Snowflake (for funsies, I want to see you try to figure one out for Katsumi xD)
Donna folded her arms, glaring at the recalcitrant, pouting teenager sitting on her treatment table. “Sweet sewer nuggets, I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to be a worse patient than Ella.”
Katsumi just glowered back at her. His arms weren’t crossed, but that was probably only because the gash on his shoulder prevented it. “I told you, I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding on my floor; you’re not fine.” Sighing, Donna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, I can give you a choice. You can let me patch you up, or you can go tell Master Splinter what happened.”
Katsumi narrowed his eyes at her, but Donna just set her jaw and stared back. Finally, with a roll of his eyes, Katsumi jerked his head toward his back. With a shake of her head, Donna moved behind him and carefully began to clean the wound. It was long, but at least the edges were clean. She probably wouldn’t even need to stitch it. “Your timing really does stink, you know.”
“Oh, please,” he groaned, glancing over his shoulder. “What, I’m ruining the holiday magic for you?” He snorted, then winced as it pulled his cut. Served him right. “Come on. You and I both know all that warm fuzzy garbage isn’t for me.”
“How would you know? You haven’t even tried it. Scientific method, Katsumi. You can’t dismiss a hypothesis without testing.”
“Do you ever switch off?”
“Do you?” Donna set the cotton aside and carefully picked up the bandages she needed, delicately closing the cut. “You don’t have to be into it, but would it kill you to just be there?”
She was expecting another dig, but instead, he bowed his head, looking at his folded hands. His fingers were rough with calluses, still stained with who-knew-what. Not exactly the kind of hands for wrapping presents or making the kadomatsu. “Maybe,” he said at last. “I know I don’t exactly fit in, with all the family stuff, and this is obviously something you guys really care about. I...” He shook his head. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”
Donna slowly set down her tweezers, picking up a roll of gauze. “... you’re worried you’re going to ruin our holidays.”
His shoulders began to hunch before she pushed them down again, not about to let him pull the wound. “I’m not exactly a baking and card-writing kind of guy, y’know.”
“Angie does the baking.” She laid the gauze over the bandaged cut and began to take it down. “And you don’t have to write a card. Seriously, you think Sensei cares about any of that? She gets to ring in a new year with her son. You think anything else matters?” He hunched his shoulders further, and she cut the tape with a sigh. “At least you had the sense to slide under a clean fence and not a rusty one while you were running. Why were the cops chasing you, anyway?”
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, with his good arm, he reached for the leather jacket folded next to him. Silently, he dug into the inside pocket. Donna watched, bemused, as he began to pull things out. Some bright ribbon. A teacup with a willow pattern. A small container of watercolour paints. A chipped CD...
Donna stared at him. “Were you... getting us presents?”
“I didn’t steal them,” he said, defensively. “I know she’d hate that. I moved some boxes for the thrift store lady and she said I could have this junk. But the cops didn’t believe me, and I didn’t feel like sticking around to explain it.” He groaned, looking down at the pile. “They’re all wrong, aren’t they?”
“No,” Donna said quickly, moving back to the front of the table. “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t think you had this in you. This is... actually thoughtful.”
He snorted. “I couldn’t even find anything for you. All that computer stuff is expensive.”
“Hey,” she said, handing him his shirt. “Tell you what. Stick around for the midnight countdown tomorrow and don’t do that vanishing thing, and we’ll call it even.”
“You drive a hard bargain, brainiac,” he moaned, but he favoured her with the first genuine grin he’d ever directed her way. “It’s a deal.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “You’ll get the hang of this family thing yet. Thank you for the presents.”
Without even thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Instantly, they both froze, staring at each other. That was.... weird. Slowly, he raised his hand as if in disbelief, his fingers brushing against his cheek. Backing away, Donna smirked at him and turned to tidy up her med kit.
Weird, yeah. But not as weird as it could have been. Katsumi had a family now. A very close-knit, affectionate family, and he probably had absolutely no idea what to do with them. But Donna was a good teacher. Maybe her gift to him was helping him learn how to be part of it.
