#donnie goes through Shit(tm)

[tazzykiki]

Fellow Donatello enjoyer, I see? 👀

Yessss, he's my favorite. I love him so much <3

[bluepeachstudios]

How is donnie doing?

he gone through some shit and worried how his mental state is doing as well as his hands (swear i hear a crunched when mazor grab him)

(Please Just Let Them Hug/canon continuity for this one)

Donnie is Not Fine(tm). He won't tell you that though, no, he would never tell anyone that. Admitting he's not fine means he has to deal with all the monsters in the back of his head, covered up by projects and blueprints and parts and tools. Like a worktable covered with so much work you can't see the scratches and gouges and dried paint. Cleaning it off would just make it all so much more obvious, so why do it in the first place?

His brothers are patient, though. They see his overworking for what it is; a way to deal with stress. They work him through it slowly, coaxing him away with distractions. Learning everything through small interactions and moments he feels vulnerable or overwhelmed enough to admit everything.

Raph plays video games with him, and yeah, sometimes they stay up all night. Donnie's lips (metaphorically) become looser when he's tired and his mind is distracted. Sometimes something slips and Donnie's score dips as he talks about the night of the invasion, about being cuffed and tossed around like a toy, about his mind being rifled through like a filing cabinet, his life and trauma and everything he hid away put out on display. Raph leans his shoulder against Donnie's and is quiet, because if he talks then Donnie will withdraw again.

Leo goes scavenging with him, and Donnie always talks to Leo because Leo listens to him infodump even if he doesn't understand it. Leo's quiet, and patient, and always listening, he's a great listener. So sometimes Donnie admits things he wouldn't normally. Leo takes on the big brother role, so it's easy for Donnie to admit he doesn't want to talk about the dimension he was sent to, doesn't want to think about it. He admits he wakes up some mornings after a nightmare and is crying over the loss of brothers that are still alive. Leo is quiet, and patient, and listens. He remembers.

Mikey does everything with Donnie. He'll set up near his lab in a chair and read comics, or play his gameguy, or draw, or listen to music. He'll ask Donnie what he's doing, what he's working on, what he's planning, and Donnie always explains. Sometimes Mikey helps; he can weld, put things together, he knows how to help if Donnie just tells him what to do. Mikey's easy to talk to. He nods when he's supposed to, says the right thing at the right time, presses him when he needs it. He makes the conversation light and joking, so Donnie feels safe to joke about turning into a monster, about almost eating Mikey's leg, about how maybe he'd lied a bit when he'd said he didn't remember any of it. And Mikey cracks another joke to make Donnie smile.

Piece by piece his brothers figure out what's going on, they talk to each other and make a plan. They never confront Donnie directly, but they all share a look and silent nod before the long effort of getting Donnie away from his desk when he's getting frustrated begins. Even if Donnie doesn't realize what they're doing, that they're tag-teaming him the way they all do for each other, Donnie at the very least knows they're there when everything is too much to carry, and they'll catch him every time.