Next: Leo x Kia
Later: Mikey x Reader
~3 years ago~
Young Raphael was leading his brothers through the sewers late one afternoon. Despite Leo's efforts to get his brothers to go back to the lair, they continued their stroll underground. Sensei had left out for the day to retrieve food. Raph and Mikey decided that it was the perfect opportunity to explore the world above ground, specifically the park. Donnie decided he'd rather join his brothers' mischief instead of hanging around bored all day. Because he felt like he was the most mature (and because he secretly wanted to go), Leo tagged along.
The four brothers stealthily exited the sewers and entered the small park. Raph and Mikey hopped on the swings, considering there was no one around. Leo decided to use this time to meditate in the flower garden. Donnie climbed up the playground equipment and sat on top of the monkey bars.
Mikey giggled and called out to Donnie. "Hey, D! Look, Raph and I are double-dating on the swings."
Raph rolled his eyes. "I told you not to call it that."
Donnie smiled at his brothers before returning his attention back the scenery around him. Dusk neared closer and the sun began to dip in the sky, painting the landscape in shades of red and yellow. Don was so focused on the beautiful view, he didn't notice the young girl peep her head out from the closed it slide where she was hiding.
She walked up to Donnie, standing below him. "What are you? Some kind of giant turtle?"
Donnie yelped and fell backwards, landing on his stomach and face. He looked back up at the girl and blushed. "Well, that was totally not embarrassing."
The girl smirked at his clumsiness and pulled her black and brown curly hair into a bun. "By your reaction, I'm guessing I'm right. That or you have an expensive costume on and it's not Halloween."
Donnie scrambled to his feet and shushed her. "P-people can't know I exist, okay? You have to keep my secret if you want me to answer your questions."
"Fine." The girl held out her pinky finger. "I promise I won't tell a soul."
Donnie blinked at her, for once having no idea what to do. She cracked another smile. "You're supposed to hook your pinky with mine."
Donatello looked down at his hands. "I guess, I don't really have a pinky."
The girl hooked his smallest of his three fingers with hers. "I can already tell we're gonna get along just fine."
~Present Day~
Taylor was right. She and Donnie grew up to become close friends. The only thing that changed was that Donnie soared past her in height and that they both secretly developed crushes on each other. They were too afraid to ask each other out, not knowing how the other one felt.
One day, in particular, Taylor skipped her way down the sewers, excited to show her friends her new red and orange highlights in her hair. Her smile wavered some when she saw that none of them were in the living-room. As she walked around the lair, she heard a conversation coming from the lab.
"C'mon, Donnie. We all know that you've never asked her out because you aren't manly enough." Leo joked.
Raph scoffed. "He's not wrong. You need to grow some hair on your chest, man. Do something that's gonna prove you made it through puberty."
"Yeah!" Mikey agreed. "What's puberty again?"
The three eldest sighed and face palmed. Donnie spoke up. "Look, I'll ask Taylor out just to prove I am no pubescent preteen.
Upon hearing this, Taylor scrambled out of the lair. The last thing she wanted was for him to ask her out because of some petty disagreement between him and his brothers. It surely wasn't fair to her and it wasn't fair to Donnie to feel obligated and forced to ask her out. She returned home, forgetting her eagerness to see her friends.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, deciding to text April and hopefully get some advice on what to do.
Apes!!!
It's an emergency
Spill the tea
Who do I have to fight?
Taylor became hesitant. Should she tell April about Donnie? She's overheard the brothers teasing Donnie about his crush on April a few times before. Is he coming to ask Taylor out because he doesn't like her back, but liked April instead. Did April like him back? There were so many questions to be answered.
Donnie...
I was expecting u to say Raph
Wht happened?
I overheard his bros telling him in order to
be manly he has to ask me out :|
Wht do I doooooo???
Girl, if thts the only reason say no
but you have to let him know tht yk
Taylor sighed heavily and fell backwards onto her bed. This was going to be more awkward than their first meeting. She's supposed to tell the guy -turtle- that she likes that she doesn't want to date him. She felt helpless. Another set of buzzing from her phone disrupted her thoughts. It was April again.
I promised I wouldn't tell, but...
Donnie does like you
like a lot
Taylor smiled to herself as the butterflies went crazy in her stomach. At least something positive is coming out of this whole situation. She turned on her side and looked at the picture of her and Donnie she had framed next to her bed.
Meanwhile, at the same time April put down her phone, a knock erupted at her window. Considering the information Taylor had just told her, she knew exactly who it was. She opened her window to find the purple masked turtle standing awkwardly on her balcony. April shot him a disappointed glare before letting him in.
"W-what?" Donnie asked as he shuffled into the room.
She crossed her arms and turned to face him again. "You wanna be 'manly', huh?"
Donnie shot her a look of confusion. How did she possibly know about that? That was the reason he had come over to talk to her about the first place. "Who told you?"
April sighed and unfolded her arms. "She's gonna kill me for telling you. Taylor heard you guys talking about you proving yourself by asking her out. Let me just say Donnie, that's really low and stupid of you if you do that. If you like her, why make a bet out of this? Ask her out because you like her, not to prove your brothers wrong."
"I know!" Don slumped his shoulders. "That's why I'm here. I don't want to be forced into asking her out. I want to do it because I feel like it's the right time. Is she okay?"
April sat on her bed. "She's confused."
Donatello rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you think I still have a chance with her?"
"Not if you're doing it because of your brothers. Do it for your heart, not your pride."
Donnie nodded and scratched the back of his head nervously. He just didn't want to mess this up. One wrong move, one wrong word, and everything can go to shambles. It's the exact reason why he hasn't asked Taylor out yet. He didn't want to ruin their friendship and he didn't want to make things awkward if she didn't like him back. Now, he just had to hope and pray that his feelings were reciprocated.
~~~~~
The next day, Taylor decided to go back to the lair. She would pretend like she didn't hear the conversation and see how things played out. After school, she completed her homework and prepared to go see her best friends. Pulling on her jade-green polo shirt and a pair of khakis, she searched her closet for her brown and green boots. A knock on her window distracted her from her search.
She sighed when she saw it was Donnie. He had his shell facing the window, clearly in deep thought about something. She slid open her window and stepped to the side so he could get in. Donnie maneuvered his way inside. Facing her, he revealed a bundle of semi-wilted flowers.
Taylor, despite her emotions, grinned at the sight. "Did you take those from the park?"
"Y-yeah. I thought they would be right for the occasion, since the we became friends at the park three years ago and... uh..." Donnie trailed off.
Taylor looked at him expectantly. The conversation she had heard the day before replaying in her head.
Donnie sighed again. He took her hand in his and looked her in the eye. "Look, Taylor, my brothers wanted me to prove myself today and ask you out, but that wouldn't be fair to you. I'm not here because of them. I don't care what they say. I don't care about being 'manly,' I care about you. I've like you for so long, but I've been to scared to say something because I didn't know how you felt."
Taylor smiled softly at the turtle teenager in front of her. "Donnie..."
"I'm just going ask because I've done enough damage. W-would you like to be my girlfriend?" Donnie anxiously asked.
Taylor squeezed his hand and smiled brightly at the intelligent turtle in front of her. "Of course, Donatello." Don grinned widely, his gap showing. She nudged him a little. "And what you did today was manly. Following your heart is more important than a silly bet."