This is a great little fic; and IRL it's very true that opposites attract - maybe not only hormones, but Renet sees Don completeing the things she lacks in life. Anyways, just a musing.

Very thoughtful, well written ficlet!

Peace,
~PSG

P.S. This fic is the best thing since sliced bread. LOL

Ok, when I first saw this I was like Don and Renet? No way. Never could happen. But I have to admit, you've made a believer out of me! Awsome, totally awsome. I do have to say that I didn't particularly care for 2,3,and 4, mostly because they didn't have the background information like in 1,5-7. I absolutely loved Casey and April in #7 with their daughter in the mix, and I most definately loved how it all came to pass in #7. I guess Leo and I shared the same skepticism. But now, I believe! Only a very good writer could pull this off without making it a complete and udder train wreck. Very, very well done!

*gives in to much flailing*

I wanted to leave a unique-ish review, so I read them and Winny pretty much said what I wanted to. :P Wonderful story, loved how you came full circle, the writing just flowed, it did! There was teny spots of LeoxRenet I noticed. Either way, Don x Renet works wonders, and so does your writings!

This is going into my lil fav section, while I read through more of your stuff!

Oh, man! I loved how Mike is the only one who reaches out to Renet at first, but slowly we watch Don's attitude towards her change. I kind of feel like you took us through the whole story, sometimes epic and from a distance, and sometimes in slice of life glimpses. We see the whole procession of strangers to lovers in relatively few words, but the imagery invoked is is still quite vivid. I can still see it in my mind, Don's bittersweet, dutiful march down the aisle, giving April away at her wedding. Got me right in the throat!

I also dug how you were able to come full circle with so much of it. Even though there are great gaps of time skipped over which I am still curious about, and would love to see explored further, it definitely came to a solid, wonderful close with Don seeing his former self in Leo's baffled arrogance. For me it really drove home the idea that Don grew up a lot in just a few years due to these events. Very nice touch!

XOXO

Winny

I just read all these so far in one go and you've got me laughing and crying and cringing and melting into a soppy little puddle.

Wonderful little slices of relationship. I've recently gotten intrigued with Don/Renet (I think it was Winnychan's fault)and these drabbles make this odd couple pairing work so believably.

Very sweet.

Brillance. It's the only word that applies. This read like a condensed version of a multi-chaptered fic and I'm wow'ed like nothing else with how well you did this. Given your previous works, though, I shouldn't have been surprised with its greatness.

And how you tied two thoughts - "I get it now" and "Nobody said you had to" was genius. Wonderful tags.

Too bad you didn't make this a separate story from the title, though. It would make a nice addition to this year's fanfic comp and where you tied for first place under Best Romance Story for 07, this 'chapter' gets automatically disqualified.

Bummer.

Anyway, another find job!

Sneaky Turtle

I think this is my fave drabble yet. The 2 lines about Leo's hormones and her being "so stupid" made me laugh XD Sweet insert about April and Casey's kid too ;)

Nicely done.

I have a question for you! I just went to your profile, and saw this, regarding Donatello:

Owies Inflicted Upon: Shot multiple times by multiple people, stabbed in the side, electrically tortured, set on fire, had an arm involuntarily amputated, beaten up, disemboweled.

My question is this: could you PLEASE list which of your stories contained which owies? LOL thanks!

This is really, truly a gem. I absolutely LOVED the format--the alternating short drabble style was simply brilliant and unbelievably effective. It clearly brought through the gradual changes, kept the story moving beautifully, and conveyed such a range of emotions in such short, succinct portions. Some of the passages were just heart wrenching, but then the ones with April & Casey's child and the final clips were so sweet it left me feeling happy in spite of the bittersweetness. But what truly makes this stand out to me is the way it comes full circle in the end. I'm a really sucker for parallels and double meanings, and OMG, the way you re-used some of the same phrases to make the meaning come across made my mouth water. *hugs* Keep 'em coming!

And... my favorite line:
"April smiled back at him, looking radiant and impossibly beautiful, and then he let her go."

A perfect example of a double meaning, and the simplicity of the statement only makes it more powerful. He gave her away, both literally and figuratively, and I'm getting tingles right now just re-reading it!

Cheers,
KameTerra

I think Renet was a Sue already, if that helps. I'd like to think she grows out of her teenage idiocy and settles down a bit.

This was so succinct. You might be a guy, but you capture a particular kind of female jealousy extremely well...though maybe men also experience this kind of jealousy?

It's short, but it expresses a great deal in few words.

oh, SQUEAK. These stories are so loverly. I always sort of saw (if I squinted) Leo/Renet, but you make Don/Renet work for me. It's so precious and mismatched and right all at once. I love that they're so short and sweet (wish I could master that art!) and still convey so much going on. More! :D

Hot and bothered and yet - clean as a whistle this story is. LOL

So nicely done. So typically 'you' nicely done. You do such glorious work on this pairing, on this whole idea.

And I don't know who the 'voice' is - would this be similar to a second person narative? - but I like it. Sort of gives the reader the proverbial 'fly on the wall' perspective.

Very neat!

As always, good job.

Be blessed,
Rene'

Uh, DB, I just thought I'd let you know that thanks to you I'm just a pool of goo oozing up out of my fuzzy slippers right now--or maybe syrup, actually. That's just how sweet and insightful and unexpected this drabble was. It completely melted me :)

Cheers,
KameTerra