Disclaimer & Warnings:
I do not own the Turtles, as much as I would love to.
Eventual romantic pairings include 'turtlecest': OCxDonnie; LeoxRaph.
Rated T currently for mild language; later chapters will be rated M for adult content.
Summary:
Splinter brings home the daughter of his old friend to help cope with her mother's death. As she befriends each of the Turtles, they deal with their own awakening feelings for her... and possibly each other.
Chapter Eleven
Mikey met them halfway, close to bursting from excitement. Not giving Alex time to bid Donnie goodbye, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the library.
"I got some stuff together to show you!" he said eagerly, throwing the thick wooden door open. "Just watch where you step. We kinda throw everything in here."
"And I thought the lab was messy," Alex laughed, picking her way around towers of books and boxes.
"I know right?" He pointed to the back wall, and Alex gasped. "Do you like arcade games?"
"Hell yeah!" She grabbed his arm for support as she slid on a newspaper. "Is that Space Invaders?"
"Yeah! But it's not working right now," he said sadly. He instantly perked back up. "But Donnie said he could fix it!"
"Oh man, I hope he does soon. I love that game."
"I've been begging him for weeks," Mikey complained, twiddling the joystick lethargically. "Buuuut noooo, he had to finish his latest death ray or whatever it is."
"Electromagnetic Pulse generator," Alex supplied, but Mikey only shrugged. "Well, it's finished so maybe he'll have time now."
"Oh good!" He poked her with an elbow and winked at her. "You should tell him you like Space Invaders, I bet he'd fix it up fast then."
"Why?"
"Well, you know," Mikey said, grinning. "You being a girl and all."
Alex gave a small giggle. "You think that would make a difference?"
"Duh." He tilted his head at her. "Did he let you touch his death ray pulse magnifier thinggee?"
"It's a-," she stopped, laughing again. "Nevermind. Yes, he did."
"Then he definitely likes you," he nodded sagely.
"Hey, he appreciated the assistance." She poked him in the chest playfully. "You should work with him sometimes. It's fun!"
Mikey wrinkled his nose. "He doesn't like me touching his stuff. And your idea of fun is not mine. Now this is fun." He pulled a small box over and opened it. Alex could see two neat stacks of comics inside. "Do you read comics?"
"Not American ones," she said, crouching down to peer closer at the titles. "But I do read a lot of manga."
"Pffft. This is the real deal," Mikey said, reverently pulling the top comic off the stack.
"So you're into superheroes? That's interesting," she pondered.
"Why's that interesting?"
"Because you are one," she grinned, and he gave her one back, flexing his arms.
"Exactly!" He paused, his expression sobering. "At least, I hope we still are."
"What do you mean?" she frowned. "Of course you are."
He sat down beside her, squashing a half stack of magazines. "I dunno. We don't go out much anymore. I hate to say this but…" he looked around as if he was afraid of anyone else hearing, "…it's getting kinda boring without someone trying to conquer the world, or blowing it up, or steal the Sun, or something." He shifted uncomfortably. "I don't do bored. Ever." He sighed, looking crestfallen. "We used to go out on patrols every night, but the last month or so Master Splinter has wanted us at home mostly. Raph still goes out, of course, cause he likes getting in trouble."
"I wonder if it's because of my mother," Alex said sadly. "She had a car accident just like dad did, and her health went steadily downhill after that."
"Oh." He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "I'm really sorry to bring that up."
"You didn't, I did." She shrugged.
"I can understand if that's why he told us to stay home, but we really don't do well cooped up," he said gloomily. "I always do my best to keep things happy between us, but I'm wearing kinda thin." He looked up at her, blue eyes crinkled in a smile. "I'm sorry you're here for the reason you're here, but I'm really glad you're here."
"So am I," she said, giving him a grateful smile. "I have a feeling I'd be moping if I wasn't down here right now."
He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. He looked away.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"Master Splinter said you were pretty upset," he said softly. "He's worried about you."
"I think he worries too much."
"He has a reason for everything he does," Mikey said, shaking his head. "We all know that. So we're all worried for you."
"I'm going to be just fine," she said. She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Really."
"Of course you will," Mikey said, smiling again. "Cause we're gonna help."
"Help with what?"
"Y'know. Being happy again." He pushed a comic into her hands. "And you can start by reading the first issue of Bugman!"
"I'm more of a He-man type of gal," she said, sticking her tongue out at the weird figure on the cover.
"Okay, hold on!" He jumped to his feet and disappeared behind a tower of boxes, noisily rummaging around.
Alex casually flipped through the Bugman comic, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, this is definitely not my style," she added.
"Then this might be," Mikey said, cautiously walking back over with a new stack of comics. "I've got twenty-one He-Man comics, and four She-Ra."
"She-Ra!" Alex exclaimed happily. "I grew up loving those cartoons! I even have her action figure somewhere, along with her crystallized horse."
"Oh sweet, if you find 'em I'd like to see!" He carefully handed her the He-Man comics while taking the Bugman one back.
"Hey, these are in great condition," she praised, and he grinned.
"I might be clumsy sometimes, but I take great care of my babies," he sighed happily, hugging the box of comics near him.
"I'll take extra care with them. I haven't seen He-Man in ages, this will be so much fun to read!"
"This is so exciting! I can't get anyone to read my comics! Well, I think Raph sneaks them sometimes, but he won't admit he likes them. I dunno why."
"I don't know either. I like comics. It's the best of both worlds; great art and a good story."
Mikey pointed at her, laughing. "Yes! Yes yes yes!" He sat back down, eyeing her closely. "Okay, so, you gotta tell Donnie to fix Space Invaders. Like, ASAP."
"I will," she chuckled.
"Casey has Pac-Man right now, we let him borrow it. Hey, we can go up and introduce you guys soon."
"Who's he?" She opened the first He-Man, scanning it lazily.
"He's one of our best buds, and April's beau," he said. He began skimming the Bugman comic, grinning to himself.
"April? Oh, she's your reporter friend. Splinter-sama mentioned her."
"Yup, we've know her for ages. Hey, sometimes we go over for Friday dinner, we can call 'em up and ask. She usually works late on Fridays, and we like to bring the kids dinner."
"And we're going dumpster diving tonight, I think. Donnie wants to look around, and I could use the walk."
"Far out!" Mikey grinned. "This is gonna be great. No more stuck in a rut for us! I hope."
"Hey, so what do you want me to call you?" she asked, bringing her comic close to her face to look at something.
"Mike; Mikey; shell I don't care what as long as you read comics with me!"
"Well, if you're gonna twist my arm," she grinned back.
Mikey grabbed them each an old chair cushion and they sat together for another hour, chatting happily and pointing out high points in the story they were reading. Alex went through five of the He-Man comics before she finally stood, stretching and grimacing.
"Ouch, next time we read in real chairs," she complained, rubbing her knees.
"Oh man, I should start some lunch!" Mikey exclaimed, checking the crooked clock on the wall.
"Want some help?" she asked, bending down to grab the remaining He-Man comics to take with her.
"Sure! Wait," he said, making a face. "It's Raph's turn."
"His turn?" she said, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, I dunno what he wants to do with you though. We've already shown you the fun stuff around here, and he can't leave the lair for a week," he chortled.
"Why not? If I may ask."
"He's grounded cause he broke the TV," Mikey giggled. "He and Leo… Well, they get into a lot of fights."
"Hm," she just said. "I guess that's why he can't take me to the observatory point."
"Yeah. Poor guy. He gets angry easily, but then he calms down fairly quick too. But it's usually too late by then- something's broken, or he's punched someone, or he's said something he didn't mean to." He looked around as they reached the kitchen. "Come to think of it, I dunno where Raph even is."
"I'll show her," Leo said, waving from the couch. "He's in the garage."
"Oh, that makes sense. Guess I'll see you in a bit," Mikey said, giving her a sad frown.
"Oh gosh, Mikey, I won't be gone that long."
"But it's more fun to cook with someone!"
"No worries Mikey, I'll come back and keep you entertained," Leo added, giving his brother a smile, "as long as you keep me away from appliances."
Michelangelo perked up at that.
"This way," Leo said, offering her his arm yet again.
"You really don't have to do that," she said as they walked off together.
"Humour me," he smiled.
"I'm happy to."
[Author's Note]
Gotta love He-Man! And Cringer. God I love Cringer. :3