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“Say, Leo...”The said turtle was pouring over the recent news on the internet, steel grey eyes flitted back and forth in front of his laptop while a hand tapped absentmindedly on their dining table. It was the early morning hour and the occupants of the lair were yet to come to the kitchen where both Michelangelo and himself currently occupied.The youngest tended to wake up before 6:00 a.m. and would dutifully prepare their breakfast before practice. Contrary to popular belief, Mikey was surprisingly a morning turtle - scratch that, an energetic and happy morning turtle. Though, Leo was of course eternally grateful he didn’t have to cook for the whole family. The late toaster was a painful reminder of his more, ah, adventurous attempts a few months ago. A part of their ceiling was still blackened from where it exploded quite dramatically.Engrossed in his musings, Leonardo replied with a distracted “Hmm?” and reached out for a drink of his hot morning tea, still quite preoccupied on skimming through the reported criminal activities in Lower Manhattan.He heard the orange banded turtle make awkward shuffling noises before timidly asking in a small voice, “Do you, uh, like have romantic feelings for Raph?”Whatever Leo expected to hear from his usually cheerful and annoying baby brother was definitely not it. Leonardo was so caught off guard with the question that he actually spat out tea all over the screen and keyboard. Damn! Donnie was going to kill him for this. The laptop was the genius’ birthday gift for him when he turned 18 last year and it won’t do him good by breaking it just because of Mikey’s ridiculous question. And shell, Mike didn’t look energetic nor happy this morning. What was going on?Before the leaf green terrapin could make a move to wipe the drenched screen with his bare hands, Michelangelo was beside him in an instant, mildly apologizing with a rag in hand and expertly wiped the spilled drink on his older brother’s device. Leonardo sighed in relief for a disaster averted, but then Mikey was looking at him with an uncertain look on his face.Incredulous and more than just a little affronted, Leo fixed his little brother with a withering glare, “Care to repeat that again, Michelangelo?”Mike gulped audibly and scratched the side of his head right above his orange bandana. It was his tell and Leonardo was growing worried. Was this serious enough to make Michelangelo... Dare he think it, insecure?“Do you like Raphie?” He chuckled nervously and peered at Leonardo’s expression. Leo did not look amused. Thinking he had to spell it out, the sea green terrapin clarified, “You know bro, like, like like the dude.”In spite of himself, Leo let out a childish snort and twisted his face like he sucked on a particularly unripe lemon.“I know what you meant and no, Mikey. I do not like like Raphael!” He scrubbed a palm on his face and stayed there, an eye wearily observing his brother. He knew Mike had an overactive imagination and had a abundant streak of horrible jokes. He briefly wondered if this was actually a prank. Nope... The kid looked sincerely troubled and that revelation further scraped at his nerves. It was still the early morning and his self-control was already suffering. Great.Ignoring the fact that they were talking about the potentially traumatic possibility of him liking his hothead of a brother and how immature they sounded for two young adults, Leonardo bowed his head in defeat and beckoned Michelangelo to sit next to him.“Okay Mike, I’ll bite. What’s this really about?” The orange banded turtle opened his mouth as if to say something but was discouraged by a, “And no, for the last time, I don’t have a crush on our brother. That’s absurd.”“But that’s the thing, Leo!” Mikey suddenly cried in a loud voice, wildly waving his hands above his head and a shit-eating grin on his face. “Raph’s our brother but not really. Remember what Donnie did three weeks ago?”Mikey was up and bouncing on his toes now and Leo was a little uncomfortable with the change in demeanor. His youngest brother never really could stay sad or quiet for long.Leonardo raised a brow but indulged the sea green terrapin, “Yeah, he finally had time to test our blood with that fancy DNA fragment analyzer he managed to fix. It was a nightmare to drag him out of the lab after three days of obsessing over it,” he frowned at the recollection.The turtle in orange whined “Anayzer Schmizer. You’re missing the point here, Leo! C’mon, quit doing this to me and be the smart turtle I know you are under all that honor and leader stuff.”He was seriously losing the small patience he had and the older turtle was persistently wishing that Raph and Don could wake up soon so Mike would stop this nonsense. But as turtle luck would have it, time was not on his side. It wasn’t even halfway to six o’clock. He groaned internally.“That ‘honor and leader stuff’ you’re talking about is our code of Bushido Mikey,” Leonardo scolded but then shrugged, “so what? We’re not blood related to Raphael, but so is Donatello and Master Splinter... Casey and April too, and we’re still family.”Michelangelo huffed but he looked giddy with excitement. He spread his arms wide, gesturing animatedly like a stage magician unfolding his favorite magic trick. The leaf green terrapin was still wondering if this was all really just that - a pointless and ridiculous trick.“I’m not talking about our family dynamics bro. I’m talking about you and me, and Donnie and Raphie. The possibilities, Leo! I’m talking about the what-ifs, and the if-whats! Do you see?”“I... I think I do... see,” Leonardo mumbled, suddenly struck with an uncomfortable thought but surprisingly not at all repulsive. “So you’re implying that...”His baby brother made a ‘go on’ gesture with that playful twinkle in his eye. The turtle in blue could even feel Mike’s boundless energy trying to bleed out of his skin. Of all things considered, Leo officially declared this day as “Totally not my day.”“That’s just crazy, Mikey. I can’t even imagine Sensei would-”“Ha! That’s where your wrong, big bro. Sensei and I actually talked about this,” Mike smugly cut him off. Noting the bug-eyed and slack-jawed look Leo was sporting, the orange banded turtle smirked.He assumed a Splinter-like pose, one hand groping the air like he was holding a walking stick and the other with one finger raised. Even his voice imitated their father’s Japanese accent and wizened tone, “It is a blessing, my son. I cannot wish for anything more than all of your happiness. It will certainly change this family, but it is in embracing change where us ninja thrive and succeed.”The katana wielder’s eyes glazed over, his features turning blank. It was no mystery that Leo was attempting to understand and accept this revelation. Mikey had to give his older brother some credit, Leonardo doesn’t break easily under pressure and this conversation could surely be put under that category. Shell, when Splinter approached him and discussed this inside his Sensei’s shoji, Mike was rattling in his shell, he swore his father could hear it through Raph’s explosive snoring. Even he still had trouble believing their Sensei gave his blessing. Maybe it was just the embarrassment after a repeated talk of the ‘birds and the bees’ but he wouldn’t tell Leonardo that.He snapped his fingers in front of Leo repeatedly, “Look. What I’m trying to tell you here is that we don’t have anything to worry about, Leo. And uh... Crap. This is totally hard to say dude, but I kind of have a crush on ol’ grumpy Raph and wondered if you felt the same, ‘cause you guys have been really tight for a while now. No screamin’ and fightin’ for a week, and y’know...”Michelangelo flushed bright red after admitting this little secret. He didn’t know what Leo’s reaction was right now, too concerned staring at the burnt socket where their last toaster found its untimely demise.Leonardo found it a little funny and a little sweet that his baby brother felt that way, even if it was Raphael, of all people.“Why didn’t you say so from the start, baby bro?” he chuckled good-naturedly. “I can guarantee that a week without fighting with Raph won’t make me develop a crush on him. I have 19 years of personal hell from that hothead and I don’t think it’ll be changing any time soon.” He rubbed Mikey’s head and grinned at him.“I’m happy for you, Mikey. Though I have to ask... Raph? Really?”The nunchuck master pouted at his older brother, “Are you intervening with my love-life now too, bro? And what’s up with that question? Isn’t it obvious? It’s the muscles dude, the muscles!”Leo shook his head slowly, amusement present in his grey eyes. “I wouldn’t understand even if I tried, Mikey. And why not Donatello? You two are pretty close,” the leaf green terrapin was honestly curious.If anyone was ‘tight’ in the family, it would be the younger two of the brothers. Mikey practically clung to Don 24/7, so it was a wonder to Leonardo why he wasn’t pursuing their local genius, and instead turned his affections to the turtle who’s basically been his bully since birth. In a logical standpoint, it really didn’t make any sense.Michelangelo slyly grinned at the clueless look on his big brother’s normally stoic face. Maybe he should leave the poor guy alone and let him do the math instead. Anyway, he could already hear Raph and Donnie stirring and it’ll be a few minutes before they come barreling into the kitchen. He really should get started with the eggs and the coffee. “Leo’s case can wait for later...”Nah, it was too tempting not to do anything fun about it. The turtle in orange slowly approached the stove, passing his brother in the process. He casually spoke, “I don’t know, Leo. I thought you were into Donnie.”The Fearless Leader spun around so fast, Mikey was sure he got whiplash.“W-what?! Wh-why would you say that?” Leo’s face was white as a sheet but it slowly gathered color, and now Mike could hold up a tomato beside his brother’s face and you won’t even see the difference.The playful turtle started mixing the eggs on a bowl and without turning around replied, “Well, you totally don’t like like Raph, so there must be a reason, right?”“And you think it’s Don?” Leo’s tone was a little too hysterical but Mikey decided to ignore it.
“Dude, it’s your love-life. You should know.”The blue banded turtle spluttered gracelessly, his calm and collected image absolutely thrown out the window. Mikey giggled, Leo was really, really so fun to tease! He didn’t know what kind of ammo to throw at his all-mighty big brother off his game, until now. “But with this,” the pizza-loving turtle carefully flipped the omelets, “I could totally ruffle his feathers as much as I want,” he thought in glee. Being Leo’s blood-relative was just an added bonus, really.Leonardo had just finished freaking out and was staring dejectedly at his cold tea when Raph and Don ambled through the open door and each took their respective places at the table. Don facing Leo, and Raph facing Mike’s chair. They were just waiting for Master Splinter now. Michelangelo served their steaming plates of food and feeling a bit courageous after his talk with Leo, the sea green terrapin winked at Raphael and greeted him with a chirpy, “’Morning, Raphie! Dig in!”Raph was understandably confused with this odd behavior but he shrugged it off and gave his little brother a wolfish grin, “’Morning to ya too, Mike and thanks for the grub! Ya know I’ll pound ya later for that nickname, right?”Michelangelo flinched and the red banded turtle snickered and proceeded to scarf down his plate. “Er... Maybe the wink was a bit too much.”He could feel the ghost of a grin on Leo’s face and stuck a tongue at him. Apparently, this little act caught their purple banded brother’s attention because he lifted his face away from the coffee and was looking more like a turtle than a zombie. Donatello half-smirked at Mikey’s antics and turned to Leo with a real smile on his face, much to the other turtle’s surprise.“Good morning, Leo,” Don’s eyes crinkled a bit by way of greeting then turned his attention to his breakfast.Maybe it was Mikey’s brainwashing that did it, or he was seriously coming down with a fever, because Leo had never felt so flushed and lightheaded without a damn reason. He swallowed convulsively and muttered a quiet, “Good morning, Don,” before trying and failing to regulate his breathing. He managed to calm down and not draw further attention to himself, except for maybe a pair of baby blue eyes, light with mischief.Yep, the great Mikester was never wrong. Don and Leo would totally make a cute couple! Second to his handsomeness and Raph’s hot bod, of course.
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Three Weeks Earlier…
Among the renovations of the recent lair and a mutual agreement with the Foot Clan, the four brothers found themselves rarely fighting crime for the past few months after the whole Turtle Prime fiasco. Karai decided to turn a new leaf and remake the Foot into an honorable ninja clan under all its supposed Japanese glory. She even offered them protection from the public and help patrol the city to keep the peace. The kunoichi may have aided them in saving the entire universe, but years of playing grudge matches with the ninja clan made it sound too good to be true.Master Splinter had surprisingly vouched for the idea and sincerity Karai had shown, and so Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo had no choice but to accept the future possibility of working with the Foot Clan, of all things. After Splinter and Karai shook on it, the family found itself less needed topside and had more time to themselves after each passing day.And so, after defeating three different Shredders, going to the future and traveling through different dimensions and meeting alternate versions of himself and his brothers, the purple banded turtle finally, finally had the chance to kill his damned curiosity.Because of this, Donatello was ecstatic. He didn’t trust Karai before and he never will, but on this day, one thing only mattered.Sure, things have winded down a little but the world won’t be rid of villains anytime soon. They still have the Purple Dragons to consider, what with Hun turning into a turtle himself, but right now, nothing or no one could stop Donnie from feeling the usual greedy anticipation he’d get when he’s testing a new toy… or trying to discover something taboo. It was nothing dangerous and far from his more important projects, but this one thing was 19 years overdue.He still remembered their Fearless Leader shaking his head in disapproval while the olive turtle held the glorious find. It was missing a few key parts and most of the little compartments were practically next to useless. This didn’t hinder the genius’ interest though, it bolstered his determination to fix the machine instead. Leo knew this and he could only dish out half-hearted threats before giving up and leaving his younger brother alone for the next three days.
“And here I thought we were doing so well, Don,” the blue banded turtle had sighed almost sadly when he made to leave his younger brother’s lab.
Donnie had raised a browridge at that and assumed a teasing tone, “You do know you can’t keep me in the dojo forever, Leo.”
Another dejected sigh. “I know… Well, it was fun while it lasted.”
“Oh, for goodness sake Leonardo, we’ll be back on routine before you know it,” Don huffed, mildly annoyed and rather much more amused.
“I’ll hold you to that, Donatello.”
His older brother was beaming after making sure their private practice sessions in the afternoons were still on. It started right after things in the lair settled down and the genius didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. Fixing things were quickly becoming monotonous and his experiments and projects were only adding to the strain of thinking too much. Apparently, the brain needed a breather once in a while, much to Donnie’s dismay.
So one day, his feet carried him to the dojo and there, he found a new outlet to focus on. Leo was so overjoyed that Don, of all turtles, would spend time doing Ninjutsu, he developed a daily regime for just the two of them. Actually, it was more like hanging out with Leo while they do katas and spar – which was quite enjoyable, but Fearless Leader Leonardo liked to make things sound professional. So even if Donatello wanted to, he couldn’t really quit training with the leaf green terrapin. He liked the results of their sessions, especially when he can use them against Raphael during their morning practice.
The completely stunned look on Raph’s face when the purple banded turtle easily flipped him over his head without breaking a sweat tickled the genius every time he thought about it. Plus, spending more time with his eldest brother didn’t hurt. Don knew Leo was getting lonely anyway.
Eventually, after the three day mark, the genius had managed to fix the DNA Fragment Analyzer and couldn’t wait to test it out. He just needed a few samples from his brothers and then it was good to g- oh, there was Leo, glaring at him by the doorway. Right on schedule.“Hey.”Leonardo’s steel grey eyes roamed Donnie’s face and the machine he had just fixed. After a beat, the katana wielder appraised him with something akin to relief.“Hey, Don. Good to see you walking and talking for a change,” he quipped, finally extracting himself from Donatello’s door and approaching his brother’s workspace.Donnie allowed himself a small chuckle and replied, “Don’t worry big bro, it’s finally done. I just need a small favor to ask and you can train me till we both knock ourselves out.”“Sounds promising. What is it?”The leader knew he shouldn’t have asked so quickly. Donnie’s favors tended to be… difficult. And he was right.“I need you to trick Mikey into coming here and help me hold him down while I get a sample of his blood.”I hate it when I’m right. Leo blinked once. Twice. “Okay… I’m going to put out a limb here and presume you want to stick needles on all of us.”He knew his blue banded brother was queasy when it came to pointy things. Funny really, since his weapons were two overly sharp metal toothpicks of death. So he tried the next best thing when dealing with an uncooperative older brother…Don looked at Leo with sad big brown eyes and a small little frown for additional effect, “It won’t take long, I promise. Just a little pinch, that’s it.”When it came to puppy dog eyes, Mike was the master, but Donatello’s version was just too heartbreaking than stupidly cute. The leaf green terrapin knew when he was fighting a losing battle. Leo had to praise Donnie’s strategic use of this deadly weapon of his.“Alright,” he conceded, “this better be good Donnie. I’ll have to get Raph too and you know he hates surprises.”The olive green terrapin found a swivel chair and sat, kicking his legs a little like a happy kid on Christmas. He gave his older brother a thumbs up and grinned, “You’re the best, Leo!”Fifteen minutes later, and Raphael and Michelangelo found themselves trapped inside the genius’ lab with Leonardo standing guard at the door’s entrance and Donatello grinning like the Cheshire cat. The only thought going through the bright banded brothers’ heads was, Don’s finally cracked and Leo’s helping him perform Frankenstein on us!“Eep!” Mikey yelped and hid behind his red banded brother when the genius held out a sterile needle, the pointy end catching the light and flashing menacingly.Raphael was looking spooked himself as Donnie proceeded to approach the agitated turtles. He growled low in his throat and tightly clenched his fists, knuckles turning white from morbid anticipation.Don noticed the movement and faltered in his steps. He huffed, “Relax, guys. I’m not gonna do anything too painful. This is purely for scientific purposes,” he declared loudly then mumbled, “and a bit of personal curiosity but you’ll soon know why.”Michelangelo peeked out from behind the dark green turtle’s shoulder and yelled, “Bro, that’s the problem! You’ll do anything for Science!”“I’m not a mad scientist, Mikey,” the purple banded turtle pouted slightly at his little brother, feeling offended. Seriously? What did they think I was going to do? Invent home-made teenage mutant ninja turtle soup as cure for universal stupidity?Raph scoffed not too discretely and shifted a bit in his guarded stance, “Could’ve fooled us, Doc. Besides, Fearless’ makin’ a pretty good impression of Igor the Ugly Assistant right over there,” he snarked and jabbed at Leo’s direction.That earned a sharp glare from their eldest brother and before things became too out of hand, Donnie rushed to fix the situation. Gosh, the whole thing was a misunderstanding from the start. The genius cleared his throat to get his brothers’ attention and diffuse the building pressure from Leo and Raph.“Okay, I’m sorry for making Leo drag you guys here but I promise, it’s not what you think,” the olive green terrapin began, gauging the expressions of his brothers. He let out a relieved breath when no one seemed to start panicking yet. He continued, “I should’ve explained this from the beginning, so, umm… it’s a fault on my part.”Raphael finally relaxed his strained shoulders and nudged Mikey out of his shell, giving him the all-clear. The orange banded turtle bounced to sit nearby a metal table and snicker at Raph’s expense. The hothead ignored him.“Ya got that right, Brainiac.”“So Don, you never did tell me what you were working on,” Leo said, a thoughtful look on his face and looking quite content while patiently waiting on his side of the lab.Grateful that at least somebody was kind enough to take an interest on his recent project, he wasn’t surprised that it’d be Leonardo once again. It was only Leo who would ask questions ever since he could remember. Not for the first time did he think that he was quite lucky to have the leaf green terrapin as a brother.“I know I’ve had plenty of times taken blood from all of us over the years, but I haven’t really had the chance to analyze its entirety. I never had the reason to go above and beyond the properties of our mutated blood and frankly, I didn’t have the time to just sit back and study mutant turtle physiology for kicks.”“Gee, Donnie. Way to convince your audience you don’t have a blood kink!” Mikey jibed, a hand unsuccessfully smothering his giggles.Donatello rolled his eyes, exasperated. Just what he needed, Michelangelo latching on weird ideas to torment him and the rest of his brothers.Raph took a swat at him and grunted, “Shut up, Mike!”The sea green terrapin deftly dodged the strike and blew a loud raspberry right in front of the hothead’s face. Raphael was fuming. Leonardo only spared an amused eye at the pair and turned his attention on the genius.“Like I said,” the purple banded turtle interjected loudly, “I don’t know much about our blood, except for hemoglobin and plasma counts. What I’ve wanted to explore for a long time is our DNA…” he paused, then added, “and maybe find out our real biological ages.”Michelangelo and Raphael perked up at this. They shared a look then almost instantaneously exploded into questions.“Dude! So you’ll know-““Wait, Ain’t this mean-““-if were actually blood brothers, or not?” Mike babbled out just as Raph was saying, “Leo might not actually be the eldest?”Leonardo and the genius shared a look of their own and Donatello turned to them once again, “Yes and yes. I didn’t think this would be such a big deal to you guys.” Leo nodded his sentiments.“Are you kidding me, Donnie? This is like, super, huge bro!”“Hate as I admit it. I gotta agree with the knucklehead, here.”Kind of relieved that his brothers were on board, Don had to acknowledge the elephant in the room.“So before I can do the actual test on the DNA Fragment Analyzer, I need to draw blood from each of you. Just a tiny prick to fill a teeny vial and we’ll all be on our merry way.”Silence, and then… “Okie dokie, me first!” Michelangelo jumped down from where he was perched and skipped to Don’s seat, holding his arm out in offering.The olive green terrapin stared dumbly at his little brother for a moment before taking the offered appendage and briefly looked up at Mikey, “You’re really interested, aren’t you, Mike?”“You have no idea,” he replied, a strange flicker of emotion in his eyes was the only other answer he got from the happy-go-lucky turtle.He shrugged, then proceeded to look for a good vein to stick the needle in. The purple banded turtle fingered the syringe and warned Michelangelo that it was going to hurt, then expertly inserting the needle and drew blood. All the while, Mikey was whining about the ‘horrible, horrible’ pain but didn’t dare squirm while Donnie handled the syringe. The genius repeated the same with Raph and Leo, then finally taking a sample of his own, he took the small vials and worked the DNA Analyzer while his brothers waited for the results.It was merely five minutes later that Don’s computer alerted him that the tests were in. He saved the data and printed a copy for his brothers to see. Regardless to say, the results were… fascinating.Their orange banded brother spoke up first, excitement evident in his voice, “So? So? So? What does it say? C’mon Donnie! I gotta know right now! What does it say? Please, please, please, please-!”Raph gave him a good thunk! on the head to shut him up. Mike hurtfully pouted at the red banded turtle but thankfully remained silent.Don took a deep breath, then expelled it in a rush. “I’ve discovered from the tests that Leo is indeed the eldest-““Dammit!” Raphael cursed under his breath and glowered at the tiled floor beneath his feet like he was trying to burn a whole through the concrete.Leonardo though, only smiled reassuringly and nodded at Donnie to go on.“-I’m actually second eldest,” the genius winced as their hotheaded brother began to throw curses vehemently and tried to ignore it, “Raph’s next after me, and finally Mikey, making him the youngest.”“Aww! And here I thought I could’ve been the eldest or something,” Mike proceeded to pout his way at the printed paper Donatello was holding, like that could change the results.He cleared his throat awkwardly and flipped to the next page. Now this, this one was a doozy. “And, uh, about the DNA test… there’s a… certain complication. I don’t need to tell you that whatever the results are, we’re still us – still brothers, alright?”Their leader made a small surprised noise and regarded his younger brother with curious grey eyes, “Of course, Don.”The genius could even feel the anxiety and baited breath Raphael and Michelangelo were trying to hide, or maybe that was his nerves playing tricks on his mind. He shook his head to clear them of any negative thoughts. It’s now or never.“It says here that Mikey and Leo are related while Raph and I are related,” he blurted out. He was sure the meaning of the sentence flew by his brothers’ heads. He couldn’t blame them, he butchered the big reveal with his clumsy explanation anyway.“Uh, what?” Mike asked eloquently at the purple banded turtle. “Am I missing something here, or did you just say what I thought you said? We’re all related?”There was a note of disappointment in the sea green terrapin’s words that made Donnie quickly defend his new discovery.“Actually, no. What I meant to say, is that we came from two different clutches of eggs and only you and Leo are blood-related, while Raph and I are the same. Basically, the two of us do not share any kind of relations with the two of you. Makes sense?”Donatello watched the dawning comprehension from his three brothers and tried to catalogue each one of them… Leonardo was staring off a bit in the distance but the genius could sense that his brother wouldn’t react too differently to the news. Raphael was normally conflicted, the emotions ranging on his face from confusion, to repeatedly glancing at Don and at Leo and Mikey, then begrudging acceptance.Michelangelo though, had very interesting reactions. He looked giddy, almost ready to burst from his shell, if he could, and his face splitting ear to ear with a wide grin that honestly, looked to be quite painful. He could never piece together what his quirky brother was thinking but if this news was to the orange banded turtle’s favor, there was trouble ahead.Observing inwardly, Donatello felt relieved for some reason and it’s not because he’s finally killed his curiosity on the matter. It was the kind of relief someone would feel after taking a long swim, then breaking the surface and inhaling oxygen. Like he’d never had the chance to breathe until now. It was a curious sensation – something he’d had to investigate for himself. In the meantime, his eyes had been glued to Leonardo’s form for a while now. Silently willing his older brother to meet his eyes and –To do what, he didn’t know. It was another curious thing to find out.Leonardo’s clipped tone shook them all from their musings, “I think that’s enough, guys. Pondering about this won’t change the results, and it definitely won’t change the facts that we’re still family. Right, Donnie?”Donatello saw Raph and Mikey nod their heads vehemently and smiled at each other, albeit a bit awkwardly.“R-right,” the olive green terrapin stuttered out. He kicked himself then added, almost as an afterthought, “So now that the test is done, you ready to get your ass kicked in the dojo?”The blue banded turtle chuckled a throaty, melodious laugh that made Donnie’s heart flutter to a stop then quickly started hammering. Curiouser and curiouser.“You’re on, little brother,” Leo’s eyes twinkled in mirth. He threw an arm around the purple banded turtle’s shoulder, steering him out of the lab and to the direction of the kitchen. Raphael and Michelangelo have already made their separate ways, one going up to his room while the other taking a seat in front of the television.“But I think lunch should be first. Don’t think I didn’t notice you weren’t at breakfast this morning.”Donatello only nodded his head mutely, 99.99% of his brain capacity entirely concentrated on the part of his shoulder where Leonardo’s arm was in contact. The three-fingered leaf green hand gently squeezing it never felt so warm on skin before. It felt searing hot and he briefly wondered if that was what a sunburn would feel like. He glanced at Leo’s smiling face. It was so bright in his eyes that he had to look away. It was turning too hot now.
Maybe this is what it feels like when you look directly at the sun…
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Present Day…
The emerald green terrapin growled low in his throat, golden eyes blazing as he took a fighting stance in front of his opponent. He flipped the ends of his red bandana tails over a shoulder and raised his signature twin sais in warning. The creak of leather could be vaguely heard in the tensed silence as he gripped his weapons tight. Maybe a little too tight. He was impatient, that was for sure but he was also goddamned ticked off.Sure, Raphael was a hothead and he was moody all the time, but he didn’t get angry for no apparent reason.The red banded turtle glared at the form across from him, sizing up his adversary from head to toe. It was very unusual especially for him not to rush into battle, but experience told him it was different this time around. Though he could feel his leg muscles tensing slightly in impatience, he pushed the instinct to pounce and strike down the smartass punk. Something had changed since the last few times he’d squared off with this particular ninja. He seemed taller somehow, bigger even, but what changed the most was his technique. He was faster, stronger and didn’t seem to think twice before making well-executed moves to finish off the hot-headed turtle.It’s been a week now and the transformation was still startling. The enemy – his enemy – was one smug bastard.“What’s wrong, Raphael? Are you actually thinking before fighting me for once?” the ninja asked, obviously enjoying the chaos he was causing inside of Raph.Raphael barked a short harsh laugh and started to slowly circle him like a predator would to prey. The emerald green terrapin squared his broad shoulders, showing off the bulging muscles of his upper body. He knew it was the hothead’s intimidation tactic - he didn’t care.“Ya li’l ass… Just ‘cause ya were lucky enough these past few days ain’t mean I won’t pummel ya to the ground!” Raph snarled.The ninja refused to move even when the red banded turtle was getting a little too close for comfort. His legs were evenly planted on the floor where his gravity was centered. He had a firm grip on his long, heavy weapon and a curled fist ready to counter his prowling assailant. His breathing was steady, muscles coiled in anticipation. Needless to say, the ninja was confident. And he was ready.He gave Raph a taunting little smirk, “I’d like to see you try.”Like a bomb going off, Raphael immediately leaped into action. He yelled angrily and thrust viciously at the enemy’s head, his movements wild and aggressive. The ninja expertly dodged the erratic jabs and spun his weapon so fast, it was only a dark blur as it came down on Raph’s right thigh. The red banded turtle cried out in both pain and surprise.The ninja didn’t only stop there, he proceeded to make hard hits where he knew were the most crippling - the inside of his other thigh, his calves and his left shoulder. The effect was instantaneous, Raphael stumbled on his knees with a pained grunt, still clutching his weapons on either side of his body.The red banded turtle panted harshly before trying to get up, but he knew his attempts were in vain when he felt the air being disturbed behind him. The ninja fluidly brought his weapon along Raph’s neck, effectively blocking his airway. The hothead choked a bit and raised his hands to grip at the offending weapon in reflex.“Yame! That is enough Donatello. I think your brother would not need further humiliation after his swift defeat,” sighed their Sensei. He was proud of his genius son’s progress but Raphael has not been taking it very well.Donatello immediately let go of his younger brother and smiled sheepishly at their father. He then gave Raph a concerned once-over, putting a gentle hand where his bo staff was pressed mere seconds ago on the hothead’s throat.“You okay, bro? Did I put too much pressure on my bo?” Don asked worriedly. The euphoria from his victory made way for the huge guilt he was now feeling. The genius made sure his attacks were precise, none too hard to cause injury and he was pretty sure he didn’t choke the red banded turtle… but things do sometimes go unchecked when adrenaline and testosterone was involved.The olive green terrapin flinched at the sideways glare Raphael gave. He slapped the purple banded turtle’s hand away and slowly stood up on his own legs.“I’m. Fine.”“No, really Raph. I need to know if you’re hurt!”Raphael, who was steadily walking away from Donatello, turned back to murder him with a sharp look. An ugly expression of rage twisted his features.“Shut it, Brainiac! Ya don’t have to be so freakin’ smug all the time and now yer gonna rub it in, huh? Ya like pourin’ salt to my wounds now? Ya probably get off on it! Yer such a sicko, ain’t ya Donatel-““Raphael!”Master Splinter’s enraged tone stopped all activity in the dojo. Even Michelangelo and Leonardo’s sparring concluded with an awkward ending of Mikey hopping and yelping on one foot while Leo was guiltily crouched in the middle of an attempt at a leg sweep. Obviously, things hadn’t gone very well on Don and Raph’s training session and they hastily scrambled up to where their other brothers and Sensei were currently arguing.The voices grew louder as they approached and it didn’t take a genius to point out that their resident hothead was livid.“-‘m sorry, Raph. I…” They heard Donnie murmur sadly.“I know ya don’t mean it, ya asshole-!”Thankfully, before another one of Raph’s cursing could continue, he was cut off by their equally disappointed and tired-looking Sensei. Dealing with four teenage sons was taxing enough, dealing with four ninjas was making the grandmaster of Ninjutsu consider an early retirement to Japan. Hopefully, he could somehow talk Raphael into meditation and let go of his grudge on his poor brother Donatello.Splinter sighed, “Raphael. Come with me… now.”The other three ninjas mutely watched as their father and their brother enter their Sensei’s shoji. Raph gave them one last dirty look before roughly sliding the delicate paper screen door with finality. No one spoke for a minute before the awkward silence got the best of the orange banded turtle.Mikey looked to Don, “So… what happened, bruh? A little too early for family drama, don’tcha think?”Donatello shook his head and covered his face with his hands. He sighed loudly.“I don’t know. We were sparring, I won, I asked him if he was hurt, he exploded.”Leo rose a browridge at that, “Seems like usual Raph reaction to me. What I don’t get it is why he was so mad about it. It’s not like he’s never lost to any of us before.”“Uh, dude. You serious? Am I the only one who’s got eyes here? But hey, I do have the prettiest eyes in the family-“ the sea green terrapin babbled and grinned.“Your point, Mikey?” their leader asked in a tone that clearly said Cut to the chase, Michelangelo.The orange banded turtle made a tsk, tsk sound, “You guys are so dense! Raphie’s probably feeling like the butt end of a joke right now. Wanna guess why?” Mike asked despite continuing, “first - he’s a hothead, second - he’s a hothead with huge muscles, third - he benches like crazy, and fourth - he’s built like Arnold Schwarzenegger on steroids! But the worst of it all is that Raph doesn’t know how to act in front of us anymore. I mean, we all just realized three weeks ago that Donnie’s older than him and big bro Don’s been kicking his shell since Week 4, Day 1!”The purple banded turtle’s head spun a bit from Mikey’s onslaught. Damn, his little brother’s shrill voice was really starting to hurt his eardrums, but more than that, Donatello finally realized why his red banded brother reacted the way he did. He tried to gulp down the tightening ball of additional guilt down his throat. So it was all his fault, wasn’t it?A warm and firm grip on his wrist tugged his hand away from his face and he found himself looking down at his elder brother. Leonardo shot him a concerned look and patted his arm.“It’s not your fault, Don.”His theory of Leo being psychic was probably true because it seemed like he always knew what to say whenever Donnie was down in the dumps.The leaf green terrapin continued to pat his bicep in an almost hypnotic rhythm, “I know what you’re thinking right now, Donnie…” See? He is psychic.“You think our extra training and the DNA tests was a mistake, but I need you to understand that it wasn’t. Our ages don’t matter, and Raph’s going to realize that sooner or later. He’ll get over it. You on the other hand, you’ve been improving so much that you’re much stronger and faster now. Those are qualities that will never be a mistake when practicing Ninjutsu and especially when we put our lives on the line. I’m proud of you, Don. I always knew you had so much potential. Like all of us.”Leo looked him straight in the eye as he said all this and the olive green terrapin found himself unable to look away. The compliments pouring out of his leader was enough to make him blush but the steady patting of Leonardo’s hand on his arm was making his skin tingle in a good way. He was actually torn on which part of his elder brother he needed to concentrate on.Almost reluctantly, the blue banded turtle withdrew his hand from his younger brother’s bicep and forced himself to look away from him. He was starting to feel kind of funny and his two younger brothers didn’t have to see how red his cheeks must be.He cleared his throat, “Anyway, Raph clearly doesn’t understand that it’s a good thing you keep beating him in training,” I would gladly let myself be beaten up if it’s you… What? Bad Leo! Again with the weird thoughts, Leonardo paused, he was creeping himself out.“Don’t worry, Donnie. Whatever Raphael said to you earlier was his temper talking. You know how he is.”The purple banded turtle nodded, finally mustering a real smile. Leo’s big brother talk never failed to ease his worries. What would he do without his mother hen of an older brother?“Thanks, Leo. For everything… I- I won’t be here kicking Raph’s ass everyday if it weren’t for your Spartan training. I can’t feel my legs half the time and my brain cells are probably scrambled to the point of no return, but it was all worth it!” Donnie grinned cheekily at the leaf grin terrapin.Leonardo laughed heartily and reached up to throw an arm over Donnie’s shoulders, bending him down to his level. It was kind of hard with the four inches Don had over Leo, but that didn’t stop him from giving his younger brother a playful noogie. They enjoyed the roughhousing for a bit before eventually separating.“You get any taller and I can’t give you anymore ‘headrubs’ in the future, Don,” the blue banded turtle quipped at Donatello’s retreating back.His genius brother had more work to do and until then, the Fearless Leader would wait until their afternoon training. He always did look forward spending time with the purple banded turtle.Don snickered, “I don’t think I’ll get any taller than this, Leo. Besides, maybe it’s you who’s getting shorter.”Leo chuckled and yelled at him good-naturedly, “Smartass!”Donatello only waved back in response and finally rounded a corner, disappearing from their field of view. Speaking of people in the room, Mikey was uncharacteristically silent the whole time Don and Leo were interacting with each other. The blue banded turtle had a very suspicious feeling in his gut and he dreaded what he would find when he turned his back to look at his youngest brother.Leonardo didn’t have to wait for much longer when he heard the tale tell snickering of the sea green terrapin. He turned around and was dismayed to note the mischievous glint in Mikey’s baby blue eyes.“You owe me ten dollars, bro. I was totally right and you’re so totally whipped!” guffawed the orange banded turtle.Leo was confused but he was also starting to get really annoyed at his baby brother, “No I don’t, Mike and what are you talking about?”“Aw crap, should’ve known you’d never fall for that one,” Michelangelo pouted then shrugged, “dude, do you have amnesia or something? Remember what we were talking about at the kitchen this morning? Y’know, doing the d- er… possibilities, pairing off, you’re undying love for tall, smart and handsome Donatello?”“Mikey!” the leaf green terrapin hissed between his teeth, steel grey eyes narrowing threateningly.He would have looked scary if it wasn’t for the obvious red tint on his cheeks. Mike leered at his eldest brother and swiftly threw an arm over Leo to bring the blue banded turtle closer.“You were groping Donnie’s biceps earlier, big bro. Don’t deny it, I have eyes,” the sea green terrapin whispered slyly. Like I keep telling you.If Leonardo wasn’t flustered yet, he was now.“No I wasn’t! I was patting his arm,” Leo heatedly whispered back.His orange banded brother acted as if he didn’t hear him and continued to prattle on, “I really can’t blame you though… I mean, it’s been like what, three? Four months? Of extra training with you every day and Donnie-boy is bound to get jacked with extra muscles! Man, if I wasn’t interested in Raphie, I’d be jumping Don right about now.”Mikey didn’t have to look at Leo to know the leader had the most horrified facial expression he could muster after hearing those words. Mike smirked, Leo is so easy sometimes.A beat later and Leonardo was gripping both of his baby brother’s shoulders, turning him so they could face each other. He made sure to look absolutely menacing, complete with white slits for eyes. Mikey knew it was only their third eyelid but it was still creepy enough when someone uses them outside battles and fighting. He shivered despite himself.“No one’s jumping anyone. Especially, not Donatello. Am I clear, Michelangelo?” the leader’s tone was final.The prankster gulped, “Yeah, sure, of course bro. I’m a loyal turtle and Raphie’s still my main man.”Just like that, Leo changed back to his usual self and shyly scratched the back of his head.“I don’t know what to think right now, Mike. I think it’s too soon especially after knowing we’re not all genetically related, but ever since I can remember, I’ve always had a soft spot for Don,” he muttered.The sea green terrapin released a relieved breath and briefly hugged his elder brother, “Finally! I thought you were never going past the brooding stage. Dude, nothing has to change if you don’t want it to. I’m just here to remind you and tease you a lot like any good ‘ol little brother in the world. Besides, I think we deserve a li’l loving after saving the universe a couple of times, right?”Leonardo had to laugh at that, “Yes, I think we do,” then, he remembered, “but what about Raphael? Clearly, he hasn’t been taking things too well. Will you be okay, Mikey?”Mike had been making the whole situation almost all about Donnie and him but his baby brother hasn’t said a peep about his presumed crush. He still couldn’t comprehend why, of all turtles, Michelangelo was fixated on their hot tempered brother but he chalked it up to the same thing on why he’s so fixated on Don. But Raph’s rashness and Mikey’s mischievousness will surely be an explosive mix. The Fearless Leader did not want to be present in the fallout. Nope, no thank you.“That hothead? Leave him to me, big bro. You should focus on your priorities than your baby brother’s,” the orange banded turtle winked.The leaf green terrapin was having second thoughts about leaving it to Mikey but maybe it was time for all of them to grow up.“You sure, Mike?”“Yep, totally. He’ll come around in no time.”A short comfortable silence followed the end of their conversation, each one simmering in their own thoughts. The lull was broken a few minutes later, by the sound of a shoji door sliding out, and they looked up to see a much mellowed down Raphael leaving their Sensei’s room. The red banded turtle noticed them and only gave a short nod before stomping out of the dojo and probably going up to his room.“Yep, I totally think he’ll come around really soon,” Mikey’s tone was giddy as he looked at his eldest brother.Leonardo patted his head and chuckled, “Don’t get too excited, baby bro or you’ll freak him out.”“Yeah, yeah,” The orange banded turtle waved a hand dismissively as he started to walk towards the entrance the room. He paused near the door and turned to Leo.“Hey Leo? How did it feel when you grop- sorry, patted his arm?”Again, the leader was a little confused and turned red at the question when he realized they were talking about Donatello again, “I-it was nice, why?”Mikey grinned widely and replied, “We’re brothers, Leo. It’s no mystery why we liked the turtles we like – we’ve got a thing for muscles bro!”The sea green terrapin cackled madly as he exited the dojo, leaving a heavily flustered Leonardo facepalming and groaning out a muffled, "Mikey…"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a relatively quiet night in the lair. Michelangelo was busy reading his comic books in his room and Raphael was probably asleep by now (who knows what that hothead does during his personal time anyway). Master Splinter was watching his nighttime soaps by the TV on low volume, and there wasn’t any loud noises of machinery coming from Donatello’s lab so he must be on his computers. That left Leonardo meditating in the dojo - or was trying to.The blue banded turtle never felt so out of sorts in his entire young life and that’s saying something, knowing the kind of life his family’s been leading. The lair was becoming somewhat chaotic ever since the revelations regarding their DNA was brought to light by Don, and Leo felt like he was going deaf and blind at the same time… Though it really was a peaceful night, and the only thing drowning the sounds of his barely controlled breathing was the rush of water coming from the pools of the reservoir station. But it still didn’t calm the disquiet in his mind and only frustrated the leaf green terrapin more, especially when he had failed going into a meditative trance for three hours now and his supply of scented candles were dwindling down to melted wax.Wax that he had to clean up by morning or his Sensei will have his shell for sure. Groaning and feeling grumpier than he started hours ago, Leonardo set about the room for a kunai and delicately picked out the melted candles and the river of wax staining the dojo mats. A minute into his chore, Leo was starting to think it was actually quite soothing and was helping with his concentration… Or maybe it was his sanity melting off his head and joining the miniature lava on the floor. His thinking did seem erosive these days, thoughts that were flying off to forbidden territory and dubious things he’d rather not dwell about.“My son, you have been unsettled as of late,” Splinter’s voice sounded from above Leo, and the blue banded turtle was disappointed to note that he had been too distracted with the blade in his hand and the wax on the floor to notice his Sensei’s presence. It must have been close to midnight by now if Master Splinter was turning in. His Friday shows always ended at 11:30.Leonardo stopped picking at the melted candles and straightened on his haunches so he could address his father in the eye. It was a bit embarrassing being caught unawares when he was cleaning out wax of all things, but he knew Splinter was an understanding parent so his Sensei must’ve known something was troubling him indeed.The katana wielder suppressed the urge to fidget with the small weapon in his hands and instead replied, “It’s just- things have been changing, Sensei.”Splinter smiled softly at his son, “I imagine so, Leonardo. Michelangelo has made interesting arguments on the matter, and Raphael is understandably confused and his frustrations are starting to show. I believe you are gripped with the same concerns?”“Maybe not exactly the same, but things have been going too fast for me to rationalize with. It’s difficult to predict the future with all these unknown variables, Master.”“You are starting to talk like Donatello, my son. Has he been influencing you well?” There was an odd teasing note in the rat’s tone that made Leonardo feel both perplexed and flustered. If one wasn’t paying attention very well, the little inflection would’ve been missed, but Leo was an observant turtle.His father mentioning Donnie’s name during their conversation and obviously changing the subject was not lost on the leaf green terrapin. The nature of this action however, was yet to be known.Leonardo gulped, “We’ve been spending more time training together, believe it or not,” he was proud to note that he sounded lighthearted than hopelessly desperate. Surely, he wasn’t that obvious?“Yes, I have seen the results and I must say I am proud with both of you,” Splinter chuckled inwardly at the look of panic on his eldest son. Youth will be youth.“Although, Leonardo… I am quite disappointed in you as a father and sensei.”Leo’s breath hitched and he thought his heart stopped beating. He could feel his mind becoming foggy from the random thoughts racing in his head, all ranging from the most mundane to the more absurd. Does he know? Of course he knows! He’s a ninja master and he’s our father! I’m so stupid- Am I going to be banished-? Will he punish Mike too? I won’t have to finish cleaning out the wax or-? My legs are starting to cramp! Shell, what if Don walked up here right now? My eyes are going cross-eyed. I really, really want to sit on Donatello’s lap someday-“You should know better, Leonardo,” thankfully, his father’s words cut off his ridiculous mental tirade.Here it comes, the blue banded turtle squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the final bow.“Nothing is ever certain in the matters of the heart.”Splinter quirked an amused grin when his son opened his grey eyes wide in surprise. He approached the turtle’s form and put a fatherly hand on his shoulder.“No amount of planning strategies or analyzing the situation logically will help you in your endeavors, my son.”Leonardo stuttered at the implied meaning of his father’s words “B-but I’m, I- ““Remember, I am not just a sensei that strives to put his students on the right path, but also a father that wishes to guide his sons to a path of happiness. I will be in my shoji if you ever want to discuss anything in particular, Leonardo.”The leaf green terrapin nodded dumbly, still staring at his father like he was seeing him for the first time.“Rest well, my son.”“You too, Father.”With those parting words, the grandmaster of Ninjutsu slid the door to his shoji, plastering on a contented smile that was hidden from his eldest son. He heard the shuffling of Leonardo’s feet as he concluded his chore of cleaning out the melted river of candlewax. Splinter felt Leonardo’s presence exit the room and started towards his purple banded son’s laboratory, presumably to talk Donatello into going to bed.Now that his daily parenting duties were fulfilled, the old rat comfortably settled in for the night. The purple banded turtle tiredly rubbed one red-rimmed eye with an olive green hand. The dryness was getting to him and it was even beginning to itch. Donnie knew staring at the computer monitors for too long was going to impair his sight eventually, albeit not so seriously nor permanently. He was glad their unique mutations allowed him and his brothers to be physically tougher than any human alive, and their healing rate was pretty ridiculous. So the idea of wearing glasses to correct his vision would be next to useless.It was a good thing too! He, the scientist, the nerd, as Raphael would put it so eloquently, would be the laughing stock of his brothers if he ever got one. The teasing would never cease and he’d live out his life in complete shameful misery. A little overdramatic, Donatello knew, but he’s learned long ago to never underestimate a brother’s ability to make fun and tease.He snorted. Look at me, getting distracted with silly things when I should be working. Don shook his head a bit to clear it of any unnecessary thoughts and looked at the time on the clock. It read 11:54 P.M. It’s getting late… Everyone’s probably in bed right now.Not long after completing his train of thought, the olive green terrapin perked up at a knock on his lab door. He stared at it for a moment before deciding it was safe to permit the person outside into his sanctuary. Probably Leo, ready with a long lecture that’ll surely bore me to sleep, he thought. Donnie always had a sneaking suspicion his older brother intentionally did it for that reason alone. Just merely thinking of Leonardo made his thoughts race like he was high on adrenaline and suddenly, he didn’t feel tired or sleepy at all. Great, he was being weird again.Pushing past his mounting dread – or excitement – of being alone with his blue banded brother, he cleared his throat and hollered a “Come in!” The genius hastily resumed his initial position on his workstation – brown eyes staring at the monitor in front of him and nimble hands poised on the keyboard, as if attempting to type another string of code. He made sure to look as natural as he felt otherwise.Leonardo came in with an enigmatic look on his face. He wasn’t looking at Donnie yet, but when he found his younger brother slumped and looking busy on his computer, the leaf green terrapin adopted a concerned pose.He put his hands on his hips, silently asking the purple banded turtle why he was still slaving away on his computer.Don sighed and turned his swivel chair to face Leo, “Before you point out the obvious, yes I’m tired and I need to sleep soon but this is something I can’t just finish later, bro.”Leo did notice the droop on his smart brother’s shoulders and his eyes were a little red, no doubt from using the electronics for more than half a day. The fearless leader knew that if Donnie deemed something important enough to lose sleep on it, then it must be really important.“You can relax, Donnie. I’m not here to chew your head off even though I probably should,” The older turtle gave him a playful smile, knowing Donatello was stressed enough as it is. He hated it when his younger brother always looked dead on his feet because of their problems in the past.The genius released a relieved breath at that and muttered, “Oh, good.”“Anyway, what’s up? This must be something important if you can’t stop right now. Is it about the lair’s security?”“You can say that,” Donatello replied, feeling soothed by Leo’s presence.Already, his older brother was being supportive and helpful, even if he didn’t know it. These inquiries helped him set his mind on track and narrow down his main objectives. It never ceased to amaze the olive green terrapin how Leonardo could make him open up without actually forcing him to or voicing it out.“I’ve been going through New York’s police scanners and found a disturbing pattern with the criminal activities this past month.”“I take it you don’t trust Karai enough to deal with whatever this is?” Leo was still sore about the alliance but he can’t outright rebel against his father.Donnie grimaced at the mention of their former enemy, “I still don’t,” he grunted. “And I’m betting the Foot won’t even notice this peculiarity. There’s been seven bio labs broken into for the past four weeks and every time, one or two people would go missing.”The blue banded turtle straightened up at the information. “That’s very concerning,” he commented, voice tight.His younger brother waved it away, “What’s really concerning is that nobody knows there were missing people during the heist, or at least there are no proofs of it. All tangible evidence of the laboratories’ documents were either burned or stolen and their computers were crudely wiped using a virus.”Don met Leo’s eyes and said, “I only knew there were missing people since the robbers were careless enough to leave their stolen data unprotected. I’ve planted my own backdoor program in every laboratory since yesterday and just this afternoon, one of those labs were compromised. My programs had latched onto the virus and I managed to glean on some corrupted data. Not much, but enough to clear my suspicions.”“And that is?” Leonardo dreaded to ask. The way Donnie explained everything made it sound like something Bishop would pull, or even the Shredder. But the government agent was currently MIA and their nemesis was no more than a dimensional anomaly.“Someone desperate is hauling off expensive chemicals and biologists to do their bidding. What’s interesting is that all of these missing scientists are studying mutations.”The leaf green terrapin had his own ideas but wanted to hear it from Donatello himself, “Who is it, Don?”His genius brother sighed heavily and shrugged, “I think it’s Hun, but I’m not 100% certain. Last time we saw him, he was an ugly mutated turtle and ever since the Foot took up our night jobs, we really don’t have a clue where he is right now. Or what he’s doing. Hence, the uncertainty.”Leo eyed him knowingly. His older brother had that look in his eye that said he had finally pieced the puzzle.“If it is Hun, he must be trying to undo his mutation. And you’ve been cooped up here for the past 12 hours trying to locate Hun’s cronies?”Donnie gave a strained smirk, “Or better yet, their hideout. But the bastards are harder to pinpoint than I expected so-,” he gestured lamely at his slumped form, “here I am.”The grey eyed terrapin moved from his place a few feet from his younger brother and walked closer to the seated Donatello. Now that he was up close, he could smell the faint traces of coffee in the air around his brother. He was even surprised to note that despite Don’s drooping shoulders, Donnie’s muscles looked painfully stiff with tension.He stretched out a hand and experimentally squeezed the olive green terrapin’s right shoulder. Donatello visibly flinched and couldn’t hide the grimace from the older turtle.“You’re a mess and I didn’t even notice,” Leo scolded himself. Donatello looked so spirited nowadays that Leonardo didn’t even consider what he was doing during his free time.He looked at Don, “You should’ve told me, Donnie. I know our lair’s been compromised already by Hun, and Karai’s promise with protecting our existence visually makes our home safe, but I’m not taking any chances. I never do, I still sleep with one eye open if things do go south and I know the rest of the family does to.”“Not Mikey,” The genius quipped, despite his older brother’s serious lecture.Instead of getting angry, Leo only twitched a small smile, “Maybe not Mikey. But still, I’m here for you, Don. You can’t shoulder these problems on your own. Believe me, I know.”“I do believe you, Leo.”They found each other’s eyes after that, wood brown on steel grey. The eyes really were the window to the soul. They could see each other’s whole being just from mirroring each other. Donatello who was strong and as unmoving as the mountain, and Leonardo who was as tranquil as water and flows like a river over stone. It was a sensation they were all too familiar with, something a bit like being in a meditative trance. The moment of spiritual connection was brief, but it was enough to shake them to the core. Leo gasped silently and Don jerked his head away as if shocked. What was that?! They exclaimed internally.The two turtles were visibly disoriented and then Donnie stood too fast in his seat, just to trip and almost fall to the floor if it weren’t for Leo barely catching his elbow. They grunted in unison and the olive green terrapin moved his legs under him, trying to stand without his brother’s support.“S-sorry, I think my legs have gone numb,” Don sounded breathless.The older turtle shook his head to gain his bearings again and helped his younger back to his vacated chair. He decided not to say about what just happened. He wasn’t sure if Donatello felt it too but it was probably nothing. Nothing they could explain that is. Choosing to ignore the awkwardness that followed, Leonardo thought it was time to put his foot down and usher the purple banded turtle to his room.“Donnie, I really think we should get some sleep soon. You, especially. And yes, I am not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” he responded to the raised brow ridge of his genius brother.Don threw his hands in the air, frustrated. All thoughts about the curious phenomena he shared with the fearless leader was shoved in the backburner.“But Leo-”Leo raised a hand to stop Donnie’s protests, “I know it’s vital that you find Hun’s location but right now, you’re not in any shape to do that without making mistakes in the process. You know that you’ll only make even bigger miscalculations if you proceed without sleep, Donatello.”Donnie crossed his arms and harrumphed. He knew Leo was right but, but-!“I’ve planned for a patrol tomorrow, anyway.”Don looked up from his stooped stance and stared at Leonardo, “Wow, really? It’s been so long since we’ve been out in the city!” He was thrilled, the invisibility the shadows granted them and busy traffic below were the only things that allowed them a small taste of freedom.Leo smiled at him, “Yeah, I think it’s overdue. It would be great for the team’s morale – Mikey won’t get too fat lazing around here, and it’d cool Raph’s temper. We’ll do some reconnaissance in one of the recent bio lab break-in and find some Purple Dragons for information gathering. They might not be working with Hun anymore, but they’ll most likely have useful info for us. What do you think?”The olive green terrapin didn’t have to mull it over, it was a sound and logical plan, “I think it’s a win-win situation.”“Great. Why don’t we call it a night, Don? You’re swaying on your feet.”“Really sounding like a broken record, bro,” Donatello lightly teased his older brother as he started to save his progress in the computer and turned off the remaining equipment on his chaotic worktable.Leo scoffed good-naturedly and grabbed Don’s forearm, dragging them both to the door, “My point still stands.”The leaf green terrapin had to watch his younger brother’s footing when they started climbing the stairs. Donatello would grunt once in a while in discomfort and Leonardo figured it was his stiff muscles bothering the genius. He wouldn’t even be surprised if his younger brother was sporting a nasty headache right now, it was expected. Just how many days had Donnie been sneaking down to his lab just to monitor Hun’s activities? Judging from the abused coffee maker on his table earlier, this was not a one-time thing.They were trudging up to the brothers’ rooms now and were just approaching Leonardo’s when the said turtle had an idea. He stopped them at his door and glanced at Don, “Wait here for a bit, Donnie.”Donnie was humming his consent when Leo quietly entered. He emerged out of it a few moments later and took Don’s hand, leading him to the genius’ room. The purple banded turtle was probably out of it but Leonardo was quietly savoring the feel of his brother’s warm hand over his own. Leo really didn’t want to let go of him as they entered through Donatello’s bedroom door.“We’re here, bro. Let me tuck you in.”The younger turtle woke a bit to blush his embarrassment, “I’m not a child, Leo!” he hissed, feeling his face turning hot.The leaf green terrapin chuckled at Donnie’s distress but smiled tenderly when his brother complied anyway. He took out the healing salve stashed in his belt and twisted the cap. He scooped the clear goop generously in his hand and took a seat next to Don on his bed. He spread the salve on his younger brother’s shoulders and neck, then proceeded to massage the kinks out of his muscles. Donnie seemed to relax under Leo’s ministrations and the leader could already feel the stiffness melting away from his body.Donatello gave a low groan from the relief his brother was giving him, and even made little happy churrs during the massage. It was supposed to be encouraging.Leo didn’t think so. He was barely functioning. His hands were moving like they were supposed to, but his whole body was rigid with excitement and surprise. He didn’t know Donnie could sound like that! He wanted to hear more, but-!
Oh no, this is dangerous. Leonardo, get your head out of the gutter! I think it’s time for you to GO.
“There, all done, bro. Now get some sleep,” Leo’s voice raised a few octaves. The tightness in his throat felt like his heart just crawled up there and started beating like crazy.Don blinked slowly and smiled dopily at his older brother, “’Kay.”The blue banded turtle sighed softly and guided his brother’s head on a pillow. As promised, Leonardo covered the olive green terrapin with his old blanket and tucked him in. He whispered, “Good night, Donnie.”“’Night, Leo. And thanks,” Don murmured and yawned, his eyes half closing.Leo smiled down at him and caressed his cheek. It was times like these that Leonardo couldn’t even lie to himself and say that Donnie was just a brother to him. He was much more precious than that, much more special.“… You’re the best… Love you.”The blue banded turtle pulled his hand away from Don’s face, and quickly covered his lips to muffle out the sound of shock and surprise. Leo knew Don didn’t mean anything else from those words but still, hearing them was so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. These feelings he’d been having for Donatello seemed to stem for years now if he wasn’t mistaken. It just took him recently to understand why he was feeling them. That familiar tightness in his chest and the fluttering butterflies in his stomach… It all led to those same innocent words.Leo rose from beside Don’s bed and stealthily crept outside. He took one last look at the sleeping turtle and quietly closed the door. Leonardo vowed, as he began walking heavily to his room, that someday, he would say those exact same words to his beloved Donatello and the genius won’t mistake it for anything but nothing.