To love and to let go // Donatello x Reader

Thoughts and Theories

 As you lounge around on the couch, with nothing else to do after exploring the whole lair, you hear the patter of feet approaching the entrance to the underground lair. Finally! You've taken the time to go in Mikey's filthy room and Leo's tidy room, but didn't dare to venture into Raph's room. You bounce up from the couch and poke your head over the top, eagerly watching for the turtles' return.

They appear, one by one, and catch your face in their vision one after another. "How'd it go guys? Take down any monsters? Foot Clan?" You smile widely, excited to hear the stories of their adventures. This was better than any episode you could have ever hoped for! But their faces weren't happy or rejoicing, they looked a bit nervous. Your smile dims as they walk over to you.

"(Y/n)..." Leo started. "This is kind of weird. You're a girl we met yesterday, who knows everything about us, and as soon as you meet us, Bebop and Rocksteady are collecting "data" from us." Mikey shuffles a bit in place and Raph looks away grudgingly.

"Wait, "data"?" You say, concerned now. Donnie sighed, his eyes flicking from one direction to the next.

"I'll be in my lab." He said. Leo looks at him trudge away, starting to speak but catching the words before they leave his throat, and then turns his attention back towards you.

"Bebop and Rocksteady needed something. They didn't even need to fight us to get it. We think something about you being here is leaving an effect on our world, and it could be traceable. But don't worry, it's probably no big deal. We'll take care of it and get you back home." Leo sighed. "We can find out more if Donnie learns anything else. For now, just relax and take your mind off of it." And with that, he walked off.

You sit on the couch, processing everything that they said. This was such an amazing situation, to be in the world of your favorite show with your favorite characters. Why now does it feel like you should never have come?

As you sit in your thoughts, mind wandering, Mikey startles you by leaping over the couch next to you. "Don't worry dudette, didn't you hear what he said? You just have to take your mind off of it!" He grabs a remote and switches on the TV, and a video game popped up. "Donnie made a game a while back but we never had any reason to play it. Now might be the perfect time!" Grabbing two remotes, he hands one to you as the game boots up. This is perfect to take your mind off of the possible interdimensional crisis you may have caused.

"Aw, man! Seriously? You win again?!" Mikey collapses over the back of the couch and groans as you just sit back and smile.

"I guess video games are just harder in my world so I've had plenty of practice." You laugh at the turtle flopped back after your fifth time beating him.

"So unfair. I need a rematch." He hits start on the game one more time. "So...how are you liking this dimension so far?"

You dodge a punch from Mikey, just barely. "Hey, are you trying to distract me with conversation?" You stick out your tongue in concentration. A habit you may have picked up from a particular turtle.

"No, I'm serious! What do you think? Are we everything you see on TV?" He sounds genuine, so trying not to let down your guard while playing, you honestly respond.

"You guys are everything I thought you would be and more. For one, everything is in super-super-super HD which is just bizarre. And hearing you say things other than what I've heard in the show is weirdly comforting? But that probably doesn't make any sense." You use a super move on Mikey, which he grits his teeth at, but you just smile and continue. "And your personalities are a lot more...developed I guess? Like, I've always liked Donnie because he was an adorable nerd. But he's also really sassy? And it's so interesting to see his mind at work in everything." You focus on the game, but Mikey has gone quiet. You finally throw a final blow and....victory again!! But no sound from the ninja?

You turn to look at him and he has the widest smile on his face. "Wait, did you just call Donnie adorable?" You sharply draw in a breath, as you feel your face get hot. "Oh my gosh dudette. You aren't crushing on my brother aren't you?"

"W-What? Did I ever say that Mikey?" You do your best to keep a straight face but that only makes his smile grow wider. "Don't you go on Tumblr? Everyone there has a crush on a fictional character. It's normal." You feel a smile tug at your lips, but try to control it and not let anything come through.

"But listen. We aren't fictional characters anymore, are we?" Your eyes widen slightly and you gulp, your blush deepening.

"Guys! I think I found something!!" Donnie suddenly bursts out of his lab, and you yelp, startled. Mikey starts chuckling, and the purple-clad turtle, with a big smile on his face, runs over to the couch. "It's new territory, but I think I dug something up-" He slows and raises an eyebrow at your bright red face and Mikey chuckling. "Are you two okay? You both seem like you're dying."

Mikey laughs and stands up, lightly punching his brother's arm. "We're definitely totally okay dude. I'll go get the others so you can tell us about your great discovery." And with that, Mikey meandered towards the dojo, where his brothers were training.

Donnie, unable to control his excitement, sits down on the couch next to you. His smile was wide, and you could see his tooth gap. Dang it. It's so adorable. You hope your face can't get any redder than it already is. "I used an old piece of Kraang tech used to go to Dimension X to find a way to trace a way back to your dimension! So we know there's a way! I just....haven't quite found it yet." He chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "But now we know there is a way! And that's progress!"

"Whoa, good job Don!" You shake the awkward conversation between you and Mikey out of your mind. "So, is there a way to open the portal back up again? And do we know what opened it in the first place?"

His smile dimmed a bit. "Well, not exactly. There might be some kind of energy from your dimension that harnessed when our dimensions linked up. You were watching the show in real time, even though it wasn't real time. So there must be a way for us to find out when the show comes on, and maybe that way we can get you back." He pursed his lips slightly. "I'm still not sure what Bebop and Rocksteady were tracking, though. It might have been that energy, or it could be you specifically. We just need to get to Stockman's lab and see what we can find."

"Wait a minute," you say, a thought crossing your mind. "If you're a TV show in my world, than does that mean I'm in the show now?" Donnie bit his lip.

"I thought about that too. Unfortunately there's no way to find out until we find a way to figure out the link between our dimensions. And that starts with finding out what Baxter knows."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Leo's voice suddenly pops up from behind you two. "Let's go find Stockman and get some "data" from him, shall we?"