Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Chapter 1: I'll Be Home for Christmas
"'Oh, you better watch out. You better not cry! You better not pout I'm tellin' you why. Santa Claus is comin' to town!'"
6 year old Raphael squeezed his eyes shut as he tightly held a pillow over his head in an attempt to block out what he could only deem as noise. Ever since the radio stations had begun playing their annual repetitive list of Christmas songs, his baby brother would not let any of his family members turn it off. Their small, three room sewer home was constantly filled with the overly cheery tunes, and, much to young Raph's dismay, Michelangelo's enthusiastic singing.
"'He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness' sake!'"
"Alright, enough, Mikey!" he shouted at last as he stood up and threw his pillow on the family bed. "I'm sick of your stupid Christmas music! You've been playing it for a month! Turn it off, or I'll smash that radio!"
The angry turtle's younger brother immediately stopped singing and whirled to face him, eyes wide. He quickly picked up the handheld radio from their shared nightstand and hugged it to his chest, the happy music still playing.
"Raph!" he whined, "It's almost Christmas! Soon there won't be any more Christmas music until next year!" Raph wasn't sure it was possible for his sibling to sound any more devastated. "We can't just shut it off!"
Raph rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "You won't die without Christmas music," he said pointedly. "Now turn it off, or I'll do it for you." His green eyes narrowed and his hands balled into fists as he stared down his brother.
Mikey's lip began to tremble as he took a step back, but his blue eyes remained defiant. "No!"
"We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish..."
"That's it!" With a growl, Raphael launched himself at Michelangelo. The younger turtle let out a squeak as he ducked out of the way, protecting the small radio from his brother's grasp. He nimbly made his way around the family bedroom, jumping over the queen sized mattress and hurling pillows at his attacker in an attempt to slow the rampaging turtle down.
"Come back here!"
"No! Stop it, Raph!"
"What are you guys doing in here!?"
Mikey froze in his tracks as he looked to the doorway. There stood their oldest brother, Leonardo, hands on his hips.
"...good tidings we bring, to you and your kin..."
As if he hadn't even heard his older sibling, Raph tackled Mikey onto the large mattress. He instantly made a grab for the radio.
"Wait! Stop it!" cried Mikey, trying everything to keep his brother from breaking the device. "I'll turn it off! See? I'll -"
His cries were cut short, however, when he felt the weight of his brother being lifted off of him. He looked up, curiously. Leo now stood between them, Raph fuming just a few feet away.
"Out of my way, Leo!" he yelled, "I'm not listening to another minute of that... music!" He spat the word as if just saying it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Leonardo looked at his brother sternly. "We're supposed to be good while Sensei's out gathering supplies, not nearly beating each other to death."
"Yeah, Raph," said Mikey as he popped his head out from behind Leo. Gaining courage from his big brother's presence, he stuck his tongue out.
"...we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."
"Why you -!" The angry turtle reached out as if to strangle his youngest brother but was stopped short by Leo who shoved Raph backwards, causing him to fall to the floor.
"Silent night, holy night..."
Within seconds, the two oldest siblings were throwing punches and kicks at each other as Mikey scrambled out of their way, holding the radio as far out of Raph's reach as possible.
"What is going on in here?" came a commanding voice followed by a sharp clacking sound.
This time, all three turtles stopped moving instantly, eyes wide. Leo and Raph immediately untangled themselves from each other as they turned to face Master Splinter who stood in the bedroom doorway firmly gripping his walking stick.
"Sensei!" squeaked Leonardo.
"...sleep in heavenly peace..."
The ninja master turned to Michelangelo and cocked an eyebrow curiously. The young turtle quickly straightened under the gaze, turning the volume down on the small radio. He smiled nervously as he tucked it behind his back.
Before Splinter could repeat his question, Raphael spoke up.
"Sensei, Mikey won't turn that radio off!" he whined, shooting a glare at his youngest sibling. "I'm sick of hearing his lousy singing all the time!"
"Hey!" said Mikey indignantly.
The large rat sighed as he shook his head. "Raphael, you should not insult your brother, nor should you be fighting with him unless we are in training," he said. "I am aware that it is hard to find peace and quiet in our small home, but that is no excuse for your behavior. Now, apologize to your brothers, then all of you come meet me and Donatello in the common room." With a flick of his tail, Splinter turned and left the room.
As soon as he was gone, Mikey began to giggle. "Somebody got in trouble!" he said, grinning.
Before Raph had a chance to retaliate, Leo grabbed his shoulders. "Just let it go, Raph," he said, "You heard Sensei. Now hurry up and apologize so we can go see what he wants." A smug smile crept across his face.
Raphael wanted nothing more than to slap the smiles off of both of their faces, but somehow he knew he'd gotten off easy. Testing Sensei's limits right now would be a bad idea, one that would likely earn him his brother's chores for a week. With a huff, he crossed his arms and made a point to look anywhere but his brother's faces.
"...sorry..." he muttered, barely above a whisper. Before Leo could protest the sub par quality of his apology, Raph stomped out the door and into the common area.
While larger than their bedroom, this room was usually cluttered with miscellaneous pieces of furniture and small appliances. Today, however, it looked practically bare. There were no dishes on the wooden shelves, no food in the nearby crates, and - most importantly - no VCR or VHS tapes on top of their small TV. He had noticed Master Splinter and Donatello packing up a few things before heading out earlier that day, but he hadn't realized how much they'd taken.
The two family members in question were seated on the floor around the short table in the middle of the room. Donnie looked more excited than the time he'd figured out how to tap into the city's power supply, while Splinter simply sat quietly. Eyeing the four large boxes next to them curiously, Raphael sat down on his own cushion, soon followed by Leonardo and Michelangelo.
"What's going on, Sensei?" asked Leo, his eyes also drawn to the boxes.
"My sons, the four of you have grown into fine young turtles, even if you have a tendency to try my patience." Splinter glanced at Raphael who looked away, pouting. "With each of you growing up so fast, however, our home has become quite..." he paused, recalling all of the days he'd longed for a space to meditate quietly, "...cramped."
Raph snorted at the understatement, earning himself an elbow in the side from Leo.
Ignoring the interruption, the ninja master continued. "I knew that the day we would outgrow our home would come eventually, so I have been scouring the sewers for a more suitable lair."
That instantly grabbed everyone's attention. Donatello started to fidget anxiously at his father's side.
"A few weeks ago, I finally found a space worthy of serving as our new home. I had wanted to surprise you all together, but I required Donatello's help with the modifications necessary for us to live there comfortably," Splinter said.
"It's our Christmas present for you guys!" blurted out Donnie excitedly, unable to hold his tongue any longer. The past few weeks had been practically unbearable for the young turtle.
"So, we're moving?" said a wide eyed Leo.
"Wow!" cried Mikey, "This is so awesome! What's it like? Is it big? Does it have a TV?" He gasped as his eyes grew to the size of small saucers. "...does it have a refrigerator?"
"It has a huge refrigerator!" began Donnie, "And a TV and video games and a dojo and proper plumbing -"
"A dojo!?"
"Video games!?"
Leo and Raph shouted at the same time, their mouths hanging open. Their father smiled at his sons' enthusiasm, but he calmly placed a hand on Donatello's shoulder, cutting the young turtle off. He looked up at his father curiously.
"Perhaps we should let them discover it for themselves," Splinter said.
Mikey had instantly jumped to his feet. "Yes! Oh can we, can we!? Can we leave right now? Oh no, I gotta get my toys and my -"
"Do not fret, Michelangelo," said Master Splinter. He handed each of his sons one of the boxes that had been sitting next to him. "Now, each of you should go and put your belongings into your boxes. Once you are all packed, we will leave for our new home."
The four turtles scrambled to their feet, each grabbing a box and sprinting for the bedroom, knocking one another out of the way in an attempt to fit through the doorway. Splinter smiled and shook his head as he watched his sons eagerly grabbing their few possessions. Mikey continued to chatter excitedly.
"What kind of video games, Donnie? Do they have aliens and spaceships and stuff? Oh, can't forget my two headed robot! Bzzzzz! In the box you go! You know what would be awesome? A tire swing! I saw one in a movie the other day, and it looked like so much fun!"
The youngest turtle rambled on as his box began to fill. Being of the sort who found something interesting in just about everything, Michelangelo by far had the most stuff, though the majority of it was small knickknacks and toys. Donatello, on the other hand, was filling his box with books he'd either found or received from Master Splinter, most of which were far beyond the reading levels of an average 6 year old. He had already moved most of his tools and projects to their new home, which was ultimately for the best as his box of books was not only full but heavy. Leonardo also had a few books, though they were much more age appropriate. Additionally he had his own small collection of trinkets, most of which was memorabilia from a show called Space Heroes. They had a mere two episodes on VHS, but the young turtle was enamored with it all the same.
Raphael, on the other hand, only had a few possessions of his own. He had a couple of toy cars and a small well used drum with sticks, as well as a few other odds and ends, but his box still had some room at the top by the time he was finished. He glanced over at Mikey's which was practically spilling over. He smirked as his youngest brother stuck his tongue out in concentration, trying to force his box to close.
"Don't forget your pillows," said Donnie. Grabbing his own and throwing it on top of his box, he groaned as he picked up his things and slowly walked back to the common area.
"Oh no!" cried Mikey suddenly. "Leo, do you have any extra room!?"
"Sorry, Mikey," he said with a shrug, "What'd you miss?"
The forlorn turtle held up the small radio. Though the volume had been turned down, it was still quietly playing Christmas songs.
"...all I want for Christmas is you..."
With the volume low and the excitement of their move, the fight that had broken out earlier over the little device had been almost completely forgotten. But Raph's eyes narrowed as the cheery tune could once again be heard now that Mikey had stopped babbling. Noticing his brother's change in mood, the youngest turtle gulped and quickly turned it off.
Putting his pillow on top of his stuff, Leo picked up his box. "Why don't you just put it on top of your pillow? I'm sure it'll be fine." With that, he went to join his brother and sensei in the common room.
Mikey looked dejectedly at his overflowing box. There was no way it would fit inside, and he couldn't help but think that it would fall off his mountainous heap and land in some sewer water on their way to the new lair. He had at last decided to see if Master Splinter could carry it for him when a large green hand reached out and grabbed it.
"Hey!" cried Mikey fearfully.
"Relax, you dork," grumbled Raph as he reopened his box and added it to the top, "I'm not gonna break it. You already shut it off anyway." As he once again closed the cardboard flaps and went to grab his pillow, he suddenly found himself in a tight hug.
"Thanks, Raph!" said Mikey, the bright smile back on the young turtle's face.
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, suddenly self-conscious, "just get offa me."
Michelangelo let go and scurried to pick up his belongings. He cheerfully trotted out the door, humming to himself. Raphael followed close behind.
Turning to his approaching brothers, Leo noticed the missing device. "Where's the radio? Don't tell me you managed to squeeze it in with your stuff."
Mikey grinned happily. "Raph got it for me - ow!" The young turtle nearly tripped as he felt a swift kick to his calf. He turned to glare at Raph who was calmly looking in the opposite direction.
"Are the four of you all ready to leave?" asked Splinter. He had in his own arms the small table they had been sitting at not long ago.
"Hai, Sensei!" they responded as one, eager to see their new home.
"Good. Now, on this journey we must be quiet. Stay close to me, and keep an eye on each other. Be on alert for humans, and, most importantly," the large rat looked directly at Mikey who smiled sheepishly, "don't wander off."
With one last gaze upon their old lair, Master Splinter turned, leading his sons out into the nearest sewer tunnel and toward their new home.
A/N: Critics and grammar nazis appreciated! Also, apologies for the Christmas fic in spring - thought of it in December, but didn't have time to write it.