"Happy Mutation Day!" Donatello cheered, sitting down next to his brothers and setting a huge red and white box in the center of them.
"Happy Mutation Day!" they echoed. Mikey immediately reached for the box, but Raph promptly smacked his hand away.
"Not yet, Mikey!" Donnie hissed.
"Show some respect," Leo upbraided. "This is the best cake Master Shredder has ever let us have. Or at least that's what he said."
Raph frowned. "You mean you haven't seen it yet?"
"None of us have," Donnie explained, anxiously positioning and repositioning the box until it was just perfect. "But we're about to!"
"As long as Mikey doesn't devour the whole thing before that," Raph muttered with a pointed glance at the youngest.
Michelangelo cowered under the excessive criticism, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry already!"
"Alright, leave him alone now, guys," Leo interceded. "Let's just enjoy Mutation Day. After all, it only comes once a year."
"Like daylight savings time!" Mikey exclaimed, which earned him a cuff on the head from Raph.
Leo shifted into a kneeling position, so that he stood a little taller than his cross-legged brothers. "How old are we today, guys?"
"13!" they cheered.
"Exactly," the eldest turtle smirked.
"We're officially teenagers," Donnie announced informatively.
"Thank you for that report, Captain Obvious," Raph muttered.
"I'm just trying to set the mood," Donnie retorted defensively.
"Open the box! Open the box!" Mikey chanted.
"Alright, alright," Leo smiled, then turned to the second youngest. "Donnie, would you like to do the honors?"
Donatello grinned, feeling a fresh wave of joyful jitters crawl up his skin. "I'd love to." He glanced down at the perfect red and white rectangular prism before him and hesitated a while. The long seconds of suspense were to be cherished, he decided. Perhaps he got a little carried away with his "suspense," though, seeing as he soon became entrapped in a train of endless thought. He began to contemplate things ridiculously deeply - what were the philosophical implications of a cake this big? Cakes were like people...no two were exactly the same. And the chemicals in the icing, some of those could be found in his lab, no doubt-
"Wow, Donnie," Raph cut in sarcastically. "I'm having so much fun staring at this BOX."
Donnie turned a shade darker but commendably gave no other indication of embarrassment. He concluded that the best course of action would be to pretend his long silence had been a part of his "suspense." Yes.
He grabbed the corners of the box, and began gently, slowly lifting it upwards.
"Open the stupid box, Donnie!" Raph snarled, looking ready to bonk his brother on the head.
"I'm. Setting. The. MOOD!" Donatello snapped. "Have a little patience, will ya?!"
Raphael groaned and crossed his arms impatiently. "I hope this is the last time Leo trusts you with anything like this," he remarked with a pointed glance at the eldest.
"Leave it to Raph to find a way to blame me..." Leo mumbled innocently.
"Hey, it is your fault-"
"Cake!" Mikey whined, shaking his fists up and down like an overexcited child. "Caaaaaaaaake!"
Deciding that this was plenty of "suspense" to last a few weeks, Donnie finally, with one big flourish of movement, flipped open the box. Inside...sat the most beautiful cake that ever did exist.
Donatello approached Irma's fortress with Mikey trailing behind him. It was the same old warehouse he'd first found her in, conveniently located in a particularly secluded and quiet part of town.
What the heck am I doing? he asked himself. Taking my little brother to see the Purple Dragons? I must be insane! Leo is gonna kill me! Raph is gonna kill me! They're gonna overkill me! No...but...Irma wouldn't hurt Mikey, right? She knows I would never let her do that. She knows. It won't happen.
"Uhh...Donnie?" Mikey piped up nervously. "What are we doing here?"
Donatello looked back at his brother and gave him an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, Mikey. I shouldn't have brought you here." he put on a brave expression, and his eyes glinted determinedly. "We're going back." he grabbed Michelangelo's arm and started pulling him away from the warehouse. "I'm taking you home."
"Leaving already, Donnie?" came the bittersweet sound of Irma's voice as she materialized on the roof of the warehouse. "You haven't even introduced me to your brother yet!"
Don sucked a breath in through his teeth and spun around to face the leader of the Purple Dragons. "Oh, hi, Irma," he gave a timid wave. "This is my brother Mikey, and I promise I'll come back later, but I'm taking him home." he turned to leave again.
"Wait a second, D," Irma protested, in perfect unison with Mikey. Irma leaped off the roof of the warehouse to land next to the turtles. Michelangelo pulled his arm away from Donnie and frowned, "What's going on, Donnie? Who is she? She kinda looks like a..."
"Well, aren't you a cute little thing?" Irma commented, examining Mikey and smiling. "Not boy-cute like Donnie. You're more puppy-cute."
"...Purple Drag-" Mikey stopped. "Ehm, thanks?"
"We're. Going. Now!" Donnie hissed, nudging Mikey.
"But you said-"
"I know what I said!" Don snapped, his high-strung half beginning to emerge.
"Donnie," Irma said with a stern patience. "You promised me you would introduce me to your brothers. You promised. That was the deal. I show you my life, you show me yours."
"I know what I said!" Donnie repeated irritably, starting to panic. "But I...I can't. It's not right. Leo doesn't even know yet and-"
"Hey," Irma placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "Donnie. I promise, I won't harm any of your brothers. I won't hurt your family."
She seemed so incredibly sincere. And Donnie believed her.
But he still had enough common sense in him to give his little brother a say. D had begrudgingly accepted the fact that Michelangelo could sometimes sense things that the others could not. It was almost as though the youngest brother had some sort of sixth sense that could inform him of when someone seemed off. It didn't work 100% of the time, but either way, Mikey deserved to decide for himself.
"Okay, Irma," Don replied resignedly. "We'll both stay if Mikey wants to." his amber eyes flitted to his little brother momentarily.
Mikey paused, looking Irma up and down for a few moments. "She looks pretty chill, dude," he grinned. "Let's order pizza!"
"Order?" Irma's glasses flashed in the moonlight and her eyes gleamed in amusement. "Who needs to order? There are much more exciting ways to acquire pizza."
Dang it, Don winced. Leo will never trust me with anything after this.