Chapter Text
Donnie ran his finger over the thin scar on his neck. It had almost fully healed, but he didn't expect the scar would fade much more.
he was stuck with it.
stuck with the reminder of his weakness every time he looked in the mirror.
stuck with the phantom pains of the cut, and the cold metal over his snout.
and he just had to deal with it.
He huffed. Nope, he wasn't going to think about it. it could wait for another day. a day when he wasn't trying to finish his list of things to do. things had really piled up in three weeks. His brothers had tried to do what they could, but there were some things only Donnie could fix.
Donnie finished brushing his teeth without looking in the mirror. he didn't need a mirror to function. all his eyebrows were drawn on his masks beforehand.
He stepped out of the bathroom, heading to the kitchen to make some coffee. once he'd started the pot, he wandered over and picked up the toaster. Leo had managed to break it AGAIN and Donnie had to fix it... AGAIN.
speak of the devil, the blue-banded turtle waltzed in as if he's already had his coffee and slung an arm over Don's shoulder. "What're ya doing, Don Tron?" Leo didn't usually go for coffee. he preferred tea.
"cleaning up after you, dum-dum." Donnie flicked his forehead and Leo returned the gesture with a playful shove.
"Hey! it's only the third time this month."
"fifth time, actually." Donnie pointed out, finding the main problem with the machine, and making sure it was unplugged, before pushing the fuse carefully back into place. he set it down gently before huffing. "try not to make a sixth."
Leo removed his arm, making a happy chirping noise as he pulled out some bread. "I make no such promises!"
Donnie shrugged. his immediate older brother was... incorrigible to say the least.
He pulled out one of his mugs and poured himself a hot cup, also adding some light creamer to calm down the bitterness. He made his way to his lab, sweeping some papers to the side of his desktop and setting down the mug. Raph wouldn't let him have a coffee maker in the lab since sometimes he would only come out to socialize if he needed coffee. Donnie started up his computer and heard a familiar buzzing in the corner of the room. Shelldon flew out to greet him.
"Shelldon, you're up early." The drone pressed his face to Donnie's cheek as a greeting before spinning circles around his head.
"oh yeah, dude! I promised Mikey I'd help him with some baking today!" the drone buzzed.
"alright. just make sure he cleans your rotors if anything gets in them."
"can do bro!" Shelldon buzzed off, leaving Donnie to take a sip of his coffee. His phone buzzed, receiving a good morning text from April. he texted back then set the phone on the desk, turning his attention to his computer. He was almost finished with this new code. it would add an extra layer of security to the lair, and be able to alert them to any entities in the sewers within 100 meters. well, anything other than rats.
after a few hours of working, Mikey popped into the room with some lunch and reminded Donnie to take small breaks. Donnie had to kick him out when he started wanting to touch the stuff.
the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. there were no explosions or any new things broken, and Donnie made a decent dent in his list of things to do.
when he exited the Lab to hopefully grab some dinner, he found only Raph in the living room. his head immediately turned to Donnie and locked on.
Donnie tensed. had he done something? did Raph want him to socialize?
Raph stood up slowly and Donnie resisted closing himself back in the lair.
they stood there and stared at each other for a second before Raph took a few steps toward Donnie, and looked at his feet.
"Hey, I- uh-" Raph stumbled a bit, radiating nervous energy. "I noticed you this morning, looking in the mirror."
Donnie stiffened more. He what?
"I got the feeling that you didn't like the- I mean- I-" Raph swallowed hard before putting both hands in front of him, revealing a small, flat box. "I got you something."
Donnie blinked, looking at the box. it was plain and brown with no bows or stickers. He took it carefully and opened it.
it was purple fabric, and when he pulled it out, he realized it was a bandana, like his mask, but without eye holes or eyebrows.
"If you wanted to cover it up, you can use that. It matches and everything." Raph's voice was quiet and he was shifting on his feet a bit. "it's okay if you don't want it."
Donnie felt himself tear up a little, and Raph noticed this and panicked. "No! Don't cry, Donnie! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Donnie wrapped his arms around Raphs torso, openly sobbing. Raph hesitated but returned the embrace.
the two moved to their knees slowly, and Raph pulled Donnie as close as Donnie allowed. Donnie tried to speak between his crying, but it was difficult and the statement ended up being drawn out in sobs. "I- I was so- so s-scared."
"oh, Don-" Raph nuzzled his snout into the top of Donnie's head. "I know, I'm so sorry we didn't find you sooner."
the two stayed there as Donnie's cries settled, and he laid against his oldest brother's plastron with relief, as if a massive weight had been lifted off his heart. Raph pulled him back a bit and carefully tied the bandana around his neck.
"there. nothing to see there but your favorite color."
Donnie sniffled, embarrassed about his outburst as he ducked his head. "thank you."
"anytime, little brother." Raph patted Donnie's head and churred quietly.
Donnie returned the noise, at a volume only Raph could hear.
He may be stuck with the scar, but at least he wasn't alone with it.