Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Donnie followed Mikey as he peeked into his room - now he and MJ’s room - through the curtain. There, he could see MJ sitting on the edge of her seat at Mikey’s drawing desk, an assortment of colored pencils strewn around her work. Mikey grinned back at Donnie and joined her at the desk.

“Hey, MJ! What’cha drawing?” He leaned in to look at the other papers she had stacked to the side. Donnie came to inspect them beside his little brother.

“Mikey! Donnie!” MJ beamed up at them both with shining eyes and handed Mikey the drawing she’d been working on. Donnie looked down at it and saw a partially finished, highly accurate depiction of the four of them with MJ standing in the middle. He noted how detailed she had drawn their bandannas and plastrons, they were all different just like their true appearances. It still boggled his mind how this poor girl had never been taught to communicate with others, yet could somehow see something and be able to draw it almost to its exact proportions. 

“Wow! That’s so good! Lookit these, Dee!” Mikey passed the unfinished drawing back to MJ and picked up another from the side pile to hold between himself and Donnie. This one featured himself and Raph in even closer detail than the last. The talent, though confoundingly mysterious, was surely praiseworthy. Donnie raised his eyebrows and nodded. 

“Indeed, I must say her details are quite accu-” He trailed off, noticing something peculiar at the base of the paper. “-rate…” He had been admiring the detail on his own features when he saw small, slightly darkened spots close to the bottom of the drawing. They had a slightly wrinkled texture, like something wet had dried there. 

“… Donnie?” Mikey had noticed his change in demeanor. Donnie nodded down at the paper, indicating for him to look more closely. As Mikey examined it, his face shifted into something more concerned. He turned back to Donnie and they shared a look that confirmed their joint conclusion; they were tear stains. The brothers turned their attention back to MJ who had begun drawing again, and Donnie realized that the shine in her eyes he’d mistaken earlier for youthful glee was more emotional than he’d initially understood. 

He wasn’t the best at reading feelings, but he was getting better at MJ’s specifically since she nearly always wore them openly on her sleeves. Her expression now was a complex mix of emotions. As she carefully sketched out Leo’s face, MJ almost seemed to be in disbelief of her own work. She looked at the drawing of herself and the four of them with such hopeful longing, like it was something she’d wanted so badly, but never expected to be real. Her whole face held an almost imperceptible tension, like everything she gained could all be lost in a moment… yet she still gazed at the faces in her drawing like they were too good not to be real. Donnie still saw the same shine in her eyes, and he understood now that it must have been from the tears she had likely shed earlier. He glanced down at his little brother whose own expression had become much more empathetic and sad as he also watched MJ. Donnie wondered if Mikey understood even more of her state, as he was always the most emotionally perceptive of their family. 

He watched as Mikey slowly reached out and ever so gently placed his hand on MJ’s back, slowly starting to rub up and down her shell. She inhaled softly, immediately pausing her drawing and staring straight ahead, feeling the touch. Mikey continued, and both brothers watched as her face shifted through a multitude of mixed emotions, mostly a disbelieving awe. MJ’s hand let go of her pencil, her breathing became hitched and slow, and that shine in her eyes grew until a couple small tears slid down her face. Donnie might not know much about feelings, but there was only one logical conclusion for such a raw response.

“… Oh my banana pancakes…” he whispered quietly, “… she’s never had her back rubbed before…” 

“Awhh… baby…” Mikey’s own eyes began to shine in tandem with MJ’s. Donnie thought about what he just said… and felt a plethora of new questions arise in his mind. How has she never experienced this kind of loving physical contact before? Had she really been alone all her life until now? But if she’d never seen anyone else before, shouldn’t they have scared her? But she wasn’t scared, she was emotionally overjoyed to see that they were like her… And how did she get locked up? She couldn’t have survived alone in there with no food for twelve years… so which mega-jerk decided that a cell was a fit place to keep a little kid?!

As Donnie’s brain ran a mile a minute through his thoughts, MJ slowly turned to look at Mikey with the same expression of emotional awe, a few tears still falling. He looked back lovingly and spoke ever so softly, “Does that feel good, MJ?” Her mouth became a thin line and her eyes squeezed shut as she nodded. Her breath was hitching more now and she was sniffling, her eyes leaking another trail of tears.

Mikey was quick to respond to her emotional need, “Hey, it’s ok… come’ere…” He kept his hand on her back, pulling MJ into a close hug. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder with her eyes still shut tight. Mikey placed a hand behind her head and continued rubbing her back with the other, surrounding her in comfort. Donnie’s questions faded away as he observed the scene in front of him. There were a million things he didn’t know about his new little sister, but there were also things that he could understand pretty clearly. MJ had never had her back rubbed before, which means they had a lot to catch her up on.

Donnie moved in close behind his little brother and gently placed his hand on MJ’s shoulder, thumb rubbing. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but Donnie had been more comfortable with physical contact ever since the events of the invasion. He understood better than he used to about how effective it was in comforting someone, and that’s exactly what this poor girl was in need of. 

MJ’s eyes opened, shining all the more as she looked up at him over Mikey’s shoulder with a look that nearly stopped Donnie’s heart. He’d never seen a more raw, hopeful expression in all his life… and it was all he could do to muster a kind smile in return. 

MJ looked sideways at Mikey, then downwards. She inhaled shakily, her voice breaking as she whispered, “… r-really good…” then buried her head further into Mikey’s hug, sniffling. Mikey glanced back at Donnie, and the two shared the same look of loving concern before turning back to her. 

“Yeah, that’s right, MJ… you’re gonna be ok.” Donnie tried to pour every bit of sureness and gentleness into his voice as he continued to rub her shoulder with his thumb. 

Mikey leaned his head into hers, nuzzling. “You’re with us now, baby… you’re home.”

Chapter Text

Splinter huffed his way through their sewer home, looking for a particular recently-adopted-little-girl-turtle. This was the fifth time this week she had left her dinner plate close to the foot of his chair after watching a movie, and he wanted to address the habit abruptly from the start. 

He’d been purposefully distant from Maroon since she came so as not to overwhelm her. Purple and Red told him all about her conditions when they found her, and he’d even seen a few times for himself how unfamiliar she was with being in a supportive family environment. Maroon already had four brothers plus April interacting with her often, and Splinter was not keen to smother the poor girl in any ways that would potentially overstimulate her. He also wanted to watch from afar to see how his sons would handle such a new and different challenge. He had tried to train them all their lives to be their best selves by encouraging them to be heroes for others, but they still had many flaws… some that cost them dearly. Perhaps he had been going about their training all wrong. 

Being heroes for others surely motivated them into action, but he did not see his sons tap into their true potential until one of their own family was at stake. Himself with the Shredder… and Raphael with the kraang. That is when they truly fought with everything they had and showed their greatest inner strength. Splinter had had much time to ponder this in the past year as they all healed from the effects of the invasion. Now that little Maroon had appeared, his sons had an entirely new mission on their hands. A mission simply to love and care for someone who has been incredibly neglected in such things. Splinter remembered how much he himself changed after rescuing his little turtles on that fateful day… and realizing that he alone was then responsible for them. He was excited to see if perhaps this new mission would finally be the one to bring out the best in each of his beloved sons for good.

So, stand back he did. However, when it came to the possibility of stepping on leftover dinner plates, well… Splinter was not going to wait to crack down on things like that. He finally found her playing with a couple of Red’s stuffed animals and huffed over to her with plate in hand.

“Maroon!” She looked up, smiling as she recognized him. He tried to sound both gentle and stern, he wanted to drive his point home. “You have left your dirty plate by my chair again. If you don’t clean them up, one of these days I will step on it and it will break and stab my foot! Now, just because you are new here and a girl…” Maroon did not stop smiling, it was slightly unusual. Normally, his sons would have interrupted his scolding by now, or at least given him a scowl in defiance. “… and young… and…” She did not even seem to be aware that he was criticizing her… “sweet… and…” It was not an unsettling smile, but seemed genuinely happy. He had not noticed quite how many little gold spots adorned her face, even with her mask covering half of them. “and… really cute… and always smiling-”

Splinter snapped back to himself. He was sounding much too gentle and not stern enough now, “Ah, why are you always smiling?”

Maroon cocked her head at him slightly, he realized he may not have used enough words she would have known as she was still learning. She did not seem to understand his discipline, and her little neck stripe stretched across her face as she smiled wider, showing her teeth as she spoke a single word. “Daddy!”

“… huhh…” He had not been called that since… It had been so long… So long since his sons were so little, so dependent on him… They had grown up so much, but this little one… This little girl… The one looking at him with such innocence and joy at simply being present here with him… That trusting gaze took him right back to when he truly felt like a father for the first time. 

Splinter turned to face away from Maroon so that she could not see him become emotional. It only half worked, because he heard a bit of shuffling before getting hugged from behind by little blue arms.

“G-oh… ahahah.” He sniffed and patted her arm, “Thank you, Maroon.” Splinter pulled himself together and turned back around to face her again. He sighed, “How are you feeling?” What had Purple said? She had been sensitive when the heat broke..? “You are not cold anymore?”

She shook her head, still maintaining that sweet little grin, “No! Not cold!”

“Good.” He nodded, trying to think of something else to check in with her about. Even though he intended to distance himself, he still wanted her to know that he cared very much about her. “And… ah… You are… happy here?”

That sweet smile became a pure beam of light as she nodded enthusiastically, almost emotionally, “Yes! Yes, yes, really happy here!” Splinter smiled and allowed his ears to relax. By that look on little Maroon’s face, it seemed his sons were starting this new mission off quite well.

“Ah, very good. Well, um… You best run along now, and uh…” Wasn’t there something he was finding her for? Something he was trying to say? He looked down at the dirty plate still in his hands. “Oh! And take your plate to the sink.” He held it out for her to take, “Remember, sink?” He was pretty sure she at least knew that word by now.

His intuition was correct as she nodded in understanding, “Sink! Yes!”

“Good job. Off you go then.” Splinter gave her a gentle shooing gesture as she got up and made her way to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, he let out a long sigh, reverting slightly back into his emotional state. It had surely caught him off guard, especially after so many years, yet it comforted him to know that even she still saw him as somewhat of a father figure. 

Perhaps he did not need to be so distant for her sake…

He felt a presence approach him from behind and plop down beside him. Blue put a hand on his shoulder. “First time being called ‘Daddy’ by your daughter, Pops?” Of course, his brilliant Blue had been watching the whole time.

Splinter chuckled and sniffed, “She is so cute! I cannot stay mad!”

“Haha,” His son migrated his hand to his father’s opposite side, pulling him into a side hug. “I think that feeling is mutual for all of us…”

Chapter Text

Mikey flinched in his sleep, curled up tight in his hammock. Inside his mind, his dreams were a world of fear and anguish. He was trapped in Turanga’s coils again, his breath getting forced completely out of his lungs. His brothers were unconscious, plastered against his back, and MJ just got hurled into the far wall. 

Mikey had no breath left to wake his brothers or call to MJ. He tried the hardest he ever had in his life to get some kind of sound out of his throat… but there was nothing but anguished silence interrupted by Turanga’s cackles from above. 

“These are Draxum’s prized specimens?! You can’t even save yourselves! Let alone your sister!!”

Mikey couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t move any part of him. And he couldn’t see MJ through the dust of her crash. ‘What if she was hurt badly? She needed him!’

Turanga never stopped cackling, “You’re too late, fool! She’s already GONE!” All of a sudden Mikey was free from her coils and was able to bolt over to where MJ lay… face down on the floor… with giant gaping cracks running over her entire shell… and a terrible, darkening wound on the back of her head… 

Mikey stopped dead in his tracks for a brief moment in absolute horror. One would’ve thought they were both statues with how neither of them seemed to be breathing. 

‘Snap out of it!! She’s- She needs you!!’ Mikey got down and swiftly yet gently turned MJ around to face him in his lap, cradling her wounded head in his hand. He couldn’t get a good look at her, there seemed to be a thick, blurry veil of tears blocking his vision, but he could feel his hand getting warm and wet.

‘Nono… nononono…’ Mikey couldn’t breathe again. It was hard to find breath when all his attention was focused on listening for hers.

She finally did… a feeble, shaky inhale followed by a horrible gurgling cough. A thin trail of red traced her gold neck stripe. Mikey watched through blurred eyes as she pried her own open to look up at him. They were already gathering tears of their own, and they cleared the dust off the sides of her face as they fell.

“Mm… Mikeyy…?” She gasped.

“Y-Yeah… I’m here, baby…” Mikey hated how badly his voice shook. He wanted to sound strong for her, to be a better comforter.

She sobbed, flinching hard, and her body began trembling. Her voice cracked as she whispered, “h-hurts…”

“I know… I know I know I know, sweetheart…”

“… sca-ared…”

“I know, I got you, MJ, I got you…” Mikey abandoned trying to see through the impossibly blurry veil and wrapped his arms around MJ, pulling her close and trying to somehow stop her pain by some sheer force of will. Her close proximity betrayed just how much she was trembling, whether by fear, pain, or a terrible mix of both he couldn’t tell. Mikey knew this was far beyond his capabilities.

“Raph! Leo! Donnie!” Silence.

“Dad!” Mikey yelled with all the volume he wished he’d gotten earlier. “Help! She’s-“

The trembling stopped. Mikey froze. MJ had become completely still in his embrace… and completely silent. He didn’t want to… he really really really didn’t want to… but Mikey turned her back towards him.

Her head sagged, and her eyes were empty. Lifeless. Dead.

“No… nononoNONO!!” Mikey closed his eyes and screamed, “Raph!! Leo!! Donnie!!” His sobs echoed in the dead silence. “Help, please! She’s-” He couldn’t say it. He wouldn’t say it. He looked back at her and immediately regretted it.

“… MJ!!”

Mikey threw himself into a sitting position in his hammock. He gasped for air only for a millisecond before looking around at his own room, seemingly at nighttime. He immediately whipped around to look at the bed across the room. 

Sure enough, there was a little sister in it, cozied up to her pillow, wrapped snugly in her blankets, and breathing slowly and evenly. Mikey watched her for he’s not sure how long.

He finally sighed, letting out all the air he’d held in since jerking awake. He blinked, and felt… wet..?

‘Oh. Guess his dream-crying was also real-crying this time… because she… she d-’

‘No she didn’t. She’s right over there, and she’s sleeping. So be quiet.’ Mikey tried his best to stifle the incoming sobs. Apparently he wasn’t done real-crying yet. 

‘Even though she’s fine. You’re fine. Everyone’s fine. It was just a stupid dream.’ Mikey had to open his eyes to see for himself once again that MJ was safe and asleep in her bed.

‘See? Just take deep breaths and forget you ever dreamed something so horrible that never happened.’ Mikey did his best to follow his inner voice’s instructions, but as always, his physical body wasn’t quick to catch up with his mental intelligence. He was still shuddering through his breathing exercise and he couldn’t seem to unclasp his hands from their vice-like grip below his shoulders. 

‘Ok, what calms me down physically? Touch.’ Mikey looked over again at MJ’s bed. ‘Yeah.. let’s go do that.’ He carefully and quietly made his way over and tried to slowly slip in behind her. He managed to get under the covers and into a spooning position without jostling her much at all.

Having victoriously not woken her up, Mikey proceeded to snuggle closer, reaching over to take her hand in his, rubbing it with his thumb, and pressing his forehead down into the back of her head, nuzzling. MJ did not need to be awake to give Mikey the physical comfort his body needed to calm down. After a while, he could feel his breath evening out and his body relaxing. 

Just before he fell asleep like this, Mikey felt MJ stir slightly before she twisted her head around to look back at him.

“… Mikey..?”

“Hey, MJ.” He whispered back. “This ok?”

She smiled, sweet and sleepy, “Yes.” MJ then used her elbows to push up and turn herself around to face him, letting out a tiny, quiet squeak when she dropped herself down. She shimmied in close and tucked her head under his chin, sighing quietly. 

Mikey almost forgot he’d ever had a nightmare as he wrapped both his arms around his little sister, hugging her tight and nuzzling. He felt her warm breath against him as she whispered something quietly.

“I love you…”

“Awh… I love you too, MJ… so much…” Mikey nuzzled even further into their hug, “… and I’m so glad you’re safe…”

Chapter Text

Raph lay curled up in his bed, breathing harder and harder as he tried and failed to banish his tormenting memories of that day… of her… The one that hurt his baby sister, that hurt his brothers… 

And that hurt him. 

Not so much physically, he’d gotten out of that fight with the least injuries of all of them thanks to his thick shell. But even after Raph had been trying to deal with his anxiety, Turanga still managed to terrify him - even beyond her defeat. Her gargantuan snake body filled every corner of his memory, giving rise to a plethora of new ‘what ifs’ and worst case scenarios for his anxiety to paint in his mind. 

What if she’d damaged Mikey’s lungs permanently? Or if Donnie’s battle shell had stabbed even further into his soft-shelled back? Enough to damage his spine? What if getting crushed reminded Leo too much of the kraang? What if he was falling back into his panic attacks again, but wasn’t telling anyone? What if she had just kept squeezing… kept getting tighter… until… Raph’s whole body shuddered at the thought that his shell would’ve been the last to break among his brothers…

And his poor baby sister… Raph stifled a sob as he remembered the pure terror he felt watching MJ get hurled into a concrete wall, only to fall flat on her face, unconscious. If she had hit her head any harder… Raph could no longer hold back tears as his body trembled at the thought of the very worst case scenario… What if she hadn’t made it out..? What if he had failed to save her? He would have never forgiven himself… Never if he’d failed to protect her…

“Raphie!” The biggest brother gasped out of his head as his nightmares were suddenly replaced by reality. “Raphie! Wanna come watch movie with me please!” 

Oh, no. Raph was in no shape to be seen by anyone right now, let alone his little MJ. Thankfully, he wasn’t facing the door, so she hadn’t seen how upset he was yet. He had to respond fast, or she’d get suspicious. He sniffled and cleared his throat. 

“Oh, th-that’s ok sweetheart! Raph’ll come j-join ya in a little while!” Crap. His voice shook way more than he’d wanted it to, which meant he wasn’t doing great at sounding ok. Probably because he wasn’t.

MJ’s tone shifted into something more concerned, “You ok?” She sounded closer, like she was coming around his bed. Crap. Raph covered his face with a hand, like that would help, and tried once more to convince her.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, MJ! Don’t worry about me!” And his voice broke on the word ‘worry’. It was obvious now that he wasn’t fine, he wasn’t going to be able to hide from her.

Sure enough, MJ let out a concerned little gasp as she rounded the corner of his bed and saw his trembling form and tearstained face. “Raph, you crying!” Her face was shocked for only a millisecond before she quickly clamored up onto his bed, shimmied in between his arms, and hugged his neck tight. 

Raph abandoned the futile mission of getting his voice not to shake, “Aw, sweetheart… ya don’t have to-” 

“Is ok, Raphie, I here…” MJ cut him off in whatever poor excuse he was about to come up with to get her to leave. She nuzzled her head closer against his shoulder. “This good?” If Raph wasn’t having a panic attack, he would have laughed at how she used his own phrase right back at him; the one that he asked her whenever he wasn’t sure if the kind of comfort he was giving was too unfamiliar to her or just too much in the moment. 

He looked down at his little blue and gold girl, still covered in bandaids and patches from that day. She didn’t seem to mind them at all as she clung tightly to her older brother, replicating the same love she’d been taught by them over the last few months. She’d learned so much, and Raph wasn’t about to tell her not to do exactly what they’d modeled for her so many times. The more he thought about it… he didn’t really want to be alone right now anyways.

So, the biggest brother reciprocated his little sister’s hug, wrapping his big arms around her little shell and holding her close. He let his voice break as he answered her, “It’s really good, honey…” He stopped holding back, let his body tremble, and let his tears fall. He felt a little hand stroke the back of his head from the top down, and oh… 

It felt so much better not to be alone…

“Why you crying? You feel sad?” Her voice was soft, quiet right beside his ear. 

Ah. How to word his feelings to a twelve-year-old. He wanted to be truthful, he felt he owed her that much, but he didn’t want to accidentally scare her either. “Raph’s just feelin’ … a little overwhelmed…”

“What is over- oder- over-r-realmed?” 

“… I-It’s like feeling scared… and a little mad… and sad too, I guess… and frustrated and disappointed and anxious and-” Raph cut himself off. He was getting dangerously close to maybe scaring her, a little too honest. He squeezed his eyes shut tight. “… All at once.” He felt her hand pause its stroking on his head for a moment.

“… That’s a lot of feelings…”

He just nodded, knowing they were hugging tightly enough that she could feel it. “… sometimes Raph can’t hold it in anymore…” He sniffled, nuzzling closer into his baby sister’s embrace. As embarrassed as he felt to be clinging to the comfort from his youngest sibling, there was another part of Raph that was slowly taking over that embarrassment. A part that felt like Gram Gram’s voice in the wilderness, telling him that his strength was never meant to come from him alone. Like his brother’s voice, calling him out when they needed him most; ‘Raph’s doing it for us, so we do it for him…’ 

“I remember feeling oder-realmed before too…” MJ’s voice almost dropped an octave, and Raph recalled with a slight twinge of guilt that not so distant day when he and his brothers decided to let MJ choose a weapon. That moment when she looked at them like they were the monsters in her nightmares, and how he found her completely terrified inside her little spotted shell. 

“Yeah, I was there…” His guilty thoughts slowly began to be replaced by feelings of fondness and pride as he remembered what followed those sobs echoing from her shell. At the sound of his voice, MJ came out for him. She finally told him her deepest wounds, shared her history and pain with him. And because of that, he and his brothers were better equipped than ever to come alongside her and help in her healing. 

MJ seemed to be remembering it all on the same wavelength, “You helped me feel better…” She leaned back from their hug to meet her big brother’s eyes, “I help you now?”

Raph looked at her concerned and determined little face with such love, fully aware that tears were continuing to fall down his own. He understood now; how concerned he felt about not knowing MJ’s pain… that must be how his brothers felt whenever he anxiously assured them he was fine… Like he tried to do with MJ just now before she saw his face. He wanted to change that. He wanted to be a better role model for all of his siblings, because they were all meant to be there for each other. He felt his embarrassment completely dissolve under his baby sister’s loving gaze.

“Yeah…” He sniffed and wiped one side of his face with his wrist, “I could use some help, MJ.”

With that, her expression became even more determined. “Ok, I help you, Raph.” She pulled him right back into their hug, resuming her stroking of the back of his head. Raph let himself truly relax into the feeling, finally beginning to feel his body unstiffen and become still. 

“Do the deep breathing, ok?” Raph opened his eyes as he realized he’d been holding his breath for some time, as he often did.

“Oh, Raph forgets that a lot.” 

As quickly as she pulled him into their hug, MJ jerked backwards, looking at him with a shocked expression. “You forget to breathe?!”

“Only a little, but I always remember again! Half the time, I don’t realize I’m doing it…” It was true, he recalled how often it happened that he would come back to his senses and find that he’d been holding his breath for, well, he could never figure out quite how long. 

MJ’s expression became more stern, “Don’t forget to breathe! Do lots of breathing! Ok?” She emphasized her point by gently poking his plastron with her finger. 

“Ok, ok, I won’t forget, I promise.” Raph gave his sister a reassuring smile.

She nodded, satisfied. “Good.” MJ looked at him a little longer before her stern face became more hopeful as she smiled, “I helping?”

And now, Raph couldn’t help but smile ear to ear as he was the one to pull her into his embrace, gently bringing her head close enough to kiss her forehead. 

“You’re helpin’ so much, sweetheart… thank you…”

Raph felt his precious baby sister get comfy in his arms and nuzzle him back, “You’re welcome, Raphie…”

Chapter Text

“You know, I just thought of something.” The blue slider leaned a little closer to his orange brother on the couch, giving him a knowing side eye. In complete honesty, what he was about to say was something he’d been pondering for the past few days, but he worded it as though it was a more recent idea so that it would seem more nonchalant. 

Mikey looked up from his phone, casually meeting his brother’s gaze, “What’s that?”

“We don’t know MJ’s birthday,” Leo tilted his head, a little somber, “And I doubt she does either.” Pausing there, he let the statement sink in, anticipating the inevitable emotional reaction from the box turtle. 

Sure enough, Mikey’s eyebrows pinched high in concern and a shiny veil of despair fell over his eyes as he gasped. “Aww! That’s so sad! What do we do?”

Leo continued his thought, “Well, at first I thought we could ask Thorn if she knew the date that they were both mutated… but that didn’t seem like a day to celebrate in the same way, you know?” He spoke apprehensively, well aware of the heavy weight that particular topic carried. 

His brother grimaced along with him, shaking his head, “Ohh, yeah that’s not a very happy memory for either of them, huh?” 

“Yeah. So then I thought,” Leo shifted his tone upwards, smiling at his own idea, “What about the day we brought her home?” 

Once again, after a long and dramatic inhale, Mikey showcased an unparalleled emotional reaction - though this time his shimmering eyes were accompanied with a wide smile. “AWWWEEE LEEOOOO! That’s so much better!!” 

Soaking in his little brother’s praise, Leo laughed, “Heheh, glad you think so too, bro. We’ll check with everyone else, but it would mean that the day is coming up soon…” The slider paused again, waiting to see if Mikey would remember the date on his own. 

“Right! Wasn’t it in October?” He asked excitedly.

“Close, September 29th.”

“Ohh, yeah!” The orange turtle gasped, “That’s in, like, three weeks!!”

Leo nodded, “Exactly, time to get party-planning!” He rubbed his hands together, and Mikey quickly joined him, smirking and making them both giggle. With everyone working together, they’d make this a surprise their sister would never forget. 

…

“Surprise!!” 

MJ staggered back in astonishment as balloons were released from above, falling all around the hanging streamers, the pile of presents, the large, maroon cake, and the smiling people greeting her as she entered the room. Leo bapped a balloon towards her as it fell, thoroughly enjoying watching her take in the scene. The party had a pretty good turnout! Obviously the four brothers, April, and Splinter wouldn’t miss this event for the world- but on top of that, Cass, Casey Jr., Sunita, and Thorn were able to make it, too! 

His little sister blinked, finally finding her words in response to it all, “Woah! What’s all this?”

Their oldest brother was the first to spread his big arms wide and shout, “Happy Birthday, MJ!!” and the rest quickly followed with the same. 

“Birthday..?” The spotted turtle’s face held a mixed expression, recognizing the meaning of the word yet seemingly struggling with the concept, “I… have a birthday..?”

Leo’s heart ached for her underneath his grin as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You do now, sis!” Clearing his throat, he addressed the room, “Exactly one year ago today, we four unexpectedly found this little spotted turtle all by herself in a dark and dreary corner of the Hidden City - and we immediately, without question or hesitation, brought her straight home.” Some fond laughter echoed around the room. “‘Twas the same night that our dear Donatello-” Leo gestured to his purple brother across the room who rolled his eyes in return, producing a few more chuckles from the rest. The slider continued, “-concluded through feats of science that she was roughly twelve years old. It has been exactly one year since that day, and so we see it fit to acknowledge how much you’ve grown.” Turning to meet his little sister’s gaze, Leo saw that she was looking back at him with teary eyes and an incredibly grateful expression. He lowered his tone to sound all the more sincere, “MJ, you have come so far since you first came home, and we could not be happier to celebrate you becoming part of our family. He rubbed her opposite shoulder, pulling her into a close side-hug, “Happy Birthday, Tough Girl.” 

Beaming with shining eyes, MJ took in the rest of the room once more, meeting everyone’s eyes and sniffling. “Thank you… all of you… so much… I- I’m so happy you found me… a-and that I get to be with you guys…” She sniffed again, and that shimmer in her eyes finally beaded up and fell in shining streaks down her face, “I love you, so much…” 

“Aww…” Leo could feel her trembling a little - whether from the surprise, the emotions, or both he couldn't quite tell. Gently, he lifted his unoccupied hand and wiped one side of her face with his thumb. His baby sister nuzzled him back, laughing in between happy-tears and soaking in the moment. 

Across the room, their orange brother couldn’t hold in his own emotions any longer as he too burst out happy-crying and rushed over to hug MJ, “We love you toooo!” 

Raph made his way behind them, bending down and tenderly kissing the top of her head, “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” 

And of course, April joined in as well, squeezing in between Mikey and Leo to reach around and rub the back of MJ’s neck, gently bumping foreheads, “Love ya, love ya, love ya, baby!” MJ giggled, and April leaned back a little, letting her lock eyes with Donnie. He wasn’t making any moves to join the group hug, Leo could’ve bet on that, but he was smiling and he blew a kiss to his little sister across the room. She smiled wide and blew one back to him, and the softshell made a quiet show of catching it dramatically, making her laugh. 

“Heh, you know what this means?” The group hug spread out a bit so that they could pay attention to April.

“What?” MJ asked. 

April snickered, “Haha, you’re thirteen, MJ! You’re a teenager now!” Laughter filled the room as the spotted turtle realized what she said, a slow smile spreading across her face. 

“Welcome to angst and misery!” Leo joked, earning even more laughs.

MJ looked confused, “Haha, what?”

“Oh, don’t listen to a word he says, MJ.” Mikey quickly intervened, “You’re gonna love it!”

Without a hint of sarcasm, Splinter smiled and nodded, “Yes, Maroon will be a completely rational and responsible teenager, unlike you boys.” Four nearly identical wines followed, along with a couple well-timed cackles from MJ and April. The rat grinned mischievously, swatting a hand at his sons’ complaints, “Yes, yes, let us start eating the cake now.” which redoubled the laughter throughout the room. 

The rest of the party went just as planned, if not better. Mikey’s mint chocolate chip ice cream cake was a huge hit- even Donnie loved it! MJ got a little emotional again blowing out her ‘13’ number-shaped candles, and Leo’s heart once again weighed a little heavier knowing that it took this long for someone to acknowledge her birthday… 13 years of her life, and no one took the time to celebrate the fact that she was alive…

It made this night all more meaningful as well as bittersweet in his memory. Watching the Caseys hold her arms up in victory as though she had just won a battle… Seeing Sunita make her laugh with her sassy humor… Hearing Thorn tell her, “I’m so happy to see you get everything I wanted for you…” and watching them hug in spite of past wounds which were still slowly healing… Leo couldn’t help but smile inside and out.

As for the presents, they blew his expectations out of the water. Each party member brought the following: 

Raph gave MJ a massive Toothless plush- almost as big as her!

Leo gave her a tank top adorned with a chibi Toothless lifting weights that was captioned, ‘Dragon Training’.

Donnie brought her a large sketchbook kit that included loads of fancy-looking drawing pencils and erasers.

Mikey gave MJ a bracelet weaving book and a bunch of threads of all colors. 

The girls, April, Cass, and Sunita, each brought her the three respective arcs of a book series called, Wings of Fire. It had dragons all over the covers, so Leo figured MJ was gonna be a fan. He caught the three of them fistbumping each other afterwards, as they should.

Casey Jr. gave her the full series of a show called, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, saying it was one of the best stories he’d seen so far in this timeline. He recommended that the bros should watch it with her, and Leo was totally looking forward to that. 

Thorn brought her a pair of walkie-talkies from her job at the Hidden City Police Department, saying that her boss rebranded to a new type recently and didn’t need the old ones anymore. Mikey and MJ were already conspiring to come up with some walkie-talkie-themed games to play later. 

And finally, Splinter gave MJ some How To Train Your Dragon-themed pajamas that had a little, printed chest pocket with a cutesy baby Toothless hanging out of it. She put them on immediately and wore them for the rest of the night; through the at-home karaoke, through the card games, and through the beginning of her new show as they all settled in to watch the start together. By the time they got through episode 7, MJ had fallen asleep in her new pajamas and on top of her new, giant plushy. The four brothers said their goodbyes and thank you’s to the rest before they got MJ and Toothless tucked into bed for the night. 

While Mikey was off brushing his teeth and getting himself ready for bed, Leo stayed a little longer kneeling at his sister’s side. With her arm wrapped securely around the big plush’s neck, she was relaxed and breathing easily, her spotted shell slowly rising up and down underneath her blanket. The slider softly stroked her little, blue head, running his thumb gently over her gold face-spots which were completely uncovered without her mask. She seemed to relax even more from the feeling, sinking deeper into the soft bedding she’d only gotten to know for the past year… 

It seemed such a long, yet such a short time ago for Leo…

“I’m so sorry it took so long…”

After a minute or two, the slider heard his little brother return and felt two arms wrap snugly around his plastron as Mikey hugged him from behind. 

“You know, Leo…” He whispered quietly, resting his chin on his brother's shoulder, “I think this was your best idea ever.” and Leo could tell through his voice that Mikey was smiling ear to ear. It was infectious, and the blue brother soon found his heavy thoughts being replaced by the same smile. They’d done it. Whatever had happened in the past was simply in the past now. No matter what, MJ would never forget her birthday anymore. Just like they’d all never forget the day they brought their baby sister home. 

Leo sighed quietly through his smile and rested his chin on his brother’s arms, still stroking her little head with his hand. “… I think so too, Miguel.”

Chapter Text

Raph leaned forward in his seat, hanging on every word of his girlfriend’s thrilling story. He and Ramona were celebrating eight months of dating at her apartment that night, and they were currently sharing their most daring childhood memories. 

The horned lizard gestured wildly with her hands, dramatizing every detail, “So then my sister grabs a handful of dirt and tosses it into his eyes, I grab our skates from his hands, and we BOOK IT down the path before he can throw another punch! We were running so fast, we tripped on a bunch of tree roots and fell all the way down a hill! It was too dark to see them! Luckily, we got home before those guys could follow us - and the cherry on top was that our parents were still asleep.” Her pointed teeth gleamed white as she grinned at the finale of her tale, and Raph was finally free to laugh out loud.

“Hahaha! Wow! I can’t believe you two came out of that without any scars!” 

“Haha, I know…” Ramona leaned back on her couch with a fond expression, “My sister and I got into a ton of trouble as kids. Our parents didn’t really pay much attention, so we had a lot of room to try stuff out.”

The snapper nodded in understanding, “Ahh, boy do I know the feeling. Pops wasn’t exactly what you would call ‘a helicopter parent’ either. He even left all his weapons out in the open once when we were just toddlers! That’s how I got this-” Gently peeling his chest-patch halfway off, he revealed a small yet deep chip in his plastron underneath. 

“No way!” His girlfriend gasped, “I always wondered why you wore that thing all the time!”

“Heheh, yeah… I threw a sai like a boomerang, thinkin’ it would come right back to my hand…” The two chuckled in unison at the ignorance of the idea, “Aaand it bounced off the wall and went straight through my plastron.” He pressed the patch back into place with a little smack for story emphasis.

Ramona winced, “Ouch! And yours is the toughest of all of your brothers’, right?”

“Yep, and I can throw the hardest too!” They shared a laugh, and Raph sighed in nostalgia, “It’s gotten a teensy bit smaller over the years, but never completely gone away. Don thinks that because I have the toughest shell, it doesn’t heal nearly as well as the rest of theirs can.” His vision fogged over for a moment as he remembered how well Leo’s shell had healed after the invasion… Looking at it now, no one would ever know how bad the cracks were… 

Seeming to pick up on his mood shift, Ramona grinned and lightened her tone, “So, what’s this from, then?” Her hand reached up and traced the thin scar on the other side of his plastron- and his vision went white. 

Raph’s body threw itself to the far side of the couch, recoiling from her touch. His ears rang, his heart rate tripled, and he was finding breathing to be a lot harder than normal. Eventually, his unfocused gaze settled on his girlfriend who bore a scared and confused expression. 

“D-don’t… heh…” The snapper’s voice came out a little too harsh for his liking, so he fought to control his fear response and tried to sound a little more polite, “M-maybe warn me n-next time you wanna touch… please…” 

Her hand immediately pulled back, her expression now one of remorse and understanding, “Oh no, I’m so sorry! Is it from a bad memory?” He just nodded, finally breathing closer to normal again and settling back down beside her on the couch. Her voice was quiet, “I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have just assumed I could…”

“It’s ok, ya didn’t know…”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you’d rather not.”

Memories he had been trying to barricade now flooded freely through his mind. Raph tried to give her a fond, grateful smile, but it probably looked more sad than he would’ve liked. He didn’t want to burden her, but he could hear a little Mikey-voice in his head telling him that it’s important to be honest in a relationship… and he felt like he could trust Ramona. “… I-It’s from… tch… I got it during the invasion…”

The horned lizard’s eyes widened in fear and memory, “O-Oh…” and Raph didn’t doubt that she likely had her own sour experiences from that day. 

Doing his best to calm the flood, Raph took a long, deep breath and tried to focus on the silver linings of it all, “… It could be worse… and I got it while saving Leo, so… i-it was for something good…” He sighed, his gaze falling to the floor,  “I’m just glad we all made it out ok…” Ramona was still and quiet beside him - a rare moment for his outgoing, spunky girlfriend. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if we’d lost anyone back then…” A moment passed, somber and quiet… really quiet… There was practically no sound at all coming from the girl beside him… almost as if she was holding her breath… Something close to Raph’s big-brother-senses tingled, and he turned his gaze in her direction- only to find a frightening sight.

Ramona wore a terrible, twisted grimace, her eyes were scrunched shut tight, and from them - bright red drops of blood were streaming down her snout. “Oh!” It took no time for the snapper’s heart rate to shoot straight back up once again, “Oh gosh, Mona! Are you hurt?!” His concerns spiraled rapidly. Had she cut herself? Her eye?? But on what? Her own claws? Was she dealing with self-harm issues?? What was he supposed to do?? 

Her eyes blinked open, looking bloodshot red instead of their normal sapphire blue. In a fraction of a second, she touched her face and pulled her hand back to see the red drops of blood on her fingers, “Crap!” Then she covered her eyes from his sight, shouting her answer to his question, “No!” 

“But yer bleeding!” His hands hung open and useless in the air, wanting to help her somehow yet afraid to make any wrong moves. 

She shouted again angrily, “No, I’m not, Raph!”

“How are you not?! I see blood, Ramona!!”

“I’M JUST CRYING, OK?!! I CRY BLOOD!!!” The blood flow increased, and Ramona hissed through her teeth as she tried to catch every drop in her claws before they fell onto the couch, “Dang it-” With an exasperated huff, she quickly trudged down the hall and into the bathroom, her spiky, sectioned tail disappearing around the corner and leaving Raph alone in his shocked silence. 

She… cries blood..?? 

Still confused, yet determined to find some way to help her, he slowly rose from his seat and followed her footsteps to the bathroom. She hadn’t bothered to close the door, and as he gingerly peeked inside he saw what looked like something out of a nightmare. Blood-stained claws pressed even heavier-stained kleenex against the horned lizard’s eyes. They were still producing a steady stream of bright red drops that soaked through the thin tissues and were collecting in the sink, contrasting the white porcelain. The sight of it all almost made him want to turn back around and hurl, but he had stronger instincts at work. Ramona was practically folded in half over the sink and leaning her elbows on the rims, her entire body both tense and the most vulnerable-looking Raph had ever seen from her. He slowly moved inside, close enough that she’d know he was there yet not invading her personal space. “You… You cry blood..? H-how..?” 

“Tch…” Her tail curled a little tighter around her legs, “I-It’s a horned lizard thing, they can shoot blood from their eyes as a defense against predators in the wild…” 

“… Oh, wow…”

Ramona’s voice began to tremble, “I know. Sounds cool, right? Until having one as a PET gets you MUTATED INTO ONE! Now, I can’t even CRY without seeing red, staining everything, and making my bathroom look like a scene from a horror movie!!!” She let out the smallest of whimpers, leaning even further down into the sink as a fresh wave of blood - well, tears - fell over the stained tissues. “I-I’m sorry… look at this…” Her voice cracked as she gestured hopelessly at the growing puddle of red in the pure white sink, “This is so gross… I never wanted anyone else to know about this…” 

A pause followed as Raph took everything in… then he moved in close beside his girlfriend and ever so gently rested a grounding hand on her opposite shoulder, pulling her closer to him without taking her away from the sink. There was no fear in his heart now, only a growing sadness for her, “… Ya mean you’ve been keepin’ all of this to yourself? All alone? … That must be exhausting, honey…” She didn’t say anything back, though Raph could feel her shaking as her fists clenched tighter around the bloody kleenex and her body curled even further inwards. The snapper adjusted his arms into a more supportive hold, adding his signature, comforting rumble to his voice, “Hey, hey, it’s alright. Raph’s gotcha…” 

“You don’t have to do this, Raph-” Ramona sniffled, “Go and wait in the other room while I get myself together…” 

“While my girlfriend is crying?? No way. I’m here for ya, Mona… I’m not goin’ anywhere.” 

Her next words were so quiet, he could barely hear her, “… Are you seriously not mad..?”

“Mad?? What could I possibly be mad about?”

“D-Didn’t you hear what I said before?” She shouted angrily, contrasting her quiet whisper as she finally looked up from her clump of tissues and met Raph’s eyes through the bathroom mirror. “I’m a mutant! I was human before I got turned into this! I LIED to you about being a YOKAI!! Doesn’t that bother you?” Anger shifted into guilt, her expression one of dread, as though she expected him to throw up his hands and scold her for everything she’d done wrong. It broke his heart for her a little…

Raph tried to sound as sincere and reassuring as possible, “Well sure, I might have some questions, but I’m not mad. Yer still the same girl I’ve been dating for the past eight months, right? Who cares if yer a yokai or not? Yer a mutant like me! That’s one more thing we have in common…” He gave her a fond look, and her fearful expression faded back into guilt again. 

“… This-” The horned lizard sniffed, waving a hand over her blood-stained face, “-doesn’t bother you..?” She looked so tired, her lovely sapphire blue eyes tinted with the blood she never asked for. A single, red tear slid down her grey-tan scales as if to prove her point. Leaning in close, Raph met her gaze and used his thumb to wipe it away like he’d done a thousand times for his siblings. 

“The only thing that bothers me is how long you’ve had to deal with this all alone. Like I said, I’m not goin’ anywhere… And as for, well, this whole situation…” He circled a finger around her face before placing his hand back on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze, “I still think you’re pretty cool, Ramona.” 

Those stained, sapphire eyes went wide in surprise for a moment before Ramona let out a short, disbelieving chuckle. She poked his plastron with a smile beyond grateful, “You are something else entirely, Raphael.” Raph chuckled back sheepishly. Her tail brushed against his leg affectionately, “Thank you…”

“Of course, always.” The two shared a meaningful smile, then Ramona turned back to the sink and began washing her face and hands in the water. Raph gave her a little space as she checked every corner of herself in the mirror, making sure it was all clean before grabbing a nearby towel and drying off. All seemed well, yet there was still a feeling in his gut that knew something was missing. “Can… Can I ask how I made ya cry..? Was it somethin’ I said?”

“Oh, that- no, you didn’t do anything wrong, babe. I just…” Ramona’s hand lingered on the towel as she finished hanging it back up. The bloodstain in her eyes was fading now, but they were still filled to the brim with sadness. “I… lost my sister in the invasion.” 

Raph’s heart dropped to his stomach and his shoulders fell, “No… The one you’ve been tellin’ me stories of..?” His girlfriend nodded silently, her mouth a thin line. “Oh, no… I’m so sorry, honey…” Wasting no time, he pulled her into himself in a tight embrace, trying to imbue every ounce of heartache he felt for her through his arms. She reciprocated, wrapping her arms around his neck, her quiet voice wavering a little with grief. 

“She was the only one who helped me after I got mutated… Gave me food, money, hid me from my parents… until I found the yokai and got my life together again…” 

“Tch, and I was talkin’ about how glad I was that all my brothers made it- oh gosh, Ramona…” The snapper nuzzled in closer. 

“Hey,” He felt her hand give his shell a reassuring pat, “Don’t beat yourself up, big guy. It wasn’t your fault.”

And then he froze. Everything stopped. His heart, his breath, his thoughts… It all boiled down to one horrible, terrifying realization… 

“Wait… I-It might’ve been…” 

“Raph…” Ramona leaned back and met his eyes, speaking softly, “A kraang-hound got her-”

But he cut her off, “Nono, I mean- How were you mutated? Was it a green, glowy bug that bit ya?” He took a step back from her in order to better see how she would answer. 

Her face flashed in recognition - and then confusion, “How did you know that..? You weren’t mutated by one too, were you?!” Her eyes wandered side to side as she thought out loud, “But no, you said some guy created you, right? Mayor Dracula or something?” 

Raph couldn’t hear her talking- he couldn’t hear anything but a horrible ringing as his awful fears were realized… He felt his feet stumble backwards out of the bathroom and into the hallway, then his legs couldn’t hold him anymore as his whole body shook in horror. His hands held his head in shame as it pounded horribly, his terrible guilt consuming his every thought. 

Her voice finally penetrated the storm in his mind, and he cracked his eyes open to see Ramona kneeling in front of him, her hand on his arm, “Raph, Raph! You ok? What’s happening?” 

The words came out of his mouth choked and broken, “M-Mona, I- … I’m so sorry…” 

“What, what’s going on?” She was looking at him with such compassion, he couldn’t bear to hold her gaze… not after what he’d done…

“I-It’s our fault ya got mutated…” Raph scrunched his eyes shut tight, overwhelmed in his remorse. 

“… I’m sorry, what??” 

The snapper then explained everything about Baron Draxum, the oozequitos, and how he and his brothers had failed to capture them all and prevent them from mutating humans. Ramona listened patiently until he had finished and was sitting quietly with his head still in his hands and eyes still shut tight, awaiting her justified burst of anger that was surely coming. It was his fault she wasn’t human - his fault she was stuck crying blood… Surely she’d have every right to be furious at him. She might not even want to be his girlfriend anymore… He was so consumed in his fear, in the suspense, that he couldn’t have moved even if he tried to. 

But when her voice came, it wasn’t loud. It wasn’t angry. It was… warm… and caring… “Ok. Take a deep breath and let go of your head, big guy. You’re not responsible for any of that.” Small, clawed hands tenderly grasped Raph’s and guided them out of their stiff grip on his skull. All four landed safely in his lap, remaining intertwined, and he chanced a peek at the girl in front of him, hardly believing his eyes or ears. 

Looking concerned and compassionate, not upset, she held his gaze as if he’d done absolutely nothing wrong. Raph could almost try to blame it on his blurry vision, “B-But… if I’d been more responsible- we c-could’ve stopped it… it was my fault that-” 

“Nope.” It was Ramona’s turn to cut him off, speaking confidently and never letting go of his hands, “It wasn’t, actually. Because that Baron guy was already planning to do exactly what happened. You guys didn’t make the bugs or the mutation goo. You didn’t even make anything worse, you just got involved in the situation. So, no. If anything, it’s that Baron guy’s fault I got mutated and his only. Which, by the way, I don’t regret it.” She cocked her head playfully with a comforting grin, and Raph blinked in surprise. 

“Ya… don’t..?” 

The horned lizard spoke sincerely with a lighthearted tone, “No, of course not. Sure, it was hard at first and I cry freaking blood every once and a while, but… I found my passion for physical therapy because of my own experience getting used to a new body… And the Hidden City is really cool. And…” Pausing, she gracefully slid herself sideways onto his leg and snuggled up next to him in his lap, nuzzling under his chin with her short snout, “I never would’ve met you, so…”

With that, Raph’s fear at long last melted away in the face of her warmth, and he held her all the closer, “Heheh, I guess not, huh.” 

“Aaaand you can’t tell me I don’t rock this lizard look.” He didn’t need to see her face to know she was wearing a very sassy grin. 

“Ha, you absolutely do.” 

“So, no hard feelings, mkay?” She lifted her hand and gently wiped something wet off the side of his face, and Raph had to confirm with his own touch that he had apparently let a couple tears of his own slip past him earlier. Ramona was really starting to steal his moves, though the snapper didn’t mind one bit. He gave her his fondest smile and nuzzled her back. 

“You’re somethin’ else entirely, Ramona Brown.”

“Heyyy, that’s my line…” The two chuckled in tandem. 

“Heh, well too bad, ‘cause I like it. Just like I like you.”

At that, Ramona grinned and shoved his face away in mock annoyance, “Oookayy, that’s enough of that. Back to the couch, mister.” 

He followed her lead as she stood, “Yes, Ma’am, whatever you say.” Then he paused, “… Mona?” and those wonderful sapphire eyes met his once again. “Thanks. You really are super cool.” 

She smiled, lovely and sincere, “Yeah, you too. …” After a moment, she tugged his bandanna tails, “Except your mask is dorky.” Her teeth flashed in a haughty grin as she sauntered down the hall. 

“Wha! Hey!” Raph called after her, “It’s a bandanna and it is the mark of a hero!”

“Oh, so that’s how people know…” She droned sarcastically.

“Yeah! And, well…” His voice dropped in volume, “It's also how Dad tells us apart…”

“Are you serious??” The two laughed together as they settled next to each other back on the couch, and their conversations filled the small apartment once again for the rest of the evening.

Chapter Text

The young snow leopard held his girlfriend’s hand as they walked through the streets of the Hidden City. They had just finished a nice dinner at a Chinese place and were deciding what to do with the rest of the evening. The temperature outside had cooled off nicely, and Elijah was enjoying the chilly air. The star crystals at the top of the cavern were glowing along with the nighttime city lights, creating a lovely atmosphere around the two. 

MJ seemed to be taking it all in with him as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, sighing, “What a beauti… -ful n-night…” Then Elijah felt her hand shiver in his, and her legs seemed to wobble along with her voice. The cat perked his ears towards her. 

“Hey, you getting tired? You don’t feel so steady…” He reached around her back to gently grab her opposite shoulder, holding her up.

“What? Nooo, I’m fine…” The spotted turtle grinned and swatted a hand at him, and in doing so lost her balance. Elijah had just enough warning to catch her and prevent her from hitting the pavement. Blinking, her reaction seemed unfocused and delayed, “Op- whoops…”

“E-yeah, I thought so.” Holding her a little closer, Elijah could feel MJ’s body trembling a little, causing a worried feeling to grow in the pit of his stomach. “Are you sure you’re ok? You feel like you can barely stand… Do you need to sit down or something?”

Her eyebrows furrowed under her maroon bandanna, “N-No… if I-I sit… I’ll fall asleep… I… I h-have to… keep moving… st-stay awake…”

“You could take a little nap if you need to, I’ll keep watch-”

“N-No… you don’t… understand…” MJ looked at him with a concerned expression, “It’s too c-cold… I w-won’t wake up…”

The snow leopard’s train of thought came to a screeching halt at her words, “You… what?!” 

Still shivering, his girlfriend’s voice was getting quieter and quieter, “I’m… like… half cold-blooded… if I fall asleep out h-here… th-then I’ll stay asleep for a r-really long time…” She gave him a sweet, tired smile, “De-Definitely too long for you to w-wait…”

Elijah could almost hear the gears turning in his brain as he tried to process what he was hearing, “You… are part cold-blooded..?” 

“… Te-Technically…” She swayed, her legs buckled, and he just barely stopped her from falling a second time.

“Ahk, ok… lean on me a bit more, MJ…” Wrapping both his arms around her, Elijah watched her eyes start to flicker and close as she sighed. She was already falling asleep, and… then what..? What was going to happen to her? “Ok… cold-blooded…” His concern for her gradually began to fade as he finally understood. “You just need to warm up, then, right? Here-” Carefully, he leaned her back against his chest, freeing up his arms so he could take off his aviator jacket and place it over her shoulders. “There. How’s that?” 

MJ’s eyes blinked open and she slowly touched the jacket’s fluffy collar, “Oh… is this… yours..? What ab-about you..?” 

Smiling, the cat wrapped his arms under her chin, “I’m a snow leopard, remember? I can’t get cold.” His girlfriend just ‘hmmed’ quietly, and they stood like this for a moment. “How ‘bout you? Feeling any warmer?”

“… mmm…” Her head slowly slid down into the crook of his arm and turned into him, snuggling, “… a little…” Elijah’s ears fell back and he couldn’t help but blush a little at her affection. He could feel her legs wobbling against his, and he knew he needed to do something soon before she collapsed. 

“Hmm. Well, why don’t I just-” Shifting his arms under her back and knees, he lifted the spotted turtle up off the ground and into a damsel-style hold, “-carry you the rest of the way back just in case.” 

MJ’s reaction was a bit delayed again as she looked down and around, finding her bearings, “W-Wha..? Eli… you d-don’t have to do that…”

“Naw, it’s really fine. Can’t have you falling on that pretty face, now can we?” He started walking towards the nearest Hidden City doorway back to upper New York. 

“Pfft… Eli…” She blushed shyly.

“Just accept it. This is non-negotiable.” 

With a sleepy smile, his girlfriend finally rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and nuzzling up to his fluffy neck. “… ok…”

Elijah tilted his head down to nuzzle her back, “There you go, MJ…” and continued strolling down the street with the spotted turtle securely held in his arms. “I’ll get you home. You just take it easy.” 

…

Mikey looked up from his video game to the familiar figure of their snow leopard friend entering the lair. Apparently he and MJ were already back from their date, “Hey, guys! We were wondering when you’d be getting-” The box turtle trailed off when he saw his baby sister wrapped in Elijah’s jacket and sound asleep in the cat’s arms. He grinned at the sight, “Awweee! Did she get tired out there? What time even is it?” 

Elijah shrugged as best as he could while holding MJ, “It’s gotta be in the 9’s still, I think- but yeah, she said she got cold out there and couldn’t let herself fall asleep because she’s part cold-blooded? Poor thing was about to collapse, so I figured bringing her home was safest.” 

“Ohhh, yep that’ll do it.” Mikey gestured for Elijah to follow, “Here, bring her to our room, we’ve got a heating lamp!” 

“Oh, sweet! Yeah, my jacket probably wasn’t doing enough…”

“Don’t feel bad! You did a great job with what you had! This just happens when she gets too cold.” Quickly, Mikey got to work setting up the standing lamp and angling it down towards MJ’s bed. 

Elijah cocked his head, “Is that true for all of you? Most other reptile yokai I’ve met don’t seem to do that…”

“Naw, it’s just her.” The lamp made a loud click sound as he turned it on, “We’re mutants- not yokai, remember? Except hers was just a little different in some ways…”

“Right, I remember…” The snow leopard gingerly set MJ down on her bed and sighed quietly. Mikey dropped down to one knee and took off her bandanna, setting it aside and rubbing the top of his sister’s head with his thumb. He glanced back and gave his friend a grateful look.

“Thanks for taking such good care of her.”

The cat’s ears dropped and he rubbed his neck shyly, “Oh, no problem at all. It’s the least I could do, really. … Um… Would… Would you mind if I stayed a bit longer? At least until she wakes up?” 

With a friendly grin, Mikey patted the spot on the ground beside him invitingly, “Not at all.” 

His friend sat with his back against the bed and placed his paw gently over MJ’s hand, thumb rubbing. Elijah’s ears were pressed down over a worried expression, his eyes never leaving her as he spoke. 

 “… She… She’s really ok, right..?”

Mikey smiled with a knowing look and tried to sound as reassuring as he could, “Don can give you the science sometime, but yeah. It’s just a deep, cold-induced sleep. She always bounces back just fine.” 

“Hmm…” The cat didn’t lift his ears, but he seemed a bit more relaxed than before. The box turtle got up to retrieve a comic book and plopped down into his bright orange bean bag. Elijah watched MJ’s sleeping face for another minute before pulling out his phone and settling into a more comfy sitting position, his hand never leaving hers. 

The two chilled in silence together for about a half hour before Mikey’s brother-senses started tingling. As he looked up, MJ’s face was gradually beginning to shift, like she was waking up. He watched Elijah’s ears shoot up as they both heard her tiny, quiet groan, “… mmnnnn…” and her three fingers slowly slid in between the cat’s four.

Elijah dropped his phone with a slight thud and sat up quick with his ears angled towards her, their hands intertwined, “MJ? Can you hear me?” 

MJ’s eyes blinked at the bright light of the lamp before focusing on the snow leopard, “… Ee… Eli..?” Her voice was raw and sleepy, but Mikey could hear a hint of happiness in it. The cat’s expressive ears fell back down again, but this time his face showed only relief. 

“Hey, MJ…” 

She smiled, small and drowsy, “… y-you stayed…” 

“Of course… I’m not going anywhere…” With fingers still laced, Elijah laid his arm across MJ’s plastron and rested his head on top, settling into a more relaxed position. 

Her head turned sideways, sinking further into her pillow, “… Thank you, Elijah… you’re amazing…”

His voice was incredibly soft, “No problem whatsoever.” 

From across the room, Mikey could see the tip of his friend’s long, spotted tail wagging back and forth in happiness, and once again he couldn’t help but grin wide at the sight.

...