i_speak_softly | Forty-Third Theory [Mostly Action]

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Forty-Third Theory [Mostly Action]

((General post for the next two weeks or so. Preemptive tl;dr, find him anywhere, though suggestion of day/place/activity is appreciated.))

[As May begins, and as a fairly large percentage of May goes by, Donatello can be found doing the following things:

-Jogging through the woods, tracking down any signs of life detected by the departed Mr. Scott's not-really-new-and-not-exactly-improved-either tricorder. ((New Feathers, feel free to jump in here.))

-Hauling huge loads of books to and from the library.

-Studying these books - in and around House 55, at the library itself, by the fountain, at the coffee shop, alongside the river... pretty much anywhere.

-Copying diagrams from the books into his journal.

-Working at the smithy, trying to create physical equivalents of these diagrams.

-Digging through bins at the item shop.

-Practicing wind magic or good old-fashioned ninjutsu in various open areas around the edges of the village.

And a few more specific actions:]

[Don needs a few minutes of your time. If you don't dare to approach him while he's working, he'll come looking for you.]

[Some rainy evening, Don will show up at Robert's door with a duffel bag and a goofy grin. You owe him a nanocomputer demonstration - and he brought you a gift.]

Frederic, a question, if you have a minute...

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[Long-term indeed. At least they're both aware of each others' respective hang-ups at this point? Sort of?]

... Ah, not a problem.

[Robert's just going to look shy now.

He twists his now-unoccupied fingers gently together in his lap and tries to look immensely interested in the floor.]

[He fidgets a moment, then asks:] Was there anything you wanted me to know?

...

W-Well...

[Uncomfortably:] You... you wanted to hear about... my ex-partner at some p-point, didn't you...?

...

It's... d-difficult to talk about, but it is something you deserve to know...

[You look so miserable at the idea.]

It doesn't have to be now...

[It's... not the most pleasant subject for Robert.

Which is to say that it's probably the most painful thing to think about that happened in his life, short of Luceti-related things.]

... But I... should be honest and open with you, of all people. And, I d-don't know when we'll next get a chance to speak uninterrupted...

And I r-really do trust you... [He isn't just saying this to psyche himself up, though that's partially the reason.

There's so much that Robert doesn't know about Don, too. And he's starting to become aware of just how much he doesn't know.]

... M-May I... hold your hand...?

[Don glances out the window. Dark. Still raining. He can't stay out all night, but he has some time.]

[He slides back over on the couch. One arm snakes around Robert's shoulders, to trace absently up and down his sleeve. The other hand seeks Robert's fingers, twining with them and holding them in a reassuring grip.]

[He'll listen to whatever you have to say.]

[Robert pulls himself closer to Don's presence, taking the contact as an encouragement to actually say something.

Holding Don's hand helps too. It's stabilizing, helping to push away Robert's misgivings about the whole thing.]

...

His name was... ... is... Benjamin.

Benjamin Prieto.

... I first met him when I was around fourteen, through the science clubs at my school. [Robert's voice is kind of wavery and watery here, though it holds traces of a smile.] It was... one of the things we really had strongly in common, actually... even now I wonder what made us click, for those f-five years...

... H-He was unmistakably intelligent. A b-brilliance that manifested itself in s-strange ways, to be sure, but... ... Much like Mike, actually, in some senses. He was a playful, exciteable, curious person... ... I s-suppose I grounded him in some ways. Provided him with the normalcy he needed...

...

[Robert shakes his head a little.]

... H-he... ... c-called me "Rob" all the time...

... I-it... it's still a little... p-painful to hear that name...

[It's a little uncomfortable, hearing Robert compare his ex-partner to him, to his brother. But the last statement is unsettling in a different way.]

It - reminds you of him?

[Robert fails at descriptions. He finds comparisons easier to do than describing something by itself. Especially something as awkward and complex a topic as his former partner...]

...

Yes... it does. And... u-until recently, it was... a thoroughly painful reminder...

... [Softly:] I-It's... changed, though, now...

I just, I w-worry... th-that... that I'll do something w-wrong with us, like I did with him...

[And with all the things that get in the way of Don and Robert's relationship, his worry isn't entirely unjustified.]

[Don would hold Robert closer, but he's already about as close as he can get.]

No one else calls you that?

[Robert shakes his head.]

Names like that are... very new for me. I'm used to being called Robert.

... [Awkwardly:] Benjamin was the only person who ever used pet names for me...

[Not even his parents. In fact, they often called him Professor Hastings. That's how distant he was with them.]

[What different families they come from.]

I'm sorry.

[And he tries to find a place to rest his head. Robert's shoulder is too low to be comfortable - his head would make more sense, but Don is always hesitant to touch a human's hair...]

Please... it isn't your fault. How would you be expected to know something when I had never told you?

... And... a-and, it's... n-not problematic, or as much, anymore...

[Robert shifts his head in a clearly indicative way, brushing his soft, short hair against Don's chest.]

... I-It's... it's the feelings behind the name that matter, c-correct...?

And, and... You love me... s-so it's... alright...

[Robert finds it easy to tell Don that he loves the turtle. But saying that Don loves him is much more difficult because it's still something that's hard to believe.]

... I-I... really don't want to lose this...

[Not that Don can feel it, there. He curls his arm around, making an abortive move to touch Robert's hair. He probably shouldn't.]

Is there something else I could call you?

I really would not mind almost anything at this point, from you... as long as it isn't a derogative.

... Just... Benjamin meant an inordinate amount to me, but so do you, now...

... I just never thought I would ever truly have this opportunity again, after my poor decisions the first time - especially considering how... u-undesirable I seem to be...

[Robert trails off at the feeling of Don's arm curling around him, and likely angles his head so Don can reach his hair better. ~~It may or may not remind Don of Klunk.~~]

[Don is busy resolving to come up with a new nickname for Robert, and trying to think of something suitable, when Robert moves his head, bumping it against the heel of Don's hand.]

[Caught in the act. What to do.]

Um...

[He could stroke Robert's hair.]

...

Please feel free to... touch me as well, if you would want... I certainly don't mind.

[~~That's not suggestive at all.~~ Reciprocity is always an admirable quality.

That, and it's soothing...]

[Touch you? He's already all over you.]

[Still, he can never resist an open invitation to touch hair. It's such a strange and intriguing thing.]

[He curls his fingers cautiously, stroking Robert's hair as though it's made of glass filaments. ~~Please don't let anything break.~~]

[Robert's hair is soft, and short - kind of wispy, and obviously well-cleaned. It is a lot different from how Splinter's fur would feel, and Klunk's is probably rougher unless he has Persian coat genes.

Nothing breaks, though. Robert's not that delicate.

He sighs a little at the contact and rests his head on Don's chest as Don pets his hair.]

[Even Don's limited experience is enough to tell him that hair is markedly different from fur.]

[He pulls back when Robert moves, but quickly realizes his partner is just settling. He likes it.]

[Don resumes his careful exploration, ruffling the hair gently back and forth and watching the interplay of strands.]

What's it like?

[His own brief experience with hair was nothing short of horrifying, but April had assured him it was different when you were used to it - and had then fallen all over herself in trying to explain how. Maybe Robert can provide a more coherent explanation.]

[It takes Robert a few seconds to gather his semi-sleepy (due to the stroking) consciousness to a point where he can formulate a response to that. But it's such an obvious thing, now that he thinks about it - Don doesn't have anything like hair, and so it would obviously be as foreign to him as having scutes and keratin plating was to Robert.]

Well, in the case of hominids, hair is generally meant to serve as a form of protection from the elements, and provide some sort of sensory input... mostly in the form of being able to tell when it is moved. The hair strand itself is, as you likely already know, insensate and technically dead; the root of the hair is the living, growing part, and it is the part which is ennervated.

For example, I can feel you moving my hair as a mass, but were you to bend a single hair in on itself, it would not cause me pain. [Robert smiles reassuringly.] Now, attempting to pull it out of my head most certainly would...

... As for what having it is like... [Robert hums thoughtfully.] It's certainly much more pliant than scales, and while cleaning it can be a bother, it does provide one's cranium with some protection from the direct elements.

... One can also do interesting things with hair if one is so inclined, but I've never found myself to be the hair stylist sort.

[At least that's one gay stereotype nobody can accuse Robert of having?]

[Not exactly the kind of explanation he had in mind, but informative nonetheless.]

[He tilts his head a little so he can see Robert's face.] Are you falling asleep?

[Dorky grin get.] Not quite... I am simply soothed by this touch.

... I can't remember the last time somebody has stroked my hair...

[Robert would totally be reciprocating, but, turtle.]

[Oh really.]

[Don essays a headscratch, like he does for Klunk when the kitten demands attention.]

[He definitely needs to teach you some things about reptile reflexology.]

[Robert will be more than happy to learn these things.

At the gentle, affectionate scratching - very far removed from an aggressive act, and certainly not interpreted that way - Robert nuzzles closer to Don, or as closer as he can actually get. He's practically curled in Don's lap, now. ~~cute y/n~~]

I... a-appreciate this very much...

[Treating Robert like a cat is apparently an effective thing.]

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