A/N: Here's a little turtle tot fic that's been buzzing around in my head for some time now. I already have pics done for it on my DA account (Donnysgirl ). Go ahead and check them out. Italics are memories/stories told by Master Splinter and the present is in his POV. It'll always be like this through the whole fic. Technically this is all one scene as the fic does not follow a plot. It's mostly a collection of turtle tot tales ^.^ Note: It's a mix of newtoon and mirage comic-verse. The characters are in newtoon-verse but April and Casey are married with Shadow (Casey's late wife(who is not April)'s daughter with another man) as a just-turned one-year-old. That detail's cannon in mirage-verse. :P
Master Disclaimer: I shall only say this once. I do not own any characters in this fic. I just borrow them from the awesome Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The (should it even be called a plot?) plot is all mine though. Ideas for turtle tot moments was assisted by my best friend.
Raising four mutated turtles has never been an easy job. Even now as they near adulthood and off fighting their own battles, things are still difficult. Maybe even more so. Now I have to worry about them dying every minute when they're out there, with or without me. An old rat's job is never finished. These four always seems to find more trouble to get into everyday.
Let me give you a taste of what it feels to be a father of four rambunctious four-year-olds. This tale starts on one of my busiest days. You see, it all begins with…
"Daddy!" The loud whiny voice of the little orange-masked boy reached the ears of the then younger rat father just as he planned to relax after cleaning up their small den. The rat winced at the sound piercing his over-sensitive ears. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" The child yelled before making himself a home in the fabrics of his father's robes as tears poured down his face.
"What is it, my son?" The rat sighed, giving up on ever finding that little bit of rest and setting his young son on his lap.
"Waphie took Mr. Bunkie and I te'w'im to bwing 'im back and he bweak him!" The child explained, crying in his father's robes.
"Shh, my son," Splinter said as he rubbed the top of his son's carapace to comfort him. He remembered the stuffed panda he had found on one of his scavenging trips that Mikey was referring to. "Where is Mr. Bunkie?" He asked, calmly.
"I no know! Waphie kiw'it!" The child almost screeched. Splinter sighed and stood with an arm around his son. "Raphael!" He called.
Immediately, the red-masked child stood before him, the tattered stuffed panda in his hand and pushed behind his shell as stuffing trailed behind him. "I did'n mean 'a." He said, instantly, with a glance at his brother, "Mikey pull i' ouw'a my hands and i' bwoke."
"Hand it to me," Splinter said with a hand reached open towards him. Raph sheepishly handed him the toy and Splinter checked the damage.
Just outside the rat's vision, a little blue-masked turtle listened in. Behind him, the final brother watched the other as he absentmindedly pushed a toy car back and forth. "Wha' you doing?" He asked his eavesdropping brother.
"Shh," Leo said as he glanced back at his brother before turning back.
"Leo?" Donny tried again.
"I tell you be quiet," Leo says, "I try to hear."
"You na' supposed 'a." Donny said, shyly, "Come, play wi' me."
"I can do wha' I want." Leo said with an aloof air, "I jus' wanna hear if Mikey alright."
"Wha'eva," Donny sighed as he went back to his toy. Eventually, the toy car lost his interest and young tot got to his feet to walk around from something else to do. At the edge of the den's perimeter, a strange sound reached the curious child. For a brief moment, the young tot almost steps over the boundary his father specified, before he remembered himself. He looked back at his obliviously snooping brother before looking back at the dark unknown. With a sad, unfulfilled sigh, the tot starts to turn away before he hears it again. This time he did step over the boundary and slowly approached a dark shape. In a matter of minutes, the shape moved and Donny fell back with a yelp, clutching his leg. Another instant and Splinter's there, carrying the sobbing child back into the den. He laid the child on the make-shift bed of blankets. His other three sons followed him.
"What happened?" Splinter asked.
"I so'wy sensei," Leo said, "I jus' take my eyes off him for a second…" The child instantly stopped speaking at the look trained on him by a stern father and blurry-eyed brother.
"Donatello," Splinter repeated his question.
"My…leg…hurts!" The pained child whined through silent sobs.
"Let me see," Splinter sighed before examining the infected area. The injury showed signs of a snake bite and looked infected. "Donatello, did you see what did this?"
"No know," He said, shaking his head with wide eyes.
"How does it feel?"
"Burning… It hurts! M-make it stop, daddy!" He said, tears falling down his little beak. Splinter gave him a patient smile as he gently touched the immediate area around the bite. At his child's scream, he stopped, watching little hands caress the pained leg. "Am-am I go-gonna die?" Donny asked his father quietly.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, Donatello. It doesn't look to me as the snake that bit you was poisonous. It's just infected, that's all. You're very lucky. Next time you'll stay within the boundaries I set for you and your brothers safety?" The boy nodded, tearfully.
"I so'wy sensei," He said, with his head bowed. Splinter acknowledged the apology before returning his attention to the other three. "Leonardo, retrieve the ice pack I stored away in the box over there and have Donatello hold it over his injury. Then I want you to watch him. If anything important happens, report to me." He paused there, waiting for a response.
"Yea-hi, sensei," Leo said, immediately, stumbling over the Japanese word as he stood straighter.
"Quickly. I still need to have a talk with your other brothers…" He said. Leo quickly ran off. Raph dropped his head at the knowledge his father still wanted to speak with him and Mikey smiled before he caught sight of the look his father gave him in response. The rat already knew this was going to be another long day…
…And it only took a few seconds for my son to get injured. It just goes to show you how fast something like this can happen. I was up all night worrying about my son and hoping my words to him were truthful ones. I remember the experience scared Donatello so much, he would not leave the den for months afterwards. Eventually, I hoped he would just forget as all children did eventually, but that did not happen before some time…
"…Master Splinter? Are you coming?" Leonardo peeks his head into my room after a short knock. For a moment, I see the tiny youngest from my memory standing there before my eyes adjust back to the present.
"I'll be out in a moment." I tell him now. My nineteen-year-old son nods before sliding my door closed to renew my privacy. The great majesty of Time sure does love its tricks on an old rat. Today, a visit to Casey and April Jones's for little Shadow's first birthday party may be the exact thing I need to bring about those better memories…
During the party, Shadow found herself covered in her own cake. She seemed most happy about her predicament, but April immediately took off to get her cleaned up. Leonardo, Donatello, and I follow after to assist her.
"Thanks guys," April sighs with a smile, "I don't know how she managed to make such a mess of herself so quickly."
"I understand perfectly," I say with a chuckle, "When my sons were a few years older than her, they could easily – as they say – 'give her a run for her money'." My two sons with me groan at this.
"We we're that bad." Leonardo denied.
"Don't be so sure, Leonardo." I say with a knowing look.
"It couldn't have been one of us." Donatello agreed as he glanced out the bathroom door where my other sons were holding a loud conversation with Mr. Jones.
"I believe Leonardo started it." I say with a twinkle in my eye. The accused shook his head in disbelief.
"What happened?" April asked, curiously. My two present sons glanced at each other before looking towards me, worried about what I may say. I just laugh, mysteriously.
"If my sons will permit me?"
Donatello stared before turning away. "Just…go on…"
Leonardo glanced at his brother. "…Fine."
"Alright. Well it was coming close to their fifth year with me. That's how I've always done their birthdays as I've never known there true day. This was the first year I would ever celebrate it. It was a mistake I would not soon repeat…"
…The younger rat was coming home the night before the big day from another trip to the surface. The box in his claws had been hard to come by and he didn't want anything happening to it. He was still a few blocks away from the den when he allowed himself to run over the night in his head. He hadn't believed his luck when he saw the box set on top of the dumpster after hearing the brief argument over the wrong flavor. It only got better when he opened it and saw the nearly undisturbed contents within. He had to shake his head at this. It was unbelievable how wasteful the people above him could be. He had already tested it out for himself: chocolate. It brought back memories of his first time eating chocolate. The beautiful Teng Shen had left him some so many years ago. This wasn't as wonderful in abundant flavor but it would do for his young sons.
Just as he reached the entrance, his young, orange-masked son ran into his arms and he almost dropped the prized box. He looked over his son's shoulder at his blurry-eyed brother so exhausted, he looked about ready to topple over. "You did not wait up for me again, Leonardo?" Splinter asked, accusingly as he gently laid the box down out of harm's reach and wrapped his arms around the shaking child.
"Huh? No," Leo yawned, "Mikey woke me up." The rat could tell his son was lying to him.
"Go to sleep, my son," He ordered, softly, "I'll take care of your brother." The young tot yawned again and nodded before shuffling over to his other brother's sleeping forms.
"Michelangelo," Splinter said as he knelt in front of his son, pulling him away to see the fear-full look and tear-streaked face. "What happened?"
"Nightmaye'." Mikey mumbled, "Tha mons'ers wan'ed ta eab me a-gain, ba I no wan'em to, ba they almos' do dis time!" The rat sighed. He was used to his son's nightmares by now.
"You know I wouldn't allow them to do that to you, my son. When I'm not here, you always have your brothers to help you as well. Alright?"
"Ya think Waphie fighd'em off?" He asked.
"I'm sure he could just as easily as the others could."
The young tot wiped his tears away and his eyes landed on the box. "What that?" He asked.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Splinter said before kissing the top of his son's head, his whiskers tickling Mikey and causing the boy to giggle. "Now go to sleep. I'll be over in a minute."
"Stowy?"
"Not tonight. Daddy's tired. Just like you should be."
"Awight." He said, sadly, but did not do as he was told until his father accompanied him…
The next day, Mikey wouldn't stop bothering Splinter about the 'mystery box' and soon, even his brothers joined in. Finally after a small dinner, Splinter opened the box and revealed the chocolate sheet cake already decorated. He cut slices of it for each of his sons and told them to eat up. After the first few bites, most of them quickly finished it up. Predictably, do to his late night, Leonardo was still tired and was mostly pushing his slice around his plate.
"Is there a problem, Leonardo?" Splinter asked, knowingly.
"No, sensei," He said, immediately and lifted another fork-full of cake to his mouth to prove it with a forced smile.
"Awe you gonna ead i'?" Raph asked over his now empty plate.
"Yes." Leo said with a look at him.
"Ya shu'e?" Mikey asked. Leo only turned his look on him instead.
"I sink Leo s'ayed up 'ate yast nigh'." Donny said, looking up at him.
"I did'n," Leo denied.
"It won't be yong dill he faws ova!" Mikey said, laughing.
"Then he weally ea' cake!" Raph agreed, laughing as well. Leo pounded his tiny fist on the end of his fork and sent a piece of cake flying into Raph's face. The young tot couldn't hold back his laughter at his brother's now messy face.
"You firs'!" He said, still laughing. Raph wiped his face with a chubby arm and grinned before throwing it at Leo. His previous exhaustion forgotten, Leo yelled, "Food fight!" That began an all out war of flying cake.
Meanwhile, their father sighed, but he couldn't stop the sugar-fueled food fight until their small den was covered in chocolate cake and vanilla icing…
"…That night, the four of them spent it cleaning up their mess." I conclude. By the end of my tail, even Casey and my two other sons had joined us. My sons were looking positively sheepish in response.
"I didn't participate…right?" Donatello asked, disbelievingly.
"My son, all four of you were of equal blame once it was started. You and Michelangelo always eventually joined in on what your brother were doing when you were younger."
"I don't remember that," Leonardo says, "I guess I was tired."
"That would be accurate. You always stayed up for me when I left you four and I always knew."
"Thanks for the story, Splinter," Mrs. Jones says with a bow of her head.
"Yeah it made my day," Casey says, laughing.
"Shut it, bonehead." Raphael whispers, thinking I won't hear, but I let it pass anyway.
"I think someone needs a nap." April says next as she looks down at the peacefully sleeping toddler. "Will you be staying? You're always welcome."
"If it won't be any trouble…" I say.
"Of course not. Shadow will be happy ta see ya when she wakes up." Casey says.
"Then we shall for the night. It is indeed very late."
A/N: Please leave a nice long review for the over-worked authoress.