he fixes Albearto. His fingers are nimble and quick as he rearranges wires with ease. Before you can begin to envy him, Donnie jumps up and grins. “Voila, Albearto 2.14.2!”
“Thank you so much,” you choke out, only feeling a little better. Admittedly, you still feel pretty stressed. That much must be evident, because Donnie’s eyebrows furrow and his gaze flits about your face as if searching for something. His lips part to say something before he’s swiftly interrupted by his brothers.
“Thanks for the pizza,” Leo grins, walking up to the two of you. Raph and Mikey echo the sentiment. For a moment, all of you stand around awkwardly. Immediately, you realize you need to get back to the birthday party. Muttering out apologies, you race back to the stage. Luckily, the boys get the hint and they turn to walk away. Leo, Mikey, and Raph all wave goodbye over their shoulders and Donnie smiles at you before following behind them.
The party goes pretty well, somehow. You get through the entire birthday song, which is a new record for you. Unfortunately, the children are still messy as hell. When they finally leave, hours later, there is garbage everywhere. Your boss walks in at the worst time—just as you’re about to begin cleaning up—and stares in disbelief. You don't get the time to explain, as he promptly snatches the badge from your shirt and tells you to get lost. You desperately want to argue, but instead you order him to mail your paycheck and walk out. You maintain an air of tranquility, even as you hop down into the sewer and towards the turtles’ hideaway.
You walk in to find Mikey playing video games and Ralph tossing something up and down in the air. You voice greetings to the both of them before taking a few steps further into their hideout. Leo is nowhere to be found. You idly wonder where Donnie is.
“Albearto sang to the kids, right?” a familiar voice asks. You look to the side, only to find Donnie staring at you expectantly. You’re a bit surprised that he’s asking, considering he typically has absolute faith in his inventions.
“Yeah, he did,” you nod, your voice cracking towards the end of the sentence. Donnie raises an eyebrow at you, evidently sensing the discord in your voice. “Thanks, Donnie.”
“What’s wrong?” You immediately curse Donatello’s observation skills. You avert your eyes from his intense gaze and focus on the wall. It takes you a few moments to even say it. You’re brutally aware of Mikey and Raph’s attention suddenly fixed on you, too. The reality of the situation is beginning to dawn on you. You don't have a job anymore.
“I got fired,” you manage to choke out. You shake your head in disbelief, unable to shake off the unfair dismissal. You had absolutely no control over the children and their messiness. Donnie visibly stiffens. “It didn’t really matter, in the end.”
Your eyes burn and your chest feels tight. Before you can quite process what you’re doing, you’re walking to the other room. You’re lost in your thoughts, so much so that you miss the exchange between the turtles behind you. The four brothers exchange worried glances, before Donnie nods resolutely and follows after you. Meanwhile, you move to sit on the couch in the corner of the empty room, burying your head in your knees. Embarrassment, anger, irritation, and guilt all battle for prominence in your mind.
“Hey, hey,” Donnie says from his position in the doorway, concern leaking into his voice. He moves to sit down next to you and slings an arm around your shoulders reassuringly—a motion you would be flustered by, if you weren’t panicking. “That dump definitely isn’t worth crying over.”
“I know,” you laugh wetly. You wipe at your eyes and look up to meet your friend’s eyes. Donnie is staring at you with a worried expression. You can’t help but let out a pained laugh. “I just... wanted to repay you guys.”
“What?” Donatello looks at you in complete and utter confusion, which only makes you feel guiltier. You’re practically taking advantage of their kindness. Remorse prickling along your skin, you shake your head.
“You guys have always been so nice to me,” you start, wiping at your eyes again. The tears won’t stop now. You take a few shuddering gasps, unexpectedly robbed of breath. Donnie’s hand slips down and spreads reassuring warmth to your back. “I just feel like a burden. I wanted to do something for you.”
“You don’t have to pay us back,” Donatello squints at you, as if that much were obvious. “You just being here is repayment enough. We all want you here.” The expression on his face is so honest that you audibly choke on your breath. The all encompassing pronoun doesn’t leave your mind. We.
“Oh,” you murmur quietly. You’re a bit lost for words. The proximity between Donatello and you is suddenly rather noticeable. Donnie’s leg is touching yours and you swallow hard.
“And you are not a burden,” Donnie states with absolute certainty, turning to put his hands on your jaw. His thumb ghosts over your bottom lip and, before you can process what’s happening, he’s surging forward and kissing you. You wrap your arms around his neck and he tugs you closer, to the point where you’re nearly sitting in his lap. Within a few seconds, a pointed cough sounds from the hallway.
The two of you reluctantly break apart and turn around, only to find Raph, Mikey, and Leo standing in the doorway. You completely freeze and Donnie’s eyes widen. The turtles stare back at you. Evidently, it’s too late to try to play it off.
To your surprise, Mikey starts clapping excitedly and grinning at the both of you. Raph mimes choking and gagging. Meanwhile, Leo has an infuriatingly knowing expression on his face. You roll your eyes at the three of them. Donnie goes an interesting shade of red and his hands slip from your face, as he races over to his brothers and starts to yell at them. Before long, the four brothers are in a fight of sorts. You can’t help but laugh at their antics. They all grin and throw themselves at you. All of a sudden, you’re smushed by the four exceedingly muscular turtles. Before long, a fond smile slips onto your face and you hug them back.