For my drabble-challenge over on tumblr; for more info, please check my profile here. ;)
This is for unclekoopus who asked for "Splinter" and "Young Again". :)
The Merits of Being Young
Donatello was slouching on the couch, his head resting on his arms. One could think that he was just watching TV, but Splinter knew better.
There was this tiny frown on Donnie's face, and the fact that his expression didn't change when the theme song of his favorite science show was playing – something that usually made his face lighten up – was proof enough to Splinter that his son was being sad.
And he could imagine what was making Donnie this sad.
April and Casey had been here for the afternoon. That alone wasn't unusual, they did that quite often. What was unusual was that they had left to go to the movies together – a date, how Casey had called it, although April had denied it and had said that Irma would have joined them if she hadn't caught the flu.
Now Donnie was obviously racking his brains if they really were on a date now and if April had feelings for Casey.
His heart must be aching, and Splinter knew this feeling all too well.
The bittersweet taste of first love, the hope, the desperation, the sleepless nights, all his thoughts only circling around her. Everything was new and precious. Even the feeling that one's heart was falling apart was special.
Yes, Splinter could remember it, all of it. And so he knew that one day this kind of love was replaced by something more mature. But no one ever forgot his first love. He knew he hadn't.
And sometimes he even thought about wanting to experience it all once again, of being young again when there were so many new things to discover, so many things to learn.
He knew that there still were things he could learn and had to learn. But as he got older, they became fewer and fewer.
And when one was young, the world was so full of wonders! Those were the merits of being young, those were the things Splinter missed sometimes.
But when he saw a single tear running down Donatello's cheek he knew that things were good the way they were. Because if he really were young again, he would lack the wisdom to tell his son that things were going to get better, that it would get easier and that he knew that from experience – like he was going to do now.
