Till Death Do We Part (Donatello X Depressed!Reader)

09 | Straight Face

Your PoV

"Donnie," I moan. "I'm bored..."

Donnie grins, stretching. He's been leaning over his machine for the past two hours.

"I mean, it's great that you're committed and stuff, but geez! There's nothing to do in here!"

There's a grey splotch of grease on his cheek, right under his mask. Donnie wipes it away with the back of his hand, his fingers reaching toward the ceiling of his lab.

"You hungry?" he asks.

As if on cue, my stomach growls. I open my mouth to reply, but close it, feeling warm.

"Excuse me," I mumble.

Donnie lets out a laugh that resounds against the concrete walls. "C'mon, (Y/n), I think I smell Mikey making lunch."

An undetectable, slightly burning scent wafts through the air.

"Is his cooking dangerous?" I ask cautiously, raising an eyebrow.

"More or less," he admits, grinning. "If you don't like what he made, I can fix you something. Or there's instant noodles in the pantry, whatever you want."

I smile, and get up. My shoulder feels much better than it did yesterday, and I move it a little, testing its mobility.

"Feeling okay?" Donnie asks, putting a hand on my back to lead me out of the lab.

I nod. "Much better."

"Good," he responds. "That's good. We're making progress."

Donnie and I walk to the kitchen, where a cat made of ice cream and an apron-clad Mikey stand at the stove. The sizzling sounds and the burning smell increase as we come closer.

"Hey, (Y/n)!" Mikey greets me. "Heya, D! Hows about some grilled cheese?" He holds a charred sandwich out to us, balanced on a metal flipper thingy.

Donnie maintains a straight face as I put up my hands defensively. "No thanks. Um, I just went vegan. No carcinogenic grilled cheese for me, thanks."

Mikey looks at the sandwich, then takes a large bite. "Fine with me," he replies.

Donnie rolls his eyes, then turns to the pantry and resurfaces with two plastic cups of ramen noodles. He dumps them into a pot of boiling water, stirring them so they fall apart. In a few minutes, he and I have steaming ramen sitting in front of us.

"Yum," I say, sipping the miso soup that the whitish noodles float in. "Thanks, Donnie."

Raph enters the kitchen, immediately spies our ramen, and sits next to me, smiling. "Hi, (Y/n). How ya feeling? Got any ramen to spare?"

It's just like you to ask for food," Donnie mumbles. "Don't bother her, Raph. There's more in the pantry; get your own ramen."

Raph makes a sour face at his brother, making me laugh. He gets his own packet of ramen from the pantry, puts it on the stove, and sits back down with us.

"What were you working on in the lab, anyway?" he asks. He focuses on a grease splotch marking Donnie's left forearm. "The Shellraiser?"

Donnie shakes his head. "Nah. Something different."

"Is it just some experiment? Are you making pizza gas?!" Mikey chimes in, licking his greasy fingers. He's finished his sandwich.

Donnie shakes his head again, a threadbare smile appearing on his face.

"Well," Raph says impatiently, "what is it that's so special?"

"I can't say," Donnie murmurs, swallowing some noodles. "I can't tell you."

"Oh," Mikey says, sounding disappointed.

The ice cream cat next to him meows, synchronizing his feelings.

"By the way, (Y/n)," Mikey continues, "this is Ice Cream Kitty. She's our pet cat and she lives in the freezer!"

The cat purrs, liking the sudden attention. Mikey runs his fingers over her back, his fingers coated with a mix of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream. With his free hand, Mikey feeds her a corner of what's left of his sandwich.

"She's really sweet." I say. Getting the pun, Donnie grins. Raph rolls his eyes, punching me playfully but being careful of my injured shoulder. He gets up to stir his ramen.

"Where's Leo?" I ask.

Mikey pauses in licking his ice cream-covered hand. "In the dojo with Master Splinter, most likely. You want the rest of that ramen?"

I sigh, nodding.

"You like hanging with us, Kiddo?" Raph inquires softly. "You're always asking about everyone who isn't here."

"Yes," I reply carefully. "I do like it here. You guys are funny."

"It doesn't seem like you used to laugh a lot." Raph says. "It kinda seemed like you were so quiet and insecure at the beginning, but you're more comfortable now, huh?"

I nod again.

"You guys turned out to be cooler than I thought," I admit. "I never expected to be friends with a bunch of big turtles in ninja masks, that's for sure."

My company laughs, enjoying my presence. I feel myself blushing again, and I hide it in my soup.

"Well, I guess we never expected to be friends with a suicidal girl who tried to commit suicide," Mikey says. "Who turned out to be a cute, fun girl with a chill attitude, yo! You're the best, (Y/n)."

"Aww, thanks." I say, picking up my chin. "That- that's really nice of you to say."

I was brave for one second, and then I'm suddenly a tongue-tied, stuttering mess again.

"Believe it, (Y/n)," Leo says, who has apparently been leaning on the entrance wall ever since I asked about him. "You're a nice kid. After you go back up to your home, you have to make sure to visit us again soon, okay?"

I nod happily. "I will, don't worry. I'll come down as often as I can."

"Well, you don't need to be making plans yet," Donnie jokes hastily. "'Cause you're not going anywhere today! Um, you haven't had our specialty dinner with us yet!"

I inhale. "Hoboy," I say, trying to keep a straight face. "Is it a burned grilled cheese sandwich on a waffle?"

Laughter echoes throughout the kitchen.

"All meals of today combined," Leo grins, swiping a bite of Raph's ramen.

"No," Mikey interrupts us. "Come on, (Y/n)! What are ninja turtles famous for, my brothers?"

"PIZZA!" they shout, laughing as they slap a simultaneous high-five.

I suddenly can't wait to see what dinner will bring.

*