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Donatello simply wanted to expand his education, at least, that’s what he would claim.
Truth was, he was curious. He’d wanted to know if the movies were true, and truthfully, it seemed fun. And as a plus, it would give him space to grow as his own person. Everyone had something that didn’t include each other, everyone except him.
Leo went on adventures with Yuichi.
Raph aided April in animal shelters with his cloaking brooch.
And Mikey was part of a whole art community, both online and face-to-face, also with his cloaking brooch.
All Donatello had was his tech, and even that tended to involve his family. So school would provide him a unique space, and who knows, maybe he’d find something interesting.
---
There was a girl with pink hair, Katie. Donnie has no idea what he did, but the girl immediately dedicated herself to being his friend.
“Sooo, what do you like to do in your free time?” She grinned, waiting for his answer. Donnie frowned, brushing aside his hair. He didn’t quite understand why the cloaking brooch gave him locs, but he liked them so he wasn’t complaining.
“I build stuff.” He watched in amusement as the girl gasped, “That’s so cool! I like crafting stuff, like knitting, or crocheting, or--” She reminded him of Mikey. And wasn’t that silly?
They became friends.
Don’t ask him how, even the genius has no idea what happened. She was talking about crafting one minute, and then receiving his number in the blink of an eye. Well, not like Donnie was complaining.
---
On the other hand, there was a boy Donnie now hated with a passion. Rodrick.
He had pale blonde hair, and his roots were showing. It clashed against his tanned skin and made his freckles pop out instead of fit in with his face. But what was his crime against the turtle, you may ask?
Donnie had simply asked the chemistry teacher what would happen if he managed to somehow make something semi-lethal. Rodrick had made a face, “That’s weird, dude. Just make a volcano or something.”
The disguised teen took the remark to heart, glaring at the other, “I am not creating something so mediocre .” Rodrick frowned, but turned away from him. Donnie seethed, itching to lunge himself at the other but refrained himself.
---
Everything was easy, and English was simply tedious.
It wasn’t difficult, Donatello could do the work well enough. It simply involved a lot of assignments that took up his time when he could be researching precious information on experiments he could try.
So far, school really wasn’t like in the movies. Honestly, Donnie suspected that conclusion, but it was still somewhat jarring.
A class that called his attention was Theatre.
And apparently, Katie was in his class, which made it more enjoyable. Though he felt bad for the teacher, he had to deal with a ton of crazy children. Plus Donnie. He isn’t crazy, simply brilliant and adventurous, thank you very much!
Katie yawned, leaning away from her script, “So what are your brother’s names?” She knew he had brothers, and everyone knew his full name. Each roll call today involved confused expressions.
Hey, it’s not his fault Pops named him Purple Donatello Hamato.
“Well, the oldest is Red Raphael. My…twin…is Blue Leonardo. Then, the youngest is Orange Michelangelo.” His expression softened, “You kinda remind me of him.” Katie seemed to take this as a compliment as her grin grew wider, “Really?”
“He likes crafting, too. And seems to always have energy. Oh, and we have a sister from another mister, April. She’s the oldest.” Donnie frowned as he looked down at the script in his hands, “...Is this SIX?”
---
Donnie stretched before heading out into the kitchen, looking for his brothers, "Brethren, I have returned!" Mikey grinned, waving at Donnie. Leo walked in soon after Mikey waved, "Hola, hermano! What took you so long? You've been gone. The WHOLE DAY!!" Leo dramatically draped himself over Donnie, falling over as the purple teen moved.
Leo whined, "Betrayal..."
Raph came in lastly, followed by their father. "Purple! Where have you been?" Donnie smiled, accepting Raph's gentle head pats, "Building my social life and expanding my education, Daddy-O!" Raph sighed, "Yeah, but what specifically?"
Donnie pursed his lips, "Hm. Well, if I tell you you are not allowed to nag me!"
Leo sat up from the floor, instantly hyper-fixating on the notion of a deal, "Why? Is it illegal?"
Donnie snorted, "No, Nardo, it isn't like your little Hidden City adventures." Splinter smiled cheekily at his blue-themed son, "Hah, he got you there, Blue!" Leo waved them off, "Yeah, yeah, so what is it?!"
"I, dear family, have enrolled myself into school!"
Silence.
And then Mikey squealed loudly, "DEE THAT IS SO COOL!! WHAT'S IT LIKE?! DID YOU MEET ANYONE?! ANY ENEMIES?!"
He suddenly grabbed Donnie's shoulders, drawing him in, "TELL ME EVERYTHING." Donnie sweat-dropped, "Of course, Angelo. Just please sit back down."
He cleared his throat, standing before his family, "Well, the Chemistry teacher is just as unhinged as I am. I think a girl, Katie, befriended me. She adores theater as well. This boy, Rodrick or whatever, is on my nerves."
Leo smirked, “Are you sure it isn’t the other way around?”
Donnie’s eye twitched, “...Sleep with your eyes wide open, brother.”
---
Donnie glared down at his worksheet, trying to understand the stupid metaphor.
He knew it was about how you shouldn’t trust so easily, but not exactly what it wanted or truly meant by that. It shouldn’t be this complicated, he knew that, but it simply was.
Donnie reluctantly glanced up at his ‘partner’. Mrs.Maben had assigned everyone, including the antisocial teenager, to a partner. And his happened to be Rodrick. Of course, the pair had mutually agreed to work independently…
But…
Donnie huffed, “Sigh. Blondie, what does this metaphor mean to you?” Rodrick rolled his eyes at Donnie’s chosen nickname and glanced at his paper, “Not sure. Something about not trusting every person that appears in your life? Like– Even if they’re charming or whatever you can’t be too trusting or naive, y’know?”
Donnie looked over the metaphor, finally feeling the pieces click, “Ohhh. Now I see it. Well, thank you. It turns out unlike most stereotypes depicting athletes, you are actually quite intelligent.” Rodrick’s expression slumped, “...That’s a long ass way to say ‘thanks’.”
Donnie shrugged, “Get used to it, Blondie.” Rodrick frowned, “Why are you calling me ‘blondie’? Okay– Look– I know it’s the hair, but I do have a name. And you’ve made it clear you hate my hair.”
“Scoff! Of course I hate it! You have warm undertones and yet you decided to use a cool blonde for your hair. Disgusting. Gag.” Rodrick pouted, bringing a strand of hair in front of his eyes, “...It’s not that bad. And wait! You call me an athlete, but you look really fit, too.”
Donnie glared at him, “That is undisclosed information. Now, help me with the rest of these metaphors and I’ll help you with analyzing the text. You got answers 4, 8, and 12 wrong.”
---
Katie snorted, “He helped you with your work? Then he’s not so bad!”
The disguised mutant hissed, “He’s insufferable! ” His friend sighed, “I don’t think he’s that bad… Oh, hey!” She brightened up, looking over the day’s assignment on the board, “We get to sing something from Ride The Cyclone!”
Donnie grinned, “Now that’s good news.” Katie snorted, “Right. Well, I’m ready so I’m going up first.” He sat back with the other students, and watched as she came on stage. Music began to play, and she belted out ‘What The World Needs’.
Katie was very animated, acting self-absorbed and mighty while praising herself, fitting in with the character seamlessly. Honestly, Donatello applauded her performance.
He played ‘Jole’s Lament’ and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Sure, the eyes of his classmates unnerved him a bit, but nonetheless he did good. Katie even said he looked absolutely mental, which made him sit up pridefully.
“Uhm, so, I was wondering…Would you like to stay over?” She looked nervous, and Donnie wanted to say ‘no’. He was a mutant, sleeping with the brooch could have consequences… But she looked like she was going to hurl with the way her anxious smile twitched.
“...Do you like turtles?”
She blinked, tilting her head, “Uh, I mean…Yeah?” Satisfied, the boy hummed, “Sighs. Alright, I’ll go.” Katie blinked, smiling shyly, “Cool.”
---
She actually reacted really well to the fact he was a mutant ninja turtle. If anything, she didn’t even bat an eye, simply continuing to play games with him.
It gave Donnie a sense of normalcy he didn’t even realize he’d been missing.
They had to hide this from Katie’s parents and her older sister, of course, but they had fun. And she even let Donnie criticize the movies they watched. Maybe this is what made life amazing, he had his brother, yes, but having a friend…
He was grateful for the girl.
---
Rodrick had managed to befriend the antisocial teen.
Donatello didn’t understand what had happened. One day he hated the guy’s guts, and today he was sitting beside him at lunch. Katie gave Donnie a knowing look, but didn’t say anything. Rodrick just nodded along to their conversation, not at all rude.
Maybe that’s why they became friends, now that the turtle thinks about it.
The blonde boy didn’t judge Donnie. He thought he was a show-off, sure, and a bit strange. But he also admitted to admiring his skills and intelligence. Maybe it was the praise that allowed him to loosen up.
Whatever it was, it worked wonders.
---
Donnie plopped down on the couch, loudly whining, “GROAN. COMPLAIN. WHINE.”
Leo shoved him, “Spit it out! WHAT. IS. IT?!” The purple-themed turtle huffed, “Rude. It’s about the guy with fake blonde hair that looks terrible!” Mikey shook his head in disappointment, “Tsk, Tsk. Don, what have we said about shaming people for their looks?” Raph nodded along, giving Donatello a pointed look.
“Not to. But his hair is so--” Leo groaned, “Are you just going to complain about his hair, or are you going to spill beans and tea?!”
Donnie felt his eyebrows scrunch at the horrid combination, “Ew. Fine, so today he agreed with me against that stupid math teacher. So he’s not that bad but still sucks!” Mikey snorted, “Enemies to besties.” Leo also snickered, “Cool, what else?”
“...”
“...Oh my word Don, what did you do..?” Raph picked him up from the floor, staring at him with calculating eyes.
Donnie sighed loudly, “SIGH. Okay, sooooo… Katie knows we’re mutants. BUT-- She’s actually abnormally cool about it and if anything wants to meet you all. So I propose going to a mall or something to chat.”
“Dee--”
“Lee, if you shut up and comply you can bring that annoying rabbit you like so much. Just make sure to wear your brooches!” Mikey beamed, “NEW FRIEND!” He twirled around, immediately nitpicking about what he would wear.
Donnie almost corrected him with a ‘no, she’s my new friend’ but refrained himself.
---
Donnie threw his arms up, “Hot Topic. I have heard many good things about it.”
Raph looked into it nervously, “Uhm, I don’t know, Don. It looks kinda…” Leo nodded along, “Uh huh, uh huh, yeah I agree it looks like a devil worship store for emos. Perfect for our little emo boy.” Katie snorted, “Well, there’s something for everyone in there. Come on.” Mikey bolted right in, shuffling through aisles of jewelry.
Donnie looked around, picking up clothes he liked. He turned over to Leo, holding up a unicorn shirt, “What do you think, Nardo?” Leo hummed, nodding happily, “Oh, yeah. Gotta have that!” Donnie blinked owlishly, “...are you saying that as in we have to have that or just you..?”
“We’re twins, Dee! We gotta match!” Katie nodded along, holding up an identical unicorn shirt in Donnie’s size.
“Aw, hell NO.”
---
Yuichi joined in later, witnessing Katie and Donnie blankly drop pennies into a fountain. She turned, waving at the disguised rabbit, “Bunny boy!”
The samurai snorted, “How original.” Katie grinned, “I am very special.” Donnie snorted, refraining from saying anything. Leo was immediately by the rabbit’s side, which continued their exploring.
No, seriously, this mall was huge. Like, six stories.
“Hey, Katie?” The girl hummed, looking back towards her friend, “Yeah?” Donnie looked away from her face, embarrassed, “...Why didn’t you freak out?” She hummed a small song in thought, choosing her words carefully, “You’re Donnie. Turtle, unicorn, human, goldfish…you’re still my friend.”
He stared in shocked silence, eyes wide. Katie continued to smile, pulling him along.
---
He was going to make the chemistry room blow up.
Could he die? Probably not, Barry created him to be a weapon meant to destroy humanity. Would it really hurt, though? …Also probably.
Whatever, it was going to be amazing! Everyone would remember the event! And besides, he warned his chemistry teacher. Not like they actually cared about blowing up, but still.
Donnie looked over his notes, “Hmmm, CH4. Check. 2O2, check. Plus hot nitrogen gas… And some backup C3H5N3O9, AKA, nitrogen glycerin.” The excited teen picked up a vial, twirling it in his hands, “And some good ol’ methane! Ohhh yeah, I can feel that radiant warmth on my skin now!”
He picked up a flint lighter, pressing down on the handles.
---
Okay so maybe that wasn’t a good idea, it burned the tables and his clothes.
Oh, and the principal wanted to speak to his parents. Which would be fine, if they weren’t busy trying to organize Splinter’s horde of artifacts. Which meant someone else would pick up the phone.
Donnie sputtered at the principal, huffing, “SCOFF. Just expel me!” The principal looked ready to off himself, “No, Donatello. We don’t believe in sudden expulsions. You yourself admitted to having only been holding a dangerous experiment, fortunately you seem relatively unharmed.”
Donnie snorted, “I see. Well, just give me a month of detention and I shall be on my way--” The principal sighed, holding up his hand, “No, Donatello. Your parents are going to be called.”
“...Fine.”
Donnie took out his phone, placing it on speaker. Raph immediately answered the call, “Donnie? Are you okay? Why are you calling me during school?! ” The principal cleared his throat, “Ah, hello? Is this Purple Donatello Hamato’s father?” Donnie audibly sulked, “I blew up some stuff, Raph.”
“ You did. What. We are having words when you get home, and I’m his oldest brother, actually. I am so sorry mister..? ”
“Cooper. Now, as Donatello was saying, he decided to experiment with dangerous elements in his chemistry class and blew up the room. Nobody was severely injured, luckily, but it is still advised that you or your parents discourage this behavior--”
Donnie stared blankly, “ What. ”
“--and he is clearly depicting pyromaniac tendencies. He has also gained a violent streak, we however don’t believe in using expulsion unless he depicts concerning threats towards another person.” Donnie rolled his eyes, “If I try to blow up Rodrick can I get expelled?”
Raph gasped, “ Purple Donatello Hamato. You will be doing no such thing! Mr.Cooper, I will have our parents and I talk thoroughly about behavior. ”
---
Katie snorted, “So you got detention on Saturday? Bummer.” Rodrick hummed, biting into his food, “Maybe don’t blow stuff up next time.” Donnie rolled his eyes, “Fine.”
They didn’t say anything about hacking into the school’s speakers and playing ‘Peaches’ by Jack Black, though.
However, as soon as the song went off, Rodrick put down his food and leveled the other a small glare. Katie sighed, “Don. Really?” The turtle simply held his grin as the song looped again. A teacher nearby wept.
Rodrick suddenly leaned back, laughing. The sound caught the other two off-guard, and Donnie seemed to let the bubbly sound absorb into his brain, searing itself into his memories.
He glanced away, mentally slapping himself.
---
He’d had crushes before, not a whole bunch like Leo, but still, he’d had them. So he knew that he had begun to develop non-platonic feelings toward the other boy.
Rodrick continued on conversing with Donnie, unaware of what he was doing. He would praise the turtle’s form whenever he helped Rodrick train for tennis games.
“Your form is great, and your reflexes are seriously amazing! I have no clue where you learned that, but keep going at it! It’s about time I got myself a good tennis partner to train with!” Donnie nearly fell over and blew up from the praise.
Rodrick asked questions about his scientific rambles, nodding along to each word and even saying his tidbit of knowledge. Donnie felt more than seen, and it made him want to strangle the blonde.
And the guy had even watched Katie practice songs with Donnie at her house, practicing so they’d be ready for the school’s play. Rodrick would clap each time, insisting it was amazing. And Rodrick…wasn’t looking that bad anymore.
He had been growing out his hair, auburn took over the blonde, and softened his freckles and dark amber eye. His tanned skin always held a glow, and when he smiled Donnie could see a small gap that added to his charm. Really, it was unfair just how pretty this boy truly was.
He groaned, ashamed.
Donatello was a mutant, a turtle that casually fought bad guys. Sure, maybe the other wouldn’t mind, but what if he did..?
Leo, ever the annoying brother, insisted he should say something.
“Just see if he’s cool with you! He’s your friend, isn’t he?” The blue turtle yawned, waiting for the other’s response. Donnie glanced away, calculating the risks…and the success. He verbally sighed, “Fine, Nardo. I shall see how it goes.”
---
He did not see that coming.
Before him stood a mouse yokai with auburn fur, the tips over their dark amber eyes a cool blonde and flecks of pigmentation were scattered across their face. Donatello stared, eyes wide, “...Ah.”
Rodrick snorted, cradling his brooch with nimble fingers, “So you’re the turtle who wreaked havoc in Witch Town. I’m guessing the human was April?” The turtle nodded dumbly.
He was currently at a park known to be yokai friendly, so reveals would be fine here. Doniie just…really didn’t expect the turn in events. It gave him an absurd amount of hope.
“I, uh…maybe. Perhaps. I might like you more than a friend.” He felt his face burned, embarrassment clouding his judgment, “...Forget what I said. I meant like, best friends, or--” Rodrick huffed a small laugh, “I like you, too, man.”
The turtle sputtered, “Huh?”
The mouse bashfully rubbed his arm, “Uh, so, what do we do with this information?” Donnie rubbed his hands together, “Uh…I’m not…sure.” He cringed slightly, unsure of what to do. The yokai cleared his throat, “We could…date? But, like, our own way. Fuck society and all that.”
Donnie felt himself smile, “Yeah. Fuck society.” They shook hands, moving them once before letting go. Rodrick suddenly snorted, “That concludes today’s meeting.”
They laughed, unable to help themselves.
---
Pops wasn’t as happy, and Donatello should’ve expected it. Correction, he did, but he would meet Rodrick tonight.
The school was performing EPIC the musical, and Donnie had gotten the male’s lead role, Odysseus! And Katie had gained the role of Circe, the sorceress that turns the crew into pigs. Good choice for the role if he was being honest.
Donatello pulled his costume down, exhaling softly. Tonight was going to be fun, that was for certain!
The curtains lifted, and the lights shining down on him made it impossible to see the audience, much less his family and newly appointed partner. The opening song began, and Donatello faced the students playing as his soldiers.
He sang commands, feeling a rush of adrenaline go through him as his voice became steadier.
---
His brothers crowded him and Katie, babbling about their favorite parts. The bubbly girl beamed, and April nearly jumped them as well.
Donnie looked to the side, watching Rodrick interact with Draxum and his father. Interesting, they all seemed at ease. Good.
“Hey, Don?” He turned, looking down at the youngest. Mikey didn’t meet his eyes, glancing at the ground awkwardly, “...School seems fun. I’m happy you found your thing, just…you won’t forget about us, right?”
Donatello snorted, playfully pushing the other by the shoulder, “There is a one hundred percent chance that you can not be forgotten unless a severe injury is involved. School is not a serious injury.”
His brother smiled, butting his head against his arm, “I’m happy you’re happy, Dee.”
Donatello looked around, watching his other siblings interact with Katie and Rodrick. He watched in plain amusement as his theater teacher spoke with Draxum and Splinter. And he looked down at his youngest brother.
“Thank you, Michael.”
This decision was not one he regretted in the slightest.
Rodrick:
Katie:
Donnie:
