"Okay, but I wish I got to watch him jump on the desk-,"

"No, you do not," (Y/n) sighs as they enter the lair. She tugs her hat off her head as they reach the TV room, shrugging her puffy, pink coat off and hanging it on the guest rack, "I was so worried it was going to finally give out under him."

The rest of the younger members of the Hamato clan are sprinkled across the various seating arrangements in the TV room, a single pie in a tin sitting in between them on the coffee table. April has a binder and papers out, her back pressed against the armrest of the couch, while Donnie looks over her shoulder at her work on one of the bean bag chairs; Mikey's doodling on the floor, an array of color-filled papers surrounding him with a few sculpted paper pieces resting on his shell; and Raph has one of the game systems hooked up to the TV as he sits on the floor (a safe distance) in front of it, turned down to minimal studying volume. Mikey's the first to acknowledge their entrance, a small shine coming to his eyes as he sits up a bit better to greet them.

"You're finally here," The paper figures flutter to the ground around him and his fingers are stained in various colors, "How'd it gooo? Did you pick a play for next semester?"

A smile graces (Y/n)'s lips, but it doesn't reach the exhausted look in her eyes, "Nope!" She enunciates the 'P' as she throws herself across the free bean bag chair. She buries her face deep into the fabric with a loud groan, her thick binder falling to the ground beside her. She props her head up when she feels the bean bag sink beside her, Leo's weight causing her body to roll against his shell.

"I told you," Donnie doesn't bother to look up from April's homework, pointing at something as he raises a totally not drawn-on eyebrow, "Should've added more detailed equations and estimated costs based on the current stock market and estimated growth and decline, but noooo, Donnie, we'll worry about costs after we hook him in-"

"Literally, no. Money had nothing to do with it," (Y/n) straightens to face him a little better, her eyes narrowing, "He cryptically talked about wants and knowing what I want or something?"

"Correction: He cryptically sang at you about wants,"

"Regardless, I'm pretty sure I'm on my own about picking what to perform for the next semester," She sighs, leaning against the terrapin beside her. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she closes them, eyebrows scrunching as a grimace forms on her lips, "Kind of figured, but that doesn't make it any less annoying."

Her features soften when she feels three fingers dig into her scalp from behind, getting through her (h/c) tresses without tangling between them to softly massage at the back of her head. (Y/n) leans into his touch, tension releasing from her shoulders as she leans her head against Leo's arm. She doesn't notice him moving her binder until she feels the cover hit her black winter leggings. Her eyes shot open at the weight, watching it bounce against the fabric before perfectly landing closed in her lap.

April finally looks up from her homework when she more than happily reaches for her bag. She's not subtle about opening her notebook, shoving her homework in it before loudly slamming it closed, "At least you've got a little more creative freedom than you were worried about. We both know how weird Sherma is about... Everything," She finally gets to retort, shoving the rest of her textbooks in her bookbag, "I remember one of the plays last year got super weird because of his meddling. Reported on it for the school paper and all."

Last year's play was 35 MM: A Musical Exhibition, which is already a doozy of a musical if you don't know much about the source material. It's dark and Sherma only pushed to make it darker and darker. One kid had to hold huge poster boards with content warnings due to how graphic some of the acting got. It never went too far, but it pushed a lot of the drama student body to a limit they had never reached before (and also weeded out all the kids that were not made for the theater life). The main cast had gotten so small that (Y/n) remembered pantomiming numerous segments throughout the play along with being the lead singer for a few songs. That performance was what led her to the leadership role she was currently placed in as the student director.

The weight of the book starts to feel heavier as she processes those words more, now having it explicitly said by someone else really allowing it to resonate that the life-altering decision of what play she'd get to lead for the second semester was within her palms. It was daunting, teasing at all the plausible failures and gratifying successes that could easily fall upon her from how well any of the plays listed performed. She could either play it safe and pick a play that would easily work for everyone or she could pick a passion play and push her peers beyond their limits-

"I'm sure whatever play (Y/n) chooses will go perfectly fine," Raph finally speaks up, setting his controller down as he twists a little to face them better. He moves just enough to have his score flash in the game's bright colors, his smug grin just as bright, "That book's fulla all sortsa ideas!"

An ominous aura starts to fill the room as various pairs of eyes hone in on the screen. The top 5 highest scores brightly shine with Raph's usual input happily nestled at the top. The silence from the other three turtles is near-deafening while (Y/n) and April can really only sweat. Before either can speak up, the four begin brawling in the middle of the room, puffs of smoke surrounding them as they tussle about.

April shakes her head at their behavior, leaning over the arm of the couch to talk to (Y/n) better, "At least you've got the whole break to think it over? You can just sit and stew in your thoughts, meditate a little about it, then come to a decision about it later."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," She sighs in response, setting the binder into the now empty seat beside her.

It wasn't a bad idea at all. She could get comfortable and play each soundtrack until something clicked. Even if it takes up most of her break, she'll eventually have something come time for the next semester-

Wait, shit.

"I can't! Ariana's coming home for winter break in a few days!" She groans, slumping further into the beanbag chair. She can already imagine her sister being all over her the first week she's back. She just knows she'll have very little time to really dwell on it, "You know how she is when she comes home."

The last time Ariana came home had been for April's graduation party. She stayed long enough to watch her walk, which left her somewhat conjoined at the hip with (Y/n) for the first half of her trip. No one really minded much, it was practically like old times before she up and left for college out of state, but that energy was not as welcomed when (Y/n) had important projects she was supposed to be working on.

"I'm sure your sister won't mind helping you pick something out-"

"Anything you can do, I can do better!" Leo sings out as he jumps out of the pile of jumbled bodies, a prideful look in his eyes as a grin forms on his lips.

"Ha!" The others scoff, shooting him accusatory glares as they all stop their wrestling.

"I can do anything, better than you," The red-eared slider challenges, setting his hands behind his back as he leans towards them. He cocks his head to the side, eyes narrowing.

"No, you can't," Raph shoots, pressing his index finger into Leo's chest with each syllable to annunciate his point.

"Yes, I can"

"No, you can't," Mikey pipes up with an unimpressed look, eyebrow raised.

Leo peaks his head past Raph to see his other brothers, wiggling his eyebrows, "Yes, I can."

Donnie sighs as he crosses his arms, shaking his head, "No you can't."

"Yes I can, yes I can," Leo sings, twirling to move between the other three with his head held high.

April stares on in confusion, mouth agape as they sing at each other. She slowly turns her head to send (Y/n) a questioning look, mouthing a big 'What is HAPPENING?!' in her direction.

"This happened with Sherma and in the middle of town," (Y/n) sighs as she facepalms, running her hands down her face before setting her chin in one of her palms. There's a tired look in her eyes as they connect with April's, "This has been my day the past few hours."

"Anything you can be, I can be greater," Donnie starts, shoving Leo out of the center as he points towards himself with his thumb. He extends his arms towards the others as he gestures at them, lip slightly upturned, "Sooner or later, I'm greater than you."

"No, you're not," Mikey sounds. The box turtle leans over Don's shoulder, as he pays the soft shell a skeptical look.

Don shrugs him off with a firm, "Yes, I am"

Another "No, you're not," sounds from Raph and Leo, the oldest's holding more agitation while the other middle child's was a little more teasing.

"Yes, I am!" Donnie says a little more exasperated and pointed, arms crossing.

Mikey slides to stand beside the older set, mirroring their crossed arms as they lean forward to meet Donnie more head on. He throws his arms out as the three come together for a final, "No, you're not."

"Yes I am, yes I am," He retorts before he grips his shoulders, turning away from them. At some point, April whipped her phone out to record. He sets one of his arms behind his back as he sticks out a finger, head a little higher, "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge!"

Leo scoffs as he grabs Donnie's shoulder, turning him to face them. He points to himself before pointing at a bird stuffed and mounted on the wall (a bird he cried about for two weeks), "I can hit a sparrow with a bow and arrow!"

"I can live on bread and cheese," Mikey proudly announces as he steps between them, his hand laying on his chest as he rocks a little.

"And only on that?" Raph asks with a tilt of his head.

"Yep!"

Donnie snorts, "So can a rat."

Splinter happens to pass by at that comment, ear twitching at the word rat. He leans over the couch, a knowing look mixed with a twinge of mischief swirling in through his orbs, "Any note you can reach, I can go higher!"

"I can sing any note higher than you!" Leo responds, pointing at all of them. As they attempt to sing higher than each other, Splinter makes his leave, satisfied with the extra chaos he created.

Mikey comes out on top, a glass shattering somewhere in the kitchen. The noises makes everyone flinch, the six of them all turning a bit towards the sound. He gives a few bows, giving his thanks as if he's on a stage. He's blowing kisses, the others almost completely out of breath. Raph somewhat recuperates when he asks, "How do you sing that high?"

"He's barely pushed past puberty," Donnie quips, getting a shove from Mike in response.

"Hey!"

Raph pulls Mikey in, giving him a noogie with a fond smile. He tugs Donnie and Leo into his hold with his other arm, surprising one while the other leans into them on instinct. A sly smirk comes to his face as he leans down, the next note coming in softly, "Any note you can sing, I can sing softer."

"Scoff," Donnie does so with a roll of his eyes, harshly whispering, "I can sing anything softer than you."

The girls glance at one another as they continue to quip back at each other. April has a grin, her phone firm between her thumb and curled index finger, while (Y/n)'s face is contorted in confused amazement. It's something about watching the terrapins sing at each other, outside of planned karaoke nights, that makes it somewhat surreal. April leans over, moving the phone away, "This happened to you earlier?" (Y/n) nods in response, slowly easing off of the beanbag to sit beside April. Her eyes never leave the sight, "Girl, this is crazy-,"

"I can drink my liquor faster than a flicker!" The two jump into each other as they loudly start singing at each other again. The boys have broken apart, Leo standing in front of them with one of his thumbs pointing at himself while he holds up his phone. The picture is from their last weekend get-together where a few drinks were present and everyone competed in a drinking game. Don's head is down with a splintering headache you can feel through the screen, Raph is cradling a bucket in one arm with his free one thrown over Leo's shoulders, Mike's on the other side of Leo and happily holding his raised his in the air, and Leo sits between them all like the champ he is while trying to hold his drink down.

Mikey happily takes the phone and points at himself in the photo, a proud grin on his face, "I can drink it quicker and get even sicker!"

"I can open any safe!" Leo snatches his phone back from him, shoving it back where he got it.

Ralph lifts an eyebrow before lightly nudging him, "Without being caught?"

"You bet!"

"That's what I thought, you crook!" It's Donnie's turn to pull out his phone, showing off a video of his security feed. It's specifically an image of Leo breaking into his lab to mess with one of his tech staffs, a few beakers left broken in the process. (Y/n) remembers helping him clean it all up before Donnie got back from one of his personal escapades. He grumbles as he puts his phone away, "Any note you can hold, I can hold longer."

The boys continue to go at it, leaving April and (Y/n) exhausted as they try to keep up. April turns her attention back to (Y/n), leaning over so her words aren't caught in the video, "How many of these have you sat through today?"

"Counting this one, three," She responds without hesitation, holding up three fingers as she slumps further into the beanbag, "Mr. Sherma's was a solo, and another one was an intricate dance mob in the middle of the town square with everyone on the street except me and Leo involved."

"I can do most anything," Raph puffs his chest with his assertion, proudly grinning. Leo stands beside him, leaning his weight against him as he's obviously out of breath. He's heaving and holding his throat from holding the previous note for so long.

At some point, a girdle, a hurdle, and a sweater had all been involved at some point or another. They liter the middle of the common room, yet manage not to disturb the turtles as they continue to sing back and forth at each other.

Mikey comes between them all, holding the pie from the coffee table up high. A smug grin sets on his lips, "Can you bake a pie?"

"No," Both Raph and Donnie sound almost immediately.

Leo drapes himself over their shoulders, grinning sheepishly as he nuzzles them both, "Neither can I!"

They all smile at each other, a few snickers releasing here and there. (Y/n) and April glance at each other a little uneasily when they catch the knowing smirks exchanged among the brothers.

"Is this the part where-"

"Anything you can sing, I can sing sweeter," Donnie starts off, the softest and smoothest noise to ever come out of his mouth releasing with small churrs.

Mikey is fast on the upkeep, smirking with closed eyes as he does his own version of the smooth tone, "I can sing anything sweeter than you."

As each boy sings, they ensure to hold the note out for longer and as sweet as they can muster. The sweet part is quick to knock Donnie out of the race, who can only keep up for a few back and forths. Inevitably, Mikey is next to knock out due to his typical reach making it hard for him to get to a comfortable pitch that still sounds as pretty as possible. Leo and Raph push each other further and further, which is a little shocking with how overtly competitive the last few call responses are.

"No, you can't, can't, can't!" Raph retorts.

Leo's quick to respond with, "Yes I can, can, can!"

At the end, they sing at the exact same time, both managing to hold their notes out for the same amount of time. They're tones are a little passive-aggressive, but their body language reads somewhat playful.

When they finish, it's like a veil is lifted off of them, each immediately responding with some form of disarray. Raph is holding his head in both hands, grimacing slightly. He turns away from the light with a small groan, "What was that?"

"Well, now I know how those people we passed earlier felt," Leo states with a grin afterward. His eyes start to shine, almost as though they were clouded before. He holds his head after, holding his other hand out a little as he starts to dip a little, "A little groggy, but otherwise refreshed. And maybe like I just walked into Run of The Mill after a nice tussle with some baddies and there's a house special going on."

"People you passed earlier?" Donnie perks up, turning to his brother with a thick, lifted eyebrow, "What're you talking about, 'Nardo?"

"The thing (N/n) was telling you about as we walked in," He responds in a matter-of-fact tone, grinning as he leans on Donnie a little, "Did you forget?"

"I watched something like this happen two other times, earlier," The girl adds, her head slightly tilted as she takes in the boys' responses, "We never stayed long enough to see any responses, though. Are you guys okay?"

"I was suddenly overcome with the strongest urge to sing, like a character in a musical or something! We all were!" Mikey exclaims, releasing his own hold on the side of his head as he glances around at everyone. His pupils dilate, a spark coming to them for just a moment. His hands rest by his side as he straightens up, a shiver racking his, and seemingly the others too, body. As the feeling passes, he holds himself in a hug, rocking as a wide smile comes to his lips, "I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like after taking the first bite of a pie recipe gone right or something..."

"It's like openin' a Jupiter Jim comic for the first time in the sanctity of my room on a quiet night in," Ralph adds with a nod, arms crossed.

"Like a hug from Papa after being out in the snow the week before Christmas," Donnie adds, deep in thought. His thumb and forefinger rub at his chin as he stares at the ground, a little away from the group, "I've never felt like that after singing before..."

April sets her phone aside, her eyebrows furrowing as she leans forward on the couch. She takes a glance at (Y/n), their eyes meeting, "It's like they're feeling when they're most happiest..."

Donnie holds his wrist out and scans Leo from head to toe. He pulls it back towards himself, typing a few things on it with a couple of hums, "There's a lot more endorphins rushing through his body than normal."

"Endor- what?" Leo asks, attempting to peek over Donnie's shoulder. He gets shoved back, bouncing back onto the other side only for it to happen again.

"Those are the tissues that get trapped on the outside of the uterus during periods, right?"

"What?! No, Raph, that's endometriosis," Donnie retorts, a look of confusion painting his face before he sighs with a shake of his head, "Endorphins are the feel-good hormones we feel in our bodies. Dopamine and oxytocin?"

The other three brothers glance at each other, shrugging at one another. They turn back to Donnie and happily nod along with wide smiles. He can only roll his eyes.

"But why?" (Y/n) asks with a thoughtful look on her face, "What could possibly want to force people to sing and leave a rush of happiness afterward?"

The room goes silent for a moment as everyone seemingly thinks it over. Small hums and thought noises eventually start to fill the air, the air stilling as April loudly slams her palm into her hand, "Maybe it's a mutant causing it? Or a yokai possibly?"

"That does seem like the most likely option until I'm able to gather more data," Don responds, tapping a few things into the device on his wrist, "I'll continue to monitor our vitals in the meantime and see if there are any more significant changes-,"

WE'RE A THOUSAND MILES FROM COMFORT-

"Whoops!" (Y/n) calls sheepishly as she pulls her phone out, eyes slightly wide in bewilderment from the sudden call. She lets out a small sigh as she reads the caller I.D., sending a small smile to the others as she quickly gathers her stuff together, "It's my mom. Ari might probably be back already," She slings her book bag back over her shoulder, "I'll see you guys later!"

"Bye, (N/n)!"

"See ya, (N/n)!"

"Tell Aunt Celeste to send some baked goods with you next time!"

(Y/n) sends them a small wave of her hand as she heads out the main door, answering her phone and putting it to her ear, "Yeah, yeah! Baked goods or whatever- Hi, Mommy! I'm on my way back now, had to stop by the lair-,"

~~~~~~~

The apartment's quiet as (Y/n) steps through the door. She hangs her key on her hook, her winter attire following suit and her snowboots left at the door. She takes small steps further inside, fluidly moving on the tips of her toes.

The smell of something sweet and warm wafts through the air. It's definitely not being baked and isn't fresh out of the oven, but it leaves her stomach rumbling all the same. Its alluring scent drags her along, her knitted socks slipping her along the floor more easily.

She peeks her head around the corner into the kitchen. Her mother has obviously been there, a few leftover tins and a note with the neatest cursive left in her wake, 'Out to bakery. Plate in microwave!!!'

(Y/n) knew ahead of time she'd probably be gone by the time she got back, something about having some delivery boy pick up an order early, and she just wanted her home before it got too late. It was really just in case Ariana decided to come home extremely early and needed to be let in.

She connects her phone to the wireless speaker in their living room, turning on a random playlist before setting the device down and turning the microwave on for a minute. She hums as Lazy Love by Chloe x Halle sounds out through the apartment, the sound twisting upwards into the air with a comforting haze. She twirls on her way back to her binder, sliding into a chair up to the island. She flips it open, tugging a pencil out of her pocket and pressing the eraser against her lips as she looks the ideas over.

She's really only torn between a few options: Legally Blonde, Hadestown, or Heathers. She had big ideas for them that would work without a big budget and not feel like they were missing something. Her main concern was really the performances of her peers and whether or not they would be received well.

She pipes up when she hears the microwave beep, quickly hopping up and taking the plate out of the microwave. She sets it beside her stuff, grabs a fork from the drawer, and settles back into her chair. As she sets her fork into the mashed potatoes, Pretty Girl Rock starts playing. (Y/n) wouldn't mind if Lazy Love hadn't ended so suddenly.

She feels herself perk up, setting her fork down as she stands up from her seat. She takes a deep breath, holding her hands out and letting them glow as she powers them up just a little. The shade of light pink fully encompasses her hand in a ball as she carefully eases into the living room. It's empty, not one thing out of place. (Y/n)'s (e/c) eyes dart to her phone.

It's facing the wrong side. She walks over to it, powering one of her hands down to pick it up. It's smudged a little, the perpetrator messily swiping the song aside from unlocking it and choosing another. Too familiar...

She takes a glance at the door, a small amount of snow on the rug. It's small, a sign that it's been a bit, but not long enough for the snow to have fully melted. A few minutes at most... There are also no obvious signs of a break-in, but professional robbers wouldn't do much damage either...

Slam. (Y/n) jumps at the noise of the microwave closing, the faint whirring noise reaching her ears once her pulse calms a little. She powers the glow of her hand back up, tiptoeing towards the kitchen as quietly as possible. She peeks her head around the corner of the wall that separates the living room and the kitchen, only catching sight of the figure before quickly moving back against the wall when they move.

Just as she gets the courage to ease further, the song changes to something a little out of place on her current playlist. For some reason, the tune's a little louder than before, only rising with each second note. The singer's voice fills the room in a way that makes it sound like a scene in a movie.

The first bit of What'd I Miss from Hamilton sounds all the way up to Thomas Jefferson's part, stopping right before he would've entered. At the sound indicator, a familiar feminine voice sounds inside, causing (Y/n) to perk up and fully slide from behind the wall as the once unfamiliar form rises up in stature.

"Jane is following up on our work study, there is no more status quo," She starts, a small smirk on her face as she unwraps her pale purple scarf from around her neck, allowing the fabric to drape on her shoulders in a showy way. Ariana's early, and she knows it from the gloating look in her eyes, "But the sun comes up and the world still spins."

"Aaa-ooo!" (Y/n) happily goes along with her sister's antics. Anytime Ariana comes home in bright spirits, she always gives her own rendition of the song with an update on law school.

"I helped Kenyette draft a declaration then I said, 'I gotta go, I gotta be with the familio.' Now the work at home begins..." She cringes a little at her on fly use of familio to replace Monticello, but she's gotta keep the beat up.

"Aaa-ooo!" The two sisters ease towards one another, wide grins on their faces. Both stop at opposite ends of the island, slamming their hands down at the same time to the last few beats before the next verse.

"So what'd I miss? What'd I miss?" Ariana grabs the nearest spoon, using it as a microphone as she sings into it, "Big apple, my sweet home, I wanna give you a kiss," She blows a kiss at (Y/n), rounding the table as she continues, "I've been in Paris meeting lots of different ladies, I guess I basically missed the late eighties..." She stops just in front of her sister, twirling with her final line and playfully falling into her, "I traveled the wide, wide world and came back to this-"

"You could've stayed at your work study then, Ari," (Y/n) teasingly interrupts, just barely holding her older sister up.

Ariana lets out a dramatic sigh, slowly straightening up. She grabs (Y/n)'s cheeks, smudging and lightly pulling on them as she speaks, "And miss out on spending the holidays with my favorite little sister?-"

"-I'm your only little sister-"

"The very idea is quite preposterous," She finishes with a small nod, her hands coming up and lightly tugging at her cheeks. Her hands are surprisingly warm for someone that just came inside from the snow, "Hell, I even left a few weeks in advance when I heard they released you guys early. I'm guessing they've predicted another big snowstorm this year?"

"You check the news more than I do," It was only mid-near late November and they were getting out relatively early in comparison to past years, which is why she's trying to decide on a play now for next semester. It's definitely more than enough time, but it still feels kinda... dreadful. Luckily, she'd already narrowed it down to three main picks and she can just throw ideas at everyone until something sticks enough that she's confident enough in the decision..., "How was the weather in Paris before you hopped on a plane to leave paradise?"

"Une occasion formidable. Je lui ai mis un petit," There's a small grin on her face as she responds, a bit of a dazed look in her eyes. (Y/n) has no clue what she said, but she's immediately under the assumption it wasn't something she'd say around their mother.

"That's gross,"

"You don't even know what I said,"

"No, but I know that look in your eyes too well. Disgustang," She retorts, tugging her plate in front of her and deciding to finish off what's left while her older sister recounts her tales in the city of love, "Start from the beginning but skip the sex stuff, I don't care that you got laid."

Ariana stares at her a moment before rolling her eyes, pulling a chair closer to (Y/n)'s, and grabbing her own fork. They both dig in as Ariana explains her work study in Paris, skipping the details of her romantic flings and going in-depth on the law study side of things. She wasn't supposed to be there longer than a month, but the case she was interning for lengthened due to some evidence tampering and new witness testimonies. (Y/n) struggles to keep the details together, not really caring and just letting her sister get the past few months out of her system.

"So how was New York in my absence? Are you finally making more tips at Run of The Mill now that yokai are used to seeing you all the time?"

"Kinda? I think I get more tips when they think I'm a cool little trick. I give tiny light shows and make an additional $10," I tell her. Working there isn't that bad, especially with how kind Hueso is. Despite his annoyance with her closest friend, he's a relatively chill boss, more so now that his brother is back as his associate, "Probably gonna take less shifts to help momma at the bakery, though."

Ariana hummed at that answer, her own (e/c) eyes focused on the smaller details carved into the kitchen island, "Any new powers sprout since I've been gone?"

"Me or everyone else?"

"Yes."

"Ah," She's been waiting to ask. She asks every time she comes home, like she just knows there's something more that is supposed to happen since fully unlocking all of that "April and Karai have gotten accustomed to each other, no new turtle mystic powers since Shredder, and I haven't had much reason to practice."

"Practice or motivation?"

"Yes"

"Oh," Ariana lowly responds, setting her fork down on the plate with a loud clank noise. She was the only formal guidance (Y/n) had to control her abilities, with their mother being so determined not to even think of their alien heritage even though it's the entire reason they're even on Earth in the first place. Talking about it too much makes her uncomfortable, but she's been a little more open since the whole tussle with ol' Ancient One Shredder. Not open enough to talk more about her home planet, but definitely open enough to teach (Y/n) a trick here and there between work orders, "At least there's an attempt now..."

"I guess..." The most explanation they'd gotten had been around the whole Shredder ordeal, with her simply saying she was a teen mom who needed to get out of there and took the chances during a 'lottery' of sorts. There was no sign of the ultimate evil she'd been warned of and no formal Hamato clan to train with in preparation. Or that was the case until a good couple of months ago where they finally put that ancient, mystically evil spirit into an unpeaceful grave.

It's awkwardly quiet after that. Ariana takes the plate and their silverware, putting them in their loaded dishwasher. She starts it up, picking at her nails as she turns back to face (Y/n). She hums again, looking up with a small smile, "Any progress with blue slider?"

"Huh?!" (Y/n) feels her face warm at the question, eyes widening a little before quickly averting away from her older sister. The coy laughter of the older Brown sister has more honeydew filling her cheeks, "Shut up! He's just my friend-"

"That you wanna kiss so so sooo bad-"

"-In middle school when everyone wanted to kiss someone!" (Y/n) is quick to quip back, tugging her sweater over her nose and glaring at her sister with her (e/c) orbs, "Plus, I have enough on my plate this year to be thinking about him like that. I'll die from the stress of it all!"

Ariana's laughing stops at that, an eyebrow raising at the phrase. It takes her a moment before it clicks in her mind, a soft 'Ohhhh' leaving her lips as the realization dawns on her. Then she makes a small noise of surprise, picking up the stray binder lying on the island before lifting it into her arms, "You still haven't chosen something for your class next semester? I thought you settled on something?"

"Yeah, numerous somethings..." (Y/n) mutters. She holds up three fingers, letting her sweater slump down to its original place, "I've got three to pick between now. And I've got till December to decide..."

"Is Hamilton one?"

"Hell no."

Ari barks out a laugh at the quick response, flipping through the binder's page with more tact than its previous holders. She gives a small hum once she gets to the last page, a list of different musicals sitting there amongst the messier doodles. All except for three are scratched out.

"Just do Hadestown. I don't trust your peers to do Heathers or Legally Blonde justice," She states matter-of-factly as she sets the binder back on the island, letting it slide towards the center. She walks past (Y/n) after that, giving her a few head pats as she leaves out of the kitchen and heads down the hall, "Don't stay up too late. If you see ma, tell her I'm jetlagged."

"Yeah..." (Y/n) responds, staring down at the overtly decorated book.

It couldn't be that easy, could it? She shakes her head, picking it up and cutting the lights out along the way to her own room. She shoots her mom a text, letting her know that both of the Brown sisters are under her roof now.

She closes the door behind herself, tugging at her clothes until she's draped in her warmest and comfiest sleeping clothes. She turns her fairy lights on, sliding into her desk chair and she sets her binder down in front of her. She holds the page dedicated to her plans for Hadestown open, easing her worries about plausibly picking the play. She's thankful for Ari's input, as always, and she knows it's the one she wants to do most deep down.

Before she knows it, she's drafting up an email and guesstimating a proposed budget from the median of the other numbers she's got listed. She doesn't start feeling silly until she's finished writing the full email out, closing the tab out, and pushing away from her desk. She goes to her bed, deciding to instead focus on forcing herself to bed.

She sets her phone down on her bedside table, plugging the device into the charger. The group chat she and her friends have has a few messages in it, specifically the gang going back and forth about what movie to watch for tomorrow night. Donnie also left her a few messages that were very obviously about the special effects for whatever project she chose to go with. And at the top is Leo, blue heart and clown emojis proudly sitting next to Neon Leon. His picture is a screenshot she'd managed to capture of him mid-wipeout during a Facetime call while he was skating (definitely would not recommend). When the others are miffed with him, they happily use it for his contact in their phones.

Neon Leon🐢⚔️: Hit me up if you can't sleep, I'll happily take a stroll

She doesn't know which is worse, the winky face or the fact that he used it knowing how cringe it makes his message look.

Theater Babe🎭💃: Shouldn't you be in dreamland right now?

Neon Leon🐢⚔️: Don's researching. Seems big and very loud

Theater Babe🎭💃: So that's why y'all are arguing about movie night. Gotcha

After a few upgrades to a few of his many devices, Donnie's lab tends to be way louder than before when he gets a little too into his zone. Techno music blasts out of a stereo and the many beeps, boops, and metallic clanks sound through the air and into the vents. While the others invested in some form of sound cancelling headwear, Leo has taken up the habit of sleeping on a pink, chaise lounge chair in (Y/n)'s room. It's become common enough that her mom simply greets him and offers breakfast in the morning. Celeste has also gained the habit of asking him to portal a few things to her bakery for her, which he happily does with his usual grin.

(Y/n) begins clearing any stray books and papers from the plush furniture, reassuring him there's always a place for him in her room.

Theater Babe🎭💃: Be prepared to have more ideas thrown at you, Blue

Neon Leon🐢⚔️: What're friends for

It doesn't take long before the blue glow fills the middle of the room, flashing and shimmering as it awaits its user to pass through. It barelgy makes (Y/n) flinch as she gets comfortable on her own blankets, binder in hand, pencil in mouth, and stereo playing music at a low volume. Her companion twirls out of the portal, hands rounding around to rest behind his head, and flops down onto the plush blankets of her bed. The edge dips at the added weight from his shell, but neither pay it much ind as he leans his head back far enough to get a proper look at her.

"Next time, I'll just walk you home," Leo happily teases, rolling around so he's laying on his stomach. He won't admit he jumped at the opportunity to come see see her again and is secretly thanking his twin for the scapegoat.

(Y/n) can't help but laugh at his greeting, scooting so the terrapin can get more room, "You'd complain halfway through if that one pop-up stall with the really good hot chocolate isn't set up, though," She hums as he takes up the space beside her, letting him get comfortable while still processing the ability to freely look over her shoulder, "Then we'd portal jump the rest of the way, even though we more than likely went back and forth about it before leaving the lair, and make instant hot chocolate in the microwave."

"Yeah, you got me," He snickers in retort, snuggling under her blankets like he isn't gonna move to the chaise lounge chair in a few hours. He only takes a small peek at the page her binder is currently flipped to, snuggling more into the warmth of her pillows while she works away, "I see you settled on Hadestown. Guessing Ari got to you?"
"Said she didn't trust my class to do the other options justice,"

"Me neither, actually," The two sit in comfortable, mostly quiet, silence, with the occasional scritches of pen to paper and tapping of fingers against a phone screen accompanying (Y/n)'s thinking playlist.

The setting is perfectly them, even with their little to no verbal communication (which others would argue is rather out of character for both of them). (Y/n) is more than content here, in their little, almost impenetrable bubble. Nothing could possibly ruin this.

~~~~~

Lights flicker and glow in dangerous patterns as a certain turtle analyzes and reanalyzes the data presented to him through the little information he managed to gather from their small run in earlier. He's listened to the audio over and over, taking note of how much better their voices sounded and how attuned they all seemed to be despite the four of them competing throughout. He doesn't even recall feeling any contempt or disdain during the entire altercation, if it can even be called that. There's at least a confirmed pattern, corroborated by Leo and (Y/n)'s recollections of at least two known events. He does hack into the cities security cameras to view the flash mob, which did actually happen in real-time, music and everything. It seems, however, that as soon as the two left, the people in the street also seemed to snap out of some haze, similar to him and his brothers earlier.

After adding a bit of a Donnie touch, he realizes that the group of people also seem to have a sudden burst in endorphins. However, he's unable to pinpoint any source aside from the fleeing (Y/n) and Leo. He's only able to deduce that (Y/n) has to be the trigger, unfortunately using only 3 instances. He'd rather have more data, but the results have been relatively the same, with the spontaneous songs only happening in areas (Y/n) happens to have frequented. He's not sure what this means or why this could be.

His most likely guess is mystic stuff. Ironically, it's the most rational answer. A year ago, he would've hated that he immediately came to and accepted that conclusion. Another plausible answer could be weird alien things, but he definitely doesn't have enough data to make any conclusive statements with that theory.

"Sigh," Donnie tiredly lifts his goggles, his hands rubbing at his face in an attempt to remove the growing exasperation. There's been little sign of anything else out of the ordinary since (Y/n) left, which only further confirms the suspicions that the sudden chemical changes and song bursts revolve around her. The only step forward is to witness the happenings again and find out enough to create a controlled experiment to further understand, but he also knows that she's going to give him hell if he even suggests following her around with a neuron analyzer and research notes, "Looks like Bootyshaker9000's going to be getting his groove on very soon...