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The sewers are a dark, cold and wet place to live. Miserable, at times. Which is why the four teenagers are thrilled to be able to go to school, however not so thrilled to be woken by Leonardo's alarm every single morning.
You see, Leonardo is an odd one. He sets his alarm and places his phone on the shelf at the bottom of his bed, instead of on the shelf above his bed. He simply stares st the ceiling until he falls asleep. So, when his alarm rings in the morning, before he can get up and unlock his phone to turn it off, he wakes up a large majority of his family. It's become part of their routine, for Leonardo be the first up, and his brothers following afterwards.
Today was like any other. The four were already up. Michelangelo was preparing his breakfast whilst Donatello ate a bowl of frozen mango and checked over Raphael's homework, and Leonardo finished up his own. They'd all shower, get dressed and clean the room, eat breakfast and have about a half hour left before they had to leave for school, so they'd finish up anything they needed to finish up.
At 7:30, they said goodbye to their Dad, stepmom, and cousins, before leaving the sewers, relief washing over them as the fresh scent of the city intoxicated them. Well, not exactly fresh, but it was fresher than the sewers, that's for sure.
Crowds of kids filled the school ground already, with many more on their way, however, he four mutants always make a pit stop at a dear friend's house. Most days, April would already be waiting for them, just outside of the apartment complex she lives within.
Today was another one of those days, and the 5 walked off to school, each doing their own thing. Leonardo and April would talk about whatever it was they had in mind, today it happened to be some new show they'd watched together, Raphael was ranting about some idiot in his wrestling club, Michelangelo was staring off into space, occasionally interrupting his rant, and Donatello did the same thing each day.
He'd listen to the same playlist, in the same order, for the exact same amount of time. Although, he always had one of the earmuffs just behind where his ear would be, in case someone was trying to talk to him.
The day continued like clockwork, each went to their own classes, occasionally passing and ignoring each other as they wandered through hallways, only meeting at the end of the day.
A group of four waited patiently outside of the school gates for Donatello to finish up whatever it was that he had on, only to find him laughing and walking with someone. The person he was with was blushing slightly, and seemed to not want to part ways with Donatello.
Once Donatello caught up to his own group, the polite smile dropped from his face and he immediately went back to playing a game on his phone.
"Oh my god, does my baby brother have a girlfriend?" Raphael teased, elbowing the younger boy, a smirk spread wide across his face.
"What?" Donatello had ignored him entirely, only looking up once he'd died. Mikey, who was on the other side of him, gently shoved him into Raphael.
Mikey opened his mouth to speak, but before he could hear what he had to say, Dobatello slipped his noise cancelling headphones over his ears and rolled his eyes, restarting his game.
The nyan-cat theme music blasted into his ears, and whilst annoying, he didn't mind it for the few minutes until the 5 of them slipped down into the sewers.
The four continued to walk and tease Leonardo, whilst Donatello stayed silent.
It was gnawing at him, like if he didn't figure it out, he'd soon be eaten alive by it. Why was he so uncomfortable about Raph assuming he had a girlfriend? Why hadn't he found love yet, whilst everyone else around him had? He always assumed he just hadn't found the right one, but it was taking so long for him to find the one. He'd figure it out eventually. He always did.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Months passed by and still, he didn't
know. He'd gone through every label he could trying to find out what was right. What he was. On one fateful Thursday lunch break, he was sat in the library, studying. A pair was at the table across from him, quietly talking. He heard one mention something he'd never heard of, and so he took out his phone to google it.
The definition matched. Everything he'd gone through matched. He looked at comments on so many different forums and articles and so many experiences matched his. He'd gone through so much, only to find out that the answer was in some random kid all along. As he looked further and further, he found different micro labels for his experience, different terms. Donatello, the mutant who was on live television multiple times, had never felt so seen. The bell had gone and he would have missed it if not for the librarian calling for everyone to leave.
What was he to do now? Finally knowing what he was? Was he to open up to the people around him? Then he'd have to explain, and he wasn't quite sure he understood it himself.
As he walked to his AP Physics class, he passed the notice board. It was plastered in dumb school events and club notices. He usually stopped by once a week, on monday afternoons. One thing in particular caught his eye. Multi-coloured striped rectangles and a large title. The poster for the club had been up all year, always welcoming people to the club, but it never really caught his attention. Until now. He swiftly took out his phone to text his eldest brother as he walked to his next class.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Donnie took a shaky breath as he stood outside the door to the room the club took place in. He reconsidered his decision, thinking he should turn back and catch up with his brothers and April. It was too late now, as two members of the club stood behind him, hand-in-hand, concerned.
"Hey, are you okay?" One of the girls spoke up, sympathy leaking through her tone. Donatello jumped and moved out of the way, gripping the bottom of his hoodie tightly.
"Yeah, sorry." He moved away enough for the two girls to go in.
"I'm guessing you're new to the club, huh?" She smiled politely, understanding of the internal conflict he was going through.
Donatello sighed awkwardly, rubbing his neck as he stared at the sign above the door. "Yeah."
"I know it's terrifying to admit to strangers what you are, but eventually you find a sense of community."
The other girl spoke up, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can sit with us, if you'd like to."
The turtle thought for a moment. He could try it, just this once. The worst that could happen is that he was wrong about himself, and even so it would be fine. A soft smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, thanks."
The three entered the classroom, sitting down at a table at the back of the classroom. The classroom was busy and happy, and bright. It felt so comforting and loving, like they'd accept anyone. It felt nice.
The small group started to chat, as they waited for a few more of their friends to join them. "Oh yeah- I'm Miwa, she/they." The girl that first spoke to him introduced herself, about 15 minutes into their conversation.
The other girl had introduced herself as Shini. As it turned out, the club was actually how they met and fell in love. It was a super cute story, so cute that he almost forgot to introduce himself.
"I'm Donnie, he/him." He mentioned, and soon his new-found friends asked why it was that he decided to come to the club. "I'm aroace, so I thought this might be a good place to get to know others like me."
His entire body felt warm. He finally said it, and it felt so right. He's aroace, and even if he'll never be the same as his family or classmates, there were still people who understood him. Even if he wouldn't love or live the same way, he would still love and live and be himself. He finally knew why he would always be different, and he couldn't have been happier with it.