Rating: K

Words: 800

Author's Note: For some reason, stories about Donnie are hard for me to compose, so I am tickled pink that I was able to put this one together. I imagine the boys to be about 11 or 12 in this story; about the age that they are beginning to get self-conscious about their flaws. Hope you all enjoy!

For as long as he could remember, Donnie had hated how his teeth looked. None of his brothers had spaces in their teeth, so how was it fair that he had one? He looked like a beaver, as Raph frequently pointed out when they bickered, and he was sick of it. He could fix a toaster in no time flat, so fixing his teeth would take just little effort. No problem.

He examined his mouth in the bathroom mirror, trying to decide just how he was going to do this. He'd built a lot of complicated machines before now, so he should be able to do this without any difficulty. Grabbing the roll of baling wire he'd scavenged a few days earlier, he pulled out a foot of wire and bent it in his hands to test its strength. He was scrutinizing it carefully when a squeaky voice piped up from behind him.

"What are you doing, D?"

Donnie yelped in surprise, nearly dropping the spool, and spun around to see Mikey gaping at him from the open door.

"Mikey!" He complained, "Don't do that! Geez, you nearly scared me out of my shell." Mikey grinned apologetically as he stepped further into the bathroom.

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to watch cartoons. What's with the wire, bro?"

Donnie looked shamefaced as he fumbled the length of wire in his fingers.

"N-no reason…," he mumbled miserably, mortified that he'd been caught, especially by Mikey, who wouldn't be able to keep this a secret from anyone.

"Oh come on… Please? I won't tell anyone, promise!"

He folded his hands and put on his most adorable pleading expression. Nobody could stand up to the Puppy Dog Pout. As he had expected, Donnie's resolve crumbled like a chocolate chip cookie within seconds.

"Okay, fine! I was making…" He lowered his voice so that the last part was mumbled and was lost in translation.

"What?" Mikey asked, cocking his head slightly to the right.

"I was making myself some braces, okay!"

He was embarrassed to admit it, but it was out, and he braced himself for the ridicule that was sure to come.

"Braces? What for?"

Donnie looked at him incredulously. What for? Why did he think? It really irked him that he had to explain this to his little brother and further his embarrassment.

"I want to get rid of this!" He pointed at the space in his front teeth. Mikey studied the space with a curious expression before looking back at Donnie.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with your teeth, dude."

Throwing up his hands, Donnie growled in exasperation.

"Oh come on, Mikey! Just look at me! I'm tall, nerdy and have beaver teeth! I'm even more of a freak than you guys!"

Mikey looked hurt and Donnie wanted to pull the words back. He looked away and fumbled with his fingers awkwardly. For a long moment, neither of them said a word.

"Donnie, you're not a freak. The gap is actually really cool, dude. I mean, you can whistle better than any of us, you can stick a straw through it to drink milk, and dude, you've got something really special that's just yours!"

He grinned when he saw the little crack in his brother's insecurity. Mikey hadn't been lying. Donnie was really good at all of those things and he really did think that the tricks that he could do were really impressive. Encouraged, he continued, throwing his arms over his big brother's shoulders.

"I mean, I wish I had cool teeth like yours! I'd try to learn how to shoot spit balls out of my teeth if I were you!"

"That's disgusting, Mikey," Donnie complained, but he couldn't his the smile that was pulling at his lips, exposing the space. Mikey lightly punched his brother in the shoulder, satisfied that he was successful in bringing him out of his dark place.

"Don't let it get you down, bro. You're awesome just the way you are!"

"Thanks, Mikey. Is it too late to watch cartoons?"

Mikey made a face. "Yeah. I'd bet my stack of comics that Leo already beat us there and is already got Space Heroes on." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, then his face brightened, his smile nearly consuming his round face. "Let's shred some sewer pipe instead! Last one there hatched from a rotten egg!"

He ran off before Donnie could have a chance to refuse. Looking at the roll of wire for a moment, Donnie considered what Mikey had said. Maybe he was right. The little goofball had a way of bringing him out of a slump that none of the others had. He abandoned the wire to chase after Mikey. He needed to test out the suspension in his skateboard anyway.