TMNT One Shots

Mask

A/N: Shoutout to Kittymasterofall14 as there book titled Our Special Mikey gave me the idea for this one shot :3

2012 series

Art by angryninja101 on Tumblr

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"Mikey!" Raph called out for his little brother for the fifth time. They were supposed to be outside on patrol 10 minutes ago. They were used to Mikey being the last one to be ready sometimes. But this was far longer than usual.

"I'm almost ready!" Mikey called back from his bedroom. Even though he was nowhere near ready. His mask sat loosely in his hands. He had been staring at it, pleading with himself to just put it on. But just the thought of something on his face, especially a fabric like this, made him cringe.

Michelangelo was Neurodivergent. More specifically, he was Autistic and had ADHD. Everyone knew from the time he was young with how different his mannerisms were. It wasn't a bad thing of course. And none of his brothers or his Father would want their ray of sunshine to change for the world. But that didn't mean Mikey felt the same way at times. Lately it's been all he can think of really. He wish he could be "normal". He wish he wasn't so sensitive to loud noise, or felt easily rejected by his family. He wish he could do something as simple as put a dam mask on. But today had been bad. It didn't help that he didn't sleep at all the night prior thanks to insomnia. All of his "problems" seemed to be three times worse than usual. He's already had to escape to his room twice to cry from how overwhelmed he got.

There was no excuse for a Ninja though. He had to do this. He had to be there with his brothers.
With a deep breath, he finally put the mask on. He ignored wanting to immediately take it off and throw it into a fire never to be felt again. He ignored the shakiness in his hands, his exhaustion, how he wanted to give in and quit before even starting. He ignored all of it and joined his brothers.

"Finally" Raph grumbled.

"Sorry" Mikey said pushing back the tears wanting to surface.

"No worries" Donnie said placing a hand on his head. Under different circumstances Mikey would have loved the head pets. But the mask was the only thing he could feel. "We're all ready, that's what matters. Let's go brothers" Donnie said picking up his weapon. He, Raph, and Leo all cheered in anticipation and took off, with Mikey not too far behind.

They reach the outside world and stand on a building rooftop to overlook the city. Mikey does his best to spot anything unusual. By now though the mask had become unbearable. And all the lights were starting to hurt his eyes. Sounds of tires screeching, trash cans falling over, and high pitched sirens all rang in his ears. The grip around his nunchakus tightened as if there was an immediate threat standing in front of him. His breathing became uneven and almost desperate as his heart picked up pace. The ground beneath him started to sway, causing him to back away from the ledge in fear he'd fall. He backed up until his shell hit Raphs.