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

Chapter 14- Confessions

"Again!"

You wiped the sweat dripping down your face away as you clutched the bloodstained fabric around your hands. Your hair was falling out of its messy bun, and your glasses laid to the side on top of your bag. Your body was sticky and grimy from the hours of work, but there was no end in sight. For some unknown reason, Donnie had decided to train you relentlessly until the next batch of retromutagen was ready.

"Donnie," You panted, "I-I can't keep doing this. My legs are about to collapse!"

His face was stern, "Just try again."

You took a shaky breath and turned back to the punching bag, slamming your raw fists into its hard core. Donnie was silent as he watched you, his eyes fixed on your movements. Eventually, your punches slowed, and you were completely worn out. You plopped on the ground, not wanting to move a single muscle for the rest of your life.

His brown eyes showed dissatisfaction, but he remained quiet. He threw you a towel as you slowly stood up and made your way over to your bag.

"Why are we doing this?" You asked as you fumbled with a water bottle, "I don't see how this will help us in the lab."

"You will thank me when you encounter Footbots or a mutant."

You raised an eyebrow as you glanced over at him, "And why would I ever encount-" your eyes widen in realization, "You don't believe that the last two formulas will work...do you?"

He was silent as he unhooked the punching back.

You bit your tongue in anger as you clutched your water bottle, "Answer me, Donnie."

He kept his back towards you, "(y/n), we've tested over 478 different formulas, and not ONE of them has worked or even come close. You've made little to no progress concerning the acid bases, and your carbon atoms are always wayyy off. What makes you think that these two will work?"

Your eyes narrowed, "So it's ME then, huh? Your incomplete hydrogen bonds and unstable octets have nothing to do with it??"

He whipped around, his eyes meeting yours "(y/n), we've needed your father's notes from the very start and you know it! There's no way we would be able to do this on our own!"

"Then why did you rescue me in the first place??"

"Well I couldn't have you running around and creating monster mutants for Shredder, now could I??"

You glared through blurry eyes as you tossed your water bottle to the side, "If I'm apparently so worthless, why wouldn't he get YOU to do his dirty work for him??"

"MAYBE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE (E/C) EYES TO DISTRACT HIM OR SMOOTH SKIN THAT FEELS LIKE FIRE EVERYTIME I TOUCH IT!! I DON'T KNOW!!! I guess he prefers beautiful girls over slimy mutants. Just,....take a break. I have a salve for your hands."

You huffed in frustration as you zipped up your bag and felt around for your glasses, "Why do you do that??"

He tossed the punching bag to the side, "Do what?!"

"Say something absolutely beautiful and act like it means nothing!"

"WELL I...," His voice went quiet, "...I-I don't know what you're talking about. Here," he slipped your glasses onto your face. Silence filled the room for a moment as you looked at him, the two of you meeting each other's eyes.

Donnie gazed into your deep (e/c) eyes, noting how he had memorized almost every line and crease of them.

You looked up at him, finally able to see clearly and saw the concentrated expression on his face. Did he really mean what he had said?

"...Do you truly think that I'm beautiful?" You muttered absentmindedly.

He hesitated, brushing a loose strand of hair away from your face, "...yes..."

You felt a slight tinge of pink on your cheeks, "...They say beauty is only skin deep."

"I know...but yours goes much more beyond that..."

The room was getting stuffy, "D-donnie..."

He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it instead and turned back to putting away the punching bag.

"You...I-I.....We can't do this, (y/n)."

You felt your heart sink, "Why not? Donnie, I...Surely you've felt something too."

He closed the closet door, "What I feel does not matter, we have a job to do and our petty emotions cannot get in the way."

You dug your nails into your raw palm, "P-petty? Is that what you think this is?"

He hesitated, trying to steady his shaking voice as he dug through a box, ".... Just because someone experiences a release of dopamine and serotine in their body does NOT mean that they should act irrationally."

"Irrational?"

He walked over to you again, a jar in his hand, "People can fall in and out of love in a matter of days; it's not logical to throw your heart around like that. Hold out your palm."

You gently placed your hand into his, "Sometimes though," You glanced up at him, "Love can last a lifetime."

He was silent for a moment, his brow furrowed in concentration as he applied a spoonful of the salve onto your hands, "....Sometimes."

Silence filled the air as the two of you fell quiet. In your head, a much different scenario played out.

I love you too, Donnie.

Unbeknownst to you, Donnie was thinking the same thing.

I ...I-I love you, (y/n)