A/n: My exams aren't over yet but what kind of TMNT fan would I be if I didn't write anything for the Mutation Day? Even if I'm a day late(thanks to my annoying younger brothers, I swear they are too lucky that they're cute or they'd be dead meat by now).
That aside, Happy Mutation Day, TMNT!
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The Best Gift
A light tickling on his snout, the feel of a soft feather disturbed his sleep and he moaned, his face scrunching up.
"Mikeyyy..." The voice of his immediately elder brother whispered, "Wake up, Mikey."
"Noo..." He groaned and turned away from the feather, rolling on his plastron before he was pulled from the world of consciousness once again.
He was not even fully asleep yet when he heard voices talking and footsteps coming his way. A hand laid on his shell and the peaceful comfort he felt from it was relaxing him further into slumber... until the owner of the hand spoke up.
"C'mon, lil' bro. Time to wake up."
"Jus' five more minutes, mommy." He mumbled without opening his eyes and heard a snicker come from the doorway.
"Mommy?" The voice sounded highly amused as it drew nearer, "Good one, Mikey. That totally suits this motherhen over here."
"Shut up, Raph."
"Hey, it's true y'know."
"Sorry, Leo, but I'm siding with Raph and Mikey on this one."
"Guys, focus. Waking our brother for this special day, remember?"
Special day? What special day? Meh, he'll wonder later. Right now, pepperoni and jellybean pizza slices were calling him.
"Oh right!" By the tone of his voice, Raphael didn't sound like someone who had just recalled what he was supposed to be doing, "Well, I'm pretty sure Mommy Leo can handle that."
The agitated glare pointed his way was completely ignored and Raph continued grinning at his elder brother. Resigned, Leonardo sighed and turned back to his youngest brother.
"Michelangelo," he called the sleeping, drooling, orange-masked turtle and patted his shell, "Wake up. It's Mutation Day."
The last two words had memories rushing back to him and he immediatly bolted up like he wasn't asleep at all, startling his unsuspecting brothers.
"Happy Mutation Day, Bros!" He cheered and hugged the turtle closest to him, who turned out to be Leonardo.
"Agh! Uh... Mike," The blue-masked ninja wheezed, "I can't breathe."
Mikey let go of Leo and jumped out of bed, squeezing Donnie in a hug before he released him and turned to Raph, doing the same with him.
"This is gonna be the best day ever!" He exclaimed and skipped out of the room, humming some unknown tone and leaving three confused brothers staring at the doorway.
"What just happened?" Raph asked no one in particular and the others only shrugged in response before they all left the room.
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"Ugghh..." Raphael and Michelangelo leaned over the table while holding their stomachs, so full that they couldn't even move. Overeating could be blamed on the food, though. The Irresistible, Delicious, Glorious food.
Infact, to say that breakfast was delicious would be an understatement; Mikey had gone out of his way to cook the most delicious meal he could for his brothers. Pancakes with chocolate syrup were loved by all but they weren't the only things he cooked, which resulted in a table full of various dishes. Now, everyone was wondering if there was enough space in the fridge for everything.
Deciding that they had to move at some point, the other two turtles reluctantly got up and began to clean the table, somehow coming up with a solution to store everything in the fridge, Mikey didn't know how. They were smart and strategic, probably used their brains for that.
"You guys can handle the dishes?" Leo asked his unmoving brothers while placing a bowl full of sandwiches in the fridge- wait, bowl? The sandwiches were placed on a tray.
Raph waved his hand with his head still on the table, signaling that they could leave and not noticing what Mikey had noticed.
Leo closed the fridge door and shared a look with Donnie before heading out. The genius placed the plates in the sink and followed him outside.
"C'mon, Knucklehead." Raph got up after a while, hefting the youngest up with his arm, "Let's get this done and then we'll go bring the others."
"Hey, Raph?" Mikey asked his brother as he helped him with the dishes, "What gift have you got for me?"
"Nice try, Mikey. I'm not gonna tell."
Mikey wilted with a whimper, "But I'm your cute baby brother. You can't even tell me what my gift is?"
"Nope."
"Hmmph."
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"I have all of Mikey's favourite songs downloaded in this sound system," Donnie pointed at a collection of speakers as he pressed a few buttons on the miniature projector he was holding, "The lightnings and special effects are almost ready as well."
"That's great. Mikey is gonna love it." Leo's voice sounded from the other side of the lab, hidden behind the ShellRaiser where he was attaching strings to the the various decorations he had made.
As the sensei, Leo had taken it upon himself to arrange and host the party, leaving Mikey and Raph to invite everyone and Donnie to help him prepare the surprise he had planned for the youngest.
"Who do you think would be the King of Presents this year?" He wondered outloud about the annual tradition they had made up when they were younger. The turtle who would give the best gifts was crowned the King of Presents and all four of them had won the title more than once. Suffice to say, it was a very fun tradition.
"I don't know, Leo." Donnie shrugged, "Raph maybe?"
Leonardo heard the voices of his other two brothers talking as they were leaving to get the others and he froze, signaling Donnie to quiet down.
After a while he relaxed and stood up, hurrying towards the lab doors. He slid one open a crack and peered out, staring at the empty lair.
"The coast is clear."
Donatello nodded and grabbed two speakers while his elder brother opened the doors the rest of the way. They both moved everything into the pit and set to work on setting it all up.
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"Raaaaaaaph!"
Michelangelo called out in the darkness of the sewers. It had been quite a while since his hotheaded brother mysteriously disappeared and after searching for his lost brother for nearly half hour, Mikey was beginning to think that he wasn't lost at all and had purposefully ditched him. The second-eldest hadn't even answered his texts yet.
Feeling tired and angry, he huffed in annoyance and trudged back to the lair, thinking that Raph could find his way back by himself if he wanted; they all knew the layout of the sewers. And besides, Leo's gift still needed to be wrapped.
He was halfway to the lair when his T-phone dinged with a text message from Raph.
Back at the lair. Brought the others with me too.
Another text came just as he finished reading the previous one, this one from Leo.
Hurry home, Mikey. We're all waiting for you.
So his meanie, red-masked brother had ditched him. That meanie. With another huff and an angry pout, Mikey stomped back home.
After a mile or so, he paused, his face scrunching up in confusion at hearing the distant sound of music which seemed to be coming from the direction of his home, "What the?"
He followed the rhythmic beat and sure enough, it lead straight towards the lair. Not being able to hold back his curiousity for much longer, Mikey ran inside and jumped over the turnstiles, startling to a stop as a bunch of balloons suddenly popped above him, showering him with a barrage of colourful paper squares and strips.
"HAPPY MUTATION DAY!"
He looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the lair decorated with glittery cardboard pizzas, blue, orange, red and purple tinsels, lots of balloons, colorful laser lights and projections, and a long table with numerous snacks and drinks placed on it.
The music was blaring with his favourite songs and there was a tall tower of pizza boxes placed to the side, he could smell the cheesy aroma of those pizzas all the way from the entrance. Everyone was wearing party hats with pictures of pizzas on them while grinning at his surprised face.
Leo appeared next to him, draping an arm over his shoulders.
"Happy Mutation Day, Mikey." He said with an amused smile, "I hope you liked my gift."
"You... did all of this?" Mikey's voice was just above a whisper as he stared ahead at the Pizza themed disco party, the wall projections and laser lights making images of everything he likes(skateboards, cats, pizzas etc) and the music of his choice playing with lights changing in beat. Casey, April, Karai, Shinigami and the Mutanimals, everyone was there. Ice Cream Kitty was sitting in a huge bowl of ice, meowing and dancing as Chompy chirped from his perch over the television.
"I had a little help but yeah, most of it."
A huge grin split over Mikey's face and he tackled his eldest brother in another squeezing hug.
"YOU'RE THE BEST!" He squealed and jumped up, flipping and landing into the pit with a loud whoop.
"Let's get this party started!"
Raph chuckled, "Sure, Knucklehead. But first," he started and grabbed Mikey in a headlock, picking up a party hat from the side, "you gotta look the part."
He put the hat on Mikey's head before releasing the youngest, "Now let's get this party started."
Mikey let out another excited whoop, high-threeing his red-masked brother.
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"So?"
"It's a tanto blade." Leo stated with a deadpanned tone. More than half of his gifts ended up being blades of one sort or another.
Karai grinned, "Uh huh. Do you like it?"
"That's the same thing you gave me last year. And the year before that."
"I know, right? Teasing you is really satisfying."
Raph held back a grin as he fumbled with the dumbells Slash got for him, "Is it wrong that I agree with her, Fearless?"
Leonardo took a deep breath and slowly let it out, resisting the urge to rise to the bait. His two best friends had made a weird habit of teaming up just to annoy him.
"Yup. Definitely satisfying."
The eldest turtle half heartedly glared at his sister who wouldn't stop smirking.
"You're getting these blades back as gift on your own birthday."
Before Karai could answer, a loud gong sounded throughout the lair, halting all activity and Donnie stepped forth into the pit, holding the gong and a small metal staff. Chompy pressed a button on the remote next to him and the music stopped.
"I, Hamato Donatello, hereby announce that the time has come to open the gifts. May the contest began!"
He handed the gong to Casey who kept wondering where that thing even came from and all four brothers disappeared in the blink of an eye before they quickly assembled in the pit, each carrying three packages, besides Leo who held two.
"What is going on? Haven't they already opened their gifts?" Mondo asked Slash who was sitting beside him. The turquise turtle shushed him and explained in a whisper.
"It's the ceremony. They only opened our gifts, not the ones from each other and it's only reserved for the four of them. The brother who gives best gifts is crowned the King of Presents."
"Wow. Cool."
Leonardo placed his packages to the side and sat down, "Alright, Donnie. You were the King of Presents last year. You start."
Donnie picked up a thin package wrapped in blue paper and presented it to his eldest brother, "Here, Leo. I couldn't think of making anything electronic for you so..."
He took the slim but slightly heavy package and carefully opened the wrapper, revealing a brand new, hard cover book. He read the title, blinked and read it again before a soft smile appeared on his face, "I've been wanting to read this for months. Where did you find it, Dee?"
The purple-masked turtle shrugged, a barely contained smirk betraying his satisfaction as he handed out the other two packages to Mikey and Raph. Both ripped theirs open without a second thought.
"OMG! A HOVER BOARD!" Mikey completely forgot about the rules of ceremony and stood up, placing the orange and black hoverboard on the floor to try and balance on it.
"Mikey."
"Uhh... right." He sat back down at hearing the stern command, his expression becoming sheepish, "Gifts should be tried after the ceremony."
Leo nodded approvingly and turned to Raph who was staring at a small screen in confusion, "What did you get?"
"A screen of some sort. Don't know for sure."
"It's a progress scale, Raph." Donnie explained the function of his invention, "It will measure the force and amount of your punches when you beat up that punching dummy you love and hate so much."
Raph rolled his eyes and placed the screen to the side as everyone laughed.
"My turn!" Leo excitedly picked the presents he had brought and gave them to their recipients, "Mikey, you already got yours."
Mikey nodded and bounced in place, waiting for his brothers to open their presents. Why were they taking so long, again?
Raph was just sitting there and Donnie was taking a good amount of time finding each tape and slowly peeling it off and-
"Ahh, forget it." Mikey snatched the wrapped box from Donnie's hands, ignoring his shout of protest. He ripped the paper open to reveal a cardboard box and handed it back to Donnie.
"Now open it and don't take an hour doing it."
"You could've just asked me to hurry, you know."
"Where's the fun in that?"
"You're insufferable."
"Uh, Donnie?" Raph spoke with a hand under his chin and looking bored out of his mind, "Hurry up."
Donnie opened the box and beamed at seeing a bluish-grey coffee mug having drawings of microscope, test tubes, atomic particle and conical flasks drawn on it.
"Just don't use it too much. I still want you to sleep at some point."
"Sure, Leo. Thanks."
"Dawww! You got him a new cup for his coffee." Mikey observed the simple yet meaningful design, "It's adorable."
Leo smiled and turned to Raph expectantly. The hothead shrugged and began to remove the gift wrap from his larger gift.
"Holy Chalupa..." He whispered with wide eyes and grabbed one of the many small jars of acrylic paint, observing the mahogany color before placing it back and picking up an angled brush, running his finger over the pointed tip.
"Leo... I... how..."
The eldest chuckled at his reaction and placed the brush back in the art kit, "You can make as many paintings as you want now. Just make one of all of us too."
"You dork!" He punched his brother's shoulder with a laugh, "How did you know I wanted to paint these days?"
A shrug was his only response and he sent another light punch to Leo's shoulder.
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"Why do you insist that it should be my turn? You love going before us."
"Mmmm?" Mikey hummed distractedly before he turned to face them, "I wanna save the best for the last."
"And what makes you think that you're gifts are gonna end up being the best?"
"I got those ninja vibes, bro."
"Ugghh, fine." Raph pushed his face away and handed him a large, oddly shaped object, "There, happy?"
Mikey opened the wrap to reveal a fluffy cat plushie.
"Awww. Thankyou, Waphie."
Raphael was giving his other two brothers their gifts when he heard that.
"Don't call me that!"
Ignoring the quarrel, Donnie opened his box and grinned as he saw a set of assorted screw-divers he'd been needing for months.
"Hey, these could really help me with some of the projects."
"Raph, is this a meditation mat?" He let go of Mikey and looked down at the navy colored rug his brother was fingering.
"Yeah. Ya didn't have one in your room so I thought it will do."
Raph's tone might have been nonchalant but his brothers saw right through the facade. This mat was handwoven, and it had the hothead's signature style all over it.
Leo looked at Mikey's plush cat and at Donnie's screw-divers set before gazing down at the soft mat he was holding and he grinned at the red-clad turtle.
"You're a huge softie."
"Shut up."
"Hey, it's true y'know."
Raph let out an exasperated sigh, "Leo?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
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"Gotta hand it to you, Mikey. You really did save the best for the last."
Leo smiled as he watched his other two brothers testing their gifts, a telescope which Donnie wished for when he was six and never found the same one again and a portfolio book for Raph, containing every single one of the drawings he had ever made since he discovered his artistic talent. How Mikey found those lost and scattered pages was a mystery but he somehow did.
"You haven't opened yours yet." He pointed out to his eldest brother, waiting expectantly as Leo complied and unwrapped his present.
Everyone watched with baited breath as Leonardo opened the box and took out the object inside it, their faces falling in confusion and disappointment to see a childish toy gun with LED lights and sound effects.
A toy gun... for a very skilled warrior and leader of the Hamato Clan. It didn't make any sense to the others that Mikey would give his elder brother such a gift. It seemed-
"Oh My God! Captain Ryan's epic plasma blaster from Season 3! Mikey, I freakin' Love you!"
Leo had the biggest, dorkiest smile ever as he possed one way then another while shooting at imaginary foes, totally oblivious of the fact that everyone was there and watching him incredulously.
"This is the best thing ever!" He pressed the trigger once again, turning on the shooting and buzzing sound effects, "The sound is 100 percent accurate according to the episode and it even releases that purple beam!"
His actions brought amused smiles to the other three turtles' faces who shook their heads at his nonstop fanboying.
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"As the brothers have decided, a single turtle is choosen as The King of Presents." Leonardo spoke in a formal tone, his face too serious to be serious, eyes betraying that he was enjoying this too much.
He could sense that almost all their friends were eavesdropping from outside the dojo doors but he didn't say a word.
Reaching out, Leo grabbed a golden, cardboard crown from a pillow Raphael was holding up and stared ahead.
"Hamato Michelangelo, step forth."
The youngest did as told and bowed his head for the crown to be placed on top, barely holding himself back from bouncing in excitement.
"You are this year's King of Presents." Next Leo grabbed a plastic, toy staff from the pillow Donnie was holding and presented it to the King who took it with a beaming smile.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty."
Then all three kneeled before the crowned turtle, much to everybody's amusement.
"All hail king Mikey!"
"What would be your first command, Your Majesty?" Raph asked, still on one knee.
"I hereby demand this party be turned into an epic pizza party." Mikey ordered, wearing his king costume and holding a scepter, looking too much like the Little Mikey they had protected from those neutrinos.
"Your Majesty, this already is a pizza party."
"Oh." He paused at Donnie's statement then shrugged, "Then I hereby demand that the pizzas be brought."
"As you wish, your highness." His subjects chorused before standing back up to follow his orders.
When boxes upon boxes of pizza arrived, he grabbed one from the top and snapped his fingers, "Raphael, feed me."
The second-eldest subtly let out an annoyed sigh as Leo and Donnie held back their snickers.
"As you command, your Majesty."
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After the totally epic pizza party and dinner, all the guests had gone home.
The four turtles just finished cleaning up the place before they all collapsed in the pit. Or rather, Mikey played and goofed around while giving out orders as his subjects cleaned up the place and he collapsed with them in the pit.
"Mikey, You can remove your crown now."
Mikey had the most fun out of everyone, which made sense because he was a fun loving turtle and King for the day. He had ordered to play many ridiculous yet enjoyable games, like food race, which Leatherhead won to everyone's astonishment.
"But I like it..." A yawn escaped Mikey and Leo moved beside him, taking the cardboard crown off his head. He threw it in a box of decorations a few feet away and it landed with perfect accuarcy.
"There. You're already getting sleepy. You don't want it digging into your skin."
"Hey guys, you know what the best gift I've ever got is?" Mikey asked out of the blue, his eyes still closed and the others watched him curiously for a whole minute before Raph broke the silence.
"What?"
"Having you three as my big brothers."
A fond smile appeared on each of the turtle's face and they shared a silent nod before flanking him on every side, deciding that they'll sleep in a pile tonight.
"You guys are the best big brothers in the world. I couldn't ask for anything more."
"And your'e the sweetest, the most adorable baby brother ever." Leo said and reached over to rub Mikey's head, receiving a giggle from his freckled brother as Mikey leaned into the touch.
"Honestly, Mikey." Donnie also joined in, draping an arm over the youngest turtle from behind, "You're something special. We couldn't have asked for anything more either."
"Really?"
"Yeah... We love ya, lil' Mikey." Raph plopped down on the other side and pulled his brother in a side hug, bringing a beaming smile to the youngest's face.
Mikey sighed in content as he was surrounded by all his brothers and felt sleep taking over him.
"...Love you, bros." He managed to mumble out before he dozed off with soft snores, his big brothers there to hold him and watch over him as he fell into a world of fun-filled dreams.
The best of gifts for a young ninja turtle.
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A/n: I hope you enjoyed. The last scene and Mikey's coronation were supposed to be much longer than they are but very little time was left. I might fix these two later on.
And exams mean that I couldn't put my entire attention on the story right know. Don't worry though, they'll be over soon and then I'll be back to writing all the fluff and fun with a pinch of angst.