There are probably worse offenders, but Donnie can't think of them, and perhaps he reserves the right to be extra judgmental about a brother who's not a brother.

He flounders for something else to fill the void of silence that so easily seems to slip in after his words, dreading another moment of awkwardness. The large form in front of him moves, unscripted, unannounced, and Donnie's mind tries to leap over hurdles to catch up with that much before everything trips up as he finds himself engulfed by those big arms.

Instinct is to go rigid, and for the first couple of seconds after contact, he does, a gasp catching in his throat at this unexpected breach of protocol. His smaller frame trembles as he looks up, sight of Raph's own tears prompting his own waterworks to overflow.

And for once...he decides to try and stop overthinking things.

Slowly his own hands begin to rise, arms trying in vain to get around his brother's girth, impossible, but he does what he can. The tiniest of sniffles escapes him as he buries his face against that plastron.

This isn't his brother, but it is. And right now, he's apart from his own brothers too.

"... I do not think anyone has ever regretted having more people to care for - or having more people to care for them," Shu had said. At the time he hadn't said anything, but he supposes he knew what his standing had been, all this time.

"I thought the reds might be too bright, but...I guess it worked out okay."