intertwined (tmnt 2012)

step of fate

A gentle beeping made it's way to Beth's room, letting her know that the cupcakes she was making were finished baking in the oven. She untangled herself from the unorganized mess of study materials that were sprawled across her bed and piled them neatly next to her pillow, ensuring not to lose her place in any of her textbooks. Her father scaled her grades very highly on his ladder of importance and made sure she felt the same, so she studied quite often.

She walked into the kitchen, humming softly to herself as she put on the pink frilly oven mits her father gifted her and pulled the cupcakes out of the oven. They were chocolate, her father's favorite. She didn't know if he would be home tonight to enjoy them, but she made them just in case.

Baking and cooking had always been passions of hers, her favorite part was decorating. She could enjoy herself with no grades attached.

As the deserts cooled, she mixed the ingredients for her homemade buttercream icing and piped generous amounts onto the cupcakes in a pretty swirl. She was going to add some chocolate sprinkles as a finishing touch, but her phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

She answered.

"Hey, Bethy."

"Hi, daddy."

She chirped sweetly with a small smile on her face. Her father was barely present in her life, only enough to make sure she was fed and her grades were top tier, but she loved him dearly. He was the surgeon general at the hospital, so he was always at work, at meetings, on trips, or staying the night with one of his nurses.

"I won't be home tonight, honey, but can you be a doll and drop off the envelope on the counter at the post office for me? It needs to be sent out tonight."

Beth looked out the window at the sun already setting and felt herself become nervous. She didn't like walking alone at night.

"Of course, daddy."

She obeyed despite her fear.

"Thanks, hon. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He hung up. Beth looked at the blank phone screen before looking back to the window, letting out a small sigh.

Meanwhile, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were exploring the city of New York for the first time. They were officially fifteen years old today and their sensei allowed them to explore the surface world as long as they remained safe and out of sight of others. They chose to use the rooftops as their sidewalks in order to try and stay hidden.

"I can't believe we're actually on the surface! Somebody pinch me!"

Michelangelo yelled cheerfully next to his brothers as they looked at the vast city in front of them. Raphael took it upon himself to give into his little brother's request.

"Ow!"

Mikey cried. Raph only smirked while Donnie and Leo rolled their eyes. The bickering between Mikey and Raph was a near constant in their family.

"So, what should we do first?"

Leo asked his brothers.

"Not much we can do from up here."

Raph muttered sarcastically. Mikey began to jump up and down.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I want to get a tattoo!"

Mikey cheered, earning a groan from his older brother in blue.

"Wait! I know! Let's check out the post office!"

The other three turtles looked down to the building in front of them where Mikey was pointing. Donnie hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.