Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a regular Friday afternoon— Or rather, as regular as afternoons came in the old subway station inhabited by a particular family. The adjustment to what used to be their regular before the Krang invasion was slow. But the spirit of the Hamato family was strong, thriving even as New York was still overcoming the invasion.

Music was blasting through the lair, the scraping of wheels from skateboards and the sound of some kind of drill echoing from Donnie's laboratory. A pounding of fists joined it while Raph battled the already beaten up punching bag. It was all so usual it almost melded into background noise for Splinter's daytime dramas.

"But Hugo, I cannot marry you!"

"Why is that, Mariana, mi corazon?"

"My father is against it, Hugo! You know he wants me to have a wealthier husband!"

"But Mariana, can you ever be happy without me?"

"I..."

As Splinter leaned closer to the screen in anticipation, a pop of something flooded his vision. The air exploded into color, forming an initially abstract shape.

"AHHHHHHH!"

It was surprising enough to have him, and the arm chair that had served him for so long, collapse backwards. A loud thud followed with the rat mutant rolling onto the ground. He was quick to regain himself and peered at the invader past the tumbled chair.

The original shape drew inward until it formed something recognizable: The shape of a pigeon.

"A letter for the mighty Lou Jitsu!" this creature cooed. It held in its beak an envelope. The bird placed said envelope right onto Splinter's nose before vanishing in another pop of color.

Curiously, Splinter moved to pick up the letter—

"WE HEARD A SCREAM!"

Raphael's shout made Splinter's fur stand up all at once. The tallest of the four turtles—all of them armed as they stood in the doorway—looked down at their father.

"Pops?"

As the mood eased, Splinter finally took it upon himself to check the sender. His brows shot up in surprise, and the next moment he was slicing open the envelope with his claw.

"Is that a letter?" questioned Leo, suddenly at his farther's side. His katanas were sheathed in favor of grabbing the piece of paper, which he turned away to try and read.

"Who's it fro— Hey!"

Splinter's tail had curled around the letter before Leo got past the first few words. It returned to slap his hands and draw a sharp "Ow!" from his son. Satisfied with the punishment, and the quiet laughs of his other sons, Splinter smirked before finally looking over the contents of this mysterious envelope.

He blinked several times while scanning the text. Suddenly he lowered it, barely holding back his sudden joy.

"Perhaps there is hope for you after all," mused Splinter with a mysterious smile. The turtles gazed at each other with a mix of confusion and offense.

It was one weekend later that the boys had been lined up by Splinter, dressed in color-coordinated ties and sweaters. Mikey squirmed in his, causing their single parent to fuss and straighten the clothing.

"Hands off, Orange. You need to look your best today," he insisted.

"But it's itchy! Why do I always get the old hand-me-down clothes?" cried out Mikey.

"Maybe you should try growing taller than us, Miguel," teased Leo, one arm resting over Donnie's shoulder.

"It did always feel wrong to wear orange," mumbled Donnie and folded his arms.

"Weren't you adamant it wasn't a phase?" chimed in Raph.

"I'm fully committed to my purple aesthetic, thank you very much."

"Are you finally gonna tell us the occasion? Having us all lined up makes me think you're about to sell us to the highest bidder," asked Leo in an effortless change of topic, addressing his father, "You're even wearing your "special occasion" -robe."

The red velvet seemed to glisten in response.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" agreed Raph.

"Blue, Red, do not worry about it. We are simply having over some—" he paused, as if choosing his words carefully, "veeeery special guests. That is all!"

"Why am I not convinced?" questioned Donnie in monotone.

"Because aside from you, dad is probably the worst liar in the family," whispered Michelangelo, probably a little louder than was necessary.

"Silence!" demanded the patriarch, possibly flustered. No one could tell.

The sound of a portal came at an ideal time to get him out of the situation. Splinter cleared his throat and turned on his heel. He folded his arms behind his back while his sons all straightened up, all nerves from anticipation.

Unsure what to expect until this very moment, they grew understandably intimidated as a large and imposing figure stepped into view through the sheen of the portal. It grew clearer over the seconds, revealing the shape and color of purple and gold feathers. Multiple pairs of wings spread out on either side of what appeared to be either a mutant or a yokai, then folded behind this serious figure.

Even taller than Raph, the bird man assessed everyone below his eyeline with a black gaze, shifting his attention in a manner that was equally sharp and quick. Then his beak tilted down to Splinter, and all at once his face lit up.

"Lou Jitsu!" he cheered in a happy tone, reaching down a feathered wing. Splinter grabbed it as if for a handshake, showing his teeth in a wide grin. The yokai could've bent down an offered an actual hand, and Raph guessed it was due to his height he did not.

"Asuka, what a pleasure! It's been far too long!"

"Don't I agree, old friend? I can hardly believe it's you!"

Though the turtles had relaxed seeing the friendliness between their father and Asuka, their confusion didn't lessen. They glanced at one another before Raph took it upon himself to speak up:

"Uh, Master Splinter, you gonna introduce us?"

"Oh, boys— This is Asuka! A yokai I fought many battles with on the Battle Nexus -arena, back in the day. He was truly one of my greater opponents."

The bird yokai stood straight and proud, his chest puffed out.

"Ohmigosh, that is so. Cool!" cheered Mikey with stars in his eyes.

"Oh, your dear father was the "cool" one. He was infamous for hogging the spotlight," said Asuka while bumping his arm against Splinter. He had to bend down nearly halfway just to do so.

"I was so excited to see him on the arena again. With his son, no less! He's truly raised some formidable warriors of his own."

Splinter's laugh quickly morphed into a cough as he tried to subdue it, and ended up covering it up with a fist. He tried to dismiss how happy Leo suddenly looked, looming in the back.

"As much as I am excited to recount past events, I believe there is someone you meant to introduce?"

Donnie furrowed his drawn on brows and met eyes with Raph and Mikey in turns. Leo seemed too distracted to pick up on the statement right away, but soon enough he was blinking in confusion, too.

"Of course!" replied Asuka cheerfully, glanced behind himself and stepped aside.

By the closing portal stood another person, much smaller than the bird yokai. This one was also adorned by wings, two pairs of them in echoing colors to Asuka's. She held her hands over one another at her front, her eyes cast downward. But when she lifted her face to look up, it became apparent:

It was human.

As heartbeats settled, but surprised eyes still fixed upon the winged human, Asuka gestured to her with one hand.

"This is my daughter, Wren," he introduced fondly.

Wren didn't say a word, but attempted to put on a smile. It came off nervous, which was undeniably how she was feeling. A green hood covered part of her head, and along with her hair, it granted her shadows to hide within.

"It is very nice to meet you, dear," said Splinter right before gesturing to the turtles, "These are my sons: Blue—"

"Leonardo," corrected Leo.

"Purple—"

"Donatello."

"Red—"

"Raphael. But call me Raph."

"And Orange."

"It's so nice to meet you!" cheered Mikey, barely noticing the misnaming.

"And that's Mikey," corrected Raphael with a gesture toward the youngest.

"Now! Why don't you. Get acquainted. While Asuka and I go catch up!" suggested Splinter in a tone that was definitely too excited, ushering the large bird man out of the room.

"Good luck!" called out Asuka, showing a thumbs-up and practically beaming before the pair disappeared around a corner.

The five teens were left to stare at one another.

Wren opened her mouth, about to say something. Mikey was quicker. He dashed the short distance between himself and Wren and caught both of her pale hands into his own.

"Are you our new playmate? We haven't met a new friend since Casey and—Well, even Casey is technically an old new friend. The point is I'm not sure if it counts! Do you like art? Who's your favorite painter? Mine is—"

Mikey was moved back from the wide-eyed Wren by a simple shove from Leo, who took his place.

"Leonardo! A pleasure to meet me, I know, I know. It's rarely you see so much awesome in one package," he announced cheerfully, "But don't worry: The World's Greatest Ninja™ is at your service!"

"More like the World's Lamest Ninja," sassed Mikey, who had been pushed back.

"Wow, a Mikey burn. Rare. I understand if you want to leave to cry it out, Nardo," stated Donatello, then squeezed beside his brother into Wren's personal space. Again she opened her mouth to say something, but out of thin air Donnie seemed to have pulled out a pair of goggles. He flicked them over his eyes and leaned ever so closer, causing the girl to lean back in turn.

"Fascinating! The levels of mystic energy on you appear much diminished in comparison to other yokai. Which in addition to your looks would lead me to believe..." he trailed off, flicking his goggles back to their usual place on his forehead, "You're a hybrid, aren't you?" His half-lidded eyes shone with interest.

Wren opened her mouth, but only a gasp was heard when Donnie was suddenly tucked back.

"GAH!"

Raphael held him by his shell, a couple feet in the air, looking apologetic.

"Sorry about these guys. They get a little too intense," he spoke in a sheepish tone.

"Unhand me or there shall be consequences!" demanded Donnie, writhing in Raph's easy grip. Mikey giggled at the sight. Raphael kept his hold, which made Donnie fold his arms and hang there like a plank.

"How about a tour of the lair?" suggested the eldest, the only one to remain calm and respectful of Wren's space. She breathed out, shoulders relaxing seemingly for the first time. She adopted a small smile.

"That sounds good," she said.

During the tour of their home, it seemed some of Wren's anxiety had dissipated. She seemed much more shy in comparison to any of the brothers, but all of them were inarguably on the louder side. And so it wasn't too shocking that she was often silent while they bantered. But over time she seemed to be picking up on the rhythm of conversation and began chiming in with her own thoughts.

"My father is a yokai," she confirmed, though it was the next portion the turtles were most curious of, "And my mother is a human." Mikey drew in a breath and slapped his hands to the sides of his face.

"Oh. Mi. Gosh! That's just crazy!"

"I have to concur with Michael. I wasn't aware that was a possibility. I mean, biologically speaking—"

"Biology schmiology," cut in Leo, to Donnie's frustration.

"That's so romantic! How did your parents meet?" enthused Mikey.

"My mother accidentally wandered through a hidden portal. It doesn't happen often, but it's not unheard of," told Wren with a shrug of her shoulders, "People like me are not common, I mean... I've never even met a human other than my mom."

"Fascinating!" repeated Donatello with more vigor, but this time didn't invade her space.

"Careful. You're gonna end up as Donnie's next science project," warned Leo with questionable levels of sincerity.

"Haha, yeah! He'll cut you open and replace your guts with machine parts or something," joked(?) Raph. Wren's face paled further from it's natural shade.

"Okay, first of all: She'd be lucky to be involved in my science. And second of all: Why would I replace any of her with machine parts? Cut her open: Sure, I could see how that may become necessary, but—"

"Oooookay. Who's feeling pizza?" cut in Mikey, noting Wren's growing nausea. It matched his own. She was quick to turn to him and nod urgently.

"And! We need to introduce Wren to April!" he exclaimed.

"Woooah, little bro coming in with the great ideas! One portal to Hueso's coming right up!"

Around the corner peered two adults, sharing a devious smile before looking back to the teens.

It was soon after that the mutants – half human, half turtle – and the yokai – half human – were seated around a table with several plates of pizza in between. While the brothers were happily stuffing themselves, it was the sixth person at the table who acted as the voice of reason.

"So... This, whole situation, doesn't seem suspicious to you guys? At all?"

April gestured to all five other teens around herself while referring to "the situation." She had been quickly invited and acquainted with Wren. And upon hearing the entire story of their meeting, she was immediately seeing some red flags.

"Oh, don't get us wrong," spoke Leo past his food, then swallowed, "It seems super fishy."

"My calculations are showing several levels of fishiness," concurred Donnie with a nod, then bit into his slice of pizza.

"Oookaaay," drawled April, uncertain of the atmosphere, "And we aren't trying to figure it out, why?"

"Because dad is a terrible liar," repeated Mikey with some confidence.

"Yeah. He's bound to slip up sooner or later," claimed Raph in that same relaxed manner. He picked up an entire slice of Meat Lovers and shoved it in his mouth.

"Uh huh," sounded April, still unconvinced. She folded her arms and turned to Wren beside her.

"I take it you don't know what this is about, either?"

Wren was holding a slice of pizza in the air, watching as the cheese stretched out between it and the rest. She looked apologetic when she turned to face April.

"No clue. My dad just said there were some people I should meet—" she paused, hesitating while looking at her slice, "He said I've been too much of a shut-in." There was some embarrasment in the admittance.

"You can't be a shut-in at our place. Trust me, I've tried," informed Donnie in between bites. Mikey took the opportunity to throw his arm around Donnie and pull him in for a half hug, smiling brightly.

"How long are you guys staying for?" asked Raph with casual ease. Wren finished chewing her bite and put down her pizza slice before speaking up.

"Oh, um, my dad is leaving tonight, but me—" she paused, blinking between them, "He said I'm staying for the month."

Leo choked on his pizza and coughed violently for a moment.

"A whole month?!"

April leaned back in her seat, eyes narrowing.

"Told you. Fishy."

Chapter Text

The teenagers, now harboring the additional presence of April, were once again stood where the mystic portal had formed in their lair. They stood back, this time in a disheveled group rather than a neat line, though Splinter still fronted them.

Between them and the portal stood Asuka, his large hands on the shoulders of his daughter while he spoke.

"And remember, you can always write us even if we're not here," he said, adding another doting comment to pile upon the rest. Mikey could feel his eyes fill with moisture from the enviable shows of affection.

"I know. I'll write," promised Wren with a little nod of her head. Asuka smiled, moving to pat her head before he finally straightened.

"Alright. I believe it is about time for me to take my leave," he sighed, "Please take care of her for this time."

"Of course! Your daughter is in great hands," claimed Splinter. She would be in great hands. Just not his hands. Though not bad, per se, Splinter had never been the most affectionate or present as a parent. Like most of the time, that meant the responsibility of Wren fell not mainly on his shoulders, but Raph's.

"Goodbye, Dove," said Asuka to his daughter before turning to draw a familiar symbol on the wall. As soon as the portal formed, he waved his goodbyes and stepped out.

A collective weight was lifted from everyone's shoulders. Splinter turned to his children.

"Alright! I'm going to watch my shows. Make sure our guest has somewhere to sleep," he said.

"Okey dokey!" chirped Mikey. He grabbed Wren's previously disregarded luggage and gestured for her to follow. Donnie and Raph both decided to join them.

There was an intent from Splinter to simply leave, but April wasn't having it.

"Nu uh, no way. You are not just walking outta here without explaining what the hell is going on," she demanded while sliding her hands through the air.

"What do you mean? Nothing is going on," replied Splinter in an unconvincing tone. Okay, she could see what the guys meant with the "not-so-great-at-lying" -thing. It was surprising she hadn't picked up on it before.

"I dunno. April has a point," chimed in Leo, "I mean, it's not like you usually just invite random guests over for the month."

"I don't know if you've noticed, Blue, but it's not like we have that many favorable family friends. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've already missed almost a whole episode of my soap!"

The rat mutant scrambled to leave before the confrontation escalated. April and Leo shared a frown.

"I guess he's not gonna talk," shrugged Leo.

"Don't tell me you're giving up that easily," challenged April with a quirk of her brow.

"Who, moi?" replied Leo, a hand dramatically landing on his chest, "Never! Uncovering family secrets is basically a hobby." April regarded him with a smirk.

"Yeah, pretty much," she agreed easily, "We've just gotta find a different place to start."

Leo pressed a finger to his chin, eyes shifting to the side while he thought. A second later he snapped his attention back to April with an accompanying snap of his digits.

"I've got it!"

Meanwhile, in a different part of the lair – specifically, the lowest floor with the subway tracks and abandoned subway train – the rest of the group arrived. Mikey talked as he walked, still carrying Wren's things effortlessly. They were all packed in a singular leather bound duffel bag.

"Sorry if it's a little messy! Aside from April we don't usually have a lot of guests over. And boy am I happy to change that! We're gonna make your room look awesome," he cheered, "Quick question— How do you feel about graffiti?"

Wren smiled softly while the youngest turtle rambled, not once having tried to interrupt him. Raph and Donnie mostly seemed impressed he was still going on, though didn't have such qualms about cutting in.

"I'm deferential to graffiti," she told him within the brief pause, just as the group arrived by the next uninhabited train cart in the line.

"Rad! In that case I'm gonna paint the walls, so you probably don't wanna unpack everything at once— Here we are!"

Mikey stepped inside the messy train cart, holding signs of the occasional visitor and a few items piled on benches and the floor. A poor mix of a storage space and guest room, rarely used for the latter.

"Huh. I forgot some of this stuff was here," stated Donnie while poking his head inside. He stepped into the makeshift room and carelessly pushed items off the bench surfaces.

"Now, what kind of bed would you like? Futon, trundle, or perhaps even a bunk bed? I think I have a metal frame somewhere in here—Mikey, wasn't there a mattress upstairs?" spoke Donnie this time, his speech speeding up while taking in the space, "What the heck, I'll even throw in an adjustment functio—"

"Donnie, wanna take it down a notch?" cut in Raph with narrowed eyes, "Knowing how some of your inventions end up, we don't wanna freak her out right away." Donnie looked as if his metaphorical feathers had been ruffled, his shoulders rising and head sinking in a mix frustration and disappointment.

"Fine," he drew out tightly, "A regular, boring old bed it is! Go ahead and stifle my creativity!" he complained with an exaggerated throw of his arms.

While muttering about how unfair it was Mikey got to do whatever he wanted with the space, Donnie went about picking up some things stored in the room. Meanwhile, Wren seated herself on one of the benches and stretched out her legs. She blew out a soft breath, letting herself scan the cart in the brief moment of silence.

"So you guys are mutants, right?" she asked suddenly, looking across the three brothers all moving about the space. They all looked at her with varying levels of curiosity.

"Yeah, that's right," confirmed Raph.

"And you live here because like yokai, humans don't like mutants either?"

"Yeah, kinda!" said Mikey, throwing his arms across the back of another train seat he now kneeled on, "Humans usually get freaked out by this whole situation." He gestured to his entire face as he said so.

"And some people take that to extremes," added Donnie in monotone, then turned back to rummaging through items. Wren seemed to deflate with a sigh, her eyes tracking up toward the ceiling. Almost as if she could see through it to the surface.

"It's unfortunate to be so close to seeing aboveground, and yet..."

The turtles shared glances with one another. Raph was the first one to speak up:

"You wanna see the surface?"

Wren's face lit up and she faced him, sitting up straighter.

"We can take you up there, easy peasy!" cheered Mikey. She gasped as she turned to him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, no prob! We go all the time!" confirmed Raph with a nod. It was the first time since her arrival that Wren's face was adorned by a grin. Her wings also lifted as if in excitement.

"Yes, please! I'd love to go!" The eldest sibling chuckled at her enthusiasm, and pat the air in a calming gesture.

"Alright, alright. But we've gotta wait 'til it gets dark. We can finish your room in the meantime!"

Wren nodded happily and got to her feet. She closed the distance to her duffel bag and zipped it open, beginning to pull out item after item. The first ones were expected, from some folded clothes to books – Mikey picked one up, discovering it was a fantasy novel about the surface – and smaller bags with indeterminate contents. It started to get weird by the time she pulled out an entire floor light and, following it, a dressmaker's mannequin. Neither of which definitely should have fit within the confines of the bag.

"What the—" deadpanned Donnie, before skipping the distance over to the bag. Uncaring of personal boundaries, he pushed beside Wren, who startled and moved back. Donnie slid on his goggles and stuck his entire head in the bag.

He viewed a floating array of items in a dark space, unsure how much space was actually within. A decorative pillow with a stylish print floated by and he grasped it, leaning back out with the item in his hand.

"Are you carrying an entire pocket dimension with you?! In a bag?"

"It's called a Space Twister -bag. I take it you've never seen one."

"Geronimoooooo!"

The shout echoed from Mikey, who dove into the bag head first. He sank inside as easily as any item, causing both his brothers to jump in surprise.

"Mikey!" called out Raph in alarm. He picked up the bag to peer inside.

"Are you okay?!"

"Weeeee—"

Mikey was floating around in the empty space, carefree, occasionally bumping into stray items. They bounced off him and away harmlessly.

"Ooh, creepy bologna!" came an exclamation from the bag. Wren smiled wryly.

"Yeah, I used to do that when I was a kid."

While Donnie was busy muttering again, though this time it was something about magic and what sounded eerily close to profanities, Raph placed the bag back on the table.

"Okay, well. Let's finish up this room," he ordered in a very natural progression. Wren saluted him with a little smile still present, moving to help Donnie clear the space.

April peered around the wall to Splinter's chair, and past him to the reiteration of his famous "Do Not Touch" -cabinet. This one had been newly adorned by glass doors and a simple brass lock, though such a contraption would still hardly hold back the turtle brothers' collective nosiness.

As if on cue, Leo placed his head over April's while peering around the corner.

"Okay. What's the plan, Leo?" she whispered.

"We won't be able to make him move now that he's sat down. We've gotta distract him," he replied while scanning the space.

"Say no more," confirmed April with a little smirk across her lips. The next moment she was already making her way to Splinter's purple chair.

"Heeeey, Splints...!"

"April." The rat man regarded her with an even tone, suppressing his bubbling concern.

"I hope you did not come to ask about our guest again," he quickly added, trying for a warning tone.

"What? Wren? Pfft, noooo," she assured with a waive of her hand, "I'm totally, completely over that. Yep. There's a fully separate and unrelated thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"Which is?"

As hoped, Splinter's attention was momentarily on April. Because of the way she was facing, she could see a blue portal swoosh into existence right below the cabinet. It sunk into the floor, and she struggled to keep her face straight.

"It's, uhm, that—It's about cabinets—I mean closets, I mean woodworking! I was wondering if I. Should take up a college course. In woodworking. Uh huh."

April set her elbow on the back of Splinter's chair and forced on a smile that turned out more like a grimace.

Around the corner, the cabinet rose from the floor in front of Leo, who rubbed his hands together in preparation. He lifted his katana and placed the very tip against the cabinet door, fidgeting with it in an effort to pick the lock. His tongue slid to the side of his mouth in focus.

"Woodworking?" questioned Splinter with a twitch of his ear, "Are you having second thoughts about becoming a journalist?" Seeing the unfortunate direction this conversation was heading in, April rushed to deny it.

"Nono, it's not like that. But. To be a great investigative journalist, instead of just like, blah, a good one— I think it's great to, uhh, broaden my horizons a little! Don't you think?"

She gave the subtlest glance she could muster toward Leo, who was still fiddling with the cabinet. She hoped he realized she couldn't keep this up forever.

"Hmm. I have certainly never heard of another journalist with such a skill," mused Splinter, "And I believe there is a reason for that. I think you've been working too hard, April."

"Yeah, haha! Must be!" she spoke past gritted teeth, "But...Are you sure I shouldn't reconsider?"

She glanced at Leo again. He had given up and proceeded to punch the cabinet. The door cracked open from the force, causing him to blink. Oh. It had been unlocked.

"No, I think you've completely lost the plot!" said Splinter in a tone of amusement, "Now get out. I love this commercial."

April watched with baited breath as the cabinet appeared back into its original spot, a split second before Splinter had turned back around to his shows. She held her breath the entire way backing out of the room, and only released it around the corner.

"Let's get out of here," she sighed to Leo, who was holding in his hand a white envelope. The teens were more than happy to get out of Splinter's hair.

Once tucked away in the kitchen, away from Splinter as well as the rest of the people in the lair, April and Leo finally resigned to proper investigation of the letter.

"What do you think is written on it?" she questioned with a quirked brow and folded arms. Leo carefully pulled out the folded piece of paper inside the envelope.

"I don't know, but it has to be related. It came last Friday, and dad's been acting weird since then. Plus, he wouldn't let me read it, so it's gotta be good."

The next few beats were filled with silence while Leo scanned the text laid out in front of him. After that, beat by beat, his hands started to crumple the paper as his pupils shrunk into pinpricks. By the time he started to become a sickly pale, April saw it as her time to press.

"Well? What does it say, Leo?"

Meeting her eyes, he moved stiffly like a robot with constricted joints. He barely managed to unfold his fingers from the frail paper and reach halfway between himself and April to hold out the letter. Pursing her lips, she snatched it from him and turned to read for herself.

At first there was silence. Then a widening of her eyes. Then a grimace. She looked at Leo, and suddenly the expression he held made perfect sense. She gulped.

"We gotta tell the others about this."

Chapter Text

To my old friend Lou Jitsu,

Greetings and salutations!

A long time ago, we shared the pleasures of fame and fortune.

Our names celebrated on the stadiums of the Battle Nexus, our hearts young and free.

While it has been long since those times, our fortunes haven't diminished, only changed.

I had the pleasure of witnessing your match on the Battle Nexus once more,

and even if you had changed, I recognized your burning spirit.

In yourself, and in your son.

But to remember the old times is not why I am writing you this letter, no.

I have a suggestion that I believe would benefit both our families, given it succeeds...

Past that point, Leo grew too nauseous to continue. He had read the letter two, three, four times, but the contents didn't change. And every time it threatened to weaken his knees to a point where he couldn't stand. He didn't know whether to vomit or to scream into his pillow (or his father's face, but that would have to wait). Regardless, he wondered if he would get rid of the sickly feelings swirling inside him.

April clearing her throat was what pulled him back to Earth, and he more than happily shoved the letter back into her hands. The farther he was from it, the better. Another shiver of disgust wracked his body.

"I wanna say I can't believe Splints would do this, but... I guess he is kinda old. I just didn't realize how old," the girl stated while staring at the text. Soon she shook her head and folded the letter in two, then returned it into its envelope.

"Okay, I'll say it! I can't believe he's doing this to us!" whined Leo, throwing his arms about in distress, "He hated his own family being too traditional! Why would he put that onto us now?"

April clicked her tongue, looking off to the side uncertainly. She had on a permanent frown for the moment, a multitude of feelings rushing through. Only some of them conflicting.

"I don't know. It's wrong, but maybe there is an explanation," she attempted to reason, attached to each member of the family. None of them were perfect. No person was, and Splinter was just that – a person. Specifically, one that had gone through so many difficult events in his life. They were bound to warp a person in more ways than one.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear it, trust me," said Leo in a low tone, eyes narrowing. His anger was justified, and so April didn't combat it.

"And you will. But we gotta tell your brothers. And Wren. She seemed like she was just as much in the dark on all this, and... Ick," it was April's turn to shiver, "I can only imagine how I'd feel if I was in her shoes." Leo raised his brows, some of his anger briefly put aside.

"What, are we not good enough for you?"

"Leo—"

"I'm sorry! Humor is how I deal with things!"

He breathed out heavily and in the next moment, he seemed much more centered to before. His initial burst of anger was wearing off in turn of disbelief, and it gave him a more cool head for what would follow. Still, he swallowed at the thought.

"Let's go tell them."

Leo dragged his feet on the walk through the lair, needing every extra second it gave him to mentally prepare. But eventually him and April reached the bottom floor, and they shared a look before approaching the abandoned subway carts.

"Guys?" called out April, looking across the rooms. She quickly realized they were in the so-called "guest room" further down the train, seeing movement through the windows.

"Hey guys, we've got some new—What are you doing?"

Poking her head inside, words dissolved on April's tongue. It was needless to say she had not been expecting to see what she did.

The entirety of loose items inside the train cart, including the people within it, were all floating through the air like there was no gravity. Raph was standing upside down, his feet planted against the ceiling—

"Look guys, I'm a Spider-Turtle!"

Donnie was lounging in the air while tapping at his phone, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Mikey was cartwheeling past the entrance—

"Oh, hi April!"

And Wren was hanging upside down above the benches. There was something in her hand that looked suspiciously like her duffel bag turned inside out.

Her eyes, too, snapped to April and Leo as soon as the latter entered the door frame.

"Step on in to the Yes-Fly zone!" she invited with a happy little smile.

"You mean the mystic anti-gravity chamber," corrected Donnie.

"How are you—You know what, nevermind. There's something we need to—"

"Hey, April? Time out? Just real quick? A time out, April? One sec?"

April looked beside her to Leo gesturing for his precious time out, and it left her confused. But she oblidged nevertheless, turning to the floating room for another second.

"Excuse me for exactly one sec," she stated with a tight grin and moved back from the doorway. Leo placed a hand on her back and guided her right out of the others' ear shot.

"What is it, Leo? I thought we had a plan," she huffed in whisper, to which Leo grimaced.

"I know, I know! And I was going to, but—"

Leo cast a look just past the doorway, to Donnie busting dance moves midair and to Raph flying across the train cart with a blanket cape. There was a crash and an 'oops' a moment later. He turned back to April with a frown.

"But you don't want to ruin their fun," she sighed in realization, "It's like a bandaid. You should just rip it out and tell them now. It's only fair."

"Or you could leave it on for a couple days, let it wear down a little! If you let the bandaid erode some, it'll... Like, dissolve on its own, or something."

"That is so not how bandaids work."

"Okay, maybe not, but look!" stated Leo, gesturing back to the cart, "They're happy right now. They're having a lot of fun with this. As soon as we let them know what's in that letter—" he shivered, "It's gonna be over. They're all just gonna be angry and betrayed and Wren is going to leave."

"And the version of this you apparently have where they won't get angry?" demanded April in mild disbelief.

"I know they will! But do we have to tell them right now, when they're just having a good time around a new friend? Instead we could just wait a couple days, let the excitement die down and then break the news."

April could keep a secret. That wasn't the problem. She kept secrets on a daily base, for her friends and others she cared about. A few for herself, too. She was a trustworthy person, and Leo knew that. She wouldn't leak this information if it became a secret between them.

But there was a problem, and the problem was that it didn't feel like a secret she should keep.

"I don't know, Leo. I'm not sure it's such a good idea."

"Please. Just for a couple days? And then I promise I'll show them the letter."

She clicked her tongue, tapping her fingers against her upper arm. Her eyes slid to the side while she mulled it over. Two days, and then they'd reveal the letter. Even if she shouldn't, for Leo, she could keep this secret for just two days.

"I feel like I'm gonna regret this, but okay. I won't say a word. But just for a couple days."

Leo beamed in response.

"Yes! I knew I could count on you, April! This is why you're our hermana."

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, don't get too excited about it. I still think it's wrong."

"It's fine! Come on, let's go float in the Yes-Fly -zone!" cheered the turtle, grabbing April's arm to pull her along.

"What do you think would happen if we pour juice in there?"

"Oh. My god. I've just had a great idea."

"Uh huhhh."

A few hours and several food mishaps later – ones that left the old guest room slash storage space in a worse mess than it started in – the teens were all gathered by the main exit to the lair. The heavy doorway opened up slowly to reveal the rest of the subway tunnel, and once it was halfway up, the group began pouring out.

"Baby's first trip topside," sang Leo, leaning closer to Wren, "Tell me how excited you are right now."

"I'm excited!" confirmed Wren in a happy voice, pumping her fists once, "But... I do have to ask why you all have weapons on you."

Right before heading out, the turtles had snatched their equipment, never really leaving the lair without protection. It wasn't something they had paid much thought to, and Mikey twirled one of his nunchaku half-heartedly.

"Oh, just incase we run into trouble," he stated as if it was obvious. Wren adopted a look of concern and brought a hand over her lips.

"Trouble?" she questioned with a look around, "You mean like humans?" Her eyes settled on April.

"Sometimes, sure! But most of the time it's other mutants and yokai that give us a bad time," informed Donnie, "And occasionally aliens and unspecified mystic threats."

"Other mutants?" It hadn't even crossed her mind as a possibility, but now that it was there, Wren's concern deepened.

"Don't worry! We kick their butts to next week all the time. It's perfectly safe," promised Leo with a wave of his hand.

"The Mad Dogs have a good record," confirmed Raph proudly.

"Eh," voiced Donnie with a so-so gesture of his hand.

"And if things get heated, you can pull on my sleeve and we bail. M'kay?" promised April, though it immediately drew a laugh from Leo.

"April O'Neil, running away from the action? Now that I'd like to see," he teased.

It quickly set in for Wren that maybe she'd bitten off more than she could chew. All the others seemed accustomed to, as Leo had said, action. To fighting, and to facing other mutants on a regular enough basis that they didn't even bat an eye. Their laxness served to both worry and comfort her for different reasons.

"Wren, you feeling alright?"

It was Raph who spoke up, drawing her from her thoughts. The half yokai raised her gaze to the tallest of the brothers and mustered a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But you guys should know that, even if my dad was a Battle Nexus champion, um. I haven't really done much fighting," she admitted sheepishly, "I don't want to be a burden."

"It sounds like someone's getting cold fee-eet," sang Leo with narrowed eyes and a cat-like smirk. Wren laughed awkwardly.

"Me? No way. Don't even know the meaning of the word," she stated unseriously, "But, just incase, is there something else I should know before we go up there?"

"Leaving out various less important items in favor of the main protocol: Stay hidden, and if you see a giant malformed pig with a meat cleaver, don't engage," listed Donnie while holding up a finger on both his main points. It sounded easy enough to follow. Still, April's hand on her shoulder was a welcome reassurance.

"Don't worry. We probably won't even run into any trouble in the first place," she stated. Mikey's eyes widened in horror.

"April! You've just jinxed us!"

"Jinx? Not a real thing, by the way," countered Donnie. Mikey gasped.

"DONNIE! YOU JUST DOUBLE-JINXED US!" he exclaimed, "We're doomed!"

"I for one would welcome some action," said the snapping turtle while slamming a fist into his opposing palm, "Last week was too slow. Raph barely got his punches in!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have-a arrived!" narrated Leo, walking the last few steps to the staircase backwards. He spread out his arms, then gestured for them to head up.

The stairs were long and steep, but Wren walked them with baited breath and no complaint. As they reached the top, she could see beams of silvery light touch upon cracked pavement, and her feet staggered. The others passed her, aside from April, who placed a hand on her back to gently nudge Wren the rest of the way out.

The area they stepped in was quiet, with no working streetlights around the exit to the old subway tunnel. Instead what light came down was from above, and Wren's eyes tracked it all the way to the moon bathing them in its ethereal glow. It wasn't a full moon, but that made it no less breathtaking for someone who'd never seen it in person. And so she stared, lips parted, in complete wonder.

"It's beautiful," she found herself saying, out of breath. This caused her to blink and look down, noting the faces of the others while they looked at her. Mikey and Raph both looked like they were about to burst into tears.

"Come on! There's a lot more out there for you to see," urged April with a grin, drawing Wren's attention to the buildings surrounding them. They were much taller than in the Hidden City, and that in itself kept her staring.

She was lead to an alley between nearby buildings where a fire escape trailed all the way to the rooftops. She followed its structure up, only to hear the clang of the metal and look right back down again. Leo and Mikey had climbed on the bottom layer, while Raph boosted April up after them.

"I see," she hummed, glancing up again, "I mean, I will see. You guys, at the top," she continued with an upwards point of her digit. The others faced her for only a moment before Wren spread her wings out – and shockingly, they looked like they grew in size as she did so – before she shot up into the air.

"Cheater!" called out Leo, his mouth cupped for volume. Donnie took it as his cue to activate his Battle Shell's flying capability. The rotors shot out and he floated beside and past Leo.

"See you later, losers," he called out in an obvious, yet monotone taunt before also taking the easy path to the roof.

As expected based on her takeoff speed, by the time Donnie reached the rooftop, Wren was already there. She was looming at the edge of the building, her back turned to Donnie. But he could still tell she was admiring the view.

He deactivated the Battle Shell and let himself land on the sturdy surface, walking to the edge beside her. To him it was a familiar sight, with all the usual roads, lights and landmarks expanding in each direction before them. A siren and different engines could be heard far in the distance. Wind blew on the rooftops tonight, and he vaguely recalled he'd caught a glimpse of the weather report that day.

"A storm might be brewing in a couple hours, so we can't stay too long tonight," he informed her. Wren looked up abruptly, like she hadn't even noticed him there until just then.

"That's okay," she told him with a soft smile, "I think I might get overwhelmed if we stay any longer, anyway."

The sound of his brothers landing on the rooftop, each with a more extravagant combination of flips than the last, had Donatello turning around.

"And that is why I am your leader and Champion," declared Leo, who naturally thought his act the best.

"Funny. 'Cause I remember that all happened a little differently," countered Raph, though there wasn't any particular malice behind the statement. Mainly brotherly irritation.

April was the last to enter, stepping off the staircase like the normal person she wasn't.

"Time to get this party starteeeeed!" she celebrated, earning herself cheers from the brothers and a laugh from Wren. It was starting to look like a good night. Even with that particular envelope burning a hole in her pocket.

To my old friend Lou Jitsu,

Greetings and salutations!

A long time ago, we shared the pleasures of fame and fortune.

Our names celebrated on the stadiums of the Battle Nexus, our hearts young and free.

While it has been long since those times, our fortunes haven't diminished, only changed.

I had the pleasure of witnessing your match on the Battle Nexus once more,

and even if you had changed, I recognized your burning spirit.

In yourself, and in your son.

But to remember the old times is not why I am writing you this letter, no.

I have a suggestion that I believe would benefit both our families, given it succeeds.

I have a daughter.

She may not be accomplished in battle like your protege, but is wonderful in many other ways.

Lately, she has been sitting indoors for hours on end, seeing no friends and doing nothing of value.

To ensure her future, my proposition is for her to meet with your kin incase a bond of marriage might be formed.

Please return to me with your thoughts!

Your Greatest Opponent (voted by Battle Nexus Weekly),

Asuka.

Chapter Text

The wind blew stronger by the hour. Gray clouds were gathering overhead, casting vibrant shadows over the city. The silver glow of the moon had been exchanged for neons of advertisements and yellows and blues of streetlights.

Mikey hummed while balancing across a metal beam of a building still in construction, looming above the rest of the group. In one hand he carried a half eaten hot dog, careful not to let the relish slide as he walked.

"Soo, Wren," he started, pausing to smile down at the others, "What do you think of the aboveground?"

"Wait! You can't ask her that before she's had her first New York -style hot dog," retorted April while handing her the one she'd bought, "Here."

Wren carefully accepted the 'dog and quirked her brow at it curiously.

"It's okay. She's already had our pizza. That's all you need," claimed Mikey, though still bit into his hot dog again. Wren followed his example, biting and chewing, her eyes sliding to the side during her evaluation.

"It's, uh, greasy," she said in a huff of laughter, "But still pretty yummy!"

"That's my girl!" cheered April with a light fist to her shoulder.

"And a pretty adequate description of the city, too," stated Donnie lightly, "Figuratively, of course. I'd rather microwave myself than lick these streets."

"Please tell me you were joking and you don't have a person-sized microwave, Donnie," worried Raph.

The group had stopped walking, so Leo took the opportunity to lean himself against one of the vertical support beams of the soon-to-be apartment complex. Mikey dropped himself into a seat, waving his feet back and forth where they dangled.

"I shall not—Confirm nor deny that statement," deflected Donatello rather poorly.

A cold droplet touched Leo's snout, and he looked up toward the sky. Another one hit his brow, then his eyeball.

"Ack," he voiced while looking back down and rubbed his eye. The ground was soon dotted with little dark spots, though the rain was light.

"Looks like the storm's starting," stated Donnie.

"We better head back unless we wanna get caught in it," said Raph, pointing a thumb toward the direction of their lair.

"Wait. Are we sure we toured everything?" asked Leo, his hands raised in a slowing gesture.

"You know we didn't, but there's no time. It's gonna be pouring soon. We can come back another day," the elder brother reasoned.

"Ugh, fine," moaned their so-called leader, "But if New York blows up while we're underground, I'm telling you I warned you!"

"It won't blow up, because we wouldn't let it blow up!" chimed Mikey happily. He dropped himself down from the beam and began walking with the others.

"And so comes an end to our first city wide tour! Souveniers can be found at every street corner. Rate your guides at your local secret lair," announced Donatello while picking up his bō. He twirled it before holding it up, and with a shine of purple color, a clear umbrella formed at the tip above his head.

"I'm gonna head home," stated April, "I'll see you guys later!"

She turned to walk off, exhanging waves with the brothers and Wren, who all returned it enthusiastically.

"Byeeee April!" exclaimed Mikey, followed by an "au revoir!" from Donnie.

"See you later, Apes! Stay safe," added Leo, whose eyes lingered on her the longest that time.

"I will! Try! I— Ugh!"

The sound brought everyone to a stop, their attention returning to April at once. They saw another figure by her – one that April had apparently ran into – though the shadows cast by the building hid their face.

"I thought I heard the sound of brain rot around here," stated the familiar feminine voice.

April blinked a few times toward this person, her eyes widening marginally.

"Kendra?" she realized. It was then that lightning struck above, briefly bathing the girl in blue light. A smirk rested on the face of the Purple Dragon, her hands casually in her pockets.

Donnie gripped his bō tighter.

"What are you losers doing on the turf of the Purple Dragons?"

Another lightning struck, and more figures could be seen in the shadows. Some in the depths of the unfinished building, some right above them, standing on the very beams Mikey had occupied.

The brothers huddled a little closer, each gripping their weapons. Wren was looking around nervously, her eyes wide as she peered into the dark.

"Oh, you got a whole 'turf' now, huh? Sorry, we didn't get the memo your nerd club had gone street," stated Leo light-heartedly.

"Lots of things have been changing since that alien invasion," reasoned Kendra, "Some of us don't like freaks like you wandering around our city."

"You realize we stopped those aliens from invading, right?" countered Donnie.

"Yeah, we saved your sorry butts. The least you could do is show a little gratitude," added Raphael, his eyes narrowed. None of them were particularly frightened by the display, but it would've been careless not to be on guard.

Wren's head spun with all the new information she was receiving. In her stupor, she backed up farther from Kendra and her unknown number of goons – only to suddenly become trapped with something heavy and tight around her torso. As one would expect, she screamed.

"Wren! " called Mikey in alarm as he spun around. He was met with the sight of one of the original three, Jeremy, hoisting up the winged girl by her middle. It seemed like aside from all the Purple Dragons having grown taller, they'd also become rougher in both looks and tactics. The sleeves of Jeremy's jacket were now ripped, and a dragon tattoo wrapped around one of his arms.

"Okay, bad move," warned Leo and brandished his sword toward Kendra, "Let her go."

Kendra answered this with a chuckle, finally stepping out of the shadows. Her hands were no longer in her pockets, and some kind of tech gloves over them were squeezed into fists. They sparked dangerously.

"Come get her."

Everything after those words happened fast. April kicked into action, dropping down and going to sweep Kendra's legs from under her. Mikey let out a battle cry, charging for Jeremy. The boy dodged and held up Wren as a shield, forcing the box turtle to keep his distance unless he wanted to hurt her.

Kendra recovered quickly, rolling to the side and getting back to her feet.

"Get them!" she shouted into the darkness.

Leo, Raph and Donnie all turned toward the building as several more teens and young adults came out into the rain. Most of them brandished some kind of technology, from futuristic guns to tasers and robotic limb enhancements. All of them had the logo of the Purple Dragons tattooed on.

"I count fourteen," stated Donnie while his eyes flicked across the visible bodies. But he knew instinctively that at least one was still missing; He couldn't see Jase anywhere.

"Fourteen? That's child's play. We got this, team," encouraged Leo with his best grin. In the past they would've called it out as overconfidence, but this was a new Leo. One that was on his way to growing into a true leader. He had his siblings' full trust.

"Permission to start smashing?" questioned Raph with a smirk on his face.

"Permission granted, brother dear. Go nuts!"

The tempo of the battle was set the moment the first punches were exchanged. Raph charged forward and met fists with a musclebound guy with two heavy-duty robot arms. After being knocked down initially, Raph shook his head and waved his arms once, a red glow encasing them as his mystic powers took over. After that, the fist fight became more even.

Leo and Donnie were quickly surrounded by a few other Purple Dragons goons, the first one going to swipe a taser at the leader. He deflected the weapon with his blade and caused the attacker to stumble. Behind that guy, a tall girl with two pigtails aimed her gun at them.

"Donnie, behind!" warned Leo, ducking out of the way just as the girl pressed the trigger. Donnie in turn swiped his bō on the path of the shots, a shield of purple light instantly forming between himself and her. It blocked the laser-like shots effectively. Meanwhile Leo portaled around the girl, kicking the gun from her grip.

Mikey was still trying to make his way around Jeremy, walking in circles and looking for an opening. The boy kept up his yokai shield while Wren wriggled in his grasp.

"You know—" Mikey started slowly, thinking ahead to what he was saying, "There's still a chance for everyone to avoid getting beat up—Worse, right now. All you need to do is let her down and trade some punches with me – we'll make it look super convincing – and then go back to Kendra and say we managed to slip away."

"I see your attempt at diplomacy and I respect it. But unfortunately that kind of action won't send the message we're trying to get across," answered Jeremy, unwavering.

"The whole, 'you freaks leave our town' message? Isn't that kind of, y'know... Unnecessarily cruel and short-sighted?"

Jeremy shrugged as much as he could without easing his grip on Wren.

"The new rule we live by is the 'survival of the fittest.' We can't rely on anyone but ourselves to protect the world we live in. You hide in the shadows, living as vigilantees— And your weird situation and your magical abilities— There's no scenario in which we can trust you. And so, you've all gotta go."

As an emphasis to his words he tightened his hold, and Wren cried out softly. Mikey frowned at the ideology.

"Man. That is, like, the lamest reason you could've picked. The Purple Dragons has really had a downgrade."

"If only there was a grade to begin with!" called Donnie from the midst of his own battle.

"Good one, Dee," chuckled Mikey, "Anyway, I guess if you won't listen to me, I've got no choice but to... Razzmatazz!"

His nunchaku was suddenly thrown right past Jeremy, the glowing chain extending and wrapping around the horizontal beam behind him. Mikey used its leverage to slide himself forward along the ground, then suddenly stopped and kicked in his knee from the back. Jeremy predictably lost his balance, his grip on Wren loosening. She didn't waste the opportunity and bent down, sinking her teeth into his arm.

"OW!"

This time he lost his hold on her completely, and Wren stumbled forward. She panted heavily even as she spread her wings and pushed herself off the ground, where she would have been easy to re-capture.

"Woohoo!" cheered Mikey from below, going to strike the back of Jeremy's head with his other weapon. Wren smiled back down at him in relief.

"Guys! I'm free!" she shouted out with her hands cupped around her mouth. Due to her elevated position, she was well heard across the battlefield. Leo looked up and then back to the others.

"Mad Dogs, retreat!" he called out to the rest, fighting off a Purple Dragon waving some kind of laser sword at him, "Ooh, that's awesome! Where can I get two of those?"

April had been in a fight with Kendra since the start. She kept dodging and redirecting punches and kicks, occasionally getting in her own. She knew the little sparks on Kendra's gloves were a bad sign, and she was set on not finding out what kind of damage they did. At least on herself. Another goon tried to sneak up on her from the back while Kendra punched forward – so naturally April crouched down, letting her strike land on her own teammate.

Electricity sparked through the Dragon before he collapsed to the ground with a few spasms. Kendra looked more than a little annoyed by the outcome as April backed up to put distance between them.

"O'Neil!" she screetched, her hands curling into fists.

"Hey, it wasn't me! You should be more careful with your aim," winked April, then turned around to sprint toward the others. It was in that moment that Kendra was also able to take in the situation, seeing how Raph tossed another one of her members into the dark of the unfinished building. She saw they'd cleared enough space to back off, Donnie and the winged girl hovering above.

"They're trying to run away!" she called out angrily, "JASE!"

The sound of the name had Donnie dropping on his goggles in a quick scan of the area. In the dark, several beams above, he finally spotted the guy. He was setting up something that looked an awfully lot like a rocket launcher.

"Guys, now's our time to get out of here!" he warned them abruptly, "Fifth floor!"

"Got it! Everyone, we back off now!" ordered Leo, gesturing for his team to move. They did, one after the other running for the alleys. Leo followed suit with Donnie and Wren moving through the air.

They didn't get too far before that launcher was aimed at them, and Jase pressed the trigger without hesitation. The force of the gun threw him backward as the rocket took off at a great speed. Raph's eyes widened as he glanced toward the sound.

"LOOK OUT!"

The red energy incased him as he dove for his family, wrapping them up in his magic just as the rocket touched ground.

An explosion followed, the force of it throwing Raph and everyone cocooned in his magic forward. Donnie and Wren – who'd still been in the air – were blown in opposite directions. Wren hit the wall of a nearby building while Donnie hit the ground, rolling a few feet before falling limp with a groan. Wren flapped her wings as she fell, managing to cushion her landing, though it was still a rough one.

Raphael unwrapped himself from the rest, his magic dissipating as he took in their condition. Leo, Mikey and April all seemed fine, if a little shaken. And so he turned around to the remaining two.

"Donnie, Wren? You guys good?" Another groan from Donnie followed as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Fine," he confirmed, if a little begrudgingly, "Never better."

"Wren?" Since the girl hadn't answered, Raph repeated his question. He easily spotted her on all fours, leaning heavily on her arms.

"Breathing," she confirmed, voice strained.

"Look out!" called Mikey suddenly, causing her to look up. The Purple Dragons were approaching, all menacingly walking toward them.

"Leo, now would be a great time for a portal," said Raph.

"Already on it, Raphie."

With a wave of his sword, a blue swirl formed an exit. Mikey and April ran inside at Leo's gesture. Donnie pushed himself up with some effort while Raph ran to help Wren on her feet. She stumbled without his support, so he picked her up and brought them both through the portal.

"Don't let them get away!" Kendra's voice could be heard in the back. More laser guns were pointed at them and Donnie raised his weapon once more, letting a new mystic shield deflect the shots fired at them.

Leo and Donnie were the last ones there, to hold the backline.

"Together?" asked Leo. The moment Donnie entered the portal, the cover he created from the laser fire would be gone. There wasn't time to maneuver.

"On the count of three. One..."

"Two."

"Three!" they shouted in unison, and Donnie dropped the shield just as Leo pushed them both into the floor on the other side of the portal.

Chapter Text

The two middle children collapsed on the floor of the lair with grunts, and two more shots followed them through the portal right before it closed. They hit the opposing wall, leaving sizzling marks where they impacted.

Leo rolled off his sibling and sat up to rub his elbow that'd accidentally broken his fall. Donnie resigned himself to laying on the floor for just a moment longer.

"Looks like everyone made it," commented April with a hand on her hip. She looked across each turtle before her eyes landed on Wren. She'd been placed on the floor, but was still leaning on Raph with a hand held over her side.

"You hurt yourself?" worried Mikey, hovering a little closer to the half yokai, "You're not bleeding, are you?" Wren abruptly shook her head.

"No, I think it's just a bruise. But it stings," she told him breathlessly, "And...My head's spinning."

"Here, let's sit you down," offered Raph, helping her to an old subway bench they'd never gotten rid of. Wren winced as she sat down, but also relaxed soon after she was able to lean back.

"You guys still got that old X-ray machine, right?" asked April, "If Wren's more like a human, she won't be durable like you guys. We should make sure nothing's broken."

"And yet, I don't feel so durable," mumbled Donnie while finally pushing himself up from the floor. He'd taken a bit of a hit, too, but seemed to have no injury past a few scrapes on his limbs.

"Come on, Donnie. Let's go get you a bandaid," stated Leo while grabbing his brother by the arm, "Raph, you should bring Wren."

"Gotcha," promised the elder brother as he turned to pick up their guest again.

"No metal on you, right?" asked Donnie from where he stood by the controls. Wren had been laid on the X-ray table in the medical bay, and had to look at Donnie at an awkward angle to shake her head at him.

"Okay. Just stay still while I do this," he instructed while lowering the scanner.

Images were taken while she was laid down, and a moment later while she was standing. She was sat back down, by Leo this time, while Donnie brought up the images on the med bay computer screen.

"What's the diagnosis, doc?" asked Leo in his usual easy tone.

"Decent news: It's only a small fracture on the fifth rib. It should heal perfectly fine on its own. Looks like you got lucky with your impact angle."

Wren sighed out of relief.

"Good. I don't think my dad would let me out of the house again, if—"

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Everyone crowding the med bay abruptly turned to Splinter, on his way past the doors with a basket of snacks in his arm. The doors had been blown open and he pointed a singular claw at Wren.

"What have you done to her?! Red, you were supposed to keep her safe!"

"Isn't Leo the one you should be yelling at now, pops?" countered Raph weakly, his eyes shifting in a nervous manner.

"Relax, daddy-o! It was just a little gang fight. Nothing we can't handle," reasoned Leo, "Besides, a fractured rib isn't that serious an injury."

"It is not you I'm worried about— It's Asuka! Believe it or not, I have no desire to relive my experiences in the ring! Not to mention this kind of activity isn't at all what you should—"

The sudden cut off from Splinter had April, Leo and Donnie narrowing their eyes at him. Mikey and Wren watched him patiently while Raph only blinked.

"Should what, Master Splinter?" he asked innocently.

"Nevermind that! Off to bed with all of you!" shouted Splinter before scampering out of their view. Mikey yawned and stretched his arms.

"It is getting pretty late," he mused, unbothered by the situation.

"Right," said April slowly, "Well, I'm off. I've got a lecture tomorrow. And I promise I'll watch my back, so don't worry."

"You have your panic button, right?" confirmed Donnie.

"You know I do, Dee. I'll see you all later," she stated with a little wave before also heading out.

Seeing the way Wren also stifled a yawn with her hand, the turtles supposed it really was time to turn in.

"Come on, sleepyhead," encouraged Leo while helping her to her feet.

Of course, when the group was faced with the chaos they left in Wren's subway cart, they immediately had second thoughts.

"Oh boy," hummed Leo, sweating to a minor degree, "Okay: New plan. You, ugh, sleep in my bed. I'll take the couch."

Wren opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off.

"Your bed? Let me laugh! Ha. Leon, your room is basically a hazard. She'll break her foot too before she even gets to your bed," teased Donnie.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!"

"Donnie's got a point. We can't let her in there," agreed Raph, "How about my room?"

"Okay, no. Your room may be cleaner than mine, but it stinks, Raph. It stinks," argued Leo.

"It does not stink!"

"No, no, it does. It's your sleeping stink: Sweat," assured Donnie, "So, Mikey..."

"Listen, I'd love to give her my bed, but I don't have one! I sleep in a hammock, remember? That can't be great for her fracture."

"So that means..." trailed off Leo, a devious grin stretching across his face.

"That means what?" asked Donnie, right before it settled in, and his eyes widened, "Wait, no. You can't mean my room!"

"It's perfect! Your room's clean, you've got a good mattress and there's no weird odors," argued Leo, a little too happily, "Sorry, but you're taking the couch tonight, bro."

Donnie groaned in displeasure, which was when Wren finally cut in.

"I can take the couch, too. It's no problem."

"See, Leo? It's no problem!"

"No way! You're the guest. That means you get the royal blue treatment," he spoke while wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Come on, I'll change the sheets for you."

She didn't have much of a chance to protest, and an apologetic smile was cast toward Donnie. Raph placed his hand on the shoulder of his purple brother.

"Suck it up, Donnie. It's just for one night." It didn't do much for making him feel better.

Leo left Wren by the doorway while carelessly going to rummage through Donnie's drawers. He didn't know where his brother stored his extra sheets, but it was in no way an obstacle for him. If he had to turn the entire room upside down, he knew it'd only serve to make Donnie irked, which was funny.

Wren spent the moment looking around, though she didn't stress her injured ribs by actually moving. Instead she viewed the few contraptions in the room, clearly machines of some kind, occasionally with a few lights shining off them. She recognized the basics, like the wall-mounted TV and a closed laptop on a table, but there were many things she had no clue about.

"Donnie seems smart," she finally spoke up softly, causing Leo to look over and snort.

"Only because you don't have to live with him every day. Try not to get stuck in a room with him if there's a chance of 'experiential learning'," he spoke in exasperation and resumed his digging. Finally, he stumbled upon what he was looking for and picked up the neatly folded sheets.

"Or maybe you won't admit it because he's your brother," teased Wren. Leo rolled his eyes playfully and pulled the old sheets off the bed in order to replace them, which he did, carelessly.

"Look, all I'm saying is if you call him smart in front of him, good luck. You're stuck with him having an inflated ego for the rest of time." Leo crumpled up the old sheets and tossed them for the laundry basket. When he missed and tipped over the hamper, he simply left the mess as it was.

Wren shook her head with a small smile on her lips and walked over to the bed, where she straightened the bed sheet Leo had left wrinkled. She sat down slowly while he made for the door.

"Goodnight, Leo."

"Goodnight," he replied easily, but paused right before stepping out completely. There was a look of hesitation on him that Wren couldn't see. He hated his brain for pointing out to him that now would be the perfect time to tell her why she was here.

"Did you forget something?" she asked when she noticed the boy lingering. Leo hesitated a second longer before leaning back inside.

"If I did, I can't remember what it was. Must not have been important," he reasoned with a smile, then stepped out of the subway cart.

Only to step back in again another second later, when Wren had started to take off her boots.

"Look, there is something," he started hesitantly, looking from side to side as if to not meet her eyes, "But..." The yokai furrowed her brows in confusion.

"But?"

"Look, there's something I know, and I want you to know that I'll tell you eventually. But not yet. But I want you to know that I thought about telling you now." There was something frantic about the way Leo said it that made her sit straighter.

"Leo, what is it?"

His shoulders slumped and he slapped a hand over his face. He couldn't deny it: He was feeling guilty over this secret. It wasn't like accidentally flushing Splinter's pet gold fish. It was a heinous and disgusting secret, but he was keeping it anyway.

"It's not important right now," he finally managed, "But I promise I'll tell you." There was no point in ruining her sleep worse than he already had. Wren assessed him in silence for a while, looking as on edge as Leo knew she should be. Then she sighed.

"Okay. If you promise."

"Cross my heart," he stated while drawing said cross over the left side of his chest.

"Leo?"

"What's up?"

"Since you're still here," Wren hesitated, "Could you tell me what happened today? Like, who were those people?"

"Oh, the Purple Dragons?"

He received a nod. Leo wandered back into the room and dropped into a seat on Donnie's bed, beside Wren.

"They used to be nothing but this nerdy tech club. And thieves, if you wanna get specific."

"Used to be?"

"Yeah, well. Now they're slightly more trouble, I guess. I mean, there used to be only three members in some really... Really nice jackets."

"What happened to them?"

"What happened to a lot of people in the past few months," he shrugged. When Wren still watched him expectantly, he continued.

"These pink gooey disgusting creatures called the Krang attacked New York."

"Hey, I know some pink gooey disgusting creatures, and they can be really nice," countered Wren with a little bump of her shoulder's against Leo's. He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"These ones weren't like that. They... Put our family through a lot." They put him through a lot.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it! We're still going strong, while they're stuck in—It doesn't matter. Off topic."

"So, The Purple Dragons?"

"They're like a lot of people. They don't trust the military or the police to protect them. I can't blame them, I mean, those guys were pretty much useless against the Krang. If we didn't stop them, they would have taken over the entire planet before long."

"So... It's civil unrest," realized Wren with a glance at the floor, "I see."

"Yeah. There's been more chaos in the city ever since the Krang. Which is saying something. This is New York, after all," Leo said with a smile.

"I guess I understand why you carry around weapons now."

"Oh, no! We did that before, too," he waived. Wren raised a brow to this, but didn't press.

"So in other words, you have some stories to tell me," she mused, smiling back at him. Leo laughed just a little.

"That's true. But not all in one night, or we'll never get to go to sleep. Speaking of," he stated while pushing himself off the bed, "I don't really wanna look at Donnie's room any longer than I have to, so..." It was Wren's turn to chuckle.

"Sleep tight."

"You too."

And this time when Leo left, he felt both better and worse for it. Maybe April was right. Maybe making friends with the person you were keeping such an important secret from wasn't his brightest idea.

But what was done, was done.

That night, Donnie found he couldn't fall asleep. He was accustomed to a certain level of comfort currently out of his reach. The couch felt unpleasant against his bare shell, and he groaned every time he shifted or turned on his temporary bed.

Eventually he gave in, throwing off his blanket entirely. He made his way in the kitchen for some coffee, then headed into his lab. It was the middle of the night so he figured it was best not to make any noise, but that wouldn't stop him from updating some of his files or finishing up a blueprint or two.

Before he knew it, a pot of coffee had been emptied and several hours had passed by. He lifted his head from the desk, where it'd dropped after he'd briefly dozed off. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was finally tired enough to spend the rest of the night on the couch, no matter how uncomfortable.

His journey inevitably brought him past the old escalators leading down to the bottom floor. He glanced longingly toward the subway train, fantasizing about his own, silky sheets. It was unfair he of all his brothers had to give up a good night's sleep, when he was also the one in charge of pretty much everything functioning within the lair. But if they wanted things to go awry so bad, so be it.

That was when he noticed it. A single light was on in the subway train, in the fifth cart that had originally been assigned to Wren. Despite his sleepy haze, he was just curious enough to walk down and check it out.

It was perfectly silent with all his brothers asleep (Donnie was jealous), so he kept his steps light. He approached the fifth cart and peered in through the window, then the main door. Donnie found he had to squint at the light coming from inside.

The floor light Wren had pulled out from her bag was on, though it didn't appear to be plugged in to anything. Which made sense, since he hadn't brought in an outlet. He lifted the shade to view the bulb, and noticed that it wasn't one, but rather something that looked like a miniature sun.

"Magic. Of course," he moaned under his breath. A quiet shuffle pulled his attention from the piece of furniture and to the bench with its back facing him. He stepped closer to peer over it, and his features relaxed.

Wren was laid against the back of the bench, slumped toward the window. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and deep. Sound asleep.

Now that Donnie took a proper look around the room, he saw that a good chunk of it had been cleaned from what it was before. Instead papers littered a table and some walls, with little strips of what looked like fabric pinned to some of them. He picked one up to observe and saw a sketch of the Empire State building. He picked up another, and saw a drawing of a particularly architectural dress.

Lowering the pages, he looked back to the sleeping yokai. Maybe it was the strange place, or the night she'd had on the surface, but it was clear she couldn't sleep either. He turned to simply leave, but a nagging voice echoed at the back of his head.

"Don't leave her to sleep like that, Donnie! She's gonna wake up with a back ache," informed Mind Raph. Donnie he held back a groan. What was he doing here? Everyone knew there was no arguing with Mind Raph. So, begrudgingly, Donatello turned back around.

For a moment he thought about how to approach this. But really, there was only one option. And so he held his breath for a beat while slinking an arm under Wren's legs and another around her back, picking her up in a bridal carry. Her wings were smushed between his arm and her back, though she didn't seem to care. He was glad none of his brothers were awake to see this.

"Mmh."

The sound had him flinching and he stiffly looked down to the girl in his arms. But thank whoever might've been watching (he hoped it wasn't the government, or they'd be screwed), she remained asleep. And so he let out the breath he'd been holding and carefully walked toward the exit – only stopping to pull the string on that floor lamp. At least it went out like any other light.

The trip to his room was short, and soon he was setting Wren back down onto his own mattress. A selfish part of Donnie would've preferred leaving her on the bench to take her place, but lucky for Wren, Mind Raph warned him against it. And so he just put her down and sighed once more to show his displeasure of it, even if no one else was there.

Donnie also clocked the mess Leo had left on his floor and a heavy frown settled on his features. He'd have to clean that up once he got back ownership of his room.

He realized he'd been lingering. And when it registered to him that that was probably a fairly awkward thing to do, Donnie finally snuck back out again. The couch it was.

Chapter Text

That morning, Wren was surprised to find herself waking up in bed. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she also didn't remember going back to her—Er— Donnie's room.

She sat up and stretched, immediately assaulted by a sting of pain from her side. It caused her to drop her arms and hiss. Right, her rib was still very much fractured. On top of that, everything felt stiff and achey. What a terrible condition to wake up to.

Wren made her way out of bed and the subway cart, rubbing sleep off her eyes. Though generally speaking the lair was dark, she could see the distinctly even shine of an electric lamp from the upper room. There was also a muffled clatter of what she guessed was kitchenware. Someone must've been cooking.

Deciding to skip the stairs entirely, Wren let her wings carry her to the upper floor, where she made sure to have a soft landing this time. On the couch right by the stairs she could see Donnie, or what she guessed was Donnie, still wrapped up in his blanket like it was a cocoon.

"Good morning," she said softly as a test of his awareness.

"Go away or I will dedicate my next weapon of mass-destruction to hunting you down," mumbled the blanket. Alright, steering clear of that...

Wren finished her journey to the kitchen, and took just a moment to adjust to the bright lighting. The source of the clatter came from the plates Mikey was handling with a chef's hat adorning his head.

"Whatever that is, it smells amazing," she hummed from her place at the door. Mikey's hand flew up from the waffle iron he was just about to lift, eyes darting to Wren.

"Hi! Good morning! How'd you sleep?" he sang happily and returned to plating the treat. Wren watched him douse it with syrup and formed a smile.

"Better than I expected. Did...One of you carry me back to bed, by any chance?"

"Huh?"

Raph barged in before Mikey could process further, drying his head and neck with a fluffy pink towel. He settled behind Wren in the doorway and she stepped aside to give him room.

"Morning, Raph."

"Morning!" he greeted a little louder than Wren would prefer, "Do I smell waffles?"

"You sure do! Waffles and syrup à la your favorite brother, Michelangelo! Please enjoy," he encouraged while handing a heavy plate toward Raph. He was happy to accept it and made his way to the table.

"Thanks, Mikey! Waffles are a great post-workout snack."

"Post-workout?" mumbled Wren, "What time is it?"

"8:30. But don't worry, you're actually up kind of early," told Mikey while pressing another waffle.

"That explains Zombie Donnie," she mused.

"Oh, he's all talk! Don't worry about it," assured the youngest brother before offering a more normal sized plate of waffles toward Wren, "Here!"

"Thank you. Do you need any help?" she offered in turn of accepting a plate.

"I'm good, but thanks! Just go sit down with Raph. But don't sit too close. Waffles make him go feral." The last part was delivered in stage whisper, and Wren smiled at him.

She made her way to the dinner table and pulled out a seat as she set down her plate. An unhappy groan pulled her attention back to the kitchen doorway. Ah, Sleepytello. He was now dragging his blanket on his back, looking like he was about two steps from death.

"Good morning, Dee," hummed Mikey all the same, handing him a plate, "Here you go!"

Only a grunt was received in response before Donnie, still zombie-like, dragged his feet to the table. He looked like he might topple over and fall asleep on his breakfast at any moment.

"Can you pass the orange juice?"

Raph's request brought Wren back to Earth. She looked over to the jug and slid it across the table to Raph, who filled his glass. He proceeded to wolf down his waffles after a fine sip of his drink.

"Aaaand good morning, New York! Your Champion has awakened!" announced Leo as he stepped into the room, arms wide on his either side. Donnie pressed his hands over his ears.

"Morning, Leo!" welcomed Mikey.

"Oh man, are these waffles? You're spoiling us, Mike!" sang the blue brother, still in his pajamas, while he picked up a plate from the counter. He seated himself to the end of the table, farthest from Wren and between his two brothers.

"Hi," greeted Wren with a little wave. Leo winked at her before pouring himself a cup of juice.

"Ah, boys. Wren. Good morning," greeted Splinter, "I thought I smelled breakfast."

"Yeah, we're having waffles—"

Splinter snatched the plate from Mikey's hand and made his way out the kitchen. He frowned.

"That was my plate, but no problem, I'll just... Make a new one," he mumbled passive-agressively before turning to do just that.

There was a clear "splat" as Donnie finally fell asleep, face first, in his food. Leo and Raph proceeded to laugh at him before the former pulled out his phone for a picture. Wren adopted a smile and shook her head.

It wasn't such a terrible way to wake up.

It was sometime later, when Wren had eaten and washed up, that she finally started to feel awake. It seemed she wasn't the only one, going by the noise that had started to fill up the lair. Aside from the lively chatter and arcade games between Leo and Mikey, Splinter's shows and Raph's handheld gaming console, it was already quite active. The distinct sounds of metal banging on metal from somewhere in the distance only served to add to it.

"What is that?" she questioned from the lone snapper turtle with a light grimace. He didn't look up from his game, likely right in the middle of some action.

"That'd be Donnie in his lab. You get used to the noise."

"You do?" she doubted, still looking unhappy, "What is he doing in there?"

"Oh, I'm not gonna ask. Nice try," chuckled Raph, "As if I'd get stuck with that."

Wren looked toward the noise, then to Leo and Mikey. She supposed that if she wanted to enjoy herself, facing this right away would be her best choice. And so she drew in a breath in preparation before going to follow the racket.

As feared, the noise only grew louder by the time she reached the lab. The doors opened automatically upon entry. While there were many eye-catching things to immediately look at in the wide space, her attention was fixed on the floor at the center:

Donnie was sat there with an array of metal junk that he was actively beating with a heavy hammer for a purpose that was beyond her. Wren pressed her hands to her ears.

"Donnie!" she called, trying to reach him over the sound of his work. Unfortunately for her, he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones with music blasting in his ears. And so she had to bite the bullet and get closer. When her feet entered his field of view, Donnie startled bad enough that the hammer flew from his grip and he crawled back in alarm.

Then he relaxed all at once, pushing back one headphone.

"Oh, it's just you," he breathed before beginning to look around for his hammer, "Did you need something? Or did my brothers send you?"

"Yes, and no," she answered slowly while Donnie picked up the tool again, "What are you making?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked!" he stated, and Wren mentally prepared herself for a lengthy answer, "I'm making you a bedframe." Her shoulders relaxed.

"That's all?" she chuckled. Donnie cast her a frown.

"Yes, that's "all." Unfortunately, Raph was very clear with me about me what I'm allowed and not allowed to do." Wren raised a brow.

"What would you make if he hadn't told you that?"

Donnie fully moved his headphones down and around his neck.

"I have dabbled in a few different kinds of prototypes. In fact, I once built a bed that protects the sleeper from outside disturbances. For some reason my family hates it when I create AI-dependent inventions, but it's never my brilliant programming that causes them to go haywire," he explained while Wren seated herself on the edge of a nearby table—

"But I like to make my work personal. So for you, to decide exactly what kind of functions I wanted to add, I'd start with your physiology. For mattresses, half human, it's best to focus on spinal support. But your wings provide an additional dilemma, that... That..."

Donnie suddenly trailed off, his attention sliding on Wren. She was simply sitting there, watching, listening to him while he spoke. It felt entirely off.

"I notice you have yet to interrupt me. So either you've mastered the act of sleeping with your eyes open, or... And correct me if I'm wrong, you... Weren't going to?"

Wren blinked down at him a few times in confusion. Donnie could only stare, flabbergasted.

"I wasn't going to," Wren confirmed, to his sudden horror, "I was interested."

For a moment, it felt as if his brain had short circuited. Someone was listening to him rant about his inventions, without interruption. Someone was interested. Even April had her limits when it came to that, even if she was the most vocal about her admiration of his ability.

It was then that images crossed his mind unbidden. Of Wren smiling at him on the rooftop. Of her sleeping on his bed. On his bed! Donnie's hand found a place over his face while he paled, looking down at his unfinished work on the floor.

"Did I say something wrong...?" asked the half yokai nervously at Donnie's odd silence.

"I'm—" and his voice cracked in the most embarrassing manner, forcing him to retry, "I'm feeling sick, all of a sudden. Must've been... The waffles," he finished awkwardly, "I'mgonnagothrowupberightback."

Wren couldn't fully make out what had been said, but Donnie had suddenly gotten up and entirely abandoned his project, his lab and her. She sat there just a little longer, nothing short of befuddled.

But at least the noise had stopped.

"Raph—RAPH! Just the turtle I wanted to see!"

Despite Donnie's urgency, Raph didn't look up from his game.

"What do you want, Donnie?"

"I've developed a disastrous hypothesis concerning my own perception of a recent variable in our otherwise stagnant norm," he said in what sounded like the most roundabout way possible, "And unable to reach total objectivity, I find myself in need of a second opinion."

"Wait a minute. A second opinion?"

Raph furrowed his brows and finally lowered his game.

"You're asking for advice! I knew this day would come!" he suddenly celebrated and tossed the gaming device off to the side. It hit a pile of junk that quickly spread across the floor. Raph looked close to tears, and Donnie wanted to run away again.

"And I immediately regret it," he informed in a strained voice.

"Oh, I don't care! What do you need your big brother's advice on, Donnie?" beamed the elder brother, radiating a great deal of happiness.

And what did he, indeed? Ever since his realization three minutes ago, when he rushed out of his lab, a thousand thoughts had already crossed his mind. Donnie drew in a deep breath.

"I experienced a sudden onset of symptoms belonging to a common condition experienced among, well, almost all humans, at least once during their lifetime." Raph frowned.

"Are you trying to tell Raph you're sick?"

"No! And...Yes! But not sick as in ill, it's... More of an, ugh, emotional kind of sickness," he managed awkwardly, causing Raph to gasp.

"You're not depressed, are you?" he worried immediately, causing Donnie to groan loudly and drop his face in his hands.

"No, I'm not depressed! Why is it so hard to talk about this? I didn't have any problem professing my feelings about Atomic Lass—"

"Atomic Lass? Wait a minute. Donnie—" and Raph's face slacked with realization, "Are you trying to tell me you have a crush?"

Donnie stiffened involuntarily and suddenly couldn't meet Raph eyes.

"That...Is my hypothesis, yes," he stated awkwardly. It was a pleasantly normal problem and actually had Raphael relax at the thought of it. It was something he could actually help with!

"And does this person know about your feelings?"

"I'd hope not if I only realized it approximately five minutes ago." Raph folded his arms.

"Well, that'd be your first step. You can worry about the other stuff later." And Donnie had something of a visceral reaction to the thought of that.

"I realize the concept of a "crush" goes hand in hand with emotion by nature, but as you know, I am not so fond of that particular area. Isn't there a way that—"

"No," cut off Raph, deadpan. Donnie made a noise of frustration past his teeth.

"I wouldn't have to worry about this with Atomic Lass," he snapped.

"That's because Atomic Lass is not real, Donnie," reminded Raph dryly. His younger brother had a multitude of bad habits, many of them due to the way he felt and handled emotion. There was a mild worry to how Donnie would deal with a real life attraction in the first place.

"Eyy, you two. What are we talking about?"

Donatello wasn't sure when Leo and Mikey had invaded the private conversation, but now the former had his arm linked over the purple-clad turtle's shoulders. His obnoxious presence was far from what Donnie currently needed, but he knew there was no keeping it from them. And so he sighed.

"We are talking. About my "crush,"" he stated in the most tired manner, doing air quotes upon speaking the word 'crush' as if it wasn't completely accurate.

"Ohmigosh, a crush?! Donnie has a crush?!" exclaimed Mikey, the very picture of excitement.

"Shhh! Mikey! Do you want the entire lair to hear you?" hissed Donnie with a paranoid look around.

"Man, I bet it's on someone super lame," laughed Leo, fully prepared to make fun of his brother over this. At least, until something clicked and his world came crumbling down.

"Wait. Who is the crush on?"

Chapter Text

"Who is the crush on?"

Donatello frowned at his blue-masked brother, arms folding at his front.

"Ah, yes, let me tell the person who was just about to mock me more about the problem I'm currently having," he said with a good deal of sarcasm, "This will be shared on a need-to-know basis. And you of all people do not meet the requirements."

"Is it Wren?" asked Mikey. Donnie froze.

"It's Wren," the youngest brother concluded with a nod toward Raph, "I knew this'd happen when I ran into that weird time wizard book in her room. Literally, when we were floating."

"She reads Memoirs of a Timestress?" enthused Donnie before he could check himself, "Because... Why would I care? I went through more complicated books when I was eight," he added in a poor attempt to save face. He failed.

"Awwww. Donnie's nerdiness is actually kind of cute when it's over a girl," fawned Mikey, to his brother's embarrasment.

"Come on, lay off him, guys!" stated Raph, but he still looked giddy enough that it failed to come off authoritative. There was a sudden snort from Leo.

"Pffft, but, like... Wren?" he questioned, immediately gaining puzzled looks from his siblings, "Why her? Sure, I guess she's nice and all, but why with her... Y'know, her... She's too quiet for you, bro. Don't you want someone who's a bit more of a weirdo like you? Or someone who does math in space, or whatever it was you like."

"Umm, okay. I'll admit this isn't the tone I expected you to strike. What gives, Leo?" replied Donnie with a certain amount of confusion. He expected Leo to make fun of him having feelings for someone, sure. What he didn't expect was for Leo to be so strangely against the target of them.

"Nothiiing! Is it that weird for me to want what's best for my third favorite brother? Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tend to some leftovers I forgot about," claimed the blue brother while slinking down the stairs.

"That was weird," stated Raph with his eyes lingering where Leo had gone off to. Mikey nodded his agreement and crossed his arms.

"What was?"

Wren's soft voice was like a jumpscare. Donnie's wrist guard beeped with a mechanical sound of: "Sudden elevated heart rate detected," and he slapped a hand over the device. A second later he was furiously tapping at it. Wren blinked between him and the two other turtles.

"Did I startle you?" she chuckled, "I didn't think ninjas would be so easy to sneak up on." Mikey and Raph glanced at one another.

"Do you think it's the purple hair?" she heard Raph whisper, which produced another confused blink.

"And that's quite enough of that," stated Donnie. Suddenly a claw escaped the back of his shell and reached up to pinch Raph's lips together. The latter screamed into his own mouth.

"Dhmm, mh hmm hmmg hmm hmh mm hmm hngh—" said(?) Raph angrily.

"Yes, right. An eloquent point, my friend," nodded Donnie as if he understood.

"So, Wren... What do you wanna do today?" asked Mikey, arms crossing behind his back.

"I was thinking I'd finish cleaning that room. So last night doesn't repeat all over again," she said sheepishly.

"Good thinking! I'll come with you," offered Mikey, "And I think Donnie was going to join us later."

"Right, you're literally making me a bed. Which I appreciate, by the way. Thank you."

And if Donnie hadn't just turned off that setting, he worried his gauntlet may have repeated the message from earlier.

"No probbles," he found himself answering. His eye twitched. Thankfully, Mikey took Wren's arm to drag her downstairs.

"Come on, Wren. I wanna show you my paints!"

Only once they were gone did Donnie's mechanical arm release Raph. Who immediately rubbed at the reddened marks on his face.

"Raph, I just said "no probbles" and I can't take it back," he groaned, pinching the space between his eyes.

"What's wrong with no probbles?"

"Pickuppickup, pick. Up," ranted Leo at his phone while he pressed it tight against his ear. After a few rings the line connected.

"What's up, Leo? I had to dip outta my lecture," came April's voice.

"We have a code red alert! I, I think. What qualifies as code red?" stumbled Leo, "You know what? Doesn't matter. The point is we're in big trouble!"

He reached his room and threw himself on the bed dramatically.

"We're in big trouble, or you're in big trouble?"

"Same thing! But also, Donnie's in trouble."

"Well, spit it out! I don't got all day here." Leo slapped a hand over his face and let it slide down.

"Donnie has a crush on Wren," he informed in a dire tone of voice. There was a beat of silence.

"Donnie's got a crush on Wren?" came excitedly, then, "Oh no. Donnie's got a crush on Wren."

"I know! It's the worst!" groaned Leo, "I have to keep them apart, right?"

"You know how you could solve this the easiest?" replied April dully.

"I know, I know! But I can't tell them the truth, April—"

Noise from the outside of the train had Leo quickly sitting up, cut off in the middle of his sentence. It was Mikey and Wren, laughing about something as they headed into the youngest brother's room.

"Yes you can. Because if you won't, I will." Leo gasped.

"Hey! That's breaking an explicit promise!" he accused.

"It's for your own good, Leo. You're gonna let all of this get out of hand. Now, I gotta get back to my super interesting economics professor. That was sarcasm, by the way."

"Ew, economics? That was your first mistake."

"Yeah, I'm really paying for my choices, here. Anyway, gotta go. Remember: Tell them, or else."

The call cut off and Leo groaned, falling back against his mattress. He tossed the phone off to the side, drawing in a deep breath he released while staring at the ceiling.

There were two voices competing in Leo's head. The first one said that the right thing to do was to keep up the charade, to give his family a break that lasted just a little longer. If that was born from guilt, too, he didn't acknowledge it.

The other voice claimed that the right thing was to let them know the truth as soon as possible. Which, of course, was now. There was nothing stopping him from doing so. Nothing but himself.

He heard the voices return as Wren and Mikey passed his room, the latter carrying some spray paints. But Leo's attention lingered on Wren, on the way she interacted so kindly with his brother.

For a moment, their eyes met through a window of his room.

Leo was the one to break contact.

"Woah! Did you do all this?"

Mikey didn't bother to subdue his admiration when he picked up some of the sketches Wren had left lying around. Suddenly, she was looking away with a blush across her cheeks.

"I just couldn't sleep at first with all these ideas in my head," she informed shyly.

"These are awesome, Wren! Were you gonna make them into real clothes?"

The paints Mikey had brought in were placed by the wall. They still had to clean a part of the cart before he could start painting, but he'd been rambling about his ideas for the entire walk over. When he saw that Wren also had an artistic side, it only served to excite him more. The only person in his family who could kind of relate to him in terms of creativity was Donnie, and even then the connection was flimsy at times.

"Maybe! I did bring my sewing machine," she stated while gesturing to the thing. It was propped beside the table and looked ancient in comparison to modern, electric machines. But it was also pretty nice to look at, like an ornate antique.

"Woah! Is this magic, too?"

"No, I couldn't afford one. But it'd be cool to have, eventually." Mikey looked at the sketches again.

"I bet you could save up if you sold these things," he told her brightly. Wren did something of a twitch, as if surprised.

"You think people would buy them?"

"Of course! You have a talent for it. There's a bunch here I'd like to wear," he assured. And maybe coming from a fellow artist it was especially encouraging, because the look Wren gave him was a shocked mix of happiness and gratitude. The expression then morphed into a full smile.

"In that case I definitely have to make them," she said softly, "Thanks, Mikey. Really."

"You're welcome!" he returned cheerfully, rounding to his paints, "Oh, shoot. I forgot the red. One sec!"

As the boy darted out the room, Wren placed a hand over her full heart. She wasn't sure the extent of her 'thank you' reached Mikey, but she hoped he felt it all the same. For the first time in a long while, she felt relieved.

By the time Mikey returned a few minutes later, she was sweeping the floors with a broom she'd left in the corner last night. She heard him talking, and soon put together he was on the phone.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, April."

He put the smartphone away after that, looking over to Wren.

"The red paint's at April's place. I think I accidentally left it there when I was lending them for her last project. Do you mind if I go get it?" he explained. She shook her head.

"Want me to come with?"

Though Mikey wanted to say yes right away, he found himself glancing back at the stairs. But then again, it wouldn't take that long.

"Sure! But I think it's still raining out there."

"That's okay. I'm not made of sugar," she assured while putting aside the broom.

"Donnie might disagree," mumbled Mikey with a smirk ghosting his lips.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that?" replied Wren confusedly, leaning a little closer.

"Uh, I was just thinking there's some murals I wanted to show you. So if you don't mind getting a little wet, we could take the scenic route?"

The pair headed off the train and toward the exit.

"That sounds fun. I'd bring my sketchbook, but..."

"Yeah, paper and rain don't mix. Been there."

Once again soft laughter echoed as the mutant and yokai made their way through the lair, carefree in their blissful ignorance.

Chapter Text

The sound of rain echoed all the way down into the subway tunnel. The stairs were wet from the top, where little streams of water had been pulled by gravity. Wren watched it run deeper down while following Mikey to the outside.

"Do the tunnels get flooded during bad storms?" she found herself asking in passing.

"Yeah, they do sometimes. But Donnie's got some stuff in place to keep the lair safe," he assured, one hand coming to shield his head as he entered the rain. Wren braced herself before doing the same.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Maybe you'll get to see if this storm keeps going!" replied Mikey with a smile, "But let's get up to the rooftops. We don't wanna run into the Purple Dragons again – or worse."

Wren grimaced at the thought.

"Yeah, good call," she hummed with a peek at her surroundings, "Race you there!"

"You're so on!"

Even with the art detours, the road to April's remained an easy one. They were only a couple blocks away, currently standing in the shade of a quiet bus stop while admiring a mural. It consisted of a jungle scenery with big cats and neon shades, captivating with its beautiful balance of color.

"I wonder if I'm gonna find something new to fall in love with in this town every day," hummed Wren, "It's so vibrant. It'd be so great to make a jacket with this pattern."

Mikey, who was in the middle of snapping a picture of the mural with his phone, beamed at the idea.

"Oh pleasepleaseplease let me wear it! I promise I'll rock it!"

"Of course. Who else would I be making it for?" she half joked and gave a light shove to Mikey's shoulder, "Anyway— Don't we have some paint to fetch?"

Mikey turned to finish taking his picture before he put away his phone.

"Try to keep up!" he challenged, hopping to grip the top of the bus stop roof. He pulled himself on top of it with a flip and grinned through the glass, then hopped up to a balcony right behind them.

"Only people who can't win fair cheat like that!" called Wren as she stepped out and spread her wings, grinning despite her words.

"Says you!"

"Hey! It's not cheating to be fast," she countered while flying over Michelangelo. The latter made his final hop onto the roof with the yokai having to halt to avoid a collision in the air. She landed on the rooftop right after him.

"So maybe you should work on that. Snap! Now let's hear it for Mikey! Uh huh!"

While the turtle put on a victory dance, Wren only giggled at him behind her hand. Their time spent together kept making her feel bubbly, like a laugh was always waiting to be let out in her stomach.

The moment was interrupted when there was an echo of something hard slamming into something... Equally hard. What followed it was a shrill war scream, though it was difficult to tell where it originated.

"W-what was that?" asked Wren while abruptly surveying her surroundings. Mikey had stopped dancing in favor of pulling out his nunchaku.

"Do you think we're being chased by a drippy turtle-eating monster with a forked tongue and hairy gorilla arms?! Because I'm not ready to die like that!"

"Hey, I think I know that guy," replied Wren.

"You know that guy?! Then why is he chasing us? Don't tell me you out-dripped him and now he has a vendetta!"

"CASSANDRA JONEEEEEEEES!!!"

All at once the tension that had built left Mikey's body. It wasn't the same for Wren, who'd paled and backed up a few steps in panic.

"What's a cassandrajones?" The ninja beside her tucked away his weapons.

"Let me show you," he spoke, suddenly with a grin on. Wren was left puzzled by the change in attitude. Mikey grabbed her wrist to pull her to the edge of the building.

Peering down, they could finally see the source of the noise. In the alleyways, two members of the Purple Dragons were stumbling back, one of them with a robotic arm and the other with an electrified bat. They looked disheveled, like they were just coming out of a fist fight.

That was when a third figure entered the scene, stepping around the corner. They wore black and red with a white hockey mask over their face. On their back was a stickbag with a few different variations of hockey-sticks-turned-weapons. The figure reached back to pull one out.

"Stay back!" warned the Purple Dragons, lifting their weapons in defense.

"NO! I'm tired of you people running around the streets, thinking you can terrify others into doing whatever you want! Sure, that's not so different from what I used to do, but! IT'S CALLED A REDEMPTION ARC!"

They kicked a trash can beside them and the lid spun off into the air, where the vigilantee slammed their hockey stick into it with great force. It flew forward and straight into the two Dragons, throwing them back and off their feet.

"Screw this, let's just go back to Kendra!" shouted the robot-armed one as they both scrambled to their feet.

"GET OUT BEFORE I PUMMEL YOU BOTH INTO CYBORG BITS!"

The threat seemed to work in putting a fire under the two Purple Dragons as they sped through the alleyways. The vigilantee was left alone in the shadows.

In hidnsight, Mikey realized that landing behind her right after a fight was a bad idea. Especially with a friend who had no defense training to speak of.

"Hi Cassandra!" he greeted happily. To which the vigilantee spun around with a growl, her hockey stick connecting with the first solid thing on its path.

"Oh crap—"

For a split second, Wren's vision had gone red. She hit the ground and gasped, a sharp pain on her previously injured rib. Just as she'd gotten used to the dull ache it gave off in the background. But then another pain hit her, right below her left eye, and she whimpered as she tried to touch the area. The rain cascading on her was both pleasantly cool and hammering painfully on the new bruise.

"Oh man, dad's gonna kill me!" whined Mikey, who she now realized was crouched beside her, "Wren? Can you hear my voice? Don't go into the light! Unless... Unless we're the light! In which case, come into the light!"

She winced while pushing herself up to sit, rubbing the back of her head. She hadn't hit it hard, thank goodness, but it still hadn't been pleasant the way her body met the pavement.

"Wow, that hurt," she finally rasped.

"My bad. It was all the purple on you right after that fight," said the stranger's voice from before, and a human hand entered her vision. Wren blinked up to the vigilantee, her mask now raised to reveal her face. Her eyes widened while she accepted the hand that pulled her up. The surprise was enough that she managed to ignore another flash of pain from her side.

"You... Look so cool," Wren blurted in her state of slight delirium, "Your makeup, your whole getup, your hair. It's all so awesome." The strange girl grinned widely to this and put the hockey stick back in its bag.

"Thanks! The name's Cassandra," she introduced with confidence Wren could only dream of.

"I'm Wren. I'm, I'm friends with Mikey," she explained, gesturing to the turtle, "I mean, our dads are friends. I mean, we're also friends, but we met because of our dads." She found herself giving out the explanation awkwardly and made a face off to the side.

"Which one? The rat or the lunch lad?"

"Huh?"

"Splinter. We think he's up to something, but it's not super important," Mikey brushed off easily, "We were just headed to April's to grab a thing. Wanna come?"

"Sure. I just got done taking out the trash. I've got some free time."

While Mikey made a move for the nearest ladder, Wren spread her wings again. As she did, she brought a hand to her side and hissed, halting the movements of the ninja.

"You didn't hit your side when you landed, did you?" he worried, and when Cassandra cast him a look, he continued: "She fractured her rib yesterday." She stifled a laugh.

"Pffft, a fracture's nothing! She's fine!" argued Cassandra and hopped up to catch the ladder, "Let's go already." Mikey still glanced at Wren one more time to make sure.

"I'm fine, Mikey. I think the fall just irritated it," she assured with a pained smile, "Meet you at the top!"

She took off with these words, letting herself shoot up the side of the building. And as much as the others still tried to claim so, Wren didn't count it as cheating.

It was a little later than they initially intended to return, but they made it back all the same. Cassandra had parted ways with them a bit before they went back underground, as much as Wren had immediately taken a liking to her. In fact, for once Mikey had to be the responsible one and stop them from playing a very violent match of street hockey with the yokai still injured.

(Even if he did say that they'd be back for it at a later time.)

They had devolved right back into silliness, with Mikey chasing Wren while attempting to spray paint her wings. The latter giggled as she dodged the misty spray.

"Mikey! You're gonna run out!" she tried, though couldn't keep the smile off her face. He playfully dove for her and she grabbed onto the can, where the two wrestled for control of it.

"I'm telling you it'll look cool!" he said in response.

"And I'm telling you I'll be rubbing paint off my wings for hours—! Ha!" She managed to wrangle the can so the spray pointed toward Mikey and she pressed the trigger. His face quickly got a coating of red paint and the turtle sputtered and coughed as he backed up.

"Take that! Mutants – 1, Yokai – 3," she stated while going to toss the can up in a little twirl. She missed the catch and fumbled in trying to not let it hit the floor.

"Okay, I admit defeat," forfeited Mikey, his palms up in defense. He opened his eyes slowly as if to not get paint in them. Wren laughed at the sight of him.

"You look like a tiny Raph."

"What do you mean tiny?!"

Wren was on the taller side, which meant Mikey remained the second shortest member in the household. Something Wren decided she'd hold over his head. Literally.

"Come on, Raph Jr.," she teased on her way to her new room. Mikey pursed his lips.

"I'll show you junior," he retorted in a nothing threat.

Wren gasped and nearly jumped back when she entered her room. Some kind of robot spider monster had invaded her— Oh, it was just Donnie. Her shoulders slumped when she relaxed, seeing him crouched at the side of the room.

"Heya!"

The shout that left the turtle was something Donnie would deny for the next ten years. Mikey laughed at it all the same, watching as his genius brother scrambled to his feet, spider arms all pointed at Wren.

"Wow, you're really easy to scare. My bad," she chuckled, not apologetic at all, if you asked Donnie, "What are—Oh, are you installing my bed?"

She tried to peek past Donnie, and each time he stepped in the way of her line of sight.

"Yes! That is indeed what I am doing. Installing a completely normal bedframe, with nothing extra programmed—I mean added to it at all," he stated with a tight smile that caused Wren to quirk a brow, "Now, Mikey, if you would. Can you hand me that mattress?"

"Oh, this one?"

The spider arms grabbed onto it and slammed it down, covering up whatever Donnie was hiding. They proceeded to make the bed with Wren's blanket, pillow and sheets.

"Perfectly executed according to order!" presented Donatello, falling onto his knees as him and his extra arms all gestured to the sleeping cot. And Wren had to give it to him: It did look comfortable.

"Okay. What did you do?" she asked right away, reaching down to lift the mattress. And the bed frame grabbed onto it, making her startle back in surprise.

"Nothing! Why would you think I did anything? I just said it's completely tech-free. Oh, look at the time."

Donnie went to slink away and Mikey grabbed his shoulder. He placed a hand over the side of his mouth and lowered his voice.

"Donnie! This is your chance to spend time with Wren. Offer to help her more," he whispered past his teeth, "Oh, and she likes fashion, reading and flying. You're welcome."

"Hey, I like those things! Well I mean, flying more for the convenience of it, but admittedly it's pretty cool sometimes. I mean come on, I built a jetpack! How sick is that?"

"Yes, it's very cool, I'm proud of you Donnie—Hey Wren? I'm gonna go wash my face. Dee said he'll help you instead!"

This was followed with a push of his brother back into the room. Donnie grabbed onto the doorframe to not fall on his face.

"Okay!" agreed Wren easily, watching as the younger ran off. It was then that the remaining two met eyes.

"Woah. What happened to your face?" asked Donnie with a point at the bruise. Wren raised a hand right there.

"Wait, your clothes are all wet. You were outside, weren't you?" he continued.

"Just for a minute," she reasoned with a little shrug and smile, "I'm not a prisoner, am I?" Wren joked.

"I mean, no, but it wasn't smart either. Just look at what happened yesterday." She rolled her eyes.

"I know, Donnie. But I'm not gonna freeze up like that again," she said while moving to pick up the broom once more.

"It's really not that convincing when half of your face is blue. And swollen. You didn't ice it, did you?"

"Donnie. I appreciate the worry. And as much as my dad would kill—well, not me, but everyone in this house probably—if he saw this, it really wasn't that bad."

Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Fine! I'll take your, the tourist's, word for it. Because of course you know best," he stated in obvious sarcasm that left Wren frowning, "Wasn't your father a Battle Nexus fighter? You'd think he'd have some kind of powerful ability to pass onto his children."

She cast a look at the floor.

"He does," she admitted softly.

"Perfect! Then use it!"

The way Wren gripped the broom in her hands and refused to meet eyes with Donnie set off an alarm. Oh. Right, feelings. And it looked like he'd hit a sore spot while going off ranting at her. There was a moment of hesitation before he spoke up again.

"You can't, can you?"

"I, I mean. I don't know," she groaned, moving to slump into a seat on the suspicious bed, "Maybe? Dad has this awesome ability where he can crystallize all his feathers like they're a suit of armor. He was known as an unpenetrable opponent. The only place I even have feathers are my wings, and I've never really been interested in fighting. So I've never properly tried."

Donnie didn't meet her eyes either. He turned around to Wren's things, scattered across the room, and started to pick up and sort them wordlessly.

After a few beats of silence, she also got back up to continue cleaning. Donnie could feel the tension and drew in a deep breath.

"Look, I didn't mean to yell at you," he stated after a while, and though it wasn't exactly an apology, it wasn't the worst thing to say.

"It's okay. I know you were yelling out of concern," she hummed in return, "It's sweet that you care."

Donnie could feel his heart beat, and he didn't like the acknowledgement. It was more than a little distracting. The voice of Raph reminded him about what it was he should do. But the more he mulled it over, he decided he wasn't ready. And especially right after yelling at them, confessing your feelings to someone wasn't the greatest idea. He could do much better than that.

"I'm sorry," he said, eyes cast off to the side and then to Wren. She paused to meet his gaze.

"I forgive you," she assured with a little smile, "And I'm sorry for worrying you." Donnie could feel the color rushing to his face and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Me? Worried? I don't know how you came to that conclusion," he defended clumsily, "Where's the data? The evidence? It's a lame hypothesis, if you ask me. And not even worth the word theory."

"If you say so," she agreed with a little smirk on her face, "By the way, do you think you could maybe spin me a bookshelf? Or just give me a plank to use. I just wanna put my novels somewhere."

"I can definitely do better than a plank, thankyouverymuch. I mean, have you seen your new bed? The function it—that it absolutely does not possess—I..."

Wren's laugh interrupted the poor lie. Donnie picked up her pillow and tossed it at her face in retaliation.

"Ow!"

Chapter Text

All of the teens, with the exception of Mikey, were gathered in a circle, sitting on pillows and beanbags. The youngest of the brothers had been solely focused on painting for a couple hours now. There had been a promise of joining game night later, but for now, it was the three other turtles and Wren.

"Aaaand I own Crystal Street, which means you owe me ten whole unicorns, 'Tello. Wow, I'm really leaving you out to dry, aren't I? If I were you I'd be so mad right now, but you're taking it like a champ. Good for you," said Leo in a practised air of ease. It served its purpose, making Donnie grind his teeth as he handed out the last of his pink unicorn pieces.

"I'm one short," he seethed.

"Sorry, but that just won't do, Don-Don. Looks like I'm taking one of your streets, too! Now which one do I wanna go for...? Spider-Hop Lane or Alabaster Alley? Man, decisions, decisions."

What Wren had quickly learned about board games between the brothers was that while Donnie was fine strategically speaking, he had the most terrible luck in everything. Leo tended to win almost every single game, driving the knife deeper and deeper every time. Raph was just along for the ride, celebrating on the occasion of his rare victories.

"I'm gonna grab a drink. Do you guys want some?" she asked while getting to her feet.

"No, I'm good! Just the sweet taste of victory is enough for this turtle. Am I right, Donnie?" stated Leo while leaning back on his beanbag. Wren could see murderous intent in Donnie's eyes and decided to dip right away.

Looking through the fridge, she saw a few variations of juice and a bottle of lemonade with a note that said 'from Todd.' She picked it out to observe, wondering if it was special in some way. Incase it was, it probably wasn't okay to drink. And so she moved to put it back, until...

"Ah! Is that Todd's lemonade?" came Splinter's voice just a few feet behind her, causing Wren to spin around, "I came in for tea, but that lemonade is sinful. Meaning delicious but terrible for my hips."

The old rat mutant looked at Wren for only a second or so before his expression fell into shock. Noting how he had fixated on her face, she brought a hand over the bruise she'd acquired earlier that day. She could see how his mood morphed from surprise into anger.

"BOYS!!"

The game was quickly interrupted by Splinter rushing into the room. Wren ghosted him with her eyes wide and worried, uncertain what exactly would follow.

"Uh oh," sounded Raph as the three turned to their father.

"Didn't I confront you about this exact thing yesterday?!" shouted Splinter, "How did Wren get a black eye? What did you do, throw her in a room full of Foot ninja? When will you understand she isn't battle-trained?! We're responsible for her safety!"

"It was my fault," Wren chimed in quickly, "I got too close and got hit by accident."

"Your father isn't going to see it that way! This is irresponsible behaviour from all of you," countered Splinter with a gesture of upset with his hands. There was a twitch on the corner of Leo's mouth.

"Don't yell at her," cut in Donnie, "Because I already did. So the whole speech about responsibility you're about to give has already been passed on, you're welcome. Moving on."

"You yelled at Wren?" questioned Raph with a frown.

"Oh no, you're not getting out of this that easily, Purple. Clearly you either refuse to listen, or that sense is impaired on all of you! I can't believe you can save New York but can't keep a single girl from being harmed when I ask for it!"

"Okay, I'm done with you lecturing us," called Leo suddenly, rising from his seat, "You're the one keeping secrets from us and doing things behind our backs, expecting us to respect that! You know whose "fault" this is. And I'm done pretending like it's ours."

"Leo, where are you going?" asked Raph, rising partway as his brother made to exit the scene entirely. Leo didn't answer and only walked out of view.

Splinter had been stunned into silence for the moment, a conflicted expression on his face. Wren felt too nervous to breathe, unaware what had happened just then. Donnie was quietly moving game currency onto his side of the board.

"Tell Blue that he is to see me when he gets back. As for the rest of you, one more thing like this and you're all grounded," Splinter warned, quickly disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Noo, I can't believe he would ground us, whatever would we do," stated Donnie in quiet sarcasm, his expression level. It was likely Splinter wouldn't even notice they were gone even if they were to be grounded. It had happened before.

Wren moved to take her seat again, visibly upset as she placed herself on the cushion beside Donnie's. She went through her cards and looked around.

"Whose turn was it?" she asked with lacking enthusiasm. Raph frowned again.

"Look, if you're not feeling it anymore, we should just stop. There's other stuff we can do," he said.

Wren said nothing, but dropped her cheeks into her hands. Her eyes were downcast, guilt written all over her. It was her who had wanted to go topside, it was her who got blown up and cracked her rib, and it was her who stood too close to Cassandra. And yet it was everyone but her that got into trouble. For some people that might've been a relief, but Wren wasn't one of those people. Instead, she felt every bit of the trouble she'd caused, and thensome.

"That's it. The vibe is officially off," stated Donnie, and if it was coming from him it had to be, "And although it's usually not my forte, I'm putting an end to it. Come on."

Donnie rose to his feet, and a hand was extended for the half yokai to take. She blinked up to it, then to Donnie's face. He wasn't looking at her, and his expression gave away nothing. Wren hesitated a moment longer before taking his hand, and she was pulled up to stand.

Raph flashed a small smile as he watched his sibling pull Wren into the arcade room. He got up to follow them though, of course. He had to see how this one would end.

Up against the wall amongst many other arcade machines, some salvaged from their old lair and others found more recently, sat one of the siblings' all-time favorites. It was wider than the other machines, with a square patterned platform at the front. One that Donnie lead Wren onto by the hand.

"Good call, Donnie! If there's one game you can't play while down in the dumps, it's this one," said Raph from the side, "Dancing's a happy activity!"

Wren froze up and turned to the brothers with a hesitant look.

"Dancing? I don't know, guys. I'm not really much of a dancer," she warned nervously.

"Lucky for you then, it's not actual dancing. All you have to do is step on the right colored tiles," explained Donnie while setting up the machine, "But as much as the evidence remains anecdotal, it has been known to uplift."

She looked from Donnie to the screen, watching a couple different views pass by before he was scrolling through a songs list. He picked one very quickly, and Wren realized he must've gone through this list so many times he had it memorized.

An electronic beat began to play while Donnie stepped back from the platform. The lights below Wren's feet came to life and she looked down, eyes wide. Then numbers began appearing on the screen.

3...2...1...Dance!

Even as the guiding symbols began appearing on the screen, she hesitated, looking between them and the colors at her feet. Raph was the first to perk up.

"Quick! Put your foot on yellow!"

She gasped and did so, the marker on the screen flashing its approval. A couple more were missed, but she saw an incoming red. So, taking initiative this time, she moved her foot and the marker flashed again.

"You're getting it!" encouraged the red brother. Wren steeled her nervous expression and moved her foot again, to blue this time. And then she had to move the other one to reach the next color.

Thankfully, the beat wasn't too fast and she could keep up, even if Wren kept getting confused about which foot to use at any time. And then, suddenly, it showed she needed to be on two colors at once! She gasped, missing the first two before she hopped, hitting both cues at once for the first time.

"Nice!" praised Raph again, closing his hand into a fist.

While Wren was starting to pick it up, Donnie observed. At first he'd watched the screen and her expressions, trying to estimate whether he'd picked the right thing to do. But then as she learned and began to focus, he found his attention attracted to other things. He watched her move, from how her center of gravity remained surprisingly intact despite her claim of not being able to dance. Donnie found his eyes flicking to her wings, and it clicked.

The wings connected to her on her lower black. He guessed they were lighter than they looked – after all, him and his brother also had shells that would have affected their balance had the mutation not accounted for it. But these wings, instead of being a burden on her, served to balance much like the tail of a cat, or another more unflattering choice of mammal. The minor shifts of the appendages while she moved hinted at it, but he hadn't been able to observe it as clearly until now.

The song ended. Wren was a little out of breath despite the beginner's choice. Her hand came up to her side and she stepped down from the platform. Donnie realized the injury must've been aching.

"Do you need to sit?" he offered automatically, one hand extended as if to help her. She looked up at him rather quickly, like she hadn't clocked he'd been watching. Maybe because Donnie hadn't said a word in a few minutes.

"Yeah, sit down," stated Raph with a smirk and cracked his knuckles, "Let a real pro show you how it's done!"

Wren laughed softly as Raph took the platform.

"I'm okay," she assured. She also brushed some hair behind her ear in a gesture Donatello simply found cute. Her hood was off her head, giving him full view of the lilac hue that matched her feathers.

He settled for the answer, letting his hand fall back. He folded his arms as he turned to Raph, mainly to give them something to do so he wouldn't anxiously clench his fingers.

Donnie disliked this feeling. He kept wanting to make contact, to touch her hand or shoulder for no good reason at all. He doted over her more than he ever did over, well, anyone, and he tried to lie to himself that it was because he saw her as defenseless. But he knew the reason – his brothers knew the reason – and it felt... He didn't know.

He filed some of his feelings away to biology. Emotions were complex and unpleasant to feel, much easier to categorize like types of metals or circuitry. With his family it was different, though he did suppress and manage his feelings unconventionally even with them. They'd watched him grow, grown up with him, and understood his quirks fine enough. And he hated that he worried Wren might not, even if she'd shown signs to the contrary before.

A subtle shift of his eyes let him steal another glance at her. Donnie had only known her for two days, and already he'd formed such an annoyingly deep attraction. All at once he decided that crushes were completely dumb and a waste of time. That he had no choice but to indulge in.

Mikey shook the can a final time before giving the painting its final touch with just a little bit of flourish. He stepped back to admire the work, a smile spreading across his face when he decided he liked it. He set down the spray paint and pressed the cap back on. Time to go fetch Wren.

He stepped out of the train cart, the door open to keep the air breathable. He would've beelined straight for the upstairs if it weren't for the movement on his left. And he turned to that flash of blue, seeing his brother wandering up the tunnel.

"Leo! I finished it!" he told excitedly.

"That's, uh, great, Mikey," the older turtle stated with a sheepish rub of his neck, "But there's something we need to talk about."

Noting the unusual seriousness of the slider, Mikey found himself on guard, browline furrowed in worry.

"What's wrong?"

Leo sighed, his hand falling to his side as a brief smile grazed his lips. He guessed he didn't exactly seem like himself at the moment, and for some reason it served to be an amusing thought.

"Come on, Mike. I'll tell you guys upstairs. But I'm telling you now, do not shoot the messenger, no matter how much this news sucks!"

"What did you do, Leo?" asked the younger brother dubiously, his worry dropped as the two walked for the stairs.

"Nothing! I swear on my Jupiter Jim comics it wasn't me this time!"

"Your Jupiter Jim comics and twenty bucks," challenged Mikey, immediately taking advantage of the situation. Leo groaned.

"Fine, and twenty bucks. But you're not gonna get it, so it doesn't matter!"

Leo didn't mention he didn't even have twenty bucks right now.

"Uh huh. We'll see about that."

Chapter Text

When Leo and Mikey entered the upstairs, they heard the noises from the arcade room and used them as their guide. Right by the doorframe, Leo raised his hand to his brother's bicep to bring them both into a halt.

"Just give me a second," he asked. Leo took the beat of time he'd bought for himself to breathe in deep, his eyes falling shut. Once he had blown it all the way out, he looked up and nodded.

Understanding the cue, Mikey headed into the arcade with his brother right on his heel. He frowned briefly at the thought of whatever Leo had to say, but quickly replaced it with a smile upon seeing the rest of his brothers.

"Take that, you archaic piece of tech!"

Donnie was on the dance machine, intense enough that it must've been a few rounds into competition by now. To his side were Raph and Wren, with polar opposite attitudes to one another while watching his performance.

"You're a Sunday dancer, Donnie! There's no way you're taking me down!"

"Don't listen to his taunts, Donatello. Keep your eyes on the prize," he stated to himself with stuttering breaths matching his practised dance steps.

"You've got this, Donnie!" cheered Wren, her smile bright and happy as she leaned forward to watch the markers light up.

"Ooh! Ooh! I want a turn next!" exclaimed Mikey, mission immediately forgotten at the first sign of fun. Raph and Wren turned to acknowledge him, only for their eyes to land on who was behind.

"Leo! Where were you?!" asked Raph. Donnie's steps stuttered at the name and his focus broke. He stood still on the colored tiles as he turned to his blue brother.

"I needed some air. But hey, at least I didn't manage to wreck the mood!" Yet. Wren's eyes softened and she approached him through the room.

"I'm so sorry, Leo. I really didn't think your father would yell at you guys like that. I swear." Leo quickly placed a hand on Wren's shoulder to reassure her.

"Hey, no! Don't worry! It wasn't your fault – it was the Purple Dragons, and— Okay, the second time was kind of your fault, and Mikey's—"

"Heeey!"

"But I forgive you. I mean, you already paid for it."

Wren breathed out softly, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.

"I got lucky Cassandra didn't break my face," she agreed with a little shrug of her shoulder.

"Exactly," huffed Leo. Seeing Wren's concerns had been satisfied, he turned to the rest of the room.

"It was weird to see you blowing up at dad like that. I mean I get we're all a little suspicious of him right now. But I didn't know you were so bothered," said Raph.

"Oh, trust me, you're about to be the same," stated Leo, and everyone perked up at once.

"What do you mean?" asked Mikey in genuine surprise. Donnie narrowed his eyes.

"You know something we don't," realized Raph.

"Obviously he does. And now that we know that much, I expect to hear the rest," added Donatello sternly.

Leo turned from his brothers to Wren beside her. She was looking at him, inquisitive, brows furrowed a little in thought. Then her eyes widened marginally.

"Is this about what you wanted to tell me?" And Leo smiled at her wryly. That was all the answer she needed.

"Remember when we got that weird letter last week, before Wren moved in?" Leo began, suppressing a shiver at the mention of the subject, "Dad didn't let me read it, so of course I had to steal it later. And it was from Asuka."

"Leo! You can't just go around reading people's personal letters! It's breaking secrecy of correspondence!" chided Mikey, though, "What did it say?"

"It said—Excuse me," Leo paused to suppress a gag with his fist, "It said he wants us to marry his daughter."

There was a beat of silence.

Raph broke into a laugh, hands on his hips as he doubled over a bit.

"Good one, Leo! You had me worried for a sec there," he chuckled, "I thought it was gonna be something crazy bad, but boy did you get us." Donnie picked up on the tone of his brother.

"Right, a joke. That's fine, just make a habit of nearly making me go into cardiac arrest. In other news, I have a battle to win here, so if you would please redirect your attention..."

Wren was silent, and surprisingly, so was Mikey. The youngest turtle recounted the events leading up to the admission, Leo's expressions and weird behaviour. Even now, his composure hadn't broken. No, he was...

"He's being serious," Mikey voiced, voice shivering with shock. Donnie paused, bringing his eyes to Mikey, and then to Leo. He also seemed to clock the expression and froze.

"Yeah, right! As if Master Splinter would really... Would really..."

Though Raph denied it, he finally allowed himself to think about it. Their father did come from a traditional background. They were only a couple years from becoming "legal" adults, though the legality of anything as a mutant turtle was questionable at best. And Wren had suddenly been dropped into their lives, with no forewarning, to live and "get acquainted" with the brothers.

Raphael's face paled as his thought process caught up with the others'.

"Now do you get why I was yelling?" pressed Leo, his arms spreading to the sides dramatically, "He's literally playing matchmaker behind our backs! Who does that? I get that parents wanna meddle in their childrens love lives and stuff, but marriage? Excuse me, but are we in the— I don't know, 1960's? Whenever he was young?"

"Arranged marriages actually stopped being as common in the West around the late 1700s. But hey, you're actually pretty spot on for a lot of Asian cultures. I believe in Japan most marriages in the 30's were made through matchmaking. As much as that is beside the point," stated Donnie in slightly less monotone than he usually would, still recovering from his state of shock.

"Exactly! That was literally almost a hundred years ago!" shouted Leo in response, "And just because I'm still recovering, I'll ignore that you know weirdly much about this, Donnie."

"Wren, are you okay?"

It was Mikey's soft question that suddenly pinned the attention on the yokai. Only then did it occur to them how she'd frozen, how her eyes were fixed on the floor without a word still spilling from her mouth. And even when her name was spoken, she didn't answer.

"Wren—" tried Leo softly, moving to replace his hand on her shoulder. And that was what got a reaction.

She shook the hand away on instinct, eyes fixing upon Leo as she backed away. Her eyes were glossy, like she was on the verge of crying. And then her breath wavered and the tears spilled.

Mikey took a step closer next, his heart clenching upon seeing his friend upset. But Wren reacted again by stepping back, and the next moment she turned her back on them, sprinting out of the room.

"Wait!" called the orange brother, only to be stopped by Leo's hand on his plastron.

"I don't think she wants to talk to any of us right now," he stated sadly. And Mikey trusted his brother was right, so he swallowed down his need to comfort.

"Donnie—Are you on your phone right now? Seriously?" scolded Raph.

"I am calling April," informed the purple brother in irritation while bringing the smartphone up to his ear.

The world seemed like a blur while Wren ran through the lair. She moved on pure instinct, letting her feet decide where she was going. It wasn't important, as long as it was away from here. Away from them.

She skipped the stairs down with her wings spread and she didn't stop flying until she reached the armed doors. She didn't wait for it to open past a crack, immediately squeezing under it so she could run down the subway tunnel.

There was a splish splash made by her boots hitting the ground, some of the water having leaked down into the system. She couldn't hear it. It didn't register.

Wren reached the stairs, and she ran them up two at a time. Right up until she was by the exit, where the outside met the inside and rain poured down on her heavily. She was heaving heavy breaths, eyes darting about the lights and the people that may have been close by. Danger.

She backed up into the stairs in an awkward stumble, falling into a seat near the exit. She had to support herself on the wall, her breaths quickly breaking into full sobs. She didn't feel how cold and wet the stairs were. Wren dropped her head into her knees and wrapped her arms and wings around herself, making herself small while she cried.

It was uncertain how much time had passed, but her voice had grown hoarse and her throat dry. The sobs had wracked through her body so many times, the release of emotion rendering her exhausted. She was no longer even crying, just sitting perfectly still where she'd initially fallen. Directionless. An empty husk.

It was a subtle scrape of the floor when someone sat beside her. When she realized it, Wren flinched and her head rose to see who it was, heart stilling in alarm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," said April softly, "Do you want a hug?"

Though she'd figured she had no tears left at this point, the question made the dam break all over again. And as Wren's wings unwrapped so she could throw herself at April, she released another sob. The other girl caught her in a secure, warm grip, and squeezed.

"Shh, you're okay. Deep breaths," she instructed calmly, "I know."

The hug wasn't long, but just long enough for Wren to fight off her tears a second time. She pushed back as she focused on her breathing, willing herself to calm.

"Thanks," she sniffed while wiping tears with her palms, "That helped." April placed a comforting hand on her back and rubbed lightly.

"I heard you talked to Leo," she broached as gently as she could. April knew she was probably the only person Wren could talk to right now, and she definitely didn't need to mess it up. To her relief, she received a nod in response.

"What are you thinking?" she prodded, remaining patient while Wren came down from the height of her upset.

"I..." Wren started, hesitant, unsure how to name her emotions, "I'm thinking a lot of things, but... I just feel, I just feel trapped." Her voice cracked on the word and April nodded. She didn't speak up, just waiting to see if Wren would continue. And her patience was rewarded.

"I thought...When I came here, I thought maybe my dad understood why I sit at home all day. I thought he wanted to give me a chance to have experiences. To see the surface, to see New York. I thought maybe he understood, that..."

Wren paused again, looking down at her feet and hands as she tried to place her words.

"That I was lacking inspiration. We've always been from two different worlds, I think. He's really old-fashioned and I'm... Not like that. I thought he finally saw me for me."

She drew in a deep breath.

"But he didn't. He just wanted to trap me again. In a different place, with different people, but trapped nevertheless. And I just feel..."

"Betrayed?" offered April when Wren seemed like she might break down again. She obviously stifled a sob and gave the girl a shaky nod. April's heart welled with sympathy.

"Just know that he was wrong to do that, okay? And we are not gonna let this go through. I swear. I'll fight your dad myself if I have to." Wren managed a wet laugh, and April smiled.

"You're not mad at the guys, right?" the human went to confirm, brows furrowed. The yokai thought on it a beat before shaking her head.

"I'm not. At three of them, anyway. I just... I just couldn't handle seeing them right then. It was too much."

"Let me guess. Leo?"

Wren gave a sideways nod, facing away from April.

"Yeah, I told him it was a bad idea to hide it. You're right to be upset. I mean, I would be."

There was a pause as Wren's head lifted, her eyes sliding over to April. Her face pinched in a way that the girl couldn't figure out at first. And then she realized what she'd just said.

"You knew," breathed the yokai, "And you didn't tell me, either." April cringed.

"Look, I didn't mean to keep it from you. But I promised to give him a couple days. It's the guys, I can't break their trust."

Wren shifted away from April as much as she could. Then she straightened, her dress dripping water by her feet. She stared at the other girl in silence, that betrayal in her eyes now directed at April. And then she turned, going to march down the stairs.

"Wait, Wren!"

The girl in yellow got up to race after the half yokai.

"See you soon."

Donnie ended the call.

It was silent in the arcade. As the situation sank in, the brothers all processed in their own ways. Leo was full of anxious energy, fidgeting subtly and no doubt trying to think of a joke to lighten the mood. Mikey had fallen into a seat and played with his hands, an open look of upset across his features. Donnie was completely steel-faced, staring at a spot in the air.

"ARRRGH!!"

The outer casing of a vintage arcade machine caved in under Raph's knuckles. Then his hand was pulled back and the largest turtle squeezed his fists at his sides.

"That's it! That's the last straw! Donnie! I need you to break off the cable," he stated in obvious anger.

"Oh, I intend to. In fact, that's the least of the things I intend to do. But the debatable morality of my future actions toward our father can wait," he said, his aura of fury fixing on Leo. Who speedily picked up on it.

"What? Don't be mad at me! I'm just as upset as you are!" he immediately deflected.

"Really?" asked Donnie in what was clearly not a question, "You think you're as upset as I am? Excuse me, but which one of us just found out they have feelings for someone who will now want to have nothing to do with us?"

And before Leo could cut in, Donnie continued—

"This is your fault! If you had just told us from the beginning, maybe this whole situation could've been avoided! It's only because you kept it hidden that there was enough time to form an attraction!"

"Donnie..." tried Mikey softly, but he wasn't acknowledged.

"Come on, you can't put that on me! How was I supposed to know someone would actually get a crush on Wren in like, the two days she's been here? That's ridiculous! You can't like her that much," he countered. Donnie squeezed his hands into fists much like Raph had.

"Yeah, stupid Donnie! I wasn't aware I'd developed into an android capable of controlling my attractions like they're another little program to manage. Beep boop, dating protocol engaged! What are you talking about?!"

"Oh yeah, my bad for making that mistake when half of what you say sounds like it came from a search engine!"

The teens had gotten close enough to each other to quite literally yell in each other's faces. Mikey was looking between them in distress, now also on his feet. Raph was trying to figure out if he needed to intervene, but Leo and Donnie butting heads was common and usually about this volume.

"You're right! Let me just go and turn down my performative sentimental functions and we'll be back to this conversation. Please excuse me!"

Donnie made a show of exiting the arcade right past Leo, clearly having had enough of him.

"Go ahead! Maybe it'll make you better at board games, too!"

Leo had to get the last word in. Donnie turned to him on the doorframe. He opened his mouth to give a countering jab, but felt his chest constrict. And so he turned, letting Leo have his moment.

Mikey, still wordless, ran after Donnie. Leo guessed to comfort him, though briefly wondered why. He was fine.

He felt Raph step behind him, but didn't turn.

"You messed up, Leo."

The words had his shoulders sinking.

Chapter Text

"Donnie?"

Mikey still found himself ignored while Donatello walked all the way over to his lab without turning around. The younger brother stopped right by the entrance, watching how Donnie made it to his computer and more or less collapsed in his chair.

He drew in a breath, hands closing around the armrests, his eyes on the ceiling. Then he closed them, for just a moment, before Donnie sat up and dragged himself over to his keyboard. The multiple screens before him came to life with a simple tap.

"Donnie, I'm sorry."

He didn't look up when Mikey approached him. His attention was fixed on the files he pulled up, work being the best and only therapy Donnie knew.

"It's not your fault," he stated easily without facing his brother. Mikey fiddled with his hands.

"I know. But I also know you're hurting, and I feel terrible."

The clicking and tapping stopped as Donnie paused, sitting still for a moment. Then he looked over at the orange-banded turtle, his feelings carefully concealed.

"Come sit down. I'll show you something," he offered, gesturing with his head toward his monitors. Mikey furrowed his brows, but approached nevertheless.

Donnie got up to switch places with Mikey, who fell into the chair. Then he moved his mouse about, hiding the files he'd just pulled up in favor of opening something else. A game.

"Is this Astro Scouts 3?!"

"It is indeed. Do not tell Leon." Mikey beamed up at him, though seemed to hesitate before actually touching anything.

"Don't you want to play?"

"Oh, I already did. I beat it three times on increasing levels of difficulty. I'd rather watch someone else have a go for... Analytic reasons."

It was a simple lie, but he still couldn't quite deliver it straight-faced. Mikey bought it anyway, likely so excited to play that he didn't actually care.

"In that case... Just watch me wipe the floor with these alien ships!"

Donnie felt the corner of his mouth twitch upward.

Raphael may not have been the leader for over two years now, but he was still the big brother. And as the biggest and oldest of the brothers, he still shouldered a fair bit of responsibility over them. That usually meant, among other things, keeping Leo's ego in check, making sure Donnie didn't go psycho, and watching after Mikey when he got too careless. Right now he was working on the first: And while Leo had recently gotten a lot better on this issue, he still had his hard-headed moments that served to drive Raph crazy.

"I told you: He's fine! Or he will be fine after some sleep and a movie marathon. Donnie isn't emotional like that."

And as much as Raph was usually inclined to agree that Donnie could be... Let's say an enigma when it came to handling a variety of normal interactions, this time even Raph had been able to keep up. His brother had come to him specifically at the first sign of this new emotion, and had shown a rare bit of vulnerability he had felt so happy about. It didn't matter whether it was over something big or small; The fact that Leo refused to acknowledge he was in the wrong was making him angry.

"We can both agree the guy's a weirdo sometimes, but he's still our brother. If he's telling you he's hurt, you listen to him, Leo."

"Okay, fine, but I told you it isn't my fault. It's dad he should be upset at, not me! I was deceived as much as he was," he insisted with a variety of expressive gestures.

"So you keep sayin'. But do you think he's just gonna get over it and let this go? You know better than that. I'm not gonna watch him be passive-agressive toward you for the next three months without intervening," countered Raph. The middle children were probably two of the most stubborn out of all of them, and Donnie had an unfortunately sharp memory to boot.

Leo groaned in frustration, running a hand down his face. He hated admitting defeat, but Raph did have a point.

"Fine. I guess I'll be the bigger turtle and go apologize. But if this goes South, and it will, I'm blaming you."

He was already by the doorway when he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. Then one pair stopped and he heard the flapping of wings. Leo peered out toward the stairs to see Wren, who was making her way through the indoors.

Before he could blurt out a word, he saw April run up the stairs after her.

"Please, just slow down. We can talk about this," she pleaded with a saddened expression. Wren whipped around to face her.

"I don't want to talk about it, April! I want to be alone! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Wren, come on—"

"Leave me alone!"

The emotion in her voice was what suddenly halted April, and though Leo couldn't see it, he could guess there was hurt spread over Wren's expression. Then she slowly turned back around to keep walking – and a look was cast at him in passing that spoke of pure anger.

As soon as Wren was gone, he stepped over to his human friend. Raph was a couple steps behind.

"I take it didn't go as smoothly as planned," he stated in what he hoped was an easy tone. April sighed heavily.

"Not at all. She's angry at both of us now," she stated with a huff.

"I gathered as much. If looks could kill," sighed Leo and turned to watch where Wren had marched off to. April pursed her lips.

"How's Donnie taking it?" And Leo felt himself frown.

"Not you too!"

"Excuse me?" Confused, April's brows shot up at the reaction.

"Donnie's angry at him. Leo thinks it's over nothing," supplied Raph and folded his arms. April pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I can tell you right now it ain't over nothing. Of course he's mad at you for hiding this. And I'm guessing he's about to be mad at me when he finds out that I knew."

"You knew?" startled Raph, a little upset himself by the news.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. But I did threaten Leo into revealing this, if it helps any."

She dug into her pocket and fished out the envelope, then handed it over to Raph. The large turtle took it hesitantly and worked out the letter, giving it a quick read.

He was coughing and suppressing a gag only a few seconds later.

"Anyway, let me go check up on Donnie. Raph, you got Wren, okay?"

"Y...Yeah, just...Give Raph a second."

April shook her head before instinctively heading for the lab.

The door automatically opened, and she met eyes with one of the two turtles hunched by the computer. It was Donnie, stood with one arm leaned over the backrest. Mikey was intensely focused on whatever he was doing – it sounded like a game – but still recognized her presence.

"Hi, April!" he said without looking up.

"Hey," she greeted in response and walked in the rest of the way. She placed herself on the other side of the chair and watched Mikey shoot down a spaceship with a hand on her hip.

"It's the new Astro Scouts. I didn't say anything because I didn't want people to crowd the lab. I need to work sometimes," supplied Donnie.

April took a second to give her friend time to prepare, but they both knew she wasn't here for the game. But to her surprise, it wasn't her who started the conversation.

"How did it go? With Wren?"

And she could tell how Donnie was trying to sound at least somewhat disinterested. April grimaced.

"Not great," she admitted and could see how his shoulders sank, "But good news: She isn't angry at you."

Both Donnie and Mikey looked up hopefully.

"She isn't?" asked the younger with a hint of excitement to him. April smiled.

"Nu uh. Just me and Leo. And probably Splints. And her dad." Donnie puzzled it out about as quickly as April would expect him to.

"You and Leo? Wait. He told you before, didn't he?"

"Yeah, kinda. I helped him steal the letter from the Do-Not-Touch Cabinet, and he made me keep it a secret." Donnie's eyes narrowed.

"You mean he asked you to keep it a secret, and you agreed." She sighed.

"Yeah, that's how it went down. But Donnie, you're not my only best friend. All of you guys are. I kept it a secret because he thought it would, I don't know, give you a little longer without all this drama. And to be fair, it did."

Mikey looked between the two in concern. He didn't want yet another argument to go down. But to his relief, Donnie never started yelling. Instead he just rubbed his own arm, another fleeting moment of his walls going down. Mikey and April saw it the most often out of everyone and so they held a much closer bond with him than the eldest brothers, at times.

"I just— Ugh," groaned Donnie before either of them could comfort him, "Why did it have to happen like this? I didn't even— I just— I don't know what to do, now. And I always know what to do!" He held his hands on the sides of his head. April placed her own on his wrists.

"Deep breaths, Donnie. It's gonna be okay."

"You don't know that it will!"

"Yes, we do," said Mikey, full of confidence. Donnie looked down at him, unconvinced. But the younger didn't waver.

"We're going to figure it out together, as a family. And it'll be okay," he added. Donnie found himself frowning.

"If only it wasn't our own family that caused this in the first place," he stated, annoyed. April drew back from him to give him some breathing room.

"Here's what we're gonna do, okay? We're gonna talk to Leo, we're gonna talk to Wren, and we're gonna talk to your dad. We're gonna make him understand that he's hurting you, that he's hurting us. But before that, we're gonna get some sleep, because it's been a rough day. Okay?"

The big sisterly act was actually kind of comforting, Donnie had to admit. And he always functioned better when there was a plan, which she'd provided him with. And so he found himself breathing just a little easier.

"Okay," he agreed after a moment. Sleep was a good idea. It was getting late.

"That's the spirit," she encouraged, "See? Things are lookin' better already."

And though he huffed and rolled his eyes, there was an element of amusement to it.

Raph rounded the corner to the kitchen. On the floor sat a pile of limbs and feathers, curled up with a glass of lemonade in her hands. The bottle sat on the floor beside her, half empty.

"Heyy, Wren," he spoke ever so softly, "Can I come in?"

She didn't say a word, but she did glance up at him. There was a subtle nod before she sipped the lemonade.

Raph quietly stepped past the doorframe and chose a spot beside Wren, but not so close it'd make her uncomfortable. He sat down, leaning against the lower cabinets like she was.

"Look, I know I'm not your brother or anything, but... It's still upsetting to see you sad," he started, "And I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you."

Another beat of silence before Wren shook her head.

"Thanks," she said quietly. It didn't seem like her anger was directed at Raph, which was a relief.

"I read the letter that your dad sent," he admitted, and she cringed, "It, uh. He seems like a lot to live with." He hated that he didn't know a better variety of words to approach this with, but he hoped the ones he did know were enough.

"He's not terrible," Wren was quick to supply, "But we don't always get along. I think you can see why." Raph smiled sadly.

"I'll take your word for it. Families are like that. We love each other, but don't always get each other. Even if I think this is a bit extreme." It was Wren's turn to smile, even if it was brief.

"I'm sorry for storming out on all of you."

"No, you ain't got nothing to be sorry about. You needed space. I get it."

She seemed to hesitate, even if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Soon she held up the bottle sitting on the floor between them.

"Want some lemonade?"

A smile was shared.

"Yeah, always. That stuff's the bomb," said Raph, growing more serious a beat later, "But after, you should go to bed. We can figure out what to do next when everyone's gotten some rest."

And she knew it was reasonable advice. All the hurt of the day would feel a little less by morning. And so Wren smiled again, providing Raph with another nod.

It was soon after his conversation with April that Donnie was heeding her advice and heading downstairs. He yawned and stretched his arms up, just shy of reaching his room. Which was when he noticed her, right by the last train cart, and stopped.

Wren turned at the subtle noise, looking red-eyed and tired. He felt a squeeze in his chest. One that eased when she smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Donnie."

And he was left alone as the door closed. Donatello swallowed past the lump in his throat. He followed it with a shaky breath, filled with a couple emotions he could at least identify this time.

Relief, and hope.

In another part of the lair, by the projection of the TV and late night programs, sat Splinter. His ear twitched as he listened to the quiet in his house. It almost felt too quiet after the echoes of yelling cascading all the way to his spot on the arm chair.

Oh well. Surely it was nothing, he assured himself before going back to wallowing in his ignorance.

Chapter Text

Donnie switched sides while still half asleep, his face halfway buried into his pillow to keep up the pretenses of rest. But no matter how much he wanted to sleep in, once again back in his own bed, the sheet felt uncomfortable. It was as if there was something lodged between his side and the bed.

After a while, he couldn't ignore it anymore. He sat up with a noise of discomfort, scanning the beddings for the source. His hand landed on something soft with a more solid middle, and he pulled it out to view.

A feather, lilac in color with a thick golden stripe going horizontally through the middle. He stared at it for a few beats, turning it in his hand while his sleepy brain caught up. And when it did, he felt heat flood his cheeks. Wren's feather.

He set it down on the nightstand and moved to rub his face. Of course the first thing he felt in the morning had to be confusing. Just by that he knew it'd be another rough day. One that he decided to delay by dropping his face right back into his pillow.

By the time Donnie had forced himself out of bed and to the kitchen, for a cup of coffee more than anything, it was late in the morning. There were some traces of a breakfast had before, a smell of eggs and bacon still lingering. Donnie counted the amount of plates set out to dry – 3 – and guessed that the person not yet to get up was Leo. And that served him just fine.

As for Splinter, he doubted Mikey was in an amicable enough a mood to feed him, if he'd even come down for something.

Donnie focused on boiling his morning pot of coffee and took a small walk around the lair once he had a cup in hand. He found no one around and wondered if they were out, or maybe in their rooms. And so he decided to head for his lab, like he often did.

It was around an hour later that there was finally some commotion. Donnie pushed back his chair to look out, his testing interrupted for the sake of investigating. He went to sip his coffee and quickly stopped when he realized it was cold. Gross. Instead he just stood and headed toward the noise.

"Good morning, fam," he greeted with some bravado upon spotting his youngest and oldest brothers. Mikey turned to him excitedly and ran over. Donnie braced himself right before he was encased in a hug.

"Donnie! You're awake!" he cheered and nuzzled his cheek against Donatello's. He placed his hands on Mikey's shoulders to push him out of his personal space.

"That I am. And what might be the word of the day?"

"Peacemaking," said Mikey affectionately, trying to close the distance to give Donnie another hug. Something he sternly kept from happening.

"We went out and got a bunch of snacks for movie night. Jupiter Jim always brings us together as a family," explained Raph while holding up some bags. Chips and sodas were poking out from the top.

"Is that really where our focus should be?" doubted Donnie with his drawn on eyebrows furrowed, "Because to me the situation of the arranged marriage seems just a little bit more important."

"That's just it, Donnie," said Mikey, finally giving up and stepping back, "That's how we mend it. By coming together as a family."

He wondered if there was any logic to it, but decided not to strain his brain with the question. Thankfully, he didn't have to, as a distraction raised its head.

"Oh, you're back," greeted Wren on her way up the stairs.

"We sure are! With candy!" cheered Mikey. She smiled brightly.

"Sounds yummy."

It was then that she spied the third brother just past Raph and Mikey, and her face lit up again. Wren passed them to get to Donnie, who felt his body still.

"Donnie, I don't know what you did to my bed—" and he braced himself, "But that was I think the best night of sleep I've ever had in my life."

He released a breath and felt his muscles ease, eyes ever so slightly softer for a split second. An expression he was very, very quick to remove.

"Of course! As per ushe, my genius has endured through prejudice. Now, if you'd like to recount your experience and give a more concise review, I'll be taking notes." She smiled at him for another beat.

"What I'm saying is it really helped. Yesterday sucked a lot, and I..."

Seemingly just realizing how Mikey and Raph hovered at the back, watching them with baited breath, Wren froze up. She felt as if she was on display and grew nervous about what she'd intended to say.

"And I, um..." she trailed off awkwardly, "I'm gonna grab some lunch."

Slipping out of sight, Donnie watched her go before turning to his brothers. He frowned at them, but couldn't bring himself to anger. After all, he was just happy Wren was talking to him.

"We'll be in the game room if you need us," announced Mikey with a wiggle of his brows. Raph gave him a thumbs up before both brothers slid out of the room with smug looks on their faces.

Donnie rubbed his face with the base of his palm before he sighed, centering himself. Then he turned on his heel to follow Wren.

He found her looking through the cabinets with a little bit of hesitance, still unsure of where everything was kept. Donnie momentarily hovered in the doorway.

"What are you looking for? Because it'll probably be easier if I just tell you where it is," he offered. Wren stopped to face him.

"Actually, I'm not sure? Do you keep, I don't know... Bread, or, or cereal or something...?"

"Yes, to both of those things," he said while opening a cabinet near the entrance, "Would you care for a simple but classic ham and cheese sandwich?"

Wren closed the cabinet she was at when Donnie took out the bread.

"That sounds great, but I can do it myself. You don't have to—"

Donnie waived her off.

"No, I'm having one, too. I skipped breakfast."

She seemed to relax at this. At least she knew where the fridge was, so Wren turned around to get the rest of the supplies while Donnie pulled out a knife.

"But really: About the rating of that bed—"

"Oh, you were serious?" realized Wren. Donnie pulled out the cutting board and sliced the bread through the middle.

"Bemused smile—Did you really think I wouldn't follow up with data on how my inventions are performing? What kind of scientist would that make me?"

He noticed her quirking a brow, but she didn't say anything to indicate why that was. Wren was also biting back most of her smile, but some of it slipped through.

"I guess I didn't think about it," she replied to him easily, "I can pay attention next time!"

That was more cooperation than Donatello was used to receiving.

"That'll have to do, I suppose."

A few minutes of sandwich making later, Donnie and Wren were both sat by the dinner table. The lunch had turned out about as decently as a ham and cheese sandwich could, which fairly enough, was pretty decent. And so the both of them happily munched on their meals.

"Donnie?"

"Mmhmm?"

"How do you feel about it?"

This was a couple minutes or so into silence. Donnie stopped mid-bite and lowered his sandwich. He couldn't help but frown. And although he knew broadly what the question was about, the rest of the context was important.

"I need you to be more specific," he stated easily.

"The whole...Arranged marriage thing," she stated hesitantly with a roll of her hand. Wren looked reluctant to say it out loud.

"In general? I think it's an outdated tradition and will hopefully die out completely in the future."

Wren's eyes flicked to the side and back to Donnie.

"And the one between, um, us?" she carried on nervously. Donnie focused very hard not to choke on his spit, the way the question was phrased. He swallowed quietly and looked down at the table.

"Honestly?" he started, eyes darting about for a moment, "A part of me understands it."

When Wren withrew slightly, her expression one of confusion, Donatello carried on.

"That doesn't mean I approve of it. But as someone who grew up as a mutated turtle in the sewers, with the closest thing to romance being movies we watched as kids? I can see how Splinter would end up at this point. Because there were definitely points in our life where I thought we might not even get a chance to meet someone to fall in love with... Not to mention having them love one of us back."

The admission was difficult, and he couldn't bring himself to look at Wren. But she hadn't given any indication she wouldn't be sympathetic. If he wanted to form a bond with her, he needed to be some level of honest.

"It might not be the same," she said so softly he almost didn't hear her, "But I've felt something like that."

Donnie chanced a look at her, and now it was Wren who was facing the table.

"I didn't grow up in the sewers. But I was different from other kids, being half human. Or at the very least I felt a difference. So I can kind of understand what you mean, about not finding someone who might...Um, well, be accepting?

"Don't get me wrong. I don't hate who I am. But being different just comes with a cost."

It eased Donnie's mind to have the sentiment echoed back instead of receiving pity or judgement. He found himself smiling.

"There is a certain charm to being a mutant. It's moreso my interests that people have trouble paying attention to."

"Like your science?"

"Precisely my science! No one seems to understand it despite my many attempts at explaining the depths of my genius."

Donnie didn't intend it as a joke, but Wren was laughing anyway.

"The things you do are so awesome, though," she said in a mix of amusement and sincerity. And there was the reason his head was about to be the biggest it had ever been.

"I'm aware. I'm just glad someone else acknowledges it for a change." Wren's smile twitched.

"I think I understand why they sometimes have a hard time listening to you," she teased. Donnie's heart sunk, and it must've shown on his face because Wren suddenly reached across the table to place her hand on his. He could've died right then. Someone had to put a cap on how many emotions were able to be felt before 12 PM.

"You're really, really smart, Donnie. And you're passionate. When you just talk about all that complicated stuff, it's so cool to listen to. I feel like I'm learning something new and interesting every time. But, um..."

"But I'm coming off as detached and egotistical," he finished for her. Wren flinched at the blunt statement, but she couldn't deny it.

"I..." Donnie hesitated on his next words, his expression level like usual, "It's not untrue. I'm not the best with emotions. And by that I mean I refuse to acknowledge them." He swallowed.

"It's something I never cared to improve on before. Mikey is the emotions guy. I'm the tech guy, and machines don't have emotions. Unless I program them in."

There was an understanding look on Wren's face, and he felt terrified. Why? He couldn't immediately place the reason, but he was torn between running away and--he made the startling discovery he wasn't sure what the opposing emotion was. He settled on staying perfectly still under her scrutiny.

"I thought that was the case," she finally said, "I never thought you meant any harm, if that's what you're worried about."

Donnie looked down at her hand still on his. In a bold move, he decided to face his palm up and close his fingers around hers. She didn't pull away.

"Thanks," he said quietly, sincere despite the lack of eye contact. It did soothe worries he'd held for a couple days now, but he didn't feel as great a relief as he expected to. He knew logically how he was supposed to act--even if it was based on romantic plots in movies rather than real life--he just didn't know if he could follow through.

"Anytime, Donnie. I mean it," she doubled down gently and gave his hand a squeeze. It felt like his heart skipped a beat, and then Wren was pulling away.

Donnie found it hard to look at her, or to focus, though he distantly noted that she'd gone back to her lunch. He wondered if she knew what kind of effect she had on him, but it didn't seem likely.

"Aren't you going to finish that?" came her voice and the softshell found his eyes darting down to his plate, and his half-eaten sandwich. His stomach twisted.

"I don't think I'm that hungry," he managed, and noticed his mouth was dry. Donnie swallowed as subtly as he could while picking up the plate to put away.

Wren furrowed her brows slightly, but didn't press. He was glad she didn't, because Donnie was pretty sure he would've fumbled any answer.

Yeah, it did turn out to be a rough day – though not an entirely unpleasant one.

Chapter Text

When Leo woke up that morning—Or maybe afternoon? Eh, who was counting?

When Leo woke up, he found himself unwilling to get started on the day. Instead he laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating on the recent past. Today was a new day, one where he could decide to undo the harm he'd caused.

From the moment he decided to read that letter, whatever he did would end up with someone being upset. He'd thought he'd chosen the best option, but didn't account for the unexpected turn that took place. Who would've thought that there was enough time for someone to develop feelings for Wren? Romantic connections were uncharted territory for all of the brothers, having had very limited access to people their age. He couldn't fault himself for making that mistake.

But it was still a mistake. One that he'd made having chosen to keep things to himself. One that had gotten Donnie hurt. One that had gotten Wren hurt, but he always thought that would happen, as bad as he felt about it. He knew an apology was in order, something bigger than pizza or any other usual methods he used to persuade Donnie to forget an argument. It was just a question of how, and what. It'd also be good to get April involved so she could shed her guilt of assisting him.

And then, while laying on his bed, the idea struck him. Leo sat up abruptly and scrambled for his swords.

It was maybe an hour or two later that Leo popped back into the lair through one of his swirling blue portals. Right away he heard noises from the arcade room and walked in to see two of his brothers messing about the machines. But unfortunately it was the third one he needed.

"Oi, have either of you guys seen Donnie?"

Mikey turned abruptly from his machine at the voice.

"In the kitchen! With Wren," he said with an eyebrow wiggle.

"We're having a movie night later. Make sure you come," said Raph without removing his attention from his own game.

"Oh, pfft, forget about a movie night. I've got something else planned," stated Leo cryptically before slinking out the doorway and toward the kitchen. He could be heard calling out to Donnie in the distance.

Raph and Mikey shared a look.

"Think it's another Leo -brand apology?" questioned the red brother. Mikey didn't answer, but rather just looked toward the doorway with his brows furrowed. Then he shrugged, turning back to his game.

"Maybe it'll be something fun!" he reasoned. Raph decided not to argue that point.

"Dooonnnii—There's my favorite brother!" stated Leo in a sing-song tone upon running into the turtle. They were right outside the kitchen, and Donnie was openly frowning at him.

"What do you want?" he said bluntly.

"Nothing! This is not about what you can do for me, it's about what I can do for you," he claimed, slinking an arm over Donnie's shoulders. He was not having it and pushed Leo right off, causing him to rethink his balance.

"So you're here to apologize," deduced the purple brother before placing his hands on his hips, "Go on."

"I knew you were a reasonable turtle!" chirped Leo, "Look, I may have said some things that maybe landed a little worse than intended, but when you see what I—"

He got abruptly cut off by an alarm sound from Donnie's wristband. It immediately stole the younger brother's focus and he pulled up the hologram that functioned as his touch screen.

"That's odd," he stated evenly, the previous conversation put on hold.

"Yeah, I know right? It's the worst timing," complained Leo, misinterpreting the statement.

"What? No, not that," deadpanned Donnie, "This. There's some kind of strange signal broadcasting in New York my systems picked up on. It seems to be encrypted."

"Okayyy. What's that mean for us?" hummed Leo, playing along. It was the easiest way to get an answer without annoying Donnie, which wasn't ideal when he was trying to apologize.

"I'm not sure. But if you give me a minute, I can pinpoint it."

Leo crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently while Donnie in turn tapped at his wrist pad. Soon he saw someone peeking out from the kitchen, and by the color of her hair and the green hood on her head, he recognized her quickly.

"What's going on?" she asked with a peek between the brothers.

"Someone's rudely interrupting my making amends," offered Leo. Wren stepped out fully to observe.

"It looks like it's coming from somewhere on the Upper West Side," and Donnie missed the way Leo perked up just then, "There! The Hayden Planetarium!"

"What? Wait, seriously?" the blue brother spoke up in disbelief. He snatched Donnie's wrist to try and see for himself.

"Release me, Nardo. I need that arm," his victim deadpanned. Leo did as asked, but only because he'd already seen what he needed to.

"Okay, what do you want to do about it?" he asked hesitantly. Donnie quietly appreciated Leo had started hearing him out again after the heights of his difficulty just a few months back.

"I could try to figure out the encryption, but I don't know how long that'll take. The easiest option, I believe, would be to go and check it out in person."

"Isn't the place under renovation right now? Not that it didn't sound weird before, but I dunno. This is giving me pretty big trap vibes," hummed Leo. Wren seemed to perk up at this.

"I'll forego my shock of the fact you knew that tidbit of information in place of agreeing. There's a very high likelihood that it is a trap. Most likely by someone intelligent enough to realize my systems would pick up on this signal."

"The Purple Dragons?" suggested Wren softly. Donnie glanced at her, nearly having forgotten her presence.

"Possibly," he agreed with a tilt of his head, "But we should approach with caution. What do you think, Leo?"

"I'm thinking you and I go check it out. Incase it is a trap, Raph and Mikey can come in to the rescue. Not that we'll need it," stated the older brother with a cocky smirk, "As for Wren—"

"Oh, I know! I'll stay back," she assured with her palms raised. Leo flashed her a winning smile.

"I was gonna let you decide. April's technically just a human, but no one could tell us she can't keep up! And since you're living with us, you're part of the team."

A surge of warmth filled Wren for a beat, her anger toward Leo set aside. Donnie glanced between them, but whatever he was thinking, he didn't voice.

"I'll stay back with Raph and Mikey," she stated, to Donnie's immediate relief, "I know I couldn't hold my own if something happened. It's not a good idea."

"Okerino! I'll let them know! Donald, we're portaling out in ten," warned the leader before rounding back to the arcade.

Donatello tapped at his wrist tech a moment longer, setting up a few things and making sure comms were functioning before they left. Come to think of it, he'd need to give one to Wren once he got a chance.

"Will you guys be okay?"

He voice pierced his focus and Donnie glanced at her, noting the nerves in her expression. He tried to think reassuring as he went to give his response.

"I have little reason to think we wouldn't be. We're well equipped in stealth, and whoever sent the signal is unlikely to be as powerful as some of the enemies we've faced. Not to mention they might not even be an enemy in the first place."

"Let's hope for that, right?" she stated with a small smile. It seemed Donnie had been succesful enough in setting her mind at ease.

"It'd be a first," he said before letting his holoscreen close, "Either way, we'll be in an out in a jiffy."

Since Leo still hadn't come back, and a silence hung between them, Donnie spoke up again.

"I should text April," he said while fishing out his phone, unsure what to say. His interaction with Wren in the kitchen was still on his mind, and he had to push it back if he wanted to focus on the mission. Her presence didn't help, and she probably picked up on his distance.

"I'll, uh, I'll be around incase you need me," she stated awkwardly before heading for the stairs. Donnie only chanced a peek that way after she was gone, but quickly shook his head on focused back on the issue at hand.

The portal to the rooftops closed behind them. Their current position gave Donnie and Leo a good view of the planetarium, the wind and rain beating down on them.

"I almost forgot about the godforsaken weather out here," grumbled Donnie while checking on the signal once more.

"Chin up, Don. I thought you loved this stupid nerd building! Also, you waterproofed your tech after the incident, so we're all good!"

"First of all, it's not stupid. Second of all, you're being extra cheerful today and it's distracting."

"Sheesh, Downertello's in town again. Is this still about that silly little argument?"

"Yes. In more relevant news, the signal's still coming in strong. This is definitely the place," informed Donnie with a look back at his brother.

"Would you get over it already? Wren clearly doesn't have a problem with you," Leo attempted to reason, going to hop down the side of the building. Donnie followed his lead.

"It's not about—It's not just about Wren, Leo. It's about how you were acting," he answered in frustration. Leo turned around to walk backwards, furrowing his brows in confusion. Knowing he wouldn't get out of it, Donnie clicked his tongue before going to continue.

"It's like you went back to Pre-Krang Leo for a minute there. You weren't thinking about anyone but yourself and what you thought was best," he reluctantly admitted. They came to a stop a short distance from the building, in the shade of the weather and the surrounding museum.

"I know," said Leo with the same exact reluctance, "And I think it'll keep happening. Maybe less frequently when I get used to being—" and he seemed to physically struggle with the word, "responsible. But I'm going to mess up more before I get it right. I promise I'm not going to stop trying to be better though, okay?"

Donnie's expression softened. Leo had been reckless and carefree for most of his youth. He supposed it only made sense he would struggle even after coming to an understanding with Raph and finally accepting his duties as the leader.

"Okay," he agreed, "With trial and error, then." Leo beamed at him.

"Yeah, that thing," he agreed with a point of his finger.

"Now, I believe we have a building to inspect."

"We sure do!" sang Leo, suddenly pulling out a ring of keys, "Let's go!" Donnie's eyes widened.

"Are those April's keys?!" he exclaimed, causing his brother to shush him, "She told me she lost them!"

Sometime back, April had had a part-time job working the counter at the American Museum of Natural History. After an embarrassing amount of begging from Donnie, she'd let him come and go as he pleased after hours. When she was inevitably fired (though for completely unrelated reasons), she'd told him what was apparently a lie about an eagle attack and the tragic loss of her keys.

"She told you that because you became obsessed with this dumb place," stated Leo while walking them to a side door, "It was all you talked about and it was driving everyone crazy."

"I was in mourning for fourteen days!"

"And that's when we bought you that video game you got addicted to."

"I can't believe my own family keeps manipulating me for their own benefit," complained Donnie with some added dramatic gesturing. Leo inserted the key and turned it. Thankfully, the locks hadn't been changed since April's firing.

"Please! You do it to us way more than we do it do you, Donnie!"

Walking into the building, stealth had mostly been forgotten about in the face of banter.

"I beg your pardon! That doesn't sound anything like me!" claimed Donnie.

"Oh yeah? What about the gifts, Donnie? What about the gifts? And when you literally turned us into supervillains for a couple days?"

"How did you find out about—I mean, no, I, I don't recall."

"I've got more examples if these two weren't convincing enough," Leo pressed, though Donnie simply turned to pull up his wrist tech.

"The source of the signal is this way," he stated bluntly, "We might want to keep it down."

"Convenient timing," came Leo's sarcastic response. But he shut up anyway, putting the mission ahead of their squabble for the time being.

Donnie was leading them to the planetarium dome itself, clearly suppressing the giddiness he felt at doing so. He stepped aside only to let Leo unlock the door, allowing both of them to enter as quietly as possible.

It was dark inside, except for a few blinking lights right at the center of the globe. Donnie furrowed his brows, and his Battle Shell overwent a small transformation to produce two bright lamps pointed into the room.

There was a cluster of technology where the small lights were coming from, wires running over the floor. He stepped in slowly and quietly, Leo just as mute while following him inside. The closer he got to it, the more certain of it he was: This was what had been sending out that signal.

"It seems abandoned," stated Leo in a hushed voice, though his weapons were still drawn. He looked around in the dark space as much as he could.

"I'm going to get a scan of this before we get back," said Donnie in response, grabbing his bō for a conduit to his mystic tech.

It was then that the door behind them suddenly slammed shut and metal bars overlayed the inside of the dome. Leo jumped back-to-back with his brother, looking around to confirm their new status of trapped.

"Called it," he mused, not so troubled by the sudden change in circumstance.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Mikey?"

Michelangelo looked up from where he was on his phone on the couch. He twisted around onto his plastron so that the image of Wren faced her the right way.

"Could I see the pictures you took while we were out?"

"Of course you can! Here," said Mikey while sitting up. He shifted to the side and Wren occupied the spot he freed up. She watched him go through his camera roll for a moment before handing over the phone.

Wren thumbed through the pictures of murals and street art, pausing to smile at the ones she liked most.

"I don't know if you know, but..." she started hesitantly, "Where do you get things turned to prints up here? Because in the Hidden City it's done by magic, but humans don't use magic."

"Umm, I guess there's got to be some place that gets them done with machines. Let me see."

Mikey held his hand out for his phone and Wren placed it there for the turtle to go through. While Mikey searched, the presence of Raph became easily known by his recognizable footsteps.

"Have you two heard from Leo and Donnie yet?"

Wren turned to face him and shook her head while the orange turtle still typed something in.

"Is it normal for them to take this long?" she asked cautiously. Wren had been fighting down her worry since the two of them left, but it was now showing its head again.

"If Donnie's gone full nerd with whatever they're doing, yeah!" chirped Mikey, "He tends to lose track of time."

"But Leo would've called in by now," countered Raph, "Something's gone wrong."

"But they haven't called us. Even if they lost their phones, they still have the panic button," reasoned Mikey.

"Maybe they stopped by for dinner...?" offered Wren uncertainly. Raph pulled out his phone and started scrolling.

"Nah, I'm not buying it," and then he brought it to his ear, waiting a beat before speaking, "April? Hi. Has Donnie texted you?"

"Not since they were leaving. Why? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, but I'll let you know when I do. Thanks, April."

He ended the call in favor of pulling up his brothers' contacts. Mikey and Wren had now fully abandoned their previous activity in turn of watching Raph.

"They're not answering my texts, either. That's it. Mikey, grab your weapons—We're going out there."

Mikey got up to do just that, while Wren got to her feet and looked around nervously.

"They're okay, right? This is a thing that happens all the time?" she tried, feeling helpless. Raph's heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

"If they're not, they will be. That's what we're here for."

The confidence in those words eased some of her discomfort and Wren placed her hand over Raph's, letting out a sigh.

"I'd like to come with you—I won't put myself in any danger, but just incase there's something I can do..."

Raph found himself smiling, and he nodded down at her.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

Donnie immediately brought a hand to his wrist pad and opened up the communications pathway.

"Raph? This is Donatello. We're trapped in the dome of the planetariu—"

His tech crackled unpleasantly and Donnie made a face. Leo swiped his head around to try and spy the issue without dropping his guard.

"What's wrong, Donnie?"

"My...My tech is malfunctioning," he stated in disbelief, furiously tapping at his holoscreen to try and fix the issue, "I can't get through!"

The next move was made by Leo, who lowered one of his swords to tap at his belt. He did it thrice, but nothing happened.

"The panic button's a no-go," he informed and swung his sword right back up, "But no worries. I'll portal us out!"

Criss-crossing his blades, he prepared to draw them out in a circle. Before he had a chance, a compartment in between the metal bars against the wall opened up. Donnie turned his head toward the subtle sound, but there was no time for a warning before something shot out of the hole.

"AH!"

The sword was thrown from Leo's hand, which now sizzled from the glowing hit of whatever had shot him. He shook it, attempting to cool the burn it left behind.

"Are you okay?!" exclaimed Donnie in open concern.

Before Leo could answer him, they heard the pop of a microphone starting up. Each turtle twisted their head to the source.

"Welcome, Mutant Menace!"

Though a tad deeper than the last time they heard it, that voice...

"Hold on, hold on. Is that Baxter Stockboy?" questioned Leo in what was clearly amusement, "Oh man. That's someone we haven't heard from in a while. What have you been up to? Still work at your parents store? Go on, we've got time. And seems like you do too since you set all of this up. Don't you have school?"

Leo swung down his remaining sword to lean against.

"Silence!"

Another shot was fired out of the wall at Leo, but this time he more or less knew to expect it and dodged right out of the way. The room lit up as if for a documentary showing, but instead it was just the face of Baxter Stockboy repeated multiple times.

"You have been trapped by the genius mind of Baxter Stockboy! Even though I was hoping to get all four of you, two will work just as well for what I have in mind."

"Aw, are you gonna share with the class?" taunted Leo, casual as ever.

"How dare you soil the sanctity of a place intended for scientific learning with...! With, with science—Actually, carry on," added Donnie. Leo's face dropped.

"Way to take the side of the enemy there, Don."

"I can't hate on being trapped in a planetarium, Leo. That's on the top five of my list of places I've always wanted to be trapped in!"

"You have places you want to be trapped in?! What am I saying, of course you do."

Their argument was stopped by another hiss of a shot coming right at them, causing the pair to hop in opposite directions and separate. More panels opened up on the walls, causing the brothers to whip their heads around as more guns came into view.

"I think that's our cue to leave," stated Leo coolly despite the situation.

"You just hate it when I have fun, don't you?" whined Donnie.

"Not. So. Fast. I'm not done with you yet, turtles!"

Amongst an onset of laserfire, something else shot out from a lower angle. It was heavier, but still hard to detect with their attention divided. But when Donnie was suddenly thrown off his form, Leo turned to him in realization.

"Donnie!"

"I'm fine!"

The younger turtle lifted his arm, which now held a black metal cuff around the wrist. He furrowed his brows before his eyes widened.

"Leo, don't get hit by—AH!"

The cuff suddenly expanded and caught his opposite wrist, bringing them together. The move caused him to drop his bō and it rolled off to the side.

As if on cue, another one shot out the wall toward Leo's ankle. He hopped up just in time to avoid it, but he had to immediately keep moving and deflecting the laserfire.

"All on me, huh? That works just fine!"

Leo teleported to his second sword and swiped it off the floor to throw at one of the machines in the center of the room, behind Donnie. It lodged into the metal and he blinked out of existence only to materialize by it.

He went to create another portal below himself and Donnie, but the burn on his hand caused it to shake. With the first attempt a failure, the portal sizzling out before it could form, another cuff shot out from the wall.

"Leo, look out!"

Moving in the rain was slower than it was on clear days. They had to be careful not to slip while hopping from roof to roof, and the rain weighed heavily on them, limbs tingling unpleasantly from the cold. Thankfully the adrenaline more than made up for it in the moment.

"Are we close yet?" asked Wren from the air. Her flying was slower too, the wind unpredictable and her feathers only doing so much to fight the water falling on her wings.

"A couple more blocks," said Raph before his next jump. Mikey was keeping pace, a bit to the side from his bigger brother.

Wren looked ahead, the sight of the museum opening up in the distance. She found herself hoping that if things really weren't okay, they'd at least be there just in time.

After their wrists had been captured, the legs came easier. Leo was again the last one to be caught, falling from his showy jump and on the floor not far from his brother. Donnie grit his teeth, seeing the situation wasn't in their favor.

"Just so you know, this is not how you're supposed to treat your guests. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

"Eh, ours didn't," reasoned Donnie with a shrug.

With the turtles bound, doors opened up at the bottom of the walls. Mousers stepped out of them in a line, three in number. Each one went to pick up one of the dropped weapons around the room.

"Oh, no you don't!" protested Donnie, a metallic arm flying out of his shell to slam into the mouser. It was pinned against the floor and dropped his bō.

Of course, following this, another shot came from the upper wall, followed by another and another until Donnie's metal appendage snapped. He could only stare in shock as the mouser returned to its feet, scooped up the weapon and scampered back into the wall compartment.

" Please, did you really think I wouldn't be prepared against your tech? You were the person I devoted most time to studying beforehand, Donatello. I will not be outmatched! "

"As flattering as that is, can you please not wreck my stuff? Raph already does that enough on top of making me question my sanity!"

"Okay, enough with this blabbering!" said the master of blabbering himself, "What do you want with us, Stockboy?"

"Of course! Behold: My master plan!" announced Stockboy, pressing something out of view to replace his video feed with another. Leo realized it was the very building they were in, but from an outside angle.

"I swear to Splinter if this is for another hoax video—" exclaimed Leo, only to be cut off by the preteen.

"Today, my viewers—The ones who subscribe and donate—Will be privy to a repeat of an event of a lifetime!" he paused for dramatics, then, "The second coming of the alien invasion!"

And Leo felt his blood run cold.

Chapter Text

Now only a street away from the museum, Raph, Mikey and Wren all stopped at the edge of the rooftop they'd landed on. A few cars passed them below, and the neon lights of the city had a sheen to them due to the falling rain.

"Nothing looks off," said Mikey easily while looking over the buildings, "You sure they're in trouble, Raph?"

"I can't explain it, Mikey. I've just got a feeling. Even if we go check, there's no harm done."

"I'm gonna scout ahead," warned Wren, wings spreading in preparation. Raph nodded.

"Meet us on the ground when you're done."

The yokai was off, speeding through the air and over the buildings ahead. Raph turned to Mikey, and after a shared glance, both turtles were off the rooftop.

After circling the area from bird's eye view once, Wren didn't note anything out of the usual. Then again, she was new to the whole surface thing, and there may have been things she was missing. She inwardly groaned at the fact she didn't ask more questions before they came.

On the halfway point of her second circle, just a little closer to the ground, she spotted something of interest. Through glass panels, she could see a dome-shaped building.

"Okay, well, planets are round. So a planetarium would...Also be round?" she mumbled to herself, "Yeah, let's go with that."

She dove down before spreading her wings to stop the momentum, landing gracefully on wet pavement. Her wings settled to their resting position while she blinked at the dome, some construction equipment resting by it past the glass.

Wren recalled Leo saying something about construction, so she must've been right about the place. With this in mind, she approached the glass, peering past it curiously.

She heard two more weights drop down on the ground with a splash, and turned to see Raph and Mikey had caught up.

"Anything?" asked Raph, to which Wren shook her head, "Okay. We're going in."

"Do you have the key?" asked Mikey.

"No, Leo does." Wren blinked to this.

"Wait, does that mean we're about to break in?" she chimed in nervously.

"It sure does!"

The voice came from behind her, feminine and unlike either of the brothers'. Still, it was one she recognized. April stood there, her bike on the ground and a baseball bat swung over her shoulder.

"Make way!"

The next thing she knew was the sound of shattering glass.

Though Baxter Stockboy had gone silent for the moment, Donnie didn't have any illusions of safety. He'd left his face camera on, and so the turtles were able to watch him work on something right off screen.

"Leo," he hissed in whisper without taking his eyes off Stockboy, "Back there is the control room for the planetarium. If I'm right, his setup is just behind those doors."

When Donnie earned himself nothing but silence, he glanced at his brother. Then his attention stopped on him entirely.

"Leo?"

The leader wasn't acknowleging him at all. Instead Leo's eyes seemed to dart around, never fixed on anything Donnie could also see. He noticed his breathing was faster, choppy, even.

Bad, very bad.

Donatello had first noticed Leo was prone to panic attacks months back, when Raph was captured by the Krang. For a moment he'd been caught in a non-responsive state not far off from this one, and though he'd managed to overcome that quickly at the time, there was still a risk that he might not the next. And Donnie was realizing they might be in the middle of that 'next' right now. He mutely cursed himself for not acting on the initial signs, but it was too late now. All he could do was try and talk him down.

So Donnie shifted to the best of his ability, crawling closer to Leo while throwing glances at Stockboy. Thankfully, he didn't seem to care.

"Leon. Leo," he started, raising his voice just the little he dared, "Leonardo?"

That was the one that finally had the older sibling turn his head, though he was still looking not quite at Donnie. It felt more like he was looking straight through him. It was a start.

"I need you to focus on me. We're not on the Technodrome. We're at Hayden Planetarium. We're not fighting the Krang. We were captured by Baxter Stockboy."

Leo's confusion didn't dissipate, but he was suddenly looking around again.

"Leonardo," and again this brought his attention back to Donnie, "Look at me. Follow my breathing, okay?" he paused to breathe in and out slowly a few times. Leo's own breath stuttered as he tried to mimic it, but he was getting the hang of it.

"That's it. Can you tell me where we are yet?"

The leader swallowed and looked around again, his breaths slower to before. To his relief, Donnie could see a spark of intelligence in his eyes.

"The planetarium," Leo spoke in a shaky voice, "I...That's right. I..." his face pinched briefly as if in confusion.

"Yes, yes, exactly. You remember," he breathed, "Leo. I know it's hard, but I need you to focus right now. Stockboy is probably holed up in the control room behind the seating. It's barred off. I need to figure out a way to get my tech back online or...Or enter the system physically from somewhere within the dome. But I can't do it with him watching."

When Leo still looked a little lost, Donnie felt concern bubbling up in his throat. He fought it right back down.

"Don't make me beg. You know that doesn't suit me. Leo, we..." and recalling that it was in fact just the two of them, Donnie swallowed again, "I need my brother right now. So please, just, come back."

Though it took a little longer, Leo's eyes returned to him. And they focused. Donnie could've been shouting with happiness, but he settled for a relieved smile instead. Leo breathed deeply, closing his eyes to give himself a beat to center.

"I'm back. I'm here," he assured, though still a little shaky, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need to get to one of the wall panels at the bottom. If I could pry it open—"

"Look at that," said Baxter suddenly, cutting Donnie off, "Looks like I might get the full set after all!"

In the live video feed, they could now see a broken glass panel outside the dome. Carefully climbing through it in turns were April, their remaining two brothers, and Wren.

"Careful not to cut yourself," warned April while helping Wren through the window by hand. She pulled her wings as close to her body as she could, slow and steady while entering the room.

"Don't you think breaking the window was a little extra?" she asked in exasperation, though smiled through her nerves.

"It was the fastest way! And hey, they're already doing renovations. Fixing one window pane on top of that can't be that hard."

"Shouldn't there be a burglar alarm or something?"

Mikey's question had the group grow silent. There wasn't any kind of alarm sound, or a blinking light, anything that might give away a security system. April looked around a little longer before spotting the nearest access point by the door.

"Weird. This thing definitely should've gone off," she said with a point at the device.

"Think Donnie might've messed with it?" offered Raph. April frowned for a beat.

"Maybe. But there shouldn't've been a need since they had the keys."

"Maybe they changed the locks," stated Mikey.

"I guess they could've," reasoned April again, then wandered ahead of the group and to the dome, "Let's check inside the dome before we go spiraling with theories."

She tried the handle, but ended up groaning when another locked door stood in her way.

"Alright, make way," stated the eldest brother while gently pushing Mikey to the side, "Raph's turn." He slammed his fist into his opposite palm, smirking.

"All yours, big guy," smirked April with a little bow as she moved out of the way.

"I'm so glad I'm not paying for any of this," whispered Wren to herself, though Mikey happened to be close enough to pick up on it and smile.

With a roar, Raph took a running start toward the door he then heavily shoulder-bashed into. The metal groaned and bent under his weight, though he initial attack wasn't strong enough to fully make it cave. Instead it threw him back a few feet, causing Raph to catch his balance.

"Yes! You got this, Raph! One more time!" cheered April enthusiastically, her hands in fists.

Raphael rubbed his shoulder before taking a few steps back again. Then he ran forward and rammed into the door – or rather, he almost did. His momentum was stopped by the snapping turtle himself when the entire building suddenly started shaking and rumbling. His eyes went wide.

"Did...Did I do that?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"No, you imbecile! I did!"

The loud, familiar voice of a certain boy genius rang into the open air. The Mad Dogs all backed up with wide eyes, looking around for the source not unlike Leo and Donnie had. They saw a panel in the wall of the dome open up, a mouser standing on a platform. It opened its mouth and a projection of Baxter Stockboy appeared in the air: A hologram.

"My brilliant plan, after all these months, is finally in motion! This time, nobody can ignore the name Baxter Stockboy!!"

The ground began shaking twice as hard, unsteady enough that it was hard to keep their footing. Raph kicked into gear.

"Away from the dome! Now!"

No one argued that. Instead they all ran unsteadily for the broken window, which Raph rammed his elbow into a few times to give them more space. Then he helped the others outside one by one before escaping himself.

After running to what they deemed a safe distance, the group turned to look. And look they did, as the dome began rising from the floor. Smoke filled the ground around it and obscured the bottom. They coughed as the tainted air filled their lungs and they blinked away tears, backing away farther.

"It's—" April coughed, "I think it's a rocket or something! This smoke has to be coming from—" cough, "The exhaust!"

"Wait! If Leo and Donnie are in there—" started Mikey, suddenly in panic.

"They're about to be launched into the atmosphere!" finished Raph, "Mikey! We need to anchor that thing down!"

"If we can get to the dome, we can probably figure out a way to get them out. Wren, can you carry me?!" exclaimed April, turning to the last person present. Wren's eyes widened before she nodded.

"It's hard to fly in the storm, but I can try!"

"Good enough. We've got a plan! Raph?"

"Yeah. Let's move, gang!"

"So, terrible weather, amiright? This storm feels like it's been going on forever," stated Leo loudly from where he still laid on the floor, "I hope this building is secure from flooding, because whew. This would be a really embarrassing way to drown."

While Leo spoke, Donnie had taken it upon himself to crawl to the very side of the room. Standing up was difficult, what with his hands and feet tied together so tightly. But he managed it by taking support of the wall panel. It wasn't seamless, which meant he definitely had a tool stocked away that he could use to pry it off. Whether he could do it before Stockboy noticed was another issue entirely.

"Silence! I'm trying to focus on my work! Your talking is distracting my brilliance."

"Wow, okay. It's a good thing we already have one obnoxious science geek in our team, because honestly I couldn't tell the difference if you took his place."

Donnie frowned at him from the side. He would've retorted if he wasn't trying to lay low. Instead he dropped on his mismatched goggles and removed a tool from his Battle Shell. He shimmied it inbetween the crack separating two wall panels.

"Hey, Stockboy! Do you like Jupiter Jim? Or maybe sing along to musical songs while walking around your lab? You've got like an evil scientist lab, right? You could do a whole tour video on it! I think it'd be more popular than this failed takedown stuff. Stick with the tried and true, amiright?"

A crash against the side of the room had Leo shut up and Donnie nearly fall over. They both looked at the newly formed dents in the door they'd entered through. And they both would recognize the handiwork anywhere. Raph.

"Getting violent, are we? If that's how you want it... Observe!"

Stockboy muted himself, but Leo could still see him talking. He turned to Donnie, who'd realized the same; His attention was on their friends and family outside. He wasted no time and focused once again on the panel, the tiny cutter swirling as he ran it around the edges.

The panel finally came off with a harsh tug, though Donnie fell back due to the force. Leo grinned in his brother's direction.

And then the entire room started to shake.

Chapter Text

The dome shattered the ceiling above it as it rose from the ground. The farther up it went, the more they could see of it. The bottom had been constructed to complete the ball shape, though the metal there was darker. Fumes still filled the air, and the red hot heat of the launch could be seen through the exhaust in the bottom.

Mikey and Raph ran straight for the building, keeping pace with eachother. When they were at a distance Raph deemed close enough, he screetched into a halt and extended back one of his large hands.

"Mikey!" he commanded, and his little brother knew exactly what to do. He jumped into Raph's open palm with a showy backflip, retracting all of his limbs inside the safety of his shell.

"BROOOTHER BALL!" announced Raphael while twisting around for momentum. He tossed his small sibling through the air, toward the dome that was faster and faster climbing out of reach. It was a well-used tactic between them, honed to near perfection.

When he felt he'd flown as high as he was about to, Mikey plopped back out of his shell. He pulled out his weapons and twirled the nunchaku before throwing the ends out.

"Co-wa-bun-ga!" he exclaimed as golden chains wrapped around the entirety of the dome on his command, warping almost on their own as his feet landed against the curved surface. Mikey ran while his mystic energy worked itself around the machine and, once satisfied with his handiwork, threw himself backwards right off the dome.

"RAPH, CATCH!" he called down toward the ground, where his brother was waiting. Mikey tossed out one of the ends of his ever-extending nunchaku.

"I've got it!"

Raphael hit his knuckles together, and all at once a scarlet aura grew to life around him. It grew in size until his feet were well off the ground, and this reinforced form grabbed onto the end of Mikey's flying weapon.

Mikey landed on his right side, using the remaining chain as the leverage to his fall. Both chains had tightened as the planetarium tried to escape, and the turtles dug in their heels and pulled.

"Are we doing anything?!" asked Mikey in concern as their feet slid against the pavement. But they were, even if they didn't manage to completely stop the ascent.

"Pull harder!" ordered Raph, and followed his own advice. They grit their teeth, struggling to keep purchase on the ground. Their mystic powers were driven into overdrive, their bodies glowing with expended energy.

"April, Wren! You're on!" called Raph, strained. The girls didn't waste time.

"On it!" promised April and began running for the dome, "Wren?"

The latter spread her wings, taking a running start of a couple steps before rising into the air behind April. Noting this, the human raised her arms and Wren caught them by the wrists. Immediately, both had a death grip on the other as they rose into the air.

"Got you," promised the half yokai. Her gaze snapped to the floating planetarium, eyes narrowing at the wind and water as they left the ground farther and farther behind.

Baxter Stockboy's mic came right back on while he groaned and slammed a fist into his keyboard out of view. Donnie recognized the sound well.

"You think you can keep my rocket from taking off?"

Leo and Donnie shared a surprised look with one another. Even if they'd been briefly pinned to the ground due to the pressure of lift-off, it was still a shock to hear out loud.

"Don't underestimate me!" shouted the teen and began furiously slamming buttons.

Leo watched as many of the laser guns previously firing at them retracted into the walls, the panels closing behind. It didn't take a genius to figure out why that was, but it still took a couple seconds for it to click.

He was on his way to warn Donnie, but his brother was already back at work. The panel was pried off the wall and Donatello crawled inside.

"If only I could get these stupid cuffs off," muttered Donnie to himself right behind the next panel. There was just enough room for him to move around, though he knew it would prove a challenge. Especially if he ran into more of those mousers.

"Okay, let's see how sturdy you are—he said with little confidence," he narrated while pulling out the cutter he'd opened the panel with. Donnie carefully twisted it in his grip to point at his wrists, making freeing his hands a priority.

He fired up the cutter and an ear-grating sound had him wince as it ground against the metal. He let it go on for a few seconds before trying to observe the damage. Not a scratch.

"I knew I should've finished that portable laser cutter," he groaned, "Or..."

Donnie focused down on the tool. In his mind's eye he constructed what he wanted within heartbeats, and soon a purple glow encased the device. It was a little ambitious, definitely nothing more than a prototype, and would more than probably overheat. But Donnie was nothing if not ambitious. He pointed the upgraded tool toward the center of the wrist cuffs and drew in a breath.

"Galileo, Tesla, I intend to make you proud," stated Donnie as his dramatic final words before pressing the trigger. The mystic laser fired into the metal and it sizzled in a way he'd hoped it would.

"Haha! Yes!" he cackled enthusiastically as he burrowed through the metal. It was slow, and he could feel the tool heating up already, but it worked!

He could hear Leo coughing loudly over his words and speaking up beyond the wall:

"Man, spring allergies, amiright?" his brother stated. Okay, Donnie got the message: He was being too loud.

Just as the heat of the tool got unbearable against his skin, the cuffs came apart. Donnie released it with a hiss, letting it clatter as he shook his hands: Now free but from the metal bracelets around them.

"Now, to find an access point..." he muttered to himself while peering around in the dark.

April landed on the dome and nearly faceplanted on the wet metal, only catching herself with her hand at the last second. Wren landed a couple feet away from her, gripping onto the chains wrapped around the dome as she did.

"Good call!" said April before shuffling to do the same.

"What now?" asked Wren loudly over the wind and engines.

"Well, Raph got the door pretty good earlier! Maybe we could force it to give!"

Wren's eyes widened in shock.

"I-isn't that at the side of the building? That's currently in the air?!"

"I don't know why you're the one who's nervous! You can fly!" exclaimed April, making a decent point.

"Okay, okay! Fair enough! And what if that doesn't work?"

"There's no time to think about that! We've just gotta keep moving!"

Wren swallowed down her fear and doubt and simply nodded. She looked down toward the location of the door.

"Come on!" encouraged April, beginning to trail the chains down as close as they allowed. Wren followed her without a word, wings spread for balance and incase she suddenly needed to use them.

There was a subtle click. So subtle that Wren almost didn't hear it. But she did, and when she turned her head, panic struck.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted the yokai before leaping at April. She tackled them both down and out of the way of laser shots firing right at them. A gun had popped right out of one of the roof panels.

"Tha-aaaaaaanks!" April's words dissolved into a scream when they began slipping down the side of the building, still tangled together.

Wren pushed her foot against the metal and caught the wind with her wings, reaching down to grab April's arm. Her hold nearly slipped, but she managed to grab her jacket, trashing with her wings to keep them both up. A few more laser shots came their way, but even without dodging, they missed. Their movements were erratic enough to make them a hard target.

"Wren, I see the door! Throw me!"

The yokai twisted her head where April was looking. She grit her teeth as she swung her entire body to toss the girl, without question this time. Like April had said before, there was no time.

"AAAAAAHHH—April O'Neil!" shouted the human as her grip finally landed on the door handle, which she desperately clung to. Her feet settled on the narrow strip of floor right below. She felt the weight of Wren slam into her back and the girl gripped the doorframe, already white-knuckled.

"Is it budging?" she demanded, distressed. April knocked her weight into the door to the best of her ability. She could feel it give, but not enough.

"I—"

And then the door gave, just enough for it to open a crack. April stared into the pair of eyes right inside in a mix of shock and relief.

"So, anyway, as I was saying—What I will give to Jupiter Jim: What's Next In Spacemechs? is that it did try something new by adding another character. But it really wasn't right for the time, not to mention the stereotypes they put in—sheesh. I mean, the movie tanked in the box office, so it's not like I'm alone with that opinion. But Donnie says that the wasted potential could be salva—"

A subtle crash interrupted Leo's monologue, though he was 90% sure Stockboy wasn't even listening to him. Which, rude, but also convenient. He seemed occupied with the rest of his family, and that suited Leo just fine. And the muffled voice he'd just heard could belong to no one but a specific human girl he treated as a sister.

He kept stealing glances at Stockboy while caterpillar crawling his way to the door. Leo hopped up to his feet, nearly falling back before he grasped on the metal beam holding the door shut. It was bent, partially given in from Raph's strenght.

Leo held onto the beam and hopped to brace his feet against the wall. He pulled with all his might, using his entire body to try and break the metal. And to his relief, it gave!

The door cracked open the next time April bashed into it. Through the crack in the door, their eyes met. Leo grinned.

"Leo!"

"About time you got here!" he cheered. Before they could change any more pleasantries, Leo heard a telltale click and immediately jumped back from the door: Just in time. The laser instead collided with the bent metal beam, leaving it hissing. April had startled, but was pushed back against the door by Wren, both now squished into it.

"Stop being so irritating! I'm trying to become famous here! Then I can finally stop living in other people's shadow!"

Leo dodged more of the lasers by rolling across the floor. He tucked himself behind some seating, though they'd only cover him temporarily.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, April turned to her companion.

"I think it's about to break," she said as quietly as she could while pointing to the beam, "One more time, together!" Wren nodded back in agreement.

"On 3, 2... 1!" called April, and both girls rammed into the door together. It resisted a beat longer before it caved, and both of them collapsed inside.

"Yesss! My heroes!" called Leo joyously from his hiding spot, ducking down to avoid another shot. Then a thought struck him. If that laser had broken through Donnie's spider arm, as well as the metal beam on the door...

"Wren! We need to move!"

April pulled the other girl to her feet by the wrist while she was still nursing her now aching side. She pulled her out of the line of fire and behind the machinery in the center of the room.

"Wait, over there!" Wren called when she spied another gun pointing right at them. Just as it prepared to fire, Leo suddenly leaped out of cover and in front of the girls. The shot was angled just as he'd hoped, hitting the cuffs he'd raised as a shield.

He lowered his wrists and looked down at the hissing metal. They didn't break all the way, but when he moved his hands, there was suddenly some give. One more hit and they'd crack.

"Are you sure you thought all of this through?" taunted Leo as he spun around to Stockboy's facecam. He looked ready to explode in anger, hands in tight fists in the air.

"Fine, if that's how you want it! I wanted to keep you alive for the feature, but you've forced my hand!" he shouted before beginning to tap again, "You won't be able to use your limbs anyway after I've filled you with holes!"

Wall and ceiling panels opened one after another, more guns pointing straight at the trio in the middle. Leo's smile grew tight as he hopped backward. April and Wren were looking around, the latter breathing quickly in distress.

"Goodbye, Leonardo—And allies. You'll make fine Swiss cheese!" stated Stockboy, his hand dramatically landing on a button off screen. They braced themselves.

And nothing happened.

"What the—"

With a brief static, Baxter Stockboy's image was replaced by another. Donnie's smug face could be seen splayed all around the dome, never more welcome.

"Oh, found an access point, by the way. Which means I'm in control of all the weaponry in the dome. I also disabled the machine causing interference to my tech. And by the way—Leo would make a terrible food item, cheese or otherwise. Not even Mikey would try to cook him," stated the tech genius in a tone that was far from humble.

"Hey!"

"You're welcome for saving your life with my uncompeted hacking skills," he sang through the sound system.

"Nice work, Donnie!" cheered April and pumped a fist into the air, "Now, let's get the hell outta here!"

"What about the dome?" cut in Wren, "Isn't it just gonna crash somewhere if we let it go?"

"If we let it go, yes—" came Donnie's voice again, and then they heard shuffling and saw him emerge from the wall. The image of his face vanished from the walls and he was tapping on his holo screen.

"But I can access it remotely from the ground. I should be able to land it safely after we've removed Stockboy from the controls."

"Did you get our weapons, genius?" pressed Leo, his manner of address layered with sarcasm.

"I did in fact, brother dear. First things first." That was all the warning Leo received before two lasers fired at his wrists and ankles simultaneously. He nearly stumbled back in shock, but was immediately filled with relief when he simply regained control of his individual limbs.

"Once again, you're welcome."

Their weapons were tossed out from the wall and Leo caught his katanas with one hand. Donnie in turn caught his bō staff and strapped it to his back. He found his eyes shifting to April and Wren, the latter of which was staring, openly impressed. Donnie did nothing to stop it from feeding his ego.

"Aaaaand portal time!" announced Leo as he swiped his swords through the air.

Chapter Text

Raph and Mikey both looked over in relief when the blue swirl of magic opened up and the entire rest of their team walked through. Both were sweating profusely, their bodies shaking from exertion.

"Finally! Please tell me we can let go now!" cried out Michelangelo.

"Almost done, Mike! Promise! We just gotta pay a visit to dear Baxxy in his hidey hole," informed Leo and pointed his sword toward the control room, separated from the dome at launch.

"HURRY!" pleaded the younger brother.

The door swung open from the force of April's bat much easier than expected. It slammed into the wall hard enough that Stockboy jumped up from his desk chair on reflex.

"No! How did you—My mousers should've..." he stammered in shock.

April, Leo, Donnie and Wren all headed inside in turns. They lined up by the exit, the scientist already eyeing the equipment their opponent had stocked away.

"About that. I took your suggestion of familiarizing myself with the Swiss cheese making process," stated Donatello, "Overshot it with the lasers a little, don't you think?"

"Alright, time to pack it up! Your three viewers are just gonna have to suck it up and be disappointed," said Leo, dropping one of his swords to make a grab for Baxter's arm.

"No...! Nonono! My master plan! My re-enaction of the invasion! I didn't even get to advertise my channel!"

The leader dragged the struggling teen out while Donnie seated himself on the desk chair. He looked through the programs and gave them a quick analysis.

"Can you bring it down?" asked Wren, hovering just to his left while looking at all the information on display.

"Do you even have to ask?" sang Donnie in response, "Of course I can bring it down. Just watch and learn." The mutant cracked his knuckles before entering in some commands via code.

"He types, he presses enter, he waits," he muttered while working, a smug look back on his face. Donnie leaned back in his borrowed seat and let the chair twirl.

Outside, the rumbling of the engines grew quieter as the output was lessened over time, boosted every once in a while to stop the dome from crashing into the ground. April and Wren looked through the doorway of the control room to see the giant ball settle into place with heavy tremors of the earth. Mikey and Raph could be seen collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

"You did it, Donnie! Nice job," commended April, to which Donatello stood up proudly.

"Of course I did— Hold your applause. Actually, no, don't hold them. Go ahead. I've got time."

April placed her hands on her hips and shook her head, though couldn't resist a smile.

By the time Baxter Stockboy had been defeated and left there for the authorities to pick up, and the Mad Dogs had returned to their subway lair, the adrenaline rush had ended. They were all suddenly hit with fatigue, collapsing onto various flat surfaces. Injuries were taken care of, but othen than that the break was embraced with relaxation. For once, the lair was quiet.

"So, run it by me again? He, um, he makes videos about..."

"Can stacking. That's what Mikey said," finished Raph. Wren furrowed her brows.

"And can stacking somehow lead to the alien invasion, because..."

"He thought he could play the hero by stopping it and the evil mutant aliens inside," he explained, again. Wren giggled tiredly.

"People are so clever," she mused.

"Too clever. It might've worked if we weren't bein' careful," Raphael stated, "But we've learned the hard way that mistakes can cost us. So we try not to make 'em as much."

"There's one thing I don't get."

"What's that?"

"If he really works as an unpaid stockboy, how did he have the money to build a whole rocket? Did he steal all that stuff?"

The teens laid in silence while pondering over the issue. But with their tired brains, the effort of thinking was too much. Raph ran his hands over his face.

"Raph needs a nap."

"That sounds great. And a shower," added Wren with a sigh.

"But the floor is so comfortable!"

The two of them were laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling of the second floor. They'd collapsed there shortly after the return, neither in need of treatment. Mikey was laid on the couch nearby, sound asleep ever since he put his head down.

"How about... On the count of three... We get up?" suggested Wren.

"Yeah, okay. Raph can do that."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Neither of them got up.

"We're stuck," said Raphael. And so they remained laying on the floor, too tired to move and yet just a little too uncomfortable to sleep.

A tap tap of a pair of sandals could be heard with their heads against the ground. It came closer, but neither bothered to turn and look.

"Ah, Red, Wren. When you're done laying on the floor, let Blue and Purple know I have gone out for a while. There's an all-you-can eat buffet at—a restaurant! Don't follow me! I'll be back in time for my late-night programs."

The tap tap moved away after Splinter was done with his statement.

"You know what?" mumbled Wren, "I don't even care we're set up to get married. Let's just get it over with, amiright?"

Raph had fallen asleep, and so he couldn't disagree.

"Stop squirming, Leo," warned April, his burnt hand encased in hers for an inspection.

"I'm not squirming. I'm just, getting comfortable," argued the blue-masked turtle.

"By squirming," she said, but let go of his hand anyway, "Can you move your thumb?"

Leo wiggled the finger, though hissed at the action. It was far from the worst pain he'd felt, but burns still remained an unpleasant experience.

"Good. I think we can just put some aloe vera on it and call it a day."

Donnie, who was seated on a stool near the countertops of the med bay, handed the cream over to April wordlessly. He'd already applied some on his own hand from the laser cutter damage, though his burn was only first degree. It felt nice though, and all of them needed their hands working just for combat.

April scooped up the cream on the tips of her fingers and cupped Leo's hand with her free one. She ran the cream over his burn, and shortly after the turtle was already showing signs of relief.

"There, all better," she hummed with a pat on Leo's knee. Her tone was condescending as a tease, like she was speaking to a small child.

"Yeah, yeah," moaned Leo with a roll of his eyes. No teenager liked to be babied.

"We should also bandage it," chimed in Donnie, who had already gotten up for the supply, "It might get infected if you accidentally scrape it."

"Fair enough," agreed April, her hand already extended to accept the bandages. But Donnie kept the roll to himself.

"Nono, I'll do it. If he starts squirming again, I'll just use one of my trademarked Donnie Stun Darts."

"For the record, I wasn't squirming, and I do not consent to that," cut in Leo. April shrugged and moved aside to let Donnie do his thing.

"Knock yourself out."

The brothers shared a glance. Leo hesitated before holding out his hand.

"You better not try to amputate my arm again. I've seen you whip out that saw in .2 seconds."

"If I really wanted to amputate your arm, Leon, there's no amount of begging that could stop me."

"How much you wanna bet?"

Donatello calmly began wrapping the bandage around Leo's hand and wrist, keeping the fabric loose against the burn.

"I'm not going to bet on anything with someone who can't meet the demands of the agreement. I've done my due diligence. In other, simpler words: You're broke, bro. "

"And here I am, stuck on the fact he was willing to barter his whole arm," stated April.

"It's fine, I wouldn't have lost it! And what's life for anyway if you don't live on the edge sometimes?"

"You live on the edge a little too much, Leo. Hence the burn," countered April with a grin. Leo shared it.

"Touché! Ow!"

The hiss of pain came from Donnie tightening the bandage more than he had to. When Leo glanced at him, he could see his drawn on brows lowered. There was no apology.

"What was that for?" whined Leo.

And when Donnie didn't answer, April let her eyes dart to the side briefly before speaking up.

"I'mmm gonna go check on the others. You guys come out when you're ready, m'kay?"

With these words, the girl turned her back to wander out of the room. She could sense tension in the air, and guessed the brothers needed a minute by themselves.

"Well?" pressed Leo, rubbing his wrist right by the burn, "Are you mad at me again?"

"No, I'm not mad at you."

"Then what is it, Dee? If you wanna talk, now's your chance." Donnie let out a sigh and his squared shoulders dropped.

"About what happened out there, on the field... When you, freaked out... " he trailed off in his usual intonation. But his eyes met Leo's, and the older brother recognized some kind of emotion akin to grief or regret. He went for his usual move: Deflection.

"What about it?" he said with a grin plastered on, "I guess it wasn't a great time to lose my mind. But I got over it, no biggie. The day was still saved and the heroes came out on top!"

"Leo. I'm—"

The heavy tone of voice told him Donnie wasn't about to let it go. He should've known he wouldn't.

"I'm not great at this, I won't pretend to be. But what happened wasn't a joke. You need to talk to someone about it," stated the younger brother awkwardly, "Doesn't have to be me. I'm not even sure I could say anything that helps. But dad, or Raph, they'd hear you out."

Leo's response shifted from deflection to denial in seconds.

"I have talked about it," he argued while flying to his feet, "I've talked about the prison dimension, and the Krang, and about what happened with Raph. It didn't change anything!"

"Okay, fine. I don't know about any of that, so I can't tell you what works and what doesn't. But these things don't just come out of nowhere. I mean, maybe it isn't really about the Krang in the first place!"

And Leonardo sputtered.

"What else would it be about?"

"Despite the many hats I hold under my name, psychologist isn't one of them. I'm just—" Donnie looked off to the side, his movements a little stiff and controlled again, "I'm just trying to help."

Regret hit him at his actions. Leo let himself slump back onto the medical bed, and he heaved a heavy sigh.

"I know," he said softly, "I'll talk to someone. I promise. Thanks, Don."

"I keep hearing a lot of promises today," Donnie pointed out, his tone a tad easier. Leo felt the corners of his mouth go up.

"I'm just a master at promises," reasoned Leo with a humble shrug.

"Maybe you should try to master keeping them, also," suggested Donnie with a quirk of his brow. His brother laughed.

"Let's get out of here. I hate the med bay."

"I wonder if getting yourself stuck in it for nearly a month has something to do with it."

"It has everything to do with it! I was bored out of my mind, you know!" cried the blue brother.

"Maybe you should've thought twice before throwing yourself into another dimension with the most dangerous creature on the planet at the time."

"Hey, I had to think fast! And it worked out, didn't it?" he challenged, grinning back at Donnie. The latter formed a small smile in response despite himself.

"Worked out in ridding you of the remainders of your intelligence. Which brings us back to the question—"

"What question?"

"Why did you have April's keys?"

Leo stopped to blink at his fellow middle sibling while they stood out in the hall. Then he formed an awkward kind of smile.

"Let's just say it had something to do with making amends. Didn't exactly turn out how I intended: A lot less romantic stargazing and staring into your crush's eyes in the dark, and a lot more teenage evil genius trying to stage us for a stack of cash," he stated, rubbing the fingers of his healthy hand together in the air.

It was Donnie's turn to sputter.

"You...You were trying to set up... A date?" he balked, eyes plate-sized. Leo could see his usually stony brother's face darken in real time, and a smirk came about.

"Yeah, well. It kind of fell through. Literally, in some ways. But wow is that look on your face worth it! Where's my phone when I need it?" Leo felt up his own shell for his smartphone. Donnie tensed.

"There's no look! This is just my face."

"Oh, there's definitely a look. Let's get a second opinion! Wreeee-eeen!"

"I will end you—"

"Girl, what are you doing on the floor? You're gonna get sick."

Wren blinked her eyes open – had she fallen asleep? – to see April hovering over her with one hand extended out. She yawned and covered her mouth, then rested that arm over her eyes.

"Come on," encouraged April, and she caved. Wren took her hand and let herself be pulled up.

"You too, Raph. On your feet," commanded the girl in the yellow shirt. She pat the turtle on his shoulder, and he snapped awake shortly after.

"What's going on?" mumbled Wren, blearily rubbing her eyes.

"Besides getting you guys to lay somewhere actually meant for it? It's time for movie night!"

Outside the American Museum of Natural History, Baxter Stockboy had been handcuffed by the authorities littering the area. He was being escorted into a police car by an officer with her brown hair in a ponytail. But before they could reach the vehicle, someone stepped in her way.

"Sir, this is a restricted area—"

The man in a black coat raised his palm. Stockboy lifted his eyes from the ground, where he'd been staring for the past five minutes. It was just in time to see the man flash his badge.

"Agent John Bishop from EPF. We're taking over the case. You may hand the prisoner off to me."

"On what orders?" asked the officer hesitantly.

"The highest."

The eyes of Baxter Stockboy met the darkness of this man's sunglasses.

It was minutes later that the teen was sitting at the back of a black vehicle. It wasn't unlike a police car, with a divider between the front and back seats. Bishop sat in front, beside a perfectly silent driver.

"EPF?" asked Baxter, unable to keep himself from asking.

"Earth Protection Force," stated Bishop, "Most people haven't heard of us, and it's just how we like to keep it." The gravelly voice had an authority to it that kept the child genius on his toes.

"Earth protection... What does a special ops division want with me?"

"You catch on quick. Good. You're going to need that."

There was another short silence, the gears behind Stockboy's eyes turning. Suddenly, he perked up with a realization.

"You're the one! The anonymous donor on my stream! You're the one who made my efforts possible in the first place."

Bishop turned, just enough to face the boy in the back seat.

"I needed to gauge your real capabilities."

Baxter could hear his own heartbeat in the pregnant pause.

"How would you like a real job, Stockboy?"

Chapter Text

Gathered in the TV room was a hoarde of zombies. April had dragged everyone in and, after being woken up, Mikey had bounced to bring their snacks over from the kitchen. The bean bags had all been gathered and faced toward the white projector screen. With Splinter being absent, the teens had rare monopoly over whatever they chose to watch. They scattered over the seating, Wren watching as everyone fought for their favorite spots.

"So we're definitely starting her off with the best of the best, right? Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies?" said Leo while bringing up the DVD to wave around.

"No! We should show them to her chronologically so she'll understand what's going on!" argued Mikey.

"I hope you mean chronologically as in in order of release and not in order of the canonical timeline. There are references in the prequels you can only appreciate having consumed the main series first," stated Donnie.

"Or, here's a crazy idea: We let Wren pick the first movie," said Raph, gesturing to the half yokai, who perked up.

"Okay, okay, but if she picks anything I don't like I get a veto," replied Leo, "Or fall asleep during the movie because it's boring. No one can tell!"

"It's okay, you guys can pick! I don't really know anything about movies," argued Wren with a denying wave of her palms.

"Wait, whoa whoa whoa whoa. Are you saying you've really never seen Jupiter Jim?" realized Leo. Wren blinked at him owlishly.

"I've never seen any movie," she stated with a look around the room. She was suddenly stared at like she'd grown a second head.

"Wait, like ever?" stated April in surprise.

"There's no electricity in the Hidden City," she replied. To her it was obvious, but the New Yorkers hadn't really even thought about it.

"Come on, Wren! We've seen all of them from tens to hundreds of times. If you've never even watched a movie, you should get to pick your first one! As long as it's Jupiter Jim!" stated Mikey while pushing the box of DVDs toward her.

She hesitated a moment, but seeing the expectant looks of the others, Wren gave in and approached the vast Jupiter Jim collection. She crouched by the box, looking at the various colorful covers. She picked a few up one by one, looking through titles while being stared at.

Eventually Wren held up a casing with the image of Jupiter Jim and Red Fox, shadowed by fanged robots in simple gothic capes.

"Really?" groaned Leo, but upon receiving the stink eye from everyone else, took the DVD.

"Fine! Let's put it on!" he caved with a roll of his eyes and moved to slot the disk into the machine. Wren leaned over to watch, more curious over the old technology rather than the actual movie.

"Wren! Come sit over here!" called Mikey. She spun around to see him patting a spot between himself and Donnie.

Wren sank into the magenta cushion, falling back a little in surprise when she didn't expect it to be quite as soft as it was. The youngest turtle laughed at her and watched her sit up.

"Okay, now—Pay attention. This is not the first movie in the series, so we might have to provide you with some context," warned Donnie. Raph rolled his eyes on the two beanbags he occupied at the back row.

"Donnie, just let her watch the movie. It's Jupiter Jim. She'll get it," said April in response.

"And not give my grade A behind the scenes commentary? Scoff!" he sang, bewildered.

"You sound just like dad when we watch Lou Jitsu movies," said Mikey.

"Aaaand I'm staying silent for the next eighty-three minutes," Donnie quickly agreed. Wren stifled a giggle behind her hand.

The movie began playing, and it briefly grew quiet in the room. But it was only about five minutes in that Leo leaned in to let April know that this was one of the worst depictions of Jupiter Jim the character in the series. The girl shushed him.

A song played about ten minutes in that Mikey was humming under his breath without realizing. Donnie's eye began to twitch because he was trying so hard not to sing along. Eventually he ended up reaching around Wren to pinch his brother, who yelped. They tried to slap each other until Raph caught both their arms.

Another five minutes passed and Raph found himself making a joke about an action sequence in process. A challenge was issued. The silence was completely gone, and the rest of the movie was spent in the usual chaos the family presented.

Through it all, Wren's eyes were fixed on the projection. She stopped to smile and laugh at the others every now and then, but then her attention went right back to the movie. Everyone but Leo and Raph clocked it at different points, the eldest brothers too busy wrestling through the last third.

The end credits began playing.

"We made it! Okay, now we gotta watch Seven Galaxies. Otherwise I'm fighting all of you!" shouted Leo from the chokehold Raph had him in.

"What did you think, Wren? Aside from the guys making all that noise," asked April.

"You celebrated with all of us when Jupiter Jim made peace with the vampire bots and you know it!" accused Mikey with a point of his finger.

They were both caught off guard when Wren suddenly launched to her feet and stepped closer to the canvas.

"I— loved it!" she exclaimed and spun on her heel, wings spreading a little wider and the brightest of smiles on her face.

"I can't believe it! It's like a play but instead of magic, you use some kind of... I don't even know what some of those effects were achieved with! And the angles and views you can show, and, and the music and how its integrated into the whole thing! Sure, the plot left something to be desired, but I've never seen anything like it! And it's in space!" she practically squealed by the end, "How amazing is that?!"

Her enthusiasm was much more than any of them had anticipated. While April and Donnie were only grinning in response, Raph and Mikey were both once again moved to tears. Leo was the first to speak up.

"If you thought that was good, just wait!" he promised with an arm slung over Wren's shoulders, "Donnie!"

"On it!" sang the purple brother, one of his spider claws coming out to insert the next DVD.

By the second movie, Wren was caught up in the excitement almost as much as the most devoted Jupiter Jim fans. By the third, however, the boost in energy had drained out of most. April had excused herself to go home. Mikey had fallen asleep and was carried to bed by Raph, who only came in for a bit more. Eventually he shared a quiet look with Leo and challenged him to an arcade match before they'd go to sleep. Donnie was protesting this, insisting on finishing the movie – it was "blasphemy" not to. To which the elder brothers of course suggested he finish it on his own. With Wren. Who was still staring at the movie intently. Donnie found his argument die on his tongue.

"So, for this movie they mostly returned to the classics. Using a lot of practical effects gives it more of a grounded feel over the CGI-dominated cinema of today. And as much as I appreciate the technology at work, even I have to admit it has a particular charm to it," lectured Donnie. And While Wren nodded along with him with a smile on her face, he couldn't help but feel he was wasting an opportunity.

What else would I talk about? he found himself thinking in alarm, Obscure facts is what I excel at.

"Donnie?" and she had his attention immediately, "The Red Fox person... Is she, um, computer generated?" Wren looked uncertain, clearly sensing something was off. He smiled.

"Ah, good eye. No. She's a yokai."

Wren's eyes went so wide he was sure they'd bulge out of her head.

"She's a yokai?! In the movie? In the human made movie?!"

"Oh, we were blind sided, too. Humans don't know about her, obviously. They think she's a puppet, or a short person in costume. But as it turns out, yokai have been secretly integrating into human society for a long time."

"I—I mean, I knew that. I just didn't think..." she paused to squeal, "That's so cool! I can't believe there's a yokai movie star!"

"Technically she's just a sidekick," countered Donatello dryly. He internally kicked himself for doing so, with how happy the prospect of having another yokai on the screen had made Wren.

"That's okay! It's amazing all the same," she hummed, falling back in her beanbag, "I mean... Um, it's a little embarrassing, but..."

With the way she trailed off, Donnie could tell she was about to make an admission.

"It almost makes me think I could have a place here, too."

"What do you mean?"

Wren faced him and then looked away again, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"I used to dream about exploring the surface. Maybe even living up here. It just, seemed so exciting, that there was a whole world above that I barely knew anything about. Like, what space is to humans, the rest of the planet is to some of us."

He felt a distinct softness at her words, a nostalgia. He remembered looking up at the New York skyline the first time they snuck out of the sewers. He remembered how their world expanded then, and realized it was the same for her now.

Normally Donnie would have filed away the memory as it surfaced, but he decided to try something new. To feel it.

"In the spirit of exploration, perhaps you'd like to aid me in a supply run tomorrow. It's nothing special, but we'll be taking the tank. It'll be safe."

"Really?" enthused Wren as she sat up, "I'd love to! Thanks, Donnie."

The warmth washed over him in waves. It wasn't unpleasant or scary. He didn't feel like he might drown. And yet his heart was hammering in his chest all the same.

"Of course!" he spoke with shaky bravado. Wren finally seemed to pick up on his uncertainty, with the way he struggled to look her in the eye.

"Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?" she asked gently, her full attention on him. Donnie shrunk under the gaze.

"No, I just—" his mouth was dry and he tried to swallow, "I was...Why?" He grimaced at his own unclarity.

"Why, what?"

Donnie shuffled where he sat. There was no running away from the conversation, unless he physically did so. He wasn't clever with misdirection like Leo, as much as he hated to admit any weakness.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"Oh," breathed Wren.

Her eyes darted around nervously. Great. Now they were both being awkward.

"I guess," she started hesitantly, "I know what it's like when people act the opposite. And I don't like making people feel that way."

Donnie frowned as he looked at her.

"Don't tell me it's out of pity."

"No!" she rushed to deny, "No. It's not pity. I don't lie. I genuinely think the things you and your brothers and April do are amazing— even if they did lie to me." The last part was delivered in a mutter.

"I just want to make sure you know I do. I think people deserve to hear good things about themselves, and to hear a thank you when they've done me a favor."

She was smiling awkwardly, looking down at her lap. A shyness that while Donnie didn't find unappealing, he didn't prefer. He thought Wren was at her best when she was showing excitement over something, passionate and interested and curious. That's what he was most attracted to, he realized. But he also understood it was a touchy subject at hand.

"If it's annoying, I can try not to do it as much," she suddenly said into the silence.

"It's not," Donnie denied this time. Her eyes found his and he forgot whatever the rest of his sentiment was about to be. She smiled at him.

"Then I won't stop," she promised.

A silence where the movie stole back their attention followed. Or at the very least it stole Wren's. Donnie was still stuck in his own head, in his usual spiral of thinking and overthinking. It took him minutes to speak up again, and by that time the topic had almost faded from Wren's mind.

"I also think—" and her gaze snapped to him, "I. Think you did great today," Donnie choked out. Wren looked taken aback.

"Oh, I, um! Thanks!" she beamed, even if a little shy. No, that wasn't enough.

"I saw the sketches in your room," Donnie said, again to her visible surprise, "I think you're talented." And then she was blushing again, brushing hair away from her face.

"Thanks," Wren said, eyes on her lap. She sounded sincere. Donnie couldn't stop talking all of a sudden.

"You dress great. I like how you get excited over things, and listen attentively whenever someone's talking to you. And you don't just brush over things, you think about them and come to conclusions. You're...Smart, in a way I can appreciate."

Donatello could swear the temperature in the room had raised. His skin was burning. Wren laughed, choppy and awkward.

"Where's all of this coming from?" she questioned, clearly overwhelmed. So many compliments given by Donnie, specifically, would be a shock to anyone. But he needed to mirror her language. He swallowed again, and the words fell right out of him:

"I like you."

Silence. Donnie's pulse was the only thing he felt or heard. He had to make sure she didn't misunderstand.

"And before you ask, or say anything, I mean romantically like you. Not as a friend, or a sister. I don't want there to be any confusion, so whatever you're going to answer with should reflect that. That is, if you're going to answer. I imagine dropping this information on you suddenly is shocking enough that you may want a moment. So actually, take your time. Just not too long. How about three business days? Or if you're undecided, we could go on a date to test our chemistry—"

"Donnie."

The ramble was effectively stopped. It was a mechanical movement when Donnie finally chanced a look at her. Her eyes were wide, shocked. There was a littany of other emotions there Donatello simply couldn't read, and it was terrifying again.

"Y...You can't like me."

Chapter Text

Splinter dipped his bony fingers into the bowl of mayo in the middle of the table. He had long since run out of chips, and only carved out fingerfuls of a paste made out of egg, oil and vinegar.

The person sitting at the other end of the table stared in disgust and disdain, and yet an amount of morbid curiosity he didn't want to admit to. Asuka was sitting straight with his many plates piled up neatly with the utensils set to five o'clock. Splinter's piles were messy and threatened to topple over. Each still rivaled the other in appetite.

"So..." trailed off Asuka, his eyes briefly visiting the rest of the yokai-owned establishment, "How have our next of kin been getting along?"

"Oh, great!" said Splinter after licking his fingers clean (again), "Wren has been spending a lot of time with my boys and their friend, April."

"She really hasn't been sitting in her room reading all the time?" marveled the ex-warrior, "Good, that's good. I don't want her to live a life shut away from everyone. That is why marriage to the right partner would do her good."

The mutant resisted the urge to grimace and wiped his face with a napkin before tossing it over his tallest pile of bowls.

"Yes, I'm sure it would. But having the right friends is just as important, don't you think?" offered Splinter.

"Sure, sure, but friends are nothing but a temporary solution. Marriage, at its best, is meant to last a lifetime. Speaking of which, which one of your sons do you think—"

"Too early to say," cut in Splinter, "But, hey, to my knowledge she is getting along with all of them. If they fall in love, they'll fall in love. There's no need for them to even know about all this if it goes to plan."

"I still don't get your insistence on this, Lou. I understand initially they would resist, but arranged marriages are tradition. They would learn to respect the wisdom of their elders, as we all do."

"Riiight, as we all do... Anyway, how's your wife? Mckenna, right?" Through a forced grin, Splinter managed to divert Asuka's attention.

"Ah! I'm glad you asked! She's—"

The lair was pleasantly quiet by the time Splinter returned from his dinner. He cast a look toward the turtles' room, seeing lights turned out in all but Leonardo's. For a moment he stood in spot, mulling over the possibility of talking to him now.

Something else caught his attention before he could reach a conclusion. Noise from the TV room. His ear twitched and Splinter turned, getting closer to find out what was going on.

"...with what they want. I, I can't do this, Donnie, I'm sorry."

It was Wren's voice, frantic in tone. The next thing Splinter knew were footsteps coming his way. He stepped to stand against the wall when she walked by, wiping her eyes with the heels of her palms. She was headed straight for the bedrooms.

Whoever she'd been talking to didn't leave the TV room. Splinter looked just past the wall to see in, to see one of his sons standing in the center. The end credits of a movie were playing in the background, encasing his dark silhouette in shades of blue.

It was Donatello. His eyes looked empty, his face blank in a way that didn't match his usual indifference. Even if he wasn't the greatest of fathers, Splinter still recognized this was a moment where he needed to intervene.

"Purple?" he spoke up, stepping out into the open to approach him, "What's happened, my son?"

Purple's eyes met his, now surprise in his lack of expression. The silence stretched on while they looked at one another. And then, seemingly unprompted, Donatello's face morphed into a look of anger.

"This is YOUR FAULT!" he shouted, suddenly enough that Splinter flinched. The teen went to pass him, his arm throwing the rat mutant back by a step as he did.

"Purp—Donatello! You come back here right now!" demanded the father, only to watch another one of his sons keep walking away. Since when had he so completely lost his authority with them?

Purple was heading upstairs. Splinter followed him far enough to see him disappear into his lab, where he'd likely remain for the coming hours.

Two of his sons had lashed out at him within a short period of time. Instead of only talking to Blue, it seemed like something more drastic was now in order.

Donnie would've slammed the door after himself if it weren't for its automatic functions. Instead he walked through his lab all the way to his computer table, where he fell into a seat and buried his face in his hands.

"Get it together," he mumbled to himself before sitting up straight. He dragged his chair to his keyboard and pressed a key to bring it to life. He stared at his monitors blankly, his brain feeling like it was filled with static. He couldn't think. He couldn't even recall what he was last working on.

"Y...You can't like me."

His throat constricted as the words replayed in his head.

"Ah...But evidently, I can. As I just explained in no uncertain terms, I do."

The way she had looked at him, her jaw clamping shut before she looked away abruptly. Her hands had cupped her temples like she was fighting off a headache.

"No, Donnie. You shouldn't. This can't happen. Our fathers brought me here to marry us— Don't tell me that's what you want, now? Because that's where this is headed. I can't."

"I—I know that's what they want. I just..."

He'd been at a loss for words. What did he "just "? Had he really expected a positive answer? Had he expected that, because she was nice, she would've said "Yes, I like you too!" without question? It was naive of him. He'd done what he didn't usually do and gotten caught up in the moment. Stupid, stupid.

"I can't imagine either of us—I—I just can't see a happy ending to this with what they want. I, I can't do this, Donnie, I'm sorry."

Her voice had cracked and she'd run. He hadn't just been turned down, no. He'd been turned down and he'd made everything worse all at once. All because of these ridiculous emotions he couldn't turn off. In many moments of his life he wished he really didn't feel a thing, and this was one of them, without question.

And Splinter— Seeing him had been the last straw. As much as the rat was the source of his current anguish, Donnie couldn't help but blame himself, too. This wasn't him. He wasn't being useful in any manner of the word. He wasn't being smart. He wasn't being "emotionlessly passionate" nor efficient.

Now he was slumped over his desk, with his hands on the sides of his head, staring at his keyboard. He couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. And yet his shoulders trembled under the weight of it all.

When Raphael woke up early that morning, the first out of his brothers, he followed his usual routine. Got out of bed, brushed his teeth, headed to the garage for some training. Except, unlike usual, by the garage doors, he was being waited on.

"Pops?"

"Go gather your siblings. In the kitchen. We're having a family meeting."

"Uh, okay. What about Wren?"

Splinter seemed to think on it a moment, but nodded his head.

"Yes, her too. I will be waiting."

Raph rubbed the side of his head while walking over to their bedrooms. Had Splinter caught on to their knowledge? They intended to bring it up with him sooner or later. Maybe it was for the best if it was initiated by their father.

Figuring he could think about it later, Raph focused on the task at hand. He'd start from the most difficult of his brothers, knocking twice before tugging open the door.

"Rise and shine, Leo! Time for breakfast!"

He received a grumble in response while Leonardo simply pulled the blanket over his head and turned his back to Raph. As expected, he'd have to do things the hard way. He walked over to his brothers bed and in one harsh tug, removed the fluffy cover.

"Up. Now. We're havin' a family meetin'. No excuses."

He stepped out with the sound of Leo's whining as background noise and tucked the crumpled blanket under his arm. He went for Donatello's room next, knocking softer before sliding open the door.

"Donnie?"

There was no one inside. Raph frowned and shut the door, going for Mikey's room instead. While at it, he tossed Leo's blanket on top of the subway cart.

"Mikey, wake up. I need your help."

The youngest brother drowsily sat up on his hammock and rubbed his eyes with the arm not supporting his weight.

"What's going on?" he asked through a yawn, just about making out Raph's figure, "Are we under attack?"

"No, Mike. Just a family meetin'. Can you go wake Wren? I'm gonna go get Donnie."

"Yeah, okay," drawled the orange brother before dropping to his feet.

Mikey knocked, but didn't open the door without permission like he might've done with his brothers.

"Wren? Are you up?"

Silence followed, so he knocked again. After that there was a quiet shuffle and a padding of feet. The door slid open and Mikey stepped back.

"Mikey...What time is it?" she mumbled, looking just as sleepy as he felt, if not moreso. There were dark circles underneath Wren's eyes, easy to make out due to her pale complexion. The bruise on her face still looked bad.

"Too early. But Raph said there's a family meeting. You're coming, right?"

Wren suddenly looked more awake than before, and hesitant. She was avoiding eye-contact.

"Will... Donnie be there?"

Mikey blinked a few times. Something was off.

"Whyyy?" he drew out cautiously. Wren seemed to shrink under the word.

"Um. No reason." Okay, he definitely wasn't buying that.

"Something happened, didn't it? After I fell asleep."

When there was no response but Wren going to bite her nail, Mikey pressed on.

"If you won't tell me, I'll go ask Donnie." Her eyes darted to his.

"I...Okay. But I'm not sure it's okay for me to say. Just... Come inside?"

Mikey did as prompted, stepping in when she moved aside. Wren closed the door after him and went to straighten her blanket on the bed.

The room looked different to the last time Michelangelo had seen it. Her things were organized, the room feeling more personalized and lived-in. The decor complimented the abstract painting of the New York skyline on her wall, or maybe the other way around. A sewing station was set up in one end. The room felt like hers.

"You can sit down here if you'd like," she offered quietly while patting a spot on the bed. Mikey took the offer and slumped down beside her, gathering his limbs up to sit cross-legged.

"Sooo..."

Wren cringed at his expectant tone.

"Last night, after Raph and Leo went to bed, Donnie and I were left alone to watch the third movie."

"Okaayyy." Nice. Good job, Raph. And Leo, I guess.

"And then we—He said—Um. I said... We argued, I think. No, more like I got upset at him, even though it wasn't his fault."

"Wait, what? What do you mean you got upset? What did he—" and then a guess formed, "Did he confess?" The way Wren flinched at the word said it all.

"Y-you knew?" she stuttered. Mikey's eyes widened.

"Ohmigosh. Yes, I knew! Everyone knew. I just didn't think he'd actually say anything! That's great!"

Wren's wince told otherwise.

"What did you say...?" asked Mikey, full of dread. Wren shuffled in her spot.

"Um. 'You can't like me.'"

"You said WHAT?"

"I know, I know! It's so bad!" cried out Wren in response, "I didn't mean to! I just freaked out. Ugh. I wish I could take it back." Mikey slapped a hand on his face and let it run down.

"Okay, okay. There's still a way to fix this! You just have to talk to him."

"I know," mumbled Wren, clasping her own arm. Her regret was on obvious display, and Mikey couldn't help but wonder.

"Well, since we're on the topic. Do you like him back?"

A blush spread on her face at the question, but Mikey guessed that's how most people would react.

"It's not really important, is it? Even if I didn't mean to say it like that, I couldn't possibly date any of you. Not because you're not great. I really like all of you guys. But I don't want to add fuel to the fire and have a wedding at seventeen."

"I dunno, that sounds a little bit like an excuse~," sang Mikey in an obvious, teasing manner. Wren snorted in amusement and pushed his shoulder.

"Oh, shut up. Aren't we late for a family meeting, anyway?"

"Evading the topic, I see. You can't hide from me forever," warned Mikey, but got up nevertheless.

"Yeah? We'll see about that."

Chapter Text

Raphael didn't have to search for long. In fact, he didn't have to search at all. He knew exactly where Donnie holed himself up if he wasn't in his room.

He walked into the laboratory and looked around the currently dimly lit premises. The computer looked like it was off and everything was at rest. The quiet told him his brother must've fallen asleep in the middle of whatever he'd been doing.

"Don. Wakey-wakey. It's morning already."

He wandered for a while before finally spotting what he was looking for. Donatello was splayed over a work desk, some blueprints attached to the wall while a mechanical doohickey of some kind laid a few inches from him. He was sound asleep, still in his day attire.

Raph placed a large hand on his shoulder and shook.

"Donnie. Up. I'll make you coffee."

With a shift of his body and a turn of his head, Donnie opened his eyes partway. He didn't look at Raph, exactly, but he was as awake as Donnie physically could be at this six thirty in the morning.

"Coffee?" he mumbled. Like fish to a bait.

"Yeah. So get up before I carry you."

He shifted and sluggishly pushed himself to sit. Donnie rubbed his eyes and frowned at the feeling of being awake. He lowered his hands and blearily viewed his work desk.

In a flood, everything from the previous night began filling his thoughts. Donatello froze, his fingers curling where he now had them on the tabletop.

"That's it. On your feet," instructed Raph, his hands on his hips. The words didn't register at first, muffled like they were heard through water. Donnie was stiff when he eventually obeyed the command.

"Make it fast. I have work to finish," he claimed.

"Clearly, if you're out here passing out on your desk. But as far as I know there's no emergency, so you're going to either come train or go to bed after."

He didn't have the energy to argue. Donnie followed in a robotic manner when Raph guided him out of his lab and toward the kitchen.

Everyone was displaying various levels of sleepiness when they were finally gathered in the kitchen. While Splinter was in his usual robe, most of the teenagers were still in their pajamas. Leo sat at the end of the table with his face buried against it, half asleep. Mikey and Wren were idly having breakfast cereal. Raph and Donnie entered last, in their day clothes, even if for opposite reasons.

"Good. We're all here," said Splinter. Mikey turned in his seat to look at his brothers, specifically at Donnie, who wasn't looking at anyone or at anything specific. His expression was carefully blank, though tired.

"If it's a family meeting, shouldn't we call April and Barry?" offered the youngest. Splinter coughed into his fist.

"Later."

"If we could hurry this along, I'd appreciate it. I actually have things to do," complained Donatello while pulling back a chair. He sat down, still without facing anyone. Raph took the remaining seat beside him.

"Keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep here," moaned Leo without lifting his head.

"Quiet, Leo," warned Raph, "What's this about, dad?"

"You can't silence me," mumbled the blue brother.

"Believe it or not, children, but I am not blind to the tensions here at home."

It was then that all of them perked up. Wren and Mikey paused eating breakfast, the former immediately putting down her spoon. Raph glanced at Donnie, though his brother didn't return the look. Leo lifted his head from the table.

"Two of you have now directly rebelled against me and I intend to get to the bottom of it. Since there wasn't a problem before she arrived here, I suspect it has something to do with Wren's presence."

The girl tensed where she sat, awkwardly looking around at her friends. Leo frowned.

"It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you," countered the appointed leader with his eyes narrowed at his father, "And you know exactly why."

Raph raised his palms slowly.

"Leo, we're all upset, but we can handle this calmly," he stated.

"Can we? When he's literally trying to marry us to a child of his old buddy?" snarked back Leo. Raphael grimaced. Splinter's eyes went wide.

"Wait, how did you—" he scrambled, "You went through my mail!"

"Yeah, I read the stupid letter! And I'm glad I did because otherwise none of us would've picked up on your gross plot!" countered the son with a roll of his eyes.

"If this was it," stated Donnie while pushing himself up from the table, "I'll go ahead and take my leave." He missed the way Wren looked at him because he refused to face her most of all. He felt Raph's hand land on his shoulder.

"Oh, no you don't. Discussion ain't over."

"Would everyone just please calm down?!" insisted Mikey, which brought everyone's attention to him. It really did serve to calm each of them, if only for the youngest's sake, and Donnie sat back down.

"Dad," he continued, drawing in a breath, "Why don't you just explain?"

Splinter looked through the faces of his children. Betrayal sat heaviest on Leonardo, his eyes cast to the side, unwilling to meet his. Worry was splayed over Michelangelo's face. Raphael looked a mix of concern and confusion over his father's actions. Donatello was mute, in both expression and sound. He also noticed the way Wren was stealing hesitant glances at him, rather than at the patriarch. Whatever happened between them last night still weighed heavily on their minds.

Finally, Splinter sighed, the line of his shoulders falling.

"Yes, I did talk about marrying you off, with Asuka."

Even though they all knew it, there seemed to be an additional air of disappointment at actually hearing it from him.

"Although his views are clear in the letter he sent, you did not get to see my response."

"Yeah, I wonder how that turned out," remarked Leo with a gesture toward Wren, "You wouldn't have brought her here if you weren't gonna go through with it."

"Leo—"

"Raphael, I have got this," cut in Splinter. The eldest's jaw snapped shut.

"I was never going to force you to get married."

Everyone's eyes were on him, some full of suspicion. Reasonably so.

"Wren is here because you haven't had many chances of interacting with others your age. Yes, you have April, but she has been with you since you were children. For a long time, she has been more like a sister to you— Not exactly the start for a romantic connection."

And though he didn't mention it: She was a human. Which meant she deserved a chance at forming a romantic connection with another human. If she did end up with one of his sons, he would never oppose it, but he'd also never coerce her to it. He knew what it was like to give up his life for one in hiding and he struggled with it every day.

"That isn't any of your business!" countered Leo once more.

"Perhaps not. But as your father, your future is something I think about. I don't want you to have to live under my roof for the rest of your lives. I want you to find a partner—If that's something you desire. I want you to have a future that's more than being a vigilantee."

"Master Splinter— Dad, I get what you're trying to say. But going around behind our backs and trying to set up our lives without our knowledge, it. It isn't right," said Raph. It was the first time during the conversation Leo found him agreeable.

"Yeah. We love Wren, but you shouldn't have introduced us like this. If we're gonna fall in love, it's just gonna happen naturally. Don't you trust us?" added Mikey. Splinter felt his resolve crumble.

"Of course I trust you, Michelangelo," he sighed, "I only worry about you."

Leo still wasn't convinced. Splinter may have been honest now, but there were other factors to address.

"I doubt Wren's dad is gonna agree with your change of heart," he informed with a challenging glint in his eyes. The girl shrunk in the edge of his vision. It was the first time Donnie looked up from the table, if only to peek at her. Splinter's gaze also locked on her briefly.

"No, I'm not certain that he will."

It hadn't been a full conclusion to their issues, but the talk was a start. At least everything was out there in the open, now. Mikey and Raph were quietly discussing with each other by the dinner table. Leo had kicked a chair lazily before heading to find his missing blanket. Wren, Donnie and Splinter still sat in silence.

"Purple. About what I witnessed last night—"

Through the buzzing in his mind, the statement cut through. Donnie couldn't let him finish and so he stood up with a scrape of his chair.

"Raph. Didn't you want to do some training? I'd like to get it over with before I return to my more pressing tasks," he stated colorlessly. The brothers' whose conversation had been effectively interrupted glanced at each other.

"You sure you don't wanna take a nap?" offered Raph, knowing Donnie hated being woken up before he'd fully recharged. Unaware of what had happened with Wren, he assumed it was that bothering him.

"Fine. I'll go prepare for my supply run."

Donnie turned to leave. It was the last voice he wanted to hear that called for his attention.

"Donnie, wait," said Wren, her pitch a little higher than usual. To his displeasure, it had immediately glued his feet in place.

"Let me help you."

She heard him get up and move across the room.

"There's no need," he stated at once.

Wren stepped beside him and, though he wasn't looking directly at her, he could detect traces of a smile.

"Let me help anyway."

A snide remark crossed his mind, but didn't quite make it past his tongue. He swallowed it down and briefly closed his eyes, then nodded stiffly. He stepped out of the kitchen with the yokai at his heel.

She yawned into her hand while watching Donnie pull things out around the garage. Neither had said a word since they left the kitchen a few minutes ago. Both were tired out of their minds, Wren still in her night shirt and shorts.

"Couldn't this wait until later?" she finally mumbled, maybe just to break the silence.

"Yes," replied Donnie, without stopping what he was doing. He could see from his peripheral how she stepped closer again.

"I want to apologize," she said softly. Donnie's heart clenched, he could swear it did, and he fought to keep his voice even.

"You did. Right after you made it clear I was being crazy even thinking about you romantically."

"No, not for turning you down. The way I did it. It was awful, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said half of those things, but I... But I did."

Donnie let her stammer. He set down the multitude of empty canisters he'd just brought out of the cabinet.

"It's fine," he replied, barely above a whisper. Wren placed a hand on his bicep, and it made him still.

"It's probably unfair to ask, but I wanna be friends. I still care about you even if I don't want to... You know."

"To date," he finished for her. She nodded over to the side rather than directly at him.

He was perfectly silent while weighing his options. There were feelings inside him tearing him in so many directions, Donnie didn't know which ones to listen. So he began doing what he normally did, categorizing and sorting everything into their neat little compartments.

Even if he'd been rejected, he still had feelings for her. That much was obvious. He was also still a little upset at her, and very much broken-hearted to the point where he hadn't looked her in the eye since. He was scared what kind of emotion that might bring. If he broke into tears in front of her, that'd be the last of his self-respect gone down the metaphorical drain.

But, for the moment, she still lived with them. The future was uncertain, and he couldn't just openly hold a grudge if they'd sit at the breakfast table together. To let things go back to normal, he'd have to make amends. He just knew it'd be more difficult than it had any right to be.

Suppressing the shaking his body wanted to indulge in, Donnie steeled himself. He raised his head and turned, slow when he brought his eyes from Wren's shoulders to her face. Her eyes, hopeful and yet sad. And, like he'd feared, he did almost break right then and there. The amicable words he'd wanted to say died in his throat.

"I have things I need to do."

He abandoned her just to hide somewhere other than inside his own shell. Donnie felt like vomiting. If this was what heartbreak was always like, he was happy to never have to go through it again.

Chapter Text

Wren didn't know why her heart ached the way it did, being left to stand alone in the garage. Maybe it was the way Donnie had looked at her, the split second where his eyes had looked so defeated and sad.

She placed a hand over her heart, hoping to soothe herself. It didn't exactly work. She sighed and turned on her heel, figuring there was nothing to do but head back to bed.

Mikey clocked her when she was exiting the garage. Moments earlier Donnie had done the same, and it wasn't hard to guess her attempt at fixing things hadn't been a complete success.

The two met eyes and Wren cast him a wry smile, shaking her head. He sighed in response, looking in the direction his older brother had gone off to. Even as the "family therapist," he wasn't entirely sure what to say to make it better. It was possible Donnie just needed some time.

On her way back to bed, Wren saw Leo standing in front of the carts. He had his swords in hand and he moved them for a small portal. Through it, the blanket on top of the train cart popped into his hand before the portal dissipated.

Sensing Wren's approach, the ninja spun around quickly.

"Catch!" was all the warning she got before the balled up blanket was tossed at her. It knocked her to the floor.

"Wow, those are some awful reflexes. We've gotta work on that," judged Leo with a smirk, one of the swords landing against his shoulder.

Wren whimpered as she stood up, tossing the blanket to the floor in retaliation.

"Most people aren't expecting to get pummeled with beddings at seven AM."

"Okay, but now that you are expecting it..."

In a flash of motion, Leo had thrown out one of his swords. He teleported to it, and used the other one to knock the blanket ball at Wren again. This time she narrowly dodged, drawing in a sharp breath as she angled her body to the side.

"Not bad, not bad!" he complimented this time, though his smirk was unchanged.

"Will you knock it off?" she huffed, tiredly moreso than anything. Leo quirked a brow as he straightened.

"Not a morning person? Because relatable."

"Not an anything person right now," Wren sighed and made a move for her door. Leo watched her do so.

"Still mad at me?"

She stopped before entering her room to look at him. Wren pursed her lips.

"I mean, a little. The morning was rough, and what with the whole Donnie situation—"

"Donnie situation?" he cut in, and Wren slapped a hand on her own forehead in regret, "Is that why he was so doomy gloomy a minute ago?"

"It seems that way," she amended.

"Also, why are you mad? Everyone knows now. In the end it really wasn't such a big deal," he continued, spreading his arms—and thus swords—as he spoke.

"It's not about that," Wren informed sourly, "It's about how you used me. Not just you, but your dad, too. You act like I'm this tool you can wield to make your family happy instead of an actual living, breathing person."

Leo grimaced at the accuracy of that statement.

"Yeah, I did. But I'm not doing that anymore. We're past that."

"You're past that. I still can't bring myself to really trust you, Leo."

A silence settled between them for a moment while the words sunk in. He knew she was right, now that it was put into words. Leo had brushed over her feelings on the matter, putting his family above her. More or less knowingly, but it certainly wasn't fair toward Wren.

"So what are you gonna do now? With the whole situation?" asked Leo in a welcomed change of topic.

"I have to think about it," hummed Wren, "I don't know if I want to go home yet. If I go back all beaten and bruised, my dad's gonna be upset. He's always been a little overprotective and this won't help that."

"Bet Splinter wouldn't want Asuka's wrath on him, either," he mused. Wren smiled briefly.

"So I guess I'll stay and hang out. I promised I'd make Mikey a jacket and I have to make up with Donnie. Otherwise I'll regret leaving."

"Sick. If we invite Sunita and Cass we can have four-person teams for basketball," stated Leo with a grin, "What'd you fight about with Don?"

"Oh, you know. Dumb stuff. I said a few wrong things, but I'll try to make it up to him," Wren evaded.

"I'm a master at apologizing, so if you need any help, just call me up!"

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I don't even have a phone, Leo. But thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Donnie was in the middle of welding, a metal mask over his face when his phone went off somewhere on his desk. He turned off the torch and lifted his mask, though kept his eyes on his project and blindly reached for the device.

"Y'ello? Donatello speaking."

"Yes, hello. This is Draxum. I have reviewed the data you sent me."

He was suddenly making a face at the topic. He'd almost forgotten about the project he'd shelved after recent events. Of course, he hadn't actually made it all the way to letting Draxum know that, too.

"That's okay. I actually decided to work on something else. Just file it away."

"Are you sure you don't want me to email my findings? The experiment looks promising."

Donatello's mouth drew into a straight line and he pinched the space between his eyes. Of course it had to be promising. Now he couldn't help himself.

"Sigh and groan. Send it, Barry. I'll take a look when I'm done with this."

There was a brief pause before an answer came.

"Are you feeling alright, Donatello? You don't sound as enthusiastic as you seemed in your message."

"Never better," he moaned in obvious sarcasm.

"If there is something eating at you, aside from scientific aid, I could potentially also offer advice."

Draxum acting more parental wasn't new at this point, but the turtles still didn't run to him for it at every chance they got. While occasionally he could be helpful, at other times he was completely blind when it came to social rules and customs of the world they were used to. Donnie thought he may as well chance it this time, since we was already screwed. He trapped the phone between his head and shoulder while his hands still focused on work.

"That depends. Do you know anything about relationships?" Donnie paused, then clarified, "Romantic ones."

"Oh, right. I suppose you are at about that age," the alchemist thought out loud, "I have to admit that has never been my speciality. I was far too busy with more important things to consider such frivolous pursuits. But if you describe your problem, I can make an attempt."

He considered it another moment. Mainly how much he wanted to give away, exactly. The family hadn't agreed on anything regarding Draxum and what they would tell him. His reaction to the situation was in the untold territory.

"I confessed a crush and got turned down." Sometimes the simplest explanation was the best.

"I see. I believe that's it, then."

Donnie felt his shoulders slump at the lackluster response. Thankfully, Draxum wasn't done.

"Did they give a reason?"

"She said the circumstances weren't right."

And now that Donnie said it out loud, summarized in such a manner, he paused what he was doing. That was what she'd said, even if the words differed.

"Based on only that, it sounds like it might not have been a definitive no. Perhaps some wooing may change things between you, given that the forementioned "circumstances" change."

Though minutely, things had changed. Splinter had said there was no intention, on his part, to force a marriage. That meant part of the pressure put on them had suddenly been lifted.

The memory of what happened in the TV room surfaced and Donnie swallowed. No. He couldn't go through that again.

"I trust you to think things through before you act."

"Right. Thanks, Barry. I'll give it some thought."

"Anytime, Donatello."

He ended the call and stared at the screen for a moment. He had to shake his head to rid himself of the idea again. No, no. He was setting himself up for another round of disappointment. Not to mention he couldn't afford a second blow to his effectiveness.

And yet he couldn't help the bit of hope sparking in his chest.

Maybe he just needed to go back to sleep, after all.

The door to his lab opened and Donnie looked up to see who'd entered. His expression fell a little when he saw it was Splinter.

"My son. I thought I would find you here," he spoke, "Now, about what happened last night—"

"It's fine. I already talked to Barry," cut in Donnie as he got to his feet. He made for his bed, deciding to finish up what he was doing later.

Splinter sputtered.

"Barry!?"

Come noon, the spirits in the lair had risen with the sun. Donnie was once again in the garage after a much needed nap. This time he was joined by the rest of his brothers. Raphael was helping him move equipment to the tank, while Mikey and Leo lounged on top of the ride.

Wren wandered in just as they were finishing up.

"So that's where everyone disappeared to," she mused.

"We're going out on patrol and Donnie's going to get some stuff while the rest of us are out," informed Mikey, laid on his stomach on the roof of the car.

"Patrol?" she questioned with a quirked brow.

"Yeah. New York's a rough city, especially after the invasion. We're gonna go 'round and see if there's any trouble sparking that we might need to put a stop to," told Raph.

"Mm, heroic," chirped Wren, "In broad daylight, though?"

"No worries, we go all the time! The only reason we took you out at night last time is 'cause it was your first time," claimed Leo.

"And the rain?"

"All stopped!" exclaimed Mikey, "I mean, the subway tunnel's still flooded, but Donnie will fix it! Right, Donald?"

"As usual, yes. I'll take care of everything."

"Pfffft. Half the time when you say that something blows up," countered Leo.

"Go ahead, Leo. You be in charge of tech if you're so adept. I'm sure nothing will go wrong there," challenged the genius.

"Sure! Can't be that hard!"

"So, anyway, before this escalates—" chimed in Wren, "Can I come, too?"

"Of course you can!" sang Mikey, "Come on inside! I'll make you a soft serve!"

Chapter Text

The crew filed into the Turtle Tank, and Mikey made sure Wren had an ice cream in hand within the first minute. They divided into seating, Donnie taking the place of the driver while he booted up the vehicle. Then he sat back and brought up the screen on his wrist, tapping and swiping it a few times.

"Come on, Donnie. I'm gonna turn 70 before we leave this garage," whined Leo.

"Happy birthday, big, big bro!" chirped Mikey.

"And I, the future inventor of the chemical compound to provide eternal youth, will generously drive you to the old mutants home," said Donnie without looking up.

"Who says I won't drive myself? I plan to still have all this at the tender age of elderly. That's why I exfoliate."

"Activating flood drainage protocol," came a robotic voice from some piece of Donnie's technology. There was a rumbling as the garage door began lifting, and a rush of water that echoed through the room.

Considering the tank was decently sound-proofed, Wren saw rather than heard all of it happening. She got up from her seat to rush to the front, hands planted against the edge of the control board while she leaned closer.

"Woah, Wren— You don't really wanna be standing in a car!" warned Mikey.

"Let her have this. I like seeing her freak out over stuff," countered Leo with his usual smirk on.

Donnie side-eyed the back seats, but said nothing. Instead he lightly stepped on the gas to get them out and into the tunnel.

The floor was in motion when they drove out. Wren watched how one end of it sunk, right outside the garage door, deeper into the ground. Water washed down the platform and into drains embedded at the bottom of the wall, something she couldn't fully see from the front of the vehicle. Two lines of concrete, wide enough to fit the wheels of the tank, stood out from the ground so they could drive over the ditch.

"Where does the water go?" Wren asked.

"Into different lanes of the sewage system. Depending on the amount of good old H2O in the tunnels, it has to be spread out so as to not cause more problems," explained Donnie without moving his eyes from the "road."

"All of this seems like it took a lot of work," she stated, impressed as usual. Once again, Donnie felt a hint of pride and couldn't help but smile.

"It's not such a big deal for an engineer of my caliber. Not to brag—But definitely to bring it to your attention for admiration and awe—The equipment I use is also designed by me, and so a lot of the labor I can delegate to my—"

"Donnie. Not when we're all trapped in a confined space with no ear plugs, please," begged Leo.

"Your ice cream's drippin'," warned Raphael.

"Not on my console!"

A sizeable elevator brought them up to the surface, where Donnie cruised the streets with practised ease. Eventually he stopped by an alleyway and opened the back door hatch.

"Alright, everyone out. I'm on a schedule here," he commanded with a thumb pointed back.

"Finally! And I'm still sixteen!" cheered Leo, the first one out the door. His brothers in the warm toned masks followed him. When Wren still lingered in her seat, Donnie turned around to frown at her.

"Oh, go ahead and close up. I'm coming with you."

Donatello sputtered.

"Wh—That's not—I thought you wanted to go on patrol," he managed. Wren shook her head and smiled at him.

"I said I'd like come along with you for your supply run, didn't I? You'll hold to your word, right?"

His jaw worked uselessly when he couldn't come up with a countering statement. He was torn over the idea of spending time alone with Wren. Clearly, this was her second attempt at talking to him.

Donnie was silent when he turned back to the front and pressed the switch to close the door hatch. Wren breathed a sigh of relief while his back was turned.

"Aaand since I'm the only passenger now, I'll get the front seat!" she chirped while stumbling to the chair by the console. Donnie glanced at her, but said nothing. Instead he started driving again.

Mikey, Raph and Leo had entered the alley and began climbing up the ladder. While the two eldest brothers went ahead, Mikey was now looking at the Turtle Tank driving off.

"Did Donnie just kidnap Wren?"

His brothers looked down at him, then toward the lack of their friend.

The drive was awkward. Wren pretended not to detect the tension coming from Donnie, how he kept his eyes steeled ahead. She commented on things she saw, and how exciting it was to see the city from a ground view. In the event she asked a question, Donnie kept his answers curt.

"We're here," he eventually announced, after first clearing his throat. He carefully maneuvered them into this quiet gas station away from the busiest areas of the city.

"Oh! This is where you get gasoline!" Wren recognized, "I've never seen one up close!"

Donnie fought off a smile at her enthusiasm over another mundane thing. He still didn't address her when he got up and moved out of the tank. Wren followed him like a shadow, peering at their surroundings with wide eyes.

"It smells," she commented, "But kind of weirdly in a good way?"

"Don't inhale it. I don't want vomit in the tank, either." Wren decided to listen.

She watched Donnie walk off to a machine by the little kiosk building. He did something while his back was turned to her, arms shuffling a few times before he came back. There was a palm-sized plastic card in his hand.

"How does it work?" she asked curiously. Donnie started pulling out large fuel canisters from the tank's storage compartment.

"Somewhere approximately under our feet is a large container of gasoline," he said evenly, "The pumps right there are used to distribute it according to how much money you insert into the machine."

"Wait, it's below us? That means it has to come up, right? How do you do that without magic?" she questioned in shock.

"Oh, the poor victims of the yokai education system. Simple: Physics! There's a mechanism in the pump handle that creates a vacuum in the pipe, which causes the liquid to travel up because of Bernoulli's principle."

"Wh...What do you mean?" she stammered, physics something Wren wasn't well acquainted with. She enjoyed a good science fiction story every now and then when she could get her hands on human books, but that didn't mean she understood everything explained within them.

Donnie sighed.

"Ever drink a beverage through a straw?" he questioned with a tired hand gesture. Her eyes flashed with recognition.

"Oh!" she realized, a hand coming over her lips, "Yes! So... It creates... Suction? And that's because of, um, pressure?"

"Yes. In this scenario, the liquid will move to wherever there's least pressure. When air is removed from the pipe, the difference in pressure makes it travel up and toward the vacuum."

"I, I think I get it," nodded Wren slowly, "That's really cool."

"Isn't it? Pressure is an element in our everyday lives and its uses are countless! It's used in air travel, toys, medical science—Simple things not even related to man-made creations have to do with pressure. Wind is due to different air pressures caused by its varying temperatures, causing it to move around!"

Donnie's sudden enthusiasm was infectious, and Wren couldn't stop smiling. She enjoyed listening to him talk about his interests, especially the ones she barely knew anything about. He had a way of making it all sound so fascinating. She felt a lock of hair tickle the edge of her brow and brushed it behind her ear.

It seemed Donnie caught himself in that moment. Slowly, his expression fell closer to a neutral one and he averted his eyes from Wren. Only to turn right back to her.

"You hold the pump, I'll move the canisters."

After the task was finished, Donnie and Wren climbed back into the tank. The door was closing behind them when Donnie reached for a hand wipe, which he quickly ran over his dirtied palms and knuckles. He picked up another and handed it toward his companion.

"Thanks," she said before mimicking his actions.

He threw away the used wipe and started up the tank. There was a barely suppressed swallow before he spoke, eyes on the console.

"Why did you come out here with me?"

Wren looked up from her hands, blinking toward him.

"I think you know."

Donnie frowned and turned to her, allowing some upset to reach his eyes.

"You told me you want to be friends, yes, I got that. But it's hard to even look at you and not— Feel. I'm starting to think you don't understand that. As much as I'd love to get over it and move on, trust me, I've found I can't do it overnight."

She shifted and looked down at her lap, where she now fidgeted with the hand wipe. A nervous gesture.

"Maybe I don't want you to."

Donnie wasn't sure he heard her right. He stared in sudden bewilderement, shock freezing his limbs. He turned the engine off.

"Come again? " he asked, and now there was pressure on his heart.

"Uhm. This is a little awkward to admit, after what I said," started Wren, color rising to her face, "But I don't entirely... Not feel some kind of way about you."

Donnie worked his jaw. There was a butterfly infestation in his stomach. His pulse had quickened significantly, which his tech didn't fail to inform him. He didn't turn the sound off this time.

"Why are you telling me this now? I thought you didn't want a romantic relationship," he finally spoke, hesitant to accept her confession. Wren made something akin to a pained sound.

"This is going to sound lame, but I felt confused," she admitted, still not quite looking at him, "On one hand I've thought you were great this whole time, but then on the other... I think maybe a part of me needed to know I could say "no," if I wanted to."

She looked at him and met stunned eyes. Donnie looked conflicted, scared. Slowly his expression wanted to morph into a smile, before hesitation took over again, and then faded closer to his usual neutrality. His eyes shifted, betraying that he was thinking.

"I like you, Donnie," she said with a soft look in her eyes, hoping it was reassuring, "Do you still like me?"

His eyes focused on hers. She could hear him swallow before a small nod came.

"I told you I do," he confirmed.

Wren cast him a small smile, leaning ever so slightly closer. Her voice came barely above a whisper:

"Can I kiss you?"

Donnie visibly stiffened. Then he relaxed. He nodded.

He watched her lean in closer, eyes flicking to his lips before they closed. The entire world suddenly felt like it was covered in static, aside from Wren. She hovered an inch away, her head tilted, waiting. Donnie held his breath when he leaned in to close the distance, his own eyes closing in return.

It was a simple kiss, but it was fitting for a first. It was quiet aside from their soft breaths, and only seconds later they pulled apart. Their eyes met, both sporting vivid blushes due to their shared feelings, many as they were.

It wasn't what Donnie had planned, but somehow it managed to be pleasant. With all the little imperfections of the moment weighed against the overwhelming joys, it sent him on a rollercoaster ride he didn't mind taking. And after a ghost of a smile visited his lips, he went to kiss her again.

That is, he would have, if it weren't for the sudden "BANG!" shaking the entirety of the tank.

Chapter Text

Their romantic moment was cut short with both Wren and Donnie whipping their heads around to the source of that hit. A hulking figure filled their vision, standing in front of the now dented hood.

"HANDS OFF MY BRAINCHILD YOU INFLATED MYCOIDES!"

Donnie had slammed his hands against the console so suddenly Wren had jumped back, wincing at his volume. Of course, the person on the other side couldn't hear him, considering the sound-proofing. That didn't stop him from yelling back something Wren in turn didn't hear, but she saw Donnie grow aghast.

"I'm not afraid to pull out the full arsenal of chemical weaponry I've hidden underground and watch you corrode like oxidised—!"

"Donnie!" she called out, managing to catch his attention. It seemed the situation sank in properly and he looked between her and the person right outside.

It was someone they recognized. A tall, muscly teenage boy with two large robotic arms that's structure even reached behind his back, from what Wren could see. One of those arms had just slammed into the tank and caused the tremors that'd shaken the hull.

"That's the boy from the Purple Dragons," she realized, partially because of the plum colored scales painted on his metal arms.

"Yes, even cockroaches have to come out to celebrate the Sun once in a while," replied Donnie, "Hold on. I'm gonna run him over."

"Donnie! I am not becoming an accomplice to a hit and run!"

He clicked his tongue.

"Fine, I won't run him over! But I want you to consider the fact that he hit my creation first!"

"I don't care that he started ihh—EAH!"

The tank was rocked by another punch and Wren nearly fell out of her chair. Donnie turned back around to the windshield.

"THAT'S IT!"

The engine roared to life and, before Wren could protest, Donnie had stepped on the gas. She fell against her backrest when the tank took off with its wheels initially searching for purchase. That gave the guy outside just enough time to jump out of the way before the tank would've crushed him.

Donatello hit the breaks after passing him, bringing the vehicle to a screetching halt. Wren nearly broke her nose on the dashboard, but caught her frame in the nick of time. Her gasp was what brought the turtle's eyes back to him.

"Oh, you might wanna buckle up," he warned.

"You don't say?" she countered.

Looking through the windows, they could see the guy shout with a large metallic hand cupped by his mouth, or rather face, before another Dragon came into view. Another one they recognized: A tall girl with twin pigtails that'd been dyed green since they last saw her.

"As much as I don't doubt that this tank could protect us, we probably don't want the entirety of the gang on our backs," stated Wren cautiously, looking between them and Donnie. He in turn steeled his expression and turned to switch the tank in reverse.

"Warning ahead: Hold on," he stated, and there were exactly two seconds left for Wren to close her seatbelt. She did so with utmost speed. And then Donnie hit the gas again.

Perched on the rooftop together, they were supposed to be surveying the streets. But it was hard to keep still and quiet, so Mikey found himself sitting on top of an air conditioning unit and swinging his legs. When that got too tiresome, he began pacing. And then when he got bored of that, he pulled out his phone.

"I'ma call 'em," he stated out loud for his brothers to hear. The only one really doing any looking out, Raph, didn't turn his head to answer.

"Don't, Mikey. I'm sure if they didn't wanna be alone, they'd be callin' us."

"Yeah, lil' bro. Maybe they're smacking their lips together right now," stated Leo with a waggle of his brows, welcoming the distraction.

"Okay, first of all, that was gross and never say it again," demanded Mikey. He frowned and looked down at his phone, still hesitant. Leo only chuckled, though Raph did hit him in the shoulder.

"Grow up," the biggest turtle muttered.

Mikey sighed and put his phone away, but the temptation remained. He just hoped they were actually making up instead of the opposite. Being the only one to fully know what had happened the night prior was difficult.

Pulling out of the gas station, Donnie was alerted by his systems.

"Warning: Active pursuit," stated the voice. He blinked and brought up a view of their backside.

"Ugh! Of course they have motorcycles," groaned Donnie. Wren was showing signs of stress.

"Can we outrun them?"

Donnie's mouth set into a line while his brain worked at the issue. Then he pressed some buttons on the navigation and ran his finger over the holographic map.

"I have an idea, but it's gonna be a bumpy ride—Gah—lileo, there's more of them."

Wren's head spun to where Donnie was looking. They'd just passed a group of Purple Dragons lounging by their bikes that the other two members immediately flagged down. Their pursuers multiplied.

"What about your brothers?" suggested Wren quickly. Another view came up, with blinking lights.

"It's okay. Just trust me."

Her heart beat a little faster, not that she could tell in the moment. Wren only nodded at him, and odd calm washing over her.

That was, before the Purple Dragons pulled out their guns.

The pursuit went on for minute after minute, all vehicles veering and swerving through street after street. They barely avoided other cars and pedestrians, once even tilting enough for one side of the tank to scale the wall. Wren was so glad she'd managed to buckle her seatbelt when she did.

"Okay, there's enough distance between us. Watch this," said Donnie with something of a manic grin. Wren barely had time to open her mouth before he suddenly made a sharp right at the crossing, almost not making it. That wasn't it. He kept drifting right on the new street until the entire giant vehicle landed right behind a corner, and he slammed the breaks. It came to a full stop with a brief tilt.

She barely registered how the motorcycles sped right past the opening of the alley, not yet aware where they'd gone. When she turned to Donnie, he was tapping at his wrist screen.

"Not online anymore, are you?" he sighed out loud. Donatello unbuckled his own seatbelt to step back.

"What are you..."

Wren trailed off as she watched the purple markings on Donnie's body light up with a neon glow. He crouched down against the floor and set down his hand. A pulse of magic, in controlled, angular lines, sunk into the floor around him.

Then there was a glow from the outside, and she swiftly turned to it. Just in time to see them start to sink, on top of feeling it in her stomach. Wren was silent in awe as they descended into the darkness underground, a doorway closing above them.

Donnie got up to return to his seat, though the glow on him didn't cease.

"Where are we?"

Donnie didn't answer her, instead bringing out his phone. He tapped at the screen, leaving her to only stare at him.

Mikey perked up when his phone received an alert. The group was moving locations, but he stopped some paces behind his brothers to read the new message.

"It's from Donnie!" he called, effectively stopping the other two.

"Soooo? How's it going?" questioned Leo with a smirk.

"He says he found us some Purple Dragons to beat up," stated Mikey and turned the phone to face them. Both Leo and Raph stepped closer to view the shared location, then looked at each other in surprise.

"What's he doing over there?" voiced Raph.

He leaned back in the driver's seat and drew in a deep breath. Wren still watched him, blinking owlishly, until she faced the darkness again.

"Are we going to just sit here...?" she tried softly, "It's a little spooky."

There was a moment of silence before Donnie started the engine again. The lights came on and showed a rounded hallway with water rushing through the bottom.

"The sewers," she recognized, voice quiet.

"Not just any sewers," Donnie finally said. He didn't elaborate, and instead lightly pressed on the gas.

A short distance forward, the tunnel turned to the right. But Donnie didn't follow it. He brought the vehicle to a stop and briefly closed his eyes.

Wren saw the flickers of purple light outside as those lines of mystic energy traveled from somewhere behind them and across the walls. They settled on the slight deepening right in front of them, drawing symmetrical patterns over it. And then the wall began to lift like a door. Like another one of Donnie's masked doors.

The sight of what followed was uncomfortably familiar, and Wren swallowed. She watched as they rolled into a garage, very similar to the one at the turtles' home. Only, this one had had part of its wall and ceiling cave in.

The door closed behind them, and those purple markings faded out, on Donnie himself as well. He shut off the engine and got up.

"As impromptu as this tour is, we may as well have it now," he stated dully. Wren sat still a moment longer before unbuckling her seatbelt.

She didn't expect it when the tall, tall room had natural light flood into it in beams from above. She traced it up to an uneven hole in the ceiling, only one rounded edge remaining. What was once a lovely skylight had been destroyed with the rest of the place. Dust floated through the air.

There were signs of fire and cave-ins, walls busted through, broken waterways, claw marks on stone... Outside one of the round doorways, a ripped Jupiter Jim poster laid on the floor. Wren tore her eyes off the damage just to view Donnie.

He was quiet, but his expression wasn't giving away any particular emotions. Still, she knew. The garage had been enough of a clue for her to put it together even without viewing the rest of the interior. She placed her hand in his and squeezed lightly, which brought his eyes to her.

"This used to be your home, didn't it?"

He was quiet for a beat longer before nodding.

"It's where we grew up. It... Wasn't exactly salvageable, after what happened."

Wren cast her eyes to their surroundings once more.

"What did happen?"

"An ancient demon called The Shredder," supplied Donnie, "We were able to stop him in the end, but..."

The silence spoke for itself. Wren stepped closer to give him a half hug, not particularly shy about it when it was meant as a gesture of comfort.

She didn't notice Donnie staring at the top of her head.

"How would you define our relationship?"

Wren nearly choked on her spit. She pulled away to turn to him, blinking wildly.

"You're asking that right now?" she questioned in shock.

"Why not now? We're alone and have no other pressing matters we're able to attend to," reasoned Donnie. Wren was fighting very hard not to bring up the circumstance of them standing in his ruined childhood home.

"Fine! We can talk about it!" she agreed in exasperation, tense.

"Great! How would you rate our first kiss? On a scale of 1 to 10, if you must, but an additional description would be helpful for—"

"I am not rating our kiss," snapped Wren, "Aside from, it was nice." The last part was tacked on with a blush.

"Okayyy. That's not a lot of data for a performance review, but I suppose we'll move on," he hummed and typed something on his wrist screen, "Now, are you looking for something more serious or casual? The answer will determine the activities of our next date."

"Donnie, for the love of Renet Tilley. If you don't stop treating us like a science experiment, I will break the windshield of your tank." Donnie closed his wrist screen.

"Really? You think you're gonna hit through bulletproof glass?" he remarked, "Not the point."

He took a deep breath and closed his hands around his snout. Then he lowered them as he turned back to Wren.

"Look, if I can't treat it like an experiment, I'm not sure how to do this otherwise. It's what I do, Wren."

She seemed to relax, her expression softening in response. Her anger settled in favor of something more fond.

"I don't entirely know, either. But it's not about math or data, and I think you know that," she stated, only for Donnie to nervously glance to the side, "It's about how we feel. Okay?"

He looked back at her, once again at a loss for words. So Donnie only nodded.

"You first," she encouraged, reaching out to place a hand on his arm, "What do you want from us?"

He opened his mouth only to close it again. It happened twice more before he managed to face her and force out a cracking word.

"I... I want you to be my girlfriend."

Wren felt her face light up in a smile, eyes sparkling with the glow flooding in from the ceiling. She slid her hands into his and pulled them up and between them. Donnie shyly curled his fingers around hers.

"I'd like that," she told him. His smile suddenly mirrored hers, a happy little light in his eyes. It was beyond adorable.

"Okay, but at least let me mark this date on my calendar," he said, closer to his usual tone. Wren couldn't help a chuckle.

"Go ahead."

They pulled apart so he could do just that, pulling up the hologram to browse through. Wren let her eyes wander from her newly acquired significant other to the rest of the room, but couldn't quite get her smile to fade.

"There, all done. Now..." and the way Donnie trailed off, his pitch a little lower, caused Wren to face him curiously.

"We could call my brothers and see if they're done fighting yet. Or..."

"Or?" she questioned, finding herself sporting a smirk from the coyness of it all.

"Or, we could pick up from where we left off in the tank."

Though Wren giggled, she also wasn't about to turn down that offer. So instead she wrapped her arms around Donnie's neck to pull him closer. After a few more flirtatious glances, the distance between them closed, their kisses illuminated by the soft light cascading from above.

Chapter Text

Raphael tapped his foot against the ground impatiently. On the fourth ring, the phone was finally picked up.

"Donnie! Get your butt up here or so help me!" he exclaimed. Leo hopped down from where he'd sat on the hood of a parked car to approach his brother.

"You missed all the action, Don Tron. What gives?" sang the leader, trying to lean in close enough to the phone to hear him.

"What? Ohh, uh," answered Donnie eloquently, as if he hadn't been listening at all, "Oh noo. I can't believe I, uh, missed out. Man, that sucks. Oh well. You all want to get pizza?"

He didn't sound convincing in the slightest, to a degree that his brothers weren't even sure he was trying.

"Don't try to distract us with pizza!" shouted Raph.

"But yeah, I could really go for some right now. Lunch time?" added Leo with a questioning glance at the others.

"Great. We'll be up in a few," stated Donnie. Right before he hung up a giggle of a girl could be heard over the line. They knew it to be Wren, but why she would be giggling was a mystery when nothing particularly funny had been said.

He put his phone away while leaning in for another kiss to Wren's cheek. She'd been giggling from the little pecks he landed during the call, both bubbly with affections from the brand new relationship.

"We should probably head up now," she reasoned, though a chord of reluctance still rang clear through it.

"We can afford a few more minutes," said Donnie, mischief in his eyes, "Unless you doubt my math, of course." A challenging eyebrow was raised. Wren suppressed a chuckle.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare."

And though he leaned in for another kiss, when his girlfriend--he had a girlfriend!--backed up ever so slightly, Donnie stopped to blink at her. Before he could spiral into wondering if he'd misread her, she spoke up again.

"But—" she started, briefly biting her lip, "One thing. What are we gonna say to your family?"

He groaned on instinct.

"Lock them in a room with no doors or windows for the foreseeable future?" he suggested. Wren pursed her lips, unimpressed.

"They're nosy. They're going to find out and they're going to be insufferable about it," he clarified, "Unless you have a better plan in mind to avoid the oncoming daily torment, I'm defaulting back to The Family Isolation Chamber."

"We could move to Canada and never speak to them again, except for cheap holiday cards," she joked in return. It pulled a chuckle out of Donnie, though the look he got in his eyes told her he might've taken the idea too seriously. She tried hard not to smile at his thought process and failed.

"If they're gonna know sooner or later, maybe we don't need to say anything," she mused, "Just let them figure it out on their own."

"That is an atrocious plan."

Wren gasped as if offended and released a hand to press against her chest.

"Wow, atrocious? You could've at least said terrible or godawful, or something less hurtful than 'atrocious.' There were so many adjectives to choose from!" she claimed. Donnie rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile on him.

"I'll make a list of all the descriptive words and phrases you find agreeable for the next time I decide to insult you," he stated. She laughed.

"That's the level of dedication I expect from my boyfriend."

The fondness in her eyes and voice was quickly echoed back with a soft look. Donnie pulled her a little closer by her waist, where his arms had been wrapped for some time now. It was the first time since getting rejected that his emotions didn't feel so terrifying, foreign powers he had no control over. This was more like basking in the sun, warm and comfortable and relaxing. How was it suddenly relaxing, when he couldn't even list all the things he was feeling?

"Let's go with your plan," he murmured. His logical self might've scolded him for the decision, but he chose not to bother with the thought. Besides, the smile he received in return was worth it.

"Okay," she agreed with a happy little nod. A part of him hoped they could stay in their bubble for longer. But alas, reality waited outside.

It was another fifteen minutes later that the Turtle Tank emerged from the confines of the alley. Mikey decided to throw himself against the windshield, on the verge of tears.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" he cried out, watching the inhabitants of the tank lean back.

Moments later the doorway at the back opened and everyone climbed into the vehicle. Mikey ran over in order to cling to Donnie, his arms wrapping tightly around the now tense turtle.

"We were so worried about you!"

Donnie managed to get a hand between their faces and gain himself about an inch of personal space. Unlike him, Wren seemed to at least have the courtesy to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Mikey. But I promise we were perfectly fine!" she assured, patting the air. The small turtle turned his attention from Donnie and launched to cling to the girl instead. The techie saw it as his chance to steer off the alleyway.

"Ow! Ow—Mikey! Rib!" she breathed, voice strained. He didn't release his death grip.

"What on Earth were you doin' back there?" cut in Raph. Though they'd had a lot of time to mourn the loss of their former home now, it wasn't normal for them to go visit it. Catching their brother there, for whatever reason, had been a small shock.

"I don't see what's so difficult to understand about it. I made a quick decision to avoid the evil motorcycle-tech gang chasing us by hiding underground."

Leo's eyes visited Wren, who was finally being released by his younger brother. The girl rubbed her side, seemingly not paying too much attention to the conversation. He did quietly wonder what she thought now that he'd seen all of that, but at least she didn't seem scared.

"Yeah! There's no need to make a whole deal about it," said Leo, leaning an arm on Raphael, "Sure, the old lair's a sad sight, but you do what you gotta do, right? Besides, it didn't sound like you were having too bad a time in there," he added lightly. Donnie suddenly looked to be choking on his own spit.

"Uhhh," sounded the girl in reaction, eyes darting from side to side, "Not sure what you mean."

She was smiling in a tense manner and turned away form the back seats.

"Yes, we were only engaged in perfectly boring and platonic hiding activities, with nothing else at all involved, especially anything involving physical contact," stated Donnie in the most stiff manner imaginable.

Now that was an interesting reaction. Based on the little of her Leo could see, Wren seemed to shrink in her seat.

"Say what now?" chimed Raph, one brow raised all the way across his forehead. Mikey was looking between them wide-eyed, moving from one emotion to the next as he was piecing it together.

"Wooow, okay. I see. We come to clean up your mess and meanwhile you go and canoodle with our friend. Tut tut, Don. I thought you were one of the responsible ones in the family," teased Leo mercilessly, a dark shadow looming behind Donnie. Wren's face had speedily turned red.

"LEONARDO I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING AND THUS CANNOT ENGAGE IN YOUR CHILDISH PROVOCATIONS."

"Hold on, hold on! There was canoodlin' involved?" demanded Raphael in shock, looking between Leo, Donnie and Wren, "Did you two cast shame on our childhood home?!"

"Haha, nooo, what? We'd never do that!" chirped Wren unconvincingly. That was when Leo burst into laughter. Mikey's eyes widened.

"Is it true, Donnie? Are you two a thing?!" he exclaimed, grabbing the back of the driver's seat.

Wren and Donnie finally shared a stiff and awkward glance. They did say they'd let the others figure it out on their own. They just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

"Should've locked them in the damn room when we had the chance," mumbled Donnie, disappointed at his self from twenty minutes ago. Wren bit into her lip to stop a laugh. Her eyes full of mirth finally met Mikey's.

"YOU GUYS! THEY'RE DATING!" he shouted loudly enough to burst eardrums, "Finally! It's been ten years! I thought I was gonna be moldy dirt in the ground before it happened!"

"It has literally been less than a week, Angelo," corrected Donnie in an unimpressed manner, "Which, actually, I should pat myself on the back for. Good job, Donatello, Master of Romance. I'll add that to my growing list of titles." And then he did actually pat himself on the back.

"Really? Because I remember nothing from the past few days but you being a pathetic wreck until this very moment, just now," countered Leo, coming down from his amusement.

"Thank you for that, Nardo," Donnie answered past gritted teeth, turning to throw a glare at him.

"Look at that. My baby brother has a girlfriend," sniffled Raph so sincerely that it was sad in itself, "They grow up so fast." Then his mood flipped when he turned to point at Wren.

"You better not break his sensitive nerd heart, or I'll—"

"Excuse me? Did you just call me sensitive? When I'm the only one who didn't cry from that movie where the dog keeps running back to her owner every time she's taken away, and then later—"

"IF YOU BRING UP THE ENDING TO THAT MOVIE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM IN OUR HANDS EVEN DOCTOR FEELINGS CAN'T HELP FIX!" insisted Mikey, his brother's eyes widening from the reaction, "I'm still recovering!"

"Didn't we watch that three years ago?" realized Leo.

"I don't wanna talk about it," said Raph in monotone, eyes cast to the side.

With the attention off them, Donnie and Wren shared in another look. A fleeting smile crossed their faces before they each returned to their own thoughts. Of course, despite the brief respite, another hurdle awaited them once they returned to the lair sometime later.

"Okay, everyone gather up!" chirped Mikey as the group filed out of the Turtle Tank. He was holding his phone in hand as if for showcase.

"What's the deali-o, Mike, my man?" sang Leo while sauntering over. The others followed him a few steps behind.

"We're gonna call April and let her know the latest news!"

"Oh, good call! We should invite her over for basketball, while we're at it."

"Wait! Wait, I didn't agree to this! I haven't had time to prepare!" demanded Donnie.

"I gave you time! Now smile and hold hands with your girlfriend so we can go out and play ball with our friends!" countered the younger brother sternly. Though Donnie was clearly about to protest, Wren caught his arm and gently pushed him toward the camera.

"It'll be fine. I promise," she hummed quietly, giving his arm a squeeze. And it did serve to calm him, even if only for a moment. Which was just enough time for Mikey to activate the video call.

"Heeeey, Apes! How's your daaay?" he greeted her image, his face unsure if he wanted to grin or smirk.

"I'm doing great! We're out at the bowling alley," she said in response and turned the camera around. Sunita waved at them.

"And Sunita? Great," mumbled Donnie, definitely not sarcastic in the slightest.

"What are you guys doing, all squished together?" chuckled the human as she spun the phone back around.

"Since you asked! Donald here actually has some news to share," announced Leo, pushing himself further into frame before gesturing to Donnie and Wren. Mikey turned the camera accordingly.

"What's going on? Did you unveil a new invention?" she asked, chipper, "No, wait. Why would the guys be so weird about that? Okay, I'm officially curious," and then she gasped, "WAIT."

Donatello saw the pieces connect in her head in real time and somehow found himself sweating. Wren couldn't stop herself from smiling, though she also wasn't meeting April's eyes.

"I was hoping to tell you personally, but as my increasingly frustrating blood-relatives have decided to act according to their designation, I find myself with no choice," he said, pausing to draw in a breath—

"We're dating," supplied Wren, thankfully taking the building pressure off Donnie. He didn't even realize the way he sighed in relief before he had.

A scream was heard from the other side and, distorted by the microphone, they all collectively grimaced at it.

"I KNEW IT! Congrats, y'all! But I better not be the last one hearing about this or I'm transferring my best-friendship exclusively to Sunita."

"Ayy, girl!"

Mikey turned the camera back to himself.

"You're not, I promise! Although Donnie would've waited longer, sooo..."

"He'll get what's coming to him. Now, I gotta go, it's my turn to trash some pins!"

"You guys wanna come over after you're done?" offered Raph.

"You can count on it, Raphie. See ya!"

Echoes of "Goodbye April!" filled the room before the call was cut. Mikey put away his phone and turned to Donnie while their older siblings were already heading out of the garage.

"See, it wasn't so bad!" he claimed, only to receive a glare from Donnie. He'd rather have told people on his own terms, when he felt comfortable (which was an undetermined and unlikely point of time in the future, but it was just the way he preferred it).

"Come on, Dee. Let's go hang out," said Wren from the side, going to follow Mikey. Donnie felt tension melt from his frame and he sighed.

"Fine. But I'm taking a shower first."

Chapter Text

A couple hours later the teens had all gathered in the open space outside their rooms. Having already encountered the Purple Dragons once that day, they decided to risk not getting interrupted during their basketball game.

Two hoops had been brought down and reattached to opposite walls. While still waiting on the last of their crew, the turtle brothers had instead taken to teaching Wren how to dribble.

"That's it! Now pass it to me!" called Leo, waving his arms where he stood near the hoop. She stopped to do so, only to have the ball caught from the air by Mikey.

"The Mikester strikes! Wait whaaat?" he announced while dribbling the ball to the other end.

"Michelangelo, red card— This is a practise match. You're not supposed to steal ball," called Donnie, stepping onto the court.

"Wrong sport, buddy," called Leo from behind him. Wren giggled while she watched Mikey toss the ball into the rope basket.

"AND HE SCORES! Yeah, baby! That's how we do it!" he celebrated, pumping his fist. Raph caught the ball as it bounced away from the hoop.

"I think she's ready to move onto real play," he stated, moving the ball into one hand to toss it up and down, "Whatd'ya say, Wren?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but was quickly cut off by another voice.

"It's the girls you've been waiting for!" announced April, making her way down the stairs, "Sunita, April O'Neilll, and a surprise guest—" her and Sunita stepped aside to gesture to the third person, "Caseyyy Joooones! Sr."

The goth styled girl stood with a hand on her hip. Her mask and hockey sticks had been left at the door with April's baseball bat.

"Heck. Yes. Now we can get a proper match going!" cheered Mikey.

"Oh, you are in for it! Never have you encountered the TERROR I'm about to bring upon this basketball court!" challenged Cassandra with a stern point down at the floor. Her voice was overly loud and passionate.

"First things first: We must divide into equal teams," cut in Donnie, his index finger raised.

"First things first, you—" replied April, going to catch the turtle in a headlock; She had to jump to do so, considering her height, "You tell me everything and I might go easy on you." While Donnie could've wrestled himself out of her hold, he knew better than to do so.

"Everything?" he confirmed, cringing, "For your information, I don't need you to go easy on me, April. I'm perfectly capable of playing the game without your condescending faux charity."

"Riiiiight."

She let him go and watched Donnie straighten and dust himself off, though it was only for show.

"CAN WE GET GOING ALREADY?!" growled Cassandra.

Donnie picked up a bag from the edge of the makeshift court and held it up near the middle of the group.

"Everyone reach in and take a ball. Stripes are Team One, solids, Team Two."

One by one, everyone pushed their hands in and picked up a scratched billiard ball keychain. There were six sorted in beforehand, Donnie having already resigned to play referee, but upon the girls' arrival he'd added two more. The stripes were picked up by April, Raph, Cassandra and Sunita – which left the solids with Mikey, Leo, Donnie and Wren.

They each looked between the team divide for a moment.

"So, anyone wanna swap?" Leo finally spoke up, breaching the silence. April smirked.

"Sorry, Leo. The balls have spoken," she chuckled. Wren turned to Donnie beside her and tapped his arm to get his attention.

"Is it me?" she whispered at him.

"It's us. Leo here doesn't think I'm any good at basketball," he answered at normal volume.

"To be fair, none of us think you're good at basketball," stated Raph. Donnie formed his best look of offence.

"Fine, whatever— I can carry any team. Even one with Donnie and a basketball noob in it," Leo eventually stated, going to snatch the ball from Raph's hands, "I'll show you."

"I'm here too, y'know!" protested Mikey. Leo pat him on the head.

"You sure are, lil' brother."

The game that followed was lively from the start. Four points were scored by April, who played the best tag team with Sunita, and by Raph. Donnie managed to intercept them and fumbled his pass to Mikey. Leo was so busy trying to play every single role that he barely had time for game-making moves.

But then, sometime into the game, Wren ended up getting hold of a stray ball. That was when both teams realized something: She had an unfair advantage.

Having two pairs of wings on her, Wren only needed to turn her back to the enemy team to keep them away. They couldn't push too far into her wings since it counted as illegal contact. And thus she almost always managed to have more space than they would've otherwise given her.

Making use of this, Leo started to make sure Wren had the ball as often as possible, and Team Two started to make plays. She was instructed to pass to Leo, by Leo. But more than once she ended up passing to Mikey or Donnie, who she had a bias toward. While Mikey was able to get a few points, she found Donnie really was hopeless at it. Leo, on the other hand, put every ball he received through the hoop.

Since the underdog team had started to rise, Team One upped their game. Cassandra and April kept making hoop after hoop at every chance they got, while Raph played most of their defense. In the end it became a tight game, with Team One's narrow victory. Leo had fallen to his knees and cried out in defeat.

"Drinks are on us: Team Winners!" cheered Sunita as the group entered Run of the Mill Pizza, courtesy of Leo's portals.

"Didn't we just have pizza for lunch?" questioned Wren, looking between the others.

"It's as they say: You play hard, you eat a lot of pizza," stated Donnie with a smile, "You did great."

She tried hard to fight off a blush and averted her smiley gaze from him.

Despite their loss, most of their team was still in good spirits. Only the last turtle to drag his feet through the portal still seemed like he'd fall over on his face at any moment. And then he did, laying limp on the stone flooring.

"Um, Leo?" called Wren gently, in exasperated concern.

"Leave him. He's dead weight," said Donnie, making his way to the pizza table.

"I MADE ALL OF OUR PLAYS AND YOU KNOW IT!" shouted the blue banded turtle from the floor. Wren flinched.

"We were so close..." he whined.

"Come on, Leo. You're gonna make someone trip," she encouraged, crouching by him, "You're being dramatic."

"Dramatic? DRAMATIC?" he went to protest, but all fight left him and Leo's head fell back against the stone with a smack, "I don't deserve pizza— I don't deserve to be called your champion!"

"No one calls you that!" came Donnie's voice from the distance.

"Oh Leeeooo," called Raph, "We've got your favorite!"

After a brief consideration, Leo finally climbed up and off the floor.

"Maybe just one slice."

Once all were squeezed around the two tables they had to pull together, the atmosphere eased back into its usual chaos. Throughout the dinner, there were laughs and stories of their days shared back and forth.

"You should've seen us in action today, April! I was on my game!" enthused Mikey.

"He really was! We all were. The Purple Dragons didn't know what hit them," agreed Raph.

"Y'know, 'cept for Donnie," came Leo's teasing cadence.

"Ooh, what did Donnie do?" smirked Sunita, having been filled in on the gossip at the same time as April. Her smirk was suffocating.

"I—"

"He was down underground, smooching with Wren," cut in Mikey, arms around himself and making kissy lips into the air. The new couple paled.

"Boy, did you just bail on a Purple Dragons showdown to get your kisses in?" teased April with a chuckle, "Respect."

"RESPECT?! He traded the glory of battle for some lip action! That deserves NOTHING but the deepest level of SHAME!" claimed Cassandra, her tone an accusatory one.

"Can we—" Donnie grit his teeth, "Stop talking about this?"

"Absolutely not, dearest Donatello. You know that since you're the first one of us to date, it's our sacred duty to embarrass you to the highest degree," informed Leonardo.

"What about me? Doesn't my embarrasment matter?" Wren asked nervously, a faint blush across her face.

"Absolutely it does! Don't think you're off the hook just because you're new!" stated Sunita with a wink, "If you're both not red in the face by the time we're done, we've failed!"

"That's what we're doing?" asked Cassandra, only to slam her hands against the table, "TELL US ABOUT YOUR FILTHY ACTIONS IN GREAT DETAIL!" Wren slid down in her seat, eyes wide and intimidated.

"Aaaand that's my cue to go to the bathroom. For the rest of time. Adieu."

Donnie shimmied from his spot to leave the table.

"You can't hide in there forever, Donnie!" called Mikey after him with a giggle.

"Uh, I'm, I'm gonna go get a drink," stammered Wren, also fleeing her seat in the opposite direction. The table faced one another.

"You think we went too hard on 'em?" asked Raph.

"Nah. It's how they learn!" said Leo, mouth full of pizza.

Wren sighed in relief at the moment of peace she'd reached away from their table. She found herself by a pillar and leaned into it, letting her heartbeat calm. She'd have to search for a waiter.

"Wren?"

April's voice had her turn her head. The girl walked the rest of the way over to her.

"You okay out here? I know it got a little crazy, but I hope you're not upset."

She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not. It's a little overwhelming—We literally just started dating—But I only need a minute. Promise," she said lightly. April smirked.

"Sooo... How's that going, really?"

She laughed breathlessly at the question.

"So far I've never not gotten along with Donnie. I think he's sweet." Wren averted her eyes from April while saying as much, shy. She hummed.

"I wish you luck. That boy spells trouble," chuckled April, "But he's also one of my best friends. I honestly do want the best for you two." Wren moved to smile at her.

"Thanks, April. It means a lot."

She averted her eyes after, letting them dart around a moment with the thoughts that surfaced. Then, Wren breached the silence again.

"Hey, about that fight we had a couple days back?" she started, only to have April cut in.

"Naw, don't say anything. I get why you were mad. I think I would've been. I'm sorry, Wren."

The girls smiled at each other, the rest of the awkwardness between them melting away. It was a relief on both ends, for various reasons.

"Come on, let's get your drink and head back. I think Leo's gonna go nuts now that everyone's back to talking about the game," said April.

"Oh, great. Can't wait to see that," Wren sighed in amusement, letting April guide her through the establishment.

Chapter Text

The group parted after their well-deserved dinner. Returning to the lair sometime later, Wren was about to head into her room. But before she could do so, she felt a hand on her arm.

"Hm?"

She met eyes with Donnie and instinctively smiled at him. His mouth opened with the intent to speak, but whatever it was, it didn't come out. Instead his eyes darted back to the hand he still had on Wren and he abruptly pulled it back.

"We're going out for one more patrol today," he finally managed, "Did you want to come?"

The half yokai paused at the offer, turning to him fully.

"Actually, there's something I was going to work on," she replied while looking off to the side. Clearly he wanted to have her around, and she felt bad turning him down.

"What's that?" he asked with furrowed brows.

She pressed her lips into a tight line before bringing her eyes back to Donnie's.

"I need to write home. And, um, I'm not sure what I'm gonna say, so... It'll probably take a while."

"Ah, I see."

Donnie visibly hesitated, looking anywhere but at her for a few beats.

"Do you need help?" he asked stiffly. Wren exhaled a laugh.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay."

"Thank Galileo. Relieved sigh. Et cetera."

"Wha— You offered!" she squawked.

"Yes, despite not wanting to. Excuse me, but trying to think of what to say to your parents sounds like a terrible time. I believe I deserve some boyfriend points for that."

"I wasn't aware we were scoring points back and forth," she remarked with a quirked brow.

"How else are we supposed to determine each other's performance in the relationship? If one of us is slacking—Sidenote: It won't be me—There needs to be consequences," he stated in his usual tone, but the hint of a smile gave him away.

"Oof. Can we start from like a hundred?"

Donnie quirked a brow.

"That sounds like you're planning for failure," he stated. Wren shrugged with one shoulder, suddenly not meeting his eyes. She didn't look overly troubled by whatever was on her mind, but maybe a tad nervous.

"I'm not planning for it," she countered, "I don't know if you realize this, Donnie, but... You can be a little intimidating." She smiled tensely and pinched two fingers close together. Donatello blinked down at her.

"How, exactly?"

She faced him and then the floor, heat rising to her face.

"Because you're amazing," she stated, and Donnie was sure his heart skipped another beat, "You're smart, and you're funny—And cute. And I worry you might have some high standards. I just hope that I can meet them."

It was one of those few times both of them were blushing. As much as Donnie told these things to himself all the time, hearing them from Wren was a whole other beast.

"Wren—"

"Donnie! Are you coming? We wanna head out already!" called Leo from the top of the stairs. His brother grunted before looking back.

"Little busy here, Leon!" he called back.

"Well, wrap it up!" Leo shouted, twirling his finger, "Mikey is gonna get on a sugar high if we don't leave soon! He found the rest of the movie night snacks."

"Five minutes," insisted Donnie in pure frustration.

"Okaaayyy. Don't be late!"

As the interrupting turtle headed out of their metaphorical hair, Donnie turned back to his girlfriend. He saw how she'd sunken into thought, mute, and how she wasn't looking at him. He had a sudden and very foreign urge to physically comfort her.

"Hey."

Wren's eyes slid back to Donnie's and she smiled a small smile. He didn't use a soft tone like that very often.

"I have a lot of interests, all of which I appreciate for the things they are and nothing more. I got into them because of whatever was already there. I started liking you because of who you are," he swallowed awkwardly, "I admit I can be a little bit of a perfectionist. But I swear I don't want or need you to change."

Her smile brightened a little, a sweet look in her eyes. Wren nodded at him, seemingly convinced by at the very least something in his words. It relieved Donnie in return.

"Stay safe out on patrol, okay? We don't want to need another rescue operation."

Donnie smiled to that.

"As I recall, I believe I ended up saving you in the end."

"Okay, Dr. Nitpick, I didn't need your analysis."

The tone made him laugh and Wren cherished the sound. He rarely seemed comfortable enough to relax to that extent, and he had a really cute laugh. She wanted to hear it more often.

It seemed it caught Donnie himself off guard, because he soon straightened and cleared his throat, attempting to collect himself.

"I'll be going, then. I wish you well in your endeavors."

"Donnie?"

Before he could fully turn around, the call of her voice had him return. Suddenly Wren was close enough for him to feel her breath, and a kiss was laid on him without warning. It lasted for no longer than a moment, but Donnie still leaned in when she pulled away.

"Have fun," she hummed.

"R...Right. I'll see you later."

He was slow to leave that time, but eventually made his way up the stairs. It was only at the very top that Donnie finally managed to fully regain his composure.

Wren sighed, rubbing her own arm. There was a pleasant feeling in her chest after the interaction, and she couldn't wait for the next time they'd get to spend time alone. But right now, she had other things to worry about. Things which unfortunately dragged her right back down to Earth.

She turned on her heel and headed into her room, a daunting task ahead of her.

Hi dad!

I said I'd write, so here I am. Writing.

First of all, I'm not mad

The paper was crumpled and tossed aside in place of a new, blank sheet. Wren drew in a deep breath before beginning again.

Greetings, beloved father.

You may be interested to know that I found out about your plans to marry me off.

I don't want to get married, but

She crumpled the paper and tossed it aside. Again, she took a new blank sheet and brought her pen closer to it. She hesitated, then pulled back.

Wren slumped in her chair, blowing out a breath while staring at the textures of the floor. She knew it was going to be difficult, but also exhausting? That she didn't prepare for.

What was there to say, really? Her trust had been broken and she didn't know how to feel about it. She didn't know whether to be angry and stern (which she wasn't sure she could do against her father in the first place), or soft and understanding. She didn't know if either of those approaches would get through to Asuka. After all, nothing she'd said so far had.

So she leaned toward the table, elbows propped up, and buried her face in her hands. She was truly and utterly stuck, like in a creative block, but worse.

Wren wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually, she'd began doodling on the paper in front of her. That paper had been swapped for her sketchbook, and before she knew it, she was curled up in bed with it propped up against her thighs. The current page was filled with jacket designs, with a barely drawn model underneath vaguely resembling Mikey.

A knock on her door brought the pen to a stop. She hadn't even heard anyone get close with her focus so deep.

"Come in!"

"You're still awake— Perfect!"

It was the very turtle in question who stepped past the doorframe, his arms behind his back with something barely poking out for her to see. Wren raised her brows and lowered her knees, and thus her sketchbook.

"What've you got there, Mikey?" she asked, trying to peer around him.

"Uh uh uh! I'll show you if you show me that, first!" he said, pointing to her book. She looked down at it, and then at Mikey, smiling as she handed it over.

She received a grin and a package in return, square but flexible. Wren raised her brows while looking it over as Mikey was going through her sketches.

"Is this my jacket?!" he enthused, smile widening further, if possible, "OH! I love this one!"

He pointed to one of the later sketches, where Wren had abandoned playing with a bomber -style jacket and instead traded it for a kimono shape. She smiled at him before pointing down to the package.

"And this?" she questioned. His eyes sparkled.

"Open it!"

She sat cross-legged and turned the package around to find the seam, neatly tearing and folding the paper open to view the inside. As soon as she saw a sliver of what laid beneath, she stopped and stared.

"Mikey! Is this the print?!" she enthused and opened the paper the rest of the way. Wren hopped to her feet on the bed to let the fabric spread into its full size.

"Surprise!" chirped the orange turtle. An involuntary squeal left Wren. The colorful sight of a literal neon jungle was spread across yards of shining textile and she couldn't possibly wipe the smile off her face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she repeated, lowering the fabric carefully, yet quickly, before hopping off the bed. Mikey's arms were already open for a hug when she jumped to give him one.

"Just make sure you use it to make the coolest design ever," he spoke through a grin. Wren pulled away only to pick up the fabric again, petting it with her fingers splayed.

"I'm gonna have so much fun with this," she hummed happily. Mikey crossed the width of the room to seat himself on her bed.

"Bet even Donnie doesn't get you presents this good," he commented coyly, causing Wren to blink and look up at him. The comment was unexpected, but didn't sound genuinely hostile. So, she smirked.

"Is someone feeling jealous?" Mikey answered her smirk with one of his own.

"Duh!" he laughed, "Now that he's dating you, I get the feeling Dee's gonna get possessive. I wanted to make sure I make it into your best friend spot before he tries to steal you away completely."

The smirk was knocked right off her face.

"Aww! You wanna be my best friend?" she cooed, simply melting at the words.

"Yeah I do! You're the first friend I have so much in common with. I love April, but when we talk it's more like she's just listening to me go on about something more than anything."

Wren plopped into a seat beside Mikey and bumped his shoulder with her own.

"Don't worry, I love having you as a friend. I'm not gonna let your brother lock me away somewhere," she promised, "Nor am I gonna steal him away."

Mikey snorted.

"I wouldn't mind that so much," he stated jokingly, earning another light shove from Wren.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend you're talking about," she joked in return. He rolled his eyes.

"Aww, look at you, in love with my brother."

Wren's face was red before she knew it and she hid behind the sheet of fabric.

"Hold on! I think you're skipping like, a lot of steps before we bring out the L-word!"

"Donnie and Wren, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G—"

Mikey was promptly shoved off the bed.

"Oh, look at the time! I think you've got to head out," she said as blandly as she managed. The turtle on the floor chuckled as he pushed himself up and stumbled for the door.

"Okay, okay! But don't stay up too late! And sweet dreams!" he went to leave, but popped his head back in, "Of Don—"

A pillow came at him and Mikey avoided it by shutting the door.

Wren sighed, her shoulder slumping as she settled back into isolation. She leaned against the painted wall behind her bed, bunching up the fabric into her arms to hold. A giddiness still reigned inside her.

From the edge of her vision, she caught sight of a balled up paper. Bringing her attention to it, she was briefly reminded of the thing she'd meant to do that night. But with the thought bringing dread with it, she frowned and looked to the opposite direction instead: To the mannequin staring at her expectantly at the back of her room.

Chapter Text

"Heads up!"

Wren ducked down right as a stray skateboard rushed over her head and slammed into the wall. She watched it clatter to the floor before straightening back up, and showed an unimpressed look to the turtles responsible.

Leo sat right below the skate ramp, having taken a tumble from a failed trick. Mikey stood beside him with his own skateboard clutched in hand.

"Sorry, Wren!" sang the younger brother, afterwards moving to pull Leo to his feet.

"Someone slept in," said the blue brother while standing up, and went to collect his board.

"Says you," she teased, a corner of her lips rising. He chuckled back.

"What were you doing last night?" pressed Mikey while setting his skateboard down to balance on.

"Oh, not much," she brushed off lightly and winked at the orange brother, then made a move to continue her trek. Mikey had gained a spark in his smile at the response, to which Leo quirked a brow.

Walking through the lair, she eventually found who she'd been looking for: Laying on a stray couch by the wall, a book in his hands, was Donnie. He looked up right as he was turning the page, forming a smile she wasn't sure he meant to when he noticed who was walking closer.

"Bonjour, mon chéri," he anounciated in perfect French, as far as Wren could tell. The book was closed with his thumb in the middle to mark the page, and he sat up. Wren occupied the freed spot beside him, sitting down to lean on his side.

"Good morning," she hummed, while Donnie adjusted his position according to hers.

"It's one in the afternoon," he informed her, "Did you not sleep well? Because I specifically—I mean nothing."

"No, I did. Once I actually went to sleep," she said with a shrug of her shoulder. Donnie's posture eased minutely.

"I take it the writing process didn't go as you'd hoped," he deduced, to which she cringed. Wren averted her eyes from Donnie's momentarily before flicking them back to him.

"Not exactly," she admitted, "I didn't end up writing the letter." When Donnie furrowed his brows, Wren went on:

"I got a little distracted with sewing."

"Hmm. It sounds like you have a procrastination problem," he said and lowered his focus to the book he reopened, "Might I suggest a working schedule? I drafted one for April when she kept ignoring her economics studies for a video game. Which didn't actually end up working—Not because there was anything wrong with my schedule—It's just that she also roped me into her nightly gaming sessions. Then neither of us were getting anything done," he ranted.

When Wren only made a noncommittal hum in response, Donnie looked at her again. She wasn't looking at him and fiddled with the end of her sleeve. He'd said something wrong and retraced his steps.

"Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—" he sighed and set aside the book entirely, "I started trying to fix it, even though I said— That's on me."

She looked back at him, and after a moment, smiled. It made him relax again.

"I have a surprise for you," he blurted out after another second, "But I'm not sure you're going to like it?"

"You know the law. Now you have to show me," she stated with genuine curiosity. Donnie offered his hand, palm facing upwards. She glanced down at it before setting her own hand atop.

Wren let herself be lead through the lair, a familiar path to Donnie's lab. It shone with the usual purple accent lighting, his inventions, tools and other equipment either neatly put on display or hidden into various drawers and compartments.

Donnie let go of her hand soon after entering. He drew in a deep breath before turning on his heel, back to Wren.

"Ladies and gentlemen— That is, Wren, my dearest (though recently acquired) girlfriend and the receiver of my carefully distributed affections. I present to you another gem of my genius work!" he introduced and brought up his wrist controls. Tapping on something, a part of the floor opened up and a display case lifted out of it.

"My feather?" she questioned, walking closer to view the lost comrade. She glanced between it and her wings as if to make sure they matched.

"Your feather, yes. With some light experimentation and a consultation with a fellow mystic expert, I was able to draw out... Well, the display should speak for itself."

He had a proud smirk upon him as he tapped at his wrist screen again. The display was suddenly charged with an energy Wren could feel vibrate despite its subtle nature. When it reached up and touched the fine hairs of the feather, it glimmered briefly before the texture changed in a split second's time.

The feather was now made of glass, or crystal, glistening under the lights of the laboratory in various shades. Wren's eyes flew wide and she pressed her hands against the display case.

"Th...This," she stammered, blinking at the thing, "It's like my father's power," she croaked.

"Yes, I thought so! You said you weren't sure whether you were able to commit the same transformation, so I decided to look into it. As it turns out, your feathers respond to a certain frequency of mystic energy I assume your body is able to naturally emit."

Wren was still in shock when she turned back to Donnie, staring at him with an unreadable expression. He opened his mouth, already concerned she wasn't a fan of the idea. But before he could voice this, she cut him off.

"Could you zap me with that?" she asked, leaning closer, "You know, for science."

"Well, by all accounts it should be harmless," he said slowly, eyes darting up while he thought about it, "But if your body has a strange reaction, there might not be anything I can do."

"You said my body can make the same energy," she pressed. Donnie frowned.

"Theoretically," he emphasized, "But yes." When Wren worked to create her best puppy dog expression, Donnie in turn went to steel his.

"Please, Donnie. I need to know what'll happen," she begged, one hand coming to rest against his arm, "You could just zap me a little bit. I bet it won't even hurt." When he didn't look convinced enough, she pressed on:

"And after all, that's what you did this for, right? To see if I had that power? The experiment won't be complete until you zap me, y'know."

Unfortunately, she'd struck the right chord with her last argument. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to fight off the very thought, but his stupid, curious brain wanted to see it through. And so, a moment later, Donnie heaved out a sigh.

"Okay, you're right—You win. I'll "zap" you."

The immediate kiss to his cheek shouldn't have made him as pleased as it did. Donnie was becoming far too easy for her to manipulate already.

"You won't regret it," Wren chirped, turning to view the display once more.

After a short moment of tinkering, Donatello had separated the needle issuing the charge of mystic energy. It was plugged to an extension, dragged over to his computer chair that Wren now occupied.

He used a piece of electrical tape to attach the needle to her arm and took two steps back. He brought up the glowing screen on his wrist, though hesitated. His eyes darted between it and Wren.

"Are you sure?" he asked one more time. Wren stared down at the needle for a moment before bringing her eyes back to Donnie.

"I'm sure," she confirmed while casting him a smile. This was it, then. He gathered himself as he faced the wrist display.

"Commencing first human-... Yokai trial in 3, 2, 1..."

He gently pressed his finger into the 'initiate' key and watched the display platform power up once more. The energy traveled in sparks along the extension and he held his breath. They both stared in anticipation by the time it finally reached the needle.

The same glimmer that had enveloped the isolated feather now traveled across Wren's skin from the source of the charge. She gasped at the feeling, and her eyes screwed shut. Donnie was left alone to watch while it reached her wings, her opposite arm, her legs, her face and her hair.

Her feathers reacted as hoped, all crystallizing into the same form as the first one. They shone in iridescent shades of not only purple and gold, but also accent shades of green and blue. They looked heavier than they must've been, because the wings hardly dipped when they changed.

What was unexpected was the change in her skin. Spots formed along her limbs and neck, even where a black turtleneck covered it. The skin seemed to react to the light differently now, catching shades that were not on her previously. Two more spots formed right below her eyes, on her cheekbones, before the glimmer dissipated.

Though it had only taken a few seconds, it had felt like minutes. Donnie only realized he could move when he felt his breath exit his lungs again.

"Wren?"

He stepped close and pulled the needle and tape off her arm. Jumping at the tear, her eyes flew open and met Donnie's. He'd grabbed her arm and pressed fingers into her wrist. His mouth moved ever so subtly while he counted.

"Your pulse is elevated. How do you feel?"

"Is that my arm?" she said in surprise, unintentionally dodging the question. Donnie released his hold when she pulled the limb up to observe, turning it every which way. She glanced down at her legs, then turned around to view the wings on her back.

"Woah," Wren breathed, pushing herself up. Donnie's arms extended to catch her incase she couldn't hold her balance, but there didn't seem to be a need.

"Any dizziness? Nausea? Hot or cold sensations?" he listed, still waiting on a status update. Wren finally whirled to him, a strange smile on her.

"No, I feel fine. My wings feel a little stiff, but they are kind of covered in crystals."

"Not covered, mind you. They are crystals," Donnie corrected. His eyes flicked up and down her changed appearance.

"My wings are crystals, Donnie!" she laughed, "You did it!"

The sound caused him to smile. Donnie observed her happy attitude and felt a swell of pride at the result.

"That would make this surprise a glowing success. I will make note of the occasion," he stated while tapping at his holo screen, "Now, would you be interested in some further testing?"

Wren looked back to him from where she was bending this way and that, trying to get a view of every part of herself without a mirror at hand.

"What kind of testing?" she asked curiously.

Two hours later, Wren was just short of hitting exhaustion. Donnie had made it his mission to gather a full report of data on every aspect of her newly unveiled ability. Stress tests, durability tests, movement tests... Needless to say, by the end of it, she was ready to crash right back into bed.

Donnie was at his computer, viewing all the different statistics with a thoughtful expression. Wren threw herself against the back of his chair and rested her head over her arms.

"That was all of it, right?" she moaned unhappily. Donnie peeked at her like he'd just realized she was still there.

"Of the initial tests, yes. There is another set of factors I wanted to subject your new form to, but I figured I'd give you a short break and view the data."

Wren groaned and buried her face into the backrest.

"To summarize my findings so far, it appears your durability has dramatically increased. In fact, as you know, I couldn't find anything to crack the wings themselves with. But the rest of your body – the more human part – isn't quite as invulnerable. I also theorize you can't fly when you're like this, considering the change in your feathers. They're not ideally designed for that purpose as crystals, no matter how mystic."

"It's good to know, I guess," she mumbled, trying to remain positive.

"It's fantastic! If you learn to properly utilize your power, you'll have an easier time keeping yourself uninjured." And I don't have to worry, he added in the impenetrable realm of thought.

She raised her head enough to face Donnie, who was greeting her with a pleased look.

"That doesn't sound too bad," she agreed with a smile. The bruise on her face was still present, though slowly fading at the center. Without thinking, Donatello had raised a finger to brush over the mark.

The door to the lab whooshed open.

"Hey, Donnie, I was wonderin' if you wanted to—" Raph cut himself off, first by the sight of the tender moment, and then by Wren's shocking appearance.

"What the—"

Donnie leaned away from Wren in a heartbeat and stood himself up by the computer desk. He wore a tight grin.

"And what might bring you into my laboratory on this sunny afternoon, Raphael?"

"Forget about that. What's going on with miss Glass Statue over here?" he asked instead. The yokai in question stood up straight and smiled brightly despite her tiredness.

"Like it?" she asked, doing a little twirl for show.

"You're killin' it. But how'd that happen?"

"I may have administered her a small mystic charge," Donnie stated with some reluctance, "Turns out it activates a yokai form with enhanced durability."

"He's been making me run around and get prodded with this and that all afternoon," she complained with a hint of playfulness to her tone.

"You agreed to the testing! Besides, it's very much necessary if we want to understand the limits of your state," said Donnie defensively.

Raph looked between them, soon forming a smile.

"If it's testing you want, I've got a few ideas," he stated, bringing one palm up to bump his opposite fist into. While Donnie was filled with hesitation, Wren, unfortunately, looked interested.

Chapter Text

Donnie was still apprehensive about the whole thing when they gathered in the now-rearranged garage. Increasingly when Raph banged four beams into the ground and wrapped three ropes around them to form a boxing ring. At least he'd also placed down mats, but the scientist still didn't like where this was going.

"Alright, Wren. Ever boxed before?" asked the giant turtle, using the flexibility of the ropes to propel himself over and into the ring.

"I can't say I have," she mused, leaning her arms over the highest rope, "How is this a test, exactly?"

The words were stolen right off Donnie's tongue.

"Yes, thank you! How is boxing going to produce results I could not have gotten in my lab?" he insisted, dramatically waving his arm. Raph chuckled.

"Donnie, Donnie, Donnie."

"Raph. Repeating my name a bunch of times, Raph, isn't an answer, RAPH!"

"Relax, I was getting to it." He pushed his younger brother back by the face and extended his hand to Wren. Shrugging, she took it and let herself be lifted into the ring.

"Listen up! Boxing is about strength, technique and looking awesome while punching your opponent in the face!"

She raised her index finger to intercept.

"I'll try not to punch you in the face," Raph clarified.

"Okay. I'm still not a hundred percent sure what we're doing," Wren responded cautiously, though not entirely rejecting the idea.

"If you really wanna find out what you can do, the best way to do that is in a real fight. That's how we all got good. But, you know, throwing you out there with a villain seems like a bad idea. So we'll start in the ring!"

Donnie and Wren glanced at each other over the ropes.

"That...Actually isn't a terrible idea," Donnie admitted in monotone, "But we at least knew something before going on our first mission, even if it was from Lou Jitsu movies. Wren doesn't even know how to throw a punch."

"You don't think I got this, do you?" hummed Wren, a hand coming to her hip.

"I'm sorry, Starling, but I don't," replied Donnie with an eye roll, his tone unchanged. Little did he know he'd incidentally done the opposite of his intentions and egged her on.

"Hmm. Okay, I see. Raph? Let's do it."

"Heck yeah!"

Donnie straightened, eyes flicking between them. He opened and closed his mouth, sighed, and slapped a hand over his face.

"Just take it easy on her, buddy? Okay?" he stated, condescension unfortunately heavy in his tone. Wren pursed her lips.

Raph was busy picking up some boxing gloves. He tossed a smaller pair to Wren, who caught them and turned them around curiously. She watched Raph put his on and followed his example.

"Here's what you do. You put your foot forward and raise your arms. You use your fists to block, and you punch with your whole body. Like this!"

Raph punched forward at the air at a frightening power. Wren involuntarily flinched. She missed the way his hips rotated and the way he kept his angles firm, too distracted by how she might actually get hit by that in a few moments.

"This is the voice in your head speaking, telling you there's still time to back out," called Donnie lightly from the sidelines. Clearly, he'd noticed the fear in her eyes.

"Nono, I uh, I still got this. Foot forward, arms up, don't get hit," she listed, unconsciously tacking on her own advice.

"Ready?" asked Raph, to which Wren only swallowed.

"Yup. So, so ready," she stammered, eyes wide. His height seemed to tower over hers. Raph was all she saw.

"Donnie, ring us in."

He sighed, twirling his bō staff as he paced back and forth.

"Prepare for the first and biggest 'I told you so' I get to pronounce all week. Ding ding ding, you may thus battle," he announced with a spot-on impression of boredom.

Raph lunged forward, even if with much less speed than usual. He clearly intended to hit before he did so, to which Wren raised her arms and yelped. The hit bounced off her gloves, causing her stance to falter despite the turtle holding back.

"Don't be scared, Wren. Hit me!" he exclaimed, making her peek past her gloves. She lowered her hands enough to move and fly one of her fists at Raph. He easily countered it with his glove.

"That's it! Keep goin'," he encouraged. Another one of Raphael's fists came at her, and Wren stepped to the side to dodge, her heart racing. When he next came at her, she reacted on instinct and went to punch him – only to be blocked again in the nick of time. Raph smirked at her. She gave a strained smile back.

A few more blows were changed like that. Wren was starting to learn about footwork as well as the openings Raph purposefully left for her. He pulled his punches, but the couple he landed in that time still nearly threw her off balance. To her relief, she noticed they didn't hurt, which gave her a bit more confidence.

"Alright, I see you," he said playfully, "Wanna kick it up a notch?"

"Um," she hesitated, glancing toward Donnie. He was on his phone, looking up briefly with an uninterested expression.

"Sure," she said slowly as her attention returned to Raph. Having just gotten comfortable with the level they fought at now, it was scary to move on.

"Here we go. Take this!" with this growl, Raph launched forward and began throwing punch after punch at Wren. They still weren't hard enough to really hurt her, but came in quick enough a succession that she could do nothing but try and block. Before she knew it, her back met the ropes, and they bounced her back. She swayed to the side to avoid another incoming attack. Raph didn't relent, and so she was backing up again.

He must've gotten caught up in the moment, because Wren could feel him increase his strength over time. When a punch knocked her back into the ropes again, she grew frustrated. Raph was hopping back and forth, on the move and ready for more.

She drew a deep breath, pushed herself away from the ropes, and released it. Raph must've seen how fired up she'd suddenly gotten because he didn't warn her before charging in with his fists this time. In that moment, her body reacted on its own.

Raphael felt his fist get thrown back right after its impact, shock coursing through him as he took a few unsteady steps backward. He was now facing Wren's wings, folded into a cross in front of her and slowly unfurling. His surprise was mirrored on her face while she stared at the appendages.

"Oh," she breathed, "Oh. Okay," she suddenly said. The light bulb was practically visible above her head, and then Wren was smirking.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" said Raph, bumping his fists together. He then pulled them back and charged.

Donnie nearly dropped his phone when he looked up at the following sounds of impact. He fumbled with the device for a while. After securing it in his grip, let his eyes flick back and forth across the ring.

Wren had almost completely abandoned using her arms in favor of her crystallized wings. She blocked each of Raph's blows with one or both of the upper pair, ducking and weaving her way around the big guy to avoid the ropes.

"Uhh, guys?" called Donnie, taken aback by the sudden change in tempo. Neither of them seemed to hear him, though.

In the middle of the ring, Raph's fist connected with the crossed wings for the umpteenth time. This time it was with enough strength to knock Wren back—But her body responded: The sharp points of the wings hit the mats, tearing through them while she slowed her momentum. They pushed her into the air, and her body flipped backward, feet coming into contact with the rope. For a moment, she looked like she'd balance on it. Instead, Wren fell back with her arms flailing. She hit the concrete flooring with a shout.

"Shoot!" exclaimed Raph, "You okay, Wren?"

Donnie was the first out of the two to cross the distance to her. He crouched while she was already sitting up, rubbing the back of her head. When Wren felt a crackle across her skin, she opened her eyes and looked as the strange shades and patterns on her skin faded, and her feathers turned back into their normal soft purples and golds.

She focused on the feeling she'd been channeling as an attempt to bring the yokai form back. There was barely a spark of energy before it died again, and Wren groaned.

"Seems like this marks the end of today's training," stated Donnie and stood up only to extend his hand. Wren sighed before taking it. She was pulled up with a surprising ease.

"Awh. Just as it was getting good," complained the older brother and crossed his arms over the top rope.

"Good, as in you were about five seconds away from pummeling her into bird food," countered Donnie, "You know it doesn't actually count as testing her ability, right?"

He didn't see the growing frustration on Wren's face. That's why Donnie was caught off guard when she spoke up:

"Will you let it rest? I was doing great! And I did learn to use my ability, which you'd maybe have noticed if you were even looking!"

Shocked into silence, Donnie could only watch her walk for the garage exit. Raph pursed his lips while looking between them.

"Sooo... How are things going?" he hummed, to Donatello's immediate irritation.

It didn't take long to find her. It seemed like she wanted to be found. Specifically by Donnie, because here she was, sitting in his lab. Wren had taken over his computer chair and tapped her fingernails against the desk in a steady rhythm.

He breathed in silently while stepping past the exit and over to her. He couldn't see her expression with the way she was faced.

"Look. I know you're angry—" Donnie started, and the tapping stopped.

"I'm not angry."

"Upset?" he tried unsurely. Wren sighed and sat up to face him. There was regret in her expression.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you," she said softly, "I was just...Tired of the attitude. This is new to me, but that's why I wanted you to support me. Instead, you seemed dead set on making it harder."

"That's not fair. I helped you all day with your new power. I was the one who made it happen in the first place, even when I made it known it was risky! I'm literally doing the opposite of what you just said," Donnie argued. It seemed to be convincing because Wren had to avert her gaze.

"Okay, yes, you're right on that. But you also kept demeaning me when I wanted to try something different and more hands-on. I was fine with taking it slow anyway. You didn't have to mock me," she said, her voice growing quieter toward the end. It was now Donnie's turn to share in some of the guilt.

"I—Didn't mean to. I mean, I did, but I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just—Didn't want you to fight Raph," he said, stumbling over his words. It was difficult to articulate his thought process when it admittedly wasn't all that logical at the time.

Though Wren could suspect the answer to her next question, she decided not to hand-feed it to him.

"Why not?" she said instead, eyes searching while she waited. He looked openly uncertain.

"Because—" he sighed, "I just keep thinking you're going to get yourself hurt or, or captured again. And I know, I know that's what we're trying to prevent right now. That you're learning self-defense, but... When I see a situation where you might end up in harm's way, my logic keeps shutting down. It's as annoying to me as it is to you, if you can believe it. I mean, I'm supposed to be the smart one!"

Donnie felt a touch on his hand and followed the feeling. Wren had cupped it with both of her own. She ran her thumb over his knuckles in a soothing back-and-forth motion.

"I worry about you too, you know," she mused, "Even though you guys are obviously capable, you still end up in bad situations, too. So y'know, I can definitely understand how you'd feel that way about me. But instead of shutting down, maybe you could try telling me that next time? Because what happened isn't going to help me. It's gonna do the opposite."

"That... Sounds doable," he said slowly, watching Wren draw mindless patterns on the back of his hand, "And as a quick addendum? You didn't entirely seem new to "the whole thing" before. Judging by the end, anyway."

She directed a smirk up at Donnie.

"Is that your way of saying you think I did good, and that I'm a natural?" she teased. He rolled his eyes despite his accompanying smile.

"'So she made him say: "You did good, you are a natural, my fair maiden—May luck follow you into the many conflicts you might now settle with your newfound thirst for violence." And he bowed in the face of her frightening beauty and exuding authority,'" Donnie stated with a good amount of dramatic flair, even leaning into a half bow while grasping her hand.

"I knew it," she breathed. Before Donnie could ask, Wren had already stood up and forced him to take a step back in turn.

"'And so the lady declareth: "Though I did not hear the word 'sorry' in your otherwise flattering speech, I, in my gracious benevolence, accept the unspoken apology. And now, if you may, take me to thy nearest fast food joint, for I have not eaten in five hours.""

Donnie couldn't help the laugh that bled into his next words.

"What was that?" he asked, face full of mirth. It seemed like he hadn't expected what he dished out to be served back.

"Oh, I did costume design for a drama club in the Hidden City. I spent enough time around those dorks to pick up on the funny way they spoke," she chuckled, "And you—You totally read stage plays, don't you?"

He shrugged in return.

"It's the next best thing after seeing a live performance. If anyone under this roof appreciated a little bit of culture, there's a chance I could have been able to go. But alas, the grand works of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Miquel De Cervantes and others go unappreciated by my spectacular taste."

"Well, I don't know those people aside from maybe the first guy, but! We could go to the theater in the Hidden City for a date night sometime. We won't need to sneak around in the shadows there," suggested Wren. The way Donnie's face lit up told her it was a good suggestion.

"That was the best thing you've said all day."

Chapter Text

The evening was, in many ways, insufferable. It seemed like no matter where Leo went inside the lair he witnessed something he rather hoped he'd never have to see.

It all started at the dinner table, where he couldn't enjoy the flavor of Mikey's cookings nor the back-and-forth jabs usually present between his siblings. No.

Instead, his attention kept unwittingly being grabbed by what he deemed questionable activities.

"Here, have this," Wren said just above a whisper. It was still loud enough that Leo caught her feeding Donnie a piece of scewered pork. He wanted to gag at how they looked at each other while he chewed on the food.

"I hope you know you can't make a habit of feeding me whatever you can't finish. Some of us actually care what we put into our bodies," Donnie mumbled in a teasing remark. Leo wanted to comment on how he'd seen his techie brother stuff an entire box of donuts while distracted by whatever online game he was obsessed with at the time. Not to even mention the amount of pizza they all consistently consumed.

"Oh, shut up. You're active enough that you could eat twice the amount of stuff you do now," she said back, "In fact, you should thank me for feeding you." He really didn't like the way Donnie's expression changed, and Leo felt himself shudder. Thankfully, he didn't hear what was said next.

"Leo, you good? You've barely even touched your pork en brochette. Did I oversalt it or something?"

Mikey's voice beside him had the blue turtle looking over. Unlike Leonardo, it didn't seem like the youngest brother had bothered himself by staring across the table at the icky display. Him and Raph had been focused on their own conversation between bites of food.

"Food's estupendo, Mikey. Just not hungry right now. I'll put it in the fridge for later, m'kay?"

He stood up with his plate, more than happy to leave the table. He heard another set of muffled giggles and elected not to look that way before going.

The following incident was sometime after that nightmarish dinner. Leo was crossing the central hallway between their and Splinter's living spaces through the upstairs area. He didn't know Donnie and Wren were there until he stepped off the stairs. Wren sat on the counter, in front of the various boomboxes, with markers beside her and a sketchbook in her hands. Donnie had his elbows leaned against the same counter from the back, browsing his phone.

Innocent enough.

He went to pass them wordlessly when he saw Donnie move from the corner of his eye. No. Bad brother. Not a word! No!

Wren looked like she was coloring something in, and Donnie had leaned closer to see it. He quirked a brow and smiled before he spoke.

"You think I could pull that off?"

She looked down at him only for a beat before returning to coloring.

"I have no doubt you could pull off just about anything," she answered with no hesitation. Donnie's smile widened.

"Let me see that. No, the marker."

Leo was almost out of the room, already at the next set of stairs he had to ascend. He didn't see Donnie turn the marker in his hands before plopping it open.

"This isn't permanent, is it?"

"No. Why—ACK! Donnie!"

Leo could hear the resulting laughter and tumbling and guessed exactly how that interaction would end. Based on the sound Wren had dropped her sketchbook while Donnie had closed the distance to bully her with marker stripes. He didn't want to imagine what the playful teasing would lead to, but it was too late. Even if he was never there to witness it, the sounds of lips colliding were already too vivid in his backstabber of an imagination.

The final straw came late at night. Leo had tried turning in early to hurry up and get to a more pleasant day, but that plan proved nothing short of impossible. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he went into the kitchen for a cup of tea to go with his comics.

He thought he heard a shuffling from the room, but it was dark enough that he wasn't sure what was there. When he turned on the light, he was instantly hit with regret.

"Oh, COME ON! Why here, of all places?!"

The couple stared at him like a pair of deer in headlights. Wren's back was against the fridge while Donnie's hand was deposited by her head. They were close enough still that it was far too obvious what had been happening right as Leo walked in. They'd even turned off the light, he found himself thinking with a shiver of disgust.

He turned on his heel to leave, but—

"Leo, you left the lamp on," said Donnie. Leo turned back with the deepest of frowns, but flicked the light switch. May no one else witness what Leo just had.

He decided he liked it much more when the two were still being awkward around each other.

"Can't even get a drink without running into PDA these days—Let Donnie date a girl who lives in the lair. It'll be fine! Definitely won't make every day of your life a living hell. Oh god, that's what I'll see in my dreams tonight, isn't it? Ughhh. If my skin suffers from this, I'm making Donnie pay for all my products from now on."

Leo clutched his head while wandering through the lair, through the parts he now knew for a fact those two didn't occupy. He'd expected Donnie to be more awkward and stiff about having a partner, but unfortunately, he already seemed unbothered by the whole concept. Leo imagined things would only get worse from here on out.

During his wandering he became attracted to the subtle light flooding from the TV room. Of course, Splinter was still up, enjoying whatever violent entertainment might be played at this hour. When Leo walked down the stairs, he quickly saw it was another night of Lou Jitsu films. That worked.

He slumped into a magenta-colored beanbag near his father's chair. The rat didn't seem to mind his presence.

"Ah, Blue. You're just in time for the introduction of Tang Shen."

Leo only gave an acknowledging grunt. He was excited to turn his brain off and stare at the moving imagery projected onto the wall. Maybe Splinter would even babble about the behind the scenes and bring him to sleep right there—

No such luck.

"Is...Everything alright, Blue?" his father asked, to which Leo let his head fall back, and he frowned at the man upside down.

"Peachy."

As far as he knew, Donnie and Wren hadn't told Splinter about their relationship. If he was going to keep their secret, what he wanted to complain about wasn't something he could complain about right now.

The rat mutant regarded him with a thoughtful aura. He could tell Leo's mood was off, and considering the discussions they'd had in the past months, Splinter approached these times with more care than before.

He paused the movie with his tail, a freeze frame of Tang Shen landing a kick into a villain's chest before them.

"You know better by now than to conceal your emotions from family, Leonardo," he stated calmly. Leo sighed and sat up properly. For two seconds. Then he shifted to lay sideways on the beanbag.

Since he couldn't talk about the problem, Leo decided to talk about something else instead.

"Why'd you set me up with Wren?"

Splinter was relieved that it was something more recent on Leo's mind. His sons had always been excellent at bouncing back from difficulty, and it seemed like Leonardo was making progress with his own state of mind after being locked in the Prison Dimension. At first, he'd pretended nothing was wrong at all, and it had taken more than a little coaxing from his family to start healing wounds that weren't strictly external.

"I didn't set you up specifically," defended Splinter, "And I believe I already told all of you why I brought her here."

"No, I mean," Leo started, mouth stretching into a long thin line, "Why Wren?"

When Splinter still looked confused, Leo swallowed. He hadn't intended to have this talk tonight, and the nerves were hitting him full force now that he was trying to get the words out.

"You haven't asked, but you must've realized by now that not all of us might be—" he paused to search for the phrasing, "Interested in her."

Did someone turn the AC off? Leo felt his face burn, a completely unfamiliar feeling to him. What was he, embarrassed? Leonardo? Never. He was the face man, the leader! The greatest ninja the world has ever seen! A tiny thing like this shouldn't phase him in the slightest.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel small where he sat.

At least, until Splinter chuckled and unpaused the movie.

"I'm not surprised, Blue. But since you also never told me, I treated you boys the same. Next time, I'll make sure to review my options more."

Leo was at a loss. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders because of the acceptance from his parent. But before he could celebrate too much, his mind picked up on something else.

"What was that? Next time? What do you mean next time?" he pressed with an unimpressed look, "You don't think I'll be appeased if you set us up with a guy next, do you?"

"Would you look at the choreography! They don't make fight scenes like these anymore," said Splinter, ignoring him. Leo supposed he could take solace in how nothing had changed.

His father had set them up for a possible marriage with a girl. Leo had been the most outraged from the start, but it was becoming clear that he had no reason to be. Not anymore. The walls he'd put between himself and Splinter in the past week were crumbling down, and his anger was melting away.

"I had a panic attack," the leader said. Splinter turned to him wordlessly, and the movie was paused again.

"On a mission at Hayden Planetarium. I promised Donnie I'd tell someone."

He spent the next couple of hours with his father, talking about emotions the mission had brought forth and what to do with them; How to prevent another panic attack if he managed to detect the signs early on. And that he could always come to Splinter or any member of the family for help.

Though before he'd cursed Donnie and Wren for ruining his evening, in the end, he ended up almost thanking them. Because if it weren't for their disgusting antics, the talk he was having now would never have happened that night.

Donnie was on his way to his bedroom, humming a chipper tune right before his phone went off. It was late for anyone to call, which told him it was probably a family member before he even checked the caller ID.

"You are conversing with Donatello," he said into the receiver while sliding open his door.

"Hello, Donatello. This is Draxum," greeted the familiar voice. The turtle pressed the release switch on his shoulder, and his Battle Shell came off, hitting the floor.

"What can I do for you at, hmm. Thirty minutes past midnight?"

"Is it that late already?" Draxum sighed, "Time has eluded me once more. I only called to check in with you. Michelangelo said—"

"Of course he did," groaned Donnie, slumping onto his bed.

"You are aware I didn't finish my sentence, right?"

"I'm aware. I just happen to know precisely what he said. Go on."

Draxum held a brief pause, and Donnie could imagine the look of exasperation he held. Another sigh came through the line.

"I would like to meet this "Wren." Perhaps I could visit you for a meal tomorrow. I assume this is the person you asked my advice on before."

That was just about the worst thing Draxum could have asked from him. At the same time, Donnie wasn't exactly sure how to refuse. Maybe he could pretend he was busy for the foreseeable future? No, the alchemist would instantly know he was lying, especially with how up-to-date he was with Donnie's work nowadays.

"Okay, fine. A quick lunch, but that's all! You've gotta go immediately after, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. That is fine with me. I believe it's important at least one of your parental figures holds knowledge of your dating lives. Since the rat man is not stepping up, I shall."

Mikey told Draxum a lot more than Donnie would prefer, it seemed. He made a mental note to mangle his baby brother at a later time.

"Right. Great. Thanks."

He didn't wait to find out where else that conversation might lead and ended the call. He dropped the phone onto the mattress and slid his hands down his face.

He expected tomorrow's lunch to be the most awkward one of his life so far.

Chapter Text

Wren almost didn't hear the knock on her door from the sound of her sewing machine. But when she did, her foot lifted from the pedal.

"Who is it?" she called melodically.

"You local bad boy genius."

The yokai's lips twisted into a smirk, and she shook her head.

"Come in," she invited coolly. While Donnie stepped inside, she pressed down on the pedal to finish sewing the seam. She then pushed herself up and carried her work over to the mannequin, which she draped it over.

"To what do I owe the pleasure? Or did you just want to see me?" she cooed while turning around to her boyfriend. Donnie couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips.

"But of course. An hour spent without seeing that mesmerizing look in your eyes is an hour wasted," he purred in turn. Wren giggled, as she often did at his exaggerated affections. Donnie found it fun to tease her this way for that very reason. He was entirely smitten.

"Who am I to waste the time of my, mm, "local bad boy genius?" I think you forgot some adjectives," Wren said and stepped ever closer.

"Forgot? Never. I was striving for efficiency," he joked in return, "I could've added 'funny,' 'inescapably charming,' 'the greatest mind of our time'—"

"'The most handsome guy I know,'" cut in Wren, her hands pressed against his chest. Donnie almost felt overwhelmed by her presence and had to swallow.

"I was getting to that," he countered playfully, and placed his hands on her hips. Wren grinned at him.

"I wanted you to hear it from my lips instead."

"Speaking of your lips," he murmured, already leaning closer. Which was when he caught himself and took a half step back.

"Wait, no. I had something I actually meant to tell you," Donnie hastily said before he could get distracted further. Wren was blinking at him.

"Is something wrong?" she tried gently. Donnie shook his head.

"No. And yes, but not really. There's someone coming over for lunch."

"Someone as in...?"

"Our creator," supplied Donnie. Wren looked confused.

"Your creator? Wait, is this the elusive "other dad" I've heard about?"

"I just love it when you put two and two together," hummed Donnie, a certain look in his eye. He was once again distracted by their proximity, but Wren placed a hand over his lips to stop him from leaning in.

"Hold on, sweetheart. It sounded like this is maybe slightly important."

"Right," said Donnie slowly once his mouth was freed, "He wants to meet you."

"Wants to meet me... So, he knows about us?" realized Wren.

"Correct. You may blame Michael for that," stated Donnie with narrowed eyes. Wren pursed her lips.

"'Blame' might be the wrong word. I'm not upset he knows, but it's coming a bit out of left field. Should... Is there something I should know before I meet the guy?"

"Only that he's a warrior alchemist who mutated us with Lou Jitsu DNA in order to make us fight a war against humanity."

Wren's face blanked alongside her train of thought and her emotions.

"Could you repeat that?" she asked, voice cracking. She remained unable to process what had just been said.

"He's a warrior alch —Look. He'll be in, we'll have lunch, he'll be out. It'll be awkward but it'll be over before you can say 'thermodynamics,'" said Donnie, and hooked a finger under Wren's chin.

"Okay... What about Splinter? He doesn't know yet, does he?"

"Right, Splinter. No, he won't be a problem. I sent him to a Lou Jitsu fan club meeting... That I may have also fabricated last night."

Wren hummed.

"One step ahead, as usual," she stated with a smirk. Donnie smiled back at her.

"It's nice to finally have someone who appreciates all my moments of brilliance," he replied. Wren rolled her eyes playfully and draped her arms around Donnie's neck.

"One more thing. Should I worry about impressing this guy? He doesn't seem to visit often, but he is still your dad."

Donnie chuckled and pulled their foreheads together in his moment of amusement.

"As adorable as your concern is, I won't give an ounce's measure what kind of impression you leave on Draxum."

Wren's relieved look said enough.

After a couple more hours, lunchtime rolled around. Mikey, Donnie and Wren had all gathered in the kitchen. Mikey never passed up an opportunity to spend time with the visiting alchemist. His efforts to include him in the family had never once ceased since the initial loss of the sheep man's power. Even now he was setting the table while happily humming, excited for another chance to bond.

There was one more thing up in the air, though.

"Can you tell me again why I'm here?" said April, her lips pursed at just the idea of a lunch with the Baron.

"Easy. When Draxum asks something too personal or otherwise creates awkward tension, you will help distract him by bringing up one of my carefully selected topics. I believe I emailed you the list?" answered Donnie.

"Uh huh," she sounded slowly, "And why am I doing this? Couldn't you get Leo or Raph?"

"When they heard "Draxum" and "we're having lunch with" in the same sentence, they appropriately bailed."

"Of course."

"Is he as scary as he sounds?" asked Wren. She stood beside April to get the girl's attention, a nervous smile on her lips. April sympathized.

"Barry? Naw! He went real soft on humanity after his whole plan fell apart," she assured, "You'll do fine!"

Despite the reassurances of both April and Donatello, Wren had still clearly put some thought into the lunch. She was even wearing a midnight blue collared dress, something that didn't reflect her usual style, while no one else had bothered to change their looks in the slightest.

Soon enough, the purple lines of a rectangular portal appeared a short distance from the table. Donnie and April took the front, both looking less than happy.

Out stepped the once mighty Baron Draxum, now clad in a lunch person's hairnet and apron. 'Barry' looked down at the two teens facing him and crossed his arms.

"Donatello, April," he greeted with nods to both.

"How's it hanging, Baron?" chirped April with a greeting twiddle of her fingers, "Anything new in the kitchen?"

"No, no, nothing new. All the news are from this end of town, as I have heard. Donatello?"

Donnie sighed and looked behind himself, extending a hand toward Wren. The girl smiled tensely before placing her hand in his, allowing herself to be walked out for Draxum to meet.

She observed his height, for a beat of time intimidating, before the uniform sullied that image. There had been an obvious fall from grace that set Wren's heart at ease. She extended her right hand and put on a more relaxed smile.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wren."

Draxum in turn observed Wren to the best of his ability. He had gone tense the moment he saw her, the human features combined with the irrefutably non-human wings sprouting from her back. Instantly he knew what she was. A human was a possibility he'd braced for, but not this. When she extended her hand, Draxum had unintentionally stepped back in something akin to disgust.

The teens all stared at him in surprise.

"Uh, Barry?" voiced April, her head tilting.

"You did not warn me about this," Draxum said, probably louder than he intended, while side-eyeing Donnie. Wren's hand slowly dropped.

"Say WHAT now?!" came Mikey's high pitch from the back, where he was setting a steaming pot on the dining table.

"Warn you about what, exactly?" said Donnie, his tone pitching lower dangerously. It was a tone rarely heard from him. There was also a possessive note to his words. It signaled his siblings that Draxum was potentially in danger.

"You know, this—" the sheep man trailed off, vaguely gesturing toward Wren, "This whole situation."

When very little seemed to be clarified, surprisingly, Wren was the one to shed light on the issue:

"The half-yokai situation," she said. It was softer than Donnie liked to hear her speak.

"Exactly! She gets it," said the Baron. Donnie was ready to break his arm. Maybe neck. No, but then Mikey would be sad, and he couldn't have that. Arm it was.

As if sensing Donnie's intentions, April had suddenly inserted herself between the teenager and parental figure.

"Hey, um, have either of you ever thought about—"

She stopped to pull up the email on her phone.

"'If turtles were like hermit crabs and had to find bigger shells as they age?' What?"

Draxum laughed.

"That would be quite amusing, wouldn't it?" he said, casually wandering up to the table, "So, what are we having today, Michelangelo?"

While Mikey explained the details of the meal, April pulled Donnie and Wren close by their shoulders.

"Before we even start, let's try to get through this event without tearing any limbs off our dear old Drax. That goes for you, Donnie," she hissed quietly.

"I'm not making any promises," he stated back, eyes still dangerously narrowed. He only relaxed when he noticed Wren's hand settle on his arm.

"It's okay, Donnie. Some yokai hate the idea of me because they think of it like, um. "Fraternizing with the enemy." Most don't care and some don't even clock it, but this isn't the first time," she whispered, eyes off to the side.

"Woah, okay, hold on there, girlfriend. It's not okay, even if Barry's family. We thought he'd gotten used to humans by now, so we haven't been trying to sort him out as of late. But clearly, there's still some work to be done. All I'm saying is not to jump at each other's throats, and that's it," stated April firmly.

Donnie worked hard to swallow the aggressive reaction he still held, April's logic getting through to him.

"You guys, lunch is all set!" called Mikey, effectively breaking up the huddle. They spread around the seating with Draxum at the end of the table, Donnie and Wren on one side, and April and Mikey on the other.

There was an awkward silence with each of them taking slow bites of their black bean soup. Draxum paused to pick up a slice of bread to butter while suspiciously eyeing Wren.

"So..." and the moment he spoke Donnie's eyes were on him, "How did... Your parents come to meet?"

April wanted to facepalm at the opening.

"Oh, uh, that's a funny story," said Wren nervously and put down her spoon, "So, my mom was doing her shopping at night after work, 'cause she'd forgotten to get food for her guinea pig."

"Ah, is she a scientist as well?" cut in Draxum. Wren blinked slowly.

"No, an... An actual guinea pig. Y'know, like a pet?"

"Oh. Disappointing, but carry on."

"Right. It was late at night. She knew it wasn't super safe to be out at that hour, but she didn't live far, so she risked it anyway. But of course some guy threatened her from an alley she passed, telling her to give up her purse. Mom made a run for it instead. She has a bad hip though and can't run very far, so she stopped to lean on this door... Which opened when a patron was leaving, and in she fell.

"Behind the door was a restaurant full of yokai. They all stared at mom and she stared at them. In the center table was, you guessed it: My dad. He was playing cards with some other patrons and bragging about his days in the Battle Nexus. When he first saw mom, he, quote-unquote, "instantly fell in love." Or that's how they tell the story to me, anyway.

"Some years later, they got married and had me."

Draxum, rude as he often was, didn't bother to suppress the shiver at the ending thought.

"I see," he said stiffly. Mikey was leaning on his hands, closer to Wren, while she recounted the story. He looked star-struck over the thought of her parents' romance.

"Got something to say about it, Barry?" pressed Donnie, and April thought he was on the verge of actually hissing at the man. The Baron cleared his throat.

"Many things, but I shall reserve them for another time. Instead, let us focus on the real reason I am here. Donatello, Wren—How did you two come to... Get involved with one another?"

As much as April and Mikey had also been eager to hear the details, neither liked how the question was presented. They decided to suck it up and turn to the couple under fire.

"Our dads—That's, Splinter and my dad," started Wren, glancing at her boyfriend for confirmation.

"They know each other. Wren was invited to stay with us for some time," finished Donnie dryly.

"And I got to know the guys, and Donnie. I found out he does all these cool inventions," said Wren, a spark of admiration in her eyes while she looked at him.

"We showed her around New York City for the first time," added Donnie.

"I've never met a guy as smart and funny," she chuckled.

"It's just the way she interacts with things, I suppose. The way there's a spark when she hears something interesting and/or new," he mused.

"I feel the passion whenever Donnie talks about pretty much anything he likes. I hated seeing him hurt by things I said to him. Regretting it made me realize how much I actually like him."

"As you know, I don't like dealing with emotions. Maybe it's because she's honest, but it makes me feel like maybe I can with her?"

"And he's a great kisser."     "And she's a great kisser."

The two muttered sentences were spoken at once, bringing both parties out of their respective monologues. They blinked at each other, then snorted in amusement. Donnie's hand linked with Wren's under the table.

Mikey, on the verge of tears, threw himself across the table to pull the two into a hug.

"YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE! I'M NEVER LETTING YOU GO!"

"Ew! Mikey, you got soup on me!" groaned Donnie in irritation.

April looked from the scene to Draxum, who looked almost contemplative over the issue. She wasn't sure she'd describe the look as happy, but it was better than what she'd expected of him moments before.

Soon after, it was time to end the meeting. Draxum bid the group farewell before stepping through the portal and back into his workplace before his lunch break was over. Donnie was wiping himself down with a napkin while April and Wren helped Mikey clear the table.

"Well. Coulda been better, coulda been worse. How do you feel, Wren?" asked April while stacking plates. The yokai let her eyes dart to the side and back to April.

"Better and worse? At least I know what I'm dealing with."

"Sorry about him! We're doing our best training him, but he gets cranky," said Mikey. Wren cast him a soft smile.

"He won't make a peep at zero point decibels if I have something to say about it," mumbled Donnie. Only April really caught it, standing right by him, and showed a strained smile.

At least it was over with now, and the rest of the day should be less tense by comparison.

Chapter Text

"Soooo. How'd it gooo?"

Donnie groaned at Leo's cadence and dropped his forehead against his phone. He'd been sulking, sitting on the couch and looking up the best way to torture a six foot eight sheep man.

"That bad, huh?" added the blue turtle before slumping into a seat beside his brother, "This is why you don't have lunch with Barry Draxum."

"I wasn't the one who arranged it," countered Donnie.

"Buuut you did participate," teased Leo.

"Unwillingly! I thought the lesser evil would be to get it over with ASAP, but I think I was—"

"Go ahead, say it," Leo goaded, his grin widening. Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Wrong. I was wrong, Leo. Is that what you were so impatient to hear?"

"Hah-heyy, it sure was, brother. Raph, you owe me ten!" called the leader out toward their rooms. Donatello groaned.

Done with the conversation, Donnie got to his feet in order to leave the scene. His list of family members to maim was growing at an alarming rate.

"Chill n' relax, 'Tello. Seriously, what happened?"

The question was enough to halt him. Donnie's shoulders sank.

"As it turns out, Draxum's love toward half-yokai half-humans is—He, he doesn't have any."

"Oh—Ohh. You know what? We should've seen that coming."

Donnie's face told Leo he'd heard more than enough.

"So, how's Wren?" the slider continued. His brother looked around uncertainly.

"Fine, I think."

"You think?" echoed Leo, quirking a brow, "Didn't you, y'know, ask?" Donnie blinked.

"No?"

"Eugh boy. We're gonna need to have a talk, Donald. Come, sit with your big bro," said Leo, tapping the now empty spot on the couch beside him. Donnie walked over, rolling his eyes as he did.

"Our birthdays are 30 days apart," he stated evenly.

"30 days of pure wisdom," corrected Leo with a grin on his face.

"Yes, please, bathe me in the waters of your fountain of knowledge, oh wise one," said Donnie sarcastically.

"I will, my young pupil—Just you wait. For real though. You really didn't ask how your girlfriend was feeling? After she was put on the spot like that?"

Donnie was brought right out of their banter and back into the situation.

"Your disbelief tells me that is in fact something I should've thought to do on my own," he managed.

"Yeah, duh! She's your girlfriend, buddy. It's kind of your job to check on her," claimed Leo, "I may not be an expert, but even I know that much. Didn't you read the terms and conditions before you started dating?"

"I'll withhold the scoff, but of course I didn't. I wrote a program to go through those for me years ago," countered Donnie, leaning back on his seat.

"Wait, really? Could you also put that on my phone?" asked Leo in interest. Donnie was tapping at his wrist pad.

"I knew you were gonna ask that and I'm already pulling it up."

"Now that you're at it, could you also fix my—" Leo caught himself then, "Wait! We were talking about your relationship problem."

"Ha! There's no problem with my relationship. By the sound of it, you seem to have a problem with one of your electronics, though. I'd rather focus on that."

Leo pushed Donnie's wrist down so he could no longer use the holopad as a distraction.

"Donnie. Check on her. You'll thank me later for telling you to."

They sat in silence for an awkward beat. Donatello finally parted his lips to speak, but was interrupted before he could get out a word.

"GUYS! GUYS!"

Michelangelo rushed up the stairs and did a twirl right in front of the couch.

"How do I look?! No, how awesome and stunning do I look? Don't hold back!"

Both of his brothers' jaws had dropped. He was wearing a kimono jacket that perfectly hugged his shell, patterned with vibrant pinks, oranges, greens and blues. The blotches of color formed a tiger centered on his back. It was the most beautiful garment they'd seen since the infamous "Purple Jacket."

"Wha—Where did you get that?!" exclaimed Leo while reaching out to hold the material between his fingers.

"I know where," breathed Donnie. It was seconds later that Raph and Wren also ascended the stairs. Mikey immediately tackled the latter into a hug.

"The woman of the hour is here!" he sang, releasing Wren only to push her forward, "From now on, I want her to design all my clothes!"

"That's a lot of clothes, Mikey," laughed Wren nervously.

"You made that?" asked Leo, hopping off his seat, "Okay, sidebar? We gotta talk. Whaddya charge? Whatever it is, I can't afford it, but I'll make it up in rocking every single one of your designs." He looped an arm over Wren's shoulders to move her to the side.

Before Wren could even open her mouth to answer, the two were separated by their shoulders.

"Sorry, Leo, but Raph already placed an order. I'm getting a new wrestling suit," stated the largest turtle while crossing his arms.

"What? You don't need a wrestling suit!" argued Leo. It was then that the fourth brother swooped in, placing his hands on Wren's upper arms to push her aside.

"I think you forget there's one more turtle in your way. One who is about to cash in something called 'boyfriend privileges' for the first time," stated Donnie, "Sucks to suck, doesn't it?"

He walked her down the stairs to a choir of protests from his brothers. Donnie lead them both into Wren's room and shut the door after to finally quiet the noise. Before he could even turn around, Wren had put her arms around him in a side hug.

"You want me to dress you?" she hummed at him, interest shining in her eyes.

"That would depend on what you're going to dress me in," countered Donnie in a tone of amusement.

"Aww, you cut in line under the guise of 'boyfriend privileges' just to hit me with that?" Wren chuckled while pulling free of him. She went to fetch her sketchbook and sat on the bed.

"On the contrary, I cut in line in order to get you alone," he informed her with a smirk. He cherished the blush his girlfriend went to hide behind the sketchbook.

Donnie took the moment to seat himself beside her, where he then leaned to press a kiss on Wren's temple. She answered him with a look of adoration that briefly made him forget about his purpose. After a few more heartbeats, Donnie spoke up again:

"It, um. It's been brought to my attention, that—" he stumbled, now finding it difficult to keep eye-contact, "What I meant to say is: Are you... How are you feeling right now?"

He silently cursed himself for how it came out in the end, but it wasn't something he often asked. Therefore, he wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Um," sounded Wren, once again hiding part of her face behind the book, "I'm alright?"

"Oh, great. I knew Leo was way off base when he told me to check on you. And here I thought this was gonna be hard," waived Donnie, leaning back against the wall with one of his arms as a pillow.

"Right," Wren hummed, lowering the sketchbook to open it to an empty page. The weirdly quiet response managed to ring an alarm bell inside Donnie's genius brain.

"You are alright, right?" he asked once more, suddenly questioning his former diagnosis.

"I mean, I don't know," she murmured, lazily jotting down lines.

"Ohhkay," Donnie said slowly, eyes flicking from side to side. He had absolutely no idea what to do with that response. Usually Wren was very clear with him. The only other time he recalled being confused by her was when they were just getting together. He supposed it wasn't that long ago.

"I guess I'm a little sad," Wren finally said, her pen halting on the page. She didn't look up. Donnie's heart clenched.

"Sad? Because of Draxum? I told you I don't care what he thinks," said Donnie, sitting up, alert.

"I know," answered Wren quickly, smiling as she faced him. The expression didn't reach her eyes.

He really didn't know how to answer that. Other than by making sure Draxum ended six feet under in the very near future. Wow did he need to get that weirdly tempting murderous urge under control before he actually went through with it.

"He was wrong to react like that," blurted Donnie, "He's wrong to think like that. You didn't do anything to yokai and you certainly didn't do anything to him. Your parents didn't either. In fact, it's the opposite. They—"

He swallowed nervously, trembling from adrenaline. He could feel burning heat over his cheeks and around his head.

"Thank you," answered Wren, her voice gentle.

When he chanced another look at her, Donnie saw her smiling again. This time earnestly, a glistening sheen to her eyes that wasn't there before. She understood without it being spelled out for her, and oh was he grateful for that.

He saw Wren shift closer, and almost instinctively Donnie wrapped an arm around her shoulders. With nothing particularly comfortable to lean on, they ended up laying down, cuddled together. Wren used her foot to push the sketchbook farther away to give them more leg room, but otherwise, both remained still.

It was minutes into the comfortable silence that it was finally broken. It snapped Donnie out of an errand train of thought, his mind done wandering to the various things that occupied it on a daily basis.

"You said that he—Draxum—mutated you guys to act as warriors, to fight humans," murmured Wren.

"Correct," he answered simply, "I sense there's somewhere you're going with this."

"Mmh. You kind of seem to be doing the exact opposite of that, that's all. You think nothing like him."

"From what I've been told, you think nothing like your father," challenged Donnie. He earned Wren nuzzling her face into his neck. He didn't entirely hate it after the initial ticklish shifting.

"No, I suppose I don't," she only said.

There was a brief quiet between them, and Donnie wondered if Wren had decided to go to sleep. Not particularly longing for a nap himself, he figured he could use this time more efficiently. If he was careful, he was sure he could free his arm and browse his phone without—

"Donnie?"

So she wasn't asleep after all. He watched her shift until Wren was sitting beside him, on her knees. Her hair cast threatening shadows over her features while she loomed above like a gorgeous gargoyle.

"I wanna beat something up," she said, causing him to swallow a sudden lump in his throat.

Chapter Text

"I heard you were here for some training!"

Raphael stood proudly with his arms crossed, gazing down at his younger brother and his girlfriend. Both halted right where they were, having been walking side-by-side through the lair.

"How did you... I mean, yeah, I was looking to!" answered Wren, her confusion morphing into a smile.

"It's my seventh sense," informed Raphael. Donnie's eye twitched.

"We've been over this, Raph. You mean sixth—He means sixth sense!"

"Nono. There's sight, hearing, smell, taste, big brother sense, "we're doing something dad will ground us for" -sense..." he counted on his fingers.

Seeing how Donnie's expression wound in response, Wren decided to step in.

"So, Raph! Training! What did you have in mind?" she asked, leaning between the two. Raph stopped counting in order to smirk down at her.

Above the subway station was an open space that once held the lobby. It had been repurposed by the family multiple times already, and right now it was used as another training area.

After an hour spent at it, Wren's aim of hitting back tennis balls had greatly improved. And yet, Raph had to duck his head down to avoid an errand one that threatened to leave a mark on his face. He was quickly left to wonder if that was purposeful.

"Is there anything else we could do?" sighed Wren, back in her crystallized form thanks to a little zap of Donnie's tech, "I was looking for something more... Um, aggressive."

Donnie lowered the tennis ball cannon his Battle Shell had been transformed into. Raph moved aside from the cannon they had on the ground.

"Look. It's not helpful for you to beat up something in an angry state of mind. You might end up going too far and hurting yourself," warned Raphael, "It's better to focus on defensive stuff today!"

"But you're here to watch me, aren't you? Besides, I'm basically made of diamonds or something. Kind of hard to hurt myself," she pleaded.

"No. And that's my final answer as the oldest," said Raph, folding his arms. He did look like he'd used this privilege before. Wren's eyes slid to the side, where Donnie stood silently.

"Aww, come on," she purred, crossing the floor to her boyfriend, "You agree with me, right? You ran all those tests and you know it's hard to break me like this. Right? It'll be okay!"

"Aaa—I gotta go. I have some very important, non-made-up prior commitments. Raph will know what to do, have fun, goodbye."

Donnie let his tech tuck into itself before squirming out of Wren's reach. Having been manipulated by her once before, he felt it best to remove himself from the situation. Raph had it under control. Donnie would figure out how to stand up to Wren at a later time.

She pursed her lips while watching him escape downstairs. Raph tried and failed to stifle his laughter. It was funny to see his supposedly emotionless brother completely under the influence of his partner's whims.

"If it makes it better, we don't have to train with tennis balls. We'll find a different exercise," Raph promised. It soothed Wren's frustration enough to relax and sigh.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks."

"Um. Raph? Why are there fridges everywhere?"

Raphael finished setting down the last of the furniture just as Wren finished her question. It had taken him a while to drag everything in, and she'd used the pause to grab a drink from downstairs.

"It's for a classic game of "Dodge All of These Fridges I'll Throw at You,"" he stated.

"Wh-wha—?"

It was no later that Raph did a spin kick against the nearest fridge and it came flying straight at Wren.

"Dodge!"

She promptly screamed and dropped her bottled water, the sharp point of one wing burrowing into the ground to support her weight while she threw herself out of the way.

"Woah-hah, nice moves!" cheered Raph. He gave her a thumbs-up across the room.

"Can we go one day without trying to send me to the hospital?" asked Wren, tired rather than shocked at this point.

"Didn't you just tell Donnie it'll be okay, and that you won't break that easily?" countered the snapping turtle. Wren was caught off guard and stiffened.

"Umm," she responded eloquently. Raph took this moment to sneak to the next refrigerator and punched forth.

"On your left!"

A squeak rather than a scream this time. She pushed herself aside with a wing while crouching, and the fridge scratched against her crystal feathers as it scraped over them.

There was barely a break before the next fridge came. Thankfully, she'd seen Raph move and scrambled to the side until her back hit the wall. She watched the launched object crash in the distance.

"Raph! How is this better than tennis balls?!" she demanded in a frenzy. Another fridge came and her wings pushed her off the floor and into the air. Though she couldn't fly, she could still launch herself with enough force and glide; Which she did, away from the wreckage.

"You rely—" he stated, grunting as he pulled up another fridge, "too much on your durability! Sometimes—" he stopped to kick it at Wren, whose dodge was accompanied by another scream, "things hit too hard to stop on your own! You gotta learn to weave your way through a battlefield and pick your fights!"

It was the most exercise she'd hand since Donnie's stress testing, and Wren was starting to run out of breath. Yet Raph wasn't relenting on her, moving quicker than his size should allow, and kept her avoiding getting crushed by large household appliances at every turn.

The next time a fridge was pummeled at her, Wren steeled her nerves. She turned to face it head-on and slammed the ends of her wings into the floor. When the fridge collided with them, she wasn't pushed back, though she felt the impact reverberate through her body.

"You were saying?" she asked through gritted teeth, smiling.

"Okay, points for being stubborn," Raph stated with a shrug.

"What's all the noise about?" came Leo's voice before the slider popped his head in, "Oh man, you're playing "Dodge All The Fridges Raph Throws At You?" That's a classic," he sang and waltzed right into the room, katanas in hand.

Wren dislodged her wings from the floor, nearly losing her balance from the harsh tug the action required. She blinked down at the damage and grimaced.

"Sorry about the dents," she said.

"Hey, that's what the training room's for! And speaking of training, it does kind of seem like you're done here. You're done, right, Raph-a-doodle?" asked Leo. He put his arm around Wren's shoulders in a manner that Raph thought spelled trouble.

"What are you planning, Leo?" he demanded.

"Pfft, planning? Nothing! I was just thinking that since it's clearly going so well, maybe we could, y'know... Take this party to the next level."

"Is there another floor, or...?" asked Wren. Despite her tone, Leo was pretty sure she was joking.

"In a manner of speaking!"

"You wanna go topside," realized Raph, "Leo! We're trainin' her in here for a reason."

"We? Nonono, big brother—You've been doing all the training so far. But now that Leon's here, we can get down to some actual ah-business."

Wren ducked her way out of Leo's hold and backed up, palms raised.

"If we're gonna go out, I feel like I should tell Donnie—AH!"

Before she could finish her sentence, she'd tumbled through the portal Leo created right behind her. He was intent on following, but paused to regard Raph.

"You coming?" he questioned with a smirk on his face. Raph groaned, but jogged up to the portal anyway.

The trio landed on a rooftop by a billboard advertising toothpaste. Wren got up from her ungraceful meeting with concrete and dusted herself off while the portal closed behind the two turtle brothers.

"Alright, explain your typical Leo shenanigans before this all gets outta hand," ordered Raph, pointing at his younger brother.

"Outta hand? Please! That's Donnie's thing. Everyone loves my shenanigans!" he argued in an easy tone.

"Um. We're already out of the lair, but maybe if I could just call Donnie—" tried Wren nervously, only to be cut off.

"Sorry, didn't bring my phone," said Leo immediately.

"Here! You can use my—"

Raph's phone was slapped from his hand and through a tiny swirl of mystic blue.

"Raph also didn't bring his phone. Now! We need a villain who we won't feel bad about bothering randomly, but who isn't too skilled to immediately beat Wren up. I vote the crab bros—I wonder what those guys are doing these days."

"We can't just throw her in there with a villain!" exclaimed Raph at once.

"Oh, please. She's way older than when we first did that—No offense—And has some kick ass powers that'll be put to better practise on the field. You guys are just being too overprotective! Especially Donnie."

Wren mulled over the information. Maybe it was true that she was worried over too much, but that didn't mean she should completely throw caution out the window. Not talking about it with Donnie left a bad taste in her mouth, but Leo wasn't giving her much wiggle room on that front.

"I did kind of want to punch something today," she chimed despite herself. Leo flashed her a bright grin.

"That's the spirit! Besides, kicking some evil mutant's butt will work in your favor. If you can prove that you're strong, I bet Donnie won't worry about you so much."

That did sound reasonable, if not for that little two-letter word in that sentence.

"And if I can't?" she asked.

"Then we'll step in! That's what we're here for. Right, Raph? We'll make sure you return home without a scratch," promised Leo. Wren turned to the red brother.

"Even if I don't agree with this, I'll still bail you out when things go South. Then I'll make sure Donnie knows it was all Leo's fault," he stated, pointing a thumb at the slider.

"See? We're all on board!"

Wren thought about it another moment, but eventually nodded. She smiled and held out her fist, which Leo bumped his against.

"Time to find some crime, then?" she confirmed.

"This is New York City, baby! All we gotta do is round the next corner, and we'll run into some kind of misdemeanor or wrong-doing," claimed Leo. Raph chuckled at that.

"It's like finding hay in a hay stack!" he agreed.

So they were off, toward their next untold and ill-advised adventure over the rooftops of NYC.

Chapter Text

"Hey Donnie, did you see my new jacket?"

Donnie didn't lift his gaze from his computer screen.

"Yes, five out of the fourteen times you've now entered my lab to gloat, plus the initial time you showed it. The gift of my girlfriend's fashion forward touch keeps on giving."

He felt Mikey collapse against his shoulder from the back, but didn't bother to react. They both stared at text flashing past the screen while a loading bar slowly, slowly ticked on.

"Soo, why aren't you with her? I thought you were like stuck to her like gum to the bottom of a foot now. And whatever's going on here doesn't look all that interesting," said Mikey. Donnie frowned at the screen.

"I am in the middle of updating our security systems, Michael. I understand it may not seem interesting, but it is keeping errand mutants, aliens, et cetera, away from the premises," he explained curtly, "As for being "stuck" to Wren—You can see for yourself that I am in fact not in any way dependent on her presence."

"You just like her so much you can't stand not having her nea-Mmph!"

Mikey was cut off by Donnie's hand shoving him away by the mouth.

"If you're going to be a nuisance, you should go do it somewhere else. I'm working."

"I don't have anywhere else to be. Everyone's disappeared," the orange brother whined, "And dad kicked me out for blocking his TV with my beautiful jacket!"

"Raph and Wren should be right upstairs, training. That should keep your admittedly fleeting interest for a while."

Mikey noodled himself over Donnie's desk like a cat in need of attention. He stared, eyebrows low.

"I already looked, Dee. There's no one upstairs," Mikey countered.

"You must be mistaken. That is where I left them, and therefore, that is where they are."

"Uhh. Are you sure that's where you left them? 'Cause that's where they areN't."

Donnie let his eyes flick to the loading bar, still not even halfway through. He sighed and pushed himself up and off his chair.

"Since you insist on being proven wrong, I shall provide you with evidence."

Standing at the entrance to the training room, all they could see were bent-out-of-shape fridges laying all around the floor. Donnie's eye twitched.

"See?" said Mikey while presenting the lack of their cohabitants.

"They better be in the lair or I swear to Nikola Tesla—!" Donnie muttered while aggressively tapping at his phone. He pressed the call button with much more force than was required and brought the device to his ear.

Raphael's ringtone came from within the room. Mikey traced it to the source – their older brother's phone, surprise, surprise – inside one toppled over fridge.

"The fridge must've eaten Raph!" gasped Mikey. Donnie slowly lowered his own phone.

"Oh, he's gonna wish it had."

"The junkyard?" said Wren, turning to the two mutants beside her. Her brows were knitted in confusion.

"Exactly. And this specific junkyard holds a very specific mutant. One who'll be perfect for a little scrappy-scrap with our dear friend," stated Leo. He tossed his swords over the fence before climbing there himself.

Raph sighed before following his brother, resigned to go along with his plan. Wren was left with little choice but to follow them into the scrap yard.

After some wandering through the piles and piles of garbage, they caught the sound of a beeping truck. The trio peered around a busted car to see a purple mantis driving around, pushing the mounds of junk into larger towers.

"That's Repo Mantis, a nasty mutant who'll steal a kid's candy and then pinch a hole right into its cheek. But, he's also an untrained combatant with no extra special powers, so! As I said, a match made in Matchup Heaven," whispered Leo.

"This guy? I don't know, Leo. He isn't exactly doing anything villainous. He's just working," argued Wren quietly, "I don't feel great about disrupting some random guy's day with an unprompted fight."

"She does have a point. We haven't seen the guy in a while. Maybe he's turned over a new leaf," offered Raph.

"A villain, turning over a new leaf? What is he, Baron Draxum? Not all of them have Dr. Positive working on their psyches. Some bad guys just don't change," sang Leo.

"Dr. Positive isn't the only reason someone might give up evil-doing, Leo. You're barely makin' a point. And that's Raph sayin' it," said Raph.

"Hey! He tried to cheat our brothers, and therefore by extension, us, out of the Moon Buggy! We should be furious," argued the blue brother, "Anywhoo—Wren, if you just walk up to him and try to have a chat, you'll see. He's the same mean old garbage cricket he's always been."

Wren sighed, but pushed herself out of their hiding spot. She then waved toward the mantis.

"Um. Hello! I'm here to—Buy some garbage?" she went to say, looking around briefly, "Is, is that what people do at junkyards?" she added in a mumble.

The truck stopped when the mutant spotted Wren. He opened the window to lean out of.

"Ay! What're you doin' on my property?" he called gruffly. Wren straightened.

"L...Looking for you," she stammered. She hadn't expected the need to explain herself to any great extent.

"For me, huh?"

The mantis stepped out of his vehicle and walked up to Wren. He crossed his claws and stared down at her from his superior height.

"You've got me now. Whaddya—" he paused, taking in the sight of the girl in front of her, "What are you? I ain't once seen a mutie like you."

"And you probably won't ever again," Wren hummed.

"Anyway, you've got no business trespassin' here. So either I'm showing you the door, or you're gettin' the claws."

The praying mantis snapped said claws in warning, towering over Wren. She swallowed.

"But I said I'm a customer," she insisted, voice shaky from the effort. The attitude didn't come naturally to her, and she could feel her face heating up.

"Yeah, sure, and I'm the president. If you ain't got some cold hard cash to show, we're done here."

If not evil, the man was definitely rude. For all he knew, Wren was a customer. It wasn't as if people like her could appear during business hours!

"Then I guess we're done," she sassed in response. The mantis chuckled.

"Good. 'Cause I've been waiting to do this."

That was all the warning Wren got before his claw came at her in a hook. She stepped back in time and her wings closed in front of her body protectively. The claws began swiping against the crystal feathers with a high-pitched scratching sound.

While being clawed at uselessly, Wren suddenly pushed out her wings and knocked the mutant back. It was with enough force that he slammed into his own truck. She watched him slump down against it and groan.

"Now you've done it!" he warned, getting back up and into his car. Wren paled. The engine started and soon the truck was driving straight at her.

Before it could reach her, Wren bounced herself up into the air with her wings. The car rushed past her from below and the mutant slammed the breaks and turned. The truck started screeching to a halt, but...

Its final stop was when the passenger's side slammed into an old wreck of a car. That car was launched into a spin through the air. Behind it, crouched, had been Leo and Raph, blinking toward the suddenly missing wall of protection between them and Repo Mantis.

And as it happened, the mantis mutant looked to his right due to the crash of that broken vehicle. After only seconds of processing, he saw red.

"TURTLES?!"

"Where are we going, Donnie? The Refrigerator Mage can't be far from the scene of crime!"

Donnie came to an abrupt halt on their way downstairs.

"The Refrigerator Mage?" he asked slowly in disbelief, turning to his younger brother.

"Yeah! I was thinking, and I figured maybe a fridge couldn't actually eat someone. So it must've been a mage that turned Raph into a refrigerator! But we need the mage in order to turn him back!"

"I—" Donnie's mind struggled to wrap itself around that succession of words, "Why in the good name of Fibbonacci would you think that Raph has been turned into a refrige—You know what? Forget about it."

Donnie continued his stride, and Mikey continued to shadow him.

"His phone was inside it!"

"That's evidence of nothing but that he or someone else put it there," argued Donnie.

"Oh, so it's just coincidence that he's missing?!"

They made it to the garage door and Donnie opened it mindlessly to walk inside.

"No, I don't think it's coincidence he's missing without his phone. In fact, I think it was a very, very deliberate move; Even if I'm not yet sure on whose part," said the purple brother.

"Wait a second. Why are we in the garage?" Mikey looked at his surroundings before his eyes landed on the Turtle Tank.

"Raph's tracker indicates he's at Repo Mantis' junkyard. Considering I left Wren with him, it's careful to wager that's where I'll find her as well. Oh, and B.T.W., Leo's also there."

Mikey frowned and crossed his arms while watching his brother look at his wrist tech.

"You told dad you got rid of those!" he said.

"Did I? I recall saying I would 'disable them for the time being' and nothing more," Donnie argued stiffly. He moved to make an exit by climbing into the tank, and Mikey would hopefully forget about this conversation at the next distraction.

"Wait. Donnie! What are you doing?"

Mikey's frantic question brought the older brother to a halt. There was no shift in his expression while he turned to explain:

"Isn't it obvious? I'm following Raph and Leo's signals and then, maybe, possibly, using them as test subjects for my new mystic cannon."

"What? Why?! That sounds like a terrible idea!" shrieked Mikey.

"I think it sends the right message. Unless you think the approach should be more personal? I have been toying with concepts of battle gloves after I saw Kendra use some. But then again, maybe that's too unoriginal."

"Think about it, Donnie! What's gonna happen if you rush over there with guns a'blazing?"

"Let's see," he answered, pretending to ponder it, "I think I'm going to get to take my anger out on my obviously untrustworthy siblings in a manner that makes them understand that by playing stupid games, they win stupid prizes. Good day."

Donnie turned to leave again, but was caught by his upper arm.

"Wrong! What's gonna happen is an argument. If you go out there right now, you're showing Wren that you don't trust her."

It was enough to make him stop where he'd been leaning away from Mikey's hold. Donnie stared down at the hand until it unwrapped from his bicep.

"Based on the trajectory of her previous trips to the surface, she's probably already in trouble," defended Donnie.

"Okay, but there's no sign of that right now. She's not going to be mad if you go help her when she needs it, but for all we know she's having a good time. Besides, like you said, she has Raph and Leo with her! Unless, now you really don't trust them, either?"

Unsure what to say, Donnie settled for silently avoiding eye-contact with Mikey. There was poorly masked guilt in his expression.

"You're scared, I know. You have a bad habit of getting really irrational when you're upset, Donnie. But if you don't process it right and keep doing these kinds of things, you're gonna drive her away. Or worse. I mean, I know you're planning to put a tracker on her eventually, too."

Donnie straightened at his brother's dull tone at the end.

"Wh-whaat? As if I'd plant a tracker on the person I'm dating. Because that's totally controlling and definitely a breach of her privacy I would never—Okay, yeah, fine, I was gonna plant a tracker on her."

"Donnie!" cried Mikey, throwing his arms up.

"I get it! I won't do that—Unless she gives me permission."

"Explicit permission!"

"Fine! Explicit permission! I'll have it written down, too, if that soothes your hindering morals. Sigh."

"It does! Thank you. And now that it's brought up, I'd also like you to take the tracker off me."

"Hold on. That's an entirely different conversation, Angelo."

It seemed Donnie had given up on the idea of driving after them. Instead, he stepped beside the vehicle and leaned against its large tire, slumping into a seat. Mikey settled on the spot beside him.

"So, what?" Donnie said after a moment, "I'm not supposed to get angry?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying you should—"

"Talk about it," he finished. Mikey smiled at him. Donnie frowned down at his raised knees.

"They grow up so fast," joked the younger brother. He received a scoff and a playful roll of eyes.

"I'm still changing the WiFi-password."

"Hmm. So maybe it's not graduation time, yet."

Chapter Text

Wren landed on the dirt several feet away from the truck's new position. Having had a bird's eye view of the situation, she was well aware that Raph and Leo's presence was now exposed to Repo Mantis.

"You're with these guys?!" called the mutant to Wren, "We ain't gonna be friends."

"Yeah I—Kinda got that from how you tried to run me over!" she called.

"Whatever!"

The shout was echoed by Mantis hitting the gas all the way down to steer his truck back toward Wren.

"Maybe now's the time to step in?" offered Raph to his brother.

"Nah, she's doing fine! Just enjoy the show," answered Leo. He slashed a fist-sized portal beside himself and soon was holding two juice pouches in his hand.

Wren chose to run away from the route of the car this time, but Repo did a sharp turn to follow her path.

"Leo..." said Raph slowly, nervously looking between him and Wren.

Leo answered with a loud slurp from his juice pouch, unbothered. The other one was placed in Raph's open hand.

With nowhere to run and the truck approaching her, Wren turned and came to an abrupt stop. She slammed her wings down into the ground like she'd done in the training room, bracing herself.

When they collided, she once again felt the impact reverberate through her, though it wasn't quite as bad as she'd expected. Instead of halting the truck where it was, she was being pushed back slowly, her wings leaving deep trails into the dirt.

"Give up, Birdie! You're at the end of the line," warned the mantis, leaning out the driver's window. Wren glanced behind her to see she was close to getting pinned against a mountain of metal, sharp edges sticking out of the pile.

Raph nervously drank up his juice pouch in one slurp and the plastic crumpled in his grip.

There weren't many options on the table. Adrenaline coursed through Wren's veins, her pulse loud in her ears. Unable to think of anything else, she pulled one wing free from the ground, and in the same motion, shoved it right through the truck's windshield.

The car had stopped moving and she looked up. Repo must've been too shocked in the moment to keep hitting the gas. He'd avoided Wren's wing by taking a speedy dive, and it gave her the precious moment she needed.

"Woo! Go Wren!" came Leo's shout from the distance.

Wren used her wing as leverage while climbing on the hood. It would've been difficult if it weren't for the appendages, considering how high it was.

Instantly she had to dodge a claw; Repo had leaned out the broken windshield to take a swipe at her.

"Trying to wreck my truck?! On top of sneaking into my lot?!" shouted the mantis, swiping his other claw at Wren. She jumped on top of the car's roof and took a second to balance herself.

"I think I'm supposed to have a clever comeback or something, but it's kind of hard to think and fight!"

The mantis 'tsk'd.

"Go practise your mid-battle banter somewhere else, kid!" he groaned, sliding back into his seat. The car jerked backwards quicker than Wren would have preferred, and she would've fallen off if she didn't slam her wing into the hood... No, through the hood.

A cloud of smoke promptly erupted from the pierced engine. Wren stared in wide-eyed surprise at her accidental, though convenient, destruction of property.

The mutant she was fighting didn't waste the opportunity of her distraction. Repo Mantis grabbed her adjacent wing through the driver's window and pulled. Wren's body flipped and hit the dirt with a shout some feet away.

She tried to push herself back up, but saw Repo pouncing with his claws extended. She gasped and brought her wings out as a shield, managing to stop herself from being hit, and pushed him back. He recovered quickly.

Wren rolled to the side to avoid a claw, got up halfway and met the next one with her wing.

"I'm tearing those feathers off—" Repo growled between strikes, "One by one!"

Though she'd gotten to her feet, evading the mantis' grown aggression was difficult. Wren was getting nowhere with defensive maneuvers, and she searched for an opening to turn the tide.

"First you have to cut through them," she managed in return, brandishing her wings. She was hoping the mild taunt was enough. Lo and behold, it was! Repo attacked her carelessly and with too much force, growling as he did.

Wren stepped to the side at the last moment, the man's own momentum throwing him past her. She used her own spin to slam her right wing into his back, and the mutant flew face-first into the nearest pile of junk.

There was a loud clatter and dust rising while various items rained down on him. Wren yelped and backed up to avoid getting caught in it.

When the dust settled, she saw Repo sitting with his back against the pile. His leg was trapped by debris, but he was still moving, gritting his teeth as he went to stand with hatred in his eyes. Wren swallowed, readying herself for another exchange of blows.

Conveniently, an old microwave fell down and hit Repo Mantis straight on the back of his head. Barely seconds later his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he slumped down, unconscious.

"Look at you! Nice going, Birdie! Beating your first mutant," chirped the happy voice of Leonardo. Wren's attention snapped to the top of the pile, where the turtle stood with his swords in hand. It seemed like the microwave wasn't a happy accident, after all.

It registered how loudly her heart was beating, how Wren was gasping for breath. Her focus, once zeroed in on Repo, was beginning to let up, and she became aware of her surroundings. The smoking truck, the fainted mutant, dirt and trash and dust, the setting sun, and Leo and Raph approaching to crowd her in excitement.

Wren smiled widely, and before she could be spoken to further, she started to laugh. She couldn't explain why. She didn't care about the taken aback look Raph directed at his brother, only bent over in half and hugged her stomach while she giggled hysterically, and to her heart's content. Even as her mystic armor faded and the grime and dirt settled uncomfortably against her skin, it took her a good while to settle down and catch her breath.

The party of three rolled in through the swirling portal, laughing about something or the other as they entered the lair.

Leo stopped first, and they all looked around as the portal's light simmered out. They were suddenly left in near darkness.

"Who stole the lights?" asked the blue brother. Raph was feeling around for the light switch. Before he could find it, the lines of fairy lights hanging from the ceiling came back to life on their own. Someone cleared his throat, and they all turned toward the noise.

Donatello was leaning on the kitchen doorway, arms folded, chewing on a granola bar.

"Greetings, fam, he said, thinking about how they'd hit their last carefree day in the foreseeable future," he said evenly before indulging in another bite. Raph laughed nervously.

"Donnie, bro, how've you been?" he asked in a strained tone.

"Sheesh, so dramatic! Anyway, I feel like I've worked up an appetite. Anybody feeling sushi?" spoke Leo, looking to his left and right, at Raph and Wren.

"Don't you brush me off, Leo! I'm not even close to being done with your incessant high jinks!" shouted Donnie, squeezing the last half of the snack bar.

"Chill, Dee! It was just a bit of fun!" argued Leo, "Y'know, like the fun we kind-of-sort-of have whenever you're not being extra cranky?"

"'Cranky' implies that I'm being irrationally annoyed—Never in my life have I been 'cranky!'"

"If you guys are gonna yell at each other and then predictably solve it over pizza, I'm gonna go grab some dinner," said Raph. Leo couldn't help himself from pushing Donnie's buttons, and Raph was more than happy to leave him to the mercy of the younger's wrath.

Leo had pulled out his phone, which he'd clearly had with him the whole time, and tapped something on the screen.

"Hey, uh, anyone else having trouble with their connection?" he asked without looking up. Wren crossed the distance over to Donnie, about to lay a hand on him before she was stopped by one of his own. It laid flat in the air, in front of her face, and Wren blinked at it before it lowered.

"Are you hurt?" asked Donnie stiffly, looking just past Wren rather than at her. Leo was moving his phone around, desperately trying to get the Wi-Fi to work.

"Not at all," assured Wren with a bright smile, "I was about to come and tell you—Donnie, I beat someone in a fight!"

Surprise crossed his face before the frown came. He narrowed his eyes at Leo.

"Okay, haha. Very funny, Donnie. What's the password?" asked the blue brother, finally having figured out the issue. Donnie ignored him.

"You fought Repo Mantis?" he confirmed with suppressed concern.

"Yeah...! How did you know that?" Wren asked, smiling despite her confusion.

"Ah, um, a very well-educated guess?" tried Donnie, flashing a tense smile, "You can tell me all about it, after you—"

He didn't get to finish the sentence before he was caught in a hug. Donnie squirmed.

"—Wash up," he finished stiffly. He could now feel rather than see the dirt sticking to her. It registered to Wren, and she backed up suddenly, looking down at her ragged appearance.

"Oh, uh, oops. Sorry," she stammered, chuckling, "I'll go take a shower, and change. We'll talk later." Wren almost went to kiss him before thinking better of it, and simply leaned in a little before slipping past Donnie.

Leo threw himself at his brother's feet.

"Donnie, Don-A-Matron, Don the, the—Bro, please, I'm begging you. I need the internet. You can't take it away from me," he cried helplessly. Donnie folded his arms once more, letting the crushed granola fall on top of Leo's head.

"Don't worry. There is only a finite possibility of passwords that can be used for Wi-Fi. Between 8 and 64 characters in any order one may please, I'm sure you will eventually stumble upon the correct answer. Oh, but here's a hint: There is at least one letter that is not capitalized. Good luck!"

Kicking his brother's arms off him, Donnie made a beeline for his lab.

"Um, is this locked?"

Wren's voice echoed into the lab past the doors. Usually, they opened automatically, and thus she was stumped standing behind an unmoving wall.

"Is Leo out there with you?" asked Donnie, rolling back from his computer.

"No, I'm by myself."

He hit the screen on his wrist and the doors opened. The now clean Wren walked in while she could.

"He kept banging on the doors after I shut him out. I never know if he's given up or decided to try and sneak his way inside."

"Couldn't Leo just portal in, if he wanted to?"

"Not in my lab, he can't. Unauthorized entry through anywhere but the main doors activates the entrapment protocol."

"That's... Slightly terrifying," stated Wren lightly. She seated herself on an empty spot on Donnie's computer table. He shrugged and folded his arms behind his head.

"Extreme security efforts are necessary when you have things you want to protect."

Wren looked around the lab and the various machines she didn't understand. She did know that they were impressive in some way or another, a point of pride in the sense that she'd started a relationship with someone so clever.

"Does that extend to people?" she asked, one brow raised while facing Donnie. He almost looked caught off guard, eyes briefly shifting from side to side.

"How was your night? Which is definitely not asked as a way of deflection, by the way," he said while sitting up. Wren huffed out a laugh.

"Exhilarating! Nerve-wracking...! But mostly, exhilarating," she stated, practically vibrating. Donnie managed a half smile.

There was a hesitant air to him, many questions swirling in his mind, and keeping his prefrontal cortex active. He didn't know how to ask them in a way that didn't leave him vulnerable. Maybe there wasn't such a way.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before we left," Wren said before Donnie could get a word out, "I really tried, I promise."

He felt a ball of tension dissolve, but it wasn't alone. He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a beat before reaching for a desk drawer.

"I have something for you," Donnie said. Wren smiled.

"You're really leaving me behind on the present front," she teased.

"You're just going to have to be extra generous on my birthday, then," Donnie countered with mild amusement. He pulled something from the drawer and held it between them.

"I need your arm," he stated. Wren cocked her head, but offered the limb without protest.

Donnie wrapped the small piece of tech around her wrist while keeping a gentle hold on Wren's arm. Once he was done, he didn't let go, but rather just faced the object her way. It looked much like a modern wrist watch, something Wren recognized April also wore.

"This is a Donnie-branded communicator. It's connected to a private network between myself, my brothers, Splinter and April. And occasionally, others. Aside from the communication feature, it also hosts a panic button. Once pressed, it will send off an alert and ping us with your location."

Once the purpose had been explained, Donnie let go. Wren brushed her fingers against the piece of tech carefully while studying its appearance. Soon she was smiling, leaning over the table to the turtle. She put her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his lips before pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you, Donnie. Let's hope I won't have to use it," she hummed softly. He wrapped his arms around her, relieved by the reaction.

"Just a heads up: The communications line isn't normally open. It's mainly meant for missions. But the panic button can be activated at any time," he clarified while they parted. Wren nodded her understanding.

"Donnie?" she asked uncertainly. Donnie rotated back to his monitors, though hummed to show he was listening.

"I know you were worried about me before. I was just wondering... Does me beating a mutant in a fight—er, mostly by myself—make you less worried?"

It was what Leo had sold their venture on, and Wren was curious if she got her figurative money's worth. Donnie glanced at her, then turned to his keyboard with a thoughtful look.

"Actually, it does. In addition to you having a way to contact me—Us, in case of an incident, it removes a lot of uncertainty from the situation. As long as you don't take this as a reason to get overconfident."

"Oh! I promise I won't," said Wren urgently, hands up in defense, "This was more of a one-off thing. I, I just needed to blow off some steam, y'know?" Donnie rotated back to her, leaning a cheek in his hand.

"And did you?"

"I did! I actually—" she paused, taking a moment to reflect, "Feel really great. I should be so tired right now, but I feel like I could run a marathon! On my legs!"

Donnie couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"I'm happy for you," he said without thinking. He realized right after that he meant it. A blush rose before Donnie could resist it.

Then again, it was probably worth it for the amount of affection reflected in Wren's gaze.

She shifted off her spot on the desk and stepped closer. When her intentions became clear, Donnie straightened in his seat, right before she sat sideways in his lap. Wren wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his temple.

"Thank you," she breathed softly.

It was funny. Donnie had never been the number one fan of physical affection despite engaging in it with his family on a regular basis. But with Wren, so far, he welcomed each pleasantly warm touch. When she wasn't covered in grime.

He put an arm around her waist, hand accidentally brushing against soft feathers on its way. He pulled her closer, using his available hand to pull up his updated security programs. Donnie could work like this for just a little while. Which was definitely not code for the entire rest of the night.

The Sun was on its last slivers of light when a groan echoed through the junkyard. Repo Mantis sat up and rubbed his head with his wrist. There was a bump on the back of his skull.

He grew alarmed as if lightning had struck, green bug eyes widening. The mutant scrambled to his feet and limped through his property as quickly as he could. It took longer than he'd like to reach the crates he'd hidden away under an old, messy tarp he pulled aside carelessly.

Repo opened the first one to peer inside, immediately flooded with relief. It was all still there.

A few slowing heartbeats later the last beams of sunlight disappeared, leaving the pieces of Krang technology shrouded under the darkness of night.

Chapter Text

The kitchen was alive with the family enjoying breakfast together. Splinter had joined his sons for a change, likely because the food being served was pancakes. Donnie let the smell guide him into the room, his attention glued to his phone he silently tapped at while making it to his seat at the table.

"Good morning, Purple," greeted his father from the end of the table. Donnie hummed a note to show him he'd heard.

A plate of pancakes was placed right in front of him on the table.

"Here you go, Donald. Bon appétit!" sang Mikey. Donnie raised one hand as a hello and thanks, still staring at his phone.

"Has anyone seen Wren? She's usually up by now," continued the youngest brother. Raph shook his head, a pancake halfway in his mouth. Leo shrugged.

"I wouldn't wait up. She stayed up until 3:54 AM," said Donnie in monotone.

The table had grown silent. It was piercing enough that he finally looked up from his phone, just to get a general picture of what was going on around him. Donnie discovered he was being stared down by everyone.

"Was it something I said?" he asked.

"That was weirdly specific, Donnie," stated Raph.

"Yeah. Why do you know the minute Wren went to sleep? It's almost like you were there for it," pressed Leo, undecided between an evil smirk and the most innocent look imaginable. Instead, he ended up placing a closed hand over his twitching mouth. In his mind, of course, the lovebirds had huddled up in one narrow bed for the night.

"No, I wasn't there. Physically, anyway. I saw it while reviewing the data this morning," stated Donnie in a perfect calm.

"Data...?" asked Mikey in an accusatory tone. Splinter sighed and set down his fork in favor of folding his arms.

"What have you done now, Purple?" he demanded tiredly.

"Only recorded and reviewed data from my invention," stated Donnie.

"What invention?" pressed Mikey, throwing his arms up in the air. Donnie's chair scraped back and he stood.

"I'm so glad you asked!"

Immediately, Leo groaned and dropped his head against the table. Meanwhile, Donnie created a magic hologram out of his wrist tech. It displayed a bed frame with wires and mechanical components running through it in a complex system.

"This REST: Rendered Experience for Serenity and—Something with T I haven't thought of yet. It monitors your sleep cycle and learns more about your sleeping habits the longer you use it. This feeds into a carefully crafted algorithm that creates the best possible sleeping experience for you," Donnie said as if giving a sales pitch, "It was inspired by the growing market for personalization and—"

"Woah, woah woah woah," cut in Raph, "You've been monitoring Wren's sleep?" Donnie rolled his eyes.

"It's not as if it's in real time. I simply review the data in the morning," he informed. Mikey and Leo glanced at one another.

"And does she know that?" asked the younger.

"Well, no. But in my defense, that's because she would have told me not to monitor her," said Donnie.

"That's a terrible defense!" exclaimed Raph, offended by the statement.

"No kidding. You're literally spying on her, dude," added Leo.

"I can't decide if this is better or worse than the trackers!" cried Mikey.

"I say worse. Sleep is intimate," said Splinter, "Purple, I need you to roll back this whole bed ordeal, ASAP." His authority suffered from his whipped cream mustache.

"What? But it's a success! Disabling it now would be a crime against the very field of science!" argued Donnie.

"Donatello, I will not tell you twice," his father stated sharply. Donnie sealed his lips and sat down, folding his arms in contempt.

"Let's finish breakfast first, okay? Wren'll be sleeping, anyway," said Mikey.

Donnie frowned down at his pancakes, listening to the metal and porcelain make their usual mealtime music. Why was it that something pesky like morality continued to be the greatest enemy to his achievements?

He tapped his feet against the ground, arms still folded while Donnie stood outside Wren's door. He checked his wrist screen for the clock, then used his hand to count down from three. As the number changed on the holoscreen, he pointed toward the door.

"As if" on cue, there was a subtle shifting of sheets. Donnie hummed once, closed his hand into a fist and knocked.

"Just a sec," came the sleep-worn voice of Wren.

He waited for another twenty to thirty seconds before the door slid open, his girlfriend yawning into her hand behind it. She regarded him with a sleepy smile.

"Morning. Did I sleep in again?" she murmured.

"Not by much. Your sleep cycle was cut off prematurely. May I come in?"

"Um, sure?"

Still in a haze, Wren stepped aside to let Donnie step inside.

"Is everything okay?"

The turtle mutant stood between the entrance and Wren's bed, looking around at the organized chaos the subway cart was in. There were fabrics splayed everywhere, some with cuts made and others fully intact. There were patterns cut on tracing paper and something resembling a shirt pulled over her mannequin. As if summoned by the simple math, he picked up one piece of the paper with numbers – measurements – penciled along the edges.

"This is Raph's size," he realized very quickly while glancing at Wren.

"Yeah. I had to guess a little, but it sounds like I got it close," she murmured, taking the piece from Donnie's hand to look at.

"You're making their requests?"

"I did tell you it felt like I could run a marathon last night, didn't I? Decided to use that energy for something," Wren chuckled, "You didn't answer me, you know. Is everything okay?"

Donnie sighed.

"Yes, everything is perfectly adequate. I only came to disable the additional features of your bed," he unhappily stated and turned to crouch by the furniture.

Wren blinked in response and followed him the few steps over to the unmade bed.

"Do I finally get to know what those are, exactly?"

Donnie traced the bed frame with his hand until he encountered the seamless panel on its side. It showed a purple, glowing logo of the first letter of his name in response to the proximity of his wrist tech. He slotted his fingers right behind it and slid it open, revealing unlabeled buttons on the other side. He pressed one and the mattress was released from its former death grip.

"The surface area here is equipped with various sensors. They track the weight placed on each portion of the bed, the support required, signs of sleep apnea like gasping for air—"

"W...Wait, its monitoring my breathing?!" shrieked Wren.

"Not just monitoring. Also recording. I inserted a microphone here for—"

"A microphone?! Donnie, you've been listening to me sleep?!" she exclaimed in shock, face reddening. Wren was fully awake now.

"No, but my tech has. It's determined the best conditions for your rest, and by tracking your REM-cycles, it—"

"Donnie!"

"What?!" he asked in irritation at being continuously interrupted. Wren didn't usually do that at all.

"Th... That's not okay! You didn't even ask me before recording something as private as sleep."

She seemed genuinely upset at the notion. Donnie didn't understand.

"If it helps, I did start creating this before I ever had feelings for you. There was no intent of being creepy."

"No, that doesn't really make it any better!" she exclaimed, running a hand down her face, "You should've asked first."

He looked around awkwardly in the tense silence. Donnie quietly turned to the buttons and pressed a few more until the whole thing powered down.

"It's shut down, now," he informed, clearing his throat. Wren wasn't looking at him, and her expression had morphed into a pout. The softshell straightened and took a step closer to her, his hand extended toward her shoulder.

"Wren?"

His hand was shrugged off before it could fully land. Wren stepped back and, eventually, sighed.

"This wasn't the best thing to wake up to, okay? I just need a minute," she said, still not facing him. Donnie strangely wanted to shrink under her lack of eye-contact.

"You said it gave you the best sleep of your life," he defended.

"That's not the point, Donnie," countered Wren quickly, "Just go, okay? I wanna be alone."

Donnie grimaced at his next thought, but couldn't help himself from voicing it.

"So that'd be a 'no' to a subdermal tracker?"

"A tracker?!" she exclaimed, finally meeting Donnie's gaze. She was both shocked and angry, telling him that it was in fact very much the wrong thing to say; Possibly one of the worst sentences that could've left him.

"I'm not your runaway pet! I'm your girlfriend! You can't monitor me or, or track me—I can't believe I have to say that!"

"I have trackers on my family, and they've been kind of vital on occasion! Maybe I should've asked, but nobody understands why I— I thought that you would. Understand, that is," argued Donnie, deflating toward the end. Wren frowned unhappily, though a brief flash of empathy visited her eyes.

"I'm not sure you understand," she replied in a shaky voice. Donnie could see the way her eyes got glossy before Wren turned, opening the door and then stepping aside. He avoided looking at the yokai as he climbed out of the cart.

There was a beat of silence, his back turned to Wren. He heard her sigh sadly before the door was slid shut once more.

Donnie dragged his feet through the floors of the lair, once again staring at his phone with one finger swiping down. That was a real fight. One that had been left unresolved. He tried not to think about it, but when had he ever succeeded at that? Instead, his thoughts kept swirling around the matter like a tornado, trying to play out every different scenario that could've, or should've, occured.

He thought she'd be surprised, sure. But on the other hand, Donnie had also thought Wren would be grateful for the fruits of his genius. So what if it invaded her privacy a little? It was for science! His job! His family and friends should trust him with that, right?

Another set of footsteps brought his attention away from the phone he wasn't really looking at and down to the person he was about to pass. Splinter was carrying snacks on his way to the TV room despite having breakfast shortly before.

"Ah, Purple. I assume you took care of it?" his father asked.

"If by "it" you refer to "ridding the world of yet another one of my beautiful creations," then yes. I "took care of it," dear papà." He was perhaps putting forth a little bit of attitude. Not that Splinter seemed to care.

"Good, good."

For a moment, Donnie thought that was the end of the interaction. He took a half step before his father's voice stopped him once more.

"I have been thinking: It is lucky you discovered the letter when you did! Clearly, I'd miscalculated. None of you seem ready for something as complicated as dating. Perhaps when you turn twenty!" said Splinter, following it with one of his goofy laughs, "Off to my shows I go!"

Donnie was left staring after him, eyes wide in surprise. It wasn't unusual for Splinter to say something hurtful in passing. It was unusual for it to sting the way it did. Donnie placed a hand over his throat as if that would help the tightness that had taken hold of it.

Chapter Text

The machine ran smoothly, loyally stitching down the seam pinned down by her fingers. Eventually it reached the end of the fabric, which was when she stopped and went back just a little. She raised the needle and cut the strings, lifting the finished piece into her hands to flip.

Holding it in front of herself, Wren saw the item in all its glory. She got up from her seat and walked over to the mannequin, throwing the shirt over it.

Though she was smiling initially, the thoughts of that morning returned in one great flood. She looked around the room, at all the pieces she'd finished while avoiding the subject. Oh, Donnie.

It wasn't that she didn't know he didn't always respect boundaries. That was the impression she got the first time they met. But now that they were closer, a part of her had expected that to change. Or at least for him to stay within certain obvious limits.

It was something they needed to talk about. Or argue about. Wren wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

There was still another step to her craft Wren could focus on before she had to face what she didn't want to. So she picked up each finished piece laying around and left her room.

"RAPH THE TURTLECUB IS IN THE HOUSE!"

Raphael took the center of the room and flexed his muscles. They stretched the fabric of the outfit he donned for the very first time; The lycra-spandex mesh suit with red and gold beading. The beading caught the light in an array of sparkles.

"Turtlecub?" questioned Leo with a scrunched face.

"Yeah, I wanted to go for a bear, like Ghostbear. But that's not really me, so I had to improvise."

"Nevermind that!" chirped Leo suddenly, stretching an arm over his brother's visage to bring the spotlight on himself.

"Feast your eyes on Neon Leon!"

And neon he was. He was dressed in the bright colors of his new deconstructed T-shirt. Leo posed this way and that, rising onto the highest of surfaces and leaning against all pieces of furniture in his vicinity.

"We are stylin' for real!" said Mikey, adding himself to the brotherly lineup with his favorite jacket. They all struck poses with the youngest at the front. Wren smiled at them from where she stood as the audience, the last piece of clothing still clutched in her arms.

"Have... Any of you seen Donnie?" she asked softly, one finger sliding over the cotton-satin blend.

"Not since this morning," said Raph.

"Speaking of this morning..." dragged out Leo.

"Did he do the thing?" finished Mikey, grimacing as he did. Wren was caught in the awkward terrain between frowning and smiling.

"By the thing, you mean..."

"Disabling his nightly Stalker Service?" supplied Leo, "Because apparently that was a thing."

Raph lightly smacked Leo on the shoulder. Wren's nose wrinkled in a show of distaste and she looked off to the side.

"You should try his lab," offered Raph, "That's where he goes to sulk."

"And to celebrate, and when he's stressed, or bored, or happy but doesn't feel like talking to people, or when he's planning to get revenge, or—"

Raph placed his hand over Mikey's mouth. Considering how big his hand was, it enveloped the entirety of the younger's face. The orange brother kept talking even though his voice was muffled.

"I'll come with ya," Raph said, releasing his sibling.

"Yeah?" breathed Wren, perking up in suprise. Leo and Mikey shared a look.

"Yeah. I get the tingle there's something big brother Raph might be able to do."

Wren hummed and shrugged with one shoulder.

"Alright. Let's go," she simply said, "Catch you guys later."

Mikey and Leo waved their goodbyes before huddling close together for a selfie.

The hallway felt long and narrow. There were no windows. A single door at the end, futuristic, almost like an entrance to a spaceship. Wren stopped a few paces from it, her gaze weighed down by hesitation.

Raph's torso bumped into her wings. She snapped around in surprise.

"Sorry. I didn't notice you stopped," he immediately apologized, "What's wrong?"

"Um. Nothing."

It seemed Wren's answer wasn't very convincing. At least based on the way Raph folded his arms and leveled her with a dubious look. She awkwardly toyed with the fabric in her arms.

"I, I don't know what I'm going to say, yet," she admitted slowly. Raph's eyes softened.

"I'm guessin' you already let him know exactly what you thought when you found out."

Wren breathed a single laugh.

"I had something of a rude awakening. Literally," she told him with a shrug.

"You still mad?"

"Yeah, but it's more like—An introspective kind of mad? We need to have a serious talk about boundaries," Wren sighed.

"You don't say," mused Raph, "Donnie's had trouble with that for a long time. He thinks he knows better than everybody, even when it comes to ourselves. Sometimes he does. Price of being as smart as he is, I guess."

Wren couldn't help but feel discouraged.

"So, you think he won't listen to me?" she asked hesitantly. Raph made a face that really didn't help her doubts in the slightest.

"No, Raph didn't say that. But I don't imagine he'll immediately get better at it, either."

Likely catching onto Wren's dejection, he rushed to keep talking:

"But don't worry! It seemed like you have him wrapped around your finger before. You're special to him."

She smiled up at him, even if still hesitant.

"Thanks, Raph. That makes me feel a little better."

He beamed at the response.

"You ready to go inside?" he asked, nodding toward the door. Wren turned to face it, exhaling through her nose. She tilted her head 'yes.'

Raph let his hand lay against Wren's wings for the first couple steps, encouraging her to move. They entered the laboratory together.

"Donnie?"

"Hey, Don, you in here?"

Wren and Raph wandered into different directions along the walls of Donnie's lab. It was quiet aside from the soft whir and hum of his computer in rest mode. Wren found herself drawn to it and she touched the chair cushion. Cold.

"Maybe his room?" she suggested with a glance at Raph.

"Maybe. You check downstairs, I'll check upstairs. Sound good?"

Wren answered him with a smile and a nod.

She knocked three times. Before she could bring her hand down against the door a fourth, she stopped. If he was inside, Donnie knew there was someone outside his door by now. So instead Wren lowered her hand to slide open the door with a rattle.

Quiet and dark, except for the light flooding in through the doorway. All his things seemed in order as usual, but no Donnie. Wren sighed.

"Where are you hiding, Dee?" she hummed quietly. Before she could really think about it, she'd stepped inside the room.

Her eyes traced the shapes in the dark. Purple beddings, metal instead of wood for the furniture. No ceiling light, but different ones on the wall. All simple, geometric. It was a lot like his lab, though toned down on the "mad scientist" -aspect.

Wren sat down on the familiar bed. She'd only slept one night on it, but she remembered the firm mattress and silky sheets. She ran her hand over the blanket, smoothing the wrinkles her sitting down had created.

It caught her eye, then. Wren lifted her chin to see the collage of pictures she'd really only glanced at before. Donnie, his brothers, April and Splinter all faced her in many different settings. They smiled a lot. Wren smiled back.

She stood up to look at the pictures closer. In most of them, they all looked like teenagers, but there were a few of the brothers when they were kids. They were easy to recognize by their colors. Purple mask, Donnie, was wearing glasses— Wait.

"You wore glasses?" Wren whispered to herself in sudden amusement. Cute. She couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like with them now. Did he wear contacts?

Though it wasn't exactly snooping, she figured she'd spent enough time in Donnie's room without his knowledge. She didn't need to become a complete hypocrite. Wren pushed herself up and off the bed, sure to take his present with her as she left the room.

Raph flicked the light on when he entered the training room. It was cleaned up from the fridge game, cleared for the weapons training they had early afternoon. Now it was quiet. No sign of anyone, besides Raph himself, of course.

Still, he wandered in, just to take another look. He could never reasonably explain it. Raph just had a hunch when it came to his brothers. Maybe an overprotectiveness of his own, not that he liked to admit to the first half of that word. This time his seventh—Sixth—Oh, forget it. His extra sense, his big brother sense, was telling him to stay just a little longer.

After walking around for a while, Raph felt a shiver. Cold. Why was it cold? He stopped where he was and looked around.

Was a window cracked open?

It was chilly out that evening, the Sun clouded by these white, puffy things that kept floating around and distorting the mix of blues and yellows. Donnie had been smart to wear his hoodie, for both the weather and for cover. He tugged it on a little better, sinking into his collar to stay warm while he tapped away on his phone.

There was a light tap against the glass panels of the roof, a subtle clink of the metal connecting them. Someone was walking on it. Heavier than most of his family, and therefore...

"I'm surprised you're the first one here. Never pegged you for the detective type," he stated evenly, still looking at his phone. The creaking stopped for only a moment before he saw a blur of red and green settle beside him from the edge of his vision.

Hold on. What was glimmering? Donnie turned his head and immediately looked his older brother up and down.

"I see you've finally decided to indulge in your lifelong dream. Again," Donnie said, "Hats off to you."

Raph chuckled in response.

"What are you doin' out here by yourself, Donnie? It's cold."

Donnie turned back to his phone, scrolling mindlessly.

"They say going outside for a breath of fresh air is beneficial for your health, mental and otherwise. Now, I'm aware we did grow up on sewer air, but that's also kind of my point. Have you met Mikey? No, scratch that. Have you met any of our immediate family? Not including my brilliant self, of course."

Raph let them bask in silence for a moment. But not too long, because honestly, he was freezing. Trying to keep his teeth from clattering, he spoke up:

"Wren wants to talk to you, y'know. Before you say anything, she doesn't seem that angry anymore. You're fine."

Donnie didn't look up, but his thumb paused for a moment before it resumed its mechanical movements.

"Don? Come on, give Raph somethin'. He can't feel his toes anymore."

The younger stopped scrolling, simply staring at a random picture he'd unintentionally frozen on his screen. He then dropped his head between his forearms, tapping at his skull with the purple-covered smartphone.

"Raph, am I..." he hesitated, "Am I not ready for dating? Whatever that means."

"What, because of the Spy Bed?"

"Yes. And, and no," Donnie said, lifting his head to look at his sibling. He nervously rubbed his thumb against the phone cover.

Raph thought on it for a while, carefully studying the subtle tells of Donnie's mood. He was the most difficult out of his little brothers to read, but not impossible.

"I don't know. Why do you think you might not be?" he asked. If Donnie needed to get something off his chest, he'd be there for him. Even if Raph would end up with hypothermia for doing so.

Donnie huddled his limbs closer by an inch or so, subtly making himself smaller. Raph noticed.

"I don't just keep tabs on Wren when I'm not supposed to. I, I'm overbearing, I get angry too easily. And yet, I can't say no to her when I really need to. I can't keep track of her emotions; I have no idea how many I've missed. I'd never even asked how she's feeling when she was upset if it weren't for Leo. I..."

He cut himself off with a shaky breath and laid a hand over his forehead, shading his eyes in the process.

"I wanted her, but now that I have her... I have no idea what I'm doing," Donnie whispered, "And I worry I'm just gonna keep making her upset."

After the silence stretched on for a few seconds, Donatello felt the comforting weight of his brother's hand land on his shoulder. He looked over to him to see a soft smile on Raph's face.

"Donnie. You're sixteen. And yeah, you may be a genius or whatever, but that doesn't mean you're still not a teenager. Wren's your first girlfriend. If you weren't making mistakes, I'd be shocked," he said.

There was a fleeting smile on Donnie's lips before he looked down the side of the building.

"It's your relationship, but you're still not alone. You've got us. Maybe none of us have had a real partner before, sure, but that doesn't mean we can't help you when you need us. You know, expect for dad," Raph continued, moving his hand under his thigh to warm it, "Which is why you should tell him."

"I... Was planning to. Eventually. And it didn't involve making him enjoy any substances causing euphoria—and/or memory loss—beforehand, to avoid the awkwardness of the situation. No, siree."

Raph rolled his eyes. He got up and clapped his hands together, rubbing them speedily to cause some warm friction. Then he held one out to Donnie.

His brother took it after only a beat, pocketing his phone with his free hand. They walked up to the top of the roof and to the open window on the other side.

"Raph, I, uh. Tha... Thank you. For. That," Donnie said awkwardly while they moved. Raph smiled at him despite the delivery.

"You'll pay me back for my brotherly services by adding a heater into my blanket. Deal?"

Donnie breathed out a laugh.

"Deal."

Chapter Text

Wren stopped when she heard a laugh downstairs. Not a young person's laugh, none of the teenagers she hung out with daily. It was a laugh only a dad could produce. Splinter, watching his shows again.

Even if she'd heard the rat was only helpful when he wanted to be, Wren figured it wouldn't hurt to at least ask. She made her way down with her hand tracing the railing.

There he was, lazing on his armchair as usual. Wren was sure if he stood up there'd be an exact imprint of his round figure on the cushions. Not exactly the most respectable patriarch, but she couldn't judge. Wren thought there were days when she'd take Splinter over her own father.

"Hi, hello," she called softly while approaching the chair.

"Shh, shh. This is the best part," answered Splinter, not at all surprised by Wren's presence.

She looked up at the projection while standing beside the chair. It was a commercial for a renovation company, as illustrated by yellow ducks in a bath tub. For some reason.

"Humans are so innovative," Wren said, genuinely impressed.

After the ad ran its course, Splinter rounded his head to her.

"Were you looking for my sons?" he guessed accurately.

"Yeah. Have you seen Donnie? We had a fight," she admitted.

"You did?" Splinter asked, leaning in a tad, "Oh, right. The spying."

Wren frowned.

"I see everyone knows about it. So, anyway, have you seen him?"

Splinter looked up and scratched his chin in thought. Then he turned back to Wren.

"Nope!"

She deflated, once again toying with the fabric in her hands. Splinter pointed to the screen.

"Ah! My movie's back on!" he cheered, pulling Wren's eyes to the moving images. Lou Jitsu? Should she ask?

"My dad only ever talks about the Battle Nexus. But it seems like you really liked being an actor," Wren said, "You know... Based on you sitting here, watching your own films."

"Oh, did I! It was the best time of my life," said Splinter without hesitation, "Would you like to stay and watch? This is some of my best work."

"Ugh. As much as I'd love to, I do really need to talk to Donnie. I kind of yelled at him. I mean, he deserved it, but it's not okay."

"Hmm," sounded the rat mutant, looking at Wren with an unreadable expression, "Shame that we are not really marrying you into the family. You'd be good for him."

The way it was said so casually had Wren startle into blushing furiously.

"H... How's so?" she squeaked. Splinter turned back to the movie.

"Kind, patient, but not afraid to speak your mind when it's necessary. Purple is a difficult child. He needs someone to balance his detached impulsiveness," he stated, "But then again, that would be putting all the pressure on his partner. No, he still needs to grow."

Wren pressed her lips together tightly. She felt the heat on her face spread down to her throat, words she wanted to speak suddenly a violent burn. She swallowed thickly and turned to leave.

Then she spun back around.

"Yes, maybe he's a little impulsive—He, he struggles with control. He tries to take on too much. Maybe he feels like he has no other choice," Wren said, about as subtle as a bull in a glassware shop.

Splinter's tail curled, and he turned his head just enough to look at Wren from the corner of his eye. To her mortification, he was smirking.

"I believe you were in a rush?"

Wren swallowed her embarrassment and turned around to stiffly walk up the stairs. Maybe she'd been a little too obvious there. At least Splinter seemed okay with the idea.

Either way, that, whole situation, could wait.

It was near the arcade that she saw Raph again. Donnie was walking beside him, at least up until he noticed her feet past the phone screen he was staring at. He came to a stop, though Raph continued walking right past her. The eldest was hugging himself and shivering, heading straight to their rooms.

"Hi."

Donnie's voice had her turning back around to him. The phone was put away, but he was still avoiding eye-contact.

"Hi, Donnie," she answered softly, taking the last few steps over to him, "Can we talk? And, is Raph okay?"

"He's fine. It's only a potential case of mild hypothermia from sitting on the roof."

Wren abruptly turned back around to check after the big guy. Then, when it came to her that Donnie had probably also been on the roof, she rotated back around. She clasped his hands into hers without warning and held them up between them.

"Your fingers are ice-cold. Do you even feel anything right now?"

"That would be a negative," he admitted. Wren closed the hands between her own and rubbed them carefully.

Looking at her, being so fond and attentive despite the fight they'd had, Donnie knew he had no choice.

"I know I made a, a mistake," he rushed to say, "As much as I despise using that word."

"Do you?" she asked with a little smile.

"Yes! That combination of syllables is the bane of my existence. Leo loves shoving it in my face whenever he has the chance, often when he's completely wrong about the supposed "mistake.""

Wren laughed.

"That's not what I meant," she said in amusement. Donnie blinked, replaying his words again to find where he'd gone wrong.

"Oh. Right," he realized, grimacing a little. He noted how Wren's hands had stopped their ministrations, simply holding Donnie's between them. His skin tingled unpleasantly as feeling returned.

"Why were you up on the roof?" she asked.

The moment required honesty. If only he could begin to explain the sequence of thoughts that actually lead him there.

"If this is going to be a lenghty conversation, I suggest we sit, first."

It bought him a few seconds, at least. Wren took his hand before leading them both onto the nearest couch, where they sat facing each other.

"Wait, I have a confession," Wren said suddenly, a small smile grazing her lips. It didn't sound serious.

"That sounds serious. I am oh so concerned," he said flatly. She fought off the smile.

"I saw a picture of you with glasses on." Oh.

"Ah, yes. Fate is a cruel mistress, making the smartest brother also the one who looks like a stereotypical nerd."

Wren quirked a brow.

"Is that why you stopped wearing them?" she chuckled.

"That and convenience. As much as I didn't want to face my teens still wearing glasses, they also tended to break too easily. I thought about making a more durable version, but hey. Why do that when you're gifted enough to give yourself LASIK at twelve years old?"

"LASIK? As in laser eye surgery? Are you nuts? Don't answer that," Wren laughed in disbelief, "You could've blinded yourself!"

"Apparently Leo thought the same. He and Mikey had a bet going about it. But of course, I prevailed despite his lack of confidence."

"How come Raph didn't stop you?"

"He didn't know. Nor does he, to this day. I said my vision got better on its own, and he bought it."

"Okay, so it's not just you. The whole family's nuts," Wren teased.

"Hmm. I recall you wanting to zap yourself with a dose of mystic energy when you had no idea what it would do to you. And then at a later time engaging a dangerous mutant in combat for the sheer fun of it, so..."

"Message received. We all do crazy things sometimes."

Donnie's mouth twitched and he looked down.

"I'm sorry," he said. He saw Wren start to place her hand over his on the couch before it landed there.

"Really?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Really. I want to be better," Donnie admitted, "The thing is, um. I predict this is about to sound pathetic, but I've always wanted a girlfriend."

"Why would you think that's pathetic?" she asked in disbelief, "It sounds perfectly normal."

"Hah, I suppose. But let me confess nonetheless," Donnie said, "I would fantasize about it, and get crushes on girls on TV or on social media. A lot of the time, I felt—Feel different from the rest of my family. And romantic fantasies, that—That meant I had someone to dream about who understands me in some sort of impossible, perfect way. I thought that meant they'd have to be like me for that, cold in some way. But in the end, that's not who I f..."

He trailed off.

"I don't know how to be with you. You're nice, and sweet, and caring. I don't know how you handle me."

"Donnie," Wren answered softly—she always did, "I don't "handle" you. I genuinely like you."

He looked up at her to see an affectionate smile.

"Yeah, we're different. But I like it when you're being really nerdy about your interests. I've always wanted to be so openly passionate about mine. I like how caring you are, even if you're afraid to show it. Hell, I like how crazy you get sometimes. Yeah, maybe it's not the best, but it's so wholly and unapologetically you."

Donnie hesitated again while trying to get a read on Wren. It hit him.

"It sounds like you admire me," he blurted. She flinched.

"Uhm, yeah. Y, you could say that," Wren stammered shyly. Donnie loved it when people felt that way about him. It was surprisingly rare, no matter the things he achieved. But the more he thought about it, maybe that wasn't the reason he'd fallen for Wren, after all.

"I admire you," he said, spurred on by the revelation, "You're... Thoughtful. You really care. About everything. About how you conduct yourself, about how you live, everyone around you—Little things that I'm not sure others would think about. And you know what not to care about, too—The little things that don't matter that I... I want to see the world like you do. I don't think I'm built for it."

"I want to see the world like you do," answered Wren, affection and amusement in her voice, "I know you realize you're, like, remarkable."

"I know I am. But it's more..." Donnie trailed off in frustration, "Most of the time it's just disappointing. Everyone disappoints me, including myself, on occasion. And it's exhausting."

He felt a light touch on his jaw and followed it to Wren's eyes. She was leaning closer. Donnie wondered if she could see the hurt on his face or if it was all in his head.

"I'm not disappointed," Wren said, "Thank you for apologizing. I forgive you."

Because it seemed appropriate based on the cues in the moment, and because he really wanted to, Donnie leaned in. The small kiss quickly escalated into the next, and the next, his hands soon on Wren's cheek and her upper arm, respectively. One of hers was at the junction of his neck and shoulder, though he was no longer sure when it slipped there.

Wren was the first one to break away.

"Before we get carried away," she chuckled, "I got... I mean, made, you something."

Donnie felt the smooth fabric being planted in his hands and they leaned away from each other so he could look at it. He spread it out into a pair of sleek trousers brandishing a dark shade of his favorite color, shiny in texture. Based on just a glance, they looked like a fit.

"Do you like them?"

The question had him look over and breathe out a chuckle.

"Of course I like them. I like everything you make," he said, "I guess there's a chance I forget to actually say that."

Donnie earned himself a relieved smile and another lingering kiss that he was more than happy to accept.

"Could you tell me now?" Wren murmured shyly, still in kissing distance.

"Tell you how soft and pretty this fabric is? How the seamwork is impeccable? How you can apparently guess people's sizes just by looking at them? Though of course, I have yet to try them on."

She lit up at his words and wrapped her arms around Donnie's neck.

"Really?" she asked hopefully. Donnie chuckled.

"Really," he confirmed, "You're incredible. I'm happy I get to call you mine—Figuratively speaking, in the context of verbal affections." He carefully untangled Wren's arms to stand up and hold the piece of clothing over himself to check the length.

"You know if you made some more pieces, you could turn all of this into a collection," he stated casually. Wren's eyes widened.

"I've always wanted to make a collection," she said quietly.

"As usual, I'm full of exceptional ideas," Donnie said coolly while moving to pull the pants on. Wren found herself looking at random spots on the floor.

"How do I look?"

She looked back up at the question. The hoodie was pulled up on one side, showing off the structure and fit of the pants. The shiny fabric was made casual in contrast with the thick cotton. Wren was staring.

"Wow," she voiced, "I—I mean you look good. Really good. Even with way too much purple on."

Donnie breathed a laugh through his nose and seated himself back on the couch, one leg resting sideways over the other. His arm wrapped over the back, hovering over Wren.

"I know I can pull off pretty much anything, but I do need to give you some credit this time. Maybe even let you dress me more often."

"I'd like that," Wren said, maybe too eagerly, "I like you."

Donnie's expression softened without his knowledge, an honest smile resting on his features.

"I like you, too."

Chapter Text

Wren fussed with her hair in front of a full body mirror. Once happy with how it settled, she twisted her frame to see herself at every angle. She was focused enough on her own image that she didn't notice Leo until he had both his hands on Wren's shoulders.

"Relax, cariña. You look great!" he assured, placing himself behind her in the mirror.

"Thanks. But it's not that," Wren sighed, "I'm just not sure they'll buy it."

Leo coughed a laugh into his fist.

"If the people of New York don't bat an eye at four green-skinned, three-fingered teenagers walking around, they're not going to notice your fuzzy extra limbs."

The lavender coat she'd chosen was long enough to cover the lenght of her wings while they were tucked against her back. The only place the feathers poked out was at the top, where they curled around her neck like a collar. Still doubtful, Wren gave herself one more look in the mirror.

"I'll take your word for it."

"What up, people!? The girls are here!" called Sunita in a high-pitched tone, waving her arm in greeting while the group barreled through the doorway.

"Is Wren ready to go?" asked April, trailing after her friend. The last to walk in was Cassandra, hands in her pockets.

"What she said! We've got a city to burn!" she stated, her hands suddenly in the air while she did a sort of evil wiggle with her fingers.

"Slooow down, Jones," said April in a tone of amusement.

"She's all yours, ladies!" informed Leo, pushing the girl past the doorframe by her shoulders. Wren tried to match pace with him, though stumbled over her feet.

"Wow! That coat looks fabulous!" said Sunita. She rounded Wren, in similar dress herself. The air had been getting colder as of late and jacket weather had officially begun.

"Thank you," she answered bashfully, "You guys look great, too."

They were also color-coded. Sunita's long coat was a rich magenta, while Cassandra's coat was a black trench with a more gothic edge. April had a short yellow jacket contrasted with a white tunic beneath.

"I know, right? We look awesome!" agreed April, prompting all of the girls to strike a pose, "Now let's get the hell out of here!"

"Waitwaitwait!"

"What now!?" groaned Cassandra, already having turned to leave.

Michelangelo was the first to appear in the doorway, followed by Raphael, who walked at a more moderate pace compared to his sibling. Mikey instead went to tackle Wren in a hug, nearly toppling her over by accident.

"You weren't gonna let me say goodbye!?" he cried, firmly latched onto the person in his arms.

"Mikey, we're just going out to town for a day," comforted Wren with a pat to the younger's head.

"A whole day! I haven't not seen you for a whole day since you moved in!"

"Whoa, girl. You really need to get out of here," Sunita cut in.

"We're just in time," agreed April.

"I hope you girls have a great time out there!" stated Raph in a jovial tone. He then turned to pry Mikey away from Wren and set the boy on his shoulder instead. The younger had grown teary-eyed in this time.

Girls Night™ had been April's idea. Her and Sunita always had a great time when they were together, so why not extend that to Casey and Wren? Besides, they all needed the occasional break from the Hamatos and all the untold chaos they wrought. No matter how much they loved the guys.

Once again the group moved to file for the door, this time with Wren in tow.

That was when the fourth brother finally entered the room, seemingly glued to his phone. He glanced up at the visiting group in passing.

"Ah, the girls are here. Cool, cool. Anyway, I have a busy schedule ahead, soo, you guys have fun elsewhere as you intend. Goodbye." The shifty eyes were not convincing.

Wren was the only girl to stop, turning halfway around with a mild smile. She raised her hand for a final wave goodbye before chasing the others outside.

Leonardo looped his arm around Donatello's shoulders, pulling him in for a conspicuous whisper.

"Great job keeping down your overprotective boyfriend tendencies. You're learning. To hide them better," the slider teased.

"I will hide all your Jupiter Jim memorabilia around the house."

"Go ahead. My impeccable fan sense will not fail me in times of need."

"I'm not pretending that's a thing even for the sake of a gag."

The way Wren saw New York that day was unlike any she'd experienced thus far. Not only was it bright outside, without a drop of rain, but she was actually seeing it from street view! Surrounded by regular New Yorkers!

The smell of foods, the lights, the high buildings she'd so admired on day one were all there for her consumption. The various shop windows that pulled her attention and had her trailing behind the group. The—

"You're HINDERING OUR TRAVEL EFFICIENCY!" shouted Cassandra. Wren jumped, turning from the window to a shoe and accesory shop she'd stared into. She once again ran to catch up.

"Sorry, sorry! The city is just so wonderful from down here!"

"Don't apologize. You're a tourist! Of course you're gonna fall in love every time we turn a corner. And I don't just mean guys this time," joked April. Though Wren normally would've blushed, now there was no telling if she did with the cold weather already coloring her cheeks. Instead she only laughed.

"Hey! That's the first item on our list for today!" called Sunita excitedly. She was pointing at the Film Forum, the famed cinema with a retro feel and, in a couple ways, the last of its kind in the city. They'd decided to go there first to avoid any possible line later in the night.

April and Cassandra helped the two yokai through the ticket booth and into the theater. This wasn't Sunita's first time, but it was for Wren. They'd both been filled in on their shared identities as yokai, though Wren had only seen the other girl in her human disguise thus far. It made her feel relieved to have at least one of her people with them.

Sitting in the theater was fun. So was laughing with the girls about what happened in the movie, possibly much louder than was appropriate. Since it was an early showing, the space was mostly empty and their racket went uninterrupted by staff. The only time Wren felt guilty was when Cassandra decided to throw popcorn at the screen. Someone would have to clean that up!

"Don't worry. Movie theaters are a mess anyway. A little bit of popcorn isn't gonna make a big difference," comforted April upon noting her anxiety.

As stated, the theater was only their first destination. Once their movie was done, they walked and chatted about it on their way to the next stop.

"What are you looking at?" asked Sunita, having caught Wren taking fleeting glances behind.

"I'm not sure," she answered uncertainly, to both girls' puzzlement. The issue was quickly dropped.

Next in line was a library and museum tour. There were several to choose from all around New York, and they hit as many as they could within a few hours time. Cassandra seemed the least enthused by these portions, finding little excitement in most of the culture. April had to stop her from touching exhibits on multiple occasions. She would've fared better with something interactive. For Sunita, it was a hit and miss depending on the place they were in.

April and Wren were the ones most into it. They talked excitedly about their favorite places on the tour. April discovered how much passion Wren had for art, specifically. She had vast opinions on the topic, many of her favorite pieces inspired by both Cubism and Fauvism. She also had an admiration for each new era created as an act of rebellion.

"I think about fashion like abstract art," she'd confessed, "Where each piece represents something about either the artist or the person wearing it."

"And what does this outfit represent?" April had asked, grasping Wren's sleeve.

"The need to hide my conveniently coat-sized wings," she'd joked in response.

There was overlap in artists known in the yokai and human communities. It seemed that art could be appreciated by many, no matter who its creator.

Their stomachs gurgling was the deciding factor for when the museums tour was finally over. The girls opted to grab some food from a few carts they passed and set camp in Prospect Park. They occupied the stone edge of a flower bench while Casey sat across from them on the grass.

"These pretzels are great!" said Sunita mid-munch.

"As much as I've loved touring the city, it's nice to just sit down for a while," Wren stated in relief. She sat with her legs folded to the side and held her own half-eaten pretzel.

"You know, you'd fit right in here if you chose to move," said April. There was a spark of something in Wren's eyes, quickly replaced by hesitation.

"My dad would never allow it. Not by myself."

"Forget your dad! Is it something you would want?"

While Wren mulled over the question, the conversation around her moved on. It remained light throughout the day, matching the sunshine they'd been granted for the venture. Despite the lovely weather, after finishing their late lunch, the group moved on from the park.

They decided not to visit the top of Rockefeller Center, Empire State or the Statue of Libery. Heights were something Wren was quite used to, in part because of their rooftop adventures. Even if she hadn't seen the skyline yet, her wings made so it wasn't much of an obstacle.

Instead they toured the Bronx Zoo, where each of them got to pick at least one animal exhibit to visit. Cassandra seemed most excited about the predators, especially big cats like lions and tigers. She practically bent over the railing to point them out to the rest of the group in her usual brand of reckless enthusiasm. After that they hit the aviary, where several of the birds decided to settle on April's shoulders.

"Case, get a picture!" she called. Cassandra took multiple, leaving Sunita and Wren alone at the other end of the pathway.

"So," started Wren with the thin hope of getting more familiar, "Are you ever nervous, spending time in the city as a yokai?"

Sunita turned to her from the colorful parakeets she'd been watching. A friendly smile adorned her features.

"Sometimes! One time my broach was stolen by a mutant called Meatsweats. I was pretty freaked since losing it was like, my worst fear," she told her.

"And you weren't caught?" asked Wren in surprise.

"Almost, several times! But thankfully I had April covering for me. And if something like that happens to you, we'll do the same."

"That's kind of you," Wren genuinely answered, "I don't have a lot of friends back home, so it's easy to forget how nice it feels." Sunita beamed.

"Then we can hang out! I split time between New York and the Hidden City. You could be my Hidden City buddy," she offered.

"That would be—"

Wren cut herself off when something caught her attention somewhere beyond Sunita. She furrowed her brows, staring for a few beats in the direction of the disturbance. The other yokai spun her head, trying to see what Wren had.

"Okay. What's going on?" she asked in a more serious tone, a hand on her hip.

"Um. Probably just a bird," Wren quickly replied. She stole another glance at the scenery, but whatever she'd spotted was now gone.

The Sun was setting when the long day of fun was finally at its end. The girls walked along Pebble Beach, the final destination on their list. They'd been efficient hitting as many spots as they did, and yet they still only got through a fraction of the city.

Cassandra stretched her arms high up and folded her hands behind her neck. Sunita yawned into her palm. Wren looked over the East River with a distant gaze while they strolled.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" asked April, hands in her pockets to keep them warm.

The lights of the city were reflected in the water along with the dark silhouettes of the buildings. The view really was breathtaking, something Wren could've stared at for hours. She'd seen it before. Hell, it was painted on her wall! But her feelings hadn't changed in the slightest.

"I've been thinking about making a collection," Wren said without turning her head, "I think I could do it. There's so much to be inspired by around here."

Then she turned around, looking at the girls she hoped to begin calling her friends. Wind blew against their hair and coats, faint smiles on each of their faces while they enjoyed the sunset.

"And I think that's another great idea," answered April.

Cassandra and Sunita had both headed home. April felt responsible for returning Wren to the lair and stuck with her for the walk. Though they could've chatted for that time, they were both exhausted and instead fell into a comfortable silence.

Upon nearing the old subway station, Wren suddenly stopped in her tracks. April saw her stay behind and turned on her heel to see what was up.

"Uh, Wren?"

The half yokai sprinted all of a sudden, running across the street and around a corner, into an alleyway. April perked up and ran after her in an instant.

"Wren! Wait up!"

By the time she reached her, April discovered Wren standing still and staring into the shadows. She furrowed her brows and placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. It got her attention.

"Sorry, I thought..." she said slowly, "I think someone's been following us."

Chapter Text

They walked around the nearest block three more times to make sure they weren't being followed. Though there was no sign of it now, Wren still felt on edge from the sightings of a dark figure throughout the day.

Initially she'd thought it was nothing: Just a feeling of being stared at, or a strange shadow behind foliage. Only when she caught the briefest glimpse of someone rounding a corner when she turned her head did she take it seriously.

By the time Wren reached the place she'd seen it in, it was deserted.

"Yeah, okay. We're coming in now."

April moved her phone from her ear and pocketed it. She grabbed Wren by the arm and turned her around, toward the lair.

"Did they say it's safe?" asked the yokai. April nodded her head.

"As safe as it's gonna get. Donnie said he's activated all perimeter alarms for unauthorized persons. Even if some creep does trail us, they'll be caught before they can spell 'Brooklyn.'"

Wren sighed in relief, letting April take the lead.

They slipped through the one unblocked door of the train station. It had a lock that could be deactivated from Donnie's lab. Which he did as soon as they approached it. Behind it was a staircase they followed down until they reached the main floor to the ninjas' home.

"They're back!"

The shout came from Michelangelo. Within moments the other brothers flooded into the room, meeting April and Wren right as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. The latter removed her coat upon entry, glad to stretch her wings out.

"Is everyone okay!?" shouted Raph. He looked from April to Wren and back with that chasm of concern prominent on his forehead. Leo walked out with one of his katanas thrown over his shoulder.

"We're fine, big guy. Nothing else happened," promised April with a pat to his arm.

Donnie, once again, was the last of the brothers to walk in. He was tapping at his holographic wrist screen when he did, but looked up with just the briefest show of concern on his face. He concealed it as soon as it appeared.

"No alarms have been triggered. If you were followed, they knew not to trail you here," he stated. In the short silence that followed, Wren stepped forward and threw her arms around Donnie's neck.

Initially he startled at the sudden contact, but Leo had been right. He had to stomp down the anxiety of the day trip before, even though April had been with Wren. He still didn't answer the hug completely, only placing one hand on Wren's back above her wings. Thankfully, none of his siblings seemed to care about the show of affection.

"Any chance it might've been nothing?" asked Leo coolly. He wasn't making a joke out of the situation, which in itself was nerve-wracking.

Wren pulled away to turn to the blue brother. (When she did, one of her wings accidentally smacked Donatello in the face.)

"I don't know. I know for certain that I saw someone. But I didn't get a good idea of their looks," she explained while wringing her hands together. Leo answered her with a nod before swinging the katana off his shoulder. He turned to April instead.

"April, you should stay over for the night." She clicked her tongue and set a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, alright. But I have a lecture in the morning, so I'll skedaddle early," she answered. Wren perked up.

"Oh, but I have the guest room. Is there another mattress?"

"I certainly don't intend to ever sleep on the couch again, so yes. I not only got another mattress since then, but several," clarified Donnie.

"Great thinking, Donnie," praised April.

"Yay! A SLEEPOVER!" cheered Mikey. April raised her hands.

"Oh, no! Not a chance. I'm going straight to bed after the day we had," she claimed, "My feet are killing me!"

"Aw, and you won't even stay for breakfast? Mikey's making—" Leo paused to look at his brother, "Mikey, what are you making?"

"I'll make whatever you want, April!" the younger brother pleaded. April chuckled.

"Alright, I'll stay for breakfast. But that's it."

"YAY!"

Somehow, that prompted a group hug with April in the center. Wren and Donnie were pulled in by her and Leo respectively. The duo awkwardly collided into the others before being trapped into the squeeze of it all.

Morning came with a knock against a subway car door. Wren raised her head abruptly from the table it had fallen against, papers around her flying into every direction. She came to in a bleary manner and rubbed her cheek, where the hard surface had left a red mark.

The knock repeated and Wren groaned. Her muscles ached from sleeping in an odd place after a long day. She hadn't meant to fall asleep there, of course, but she sometimes followed inspiration until she collapsed.

She forced herself to her feet and slid open the door, meeting tired eyes with Donatello's. He was fully equipped with his usual ninja-getup, which meant it couldn't be terribly early.

"Uh," he said eloquently upon taking her in, "You're not avoiding the bed, are you? Because I disabled it." Wren ran a hand through her messy hair to push it off her face.

"No, I'm not. I passed out while sketching... What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes while she spoke. Donnie checked his wrist cuff.

"Ten-thirteen," he stated, "Can I see your bracelet?"

Wren looked down at her wrist before extending it forward. She leaned against the doorframe and watched Donnie take a delicate hold of her wrist. He removed the piece of tech with a simple motion and turned it around, opening a small panel in the back.

Donnie placed a palm-sized piece of technology into the slot he'd created. It had a compartment that glowed in the center and a familiar-looking needle structure attached. The device simmered to life with a few small calibrating movements, then tucked into an impossibly small size and settled within the bracelet's mechanism. He sealed the back panel and held a hand out expectantly.

Wren placed her wrist back in his waiting palm, and the bracelet was slipped back on. It automatically hugged the limb, just loose enough to remain comfortable but secure. She pulled her hand back only to turn it around once, trying to spot a difference.

"What did you do?" When she looked up at him, she caught Donnie stifling a yawn with his hand.

"I installed a single mystic charge you can activate by twisting the watch," he explained with a point of his finger toward the device, "You can use it to summon your full yokai form in the case of an emergency."

She perked up at the knowledge. The last time Donnie had zapped her with mystic energy, it had been with the large device he had hooked in his lab.

"Did you make this yesterday?" she guessed, her eyebrows rising with her curiosity.

"Yes, after you got back. Why?"

"After I got—Donnie, did you sleep at all?" The realization had her step off the cart to take a proper look at him. Donnie took a step backward in turn and folded his arms.

"Relax. It was important I get it done," he defended. She narrowed her eyes and mirrored his stance.

"You could've waited until morning." He rolled his eyes.

"Hello, Pot. Meet Kettle," Donnie stated with a gesture to the her cart. Wren bristled.

"I can't help it! If I don't draw my ideas I'll lose them!" she countered.

"And if someone attacks the lair while I'm asleep, you won't have access to your abilities!" argued Donnie.

"Can you guys keep it down? I'm trying to sleep!" echoed Leo's voice from somewhere in the distance. The tension melted in an instant, forcing Wren to place a hand over her lips to block a laugh.

Donnie allowed himself to smile for just a beat. He leaned down and kissed the top of Wren's head, effectively pausing her laughter.

"I'll go take a nap," he said before departing for his room. However, his wrist was caught before he could leave. He didn't resist being pulled back in.

"Thank you, Donnie. It's sweet of you to care," she murmured. Donatello rolled his eyes.

"You can't prove anything."

Before either of them could say anything more, both moved in for a proper kiss.

A bang sounded through the lair when Raphael dropped a large table down into one of their common rooms. It was the one that centered various stairways and held a particularly large collection of boomboxes. Though normally the main purpose of the area was – quite obviously – music, it was adopting another for the time being.

Wren straightened her mannequin in an open spot by the table. She picked up a box of fabrics she placed on the new platform and wiped her hands together.

"Thank you for helping me set up," she said to Raph, a soft smile on her face. Raph proceeded to pat her head with his large hand.

"You're welcome! Besides, I was happy to! You make the best stuff, and if you need extra space to make more of it—Heck, Raph'll clear the entire lair! Starting with Donnie's room."

"That's not necessary. But I'll note it for later," she chuckled.

Considering they were in a popular walkway around the lair, it wasn't surprising when someone immediately walked in on the new arrangements. Leo rounded the table from Raph's side to Wren's and reached into the box of fabrics she'd put out.

"Ooh, a real fashion work room! What are we making?"

He draped a satin fabric over his head like a hooded cloak. Wren adjusted the edges to improve the "fit" and stretched out the extra fabric behind him.

"Wren said she's going to start working on a collection!" informed Raph. Leo beamed as he spun around, the tail of the cloak wrapping around his legs.

"Awesome! What's the theme?"

Wren tapped her cheek awkwardly.

"Umm, still working on that," she stated. Leo blinked.

"Cool, cool. Do you have models? A place for the show?"

She flicked her eyes from side to side and proceeded to show a strained smile.

"Ummm."

"Hey, no stress, no worries at all. Just, uh, what do you have?" he questioned while pulling off his new hood. Wren tapped her fingers against her hip. She gestured to the table.

"A new workspace?" she suggested. When the reception was silence, she rushed to add another statement:

"And the pieces I made for you guys!"

That seemed to earn their approval, both brothers nodding and mumbling their agreement. Only a bit of Wren's worry was soothed by this.

"I have no idea what I'm doing, do I?" she realized out loud.

"Hey, let's not get too caught up in the details. It's great you're taking a risk and doing something new. And that's what matters! Right, Leo?" stated Raph.

"Wellll..." trailed off Leo, "Okay. You worry about figuring out this whole situation. I'm gonna go and see about booking you a place."

Leo shed the sheet and Wren collected it from the floor, folding it into a neat square.

"Are you sure? You don't have to do that for me. I mean, you're right, there's not even a...Start of a collection here," she argued.

"Pish and posh! You'll figure it out, no sweat! Besides, I have the perfect place in mind!"

Without further ado, Leo swiped both his swords to create a portal. He strepped through it and it closed seconds after, leaving Raph and Wren to stare at one another.

Chapter Text

The portal opened to a familiar space within a familiar restaurant.

"Oh, Señor Hueso—!"

"No!" came the immediate response, "No, no and no. Whatever it is you want this time: No!" The skeleton waved his arms in front of Leo in a quick and determined manner. Leo grinned widely.

"You don't even know what I was gonna say! What if I'm here for pizza?" he countered.

"NO!"

"Okay, I see. We're playing hardball today," mused Leonardo while he swung his arm over Hueso's bony shoulders, "No matter! We can go to your office and discuss!"

Leo pushed him across the floor for a short time before Hueso sunk his heels and ducked down, out of the turtle's hold.

"There's no discussion, pepino. Every time you march into my establishment with that false bravado, the only thing you bring with you is trouble!"

"Excuse me? I do not bring trouble... Exclusively. From what I remember, I'm the one who helped unite you with your estranged brother!" countered Leo with a hand on his chest, "Maybe I'm here to do that again."

"You cannot, as I do not have another brother. What I have is a full restaurant in need of my undivided attention!"

"Come on, Hueso! I'm trying to do a solid to a friend here. You have friends, right? You can relate?"

"I'm telling you one more time, pepino. Either leave now, or—"

"Hey, I know you!"

Interrupted by another voice, both skeleton and turtle turned their heads to the third party. The unfamiliar rabbit yokai held up a poster of Leo and his father posing in the Battle Nexus arena.

"You're that Battle Nexus champion from a couple years back," he said. Leo's eyes slid to Hueso, his grin unflinching. The skeleton slapped a hand against his face, producing sounds of clatter.

"Yeah, that, plus the Saviour of New York. No biggie. Want an autograph? Here you go," ranted Leo while snatching the poster to add his signature, "Now, isn't it awful that such a HERO is being turned down service in a respectable establishment like this?"

Then Hueso's hand slapped over Leo's mouth and he laughed nervously.

"Excuse me, let us finish this private conversation in my office," he stated. Leo pushed down his hand.

"Great idea!"

Moments later Hueso slammed his door shut to keep Leo away from the public, and the other way around. He pressed his back against the wooden rectangle and leveled a glare at his unwelcome guest.

"What do you want?"

"Wow, how nice of you to ask! I'm coming to you with a lucrative business proposition."

"Oy vey..."

"See, my friend is a hot up-and-coming fashion designer. You've probably heard of her! She's looking to host a high class event in a place that, mm, matches her caliber! Obviously, we have offers from a few great places, the White House included, but I told her I have this friend who could really benefit from the attention this thing could bring to his restaurant," Leo listed, pacing back and forth while he spoke with easy confidence.

Hueso sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping.

"And what would this event entail?" he asked in a defeated tone.

"Nothing crazy! Just a bunch of pretentious art-critics watching while well-dressed models pace back and forth a walkway. No fighting, no hijinks: Just a tiny little fashion show!"

"And how do you intend to pay? This would mean closing the place for a private event. And with you? An additional cleanup fee for when things inevitably go, as you say, South," continued Hueso, his arms crossed.

"You'll have your money! Heart. Crossed. Not from me, though. We'll just charge a small entry fee, and you? You get to keep all of the profit. How generous is that?"

Hueso hummed as if in consideration, scraping his chin. Then he proceeded to prod a finger to Leo's chest.

"NO!"

"Oh, come on, Hueso! What's the worst that could happen?" the turtle demanded.

"You expect me to believe that for one night you will not attract the kind of chaos and destruction you do every other day of the week? And your offer of money, is, well. Flimsy at best."

"It's not for me! It's for my friend," argued Leo.

"You, your brother, your sister, your friend—It is all the same. Forfeiting my place to you for an entire night is the stupidest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth. And niño, is there competition."

Seeing as Hueso was in one of his firm mindsets Leo liked to call "moods," he slunk past the skeleton and opened his office door.

"I just can't believe how a CHAMPION of New York, such as moi, could be treated so harshly by Señor—"

The door was slammed shut in front of him by Hueso, whose eye twitched while he stared down Leonardo.

"Fine. One night only!"

Leo grinned in an instant and picked the man up by his shoulders, swinging him into a hug.

"I knew I could count on you! This is really important to my friend's character development."

Hueso didn't look soothed by this statement in the slightest.

"And who is this fashion forward friend, exactly?" he asked while wrangling himself free of Leo. The latter was already making a portal out.

"Oh, just this shy girl, Wren, our dad tried to make us marry. Anyway, gotta go organize a party! Seeya!"

The skeleton was left to stare at empty air as the portal closed.

"Who raised these children?"

Wren had her elbows on the table while she stared at the various sheets of sketching paper spread out in front of her. She'd been locked in this staring contest for a while, indents of her hands forming on her cheeks.

Each paper held a different variety of sketches. Each sketch was of a different piece of clothing, all drawn in one of her frenzies of inspiration. Now she was supposed to pick and choose a number to make into real clothes. But which pieces? What made up a good collection?

Her hands sunk into her hair and she groaned, dropping her face by a few inches. She was committed now! She had to make something out of this. The times of taking it easy and simply being creative for the sake of it were behind her.

"Oookay..." cut in the voice of Michelangelo, "Whatever this is, is prooobably something you should say out loud. I can't help you if you just stare and tear your own hair out."

Wren hid her face while she exhaled, then let her hands drop before pushing herself to straighten. She met eyes with Mikey, who sat cross-legged on a corner of the table.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she admitted, "I mean, I've sketched before. I've made pieces before. But I've never sold any, and I've certainly never made something that's supposed to, you know, connect! Leo was right. What is the theme? New York City? Or is that too broad? What am I supposed to—"

"Okay, okay. I get it. What you're doing right now is something we call overthink," soothed Mikey, "Maybe we should just shuffle this around and see what fits together? We can decide the why of it later!"

Wren visibly relaxed and cast a faint smile toward her friend.

"I'm so glad you're here. Otherwise, I'd be losing my mind right about now."

"You're losing your mind even with me here," countered Mikey with a toothy smile.

Both started shuffling through papers, moving them into little sections and piles while occasionally picking one up. In the middle of it, Mikey furrowed his brows while looking over a specific sketch.

"Huh," he voiced, "Did you draw Cassandra as a model in this?" He flipped around the paper for Wren to look at. She traced the soft lines of the dress to the vague shapes of a female with a buzzcut.

"Oh. I must have without realizing."

Mikey turned back to the pictures. He picked out another, now paying more attention to the characters rather than the clothes themselves. This one looked short in comparison, with narrow shoulders and curly hair just like April's.

Wren furrowed her brows when Mikey kept picking out specific sheets. He organized them into a pile, which he then spread out in front of her.

"Notice anything?"

She blinked across the drawings with an uncertain look. But after staring for a few beats, realization flooded her expression.

The characters, though humanoid, resembled the shapes of each turtle brother. The feminine ones were all in the looks of either April, Sunita or Casey. When had she done that? Why had she done that?

"I didn't notice I was doing this," she said in surprise while picking out a sheet of 'Raph', "I must've been picturing the clothes on you guys."

A high-pitched noise had her quickly looking up at Mikey. He looked like he was trying to suppress his excitement, a trembling smile on him while he leaned toward her.

"Aren't you gonna ask!?" he exclaimed. Another soft smile came to her lips.

"Hamato Michelangelo, would you like to be my first model?"

With a happy cry, Mikey's arms wrapped around her and pulled her halfway onto the table.

"OF COURSE I WOULD!"

Though it wasn't all figured out, it was comforting to have a direction. Obvious though it might've been, a solution to her problems was in sight. One out of seven possible models had agreed. And really, did she even need more than that? She was sure Mikey had no qualms about walking the runway ten times by himself.

Wren wrapped her arms around his ornate shell and squeezed him back. This brought forth another realization.

The scan finished and Wren sat up on the medical bed. She watched how Donnie set aside the machine in favor of tapping some keys on the computer. After viewing it himself, he turned the screen toward Wren.

"You can still see it here, but it looks like you're healing faster than a full human would. I expect the fracture to be gone in another week or two," he stated. Wren breathed out a sigh of relief.

"You said it isn't hurting anymore?" he clarified, earning a nod of her head.

"Not much. Not unless I disturb it on purpose," she said.

"The bruising around it must've healed. It has around your eye," he commented with a glance at her face, "You could go h—"

Donnie cut himself off when he registered what word he was about to utter. Home. Wren could now go home without raising the suspicions of her father. Her excuses for staying with them had run out.

That meant no longer waking up to have breakfast with her. No longer sneaking around the lair to steal kisses late at night. When he would knock on her door, there'd be an empty guest room waiting on the other side.

He didn't know when he'd averted his eyes, but when Donnie felt a hand on his cheek, he flicked them back to Wren. She looked at him with a warmth in her eyes he still couldn't adequately process. His role as a significant other had not chased away all the anxiety around expressing his emotions.

"I'm not going home yet," she assured him, "Not until I've put on the fashion show."

"And then?" he asked, a little quieter than first intended. There was a hint of glee to her.

"Then I come visit you, or you come visit me. We'll just be dating like regular teenagers," Wren said while sitting up properly. Some of that dread was pushed down and Donnie flashed a rare, vulnerable smile.

"Regular? I would hardly call any of this regular, starting from the way we met," he stated with a bit of amusement. Unfortunately, it melted from his voice at the next part:

"What if this doesn't work when it's no longer irregular?" Wren adopted something of a sad smile.

"What if it works better?" she offered. And truth be told, Donnie hadn't even considered that. Everything had happened so fast from the moment they met. Every happy moment was interrupted by turbulence that, now that he considered it, half the time couldn't have happened in the first place if they lived apart.

Maybe part of what caused so much dysfunction was their proximity. Both were always available at the other's whim. There was no breathing room between them. And sure, that worked for adults in long, committed relationships. But they'd almost literally just met.

When his outlook on the situation shifted, so did Donnie's mood. He turned to switch off the computer with an easy motion of his hand.

"You're right," he stated, "Actually, now that I think about it, I can't wait for you to leave." Wren's jaw fell slack.

"Hey! I didn't mean you should be excited about it!" she argued, barely containing her amusement.

"Well, you made a convincing argument! A true scientist goes where the evidence points him."

"Okay, Mr. Scientist," said Wren and crossed her arms, "Let's see how you handle it when I do actually decide to leave."

Donnie only chuckled at the thought. How would he feel? He had no idea. But that no longer seemed so frightening.

"Donnie?" she asked in an easier tone, "About the fashion show. Would you want to be one of my models? And before you answer, I did already ask Mikey and he said yes."

"Only of course," he answered easily, "As long as you're fine with me outshining every other model you pick. Including dear, sweet Michelangelo."

"Mm, you're pretty. But it takes more than that to be a model," teased Wren. She hopped off the bed to step out of the medbay.

"Oh, please! Out of all the challenges we've had, walking up and down a catwalk does not come near difficult."

"If you trip and twist your ankle, I will not be a comforting girlfriend and will, in fact, laugh."

The medbay doors closed behind them.

Chapter Text

Asking the remaining two turtles was easy. Leo had gleefully gone on about pushing Donnie off the stage during his turn. He'd asked if he got to keep whatever Wren dressed him in. Then he reminded her he'd been the one to book the location, and attempted to convince her to let him be the final model walking the runway. Apparently he knew those tended to wear the most impressive pieces.

Raphael had jumped up in excitement and come back down with a thud. Not only was he excited to model, but to model clothes that fully fit him? Sure, their shells caused some fit issues no matter what, but Raph had a big build. That meant finding anything to wear was hard, and here Wren was, tailoring it specifically to his size. Not that Splinter hadn't ever adjusted clothes for him, but this wasn't exactly common.

That left her with only the girls unaccounted for. And since Wren didn't have a phone of her own, she was now sitting on the living room couch with Mikey. The two teens sat opposite to one another while Wren held the phone to her ear.

"Hi—Oh, it's Wren, calling from Mikey's phone. Yes, he's here!"

"Hi April!" Mikey happily called.

"No, I wasn't looking to hang out—Although I will, of course! I wa—Mmhmm. I was going to ask you if you could do me a favor?"

Mikey showed her an encouraging thumbs-up when Wren managed to get a word in. She bit her lip before speaking.

"Could you be one of my models?"

"OF COURSE I CAN!" came the loud shout through the phone. Wren had flinched back from it and had to awkwardly catch the phone to put it back against her ear. She held it upside down and Mikey signed for her to flip it with a twirl of his finger.

"Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah! It's at that Run of the Mill -place. Ye—Yes, there will be people watching, I hope. If you're having second thoughts—Oh. Oh, okay! If you're sure! Bye, April."

She lowered the phone with a deep sigh of relief.

"It's going to be so much fun doing this with everyone! You're doing a great job!" cheered Mikey in his usual hypeman mannerism.

"Thank you, Mikey. I'm just glad everyone's so open to participating." Wren looked down at the phone and realized she wasn't sure how to find the next contact.

"Here, let me show you how to make a call," offered Mikey, noting her hesitation. They shuffled to sit side-by-side and, while Wren held the phone, Mikey slid his finger over the screen.

"Y'know, isn't your mom a human?" he continued, "You'd think she would've taught you how to use a phone."

"We live in the Hidden City. Almost no one has a phone down there, because no one's friends with humans. Sunita, my dad and I are rare exceptions," she clarified, "It's just too dangerous for most yokai, since we could all be discovered."

"But how do you call your friends!?" Mikey insisted.

"You go to their houses?" she offered. He ran his hands down his face in horror.

"Ohmigosh... You live in such rustic times! You can't just show up at someone's house unannounced!"

"Well... You can also write letters! And some people have communication orbs."

"Do those even have games!? And what about the internet?" he insisted. Wren rolled her eyes and tapped the screen where it said "call." She leaned back in her seat while the line connected.

"Hi, Sunita! It's Wren. Yes, it's nice to hear from you, too! Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to model for me? Oh, in any form you like! I don't know what your yokai form looks like, though. A picture? Great, thanks! I'll see you then!"

She lowered the phone from her ear and watched as a notification popped up. Mikey leaned over her shoulder – at some point he'd climbed over the back of the couch – and tapped it open. It was a selfie of Sunita in her slime form.

"A slime! Yes! I can dress her in anything," Wren cheered, "As long as it's waterproof."

"And, look at that: She has a phone," Mikey stage whispered right beside her head. She pursed her lips at him.

"Why do you keep going on about that?" Wren asked while tapping the screen. Having seen Mikey do it, surely she could find the last contact on her own.

"Because I'm going to miss you, you idiot!" he shouted, arms high up in the air. Wren nearly dropped the phone again and stared at her friend wide-eyed. Then her expression quickly melted into something else: A sympathetic smile.

"Mikey, I'm not gonna be that far!" she told him with a laugh.

"You say that! But pops was right: We barely have any friends besides each other! And any friend we do have, we have to share! So not only will I have to split my time with you with everyone else, but you won't be living here anymore, so who even knows if I'll have any time! And you don't even have a phone so I could text you! And, and—"

"Mikey!" she cut in, effectively pausing his rant, "I'm not gone yet, and when I am, we'll still hang out as much as you want. Okay?"

"You say that now!" he repeated, "But what if our friendship fizzles out and I never see you again?"

Wren huffed to herself in amusement. Mikey and Donnie were supposedly opposites, but they were the exact same on this one thing. She reached out and rubbed the top of his round head.

"How could I not stay in touch with my favorite art geek?" she mused, "And if you're really that worried... I can look into that phone thing." Hope glimmered in Michelangelo's eyes.

"You will?"

"Yes! Cross my heart," she answered while miming an X over her chest. Mikey felt the tears come on as easily as they always did. He wrapped his arms around Wren and pulled her into a hug she immediately answered.

"Can you believe we became friends because our dads thought we should get married?" he sighed. Wren's expression soured and she pushed him away. Mikey laughed.

Shuffling around in her seat, she looked down at the last contact. Wren drew in a deep breath and pressed the 'Call' -button.

"Hi, Cassandra! No, it's me, Wren. I have something to ask you—"

Mikey folded his arms over the back of the couch. He leaned his head atop them and looked on with a smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes. The life of a "normal" teenager was always right beyond their reach, and it was bittersweet every time. But Mikey didn't need normal. All he really wanted was a friend.

Donatello sucked a deep breath before peering around the corner.

"Okay team, we got this," he whispered loudly. He gazed upon the short, round figure of his father in the kitchen, humming while gathering snacks for his afternoon shows.

"Team?" whispered back Wren, also pressed against the wall, "Is it really a team when there's only two of us?" Donnie's eye seemed to twitch.

"Fine! A dyad, a duo! Partners in crime! Is this really the time to question my perfectly competent grammar?"

"Shh!"

"Purple, is that you?"

Donnie grimaced at his father's voice. His time to mentally prepare was over and he shared a nervous glance with Wren. Her feelings mirrored his, and yet she forced a smile and shoved him into the doorway. She stepped out herself afterwards.

Splinter's ear twitched while he gazed upon their stiff postures.

"I thought I heard footsteps," he spoke, the bags in his arms crinkling as he turned, "What is it that you want, my son?"

"Father, how great it is to run into you here," Donnie spoke through his teeth. Wren elbowed him and they both adopted awkward smiles. Splinter's expression dropped into exasperation.

"Oookay, these are some harsh vibes, Donatello. What have you done?"

"Done? Nothing. I've done nothing, not a thing. Nothing at all. Actually, it was nice to see you, but now I've gotta go. Bye."

"Donnie!" hissed Wren after him when the boy turned to leave. He looked at her frantic expression and cursed himself for deciding to do this. Quickly, he turned back around. Splinter looked just about done with him already.

Donnie once again steeled his nerves. He pulled back a chair from the dinner table.

"You might want to sit down for this?" he offered. Splinter kept standing where he was.

"Okay. No sitting. Got it. Um," he said eloquently and pressed his hands together, "I want to preface this with the fact that I have no intention of getting married anywhere between now and the next ten years and I don't want you to even entertain the thought." The rat man raised his brow.

"Donnie?" he asked incredulously.

"No, wait, shh! I need to get through this," Donatello continued, drawing in another deep breath, "Look. What I'm trying to say is..." and he looked back at Wren, dragging her just a little closer by her arm. Maybe the easiest way to say it was to just say it.

"We're dating," he finished. And now that it had left his tongue, it didn't feel so horrible to admit.

"You are?" answered Splinter, looking between their faces. When he found the news was genuine, he smiled.

"Purple, that's wonderful!"

Relief flooded Donnie and his features slacked on reflex. His father's approval never failed to break all of his carefully constructed emotional walls.

"I'm so glad y— OW!"

The whip of Splinter's tail was unexpected when it hit his hand right where it gripped Wren's upper arm. It then proceeded to whip between them and force them apart, both teens bewildered by the act.

"However, you will stand six feet apart until you turn twenty-five!" shouted Splinter, "Maybe longer!"

Donnie frowned while rubbing his knuckles. Whatever emotion he'd been about to express was now firmly locked away again, making way to his frustration with just about everything.

Wren had her arms folded behind her back, once again standing stiffly and keeping herself from speaking.

"What a great way to show your support," Donnie said, "What were you gonna do if we really did get married?"

"I told you, I was never going to let you marry! I just wanted you to make friends," the father countered, "And you have."

Splinter breathed in and out once, calming his parental nerves. He set aside the bags of chips and popcorn and addressed the young couple properly.

"Look. You're two young people in love. Believe it or not, I was once that, too. I just want to make sure you don't rush into anything you can't handle."

"Says the man who tried to—"

"I KNOW I TRIED TO SET YOU UP!" Splinter cut off Donnie's dry statement, "But I need you to listen to me now."

Donatello sighed and folded his arms. But he was listening.

"Having a significant other is not about superficial attraction or sharing the same interests, or even the good, very good times you might share. Sure, that is a part of it. But the most important thing is that you will be there for each other. Just like family.

"Sometimes, it's going to be hard. You're going to want different things—Like one of you might want to get married while the other wants to enslave you in the Battle Nexus."

"What?" voiced Wren quizzically. Splinter cleared his throat.

"But if you truly care about each other, you're going to be able to overcome those obstacles through compromise. And even if you do care and it is just not working, it's okay to call it quits whenever that time comes. But if this is something you both want—"

He looked between the two, both with their full attention on Splinter.

"Then I want you to know you can come to me when you need advice. I will promise not to whip you with my tail again."

The teens shared a look somewhere between relief and happiness. They didn't have much reason to think Splinter would disapprove, but it had been scary nevertheless. Like with the rest of his family, Donnie had fully entertained the idea of never bringing it up at all. The thing that brought him around on the idea was Raph's reassurance to him on the roof.

It was okay if he messed this up, because he had his family to turn to.

"Thank you, Master Splinter," said Wren.

"Yeah. Thanks, dad," agreed Donnie, his voice unusually carrying a soft edge.

"Anytime, Purple. Except right now, because there is about to be a showing of the Lou Jitsu museum on TV."

He picked up his snacks and turned on his heel. Donnie frowned, casting a look at Wren. She shrugged.

"And remember, no touching!"

"We weren't about to!" Donnie shouted back in irritation. Yeah, they should've kept quiet after all.

Chapter Text

"No, I'm gonna be the final model!"

"Like hell you are! Raph can rock anything! Put me in a fluffy dress, Wren!"

"NO! Put me in a fluffy dress!"

Wren stared at the two brothers blankly. This had been going on for minutes, with Leo uselessly tackling Raph and then Raph tossing Leo in various different ways. Over time, their arguments for being the last model to walk the runway had devolved into nonsense. Even now Leo hung onto the eldest brother's shell while the latter tried to grab at him.

"Come on, Wren! Pick one of us already!" shouted Leo, only to be tossed over Raph's shoulder in his moment of distraction.

She looked at everyone else present in the living room. It was the day of the first model fitting, with plenty of her pieces finalized. The date of the fashion show was close and she may or may not have sacrificed sleep to get most of it ready.

Quietly, Wren withdrew from the two arguing turtles. Instead she picked out a shirt and pants from the clothing rack they'd dragged into the room.

"Sunita, this one's yours," she called out. The girl parted from the huddle of conversation at the other end of the room to run over.

"This looks so cute, Wren!" the girl answered enthusiastically. The half yokai suppressed an oncoming blush.

"Let's see how it fits, okay?"

Wren lead the other girl into one of the two makeshift fitting rooms – which were just curtains hung from the ceiling in two squares.

At the same time they entered one booth, Cassandra stepped out of the other. She was wearing an edgy jumpsuit with several pockets from legs to arms. Some of them were sewn in properly while others were pinned.

"So? How do I look?" she offered with her arms spread to either side, an easy confidence in the way she stood. April playfully fanned herself.

"Woo, girl. You look hot," she told her, "You could make this modeling thing your dayjob." Donatello and Michelangelo could be seen sharing a glance before looking at April. Donnie whispered something to his brother and they both snickered like school girls.

Having picked up on it, April shot a death glare their way.

"What!?" she hissed past her teeth, silencing the duo.

"Nothing," said Donnie.

"Just a funny meme Donald showed me!" added Mikey while whipping out his phone at lightning speed.

"On your phone?" April questioned. Mikey sweat.

"He sent it to me!" he argued.

That was when Sunita and Wren came out of the dressing booth. The former twirled as she stepped out, posing herself beside Cassandra.

"It's so cute, right?" she cheered. Wren seemed to be looking at her pieces with a more critical eye, rounding the people wearing them.

"Yeah! We're gonna rock that runway!" April agreed, any trace of her former foul mood gone. Wren hummed.

"I think I'm gonna cut the lenght. Are you okay with shorts, Sunita?"

"Sure! Whatever you want, girl," she promised. Wren was quick to move on and adjusted Cassandra's clothing instead. She unpinned and re-pinned a pocket, then took it out entirely and took two steps back.

"Yeah, it's working now," she hummed and set down the extra piece of clothing. She cast a dreaded look toward Leo and Raph to see if they'd stopped arguing. Thankfully, they seemed to be in a timeout with the elder having a lemonade and the younger flipping through a comic book.

"Leo, you're next!"

"Finally!" The comic was abandoned in favor of Leo bouncing to Wren, who handed him several pieces.

"This goes on top," she told him while pointing to a pinstripe vest. It was blue and yellow, matching with his mask and the yellow stripes on his arms.

"You've thought this out, huh?" he realized with a smirk. Wren flashed him a smile.

"Go put it on!" she ordered. Leo gave her no argument before going to do just that.

Maybe thirty minutes later, all of them were wearing each piece she'd prepared for the day. A lot was still missing and there were changes and adjustments that needed to be made. However, it was good to see the entire collection together and on her models. Wren inhaled and exhaled to quell her nerves, tapping at her cheek with her fingers, back and forth.

"Okay! Great job, everyone. I'm gonna need everything back so I can fix a few things," she started. Clothes were being shed the moment she said so.

"I also still have three more looks I haven't finished."

Donnie quirked a brow while setting down his shirt.

"Who's gonna wear those? I mean, there's only seven of us," he questioned.

"Yeah. Some of you are gonna have to walk the runway twice."

Looks were exchanged, with Leo making a dangerous sort of move toward Raph. The moment he put a hand on his brother's shell, Wren reacted.

"NOT WITH THOSE CLOTHES ON!"

Even she seemed startled by her own volume. She blocked her mouth with both hands while a scarlet blush spread across her face. However, the shout had done its job, leaving Leo and Raph staring at her dumbly instead of wrestling.

Donatello was laughing. Leonardo would've hit him if he hadn't just gotten yelled at for that specific thing.

Wren covered part of her face the next time she spoke.

"Um, just leave everything over there. Thank you for making time for this," she stated in a flustered tone, "I'm sure you're all very busy."

She backed up and out of the room, turning around the corner to disappear from view. Mikey furrowed his brows, feeling concern. He made a move to instinctively follow Wren before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Donnie finished pulling his hoodie over his head and looked down at his younger brother. Without a word, he'd stopped him and walked after Wren instead.

Another graduate of Dr. Feelings, Mikey thought proudly, Man, I'm so good at my job!

He found her by the stairway, back pressed to the wall and a hand to her chest. She seemed to be focused on a spot on the floor, maybe a stain, maybe nothing. Donnie looked her up and down trying to gauge her exact mood, but whatever it was, it did honestly seem like an overreaction to what'd occurred.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked, mostly to announce his presence. Wren looked up with a blink, easily surprised. She straightened from her closed-off stance and stepped away from the wall.

"No, not at all. Why?" It felt like she was attempting to brush it off. That only provided to make Donnie more curious.

"No, really. What is it?" he asked simply, "You seem freaked out."

Flickers of emotions flashed across her face too quickly for him to pick up on. She looked at him, and then she looked away. She'd captured one of her wrists, and her wings had drooped by an inch at most. Caution? Maybe shame? But why? Donnie wasn't about to judge her.

"I just... Didn't mean to yell."

"Didn't mean to yell?" he repeated. Didn't mean to yell.

Oh. Oh. That was when Donatello realized he was looking into a mirror. Within moments, all of it made sense and he felt an overwhelming wave of empathy. Was this how Mikey felt all the time?

Wren looked at him when Donnie extended his hand.

"Come on. I know that look and I have something to show you."

There was a beat of hesitation before she placed her hand in his.

Donnie pulled her upstairs until they reached the training room. He picked up his bō staff, conveniently leaned against the wall where he'd left it. Wren quirked a brow, which he paid no mind to.

He reached for the window and propped it open with the staff. He then pulled himself up and turned to hold a hand out for Wren. Sure, he knew she could easily make it up there when she wanted to, but he also didn't care.

Wren let herself be pulled up and tucked her wings close to her body to climb through the window. When helped to her feet, she looked around.

A cold wind blew across the roof, ruffling her feathers and making her shiver. It was late, the scenery growing darker with the setting Sun. She walked to the edge of the roof to enjoy the sight of it. Strangely, for the first time that night, Wren felt like she could breathe.

"What are we—" Wren cut herself off when she turned back to Donnie. He'd taken the time she wasn't paying attention to lay down a blanket, which he must've brought in his Battle Shell. Which meant he must've planned this.

Donnie sat down and pat the spot beside him. Wren smiled before walking over and sat there, huddling closer to keep warm. Her wings closed around them like an extra blanket, something Donnie smiled at.

"I'm not a stranger to all-nighters," he finally admitted, "I figured you'd need a break." Her smile grew softer.

"You were right. I don't think I've ever felt this stressed," she stated while moving some hair off her face, "This is thoughtful. Thank you."

For a moment, they both looked at the orange skyline, content with silence. The day before this had been nothing but noise. A break from it was more than welcome.

Donatello watched Wren pull her hands closer and blow hot air at her fingers. It was late fall, and staying out too long without a jacket might leave you with a cold. Yet neither of them seemed in a hurry to leave.

"I figured it out, you know," Donnie said suddenly. Wren tilted her head.

"Figured what out?"

"You, just now," he told her, "I figured out what you felt."

"Oh?" she only answered. Wren looked down at her hands, rubbing them absent-mindedly.

"Acting shy and polite for the sake of whoever's in the room... It's just pretend, isn't it?" he said. When she furrowed her brows at him, Donnie rushed to continue.

"Wait—No, I don't mean you're faking it because you want something," he clarified, "You're like that because you're scared."

She answered with silence, initially. Just long enough that Donatello started doubting—Well, not his assessment, because it was correct. But rather whether voicing it was the right move.

"I am scared," she finally said. When Wren hugged her legs closer and tucked her arms around them, Donnie spoke again.

"Of what?"

"Of—" and when she hesitated, her voice grew smaller, "Of being yelled at." He blinked several times at her.

"Being yelled at?" he asked in confusion. Yelling was a regular activity in his home. He participated in it often. He'd even yelled back and forth with Wren herself, and she didn't seem scared at the time.

"I know it's stupid," she reasoned while clutching her head, "I mean, it is stupid, right? Yelling doesn't hurt anyone—Although it's not just that."

"Then... What is it?"

"I just... Don't want to be a disappointment." Those words left her shakily. Wren held a hand over her lips as if to stop herself from... What? Speaking? Crying? That last one seemed likely, judging by the moisture in her eyes.

Donnie averted his eyes.

He quietly wondered why she would think that. In his eyes, there was nothing wrong with her. In fact, the only thing he could think of was that she was scared of being herself. Wren was observant, rational and passionate. All things he valued in others. At first he'd thought she was more like Mikey, someone who was able to feel and navigate emotions effortlessly.

But now he was realizing that it was the opposite. She was like Donatello, building walls between herself and others because of some kind of perceived danger or weakness. Only she did it with smiles and soft words while he did it with disinterest and sarcasm.

Embarrassingly, he was also coming to realize how transparent that was. He tried not to think back to all the interactions with his family where they'd surely seen right through his act. Because here he was, supposedly an idiot when it came to this kind of thing, and Wren's emotions were laid out in front of him like an open book.

He caught her wrist and brought it away from Wren's face. She stared at him in confusion when she was brought closer by her shoulders until their foreheads were touching.

"I've been an idiot," he said, "I should've noticed sooner."

"I don't understand," Wren sniffled at him. Donnie was quiet for a beat, until he'd decided on his approach.

"Did I ever tell you I'm a softshell turtle?" He felt Wren shake her head. He leaned back enough to face her.

"When I was little, my brothers and I were doing our usual rough-housing. And, um... Well, at some point, I wasn't looking and Raph wasn't looking, and...

"His spikes and a soft shell don't exactly mix," he finished. Wren looked sympathetic.

"After that, even after I'd healed, I didn't feel like I could keep up with them. Not until I started getting really into tech and built my first Battle Shell."

"And now they have to try and keep up with you," said Wren. Based on her smile, she was kidding, but it was sweet nonetheless. He returned the expression.

"Sometimes I still feel like if I, I don't know: Cry, they'll start treating me like glass. Especially Raph," Donnie admitted, "And that's not what I want. And unless I've made a horrible error somewhere along the way—which is unlikely —... I think I understand why you or, anyone, might put on a facade."

Wren sighed, unable to deny it to his face. She shuffled around to face the sunset.

"My father only wants to protect me, I know that. I don't blame him for that. But the reason I'm not what he wants—I'm terrified, all the time. And the only person I can talk to about it is my sketchbook. Because every time I try..."

Wren had to stop herself before the tears came. Thankfully, the dots were easy to connect.

"He yells at you," Donnie finished for her. She nodded in favor of using her words.

"I think it's because I'm only half yokai. He thinks I can't fend for myself," Wren muttered. Donnie remembered her insistence in the lab right before they learned to crystallize her wings. He now understood the desperation. He'd felt it.

He placed his hand over hers, effectively pulling Wren's eyes back to his.

"At least, now we can talk to each other."

This time, he knew it was the right thing to say, because she leaned in to kiss him. Afterwards they cuddled closer, Wren's head on his shoulder while they settled into another silence. And if he heard her starting to cry, he pretended not to. He only pulled out his tablet, offering to put on a movie while they sat there.

Chapter Text

"Yaaaay! Fashion show day!" shouted Mikey into the mostly empty room. While he did so, he raised his hands into the air. This caused him to let go of the end of the heavy catwalk panel in his hands, forcing Donnie's grip to slip and the piece to fall with a dramatic thud.

"Can you pay attention!?" he yelled back, hands quickly closing into fists. Mikey blinked down to the runway block.

"Oops! My bad, Donnie!"

"It's fine! Just don't drop it on my foot like you did with the tables," Donnie answered in exasperation.

"Relax. Raph's got this, boys!" spoke the gentle giant. He walked out from another part of the restaurant and picked the bit of stage up with one, muscular arm.

Donatello took the time to pull up his wrist monitor, looking through his list of things to do.

"That's the last piece of the runway. I'll check the lights one more time, but otherwise we're pretty much done with setup," he said.

"Have either of you seen Wren?" asked Raphael, wiping his hands together. Mikey covered the plywood catwalk with dark blue velvet sheet.

"She's helping April with her hair," said the youngest. Donnie pinched his snout.

"Oh no. Don't tell me April's having a bad hair day?"

"The WORST! You should've seen her when she came in!" spoke Mikey through a sudden fit of laughter.

"Last time we had to wrestle the scissors out of her hand," Donnie sighed, "I'm going to check on them."

"April! It's not that bad, hermana!" Leo assured, but his chuckle didn't aid in convincing her. April grasped the locks of curls that pointed every which direction with a grimace on her face.

"I look like an untrimmed poodle!" she cried out. Wren stepped over with multiple brushes in her hands and proceeded to let them clatter onto the dresser.

"It'll be okay, I promise! Worst comes to worst, we'll get you a hat," she offered with a shrug. Choosing one of the brushes, she tried to run it through a singular lock of fluff.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"I'm so sorry, Wren! I don't know what happened. I swear I didn't do anything different to it," whined April. Wren proceeded to put down the brush and set her hands on April's shoulders.

"I told you it's okay. These things happen! Backstages are always complete chaos," she reassured, "There's still time before we open, which means there's plenty of time to think of a fix."

As if on cue, Sunita entered with her phone in hand.

"Okay! I've watched three different tutorials on what to do in a hair disaster of this magnitude. Everyone out! I need to work my magic," she ushered. Wren cast one more reassuring smile before following Leo to the door.

Sunita lathered her hands with conditioner before starting to run them through April's roots. The latter sunk her face into her palm, cringing into the mirror.

"You look wrecked, April! What's wrong? It can't be just the hair," questioned her friend.

"Oh, it's—"

The door opening again cut her off.

"Okay, I'm here! What's the issue? Because there's nothing I or the power of the internet can't solve," announced Donnie. When he stepped up to the dresser, Sunita used her elbow to shove him back.

"I have it under control, Donnie! Just go worry about the other stuff," she insisted.

"Scoff, I say! I've been friends with April the longest and thus I've been familiar with her hair the longest. You can use my expertise and you know it!"

"Guys! Just, please, calm down! You're freaking me out more!" cut in April. The duo on the verge of an argument both focused on her.

"What's going on?" asked Donnie, his pride surprisingly forgotten for now. April sighed.

"I'm not a model! I'm good at karate and beating up bad guys and getting pumped up for action. But when it comes to prancing around a catwalk or attending a school dance—I'm a total wallrose," she confessed, "Heck, I'm barely five feet tall!"

Her two friends glanced at one another.

"So?" voiced Donnie.

"So, weren't you listening? I'm going to make a complete fool out of myself!" April insisted.

"Did you forget who you're talking to? The five-foot-something mutant turtle and the woman made out of slime?"

"Donnie's right, April. The standards for yokai are not the same ones you're used to! A lot of humans actually just kind of look the same to me. There's a chance no one will even know who you are after this," added Sunita.

"Right. All you have to do is walk up and down a stage once. Just loosen up and have fun with it."

"You're one to talk, Donnie!" argued April, "Even if you are right, damn you. I'm just getting in my own head about this!"

"See? All you need to do is start looking on the upside," promised Sunita. April smiled at their reflections.

"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry for freaking out on you."

"No probbles, April. That's what we're here for," assured Donatello. Him and Sunita shared a look, both harmoniously turning to grab bobby pins off the dresser.

Meanwhile, in another part of the pizza shop, Wren was pacing back and forth while Leo watched with his arms crossed.

"I swear you've been doing that for a full ten minutes," he finally stated, leaning himself into the wall. Wren looked up from the floor, finally rounding to a stop.

"What if no one comes?" she voiced. Her nerves had been spiking ever since they ran out of things to set up in the main room.

"We spent so much time putting posters around! People are gonna come," Leo assured, "Just sit down! You're having pre-show jitters. Happens even to the pros."

Wren did sit down. She pulled up a chair from the row and buried her face in her hands. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on! You've taken on baddies, had fridges thrown at you by Raph and gotten experimented on by Donnie. How is this the thing that gets you nervous?"

She moved her hands enough to peer at Leo past her fingers. After an insecure glance to the side, she muttered her response:

"This is the first time I'm really doing something just for myself. What if they hate it?"

"Then they hate it!"

Leo's response was immediate, and he threw out his arms casually.

"There's a ton of Jupiter Jim movies out there that were total box office bombs! People hated those, too! But it doesn't matter that people threw out their DVDs and posters. Because there's always someone to dig them up from the junkyard who'll appreciate them," he explained.

"You can be our junkyard find! Okay?"

The silly sentiment helped Wren sit up and show Leo a watery smile. She nodded at him.

"Okay."

Señor Hueso, who'd been around to make sure his establishment didn't get run down, walked past the two teens with keys in his hand.

"It's time to open the doors. I suggest you get your act together now rather than later," he stated. Wren sat up quickly enough to topple the chair with her wings. Leo picked it back up.

They both watched as Hueso unlocked the door and looked outside. He held it for the group of five yokai that immediately walked in, talking to one another about this and that.

"People came!" Wren gasped, turning to Leo, who still wasn't backstage.

"Go dress! Go dress right now!" she ushered him nervously. The turtle chuckled and pat her shoulder.

"I'm going! Just try not to lose your head while I'm gone, chica."

As Leo walked off, Wren turned to address the first guests. Her voice shook as she spoke, her heart hammering a million beats per hour. But somehow, she was getting through it.

While they were now whispering backstage, the restaurant had filled out enough to host a choir of conversations. Donatello and Michelangelo were peeking just past the curtain, trying to determine if there was anyone important in the small crowd.

"What about him?" offered Donnie, pointing out a pompous looking gerbil yokai with a tophat on his head. Mikey let out a long, uncertain hum.

"I don't know, Dee. I don't remember seeing him in any of these fashion magazines," he stated while pulling up a stack of "research" they'd been doing prior.

"Guys," hissed April quietly behind them, "Get away from the curtain!"

Both brothers turned to her, immediately looking the girl up and down. She was now in her full outfit, the majority of the look dominated by a mix of green and white that surprisingly suited her. Her hair was up in a large bun, finally tamed after Donnie and Sunita's united effort.

"April! You really pulled it together!" whispered Mikey, "We're trying to spot critics."

"It took a while, but it was so worth it," she answered with relief, "I'm ready to do this, you guys."

"Me too!" agreed Sunita, walking out beside her. Her new outfit had her in a pair of white shorts and an edgy jacket.

"Why does this outfit suddenly have so much fabric!?" shouted Cassandra, only to be shushed by everyone. That was when Wren rushed in, looking around the group until her eyes landed on the goth.

"No, Casey! That's the wrong one," she shouted in whisper, "You wear the jumpsuit first."

"I WILL GO CHANGE IMMEDIATELY!" she answered in kind. Wren caught her arm.

"Wait, I wanted to say something," the yokai stated quietly, "Thank you for being here, everyone. I quite literally could not have done this without all of your help."

"Don't get mushy on us now. There's still a whole show to put on," said Donnie.

"Besides, you don't need to thank us! This is fun, and we get to do it together," added Mikey, immediately getting mushy again.

"Bring it in, guys!" offered April, pulling Wren in with one arm and spreading the other. The entire room quickly squeezed into a hug, Cassandra and Donnie involuntarily.

"Wait, don't wrinkle the clothes," whispered Wren. The hug broke and she adjusted the outfits of whoever was closest.

Donnie stopped her by placing both his hands on her shoulders.

"Go start the show already."

After meeting his eyes, she recalled her priorities. Wren smiled, turning to walk for the curtain.

Despite the new jewelry and black dress she'd sewn for herself the night prior, Wren felt exposed when she stepped onto the runway. The other yokai in the room quieted, though thankfully she couldn't see their faces well from the lighting.

The catwalk felt about a mile long in front of her. Another thing to be grateful for was that she only needed to take a couple steps forward for this.

"H...Hello, welcome," she managed. Sort of. It may have come out barely above a whisper.

"What did she say?" someone in the audience asked. Wow, did the lights always feel this hot? Wren didn't know what to do with her hands. Or her wings, for that matter. How did she usually hold them?

The others, spying on her through a crack in the curtain, shared looks.

"Maybe we should've given her a better pep talk," whispered Mikey.

"I gave her an excellent pep talk. Called her garbage and everything," said Leo, smirking.

"You what?" questioned Donnie, his brows furrowed.

"Trust me, it was pure class!"

"Leo, we need to have a talk about your pep talks," whispered Raph.

Meanwhile, Wren was still stuck where she stood on the stage, almost like she'd stepped in gum and gotten electrocuted at the same time. What did she intend to say? She already said welcome. Did she need to say welcome again? She couldn't see, but she was viscerally aware of being stared at. The silence was dragging on. She was two minutes from passing out.

"Meow."

Her head dipped at the sound. Not a moment later, she felt how the small, orange cat brushed up against her leg.

Wren didn't know who'd let it in, or where it might've come from. Only that when she saw it, she felt like laughing. She crouched to pet its striped back. When it purred loudly in response, she picked it up and into her arms.

"Welcome, everyone. My name is Wren, and this is my first fashion show. I was inspired by a few things—New York among them—But most of all, by all the friends I've made as of late. Anyway, I hope you see something you like up here. Even if it is just this kittycat."

"She made it through that time," cheered Sunita, "Places, everyone!"

The music began playing. The lights hit the catwalk. The first model was out.

Sunita walked along to the beat in her shorts and jacket combo. She had a cheerful attitude when she reached the end of the runway, stopping to blow a kiss into the audience.

When she turned, the next model stepped out. Mikey was, surprisingly, playing it cool. He didn't smile until he was at the very end, and even then it was more like a cool guy smirk than a full grin. He took off the patterned jacket in favor of off showing off the white turtleneck and slit cuff pants underneath.

Raph was after Mikey. While he smiled, it was possibly unintentionally the dangerous sort of smile. He struck a pose that showed off his arms, reminiscent of wrestling. It was fitting, considering the top of his wrestling suit peeked out at the top. Over it was a long coat, and his bottoms were pinstripe pants.

Cassandra walked out with all the edge of a goth warrior. She posed like a professional model would, a hand on her hip, but her fierce glare into the audience likely put some of them on edge.

Casey was followed by Donnie, who looked completely unbothered by the spotlight. In fact, when he reached the end of the catwalk he played up his supposed boredom. He mimed a yawn in the middle of his pose, dropping one arm to show off the flawlessly sewn sleeve of his dark sweater.

Leo glanced at Donnie when the former walked onto the runway. He pushed out a foot, but didn't turn to watch his brother nearly faceplant into the curtains. He did contain his snicker in favor of gleefully smirking at the audience.

Leonardo ate up the attention of posing in the end, striking two different positions in the short time. He had a look with various layers and a looser fit, flowing with each of his movements.

April was next. She'd gotten over her nerves and strut the runway like she owned it. Her fiery grin lit up the room. She also took off her jacket, swinging it over her shoulder before walking off.

The three people getting a second turn on the runway were Sunita, Raphael and Cassandra. Sunita rocked a long white dress with complementary square shapes. Raph wore a tunic with subtle psychedelic influence.

Cassandra had the final outfit: An architechtural dress styled with a round-edged biker jacket. The dress itself was white and made out of a light material that resembled paper by its folding. It was the big show piece to end on.

All of the models walked out one last time in an orderly line, greeted by applause. Wren tailed it with a happy little smile, her wings tucked close, as she waved into the audience.

She didn't notice Donnie dig his heel in Leo's toe right before they walked behind the curtain.

Chapter Text

"Cheers to a successful Runway Show!" shouted April enthusiastically, holding up her glass.

"Wohoo!"     "Yeah!"

Eight other glasses collided with hers, some glimmering pink liquid inevitably escaping containment in the process. No one seemed to particularly care.

All of the previous tension was gone by the time the runway show had ended and the afterparty began. April had suggested all of them get a drink of punch together, Splinter included. The Hamato partiarch had been invited to watch and agreed to abandon his arm chair for one day to do so.

April felt something brush up against her leg and picked up the orange cat from before.

"Aww, look at you, cutie! Wait, what's going on here?"

She noticed the cat had on it a collar. That collar held a shiny broach you wouldn't normally see as a pet accessory. So of course, she touched it.

The glamour broke and uncovered yellow, blue and two white tusks. April gasped and raised the small yokai into the air.

"Mayhem! Where have you been, boy?"

Splinter cleared his throat.

"You've done well, Wren," he said, "I hope you feel proud of this accomplishment. All of you."

The yokai was blushing while looking into her glass. Her and Splinter didn't have a close relationship and she hadn't expected the praise.

"We're so proud of her!" promised Mikey, pulling Wren away from Donnie and into his own side.

"Yeah, we're proud and so on, but also: LET'S PARTY!" exclaimed Leo. No one could find it in themselves to disagree.

"Yes, let us party."

Apparently, not even Barry Draxum.

"BARRY!?" shouted Splinter, dropping his drink. Señor Hueso tiredly watched the glass shatter from a distance.

Baron Draxum faced the group, hidden by the shadows of a dark cloak. He looked completely suspicious. While he was still technically in hiding, the restaurant was outside the Hidden City and was unlikely to house law enforcement.

"What are you doing here, Barry?" demanded April.

"YES, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? And why are we angry!?" echoed Cassandra.

"I'll tell you why, you sad excuse for livestock—!"

Raph caught Donnie before he could take another step toward Draxum. He furrowed his brows, throwing a questioning look between his brother and the sheep man.

"Who invited you, goat!?" demanded Splinter. Leo's eyes slid to his youngest sibling.

"Miguel? Got something to confess?"

"It wasn't me this time! Honest!" Mikey insisted.

"Whoever did invite him better confess!" demanded Donnie.

"It was me."

Everyone's eyes turned to Wren.

The situation calmed down quickly after her confession. Having assessed the situation, Raphael ushered back the others to give the Baron and Wren some space. The only one who refused to do so was Donatello, who glared daggers at Draxum.

"I admit: I, too, was surprised you invited me here," started the sheep man. Donnie silently agreed. Wren twirled a lock of her hair while she thought out her response.

"You're a work in progress," she finally said, "But you're nevertheless one of Donnie's parents. I don't want to be something that drives a wedge between your family."

"Wren, it's not you. It's Draxum and his insistence on hating humanity," Donatello corrected, "Sure, he's mostly come around. But clearly there's still so much work to be done on that front that you don't need to be involved with."

"If I may—" and Barry continued despite the glare from his 'son,' "I amend that I reacted a little too hastily the first time we met. I was, er, caught off guard by your genetic inheritance."

"What would you do differently if you met me for the first time now?"

"Not. Do that," he said awkwardly. When the couple still stared at him, he scrambled for a better response.

"Have dinner without announcing my personal opinions?"

"For your own good, I'd keep those opinions buried deep inside until the heat death of the universe," hissed Donnie. Wren set a hand on his arm as a quiet request to back down.

"Look," she started slowly, "I was raised in the Hidden City. The keyword in that name being 'hidden.' Just like other yokai, I have to hide from most humans to protect myself. I know the awful things they could do to us if we were discovered. Especially right after the Krang invasion.

"So what I'm trying to say is, I understand where your mindset comes from. Which doesn't mean I think it's right, but I get it. In time, I want you to come to accept me and other yokai who are part human... And that's why I invited you."

Wren extended her right hand, steeling her nerves while she held it there. Draxum watched her with an unflinching gaze for an extended moment. Then, he shook her hand.

"Great, great. Everyone's made up. No hard feelings here," murmured Donnie, his arms folded.

"I never much cared for diplomacy, but... I suppose I'll have to learn to exercise that as well," Draxum said, "Donatello, I apologize for the way I acted at dinner. I didn't have your best interest at heart, just my own... Prejudice." The last word came out with reluctance. Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I won't have Mikey roast you into kebab yet."

"I'm glad to hear it," the yokai said, "Now, then. I have taken up enough of your time. I have work to do in the kitchen, so I shall leave you all to your party."

Neither teen moved to stop Draxum while he made his way to the door. He paused after a few steps.

"It was, er, an entertaining event," he stated. Donnie and Wren watched him leave through the door before turning to one another.

The most Donnie had time to do in that instant was to place a hand on Wren's arm. He didn't get to speak before someone else cut in.

"I'm a reporter for Fashionfashionfashion, the fashion magazine for yokai. I was looking to get your picture."

It was a female cat yokai with rectangular glasses on her nose, looking down at what looked like an old-timey camera instead of Wren.

"Sure, go ahea—"

The flash went off before Wren could finish her sentence. Donnie's expression had barely changed. He was standing right next to her and was surely also caught by the camera, which was perfectly fine considering all her models were still in their stage outfits.

"What did you think of the show?" Wren managed. The yokai toyed with her camera while she spoke.

"It was a little predictable for a New York -inspired collection. But on the plus side, the tailoring was impressive for someone so young. The thing I intend to write about, though, was your use of models. You had both humans and yokai involved in your show. That hasn't been done many times and is therefore, by default, fashion forward."

Despite what sounded like a compliment otherwise, the reporter managed to sound incredibly bored. She didn't say any kind of goodbye before walking away from Wren and Donnie.

"Well, look at you, Miss Famous. An article in a magazine?" mused Donnie. Wren giggled back at him.

"All thanks to you guys. Again," she answered, proceeding to plant a kiss on his cheek, "Though she might not even decide to publish it in the end."

"Of course she will! She said your show was revolutionary," he praised.

"She did not use the word revolutionary!" she squawked.

"Sure she did. You just have to learn to read between the lines," joked Donnie. Wren shook her head, moving to put her arms around his neck.

"You know, now that it's done, I don't really care what anyone but you guys thought about it."

The teens shared a fond smile.

"Want to go dance?" Wren asked soon after. Donnie quirked a brow.

"I thought you didn't dance," he remembered. Wren shrugged in response.

"I'll make an exception for tonight." Donatello found himself surprisingly giddy at the prospect.

"In that case, what are we waiting for?"

It was a couple hours later that they'd danced themselves out. Since there'd been nothing alarming on the news or scanners for days, Wren and Donnie had agreed to take the scenic route back home instead of one of Leo's portals. While they were lightly teased about the choice, no one ended up fully protesting it.

That was why Wren now found herself standing in the alleyway outside Hueso's. She'd said she needed to get a little air while Donnie had gone back to grab his Flight Shell. He'd stripped it favor of wearing his show outfit.

It was quiet outside, if you didn't account for the distant city noise. Wren watched her breath come and go in little puffs of mist, shivering ever so slightly due to the cold air. In hidnsight, she should've brought a jacket.

The wall shifted with bright color and Donatello stepped out. He smiled upon spotting his girlfriend, a hand quickly stretched out for hers. She eargerly took it into her own and playfully nuzzled her nose into Donnie's, pulling a laugh out of the turtle.

"I hope you know I had a lot of fun tonight," he confessed, "With you, specifically." Wren felt flustered by the sweet statement. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear to rid herself of some nervous energy.

"Me too. I'm gonna remember tonight forever, I think."

Donnie glanced at their surroundings briefly before his eyes landed back on Wren.

"I know this alleyway isn't the most romantic setting, but..." he trailed off, his body language easily explaining the rest. His half-lidded eyes closed while he leaned closer. Wren's arms wrapped around his neck while she moved to answer the kiss, his consequently gathering around her waist.

It was a perfect moment. The air no longer felt chilling, and the noise of the city faded into the background. The only thing present was the blooming love of a teenage mutant and yokai.

Until something shifted in the shadows.

Wren pulled away first. Donnie was stuck staring at her for a few seconds, too distracted to notice the way her eyes shifted to their surroundings. Too distracted to notice anything was wrong at all. But after those seconds ticked by, his internal alarm finally gained a voice.

"What's wr—"

He felt someone land directly behind him. All of his combat instincts kicked in at once, and he pushed Wren back before ducking downward. Something whooshed right over his head.

Donnie swung his leg to try and trip the person behind him, but they evaded it. They were quicker, shifting around him as something hard suddenly struck the back of his head.

"Donnie!" shouted Wren in distress, recovering from her stumble. She reached for her panic button.

Something came directly at her face. Everything went black.

Chapter Text

The first thing Donatello felt was a dull ache in the back of his skull. Something had hit him, he remembered. When he raised an arm to manually soothe the pain, he was not only caught off guard by the sound of clatter, but that he couldn't. And once that first sound had registered, so did the rest.

The rowdiness of a crowd came into focus, along with brightness when he peeled open his eyes. It took a few seconds for his vision to adjust, to look away from the spotlights directed at him. Was he back in the fashion show? He thought so briefly, before it all became clear.

A circular structure surrounded him, with bleachers climbing high up the sides. All sorts of colors and shapes filled the seats almost to the brim, the closest of which he could recognize as different kinds of yokai.

An arena... Surrounded by yokai...

"Big Mama," he whispered in horror.

It was as if on cue that the giant, magical screens placed around the stadium filled with the giggling image of the giant spider.

"Why, won't we look at that! Our second contestant has finally come to his senses," she tittered from above.

Second contestant? Donnie instantly thought, suddenly frantically looking around the arena. His vision focused on a platform all the way across, where a shape of purple and black struggled against constraints. His eyes widened the instant he recognized her.

"Donnie! Donnie, are you okay!?" he could almost hear her scream. The noise of the crowd covered up half the words. Donnie was too far to try and read her lips. He tried to move, but like her, he was bound to a stone pillar by clattering chains.

"For those of you just tuning in—," came Big Mama's sultry tone, "We've caught ourselves a bit of a romantic duo. The son of our legendary combatant Lou Jitsu, and the daughter of his former opponent, The Feathered Demon.

"Now, in this teensy-weensy little contest, the goal of these star-crossed lovers is to reach the center of the arena before the timer runs out. Of course, the path of love is never just rainbows and sunshine, so we've set up a few chippery-challenges along the way.

"Good luck, little lovebirds! And remember: Only you can save one another."

The image of Big Mama faded in favor of an advert. Donnie cast his eyes down into the arena, trying to grasp the degree of awfulness they were subjected to.

Of course, no matter what, being trapped in the Battle Nexus was a terrible fate. If you left the arena with just an injury, you were considered lucky. But if he could gauge what to expect, maybe Donnie could weave them through this mess before anything non-reversible had opportunity to happen.

It was during this thought he felt gravity shift, and the platform he stood on began sinking.

Wren stopped trashing out of surprise when she felt a sudden drop. With a look across the arena, it appeared the pillars her and Donnie had been placed on were lowering. Dread morphed into a pit in her stomach and she looked down, toward their heading.

There were stationary runic patterns in the air. She recognized they made up a magical ceiling they could not pass from below. That meant she couldn't use much of her flying against whatever they were meant to face.

Beyond the ceiling, there were walls. Almost maze-like, with more open compartments here and there. There was a round deepening in the middle of it all, possibly made with some kind of white stone, like marble. The center they were meant to reach, Wren realized.

With her remaining time up above, she desperately tried to memorize a route there. But the angle was already tilted, and she could only get a peek before the level was too low.

The bottom of the maze was in shade, dark and unreliable. She looked around in a panic she hadn't noticed before the platform was all the way down. There was an eerie silence here, filled by distant noises of the audience and her own ragged breathing. She saw red in the shadows, the feeling of a dreadful fate.

The chains that bound Wren to the pillar still hadn't come off. She nudged her body this way and that, trying to see if there was any more give. She looked down her arms, each bound to a chain on different sides. She couldn't even bring them close together.

She remembered the bracelet. Wren silently wondered if she'd ever pressed all the way down on that panic button. She only remembered trying.

"Focus," she told herself quietly. There had to be some way to free her. Big Mama was an entertainer, and it wasn't particularly entertaining to watch someone being stuck to a pole until they rotted away.

Wren tried to do the opposite of trashing and leaned all of her weight into the pillar, letting the chains go as loose as they liked. Nothing. So instead she tried to look at her immediate surroundings, trying to spot a latch or a lever. Maybe a button?

There was dirt, and there were three walls in front of her. While it was hard to see, the edge of the arena must've been right behind her back. There was an opening in the wall to the right of her. Her only heading, if she ever got free.

Nothing. Why is there nothing? There has to be something, she thought frantically. Wren looked up. The only thing she could see through the magic ceiling was a screen, one that displayed the time they had left. Seconds ticked by, increasing her ongoing dread.

Wren tried struggling again, putting all of her weight against the chains.

Suddenly, they gave, and she fell forward. Her eyes flew all the way open while all the metal was pulled into the stone via designated holes.

"Why now?" she found herself asking. Right before a strange sound had Wren whipping her head around.

Square shapes separated themselves from the walls, becoming floating cubes around her. They turned, showing a cylindrical hole through the center. A bright shade of blue crackled through it.

Oh no.

Wren ducked right before the shot fired at her. She spun on her heel and her foot dragged against the ground from momentum. Another one of the cubes was charging, but Wren's eyes had fixed on something.

The shot that fired had hit the pillar she'd been tied to. The black mark it left behind highlighted something there: A small, heart-shaped panel.

Donatello nudged his weight against the chains at a few different angles. When that didn't work, he went to survey his surroundings. Unfortunately, he found nothing but dirt and walls, aside from a singular opening in the panel in front of him. He looked up to view the timer, angled just right for him to see. Big Mama wanted them to feel the approaching doom, to feel anxious of what was to come.

She'd never stated what would happen once that timer ran out.

Re-determined to free himself, Donnie took a deep breath. If this was a puzzle, he could figure it out. He'd yet to face one he couldn't, and that thought comforted him. He closed his eyes to center, feeling the dirt beneath his feet... The pressure of the chains, the rough texture of the stone he was pressed against.

Wait. Touch, of course! While he could barely move, his hands had a little bit of give with the way the chains kept him captive. Donnie opened his eyes, but began patting his fingers against the sides of the pillar, where he could not see.

That was when he felt it: A small protrusion in the wall, prominent enough that it couldn't be a random bump. Donnie pressed it, and it gave, sinking into the structure.

Nothing happened. He tried to tug against his chains, but there was no more give than before.

But something must've happened. It was a button. There wouldn't be a button on the pillar for no reason, right?

And remember: Only you can save one another.

The sentence came back to him unbidden. Wren had been chained to an identical pillar. That meant there must've been an identical button. One that would release him.

At the time of this realization, there was a strange sound coming from the walls. Square shapes separated from it, revealing themselves to be cubic as they turned. There was a hollowed out cylindrical shape in the center, charging with a bright blue mystic current.

"That can't be g—" Donnie cut himself off when the cube fired. He swung his head to the side in the nick of time, but he felt the crackling heat where the current had struck. Whatever it was could've easily injured him, if not worse.

He wiggled in his binds, but they had yet to release. Panic was setting in. While his ninpo reflexively flared, just as quickly a golden glow enveloped the chains. He was stuck. A second cube charged up. Donnie forcefully trashed against the chains, straining them to their limit.

They gave just as the second shot fired.

Wren withdrew her hand from the button. Nothing she could see had happened by pressing it, but hopefully she'd been right. Hopefully, that was the release for Donnie's chains across the arena. She cursed how there was no way for her to tell.

The cubes fired again. Wren was using her wings as bait, holding them at the front and quickly angling them so shots brushed by instead. None came close to the vital center of her frame.

While ducking another assault, she took a moment to try and count how many cubes there were. Thankfully, with just a glance, she was able to see all four. That didn't mean that was the entire total within the maze. Donnie might've been in the exact same situation right now.

She hadn't had a moment to try and fiddle with her wrist band yet. If she could activate the mystic energy stored within, she could block the shots with her crystallized feathers. Maybe even knock those things into the ether.

Wren made a run for the opening in the wall. She ducked right behind it on the other side and pulled her wings in. She panted while looking at the piece of wrist tech. Filled with adrenaline-fueled panic, it was hard to think clearly. Did Donnie say to twist it?

She heard a crackle and felt a sting on her wrist. Wren cried out before twirling her head around. One of the cubes was peeking around the corner just enough to have gotten her at an angle.

There was only an instant to take in the damage. The shot had brushed against her skin, leaving behind an angry red mark, and...

The bracelet was gone. She turned her head in horror to see it fried on the ground.

"Whoopsie-doodle! It looks like our Juliet has lost something important!"

Donnie twisted his head to view the one screen he had consistent access to. Big Mama had taken the place of the timer, looking absolutely mirthful about something happening in the arena.

He heard another shot charge, his focus shifting back to the battle at hand. He moved out of the way of the shot with two light steps and turned swiftly to face the row of four mystic drones.

Donatello was more than a competent fighter, even without his tech or his ninpo. That was why the drones didn't concern him much now that he was no longer bound. He didn't know their exact durability, speed nor other limitations, but he had seen enough to form a quick strategy.

After his next dodge, Donnie reached for the bottom of his Battle Shell with instinctive ease. A compartment opened and something thin and metallic landed in his hand. It wasn't his Tech-Bo—he hadn't used that much in the past two years—in fact, it really was nothing but a singular piece of steel.

That was all he needed, now. With his mystic ability, that bit of steel extended to each side with a purple glow until he held a full-lenght bo staff in his hand.

What worried him more than the drones was what Big Mama had just announced on the monitor. It was a safe assumption Juliet had meant Wren—a lovely Shakesperian reference. The problem was, "lost something important" could've referred to many things, body parts included. Donnie really hoped it didn't mean body parts.

The next time a shot fired, he hopped up into the air. Landing on top of a drone, it started to crash, and he carried the momentum to roll across the room. The drone flew in the opposite direction, misfiring. He twirled his bo and swung it into another he'd landed by. It crashed into the drone closest to that. That one had been charging up and accidentally fired into its buddy, causing an explosion of blue between them.

From the cloud of dust and debris appeared the two remaining drones, both charging. Donnie focused his ninpo, dashing right as they took aim to run and hop between them. The shots fired into each other and another explosion sounded behind him while he landed.

Donnie assessed the settling dust. When the "room" appeared clear, aside from the rubble the fight had created, he steadied his weapon against his arm and sprinted for the opening in the wall. He didn't know what to expect, but he could only assume it'd get worse from here.

Chapter Text

Wren found no option but to run, run as fast as her feet could carry her. Unfortunately for her, running was difficult when you had four wings on your back. Usually she preferred them as a mode of transport instead, but the hallways of this maze were too narrow for it.

She ran into another dead end and winced, skidding to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, she could see those floating cubes approaching. The two at the front held charges.

The yokai darted in the general direction of their charge, narrowly avoiding another hit by crouching. She grabbed a corner on her right to swivel her to a sharp turn, feet lifting into the air as her half-spread wings floated her through the action.

Then she was running again, down yet another hallway. She had no time to think about the layout, only to try and head in the approximate direction of the center.

There was a nagging thought in the back of her mind. There was bound to be more to this maze, and those things were still following her. Wren didn't think she could tackle two challenges at once. If she wanted to survive, she had to make a stand.

Only, without the bracelet, she couldn't access her powers. She'd have to get creative somehow, learn to fight without the ability she'd grown reliant on.

"Okay, think, think!" she mumbled to herself, looking between the blurring walls on either of her sides.

Wren got an idea. She screetched to a halt, turning sideways on the path. Sure, she couldn't spread her wings while running, but angled this way she had all the room she needed.

While still wondering if she'd made the right choice, she turned to view the cubes approaching her.

I have to time this right, she thought, hearing almost nothing besides her own heartbeat.

When she saw the first cube charging, Wren used her wings to propel herself into the air. The shot fired into the ground, where she'd just been. The leap brought her all the way up, almost into the ceiling, if it weren't for her ability to maneuver midair. She stopped her own momentum with a flap to the opposite direction.

She saw the cubes taking aim at her. Wren pressed her feet to the closest wall and drew in her wings. With a mix of gravity and the force she managed to gain by kicking herself off the wall, she propelled herself forward.

Wren shouted when the shots buzzed right past her head, hitting the wall instead of her. She had her arms reached toward the nearest cube, which she grabbed midair with sheer power of will alone. Her nails dug into it unpleasantly, and she grimaced for a split second.

Her weight dragged it down and forward, toward the other three. It misfired into the ceiling while the others tried to follow her trajectory. Some awkwardly aimed shots swished past her. Wren swung her body to the left, her legs briefly connecting with the wall at an odd angle. But thankfully that had readjusted the cube's angle to be facing its friends.

It misfired again, blowing back another one of the cubes by its very corner. Wren let herself and her cube keep dropping in altitude until they reached ground level. That was when she forcefully pulled it downward and locked it underneath her arm. She quickly faced it up.

She managed to redirect its next shot, blowing up another cube. The three in the air had been huddled together from her back and forth, and thus the two others took collateral damage. A chain reaction caused the previously damaged one to blow, vibrant blues filling the air.

She dropped her head in order to protect it from debris, which she managed succesfully. However, a piece hit the cube she was holding onto, knocking it, and her, back. The cube grew unstable in her arms. Her eyes widened when she noticed it at the last possible moment, a blue color crackling around it instead of just inside.

Wren let go and scrambled back as quickly as she—

The explosion threw her back until she hit the end of the hallway. Her vision went black for a moment, and the next thing she felt was her body awkwardly ragdolling to the ground.

The dust hadn't even settled and her ears were ringing, but some kind of instinct was telling Wren to get up. She used her shaking arms to lift her torso, when—

From the corner of her eye, she saw the light. One cube still remained, damaged, but charging.

Wren threw her body down and covered her neck. She expected to get hit, but instead heard the shot collide with the wall above her. Unfolding enough to see, she looked at the black mark, and then at the cube again.

The damage to it must've thrown off its ability to aim!

Whimpering, she forced herself to her feet and balanced herself with her wings. The cube fired, but she only needed to sway a little to avoid it. Unfortunately, everything hurt, and she could no longer run like before.

Wren attempted to anyway. Her hand scaled the wall and occasionally she fell against it for support. So did the cube after her, awkwardly navigating through the air while it chased her. Wren ducked through another opening in the wall, a shot firing at the doorframe. She briefly wondered how many cracked ribs she had this time.

There was another opening right after the first one, and she stumbled her way through. She stopped two steps into a large, open room, a sound almost like the keys of a piano catching her attention. It was coming from beneath her feet.

Patterns, glowing patterns. The two were identical to one another, but each on a separate square tile. Upon further investigation, the room was entirely made up of them. A puzzle.

Wren turned her head in alarm, trying to see if the cube was still after her. But it was no longer there.

Donatello navigated the hallways swiftly, but efficiently. He'd lowered his goggles, letting them idly create a map of routes he'd already taken. After having been turned around again by an empty wall, he took a different turn at the last intersection.

The hallway led into a singular doorway on his left. Donnie raised a brow, pausing right before he stepped through.

It was a large, empty room, with one one thing peculiar. He could see mystic signatures on the tiles making up the floor, two different kinds. This was no doubt the next challenge, something he didn't intend to rush into without prompt.

Meanwhile, Big Mama was enjoying the show from the control room. Her staff silently navigated the mystic devices; All but one.

"Tsk, that seems unfair. He's cheating," said the large owl, gesturing toward a rounded screen with Donnie wearing his goggles. Big Mama faced him.

"Oh, don't worry your hoo-head about it! His pittering partner is about to send a shindig of a surprise his way," she mused. The owl turned to another monitor. Quickly, he connected the dots.

He watched Wren step onto the tiles, and the floating cube chasing her, vanish.

Two kinds of tiles. Donatello suspected at least one of them would do something undesirable when stepped on. While it would've been obvious for it to be the ones fewer in number, it could've been the opposite, too. Perhaps the fewer ones—

There was a crackling sound coming from behind him.

"Ahh!" he shouted in shock while turning his head, the shot hitting the doorway on his left. Donnie recovered his balance by taking two steps into the room, and distantly, he heard a rumble.

"How are you here? I destroyed you all!" he exclaimed while twirling his bo staff in front of him. It created a shield the next shot slammed into. Donnie quietly noted how its aim was a bit off, having hit the edge of the shield rather than the center.

While it was trying to charge, Donnie turned the end of his bo to face the cube. It extended and turned into a drill, one that he launched into the drone. They both hit the wall in an explosion of color.

He sighed out of relief and went to step away from the puzzle. Only, when he tried to lift his second foot, it felt as if he'd stepped in gum. He couldn't unattach it from the glowing tile it was pressed against.

Now that he looked at the field of tiles, he noticed something strange in the exact opposite corner. Some of the tiles had disappeared.

And even more peculiar, one of them was glowing, too.

Wren stared behind herself, at the empty space where the cube had been. But even though she waited, nothing appeared. Yet she hadn't heard a crash or an explosion. What had happened to it?

She was brought back to the room ahead of her by the sound of a rumble. She looked down and immediately her eyes widened. Tiles began falling into darkness on her right. They got closer to where she stood and she yelped, walking farther to the left.

Soon, this stopped. She settled onto a singular tile and looked down into the abyss created. Only, it was no abyss at all. It was a floor of spikes six feet below, the fallen tiles scattered around them.

"Oh," she breathed, "I see. Okay. Don't fall."

She looked over the rest of the tile field. There was an exit at the other end, and... Oh, this room was easily large enough for her to fly across. Cheating or not, she didn't care in the slightest. Wren spread her wings and flapped.

Only to find she was being held down by something. She yelped while falling forward from the momentum, her tired leg straining in response. When she stepped onto another tile, her foot came free, and she stumbled a couple more steps.

Donnie zoomed in with his goggles to see how the tiles lit up at the other end of the room, almost like someone was walking on them. Then he lifted them enough to look down at his own feet.

He had one foot on a tile, glowing white. Just like their corresponding colors in his scan. The pink ones were the exception, and therefore—

Tiles began falling on his right and he perked up in alarm. Dropping the goggles back down, he saw that a pink tile was glowing near the opposite end.

The falling tiles didn't reach his foothold, but they were only one off from doing so. He looked down to see what was at the bottom and immediately gulped in horror upon seeing the spikes. They lined up toward him in mockery of circumstance.

Donnie tried to unlatch his foot, but it was practically part of the tile itself. Not even with the aid of his Flight Shell did he manage to do anything but hurt his muscles by straining them. His mystic prowess wasn't enough to undo whatever magic was holding him down. Not this quickly.

He breathed in and looked at the other end. The person who'd dropped the tiles must've been Wren, possibly on a similar tile field herself. They were interlinked, each one able to trigger effects in the opposite end.

Donatello dropped on his goggles. While Wren would have to guess, he could at least protect her from falling in.

It took her a moment to gather her bearings. Her strained calf ached and Wren bent down to rub it. Which then proceeded to hurt her sides and she hissed, straightening back up.

She'd heard another distant rumble moments before and now looked around the tile field. There was brand new emptiness in the opposite left corner. She looked down at her feet, seeing she was stood between a pink and white tile.

The other ones had been glowing white until now, so the pinks might've triggered something? She looked into the opposite corners, where tiles were missing. Wren didn't remember stepping on a pink tile the first time, but could she have?

That was when she saw it. Near the corner she was headed toward, white tiles lit up one at a time, as if someone was walking across. Her eyes widened. Donnie?

Wren moved fully onto the white tile.

Donnie must've triggered it the first time, from the other end. Which meant she'd possibly almost caused him to fall. The thought made her nauseous. These tiles were grounding them with some kind of gravity magic. They'd be pulled down into the spikes, wings or no wings.

As for which tile would be pink, she couldn't know until she stepped on them. One wrong move and one or both of them would be skewered.

And yet Donnie didn't seem to have much hesitation while making his way across. He hit tiles with a consistent pace, snaking a path toward the center. Wren furrowed her brows. Unless he was insanely lucky, he must've had a way to detect the good and bad tiles.

Wren swallowed before taking a step. White tile. Holding her breath, she began moving forward. White tile, white tile, white tile. Her progress was slow and uncertain. White tile, white tile, pink—

Donnie gasped right before Wren stepped onto a pink tile. He heard the rumble behind himself and took a couple quick steps forward while glancing over his shoulder. Tiles by the other edge fell in rows.

He looked back toward his path. Sweat had formed on his forehead, his mask sticking to his skin. His foot was right next to a pink tile.

She'd frozen in icy horror when the tiles began falling. Wren saw the frantic steps Donnie had taken, then stopped. They were both still standing, but the edges of the arena were crumbling with each misstep.

She wiped unfallen tears from her eyes and stepped over the pink tile. There was no point in stopping now.

Wren approached the center, one uncertain step at a time. She watched her feet intently, as if that might lead her down the right path.

She saw a tile light up beside the one she was on, and she stopped.

The yokai stared at the similarly stationary light. She almost thought that if she lifted her head, she might see Donatello standing there. But when she actually did, there was only air.

Wren wondered how long Big Mama might let them stand there. How much value would that bring to the show, the way her heart was sinking for all to see? But that was when the light beside hers moved, continuing on a path to the other side.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. The timer ticked on, their remaining minutes dangerously few.

Donnie couldn't stand beside that glowing light any longer. Besides, logically, Wren wasn't there. She was on the opposite, corresponding side of the arena. Several long, long strides away. He'd have to move forward to reach her in the center.

So begrudgingly, he kept walking. The path was laid out clearly before him and he patiently treaded ground as if to not make a mistake. Leo would've done something flashy, he thought, perhaps cartwheeled across the arena?

He didn't feel like doing cartwheels when his and Wren's safety depended entirely on one another. It was one hell of a relationship test, that much he had determined. His thoughts had phased back to that extra mystic drone. If the maze was pretty much identical on both sides, Wren must've had four of her own. This one was damaged when it reached him.

If it came from her, it must've meant she took out three on her own. Donnie felt his mouth twitch into a half smile at the thought.

He was five tiles from the edge when his foot suddenly connected with nothing.

Wren gaped at the glowing pink tile beneath her foot. She was five tiles from the edge, and had just gotten bold. Every tile before this had been safe again, and she'd thought they'd be home free. Now she whipped her head around at lightning speed, desperately trying to spot that other light.

'Panic' was a severe understatement of the things Donnie felt in that moment. He sprung forward with all his strenght and ninpo, even his Flight Shell activating in reaction. Below his feet, if he fell, awaited death.

Despite the increased gravity, he managed to just get his arms over the ledge. He scrambled to get a hold, but his body slammed into the wall he clung onto. With a grunt, his hold loosened enough that he slipped.

His fingers skidded as they forcefully dug into the floor. He hung above the spikes, his foot free of the tile he'd been standing on. But he could feel a distinct, hot pain running across his leg. One of the sharp ends must have cut him anyway.

Donnie strained his muscles to pull himself out. The increased gravity still tugged him downward, though not quite like before. He managed to get his knee on the ledge, and with that came enough leverage to roll himself on solid ground.

He panted heavily while staring at the magic barrier above. The timer ticked on behind it.

Donnie sat up to view the other side of the tile field. The other light had disappeared, and no more tiles had fallen. He hoped that meant Wren was okay.

The owl furrowed one feathery brow at his boss. One of Big Mama's many hands was on the gravity controller.

When she caught her employee staring at her (and then quickly avert his gaze), she spoke up:

"Oh, don't always be so morbid. It'll be more thrilling if they make it to the next challenge! You know how Big Mama loves a good show."

Chapter Text

Wren whimpered, her hands pressed tightly to her temples. Her legs felt like jelly, but she had her back tightly pressed against the wall to keep herself upright. Her thoughts were spiraling.

She couldn't see the light. Had Donnie made it across? Had she dropped him right to his doom? If Big Mama made an announcement, she hadn't popped up on the one screen Wren could monitor. Would she make an announcement, or would she make her remaining contestant find out the other didn't make it at the very end?

She looked up at the timer with tear-filled eyes. In the case Donnie was still alive, and that was what she forced herself to believe, they were about to run out of time. There wasn't any for crying.

Wren inhaled slowly and exhaled with a shiver. She scaled the wall with her hand, forcing herself to take steps into the rest of the maze.

Donatello was nothing if not prepared in any given situation. Sure, the amount of whosits and gadgets he carried with him usually seemed excessive to his brothers, but they'd helped him out in a pinch regardless of his siblings' doubt. Maybe once upon a time they would've even mocked him for bringing a medkit, but by now each brother had learned its importance.

He'd taken two minutes to wrap up his leg, having no desire to bleed out on the arena. He couldn't afford any dizziness or nausea—Though the latter he had to fight down anyway after having taken a glance at his wound.

Now he was using his Battle Shell's hovering ability to avoid walking. Putting weight on his leg was another way to exacerbate the injury, and he tried to avoid that for as long as he could. Donnie looked up at the timer, admittedly nervous about how close they were cutting it.

It felt as if the maze got less... Maze-y, the closer he got to the center. The hallways were shorter and wider, with almost no dead ends. He also didn't need to travel nearly as long before he saw another curious gateway.

He deactivated his Flight Shell and landed with support from his bo. Donnie used his free hand to lift his goggles, confused why he couldn't see into the next room despite the seemingly open doorway.

But even without his goggles, whatever was beyond the opening remained completely dark. He leaned off his bo staff to spin it to an angle, directing his ninpo. It constructed lights that attached to the staff, which he then directed into the room.

He still couldn't see a thing, like the room itself devoured all light. And he really didn't like that. There was absolutely no way to prepare for what was inside.

Donnie glanced at the timer before letting the lights withdraw and disappear. He knew due to the spacing of his map that the center was practically behind the next wall. They still had a small window to make it in time if he breezed through this challenge.

Swallowing his nerves, he stepped into the darkness.

Immediately Donatello felt himself squinting. Nothing changed of course, it was still just black. Black ahead, black around him, black up and down. He walked slowly, trying to feel the floor ahead with one end of his bo like a blind man.

There was a question that came to him while he wandered. What if there was something in the room besides himself?

A creature? A sentient weapon? Was there going to be another fight? Would it see through the dark, or would it operate by touch and sound like himself?

He stopped and turned his head, trying to listen for any sounds. His breaths were shallow and quiet. Ninjas worked best in darkness, so surely he had the advantage here. Even without all five of his senses.

And then, all of a sudden, he could see her.

The entirety of Wren was the only thing in the room he could see, almost like the shadows didn't affect her. It didn't seem to be the same for her, though. The way she stood made her look lost, brows furrowed while her eyes darted from empty spot to empty spot. Her hands were halfway in the air.

Deciding to risk it being a trick, Donnie approached the figure. After only a few steps, they were face to face. She still didn't see him.

"Wren?" he voiced. Nothing. Apparently she couldn't hear him, either.

But there was one thing he was now noting. Her hands were midair as if against something. A wall?

Donnie extended his free hand until it tapped into something between them.

Wren's shocked eyes fixed on Donnie. She could see him. It looked like she tried to press her hand forward, but could not. So instead she traced Donnie's hand where it connected into the wall, placing her own there.

She was talking, but there was no sound. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

'I'm sorry,' Donnie could read from her lips. His eyes softened.

They both looked worse for wear. There were particles of dust over Wren's dress, hair and wings. He could see bruises on her legs and a burn on her wrist. If she had worse injuries, they were hidden by her clothes.

Donnie could see her looking him over, too. Her eyes latched on the bandages he'd tied around his leg. Normally he wouldn't have hated being doted on, but right now? They had to get a move on.

He tapped on the wall (possibly glass, but he guessed it wouldn't be quite as weak) to get her attention. Afterward he gestured to his opposite wrist like he was tapping a watch. That seemed to work in bringing her back to the moment.

Since Donnie knew the center should be to his right, he gestured that way with his head.

While they were there, Donnie decided to test the wall just to be sure. He pulled back his hand and saw how Wren suddenly leaned closer, looking around as if trying to find him. Then he touched the 'glass' and her eyes focused on him again. She looked relieved.

Both started walking in the direction Donnie had pointed out with at least a bit of contact with the wall.

Then all of a sudden, Donnie could see. He was through a doorway, out of the dark room. He glass wall was no longer there, now replaced by gray stone. He looked over his shoulder, back into the darkness of the room.

Donnie shook his head and headed down the hallway.

It lead to his right and yet curved to the left. There was light shining ahead, the sounds of a crowd starting to come back into focus. Either he'd tuned it out before, or the maze had done so for him.

Then the wall ended. Donatello was faced with a white deepening of stone, circular and wide. It seemed the entire arena had been a slight downward slope toward it.

Light was now coming in properly and he had view of the audience on the bleachers, though he couldn't distinguish any figures or faces. The screens above stared down at him at every direction, some of them showing the very display of him standing on the arena.

He saw it on the monitor first. Wren walked out from the opposite end of the stage. He looked down to see she had.

"Welly, well, well!" came Big Mama's voice. She'd taken over the main monitor.

"Our happy couple's made it to the center! Unfortunately, they fell for my little trappie-doo and ran out of time," she giggled, pointing to the timer that stated 00:00, "A shame. I was going to let you walk out together if you met all of Big Mama's challenges and remained punctual! I guess you should've kept walking."

Donatello glared up at the monitor despite knowing it wasn't where Big Mama resided. She'd be in a control room somewhere, making sure her game ran smoothly.

"Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to employ some minor punishments."

While this was said, a shadow fell seemingly straight from the sky. A quick and dark figure landed in the very center of the white circle. This person clad in gray stood up straight, looking once at Donnie and Wren past their white and red mask.

Wren twitched in recognition.

"It's you," she voiced, "You were the one who followed me, weren't you!?"

Wren remembered seeing glimpses of a person dressed in something dark. But only now that she saw this person in full did the mask look familiar, too. It'd been the last thing she saw right before she lost consciousness.

The masked figure stared at her for a beat. Then it turned in one swift motion, covering ground quickly until it reached Donnie.

"You see, some of my audience thinks one of you took a few too many liberties in our challenges," narrated Big Mama, "So for this last part, we're going to confiscate your little hickery-doos."

Donnie evaded the first blow with a simple step, but that step reminded him that he'd been trying to avoid putting weight on his leg for a reason. His eye twitched with a flaring of pain he pushed to ignore.

The attacker didn't relent, throwing a kick toward Donnie's face and forcing him to move back farther. When his next step faltered slightly, the Flight Shell activated. His opponent dove beneath him and to the back, where he couldn't turn as quickly in the air. In almost one swipe they'd removed the large sword from their back and rammed it into one of the spinning rotors.

"Ah, no! Not the—!"

That was all Donnie managed to say while his invention got out of control. It tried to balance itself with poor results, quickly crashing him into the ground.

His attacker approached until they sensed something. They turned their head just in time to see Wren was flying at them. Sure, the half yokai had no weapons, but that didn't mean she couldn't be annoying.

They ducked down except for one arm. As soon as they felt feathers connect, they closed their hand into a tight fist and pulled.

"Ahhh!"

Wren screamed when her trajectory was suddenly altered and she, too, crashed out of the sky. Rolling against the dirt would've been painful enough without her previous injuries. Now, it left her temporarily paralyzed.

In this moment of distraction, Donnie had gotten back up. He wasted no time in swinging his weapon at the stranger, who blocked it with their arm at the last moment. It must've hurt, but they made no noise. Instead they swung their sword with their free hand and struck the flat side into Donnie's weapon. This was followed by a swift kick into his chest that forced him to let go, and threw him back into the ground.

Now brandishing both weapons, the strange combatant approached him again. Donatello swung his body backward and into a handstand, which he used to push himself back upright in quick succession. Simultaneously this created space between him and the stranger's attacks.

Unfortunately, another step later his damaged Battle Shell collided with the wall. His opponent rammed the end of the bo into his shoulder, causing Donnie to reflexively cry out.

He felt his goggles being taken and forcibly grabbed the other's arm. He met the empty gaze of a white and red mask.

"I'm not letting you take my precious gear without a fight!" he told them. Their sword was sheathed, but they answered by digging the bo further into his shoulder. They used the distraction of pain and twisted their arm to get it out of Donnie's deathgrip.

Donatello answered by kneeing them in the stomach, which forced his attacker back. He'd also grabbed onto his weapon with his aching arm, leaving both of them holding onto an end. The tug of war quickly ended when the stranger simply let go. If Donnie wasn't still against the wall, he'd have fallen over. Instead his elbow hit the stone painfully.

The stranger backtracked with a series of flips. They then dashed into the maze from Wren's side, leaving Donnie panting against the wall. If he wasn't already so worn out, he would've done better here, he thought. In fact, a thought of sending a missile after the stranger crossed his mind.

An alarming thought occurred to him, and he abruptly turned to where he'd seen Wren crash. She was in the middle of pushing herself up, though every movement looked painful. He could relate to that.

Since one of his rotors had been destroyed, Donnie opted to limp the distance. He reached Wren where she now stood on the arena and she turned to him, scared at first. But when she recognized who it was, that fear melted into relief.

He dropped the bo when the yokai dashed at him, her arms thrown around Donnie. It was one of the few hugs he welcomed with open arms. Even when both of them winced from the initial contact. He closed his arms around her nevertheless.

"Aw, touching," echoed Big Mama's voice. The couple parted enough to face her on the monitor, still halfway into a hug.

"But that wasn't your punishment, my dears. Nonono. This is your punishment!"

With those words, the entire arena began to rumble.

Chapter Text

"Is it just me or is it suddenly... Really hot in here?" remarked Donnie while wiping sweat from his face. He'd pulled away from Wren soon after the earth began to shake. He used this newfound freedom to pick up his bo from the ground.

"Yeah, like a sauna," Wren confirmed. The increasing level of noise alerted her to the walls of the maze as they began lowering into the ground.

"Look," said Donnie, redirecting her attention to the ceiling. It was rising in return. It gave them the distinct feeling that whatever horror was about to emerge needed space .

By the time the arena had settled into its new shape, the heat had become unbearable. Donnie shifted his feet against the fuming dirt. Shoes would've been nice for this specific instance.

The central stones shifted, withdrawing in a spiral shape until they, too, had disappeared entirely. The heat intensified, somehow.

A roar sounded from the depths, causing both teens to still. Something red and angry flew out of the hole before slamming into the ground. Fire and flowing magma spread around what looked like a malformed arm.

"Okay, no, nono."

It used this arm to pull itself up, two burning eyes meeting theirs as its head poked out.

"Nonono."

The creature emerged, rising to an incredible height before them. It was almost like a building, that was its magnitude. Waves of heat dried out the arena, both yokai and mutant struggling to breathe.

"No. Absolutely not!"

"Donnie!" exclaimed Wren, "Saying 'no' is not going to make it disappear!" Her nerves had had enough.

"It's a giant lava monster! You come up with a plan!" he shouted back.

"Me!? " she startled.

The monster of lava moved back its dripping arm, beginning to swing it across the arena and directly toward Donnie and Wren. Donnie briefly tried to activate his Battle Shell, but it sparked angrily instead of activating the rotors.

Wren spread her wings.

"Take my hand!" she shouted, extending an arm. Donatello didn't have to be told twice.

Avoiding the initial strike had been a close call. Wren held onto Donnie's bo while the latter hung from it, the pair quickly reaching heights near the ceiling. Thankfully, this sizeable monster was also slow. If only touching it wouldn't also burn them to a crisp.

Donnie channeled his ninpo through his weapon, contructing several missiles midair. They launched with nothing but a thought, each flying for their target at the center from different angles.

The creature roared while the explosions dented it. It swung its melting body, sending large blotches of lava flying across the air.

"Look out!" shrieked Donnie in distress. Thankfully for him, Wren was quite agile in the air, even while carrying someone else. She weaved through the upside-down rain of fire, briefly letting go of Donnie in order to twirl, only to dive and catch him again. He may have screamed, but really, who knows?

The dents of the creature were covered with more lava, restoring it to its original state.

"How are we supposed to hurt that thing?" Donnie thought out loud, "Maybe a weakspot?" Wren suddenly perked up.

"It has one!" she exclaimed. Donnie jerked his head up to face her.

"What —Where?"

The creature crawled a little farther out of its hole to swing its grabby arm toward Wren and Donnie in the air. While it couldn't quite reach, she altered their trajectory with a quick tilt anyway.

"It has a mystic ruby as a heart. It's the source of its regeneration. If you take it out, you can contain it!" she explained.

"A mystic heart, of course! What else? Is this common yokai knowledge?" Donnie wondered with just a hint of sarcasm. Wren blinked down at him.

"You don't know?" she realized, "Donnie, our dads fought that thing. It's the teamup that made them become friends!"

The creature roared in frustration, reaching into itself for a goop of lava. It launched it in Wren's trajectory, making her eyes widen in panic. She halted her momentum forcefully, but Donnie still swung forward due to the nature of physics.

To stop himself spinning straight into fire, he let go of the bo staff. At most the lava singed him unpleasantly, but wow was it hot.

And then came gravity. He soon began falling downward rather than forward, flailing through the air. Rivers of lava were running across the stadium, leaving random spots of land behind. Though even if he managed not to land in lava, the fall was guaranteed to be a painful.

Once again he underestimated how quickly Wren could navigate the air when she wanted. Because shortly before he could touch lava, he felt a grip on his arm.

They were directed right onto one of the islands. Wren stumbled a few steps due to tripping on Donnie, while Donnie himself just fell flat on his face, unable to find purchase in time.

"Your rescues need work," he complained while rubbing his head. Wren smiled.

"Listen," she started quickly, "This is how you defeat it: One of us has to break a hole in the lava on its chest. Then the other has to grab the ruby through that hole before it closes."

Donnie stood with a grunt to view the creature. It had just turned all the way around to face them.

"Dive into superheated goo? That's the best we got?" he stressed.

"Yes?" winced Wren, "It's the way they did it. We can't keep stalling forever. So unless you have a better idea right now —"

"I don't," said Donnie, watching the creature throw back its arm, "Let's do that."

He turned to Wren to grab his bo from her, flipping it as mystic technology began growing around it. It became a long, board-like structure with jets on each end that Donnie hopped into a crouch on.

"When I break it, you fly through!" he exclaimed, shooting off in one direction. Wren was still processing it when she spread her wings and took off in the opposite.

The arm came down with a splash of lava.

Wren was terrified.

She had heard the tale of the battle several times when her father started going off about his glory days in the Battle Nexus. Those stories had always impressed and excited her, made her want to become someone her father could be proud of.

Only to be told time and time again she wouldn't be good enough. Not in words, but through actions. Being a rambunctious child earned her lectures and raised voices. Arguments her parents thought she couldn't hear.

When her interests switched to all things safe and usual, she was labeled a shut-in. A bird with no song and nothing to write home about. Her artistic efforts were called "cute" and "a flavorless hobby, don't you think?"

What was the supposed to be? What was she supposed to think? What was good enough?

Her father had to have known that by marrying a human, he'd end up with a half human child. Right? One that wouldn't be strong like him, and one that wouldn't fit in, like her mother did. So why was she being punished? What was expected of her?

This spiral of thought built like the anxiety in her chest.

She watched from afar how Donatello created one piece of mystic tech after the other, rockets and bombs he fired relentlessly into the lava monster. It tried to shield itself with its arms, throwing more of itself into the air. Donnie fired through it all, cackling maniacally. The orbs and monitors above ate up his enthusiasm.

So did Wren herself.

She remembered his strange passion from the moment they'd met. How all of them were so unapologetic about who they were, despite the amount of weirdness they could conjure. And Donnie was easily the weirdest of his brothers.

What a strange thing to be attracted to, she thought to herself. All the things his family teased Donnie about, or made them groan, were things that made her laugh, or made her lean in in fascination. So what if he wasn't conventional? He was a genius.

He was someone.

Wren really wanted to be someone, too.

Maybe this was her chance. Or maybe she told that to herself as comfort, because within moments, she'd have to dive through lava.

Donnie finally saw his opening after blowing up the creature's arms. He would have to pave a path right now, before they could regenerate once more.

His head darted up in search, quickly spotting his teammate across the arena.

"WREN! Now's your window! " he shouted, rockets gathering around him where he hovered in the air. All at once they fired, all directly into the chest of the monster.

"Nobel couldn't have done a better job," he declared in a pleased tone.

She watched the explosion with trepidation, flying downward to reach position. When the smoke settled, she could see clearly through the monster and to the other side. A tunnel between her and Donnie, who was still at a safer distance.

At the center floated a singular ruby. But even from here, she could see the waves of pure heat surrounding it. As well as how the lava was already beginning to droop back in.

She had to do it now.

Wren steeled her mind. If the air wasn't so heated, she'd probably be blinking away tears.

She flapped her wings powerfully to launch herself forward, directly at the ruby. As fast as she could fly.

It still looked like it wouldn't be enough. She became overwhelmed with fear. No, it had to be enough. That hole was easily big enough to last!

Time felt like it slowed.

The heat hit her in full right before she dove in. Wren had to tuck in her wings while flying through so they wouldn't touch the monster. The heat alone burned and she was sure she'd made a noise.

Her hands were outstretched for the ruby, inches from her grasp. But yet her eyes were on the lava closing in on her, on the air that burned her lungs. She wasn't going to make it. She was going to burn. She was going to burn !

Wren's hands closed around the ruby and her wings wrapped tightly around her body. The lava closed in.

It all happened too quickly. The center regenerated faster than the arms had, possibly due to proximity to the ruby. Donatello stared in horror. That couldn't...

In the same instant, something burst out of the lava and straight through the air.

It was strange how the heat suddenly felt far less. Maybe she had died? Passed out? Maybe—

Wren felt the tug of gravity, a hint that maybe she was in fact alive and...Well?

She cracked her eyes open. It was dark, but not pitch black, some shades of green and purple shining at her face. Then she felt herself hit dirt, her wings taking the brunt of the impact.

So why didn't it hurt? Well, it did hurt, but not as much as it should've. The ache of her previous injuries was there, dulled by adrenaline.

Her rolling across the ground came to a stop and her wings naturally unfolded. The monster of lava was sinking in the center, its body collapsing with no control. Its arm weren't regenerating.

She looked down at the ruby in her hands. Then at her hands. They were shining with splashes or purple, green and blue. The same dotted patterns that came when her power was activated.

Wren looked at her wings, crystallized just like before. Only this time, she couldn't have— She didn't have the bracelet! How had she done it?

"Wren!"

She looked up to see Donnie's worried face. He dismissed his tech midair and landed on the ground with a roll. He sat beside her, looking between her face and the gemstone.

"Donnie, the ruby! Do you have a box or something?" she urged, sitting up with a whine.

"Uhh," he answered eloquently, unlatching his Battle Shell with a hiss. Donnie opened the container and rummaged through it. Only to suddenly stop rummaging, because the answer was obvious.

"I got it. Hand me the gem."

He grabbed the ruby from Wren's hands and shut it into his Battle Shell.

Wren breathed her relief, electing to stay seated in the face of her injuries. The rivers of lava were dripping into the center, though some still remained. It hardened into volcanic rock at the edges, unable to sustain a consistent temperature.

"You know, it makes no sense that the thing couldn't just regenerate inside a box. My Battle Shell is cased with titanium, but the heat lava produces would—"

He was cut off by the rattling of a gate. Big Mama, now in her human form, walked onto the arena trailed by a party of her employees.

"Well done, my combatants! You've put on quite the show!" she sang.

Donnie gripped his weapon. Wren's hand quickly landed on top of his. They were tired and injured. Big Mama had no shortage of champions to fight them.

"You kidnapped us!" exclaimed Donnie, "Why?"

"Come now, my little turtle-boo. Why does Big Mama do anything? I've been looking for something dramatic to spice up the Battle Nexus for some time now. When the daughter of one of my famous champions happened to be seen crawling around New York, was I not supposed to take advantage?"

"While I want to answer that—Can someone please get me a bottle of water?"

Big Mama gestured to his Battle Shell.

"I'll trade you for the trinket in your scrapulous device," she said.

"AND my goggles!" insisted Donnie. Big Mama gestured to her assistant, who tossed him the item.

Donnie opened the compartment and handed the ruby. The assistant held out a dark, mystic box Big Mama closed it in, then withdrew with a bow. The exchange was completed with the toss of a water bottle from one of the other employees, caught and immediately wrestled open by Donatello.

"By the wayzies, there was a bit of a kerfuffle behind the scenes... You'll find your family in the holding cells, precious Purple. I was going to keep them, but this was quite fun enough to satisfy the crowd for today. Consider it a peace-offering!" she chirped.

Donnie finished half the bottle of water and felt a tap on his shoulder. He forcibly stopped himself from drinking to hand it over to Wren.

"We're... Free to go?" she rasped after taking a sip of her own. While she'd never personally dealt with Big Mama, it didn't sound like her style.

"Let's just say that I struck a deal," the spider answered cryptically. She turned, walking back through the arena exit, trailed by her staff.

As they left, another figure revealed itself in the shadow of the archway. It stood still for the moment. Tall, threatening... And familiar. Soon it stepped into the light, three pairs of wings and crossed arms coming into focus.

Both teens shrunk on instinct from the sheer aura of wrath. Wren's yokai state withdrew.

"Hi, dad," she winced.

"What. Is the meaning of this, Wren? What were you thinking !?" the bird exclaimed, his wings spreading on reflex. When parted her lips only to be cut off.

"We are going straight home! You'll feel lucky if I ever let you out the door again!"

Wren was grabbed by her arm and pulled to her feet. Her body ached and she could barely stand. The water bottle fell from her hand with a splatter.

She turned to look at Donnie, who could only stare in shock. What was he supposed to do? Asuka was her parent. All he could really do was plead, but that wasn't Donnie's place. Was it?

It wasn't. Wren dug in her heels and ripped her arm free.

"NO!"

It was hers.

Her father turned, still the picture of fury, but confusion was seeping in. It was quickly overshadowed by his anger.

"What do you mean 'no' ? We're going, whether you like it or not, young lady! I asked Lou to keep you safe, but clearly the only place I can do so is in my own house!"

Wren seethed in silence for a moment, trembling with the weight of her emotion. She felt tears pricking at her eyes, wasteful of the remaining water in her body.

"No, as in no, I'm not just going to do whatever you want anymore!" she shouted, "For gods' sake, I'm almost an adult! I'm allowed to have my own life! Y-you can't just lock me up and yell at me and tell me there's nothing out there for me! And I won't allow you to put me in a marriage with someone just so you don't have to keep an eye on me twenty-four-seven!"

While his father was bewildered enough to be stunned into silence, Wren turned to look at Donnie.

"These few weeks have been great," she started, "I still don't know who exactly I am or what I want, but at least it's given me ideas. And moreso," she turned to her father, "it's given me courage to chase those ideas."

After another moment of hesitation, she made another declaration.

"I wan't to move aboveground! To New York City!"

That seemed to snap the yokai out of his stupor.

"Now you're just being ridiculous!" he insisted, "We'll discuss this at home!"

Wren bit her bottom lip.

"Fine, then we will! I'll... I'll come with you. And we'll talk. With mom!"

Silence settled between them. The father calmed, gaining back some level of dignity as his wings settled. He turned halfway to the gates.

"Good. Let us go."

Asuka paced for the exit, not looking back. Wren felt rather than saw it when Donatello stepped behind her. She blinked away her tears and turned to him.

"Sorry you had to see that," she said with a fading grin, "I have to go."

Donnie hesitated, unsure where to put his hands. He settled for his own shoulder, where the Battle Shell covered it once more, and rubbed it with his thumb.

"For how long?"

When she didn't answer right away, he looked her in the eyes. She looked lost. She didn't know. Wren placed her hand over his.

"Goodbye, Donnie."

Just as quickly, she removed it. Turned around. Walked after her waiting father. Wren didn't turn to look back.

Donnie stood alone in the burning arena.

Chapter Text

It was an ordinary day. About as ordinary as days came in a particular formerly abandoned New York subway station a particular family resided in.

Mikey was idly riding his skateboard through the lair. He kept his tricks minimal, focused on a specific heading across the lair. It still didn't stop him from using Splinter's chair as a ramp on his way past the TV room.

After only a couple more detours, Mikey reached the end of the hallway he'd meant to reach. He hopped off his board and kicked it into his hand, knocking into the heavy metal door. It opened with a 'whoosh,' allowing him to walk in.

"Hey, Dooonnie?" he called into the room, looking around the spacious laboratory.

"Here," called Donatello directly from his right. Mikey was hit with the sight of gutted walls: Metallic panels and fluff splayed on the floor. Donnie himself was in the middle of pinning some kind of ridged foam where the rest of the wall had been.

Mikey resisted asking about it at the last second. He didn't come here for a lecture on... Whatever it was Donnie was doing.

"Hey, Dee, do you wanna go skateboarding?" he asked instead. Mikey was using a softer tone of voice than usual, much like when he was playing up his role as the youngest sibling. Except his words were also drawn out, almost smoothed, like he was trying to be as inoffensive as possible.

Donnie paused his work to bring up the holo screen on his wrist.

"Just so you know, you don't have to if you don't want to. The guys and I are going up to the roof, though. But if you wanted, I could stay and—"

"You can stop now. I'll come with you," Donnie announced dryly, lifting his eyes from the screen. Mikey watched him part from the unfinished wall and press something on his wrist.

A display opened up to reveal his skateboard, which Donnie snatched to follow his brother out.

The roof of their house made for a fun ramp. Sure, it wasn't quite as convenient as the ones built for the sport, but the added element of danger hit just the level of thrill. Raph, Leo and Mikey were all easily taken by it, riding down the slope of the roof while doing one trick after the other.

When Mikey used his chain as leverage to swing himself high up into the air, his brothers started using their powers, too. Leo made a show of throwing himself off the roof only to portal himself and his board safely back. Raph used his splitting ability to choreograph.

It was during one of Leo's more ambitious tricks that his skateboard slipped away from him, clocking Donnie right on the head when it fell.

"OW!"

Leo raised his head where he'd fallen.

"Whoops! Sorry, brother!" he said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. Donnie glared at him while rubbing his skull.

"If you can't stay upright on that thing, can you at least watch your aim, brother?" snarked the techie. He kicked the skateboard back to Leo, who caught it as he stood.

"That sounds like the talk of someone who still hasn't mastered the kickflip," he taunted. Donnie found it hard not to be annoyed. Mikey actually gasped in offense in behalf of his brother.

"But that's like the easiest flip! How dare you, Leo! Even Donnie can totally do a kickflip!" he insisted.

"Even Donnie?" repeated the brother in question with an irked eyebrow, "I'll show you even Donnie. Can't do a kickflip—" he muttered while grabbing his skateboard.

Leo felt more than a little smug, having gotten under his brother's shell that easily. He'd seen Donnie withdraw soon after they started, and he'd gotten drawn into his phone while the rest of them skated.

While Raph had wanted to leave him be, that wasn't the slider's style. Unlike his brothers as of late, Leo still poked and prodded at him, cashing in on the easy annoyment of the past few days. Though, even Leo's audacity had its limits.

It'd been a week since the events at the Battle Nexus.

When Leo and the rest had gotten home that night, they'd seen an active alert on one of Donnie's monitors. One that had been triggered around the time Donnie and Wren left the party, and another that came in later that same night.

They'd invaded the Battle Nexus quickly, only to be caught by the waiting webs of Big Mama. She'd prepared for them to try and rescue their brother, two steps ahead of the plan they'd conjured on the go. While they could've eventually broken out of her grasp, before that happened, Donnie had been the one to come and set them free instead.

He'd seemed indifferent to the whole ordeal, which wasn't out of character, and yet it was unsettling. It was when Mikey posed the obvious question of "Where's Wren?" that the disconnect clicked.

"She went home," Donnie had said, and that was all the elaboration he was willing to give. Leo was outraged, of course. Donnie had been obsessed with her for days, and now? Suddenly there wasn't a word to be said about Wren.

The only reason Leo had stopped bringing her up, like the others had, was because it made Donnie shut down. He'd turn his bored stare to a hundred, didn't try to beat Leo at an argument, and stared at his phone or at his stupid holo screen instead of engaging with him.

It was boring. Leo was also pretty sure it was unhealthy. Was Donnie pretending this girl had died? Sure, she hadn't contacted any of them for a week, and even Leo was a little annoyed about that. But it's not like she'd eaten their dog... Or something. Not the point.

The point was, he needed to make his brother crack. He just didn't know how, yet.

Watching him fail to do an ollie for the eighth time in a row was a good start, though.

"That's it! I'm done!" Donnie shouted while slamming down his skateboard, "This sport is stupid and I hate it!"

"Woah, Don! Ease up there, big fella. This is skateboarding we're talking about," soothed Raph, "You can't just say things like that." Donnie groaned, opting to cross his arms and tap his foot in agitation.

"Imagine if Sydney heard you!" cried Mikey, "We'd never be besties with her in real life!"

"Doesn't matter. I don't think she'd be besties with such a bad skater anyway," teased Leo, "I mean, who can't do an ollie?" This earned him the full wratch of Donatello, who immediately went to tackle his brother. Raph slapped a hand over his face in disappointment.

"You can punch me, but you can't punch my talent!" chirped Leo while wrestling the other off him, "Pro-skater for life, babyyy!"

Mikey looked between them with an air of concern.

"Go easy on him, Leo! The guy just had his heart crushed," he pleaded. Raph perked up and slapped a hand over Mikey's mouth.

"We agreed not to bring that up," he grunted to his sibling. Mikey's muffled 'sorry' didn't quite come through.

But despite Raphael's efforts, the damage was already done. Leo had pushed Donnie off of him easier than he expected to. Meanwhile Donnie's face had been taken over by that carefully calculated mask of boredom again. The slider let his head drop against the roof in frustration.

"Well, gentlemen. I think I've had enough extreme sports for one night," stated Donnie. He swiped his board where he'd dropped it.

"But you barely did any skateboarding," argued Leo.

"And yet, I've had enough."

So far, Raph had thought the best thing they could give Donnie was time. Let him sort it in his head, or whatever it was Donnie did to deal with difficult stuff. But so far it'd been a week, and Raph was seeing no progress.

It was time for a different approach.

"Donnie, this isn't working," he said outright. The softshell stopped, but didn't turn to face him.

"You can't just lock it all up inside and blow up at the slightest inconvenience. It's not healthy. You need to find some other way of dealing with this."

Donnie turned halfway around, though had whipped out his phone as a barrier.

"I don't know what you mean, Raphael. None of that sounds like me at all." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but Raph's right. It's time for a Wrentervention, Don," chimed Leo, leaning on his propped-up skateboard.

"Either you tell us how you feel, or we beat it out of you with fists of tender love and care! It'll be the worst best thing you've ever felt," threatened Raph, smacking his own fist into his palm. Donnie quirked a brow.

"That's all well and good, except for the fact that I feel nothing," he argued blandly.

"That is hogwash and you know it, Donnie. Just a few weeks back you insisted you're not a computer. That means you feel something in there, whatever it is," Raph claimed with a jab of his finger.

"Fine! I feel annoyed that you're pestering me about this. Because I feel fine," Donnie said while throwing up his hands.

"Are you trying to game the system!?" exclaimed Mikey.

"You're not fine. My big brother senses are going haywire," added Raph.

"Since when is it sense's'? It thought it was "big brother sense,"" Donnie said.

Somewhere during this back and forth, Mikey had made it all the way to his side. He felt the hand on his arm belatedly and was caught off guard.

"Donnie, please talk to us. It makes me sad to think you can't express how you feel! Is it something we did?" pleaded the youngest. Donnie slowly slid his eyes away from the puppy dog stare.

"You didn't do anything. There's nothing to talk about."

Leo groaned and spun his board into a seat, which he proceeded to take.

"Fine! I'll start," he said, going to clear his throat, "I feel like you're not being honest with us. And that makes me feel like I should be angry right now—But I don't know at who."

He saw a hint of something in Donnie's expression. Surprise, maybe. But it wasn't enough. Thankfully, Mikey picked up where he left off:

"I feel angry and upset, too," he confessed, "We spent time with Wren for days without break, and then she disappears without a word? She didn't even say goodbye. There's no closure."

"It's not like she had time—!"

The moment those words left him, Donnie knew he'd screwed up. All his brothers were staring at him expectantly. It didn't matter he'd cut himself off, because now they knew for certain something was up.

"Time for what?" Raph encouraged.

Donnie opened his mouth to retort, but found himself hesitating. Lying would no longer work. He could storm off, but that would only delay the problem. But if he was honest?

He pulled up his wrist screen, staring at it for two beats.

"Donnieee," sang Leo, vying for his attention. Donnie felt his face wanting to betray him, a twitch in the corners of his mouth.

"I—" he stuttered, trying to not feel his emotions and yet explain them at the same time. That was never a functional combo, and yet it was the only thing he could think to try.

Raph was starting to feel worried. As much as he'd wanted Donnie to talk, he regretted putting him on the spot. It looked like he was struggling.

Donnie closed his eyes and sighed, the emotionless mask slipping. He looked over his brothers' faces, knowing they meant well. But in truth, now that he was here, he didn't know what to say. Except for one thing.

"I planted a tracker on her and pinpointed the location of her house."

His brothers stared.

"You did WHAT!?" Mikey shrieked. Leo's eye twitched.

"Congrats, Donnie. Raph doesn't know what to say," added the eldest.

"Wh—How, when, why did this happen?" demanded Leo. Donnie pulled up a bigger holographic screen to show a view of some mystic corner of the Hidden City.

"This is the street where she lives. So far she's left her house a total of nine times, which averages to 1.286 times per day. And of those times," he paused, "zero have been to New York."

"Donald, that... That is stalking. You're a stalker," stated Mikey in disbelief. In hidnsight, it should've been exactly what they expected.

"Sheesh. I'm surprised you haven't showed up at her house already," added Leo in exasperation. Donnie directed a glare at him, but it was half-hearted.

In truth, he'd considered it. If he'd gone through the trouble of locating Wren, following that up with a personal visit was only natural. If to do nothing else but to check on her.

Leo misinterpreted his brief silence.

"You've visited her house!?"

"NO!" Donnie snapped, "I haven't! I'm not going to."

"Good. Now, you need to lose whatever mystic video stream you have going on, bud," instructed Raph, "Right this moment."

"Fine!" And though he did say it, and even brought up the buttons to do just that, Donnie found himself hesitating. Why was he hesitating?

Mikey placed a hand on his arm again, close enough to the monitor that Donnie fixated on it. His hands still didn't move.

"It's just a video feed, Donnie. Keeping it doesn't make whatever you're going through go away," Mikey said, "All you're doing is hitting pause on your emotions."

"Is there a 'delete' button for those?" Donnie attempted humor, though his tone felt hollow. He saw Mikey cast him a look from the corner of his eye. Finally, he gave, sighing as he deleted the source of the video feed from his systems, then dropped his arm.

"We're proud of you, Donnie," encouraged Raph. A supportive hand landed on Donnie's shoulder.

"Now, how do you feel after that?" added Leo, perhaps only a touch of mockery in his tone. The others elected to ignore it.

"Sad," said Donnie, "I feel sad." And though his voice had been even and there were no tears to speak of, everyone's eyes softened while looking him over.

Mikey initiated the hug. Raph pulled both of the youngest brothers in. Leo was the last to join, taking two steps to put his arms around the others from the side. It wasn't much, but it was a breakthrough nevertheless.

The moment was broken by a flash of color, a light that started taking on a specific shape. The brothers withdrew, already grabbing for their weapons. But it turned out combat wasn't necessary after all.

The shape of a carrier pigeon formed in front of their eyes, a singular envelope on its beak.

"A letter for Donatello!" it cooed.

Traffic was slow at Hueso's that night. Only a few regulars occupied the tables, leading to a quiet and easy atmosphere. It also made anyone who didn't fit in with the 'regular' status stand out.

Donatello navigated his way to one of the side booths, taking a seat across from the person he was there to see.

"Hi, Donnie," greered Wren, a small smile on her face. There was something apologetic about her, and the conversation hadn't even started.

Donnie stared across at her with a furrowed brow. There were all sorts of mixed feelings rummaging inside him, but at least there was something to start with. He pulled out the letter that'd summoned him here in the first place, letting it fall on the table.

"'Meet me at Run of the Mill tonight.' Not the most sentimental opening I've ever heard," he joked dryly. The way her eyes darted around spoke of embarrasment.

"I've discovered I'm not very good at letters," Wren admitted.

She looked better than the state Donnie had last seen her in. Any bruises or scrapes were healing, and her hair was recently brushed. She wasn't wearing her hood, which had only gotten more common toward the end of their time together.

Donnie found himself anxiously tapping his fingers against the tabletop.

"So, how did it go? With your family?" he asked. He'd waited this long, so he might as well find out.

"Um," said Wren eloquently, "Not great, at first. They were really upset about the entire Battle Nexus kidnapping thing, so I could hardly get a word in."

"Sounds in character. I hit 'continue.'"

"I guess after I locked myself in my room for two days they started to get the hint, so we had another talk. And then my mom discovered the whole 'arranged marriage' situation."

"Pause. Discovered? As in, had no prior knowledge of?" questioned Donnie, brows furrowed. Wren cast another awkward smile.

"Yup. No idea whatsoever," she chuckled, "So that was another storm. And after I had mom on my side, suddenly I had way more leeway on things."

Donnie averted his eyes. That explained some of her absense. Whatever resentment he'd started to build was crumbling, but he clung to it just a little.

"And after that? I mean... Why did you only contact me now?"

Wren shifted in her seat, pulling her wings a little closer. Her eyes visited the tabletop before landing on Donnie's.

"I needed a few days to myself. And the right thing would've been to tell you that. I started a letter—A few actually. But I couldn't decide what to write, so... Eventually, I just invited you here."

"And flash forward to present day," Donnie finished. He considered this information, sitting up straighter with a sigh.

"You can come pick up your stuff at the lair. I was gonna bring it here, but I didn't—I mean, I couldn't—I. I thought you might not want anyone to touch your things," he settled on, awkwardly. Unfortunately, the stuttering tone betrayed his emotions. Donnie felt a hand on his own, noting he'd formed a fist on the table before that.

"Donnie, I'm really sorry I left you in the dark. It was wrong of me. The truth is, I really missed you the whole time."

The way Wren blushed and avoided looking directly at him had his heart involuntarily racing. It seemed none of his feelings had disappeared in this time, despite how quickly they'd formed.

"Alright, before you apologise too much, I have to tell you something. Erm. I sort of, kind of, stumbled upon—Scratch that. I put a tracker on you and found your home address."

Wren withdrew with a slight shock.

"W...What? When?" she yelped, "Is that still on me?"

"When we hugged on the arena," Donnie admitted with a grimace, "I noticed you'd lost your panic button. It was supposed to be temporary," he defended poorly. When he saw her patting herself down for the tracker, he gestured to his own back.

"On your wing," he instructed. Wren tried to twist herself around to see it, ending up clumsily feeling for the thing. Finally she located it, taking the tiny device out to drop it on the table like it'd bitten her.

"I thought we talked about this," she said quickly. Wren's unhappiness was apparent and emphasized.

"I know! I'm sorry," amended Donnie, though he wasn't above folding his arms and pouting like a child, "It was after various life-threatening circumstances. It's not unusual for that kind of thing to repeat among the people in my life."

Somehow, her expression softened. Donnie wasn't fooled into thinking he was immediately forgiven, but the extending of her right hand was a surprise.

"How about we call it even, just this once?" Wren offered. Donnie felt his shoulders relax and he unfolded.

"Yeah, okay. That seems fair," he agreed, shaking her hand.

Now that the air felt a little clearer, both teens settled into a beat of comfortable silence. They weren't sure where the conversation was going, but the dread and anxiety around it was gone.

"You know, Mikey's mad at you for not writing, too," Donnie stated lightly. Wren grimaced, and yet also smiled.

"That's another apology I'll have to make," she amended, "Can't have my new bestie being mad at me." Donnie felt a little stroke of hope in that sentence.

"Does that mean you'll be around again? Not that I have any expectations or anything," he asked, fiddling with his thumbs on the table. He saw Wren leaning closer, a smirk across her features.

"Donatello Splinterson, do you want to go to the theater with me? Without any expectations from our parents nor other unspecified family members? A night of unsupervised fun? I hear there's a great play going on at the—"

Wren was first silenced by a hand on her own. Then by Donnie leaning across the table to kiss her, even if briefly. It left her speechless for just enough time for him to respond.

"I do."

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