I'm back with the next chapter! It's bad, like usual, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. In this, Donnie is not diagnosed and this is a story of him on a regular evening as his brothers and father try to interact with him, not realizing that he has selective mutism. I think I did okay, but feel free to tell me of any errors or that my writing plain sucks. This is my first attempt at turtle tots, so don't be surprised if it's worse than my usual suckage. Thank you to Cinnabunnies5123 for your support!
*shakes Magic 8 ball* Do I own TMNT?
Magic 8 ball: My reply is no.
STOP LYING! *chucks Magic 8 ball out the window* I still don't own them.
Donnie was sitting off to the side again, out of the way of his brothers. Just like he had done the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that.
Splinter sighed. His second youngest son often shied away from his brothers and father for reasons he couldn't even think of. Surely the child was not afraid of them. He had made sure to protect them and care for them in every way he could think of.
So why did Donnie prefer to be alone? Why did he sleep infrequently? Why did he refuse to speak?
His brothers had been stringing together words into sentences for a few months now whereas Donnie had yet to speak a single word. He didn't whimper or giggle or coo. When he was upset or hurt he cried silently and didn't allow anyone to comfort him. It worried Splinter to the point where he was beginning to think Donatello was mute.
"Father?" A young voice interrupted his thoughts. The mutant rat looked down to see his youngest, Michelangelo, looking up at him with bright blue eyes. "Donnie alone."
Splinter sighed. "Yes, Michelangelo, Donatello is alone. Perhaps you would like to invite him into the game you and your brothers are playing?" Mikey nodded, giggling to himself as he approached his immediate older brother.
"Donnie? Wanna play with Leo and Raphie and me?" he asked Donnie with excitement in his eyes. "We playing with blocks."
Donnie only ducked his gaze and shook his head, turning back to his own small pile of blocks. The young turtle continued to stack them, one by one, in a pattern Splinter wasn't paying attention to. Rather, he frowned and waited for Mikey to come back to him.
"Donnie no talk. He stay alone," Mikey pouted.
Splinter nodded. "You may go back to playing with your other brothers. I believe I should have a talk with Donatello," he said, standing up and leaving his three other sons in the living room as he picked up Donnie and took him into the kitchen.
"Donatello, why do you continue to stay silent? You do not speak to anyone, neither do you seek out attention or comfort. Is there something wrong?" Suddenly, Splinter felt a little stupid talking to someone he knew wouldn't respond, but still felt that Donatello might be listening to him. "I only wish I could hear your voice, even just once." He dropped his gaze down to his lap. "Please, my son."
Donatello stayed silent.
Splinter exhaled slowly. He figured he must have done something wrong while the turtles were still infants. Maybe he hadn't paid as much attention to Donatello as he could have. The turtle had always been quiet and sort of faded behind his more vocal brothers, causing Splinter to ignore him at times and cause the silence.
"Come, Donatello," he said. "Let's go check on your brothers." He picked the tot up and briefly wondered if he could even understand him, on account of not even responding to him half the time. Others he would simply follow what his brothers were doing.
"Father! Raph drop blocks on Mikey!" Leo called from in front of the couch Splinter had found. A small whimpering was heard from the little terrapin, who was crawling out of the mess.
"Raphael," Splinter said sternly. "Did you knock the blocks over on purpose?"
"No! I trip and bump into the tower and it drop on Mikey!" Raph said.
"Michelangelo, is this true?" Splinter asked, turning to Mikey.
The little turtle nodded. "Hai, Father. Raphie stumble."
Splinter nodded. "Very well. Can the three of you pick up your blocks and go into the kitchen? It is time for dinner."
Groans came from Raph and Mikey as Leo nudged them to start picking up the blocks.
"Donatello, will you pick up your blocks as well?" Splinter asked slowly, hoping Donnie would understand. He nodded, going over to his corner and sweeping the blocks into a box.
Splinter went to the kitchen to prepare the worms and algae they had for every meal and then watched them as they cleaned. Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo were all happily chatting about something while Donatello silently put the blocks in the box, not even whimpering or making any acknowledgement when a block fell on one of his feet. Ten minutes later, all the blocks were put away.
"Very good, my sons," Splinter said, leading them into the kitchen and placing them on the stools. He made sure to put Donnie between Mikey and Leo, hoping the two could coax a response out of him. He passed out the plates and told the mutant turtles that they could eat.
He was thankful that the children could feed themselves with the chopsticks instead of him having to take turns feeding them like he had in his earlier years. Mikey was eagerly eating his food, gulping down the worms and algae like they were candy. Raph ate more slowly but had trouble with the chopsticks sometimes and stabbed at it. Leo held the chopsticks perfectly and carefully put each bite in his mouth. Donnie was nervously glancing at his brothers, seemingly trying to make himself smaller and make the distance between him and his siblings bigger.
Splinter noted this, wondering if it Donnie was only afraid of being in tight spaces and that was why he didn't like being close to his brothers. But he would still speak normally if that were the caseā¦
The mystery would have to wait for another day. For now, he made sure that Donnie ate at least a little bit.
After dinner, Splinter lead them into the room they shared. "Would you like a bedtime story?"
Mikey instantly started overwhelming Splinter with stories he wanted to hear about until Raph slapped his head. Leo waited patiently on his tatami mat for Splinter to begin, and Donnie sat still on his own tatami mat, the one that was closest to the door. He seemed like he had spaced out in the small room, his eyes glazed over as he hugged his knees to his plastron and trembled slightly.
Knowing Donnie would be even harder to get through to if Splinter approached him, the rat master left him alone until he calmed down, entertaining Mikey, Raph, and Leo with a story of the Yokai, letting them interject with their little comments and swaying the turtles to sleep, even managing to relax Donatello a little bit. He observed his son as he slowly came out of his daze, his eyes focusing again on his brothers and his surroundings, taking everything in before lying down.
"I love you, my sons," Splinter whispered near the door.
A near silent reply reached his sensitive ears. "I love you too, Father."
Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did it suck? I think it was kind of cute. See in a little bit with the next chapter, I'm doing Raph and I kind of have no idea what to do with him. Any ideas? I'm thinking Asperger's, but am not 100% sure. Tell me what you think in the reviews!
