It was dark, already past half nine, and parks just didn't look as inviting at this time of night. Still, this was where you had been asked to meet up, so you had gone along with it. After all, it wasn't every day you met up with the guy you'd been crushing on for months. You probably would have met him at a back alley if he'd asked. Well, maybe not quite.
Still, as you anxiously smoothed down your jeans, you checked the time for what must have been the tenth time in as many minutes. You had barely sat down on the little park bench and already your hands were sweating despite the chilly air, heart racing a mile a minute. Maybe you shouldn't have eaten just before you left, queasiness settling in your stomach.
Wind rushed past you, ruffling your hair and crawling down your spine. Shivering, you pulled your hoodie closer to your body. Still, the breeze penetrated the fabric, freezing your arms. The trees surrounding the park swayed gently, branches creaking.
Glancing down at the phone clutched in your hands, the blue shine of the screen was the only source of light. Your clock blinked ten thirty-nine.
Donnie was late. And your nerves had had enough.
You had met up with online friends before, so this was no big deal. Still, as you sat on the wooden bench in the deserted park, you wondered if maybe this was a bad idea.
Just as you were about to give up and go home, rustling caught your attention.
Head whipping around your hand immediately went to your pocket for the box cutter hanging from your keyring. A precaution, just in case. As your heart skipped in your chest you realised you really didn't want to have to use it. "Who's there?" Your voice shook, uneasy.
It was impossible to see through the thick foliage but you swore you saw a shadow move. An incredibly broad, strangely tall shadow. But the voice that answered you was sweet and shy as they replied, "[Y/N]?"
"That's me," you reply, lips pulled into a frown. Was this Donnie? He was acting awfully strange, hiding in the trees like that. Your heart stuttered, anxiety rising. "So you must be Donnie?"
"That's me." You heard dead leaves rustle as he shifted awkwardly, though still you couldn't see anything but thick trees and darkness. "Sorry I'm late."
Shoulders relaxing, you slipped the box knife back into the depths of your pocket. "Thank God, I thought you were some creep or something." A sigh escaped your lips as you sat back on the bench - but then you shot back up. "Wait, why are you hiding? Maybe you are a creep pretending to be Donnie."
Again the shadows shifted, failing to form any kind of human shape. "I'm not, I promise! I'm just nervous." He fell silent, and for a moment the only noise was the breeze ruffling your clothes. Then, "I... haven't been entirely honest with you."
Eyebrows shot up, back immediately straightening as you searched the foliage for any sign of movement. "What do you mean?" That prickly feeling was beginning to nip at your skin, the feeling that something was wrong. "What have you been lying about?" In the park, with only the two of you, your voice sounded far too loud.
"Less lying and more... leaving out details. Pretty big details, actually." Another pause as Donnie sighed softly to himself and fell silent. He seemed to be thinking, but whatever was going on in his mind was a mystery.
"Donnie, I trust you. I know we've never met in person before but we've technically known each other almost an entire year. Whatever this is, isn't it better that I know?" Impatience and worry battled for dominance, leaving you with a vague, sick feeling in your gut. What was so important that he had to lie, and then hide himself from your view?
Eventually he huffed out a sigh. "It's easier just to show you. Just don't freak out okay? Please."
Absently your hand drifted back to the box cutter in your pocket. Asking you not to freak out meant there was a reason to, and now your pulse was hammering in your veins. Thankfully your voice only squeaked a little as you said, "then show me."
The shadows shifted, slowly peeling back as Donnie stepped out of the trees. First a hand, reaching out as if to reassure you, then a leg, and then the thick shadows fell away to reveal the man you had been friends with for so long.
He was a towering, six and a half foot turtle.
You shot up from your seat with such force your head spun, eyes wide. Then your body froze, completely refusing to move despite the hammering of your heart against your rib cage.
You stared, and he stared back, and then suddenly you collapsed back onto the creaky old park bench.
Anxiously he stepped back as if to slip back into the shadows, green skin melting into the foliage of the trees. "I'm sorry. This was a terrible idea and I didn't mean to scare you and now my brothers are going to kill me." He ducked his head, shoulders hunched, and it gave you the perfect view of some kind of weird, clunky tech balanced haphazardly on his shell.
Christ, he had a shell. You must have been going crazy.
Your hands shook as you reached out - though he was too far away to touch, and you were silently thankful for that - but your outstretched hand was enough for Donnie to pause. "Wait, don't leave yet." Your voice came out small and croaky, not the confident smoothness you had been aiming for. Wincing, you tried again. "Don't leave. I just... this is a lot, you know? I mean, you're a turtle. Tortoise? I don't even know."
A small smile curled at the edges of his lips, and his face was so inhuman but somehow you recognised every emotion flickering across his eyes. Fear, concern, embarrassment? Even with the darkness casting shadows across his face, he was sort of cute. In a weird, definitely alien kind of way.
Wait, was he an alien?
Donnie didn't speak - but he did slowly step toward you, more darkness melting away from him. He was so tall it almost hurt to crane your neck up, but that soft smile made it worthwhile.
"So this is why you didn't want to meet up, and why you've always done voice chat but never video?" Brushing down your jeans you stood up, but even with your feet planted firmly on the ground he towered above you. "I guess this explains a lot. You know, while raising about a million new questions."
A massive, three fingered hand rose as Donnie rubbed the back of his neck, nervous smile still lingering. "Yeah. I'll explain everything, it's the least you deserve since I hid this from you for so long. I'm just glad you didn't turn tail and run."
Your lips pull into a frown, heart skipping in your chest. He looked so lost, shoulders hunched as if he wanted to disappear and the urge to wrap him in your arms was almost unbearable. It was difficult to imagine this hulking green creature as one of your best friends; but at the same time you couldn't imagine Donnie looking like anything else. "I'm not going anywhere," you reassured gently, placing a hand against his arm. His skin was cold but not clammy like you had expected, a little rough but not unpleasant.
Wide eyes dropped down to your hand before slowly meeting yours and woah, they were such a striking shade of blue-grey even the thick tortoiseshell glasses couldn't hide them.
He shifted awkwardly under your gaze, almost retreating in on himself as he shied from your stare. "I must look pretty terrifying, huh?"
Oh. You really hadn't meant to stare but his eyes were so beautiful, and while you supposed his appearance should have scared you, all you could think about was how this was Donnie, and how long you had been looking forward to this. When you glanced up at him and saw the awkward little smile, the last drop of hesitance vanished. "Actually, I think you're damn handsome."
He flushed, skin turning an odd shade of purple and it was so cute you almost melted. He clasped his hands together, nervously tapping his fingers. "I'm not," he replied, head ducking to avoid her gaze, "but thank you."
Sighing gently, you took a step closer - just a little, to let him know it was okay. "I mean it. You look cool as hell, no doubt about it; but your handsome too." Plopping back down onto the park bench, you suppressed a shiver as the wind picked up. Really, it was too late to be out here - but now you understood why Donnie had asked to meet up somewhere quiet. Patting the seat beside you, you smiled gently. "Come sit beside me. No one will see you."
He did, perching on the end of the bench as far from you as possible. He was far too big for it, scooting forward to make room for his shell and... whatever weird stuff he was carrying around. When he smiled it was bashful and nervous, but oh so cute.
Okay, so finding out your internet crush was a giant talking turtle definitely hadn't diminished your attraction.
Your eyes danced away as you cleared your throat. "So uh, mind explaining how this happened." You waved a hand in Donnie's general direction, smiling to let him know everything was okay. There was a tiny part of you that was sure you were dreaming - but you shoved that thought down. This was too bizarre even for a dream.
His hand flew up to to rub the back of his head, something he seemed to do a lot. "Well it's kind of a long story, actually. We were an experiment, my brothers and I. We were mutated from normal turtles to... this." His face seemed to scrunch into a frown, an odd look on a face so foreign - but his discomfort was obvious.
Brothers. It hit you then that there were more. All of them hidden from New York, probably alone save for each other. You couldn't even imagine it. You reached out to pull him in for a hug, short arms wrapping around his broad torso.
Your hand grazed his shell and Donnie froze - but then he leaned into your embrace with a small sigh. "This all went a lot better than I expected," he admitted with a tiny, nervous laugh, "so thanks for not being scared."
"Hey." Your reply was quiet, gentle, as you curled a hand over his. "You've been my friend for a year, and it feels like way longer - I'm not going to abandon you. Though I think this is going to take a while to sink in." Absently your thumb traced circles over the palm of his hand. Three fingers held in yours felt odd - but not out of place. Actually, it was kind of nice; like they belonged there.
The two of you sat there for a moment, hand in hand, Donnie's shoulder resting gently against yours. The breeze rustled past but you no longer felt cold, even if Donnie's skin wasn't exactly warm to the touch.
Smiling, you cuddled up to his side, head nestled against his arm. When he glanced down, you swore another flush spread across his face. You felt butterflies tremble in your chest, flitting against your rib cage. When his eyes locked on yours, the feeling was too much. Your hands seemed to move on their own, reaching up to gently cup his face - and then your lips brushed against his.
They were colder than you expected, broader than your own and they didn't quite mesh but you melted into him. Your hand dropped down to tilt his chin -
Then your eyes shot open, realisation settling in and oh my God, you had just kissed him! Bolting upright you scooted across the bench, face flushing so red it must have been strikingly obvious even in the dark.
Donnie watched you with wide eyes, hand gently reaching to touch the corner of his mouth. A bemused smile graced his features. "What was that for?"
"Sorry! I shouldn't have done that. Or I should have at least asked but I've never been good at thinking things through." You felt your cheeks redden further, and it occurred to you that you must have looked like a tomato. Hiding your cheeks with your hands, you groaned quietly. Way to mess this up!
Then a hand gently brushed against your shoulder - hesitant to touch you even after you had just kissed him - and Donnie chuckled quietly. "Don't apologise. I kind of wanted to do the same thing but... well, I suppose I guessed you wouldn't want that." The hand withdrew, but when you looked up you saw Donnie hovering anxiously close. "I don't really know what to do." He ducked his head, glasses slipping from his nose and he hastily pushed them back up.
Laughter bubbled up from your throat, bursting from your lips as a high pitched, giggle muffled by your hand. "Sorry, that was just really cute. Ugh, what am I saying? This is so embarrassing!" Your hands quickly returned to your face and sure enough it was burning. You really hoped his mutation hadn't given him night vision or something.
When a bulky hand gently pried your own away you caught sight of Donnie's radiant smile. Man, you really hoped to see that grin more often. He was really something else - and not just because he was a mutant. It made a smile of your own slide across your lips. "Hey, this is all really unexpected and I'll be honest when I say I don't know what I'm doing - but I like you, have since we first met online and I'm going to assume you feel the same." A frown creased his forehead for barely a second, so fast you almost didn't notice as your eyes strained in the dark. "Goodness knows why you feel that way, but I'm glad."
"Hey, I already told you that you're handsome. And we have loads of stuff in common, that's already been proved. Is it so hard to believe I like you?"
Donnie just shrugged, a noncommittal action that told you everything you needed to know. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he muttered, so quiet you barely caught it.
"What?" you replied, brows creasing.
"Nothing." He waved a hand, face flushing like he hadn't meant to be heard. "I'm just glad you feel the same way I do. I was so worried you'd never want to see me again."
"Well, I do. Definitely." In another rare moment of bravery you leaned up, bumping your forehead against his. It send the butterflies in your chest crazy, but you figured maybe it wasn't such a terrible feeling after all. "So does this mean we can see each other again? And no, online doesn't count any more."
"Of course." Donnie's grin widened and it looked like he was on top of the world. "But it's getting late. Will you let me take you home?"
Quirking a brow, you nudged his shoulder gently. "As much as I'd love that, I think the people of New York might object."
"Did I say we were going to walk?" A little grin spread across his face as he nudged back, a little more forcefully, and took your hand in his. "We go by rooftop."
"Rooftop?" Your eyes widened, a hundred questions on the tip of your tongue but in a blur of motion he scooped you up, broad arms lifting you with ease.
"Rooftop," he confirmed with a laugh in his throat. "Hold on tight."