A/N: Hello all! Be sure to read the full summary if you please.

Extended Summary:

Leonardo (23) has taken over the Hamato Dojo his father's death.

Raphael (22) is working for a construction company while also struggling with...feeling.

Donatello (22) is a prodigy of the New York City College.

Michelangelo (20) is an impressive skateboarder and thrill-seeker who trusts maybe a little too much.

No matter their differences, they all have something in common:

1) They will always be there for each other.

2) They are each working toward an ultimately fulfilling life... whether they realize it or not.

Human AU. Little sister!Mikey. Eventual Raphael/Casey.

A/N: Okay, hope you enjoy!

... ... ...

Finding Perfect

Prologue

Donatello cleared his throat a couple of times.

His fingers tapped along the keys of the laptop before his head dove back down to look at scattered written notes. The black mug sporting a white periodic table held coffee that had settled to room temperature.

Donatello rolled his eyes up to the ceiling a few times.

His eyeballs felt like sandpaper every time he blinked. His teeth felt fuzzy from all of the coffee he had consumed as well as the lack of current dental hygiene.

But he had no time for oral hygiene or eye drops. He needed to continue studying for the Forensic Biology final he had in a couple of days.

Don vigorously and shortly shook his head before clearing his throat a couple more times and diving back into his notes.

"Don?"

Said boy turned his head to see his burly older brother walk into the kitchen wearing grey and navy PJ pants and a white tank top. His hair was a bit bedraggled and tired, but a quick touch-up to his short braids would remedy that no problem at all.

"Did you sleep at all?" Raph asked with his thick Brooklyn accent.

Donatello had to bite back a snide remark. The only reason he had pulled this all-nighter was because Raph and Mikey had convinced him to go to a party two days prior. Their friend Mondo was a very well-off friend of theirs who owned skate shops nationwide. Every year, Mondo would throw a raging party at his spacious apartment. He would even get permission to host on the rooftop of the apartment complex. It was always a blast, and the Hamatos were always invited, and they always attended. This year, however, Donatello was nervous about this particular final exam since it was out of his normal study domain.

Michelangelo was not having any of it though.

"Don! We always go to Mondo's party!" Mikey exclaimed, flabbergasted that her immediate older brother would even think about missing it.

"I'm sorry, Mike, but I need to study for this exam," Don replied, unphased by his sister's sudden dismay.

"You don't need to study. Come on, what's the worst that could happen? You get a B instead of an A?"

Donatello narrowed his eyes and said matter-of-factly, "No, I could get a C."

Mikey put a hand to her chest in mock bewilderment. "Oh...oh goodness, gracious. No..."

Donatello rolled his eyes in response. He loved his little sister. He really truly did, so much. But she sometimes just did not understand responsibility. It made him worry for her future and how she would make it as a successful adult.

"What're you yahoos talkin' 'bout?" Raphael asked, walking into the kitchen and straight for the refrigerator.

Mikey immediately rounded on Raph, "Don says he's not going to Mondo's party!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the guilty brother.

Raph, who had been bending down to look in the fridge, immediately straightened up.

"What? You have to, Don. We always go."

"But-"

"Don't be a dork. You're going."

There was a small pause before Don tried again.

"But I just-"

"No way, nerd-i-tron. You're going," was Raph's rebuttal.

And just like that, Mikey got Raph on her side and they convinced him to go.

"There's coffee if you want some," Don replied with instead.

"Did anyone get half-and-half yesterday?" Raph yawned.

"Nope."

"Then I'll pass."

Raphael always drank his coffee with half-and-half, claiming the skim milk Leonardo and Donnie insisted on buying just didn't cut it. So Raphael stuck with a breakfast that could feed two people instead of one. Three egg and ham croissant sandwiches with a behemoth-sized glass of orange juice. The only other being they knew that could eat like Raph was their friend Casey Jones; another muscular guy, though less beefy than Raphael.

Raphael eyed Donnie a bit while eating. Every minute or so his younger brother would roll his eyes toward the ceiling a few times, clear his throat, or shake his head.

"You okay, Don?" Raph asked suddenly, startling Donatello from his focus.

"Mm," he nodded.

"'Sure?"

"Yeah. Why?" Don asked, looking back down at his notes.

Donatello's obsessive tics had gotten worse since their father had passed. The stress of it all overwhelming him to the point of the actions being nearly non-stop. Leonardo had made it a point to basically order him into upping his medication. It pained them all to see their brother fall victim to his disorder. That, combined with the stress of studying for his exam was making it act up even more.

Raph didn't want Don to realize why he was asking. His little brother had always been rather self conscious of the tics. And all thanks to some bullies in high school, Donatello felt ashamed of something he couldn't control.

And it made Raphael sick with anger.

So angry in fact that when he found out it was happening he took on three of them at once right in the middle of the school hallway.

So, not wanting Don to feel self conscious, he just went with:

"Jus' checkin'."

Once finished with his breakfast, he put his plate and cup on the left side of the double sink and went back to his bedroom. He wrinkled his nose as he pulled the navy and retroflective coveralls off the hook by his bed. He desperately needed to wash the article of clothing that night.

Walking through the kitchen toward the front door, he spared one more glance at his hard-working, sleep deprived brother.

"Later, nerd," he called over his shoulder.

In response, Donatello waved over his own shoulder without looking up.


A couple of hours after the front door shut behind Raph, Donnie had showered, brushed the coffee scum off his teeth, and put on a plum-colored quarter sleeve v-neck to pair with dark jeans. He was pleased that the class he was a TA for was only holding exams that day rather than the typical lectures, which he so did not have the energy for.

Passing by Leo's room, proved what he was already expecting: empty. The shower turning on proving where the eldest was.

Of course, Michelangelo's room showed no sign of consciousness. The curly-haired twenty-year-old was still snoozing soundly.

The door to her bedroom was open a crack and Donatello could hear the soft music she had fallen asleep to emitting from the large desktop speakers.

"'Cause he gets up in the morning,

And he goes to work at nine,

And he comes back home at five-thirty,

Gets the same train every time.

'Cause his world is built round punctuality,

It never fails."

Donatello couldn't help but hum along to The Kinks song as he continued walking down the hallway and out the front door.


Once Leo got out of the shower, he went about making a pot of coffee for himself and Mikey. He didn't miss the eraser dust, chewed pens, and scrapped notebook paper left on the counter. He sighed in exasperation

No doubt Don had pulled an all-nighter.

"'Cause he's oh, so good,

And he's oh, so fine,

And he's oh, so healthy,

In his body and his mind."

Leonardo hummed the tune as he lightly padded into his little sister's bedroom. He pressed the power button on the stereo system, cutting off the music immediately. He gently, yet solidly, shook her shoulder.

"Mikey…Mike-a-roo. Time to wake up," he coaxed.

Mikey mumbled pathetically into her pillow in response and Leo rolled his eyes.

"Come on, imouto. It's Monday."

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were Mikey's days to help him out in the dojo. He would train with Leo beforehand, then afterward help him coach the students.

"Hair…s'wet. Get off…" Mikey mumbled into the pillow.

Leo grinned at that, letting out a breathy laugh. Sure enough, his freshly showered hair was leaving drips of water on Mikey's shoulder.

"Come on. Up," he chanted while lightly slapping her in the small of her back. "Up, up, up."

"Okay, okay," she whined groggily, sitting up. "Up, up. I'm up, up. You…annoying."

Leo ruffled the mop of curls on her head roughly, earning him a sleepy growl in response, before heading back toward the kitchen.

"Don't make me come back in here!" he called over his shoulder.

Mikey groaned tiredly and fell back into the pillow in a dramatic fashion.


... ... ...

A/N: This is also available on AO3 btw.