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buthowboutno · 5 months

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HEY NEW CHAPTER OUT OR WHATEVER

aLSO here's a snippet that you should read after you finish it xoxo ~~~

(NOT FOR MINORS)

----

Donnie cut it close, too close. Granted, his season was a whole month early this year, but Donnie knew better. He knew the signs. If he was more mindful, he would’ve holed himself up in his room a week ago and gotten through this nightmare of a season without making a fool of himself.

But what choice did he have? Meat Sweats was tearing up downtown Manhattan and Donnie couldn’t just leave Mikey and Raph to handle it by themselves. And when he saw your missed calls, his mating cycle was in the back of his mind until he knew that you were okay.

Was he pushing it with the aquarium? Yes, but you were crying and upset. There was no other option for Donnie than to cheer you up with gentle touches and a new distraction.

Donnie hoped that you would excuse his abrupt departure. Maybe in a month (or a decade) he would feel less embarrassed and explain the finer workings of soft-shelled reproductive cycles.

But for now? Donnie was feverishly searching through his drawers for his lube, tissues, and stroker.

Even under the threat of death, Donnie would never admit the existence of his sex toys. They were a necessary shame for spending twenty-two years taking care of his ruts by himself. Way back at the age of sixteen, Donnie could admit that his right hand wasn’t getting the job done anymore. The hindbrain demanded tightness and lubrication that only, outside of a living, breathing person, his stroker could provide.

Donnie breathed out a large sigh of relief as his hand landed on the silicone tube. It had been a while since he had wanted to use it, even longer since he had needed release so badly his left leg was slowly turning numb.

Hyperbole, maybe, but Donnie was desperate.

He unceremoniously flopped back onto his bed and pulled his pants off. Donnie’s cock almost immediately sprung to attention as it was released with the removal of his spandex shorts. He palmed the base of it, hissing from the coldness of the lube in his palm.

With just a few strokes, the clarity of Donnie’s mind was returning. The hindbrain was satisfied, for now, which Donnie took advantage of to lube up his toy and slowly ease it onto his length.

(Newton knows he has sacrificed many sheets and bottles of lube when he loses control of himself.)

(Donnie hated this season.)

He breathed shakily as his cock was slowly enveloped by the silicone, his body shaking desperately with need. Donnie moved the toy up and down, just once, and threw his head back with a gasp.

Donnie’s free hand gripped onto a soft fabric that was decidedly not his comforter. He pulled it closer to his face to inspect the foreign object and felt his skin begin to burn with need.

Without any higher thought process, Donnie pressed your hoodie against his face and breathed in deep. The fuzziness of his mind came back into full force as he began to move the toy up and down his cock.

God… would you sit on Donnie’s face?

He would die happy, he thinks, with your thighs on either side of his head and your slick filling all of his senses with your smell.

Donnie bit the bottom edge of the fabric and growled, his eyes clenched shut as he fell down the fantasy of you moaning his name and riding his tongue. Donnie’s experience was purely hypothetical, but he would be good for you. He would be attentive. He would map out every last part of your sex and do everything in his power to bring you to climax.

And how Donnie wanted it.

He wanted to hear your moans of pleasure, wanted to feel you clench down on his fingers as he worked you lose enough to take his cock.

“Fuck,” Donnie gasped, his hips bucking up into the toy.

Spirits, he would enter you so slowly. Donnie wanted to drive the two of you crazy as he filled you, making you take every green inch of him and feel as he dragged his cock back out. He wanted you begging, pleading to go faster. He wanted you to ride him and he wanted to watch as you worked yourself up and down his cock while seeking your pleasure.

Donnie wanted your– fuck.

His hips bucked up again. He turned around to kneel on his mattress, his hand still working the toy and his teeth biting into the fabric of your hoodie while he held himself up.

He could picture himself, like this, lining himself up with your entrance and bucking into you so hard that his bed shakes. Donnie could almost feel, almost taste, your shoulder as he bit down onto your hoodie. He hoped that you would moan into his ear and pull his head up to press open-mouthed kisses as he brought you to the brink.

Donnie hunched over himself and squeezed tighter at the toy.

He could feel himself pushing his tongue into your mouth, making you taste yourself as he rocked against you. Donnie would push you to that final edge with him with a thumb to your clit. He needed to feel you clenching down on his cock while he filled you, he needed–

Donnie came into the toy with a loud moan, your name just a few seconds from passing through his lips. He sat there and breathed, feeling more clear headed than he had been in a month. He sat up with a roll of his shoulders and pulled the toy off of himself. Donnie’s legs were shaking with the come-down of his high, even if his cock, annoyingly, refused to retreat back into his slit.

Then he saw your hoodie with the considerable hole pierced through the bottom edge of it. The images from his fantasy came flooding back alongside the newfound shame of getting off to his best friend.

“Oh, fuck,” Donnie croaked, picking up the hoodie and thumbing the tattered edge with his thumb. He felt another wave arousal grip his body as he caught your scent again. He patted around for his stroker and slipped it back on just before his mind went blank.

“Oh, fuck.”

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanfiction

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buthowboutno · 5 months

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DONNIES POV OF THE LATEST CHAPTER... PRETTY PLEASE? 🥺

you've caught me in an amenable mood, sure!

Here's a Donnie POV from the very end of chapter 24 <3

(it's v unedited, apologies)

---

"Wow," April said as she leaned on the counter next to Donnie, "They're really out cold."

Donnie snorted and continued his task of gathering up the empty bottles around the bar.

(He liked to repurpose glass when he could. The more time he spent re-shaping it into his desired purposes it was less time he had to keep depending on subpar tech companies.)

"Just wait until you put a movie on in front of Sweets," Donnie retorted, "I've never seen someone pass out so quickly."

April hummed, gathering up bottles in her own bag, "Should we wake them up and send them home? I bet Leo would make an extra pit stop for them.

"Uh," Donnie said, tilting his head in confusion, "They're spending the night."

"You're not making them sleep on the couch, Donnie."

"I am not making them sleep on the couch, April."

"Sunny and I are taking the spare bed."

"Yes."

"The Casey's have already claimed the cots in the med bay."

"Correct again," Donnie said stiffly, a faint blush rising on his cheeks, "We... Sweets and I usually share my bed."

"Ohhh," April said, trailing off, "Okay. I see."

"There's nothing to see," Donnie argued, "It's simply the most sensible and economical solution. It would be a waste of resources to keep a spare bed fresh and clean with the frequency of Sweet's visits."

"I'm sure."

"Good," Donnie said with a huff, his gaze falling back on you. Your chest rose and fell softly as you slept. Your hand rested against your forehead and twitched as the breeze started to pick up.

It was getting colder again. Truly unprecedented weather patterns this year. If Donnie was a betting man, he would expect snow again before May.

(The month, not Sweet's roommate.)

(Duh, Donatello.)

"I think that's the last of the bags," Raph said, popping his head out of the portal Leo was maintaining just to the side of the pool, "You guys need anything?"

"Wanna get sleepyhead inside?" April said, jerking her head in your direction, "I'm worried about them catching a cold."

"No," Donnie said quickly, practically on instinct.

April raised an eyebrow at Donnie. Her eyes glimmered with satisfaction for just a moment as she schooled her face back to a neutral expression.

Donnie didn't have the energy for her presumptions right now. Not after the last few weeks.

"Raph, do you mind finishing up the bottles for me?" Donnie asked. He already tossed his bag over to Raph before he got an answer and was quickly approaching your side.

You scrunched your face up as Donnie gently raised your head off the chair and managed to settle your torso against his. You were solidly snoozing again with your face pressed against Donnie's neck by the time he managed to slide an arm under your legs.

Donnie pointedly did not look at April and Raph as he stepped through the portal and avoided Casey's blatant staring with a swift departure down his hallway.

You muttered something incomprehensible as Donnie took an especially sharp turn.

It was like a second nature for Donnie to chirp at you and press his cheek against the top of your head as he activated the door to the lab. It was one of the things that Donnie was actively choosing not to think about.

(He had a list.)

(Hypothetically.)

(If there were things that he needed to address.)

(Which there weren't.)

Donnie was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he didn't even think about the fact that he had managed to get a hoodie onto you without considering any of the necessary steps he needed to take before that. Namely, getting your swimsuit off first.

He... Donnie didn't think he should be doing that.

"Sweets, you need to go get changed," Donnie said softly, trying to lift you to your feet from where he had set you onto the bed.

(He tried not to think about the wet mark you left behind on his blankets.)

(Where was his mind today?)

You managed to blearily open your eyes and nodded at him. You allowed him to guide you to the bathroom and obediently took the pair of sweatpants he pressed into your hands.

Donnie shut the door behind you and took a deep, steadying breath. He willed his mind to that calming blankness he reached for during meditation. There was no other option, really.

Not on the fumes Donnie was barely running off of.

Ten seconds in.

Change out of his swim trunks. Place in hamper.

Fifteen out.

Replace the comforter, deal with it in the morning.

Twenty seconds in.

Take off his battle shell. Set it on the charger.

Twenty-five --

You opened the door to the bathroom, the light pouring in behind you as you yawned widely. You half-stumbled, half-walked towards his bed.

Donnie had to catch you as you attempted to pull yourself onto his sheets, your hands failing to find traction on the satin.

You giggled sleepily, your hand landing on the collar of Donnie's hoodie while he attempted to tuck you in. You managed to find his arm and tugged at it, humming happily as you managed to pull it to your chest.

Donnie, already leaning over the bed and in grave danger of losing his balance, had to make a quick choice.

Pull away, calm his heartrate, and go sleep on the lab couch, or...

He could stay.

He couldn't--

Could he--?

You would never--

You made the decision for him, in the end, whether you were conscious of it or not. You pulled forward Donnie with the whole weight of your torso as you leaned farther into his bed.

It was all Donnie could do to keep from squishing you beneath him as he landed on the bed. He would be lying if he said he didn't delight in the fact that you were so near, that every bone in his body wasn't screaming at him to stay close to you at all times.

You snored softly next to Donnie, your ability to pass out within an instant never lagging.

He... would be staying. It didn't seem worth it to disturb you more than Donnie had to.

That was the most reasonable justification that Donnie could find, in any case.

(He really needed to get his hindbrain in order.)

"Shelldon, lights off."

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanfiction

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buthowboutno · 5 months

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ONE YEAR OF "AND THEY WERE LAB PARTNERS" ✨✨✨

Thank you to everyone who participated in the one year anniversary poll!! I still maintain that it would be funny as /fuck/ to just delete “And They Were Lab Partners” in a memento mori fashion, but alas; Only one person voted for it.

Cowards /j

In any case, the majority voted for the behind the scenes stuff, so here we are! The tidbits of how ATWLP turned into the fucking beast it is.

I would like to personally blame @morning-sun-brah , @hitechlatte, and @ordin-arily for being such big inspirations in this corner of the fandom. You guys are amazing and I probably wouldn't be where I am today without your works.

Shout out to all my losers in the backrooms for keeping me going and being such terrible influences. You are all responsible for the horrors that have been unleashed. A solid third of my content exists because of your sins /aff.

@beckerboopin is the best beta anyone could ask for and has only brought this story up to the next level. I would die for you becks <3

Also @betyoudidntcthatcoming-blog is the love of my life that I only met ‘cause of this fic or whatever. They’re pretty neat. I guess. :p

ANYWAYS, /CONTENT/

(Major Spoilers Ahead Pre-Chapter 23)

—

I would like to remind everyone that ATWLP was only supposed to be 50k words. You can still witness my naivety in the notes of “Pudge ‘Preciation.”

How… simple those times were.

How I so firmly believed the idiots would be kissing by chapter 16. How a projected word count of 150k words seemed unfathomable for a single work, much less a work with multiple published and planned companion pieces.

Crazy. (I was crazy once.)

There was a lot of ATWLP that ended up getting scrapped as I got further into the story. The idiots had a lot of opinions and tugged at me a few different ways as I got to know them better. (aka they wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to fucking kiss already.)

Anyways, some of the few major structural changes:

Casey was originally supposed to reveal that he knew Sweet’s in the bad timeline during the “Intro to Sparring” chapter. That chapter was also originally slotted to happen /before/ the kidnapping debacle, but it just so happened to fit in better later

The stage kiss from “Hit the Club” was going to be in the Nerd Prom chapter. It felt too corny at the time (and lowkey still feels corny) so I put that in my pocket for later. For as much as y’all yelled at me for it, it barely made the final cut lmao.

The way the idiots are going to confess to each other is a COMPLETE 180 from how I planned the story from the beginning, which was already entirely different from the first idea for this fic. I wrote a whole ass chapter about an accidental kiss being the tipping point of them positively macking on each other, which I did end up cutting into convenient pieces for other stuff. (I PUT A PART OF IT DOWN BELOW)

Sweets was going to be kidnapped twice and the whole Purple Dragons debacle was going to be drawn out more. There was a lot more action planned than slice of life content at ATWLP’s conception. For better or for worse, this is where the story led us.

Donnie’s mating season wasn’t going to be as involved in the story, if in it at all. I grew to be hornier and less ashamed. You’re welcome.

The first title for this fic was “Lab Rat: a Story of Nerds Falling in Love.” For the life of me I cannot remember what compelled me to change it, but holy shit am I glad I did.

I was going to use (y/n) in this fic. No hate to those who do, but stylistically I’m pretty happy with not doing that.

And because I have no control over the idiots, quick rundown of the chapters that weren’t supposed to happen.

Kart Conflict

The Christmas Issue

The Recovery: Day Two

Valentine’s Day Episode

Hit the Club

Aquarium? Hardly Know ‘Em

****Pool Excursion

****Beach Episodes

****honestly just like the entire endgame of this fic

All the ficlets/ alternate POV’s

All the smut! I still have it written down in my original notes that ATWLP was gonna be completely PG lmao. Once again y’all have @morning-sun-brah and her fucking fabulous fics to blame for that

The Valentines’ and aquarium chapters are COMPLETELY different than how I had originally planned, even with being forced to include them in my chart. The Valentine’s day plans that the brothers had “ditched” with Sweets was the og plot for the chapter. The aquarium chapter was supposed to be a rooftop picnic with feels~~, no aquarium even fucking mentioned in my outline.

I don’t have much control over what happens tbh. I am praying that the 37 planned chapters will be the final chapters.

We’ll…. we’ll just have to see how that turns out.

The scrapped plots as a little treat for y’all <3 ~~~

Cut Stage Kiss (after the lift in Nerd Prom)

You leaned closer to Donnie’s face, intent on screeching in his ear for pulling that stunt.

“Kiss them already!” May yelled from the inner edge of the crowd. You turned bright red, blinking at her. You shook your head at her, but the crowd started to catch onto the idea.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Donnie laughed, a little incredulous. He leaned in close to your ear, whispering, “Theatre kid protocol?”

You nodded in agreement, allowing him to put a hand to your face. He leans into your mouth, making the crowd go wild. You giggle against the thumb separating your lips, smiling against it. Donnie pulled away from you with a dramatic ‘mwah’. You threw your head back, fully laughing as Donnie lifted you up from the dip.

First Valentine’s Day Outline

The final four move to the living room

Sweets: “We’re making friendship bracelets while we watch the most romantic movie of all time.”

Raph: “Shrek 2!”

Donnie: “This is ridiculous”

Sweets: “This holiday is ridiculous, now pick out your five favourite colors of embroidery floss”

Donnie: “....Fine."

Donnie is actually terrible at making bracelets lmao while mikey has wristfuls of them

Donnie: “I don’t understand! I’m following the blueprints exactly!”

Mikey: “The... instructions?”

Donnie: “Whatever! How are you making those so fast? You don’t even have that many friends!”

Mikey: “Physical therapy is a hell of a time, my brother.”

Sweets: “Is Donnie being ableist again?”

Mikey: “I do believe he is.”

Donnie: “I am autistic!”

Sweets: “Bless you.”

ORIGINAL CONFESSION

And it all starts like most things in your life do: a silly mistake.

“Donnie,” you whined. You were working on your physics homework at his desk while he was soldering a new motherboard for the Turtle Tank’s controls.

“Little pest,” he mimicked your tone without looking up. He kept on soldering as you stared at him, not a care in the world.

“Would you be so kind as to look over my work for this problem? I’m following the steps but I’m not getting the right answer.”

“Mmm,” Donnie said. At that moment, a spark flew from his project and caught his exposed cheek. He flinched back, dropping his wire and soldering rod on the table and rubbing his face. You batted your eyes at him while he scowled.

“I don’t know how, but I blame you for that.”

“I would *never*,” you teased. You pushed your chair to the side a bit so Donnie could stand next to you.

He moved his goggles to his head and put his left arm over the back of your chair, leaning over you. He parsed through your work for a minute and tilted his head down to tell you what you needed to fix.

It just so happened that you tilted your head up to ask him a question at the same time, the two of you meeting in the middle with a kiss.

Well, it wasn’t so much of a kiss as it was the two of you accidentally brushing your lips together for a moment. Seconds, almost nothing at all.

But the way that Donnie looked at you when the two of you jumped apart…

That…that wasn’t nothing.

You could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. You could’ve cracked a joke, played up your ridiculous game of pet names and intellectual bravado.

(To be honest, you almost did.)

But then you thought about the way Donnie’s lips felt against yours. You thought about the way you’d dream of that moment and then proceed to do everything in your power to banish those thoughts away. Your mouth hung open slightly as you looked up at him, trying to will yourself to do anything, anything at all.

Donnie ended up making that decision for you. That oh, so familiar churring started emanating from his chest. He took your face in his hands, looking into your eyes for just a hint of confirmation before leaning in for a real kiss.

Oh.

*Oh*.

(Yeah, you could get used to this.)

There was nothing more you could do than press yourself against him, against his touch. You felt him smiling into the kiss, pressing you down into the chair.

Donnie was *everywhere*, like he was trying to encompass you. His hand moved to your hair, the other to your hip. You smiled when you remembered his adoration for your love-handles all that time ago. You traced along his plastron, making nonsense shapes and mapping out every scar.

He was so responsive. The chirring increased tenfold for every touch to his chest, every soft bite you gave his lips. You recalled all the times he would make noises from you touching along his shell. You pressed your hands fully against him, doing your best to draw out more and more of those sounds.

What Donnie lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm. He followed your lead, matching your pace every step of the way. You licked along the seam of his lips, gasping as his mouth opened for you. Donnie’s tongue against yours was tentative, shy even. You did everything in your power to ease Donnie into deepening the kiss.

When he moved from your lips and started kissing down your throat, your soul could have left your body right there. He was so…*gentle*.

Donnie always has been. From when he was slinging his arms around you to kicking your ass in sparring, Donnie has never failed to treat you with care and reverence.

You feel it now, with every soft bite he gives you, every gentle peck behind your ear.

Donnie pulled away from you after what felt like decades. (Never enough, it would never be enough.) You leaned forward after him, trying to close the space he was creating. He looked bashful.

“This might be the proper time to tell you that I have a massive crush on you,” Donnie said. His face was fraught with nervous determination.

“Yeah, no fucking shit,” you said. You stood up from the chair and used your body to push Donnie against the desk. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down to your height.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for forever, can we get on with it?” you said, looking into his eyes. Donnie turned bright red.

“But– you? Do you?” Donnie stammered a bit.

“Donnie,” you deadpanned, crowding into his space, “I’ve had a crush on you for a year, thanks for noticing. Will you *please* lean your face down a bit so I can reach it?”

Donnie looked at you a bit incredulously, like you were a problem he didn’t know how to solve yet. He made quite a picture, all red faced and calculating with a dumb half-smile while he looked at you. But, giving in, he put his arms around you and leaned in to kiss you again.

“Aye, aye, captain.”

You smiled into the kiss, humming with contentment.

He likes you.

—

Aaaaand some random headcanons because I love you guys and I am truly so thankful to this kickass community <3 I truly do not know where I would be without the support y’all have given me.

Donnie has a hella oral fixation

NOT IN A KINKY WAY (most of the time) But as an autist, Donnie do be biting

One of his biggest shows of trust if he bites you while just chilling

Like if donnie is big spoon, he just nom on a shoulder and stay there chillin

Or if reader is body pillow, he’ll lean around and bite their bicep

Good sensations

Donnie draws on eyebrows every day, he for sure would be very good at doing intricate makeup on reader

Gently holds their chin up, concentrated as hell while reader blushes like mad

Donnie keeps getting banned off of roblox

Didn’t matter tbh, he knew how to hack into it to get his account reinstated

Also makes money off of roblox??

never explains to Sweets, very suspicious

Sweets likes to kiss along donnie’s neck/where his battle shell usually sits

The word here is reverence

Donnie is egotistical, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have insecurities about being a mutant turtle and you being a human

Lots of tracing along his arms, his face, his shell

Donnie likes his coffee to be half coffee, half milk to cut down on bitterness. Sweets is a tea drinker normally, but opts for coffee when they can’t focus (which ends up being most of the semester).

Sweets drinks black coffee when they’re on the struggle bus

To quote them, “Black coffee can’t hurt me more than Calc II already has”

But they prefer two creamers and two sugars when they have it in their dorm.

That’s all, congrats on making it to the bottom of this long ass post lmao <3

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanfiction

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buthowboutno · 3 months

Text

New chapter out!!!

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanfiction

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buthowboutno · 10 months

Note

Every once in a while I’ll remember how Casey Jr greeted sweetums like an old friend or someone similar, and now I’m just wondering if sweetums was an uncle/auntie figure to him, and if he’s ever told anyone else about how they (probably) would have been married to donnie

*looks at the snippet i just traumatized my kofi supporters with and looks back*

well, uh

you see

.....

it's been a long hiatus, might as well just show y'all (BLAME @raccoon-robyn FOR THIS. MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE BAD FUTURE REVEAL)

“I presume your night with Cassandra went well,” Donnie said, elbows deep in another SHELLDON drone. A few years ago it would’ve been unheard of to retrieve them after the Kraang shot them down. Nowadays, the Rebellion was scrounging for parts anywhere they could get them.

You squinted at him and handed him a 5/16th’s wrench, “We were on lookout, Dee-dee, it’s not like we were off to the Bahamas.”

Donnie rolled his eyes and took the wrench from you, “I didn’t know that lookout entailed making out against the walls of the compound.”

You paused, taking in Donnie’s body language. Everything about him read neutral, but you knew him better than that. He was your best friend for Christ’s sake. You knew all of his tells. Everything from the set of his jaw to the way he gripped the wrench told you what you needed to know about that statement.

“I don’t see how it's any of your business,” you replied coolly.

“You’re threatening the safety–”

“That’s not what you’re mad about and you know it,” you cut him off, “And I thought we agreed to stop having this conversation.”

Donnie huffed at you, “I am your commander, it is my duty to know when you are off task.”

“Fifteen minute breaks are mandatory for late night surveillance,” you argued, “You’re the one that put that policy in place.”

“You are expected to stay vigilant at all times, regardless of being on a break.”

“You just wish it was you pressing me against the wall,” you said flatly. You stared Donnie in the eyes, not faltering once while you took his wrench and exchanged it for a flathead screwdriver. Even while fighting, the two of you were never any less in sync.

The both of you had been… fighting a lot more recently.

“That’s not even remotely related to this conversation,” Donnie said, tearing his eyes from yours. You didn’t miss the blush peeking out under his mask, despite how nonchalant he was acting.

“That is the conversation, Donatello,” you said, running your hand through your hair. They came out dirtier than they started with how saturated your hair was with grease and motor oil, “You said you didn’t love me, I’m trying to move the fuck on.”

“That’s not–” Donnie cut himself off with a groan, pulling his arms out of the machinery. He breathed in deeply, moving his hands to his sides, “That’s not what I said.”

“Remind me, then,” you said as you crossed your arms in between you, “Remind me about all the responsibilities and tasks and the goddamn rebellion that has to come first. Remind me how your big-headed importance keeps you from being with me.”

“Because it does! This, all of this–” Donnie gestured to the shop around you, filled to the brim with machinery and future projects the two of you only hoped to have the parts for, “is bigger than us, sweetums. I don’t see how–”

“Do not ‘sweetums’ me right now, Don,” you cut him off. You balled your hands up into fists and sighed, “I don’t… understand why you’re so dead set on making yourself a martyr, but that doesn’t mean I have to be, too.”

“I’m not–” Donnie cut himself off with a growl, gripping the inner edge of the drone’s plating. Once, when you were younger, Donnie had crushed a sheet of titanium with his bare hands just to win a bet against you. You wondered if the drone would bear the same marks after you and Donnie were done fighting.

The two of you stood there in silence, glowering at each other with matching expressions.

In the decade and a half that you and Donnie had worked together, you had only lost a stand-off twice. The two of you had enough stubbornness for the entire resistance, but your will to be a shit just barely surpassed Donnie’s.

As per usual, Donnie broke first.

Not as per usual, you saw tears start to form at the corners of Donnie’s eyes.

“I can’t,” Donnie croaked out.

The small victory you won was quickly pushed out of mind when you realized how close he was to tears. You felt yourself soften then, immediately reaching out to grab Donnie up into your arms. Your hands fisted into his dirty tank top and you bit the inside of your cheek as you tried to squash the guilt of your chest.

There was too much to cry about, these days. You didn’t want to be one of Donnie’s reasons.

“I can’t,” he repeated, letting out a shaky sigh as he tugged you close to his plastron, “If I… let myself love you, then everything else be fucking damned.”

“Dee…”

“If I let myself love you and something happened to you? I would tear the whole world apart to get you back,” Donnie said, his hands grabbing at the back of your shirt in a desperate act to hold onto you tighter. The teenage Donatello you first met would barely high-five you. The Donnie you had in your arms now held you like his life depended on it, “But I can’t. I have my brothers, the entire damn resistance counting on me. I don’t– I can’t afford to have you.”

“I know, Don, I know,” you said, squeezing him within your arms, “I’m being a dick about this.”

Donnie sighed, “It doesn’t mean it’s any easier to see you with someone else, though.”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a one-time thing?” you asked, “Cass and I talked this morning, we agreed that it wouldn’t happen again.”

“Then why did you do it?” Donnie asked, the hurt still evident in his voice.

You’d allow that, you decided.

You shrugged against him, feeling shy now, “She was there, I guess. Cas is a fucking smokeshow, don’t get me wrong, but… she’s not you.”

You put your hand to Donnie’s face and wiped away a tear that had managed to fall. Donnie leaned into your hand, a rare show of vulnerability you haven’t seen in, well, years. The two of you rarely shared this much physical affection beyond squeezing onto the workshop cot together when it got too late to head back to the sleeping quarters.

“I love you,” you said plainly, going back in for the hug and tucking your face against his chest. He stiffened the way he always did when you said those three words, but you kept trudging on, “And I’m sorry I keep pushing you like this. I just… I wish that we didn’t have to meet in the fucking apocalypse. I wish we had at least a few months together in the normal world before the Kraang decided to screw things up for us.”

“You have no idea,” Donnie said. He rested his cheek on the top of your head, “I would’ve liked to take you for a movie.”

“I would have pegged you as a bowling alley first date type of guy,” you replied, bringing a hand up to grab at his neck. Just to hold. Just to feel the texture of his scales beneath your fingers Just to know the two of you were as okay as you were ever going to be, “Show off your skills and spend the entire night trying to get me to stroke your ego.”

Donnie snorted, grabbing your hand from his neck and pressing his mouth against your palm.

It wasn't even a kiss, really, but it had your heart clenching in a way that you hadn't felt in years. The tears that formed in the corner of your eyes finally fell down your cheeks as you softly hiccupped.

Donnie churred soothingly and wiped them away with a gentle care that he reserved for you, only for you. The two of you sat there in silence again, not wanting to move away but not having an excuse to keep holding each other like that.

You coughed in your hand, making the first step to let Donnie go. His hands reluctantly let go of your shirt and the two of you stood awkwardly in the middle of the workshop and refused to make eye contact with each other.

“So,” you said, breaking the silence first for the third time in fifteen years, “we’re not in love.”

“That’s not–”

“That’s the only decision,” you said resolutely, “Agonizing over each other is as big of a distraction as being in love, so we can’t do either.”

Donnie opened his mouth and closed it. He spent one, two moments looking intently at your face before sighing with a shake of his head, “I suppose you’re right.”

“I always am,” you said with a humor you didn’t feel. You wiped a hand over your face, no doubt getting more grease all over your skin, “Anyways… the drone? Still gotta finish installing the navigation system.”

Donnie nodded, accepting the wrench you handed him.

In another life, you could have had this.

The thought of it had granted you many sleepless nights. What would the world be like with a Donatello that didn’t have to hold you at an arm’s length? Where you could have met him at some mundane coffee shop instead of a last minute rescue from Metro Tower? Maybe even a world where even the tiniest exchange of touch didn’t have to mean so damn much.

(You’d like to have your arm back, if anything else.)

You returned the soft smile Donnie gave you when you already had the soldering iron ready and a brush full of flux ready to assist him.

You supposed that Donnie was worth it, regardless of how you got to have him.

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #donatello x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanfic

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buthowboutno · 11 months

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This has been sitting in my procreate for so damn long lmao

The stupids <333

#atwlp #atwlpart #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #donatello x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt fanfiction #fanart for fanfic

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buthowboutno · 1 year

Text

20k hits ficlet

y’all already know what time it issss

honestly at this point i think i’m going to drop bonus content randomly, four hit count celebration posts is getting a little too self-involved (and that’s coming from me :p)

anyways!! enjoy, this is a donnie pov from in between chapter 17 and 18 <3<3

(ALSO THERE IS ART AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST MADE BY THE AMAZING @beckerboopin IF YALL AREN’T ALREADY FOLLOWING HER YOU SHOULD. SHE’S AMAZING AND WONDERFUL)

---

Donnie didn’t touch people.

Well, that wasn’t true. He participated in the occasional high-five and of course he had to grab random civilians to push them away from danger from time to time.

Donnie was… particular about how he touched people.

Unwanted physical contact made his skin crawl. Hugs with his family were fine. Bordering on annoying (looking at you, Leo), but fine. Shaking hands with clearly unwashed strangers or receiving hugs from well-meaning citizens just trying to express their gratitude was something Donnie relegated to his brothers.

On occasion he would greet Mikey with a gentle head pat and Leo with a shove to the shoulder. Every so often he would find himself draped over Raph’s back, especially after a particularly long training session. And sometimes he would curl up next to April and allow her to run her nails over his head and the back of his neck.

But you… you were messing up all of Donnie’s data.

The two of you basically communicated in touch. A knee touch ‘hello’, a foot tap to say ‘thank you’, a squeeze of a hand to remind you that you were there for each other because that was the deal you made. Dancing with you was a whole other ballpark all together, Donnie didn’t think he’d had that much physical contact in his whole life.

And when he woke up with you wrapped in his arms?

Donnie wasn’t prepared for it.

If anything, he wasn’t prepared to realize that he had very little motivation to move away. Your face was buried in his neck, your mouth blowing out little huffs of warm air across his skin. Your hand was under his arm and gripping the edge of his plastron. Donnie’s own arm was completely around your waist and keeping you close to his chest. That familiar scent that was always left behind when you stole his hoodies was in full force, completely flooding Donnie’s senses.

Donnie caught himself, just for a split second, pulling you just that little bit closer. You hummed in your sleep as he did so, rubbing your face against his neck.

Donnie’s entire body went stiff as his sensibilities finally caught up with the rest of him.

This was… this was not appropriate friend behavior. The opposite of appropriate, in fact. Holding another person this close does not a friendship make. This was for lovers, not lab partners that spent an inordinate amount of time together.

Not that Donnie really had any experience in the department.

In regards to lovers, that is. You had schooled him plenty the last few months on how working with another person could be.

The last few wonderfully productive and exuberant months.

Focus, Donatello! There is a task at hand!

Donnie removed his arm from your waist, moving slowly so as to not wake you up. He gently eased your grip off of his plastron and attempted to place your hand on your stomach.

Key word: attempted.

Your eyebrows furrowed in your sleep from the movement. Donnie stilled for just a second, worrying that he accidentally woke you up. You, however, stayed blissfully asleep as you clung further onto Donnie. You wrapped the same arm around Donnie’s back, this time slinging a leg over his upper thigh while you slotted yourself against him.

You hummed contentedly at your new position. Donnie, on his part, was having a crisis.

His shell, his shell, you were touching his--

Deep breaths. Set the shivers from your palm aside.

He didn’t know what he would do if you woke up in this position. Would you push him away, disgusted at your closeness? Would your friendship be doomed to be awkward for the rest of time before fizzling out into unremarkable nothingness?

Or would you laugh it off and poke him in the sides, acting like nothing was wrong or strange about this at all?

There were too many variables and Donnie could risk none of them.

Not when it came to you.

Donnie somehow managed to extricate himself from your hold. He had to bite the inside of his cheek at you protesting the movement. He delicately tucked the comforter around you and pushed your hair away from your face. You wrinkled your nose at him, but quickly curled up under the weight of the blanket.

Donnie let out a soft sigh as he stretched his arms out behind himself. He rolled his neck around to release some of the tension there. He pulled on his tech gauntlet and pulled up his cue of things to do today. He smacked his forehead with his hand when he noticed the time.

It was barely 6 am. He, or anyone else in the lair for that matter, wouldn’t normally be awake for another five hours minimum.

Donnie looked mournfully at his bed where you were sleeping. He knew how warm his spot was next to you, how your breath felt as it danced across his skin. If he really wanted to, he could slide right back in and wake up with you in his arms and know exactly where you were, know that no harm could come to you.

If he really wanted to, he could put on a show and act like he had no clue how the two of you ended up intertwined with each other.

...Would that even be so bad?

Donnie took a deep breath in and out to steady himself. He pulled off his mask to freshly retie it and set off to work for a few hours in the lab.

The two of you weren’t even like that, anyways.

#atwlp #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #rise donnie x reader #rise donnie #rottmnt fanfiction #donatello x reader #rise donatello #atwlpART

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buthowboutno · 1 month

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Oh my gosh it has been MONTHS since I've even interacted with this fandom. I headed on over here first thing to see how your fic is going and good gracious I spoiled some things for myself but that's okay. I want to say congrats on a year on the fic and with your partner!!! (I know I'm a bit late) just some things I wanted to say. Your fic honestly got me through a rough time where I was just very much alone most of the time. I would look forward to updates all the time and would occasionally come over here to have some fun on the asks. (Idk if you remember lmao) You also inspired me to write my own fics! In doing so I made some moots on here and actually became friends with one of the most amazing girls ever. You have such a great influence on many of our lives and I just want to wish you the best! Keep writing, you're amazing at creating intriguing stories that leave me wanting more.

Many many thanks for it all! I'm looking forward to hopping back onto the ATWLP train. I've missed it <3 <3

CRYING, SOBBING, PISSING A PANT

thank youuuuuu <333333333

I do remember your asks!!! The mugs you drew for ATWLP are a part of my wallpaper for my computer cause they made me so happy <3 You're one of the og's boo boo, i'm glad i've been able to give back the energy you gave me when I just was starting out

here's to better times and cool ass people we meet on the internet xx

#atwlp #donnie x reader

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buthowboutno · 1 year

Text

WE BROKE 10K HITS!!

im so,,, yall

I’m properly shitting my pants about this

“And They Were Lab Partners” has been such a labor of love and has brought me just the greatest community I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of. Not to even BEGIN to mention some of my favorite people in the world. (You guys know who you are. I’m giving you the e y e s.)

Also my readers??? are just the best??? yall have been SPAMMING my inbox on AO3 lately and i’m /living/ for it.

As a few of you demanded, I decided to write Donnie’s POV from Chapter 13 (the little bit where Splinter tugs him down and whispers at him) as a little treat below <3<3.

---

“I see that the kitchen has become a warzone yet another year,” Splinter said from the doorway. Donnie froze, slightly hunched over from where he was attempting to duck away from your spatula. He winced at the sound of Splinter’s voice. He was so not wanting to face his father right now. Not when the two of you were like… this.

You were a new guest in the household and that only meant one thing with Donnie’s dad.

Utter embarrassment.

Donnie slunk away to the corner of the room as if to grab some paper towels to wipe off the globs of frosting that you had lathered all over him. Which, really, his skin was itching to get it off already, but it served a dual purpose of Donnie removing himself from the limelight.

Donnie watched his father tiptoe through the mess through the corner of his eye and did his absolute best to anticipate Splinter’s next move.

“You are a new one,” Splinter said, his head nearly at a forty-five degree angle with how much he had to look up at you, “Which of my boys invited you?”

Donnie’s heart stopped. Bad calculations, did not take into account Splinter’s latent chaos factor, abort, abort.

Donnie shook his head at you, doing his best to signal to you to lie. Just say it was Leo, he has his weird rabbit situationship… thing, he would escape the trauma!

He didn’t miss the corner of your mouth slightly quirking up when you glanced at him in his frantic state.

“Donnie did,” you said, gesturing towards Donnie with a nod of your head.

Donnie smacked his forehead with his hand. Newton, you drove him nuts. He would’ve proclaimed you his mortal enemy months ago if you weren’t such a delight to be around.

It truly was a conundrum that you put him through.

“Are you also a brainiac like Purple?” Splinter asked. Donnie didn’t miss the way Splinter’s tail flicked when he spoke. Splinter was analyzing you, taking every aspect of you in.

Donnie remembered that you were wearing his shirt about a second after he knew Splinter had recognized it. He mentally facepalmed, how could he have forgotten? Considering how riled up he got about it, that should’ve been the first thing on his mind.

(…Donnie would be unpacking that train of thought later.)

“Not as bad, but I am studying to be one,” you said.

Scoff, anyone that spent five minutes with you could’ve said otherwise. You were filled to the brim with intelligence, it was one of the things Donnie appreciated about you.

“This will do,” Splinter said. Donnie considered backing away from Splinter as he approached him, Splinter’s hand reaching up to tug Donnie down to his level, but there was no escape where his father was concerned.

“I like this one. Romance them. Woo them. Do their homework for them, whatever you need to do to keep them by your side,” Splinter whispered into the side of Donnie’s head, “They have fighting spirit, they will make a great Hamato.”

Donnie felt his entire face grow hot, a sensation he positively loathed. Donnie and you? Dating? Holding, he hated to say, hands? And…. kissing?

Donnie gently shook the thought away from his head, feeling his face grow even warmer. The idea was just as preposterous as the military grade Easy Bake oven Leo kept trying to goad him into building.

“Dad, it’s not–” Donnie tried.

“You are my only hope for grandchildren, Purple,” Splinter whispered harshly, “If you do not ask them on a date, I will do it for you.”

Splinter released Donnie, rubbing his hands together and walking towards the (woefully unfinished) cookies, “Orange, join me. It is time for judging.”

Donnie blinked at the empty space his father had previously occupied.

He was just…

Yeah.

There was no recovering after that.

#donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #ATWLP

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