Chapter Text
Donnie hated hearing people argue. And it happened pretty often in the lair.
"You never listen, Leo!" Raph was getting mad at Leo again. Mikey and the softshell were sitting on the couch, trying to keep calm and not listen.
Donnie, however, could not tune it out.
Leo was not having what Raph was trying to tell him. "I do listen, you never pay any attention to my efforts!" Leo retorted, raising his voice even further. Donnie didn't want to hear this any further.
"Your efforts?" Raph repeated, clearly appalled. "Your efforts? Where are those?" His voice was loud. Donnie covered his ears. Mikey took notice.
The box turtle reached out his hand, but Donnie moved away. "Hey guys," Mikey said, voice soft but maybe loud enough for his feuding brothers to hear. "I don't think Don likes your arguing-"
"I try hard! I try hard every day!" Mikey's efforts were wasted, and Donnie's hands just got harder around his head. The sound was still seeping in though. "I try harder than anyone else in this family!"
Raph's jaw dropped, he couldn't believe what his red-eared brother was saying. "Are you serious???" he yelled, just getting even louder.
"Yeah, I am!" Leo yelled back, getting more and more upset with every passing second. Donnie saw TV static; he heard the noise that a tea kettle makes over the voices of his brothers. Mikey looked concerned but didn't know what he could do to help.
"I don't know how I'm related to you, Leo!" Raph's voice could burst eardrums. Leo didn't know his brother could make that noise, and it hurt. This didn't seem like him at all. Leo's face fell, sad that his brother felt that way. Raph didn't feel that way though. He just got caught up in the moment.
Mikey looked over at where Donnie had been sitting to check up on him but the other side of the couch was empty. Donnie had... run away at some point? And he hadn't even noticed. Leo and Raph, both on the verge of tears, looked over at the couch to see Mikey looking at an empty couch seat.
"Donnie left," Mikey said, before Raph and Leo both came over to him. They weren't done, but for the sake of their younger brothers, they could maybe put it all aside for a bit. Besides, Raph was still shocked that he could even say what he had.
"Let's look for him," Leo said, voice quivering, clearly worrying about a lot of things. But he wanted to make sure Donnie is okay.
They all started walking in various directions, taking different routes to look around the lair. But it would be a while before they find Donnie.
He was in the bathroom in his lab, clearly overstimulated. Hearing people argue did that for him. His plastron moved in and out quickly and shallowly, signifying hyperventilating. He was lightheaded and leaned on the bathroom counter for support.
Fuck, Donnie thought, tearing the skin of his scalp with his fingernails. It was quiet outside now, but not in his head. His ears felt like they were full of maple syrup, his hands were sweaty, his eyes were wet, and he just wanted out.
His eyes drifted around the bathroom as he tried to pull himself back together, until they settled on a necklace. A long chain one that he wasn't sure the origin of. But it would do.
He didn't want to keep going. He didn't want to keep hearing the sounds of his brothers arguing filling his ears. And he wouldn't have to anymore.
He couldn't think. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't.
The chain felt light and cold but weirdly sturdy in his hand.
The clasp, what keeps it as a necklace, came open easily.
It felt cool but relieving against the skin of his neck.
Wrapping it around as many times as it would go.
He grabbed the ends of the chain, let as much air out as possible, and pulled both in opposite directions.
"Donnie!" Mikey called, thinking he might be in his lab. That's where he goes when he's stressed. Working clears my mind, Donnie's words echoed in his brain.
The box turtle walked through the large entrance into the lab, not seeing his brother upon entry. He continued to walk around, trying to find where Donnie might be in his lab. Maybe working on another Battle Shell? Updating his Tech-Bō? Those seemed like things Donnie would do to calm down.
But he was nowhere to be found in the lab.
Mikey started walking back towards the entrance, before he saw the lab bathroom slightly open with light falling out where the door opens.
"Donnie...?" Mikey said, cautiously, as he approached the door.