Lucy

by Snirkish

Summary:

All Mikey had were delusions. Delusions that she could have been born human. Delusions that maybe her little crush would like her back. Or, shell, even just that she had been born a girl.

Or
Lucy finds herself stuck between brothers who love their brother and a boyfriend who loves his totally cis girlfriend.
...Yikes.

Chapter 1

So.

There was this guy that Mikey liked.

From afar , that is. Though human-mutant relations had calmed since the rocky beginning of mutant town, they weren’t exactly perfect. She didn’t trust them enough to get near. But she liked “people-watching,” as dad used to call it. 

But don’t get her wrong, she wasn’t crushing on the guy, no no. She was… Admiring. And there was a lot to admire, really! Strong career, a brilliant smile. Great hair and even more flattering jeans. 

…She felt like she should keep that last one to herself. 

It’s not like she had anyone to talk to about him anyway. Leo was always meditating, Raph was busy hanging with Casey, Donnie had his inventions, and April had her shop to run. All Mikey had were delusions. Delusions that she could have been born human. Or shell, even just that she had been born a girl. 

She liked to pretend sometimes. She had sweaters and hats and skirts that she kept hidden deep in her room, ones she had altered to fit her comfortably. There were nights when she would sneak out of the lair, human clothes taking the place of her gear. 

She would walk along rooftops. Not running, not hollering, not ninja-ing. Just… being; enjoying the brush of fabric against her legs with every movement; closing her eyes and sticking her arms out, guessing the steps she had taken a thousand times before; sighing into the wind that whipped the sound away from her, off somewhere where she didn’t have to hear it anymore. 

Sometimes, when it was cold enough(and she was feeling brave enough), Mikey would bundle up enough so that her skin was almost completely covered. And then she’d walk. But get this: on the sidewalks .

That’s right, your girl was a pro at this pretending biz. She was so good she could duck between figures undetected, practically invisible. Just another boring figure in another boring crowd. She’d even figured out that if she wore the right colors, people would think she was a girl. Her height helped. That led to being followed once or twice, but girl or not, she could handle herself. 

Once she returned home from one of these excursions, the spell would be over. The clock struck midnight and she had to drop her glass shoe, hoping that it wouldn’t shatter against concrete. That it would wait for her return.

Of course, she didn’t actually rush home the minute it turned midnight. Nope, she had perfected returning at a sort of limbo hour. The quiet that the lair possessed when Leo had gone to bed around 1 am and Donnie had begun his string of power naps. Raph didn’t get back until after sunrise, so he wasn’t even part of the equation. 

And then, just for them, she was their bratty little brother again.

But she was getting off-topic. Sensei used to say that she had the mind of a traveler; never in one place for more than a moment. 

Right now she was on the side of a building. 

“ Nanananananana,” Mikey whispered, tip-toeing along a ledge, shell pressed against the wall of a building several stories up. When she made it safely to the other side and jumped to the next rooftop over. She stuck her arms in the air, grinning. “ Bat-maaaaan!! ”

It was easier to pretend that she was a closeted superhero hiding her secret identity from loved ones to keep them safe. Easier than the real closet in which she resided. Easier than letting herself wonder if maybe she was just a liar. 

“Oh blinding neon sign, how I missed you,” Mikey murmured wistfully as she walked lightly, running her hand across the brightly-lit Albearto’s sign. It was placed too far back on the roof in error, making it difficult to see from the road. It felt like its glow was meant just for her, in that way. It lit up the night and her mood alike. 

She settled on her plastron on the edge of the building to peer over the side, resting her chin on her arms. It was moments like these that she was thankful for clothes. With a stupid smile on her face as always, she kicked her feet in the air behind her and waited. She was a little later than most nights, but she likely hadn’t missed it yet.

It was a little ritual of theirs, these windy rooftop nights. Well, a bit one-sided ritual. He’d definitely noticed the pattern by now, but there was no way that it meant as much to him as it did to her. Just another strange customer in his day of strange customers. 

Every Friday, she’d call in an order for a to-go pizza, and with every call, she’d get to hear his cheery voice. He was always so enthusiastic, too. 

Sure, maybe it was his job to be friendly. But she’d always been a pretender. 

Anyway, right, she’d gotten distracted again. 

She’d place her order of a large anchovy and olive pizza – which he had actually complimented the first time, accidentally starting this whole thing – to be delivered to the very roof she sat on. Which was his work’s roof but whatever, you get it. The first few times he’d been confused, climbing the ladder on the side and peering around, looking for someone. 

But Mikey was a ninja after all, and he never spotted her. Each time, he had shrugged and called out “Delivery!”, depositing the pizza box next to the top of the ladder and returning to work. 

The first time, he returned about an hour later to check that it had been taken. It had startled Mikey so badly that she didn’t come back for a few weeks. He didn’t check again after that. Not while she was still around, at least. 

Currently, they had built up enough of a rapport that he didn’t even climb the ladder all the way, somehow figuring out that she didn’t want to be seen. He simply stuck a hand high enough to slide the cardboard box onto the roof and call out in that stupidly adorable sing-song way he had developed over the months. 

So now she got to watch him leave the building, which was fucking awesome. It was pretty much the closest she’d gotten to him if you ignored that first time that he had nearly caught her. 

And right on time, the bell of the front door chimed, followed by upbeat humming. Mikey grinned as shaggy blonde hair came into view, bouncing with his steps. Once he rounded the corner into the alleyway, she rolled away from the ledge, waiting patiently by the ladder. 

“Delivery!” A tan hand popped into view to slide the pizza box closer to her. 

Forgetting herself, she returned his sing-song tone. “Thaaank you!” 

Mikey froze. It was silent. She could practically imagine him frozen on the ladder. But by the time he had clambered the few rungs high enough to peer over the edge, she was gone. He squinted around the empty rooftop before blinking harshly and shaking his head. 

She barely heard him mutter, “I gotta stop smoking at work, man,” before clambering back down the ladder. 

Mikey didn’t move from her hiding spot behind the neon sign for a long time. Her blood roared thunderously in her ears, a tidal wave of halting terror. Her heart itself pounded furiously against her plastron and she hardly dared to breathe. Thank you, turtle genes, for putting the need to breathe to the side. When she finally gulped in a deep breath of air again, she dropped from her perch, barely catching herself on shaking legs before sinking to the cold concrete. She cringed at the sweat that dripped off her snout, heaving for the breath her lungs now so viciously called for.

When she felt steady enough, she stumbled back to her feet and ran the whole way home. 

She didn’t even sing the Batman theme song. 

 

—

 

It took a long time to calm down once Mikey was home. In her hurry, she nearly ran into Donnie. While she was wearing clothes . It was like the world had decided to layer near-scares like a folded towel on top of her, smothering her. 

Once she’d stopped shaking and was no longer fighting the urge to cry, it took even longer to convince herself that everything was going to be fine. It was three weeks before she called Albearto’s again, hands trembling slightly. She nearly chickened out as it rang, the dull drones reminding her of a ticking clock. The other line beeped as it was answered. 

“Helloooo and welcome to Albearto’s, the most chaotically efficient pizza place in the city that never sleeps! May I take your order this fine evening?” 

Mikey tried to resist an audible sigh as the tension washed out of her. There was always something about his voice that did that. A balm on a wound. His cheesy catchphrase always made her smile too, because she knew an exponentially(that’s right, she knew big words) more chaotic place to grab a slice. She lived in it. 

Though maybe she couldn’t claim that it was more efficient. 

She cleared her throat before speaking. “Hi- uh, could I get my regular ooooof anchovies and olives on a large?” 

There was a beat of silence. “Oh, you’re anchovies girl! I haven’t heard from you in a while, I was starting to get worried.” Though his tone was light, it made Mikey’s heart skip a beat. Not to mention, girl? He continued like he hadn’t just said the most incredible thing Mikey had ever heard. “Hey, you left your pizza here last time.” 

She blinked. Ah, he was testing her. He was smarter than he pretended to be.

“Oh yeah- uhhh family emergency? Yeah, I didn’t even make it, sorry.” She winced at the obvious lie, face-palming. 

He seemed to know this too, because he chuckled on the other end. She barely heard it over the steam of the friers in the background. “Right, well I hope everything’s okay. Your pizza will be ready in half an hour. See you then?”

See you then. 

See you.

He sounded… hopeful. 

Mikey swallowed thickly. “Yeah. See you then.”

 

—

 

This was stupid. Everything Mikey did was stupid but this was like, REALLY stupid. 

She had gotten dressed up in her best outfit. Which was stupid. And pointless. But she did. It was a cream blouse with flowery embroidery and a long, loose skirt of a burnt orange. She giggled nervously at the thought that she looked a bit like an ice cream cone. 

Oh, if her father could see her now. 

She got there early and set to pacing. Okay Mikey, here’s the plan. He scoots up the pizza as always. He calls out. She says thank you in return and steps back so that when he inevitably looks, she won't seem so menacing. So he’ll have room to scream and run away. To scramble down the ladder and call the cops, get her banned from Albearto’s for life. 

Okay, maybe that last part was unlikely. She’d saved Albearto himself once when she was a kid. That’s how she’d gotten herself set up with this system. All she had to do was cite herself as “Albearto’s friend” and the employee on the other end knew what to do. 

But whatever, she was distracted again. The point was that she was going to give whatever this was a chance, watch it crash and burn, and finally just move on. 

Get over him. 

Easy peasy. 

“Woah.” 

Mikey was pulled out of her catastrophizing and into the real world by a breathless voice. She spun to find the blonde-headed boy, the object of her affection- no no, admiration , watching her with wide eyes, standing on the roof with the classic pizza box in his hands. 

Her own eyes widened, and her hands clenched the flowing fabric of her skirt. Her legs felt shaky. She didn’t move. She waited for his brain to catch up with what it was seeing and freak out, call her a freak. 

His voice broke around his words and he cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “I ah, I like your skirt.” 

Suddenly, her legs were weak for a very different reason. 

“Thanks.” She squeaked. 

“I have your order for you.” He said, holding it out in front of him. 

“Thanks.” She repeated dumbly, still unmoving. 

“...You uh, you gonna take it?” 

If possible, Mikey’s eyes widened further. “Oh, yeah, duh, of course .” She hurried forward to close the dozen-foot gap between them, taking the box from his hands. He seemed to relax at that, smiling slightly. 

“See you around?”

This couldn’t be real.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you.” 

“Neat.” He smiled wider. It was a goofy, relieved smile that made something inside of Mikey absolutely glow. “G’night.” He stepped back down the ladder, and then he was gone. 

Oh god.

This really was a crush. 

 

—

 

“You’re in an awfully cheery mood,” Raph said, eyeing Mikey from the countertop bar. 

“Am I?” She feigned ignorance, flipping another banana pancake. 

“For someone who looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks.” Her brother’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

He.

The word seared her like a hot branding iron. He, he, he.

“Am I that obvious?” He- she sent a sheepish grin over her shoulder at him. 

“Mhmm.” Raph hummed, sipping the smoothie Mikey had made him. “So what’s the deal, you got a girl keeping you up?”

Mikey’s next flip faltered and she dropped the half-raw pancake on the counter. “Raph!” She complained. 

Her brother sent her a wicked grin, chewing on his straw between his teeth. “She hot?”

“Raph.” This time it was Leo’s turn to scold him as he walked past to sit next to him. Mikey sighed and put blueberries into the next pancake, nudging the failure toward a very enthusiastic Klunk. “I am curious, though,” Leo added and Mikey gasped, pressing a hand against her chest. 

“Some fearless defender you are!” She pointed her spatula at the traitor. “I’m burning your pancake.” Leo laughed easily. He seemed to be doing better recently. Splinter’s death had taken more of a toll on him than the rest of them. But time heals all wounds or whatever. Renet would know.

“Surely you don’t think we haven’t noticed you’ve been sneaking out?” Leo asked, resting his cheek in his palm.

She had, actually. 

“He’s been sneaking out?” Raph blinked. He had a smoothie mustache from where he had abandoned his straw, making Mikey and Leo burst out laughing. He furrowed his brows and wiped it away. “Whatever. You gonna be a dork about her like Donnie is for Mona?”

“What’s this about Mona?” As if summoned by the mere mention of his partner, Donnie himself shuffled into the room, wrapped in a blanket. 

“Sup, bozo.” Raph snarked, letting his sleepy brother worm his way under his arm for cuddles. “I’d ask if Mona was the one keeping you up, but we all know you’re more in love with your gizmos.”

“‘Snot true.” He argued weakly. 

“Hah. Snot.” Mikey grinned, placing a plain pancake in front of Donnie for him to nibble on. 

There were a few more minutes of contented silence as his brothers worked on their pancakes and waking themselves up fully. Mikey wrapped up making her own meal. But the moment her plate hit the counter, stacked high with chocolate chip pancakes, the interrogation was back on. 

“So what’s her name?” Raph asked. 

Mikey used her best innocent-eyes act, tilting her head slightly to really sell it. “Who’s name?” 

“Oh, brother.” Raph’s eyes squinted again, fork glinting dangerously. “You ain’t stupid. C’mon, tell us about your girlfriend.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Mikey muttered, shoveling food into her mouth. 

“Well, whateva’ you wanna call her.” 

“Seriously Raph, there isn’t anyone.” 

“Then whaddaya do all night?”

“...Wander?”

“Bull.” 

“Raph, I think he’s serious,” Leo said from where he was inspecting their youngest intently. 

He, he, he.

“Can you all just mind your business?” She scowled, fighting to keep the frustration out of her voice. She failed. 

Leo and Raph glanced at each other, seemingly to have a conversation with their eyes. Donnie looked as asleep as ever, Raph practically fully supporting his weight at this point. Eventually, the red-banded brother grunted.

“Aight, I’ll drop it.” 

 

—

 

The next Friday that they saw each other was great. He asked her how she was and she actually managed to string a sentence together. 

About the weather.

The third Friday they spoke was even better. She asked his name and he said it was Woody. Short for Woodrow . What a stupidly adorable name for a stupidly adorable face with stupidly adorable stubble. 

The fourth Friday was possibly the best Friday. Their fingers brushed when he passed over the box. Mikey wished him goodnight and didn’t move for the next fifteen minutes, too afraid she’d combust, explode into stars, glimmer brighter than the city lights.

She was going out even more than before. In the daytime, too. Something about a human accepting her was emboldening and, for reasons beyond her, it brought her to mutant town. She discovered that she wasn’t well-known enough to be recognized, which was something she had feared in the past. It felt a bit silly now. She was just another oddly colored face in a town of misshapen people. It was through these open wanderings that she discovered there was eyeshadow that could be applied to scales. 

Woody complimented the pink sparkles she’d applied the next time they saw each other. His words spread through her like honey on skin, soft and unexpected, fearing the attack of the bee who created it. But no sting arrived. Her joy must have shown in the grin that she couldn’t stop, because the corners of his eyes wrinkled from his own smile. 

There was something about knowing that making her happy made him happy that made her happy. 

That didn’t make any sense. But none of this did anymore, so that didn’t really matter, now did it?

Talking to him was terrifying, and fulfilling, and longing, and warm, and bright, and a thousand other conflicting things that shouldn’t belong in the same sentence together. She used to think that people who had crushes were just being dramatic but it turned out that they really, really weren’t. There was just- just something about him. Something that took control of her in the gentlest way possible. Scarier than letting Raph drive, but gentle. 

“Alright, and could I get a name for the order?”

One Friday, Mikey faltered. He’d changed the pattern. The song and dance had shifted, leaving her stumbling for her next step, trying to keep from falling on her face. 

As far as she could tell, he truly thought she was a cis woman, her faux falsetto voice and appearance twisted by her mutation or something. Being named “Mikey” had the potential to shatter that precious illusion. When he’d offered his name and she hadn’t returned hers, he hadn’t pushed it. But it seemed now they’d reached the point where answers were owed. 

“Lucy.” Her voice flowed smoother than she’d ever heard it. “My name’s Lucy.” 

“Pretty.” 

She nearly dropped the phone.

—

He was there waiting for her. He never got there before her. 

Mikey– Lucy stood on the ledge of one of the side windows on the building behind Albeartos. It was a floor or two taller, so she was practically level with the restaurant’s roof. She stood there in those shadows, watching him, heart pounding. He was pacing a little bit, staring at the ground. It was good to know she wasn’t the only anxious one. 

She stepped over the gap between them. He looked up as she approached, smiling nervously. 

“Always thought you might live in one of those apartments.” He said, nodding to the building she was coming from. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that the reality was much less domestic. 

“Uh, yeah.” 

“Makes me wonder why you don’t just come and order your pizza yourself.” He laughed awkwardly, handing the box over. The joke didn’t land. 

“Yeah, well… Mutant.” Lucy scuffed her foot against the ground, wishing she could take the words back as his eyes widened. 

“Oh… oh! Yeah. Yeah, sorry.” He scratched at the beanie he had put on for the increasingly colder weather. It had a cute pom-pom on the top. 

“Well, I should-”

“Listen, um-” 

Their voices overlapped, two colliding tides. They both froze and looked at each other, wide-eyed. Lucy was half-turned to leave, and it seemed to make Woody panic. 

“Willyougoonadatewithme?” He blurted. 

Lucy’s jaw dropped open. She slapped a hand to her mouth, flushing. She had to have misheard him. “What?” She needed to have misheard him. 

“Would you like to go on a date? With me. To a movie. Jupiter Jim and the Space Squirrel Zoo Caper IV , specifically.” He was breathless, expression more vulnerable than she had seen it. Red, too. 

After a moment she shrieked, “YES! I mean-” She cleared her throat, blushing so furiously that she swore she could see steam rising around her. “I’d love to.” 

“Oh. Oh!” His brightest smile yet split his face, and he straightened. “O-okay! Uhm, when are you free?”

“Always.” 

He blinked, then chuckled. “Why don’t I just text you a few times the movie’s running and you can choose one?”

“S-sure!” Lucy’s shaking hands fumbled for her phone in her purse, nearly dropping the pizza. 

“Oh wow, haven’t seen this brand before,” Woody commented as he took the device when offered. 

“Yeah, my-”

Now Lucy had a decision to make here. Woody was… he was somewhere she could be someone else with. Literally every other aspect of her life – fighting crime, martial arts, her heritage, her friends, her family – tied her back to who she was supposed to be. To that name she’d decided tonight she never wanted to hear again. 

So maybe there was no guarantee that any one of these things alone would lead him to what she wanted so desperately to keep him from figuring out. 

But the chance was there. 

So she chose. 

She chose to be rid of her instinctual answer: “My brother is a tech genius who engineered his own type of phone not just because our fingers were too big and we had no money but because mutants weren’t discovered yet and by the way did I mention I have three brothers and we fight crime as an homage to our years as teenagers we spent battling for our lives against an evil clan of ninja out for our rat father’s blood because of a generations-old feud oh and also we’re reincarnated??”

And create a new one: “-friend owns a pawn shop. She lets me buy old stuff cheap.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Woody smiled as he typed her number into his phone. “She sounds cool. I’ll have to meet her sometime.” He glanced up sheepishly as he handed her phone back. “If- that’s okay?”

How could she deny him when he looked so hopeful?

“Yeahokaytotally.” She breathed out, feeling lightheaded under the weight of those blue puppy-dog eyes and the expectations they held. 

“Okay.” Woody beamed again, blinding her worse than the LED lights of the Albeartos sign to her left. “Okay then- then I’ll see you then.” He said, backing up to approach the ladder. 

“Yeah. Don’t trip.”

“I won't-” He stopped barely a step away from walking off the edge of the roof, peering over his shoulder. He yelped and hopped away from it. He blushed at Lucy when she pressed the back of her hand against a laugh. “G-get home safe. G’night.” He scurried down the ladder, expression absolutely mortified. 

Lucy waited as long as she could before breaking out into a cheer. Her face flushed when peals of Woody’s laughter bounced off of the alleyway below. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to find a text message from a contact that she knew definitely wasn’t her doing. 

Woody 🧡: That’s quite a voice you’ve got there.

She had to suppress another squeal.

Notes:

Words: 4037
Written: Idk January

Say hello on Tumblr!! @i-got-da-rubes

Oh also I made a playlist for the fic https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4izY3zdi7vdRV5hzoTfOxr?si=d2a7042f5c114889

Chapter 2

Summary:

Mutant Town date

Notes:

BRO WRITING ROMANCE IS HARD TF

“I’m not so sure about this.”

Lucy hummed, turning to look at her shell in the dress she’d borrowed from April. “Yeah, I don’t think blue suits my scales.”

“No- I mean yeah, you’re right. Try on the orange one next.” April swiveled in her rolling chair, watching Lucy’s outfit planning with an anxious furrow in her brow. “What I was trying to say was, I dunno about this whole date.” 

Lucy frowned, refusing to turn around and look at April as she changed into the next option. “I really don’t need someone to materialize my own anxieties, Apes.” 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” April whined. “I just- you play the roles of both Mikey and now Lucy so well that I just- I worry. Which you are you showing Woody?”

Lucy took a steadying breath. She turned to her friend. “The real me.” The human’s face softened. 

“Okay. Cmere, give me a spin.” 

Lucy twirled on her foot, the loose maxi dress swirling around her legs even once she had stopped. She grinned. “What do you think?” 

“I think I’m still not used to seeing you without your mask.” April shook her head. “But you look amazing.”

“It’s not too much?” Lucy asked, fisting the fabric. 

“You? Too much?” April grinned. “Never.” 

“Hey! I’m just enough!” Lucy shot back, smiling too now. 

April got quiet as Lucy fussed over the rest of her outfit, sneakers pushing against the ground and she rocked back and forth. “You tell the boys yet?”

Lucy snorted. “You kidding? They’d eat Woody alive.” 

“Yeah, probably. But Donnie’s got Mona, right? Maybe he’s got advice.”

“Yeah, a lecture, maybe.”

“Mikey-” Lucy winced, and April froze mid-movement. “I didn’t mean… that.”

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, taking steadying breaths. “Don’t you get it?” She whispered after an agonizing stretch of silence. “If I tell the guys, they think I’m gay. And then it doesn’t matter if I come out as Lucy or not, because either way, they’ll insist on meeting Woody. And if that happens, they’ll out me to him and I-” Her breath hitched. “I lose an opportunity I may never get again.” 

April looked miserable. Lucy ran her arm across her nose. 

“Can I take the dress home?” She asked. April nodded. “Thanks. See you.” 

“I’ll still see you for girls' night, right?” April’s voice made Lucy pause at the window. She smiled softly. 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

—

 

Woody and Lucy had texted a lot since he asked her out. Constantly, almost. They liked the same shows, the same comics. They had the same jokes and memes and it was just fun . Lucy and her brothers were mostly nocturnal, which meant that she could stay up and text Woody as late as he was awake or working. 

He had prompted her to sleep a few times, which made her feel something strange. 

… Cared for was probably the best way to put it. 

Anyways, she had shut that down by informing him of her non-human sleep schedule. He hadn’t responded for a while after that, but finally agreed not to hassle her about it. It occurred to Lucy for very much not the first time that they had very different life experiences. 

Her eyes widened, and she sat up in bed. Several of her Pokemon plushies went flying. She stared urgently at her screen, face awash in blue light against the dark room. She pulled up the movie theater that Woody had suggested on Google. She scrolled through the very family-friendly website until she reached the dreaded “ We do not serve mutants. ” at the bottom. 

She groaned and pressed the edge of her phone against her forehead. God, what could she even do about this?

She resisted the urge to sniffle and looked up whatever theater was nearby the original. Her anxieties grew after theater after theater wore anti-mutant labels. She chewed on her nail. It seemed Woody lived in a much more segregated area than he may realize. 

Lucy sighed and laid back on her bed, staring at the star-dotted ceiling. She’d known coming into this that it probably wouldn’t work out. That didn’t make it much less disappointing. 

She laid on her side and turned her phone back on. She stared anxiously at her DMs with Woody. Her eyes fixated on that- that blinking line that indicated where the text should go. She didn’t know what it was called. 

Hey, can we-

She deleted it. 

About our date.

Delete. 

You know how I’m a mutant?

Mega delete. 

She growled and put her phone down in favor of thrashing around in the blankets for a while. She brought her pillow to her face and screamed into it. 

This was so- She punched the pillow. Fucking- Kicked it. FRUSTRATING! She threw it across the room. 

She panted, even though she could hardly call that exertion. She pressed her palms into her eyes, fighting the heat rising to them. It had only been two days since she and Woody had exchanged numbers, but they had been some of the best of her life. 

She sniffled, picking her phone up again. She didn’t want to ghost him, didn’t want to go to a human theater(in all honesty, she was too spooked now), or make different plans either.

Lucy scratched her neck. She didn’t want to act like they weren’t different. That she wasn’t different. That was the whole point of whatever this was: to be herself. He’d realize that eventually, that maybe she was too different, that she came with a whole culture that he couldn’t begin to understand. 

Maybe it was better to show him that. She’d rather he left sooner, instead of dragging this train wreck out. 

She started writing without thinking too hard about it. 

You: Hey, none of the theaters near you would let me in. Why don’t we get tickets to Mesmer-Ron’s on 212th Street?

Lucy put down the phone for the night, walking across the room to retrieve her pillow. Everyone in the city knew 212th Street. It was where Hob had set off the mutation bomb. It was a long street, but most of it now ran through the heart of Mutant Town. 

He’d know what that would come with. 

She heaved another long sigh, curling around her pillow and pulling the blanket back over herself. She’d given him the opportunity to back out.

Now all there was to do was wait. 

—

Woody 🧡: Sounds good to me. I’ll pay.

Lucy had woken up to this insane message at around 4 pm. Woody had sent it when he’d woken up at 8. 

She stared at it for fifteen minutes. Waiting for it to make sense, willing it to make sense. Because it didn’t, it just plain didn’t. What kind of guy would walk into what is essentially enemy territory? She shook her head. Maybe he didn’t get it. 

You: Are you sure? Everyone there will hate you. 

His response didn’t take too long to come through. 

Woody 🧡: I’m a stoner who has to walk through office buildings to deliver pizza like, two times a month. I’ll live. 

Lucy couldn’t resist an incredulous laugh. Leo would probably hate that she had found a frat-looking guy to fall head over heels for. 

You: Okay sounds great!! There’s a showing at 2 pm on Sunday

You: There’s this great crafts market on Sunday that we could visit after the movie

Woody 🧡: Awesome! I love crafts

You: Me too!

You: I actually made or repurposed most of my clothes

Woody 🧡: What!

Woody 🧡: No way, they look professional 

Lucy felt heat rising to her cheeks again. She began pacing around her room.

You: You think so?

Woody 🧡: Yeah, totally! 

Woody 🧡: Like, you-could-sell-them level

Woody 🧡: You should get your own stand at the crafts market tbh

Lucy squinted at her phone. In her absent wanderings, her feet guided her out of her room. 

You: Tbh?

Woody 🧡: To be honest

Lucy bit back a grin, skirting around Leo sitting on a chair in the living room. She didn’t even notice the curious stare he offered her as she speed-paced around him several times. 

You: Oh!! Thanks so much!

Woody 🧡: Of course 🙂

“Mike?” 

Lucy let out a high-pitched scream when she looked up and was eye-to-eye with Raph. He raised an eyebrow, looking bewildered. 

“Th’ fuck are you doing?” 

“Texting!” Mikey squeaked. “Gay- gaming! Just. Y’know. Games. Mhm.” 

“Is it that girl again?”

Mikey’s smile fell. “It told you, there is no girl.” She muttered, lowering her phone. 

“Then who’s got you smiling like that?” 

Mikey tilted her head. “Did you just quote a TikTok audio?”

Raph scowled and crossed his scarred arms. “No.”

“He definitely did,” Donnie commented from the coffee machine. He must have broken the one in his lab again. 

“Did not!” Raph growled, storming over to glare Donnie down. 

Donnie looked down at Raph, unfazed. “My girlfriend is taller than you.” He said flatly. 

“Ugh!” Raph threw his hands up. “What is with you guys and girls !?”

“Raph?” Leo asked. He calmly took a sip of his tea from his seat. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

Raph’s head whipped to glare at Leo. Mikey could almost swear that he was blushing. “No!”

“Are you sure? You’ve been spending an awful amount of time with Casey.” The eldest continued. 

Raph’s face contorted. He stomped over to Leo and jabbed a finger to his chest. “Our friendship ain't none of your business, got it?” 

Leo took another sip of his tea as Raph stomped off loudly. Donnie rolled his eyes. “What a drama queen.” He muttered. 

“I AIN’T NO QUEEN!” Raph yelled, slamming his bedroom door shut. 

Mikey stood there, clutching her phone, frozen in place. 

Raph was gay. They all knew it. He was about as subtle as a rock slide. The way Casey looked at him certainly didn’t help the straight-macho-man image he was so desperate to protect. 

But if they couldn’t even have a civil talk about something they all already knew, what hope was there for Mikey? For Lucy ? 

He had to protect her. She couldn’t be exposed to this. To- to being treated like a hard conversation. She shouldn’t be a hard conversation. 

Mikey whimpered and spun on his foot, trotting anxiously back to his room. Leo and Donnie didn’t seem to notice. He shut the door behind himself and jumped into his bed. He realized his phone was still in his hands and unlocked it. Woody had texted her again seven minutes ago. 

Woody 🧡: Boss says I’ll be in trouble if I don’t get off my phone. See you Sunday! 😉

Mikey pulled in a breath. Lucy let it out. 

She was going to be okay.

 

—

 

They agreed to meet at Albearto’s. On the ground this time. Lucy supposed it was for the best, she didn’t want to ruin the dress she’d borrowed from April. 

Or give Woody just one more reminder that she wasn’t normal.

She shook that thought from her head, hurrying along the street. Truth be told, not being covered up while walking down a human sidewalk was rather nerve-wracking. She had worn leggings, and the dress had sleeves, yeah. But her entire head was exposed, the day too warm to justify a hat. Her shell, too, was pretty obviously not just a backpack. 

She clutched the strap of her purse as she hurried along. When she reached Albearto’s, she was already pretty worn out. 

Glances. All she had gotten was glances.

She could hardly believe it.

Woody was waiting outside, looking pretty anxious himself. One of his hands was shoved in his jeans pocket, the other tugging at a tuft of hair. He looked like he’d actually… brushed it back.

Which, yeah, okay. Lucy had low standards, she knew that. 

But could you blame a girl? That tousled, just-rolled-out-of-bed look called to her. 

She suddenly felt overdressed. 

Right as she was about to spin on her heel and abandon this inevitable plane-crash-worthy mistake, he looked up and spotted her. And god, he fucking smiled. No, he beamed . Lucy immediately felt like the temperature around them had risen by ten degrees. But fucking- how could he look at her like that? How could he look at her like that ?

She blinked out of her stupor as he approached, clearing her throat. She really hoped all her voice training over the years would save her from too many voice cracks of embarrassment. 

“Hey!” Woody greeted, giving a little wave. 

“Hi.” Lucy squeaked. CURSE HER MALE WINDPIPES. 

Woody only chuckled. “I like your makeup. It’s like a sunset.”

Lucy had the strong urge to raise her hand and touch her eyeshadow, if only to remind herself it was really there, he was really seeing something about her that he liked. “Um. Thanks. I like your… you.” FUCK.

Woody looked a little confused, but his smile didn’t waver. “Should we get going?”

“Oh! Yes! I’ll lead the way.” Lucy thanked whatever deity was up there that she hadn’t made an enemy of for the opportunity to move on.

Woody nodded and fell in step beside her as she began walking. She noticed he had to slow down his longer-legged gait to keep from passing her. She took a little offense to that. 

“So do you live around here?” Woody started.

“Yup!” Lucy chirped. “What about you?” 

“Pretty close. A bit east.” 

“An easy commute, then.” Lucy smiled awkwardly. 

“Mhm. What about you? You come around so often I have to assume you’re pretty close too.”

Lucy kicked a loose pebble, and he seemed to realize for the first time she wasn’t wearing shoes. She was glad he didn’t say anything. “Pretty close. Opposite direction, though.” 

“Where you from?” 

“Brooklyn. You?”

“Jersey.” 

Lucy made a noise of disgust without thinking.

Woody laughed openly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. New Yorkers hate New Jersey.”

“Sorry,” Lucy said, looking up at him a bit sheepishly. 

“You’re good.” Woody smiled down at her. “It’s funny.”

As they walked, the buildings around them shifted. Typical grimy city streets became just a little bit more so, more windows were boarded up and doors chained. Graffiti was increasingly aggressive. Targeted toward mutants, specifically. When they were only about a block away from the Mutant Town checkpoint, Woody stopped to stare at one.

“Woody?” Lucy frowned at him and walked over to read it. “Ah.”

It read: “Go back home!!” in angry, spiky letters. 

Lucy snorted. “That one’s dumb. All the mutants are literally native New Yorkers, or people that were visiting and aren’t allowed to leave anymore.” Woody didn’t answer. “What?”

“I just-” Woody shifted his weight, looking off-put. “I didn’t really realize that people were still so nasty about mutants.”

Lucy just looked at him, at a little bit of a loss. “Well… if it makes you feel better, it’s at least a few years old. Look, it’s chipping.”

Woody looked at it and smiled sadly at Lucy. “Thanks.”

“C’mon, we’re almost there.” Lucy jerked her head and he nodded. 

The checkpoint was easy, for the most part. Mutants were allowed in and out freely at this point, so they didn’t really need identification so long as they didn’t hide their faces. Which was good, because Lucy had absolutely zero identification papers. She should probably be a little more worried about the fact that she wasn’t a legal citizen, but that was a problem for future Lucy. 

Woody was going to have a harder time. 

The checkpoint guard was a crane mutant, and he narrowed his eyes the moment he saw Woody in line. When Lucy approached, they fist-bumped. She’d frequented this checkpoint in the past couple of weeks that she’d been exploring Mutant Town, so she knew the security dudes here. 

“This asshole with you, Lucy?” The crane asked. Woody looked a bit taken aback. 

“Terryyyyy.” Lucy whined, face heating. “Don’t be rude.”

“Just sayin’ you could do better,” Terry muttered, unclipping the rope to let her through. 

“I wouldn’t call you much better, Terry.” The cat mutant stationed at the exit line looked over her shoulder, smiling mischievously. 

“I didn’t mean me, Riley!” Terry’s feathers fluffed up in embarrassment. He turned to Woody, still scowling. “Driver’s license or other identification, please.”

“What?” Woody blinked. “But you let her-”

“You're human. I have to pat you down, too. Sorry, it’s just policy.” Terry didn’t look sorry at all. Woody looked to Lucy for help, but she just shrugged in a do what he says sort of way. He presented his ID and suffered through the pat-down, looking uncomfortable. “Alright, you’re good to go.” Terry unclipped the rope again, looking disappointed that he didn’t find an excuse to send Woody back.

“What was that about?” Woody asked her when they were far enough into Mutant Town to not be overheard by Terry. It wasn’t very difficult, considering how crowded their little “gated community” was.

“You’re human,” Lucy said nonchalantly. 

“Why do you guys keep saying that?” Woody asked, jumping when a giant gorilla mutant with a sour expression brushed past him. 

“Well, 90% of the terrorist attacks in Mutant Town come from humans, soooo.” Lucy shrugged again. 

“I’m sorry, did you say terrorist attacks ??” Woody grabbed Lucy’s arm gently to make her stop walking and look at him. He searched her face. “Lucy, are we in danger?” 

She plastered on her best smile and winked. “Don’t worry, I can protect us. Besides, they’ve gone down like, a ton since they instated the ‘search every human for sharp or explosive objects’ rule.”

Woody still didn’t look very happy. “If you say so.” He dropped her arm, and she missed the warmth of his hand on her skin. 

“Now c’mon, the previews are going to start soon!” Lucy bounced a little. “Are you ready for an hour and a half of action-packed space adventure??”

That made him crack a smile. “Yeah, totally.”

—

The movie was fine. Watching the movie next to Woody was awesome . They kept leaning over and whispering theories to each other, escalating in volume so much that the guy sitting behind them flicked Woody’s head to get them to quiet down. Woody looked like he was going to argue before he saw the hippo mutant was twice his size. The cowed look on his face made Lucy laugh harder than any part of the movie did. 

Once the movie was over, the date just got better. Turned out Woody had been serious about wanting to visit the crafts market. It was less of a proper market and more of a wide alleyway with a row of stalls set up a couple of times a week. 

Lucy pulled Woody from stall to stall, making him try on various hats or putting earrings up to his ears. When she bemoaned her lack of outer ears, he smiled and jokingly suggested he could get his own pierced for her to play a sort of dress-up with. 

That made something in her chest skitter about. 

Most of the sellers gave Woody dirty or mistrusting looks. Lucy could tell he was sweating, but he took it all in stride, smiling and complimenting them. That seemed to help at least a bit. In the end, they didn’t buy too much. Woody got a scarf knitted from a sheep mutant’s fur, and Lucy got a matching beanie. 

Yellow and orange. 

Lucy couldn’t help but grin the whole walk back to Albeartos. She reached out for Woody’s hand and amazingly, he didn’t pull away. They chatted and joked and laughed and it all just felt so wonderfully natural. 

But all good things must come to an end. They reached Albeartos and Woody stood to look at her, not dropping her hand. He wore a gentle smile. 

“Can I walk you home?” He asked.

“Nah, I’ll be okay.” 

“You sure? It’s getting kind of dark.” He glanced up at the sky.

“I’m sure,” Lucy smirked. “I’ve been taking self-defense classes since I was five. If anything, I should be walking you home.” She flexed her free arm playfully.

He chuckled, face tinted a little pink. “I did notice you were pretty ripped, but wow, that’s intense.”

Lucy giggled awkwardly. She rubbed her neck. “I guess we gotta head home.” 

“Mhm. Hey, uh-” Woody cleared his throat. “Could we go out again sometime?” 

Lucy broke into a grin. “I’d love to.” 

Woody looked relieved. “Okay! Okay, great. We’ll keep in touch?” 

“Totally.” 

Woody beamed, squeezing her hand quickly before leaning down to kiss her sweetly on the cheek. He froze before he had straightened his back fully, so they were face to face. They both bloomed red.

“Uh. Was that okay?” He whispered. 

“More than okay,” Lucy whispered, itching to reach up and touch her cheek where his lips had grazed her scales. 

“Cool.” Woody squeaked. “Um- see you!” 

He finally released her hand, waving as he walked backward away. Eventually, he turned to walk normally, his grin never leaving. 

As Lucy approached the sewer cover that led to her home, she knew the spell was over. It was time to remove the glass shoe and end her fairytale’s illusion. Except. For the first time, she didn’t drop it hastily like a criminal caught in the act, or Cinderella fleeing the ball. 

She slipped it off her foot and placed it gently on the concrete.

Notes:

Let it be said that I love Raph and I am not villainizing him for No Reason.

Started in fuckinnnn January and finished 4/29/24.
Words: 3578

Chapter 3

Summary:

“You don’t make sense.”

"Where would be the fun in that?"

Notes:

Hello my name is Markiplier and welcome back

Their dates continued. Coffee shops, libraries, museum exhibits. All mostly in Mutant Town. They found themselves settling into a routine of texting every day and getting chatty when Woody delivered her Friday pizza to her on the rooftop. To the point that he’d gotten reprimanded by his manager for disappearing for too long. When Woody recounted this, he hadn’t looked remorseful at all. 

It made something in Lucy flutter.

They’d also kissed. A good amount. Nothing crazy, mind you. Lucy made it clear from the beginning that this was her first relationship, and she wanted to take her time wading into it. 

Her lack of experience in the romance department seemed to surprise him, which she supposed was a little flattering? Like, he seemed to think she was this gorgeous person that surely other people would be tripping over themselves to be with. 

As if. 

She had gotten off track again. Point was, kissing was nice. It set her insides on fire and reminded her that Woody actually wanted her, every mutant piece of her. 

Well, the parts he thought she had. 

Lucy was pulled out of her musings by Woody’s voice. She looked at him across the diner’s table, which had fries and various sauces scattered across it.

“What was that?” 

“I asked what it was like to be a mutant.”

Lucy choked on her soda, barely able to stop herself from spitting it out as she broke into a coughing fit. Woody looked alarmed and handed her some napkins. 

“I-I’m sorry. Was that rude?”

Lucy shook her head as she regained her breath. “No, no! Just unexpected.” 

Woody fidgeted a bit in his seat. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked-”

“No no no, really it’s okay!” Lucy waved her hands. “Just- lemme see how to put this.” Woody nodded and returned to his burger as she gathered her thoughts. 

Finally, she looked at him again. “You know how everyone in Mutant Town looks at you like you’re trash?”

“I… guess.” He looked a bit miffed, but whatever.

“It’s like that. It’s knowing you can't trust anyone or take anything they say at face value. It’s always being on your toes because you’re not sure who you’ll piss off just by existing.” She rubbed her temple. “But it’s also different than your Run-Of-The-Mill human discrimination. Racism between humans can be disputed because there's no real physical difference other than the color of one’s skin. But mutants, we- we have different bone structures, extra or missing limbs, we have wings or tails.” She curled her big hands around her soda, staring dully down at them. 

“And the people who claim the queer community is ‘unnatural’ can also be fought back by citing how many different kinds of animals experience same-sex relationships or g-gender switches.” She swallowed. “But we aren’t natural, not in the slightest. We shouldn’t exist. We’re animals to them. Incapable of true human thought.”

She opened her palm and smiled fondly at it. “But when you get past that, it’s also… beautiful? You think humans are diverse? Hah! That’s nothing compared to us. We’re an ever-changing collage of scraps glued together and pulled apart, creating whatever shapes we want. Being a mutant is all of us feeling the same thrum of mutagen in our veins. It’s being able to jump higher and run farther than any human, it’s doing things no one thought possible. It’s… me.”

She looked up, and he was watching her. Her face flushed. “God, sorry, that was really corny.” She occupied herself in slurping loudly from her straw, staring at the table. 

“So?” Woody shrugged. “Nothing wrong with corny. My favorite movie is The Princess Bride.”

“No way, I love that one!”

“Yeah?” He smiled. “Anyway, I liked your speech.”

Lucy spluttered. “I wouldn’t call it a speech , per se.”

Woody’s smile didn’t waver. “Whatever you wanna call it, it was nice. I don’t think I’ve really ever understood just how under attack you guys were before I started to get to know you.”

Lucy fidgeted with her straw. “...That was actually a concern of mine for a while.” She admitted. “My…mutantness.”

He tilted his head. “Why?”

Lucy’s face burned, and she glanced around the fast-food restaurant before looking back at Woody. She put her hands in her lap, leaning toward him. “ Look at me , Woods.” She hissed. 

He blinked. “I am.”

“I-” How was he so dense?? “I’m a- a-” Boy. She huffed in frustration. “I’m a turtle. Who would want that?”

Woody looked concerned now. He put his food down and stretched his hand across the table. Lucy obliged and put her hand in his. 

“I do.” 

Lucy stared at him, at a loss for words. She felt the gears turning in her head; turning and turning and turning and getting nowhere. Because it didn’t make sense. He just didn’t make sense. She shook her head.

“You don’t make sense.” 

He grinned, using his free hand to take a sip of his drink. Lucy watched as his Adams apple bobbed and wondered if he found her own attractive, or if it was just something to ignore. “Where would be the fun in that?” He waggled his brows.

Lucy snorted a laugh, bringing her hand to her mouth as she did. 

“I like the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh. It’s cute.” He narrowed his eyes. “...Nose?”

“Snout.” She corrected, hoping the heat of his words didn’t shine too brightly through her eyes. 

“Snout.” He repeated. “Cute.”

They wrapped up their meal with more light banter. When they reached the counter, Lucy insisted on paying. She didn’t have much, but she didn’t want to leech, either. He always protested but eventually gave in. 

It was chilly out. They could see their breath as they walked in the dark. Lucy blinked as Woody’s hand slipped into her pocket, curling around her hand. She glanced at him, but he was still looking ahead. A strangely serious expression possessed his features. 

“I mean it, by the way.” He began.

Lucy swallowed, her grip slightly tightening on his.

“I like-like you. Every bit of you. I like that you’re a mutant. I like that we’re different. That you have so much to teach me. And that maybe- maybe I can give you a sense of normalcy.” His eyes darted to her and back again, tongue briefly touching his chapped lips. His breath was shaky. “I just. Want you to know that. I want this to be the kind of relationship where we’re honest with each other.” He cleared his throat and again Lucy watched his Adam's apple. She was struck with the desire to touch it. 

“Honest, huh?” She echoed absently. 

“Not that you have to tell me anything,” Woody said hurriedly. “I just mean-”

“I practice ninjutsu.” She said abruptly. 

Woody’s gait stumbled for a moment. He looked down at her, mouth dropped open in surprise. She shrugged. 

“Like… competitively?” 

“Hmm, nah. They probably wouldn’t let me in. Mutagen advantage and all that. But I’ve been training in it since I was… really small. And I have a habit of running into bad people, so I’ve seen my fair share of scrapes and bad crowds. I get to use it, I mean.”

Woody was watching her, expression inscrutable. “You are so badass.”

A laugh of surprise escaped Lucy. “You think so?” 

“Totally.”

They fell into silence as Lucy rolled that idea around in her head. Badass. Raph’s brute force was badass. Leo’s leadership was badass. Donnie’s tech, April’s resilience, and Casey’s hockey mask were badass. Being born into an extraordinary family had made it hard for Mikey to stand out. He wields nunchaku? So what? Leo had a pair of katana . 

But Lucy… Lucy could be badass. She could be cool, interesting, surprising. Surrounded by normal people, even normal mutants, she could be something more. 

She felt a little bad about that thought. It was selfish.

“I got into a fight in middle school,” Woody said suddenly. When she looked up at him, he was avoiding her eye again and his cheeks were dusted pink. “Broke my hand, but… it's nothing compared to what it sounds like you’ve been through.”

Was he trying to impress her? That was sickeningly cute.

“You broke your hand?” She prompted, squeezing the hand he still had in her pocket. 

“Yeah!” Woody said a little excitedly, pulling their hands out to show her. Along the part of his thumb that connected to the back of his hand, there was a slightly paler line of rising skin- a scar. “Bone broke right through my skin.”

“Woah, gnarly!” Lucy grinned, holding it close to her face to see it better in the light of shops as they passed. “I haven’t broken a bone in like, five years. It’s a personal record.”

“Do you break bones that often?” Woody took her hand in his again as they continued. Except this time, he put her hand in his pocket. She forced herself to swallow, saliva pooling in her mouth.

“Dependssss.” She drew out the word. “I don’t have weak bones or anything.” She rapped her knuckles on her chest, a solid knock ringing out. Woody’s head jerked to her, looking alarmed. 

“What was that??”

“My plastron?”

“Your huh?”

They slowed as they approached Albeartos, staring at each other. “Uh… I don’t have a human chest, Woody.”

They came to a stop, eyes still locked. His expression was blank. Lucy’s heart started hammering in her ear, suddenly unnerved by the silence. The people walking by them seemed to be moving in slow motion. Her chest felt too tight, her hands sweating. Especially the one held by him.

“Is that… okay?” She whispered, wincing. 

Woody blinked, eyes brightening like he was coming out of a stupor. “Yeah. Yeah! Yeah, I’m sorry. Just- took me by surprise.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m not perfect at this whole inter-species dating thing.” 

Neither am I. Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief, muscles relaxing. She tilted her head. “Have you even dated outside of your race before?”

Woody opened and closed his mouth again, face blooming red when Lucy laughed. “Shit, are you not white?”

“Classic white guy!” Lucy called out to the night air. “Always assuming everyone is like him. Tsk tsk.” 

“I- I didn’t mean to!” Woody tried to quiet her, glancing around guiltily. “Can I get a frame of reference here? Is there a book on interracial relationships that I should read? Because I’ll totally do it-”

Lucy snorted. “Woods! It’s okay.” She took his other hand in her remaining one. “I’m Japanese American. Not a big deal.”

Woody looked like he really wanted to ask something. Lucy smiled.

“You can say it.”

“Is that why you know ninjutsu??” He blurted, like a balloon that had been about to pop. 

She laughed. “Kind of! My dad was just weird. Don’t go asking other Asian people that unless you want to get your ass kicked.”

Woody had a strange expression on his face. Like he was examining her. “He was , huh?”

“I guess we still have a lot to learn about each other?” Lucy offered weakly. 

“Well I dunno about you,” Woody lifted her knuckles and pressed a feather-light kiss to them. “But I can’t wait.” 

Feeling breathless, Lucy shook her hands free of his and used them to lead his face down to hers. He became almost boneless, caving to her whims as easy as it was to slip his eyes closed. Their lips met. Lucy entered it a bit too eagerly, and they stumbled until she had him pinned against the brick wall, out of the way of the foot traffic. For a moment, Lucy worried if that was a slight to his masculinity. But then he grinned impishly against her lips and kissed back even harder. 

She lost herself in it. In him. She wouldn’t have been able to recount how long they spent in each other's arms even if she cared. 

When they eventually pulled apart, Woody’s beanie was skewed and his hair was sticking out at odd angles. And he was grinning like an idiot. Which made Lucy grin like an idiot. Which made him giggle which made her giggle and they dissolved into laughter, falling against each other. He hugged her and she hugged him. She sighed contentedly. 

“Wanna come back to my house?” Woody’s warm breath brushed the top of Lucy’s head and her eyes snapped open. She backed up a few feet, holding her hands in the air. 

“Woahhh,” She laughed nervously. “I didn’t think we were there yet.”

Woody looked confused, squinting up at the neon signs above them. “Yeah, we aren’t. This is Albeart-” Suddenly it sunk in, and his eyes popped wide. “OH’S-” He looked down at her, removing his hands from her hips to put them up. “No no no, that’s not what I meant- no sneaky business, promise.”

“Sneaky??” Lucy squeaked. 

“Ohmigosh,” He groaned, pulling his hands down his face. “I swear I just meant we’d watch The Princess Bride and- and dunno, cuddle??”

“Cuddle?” She asked incredulously. 

“ Yes, ” He muttered, still covering his face as he looked away. 

Lucy watched him, thinking about it. He did look thoroughly embarrassed at his poor phrasing. She fished her phone out of her pocketbook(it was a sunflower-shaped one this time) to check the time. 9:17 PM. She had time before Leo began texting to ask where she was. 

“Okay.” She tucked her phone away again. She hooked her arm with his. “Lead the way, Prince Charming.”

Woody brightened, looking down at her. 

“Cool! Cool.” He cleared his throat. 

It was a short walk, only about ten minutes. His apartment building was plain, the most exciting thing being a few tags thrown up against the concrete. She itched to add her own. Almost like marking her territory. She furrowed her brow. 

He lived on the fourth floor. Apartment 405. She’d be sure to remember that. 

He entered before her and immediately set about cleaning up, sending a sheepish glance her way. “Sorry, wasn’t expecting company.” 

She closed the door behind her, standing in the entryway. She looked around. All that was really out of place was a hoodie or two and a couple of plastic water bottles. It was tiny- maybe how he could afford to live alone. Did he live alone? She wasn’t sure. Seemed it.

“My room’s much worse, trust me.” She promised, putting her purse on a random chair. Suddenly, he appeared out of nowhere and began helping her shrug off her coat and scarf. It sent an eclectic trill down her arms. “Why, what a gentleman.” She smiled at him and he smiled sheepishly back. 

“Can I get you any water? Coffee?” 

“Water’s fine.” She sat on the couch as he disappeared into another room that she assumed to be the kitchen. Her eyes wandered around the parts of the house that she could see. It wasn’t terribly personalized, which was a bit of a disappointment. She wanted to know more about his interests. Some photos were hanging on the far wall, but she couldn’t make out the faces. There was a lot of blond in them though.

If her brothers didn’t mind her dating a human, they’d probably be off-put by his being blond-haired and blue-eyed. The thought made her snicker.

“Here,” Woody reappeared, putting a glass of water on the coffee table. He sat next to her and reached for the remote. “When was the last time you saw The Princess Bride?” He asked.

“Maybe five years ago? What about you?”

“...Last month.” He looked a bit sheepish again, and she laughed. 

“Hey man, no judgment here.” She pulled her knees up onto the couch and leaned her head against his arm as the movie began.

It was a bit stiff at first. But as the time wound on, Woody shifted to face her better, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and resting his cheek on her head. He was warm. It felt nice, to be surrounded by it. By him. 

About halfway into the movie, Lucy cleared her throat. “Sooo… does this make us boyfriend-girlfriend?” 

“Did you just quote the Barbie movie?” 

“There’s no way a single guy has seen the Barbie movie.” 

“Well I’m not single anymore, am I?” He grinned and squeezed his arm around her a little tighter for a moment. She smiled up at him. 

“I guess you aren’t, huh?” 

Notes:

I wanna say thanks to the people who help me feel more secure in my transness. Who make me feel like its something to love, not love in spite of. Lucy's not quite there yet, but I'm trying to convey it in her fears about being a mutant.

Date: 5/25/24
Words: 2746

Chapter 4

Summary:

“It ain’t a field trip, Leo,” Raph complained.

“Sure feels like it,” Mikey eyed Donnie’s straw hat, map of the neighborhood, and the stripe of sunscreen across his snout.

Notes:

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH FOLKS!! I wanna note something that I've forgotten in past chapters: I do not condone the whole lying to your partner about your sex thing. This fic is just a silly idea that got away from me. Relationships take communication and honesty!
Enjoy.

Lucy was in a bit of a predicament. She had learned a lot about Woody tonight. He liked movies like The Princess Bride and the live-action Barbie. He’d broken his hand in middle school. He was also, apparently, the kind of guy to fall asleep during a movie. 

But who was she to judge? She was the idiot trapped under him. 

As the movie went on, Woody’s arm around her had gotten heavier. Until she eventually realized he wasn’t responding and his eyes were closed. Not really knowing what else to do, she maneuvered him so he was across her lap and his head lay on the arm of the couch.

Now the movie had been over for twenty minutes and she had no idea how to get up without waking him. 

She looked down at his peaceful face, raising her hand to swipe some of his hair out of his face. The texture of it was strange. She hadn’t touched much hair in her life, and never any that was curly like this. She ran her fingers through it, tamping down the longing that rose in her throat. 

Ugh. It was late. She should get home. 

Throwing caution to the wind, she slid her arms under his knees and shoulders. She braced herself and stood in one swift motion. The moment his head lolled, Woody jerked awake, almost flailing out of her grip. But she stayed firm, watching and waiting for him to get his bearings. His arms came around her neck for balance as his wide eyes darted around the room. Finally, they settled on her face, inches from his own. 

He bloomed red. She raised her eyebrows. 

“What’s happening?” He whispered. 

“I’m putting you to bed before I go. You’ll hurt your back sleeping here. Point me to your room?”

He did as directed, still looking disoriented. He spluttered when she started walking. “I-I can walk now that I’m awake-”

“Nuh-uh, we’re already almost there.” Lucy retorted, and he shut his mouth. 

She placed him on his bed and he scrambled to sit upright, still looking a little embarrassed. 

“Okay, I gotta head out. It's late.” She leaned down to kiss his forehead, but he moved his face up so that their lips met. It burned just as much as every time before that, and her eyes slipped shut as her hands came to his cheeks. One of his hands laid on the back of hers, and the other rested on her hip. It was a little strange, to be taller than him while kissing. 

She was not complaining. 

When they were done and she drew back, Woody’s eyes were sparkling. His hands held hers between them. 

“I really gotta go. Text me?”

“Wait, I’ll walk you home-” Woody tried to stand, but Lucy held a hand up.

“You don’t have to,”

“I want to-”

“Woods.” At her tone, he stopped arguing. “I appreciate it, but I’ll be okay. Okay?”

He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. “Okay. At least let me walk you to the door.” 

“The gentleman strikes again.” Lucy grinned. “That, I can get behind.”

“Not nearly as gentlemanly as carrying me to bed.” Woody teased back, walking to the door and waiting as she got her coat back on. 

“Was it okay?” She asked nervously, wrapping her scarf loosely around her shoulders. She felt a bit hot.

“More than okay.” Woody smiled, echoing her words from when he first kissed her on the cheek. 

Relief flooded over her like rain. 

“And kinda hot.”

She burst out laughing. Woody covered his mouth like he hadn’t meant to say that, eyes wide. 

“Really??” Lucy giggled. 

“Oh god.” Woody covered more of his face, though she could tell even in the low light that his ear tips were red. “Yes. Really. Now leave already so I can stew in my embarrassment in the dark.” 

Still grinning, Lucy took one of his hands and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles the way he had done for her. She looked up to find him peeking at her through his fingers, redder than before. 

“I’ll see you.” She winked and opened the door, closing it behind her. 

Her heart thudded the whole walk home.

—

When Lucy approached her favorite manhole cover a little bit before one in the morning, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. So she changed out of her clothes right there in that soggy alleyway and tucked them safely between some pipes once she’d descended. 

As she cautiously entered her home of 22 years, a lamp turned on. She froze, wincing. 

She turned, knowing what sight would greet her. Leo sat in their father's armchair with a book and a cold cup of tea by his side. Their dad used to do this to them. The fact that Leo was copying him made her feel an exasperated sort of fondness. 

“Leo.” Lucy greeted, folding her hands behind her back. 

“Mikey,” Leo replied calmly.

Right. 

“Your schedule changed.” The eldest continued. 

“Huh?”

“Your schedule. You go out in the day now.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Mikey said. How did he keep forgetting that his brothers paid attention?

“Is something going on?” Leo tilted his head, closing the book. “You know you can talk to me.” 

The orange-themed turtle swallowed. His brother had said things like this to him years ago, just before yelling at him for being so reckless. But that was fifteen-year-old Leo. This was twenty-two-year-old Leo. He was more reasonable… Mikey hoped. 

“Ah, well you know me. Ever curious, right?” He rubbed the back of his head. Leo just stared in that unnerving way he always did, waiting for him to break. Mikey always did. “Annnnd I got curious about Mutant Town. So I’ve been exploring.”

“Yeah?” Leo swirled his tea. “Found anything interesting?”

“Uh yeah. Some pretty awesome shops. There’s this restaurant I like.” Well, Woody liked it. She just thought it was okay, but it was worth it when the owners took their photo to put on the customer wall.

“My first human customer, dating a mutant!” The jaguar yokai had grinned. “Whoda’ thunk?”

“We should go some time.”

Mikey snapped up to look at Leo. “Oh no, you’d hate it.” 

“How come?”

“It’s just- you’re terrible with crowds?” He said weakly. 

Leo raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be fine, Mikey. How does Tuesday sound?”

“Tuesday?” 

“Yeah. I’ll round up our brothers and we can all go out.” Leo put his book on the lamp table and stood. “Sound good?”

Mikey stared at him dumbly, scrambling for an excuse not to go or to keep them from going. “Yeah okay.” He squeaked instead. 

Leo smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Get some rest, little brother.”

Brother. The word stung worse than he had expected. He’d been the little brother for his whole life. Why did it hurt now? Was being a girl with Woody making it harder to be a boy with his family?

God, he hoped not. 

 

—

 

“Alright folks, this is how this is gonna go.” Leo clapped his hands together. He looked strange in the sunlight, new.

“It ain’t a field trip, Leo,” Raph complained. 

“Sure feels like it,” Mikey eyed Donnie’s straw hat, map of the neighborhood, and the stripe of sunscreen across his snout. 

Said snout, which had been buried in the brochure, lifted as Donnie looked up. “Whuzzat?”

Mikey shifted uncomfortably in his gear, feeling oddly exposed. In the end, he’d only been able to avoid this little visit to Mutant Town for a few weeks. It’d been a while since he’d been out of the lair in the daytime without clothes. He tuned out Leo’s speech about sticking together, scanning the crowd. He was a little stressed that someone would recognize him as Lucy, but they came in through the sewers instead of a checkpoint and she hadn’t seen any familiar faces yet.

Would they even be able to make the connection between the two personas?

She hoped not.

He.

Whatever.

When his brothers began moving, he trodded along, answering various questions they had about the goings of this place. Raph kept giving him suspicious looks that the younger couldn’t place. 

Eventually, while Leo and Donnie were bickering about which turn they missed, Raph pulled Mikey to the side to whisper behind his hand.

“You know that troll?” He pointed a thumb across the street, if you could call it a street. Cars weren’t allowed in Mutant Town.

Woody was standing there in the crowd, plastic bag in his hand and head tilted curiously. He was squinting at Mikey like he knew who he was but wasn’t quite convinced yet. 

Mikey just about jumped out of his shell. He certainly wanted to crawl into it, pretend this nightmare wasn’t real, that his worlds weren’t colliding. God, he could hear April’s disapproving tisk already after this blew up somehow. I told you so , she was going to say, shaking her head. 

Somehow, Mikey managed to speak through his tight throat. “He’s uh- some dude I saved. Just- can you distract the brainiacs?” He looked at Raph, eyes wide and pleading. 

Raph squinted. “Ya know I hate your puppy-dog eyes.” 

“They’ll go away if you only agreeeeee.” He really really wanted to clasp his hands together to complete the image. But the weight of Woody’s eyes on him seared hot up his spine, dampening his usual Mikey-ness.

“Fine, fine.” Raph waved him away. “Go say hi to your… friend.” He spun and began approaching their brothers. “Hey, nerds! You’re BOTH wrong.” 

As they exploded into another bout of arguing, Mikey slipped through the crowds and toward Woody. The human's eyes sparked more and more in recognition as he approached, and when the mutant took his hand and began dragging him away, he gasped. 

“So it is you! I didn’t wanna ask in case that was like, racist or whatever-”

“So you stared??” Mikey demanded, raising the pitch of his voice as he pulled Woody around a corner and into an alleyway. 

“Has anyone told you that you’re like, super strong?” Woody babbled, rubbing his wrist where her hand had just been.

“What are you doing here??” She demanded, hiss-whispering.

“I wanted to ask that old tortoise lady at the grocery store for advice-”

“Advice on what??”

Woody’s jaw clamped shut. “Who were you with?” He deflected.

Lucy’s heart sank. “My brothers.” She admitted.

Woody blinked. “Brothers? Plural?”

“Yeah, I know, I know. I should have mentioned them sooner but it’s- complicated.” She raised her hands in defeat. 

Woody looked completely unbothered. “It’s chill.”

“Just like that?”

“Yup.”

Lucy stared at him as he stared back in dumber silence. She followed his eyes and her mouth fell open. 

“Are you distracted by my chest ??”

“NO!” Woody’s eyes immediately snapped up to hers. “No.” He cleared his throat. “Just- what are you wearing?” 

“Cosplay,” Lucy grumbled, crossing her arms to cover herself and turning slightly away. She felt hot all over and would be lying if she said she wasn’t flattered. But she was honestly still a little scattered by his surprise appearance, so it was hard to enjoy the positive attention. He seriously had no business in Mutant Town unless he was with her.

“Oh, rad!” He was quiet for a moment. “...I’m hoping those scars are fake, then.” 

The world froze around her. Air swelled in her lungs languidly, like water shoving through oil. The people who walked past their little sliver of concrete slowed. Eyes bore into her. Pressure built. This was it. He was going to be disgusted. She had lied(sort of) about her family, she’d catfished him, and what she did have was ugly. 

Her plastron, her stupid fucking flat plastron was marred with crisscrossing cracks and impact marks from years of fighting. Her shell was just as bad, and it was the first time he’d seen that too.

She shook her head jerkily. 

A warm hand came to tap her arm. 

“Hey…” His voice was so soft. “You okay?” 

Her breath was coming in short bursts. She felt sick and raised a hand to her mouth. She couldn’t look at him. 

“EY.” Raph’s voice barked from behind her. The pair looked up, and he was scowling at them from the mouth of the alleyway. “‘S there a problem?”

Woody looked down at her. “Lu-?”

“No problem.” Mikey interrupted, breaking away from Woody to walk toward Raph. “Just feeling a little ill. Can we go home?”

“‘Course.” His brother said, tapping his shell protectively as the younger passed him. He got half a block down the sidewalk before he realized he wasn’t with him anymore. When he turned, Raph was jogging to catch up. Mikey frowned. 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing. He seems like a cool guy, what happened?” Raph put his arm around his shoulder. It was almost alarming, how gentle the touch was. 

“Nothing.” He returned. “Just tired.” 

“...’Aight. I won’t push it for now, but I’ll want answers later.” 

Mikey closed his eyes for a moment. “Whatever.”

When they began approaching their older brothers, Mikey was clutching onto his elbows. It was a form of self-comfort from when they were kids that he hadn’t managed to shake. Someone was with them. A dark figure dressed in pink.

God. Fuck.

Mikey could not deal with the flawless perfection of Mona Lisa right now. 

He couldn’t watch her laugh next to his brother, both of their eyes twinkling with affection for the other. He couldn’t sit here knowing that he’d never have that, it’d always be ruined. Even if he found a mutant that liked him, he wasn’t a him.

The rest of that morning was a blur. He vaguely heard Raph talking to the others, and then he was being led home. He wasn’t sure if the others followed him and Raph. All he knew was that he needed to curl up in bed.

And he did exactly that, crawling under puffy blankets and pulling his knees to his chin, hiding. 

Mikey didn’t know how long it’d been when he crawled out again. There was a cup of water by his bed. He downed it. 

He didn’t have enough energy to do much, so he laid back in bed. Being easily bored as well, he kicked the speaker at the end of his bed, and hip-hop music began rather energetically. It was about five minutes until someone knocked on the door. They must have heard his music. He made a non-commital grunt, and the door opened. 

The brother he would have least expected peeked his head in. Raph.

“Hey, bud.” His brother's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. “How you feelin?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.” He said flatly. “Shouldn’t Leo be the one checking on me?” 

“Leo and Don went out on patrol. I stayed in case you woke up. Seems it was the right call.” He stepped inside and closed the door behind himself.

Mikey furrowed his brow. “Is it that late already?” He pulled his phone out of who knows where and squinted at it. His eyes didn’t even reach the time before they got stuck on a notification from Woody. 

Instead of reading it, he launched the phone across the wall and onto a discarded pile of clothing. He shifted onto his stomach and stuffed his face in the pillow. 

He heard Raph dragging the chair from his desk to sit by his bed. 

“It’s… okay, y’know.” 

Mikey grimaced into the pillow. The hell did Raph know? “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“You uh. You don’t have to be ashamed.” 

This sounded shakily rehearsed at best. What was he even talking about?

“We love you, Mike, gay or not.”

Mikey’s whole body stiffened. His eyes shot open wide in horror. Oh god. The exact thing he specifically did not want to happen was happening. He curled in on himself and hugged the pillow tighter, his shell facing Raph. 

“I hope you know that,” Raph concluded with a slap to his knees as he stood. 

“I’m not gay.” 

He heard Raph’s movements halt. “Whazzat?” 

“I said I’m not gay.” Mikey’s words were clearer as he leaned away from the pillow a bit. 

“I-” Raph sounded cross now. As usual. “Mike, I saw you with that guy. There’s clearly something goin on there. I saw your face, the same face I’ve made myself-”

“Well, I’m not you!” Mikey snapped, twisting his shoulder to glower back at him. 

Raph stared at him, his chest rising and falling. “I know that.”

“Then stop trying to live through me and come out like a man!” He yelled, turning back to the wall and covering his head with his arms. 

It was quiet for a minute as Mikey waited for Raph to leave. Footsteps. Finally. The rustling of clothes. What?

“You know, you should really password-protect your phone.”

What.

“Let’s see. ‘Contacts. Albeartos, Angel, April, Dad-’ woof, ‘Donnie, Casey, Leo, Mondo, Raph, Renet, Slash-’ aha! Here’s one I don’t recognize. Woody.”

Mikey sat up slowly. His head turned to stare at Raph with wide eyes. The red-banded turtle raised an eyebrow. 

“Don’t look so scared. I’m only provin’ what I already know.”

Stop. Lucy begged silently.

Raph’s thumb tapped at the phone and began scrolling to find something. He cleared his throat and spoke in a faux Mikey voice. “ ‘Hey Woods! You free tomorrow?’ ” His voice shifted lower. “ ‘Yup!’ – oh my god there’s a heart by his name. Of course there is – ‘What were you thinking?’ ” 

“GIVE THAT BACK!” Mikey shrieked, launching off the bed and reaching for his phone. Raph jumped back and dashed out of the room. 

He gave chase but was too late. Raph disappeared down the hallway and into the bathroom, locking it shut with a decisive click. A click that may very well define Mikey’s future. 

“RAPH!” Mikey yelled, punching and kicking at the door. “GODDAMNIT!”

“ ‘HOW DOES THE PARK IN MUTANT TOWN SOUND?’ ” Raph shouted back in his Mikey voice. He shifted to Woody again. “ ‘SOUNDS GREAT! I can’t wait to see you- you…’ ” His enthusiasm trailed off. “ ‘Lucy?’ ”

Lucy whimpered, her own thumping fists on the door slowing. She braced against it for support, legs shaking. She heard the lock moving and the doorknob twisting. She knocked it right off with the bottom of her fist, trapping her brother inside. 

“Hey!” He yelped. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?” 

But she was already gone. She grabbed a random hoodie and pair of sweatpants from her room, stumbling into them as she moved. She didn’t hear Raph as he shouted after her. She didn’t know where she was going, she just needed to get out. The walls were pressing in on her, she couldn’t breathe-

She shoved right past Leo and Donnie in the entryway as they got home. Their mouths were moving, but she couldn’t hear them either. 

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” She wailed, pulling her hood down lower as she disappeared into the sewers. 

She ran until her legs ached. Then she ran some more. What finally stopped her wasn’t the burning in her lungs, but something slippery that felt like algae on the concrete floor. She launched forward onto her arms, narrowly avoiding hitting her chin. 

Lucy lay there, heaving for breath, her heart violent against her ribs. She rolled onto her side and curled around her stomach, wanting to rip it out. Panic and adrenaline kept up their battering on her body. She hiccupped when a small shadow skittered by. 

A rat.

Hot tears welled in her eyes. A hand went to her shaking mouth. 

“Dad-” She whimpered, voice cracking. And then she was all-out bawling in some random sewage tunnel. She would usually hope that the noise didn’t echo back to her brothers. She honestly didn’t know how far she had gotten. 

But right now she didn’t care. Because her dad didn’t know her name and he never would. Her brothers knew now because she was too late to stop Raph. And Woody would never know her deadname(was it really dead if it was still used?) if she had anything to do about it, but was that even the right choice?

Sobbing on the floor of a dank, dark sewer, she wasn’t sure. 

Notes:

I was going to make it worse lol.

6/5/24
Words: 3382

Chapter 5

Summary:

"Secrets don't keep."

Notes:

...or do they?

Words: 3118

By the time Lucy was done crying, she felt exhausted. And cold. And she’d probably be hungry if the concrete under her wasn’t the icky sort of damp. She stared blankly at an even blanker wall, wishing she were anywhere but here, or maybe nowhere at all. Or in bed. But between her and her bed were protective older brothers and a million questions. No doubt Raph had shown them the texts by now. And if he hadn’t, they’d probably taken the phone themselves to see what was up.

She didn’t want to go to April, either. She didn’t want to tell her she was right. She couldn’t face that. And there wasn’t really anyone she felt close enough to, to be so disheveled around them. 

She shut her eyes with a sigh. Well. There was one person. 

She picked herself up, sorely aware she wasn’t being quite as graceful as Cinderella. 

—

Half an hour later, Lucy was at Woody’s apartment building. She took a deep breath before entering the lobby. Then she paced outside his apartment for an additional ten minutes. Finally, she knocked. 

No noise from inside. No one was here. She let out a breath of relief. She leaned her forehead against the door. Maybe she should just go home. 

A vision of her brothers’ disgusted faces flashed across the back of her eyelids. 

She stood straighter. She wasn’t ready to go home. But she was even more reluctant to wait in the hallway where any judgemental human could walk by. She looked around and found her solution. She approached the window at the end of the floor’s hallway. It was painted shut, but it was easy enough to force open. She slipped out onto the ledge and closed it behind herself. 

Lucy shuffled along it and around the corner. Counting ten windows, she really hoped there weren’t more than two per apartment and tried her luck. 

The room was dark and looked empty. She knocked, and when no one came running, she figured it was safe. She slid it open with no issue and rolled inside. The room was clean, aside from rumpled sheets on the bed. She crossed it silently, opening its door. 

She nearly crumpled to her knees and wept happy tears when she recognized Woody’s living room. She rubbed her face and searched the rest of the house, just to be sure that he wasn’t somewhere with his headphones on. When she was confident enough that he wasn’t there, she sunk down onto the couch, body sore. Her eyes slipped shut.

—

Lucy was usually a heavy sleeper. She’d slept through their home collapsing when they’d first met Baxter Stockman’s mousers. She’d slept through Raph’s snoring for fifteen years. Today was different. Maybe it was the unfamiliar-ish sleeping environment coupled with the mutant ninja senses. Maybe it was the fact that she’d had a really shitty day. 

Whatever the case, she woke up the moment the key slid into the lock. So Woody had the joy of coming home to whited-out eyes glaring back at him from over the back of the couch. 

He shrieked, closing the door again before he could even step inside. When he cracked it open once more, Lucy had blinked her inner eyelids away. 

“Lucy??”

“Sorry, fuck, I’m sorry.” She sniffled, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t mean to be weird, I know I’m weird.” 

“It’s- it’s okay.” Woody’s voice was tight. “How’d you get in?”

“Window was unlocked.”

“We’re- we’re on the fourth floor .”

“‘M a ninja.” She muttered, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. 

“Right…” He finally entered the apartment, using his foot to close the door behind him. In his arms, he was carrying brown paper bags. “I thought you said that was cosplay.”

“I lied.” She said, still not looking at him. 

At this point, Woody seemed to snap out of his surprise at seeing her here. He hurried into the kitchen and she heard the paper bags rustling as he put them down on the counter. When he moved around the couch to kneel in front of her, she drew her hood shut with the strings. “Why are you hiding your face?” He sounded a bit panicked. 

“I don’t have any makeup on.” Lucy’s voice cracked. He laughed incredulously. 

“Honey, I don’t care if you’re wearing makeup or not.” He sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. “But you don’t have to show your face if you don’t want to. Wanna talk about what’s going on?” His hand rubbed up and down her shell. 

She stiffened at first at the foreign feeling, but fought off the apprehension and let herself lean into him. “You sure it’s okay?”

“I asked, didn’t I?” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m all ears.”

“I… got into a fight with my brother.” Woody’s grip on her tightened by a fraction. “A pretty nasty one.” 

“He didn’t touch you, did he?”

Lucy’s eyes flew wide. “No! God, no. He would never.” As soon as she said it, she winced. There was a particularly nasty flashback involving a lead pipe that she didn’t want to get into tonight. “Well, he nearly did when we were kids. But that was a long time ago. This was almost worse.”

“How could an argument be worse?”

Lucy considered her words before answering. “He found out I was dating you.” It was close enough to the truth, she supposed. “It’s not like he took it poorly. I didn’t even give him time to react before I bolted. I just… wasn’t ready for him to know. Being a part of my siblings- it’s like we’re a hivemind. Secrets don’t keep. So I’m sure the others already know and I’m just- still not quite ready to face it.” His rubbing her shell made her eyelids heavy. He was warm. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Woody took her hand in his. He wove their fingers together. “I’m nowhere near ready to tell my parents about you, either. But maybe that’s different.” 

“How so?” Lucy asked, eyes fixed on their joined hands. Because I’m a mutant? Or do you know I’m a boy?

Woody heaved a deep sigh. “My relationship with my parents is rocky on our good days. I don’t know what yours is like.”

She didn’t answer.

“Luce?” 

“Huh?”

“Nothing, I was just hoping you’d keep talking. If you felt like it. Like, you could tell me about your family.”

“Well, um.” She furrowed her brows. “It’s just the four of us.”

“Sounds like a party to me.” Woody joked.

“We used to be five.”

His hand stopped for a moment before it resumed its circular motions. “Ah.”

“Which- it’s fine. It was a while ago, and we knew it was coming. Dad was old, his mutation was hard. He steadily slowed down and then he… yeah. It’s fine.” Lucy rambled, scrambling to find a way out. 

“Hey.” A gentle hand came to her cheek, turning her face to look at him properly for the first time that night. His thumb ran across her skin almost… lovingly . A word that felt too soon to use but had no other replacement. He gazed down at her softly, eyes filled with the exact same emotion. “Just because it makes sense, doesn’t mean it’s fine.”

The tears started up again immediately. 

“Oh god.” Lucy pulled her face away again, scales heating up. “Sorry, sorry-” She wiped at her face, and he offered tissues from the coffee table. 

“You say that too often.” 

“I know.” She blew her nose. “I just wish I still had my dad to tell me what to do, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Woody sighed, handing her another tissue. “Being an adult really blows, huh?”

Lucy laughed. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.” 

“Oh shit,” Woody swore suddenly. He stood and hurried around the couch. 

“What?”

“I forgot to put my groceries in the fridge!”

She burst out laughing.

—

They ended up having a bit of a movie marathon. They were both pretty evenly matched in how versed they were in animated movies, but Lucy managed to introduce Woody to a few. Disney’s Elemental, for example. Woody really liked that one. Said it reminded him of them, which Lucy had hoped he’d notice. 

During it, he asked her a question. 

“Are there things about being a mutant you think I don’t get?” He kept his eyes on the TV.

“Yeah.” She answered easily.

“Really?”

“Definitely.”

“You gonna fill me in?”

“Nope.”

“Helpful.” He groaned, throwing his head back. “One day?”

“One day.” She agreed, biting her cheek to tamp down her grin.

When they had decided on just one more movie, Woody let Lucy pick. Her hand hesitated on the remote, wondering how bold she was feeling tonight. She’d already laid a piece of herself bare for Woody tonight. What was one more?

So she selected Nimona.

And Woody sobbed like a fucking baby when Nimona died. 

“Oh my god Woody, it’s fine to cry.” Lucy laughed, trying to get him to take a tissue from her. 

“It’s not manly.” He whimpered, hiding his face behind a pillow.

“Oh, who gives a fuck about being manly??” She scoffed.

He peeked out at her. “You mean it?”

“Hon, look at what we’re watching.” Lucy motioned toward the TV, where Ballister was looking aimlessly around his and Nimona’s old hideout. “This movie’s whole point is to challenge the systems that we find ourselves in- the roles we’re expected to fill. That especially pertains to gender.”

Woody put the pillow back down and took the tissue. He blew his nose. “You sure know a lot about this.” 

Lucy froze reaching for a second tissue. “Well… yeah, I guess I-”

“HOLY SHIT IS NIMONA ALIVE??” Woody interrupted, eyes fixated on where the credits were now skittering across the screen. 

Lucy laughed and stood, heart pounding. She scooped up the finished snacks Woody had brought out and delivered them back to the kitchen. He turned and leaned over the back of the couch. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Getting ready to leave.” She sighed, washing a bowl and shaking her hands dry. 

“Nooooo. Do you have to?” 

She listened as he hurried to follow her. Then his weight was on her head and shoulders, where he rested his chin and arms respectively. She could tell he had to bend over. She’d be more offended if her heart wasn’t beating so hard. 

Probably. 

“I don’t want to either.” She admitted, bringing her hands to hold his arms. “But I don’t have my phone to tell my family I’m okay, and they’re probably getting worried. I can’t just do what I want.”

“Sure you can.” Woody pouted. “You’re an adult.”

Lucy gazed down at his hands thoughtfully. They were calloused, like hers. “What are you suggesting?” 

She felt him shrug against her. “You could stay the night, give that annoying brother time to cool off. My bed’s big enough to share. For. Sleeping. For two people to sleep in. Peacefully.”

Lucy smiled, snickering when she felt him hiding his face against her.

“Whatever, you get what I mean. Besides, if a little more time would bring you peace of mind, I say it’s worth it. And maybe a longer disappearing act will make it click for them that this is important to you.”

“You make some good arguments.” Lucy hummed. “Would I get breakfast?” 

“Only the best for you.” She could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Pancakes?” She turned in his arms to look up at him.

“With whipped cream, of course.” 

“It’s a date.” She pecked a quick kiss to his lips. “Do you have a spare toothbrush?”

“Yeah, totally.” Woody brightened, looking much happier now that he knew she was saving. “I could get you some of my clothes to sleep in, too.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to-”

“I insist.” Woody turned and left the kitchen without giving her another chance to argue. She hesitated for a second before following him. She leaned against the doorway of his room. 

“Uh, Woods?” She started. Her partner hummed in response but didn’t look up from the drawer he was digging through. “I’m not sure that anything of yours will…” She looked down at her hands, picking at her fingernails. “Fit me.”

His response was immediate. “Babe. Have you seen how baggy my clothes are? Some people would consider them pajamas already. So my pajamas are like… pajamas squared.” 

Lucy looked up at where he was standing in front of her now. She smiled sheepishly. “Good point.”

“Just give it a shot.” He held out a set of clothes, neatly folded. “You can change first. I left a fresh toothbrush on the bathroom counter. It’s orange.” Curse his stupid sincere smile and its stupid adorable dimple.

“Thanks,” She said faintly, taking the clothes and locking herself in the bathroom. She pressed her palms to warm cheeks, trying to tamp down rising panic. 

“Oh, and uh-” Woody cleared his throat on the other side of the door. “I didn’t include underwear. Because. Yeah.” He ended with a strangled-sounding noise.

Lucy snorted, trying to let herself relax a bit. “‘S fine. Wouldn’t fit my tail anyway.”

“You have a TAIL??”

“Give a girl some privacy!” She barked, followed by his quickly retreating footsteps. 

She wanted to find the humor in it, but she was still a bit shaky. This was kind of a big step; sharing clothes, talking about family, about her tail, sharing a bed . 

She pulled her hoodie over her head. She didn’t get much farther than that, because she found herself stuck looking at her plastron in the mirror. It was littered with scars. Deep and shallow, wide and thin, old and new, both from accidents and her enemies’ blows. She ran her hand over a few, wondering if the texture would freak out Woody, or if maybe he would just avoid them altogether.

Her hand stuttered when she reached a few of them. A group of straight lines she didn’t care to count. They were neat and shallow. Intentional. They were about four inches above her hip, where her leather belt would be, were she in ninja mode.

One day. She promised herself, hastily pulling the rest of the borrowed clothes on. One day he can see these.

When she had his oversized band t-shirt and basketball shorts on, she looked even more like a boy than with the hoodie and sweatpants she arrived in. Whatever. After the useless emotional turmoil she had just dragged herself through, she didn’t care anymore. She was starting to doubt Woody cared either. 

Which was actually pretty nice.

“Bathroom’s free.” She muttered, opening the door while staring at the floor. 

Woody looked up from his phone, sitting on the couch. His cheeks were a bit red. He must still be embarrassed about the underwear thing. 

“Cool! Cool, cool.” He said, standing. “I’ll change now. Uh, make yourself at home.”

Lucy nodded as he passed her. She stood still for a moment, then turned and headed into his bedroom. She tried to take it in more properly this time around. She’d been an intruder on the alert when she came through earlier. Now she had a bit of time and permission. Which was frankly a rarity, considering her nature.

The room was a bit bare, to be honest. He had a few limited-edition comics and figurines on display though, suggesting he’d be a collector if he could be. It seemed he didn’t have the money to splurge, though. His apartment wasn’t exactly decked out or lavish, and he didn’t have a high-paying job. It was a wonder he could even afford this place. 

Resisting the urge to remove one of the comics from its protective case for a closer look, she flopped face-first onto his bed. She didn’t even move; she just lay there with her eyes closed and mouth shut, not breathing. 

“Holy shit are you okay?” 

That snapped her out of it. She pushed herself up on her palms and twisted to look at Woody in the doorway. His outfit was extremely similar to hers, reminding her of whose clothes she was wearing. That felt nice, she decided.

“I’m fine, why?” She adjusted to sit properly on the bed. 

Woody entered the room and put her clothes on his dresser. He’d folded them. “I swear to god you weren’t breathing.” He glanced at her a little nervously.

“Oh, yeah, I wasn’t. Turtle lungs.” 

“Woah.” Woody sat next to her on the edge of the bed. He knocked his knee against hers. “How long can you hold your breath?” 

“Been years since I checked.” She admitted. 

“How’d you figure it out?”

“...I’m a turtle.”

“Yeah, but you were human first.” He continued confidently. “Must have been a weird adjustment. It wouldn’t have even crossed my mind. Did you like nearly… drown… or something…” He trailed off at Lucy’s severe expression. “I’m sensing I overstepped a boundary or two.” 

“I’m fine. Just… long day. Could we go to sleep?”

“Yeah, totally, totally.” Woody stood. Lucy stood. 

They stood there awkwardly. 

“How do we do this?” Lucy whispered.

“I dunno.” 

“Oh, screw it.” She grumbled, finally shoving herself under the blankets and scooting to the far side of the bed. She patted the empty side beside her invitingly, laying on her side to face it. Woody followed, looking relieved. 

“Hey,” Woody said when they were facing each other, grinning stupidly.

“Hi,” Lucy said. She smiled softly.

Woody’s hand came up to cup the side of her face pressed against her pillow. He ran his thumb over her cheekbone, like he had earlier that night. 

“How come I’ve never seen this scar here?” He squinted. “It’s cute.”

“Oh- oh.” Her hands came up to pull the loose shirt collar over the chipped lip of her plastron. “I went a bit crazy when I discovered make-up.”

“I’m serious, though. It’s pretty.” 

“You think so?”

“Truly. Now, are you more of a big spoon or a little spoon?”

“Huh?”

He suddenly looked much less confident. “Uhm. So no cuddles then?”

Lucy squinted at Woody. Then her eyes popped open in understanding. “Ohhhhh.” She glanced back at her shell. “Why don’t we just- here.”

She scooted closer to him and forced one of her arms under him, the other over. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck. After a moment, Woody did the same. He laced their legs together. 

“Oh,” Lucy breathed, closing her eyes. She hadn’t been held since she was a kid. “This is nice.”

Woody didn’t respond.

“Woods? Humans still have to breathe.”

Woody wheezed. “Right.” 

She laughed. 

Notes:

Did y'all enjoy the super scary summary with absolutely no reflection on the contents of this chapter? :))

6/21/24 9:50PM EST

Chapter 6

Summary:

The air smelled sweet.

Notes:

There's a slur in this one, but it's very lighthearted and not said aloud.

Words: 2991

It was hard for Mikey to wake up. It was like he was in a fog, a warm blanket laid over his senses. He rolled onto his side, eyes still shut. He reached out, searching for his cats, who never slept far. They weren’t there. 

His eyes shot open.

“KLUNK AND PUNK.” He jolted to sit upright in bed. He was immediately disoriented. This wasn’t his room. These weren’t his clothes . 

“Woah.”

Woody was in the doorway, eyes wide. He was wearing a flowery orange apron and holding a spatula. 

“I like your natural voice.” He smiled earnestly.

“What do you-” Mikey’s face fell with the realization, and he slapped a hand to his mouth. He had woken up as Mikey. Had spoken as Mikey. Shit, shit .

Panicking, she pulled the covers over herself and curled up, shell facing him. She heard his feet shuffling. 

“Oh, uh. Sorry. Do you need a minute?”

Lucy cleared her throat, drawing her tone painfully high in emphasis of her girliness. “That’d be nice.”

“Sure thing. Uh- I’ve got some pancakes in the kitchen whenever you’re ready.” She heard him shut the door softly behind himself.

She sucked in air shakily, trying to slow down her heart and breath. She kept her eyes closed and tried to count her breaths. Then she let herself focus on something else. The soft fabric of Woody’s borrowed clothes. How comforting it felt to be surrounded by a blanket like this; how the bed was warm from two people sleeping there the night before. She put her hand to her plastron and, feeling her heartbeat had slowed, she opened her eyes. 

The air smelled sweet. 

Heaving a sigh, she sat up. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and scooted off the bed. She padded out of the room. She found Woody where he said he’d be: in the kitchen. He was at the stove, whistling to a tune only he could hear and flipping the last pancake onto a plate. 

And dang, there were a lot of plates. 

“What’s all this?” Lucy asked, taking more care to pay attention to her voice than usual. 

Woody smiled at her sheepishly over his shoulder. “Well, I wasn’t sure what kind of pancake was your favorite, so I made a variety?” He swept her by the blanket to his rickety little table in the corner. He placed a couple of plates in front of her, swiping off their covers to reveal the steaming contents.

Chocolate chip pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and of course, plain pancakes. Lucy’s mouth watered. 

“Woah. These look great, Woods.”

Woody positively beamed, dropping off the spatula in the sink and bringing them plates to eat on. He sat across from her, looking pleased with himself. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can manage pancakes.”

“Well lucky for you, I love cooking.” Lucy started scooping pancakes onto her plate. “I’ll make you a meal sometime.”

“Great!” Woody said, almost squeaking. Lucy smiled at that. 

A bit of silence fell over them as they started eating. Lucy swung her legs, trying to get her nervous energy out. She kept glancing up at Woody, wondering why he truly didn’t mind seeing her so disheveled. 

“Sooo,” Woody began, poking his pancake around in his ocean of syrup. 

“Yeah?” Lucy stuck an extra amount of food into her mouth, hoping it would ease the serious expression on his face.

It didn’t. 

“Your brother texted me while we were asleep.” 

Lucy choked. She pounded her plastron, swallowing hard.

“Th’ fuck-” She fixed her pitch to be higher. “How the hell did they get your number?”

“He texted me from your phone.” He glanced up, looking guilty. “They seem really sorry, and they just want you home. I’m- I’m sorry I made you stay overnight. And that I confirmed you’re with me.” He shoved a miserable forkful of pancake into his mouth. 

Lucy’s brow furrowed, and she lowered her utensil. “You didn’t make me do a thing I didn’t want to, Woods.” She reached for his hand across the table. “Frankly, I don’t think anyone could if they tried. I’m one stubborn bitch.” She grinned. “And don’t worry about my brothers. This is hardly the first time I’ve disappeared overnight. They’ll live.” Then she returned to her food like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb, unphased. 

Woody squinted at her. “We will be unpacking that one day. Just you wait, young lady.” He pointed his fork at her. As if that dull thing would intimidate her. 

Her grin widened. “I bet I’m older than you.”

“WHAT?” Woody shrieked. 

—

After a dish-washing session, an exchange of clothes, and a quick kiss goodbye, Lucy was heading home. Usually, nowadays, she’d be embarrassed to be in public wearing her drab attire. Not very feminine. 

But today she didn’t mind. She was almost floating down the street. Her boyfriend liked her in any outfit. And… that was all that seemed to matter.

When she opened the sewer grate closest to their underground home, she heard the faint beeping of a sensor activating. Hm. It seemed Donnie had turned on the proximity alarms. The last time they were active was before dad passed. 

Whistling for the cameras, she slipped carelessly into the sewers. She was feeling this odd sort of disconnect from the situation as a whole. A relief almost, now that the panic had passed. Now she didn’t have to worry about coming out. That was a plus, right?

There were some fundamental truths she was sure she and her brothers were both aware of now. Shredder was dead, her brothers led an anti-crime program to lower violence rates, and Mikey was a tranny. 

Yippee.

When she opened the front doors, her brothers had already scrambled into the living room. They looked better rested than the last time she had pulled a disappearing act, which was good. She hoped.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Donnie reached her first, grabbing her face and jerking it around under the guise of checking for injuries. 

“I’m fine, Don-Don.” Lucy groaned, rolling her eyes. “Get your greasy hands offa me.”

Glaring, he obliged and stepped back. 

Leo replaced him. 

“Honestly, Mikey, I thought you’d outgrown this.” Leo scowled at her, hands on his hips like he was some mom. “Where have you been?”

Lucy looked at Raph in the back. She raised her eyebrow in a You haven’t told them? sort of way. He tried to shake his head, but Leo sent his glare the red turtle's way. And get this- Raph flinched . Jeeze, they must’ve chewed him out good.

“Raph, do you have something to say to Mikey?” Leo asked, crossing his arms. He glared down at him pointedly. 

“I’m sorry,” Raph said, looking at the floor. He looked like he’d slept the least out of the three. “For looking through your phone and making fun of your selfies with Renet.”

Wait, what?

Raph- Raph had covered for her? Or was he too stupid to have figured out she was a girl? But then why wouldn’t he tell them about Woody? He’d known where she was since at least this morning, but he had neglected to share it? Has he asked for his own peace of mind instead of theirs? This was so- so anti-Raph and was frankly throwing Lucy for a loop. Was- was she Mikey right now? She couldn’t tell.

They were waiting for her response.

“It’s. Cool.” She choked out, leaning forward and back on her heels. “Slept it off.”

“And… I have something else to tell you guys.” Raph continued. Leo and Donnie exchanged a glance that suggested he was going off-script. Raph finally raised his eyes to Lucy. “I am. Gay.” He said robotically.

Donnie’s mouth dropped open and Leo choked. Lucy stared, in awe. Neither he nor his brother blinked. Raph looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“And. I really want to be with Casey. But how can I be?” Raph’s eyes were watery. He repeated himself, almost begging for answers. “How can a mutant be with a human?”

They all stared at Raph, mouths open as the first tear fell. Then a second and a third- and then Lucy lost count because her brother, her big brother, strong and impenetrable and incapable of emotions outside of anger was sobbing openly in front of his siblings in a way he never had before. 

Mikey was the first to move. She surged forward, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing. She swayed as he sobbed into her shoulder, clutching her like if he let go, he’d fall from a deadly height.

“You find the right one.” She whispered, just for him. “And trust me. Casey’s the right one. There is no straight explanation.”

Raph laughed at that, hiding his face from their brothers. “Thanks, Lucy.” He murmured, barely audible.

Lucy breathed a surprised breath almost like it had been punched out of her. “You too.”

“I feel like I’m missing something.”

Raph and Lucy separated to look at Leo, whose brow was furrowed in thought.

“Is Mikey dating Renet?”

Lucy and Raph looked at each other, promptly bursting into giggles.

“What?” Leo demanded. “Am I wrong??”

—

An hour or two later, Raph asked Lucy to go on “patrol” with him.

Since they’d defeated the Shredder and stabilized Mutant Town, things had been calmer for the Hamato kids. They’d had free time for the first time since they were teenagers, and they spent it focusing on taking care of master Splinter in his last days. 

Then when that responsibility had left, just like the rest, they weren’t sure what to do with themselves. They tried to take a break from fighting to just mourn, but they got antsy fast. They couldn’t stay in that house for days on end. All it took was one visit from April and Casey before they were out on the streets again, looking for trouble.

Lucy didn’t really enjoy it, though. And it was then she realized she wasn’t sure she had ever liked it. She’d liked being active and the attention from her dad granted her for the heroics, sure.

But he wasn’t around anymore. 

So she tested the waters. Skipped a patrol here and there. Sat out on fights to let her brothers handle them. Then she stopped even trying to go altogether. No one complained, even if Leo’s smile was a bit melancholy afterward.

When Donnie seemed to pull his snout out of his tech and notice that Mikey wasn’t going out with them anymore, he pulled back as well. He started doing tech work in Mutant Town, considered human techies weren’t exactly falling over themselves to do house calls to a “zoo.” He was really good at it, too. Obviously. With his sudden income, they were able to afford nicer things and better food. 

Lucy was also able to persuade “loans” out of him to secretly use for her clothing habit.

All this to say that Lucy didn’t really do patrols anymore. But with all that’d happened between her and Raph lately, as well as the red rimming his eyes when he asked, she felt this patrol might be good for the both of them. 

“Sure.” She said, putting her comic down and stretching. “Where to?”

Raph shrugged. “Bridge?” 

“Ah, of course. Does Bridge even have a name?”

“Bridge.” Raph shrugged.

“So true King.” Lucy snapped her fingers as she followed him out of her room. He snorted. 

Five minutes later, they were on the rooftops of New York. Jumping from building to building, Lucy couldn’t hear anything but the wind in her ears. Just like when they were reckless kids, shouting over the sound of their own pounding feet in order to be heard.

Bridge was a spot they’d found early in their exploration of the world. It was just this car bridge over a river. Nothing special, nothing famous. But it had arcing beams high enough that they could climb them and not be caught people-watching, even in the daytime. They’d visited it less as they grew and got busy, but Lucy still thought of it fondly.

Raph beat her to the top. That wasn’t a huge surprise, considering she wasn’t running around town as often as he was anymore. She found she didn’t mind that. 

She sat next to him, breathing heavily. She grazed her hand over where they’d carved their four initials into the metal years ago. She smiled at the memory. 

They sat there for a while, quietly watching the foot traffic and cars pass far below their feet. There was a cool breeze, and Lucy shivered. She regretted wearing only pants. But she was externally in Mikey mode, so.

Finally, Raph broke the silence.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Hm?” Lucy hummed, kicking her feet. 

“You gonna tell the others? About who you really are?”

Lucy considered that. “Nah. Not yet.” 

Raph was quiet.

“Do you think I should?”

“I mean. You don’t have to. But I kinda came out myself so you’d see that it’s like… okay?”

“You cried through your coming out.”

Raph scowled. “Well then just forget it!” He shouted, crossing his arms.

Lucy sighed, leaning back on her palms. “Sorry, dude. It’s just hard, y’know? No shame for crying, mkay?” 

“Mkay.” Raph glanced at her. “So. This Woody guy.”

Lucy whistled innocently.

“Oh come on, help me out here. What’s he like? How’d you meet?”

“Welllllll…” Lucy drawled, secretly excited to finally be able to talk about him to someone. “You were right, he’s my boyfriend.”

“Fuckin’ knew it.”

“Shush. Anyway, he’s super sweet and kind and doesn’t mind that I’m a mutant. He listens when I need him too and has a great sense of humor and… I dunno.” 

“Sounds like you love him.”

Lucy thought that over. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“I’m happy for you, sis,” Raph said softly. 

“Thanks, Raph.” Lucy put her arm around his shoulder, bonking their heads together softly. “And I’m proud of you for getting the courage to say something to Casey.”

Raph stiffened. Lucy squeezed, trapping him in more of a headlock than a hug.

“You’re telling him whether you like it or not.” She deadpanned, all traces of humor vanishing.

Raph tried to squirm out of her grip. “But- what do people who are dating even do?? Forget the issue of whether he likes me back, it’s the aftermath I’m worried about.”

“Awww look who’s getting worried over a guy.” Lucy pinched his cheek.

“Fuck off!” He smacked her hand away. “I’m serious here.”

“Right, sorry.” She loosened up. “Well, my best advice is to not overthink it.”

“Helpful.”

“I’m not finished.” She scolded. “Each relationship or partner comes with its own expectation of how things should be. For some, it’s going to be wanting dates like hikes, or to museums, or maybe stay-in dates where you just cuddle and watch a movie.”

“I already know all tha-”

“Then let me FINISH. There will also be other things, like boundaries. Like who can touch who where-”

Raph made a sound of disgust.

“INTERRUPT ME ONE MORE TIME RAPHAEL HAMATO AND SO HELP ME GOD.” 

Raph shut up.

“As I was saying . Consent to various things should be discussed. Not just the sexual kind. Say, you’re not comfortable with Casey’s human side of life knowing he’s dating a mutant or a guy. That’s totally reasonable. He might have a similar requirement. But you gotta let him know that. There’s also stuff like pet names. What he’s allowed to call you and what you can call him. You should also discuss sleep schedules because you’re a night owl, but Casey has like, a job or whatever. Also if you’re upset with him, just fucking tell him. Saves a lot of heartache. And…” Lucy furrowed her brow. “I’m sure there’s more, but I’m blanking.”

“That’s plenty. Thanks.” 

Lucy looked at Raph. “Are you still weird about being out as gay?”

“Maybe.” 

“Coward.”

“Says the closeted trans woman.”

Lucy didn’t dignify that with a response.

“So is Woody like. Straight?”

Lucy groaned, letting her head fall backward. “ Yes , he’s straight.”

Raph gave her a weird look, before his expression slackened. “Shit. Mi- Lucy, does he know? You know about the thing?”

“Straight guys can like trans girls.” She defended stiffly. 

“But your answer- I dunno, the tone was off. Like it worries you.” 

“And trans girls can be worried about their straight boyfriends!”

“You haven’t answered.” Raph’s green eyes bore into her.

She looked away. “...No. He doesn’t know.” 

“Girl, you are fucked.”

Lucy turned to him, jaw dropping open. “ Excuse me??”

“I said girl, you are fucked!” 

“Wh-”

“You just gave me this whole speech about consent and honesty and communication and bullshit and here you are lying about your goddamn genitals to your goddamn boyfriend!”

“You wouldn’t get it!” She shouted back.

“Don’t I?” He countered. “I’m mutant too, I’ve had the same insecurities. But this- this is lying , Lucy.”

They glared at each other like that for a few seconds. Eventually, Lucy relented, sighing and slouching. 

“Yeah, I know.” 

“...How long have you two been together?” Raph’s voice was softer now.

“A few months.”

It was Raph’s turn to sigh. “Lucy. Man. That’s rough, I get it. But you need to tell him before this goes further.”

“I’ve tried,” Lucy leaned forward to brace her elbows against her knees. “I swear to god Raph, I’ve tried to give him outs. I took him to Mutant Town, I- I dunno! Look at me, there’s plenty a human wouldn’t like.” Her voice cracked. “It’s like. What if this last hurdle chases him away, and I lose my one shot with the person who was willing to jump all the other ones?” 

“Then you mourn and shit, I dunno.” 

“God, I hate men,” Lucy muttered.

“Hey! You’re a-”

She glared up at him, waiting for him to finish that damning sentence.

“A… bitch?” He squeaked.

Lucy burst out laughing. 

Notes:

Y'all I'm in artfight this year!! You can attack Lucy and Woody on it.
https://artfight.net/~Snirkish

ALSO. I commissioned less-depresso-more-espresso for some refs and Lucy is one of them: https://www.tumblr.com/i-got-da-rubes/754765691366850560/a-couple-of-refs-i-commissioned-from-the-lovely?source=share

ALSO ALSO Espresso drew Woody and Lucy like two chapters ago and I kept forgetting to link it my bad https://www.tumblr.com/less-depresso-more-espresso/751939457068023808/some-fanart-for-lucy-by-i-got-da-rubes-bc-its?source=share

Chapter 7

Summary:

"And eventually, I decided that she mattered more to me than my pride."

Notes:

Words: 4201
Date: 8/29/24

Edit: Man I forgot the images in this chapter 😭 fixed

Two days ago at 4 PM

Woody 🧡: Hey, are you okay? You seemed pretty freaked out earlier

Woody 🧡: Hope you got home okay 🧡

 

Yesterday at 1 AM

You: yo, it’s Lucy’s bro

You: she with u?

Yesterday at 8:04 AM

Woody 🧡: Ah, hi.

You: she ok?

Woody 🧡: Yeah, she is. She’s still sleeping

You: txt ur address

Woody 🧡: …no

You: worth a shot

You: well, tell her we’re waiting for her

You: and 2 hurry up bc Leo’s gon kill me

Woody: lol ok

 

Yesterday at 2 PM

Woody 🧡: Did you get home okay?

Yesterday at 4:10 PM

Woody 🧡: 🥺

Yesterday at 8:32 PM

Woody 🧡:

Yesterday at 12 PM

Woody 🧡:

Woody 🧡: Goodnight

Lucy sucked in a breath, reading over the messages she had missed while she was separated from her phone. She’d spent most of yesterday cleaning her room (to feel she was in control of something, she guessed). Then she’d passed out as soon as she got home after hanging out on Bridge with Raph in the evening. She rubbed her forehead. She hadn’t even thought about checking in on Woody, but he had obviously been thinking about her.

Stupid.

She began typing. 

Today at 7:45 AM

You: Where do you even get these

Before she could finish her next message, he pinged her back.

Woody 🧡: You’re alive!!!

Woody 🧡: 🎉 🥳

You: Aw, were you worried?

Woody 🧡: A little.

Lucy winced.

You: Sorry about that hon. Really. Should have reached out sooner

You: Things were a bit crazy here but I think they’ve smoothed over

You: I might even be closer with Emo Brother now

She turned off her screen and rolled around in her bed, stomach coiling in guilt. He had to be furious, right? She rushed for her phone when it buzzed again.

Woody 🧡: All good. Figured you were busy

Woody 🧡: Which one’s Emo Brother again?

You: The angry-looking one you saw in Mutant Town

Woody 🧡: Hah. The name fits

Woody 🧡: You okay?

Lucy frowned, watching as the little dots started and stopped again, signaling he had typed and deleted a message.

You: Yeah, of course

You: Why?

Woody 🧡: Seemed like a rough week. Wanted to be sure

You: I didn’t mean to worry you

You: Sorry

Woody didn’t respond.

You: Are you mad at me? 

Woody 🧡: Kind of? It’s hard to tell

Woody 🧡: Not really

You: Girl 😭

Woody 🧡: It’s like I get why it could take a while to respond

Woody 🧡: You’re busy

Woody 🧡: But I had to spend hours worrying about nothing 

Woody 🧡: And you could’ve avoided it but you didn’t

Woody 🧡: Stings a bit

Lucy groaned, pressing the tip of her phone to her forehead and squeezing her eyes shut tight. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was she like this?

You: Sorry. Idk what to say

Woody 🧡: Me neither

Woody 🧡: Glad we could talk about it

You: Well I’m glad you told me

You: Emotions are hard

You:

Woody 🧡: HAH

Woody 🧡: Gotta run. See you Friday?

You: Wouldn’t miss it for the world

Woody 🧡: 🙂

Lucy closed her phone with a sigh, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. He was right. He had been amazing the day before with her meltdown and she’d been… nothing. 

He was caring and she was useless. 

Lucy spent the rest of that Wednesday moping around the house and sending Woody the occasional meme. He was working so there were gaps between his responses. She really hoped that was the only reason. Currently, she was slumped at the dining room table, cheek against the wood as she spun a spoon around.

“Jeeze. Did someone eat your dessert or what?” Donnie’s voice emerged from the entryway, placing some plates in the sink. “Oh, let me guess what’s wrong. Someone invaded your privacy via snooping through your phone.”

“Hey,” Raph grumped as he wandered by to the bathroom. 

“Hey yourself.” Donnie rolled his eyes. He pulled out a chair and sat next to Lucy. “You alright?”

Lucy sighed dramatically, shifting her face around to see him. “Do you ever feel like you’re a lousy partner?”

Donnie frowned. “Ouch.” 

“Not you specifically.” She started biting one of her nails, watching him anxiously.

Donnie blinked. “Hm. Alright, I’ll entertain this. And yeah, there have been times when I felt like I’d messed up and Mona wouldn’t ever want to talk to me again. But we worked through it.”

“How?” Mikey asked, sitting upright.

“Well. We talked about it. Apologized for each of our parts in whatever happened. We brought it up again and again until we were sure we felt okay with how things turned out. It didn’t really matter what happened, more that we were both willing to fix it.”

Lucy’s brow furrowed. Was he crazy? Of course, it mattered what happened. “What’s the worst thing you’ve done to upset her?”

Donnie gave her a look. “That’s a little invasive, Mike.” 

“Pleaseeee? What if I date a girl and mess up super bad by doing the same thing and it's your fault because you didn’t tell me??”

Donnie groaned. “You are so dramatic.”

Lucy pouted.

“Fine.” He looked down at his fingers, fidgeting with them. “It wasn’t long after we had gotten together. I wouldn’t let her visit the lair because… well, I guess I was embarrassed. We live in a sewer, for gods’ sake. How do you tell someone that? No matter how long it's been, it's still hard. Anyway, it started weighing on her. She felt like I was keeping things from her. Which I was. I’ll own up to that. I hadn’t even told her we were never humans. I was just so- so ashamed of something out of my control. She’s a mutant too, yeah, but a different kind. What would she think of me, an animal?

“But one day I let it slip because I wasn’t paying attention. And dude, it just exploded. It was too much and she started scolding me, and I freaked and started arguing back and it just got worse until we both left furious. Didn’t talk for a bit. 

“It fucking sucked . I hated it. I felt awful. I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up all night, thinking about it, running through everything in my head. And eventually, I decided that she mattered more to me than my pride. I sucked up my shame and brought her flowers and a slightly-rehearsed apology. We sat down and talked it all out. Everything she felt, everything I felt. Why ‘this’ happened, what caused ‘that.’ And by the end, we felt better. I still felt like shit, mind you. Like I’d done something awful. Something I’m still not proud of. But she forgave me and we moved on.”

Lucy watched Donnie for a long moment, seeing him in a different light. “...I had no idea you went through something like that.”

Donnie shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d care. And I’m the only one in the family who even has a partner. Also, I was still embarrassed.”

“Yeah,” Lucy spun the spoon again. “I guess I get what you mean. I do care though.”

“Thanks, man. Were Leo and Raph right?”

“Huh?”

“About you having a girlfriend.”

Lucy’s hand fumbled and the spoon rocketed off somewhere else in the room. She winced and Donnie raised his eyebrows.

“Oh wow, really?”

“I’m not ready to talk about it.” Lucy rushed, rubbing up one of her arms and looking away. 

“...Hm. Okay. I can respect that.” Donnie patted Lucy on the shoulder as he stood. “Take your time, bro.”

Lucy gave a forced smile. “Thanks, man.”

 

—

 

It was Friday evening and Lucy was bouncing from foot to foot on the roof of Albearto’s. Since they’d had this schedule set for so long now, she hadn’t really needed to call ahead of time to order her pizza. But she did it anyway today, just to have the chance to talk to him. He seemed fine. Normal.

Why was he being normal?? He should be angry.

“Hey babe!” 

She turned as Woody scaled the last of the ladder, smiling like he really was excited to see her. She swallowed.

“Here, these are for you.” She shoved her bouquet against his chest when he approached.

He looked startled, hand raising to take it. “What’s this?”

“Carnations. Orange.” Lucy picked at her gloves.

“Those are my favorite.”

“Yeah, I asked you once.” 

“Huh. Thanks, this is really sweet but- but what’s it for?”

“An apology.” Lucy’s eyes flitted to his face and then back down. “For making you feel so yucky the other day.” 

When she looked up again Woody’s eyes were sparkling, reflecting the neon sign behind her. His cheeks were pink from the cold. “I- wow.”

Lucy cringed. “Sorry, I just- I asked my brother what to do and I’m now realizing he answered from the perspective of a man. I can take them back-”

“No, no! It’s not bad at all.” Woody looked at the bouquet. “I really like it. I’ve just never been given flowers before, so I don’t really know what to say. Thanks, Luce. You’re so sweet. And I’m flattered you’re thinking about me enough to ask for advice.”

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “So you’re not mad at me?”

Woody grinned fondly and shook his head. “No, I think I’m already over it. No use hanging onto the feeling.”

“Oh thank goodness.” Lucy shook out her hands. “I promise I’ll try not to do it again.” 

“Thanks, hon.” Woody maneuvered the pizza box to his side so he could kiss the top of her head through her winter hat. 

“Oh, and I tried to get your other favorite flower- something snow? But I couldn’t find it on short notice. Especially in winter. Sorry.” She looked up when he sniffled. “Are- are you crying?”

“Maybe.” Woody rubbed at his eyes, but he was grinning. “Good tears, promise. You’re just- so so sweet. It means a lot to me that you’re willing to own up to your mistakes. Even for something so small.”

“It’s not small!” Lucy protested. “It matters to you, so it matters to me.” She crossed her arms stubbornly. 

Woody looked at her for a long moment, hand still on his cheek. “I think I love you.” 

Lucy felt like the breath was punched out of her. “I- I love you too! Like, loads. I want this to work really really bad. Two reallys.” 

Woody’s teeth showed when he grinned this time. He put the pizza and bouquet gently on the ground and finally wrapped her in an excited hug, spinning them around. Lucy giggled, hugging him back as they swayed. 

“I like when you say what you’re feeling,” Woody murmured into her scarf. 

“Then I’ll work on that too,” Lucy said immediately, not even caring how scary that was. It’d be worth it. 

“Hey, look. Snow.”

Woody propped his cheek up on her head as she looked around, neither letting go of the other. Sure enough, small snowflakes were beginning to spiral down from the sky. First a few, then more.

“Guess you brought me the three things I love most anyway. Carnations, snow, and you.” He immediately sighed. “I actually hate snow I don’t know why I said that.”

Lucy laughed. “WHAT? That’s a total dealbreaker. I don’t think we can see each other anymore.” Her insides fluttered at being called his favorite.

“But then how will we fulfill our star-crossed lovers destiny??” Woody gasped dramatically. 

Lucy giggled. “God, you’re the best.” 

“Nice. Hey, it’s fucking cold. Wanna come inside to eat while I work?”

Lucy hummed. “Is that okay?”

“Of course. My coworkers all know you by now. I haven’t shut up about you since our first date.”

Lucy drew back to look at him. “Really?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Lucy blinked. She was something to be proud of?

“...Is that okay?” Woody asked, looking concerned now. He cupped her face.

“More than okay.” Lucy smiled. “Let's head in.”

Woody grinned. He looked down. “Oh shit, your pizza box is being snowed on.”

“He can take it.”

 

—

 

“Any luck getting Raph and Casey together?” April had Lucy’s hand in hers, focused on applying nail polish. 

“UGH, I WISH.” Lucy groaned, throwing her head back. “Raph’s too nervous to make the first move. What about you?”

“I’ve been prying, but Casey’s locked up tight. He won't say a word of whether he has a crush on anyone, let alone a guy.”

“He totally does, though.”

“That’s what I’m saying! Men are the worst.” 

Lucy laughed. “Hey man, not all of them.”

April hummed noncommittally, moving to the next finger. “Hey, maybe we should set them up.”

“How do you mean?” 

“Well, I’ve got two tickets to After the Bomb next week. The band Jennika’s girlfriend Sheena plays in, remember? We could give the tickets to them and hope the heat of the moment makes them put on their big boy pants.”

Lucy hissed through her teeth. “Uh, Apes? Casey broke up with Jennika shortly after she mutated. That is a horrific idea.”

April gaped. “Wait, is that why they broke up? I thought they were still friends.”

Lucy shrugged. “I mean, kinda? I don’t think they were officially a thing, but after that, they definitely weren’t. With Casey’s dad – Satan rest his soul – whispering in his ear and all.” 

April put her palm to her forehead, staring off. “...I need to have a talk with Case.”

“Hey, no no nuh-uh.” Lucy smacked the hand she had access to. “Do not go digging up the past. We were kids and it was a shitty situation.” 

April sighed and returned to her task. “Well, I dunno what I’m going to do with these tickets then. The volume gives me a headache and I don’t have anyone to take anyway. Jen gave them to me for… I’m not sure what for.”

Lucy tapped her fingers against the table. “I could take them off your hands.”

April raised her eyebrows to give Lucy a look. “You think that’s Woody’s scene?”

“Eh. I hope so. He’s pretty sociable.”

“So long as he’s good with being stuck in a room with dozens of sweaty mutants, I say go for it. How’s he doing, anyway?” 

“Good. Really good. We’re going strong.”

“How’s the honesty department?”

“Well. There’s room for improvement.”

April gave Lucy a flat stare. “For the record, I do not approve.”

“Yeah, you’ve made that clear, mom .” Lucy rolled her eyes. “I’m just waiting for the right time.”

“What if you run into Jennika? She goes to like, every concert.” 

“...I’ll deal with it.” 

April shook her head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Luce.”

She screwed the lid of the nail polish shut tight.

 

—

 

It looked loud inside. Lucy had Woody’s hand in one, their tickets in the other. They looked at the building before them, watching the lights flash as the opening band played. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room that crowded before.” Lucy’s words painted puffs of fog in the cold air. There was a line just to get in, and it looked packed.

Woody looked down at her, squeezing her chilly hand. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded determinedly. “I wanna do this. You?” 

His face split in a grin. “I’m pumped, honestly!” 

His enthusiasm was infectious. Lucy suddenly felt warmer under her jacket. “Yeah. Yeah, we got this!” 

She marched them into line and handed over their tickets. The security used markers to draw on the hands of those admitted so they could leave the building and come back. She was a little surprised their marker worked on her scales, but she supposed they were mutants, after all. Of course, they’d be prepared.

Man, it was loud once they got inside. They gave up on talking pretty quickly and fell into motioning to communicate. They found a spot to put away their jackets, hoping no one would steal them. 

They stood awkwardly on the side of the crowd of dancing onlookers before Lucy decided she’d had enough. She hadn’t spent an hour picking her outfit and getting her makeup ready to stick to a dark corner. Besides, she was wearing a backless dress that allowed her shell to show and she was feeling reckless.

She pulled Woody into the fray, finding them a space between the bodies of the other mutants. Her heart thumped in her ears with the bass of the band’s speakers. She could feel it vibrating the floor below her feet as she hopped in place and started to move.

When she looked up again, Woody was standing very still and red-faced, looking out of his element. She laughed and took his hands.

“What happened to all that talk about out-dancing me on the walk over?” She yelled. 

His brows furrowed and he must have yelled “WHAT?” because his mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear him. She shook her head with a fond smile and pulled him after her.

His eyes widened and he seemed to try to protest, but Lucy ignored it. They were here to have fun, for Pete's sake! He said so himself. She wished she could have heard the gasp he let out when she spun and dipped him. His fist grabbed onto the front of her desk, desperate to stay upright. 

The song ended and the crowd cheered as the opening band took their bows and said their thanks. She hoisted him to his feet again, worried she had overdone it. She dusted him off awkwardly as he collected himself. 

When she met his eyes, they were wide and flustered. 

“Hi,” She smiled nervously. 

“You’re incredible.” He blurted.

“Oh!”

“And I loved that but my legs are shaking so I’d like to sit down. There’s a restaurant in the back, right?” 

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Lucy put her arm around his waist, helping him weave through the crowd to a table. “I can keep you company.”

“Nah, you don’t have to. I mean, I’d like to eat together, but why don’t you dance more? I don’t wanna dampen your mood.” He sat at an empty booth and turned to her. 

“You never could.” Lucy kissed the top of his head, making him snort a laugh. “And besides, it’s oka-” She caught a flash of a yellow scarf in the crowd as After the Bomb – the band Jennika’s girlfriend was in – took to the stage. “Actually, I’m gonna go dance a bit. And when I’m back, I want you to meet someone! One of my siblings!”

Woody blinked. “Oh, cool.”

Lucy winked and skipped off into the crowd after Jennika. 

It took her a few minutes to track down the fellow mutant turtle. She found her as close to the stage as she could be. Of course. Didn’t she spend enough time with Sheena already?

Actually, Lucy couldn’t judge. She was the exact same. 

She tapped Jenny’s shoulder and watched as her semi-sister’s face morphed from joy to confusion as she tried to comprehend what was in front of her. Lucy smiled sheepishly and pulled her away from the speakers so they could hear each other.

“Raph?” Was the first thing Jen asked.

Lucy almost choked laughing. “I- Who- What? No- Is Raph a crossdresser??”

“I dunno, are you??” Jenny gestured back. “Whichever brother you are?”

Brother.

Really? She was wearing a dress and makeup, for god's sake.

“No, it’s Mikey. Well, I’m Lucy now.”

Jenny put her hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Huh. I can hardly recognize you without your scars.”

Her eye ticked. “I didn’t even have most of those by the time we met.”

Jennika shrugged. “You undercover?”

“ No .” Lucy rubbed her cheek. “I’m trying to show you I’m trans.” 

“Oh dang, for how long?” Jennika dropped her arms. “Am I last to know??”

“No, one of the first. And I’ve only been accepting it for a few months now. And do not tell the guys yet, mkay?” 

“Got it. I’m pretty good at secrets.” Jennika smirked confidently. 

“Like what?” Lucy narrowed her eyes. 

“That wouldn’t be very secretive of me, would it?”

“You passed the test.” Lucy grinned. “Think you could get through dinner without asking questions or calling me Mikey?”

“Oh sure, when were you thinking?”

“Tonight? I brought my boyfriend.” 

“Wh- since when do you have a boyfriend??” Jennika grabbed her by the shoulders. 

“Since I came out to myself, basically. Three months.” Lucy grinned.

“I gotta meet this guy.” Jennika straightened and started looking around, like she could identify him from vibes alone. “Does he treat you right? What is he, lizard? Mammal? Help me out here.”

“Uhhh, don’t freak out.”

Jennika’s eyes snapped to Lucy’s, sharp as a knife.

“He’s human.” Lucy bit her cheek.

Jennika didn’t move for several long moments. They’d been talking long enough for the second song to start up. Jennika’s blue eyes searched Lucy’s yellow pair. Then she patted her shoulders where her hands still were and let her arms fall.

“‘Kay.” 

Lucy blinked. “That’s it?”

Jennika sighed and rubbed her neck. “I trust you.”

“Oh.”

“Now, we gonna get moving or what?”

“Right! Yes!” Head spinning a bit, Lucy spun physically and led Jennika into the crowd. The taller turtle was right on her heels. Her attitude reminded Lucy of a guard dog.

She really hoped this wasn’t a bad idea.

When they got back to the table, Woody had ordered a burger and fries. Jennika passed Lucy and slammed her palms down on the table. 

“What do you want with my sister?” She growled, towering over Woody. 

“Woah!” Lucy forced a laugh, pulling Jennika back. “Getting a little too friendly there, huh?” She glanced apologetically at Woody.

The human was, surprisingly, taking this in stride. “I’m Woodrow. What’s your name?”

That seemed to sate Jennika just a bit. She slid into the booth across from Woody. Lucy silently mourned that she hadn’t sat between them and followed. 

“Hamato Jennika. Acting leader of the Foot Clan.” 

Lucy swore, shading her eyes with a hand. “Jesus, you gotta pull that card first thing??”

Woody’s eyes widened slightly. “Woah. What’s a ninja doing at a nightclub?”

Jennika’s face remained flat, arms crossed sternly across her chest. “Dating the singer.”

Woody tilted his head like he was listening to the music. He smiled. “She has a nice voice.”

Jennika’s wall cracked. Just a bit. “She does.” She provided stiffly.

It got quiet. The bass of the music made the table vibrate. 

“Sooooo. I was kinda under the impression that the Foot Clan was evil.” Woody said, looking awkward.

“We were never evil. Just misguided.” Jennika’s snout wrinkled.

“It was run by a really bad dude years ago.” Lucy jumped in. “Then dad took over and trained Jennika as his chunin for when he- yeah. We’re all technically Foot, but like a subsect. Hamato.” 

“The elites.” Jennika insisted.

“Christ,” Lucy whispered. 

Woody shrugged. “Cool. You got any fun stories of Lucy from when she was a kid? I’ve been dying to know.”

Jennika gave Lucy a glance. “I’m adopted. But she did drop a couch on Donatello when we were seventeen.”

“That was not my fault!” Lucy bristled. 

“I was there and it was.” Jennika’s mouth ticked up in a small smile. 

Woody gaped. “A couch ?” 

Jennika shrugged. “Mutants are strong. I could hardly believe it myself.” 

“I can.” Woody grinned at Lucy with such warmth that her face lit up.

—

“He’s good enough,” Jennika told Lucy, leading her backstage after the band’s set had finished.

“Good enough ?” Lucy protested. “He’s perfect!” 

“Listen.” Jennika spun on her. She was a step above Lucy, so she leaned over her. “I don’t trust humans. They. Fucking. Suck. We’re lucky if we find ones who even glance at us kindly. So ones like him- who would look at you like that-” She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “He is a blessing, Lucy. I’m jealous, is all.”

Lucy swallowed. “Right. Sorry. I hope it wasn’t too much.” 

“I’m fine.” Jennika waved her off. “Now go give him a family history lesson before he looks us up and gets the wrong idea. What will you tell your kids if their father doesn’t even know it?”

Lucy flushed. “Jenny!” 

Jennika rolled her eyes and disappeared behind the curtain. “Be safe!”

Lucy shook her head and hopped back down the stairs. She made her way back to Woody through the dispersing crowd. He looked sleepy in his jacket. When he saw her approach he held out her own jacket. She smiled. A few minutes later, their boots crunched on the snow outside. 

“So that was weird.” Woody yawned.

“Yeah.” Lucy sighed. “Sorry. I realize there’s a lot I haven’t told you.”

“It’s chill. I’m a private person too.” Woody shrugged. Lucy couldn’t help but feel that the word “private” had no business anywhere near her.

“Is that so, Woodrow?” She smirked up at him.

Woody laughed. “It’s embarrassing! Nice rhyme, though.”

“Thanks. Been practicing.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Notes:

Makes one wonder if this wasn't Woody's first time being interrogated...

Chapter 8

Summary:

A Rasey chapter?

Notes:

11/11/24
Words: 1579

I've learned about transmisogyny in more detail today. Specifically the "deceiving transsexual" archetype. Which is where a cis man convinces someone or a population of people that he's a cis woman for his own personal gain. So I look at this fic and think... whoops.
I think it's worth mentioning that the basis of this story unwillingly fell a bit into that stereotype. But it's alsoooo, different? For me, this fic is a way to process my own feelings of being a liar, a fake, an imposter, or a monster as a trans person, even though I'm just trying to figure out who I am. This fic is meant to be deeper than "man lying for his own perverted wants!!!" That's really not what it is. I hope it speaks as otherwise. I have very specific plans for how this is meant to go, and it's not that route.
That's not related to tonight's update. I just wanted to mention it. Now for some silly fluff.

Raph was weak. He was incredibly , nay, embarrassingly weak. He was so weak that just a few weeks into winter he had fallen – as Mikey put it – hilariously ill. 

Sorry, Lucy. He was still working on that. 

It was tough, because on top of learning a new name and set of pronouns, he also had to learn not to use them in front of anyone but Lucy and April. Maybe Jennika and her girlfriend Sheena? Mikey had said something about that a few minutes ago but it was hard to make out his words. 

Lucy.

“Dude.” She said, poking his cheek. “You are red .”

He smacked her hand weakly away. She didn’t move from where she sat on the edge of his bed. He could hardly even open his eyes to look at her, but he felt the weight on the mattress and he knew her voice anywhere. High-pitched or not.

“‘S on purpose.” He insisted. 

“You’re flushed on purpose?”

“Yeah. Fits my brand.” 

“You have a fever.”

“It’s called…” He curled up to cough for several moments. Lucy patted his shell. “Cool guy syndrome. Medically.”

Lucy laughed, loud and boisterous and joyful. She hadn’t laughed like that since dad died. Raph forced open an eye to look at her. To really look at her. He hadn’t been doing that before she came out. 

She looked happy. She looked herself. It was weird. Not weird that she was happy. That like- the moment he realized what the name in her phone meant, her face seemed to restructure itself in his eyes. Being the only turtle with eyelashes was no longer weird. It suited her. Her soft jaw didn’t make her look like a child. It meant she was a girl. Her hands – smaller than his and something he never let her forget – didn’t make her small but made her a woman.

The parts stayed the same. But they didn’t look the same. 

“What’re you staring at me for?” She asked, raising a brow. 

“Love you.” He said, letting his head fall back.

“Oh. Hey, you too man.”

“You could at least say it back.” Raph dragged a hand down his face. It came back wet. Gross.

“I did, asshole!” 

“You kiss your boy toy with that mouth?”

“Nunya!”

“...Hwuh?”

Lucy stood and put her hands on her hips. “None of your business.”

“What?”

“You know? Nunya? None of your business?”

“...Probably.”

“Okay. I think it’s time for a nap, buddy.” Lucy pulled the blanket up to his chin. He didn’t respond, eyes slipping shut. By the time she closed the bedroom door behind her, he was already lost to asleep.

 

—

 

Raph was woken from drowsing by Lucy’s weight settling on the edge of the bed. He grumbled, shifting for a moment before kicking her in the butt.

“Hey!” 

That wasn’t Lucy.

He shifted onto his shell, straining to force his eyes open. Were they usually this heavy? Black hair and tanned skin swam in his vision. Karai? No. She was still in Japan. Unless she’d flown back to see him. Why would she do that? Oh god, was he dying? He felt like it. Everything was hot. But no. They would have told him if he was dying.

“Case?” His voice came out small. Weak.

Casey’s features solidified into sharp eyes and a yellowish smile. “The one and only.”

“Ain’t you named after your mom and your dad?” 

“Someone’s ungrateful I came all this way just to visit my best pal.”

“No one invited you.” Raph insisted. 

“Leo called, actually.”

Raph groaned, immediately understanding his brothers intent despite the Bain fog. “That no-good, meddling son of a-”

“Woah!” Casey frowned. “You don’t want me here or something?” He moved to stand, but Raph grabbed hold of him. 

“No!” He shouted, hurting his throat so bad it felt like it was tearing. He curled in on himself, hacking and gripping onto Casey’s hand. His friend knelt by the bed, bringing his other gloved hand up to rub his knuckles. “Don’t- don’t go. Hurts so bad.”

“It’s alright, I’m here,” Casey said, uncharacteristically soft. “Here, let's get you upright.” He slid his hand underneath Raph’s shoulder and shell, making him suck in a breath. “Jesus, you’re hot,” Casey muttered.

Raph knew what Casey meant. He knew he knew he knew. He was the sickest he’d been since he was in the single digits. 

He knew but he hoped he hoped he hoped. 

“Leo wasn’t kidding about that fever.” Casey continued, hoisting a near-limp Raph up.

He knew.

He swayed, forehead landing on Casey’s shoulder when the human sat next to him. He felt like he could stay there forever. He whined when Casey bent over to get something from a bag on the floor, earning him an alarmed glance. 

“I’m not going anywhere, man.” 

Raph didn’t answer as they settled back together, just heaving a deep sigh. 

“Look what I brought ya.” Even at Casey’s words, Raph didn’t move. He felt movement and then there was warm air rising underneath his chin. He desperately wished his nose wasn’t clogged so he could smell it. “Beef noodle soup. Your favorite, right?” 

“Yesssssss…” Raph drew out. He stretched his shell and limbs like a cat, ending with his arms around Casey’s middle, seeking warmth and the promise of soup. “From the restaurant down the street?” 

Casey spluttered a nervous laugh. “I mean- yeah, of course, man. It’s fresh.” 

“Love you.”

“Wanna repeat that?”

“Gimme.” 

Raph pulled his arms back out and opened his eyes, grabbing for the paper cup. Casey pulled it above his head and out of reach. Raph didn’t even have the energy to glare. 

Casey chuckled nervously. “Yer, uh, yer hand’s ‘re shakin.”

Raph looked down and sure enough, his hands were unsteady. His head pounded. He stared at them dully for moments he couldn’t keep track of. Moments that must have been too many, because Casey tilted his head. 

“You good?”

“I’m weak,” Raph said plainly. 

“Eh,” Casey shrugged, producing a plastic spoon and twirling it in the cup. “We all have our days. You’ll feel better once you eat.” He held the fork of noodles out. He glanced away and back in a manner Raph couldn’t discern. 

Casey looked expectant. What did he want from Raph here?

Raph looked at the fork. It was strangely close to his face.

Oh. 

His chest fluttered. He was hot all over.

He opened his mouth and closed it around the fork, watching Casey’s reaction in case he had this wrong. Casey smiled encouragingly. Raph burned. 

He swallowed and they continued in that stiff, awkward way that implied they both felt out of place. When the cup was half-empty, Raph made another attempt at gauging Casey’s expression.

Relief. And a fondness in this, hesitant, sheepish sort of way. 

It was enough to make Raph cry, apparently. 

He was weak. 

Casey pulled the fork away, looking alarmed. “Woah- woah, what happened, bud?”

Raph let out a sob, dropping his forehead onto Casey’s shoulder again. Casey put the container of soup on the dresser by the bed. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around Raph’s shell, bringing his other hand up to rub his shoulder. He hacked and coughed wetly. It felt gross. He was gross.

He wondered if there really were gods that hated “his kind.” If this sickness was some kind of divine punishment. This love of a man who couldn’t love him back. 

He already knew what Kitsune thought of him, but that was unrelated to his sexuality. Probably.

“I can’t do this.” He groaned, body shuddering.

“Do you need something to throw up in?” Casey asked. 

“No.” Raph dry heaved. “Maybe. But don’t go or I’m gonna chicken out.”

Casey had started moving and stopped again. “Chicken out of throwing up on me?”

“No, you idio-” Raph broke off in another coughing fit. “Just let me talk.” 

“So no throwing up pot?”

“Sit your ass down,” Raph growled. Casey obliged, settling back down into holding Raph. “I can’t-” Raph gestured between them, still facing down. “I can’t do this. I can’t keep getting my hopes up.”

“...You aren’t that sick, dude. You’ll recover fine.”

“God, how did I fall in love with such an oaf ?” Raph groaned miserably. 

Casey stiffened. 

“Look.” Raph squeezed his eyes shut. “I am. Weak. We know this. I’m just so sick of this- this hope.” His voice crackled. “I can’t make the first move. So tell me I’m a weirdo who can fuck off so I can get over this. Or ask me out already.” 

He was shaking now.

There was silence. Raph refused to look at Casey. Casey was still. All he could hear was the sick rumbling of his own lungs. 

“Okay.” Casey’s voice was tiny and soft and everything he wasn’t. Everything he had never been in the time Raph had known him. 

Okay? Okay, what ?

“I’ll ask you out. Late-later. You’re kind of sick as fuck right now and I gotta…” Casey gave a shuddering sigh. “Compose myself, I guess. Wanna finish the soup?”

Raph shook his head. He couldn’t really understand what Casey was saying anymore but didn’t want to do anything that required effort. He wasn’t even sure he was awake anymore. He was less sure with the way Casey chuckled and the bubbles of affection that rose in his chest. Or mucus. Maybe it was just mucus. 

He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep. But it smelled like Casey.

Notes:

Comment for the next chapter to come out next week instead of in three months again lmao

Chapter 9

Summary:

TWO Rasey chapters??!?

Notes:

"I would go as far to say that Run of the Mill is a character in the fic."
"...Who'd he cast to play Run of the Mill??"

Words: 2864
11/19/24

Raph didn’t really remember being sick. He remembered being groggy one day, waking to throw up the next, and recovering fine once it was out of his system. According to Donnie though, there were at least three days in between those two.

He wandered sleepily into the kitchen after Donnie had done a check-up. Leo looked up at him and smiled. Without a word, he set about pouring Raph a fresh cup of tea from the pot he had just brewed. Raph nodded in thanks as they sat at the table together. It was nice. The smell of the tea reminded him of their dad. They took happy sips in silence.

“You feel like going out today?” Leo asked. 

Raph grunted. “I don’t wanna patrol. Still feeling a bit shaky.”

“I was thinking more of a walk. Ground-level.” 

Raph raised an eye. “I mean, sure? Should I be out in the cold after being sick though?” 

Leo waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fiiiine. What are the chances you get sick again?”

“Aight. I’m in. I’m gonna be a bitch about being cold though.”

—

“Leo, whaddaya want?” Raph complained half an hour later, breath billowing out in front of him. 

Leo looked at Raph from where he walked down a random sidewalk beside him. He looked particularly dorky all bundled up in his winter clothing, shoulders raised to keep warm. 

“What do you mean?”

“We never hang out just the two of us. Well, we do, but we do that at home or on patrol.” Raph yawned. “So you must be up to something.” 

“I definitely don’t want you to go into this suspiciously lit alley over here.”

“What?” Raph turned to realize Leo wasn’t walking beside him anymore. He turned further and indeed, they had passed an alleyway a few steps back. “Th’ fuck?” He retraced his steps and peered into the narrow alley. No sign of his brother. Was he hiding behind something? “Leo?” No response. 

He was right about it being oddly lit though. A warm glow came from orb string lights that danced between the buildings above him. Who would bother having those out in winter? 

“This better not be a prank.” Raph sneezed. “And you better not get me sick again!” He called out, starting down the alleyway. It was oddly clean. 

It opened up into a little clearing, framed by buildings. There were a few dead bushes, considering the weather, and a couple of patio-styled tables scattered about. It was brighter here and he looked up. A friendly sign read “Run of The Mill” above a double-doorway. A restaurant? How would people find this place unless they already knew it was here? Did they thrive on recommendations or what? 

There was a paper taped to the doorway. He approached and pulled it off. There was a doodle of him on it, looking pissed off and colored in hastily. He recognized Mikey’s handiwork easily.

Lucy.

He unfolded it and there was a note inside, written in sprawling, messy handwriting. Casey’s?? What were these idiots up to? It read:

Hope you’re feeling well enough for a night of swouning.

Swouning? Swouning. Did this dumbass misspell swooning? That couldn’t be right. Raph stuffed the note into his pocket, not caring it was getting crumpled. He didn’t know what the hell was happening, but he was obviously meant to go inside. The light was low through the windows, but it was something, right?

The doors were unlocked. Score. 

There were more of those string lights inside. They led through the dining room and toward a booth in the back. As he passed the kitchen counter, he saw movement. 

He reached over and picked Lucy up by the collar of her apron before she could duck out of the way again. He glared. 

“The fuck is going on?” He demanded.

“Dude, you’re ruining the surprise!” Lucy thrashed in his grip. “Just follow the lights, you spoilsport!” 

“Not until you tell me what this is all abou-”

“Raph.” 

He turned to see that Casey had spoken his name. Casey Jones. The guy who had showered like once a week for years until April refused to let him in her house if he didn’t. The guy who wore tank tops under his layers of sweaters and winter jackets and sported bruises across his body like they were trophies. The guy who didn’t even own a hairbrush. 

That guy. 

Was wearing a suit and holding a bouquet. 

Raph dropped Lucy. 

“Shit, sorry.” He peered over the counter, trying to look anywhere but at his best friend. 

She was gone.

Fuck. 

He braced his arms against the counter, steeling his nerves before he faced this disaster.

“Jones.” He said, turning and trying to lean his elbow against the counter. He missed and stumbled. His face burned. 

“You good?”

“Yup.” Raph rasped. “Peachy. I was just sick, ‘sall.”

Casey tilted his head. “...Yeah, I know.”

“Oh. The others told you?” 

Casey watched him for a long moment, realization dawning slowly across his features. “Ohhhhhhh,” He suddenly seemed much more nervous. “These uh, these are for you.” He stepped forward and practically thrust the roses into Raph’s hands. The mutant almost dropped them. 

He stared at them blankly, unable to comprehend. Nothing made sense anymore. “What is all this?” 

“Did you read my note?” 

“It was illegible, my dude.” 

“Oh.” Casey looked seconds away from collapsing. His legs were shaking. “I was, um. My goal was-”

Loud music suddenly burst from speakers that Raph hadn’t noticed before, making him jump. “Sorry!” Donnie’s voice called from somewhere deeper in the kitchen. The volume lowered and they were left with a soft melody. 

“It’s all good!” Casey called back, looking pained. He looked back at Raph. “Look, it’s clearly a mess, but I’m tryna ask you out here.”

Raph’s own legs finally gave out and he fell into the closest chair he had been inching toward. Jesus Christ Jesus Christ. What kind of sick game was this? Did he never get over his flu? Was this a particularly cruel fever dream? 

He’d imagined his first date with Casey many times. It was never like this but of course , the human would be a gentleman about it. 

Raph pricked his finger on a thorn in the roses, drawing blood as it dawned on him that this was real. This was actually happening.

He looked up at Casey’s terrified expression and honest eyes and knew that he meant it. Casey had been a ladies' man and a trickster when they were teenagers but he wasn’t like that anymore. And he wasn’t a liar. He hadn’t even been on a date in a year or two. And yes, Raph kept track.

“You okay?” Casey asked, rubbing his arm in a way that made Raph’s eyes snap to the tight clothing.

“Fine.” He croaked. “Still- still a bit sick I guess.”

Casey put his hands behind his head and groaned. “Sorry, did I move too quickly? I just got excited when you said you loved me-”

Raph choked. “When I WHAT?”

Casey stilled, stuttering.

Raph stood, stalking toward him. “What the hell did my siblings tell you?”

“Nothing!” Casey’s eyes widened and he raised his hands in surrender. “It’s just- I visited you when you were sick and you said some stuff that made me think-” Raph spun away from him again, tossing the flowers on a nearby table. “Was- was I wrong?” Casey’s wavering voice made Raph want to crumple to the floor. 

“No, I just-” He rubbed his eyes, growling. “I’m not. Used to. Emotions? Ones that aren’t anger. I think I spent so long mourning that nothing would ever happen between us that my brain’s shutting down at the idea of anything else.”

“...So you do love me.” 

Raph slowly turned to look at Casey again. He looked so small, somehow, in his fragile hope. Hard as it was to make the words come out, Raph couldn’t be the one to shatter it.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. It ain’t just some crush.”

Casey’s face immediately broke into a grin, the whole room becoming brighter around him. Raph’s chest fluttered. Was all that joy really just from knowing Raph liked him?

“Yes!” Casey fist-pumped, some of his usual personality reemerging. “Oh thank god, dude, you had me so nervous. How long have you liked me?” 

Raph’s expression screwed up, his palms sweating. He crossed his arms. Casey leaned in as he waited, grin still wild and eyes unblinking.

Raph broke first.

“Since we were sixteen.” He muttered, face burning. He closed his eyes.

There was no noise for a moment. And then a whisper. “Six years ?”

“Yuuuuup.”

“Oh my god.” Raph opened his eyes and Casey had a hand over his mouth, eyes shimmering. “And you didn’t say anything??”

“Hey!” Raph protested. “I tried dropping hints, okay? You’re the oblivious idiot who didn’t notice!” 

“Why didn’t you just ask me out?”

“How could I?” Raph yelled back, actually angry now. “I didn’t even know you were into guys, let alone mutants !”

“Gettin’ a lil heated in there. And not in the good way.” He heard Lucy whisper somewhere, followed by Leo and Donnie shushing her aggressively.

“IF YOU DUMB FUCKS DON’T GET OUT OF HERE-”

Before he could even finish his threat, there was shuffling and the slamming of what he hoped was an exit door. Lucy, however, popped up from behind the counter again. 

“I haven’t made your dinner yet!” She protested. 

“It’s fine, we’ll just-” Raph glanced at Casey. The human had a grimace and was looking away. He seemed disappointed his plan wasn’t working out. He sighed. “Fine, you can stay. Just no more snooping, got it?” Lucy saluted and ducked back into the kitchen, the doors swinging behind her.

Casey brightened. Raph pretended he didn’t see it.

“Look, let's just-” Raph picked up his bouquet, mourning the petals that he had crumpled. “Let’s sit and talk this, out, okay?”

Casey nodded excitedly. “Yes, definitely let's do that.” He led Raph to a booth in the back. It had utensils already set out, as well as a couple of candles in the middle. His heart thudded in his ears. Casey waited for him to sit before sitting himself. His heart just got louder. He put the bouquet on the table.

“So what exactly did I say to you while I was sick?” Raph eyed Casey warily. 

“Well, I came over and fed you some soup-”

“Sorry, you fed me?” 

“Uh, yeah?”

Raph glared at the wall, arms crossed. 

“You okay?” Casey asked. 

Raph turned his glare on Casey now. If they were going to be together, they may as well be honest. “Just wish I could remember it.” 

Casey spluttered a laugh, face red. He cleared his throat. “We could uh, do it again one day?”

Raph nodded sharply in approval. “What happened next?”

“You kinda broke down and begged me to ask you out.” 

Raph squawked. “I don’t beg .”

Casey twined his fingers together and rested his chin on them, smirking. “Not yet, at least.”

“No,” Raph said flatly. 

“Fair enough.” Casey coughed into his fist. 

“Bon appétit!” Lucy sang, spinning into existence and placing their plates down in front of them with a flourish. “Special couple’s chicken parmesan.” 

“What makes it special?” Raph asked suspiciously. He hoped Lucy could see past the rough attitude and realize he was thankful for her part in setting this all up.

“All pasta meals are special,” Lucy said gravely, winking at the same time. “Dessert’s in the fridge, help yourself! I’m heading out.” She skipped away, whistling off-tune. 

Casey was grinning after her. “Love that guy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Raph muttered, cutting his chicken.

“Aw, someone jealous?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Okay.”

They ate in awkward silence for a few moments. Casey ruined the relative peace by opening his big mouth.

“Did you really think I couldn’t be into you?”

“Yeah,” Raph answered easily.

“Why?”

Raph lowered his fork. “Jennika.”

Casey’s face fell. “Ah.”

Raph shoved another forkful of food in his mouth. His throat felt too tight to swallow. 

“Shall we… talk about that?”

Raph didn’t look up from his meal. “You talk. I dunno what to say.” 

“Talking’s hard?”

Raph nodded.

“That’s to be expected, I guess.” Raph heard the rustling of fabric, and he could practically see Casey rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Jeeze, where to start? You of course know everything that was happening back then. You were there. But maybe it’d be different hearing what it was like for me?”

“Sure.”

“I was letting my dad kinda rule my life those days. Which is dumb and insane considering his raging alcoholism but… we’re kinda hardwired to want our parent's approval, y’know? So when I expressed interest in Jennika and he nodded and said she was a badass, I guess I kinda latched onto that. If I had been hesitant in my feelings about her before, I wasn’t anymore.” 

From his periphery, Raph could see Casey alternating between eating and fidgeting with his hands as he talked. 

“And then, when she mutated, I… didn’t really feel anything.” This made Raph look up to squint at him. Casey looked guilty, continuing to eat. “Like, nothing changed in how I saw her. There was no shift in attraction or feeling of disgust. Just a bit of dismay for what she must be going through. But my dad… he was pissed. He now hated Jennika and it made me want to put distance between us, keep that version of my dad around where he liked me, liked my choices.” Casey cleared his throat. “It was a couple of years later, once he’d been out of the picture for a while, that I realized I hadn’t been attracted to Jennika in the first place.”

Here Raph had to interject because, again, he’d been there. “Huh? Dude, you were pining for months. Wouldn’t shut up about her.”

Casey smiled nervously. “That must have been pretty miserable for you, huh?” 

Raph blinked. “Yeah, I guess it was.”

“Yeah… sorry. Anyway, my point is that I now know I didn’t actually like the girls I pursued over the years. I mean I liked them fine and we got along, yeah. But there wasn’t uh, a zing? Like I wasn’t drawn to them any more than my other friends, not beyond the fact they were women. Raph, can you name a similarity between all the girls I’ve dated?”

Raph scowled. Casey put his hands together like he was pleading. 

“I promise this is going somewhere. Just try.”

“They all could, and did, kick your ass.”

“Good, that’s a start. What else?”

Raph chewed slowly as he thought. “They all wore jeans.”

Casey snorted. “Not what I was thinking, but sure.” 

Raph ran through the dozen faces of Casey’s flings in his head. “They hadddd short hair?” He said, half guessing. 

Casey nodded, like he was close. “And a lot of them wore red. April included.”

Raph gave him a puzzled look, before freezing like he had short-circuited. He stopped breathing.

“So yeah, I kinda came to the realization that I was just picking girls with various traits that I liked but I wasn’t really feeling anything about any of them. I kept it up, telling myself I just hadn’t found ‘the one’ yet, but no one ever felt right.” Casey took a deep breath. “Until a few months ago I realized I had already found the one. …And I couldn’t replicate him.” 

Raph made a choking noise, hand rising to stifle it behind his mouth. His eyes burned. God, why did this hurt? 

“Oh shit,” Casey whispered, offering his napkin to Raph across the table. “Um, sorry?” 

“You’re such an idiot.” Raph blew his nose loudly into the napkin.

“Yeah. I get that a lot.” Casey smiled. 

Raph sighed, propping his arm up on the table and slumping on top of it. “So you’re gay?”

“I… yeah, I mean, it’s still hard to say, but yeah. It’s more like… I like you, specifically. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I don’t look at other guys and think ‘hot,’ it’s always you.” 

“Christ.” Raph hid his face in his arms. “You can’t just say stuff like that.”

Casey chuckled shyly. “Can’t help the truth.”

Raph groaned, face burning.

“I knew you were one for getting flustered, but this is downright adorable.” 

“I may have to kill you.” Raph sat up and rubbed his face. “I just- I dunno how to do this, alright? Cool it on the teasing.”

“I wasn’t teasing.”

Raph couldn’t look at him. Not in a bad way but like- this was a lot. He didn’t know what to do with it. He had a lot of energy and nowhere to direct it. “It’s- this is gonna be an adjustment.”

“This?” Casey prompted.

“This… relationship. If you wanna be in one.” He finally looked up at the human. 

Casey was grinning ear-to-ear. Raph thought if he had ears himself, they’d be bright red. “Hell yeah, I wanna be in a relationship.” 

“You’re a dork.” 

“ Your dork.” Casey corrected smugly.

“Yeah. My dork.”

Notes:

If you get the reference in the notes ily you're a real one

Chapter 10

Summary:

Words: 3218
2/22/2025

Notes:

College kicking my ass but this fic will be finished one day goddamn it. Shoutout to my friend Miv making me laugh so hard I fell out of bed in the middle of the worst scene

Content warning: Transphobia, homophobia, religious trauma, religious abuse

Lucy skipped home, heart filled with joy for her lovesick older brother. There was no way Raph could screw this up, right? Casey was super into him. He was super into Casey. That meant it would work out.

Because it was cold outside, Lucy had hidden some of her warm leggings and skirt in a cupboard of the restaurant before her brothers arrived. When they asked her if she really went out without sleeves she just stuck her tongue out in response. Despite her layers, she jogged to stay warm.

She was approaching Woody’s apartment block. She gripped her purse strap, mind wandering to their date the day before. They’d been out all afternoon at a library making fun of old white scholars on the backs of books and in paintings on the wall. It was fun. They were eventually removed for insulting the founder of the library too loudly.

When Lucy asked him to dinner, he declined, which was odd. Whatever. Sometimes they just needed time alone. They kissed each other goodbye in the low sunlight. Woody smiled as she walked away, and she couldn’t help but feel he looked a little sad. She wondered if he was still sad. Christmas was around the corner, but he hadn’t made any mention of celebrating. Maybe he was Jewish. That was probably something she should have asked a while ago, huh?

She stopped outside his building, humming in thought. He wouldn’t mind if she stopped by to say hello, would he? Thoughts still buzzing romantically about her brother and his own love, she hopped happily up the stairs. 

The hallways were decorated with lights and stockings. Cute! She found his apartment and knocked roughly. She rocked back and forth eagerly on her feet. She heard a chair scratching through the door as someone stood up. 

Woody looked tired when he opened the door. And then panicked? He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. 

“Are you okay?” His hushed voice grounded her. Snapped the world back into focus. 

“Yeah.” She smiled guiltily. “Just missed you, I guess.”

“That’s- that’s sweet, but this isn’t a great time-”

A shrill voice rang out behind him in the apartment. “William? Who’s there?” The door was yanked open, and Woody closed his eyes in defeat. He stepped away to reveal a woman several inches shorter than him. She had blonde streaks in her hair with a darker layer underneath- as if she dyed it. It was frizzy from bleach damage. She looked like she was in her fifties. Her eyes were blue. 

She scrunched her nose when she saw Lucy. Like she had smelled something rotten. “What’s this?”

“Mom…” Woody ground the word out like it was painful. “This is my girlfriend. Lucy. She was just leaving.” He gave Lucy an urgent look as his mom bodily shoved him out of the way to clasp Lucy’s hands. 

“Oh my goodness! She’s even shorter than me, what a doll.” White teeth flashed so brightly in his mom’s smile that Lucy felt like she had to squint. “Strange you don’t wear a wig. I know this fantastic tailor I could get you in touch with-”

“Mom!” Woody scolded, scowling with a ferocity Lucy had never seen from him before. “Do not.”

“Right, silly me.” The woman waved her hand, rolling her eyes. “I’m just so excited! I didn’t know you had a- a girlfriend, you said? He hardly writes us, you know.”

“It’s- nice to meet you?” Lucy felt like there was a rock in her stomach. Her hands would be shaking if they weren’t being gripped so tightly by this strange, skinny woman. 

“Call me Helen. Are you hungry? I bet you’re hungry.” Helen’s eyes traced up and down Lucy’s torso in a way that burned . This didn’t feel like a grandma telling her she was too skinny and needed to eat more. Quite the opposite. 

“Mom, she really doesn’t have time.” Woody insisted, trying to step between them. 

“Nonsense. We only have a few days in town, we should really take this opportunity!” Helen grabbed Lucy tighter and began pulling her into the apartment. “Oh dear, you have rough hands.”

“Uh, yeah. I do… boxing?” Lucy floundered, following after her. Her jaw dropped.

Dear god, what had this woman done to Woody’s apartment?

There were throw pillows and candles everywhere. Candles ON throw pillows?? They weren’t lit but remained a serious fire hazard if they ever ignited. The air smelled like a noxious combination of lavender and cauliflower. 

“Then you MUST be hungry!” Helen forcefully sat Lucy in a chair at the table and began collecting another set of plates and utensils for her. “You’re in luck, I just finished making vegetarian lasagna! Such amazing options we have, these days.” She slowed and tilted her head. “Can you eat cheese?” 

Lucy forced a smile. “I can eat anything you can.” 

“Well don’t get huffy, I couldn’t be sure with,” Helen gestured to Lucy’s… everything. “You know.” She smiled and tilted her head, sickly sweet.

“Yeah.” Lucy took a few deep breaths when the woman turned away to pull dinner out of the oven. She had just wanted to visit her boyfriend, man. She didn’t sign up to meet the in-laws and she was woefully underprepared.

“Sir.” Woody’s voice sounded small.

What the fuck?

Lucy turned to find Woody facing a man in the living room. A man who looked exactly like him if he were huge and mean and thirty years older. A man who was glaring right at Lucy. Feeling much like a deer about to be run over, she waved awkwardly. 

“What is this.” The man asked flatly. 

“That’s what I said!” Helen chirped, getting Lucy a glass of water. She chugged half of it and stood.

“Dad, this is my girl friend. Her name is Lucy.” Woody’s eyes were fixed on the floor. “It seems she’s joining us for dinner.”

Lucy offered Woody’s father a hand to shake. After a moment of silence, he took it. And squeezed. Hard. Lucy squeezed back. Woody watched his dad’s expression anxiously.

“You have a man’s grip.” He muttered.

“Isn’t it fascinating?” Helen fell against her husband's side, beaming. He didn’t reciprocate the affection. “Those mutations are something else! This is Joseph, by the way. You can call him Joe!”

“Please don’t.”

“He’s joking. Now, let's eat, shall we?!” 

Everyone shuffled to the dinner table. The thought crossed Lucy’s mind that she should put a stop to this. Woody looked miserable. But there were eyes on her, first impressions to make. She couldn’t be rude. 

Lucy sat between Helen and Woody, facing Joe- Joseph? Joseph. Without a word exchanged, the other three linked hands and looked at Lucy expectantly. 

“We pray before our meals,” Woody explained. 

Oh. Oh shit. Woody’s parents were Christian. He had never made any mentions of religion. Like, ever. They’d had many meals together, and never had she heard a whisper of prayer. 

She placed her hands in Woody’s and Helen's open ones. When the others closed their eyes, she followed suit, feeling like she was treading murky water. Helen’s words drifted over her, melodious and bright. Lucy couldn’t recount a word she said later. Things were starting to get fuzzy around the edges. 

She murmured “Amen,” with the others when it finished, though she felt dirty. Like a fraud. Woody squeezed her hand before letting go, and she took that as a signal to open her eyes. 

Helen was watching her. Joseph was already eating. Woody was cutting his food, looking dejected.

All she could hear as she took a bite was cutlery clinking and the traffic outside. It was a little… wet. She didn’t think lasagna was supposed to look like that, either. 

“It’s delicious,” Lucy tried to smile, looking at Helen. “Did you make it?”

Helen grinned, holding her cheek. “I did! I’m so glad you like it. You know, I’ve never had a mutant try my cooking before, so I wasn’t sure what you’d think.”

“Mom,” Woody mumbled.

“What? It’s true.” Helen shrugged. “How did you two meet?”

“At work.” Woody gave Lucy a fond smile.

“That ain’t work,” Joseph muttered under his breath.

Woody’s smile vanished. “Well, it pays the bills.”

“Doesn’t your grandfather do that?” Helen asked in a high-pitched voice Lucy assumed was meant to convey innocence. 

“He was just a kickstart.” Woody’s face was beet red.

“What about you, Lucy dear, what’s your financial situation?” Helen turned her attention to the mutant. 

“Mom!” Woody protested. 

“I uh, I live with my brothers.” Lucy blurted, desperate for this to slow down.

“With men?” Joseph raised an eyebrow.

Jesus fucking Christ- “My brothers.”

“No wonder you’re so stocky. You eat like men.” Joseph said, making Helen giggle and slap his shoulder playfully, like he was such a silly rebel.

“Dad!” Woody yelled, slamming a fist on the table. “Not cool!”

Joseph’s eyes widened and Helen gasped. Lucy had to admit that she was startled too. She had never heard him raise his voice, not even at the concert or during movies. The only times he had even gotten close, he would stop and correct himself. 

There were so many emotions swirling inside her. Shame coiled in her stomach from Joseph’s comment about her weight, settling next to butterflies that formed from Woody’s quick defense.

What a strange feeling. 

“It was just an observation.” Joseph looked down, brows furrowed like he couldn’t understand what he had done wrong. 

“No, it’s not, it’s rude. I don’t like that kind of talk.” He looked at his mom. “You too.” 

Helen’s jaw was literally dropped. “I didn’t do anything! I- I cooked you dinner!”

“In my home that you invited yourself to.” Woody glowered. 

Joseph sighed loudly and pinched between his eyes. “Shouldn’t you have outgrown this by now?”

“Outgrown what, exactly?” Woody’s voice cracked. Something in his face told Lucy that he already knew the answer. He just needed to hear it. 

“This- this rebellious gay phase.” Joseph gestured at Lucy. Her hands gripped at the fabric of her skirt and her breath caught in her throat.

Oh.

Fuck.

Woody’s hands slammed on the table and his chair screeched across the floor as he stood. “Apologize.” 

Joseph scoffed. “For what? He’s obviously a man. We know what you’re into, and you know we don’t appro-”

“I don’t need your fucking dirtbag approval. You have fifteen minutes to pack your bags and get the fuck out of my house.”

His parents froze.

“He’s- he’s sorry! He didn’t mean it, right baby?” Helen grabbed her husband's arm. “We just want what’s best for you.”

Woody stared at his mom, wide-eyed and fierce. “You think I’ll let you stay just because you say the words ‘my bad?’ Nah. Your house may have worked like that, but mine doesn’t.” 

His parents just sat there, dumbfounded. 

“MOVE IT!” Woody barked. “I’ll call security if you don’t get your sorry asses out of MY HOUSE.”

Helen startled and stood up quickly, tugging Joseph along with her. Joseph didn’t look like he knew what had just hit him. They stumbled into Woody’s bedroom together. She heard hurried whispers and shuffling. Woody was looking at her, but she didn’t move her head. She just stared forward, terrified that if she moved a muscle, he’d finally see through her the way his parents had. 

Woody let out a deep, defeated breath. He leaned over and put his hand on her chin, kissing her cheek firmly, lingering.

“I’m sorry, love.”

She let out a dry sob.

—

Ten minutes later, Woody’s front door had been slammed shut and locked behind his parents. Woody walked around the apartment sniffling and wiping at his eyes, shoving frilly pink hand towels and pillows into a trash bag. She even saw him swipe in a nativity set she hadn’t noticed. Neither of them said anything. She hardly made a noise.

She looked up when she heard his movements stop. He had a candle in his hand, reading the label like it was the saddest thing he’d ever seen. 

“Mom could never get enough of lavender. I always hated it. I hated that my room smelled like her.”

Lucy rubbed her throat. “I’m not a fan either.”

Woody looked up, like he’d forgotten she was there. “Hey.” He put the trash bag down and crossed the apartment to her. “You okay?”

She gazed up at him, not exactly sure of the answer. “What the fuck just happened?”

Woody looked tired. “Why don’t we sit on the couch?”

When she curled up in the corner of the couch, Woody gave her one of his pillows to hug. She was glad it smelled like him instead of lavender. She closed her eyes, breathing it in. Woody sat on the other end of the couch. His movements felt hesitant. Uncertain. She heard him whisper “God, where do I even start?”

“I never really fit in with my parent’s… ideas of what makes a man.”

“You’re gay.” Lucy accused bluntly.

Woody squeezed his eyes tightly shut and hissed through his teeth. “Don’t- don’t make this harder. Please.”

She covered her traitor mouth with the pillow.

“I’m not gay.” Woody rubbed his forehead. “I’m sure of it. I’m just not the macho man my dad thinks I should be. I like bright colors, and I don’t like working out or wanna break my back working manual labor the way he did. I also,” he looked like he was struggling with the words. “Respect. Women.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not saying masculine men can’t respect women,” He muttered. “But my parents don’t, not in the way that’s important to me. I dated a trans girl in high school. It wasn’t a fetish or a cover for being gay, much as people insisted it must be. It was just. Well, she was a girl. And I liked her.” Woody was kind of bent in half, hugging himself. “My parents on the other hand… god. They lost their minds. Grounded me, sent me to work at the church, made me break up with her. It was fucking brutal. They were always strict but it got so much worse. My mom's dad passed away a little before I turned 18 and with the money he left me, I got the fuck out. Never looked back. It took a few years to feel like myself again.” He looked at her, eyes dull. “To let myself be myself again.”

Something in Lucy felt heavy and hollow at the same time. She’d gotten to be raised by a great dad. A great dad who probably would have supported her no matter what. 

But they didn’t get that far, so she was left wondering. 

Was it better to wonder, or to know what Woody knew?

Pillow still clutched against her chest, she scooted across the couch to lean against Woody. She twined her fingers in his. He sighed and relaxed against her.

“I’m sorry I put you through that.” He said.

“I’m sorry those nightmares raised you.”

Woody chuckled dryly. “How are you feeling?”

She swallowed. “I think I should be the one asking you that.”

“Okay, actually. I think I’m over them. I haven’t wanted them in my life for a long time.” He hesitated. “I wish I could’ve protected that first girlfriend the way I tried to protect you tonight. I’m sorry if that makes me a bad boyfriend. Missing an ex.”

Lucy squeezed his hand. “You were a kid. She was your first love. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sure she understands.”

“I ever tell you how awesome you are?”

“Only a few times a day. I could stand to hear it a little more often.” She smiled. 

“Well, you are.”

They settled into semi-comfortable quiet for a little while. She was tired. Woody had seemed tired from the moment she walked in the door. 

“I’m kind of surprised.” Lucy finally admitted. “By how good of an ally you are.”

Woody chuckled incredulously. “What? It’s not like it was a secret.”

Lucy froze.

What?

She looked away, heart hammering. Her breath quickened. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Woody squeezed her shoulder. “I didn’t wanna bring it up before you were ready to talk about it. I know it can be scary, even when you’re already out.”

Lucy turned to look at him, eyes blinking uncontrollably. “You knew?”

Woody’s supportive expression morphed into confusion. “What do you mean?”

“This whole time, you knew I was a guy.”

“Woah, what? No no, I’m not saying you’re a guy! I just knew you were trans. How could I not?” 

You know that moment they talk about? The one right before a near-death, where your life flashes before your eyes? Lucy heard it’s the body’s attempt to collect everything it’s learned to find the way out, to find a way to survive.

Months. Months thinking she passed, months on cloud nine, so proud of herself for making it.

And she didn’t pass at all.

What the fuck was wrong with her?

Woody’s face fell with understanding. “You thought I didn’t know.”

“I-” Lucy choked. “I wasn’t ready, I just…” She sat up and away from him.

Woody’s eyes darkened. Like he’d given up. He leaned his elbows on his knees, putting his palms together in front of his face and closing his eyes. “Dear God, what did I do to be so fucking untrustworthy.”

Lucy’s heart dropped. “Woody-”

“Just get out.” His voice was small. On the verge of breaking. “Please.”

Lucy hurried to her feet and stumbled for her purse. Her hands were shaking, struggling to unlock the door.

“Lucy.”

She stopped.

“I didn’t mean to say you don’t pass.” His voice was so small. So far away. “I’m sorry, but-” his voice finally cracked. “Why would you lie for so long?”

Lucy stood there cowering, hiding against the door for support. “I wasn’t ready.”

It was quiet for a moment. 

“That’s just cruel.” He whispered. 

Lucy fled.

She didn’t run home. She didn’t cry. Her breathing steadied and she felt calm. The kind of calm she was swept with before she fought a battle. She was blind and deaf to the world around her. Her face froze in the winter wind but she didn’t feel it. 

She walked right into the lair with her girl clothes on. Leo was in his recliner, reading a book. He looked up, eyes going wide when he saw her. 

He looked terrified.

She just stood there, not feeling much better herself as they stared at each other. It felt like an old western. First to draw the gun was first to pull the trigger.

“Hey, guys?” Leo called behind himself, standing. “I could use some… backup?” 

“Man, I just laid down,” Raph whined from his room. 

“Now!” Leo snapped. That got Donnie moving from the kitchen, and he shuffled into the room. He blinked a few times before putting his mug down and rubbing his eyes. Raph followed shortly. His expression was light. His date with Casey must have gone well. 

His expression fell quickly when he saw her.

Lucy stood there before her three brothers, a girl they had never met.

“I think…” She looked down at her hands. “I think I hate myself.”

Notes:

Comment 100000000 times to get the next chapter
I've been reading the bible for class and god is kind of a dick guys I don't recommend. boring plot

Also anyone remember the playlist I made for this fic?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4izY3zdi7vdRV5hzoTfOxr?si=yE_gogo8QrKhBrSYJ50Qfg
Big fan

Chapter 11

Summary:

4/11/25
Words: 1819

Notes:

When I first started writing this fic, (January 2024), I was crushing HARD on this girl I knew. Had been for three months already. I knew she was queer, but at the time only that she liked girls. And I'm a trans guy. And I don't believe in the "only bisexuals date trans people" stereotype but had no clue if she liked men, or that if she did, she would like a trans one.
So I guess a lot of this fic is a projection of my own insecurity around my gender and sex in regards to dating.

Raph barreled past Leo to wrap her in a big hug. She didn’t break then. She just let him squeeze tight and mutter how she was stupid and should shut up because no one should ever hate her, least of all her.

She didn’t break yet.

She let him put her in bed to sleep, still fully clothed, and listened while they whispered outside her door. She listened as Raph came out for her. Leo and Donnie were confused, but at least they weren’t angry. She heard the name “Woody” and covered her ears.

She didn’t break yet.

She woke up when someone sat on the edge of her bed. Eyes bleary and body heavy in her clothes, she shifted to see April sitting there. The human looked tired, but her eyes were kind. She didn’t say she told her so. She didn’t ask what happened. 

“Hey there, beautiful.”

She broke.

April held her and stroked her shell while Lucy sobbed into her chest, a torrent of words pouring from somewhere deep in her soul. They were torn out of her violently, amidst tears and snot and apologies for ruining April’s shirt. Her head pounded and she felt her throat vibrate with the force behind her confession. She sobbed and cried about how awful she was and how April was right and she never should’ve been so stupid.

April listened with the silent patience of a saint. When Lucy was done, she got her up and had her undress. She led the ninja to the bathroom, where a warm bath was already waiting for her. One of her brothers must have set it up. They must have coordinated with April. 

She wanted to dive under and never come up again.

April must have known, because she sat with her back against the tub and sat with Lucy in silence as the tears and sniffles died down. The steam must have been magic, because the pressure slowly seeped out of her head. The weight left her body and she floated.

She stared at the ceiling. How much easier it would have been to be a turtle. All she’d have to do was float in a pond like this.

She voiced the thought aloud. April seemed to ponder it.

“It wouldn’t all be floating around and napping. You’d have to hunt for food. And you’d never have pizza again.”

Maybe being a mutant wasn’t so bad. 

The only marker of the time that passed was the warmth of the water. When it was finally cold, Lucy stood and towelled herself off. April had seen her “naked” mostly the whole time she’d known her, but the sweetheart still faced away for some semblance of privacy. When she was sufficiently dried off, April presented her with her hoodie and sweatpants and left the room. Disconcerted by the thought of being alone again, Lucy tugged on the clothes and hurried after her. 

She found April in the living room. Her and the rest of the family. The disheveled turtle backtracked a step quickly, peeking around the corner to assess the situation. The TV was off, but they’d pulled the couch and chairs around it to make a sort of cove, piled high with blankets and pillows. The way Lucy liked to “ruin the decor” when they were kids, as Leo called it.

They’d even pulled the small reading table to follow, and when Lucy saw the back of the worn picture frame, she knew what it was. 

She hid again, sliding down the wall to sit and clutching her face. That picture of Splinter never left the mantle in the dojo. Why…?

They wanted to watch a movie together.

Eyes hot with tears, she stood up and speed-walked into the room, arms tense by her sides. She picked up a blanket to cover herself with and plopped down. For the first time, she noticed Casey, who moved to sit next to her. He smiled warmly, if a bit sad-looking. His eyes were so kind, so full of love for her.

Lucy remembered for the first time that last night had been his first date with her brother. Both of their first dates with men. It was supposed to be a happy night. And she’d come home just to COMPLETELY ruin Raph’s night-

Casey had to be a mind reader. He put his hand on Lucy’s head and physically turned it to face the TV. Leo sat on the other side of her. 

“No thinking tonight,” Casey ordered. “Just whatever movie Leo picked out.” 

Leo smiled almost sheepishly. “This one’s been a guilty favorite for a while now.” He turned on the TV and navigated where he wanted while the others settled into the blankets and onto the couch around and behind Lucy in relative silence. 

The movie was called Some Like It Hot. It was filmed in black in white in the 50s, but it took place in the 30s or something? According to Leo. It seemed dumb and lighthearted. A comedy. These two dudes were struggling musicians who accidentally witnessed a mob shoot-out. Now, they were on the run from said mob and trying to join a traveling band to do it. Lucy found herself actually chuckling at a few parts with the others. It was nice. Oddly, Leo’s laughter was a little nervous. 

The guys in the movie weren’t having much luck finding a band to run away with. The only band that could take them was women-only.

The men in the movie gave each other a look.

Oh.

The men reappeared on screen, dressed as women. From the corner of her eye Lucy saw Raph giving Leo an intense “what the fuck are you doing??” look. Leo refused eye contact. Raph sat  back with a huff that said “you better know what the fuck you’re doing.”

Lucy was enraptured by the movie.

They had really filmed this fifty years ago? It didn’t feel real. Possible, even. 

It ended up being full of wacky hijinks and close calls as they traveled to hide from the mob and struggled to keep their identities from the rest of the women in their group. One of the men, Joe — or Josephine, depending on who you asked — fell in love with a bandmate played by Marilyn Monroe. An actually female bandmate, that is.

He spent his time running around, switching between male and female as his male persona pursued her romantically and his female one gained her friendship to learn about her. It was all kind of sleazy on his end and wrapped up in lies. Very much a product of its time. Still, it was funny.

Lucy liked Jerry better. He was constantly scolding Joe for his lying to Marilyn. His female persona was named Daphne. Daphne spent her time trying to get away from a very rich and very infatuated man named Osgood, who really really wanted her hand in marriage. He was a bit weird and insistent, but he also seemed like a real sweetheart. Lucy was rooting for him.

A lot of the movie was a blur, but the ending is what most strongly resonated somewhere deep in her shell. 

In the back seat of a motorboat, Marilyn forgave Joe because, lies or not, she was in love with him. Then they made out. Because of course.

In the front seat were Daphne and Osgood, the former driving the boat. He was energetically prattling on about their wedding, how his mom was going to be so excited to see Daphne wearing her dress. Daphne tried desperately to convince Osgood that it was a terrible idea; it’d never work. Finally, she yelled in frustration and pulled her wig off.

“I’m a man!” She growled.

Without hesitation, Osgood chirped. “Nobody’s perfect.”

And the movie ended. He loved her, man or not. He would marry her, woman or not. 

Lucy burst into tears again. Everyone was glaring at Leo, who shifted uncomfortably and put his arm around her shoulders. He whispered in her ear.

“I heard online that Osgood’s last line was supposed to be ‘I know.’ I may not have known, um. That you’re a girl. But nobody’s perfect, right? And I still love you, Lucy. So I hope you can forgive my imperfection.”

Lucy wailed dramatically and flung her arms around her brother, too shaken to feel embarrassed. Everyone looked tense for a moment before they seemed to realize she wasn’t strangling Leo. Then there was a slightly hilarious and collective sigh of relief. 

Lucy slept like a baby that night. 

 

—

 

The next few days were spent with her brothers always on some sort of standby in case she broke down again. Bit by bit, she told the story of her and Woody, of how awesome it felt to feel like a girl. Of how she’d been so scared to have an honest conversation about her transness with him. How badly she had messed up by denying him that conversation. About what his parents said. 

Her brothers were quiet whenever she spoke. She could tell they were struggling to digest everything. Who wouldn’t? 

Woody didn’t reach out to Lucy. Lucy didn’t reach out to him. 

She felt too gross. Too… wrong. She was just wrong. There was something just not right with her. Her body, her brain, maybe her soul. The pieces just didn’t fit right. And Woody knew it now.

Christmas was nearing and Lucy didn’t have anywhere to be anymore. She found herself thinking about Daphne and Osgood a lot. About how Osgood knew that Daphne was more than she seemed from the start, and he didn’t care. He liked her no matter what.

Woody was a lot like that, huh?

She should’ve just told him. 

She tried to put herself in his shoes. How would she feel if she suddenly learned he was keeping something really important from her? Like, just throwing things out there, being raised in a Christian, transphobic household? Yeah. Now that she’d had time to digest it, it didn't feel great that he hadn’t told her. Like, she understood why he didn’t wanna talk about it. It was obviously painful for him. But it was painful for her too, y’know? It may not have been his intention, but she still had to deal with it.

…And he would eventually have to deal with her not being born a girl. Like fight his parents over it.

Hm. 

Maybe… Maybe if Lucy could come to understand Woody by herself, he could come to understand her with a little help. 

Her phone buzzed with a notification, and she hardly glanced away from where she was beating Casey in Mario Kart. Then her head snapped back, and she abandoned the controller to shove her phone in her face, not breathing. Unsure if this was real.

Woody 🧡: Happy holidays.

She didn’t even care that Casey was cheering about his victory. 

Notes:

Anyways. I've been dating that pretty girl for a year now. :)

This isn't a hurt no comfort fic guys have hope lmao.
Here’s the some like it hot scene: https://youtu.be/-mHhr-aaLnI?si=_XDKOFjlNMNPjrsP

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Summary:

9/6/25
Words: 2631

Guys I love them

Notes:

I told an anon on tumblr I'd post two chapters this summer... summer is definitely over. Sorry anon. When we meet in hell you can kick me in the shin

Woody 🧡: Happy holidays.

Lucy stared at the text in her hands, mouth growing dry. She could hardly believe it was real. She waited for a follow-up "wrong number" text or something, but nothing else came. She curled up on the couch and continued blinking at it. Casey's hand on her shell snapped her out of it.

She sat up quickly, startling him. "HE TEXTED ME!!" She roared in his face.

Casey looked almost afraid. "Well, uh- text him back then!"

"I can't! I don't know how!" She started chewing on her thumbnail.

"Well, how do you usually text?"

"I don't know, the weather?? I can't remember right now, everything's been so weird between us." She turned desperately back to Casey. "What should I say?"

"I have, like, a week's experience with dating guys."

"Guy singular," Raph corrected, walking up behind the couch to narrow his eyes at his boyfriend.

"Right, that. Yeah, it's terrifying." He laughed when Raph flicked him upside the head.

"What's the text say?" Raph leaned over to get a look at Lucy's screen. "Hm. That's descriptive." He said dryly.

"He's giving her an opening." Leo was behind Lucy, too, now, rubbing his chin as he considered her screen.

"Well, I don't know how to use it!" Lucy whined. "I thought he didn't want anything to do with me anymore!"

"Well, he clearly does." Donnie had wandered over now. Jeeze, when was April going to waltz in and give her opinion, too? Was Splinter's ghost going to float down to offer divine advice??

Her purple-banded brother tapped his tea spoon against his lip, looking contemplative. "You know, you may benefit from biting the bullet instead of trying to pretend none of this happened."

Lucy slumped in her seat. Leo hummed. The Mario Kart music from Lucy's abandoned game with Casey kept playing.

"Sometimes when Mona and I argue, we find it best to hash everything out over text. Gives you a better opportunity to plan your words and get the series of events straight."

"This ain't a science experiment." The frown in Raph's voice was audible.

Lucy's eyes stung from the light of her phone in the dark living room. "I think I'd cry so hard I wouldn't be able to see the screen anymore." Leo's hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up. His expression was soft, like their father's.

"Why don't you ask to meet up?" Suddenly, his snout wrinkled playfully. "At least then maybe you'd finally shower."

Lucy squawked indignantly. Donnie laughed. "If he can manage that, I may just start liking this Woody guy."

Lucy sighed and looked back at her phone. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I think I know what I have to do."

 

—

 

In the end, Lucy's only text to Woody was,

You: You too.

She had to wait a day to get this right. She hoped he would understand. So, a day later, on Friday, she took a deep breath, thumb hovering over the call button.

She hit it.

The line rang.

"You are speaking with Alberto's, home of the Beary Merry pizza. What can I help you with tonight?"

Lucy blinked. Woody wasn't the one who had answered the Albearto's phone number. Her plan hinged on him being the one to pick up. In the year she had known him, he had never taken a Friday off from work.

"Um- this is Albearto's friend?"

There was a moment of silence before a hand shuffled over the microphone. She heard faintly: "Woody! This your girl?"

Lucy's stomach flip-flopped a little bit at the idea of being "Woody's girl" to his coworkers.

"Hello? Um- what can I get you?" It was Woody's voice this time, a little breathless, a little hopeful. She thought she could hear him fidgeting with the phone.

She closed her eyes, relief and anxiety mixing in a cold wash over her body. "The regular?"

"Sure! Yeah, of course. To go?"

"Mhm."

"I'm uh-" Woody's voice came closer, like he was shielding the phone from his coworkers. "I'm off in an hour. We could eat it at my house? I'll pay for it." He added quickly.

Lucy half laughed and half sobbed. She didn't bother to point out that she was never charged for her meals- a perk of saving Albearto himself from trouble years ago. "That sounds perfect."

"Okay. Okay, see you then."

He hung up.

Lucy dropped her face into her hands.

He wanted to see her again.

—

Lucy stood outside his apartment door, taking deep breaths. She had cut her nails short so that she didn't dig into her palms when she got nervous. And she would get nervous. She already was. But she didn't want to feed into it. She raised her rough fist and knocked.

The door opened quickly. Woody looked tired, but very awake. He hesitated when he saw her.

She had come as herself tonight. She wanted him to see all of her, no matter how this ended. She felt he needed to know who he was saying goodbye to, so they could both believe in his choice.

She had no makeup, no clothes. Just like she had been when he saw her in mutant town. Her scars were out in the open; the only thing offering any cover was her utility belt. It was old, faded and frayed from over a decade of constant use. She was even wearing her orange mask. It felt foreign on her skin. Dirty, too, but that was probably because she never washed it as a kid, not just because of father time.

She stared at Woody blankly. She was unsure what her expression was when she said,

"My name's Michelangelo Hamato."

Woody's breath hitched. There was a long moment of silence. "…I think Mona Lisa would suit you better."

Lucy felt like something was crumbling. Something she couldn't catch. "Leonardo painted that, actually. Michelangelo was the one who'd get frustrated and destroy his own art."

Woody's Adam's apple bobbed. Lucy was struck with the desire to bite it. "Ah."

There was another silence.

"The um- the pizza's gonna get cold." He said, turning his body to invite her inside.

"Right. Thanks."

A few minutes later, they both had a plate of pizza as they sat on opposite sides of the living room couch. Neither of them were eating. Woody had cleaned the place up a little bit since she was last here. His mom's throw pillows and candles were wrong. A cross has been removed from the wall. It had never been a mess, but now there was intent behind the order. She blinked at a ceramic nativity set of a tiny baby Jesus and Mother Mary on the coffee table.

"My grandpa made it," Woody mumbled. "I couldn't get rid of it."

"Ah, yeah. I get it. I didn't always like having Japanese-style stuff everywhere until, well… until my dad was gone. Then I missed it." She rubbed her arm. The skin felt rough.

Woody closed his eyes and put his plate on the coffee table. "See, this is exactly the problem. You're so- so secretive that I have to piece your life together from random tidbits that you slip into conversation like it's an accident. I didn't know you had a sister until she was right in front of me, I don't know your brother's names, I can't even tell if your dad is dead or something else because you only ever say 'gone' or use the past tense, and there's been ZERO mention of any mother figure."

He looked at her, eyes pained. "It's not just the attempt to hide that you're trans. I know nothing about you. And- and that was fine at first, but we've been dating for months now. It sucks to feel alone in your own relationship. I don't even know where you live."

He blinked rapidly. "Oh, and you're part of the Foot Clan, or fucking something. I don't know! I don't know anything!"

Lucy swallowed. She had no idea how he was able to string so many words together without breaking. She took a deep breath, wishing she had some type of clothing to squeeze. Or nails to claw into her skin. Curse you, rational Lucy.

"I guess I should start from the beginning, then. If you want to listen."

Woody looked like he was calming down. He nodded.

"Well. I've never been human."

Woody wobbled a little bit, and she was afraid he was going to fall off the couch. "Okay." He said horsely. "…Why?"

"I was born, um." She winced. "A normal turtle. And this company of bad people experimented on my brothers and dad, and me. We escaped somehow, I guess, and then turned into little mutant toddlers. We grew up in isolation with our dad. Who was a rat, by the way. Um. So yeah, and humans were afraid of us, so my dad taught us how to fight. He was a Japanese rat… for some reason… I dunno." She cleared her throat.

"And when we got a bit older, these Foot Clan guys started attacking us all the time. Their leader and my dad were mortal enemies until um. My dad killed him. And became the leader of the Foot Clan, where he took in Jennika." She glanced at Woody.

He stared at her like she was wearing a necklace made of live bees. "I would call you a liar if it weren't so insane that no one could come up with it." He sat back. "Go on."

Lucy's heart was pounding. He was listening. "Then, um, then the whole mutant town thing went down. And it was really rough because both mutants and humans hated us. The mutagen was created kind of by the same guys who mutated us, but also not quite. But we were there when it happened, so we took the heat.

"We grew up with just so much going on that there wasn't really enough time to… grow into our own people. We were fighting literal wars until dad died and Jennika took over running the Foot Clan for us." Lucy scrubbed at her face with her palm.

"So I was suddenly an adult with nothing to show for it. No job experience, no motivation, no parents. No relationships, no IDs, few friends. All I had ever known was hate. Hate for my father, my family, for mutants. Literally, 80% of the people I had met at that point were actively trying to kill me. Kill me dead, kill my family. And they almost did-"

There was a hand on her shoulder. Lucy fell back into Woody's apartment from a great height. From the tops of buildings and cliffs. From the bottoms of dumpsters and sewer water. From hands drenched in blood.

She was leaning over her knees, one hand on her cheek and the other arm wrapped protectively around herself.

Woody was a bit closer now. He looked at her with concerned eyes.

"I- …do you need to stop?"

Lucy swallowed. "No. I- I can't. I need to finish this." He nodded and dropped his hand. She took a deep breath. Reminded herself that she was safe here.

"And then I discovered trans people. And they were beautiful. So many ways to change your body, to become the person you want to be. It was like magic. I put on a dress and felt calmer than I had in years.

"But there was still hate. So many people hate me for who I am already. A mutant, mixed, son of an immigrant. And even more people hate… hate trans people. For decades, trans people have been killed, attacked, and destroyed to their very souls by their own families and governments. I thought-" Lucy looked at the ceiling, trying not to cry. "I thought that if I came out, it'd be the final straw. I'd be a big enough combination of awful, hated things that I would never be anything but hated. Disgusting. I thought my family wouldn't believe me. Would hate me too.

"So at home, I was Mikey. Empty-headed little brother, the youngest son."

She looked at Woody.

"And then I met you."

The tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Perfect, loving you. And you didn't have the hate. You looked at me like I was different, but not the bad different every other human saw, like I was a freak. Like I was something worth looking at. Like all my contradicting pieces were believable. That they fit together right. And I was scared, so scared that if you knew the last piece, if you knew what was under my dress, that hate would return. And I'd never experience anything else."

She blinked, trying to see through the wobbly mass her tears made of the room. It looked almost like Woody was shaking. She rubbed her eyes.

He was shaking.

His shoulders shook up in down in shallow sobs. He had lifted his feet onto the couch and curled into himself. His hands covered his face, but between his fingers, Lucy could see he was red to his ear tips.

"Oh, oh, hon-" Lucy moved toward him, hands hovering, unsure what to do. She said dumbly, "Don't- don't cry."

"I could never hate you!" Woody blurted. His hands shifted enough to see the contorted shape of his face. "I think- think- I think you could stab me and I'd still love you. You could trash my house and leave me to bleed, and I could never want to speak to you again, but I could never hate you." Lucy's breath hiccupped. "I love your parts. I love how they come together in this- this- I don't know! I'm not good with words. But your parts are beautiful. I just want to see them all."

Their arms opened, and they crashed together like they'd been tugged by gravity itself. A mess of beating hearts, tired, tangled limbs, and aching eyes, they fell against each other as they cried. The gross feelings soaked out their pores, into the couch, and away through the floor.

After minutes or maybe hours, their breaths slowed and calmed. Lucy lay half on Woody, sniffling every once in a while as she stared blankly at the wall.

Working up the courage, she asked,

"So, are you not breaking up with me?"

Woody huffed. "If you'll have me, then no. I am really, really, hopelessly in love with you. We have some things to work on, but that's not changing."

Lucy sighed, letting her eyes slip shut as Woody's finger traced the cracks of her shell.

"For the sake of clarity… You're still a girl and you still go by Lucy, right?"

Lucy groaned, hiding her face in his shirt. "Yes. I dunno why I introduced myself with my deadname, it's dumb."

Woody hummed. "Y'know, I heard something interesting about the term deadname. Most assume it's called that because the person you used to be is dead. But I think it's actually because when they died, it's the name their family would put on their headstone." Lucy could feel his eyelash blink slowly against her skin. "So you could say I have a deadname. Cuz my parents don't call me Woody. I'll always be William to them, even in death."

Lucy propped herself up. "I wouldn't let them!"

Woody smiled softly. "You threatening to desecrate my grave?"

"Only with your real name." She insisted. She hesitated, eyes flitting over his face before she leaned down and kissed him slowly. She felt him sigh, eyelashes gracing her skin again as he closed his eyes.

Lucy settled against him again, and he sighed dreamily. "I missed that."

She giggled. "Well, you don't have to miss it anymore. You have all of me."

Notes:

OUGH I NEED TO WRITE MORE WOODYANGELO. I love them so much I need more I need my fix...
Anyways there will be at least one more chapter of this fic, to tie up loose ends. I am genuinely open to advice on what you guys would like to see in it! Thank you for all the support. It makes my writing feel special.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of Long-ass TMNT fics