Heyyy! Here's my newest fan-fiction! this is a very long, and by that I mean 55 chapters long. it has a really extensive plot and is probably only that long because it's not centric on any of the guys in particular, they all get their highlights but they each have a few arcs of their own as well. I try to keep things as factual as i can in accordance to the foster system, which my family has been a part of for over two years, but a few things I had to tweak to make it so this wasn't even longer than it already is. hehe, sorry for the long AN, but yeah. also, this chapter was written after a few others, because I decided Donatello deserved an origin story in a chapter. I was originally going to have him just be there already, but yeah. so this is kind of a prologue, but it still has a chapter name (aka Don's name) anyway. please review and tell me what you think of this first chapter! will be updating every Tuesday if I can remember! Enjoy!
"He can't stay here, Hannah!"
"We took him in! We can't just change our minds and give him back, Robert!" Donatello sat on his bed while his two foster parents argued. It was an argument he had heard too many times to count, and a few days to a few weeks after the argument, he always moved.
"We didn't sign up for this!"
"No, Robert, we did sign up for this! You just can't accept that fact!" At fifteen years old, he had learned the cycle. Come to new home. get settled in at the house and neighborhood and sign up for college courses and regular school. Get teased and spend all day in his bedroom, working on schoolwork. Stay for a few months. Listen to arguments break out because of him. Deal with the strained household. Then get moved again. The brown eyed teen lay back onto the worn blanket he was using, no one seemed to want him, even though he felt he was the perfect son. But these people seemed more able to cope with kids who tried to escape, or set the house on fire, both of which had happened in a home he stayed at, than to deal with extracurricular activities at the college or sign permission slips for him to earn his associate's degree. in late December, it was almost too late. Donatello got to his feet with a sudden decision. This time he would be one step ahead of the parents, and he picked up his cell phone.
The next day Mr. Moon came to pick Donatello up. Donatello had been packed for a week already, since the first fight. And Mr. Moon confessed that they had already asked to have Don taken away from them. That wasn't very helpful.
"But we do have a place for you to go, that's good luck, am I right?"
"Yeah, great luck." Donatello said, smiling. His speech impediment wasn't as bad as it had once been, with early life speech therapy, but sometimes you could just tell it was there.
"Hamato Yoshi and his wife, Tang Shen, just got their foster license a week ago, and we feel like they'll be the perfect fit for you." Don nodded, knowing that this would only last about a month, young couples were the ones that lasted the shortest. "I know what you're thinking." Mr. Moon, a balding man said, pointing his finger and shaking it under Don's nose. "And we called Mr. Hamato and told him about your college credits and all your activities, and he said he was hoping to adopt you, if you like it there." Don stayed silent, staring out the front windshield. "I think you'll feel right at home."
"That's...nice." Don said, still disbelieving, Mr. Moon, hearing his tone, shook his head and drove the rest of the way in silence. When they arrived Donatello got a tour of the house, it was two stories with five bedrooms on the top floor, with the master bedroom, where the Hamatos slept, on the ground floor. Donatello soon learned, to his relief that the Hamatos did not have any children of their own, and that Tang Shen was actually sterile. Not that he had anything against babies, but he had been in too many homes that once they got a kid of their own, he was in a new one.
That was in January, and by February his life was in full swing, online college courses allowed him to go to regular high school, where no one knew of his past. The Hamatos had chickens and he had the entire top floor of the house to himself. He played excessive mine-craft which was probably not healthy, but he still aced all his classes. Donatello Was left more or less alone. Today was a day in late April, Donatello sat at the kitchen table, reading his novel, and he overheard Mom and Dad talking in the dining room, so he put the book down to listen.
"All his family members have died Yoshi." Mom was saying, "In a fire, and his extended family is in Japan and cannot take him. You know Donatello feels alone; they came to us because they trust us."
"I do not know." Dad murmured, "he will not be like Donatello, Donatello keeps to himself and-"
"If you wanted someone who keeps to themselves you should not be a father!" Mom exploded angrily, Don winced, here it goes, here goes their marriage.
"Shen, you know that is not what I meant." Dad sighed, "I do not know what to expect."
"You didn't know what to expect when we moved to America," Mom listed, "or when you learned to be a foster father, or when you accepted Donatello!" Don got to his feet and walked to the doorway, Dad was staring out the back window and Mom was staring at him, her face a light pink.
"Maybe we should think about this."
"He has nowhere to go, Yoshi." Mom whispered, "he is alone."
"Who?" Don blurted out, both adults turned, "sorry, but who are you talking about?" Mom smiled and patted the couch beside her.
"Come try to talk sense into your father." she said, "he knows you are smarter than him." Don laughed and Dad frowned indignantly, but Donnie sat and looked at his father.
"From what I heard, you don't think you can handle having another son." he reasoned, "you think it might be too stressful since the restaurant isn't doing so well and you will need to get things for him."
"Exactly!" Dad said, "he is smart Shen." Don rolled his eyes.
"What you are not counting," he continued, "Is that one, you get paid monthly for taking in foster children, something you would know if you did the budget." at the look on his father's face he smiled. "I do the budget." Dad blushed and Donnie laughed. "I like doing the budget Dad, and I know for a fact that you'll be fine, you do happen to have a savings account with a few ten thousand dollars in it actually."
"Ok…"
"And two." Don held up another finger, "I only heard a little bit about this kid, but I know what it feels like to not be wanted." then he frowned, "can you...tell me some more?"
"His father, Oroku saki, divorced his mother and moved to Japan when he was eight years old." Tang Shen said softly, "last week, their house caught fire and his sister and mother both perished, he managed to escape with a seventy two hour kit and nothing more, he is still at the hospital for burns and smoke inhalation, but they will soon need to place him somewhere." Donnie nodded slowly.
"What's his name?"
"Leonardo. Leonardo Henry" Mom replied, "see Yoshi? Donatello agrees!"
"I do agree." Don agreed, then smiled, "It is pretty lonely around here." Mom smiled.
"Yoshi?"
"You have me convinced." dad smiled, "and Donatello?"
"Yes dad?"
"I can do the budget."
Donnie laughed. "Ok, the job's yours dad." he agreed, then smiled contently, "have fun figuring it out."
A week later, Mom came home with five bedroom sets, all in a neutral color, well, if purple counted as neutral, that was Donnie's favorite color. Another was blue, because that was apparently Leonardo's favorite color. There was a red one and a white one and an orange one for the empty bedrooms.
"Why don't you wait until you know-"
"I want to be prepared for any emergencies." Mom replied, spreading the blankets onto the bed, "what if someone needs a room for one night? Or they do not have time to tell us what they like? We need to have something."
"But-"
"It is done Donatello, I bought it already." Donnie sighed and shrugged, looking at the bag on the floor. "You got him clothes too?"
"All of his were burned." Mom replied briskly, "I got his size and bought some for him.
"Ok," Donnie held up his hands, "I'm just saying." Mom smiled and ruffled Donnie's hair. He straightened his glasses and beamed back. This home would work out, and he was going to be here forever.
okay, so I know Yoshi wasn't in a particularly great light in this chapter, and I'm sorry. I promise he's a great guy in this story, like I said, this chapter is formatted differently than all the others. and I know Donatello seemed a little childlike at the end there, but in all honesty, foster kids really do just want a home to stay at forever. Especially if they were in the system as long as Donnie has been. thanks for reading and bearing with these ANs! I promise next one wont be as long! Review and thank you for reading!