Learning Curves || Rise Donnie x Reader

⥃Twenty↭Three⥂

Donnie watched the livestream of the game as he tinkered with his newest invention. It was a t-phone made from the remnants of (Y/n)'s phone, using the same SIM card. It was, in his humble opinion, better than the phone she had before. And after she won her game, he was planning on giving it to her.

"...And (Y/n) (L/n), Eastlaird University's Team Captain, is on fire tonight! She's made 80% of her shots, and she's been really talkative as well. It seems she's hyping up her team on and off the court tonight," the commentator was saying as the camera zoomed in on (Y/n) talking to her Coach. She was smiling, and Donnie found his eyes gravitating towards her for no real reason before he realized what he was doing.

He scoffed under his breath, returning his gaze back to the phone he was making her. (Y/n) seemed unbothered about what went down between the two of them regarding the Shadow Transmitter, but by now he knew her well enough to assume she was just hiding it really well. The thought procured a mental image of her expression when he yelled at her. He grimaced, guilt eating at him. She looked more than just upset, and as the very dramatic turtle he was, he'd call it heartbroken. She looked genuinely devastated that he was angry with her, like the worst of her fears were coming to light. Like maybe he mattered more to her than her own parents.

He had followed her the other night with the intention of confirming what he knew to be true: that the Purple Dragons set her up. He figured it had something to do with her parents since she was still hung up on them, or at least was at that point, but he knew what she was doing and why she was doing it—despite it being illogical—so it was actually rather hard to force an argument between them. Sure he knew why it was hard to fight with her, but feelings were illogical so he simply pushed them from his mind. The Purple Dragons needed to believe the two of them weren't on speaking terms anymore so they'd finally leave her alone and she could go back to her ordinary life without him. What he didn't expect was to feel a pang of regret and daresay heartbreak at the thought—like she wasn't the only one that stupidly fell in love. 

Donnie sighed as Shelldon zipped over to hover over his shoulder. "What're you working on?" the drone asked, and Donnie shooed him away.

"None of your business." Shelldon coded at him angrily, and Donnie gasped. "Watch your language!"

"You've been mad annoying recently, dawg. What's your problem?" The turtle glanced at the livestream inadvertently, and Shelldon sighed. "Go tell her how you feel-"

"It's not that easy, Shelldon." He sounded annoyed, but it was obviously not directed at his son. "She's in danger because she knows me, I've told you this. If I'm out of her life, then she won't get hurt."

"You don't think being a dick to her hurts just as much?" the drone shot back. They both glared at each other.

"She'll get over it. If she gets hurt because she knows me-" He cut himself off, sighing angrily before turning back to his work. "You wouldn't understand; you're just a kid."

"I'm 16 now, I'm basically an adult!"

"This is not up for debate!"

"Ugh. Pushing her away to save her feelings makes no sense!" the drone huffed, his engine increasing in volume signaling he was getting heated. 

Donnie breathed in deeply as if grasping for the remnants of his patience as he looked his son in the eyes. "The Purple Dragons are after her because she's friends with us, Shelldon. Therefore, she's in trouble because of me. If I remove her from my life, she'll be safe from the Dragons and any other villain that wants to get at us. It's why Jupiter Jim doesn't involve civilians in his affairs—because they will get hurt."

"Yeah, but that didn't apply to Atomic Lass! She joined JJ because she wanted to help, villains be damned!" Donnie shot him a look of disapproval about his foul language, and he rolled his eyes. "Why can't she decide for herself?"