[It takes Robert awhile to notice that note - he was probably awake when Don was there but, you know, Donatello's a ninja. He's good at sneaking around silently slipping notes under the doors of unsuspecting scientists without their knowledge.
But when he does notice it - in the handwriting he recognizes as none other than purple-mask-wearing-turtle's - he practically vacuums it off the floor and hugs it to his chest. He's alone, so he lets himself indulge in that little unprofessional display. He's back. He's back and he wants to celebrate White Day with m - ... Wait, what is White Day?
... That actually doesn't matter at the moment. Donatello is back; that is all that matters.
After the initial few seconds of processing the enormity of this - fifteen days, he had been gone fifteen days and it felt like an eon and now he is back - Robert snatches up his journal immediately and sends a message to Donatello. Hopefully. Full of so many emotions he can't possibly quantify all of them.]
... Donatello, you're back... I've missed you
( ... )
[Robert flails slightly - well, more like kind of looks anxious - and stares intently at the floor.]
... I want you to, though. It... has a lot of... genuine emotion I would have difficulty expressing in any other fashion. [And Robert looks up enough to give Donatello a weak smile.]
I meant for you to read it... I was just simply apologizing for any ineptness that it may contain.
[Don smiles reassuringly, reaches again for the journal, and opens it to Robert's note.]
[The first paragraph feels so different from when he read it nine days ago. With every paragraph after that, he curls closer around this sweet man who wrote them, until he's reading the last lines with one eye because the other is squashed up against Robert's ear.]
[Robert, for his credit, isn't dying too much of embarrassment. And he's liking the closeness. He just curles into Donatello and reciprocates the gentle nuzzling and tries not to feel too embarrassed about what he's written. It feels so awkward and stilted and just... a failure at expressing how he really feels, which is so complex that he'd probably have to rely on advanced mathematics just to attempt to model it successfully, and...
Robert makes some sputtering noises that are somewhere between irritation and mortification.]
... I assure you I didn't make that particular contribution.
...
[Oh gods. That means his filter didn't work, did it?]
... Gah. I... must not have filtered it properly... I wasn't thinking straight... [Robert shakes his head in resignation and defeat. There's only so much he can do at this point if it's gotten out.]
These are Mikey's stick figures. I know them anywhere.
[He glares at the drawing, anger and humiliation bubbling up in him until they boil over, and he throws up a translation shield and shouts at the ceiling:] Hamato Michelangelo, kon'ya wa boku wa, anata no heya ni kuru anata no comic-books o nusumou to, subete no moji ni sukoshi hi-ge to kuchihige o egaku nete iru ma ni! Tokuni josei! [He splutters a moment, then adds:] Netamashii!*
[This outburst has an immensely calming effect, and he settles back against the couch cushions.] He'll pay for this. [- he says cheerfully.] But - [Another loving nuzzle.] Thank you. For all of that.
((*Tonight while you are sleeping I will come in your room, steal your comic books, and draw little beards and mustaches on all the characters! Especially the women! ... Jealous!))
(OOC: Our threads: The best way to learn Japanese. That's also the best way to react ever.)
[Well, that shouting was unexpected. And the string of Japanese just as much so. But it's clearly directed at Michelangelo. And, honestly, Robert can't blame him for the anger. He's fairly irritated too.
The irritation dies at that nuzzle, though.]
... You deserve it, really... it's the least that I can offer for someone as wonderful as you. [And Robert smiles shyly and curls up to Donatello again. He's gonna be spending a lot of time there, most likely.]
[This sobers Robert a little.] They'd be that intent on canvassing us for information? Not as if I mind questioning, but... there is the distinct possibility they would be interested in less than savoury information about it.
[And there's a lot about Robert that he'd be relatively ashamed to disclose. This won't stop him from disclosing it if asked directly, though... he's a terrible liar.]
... There are other issues too, besides how your family will deal with this. If... if all this means you really want to be my partner... [And Robert eases his hand over to Don's closer hand to grasp it gently.] ... and I truly want to be yours... then there are some other people who need to be dealt with. [Quickly:] B-but, not Helios. He... isn't interested in it, so that is no longer an issue. [Said with more conviction than Robert should have - he still has those lingering feelings after all, and he still isn't quite sure why he was rejected... but it is true, without Helios in the picture things are a little simpler.]
... Your father? [Robert blinks somewhat. He remembers Donatello saying he was adopted, so that doesn't come as a surprise other than the fact it seems rare that Luceti would draw in an entire family.] If he is anything like you are, I am sure he is a wonderful person. [Robert puts on an earnest smile, though he really does mean it.
The next part makes him kind of glance away offhandedly.] Frankly, I think it works out better this way. Our relationship is... complex enough without it becoming polyamorous. [A little wry smile flickers over Robert's features.]
... And there is still the issue of a certain little girl to discuss...
To clarify, a young girl named Vivi Aislinn has recently asked me to be her foster father... and, of course, that would include you as well. I do realize this is a horribly uncomfortable time to ask... but... I have always wondered what it would be like to be a father figure... [Robert's expression is wistful at this.] And she has a ... rare intelligence to her that I cannot quantify
( ... )
[Robert, he's trying to tell you something important about an already-complicated relationship, and you're asking him to adopt a child?] Rob, no. My father is ready to skin me alive just for this. If I try to make him a grandfather he'll skin me and then make me do a hundred flips.
[Okay, this situation just got a few billion times more awkward.]
... Well. This is certainly going to be uncomfortable. [Robert purses his lips a little, bringing a hand up to his face.] What objections are there that your father has to this relationship?
... [Wait.] ... You said that your world's humans are less than pleasant to your family. Is that the reason? ... Or perhaps one of many reasons? [He's getting there. Slowly.]
[For Robert, actually coming to a conclusion like that with inductive reasoning is in fact a remarkably rapid occurrence. It's also going against his own thoughts on the subject - he wouldn't have considered it a problem on his own, and it's only now that he hears that Donatello's father isn't okay with this that it really occurred to him again.]
... [Rather helplessly:] There isn't much I can do to stop being a human, though... but I am not like the humans of your world. You and I both know that much.
Of course, your father... would not know this, I presume. And thus it would be in order for me to demonstrate this to him personally, however I might do so. [Robert sighs a bit and tightens his grip on Donatello's hand if he hasn't snatched it away yet.] I... apologize, Donatello. I never meant to be a problem to you, or anyone else. But... I cannot help my species.
But when he does notice it - in the handwriting he recognizes as none other than purple-mask-wearing-turtle's - he practically vacuums it off the floor and hugs it to his chest. He's alone, so he lets himself indulge in that little unprofessional display. He's back. He's back and he wants to celebrate White Day with m - ... Wait, what is White Day?
... That actually doesn't matter at the moment. Donatello is back; that is all that matters.
After the initial few seconds of processing the enormity of this - fifteen days, he had been gone fifteen days and it felt like an eon and now he is back - Robert snatches up his journal immediately and sends a message to Donatello. Hopefully. Full of so many emotions he can't possibly quantify all of them.]
... Donatello, you're back... I've missed you ( ... )
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... I want you to, though. It... has a lot of... genuine emotion I would have difficulty expressing in any other fashion. [And Robert looks up enough to give Donatello a weak smile.]
I meant for you to read it... I was just simply apologizing for any ineptness that it may contain.
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[The first paragraph feels so different from when he read it nine days ago. With every paragraph after that, he curls closer around this sweet man who wrote them, until he's reading the last lines with one eye because the other is squashed up against Robert's ear.]
[Then he turns the page and finds Mike's comic.]
[And just stares.]
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...
Wait, what is that on the next page?]
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Someone drew on it? Really? Really?
Robert makes some sputtering noises that are somewhere between irritation and mortification.]
... I assure you I didn't make that particular contribution.
...
[Oh gods. That means his filter didn't work, did it?]
... Gah. I... must not have filtered it properly... I wasn't thinking straight... [Robert shakes his head in resignation and defeat. There's only so much he can do at this point if it's gotten out.]
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[He glares at the drawing, anger and humiliation bubbling up in him until they boil over, and he throws up a translation shield and shouts at the ceiling:] Hamato Michelangelo, kon'ya wa boku wa, anata no heya ni kuru anata no comic-books o nusumou to, subete no moji ni sukoshi hi-ge to kuchihige o egaku nete iru ma ni! Tokuni josei! [He splutters a moment, then adds:] Netamashii!*
[This outburst has an immensely calming effect, and he settles back against the couch cushions.] He'll pay for this. [- he says cheerfully.] But - [Another loving nuzzle.] Thank you. For all of that.
((*Tonight while you are sleeping I will come in your room, steal your comic books, and draw little beards and mustaches on all the characters! Especially the women! ... Jealous!))
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[Well, that shouting was unexpected. And the string of Japanese just as much so. But it's clearly directed at Michelangelo. And, honestly, Robert can't blame him for the anger. He's fairly irritated too.
The irritation dies at that nuzzle, though.]
... You deserve it, really... it's the least that I can offer for someone as wonderful as you. [And Robert smiles shyly and curls up to Donatello again. He's gonna be spending a lot of time there, most likely.]
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[And there's a lot about Robert that he'd be relatively ashamed to disclose. This won't stop him from disclosing it if asked directly, though... he's a terrible liar.]
... There are other issues too, besides how your family will deal with this. If... if all this means you really want to be my partner... [And Robert eases his hand over to Don's closer hand to grasp it gently.] ... and I truly want to be yours... then there are some other people who need to be dealt with. [Quickly:] B-but, not Helios. He... isn't interested in it, so that is no longer an issue. [Said with more conviction than Robert should have - he still has those lingering feelings after all, and he still isn't quite sure why he was rejected... but it is true, without Helios in the picture things are a little simpler.]
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... I'm sorry about Helios. [Sort of. But not too sorry.]
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The next part makes him kind of glance away offhandedly.] Frankly, I think it works out better this way. Our relationship is... complex enough without it becoming polyamorous. [A little wry smile flickers over Robert's features.]
... And there is still the issue of a certain little girl to discuss...
To clarify, a young girl named Vivi Aislinn has recently asked me to be her foster father... and, of course, that would include you as well. I do realize this is a horribly uncomfortable time to ask... but... I have always wondered what it would be like to be a father figure... [Robert's expression is wistful at this.] And she has a ... rare intelligence to her that I cannot quantify ( ... )
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... Well. This is certainly going to be uncomfortable. [Robert purses his lips a little, bringing a hand up to his face.] What objections are there that your father has to this relationship?
... [Wait.] ... You said that your world's humans are less than pleasant to your family. Is that the reason? ... Or perhaps one of many reasons? [He's getting there. Slowly.]
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... [Rather helplessly:] There isn't much I can do to stop being a human, though... but I am not like the humans of your world. You and I both know that much.
Of course, your father... would not know this, I presume. And thus it would be in order for me to demonstrate this to him personally, however I might do so. [Robert sighs a bit and tightens his grip on Donatello's hand if he hasn't snatched it away yet.] I... apologize, Donatello. I never meant to be a problem to you, or anyone else. But... I cannot help my species.
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