Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ever since the almost-apocalypse, bad guys had been getting way too comfortable at showing their playing cards topside. And not just mutants either, plenty of Yokai were itching to throw their hands in the mix. You’d think seeing the world almost end would scare criminals off, not attract them like moths to a flame! But alas, in the city that never sleeps, crime doesn’t sleep as well.

The Hamato brothers considered themselves lucky if they got even a single night’s worth of relief from the blaring crime alarm. Heck, even Donnie himself was growing irritated by the sound of his own, automated voice from the alert system. But the cherry on top of it all was the addition of Yokai in this newest wave of misfits. It was tiring enough kicking ass of mutants two, sometimes even three, times their size, but what Yokai often lacked in physicality was made up for in mystic magic.

So they were forced to fight mystic with mystic. Every day. While also fighting physically.

It was getting exhausting .

But despite that, team morale somehow hadn’t face planted itself in the gutter. Sure, everyone was tired down to the bone, but at least they were spending their days together . It was… hard adjusting after the whole Kraang incident. At least the accelerated crime rates also accelerated the boys’ adjustment back to their regular old lives. Well, as regular as it could be for a bunch of adolescent, mutant, sewer-dwelling turtle brothers.

So when the crime alarm went off for the second time that day, at only 11:32 am for that matter, not one of them groaned. Nor complained. Nor anything of the sort. Instead, Leo jumped up first, smugly declaring, “Last one there has to unclog the sink when we get back!” He used Donnie’s forehead as a springboard to propel himself forward, giving himself just enough of a head start before the others could even hastily reach for their weapons.

“Absolutely not, Nardo, you’re the one who clogged it!” Donnie shouted after him as he activated his hover shell, the force of it starting up causing Mikey and Raph to stumble backwards slightly.

“Absolutely not to both of ya! ” Raph scooped up Mikey as he got his bearings and ran after the other two. Mikey nimbly readjusted himself so he was perched on Raph’s carapace, his body moving on muscle memory to the areas lacking in spikes. “That’s two fouls ya- ya… stinking middle child twins!”

Mikey laughed wildly from behind as Leo opened a portal for the four of them. The box turtle leaped from Raph’s shell, swinging his kusari-fundo around an exposed ceiling pipe and launching himself through Leo’s portal.

“I win, get wrecked!”

“There’s no winner, Mikey, only a-“ Leo was cut off as Raph and Donnie gained the upper hand. Leo had dropped his guard for just a moment, which was all the two needed to close the distance and leave Leo left dumbfounded in their dust.

“LOSER!” Donnie and Raph shouted in tune.

“Oh, c’mon!” Leo spat after them, though his beaming smile was obvious from miles away.

________________

The fight had been going fine. Barely distinguishable from any of the others they’d fought this week, in fact. Four versus one was probably unfair, sure, but it was unfair that this random dude decided to interrupt the boys’ much needed chill time. There wasn’t a twinge of guilt between the four of them, even as they demolished the guy.

Honestly, it could barely even be called a fight .

“Dude,” Leo piped up as he took a looming stance over the floored enemy. “Might wanna consider learning a few basic combat skills before going out and trying to rob a bank . Or like, start smaller, I don’t know.”

“Leo, don’t give the enemy beginner tips!” Raph rubbed at his infamous forehead chasm, shaking his head in disbelief that he actually had to scold Leo for such a thing.

“Yeah, if anything, why not give the guy an introductory course on fashion .” Donnie interrupted. “Seriously, I could forgive the medieval warlock chic if there was any attempt at fundamental color coordination to the look.”

The man pinned underneath the hilt of Leo’s katana didn’t say a word. He didn’t give any indication he’d heard them at all, actually. Any expressions to hint at a response were lost behind a strange, seemingly blinding mask. The covering didn’t provide a single peeping hole, and it was definitely too thick to allow the wearer to make out anything more than some flashes of light. The whole disguise looked like it’d been pieced together with anything close enough to be considered fabric. It had to have been handmade, and a last minute project at that.

Mikey joined his brothers in their hovering semi circle over the man in the mask. He wanted to get a closer look at the patch job because something about the detailing seemed almost… familiar. It was difficult to really observe any of the embroidering under the cloudy night sky. The only light source was the small beams slipping through curtained, back alley apartment windows.

“You gonna plead the fifth or anything down there? Or should I take the silence as an invitation to portal you on down to the Hidden City slammer.”

Still nothing, not even a wriggle of movement.

“ARGH- you’re no fun, dude!” Leo rolled his eyes and lifted his spare katana in the air. It lit up with mystic energy, revealing its engrained symbols as it became embedded with pure, blue light from the slider’s own spirit. “I’d say it’s been a pleasure, but uh well, ya know. See ya!”

Leo didn’t get a chance to open a portal. He didn’t even get a chance to swing his katana before all four of them were stunned by a blinding green light. Everything happened so fast . Like the flash of a camera. But a lot more… tingly… hazy …

Mikey rubbed his stinging eyes, alerting his senses that it was time to boot up again. He blinked repeatedly until the white spots in his vision cleared enough to reveal more than a splotchy overview of his surroundings.

What he saw made him blink a few more times. Then a few more.

He rubbed his eyes again for good measure.

Mikey’s eyes were locked with Leo’s. He was bent over, dragged down by the weight of the single katana he’d managed to maintain his grip on. Except now both hands were tightly wrapped around the one hilt, both hands which were way too tiny for such a feat.

“Holy shell…” Mikey breathed out at a volume just barely loud enough to hear. Leo was clearly holding eye contact, but he looked frightened . It didn’t take a second more for his eyes to well with tears, his frame still frozen in place above his sword.

Mikey may have been just as, if not more, confused than Leo, but he didn’t have to think when it came to comforting his brothers. He scrambled to his feet (when had he fallen over?) and rushed towards his now heart wrenchingly small baby brother. He’d think about the schematics of the whole baby brother thing later, for now he just needed to help Leo and-

Something (someone?) tugged on the wrappings around Mikey’s shins. Crap, the bad guy! Mikey had totally forgot! He swung his head downwards, following his stomach as it dropped to the ground-

“...Raph?”

Yep, no doubt about it. Mikey felt stupid for even asking, but also what the heck was happening? And why was Raph looking at him like that, like he- like he knew what to do!

“Angelo, calm down .”

Donnie. That was Donnie’s voice. Thank Pizza Supreme it hadn’t gotten him to-

One look at Donnie was enough to bring Mikey to his knees.

He was tiny, too. They were all toddlers.

“I said, calm- ” Donnie waddled over to Mikey, stretching his arms as far as they could reach so he could bop Mikey between the eyes. “- Down.” Mikey blinked once, dumbfounded and speechless yet his mind was running at a million miles per hour and was Donnie talking why weren’t the others talking was Donnie talking to him he must be because-

“Mikey!” God, his voice was so squeaky, so adorably squeaky . “I’ve analyzed the effects of the mystic energy that wizard-dude hit us with. According to my mystic readings, it’s some kind of age regression- and the scientist in me shutters at the very word- spell . Are you following, Mikey? It shouldn’t last more than twenty-four hours. It’s going to be fine, but we need to get back to the lair.”

“Why didn’t we end up like… like them? ” Mikey’s eyes darted to his other two brothers who were definitely not in the same teenage mindset as Mikey and Donnie were. Leo was still crying. He wasn’t wailing or anything, tears were just silently falling. And Raph had his hand curled around Mikey’s finger, seemingly holding back from nibbling on the stubbed nail.

“Well, I can only conclude it is due to your overwhelming levels of mystic energy that you remained unscathed. Even if you don’t have a proper hold on your powers yet, the raw forces inside of you must have been too great to manipulate.” Donnie rubbed a hand on his chin as he explained- which like, precious , but Mikey couldn’t let that distract him. 

“I seem to have only been partially affected myself, resulting in a state halfway between you and… those two. My mystic levels may not hold a candle to your own, but my genius brain held fast even when my physical body could not! As unfortunate as my current physical form is, this whole situation will be absolutely fascinating to study back in my lab! I’d like to run some tests as soon as we get back, although obviously that’ll have to wait until we get back.”

Donnie redirected his attention to Leo, who was chewing on the hilt of his katana.

“ Sigh, it seems portalling home is off the table.” Donnie scanned the area until he found his wrist tech, which had fallen off when his figure shrank. He kneeled beside the device, inputting at a pace too quick for Mikey to track. “We’ll have to make it on foot, I can easily pull up a map of our current location and find the nearest exit out of the Hidden City aaaaand done, I got it.” 

Donnie looked up at Mikey, and he seemed… embarrassed?

The fact he was looking up at his younger brother was weird enough.

“Could you… could you wear my wrist tech? I don’t think I’m capable of… carrying it like this.”

“Sure thing, Dee!” It took every ounce of restraint not to nuzzle the top of Donnie’s head. “How’re we gonna get all this stuff back, though?”

“We’ll leave it for the time being. As obstinate as I am to leave my tech behind, even I can admit there’s no way we’re getting all this and our two dumb-dumb brothers home as we are.”

Donnie and Mikey gathered their fallen items, from Leo’s sash to Raph’s sai to Donnie’s entire battle shell, and concealed them to the best of their ability. It was hard enough just to collect their stuff, what with Donnie’s form and Mikey fumbling two turtle tots in his arms. But it was good enough- as good as it was gonna get.

They started walking. Mikey was using one arm to cradle Leo- who was not making the job easy with his constant wiggling- and the other to hold up the hologram of their map. He had to walk slowly, something Mikey often forgot but now was far too aware of. Since Mikey couldn’t carry the three of them, Donnie was leading Raph by the hand in Mikey’s wake. Raph stayed mostly quiet, even though Mikey and Donnie were fairly certain he was at an age where he could speak a few words. Donnie had said Raph was likely experiencing some sort of shutdown due to the confusion of the whole situation.

And Donnie… Donnie looked… out of it .

When Mikey tried to pry, Donnie had brushed him off, insisting it could wait until they made it home.

It wasn’t a lengthy journey home, but it felt like it took a million years.

__________________

The four of them collapsed in the living room. Mikey took the couch while Donnie crawled into the beanbag, which was a much more suitable distance from the floor for him. Leo, who hadn’t walked an inch, was the only one showing any sign of life. He maneuvered himself off the couch, skipping over to Donnie and Raph on their shared beanbag. Words weren’t needed, it was painstakingly obvious Leo wanted to play .

He began bop bop bopping his little arms, flailing them up and down in turn as they smacked Donnie atop the head.

“Nardo, knock it off!” Donnie covered his head, shielding himself from the oncoming attacks.

Leo pouted. Dramatically. He flew himself over the top of the beanbag, gazing longingly off into the distance as his brothers continued to ignore him. It didn’t take long for pouting to grow to full on frustration. He whined loudly , flopping his limbs against the cushioning as his volume grew to a painful degree.

Raph, bless his heart, was the one to finally give in. He was still the big brother, even when he literally wasn’t . He pushed himself up clumsily, allowing Leo to lead him to the center of the living room where they would begin their game of chase.

Mikey swore he’d get some toys out later. Maybe crayons and coloring supplies too. But right now, he just needed to take a breather .

He closed his eyes, allowing himself a second to just relax …

.

.

.

It wasn’t working.

“Hey, Dee,” Mikey spoke, declaring his attempt at rest to be a complete failure. “You said you wanted to do some tests, right?”

No response.

“...Dee?”

Mikey craned his neck forward, checking to see if Donnie was still there.

He was.

And boy did he look rough.

Donnie was sitting up, but he looked like he was fighting off some powerful need to sleep. But he didn’t look… tired. His eyes weren’t fluttering with the weight of exhaustion, but they kept rolling back in his head before being snapped back to their usual position. His head was obviously lolling to the side, but it wasn’t searching for something to rest on. It was just… moving wrong . Like it was straining to reach something since his body wouldn’t cooperate on the matter.

Mikey jumped up, kneeling beside Donnie on the floor. “Donnie? You okay?”

“M’okay. Sorry. Did you need something?” Donnie met Mikey’s gaze, but his eyes were glossy, confused.

“I just asked if you wanted to run those tests you were talking about.”

“Yes, the tests- I was just thinking about that. It’s not going to be easy to get Leo and Raph to comply, but we can’t just leave them out here by themselves. And they will not be running around my lab- they’re too great of a risk to my tech. If you wouldn’t mind bringing me my laptop, I could begin to run some… some…”

“Simulations?”

“Simulations! Yes, thank you. There should be enough time to… enough time… to” Donnie’s eyes rolled into his head, and Mikey couldn’t hold back the need to grab Donnie by the shoulders, like that would somehow help- somehow keep him there.

“Donnie, you are clearly not okay! Talk to me, please !”

His eyes snapped back and Donnie rubbed at them furiously before finding his voice. “Sorry. My… my mind can’t hold up. It’s just kinda… foggy .”

“Donnie…” Mikey’s voice was gentle, sympathetically so. “It’s okay. You don’t have to fight it, I can handle this.”

“ No! ” Donnie sprang to his feet, tumbling slightly at his surprising lack of balance. “No, I’m not… I’m not leaving you alone with this.”

“Hey, it’s only one day. I’m pretty sure I can manage being the big bro for one day. You three make it look easy enough.”

“No, just… help me to my lab. Please. Those two will be fine for one minute, but I can’t get there on my own.”

Mikey smirked before scooping Donnie into his arms. But instead of going to the lab, Mikey plopped down on the couch. He started slowly rocking the tiny soft shell, humming a made up tune to the rhythm of each sway.

“...Mikey… stop …” Donnie’s eyes were shutting, drool was creeping its way to the corner of his mouth. He looked so sweet , so innocent in Mikey’s loving hold.

“Hmm, I don’t know… Your face kinda says otherwise, little dude.”

“Not… little…”

“Ha! Now you know the feeling.” Mikey leaned down to give Donnie a quick kiss on the forehead. “Please rest, Dee. It’s okay.”

Donnie let out a single, weak chuckle. Mikey couldn’t tell if it was a laugh from sixteen year old Donnie or three year old Donnie, but it made him smile nonetheless.

The soft shell drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Mikey was barely given a minute to revel in the absolute serenity that was his older/baby brother fast asleep in his arms. But he held onto that minute like it was the most fragile piece of film in an irreplaceable collection. All his life, Mikey had been chasing after his older brothers, waiting for the day when he’d finally catch up. But it was no luck. Mikey had become numb to any thoughts and hopes along the lines of when I’m that age. No matter what, his older brothers would always be- older . They’d always have one step ahead of him, always be one level more knowledgeable than him.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that Mikey struggled to feel grown up like the rest of them.

Or at least, that’s what he thought they felt like- grown up. But sitting here, undoubtedly the most “adult” of the group, Mikey didn’t feel any sort of revelation in the matter. He just felt love. Love for his brothers, no matter the size or state they were packaged in.

That is until a crash came from the kitchen.

And four more after that.

And one more for good measure.

Mikey flew to his feet, admittedly lacking enough caution for the sleeping kid in his hold. He just wasn’t used to his brothers being so… fragile! Well sure, Donnie had always been a bit more vulnerable with his soft shell but even that was nothing like this. Mikey couldn’t accidentally flatten Donnie before, but now he was riddled with the horror that he may accidentally smush the soft shell to a pancake…

Another crash.

Crap! Mikey got in his own head again- Donnie would be fine. What wouldn’t be fine was the kitchen if Mikey waited even a second longer. Not to mention whoever was causing such destruction was-

Was…

“ Shit - Leo! Raph!” Holy shell, Mikey was off his game today. Such ruckus from his brothers was nothing out of the ordinary but ordinarily they weren’t children, weren’t the greatest risk to their own tiny selves!

“I’m here, where’s-!” 

Once again, Mikey locked eyes with Leo’s own wide, confused, yet unmistakably mischievous pair.

Leo had, by either some miracle or insane acrobatics, managed to perch himself atop the kitchen counter where he was actively shoving plates out of the comfort of their cupboard. And that little look on the slider’s face made it abundantly clear he knew exactly what he was doing .

“Dude. Had to go for my kitchen. Really? ”

It was a better outcome than the alternative at least.

Mikey removed his sash, bundling it into a makeshift pillow before laying Donnie softly on the kitchen floor.

“ You! ” Mikey whipped around, puffing his chest to its greatest height as he marched towards Leo. His authority clearly meant nothing more to the slider than another game he could twist to his liking. Leo was giggling up a storm, scrambling to scale the path back to the floor. That was when Mikey noticed just how Leo had managed such a feat in the first place. 

It had been a team effort.

“ Raph!” Mikey snatched Leo as he was shimmying downwards to reach the chair he’s used in his initial climb. That only made Leo shriek in feigned terror towards his capture before Mikey plopped him to the floor. Leo immediately took off, his laughter unwavering as he cowered behind Raph’s shell.

“I expected as much from Leo, but you young man-!”

“Lee waz’ hungry.”

Mikey’s heart shattered like his discarded kitchenware. Food hadn’t even crossed his mind- it hadn’t been that long since lunch, had it?- but here was Raph, four years old and forced to step up for the good of his family.

Mikey knelt to the floor, meeting Raph on the same level and placing an apologetic palm on the little one’s shoulder.

“My bad, Raphie. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I can see that gigantic heart of yours didn’t shrink with the rest of you.” Mikey poked Raph in the center of his plastron, causing Raph to squeal happily. “Thanks for the help, big man, but I’m the head chef around here!”

Mikey sprung to his full height, positioning his hands on his hips as he ushered Raph (and subsequently, Leo) to the pantry. “So, what are you craving? And don’t go easy on me, the kitchen is my domain, baby!”

Raph turned to Leo, who was hanging like a ragdoll on his arm.

“Nuh-uh!” Raph snapped his gaze back to Mikey, granting him his full (if not minuscule) attention. “I asked what you wanted, Raph. I can make something special for Leo if he doesn’t want your pick.”

This may have been the only chance to get Raph to put himself first. At anything. Even something as simple as a meal.

“...Ith cream.”

Mikey melted at the sound of Raph slipping over his S’s, the tiny lisp holding the power of a thousand suns. He gave Raph a quick once over to make sure there wasn’t a hint of dishonesty in his answer, but he easily passed.

“I am positive Leo will be more than happy with that. Think you can get him set up at the table for me?” Raph gave a single, firm nod as he led Leo to get situated. Luckily enough, the lair had been stocked on ice cream for the past week after the boys had severely overestimated how much they needed for a classic ice cream sundae-Sunday. Maybe that’s why Raph suggested it? He might have remembered bits and pieces of their normal lives… he didn’t seem to question the fact that Mikey was five times bigger than them. He did recognize Mikey, right?

Mikey allowed his mind to get lost in a stampede of incoherent thoughts while he scooped the neapolitan blend into three separate bowls (thank goodness Leo hadn’t made it too far in his wave of destruction). As he the bowls down, Leo scrambled out of his chair and sat himself right in the center of the kitchen table, not leaving a moment to spare before he started shoveling down the ice cream with his hands .

Raph, though, didn’t make a move for his own bowl.

“What’s up, everything good?”

Raph was scanning the room, a hint of concern revealing itself in his furrowed brows. “Where’s Donnie?”

“Aw, don’tcha worry! Donnie’s sleeping right over-”

Holy shit, where did he go?

“...overrrrr in the other room! I’ll go check and see if he wants to join, ‘kay? Stay here with Leo for me, will ya?”

Mikey nonchalantly backed his way out of the kitchen, making sure he was fully out of eyesight before doing a 180 and bolting down the hallway. He told Donnie he’d got this! He assured Donnie he’d take care of him in his vulnerable state- Donnie trusted him!

Well, Mikey kindaaa gave Donnie the final push to give in to his baby-fied trance… but that just made it worse! No wonder Donnie was so hesitant to let go, he must’ve remembered something Mikey did not.

Baby Donnie was a wanderer.

Mikey looked high and low, checked every nook and cranny, but Donnie was MIA. He couldn’t have gotten very far, his legs were literally inches long. Although, soft-shell turtles were supposedly fast when they wanted to be… Okay it’s official, Mikey was absolutely freaking out . Donnie was gonna kill him. He was gonna wake up tomorrow, back to normal, and go straight for Mikey’s head.

Mikey was shouting into an exposed pipe opening, letting Donnie’s name echo and bounce throughout the tubing when he felt something climbing on his leg.

Donnie was a wanderer, Leo was a climber.

“No no no, Leo we are not playing right now, okay? Where’d you leave Raph, I bet Raph wants to play, huh?” Leo settled himself on Mikey’s shoulder which, wow, was a bit impressive for someone of his stature, and started tugging on Mikey’s mask tails. Over and over and over .

“Later, Leo! I need to find something real quick.”

“ Dee-Dee!” Mikey had forgotten that particular nickname- Donnie made sure it was never used in his presence since… since as far back as Mikey’s memory could go.

Wait, since when could Leo talk?

“Yeah yeah, you got me- I lost Donnie, okay?! But it’s gonna be a-okay because big bro Mikey’s gonna take care of this one, so- OW! What, Leo!?”

The slider had a surprising amount of strength for someone whose hand was literally the size of a walnut. He had tugged Mikey’s mask tails with so much force it actually managed to jerk Mikey’s neck back.

Leo didn’t answer. Maybe he couldn’t talk after all. But he did point .

“Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee.” Leo slid down Mikey’s figure like he was a firehouse pole, stumbling away in a sloppy beeline to the sofa a few feet away. Leo crouched down, pressed his cheek to the cold metal floor, and pulled up the bottom side of the fabric to reveal a curled up Donnie. He was snuggled up in a tight ball, head tucked between his knees in a fetal position. Leo squeezed himself under the sofa, his shell struggling to fit where Donnie’s could easily, and dragged Donnie out into the open world.

Donnie grumbled at his so-called twin brother, shooing him with a lazy hand as his eyelids tensed at the sudden harsh light. Leo ignored it, smiling widely and continuing to heave Donnie’s limp figure by the ankle.

“Omigosh, Donnie.” Mikey bent over and swept Donnie up into his arms, freeing him from Leo’s merciless hold. “I was so so so so worried please do not do that again, okay? You’re older self would’ve killed me if anything happened to you so no more running away, capiche?”

Even if Donnie wasn’t a toddler, there’s no chance he would’ve been able to comprehend Mikey’s million-mile-an-hour word vomit. His head just lolled to the side, eyes showing no effort of trying to stay open. There was a good chance his older self hadn’t slept in a couple days.

Well, it’s not like there was any reason for him to be up anyway.

And it was getting pretty late… late enough at least. Mikey could probably get away with getting his brothers ready for bed with only minimal complaints.

“Leo.” Mikey knelt down and patted the slider on the head. “Thank you, I was really freaking out for a second there.” Leo jumped up and down in place, expressing his overwhelming joy for successfully being of use. “Where’d ya leave Raph?”

“ Schleeping!”

CRACK!

…

Leo wouldn’t meet Mikey’s gaze.

“...Leo? I’m gonna count to three- One, two-”

“-Raph’s chewin’ again!”

Nice, it worked. Mikey always wanted to try that.

Oh wait…

Donnie was a wanderer, Leo was a climber…

Raph was a biter.

Mikey let out an elongated groan, bent down so Leo could hop onto his shell, and marched towards the kitchen.

Yep, Raph was snapping chair legs. With his teeth.

“ Raphie!” Leo jumped from Mikey’s shell (which made Mikey’s heart drop because a baby should definitely not be descending such heights) and ran to Raph’s defense.

Little traitor.

But when Raph pulled away from the splintered chair leg, noticing he’d been caught in the act, the snapping turtle looked humiliated . Raph clearly knew chewing was not allowed, but unlike Leo, he didn’t take pride in breaking the rules… but the little guy obviously couldn’t help it. He needed to teethe, those teeth growing in could not have been a painless process.

But weren’t they already grown in? Maybe it was just natural instinct?

Eh, Mikey didn’t wanna get stuck on the details.

Anyway, Mikey was pretty sure…

Yep, still there! Mikey grabbed the cantaloupe from their overstuffed fridge, bringing it to the counter to slice an appropriate sized piece off. It wasn’t totally ripe yet, but that was just what he needed.

“Here.” Mikey crouched to Raph’s height and was met with tear pricked eyes the size of saucers. Raph sniffled, but his questioning look remained.

“You can chew on this. It’s a little hard, but it should still be yummy.” Mikey tossed him a sympathetic smile. Raph accepted the slice, expression glowing as his taste buds were met with the sweet (but still a little bitter) melon rather than sharp wood.

“Alright! Now whaddya say we head to bed, you two?”

Raph nodded.

Leo shook his head.

Donnie was already one step ahead of them.

“That’s three to one, Leo. How ‘bout this- if you go to bed now, I’ll wake up extra early and make a pancake feast for the four of us.”

Leo twisted his face in concentration, seemingly accepting the offer as he ran to the living room and snuggled into the beanbag. Raph sleepily followed after him, still chewing on his melon in a lazy haze. He curled up beside Leo, leaving a clear spot for Mikey and Donnie to fill.

“You guys don’t wanna, like, sleep in a bed?”

Strike that, this was probably safer. Closer to the ground and all that .

“Uhhh never mind, never mind. This works.”

Mikey sank into the center of the beanbag where Leo and Raph quickly piled around him. He’d never been the biggest in the turtle pile- the change of pace was kinda nice. Leo shimmied to the top of the beanbag where he could press his plastron to Mikey’s shoulder, wrapping around it like a baby orangutan. As the slider settled in, he chirruped and clicked a goodnight.

Mikey had to check his own heart rate. It definitely fluttered over a beat or two.

And when Raph started responding with his own rumbles and purrs, Mikey knew he needed to immortalize the moment on video (even if his brothers ended him for it later). But his phone wasn’t on him, which wasn’t out of the ordinary… but like, what was he supposed to do for the next few hours? Was Mikey even allowed to go to bed? Wasn’t he supposed to stay on watch or something? Plus, it definitely wasn't his bedtime yet (not that he had one, obviously).

Mikey waited a bit until Leo’s clicking long subsided, till Raph’s purrs turned to gentle snores. He stood up ever so carefully, leaving Donnie in the crevice between the other two.

It took a little longer than expected to find his phone, but Mikey eventually found it hastily discarded near the entrance of the lair. It’d really been that long since he had it, huh. Mikey poked his head into the living room, making sure his brothers were still soundly sleeping, then headed to his own subway car. He should probably call April. Or dad. They’d probably wanna see for themselves, and they’d certainly be furious if they missed out on the cuteness overload. Mikey fell back into his hammock, unlocking his phone and scrolling through his recent calls until-

Donnie was standing in the doorway, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for Mikey to notice him.

Mikey couldn’t hold back a cooing aww w

“Hey Dee, did I wake you up?”

No response. Right. Donnie was the last of them to start talking, even after Mikey.

“Sorry little man. Let’s get you back to bed.”

Donnie instead waddled into Mikey’s room, wrapping his arms around Mikey’s leg that hung off the side of the hammock. He smushed his face into Mikey’s shin, nuzzling his forehead against it.

“Hey hey hey, what’s wrong, Donnie?” Mikey leaned forward and pried Donnie off his leg, placing him comfortably in the hammock beside him. Donnie wasn’t crying or anything, but he wasn’t looking Mikey in the eyes either.

The soft shell waited a minute, awkwardly glancing around the room before snuggling tight against Mikey’s thigh. He buried his face, but it failed to muffle his sleepy hums and purrs.

Mikey simply died. He must have. He was literally killed by cuteness. He pet Donnie’s head, causing the purrs to accelerate into happy clicking. Mikey clicked back, no one would know, right? His brothers couldn’t make fun of him for defaulting to their secret language when all of them had done it too.

Donnie clicked back.

Mikey clicked back again.

The two sat like that for a while until Donnie quieted, the only sound being his fast paced breaths filling his little lungs. Eventually, Mikey fell asleep too. Cause screw it, he was tired. Hell, he was exhausted . He’d take fighting bad guys 24/7 over watching his three baby brothers for even one more day.

But right now, Mikey couldn’t be frustrated or irritated with his troublesome little brothers. He was just so full of love for them. Love for Donnie, love for Leo, love for Raph.

Love for his family.

When Mikey woke up, Donnie was back to normal, back to his sixteen-year-old size and self.

But he was still snuggled up beside him, humming gently in his sleep.