Chapter Text
•*~~~~~*•
It was a cool night in New York City. The sun had vanished below the horizon long ago, though the light coming from advertisements and shining through windows left the streets as bright as day. The sidewalks were crowded, people pushing and shouting at each other to get where they needed to go. Dogs were barking, children were screaming at the top of their lungs, and cars honked their horns and revved their engines as the vehicles drove down the streets.
New York. What a town.
Down in the dank sewer system of New York, the sound of the city above was muffled and quiet. The only other noise within the dark tunnels was the occasional drip, drip, drip of murky sewer water onto the stone walkway. One would think there wasn't a single soul down here.
For the sake of both him and his children, Splinter hoped to keep it that way, no matter how much of a handful his sons could be.
With a cup of tea in one hand and the newest storybook in their small collection in the other, the mutant stepped out of the family's kitchen. Releasing a quiet sigh, he looked up from the cover and into the living room, eyes drifting to each of his boys.
They were actually being fairly calm this evening. They weren't hitting each other and breaking things in an attempt to be like Lou Jitsu, so that was a plus.
His littlest, Orange, was laying on the living room floor, coloring in an old coloring book Splinter had managed to secure. He was on his plastron, kicking his legs in the air with his tongue stuck out in his concertation.
The two middle children were definitely being the loudest. They were arguing, as they often did, and judging by the comic books they both held in their little hands, the sci-fi series "Jupiter Jim" was the topic of debate. Purple tapped his finger rather aggressively against one of the comic's pages, trying to shout his opinion over Blue's own argument.
Between them was his sweet little Red, trying desperately to break them up. His attempts were drowned out by the twins' screaming match, much to the oldest child's clear dismay.
Splinter sighed again at the sight of his sons' antics. Despite this, he couldn't help the fond smile that settled comfortably onto his features. He shifted the book, now holding it under his armpit, and called out to the little turtles.
"Boys!"
Orange was the only one to react, looking up at his father with curious eyes. Then, a huge grin broke out on his face.
"Dad, Dad!" The little six-year-old jumped up from his spot on the floor, grabbing the coloring book before running over to his father. He bounced excitedly on his heels and shoved the page into Splinter's face, or at least tried to. Splinter was still quite a bit taller than him. "Look, look! I drew this! Isn't it pretty?"
Splinter smiled at his youngest son, reaching over to pat him gently on the head. "Yes, my boy. Your drawing is very pretty."
Orange pulled the book away, holding it close to his chest. He bit his bottom lip as he clearly resisted the urge to squeal in joy.
The older mutant laughed a little at the sight. "Yes, yes. But now, it is time to put the art supplies away."
Orange pouted at that, looking down at the floor as he lowered the coloring book. "Aww..."
"Oh, don't be sad," Splinter told him as he placed his teacup on the floor. With his now free hand, he took hold of the story book and showed his son the cover. "Don't you want to hear this new bedtime story?"
Orange looked up at the cover. It was a book of fairytales, with a knight fighting a dragon on the front. A little in the distance, the little box turtle could make out a castle with a princess looking out of a tower window.
He perked up, his previous enthusiasm returning. With a bright smile on his face, Orange nodded quickly with a "Mhm!"
"Good. Now, pick up your crayons and put them back in your room, please," Splinter said as he secured the book back under his arm and retrieved his tea. "I'll get your brothers ready for story time."
"Okay!" And with that, Orange was off in a flash.
Okay. One down, three to go.
"..Papa?"
Splinter felt someone pulling on his robe, and he hummed in acknowledgment as he turned his attention to the little snapper now at his side. "Oh. Do you need something, Red?"
"Lee and Don are fightin'," Red said quietly, and Splinter could see tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. "An' I can't make 'em stop..."
"Oh."
Splinter reached over to pet his oldest son on the head as he looked back the twins arguing. It seemed Red was, not surprisingly, unsuccessful in breaking them up. Which was fine, Splinter would just have to do it- that was part of his job as the parent, after all.
"Oh, don't you worry about your brothers, okay?" Splinter told the red-clad turtle. He turned to face Red with a soft smile on his face as he continued. "I'll take it from here, my son."
Red sniffed. "Okay..."
"Good, now, why don't you go grab us all some pillows and blankets?" he suggested. "I'm going to tell everyone a bedtime story."
Red perked up at that, and it took only a moment for the look of determination to form on his face. "Yeah! Raph can do that!"
"Thank you, my boy," Splinter told him as he ran off to complete his task.
Alright. Orange and Red were good to go. Now, he just had to handle Blue and Purple.
Speaking of which...
"OW!" Splinter heard Blue exclaim, followed closely by the sound of Purple hitting the floor with an "Oof!"
He looked over at his two boys, just as they shouted together in perfect unison, "What was that for!?"
"You bit me!" Blue cried out, clutching his right hand tightly in his left one.
"You got all up in my face," Purple retorted calmly, arms crossed as he glared at his brother from his spot on the floor. "It was deserved."
Oh boy. Let's get this over with.
~~~
"Are you boys ready?"
Splinter's question was met with a series of affirmations from each of his sons.
Raph tore his eyes away from the cover of the storybook just long enough to response with a soft "Uh 'huh." He looked back with the same great curiosity as he leaned into Splinter's arm. Mikey, who was sitting in Raph's lap, was practically vibrating in excitement as he repeated "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" quietly.
Donnie sat on his father's other side, an expression of mild interest on his face as he hummed in affirmation. Leo nodded, his arms wrapped loosely around his twin's neck as he leaned against him, their cheeks squished together. The two had apologized for the fight earlier, and Leo's right hand had been wrapped in a bandage and (courtesy of Mikey) adorned with a silver tiara sticker.
Splinter smiled warmly. "Good. Now, this story is called The Dragon's Castle."
The young turtles watched in intrigue as their dad opened the book to the first page. He began reading, his voice soft. "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away..."
Now, the plot wasn't anything to write home about. The kingdom's princess- the prettiest girl in all the land, according to her many suitors- had wandered too far from home. She was found and kidnapped by an evil dragon and locked away in an abandoned castle the scaly beast had claimed as their own. One of her suitors, a knight from a neighboring kingdom, offered to travel across the lands to rescue her, and in return would receive her father's blessing to marry her. He took a perilous journey, reached the castle, and fought the dragon.
Once the dragon had been defeated, the knight entered the princess's tower to finally bring her home.
"And as a thank you for his kindness and bravery, the princess gifted him a sweet kiss," Splinter read, and his boys leaned in to see the picture on the page better.
The linework was light, matching the softness of the watercolor paint used to color the image. The interior of the tower was visible in the background, illuminated by the sunlight shining through the window. The words were written in black cursive letters and outlined in white, standing out against the cool stone of the room wall.
In the foreground were the knight and the princess sharing a kiss. The knight held his helmet under his arm, allowing the viewer to see his flustered blushing face and messy blonde hair. The rest of his form was covered by shiny silver armor, with his kingdom's insignia printed on the front of the chest plate. He was handsome, but no different than he had been throughout the rest of the story.
And then, there was the princess herself.
Unlike with the knight, this was the first time the princess had been illustrated in full. It had always been just a simple silhouette- a basic shape with no defining characteristics.
Now the reader could see the princess in all her majesty. Her long, dark brown hair, drawn as beautiful waves which fell over her exposed shoulders. Her soft face, with rosy cheeks and lips tinted a strawberry pink. Her elegant baby blue gown, with many layers of silky fabric making up her skirt. The feathery material bunched up just below her shoulders, and the lovely midnight blue ribbon laced in the back like a corset. A silver tiara, adorned with shiny sapphire stones, rested atop her head.
She was absolutely ethereal, and Leo was nothing short of captivated.
He didn't process his dad reading the last line of the book. He looked away only when Splinter closing the book forced him to, and even then, his thoughts were still stuck on the princess.
"So," Splinter regarded his sons warmly. "What did you boys think of that story?"
"It was... enjoyable," Donnie answered, and then he smiled as he continued. "The dragon was awesome."
"Raph really liked it! The knight was so cool!"
"Yeah!" Mikey chimed in. "And the princess was so pretty!"
"Yeah..." Leo breathed. "Yeah, she is."
"I am glad, boys."
"Dad?" Raph looked up at his father with a hopeful look in his eyes. His voice was quiet, maybe even a little bashful. "Do- do you think we can be like that knight some day?"
Mikey was thrilled by the idea and looked up at Splinter with sparkles in his own eyes. "Yeah! Can we save people someday, too?"
Splinter couldn't help but laugh fondly at his sons' words. "Of course," he answered, reaching over to pet his eldest's head. "I'm sure you can do anything you put your wonderful little minds to, my boys."
Raph leaned into his dad's touch, purring softly, while the youngest gasped quietly. "Really?"
"Really."
"Yeah!" Mikey cheered, throwing his little fist into the air. "We're gonna be knights!"
Donnie took a good look at the storybook's cover, humming faintly in thought. "That's nice and all, but I'd rather be the dragon."
"What?" Raph was completely shocked by Donnie's statement. "Why would you want that?"
"The dragon is cool," the softshell said matter-of-factly, shrugging.
"Bu- but the dragon's the bad guy!" Raph insisted. "He took the princess away from her family! And locked her up!"
"The dragon can breathe fire, Raph. A sound sense of morality is nothing compared to literally breathing fire."
"I wanna be the princess!" Leo blurted out before he could stop himself.
He immediately regretted saying that. If it was possible, Leo would've sunk into the floor to escape his family's confused looks. His cheeks burned in embarrassment, going almost as red as the markings on his face.
The silence was suffocating.
Thankfully, it didn't take too long for Donnie to break it.
"Does that mean I get to kidnap you and lock you in a castle?"
"NO!"
Whether it was Donnie's original question or Raph's horrified response that sent both Splinter and Mikey into hysterics, Leo couldn't be sure. Frankly, with the focus now off of him, he couldn't find it in himself to really care.
"Wha- well, why not?"
"Because kidnappin' is bad, Donnie!"
"Says who?"
"Says everybody!"
"While I'm not really a big fan of the kidnapping..." Leo cut in with a smug smile. "I bet Tello would make an awesome dragon."
"Thank you, Nardo," Donnie said. "And I'm sure you would be a very pretty princess."
One would expect Leo to feel abashed at his recent confession being brought back up- the slider himself certainly thought so. And yet, there was no denying the warm, fuzzy feeling resting his chest at his twin's words instead.
Caught off guard by his own emotional reaction, he sputtered out his response. "O-oh! Th-thanks, twinsie."
"We aren't twins."
"Whatever."
"Alright, boys," Splinter said. The older three of the turtles all now had their eyes on their father as he spoke. "I think it's time for you all to go to bed. Orange is already falling asleep."
And sure enough, the youngest had his head hanging low as he dozed off. All his elder siblings let out quiet "aww"s at the sight.
"Turtle pile!" Raph shouted, causing the young box turtle in his lap to jolt awake.
"Wha- huh?"
"Oh, sorry Mikey," the snapping turtle said much quieter. "I mean-" He whispered the last part. "Turtle pile."
Splinter chuckled quietly as he shook his head, a fond expression overtaking his features. He began standing up, tucking the book securely under one arm. "Good night, my boys."
"G'night, Pops!" Raph whisper yelled.
"Good night, Papa," Donnie replied.
"Night, Daddy!" Leo chirped.
As their dad walked out of the room, the little turtles began moving into more comfortable positions for cuddling. Raph laid down on his side, holding Mikey close to his plastron like a teddy bear. The twins moved to lean against their older brother, and he curled his tail around them, pulling them close.
Mikey had been out by the time Splinter stood up, and Raph fell asleep shortly after curling up in the makeshift nest. Donnie had taken a while longer, but eventually, he too was taken by sleep as he leaned on his blue-clad brother's shoulder.
Leo struggled to fall asleep- he always had- so he allowed his mind to wander until he did. As his eyelids finally began to slide shut and he nuzzled his face into the crook of Donnie's neck, one final thought crossed his mind.
"Why do I feel this... sudden sense of yearning for something?"
~~~
"Ughhhhhhhhhh-"
The sounds of Leo's frustration were quickly muffled as the red-eared slider faceplanted into his pillow. The comic in his hands was opened to only the second page, and he allowed the book to fall backwards onto his bed.
Once everyone had woken up and eaten the next morning, the Hamato family had each gone their separate ways. Donnie had secluded himself into his lab not long after breakfast. Mikey had asked Splinter to lend him the book from storytime last night and then brought it to his room, for whatever reason. Raph, after begging unsuccessfully to sit with Mikey, instead decided to sit with their dad as they watched TV together.
And Leo had retreated into his own room, laying on his bed as he tried to reread his favorite Jupiter Jim comic.
Key word being tried.
No matter how hard he tried to focus on reading the words on the page, thoughts wouldn't stop racing around in his head like sugar-high children trying to dispel all the excess energy in their little body.
So, his mind was deciding to be extra loud today. Great.
Leo groaned. He lifted his face off of his pillow to prop his head on his forearms, huffing in annoyance at his own dumb brain.
Being that he couldn't focus on much else, he gave in to his overactive mind, picking at his pillow as he thought.
About what, exactly? The princess from the story last night, naturally.
More specifically, he thought about what it would be like to be her. To have beautiful long hair, cascading down his back and spilling over his shoulders. To wear that gorgeous baby blue ball gown, feeling the flowy fabric dancing around his ankles as he moved. To be considered the prettiest girl in all the land, desired by princes and knights all across the land.
And with that last thought, his mind began to replay Donnie's comment.
"And I'm sure you would be a very pretty princess."
His twin's remark had stuck, and Leo couldn't figure out why.
Why did he care so much? What had left him so surprised about Donnie's words?
Was it the compliment itself? Even though Mikey handed out kind words to his older siblings like candy, and Raph was always showing support for whatever (safe) things the young turtles did, not once had Leo ever been called "pretty".
He'd been called "cool". He'd been called "handsome". He'd been called "awesome", "so brave" (mostly by Mikey), and even "smart" sometimes.
No one had ever really called him "pretty" before.
But, of course he hadn't. "Pretty" was usually a compliment given to Mikey's artwork or to the girls and women they'd see in books and TV. Why would Leo care about being called such a thing?
Maybe it was because Donnie had said it? The softshell turtle wasn't really one to say nice things like that- he preferred showing his love in other ways- so maybe Leo was just excited to receive compliments from his twin at all.
Yeah, that was it. That had to be it.
Before any doubt about that could fully manifest in his gut, his thoughts were (thankfully) interrupted by a sing-song voice outside his door.
"Leeeeeooooo~"
The slider turned his attention to his room entrance just in time to watch his youngest brother run in. The little box turtle was bouncing excitedly on his heels as he shouted, which sent Leo into a fit of giggles.
"Leo! Leo! Leo!"
"What, what?" Leo asked through his laughter. Mikey's ecstatic energy was contagious, it seemed. "What's up?"
Mikey began pulling on Leo's arm, and the older boy allowed him to pull him off the bed. "You gotta come! C'mon! C'mon!"
"Wha- why? What's got you all worked up?" Leo tried again as his little brother led him to another part of the lair.
"It's a surprise!" Mikey cheered. He flashed Leo the huge, toothy grin which hadn't left his tiny face, both hands holding one of Leo's own. "You'll love it! Trust me!"
Leo rolled his eyes playfully at the secrecy. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say, Miguel."
Even as he tried to hide his curiosity, he couldn't fight off the smile which forced its way onto his face. Mikey pulled him into the TV room, where Splinter was seated in his armchair. His red- and purple-clad brothers were sat on the floor.
"Well, now that we're all here," Donnie started, "Can we get this over with?"
"Yeah, I wanna see this surprise!" Raph said.
Splinter hummed. "Yes. I would like to see this surprise as well, Orange."
"Okay, okay, okay." Mikey led Leo to the free spot next to Donnie before pushing him down by the shoulders. "Sit."
Leo sat on the floor next to his twin, criss-cross applesauce. "Okay."
The littlest brother stood at the front of the room, practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Okay, okay, okay. Get ready! You're all gonna love this!"
Mikey grabbed his sketchbook from its spot on the floor. He fumbled with it for a moment as he flipped through the slightly stained pages, all while his family watched with bated breaths. Once he found the right page, he made an exclamation of triumph before holding the page against his chest to hide it from view.
"Okay, you ready?" he asked one last time.
"Get on with it!" the twins answered in unison- Leo with a voice filled with anticipation, and Donnie a tone of mild annoyance.
"Okay, okay. Here it is!" Mikey finally revealed his surprise, holding up his drawing like he was showing off a Nobel prize. "Wha'da ya guys think?"
The three older boys lean in slightly to get a better look. Donnie studied the page silently while his fellow middle child gasped in surprise.
"Ohhh~" Raph blinked, before looking up at his littlest brother. "Wha' is it?"
"Is that... us?" Donnie asked, raising a single sharpie eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Mikey cheered. He looked down at his work, careful not to cover it with his head, and pointed to the character farthest to the left. "This one is Raph, and he's the knight..."
The character looks just like the alligator snapper. Only the football helmet he usually wore was replaced with the storybook knight's shiny metal one. Mikey had also drawn on a set of silver colored armor, and the drawing of Raph was holding the knight's sword.
He then pointed to the character in the middle. "...who's trying to defeat Donnie, the evil dragon..."
This character seemed to more closely resemble the evil dragon. Except they were Donnie's shade of green, with the same purple patterns that could be found on the spiny softshell's skin.
They also had Donnie's eyebrows, for some reason.
Finally, he pointed to the character to the right, behind the Donnie dragon. "..so he can save Princess Leo!"
And this character looked just like the red-eared slider. He was just wearing the princess's dress with her tiara atop his head.
"Woah..." Raph started, completely in awe. "This is... this is amazing!"
"Yes, this is quite nice," Donnie added. "Good job, Angie."
Leo couldn't stop staring at his brother's work, his mouth slightly agape and stars in his eyes. Instead of adding to his brother's comments, he simply nodded his head in agreement with a soft "M'hm."
Mikey giggled, averting his eyes. "Aww, you really think so?"
"Of course!" Raph reassured.
"Why wouldn't we?" Donnie inquired.
"Everything you make is very wonderful, Orange," Splinter cut in. "This was a very nice thing to do for your brothers."
Leo had finally snapped out of his awe, shaking his head for a moment.
"Hey! You should put your drawing on the fridge!" he suggested cheerily. "That way, we can look at it all the time!"
Mikey gasped. "Oh, can I, Dad? Can I?"
Splinter laughed heartily at his son's excitement. "Of course, Orange. That was a wonderful idea, Blue."
The six-year-old cheered before running off to the kitchen to hang the picture up. Shortly after, his brothers and dad followed after him.
Mikey jumped at the fridge, trying to place the fridge magnet so that his drawing would hang near the middle of the appliance. Splinter walked over and grabbed him from under his arms, lifting him up so he could hang up his work.
Once that was done, the pair stepped back, the younger of the two putting both hands on his hips.
"Lookin' good, Mikey," Raph complimented, placing a hand on his youngest brother’s shoulder.
"Thanks, Raph!"
The twins stood by him as well, Leo giving him a thumbs up and closed eye smile while Donnie just nodded his head.
"And thanks Donnie, and Leo, and Dad."
"You are welcome, my son." And with that, Splinter walked back into the living room, leaving the turtle boys to admire their youngest's work.
It wasn't long before Donnie informed his brothers that he should be returning to his "project", whatever that project may be. Mikey later decided to draw something else, and Raph was actually allowed to join this time.
This soon left just Leo standing in the kitchen. As he walked away, heading back to his room to try reading his comic again, he smiled. Donnie was right.
He really did make a very pretty princess.
•*~~~~~*•