Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

*I just want you for my own…
More than you could ever know…*

The lyrics echoed through the lair so loudly they could most likely be heard on the surface.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie scrambled out of their beds to meet in the hall.

*Make my wish come true…*

“WHO HAD EYES ON MIKEY?” They all asked in unison.

“I thought you did!” Donnie whisper-yelled at Raph.

*All I want..*

“Leo said he had it under control so I went to bed!”

*For Christmas…*

“I ate all of my Halloween candy right away, I can’t be held accountable for anything I did or didn’t do last night.” Leo crossed his arms defensively.

*iiiiiiis…*

Donnie covered his face with his hands. “Oh we’re doomed.”

*Yooouuuuu…*

The beat of the song picked up and the lights flicked on as the chorus rang loud and clear. The lair was decked out in everything Christmasy; from lights to fake snow. Mikey could be seen near the half-pipe mouthing the words to the song as he plugged in even more lights.

A half asleep Casey stumbled down the hall towards the three.

“What’s going on?” He yawned. “It’s 5 in the morning.”

Raph sighed. “Well, we’re already too late so we might as well enjoy it. Right?”

“Yup.” Donnie let his hands fall to his sides.

Leo was already downstairs helping Mikey put up the giant Christmas tree.

“Enjoy what?” Casey furrowed his eyebrows.

“The holiday season.” Raph smiled, then his smile faded a bit. “A very.. very.. early holiday season.”

“Season??”

“Yaknow- Christmas time! Like the 24 days of Christmas. Unless you’re Mikey then it’s more like the 55 days of Christmas..”

Casey looked confused still, but eventually put the pieces together.

“Oh, I see. In the future we didn’t exactly have time for a whole season. Christmas was really just Christmas Day and that was it.”

As if Mikey could sense a disturbance in the force, he let go of the tree and looked at the others.

“AHH! MIKe-“ Leo was cut off as the tree fell on him.

Mikey seemingly materializing from behind Raph.

“You’ve never experienced the 55 days of Christmas??” He questioned, tears welling in his eyes at the thought of such a tragedy.

“I guess we just-“ Casey paused at Mikey’s heartbroken gaze. “Like I said, we didn’t really have time for it.”

Mikey stayed silent, as did the rest of the room- other than Mariah Carey.

“Well,” he finally spoke after a moment “we have time now and we are gonna make the most of it! These are going to be the BEST 55 days of Christmas we’ve ever had!”

Raph and Donnie happily agreed and muffled yelling came from beneath the tree.

“Ok” Casey smiled. “I’m in. What do we do first?”

The three boys’ eyes lit up.

“Christmas lists!” Raph and Mikey cheered.

“Retrieve the data from my radiosonde to see if I can predict whether or not we shall have snow on Christmas!” Donnie beamed.

The other three stared at him blankly.

“Ok fine… I mean- woooo Christmas lists!” Donnie mock cheered.

One of Leo’s portals opened up above them and Leo fell through it. He landed at their feet and didn’t move for a second before springing upright.

“Christmas lists!” He excitedly yelled.

The tree started slowly falling through the portal after him.

“Uhh Leo-“ Raph pointed up.

“NO NOT AGAIN-“ Leo closed the portal and half of the tree fell on top of him.

The group glanced at the other half of the tree still near the half-pipe.

Mikey winced. “On second thought, maybe we should start with getting a new tree.”

Chapter Text

“So” April smirked. “You portal chopped Christmas?”

“It was only the tree and it had it out for me first!” Leo waved around his sword in light frustration.

The group had found themselves at a newly opened Christmas tree farm. It had drawn their attention for being known as a mutant friendly location.

“April! Leo! Come look at this one!” Raph called them over.

He and Mikey proudly held up a rather tall tree. The thing had to be at least 10 feet tall, it’s size made Raph look small and Mikey look minuscule.

“It’s magnificent.” Leo beamed. The three looked to April for her opinion.

“Hmmm” she pondered.

Before she could give an answer, Donnie and Casey walked up. Both seemingly very excited.

“Guys, we’ve found the perfect one.” Casey smiled.

Donnie pressed a few buttons on his wrist tablet and four small purple drones carried in a huge tree, setting it upright next to Mikey and Raph’s tree. The comparison didn’t even come close. The tree that Donnie and Casey found made the other look like a mere stick.

“It’s…” Mikey’s jaw dropped. “It’s… beautiful.”

“Woah.” Raph’s eyes widened.

April and Leo agreed, and with that it was settled. They had their perfect tree. Now there was only more problem.

“Hey!” An angry voice yelled from behind them. “What are you nuisances doing here?”

They all spun around to see Repo Mantis storming up to them.

“I could ask the same about you.” Raph crossed his arms, stepping up to Mantis.

“I own this farm!” Repo Mantis jabbed a claw into Raph’s shoulder accusingly. “You can’t just let a mantis run an honest business, can you?”

Mikey squinted his eyes. “Honest?”

“I’ll have you know I got these trees in a 100% legitimate business agreement.”

“Oh yeah? With who?” April demanded.

“Some puppy-raising lunatic named Todd.” Mantis rolled his eyes.

“You partnered with Todd??” Donnie glared at him, skeptical. “I find it hard to believe that.”

Mantis let out an annoyed sigh. “It’s a perfect business partnership. The guy needs money for the puppies and has a ton of trees. I want money and can sell those trees. We split the profit.”

“Split the profit, what, 90-10?” Leo sassed.

“60-40, the dudes niceness is contagious.”

Raph looked Mantis up and down, deciding whether or not to believe him. He settled on believing.

“Alright, you’re running a legitimate business? We would like to purchase this tree please.” Raph gestured to the tree still suspended by Donnie’s drones.

Mantis blinked at them. “Why would I sell anything to you guys?? All you’ve ever done is ruin my plans!”

“You scammed us first!” Mikey objected.

Casey watched them argue for a bit before leaning over to whisper to April.

“Who’s this guy and why are they fighting?”

“Long story short he’s a repo man with a bad attitude and is one of the boys’ many enemies.” April whispered back.

Casey watched them argue for a bit longer as he came up with a plan. When he had something he turned to April again to tell her. She nodded and moved to stand in front of him so he could slip away.

“It’s not our fault your cat is a giant mutant mantis monster that wants to eat you!” Leo countered another accusation.

The argument grew more intense until it was interrupted by Casey walking back up to the group from another direction.

“Hey what’s a guy gotta do to get some customer service around here?” He approached Mantis ‘angrily’.

“Case-?” Leo started but April shushed him and gave a look that told him not to say a word.

Mantis looked caught off guard by the ‘outburst’ from Casey. Assuming the human was a mutant with a cloaking device, Mantis put on his customer service facade.

“Ey you look like the type who means business. What can I do ya for?”

“I want a tree. Isn’t that obvious? I am at a tree farm, aren’t I?” Casey kept up the snarky act for good measure.

Mantis scowled but put his pride aside for the sake of a potential sale.

“Anyway,” Casey continued “I require the largest, most extravagant tree you have. It’s for uh… it’s uh- none of your business why I need it because it’s Christmas time so obviously I need a tree for, uh…Christmas.”

Leo made a confused face at Donnie, who shrugged and looked at Raph. Raph and Mikey exchanged equally puzzled looks before turning to April.

“Just roll with it.” April whispered through her teeth.

“As a matter of fact…” Casey approached the tree they had already picked out. “This one looks perfect! How much for it?”

Mantis looked all too giddy at the idea of not only making a sale but also getting to deny the turtles something they wanted.

“Well.. this one was just about to be sold, however, something tells me that the buyers backed out last second.” Mantis shot the turtles and April a menacing glare. “So how’s $90 sound?”

“$90?-“ Casey choked briefly, quickly recovering. “How about $60?”

“$60?? What do you take me for?” Mantis paused, thinking of an alternative offer. “$70, that’s the lowest I’ll go.”

April peeked from behind Mantis and gave Casey two thumbs up. Casey smiled.

“Alright! I’ll take it!”

Mantis held his claw out for the money and Casey realized the crucial flaw in his plan. He had no cash.

“Oh heh..” he nervously felt around for a wallet. “Looks like I left my wallet somewhere..”

Mantis did not look amused. Casey felt increasingly uncomfortable being stared down as he pretended to search for a wallet he knew he didn’t have.

April chimed in just in time. “Guys,” she turned to the brothers “c’mon it’s Christmas time.. almost.. I think we can give this complete stranger a break and cover his expenses?” The last part sounded a bit more like a question than she intended.

April glanced between the brothers and Mantis, trying to seem innocent.

Raph got it first. “Ooohhhh- I mean- yes, of course! Here random stranger,” he counted out the money. “This should cover it for you.”

Donnie, Mikey, and Leo were quick to catch on next.

“Here allow me to help you carry it to your car, or whatever mode of transportation you arrived in.” Donnie struggled to make the sentence sound natural but Mantis still seemed to be buying it.

Casey handed Mantis the money and the group started walking away casually. Once they thought they were far enough away Mikey threw an arm around Casey’s shoulders.

“THAT WAS BRILLIANT!” He exclaimed. “You and April are geniuses!”

“I will hand it to you guys, that was pretty clever.” Donnie agreed.

“I can’t believe he bought that-“ Leo was practically cackling.

“HEY WAIT A MINUTE!” They heard Mantis shout from across a few isles of trees.

“Run!” April couldn’t contain her laughter.

“Go go go go go-“ Raph choked out between giggles.

They all booked it as fast as they could with the drones and the tree trailing only a little behind.

Once back in the lair, everyone pitched in to help set up the new tree. It was bigger than the old one and looked flawless with all the decorations. It did have a few emptier spots that would need extra ornaments later, but for that moment it was perfect.

“So” Mikey spoke up, grabbing Casey’s attention. “Normally every Christmas we have a competition. The winner gets to put the star on the tree.”

“It’s usually me.” Leo smirked.

Raph and Donnie rolled their eyes at him.

“He cheats.” Raph whispered to Casey.

“I DO NOT-“

Mikey mouthed ‘yes he does’ and continued what he was saying initially.

“But this year we decided we want you to do it. You did get the tree after all.. and you deserve it.”

Casey felt as though he had just been given a great honor that he didn’t quite understand. If it meant a lot to them though, it meant a lot to him.

Raph hoisted Casey up onto his shoulders so that he could reach the top of the tree. Even then it was still quite a stretch to the top.

“Almost.. got… it…” Casey fought to keep his balance.

“Careful!” Everyone warned.

“Got it!”

Raph stepped back a bit to let Casey see the tree in its entirety. All of them standing for a moment to take in it’s glory.

Casey still didn’t fully understand the significance of the star, instead he was beginning to realize the significance of the season itself. Why Mikey had been so excited for it. Everyone was together and happy. It made him feel like a little kid, sitting on top of Raph’s shoulders, experiencing a tradition that was going to become his.

Maybe he didn’t need to understand the significance of the star.

Maybe that was ok.

“Christmas list time baby!” Mikey broke the peaceful silence.

“If you think I’ve forgotten about my radiosonde, you are WRONG buddy. I will be getting my readings!” Donnie called after Mikey as the younger ran to find paper and markers.

Chapter Text

Casey quietly crept down the hallway. It had to be around 3 in the morning, he wasn’t sure but he had been tossing and turning for what seemed like hours before giving up on sleep entirely.

He stopped sneaking when something hanging on the wall caught his attention. It was everyone’s Christmas lists, all displayed like wanted posters on a green and red cork board.

Mikey’s list was decked out in stickers and colors, Donnie’s was typed and printed out, Leo’s was just scribbled down with a #2 pencil, and Raph’s had been written in pen that was crossed out in various areas. April’s and Splinter’s lists were also hanging on the wall a little to the left.

Everyone else had been able to get a whole page down at least, but Casey hadn’t been able to come up with anything. It upset him deeply and he couldn’t even pinpoint why.

He looked down at the paper and pencil he was holding. His plan was to sit in the TV room and try to think of at least one thing. Then, if he still couldn’t come up with anything, he could at least try to sleep in there.

When Casey got to the TV room he was surprised by someone else already in there.

“Raphael?”

Raph jumped a bit in his seat, visibly relaxing once he saw it was only Casey.

“Oh uh.. you’re up too?” Raph looked worried.

“Couldn’t sleep… you?”

Raph simply nodded, the action saying all Casey needed to know.

“Do you do this a lot?” Casey couldn’t help but ask.

Raph paused long enough to come up with a believable lie. Casey could tell by the way he fumbled over an answer before stopping to collect his thoughts.

“You don’t have to answer that.” Casey reassured him. “I get it.”

The other was quiet for a moment. “I… I didn’t used to.”

Although the answer was vague, Casey knew exactly what the other meant. He sat down on the floor next to the chair.

“Do you feel like talking about it?”

Raph grimaced. “No. Not really.”

“That’s ok.” Casey was going to ask about alternative topics, but more footsteps approached before he could.

“Leo?”

Leo stood in the doorway with a mouthful of candy and then some.

“Uhhhh” he swallowed. “Why are you guys up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Raph shrugged, then squinted accusingly. “I thought you ate all your candy?”

“I did.” Leo unwrapped another piece and ate it. “These are Donnie’s.”

“Won’t that make him mad?” Casey asked.

“Eh, probably.” Leo gracelessly flopped into the nearest chair. He shoved another handful of candy into his mouth and gestured to the paper and pencil in Casey’s hands.

“aht yo’r lif?”

“Wha-?” Casey tilted his head, confused.

Leo finished chewing and tried again. “Is that your list?”

Casey looked down at the blank paper.

“Well…..” he trailed off, trying to think of what to say. He didn’t feel like admitting that what was supposed to be the easiest part of their Christmas tradition had turned out to be so difficult for him.

Raph stole a peek at the paper while Casey was thinking.

“It’s … blank.” Raph said with a slightly confused head tilt.

Casey snatched the paper away and hid it behind his back. “It’s uhhhh the.. second page?”

Leo gave him an unamused stare and Casey tried another plan.

“Ok” he sighed. “I’m revising my list..”

Leo lifted a brow and continued to stare.

“…. I couldn’t think of anything.” He finally confessed.

Leo’s gaze eased up and he gave Casey a more understanding look.

“It’s ok if you don’t come up with something right away.” Raph placed a reassuring hand on Casey’s shoulder.

Leo jumped in. “Yeah! One year, Mikey didn’t write a list at all and told us to buy him what we thought he’d like.”

“That’s allowed??”

Raph gave Leo a concerned look and then turned to Casey with the same expression.

“You do know there’s no rules about how to make a Christmas list, right?”

Casey froze “Uh- pshh, yeah- yeah I totally knew that.” He sputtered.

Why did he feel the need to lie so much? He didn’t understand it. Normally he would’ve been fine with telling the truth, but he felt the need to do everything perfectly when it came to the boys’ traditions.

Leo sensed some tension in the silence. Thinking quickly, he stood up and lightly tossed the pillow he’d been leaning against at Casey.

Casey caught it and blinked.

Raph caught on immediately and started collecting blankets and pillows, handing them to a now even more confused Casey.

“What’s happening?”

“Don’t tell me future me never showed you a pillow pile.” Leo grinned.

“Oh, we didn’t really have many pillows in the future.” After seeing Leo and Raph’s expressions Casey quickly added on “but I think in one of your stories about the past you mentioned it.”

Leo grabbed an armful of couch cushions. “That is somehow even more depressing.” He muttered as he dropped them at Casey’s feet.

“What do you want me to do with all of this?”

“Pick a spot for the pile.”

Casey looked around the room for a moment. Eventually he decided that moving all of the mess they had already made would’ve been too annoying. So, he dropped everything he was holding on the spot.

“Honestly, here is fine.”

Raph and Leo showed Casey how to make the most comfortable pillow pile possible, which was fairly simple and did not take much time. Before they were completely done though, another sleepless party wandered into the room.

“Is it a pillow pile kind of night?” Donnie asked, lurking in the doorway.

“Casey’s never made a pillow pile and none of us can sleep.” Raph explained.

“I still do not understand why you guys think that sleeping in a pile on the floor will help you sleep better than in a comfy bed by yourselves.”

Raph sighed. “It’s not the comfort it’s the comfort, Yaknow? Togetherness and bonding time.”

Donnie paused for a brief moment before taking a breath.
“Yeah, no, still don’t get it. Have fun with that goodnight.”

Leo rolled his eyes with a slight smile and whispered to Casey “He’ll be back.”

The pillow pile was an odd experience for Casey at first. He wasn’t used to such close quarters. However there was that lingering comfort that Raph had mentioned to Donnie. It was similar to the feeling he got on nights when Leonardo would tell him a bedtime story.

Casey was almost asleep when someone else walking in woke him up again.

Mikey wandered in, wrapped in a blanket and carrying his own pillow. He took one look at the pile and without hesitation settled in on the top.

Raph was right about Donnie. At some point in the middle on the night, he had tip-toed back into the room to join the pile.

When morning came, Casey woke to find he was the only one left in the mini pit they had made. His initial confusion faded away with the promising smell of something amazing coming from the kitchen.

Chapter Text

The “promising smell” was phase 1 of Mikey’s Christmas celebration plans. Apparently the lists, the tree, and the star were only phase 0 and did not qualify as celebrating.

An extravagant gingerbread model of the nearby streets of New York stood proudly atop the kitchen island. Surrounded by the turtles and April, who watched with bated breath as Splinter held the final piece overhead.

“Woah!” Casey beamed at the level of detail used to recreate the streets so flawlessly. Gumdrop fire-hydrants, melted sugar glass windows, powdered sugar snow, the works.

Unfortunately his loud exclamation caught Splinter off guard and he cracked the cookie in his palm. Everyone winced as the pieces crumbled over his head.

“Good morning, Casey.” Splinter said dryly.

Casey cringed, “Sorry- I’ll help you fix it.”

Mikey, who appeared utterly devastated, recovered long enough to reply to him.

“I don’t have any more gingerbread ingredients…”

“It’s ok!” April chimed in, “I’ll go grab you guys some more. I can be back before lunch and then we can move on to predictable Hallmark Christmas movies.”

She patted Mikey’s back reassuringly and left to grab her jacket.

“Wait! I’ll go with you.” Casey was desperate to somehow make amends for his mistake.

April peeked back around the kitchen corner and gave him a smile and a nod. All the signal he needed to rush towards the ladder after her.

Outside was cold, but no snow in sight yet. The streets were packed with people likely doing Thanksgiving shopping. Casey watched as people hauled all sorts of canned foods in bags and packed away decorations into their car trunks.

“I’ll never get used to how many people there are.” He gawked.

“Yeah- me neither.” April spat with annoyance in her voice.

“You don’t like it?”

She shoulder checked a passerby who refused to make room for them on the sidewalk.

“You try walking home from work in this every day and tell me how much you like it then.”

Casey blinked in thought. Work was something else he’d never had any reason to consider. The closest thing to a job he had in his timeline was the responsibility of coming home alive with whatever trash he could scavenge.

“What do you do for work?” He asked April, who was pushing her way through two more oblivious shoppers.

“Ohhh I’ve had a couple jobs.. right now though I work at my college for the campus news.”

“That sounds… exciting.”

“Hey I’ll have you know my articles only cover THE best stories on the whole grounds!” April boasted proudly.

Casey threw his hands up in defense, “No-no-no- I just meant.. isn’t that a lot of writing?”

“And what about it?” She gave him a look that dared him to say more but also told him if he did he was a dead man walking.

“Seems great!” He smiled awkwardly.

April didn’t seem fully convinced, but was appeased enough to let it slide.

“It’s hard work, getting the stories sometimes, but worth it so I can uncover the truth and expose the lies.”

Casey furrowed his brows, “What on earth goes on at your college?”

April let out a short, shrill laugh.

“Too much.” She pointed towards the store they needed to enter. “It pays well at least, so I have enough to get the guys some really great gifts this year.”

Casey froze outside the store, April unknowingly leaving him behind.

Money. He still had no money. How was he supposed to buy anyone anything if he had nothing to trade for it.

“You comin?” April shouted past the crowd of strangers.

He sighed, “Yeah.”

For the rest of the shopping trip Casey’s mind was flooded with brainstorming ways to get cash before Christmas. Somewhere near the sewers had to be hiring. He kept an eye out for signs on the way back but nothing seemed like a good fit for him.

A nearby suit tailor was hiring, though he doubted they’d see his attire and give him any consideration. A few advertising jobs were open but Casey wasn’t exactly the bravest when it came to complete strangers.

Hours of wracking his mind even after they got back to the sewer left him feeling hopeless.

“Yo, Case!” Leo slid to a stop at Casey’s room door. “We’re starting the movie soon, you coming?”

Casey withheld a heavy sigh and told Leo he’d be just a minute.

“Ok but hurry or else there won’t be any Pizza Puffs left for you!” Leo hollered as he left for the TV room.

Despite his best efforts, Casey felt himself slip down a slope of anxiety and fear very quickly. He remembered Mikey’s lecture about positive affirmations and grounding techniques but the fog was too thick to think clearly.

A few blessed knocks shook him free.

“Hey, you ok?” April gently asked. “You’ve been a little out of it all day and we’re worried about you.”

Casey groaned in frustration, “The last thing I want is to be stressing you guys out right now.”

“You aren’t. Being concerned for you is different than that.” She walked in and gestured to the seat at his desk. A silent request to stay.

He nodded.

“What’s going on?”

Casey sighed, he debated lying for a moment- but again? After the amount of lies he’d told to this point he needed to come clean.

“I don’t…” he felt tears prick at the back of his throat, “I don’t feel like I belong here. I did what I was supposed to do and now everything is different and I’m-“

He stopped himself from continuing for another moment. These were things he didn’t even want to admit to himself and now he planned on unloading all of it on April. The Commander April he’d known since he was a kid. Except it wasn’t April at all.

Months of bottling it up bested him.

“I’m… nobody.”

And the weight of it crushed him.

“Nobody??” April stood, her voice raising an octave. “THE Casey Jones- nobody, now THATS rich.”

He forced himself to make eye contact with her. Confusion and denial written all over his face.

“You fought aliens, saved the world, Casey, you’ve time traveled!” April jabbed a finger into his chest accusingly, “And you’re a part of this family. An important part. Whether you’ve seen that yet or not.”

She followed the accusing poke with a reassuring hug, “You are the furthest thing from a nobody, Case.”

Tears that threatened were now tears that very-much-were as they streamed down Casey’s face and onto April’s shoulder.

“What if I mess something up though? Everyone has these important traditions and I-“

“Is this about the traditions??” April let go and held him at arms length.

“Well, a bit, since-“

April practically shook him, “The traditions aren’t for us to do perfectly Casey. They’re so we can be together and do something TOGETHER. The only way you can ‘mess them up’ is by not being there.”

Casey went wide-eyed. “… so, avoiding the movie is probably-“

“Not in your best interest, yes. You do NOT want Dr. Feelings coming after you this holiday season. Just ask Donnie.”

April gave a slightly fearful looking smile.

“Think you’ll be ok to join again?”

Casey smiled back, “Yeah… thank you Co- uh- April.”

She nodded and let go to join the others. Not long after, Casey followed, feeling much better about everything.

This lasted for a wonderful 2 minutes as immediately upon entering the TV room disaster struck. A stray power cord tripped him and he fell full force on top of the projector.

After the crash the room cut to darkness and silence for what felt like an eternity to Casey.

“I told you guys that cable management is important- see what happens when you don’t heed my warnings??” An agitated voice that Casey knew was Donnie’s shouted.

Leo flicked the room lights on. “Maybe you should’ve set up the projector then!” He defensively spat.

The argument that ensued was brief but ended with both Donnie and Leo being scruffed like angry kittens by Raph, who held them apart from one another and scolded them.

Tearing his attention away from the fight, Casey leaned over to Mikey on the floor.

“I’m sorry about the movie, Mikey.”

Mikey was clearly disappointed but not aimed at anyone in particular.

“It’s ok, just a minor setback, Donnie will fix it soon enough.”

Casey felt guilt eating away at him regardless of what Mikey said but an idea from the latter chased it off fast enough.

“OH-“ Mikey beamed, “what if you taught us one of YOUR traditions?!”

All eyes turned to Casey.

“One of my Christmas traditions?”

Mikey practically vibrated with excitement. “Yeah! Future me might not have had a ton of time for Christmas but I bet he… I… we… did at least some cool stuff!”

Casey looked to Leo for help. The two of them had discussed a bit more about the future than he had with the others, Leo would know how dreary most of it really was.

He seemed to catch the message. “Uhhh what about instead of a movie, you tell us about the first Christmas you had?”

“That’s not a super interesting story-“ Casey tried to explain.

Mikey gasped in so much air he thought the small turtle might asphyxiate. “OH MI GOSH YES.”

Donnie perked up, “I would be interested in knowing about future me’s successes.”

Raph also smiled, “A future adventure sounds great!”

He set Donnie and Leo down, giving them both an “I’m watching you” gesture.

There was no amount of talking that could convince the four that the story was not very good. So Casey accepted he was simply meant to tell it.

“Ok, ok, fine.”

After a short scramble for seats and lamp mood lighting, Casey was ready to set the scene.

“The first Christmas I remember happened when I was 8 years old…”

“When was that?” Mikey asked.

“Uhhh..” Casey counted on his fingers, “like 13 years from now.”

“Coooool.”

Chapter Text

2033

The apocalypse was a weird term for Casey, since it was the only world he’d ever known.

Stories circulated of a time where so many people roamed that you couldn’t walk ten feet without running into someone. But that was all they were now, stories. The numbers of the resistance were decreasing at an alarming rate and if it continued they were doomed to extinction.

Not that 8 year old Casey knew any of that. That stuff was for the adults to deal with.

No, 8 year old Casey Jones was much more occupied with training than the troubles that kept Leo up at night.

Leo’s sword still swung fast and hit hard though- for foam at least. A blow to the chest signaled that Casey was out… again.

“Uuggghh you always win.” He whined.

Leo gave him a pat on the head, “Don’t worry kid, you’ll get there. I know you will.”

“Wheeeeen?” Casey pouted.

“Wheeeeeeen you’re older.” Leo lightheartedly mocked his tone.

A presence in the doorway caught their attention. Donatello briefly stopped typing on his wrist-tablet to look up at them.

“Cassandra says dinner in five and that if Leo gives any grief about it to use excessive force.”

The aforementioned turtle glowered at him.

“Oh! Oh! Can I stay for the meeting this time after dinner?” Casey asked, stars in his eyes.

“Uhhh, no not yet, Case.” Leo looked at Donnie for backup.

Donnie looked left and right before realizing Leo meant him.

“Oh- yeah- uhh, strict height limit. Must be this tall to listen in on world ending tragedy’s.”

He unsheathed his tech-bo and held a marker well above Casey’s head to demonstrate his point.

Casey frowned. “… fine.”

Leo scooped him up onto his shoulders, “Don’t worry Case, it’s all boring stuff anyway.” He feigned sickness, “Raph just goes oooon and oooon and oooooon-“

“I don’t talk that much during the meetings.”

Raph stood in the doorway next to Donetello, arms crossed and looking only slightly agitated with Leo this time.

Casey had to duck as Leo swiftly left the training room to join them in the hallway.

“It’s ok, we know it’s all important stuff.” Then in a quieter voice, “Someone has to explain the reason behind the remaining rats becoming diurnal.”

Casey wasn’t certain, but he felt like Leo wasn’t being wholly serious.

“It’s a behavioral change in-“ Raph sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just go get dinner.” He smiled sadly.

“Aye aye!” Leo used Casey’s arm to salute, causing a series of giggles to erupt.

Dinner was the usual, rats and some homegrown veggies that managed to survive the changes in weather. It wasn’t Casey’s favorite, but he wasn’t sure he even had a favorite to begin with.

Besides, dinner was not what piqued his interest.

“Bye mom, love you, I’m going to bed-“ Casey scrambled off as soon as he’d cleaned his plate.

He heard his mom stutter out a goodnight as well but he was too focused on running through the boxcar halls to his room. Once in there he’d have to fake sleep for about 20 minutes if he wanted any shot at hearing the meeting.

Right on schedule the night guard came to make sure he was ok before leaving for the next 2-3 hours. Casey flew out of bed, replaced himself with a few scraps of metal and rock, and booked it down the rest of the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. The guards swapped duties right after making the rounds, so he had a good amount of time before needing to worry again.

He felt excitement bubble up inside him as he approached the forever forbidden meeting room.

Casey crept along the left wall until he saw a piece of metal that looked loose enough to pry at. Carefully, he removed it far enough to peek into the room without being seen or heard.

“How many came back today?” Leo asked.

Raph stood across the table from him, arms down and expression dim. “Leo…”

“Don’t.” Leo snapped. “How many, Raph?

Don, who was standing at Raphael’s end of the table, sighed heavily and pulled up the live camera feed of the front gate.

“My sensors haven’t picked up any movement since the team left.”

Leo hung his head and leaned forward on the tables edge.

“I can’t accept that.” He quietly, but firmly stated.

Donnie glanced between the two, “Leo, I can’t change what my sensors are seeing.”

“Mikey was on that team!” Leo’s voice cracked, taking Casey’s world view with it.

He had never really contemplated death, despite how much it surrounded him. The people Casey loved and cherished were too important to die. Right?

But Mikey was on a team that hadn’t came back. Teams that didn’t come back then, NEVER came back… ever.

Casey wanted to cry, kick, scream, throw such a tantrum that the universe would be forced to undo itself in his favor. People he loved didn’t die. He couldn’t accept that.

Instead he felt an overwhelming numbness as the news settled in. Reactions just below the surface, unable to escape.

“Don I need a team now. Who’s still awake?”

Donnie opened his mouth to respond but Raph beat him to it.

“Leo, you know I would do anything to see Mikey ok, but these people are exhausted and our resources-“

“Mikey is not a resource!” Leo practically screamed.

The room fell silent for an awkward amount of time.

“I can’t-“ He choked out through tears, “I can’t lose any of you, I can’t do it… please.”

A loud sniffle interrupted Casey’s train of thought. He was so lost in his own storytelling he forgot he had an audience.

Mikey, who was laying on his stomach, cradled a pillow in his arms with an expression of dismay. Leo and Donnie were sitting off the sofa also fighting back tears.

Casey turned to the culprit of the interruption. Raph.

Tears streamed down the poor turtles face that he quickly tried to brush away.

“Wha-“ A stifled sob, “what? You guys know I get very invested in stories.”

Casey put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “Raph, Mikey’s the one who sent me back in time, don’t worry he doesn’t die.”

For a horrible moment he remembered he was not telling the entire truth. Locking eyes with Leo, who now had tears running down his cheeks too, he doubled down.

“I promise.”

Raph fought back a few more sobs but nodded in understanding.

“For the love of my happiness- skip to the Christmas part!” Mikey sobbed as well. “I can’t take it!”

Casey agreed. He didn’t mean to get so wrapped up in his retelling.

“I’m almost there, but I’ll jump a little ahead.”

“Thank you.” Mikey sobbed a bit more.

Right when all hope seemed completely lost, a portal opened up on the live feed. Chaos was erupting on the other side of it and a small group of people fled from it to the gates as fast as they could. The last of the group being Michelangelo, who closed the portal the moment he was through.

Everyone in the meeting room ran fast as they could to the entrance. Leaving Casey behind to unravel all his emotions from the whole ordeal.

Casey wasn’t the same after that. Anxiety crippled the poor boy to the point he stopped wanting food, or play time, or training with Leo. The group tried everything to help but he was withering away before them and they couldn’t do anything about it.

A few months had gone by when Michelangelo knocked on his door.

“Come in.” Casey mumbled softly.

Mikey peeked inside, obviously hiding something behind his back.

“Hi Casey! Can I sit for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Mikey looked around the room a bit, admiring the decorations. “That’s a lot of Hockey posters. Do you know how to play?”

Casey perked up a tiny bit but he felt like a wall was still between him and everything he enjoyed.

“Mom taught me the rules. I’ve never played though. I like it I think.”

“We should play sometime.” Mikey offered.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Casey smiled. The wall was strong as ever but at least he could maybe find a doorway through it.

“My brothers and I actually have a little surprise for you, if you’re ok with going on a little field trip.”

The younger tilted his head. “What’s a field trip?”

“That’s what we call it when you take a break from boring stuff to go somewhere fun.”

“Where?”

Mikey brought the keys to Donnie’s workshop out from behind his back.

Casey gasped, “REALLY? I’m never allowed in there! Master Donatello said-“

“Dr. Feelings was able to talk him into taking part in our field trip. We have a special tradition we want to show you.”

A small squeal of excitement escaped Casey as he threw on his shoes and beelined to the door, Mikey not far behind.

The lab was well across the resistance’s grounds, but the wait was well worth whatever surprise must have been behind the ever forbidden door. Casey practically vibrated with excitement as Mikey turned the key and swung the door wide open.

The lights were dimmed, illuminating walls positively covered with gadgets from past, present, and upcoming missions. Each device sported Donnie’s signature purple hue and emblem.

Despite the shiny distractions Casey’s attention quickly turned to the center of the room. An oddly shaped metal sculpture that vaguely resembled a triangle stood, proudly towering over everything.

“What’s that?” Casey made a face.

“It’s a Christmas tree!”

8 year old Casey blinked at him.

“What’s a tree?”

Mikey had to ensure that the sound of his heart breaking couldn’t be heard so he forced a smile and turned away for a brief moment. When he turned back, Casey was at the ‘tree’ poking it lightly.

“When you’re old enough, we’ll take you on an exploration mission and maybe we can find one.” He patted the boys shoulder. “They look like this but green… and soft.”

“It is green.” Casey mused.

They both stared at the flaking green paint that coated the rusted metal.

Mikey cringed.

“Green… er.”

Casey looked like he was lost quite a while ago and Mikey took the queue to move on.

“We’re here though for more than the tree. It’s called a ‘Christmas’ tree because it’s part of how we celebrate Christmas. Which happens to be coming up!”

“What’s that?”

“It’s called a ‘Holiday’ sort of like Birthdays- except everyone gets presents!”

Casey’s eyes lit up, “EVERYONE gets presents??!”

“Yup! And we have a few other things to show you…”

A beeping sound going off startled Casey out of storytelling mode.

“What’s that?”

“Just the kitchen.” Mikey waved it off and nodded for Casey to continue the story.

Casey paused for a moment, listening to the rhythmic beep.

“It’s probably just Donnie’s popcorn.” Mikey reassured.

Donnie shook his head, swallowing a mouthful of the popcorn in question.

“Nope. I’ve had this since ‘What’s a field trip’” he grabbed another fistful.

Everyone shared a look of confusion.

Mikey leapt up and practically hit the ceiling “OMIGOSH THE GINGERBREAD-“

He ran out of the room so fast a rush of air followed him like a mini tornado. During his scramble, the light beep turned into Donnie’s homebrew fire alarm system blaring. The sprinklers eventually triggered and Mikey could be heard screaming from the kitchen.

Just as smoke started pouring into the living room, water from the sprinklers got to the breaker. Sparks burst from a room behind them and swiftly knocked out the electricity. The outage plunging everyone into pitch black silence.

Donnie crunched down on another bite of popcorn, “As you were saying…”

“Donnie!” April scolded.

He made an indignant sound and coughed, “what? I’m invested.”

“Yeah but you’re hogging all the popcorn.”

Casey could hear a skirmish occur over the popcorn bowl which ultimately ended in the sound of it being dropped on the floor.

“If nobody is going to fix the lights then I am going to take my morning nap.” Splinter announced.

Donnie’s watch glow lit up in the dark, his face showing a look of disapproval. “It’s 3PM.”

Mikey timidly entered the room looking as if he’d fallen down a chimney.

“I think…” he coughed out a cloud of ash, “the gingerbread is burned.”