It's Chemical {Donnie x Reader} (Donatello x Reader) (TMNT x Reader)

Chapter 34 - The End

"Two...Three?"

You groaned as you leaned away from the microscope, rubbing your eyes as you looked over to the other side of the room. The newbie lab tech, Michael, was attempting (and greatly failing) to perform a negative stain on the bacteria strain you had been studying for a few weeks.

"Mikey-er, Michael." You bit your lip, hoping that he didn't notice.

"Y-yes??" His frantic eyes look up at you, wide and terrified beneath the too-big glasses he wore. You smiled softly. In a way, he reminded of yourself when you first starting work in your father's lab. Naïve and so unsure of yourself.

"You may have miscalculated the dilution series for the cell count...There's only 3 cells in the whole hemocytometer."

His frantic eyes grew even wider as he began to rush over. You raise a hand to stop him.

"It's fine." You say gently, "We can try again tomorrow. It's been a long day."

He nodded, his tense face relaxing at your words.

"Let's get out of here. I'm ready to be back in my bed." You chuckle light as you hang up your lab coat and put away your prized microscope. Michael grabbed his bag and followed you out of the laboratory.

You stepped out into the busy streets of New York City, life humming around you. Cars and bikes whizzed back, filled with people trying to achieve their own goals. You closed your eyes for a moment, taking in the sounds of life.

Donnie was probably on patrol tonight. You knew that the turtle brothers would rotate nights throughout the week, and pair up on weekends. Today was Tuesday, Donnie's preferred day for whatever reason.

It had been 3 years since you last saw them. 3 years since the retromutagen had first turned a mutant back into a human being. Today, NYC was filled with life and people had somewhat established normal lives again. Sure, there were still crumbling buildings and cracked roads, but the progressive made in such a short time frame was pretty impressive.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Dr. Y/N!" Michael casually waved goodbye as he headed off in the opposite direction, tripping over a loose cobblestone in the process.

You looked up at the towering skyscraper in front of you for a moment, remembering how dirty the windows once were. Now, they sparkled and shined in the sunlight. Rays danced along the sidewalk as you began your walk home.

It was the beginning of spring, and the overgrown trees had begun to gain their brilliant green color. Birds had returned to the city and flew along the branches. In the distance, you could hear a dog barking playfully at it's owner. The world was slowing regaining beauty.

Arriving at your apartment, you turned the knob and tossed your bag onto the couch. The evenings were always quiet at your place. Not much activity compared to the hustle and bustle of life outside. You sat down, feeling the warmth of the sunshine through your window.

About 2 years ago, you discovered that the turtles had moved locations. They must have known you'd come looking for them, because there wasn't a trace of them to be found -not even a slice of pizza. There was, however, one clue that the entire time with the brothers hadn't been a dream. Donnie's microscope. He had placed it on your usual spot of the lab counter, with a single note that said "Hunting Shedder. Keep safe. -Donnie"

You hadn't heard from them since. In a way, you were angry that they could just block you out of their lives so swiftly. In another way, you knew that they were just protecting you from Shredder.

You still hated them for it.

Your phone buzzed and you raised an eyebrow, opening it up. Striker had sent you a photo of Emily's senior picture. She was graduating high school in May, top of her class. Striker took her in, saying that she became smart only after he started raising her. Emily had eventually given up fighting him on that, although she always reminded him that he had once worked for Shredder, so how smart could he truly be?

You smiled and replied back, "What a brainiac! So proud of her <3"

A few minutes later, Striker replied. "I'm such a proud papa. :') See you in a couple weeks for spring break."

You hummed softly to yourself as you made your way back to the kitchen, rummaging through what food you had in stock. Eventually, you decided that a good ol' PB&J may be your best option. Food was still limited in the city, as the docks and import stations needed a lot of work. On top of that, a new bacterial strand was attacking what little wheat crops the surrounding farms did have. That is what your latest research had been focusing on – identifying the bacteria's pathogenicity.

Having made the blessed sandwich, you plopped back down on the couch and began flipping through TV channels. As usual, most of it was old reruns. You supposed that struggling to exist again forced society to prioritize necessities instead of entertainment. Eventually, you paused flipping through and decided to land on an old cartoon that Mikey loved and Raph 'hated'. You settled in, resting your head against the cushion as you let your mind go numb finally.

Part of you wanted to reach out to Donatello, to tell him how much you hated him for abandoning you.

But part of you also knew that wasn't true. He loved you, which is way he wanted you out in the sunlight instead of running through the sewers.

Sighing softly, you close your eyes and let your mind drift for a moment. Memories of you and Donnie in the lab came flooding in, the two of you laughing and smiles shining.

No, you couldn't let yourself think like that anymore. Donatello was gone. GONE...gone. You were in NYC, surrounded by work colleagues but somehow completely alone at the same time. You needed to keep your mind in the present, not the past.

Tap tap tap.

Your brow furrowed, something tapping on the window snapped you back to reality. It was probably just some stupid bird fighting it's reflection.

Tap tap tap.

"Go away bird!" You mumbled as you waved your hands and pulled yourself off the couch. "I'm in no mood for you!"

Tap tap tap.

"Oh my GOD!" You huffed as you walked over to the window and slid it open. "I said GO AW-" You froze midsentence as you realized it was no bird tapping on the window.

"Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Y/N, but I do believe you have a microscope of mine."

There it was – that cheeky smile that he always gave you when he knew he had the upper hand.

"Donnie..." You breathed, shocked. Shocked, but also...angry. He left you, ABANDONED you in NYC just to 'protect' you.

"You SON OF A-...A..." you couldn't finish the sentence, choked up on tears of relief mixed with anger.

"Shredder is dead. I'm sorry it took so long." His eyes searched yours for a moment, trying to gauge your reaction.

You couldn't respond, already half sobbing as you pull him towards you and buried your face in his neck.

"Don't ever leave me again."

You felt his gentle hand rest on the top of your head as the other pulled you closer.

"I swear it."

You didn't know the rest of your story would end. What would happen to New York and the slowly regaining society, or what would become of you and Donatello. You know that it would take effort...a LOT of effort.

But if it took a 1,000 tries for the retromutagen, then you would give Donnie a 1,001 tries.

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Hi Lovelies!

Wow, the FINAL chapter! It only took 7 years but we made it. I want to thank everyone who has followed the story, as well as those who have given such amazing and kind feedback! I love you guys and this has been an incredible experience.

I am not sure if I will continue writing, but who knows 😊

If anyone ever needs someone to talk to, please know that you can always reach out to me <3

Stay safe and remember, the sun will rise again!

-Onlyfoolslove