metalogs | [Closed] Re-Acquaintance

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[Closed] Re-Acquaintance

Who: Donnie

faceguy
What: ~~Huvrye finds out he's the proud dad of twins~~ In which Donnie promptly forgot he fell asleep in some stranger's house
When: *waves a shoehorn vaguely*
Where: Huvrye and Leo's apartment, Central City
Content Warnings: N/A

Passing out at the end of a couch is comfortable and all until you wake up. Then the rest of your body dutifully reminds you of what a terrible decision that had been, to which you would argue that you didn't really have a choice when it was you, dear body, that gave out in the first place! Betrayal!

...not that Donnie hasn't woken up from such a position in numerous other instances. Just that this one is a lot softer than a worktable surface. Slowly pushing himself upright, the softshell stretches out his arms before rolling out his shoulders, slumping immediately as his brain kickstarts the rest of his waking routine.

-wait, where is he and who is sleeping behind him.

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"That weird." Really, really weird.

Just as well that Leo accepts that answer. Donnie doesn't like not having an answer and avoiding one would just make it more suspicious. He is also very pointedly avoiding admitting that he is possibly too tired to think right now.

Making a show of pushing himself away from the counter, Donnie drags himself over to the sink to wash his hands off. "Yeah, you better believe it." But first he is going to faceplant so hard on that bed.

Mmhmm, he's definitely not too tired to think. Yep.

Leo will be very gracious and not continue to point that out, instead wiping his own hands off with a paper towel before moving to the doorway of the kitchen.

"Come on, I'll show you where you're bunking."

With a noncommittal mumble, Donnie wanders after Leo as he shoves his hands into his hoodie pocket. The shoulder bump is totally because he's sleepy and not at all some quiet reassurance in reciprocation of his brother's earlier ones.

He smiles but doesn't comment on the definitely-just-sleepy-totally-not-physical-affection shoulder bump. Donnie always has to mask his intentions like that. (Maybe that's one of their twin traits.)

"This one's my room," he says as they near said room. The door is open, and if Donnie looks inside he'll get a good idea of why the rest of the apartment is surprisingly clean given that Leo is living in it: his mess has been confined to his room, and as a result it looks like a tornado hit inside. At least they have spare rooms in this ridiculously large apartment.

"Huv's across the hall." He points at the door, then moves to the next one. "So I'm guessing this is where he put you... Yep." The room next to Leo's, which is clean and furnished with a pretty standard bed, dresser, and nightstand. "Here you go!"

At least it's easy enough to remember the room situations. Donnie can't resist a peek in his brother's room as much as he's starting to look forward to having one of his own. He turns a knowing look towards Leo upon observing the damage within.

And he's right next door. An actual bedroom and not some cold, empty sewer. Yeah, he can probably get used to this. "Could use more purple," he says, if only because he feels like he's expected to say something. He steps inside, taking a moment to just let it all sink in. Then his feet carry him towards the bed; he doesn't care if Leo's still watching or not, that bed is just too inviting. Donnie flops right onto it. Maybe he'll crawl under the covers later.

It’s his space and he gets to decide where the piles of dirty and clean laundry go!

Anyway, Donnie says something typical about the lack of his favorite color and then he’s down and out. He really had been exhausted. Leo bites back a laugh.

He remembers what Donnie asked earlier, about if it was okay for him to be here, and feels a chill down his proverbial spine. As if Leo would let him go out and collapse in some random place to sleep.

But it’s okay - Donnie is safe and asleep in bed, and everything is… well, not alright, because it’s still weird and they aren’t home where they’re supposed to be, but it’s getting better.

Leo goes and gets Donnie’s battleshell from the living room and sets it just inside the room, then closes the door. Then he heads back to the living room.

Putting sheets and a blanket on the bed doesn't take long - there's something to be said about military efficiency, though it's been years since Huvrye's quarters had been subject to inspection - and once Donnie and Leo head to the room, Huvrye returns to the kitchen to put what's left of the pizza away. It'll still be good reheated, and he knows Leo at least won't turn it down.

He finishes and heads out to the living room at about the same time Leo returns. Huvrye nods towards Donnie's room. "How's he doing?"

Leo flops onto the couch, looking exhausted himself - though his affliction is emotional rather than physical.

“He’s okay.” He tries to give Huvrye a reassuring smile, but it falls quickly, and Leo reaches up to rub his eyes. “I… I should have been keeping a better eye on the confluences. Of course he would run, we’ve spent our whole lives dodging humans. But he spent days wandering and I don’t know how much food he got or if he had anywhere safe to sleep.”

And that’s before he even gets into the emotional aspects of being abruptly kidnapped, but for Donnie’s sake he won’t get too deep into that. He’d said those things to Leo privately, after all.

“I can’t let that happen again. If any of the rest of them show up… Mikey… he makes friends easily, maybe he wouldn’t run, but Raph would, and Raph gets weird when he’s alone, I mean, weird…”

He’s spiraling a little.

Leo looks like he could also use a nap, but Huvrye isn't going to suggest that just yet - Leo could probably benefit from a conversation first, and Huvrye needs to know just how much Donnie knows so he can make sure not to reveal anything that needs to stay a secret.

He perches on the arm of the sofa and reaches down, putting a hand gently on Leo's shell. "Breathe, Leo. You got Donnie here, and he's safe now." Leo is drowning in hypotheticals; the least Huvrye can do is offer him something concrete. "We'll keep an eye out for the rest of your family - I'll help, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. You can't be everywhere, but you did what you could, and you did everything right." He rubs his hand gently up and down Leo's shell. "It'll be okay."

The shell rubs are nice, and Leo relaxes into them. The reassurance helps, too; Leo did do what he could, took care of his brother in the way he knew how.

"I'm just glad I happened to find him. He can take care of himself, but I don't want him to have to."

Donnie can put up all the emotionless bad boy image he wants to, at the end of the day Leo knows he wouldn't be any happier alone than the rest of them would be. Being capable of feeding himself and keeping himself safe isn't really the same as thriving.

But he should probably get to the other important thing Huvrye should know.

"He... doesn't remember the Krang invasion."

Stupid time travel.

"Well, now you can take care of each other." The fact that Huvrye plans on taking care of the both of them hopefully doesn't need to be said - he's already taking care of Leo, after all, and he sees no reason not to extend that to Donnie.

Leo seems to like the shell rubs, so Huvrye keeps it up, pausing briefly as Leo drops that particular bombshell. That...complicates things.

"Oh, buddy," he says sympathetically. Leo could use the support of someone who'd also survived the invasion; if Donnie doesn't know, he can't help, and that gap in knowledge is too big to ignore. "I'm sorry."

It doesn't need to be said, and Leo really appreciates it. Much as, like many teens, he'd like to pretend he is totally self sufficient, he feels better when there's an adult around to help.

"It's okay." Leo doesn't really sound like he thinks it's okay, but what else is he supposed to say? "I'll... have to tell him eventually. He knows I'm hiding stuff from him." And he doesn't like hiding stuff from him, not big stuff like this, anyway. "But I'm gonna get him through his first few days first, at least."

Stalling. He's stalling.

The shell rubs start up again. It seems like Leo could use them.

Huvrye lets that answer sit for a moment or two. Leo had told him more than once how smart Donnie is, and Donnie had been hungry and sleep-deprived and Still investigating Huvrye's alchemy at the kitchen counter. "If he already knows you're hiding something, do you really think he'll give you that long?" Huvrye doesn't know Donnie nearly as well as Leo does, but he has his doubts about that.

The shell rubs are keeping him sane.

"Aaaauuugh... No. He can be annoyingly persistent - actually, that's a family trait." There's no way Mikey or Raph would drop it either, so he was never going to escape no matter which of them showed up. And he would have been just as persistent if it were the other way around.

And there it is. He tries not to smile at persistence being a family trait - it's not like he's seen Leo display that trait or anything, noooo - and moves on instead. "You should probably figure out what you're going to say, then."

"...Alright. I will."

He will not, which is what leads to the mess in the other thread, but at least Huvrye tried!

"In the meantime... I should probably give you some more pointers on how to talk to him, because uh... no offense but that was a trainwreck."

Not that Leo is blameless himself here but geez guys!

At least Leo has a little time to figure out what he's going to say, since Donnie is currently unconscious.

(Or not, Oh, Leo.)

And then Leo pivots, and Huvrye gives him a flat look. "Yeah, you only left us high and dry twice," he says lightly, then sighs. He really can't blame Leo for this one - he hadn't exactly made a good showing himself. "I could use the advice, though." Especially now that he knows what he needs to avoid (emotions and the Krang, evidently).

"I didn't expect you both to crash that hard! Ah, whatever, Face Man Leon to the rescue."

Leo will stay in the position he's in, because he still wants back rubs if he can get them, but he swivels his head so he can look at Huvrye more, holding up his hand.

"Okay. Compared to my other two brothers, Donnie is hard mode, but even he has his weaknesses." He holds up his finger. "First rule: he's the least touchy feely out of all of us so maintain distance and respect his personal space. He's a softshell, and softshells bite, and trust me you don't want him to bite you."

He holds up another finger. "Rule number two: Donnie loves rambling about science stuff. Mostly physics and technology, and... the study of plants," he forgot the word botany, "but he can go on a tear about just about anything. Let him talk and he'll warm up to you fast. Ask questions like you're actually listening and you'll be his favorite person in no time."

A third finger goes up. "Rule number three: he has other interests, too. Dancing and fashion and skateboarding. He likes Jupiter Jim just like me. He doesn't care about sports, though, so don't bother with that." Never mind that skateboarding is technically a sport. "So all those things are safe topics."

Hold on, wait, he's out of fingers on this hand. Let him... let him just get his other hand up... okay!

"Rule number four: I know it doesn't seem like it because you just met, but trust me, once he warms up to you he'd be thrilled with approval from a parent-aged adult, so if you just tell him that his battleshell is really cool or act interested in any of the inventions he'll inevitably drag in here then he'll be over the moon."

At least Donnie being excited about approval from Huvrye will be safer than when he was excited about approval from Big Mama.

"Finally..." Leo lowers his hands. "I mean, he can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but he's my brother, so just... you know, be nice to him."

Leo trusts Huvrye. But his protective instincts are still there.

(Also he will break every single one of the stated rules, but that's his perk for having lived with the guy his whole life.)

Just because Leo's being a little snot doesn't mean Huvrye's going to withhold shell rubs. He already knows Leo likes them, and Huvrye's not going to take them away when Leo's stressed and they help.

He settles in to listen, and...it all sounds simple enough. Personal space, listen when he talks, ask questions, express interest and approval...it's all surface level stuff. He's definitely concerned about when things get deeper than that, as they inevitably will at some point, but hopefully he'll have established enough of a rapport with Donnie to navigate those a little more easily than either of them did today.

And then Leo brings up that fifth point, and Huvrye looks down at him. "Did you really think I wouldn't?" It's gentle, more reassurance than recrimination, but still. C'mon, Leo, you know him better than that.

Leo chuckles, curling his hands back under him now that he doesn't need them for counting.

"I know you will be! It's just... Donnie sometimes... he's really smart, but that means he tends to think way too much about everything. And sometimes he says and does stuff that comes off... like he's being jerk?" Leo huffs. "Actually, sometimes he just is a jerk, but he'll probably only be that way to me."

Huvrye has yet to get the full Disaster Twin experience, but it will happen eventually.

"But Donnie always means well at the end of the day. So that's why I'm saying just be cool." Leo nestles his head further in his arms. "And if you hear him laughing maniacally or talking about lethal weaponry just... don't worry about it."

He's... well, Leo wouldn't say "mostly harmless," but at least unlikely to do anything to Huvrye.

"I've had people say some pretty terrible things to me and mean it. I think I can give Donnie some wiggle room." He's a little worried about the admission that Donnie is a jerk to Leo sometimes; that said, his only experience with sibling rivalry is in fiction. He's about to have his eyes opened.

Of course, Leo follows it up with that, and Huvrye stares, hands stilling for a moment. "No, I need you to explain that." What exactly does Donnie get up to?

It’s not like Leo isn’t a jerk right back. Huvrye will learn that the first time Leo decides to throw something at Donnie’s head just because it’s there.

When Huvrye stops, Leo rolls his head back to look at him.

“Okay, see, that’s the kind of disapproving dad tone that will scare him off.” He hasn’t forgotten the alchemy incident earlier, either. “What do I need to explain? That sometimes he likes the evil scientist aesthetic, or that he builds weapons?”

And, because he’s more in “protective brother” mode than “troll my sibling” mode right now, he adds, “Multiple people have tried to hurt our family. We all have our ways of protecting each other and that’s Donnie’s.”

Admittedly some of it is definitely just for fun or because he thinks it would be cool, but Leo is trying to talk Donnie up here.

He ignores the disapproving dad comment - he's not anyone's dad - for the heart of the matter. "I'm worried about the overlap between 'evil scientist' and 'lethal weaponry.' I can understand him wanting to protect your family, but...does he ever get out of hand?" He doesn't know how far Donnie is willing to go if he's not reined in, and Leo's casual approach to it is doing nothing to assuage that worry.

Edited 2023-04-19 08:06 (UTC)

~~Yes, but Mind Meld is a weird episode.~~

Leo shakes his head. Ah, he shouldn’t have said anything… It feels weirdly like he got Donnie in trouble.

Leo is just used to their dad letting them do what they wanted. He can’t remember a time he ever told Donnie no, and as a result they don’t, either. At most Raph gets on his case if he doesn’t get enough sleep, which isn’t really the same thing.

Leo remembers the revelation that Donnie had put trackers on all of them without their knowledge. It made him feel weirded out, but it also helped them find Raph, so he can’t be too mad about it. Would it be better if he asked? Yeah, sure. But Leo isn’t sure he was wrong about them needing them. Their life is weird, and sometimes Donnie’s arguably unethical experimentation saves their butts.

“Chill, Huvrye - he’s not going to hurt anyone.” Not anyone who doesn’t deserve it, anyway. “He’s not dangerous. He can get a little… wrapped up in his own idea of right and wrong, but he’s got good intentions.”

When push comes to shove Leo trusts Donnie with his life. Though Huvrye just met him. It must sound bad from the outside. But Leo thinks once he knows Donnie he’ll understand it the way Leo does.

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[Closed] Re-Acquaintance

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