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The sewer wasn't as cold as it was some weeks ago just before winter took its leave, but it was still unreasonably chilly.
The water and the fact that the manholes block the outside world do a great job at trapping as much heat down here as possible. So you went from chilly below freezing temperatures to a more bearable fifty.
Still, that was too damn cold.
You walked in the direction of warmth. Not that you could feel it getting warmer, you just had the unfortunate knowledge of knowing this area of New York's entire sewer system.
Which was a lot more work than necessary. You could have easily gotten by with going to a single designated manhole and memorizing the route from there.
But what if there was an emergency and that manhole was too far away?
So, you got the blueprints for New York's sewer system online and got down to memorizing the majority of it.
It proves useful now, since the usual one you go into had too many people walking by that could potentially spot you. So you found a different one.
And if memory serves right, you should be able to take the next left and be right around where the lair should be.
You, of course, are right.
Banter reaches your ears like a homing beacon, the voices of your terrapin friends giving you a strong sense of "home".
You entered quietly, which was a mistake, because as you turned your back from their fighting, looking for a specific turtle, a hard shell makes contact with your freshly healing shoulder.
You hissed, yanking your body away from whoever bumped into you with such a force that you stumbled.
"Whoa are you okay?" Leo asked, arm half outstretched towards you as you gripped your arm.
Immediately you felt bad. It honestly didn't even hurt that much, your hypervigilance just got the best of you when you felt him bump against your punctured skin.
"Obviously not!" Mikey rushed to the kitchen. "Their arm is hurt!"
"No it's fine." You mumbled, slowly unleashing your hand from around your arm. The fibers of your hoodie that normally wouldn't bother you now felt like sandpaper, every balled up piece of lint fried in the lining scratching your skin clean off. "I'm not hurt... technically."
Raph huffed. "Technically? What's that supposed mean?"
"Its..."
You wanted to save it for Donnie. You wanted for him to be the first person to know about it (after April), but you don't see a way of getting around this without telling them.
"It's a tattoo." You glanced up at them, Mikey standing beside Raph with the first aid kit in his hands. "I got some ink the other day and it's healing."
There was silence for a moment, and then Leo was chuckling, Raph slumping over with a sigh and Mikey doing his absolute best to keep his excitement contained.
"You had me worried I dislocated your shoulder or somethin'." Leo was smirking now, waltzing over and standing next to you.
Raph marched to stand well within your line of sight. "You can't just say you're hurt "technically". You really scared Raph."
"'M sorry big guy." The corner of your mouth perked up, the back of your neck getting awfully warm. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"You got a tattoo?!" Mikey nearly screeched, standing between you and the rest of his brothers.
"Shh shh shh! Yes!" You yelled in a loud whisper, hovering your hands over his mouth. "But I don't want D to know about it."
Immediately you registered how dirty that sounded, and it was only made worse when Leo wiggled his eyebrows at you, a sultry purr escaping his throat as he let out a little "ohohooo".
"Don't want Donnie to know about it huh?" He pressed into your space, getting close to you. "What is it? Something, como se dice, Lewd? Raunchy?"
His face was blocked by a large hand, Raph pushing his brother away from you. "I really doubt they would put something like that on their shoulder." He paused for a few moments, allowing that to process in his mind. "You wouldn't put something like that on your shoulder, would you?"
"No!" You said. "I'm not that dumb!"
A sigh left your lips, fingers pinching the fabric of your arm and pulling it away from your skin, flapping it lightly to get a breeze going.
"You okay?" Mikey asked, holding the kit in his hands. "And do not lie to me. We both know I'll be able to tell."
You chuckled. It was nice to him concerned. See them all concerned, really, as they watched you continue to fan your arm with your sleeve. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just irritated now so it's getting all warm. I've got stuff on me to put on it later."
"Not Aquaphor or Vaseline, right?" Leo asked.
"Nah, it's just some Cetaphil lotion. And since when do you know about tattoo care?"
"I think you forget who you're dating and who I am as a person."
You could not possibly forget who you're dating or just how much of an info sponge insomniac Leo was. Leo definitely chilled in Donnie's room one night, researching anything and everything he could get his hands on to tire himself out or to just waste his time until morning when the rest of his brothers awoke and stumbled upon tattoo care.
"I could never."
That was not the answer he was expecting, highlighted by the way his eyes widened ever so slightly.
Mikey broke the moment, asking "can we see it?"
"Mikey!" Raph hissed, but you cut him off.
"Ah... no." You hardly had to think about it. "I really want D to see them before you guys. April thinks-"
"Oh come on!" Leo groaned. "April gets to them but we don't?
"Them?" Raph and Leo were focused on two very different things. "You got more than one?"
Oops. "Um..." Now it felt like both of your shoulders were burning. You released your sleeve in turn to fidget with the skin around your fingers. "I may have technically gotten 3?"
"Three?!" All three of them yelled, each spouting nonsense afterward that vaguely sounded like "how much did it hurt?" and "how long were you there for?" and "did you eat after?"
You moved to shush all of them, hands frantically moving between their mouths. "Guys please! Not so loud!"
"Donald's not coming out of his lab for at least another hour, it'll be fine." Leo leaned against Raph, his brother giving him a look that told you he was very close to telling him off.
"It would be just like Donnie to pop out of his lab right now and stand right beside you, I'm not taking any chances."
"You must really want this to be a surprise." Raph said.
You shrugged. "I mean, kinda?" You pulled the cuffs of the hoodie into your palms. "They're not much but I really like them, and I really want him to like them too, and sitting here talking about them in hushed tones with him able to come out here at any moment and potentially interpret the whispering wrong is kinda pushing me towards having a meltdown so I just..." Air filled your lungs as you took a deep, steadying breath. "I really want this to go smoothly. Like I planned."
"You have a plan?" Leo asked, eyebrow quirked. "You two really are perfect for each other."
A warmth flooded your neck, creeping up to your ears and cheeks. "Zip it 'Nardo." You let your eyes wander between the three of them, looking over the little things that gave them so much character.
Leo's crescent shaped marks and arm guards, Raph's snaggle tooth and pointy shell, Mikey's funny knee pads and stickers. You always loved the little things about them that showed who they are in the big picture.
"I don't really have a plan plan." You mumbled. "But I do know that I at least want to do this in private, where he won't feel like he has to monitor his expressions and what he says. Which I know isn't like him at all, but I don't want it to be an added variable."
Raph nodded. "That makes sense."
"Mhm." Mikey nodded, his head held high and pride written in his expression.
"I'm still mad that April got to see them before I did." Leo jested.
You pulled out your phone. "The only reason April got see first is because I remembered her mentioning something about a cousin being a tattoo artist and I didn't want to go alone."
You showed them a picture of April and her cousin, their eyes immediately widening. "I didn't know he was a tattoo artist!"
"Yall met him before?"
"Yeahhh." Raph grumbled, pushing Leo off of him when he scratched behind his neck. "Scared him pretty bad when we busted through April's window a month or two ago."
"Listen." Leo leaned on his sword, having pulled it out from behind his back. "Maybe April should have given us some kind of warning that it wasn't safe to go inside."
"She didn't know we were coming!" Raph yelled.
"I liked him. After he was done screaming he was really welcoming!" Mikey glowed, touching the rim of the phone with his hands to get a steadier look. "How'd you convince him to tattoo you?"
You took your phone back, shutting it off and putting it back in your hoodie pocket. Though you regretted it when the extra weight pulled the whole thing down, making the fabric grind against your shoulders.
"I bought the tattoo gun and ink myself online. Pretty much the only way he'd allow it to happen. Then we just went to April's place when her mom left and got it done in about... three? Four hours? Not counting the time it took to draw them on and sterilize the bathroom."
"Man, let's hope Donnie likes 'em. It'd be pretty awkward if he didn't considering how much money you spent."
"Mikey!" Raph couldn't get a break from his brothers apparently, both of them not thinking before they spoke.
You grabbed the hoodie strings, busying yourself with tying them into various knots to avoid the sick feeling in your stomach.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make it worse." Mikey gently put his hand on your shoulder, keeping the pressure light.
"It's fine, Angelo. You're just stating the obvious."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it had to be said at all." You could feel Raph glaring at Mikey, your eyes having diverted to the floor. For a sewer, it actually didn't smell or look that bad.
Another hand was put on your shoulder, just as light and just as welcomed. "Really, though? You probably have nothing to worry about. You know Donnie just as well if not better than all of us. Whatever it is you got for him, I'm sure he'll like it." Leo knocked his forehead into the side of your head, just enough that it made your own move.
You smiled, pushing your head into his. "Thanks, Nardo."
"Yeah. Whatever ink you got, Donnie's gonna love it." Raph gave you a thumbs up.
"And if he doesn't, Dr. Delicate Touch will have to pay him a visit." Mikey winked.
"No no no." You laughed. "Dr. Delicate Touch will not be necessary. Though if things do go bad I might need a visit from Dr. Feelings. And from you as well." You put your hand over his.
Mikey gave you one of his signature bright and confident smiles. "You betcha."
Music began blasting in the background, the sound muffled by the distance and the concrete surrounding Donnies lab.
Leo groaned. "Not this song again. He played it for 4 hours straight yesterday."
"Wow, what happened?" You asked, recognizing the song.
It was D's main song that he played whenever he was upset. It's a little harsh on the bass and tended to rattle the area around his lab. Usually does good to calm him down, but it only amps everyone else up.
"Who knows." Leo sighed.
Mikey put his hands on his hips. "Yeah. We tried asking him about it but he just shut us out. Told us he was figuring it out."
You stared in the direction of his lab, stomach twisting for a different reason. Donnie usually told at least one of his brothers what was on his mind when he was pestered about it. To not have told anybody...
"I'm gonna go hang out with D now." You decided, patting yourself down for anything you might have forgot.
"You have to show us your new ink once Donnie sees it. It ain't fair leaving us all on a cliffhanger."
You chuckled. "Yeah yeah, I will Nardo. See ya."
They all waved you off, moving like a pack in the direction of the skate ramp.
'My head is spinning like a screw' turned on in his shuffle, having skipped the other one. You remembered the exact moment when you showed him Russian pop, his legs bouncing up and down to the beat of the music. He's got quite a few of them in his playlist now.
"D?" You call out into the lab, spotting him hunched over and soldering some wires.
He's completely oblivious, tail wagging to the beat and leg bouncing to the rhythm. As you step closer, faint humming can be heard from beneath his ventilator mask.
You wait for him to straighten up and move away from his project before trying again. "Donnie?"
He screams a jumble of words, the soldering gun being chucked into the air, iron falling to the floor. His reaction was startling, but you did your best to catch the tool before it hit the floor. Again, you felt that burning feeling, but now it's in both of your shoulders.
You really need to change.
"Sweet baby Galileo! I've told you thirteen times now not to come up behind me while I'm working!" He held his hand to his chest, muscles relaxing from his scare.
"Well it's not like I can really get in front of you now can I?" You gesture to the table that runs along the wall. "Besides your music is really loud."
He hmphed, tapping the screen of his arm gauntlet to turn down his speakers. "I thought you didn't mind when I had it loud."
"I don't." You confirm. "But it proves a bit of a problem when I have to get your attention."
"I admit, you do have a point." He takes off his mask and turns his goggles up. "My scanner must be malfunctioning. I'll have to take a look at it later."
His scanner, just outside his lab, scans people approaching. A unique sound plays for everyone he has registered in it, and a warning one for unfamiliar people.
You chuckle, remembering when April brought you over for the first time and the scanner went absolutely nuts.
"What're you working on?"
He smiles brightly, immediately sauntering over with a square look in his shoulders. "It's a beta for Angelo." He picks it up, careful with the wires, turning it over to give you a full look. "It's a compartment of sorts. I intend for its dimensions to hold primarily paint cans for when he vacates up into the city to work on his street art."
The dimensions do indeed look similar to a spray paint canister. Right now there's three half finished compartments on it, but the material it's attached to is flexible.
"Is it s'pposed'a be like a belt of sorts?" You gently lift one side of it, watching it bend.
"Indeed it is." He sets the contraption down, waltzing over to what Raph and Leo have deemed the 'Smarts and Crafts' wall. It's an amalgamation of all of Mikey's drawings that he has gifted Donnie over the years. They're invention ideas. A majority of which have already been tested, but sentimentality prevents him from removing them.
He plucks one off the wall, handing it to you. It dates back almost two years, containing a rather rudimentary drawing of Mikey in a hoodie and some bands around his thighs. On the the bands are little rectangles, arrows branching off show a paint can within them.
"These're supposed to go around his thighs?" You ask, picking up the project again.
"Originally, yes." He takes it from you, holding it up to eye level after sanitizing his hands. "However I'm currently working on a way for him to attach it to his backpack."
Your eyebrows raise. "His backpack?"
"Yes." He sets it down, leaning his arm against the table as he bends down to pick up something from beneath the table.
It's a backpack of the same brand that Mikey possesses. They're supposed to sit kind of flat, but Donnie seems to have purposefully worn it out so that it sags like Mikey's does.
"I was aiming for it to hook onto the hanger loop, but that would block his ability to reach whatever he keeps inside. So I'm playing with something that would wrap around the circumference of it."
You nod, though your eyebrows creased as you thought about it a bit more. "Wouldn't that be tricky though? Since backpacks aren't solid like muscles are? Couldn't it slip off while he's running around?"
He smirked. Of course he's thought about that. "Ye of little faith, I have already come up with a solution." His expression fell slightly. "It'd just take a bit of convincing from Mikey first."
"You'd have to change the actual backpack?"
"Alas, I would. Only slightly, however."
The backpack Mikey totes around has become a comfort item of sorts. You can only touch it if Mikey gives you express permission to, and if you damage it in any way... well, you've basically lost Mikeys trust.
Donnie accidentally shredded a blanket Mikey got attached to as a kid, and it took two entire years before Mikey let D anywhere near his stuff again.
"How would you have to change it?" You poked around the backpack, which D handed to you.
"I'm thinking of either adding some loops to the side compartments or altering then and punching holes in them instead." He pointed to one side that had a loop attached at the top, secured with some sort of metal circle punched into where they meet, and then the other where the bag was more altered, a square hole beneath the trimming and secured with more fabric around the edge. "The official design would be more secure than this, but essentially there would be optional hook attachments to the band. He could connect both bands and wrap it around the backpack and clip it into these loops to keep everything secure."
"That's... genius." You praised, catching the way his chest puffed out a bit.
"Of course it is. I thought of it."
He took the backpack from you, sliding it under the table.
The second his hands were free, he circled his arms around your middle, giving you a firm squeeze.
Pure unadulterated happiness bubbled in your chest, presenting externally as nothing more than a small smile and pupils that were sure to be at least double in size.
You hugged around his neck, putting one hand on the back of his head and the other on the top of his shell. It was really hard to ignore that burning in your shoulder again, but you did it for him.
You loved when he did this, equally spontaneous as it is loving.
"You didn't come over yesterday." He mumbled, a sigh falling from his lips.
Immediately it clicked why he was playing that song on loop yesterday.
Thursdays were days you usually spent with the turtles, having no classes that day and making sure to get all your homework done the day before. But you were just so drained from the tattooing the day before that you napped all day, completely neglecting your phone until you woke up earlier today before heading to class.
"I know, I'm sorry. I was just really drained yesterday and next thing I knew I slept most of it away until I woke up this morning."
He pulled away, keeping his hands to your sides. "That doesn't usually happen."
"Yeah." That familiar anxiety assaulted your stomach again. "I actually have something to show you."
His eyebrows stitched together. "You have something for me that made you so tired that you slept for 30 plus hours?"
That only made it worse. "Well when you word it like that it sounds bad. But I promise it's not." You stepped out of his grasp, much to your hearts and his hands dismay. "I do have to take my hoodie off though."
"What?" He deadpanned.
"Listen just... just trust me, okay?" Your worry must have been written all over your face, or was at least extremely apparent in your voice, because Donnie's face immediately softened.
"Ah... alright."
"I promise I'm not trying to be weird. There's just no other way to show you unless I take this off."
"Weird isn't the word that comes to mind." He turned around, checking his table before leaning back against it.
You quirked a brow. "Yeah? And what does?"
He chuckled. "Just take it off already."
"Ooo~ Getting all steamy on me are you, Donatello?"
His cheeks blossomed as well as yours, face heating at the teasing. "Just show me!"
"First, do you have that one hoodie I like? The one with the satin on the inside?"
"Of course I do. Unfortunately, it is in my room." He pushed himself off the table. "I shall retrieve it so you can continue-"
"If you say stripping I will set fire to your masks."
You could feel the smirk at the back of your head. "Undressing yourself."
A groan erupted from your throat just as he took his leave.
Now that you were alone, you allowed yourself a moment to freak out before taking off the ghastly material.
Really, what was wrong with this hoodie? It was fine before Leo bumped into it. Or maybe it wasn't and Leo just made you pay closer attention to it? Actually, it was probably just your skin being extra sensitive to match the irritation on your shoulders.
Bodies are weird. You'll never understand yours.
"I found it but it smells like-"
Donnie's voice called out into the lab, halting suddenly.
He's in the doorway, a purple hoodie hanging from his hand and his mouth frozen open. It's like somebody hit the pause button on life and you were the only one to notice.
Why do you feel so embarrassed? This was pretty much what you planned. But it feels so, raw. And vulnerable.
"Um." You start, balling up your hoodie with all your belongings stored safely inside. "So, two days ago I had April's cousin give me some tats and... and I wanted to show you them. Because they're kinda... yours."
On your left shoulder were two thick black lines, running in the exact same pattern as Donatello's own, your right shoulder being the exact same as his. They were black, in contrast to his purple, an angry red line around the edges, punctured skin raised.
Donnie's hand came up and touched his own markings, slowly walking over to you.
He looked so small, hunched over and arms held close to his body, and immediately your stomach flipped and your heart dropped.
He hates them. He completely and utterly hates them. You stole something of his and took it for your own. How could you be so self-
"Can- Can I touch them?" He stuttered.
Donnie never stutters.
Fuck. You fucked up.
"If you want, just- be gentle."
His eyes snapped up to yours, brows turned down. He looked and looked, and found exactly what he was looking for.
"I wouldn't dream of being anything but."
You watched as his fingers gently grazed over the fresh ink, dragging over to your blank skin. There was a distinct difference in texture, the raised skin you could imagine providing interesting tactile input.
"Have you put anything on it recently?" He asked.
You shook your head. "I have lotion in my-"
Before you could finish, he took your hoodie, giving you the one he just retrieved. He walked over to his table, unraveling the ball slowly and methodically. He's so focused on unwrapping it it seems he forgets to look up, now running the folds out of the whole thing while all its contents are still in the pocket.
He gets one arm done before you call his name.
"Donnie?" He doesn't respond, just halts in his folding and runs his hands together.
"D, are you alright?" You decide to go for a general approach first. Maybe that'll help calm him down.
"Is it safe to assume, from my research, that humans get tattoos because... they mean something?"
Data collection. Why's he so freaked out?
"Um, yeah, why?"
He slumps down a bit, cords already taken apart and lotion retrieved. "Do those..." He turns around, fidgeting with the screw cap. "Do those mean that much?"
It's now that you notice that his skin is flushed beneath that mask, pupils larger than before and hands shaking.
"I wanted something that was..." You scramble for the rights words. "I wanted something that was uniquely you." You looked around his lab a bit. "Sure you have your tech but, I wanted a part of you with me. And while your tech is important to you and it's what you make your whole... everything about, I wanted something a lot more personal."
"Tech can be personal." He's eyebrows scrunch.
"I know that." You smile. "But I wanted something that was all you. There's hundreds of thousands of people that do tech related stuff. But I really wanted to try and drive it in that head of yours that I like you for you and not because you can make things for us."
He faces you completely, tears welling up in his eyes.
"And besides, it could be a reminder of where we started if your marks change in the future."
And that makes him fall apart, silent tears falling down his cheeks and soaking his mask, grip tightening around the bottle in his hands.
Probably for the fact that you plan to be with him so far into the future that he'll physically change enough to outdate your tattoo. You plan to be with him for what sounded like the rest of your life.
You planned for him to be your life, even in death if you could help it.
"So, you like them?" You ask, just to calm your aching heart.
He let's the lotion fall to the floor and walks over to you. In the same way as before, he wraps his arms around your waist, letting his head rest ever so gently in the crook of your neck. "Of course I do."
You hum, hands rubbing up and down his soft shell. His spines gave you a sense of comfort whenever he allowed you to touch them, fingers moving over the hills and valleys, memorizing their pattern.
"How would you feel if I got some of your spots next?" You asked.
He churred, the feeling reverberating in your throat. "Well I have to have something that's mine."
"Just the heart one?"
He sighed, faking thinking it over. "I guess, if you must, you can get the heart one."
You grinned, knowing he could feel it when you pressed your cheek against his head.
"Guys!" A voice entered the lab, scaring the both of you apart until you realized who it was. "Can we see the tattoos now?"
Donnie's eyes furrowed, staring at you. "You told Nardo before showing me?"
You gaped. "I didn't mean for them to know! Leo bumped into me and its not like I could convince them I was fine after I literally hissed. Thanks for that, by the way."
Ever since you started hanging out with them, you picked up their little turtle noises. The sighs, the grunts, the churrs, and the newest edition being the hissing.
It becomes incredibly awkward when you're put in certain situations at university.
"We didn't get to see them though!" Mikey called. "They wanted to show you first!"
You chuckled when Donnie's face flared up in a much darker shade of green. "I'll be out in a minute to show you once I put some lotion on."
"Thin layers!" Raph called out.
"Way ahead of you!"
Donnie grumbled as he picked up the lotion from the floor, you in turn picking up the hoodie that you dropped in favor of hugging the purple terrapin.
"Dum-dums. Yelling through my lab doors. Stupid sensor not working." His voice was harsh but his fingers were gentle as they smoothed a dollop of lotion over your skin.
Your muscles relaxed under his touch, a nice cool temperature washing over the warm skin of your shoulder. You watched his brows go from touching to slowly parting, a Raph chasm inevitable in his future.
As he moved from one shoulder to the next, you lifted your hand and stuck your thumb over the patch of skin (the glabella, he would remind you) and pressed down, smoothing it out. The effect was immediate, forehead coming to a halt.
"What were you saying before? About the hoodie?"
His eyebrows pushed against your finger as he tried to remember. You smoothed them out again, going over the drawn on hairs in exchange for following his actual brow line.
"Ah. That." He looks down at the hoodie in your hand. "I was simply warning you it smells like Nardo. He decided it would be hilarious to go into my room and touch everything I own. Which is, unfortunately, impressive considering the amount of items that I possess."
You laugh, eyes shutting. "I think I'll survive, as much as I appreciate the warning."
He goes silent, pausing for a moment to get more lotion on his finger and continue with applying it.
"They're annoying because they're excited." You say, moving your hand down to tap his nose.
He clicks his tongue. "They could be annoying elsewhere. There's an entire globe at their disposal now that Leo has his portals pretty much figured out." He squints his eyes. "Possibly even beyond this planet if he trained hard enough."
"Yeah but they wouldn't get your reaction. It's not the same if it's not the four of you."
He sighs. "If my presence is what it takes for them to leave us alone quicker, then out we go."
He caps the bottle, tossing it over to his desk with very surprising aim and corrals you out of his room, tech bō in hand.
The moment the doors open, three eavesdropping turtles scramble away from the door, each posing inconspicuously up until they spot the black lines on your shoulders.
"Woah-ho-ho." Leo grins, stepping forward and inspecting the freshly treated tattoos. "Now I see why you were so nervous."
Mikey's excitement is uncontainable. "They're just like Donnie's! But black!" He's basically jogging in place, hands squeezed into fists and stars in his eyes.
"I gotta admit, they are pretty snazzy. Raph may just need to get some of his own in the future." He flexes his arms, looking at the blank skin.
The boys begin squabbling about who's getting inked first and what would look best, but your focus, as always, slides over to your purple guy.
Donnie's inspecting his sensor, taking it apart with methodical hands and goggles searching for the problem.
Maybe you could convince him to get tattoos one day.
But if you're being honest? As you watch his face light up when he figures out the problem, turning around to join the rest of brothers in their banter, the only thing going through your mind is that you like him just the way he is.
No additions required.