Edit: Key: (E/n)=Ex's name

You grab Donnies' sleeve as he opens your apartment door with his staff drawn in front of him. Leo stooped close over your shoulder, eager to see what his brothers had discovered.

When all three of you step in, an audible gasp comes from each of you.

The first thing you saw was of course Raph standing in front of you all with his pointed shell facing you, but it was what was hanging from a rafter of your ceiling that made you so surprised.

"Wagon boy!?" You gasp. Seeing a familiar young man tied up and hanging from your ceiling. He was trying to wiggle free with wide eyes pointed at Raph, and now you. Upon registering who you were you hear him cry your name from beneath his taped-over mouth. He starts squirming like a scared worm trying to escape a bird's grasp. You cautiously step up to him, before grabbing your pocket knife and cutting him free, to the three brothers' dismay. The young man hits the ground with a thud and a loud grunt.

"Sorry, sorry! I had to get you down."

You bend down and help him sit up, then quickly rip the tape from his mouth. You think you might've ripped a bit of his mustache off, but you didn't want to have to do it slow.

"Agh! Ow!" He yelps and his eyes squeeze shut.

"Sorry, again." You sit straight and wait for him to recover. Once his pained hissing subsides you look him in the eye, trying to be as intimidating as possible. "Now, tell me what you're doing here, Benjamin."

He defeatedly huffs as his big brown eyes hit the floor. "I guess I didn't do my 'job' well enough, so they ditched me here." You huff, "(E/n) and the others?" He grunts and his shoulders slump. Feeling bad for one of your childhood friends, you reach out your hand and pat the top of his head, the short blades of light brown hair poking your palm. He sighs and looks up at you, "God it's been years.." He says with a small smile. You lightly flick his nose, "When did you grow a mustache, wagon boy?" He raises a brow, "When did you make friends with giant turtles, twinkle-toes?" You shrug and lean towards him, "About a year ago? I'm sure you heard about me leaving (E/n)?" You ask, nervously scratching your chin. Ben nods and awkwardly coughs a bit, "Do you think you could get these off?" You stammer an apology and start cutting away at the ropes. However, big brother Raph grabs your arm and takes the pocket knife from you.

"Sorry, 'twinkle-toes', we have no idea what this dude is doing here."

You pout at the snapping turtle, "Maybe you're right.." You say. Ben shrugs and leans against the couch. Raph nudges you aside with his knee and looks down at your childhood pal with an interrogatory gaze.

"So, Benjamin, was it?" Raph asks with squinted eyes. "Indeed, sir." Ben calmly states, then continues, "Look I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Maybe not now, but you were here for a reason. What was that 'job' you mentioned earlier?" Donnie says in a snappy way as he steps to his big bros' side. Ben averts his eyes and looks at the carpet. "Look, I know it sounds bad, but I was here to steal a few things for (E/n). I guess it took too long. Now I'm tied up and you're out of a few items." He gestures to you. Your eyes widen and you lean to him, "What did they take?"

Ben coughs a bit and cocks his head, gesturing you to lean in. You do, and he whispers. "They took some of your undergarments, and that dress you wore to Homecoming."

You feel your stomach twist. "Why?" You bark, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Look, (E/n)'s the one with the obsession! Not me! I was just doing what I was told for some cash."

"Why do you need cash that bad?" You say letting him go.

"My sister and I are alone again, I'm struggling with paying some bills- I was desperate!" He stares into your eyes. His big brown pupils burning a hole into your soul. You knew he was honest, he always used to give you that look when you guys were kids.

"Ok.. ok.. So.. um, one question." You say taking a deep breath. "What is it?" Ben says, perking his head up. You cough a bit and take a deep breath, "Why.. No, no- How did you guys get my spare keys!?" You yell with your brows stitched together in confusion and a small amount of anger.

Ben reels back and frowns. "It wasn't me! It was (E/n), I swear!" You growl under your breath, "Of course he did, don't know how.. but of course he did."

"I'm so sorry." Ben apologizes with a guilty glance. "It's alright. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to get my knife back." You look up at Raph with serious, pleading eyes.

"(Y-Y/n), no.. we don't know what he might try to pull!" He holds the pocketknife to his chest like a child shielding a toy from another. Leo and Donnie say nothing as they keep their distance. You glance at Donnie and stick your bottom lip out, pleading for his help.

You see a small blush cross his face. You do your best to resist smiling as you keep up the pout.

Donnie clears his throat and reaches under his hoodie and behind his back. Presumably to his mechanical shell. When he retracts his hand you see a small shiny item in his hand. As swiftly as he could he stooped behind his brother and slid you the knife he'd gotten for you.

You grin and as soon as you have it in your hand, somehow you managed to lean over and cut Ben's hands free before Raph could stop you. Ben's eyes were wide with surprise. He pulls his hands in front of him and he smiles, "That feels better." He says, twisting his wrists around. You sigh and cut his ankles free as well. "There we are. Now, I want to have a word with you, outside."

You stand and watch as Ben nods happily and gets up as he dusts his pants off. He had a bit of a nervous smile directed at you, but you gave him an assuring nod and gestured towards the door.

With a smug grin, you look at Raph who wore a disapproving frown. Stepping past Raph, Leo and you sneak a high-five. The boys let Ben pass, but before you followed, you turned and hugged Donnie tightly. As you held him, you looked up at him, your chin pressed to his chest as you smiled up at him.

He looked down at you with rosy cheeks and a blank expression. With a small smirk you close your eyes and boost yourself up on your tip-toes, booping your nose against his snoot. When you sink back down, you open your eyes and try not to laugh. His face was a nice shade of pink and you immediately felt his body stiffen. Whatever he was feeling was hard to discern, but with a smile you place the knife in his hand, manually wrapping his fingers around it for him. As you pull back you give him a wink.

After you make your little move, you follow Ben outside.

As the door shuts, Leo gawks at his twin, then grins. "Nice, buddy!" Leo leaps to his brother's side and puts a proud arm around his shoulders, Donnie just stayed stiff in place as he stared at the far wall.

Remember Ben.

👌