Work Text
To Catch A Turtle
Today was the day.Most people would call it the day of ALL days!But for Leonardo, it was just a regular, ordinary day like any other. The only difference was, on this day a very special event was about to occur.This was the day he, Leonardo, would finally, completely, and irrevocably, capture Donatello.This day would have never come to pass if not for Michelangelo, Raphael, and a tiny ball of orange yarn scavenged from the junkyard.No.That wasn't true. This day was in the making long before Mikey and Raph became a couple. In fact, the path that brought Leonardo to this day began some time ago. Back when the leaf green turtle first became intellectually aware of himself, and the world around him in a context other than danger, and survival.Leo's first memory was of rising, of standing up out of the muck in a way he never had before. On two legs instead of four. He immediately noticed another being much like himself wandering around. The creature seemed fascinated by everything it saw, touching things, smelling them, and at least once, tasting them.Leonardo found the creature itself to be much more fascinating than whatever happened to be around them.It was similar in color to himself, on two legs, low to the ground, small. Also male. A clutch mate, for that was who Leo recognized this other to be, his brother.His sibling had been attracted by a bright, shining ribbon running along the floor. It was only water, but it was presented to them in a manner neither had encountered before. It moved. Flowing along the floor at barely more than a trickle, this tiny amount of life giving liquid was as dangerous to them, given their vulnerability, as a raging river.The other, mesmerized by this new and wondrous thing, perceived no danger, only seeing something to be investigated, and learned about.Leo saw a deadly, calculating predator. An evil, devouring entity lying in wait. The other knelt, bracing one hand on the ground while reaching with the other. He almost touched the sparkling liquid. He stretched farther. The hand he braced himself with slipped. A terror filled scream burst forth as he fell towards the water.No! The water! It would take this wondrous creature away!He could not, and would not let that happen!In his wildest imaginings, Leo never thought he could move so fast. He caught his sibling, pulling him back from the water, away from the danger.Holding him tightly in the safety of his arms, Leo made soothing noises, and quiet promises to never let any bad happen to this one; that for as long as he lived, he would forever keep his sibling safe.Donnie heard only chirps, clicks, and hissing, but he felt the meaning behind the sounds.Trusting in his now protector, Donnie held tightly to Leo's hand, and reached out towards the shining ribbon again. He stopped, hand poised over the sparkling glint of the moving water, and looked back."I won't let you fall," Leo promised. "I will catch you."Thus began the next stage of their lives, and a lifetime of Leonardo catching Donatello. "Ya doin' okay, Fearless? Lookin' pretty intense dere."Pulled from his musings, Leo gave his emerald brother a half smile. "Mh-hm," he nodded. "Just thinking."Raph joined his brother leaning against the balcony railing. "Care ta share?"Leo's smile grew. "Just thinking about everything that brought me here."A smile to match his brother's crossed Raph's face. He nodded knowingly. "Started when we were little, didn't it. Like me an' Mike?"Leo chuckled, saying nothing. If Raph only knew.They stood side by side in quiet, comfortable silence, watching their friends gathered around."Nervous?"Leo shook his head. "Not really," he turned to look at his brother. "Were you?"Raph chuckled. "Nah."Leo found that surprising, given his emerald brother's emotional intensity. "Why not?""Why would I be? Nothin' changed really, 'cept we let everyone else in on what was goin' on."Leo smiled. That was very much Raphael through and through."What 'bout you, Leo? Yer always so uptight 'bout gettin' everyt'in' jus' right. How come yer not sweatin' bullets over dis?" The sincere look on Raph's face took the usual sting out of the brawler's words.Leo tipped his head. Why wasn't he nervous? Should he be? Was he supposed to be?"Same reason I guess," he looked at his red banded brother. "Nothing's really going to change for us either. We're just letting everyone else know."A deeper understanding passed between the two oldest brothers, one of many of late."Since ya seem ta be handlin' t'ings pretty good," Raph pushed off the railing heading for the stairs. "I better go report back ta Don.""Raphael." The emerald turtle stopped at the top of the stairs looking back at his brother. "This isn't going to change things between us, you know."The corners of Raph's mouth twitched. "Yeah it is, Leo. But not in a bad way. You'll get what I'm talkin' 'bout first time we go out on patrol, an' Don's wid me instead of you."Leo waited for his brother to elaborate. When Raph didn't, the leader in blue knew he would have to figure it out on his own. Again, so very much like Raphael."How's he doing?" Leo asked, wanting to keep his solitude at bay for a few more seconds."Ask Mike. I'll send him yer way when I get dere. Don pro'ly needs a break by now."Leo couldn't help chuckling as Raph walked away. The three older turtles loved their youngest brother dearly. Mickey was their one true light. But there were times when the orange banded ninja's antics could be... trying. "Pleasepleaseplease! Donnie, PLEEEEEEEZZZZZZAAAHH! I promise I won't bug you EVER again! Not evereverever! I PROMISE!!!"Five year old Donatello looked up from his microscope. "Mikey, do you have any idea how long forever is?"The sea green tot blinked at his purple banded brother. Mikey's face scrunched up as he thought about what Donnie had just said, the tip of his tongue peeking out the corner of his mouth. "Okay, maybe not FOREVER, but I promise not to bug you for a... MONTH!"Donnie lifted both eyeridges giving Mikey a very skeptical look. "A week?"Donnie's look didn't change much, but he did lean back in his chair, and put down his pencil."The rest of today, and tomorrow! I can do that much easy! I won't bug ya for the rest of today, and as much of tomorrow as I can handle! I PROMISE!"Donnie laughed as he stood up. If nothing else, Mikey was honest. "I'll be happy with the rest of today." Mikey's face beamed. "But you have to TRY to let me work tomorrow anyway, Mikey." The sea green tot's joy dimmed considerably. "You promised," Donnie firmly reminded. "And I still need to finish rewiring our new heater before it gets cold."Mikey crossed his heart, and nodded so fast his mask tails flipped up over his head covering his eyes. He hated being cold, and if he had to leave his brainy brother alone for a little while to avoid it, so be it."Tell me what happened to the TV so I know what tools to get."Mikey took a deep breath. "I was sitting on the floor, behind the green line just like you said. And the TV started to get fuzzy. It kept getting fuzzy, and more fuzzy, and more fuzzy, and...""I get it, Mikey," Donnie gave a long suffering sigh. "It got fuzzy. What happened AFTER that?"Mikey's face scrunched. "It started to blink."Donnie stopped mid rummage looking at his baby brother over his shoulder. "Blink?""Yeah! You know, it got all dark for a second like it does when you blink!" Mikey gave a long blink to illustrate his point. "It kept on blinking, then it went to sleep! You can wake it up, right Donnie?""I will most certainly try my best," Donnie gave his brother a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I think the cable just came loose again. If that's all it is, I can have it fixed before Justice Force comes on.""Yeah!" Mikey jumped up, clapping his hands. "Can I help?""Not with the actual repair itself, but you can help me carry my tools out to the TV." Donnie had learned long ago how to best wrangle his overly energetic baby brother.With his tools, and anything else he might need laid out within easy reach, Donnie unscrewed the cable from the back of the television. The connector prong was loose, but not so much so the brainy tot thought that to be why the television had lost reception.With skilled movements, and a confidence unusual for one so young, the olive toned tot removed the connector from the end of the cable, and replaced it with a new one scavenged from an electronics store dumpster. It was a rare find, still in the plastic packaging. After screwing the cable back into place on the back of the television, he checked the plug cord, replacing the black electrical tape in several places, and checking to make sure the wires beneath the patches still held.Satisfied he had checked, repaired, and secured everything he could think of, Donnie gave Mikey the go ahead to turn on the television. The little genius sat beside his brother in eager anticipation, waiting for the TV to come on as Mikey pushed the power button.Nothing happened."Donnie..." Donatello looked at his baby brother. "It's too broken for even you to fix, isn't it?""There's one other thing I can check," Donnie sighed. "But I need to get the ladder."Mikey's eyes widened. "But Donnie, the ladder's broke. You can't use it, it's all wobbly on one side.""The only thing left to check is the splice I made into the main cable," Donnie pointed to a spot near the ceiling where several splitters, and wires had been cobbled into the main cable running through their home. "I can't reach it unless I use the ladder."The terrified look didn't leave Mikey's eyes. No amount of television was worth his brother putting himself in danger."Mikey, why don't you go draw another animal picture for me to put in my wildlife book? I still need a gazelle, and a kangaroo," Donnie gently coaxed. "I bet by the time you're finished I'll have the TV working again."Mikey wasn't stupid. He knew Donnie was just trying to distract him so he wouldn't be scared thinking about what his brother was about to do. The orange banded tot wanted to argue, but his genius brother had that look on his face, that determined look even their father had a hard time getting around.Giving a small nod, Mikey headed for the bedroom he shared with his brothers. He paused, casting one last worried look towards the main room before going inside.Mikey immediately went to the small, blue, paper crane sitting on top of his belongings box. Leo had made the tiny bird for him last Christmas from a scrap of paper, telling him if he whispered his wishes to it, it would fly away when he wasn't looking, and tell the gods. The gods would then weigh the sincerity of those wishes, and decide whether to grant them or not.Some of Mikey's wishes had come true. Most had not.Picking up the delicately folded paper, Mikey hoped with all his heart this would be a granted wish. "I wish for Donnie to stay safe, and not get hurt fixing the TV for us," he whispered.With Mikey adequately distracted, Donnie had the ladder propped against the wall with himself perched at the top in record time. The purple banded tot knew first hand Mikey's drawing speed, and wanted to get finished before his baby brother came barreling out of their bedroom to showoff his newest masterpiece. If that were to happen while he was still on top of the ladder, Donnie knew it wouldn't end well."I should have known," the tot grumbled when the splitter connection he had used to tap into the cable line fell apart the second he touched it. "At least it's an easy fix."Bracing his feet against the sides of the ladder, and his knees against the wall, Donnie went to work. Using a pair of recently found wire cutters, he cut off the remains of the splitter, and trimmed back the insulating casing. It was quick work and the new connector was soon attached."Now I just need to put on a new prong connector on the cable for the TV, and it should work."Feeling very pleased with himself, Donatello prepared the cable for the new prong cap. As he slipped the cap into place, the tot realized he didn't have quite enough hands. He needed to hold the wire coming down from the main cable, the wire coming up from the TV, and his crimper to clamp down the prong.'I am definitely brushing my teeth when I'm done,' the tot thought to himself as he slipped the end of the ceiling cable into his mouth. Thinking only of finishing the repair job before Mikey finished his art project, Donnie looked down, searching for the crimp tool he had only seconds before stuck into his homemade tool belt. When he did, disaster struck.When he looked down, Donnie forgot to keep the rest of his body centered so the rickety ladder wouldn't shift. The ladder shifted, toppling the tot to one side. With a terrified squawk, Donnie fell. Donnie was understandably expecting a hard, shell-jarring impact with the cement floor. He was pleasantly surprised when instead he landed on a warm, flexible body that 'oofed' on contact.Opening his eyes, Donatello found himself lying in Leo's lap looking up into his brother's worried face. He felt he should say something, but nothing came to mind."Donnie, you know you shouldn't use the ladder by yourself. Master Splinter said it was broken.""I know, Leo," Donnie began sheepishly. "But..."Leo didn't give him time to finish. "Donnie... You could have been hurt. Bad hurt. What if I hadn't come in here? You'd be..." Leo's voice dropped low. "What would I do if you got hurt? You're my brother."Donnie wasn't positive, because Leo looked away blinking fast, but he definitely thought he had seen water building up in the corners of Leo's eyes. "The TV wasn't working. I wanted to fix it."When he looked back at Donnie, Leo's eyes were back to normal. "I'll hold the ladder for you." A grin blossomed across Donnie's face. "Okay."Donnie gathered up his stuff, checking to make sure nothing had been damaged in the fall. Giving Leo a confident nod, he grabbed both sides of the ladder, set his foot on the lowest rung, and froze. It felt to the genius tot as if someone had a hand over his throat, and his heart began to race. Donnie was terrified of climbing the ladder. What if he fell again?A warm hand on his shoulder gave a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be okay, Donnie," Leo smiled. "I'll catch you."Suddenly climbing that rickety, old ladder didn't seem like such a big deal. "Hey, bro! I'm surprised your still out in the open with so many people running around."With a great deal of reluctance, Leo left the memory behind, and smiled at his brother as Mikey perched himself on top of the balcony railing. "I was beginning to think Raph had gotten waylaid by someone.""Nah," Mikey popped a piece of peanut butter covered celery into his mouth. "He made it back. For all the good it did."Leo's expression went from relaxed to serious. "What's wrong?""Chill, dude! No reason to go into attack mode," the orange banded ninja produced another peanut butter slathered celery stick. "You know how Donnie gets when he's nervous," he said, taking a bite. "Where are they!?""It's only been two minutes, Don.""We made it out in less than forty seconds, Leo!""Yes, but Raph and Mikey were on the other side. You know it takes at least three minutes on a good night to cross over to this rooftop from the far side of the street." Sparks and burning debris billowed into the air as another floor collapsed in the raging inferno that was once a five star hotel. "And this is definitely NOT a good night."Donnie reached the end of the roof opposite the fire, and spun on his heel to continue pacing in the direction he had just come. Never once did he take his eyes off the shooting flames across the street."Why aren't the sprinklers working?" the genius mumbled. "They're supposed to have working sprinklers in all buildings three stories above grade."Leo watched his brother turn and head back across the rooftop for the third time. He sighed when he saw Donnie stick the corner of his thumb in his mouth. Leo hoped Raph and Mikey would show before Donnie gnawed himself to the point of bleeding, again. The genius had been known to do that in intense situations.A muted explosion, followed by a resounding crash, startled both turtles. Leo rushed to join his brother at the roof's edge just in time to see the entire back wall of the hotel collapse in on itself. "They made it out," Donnie muttered. "They're okay. They made it out."As he watched in silence, Leo hoped Donnie was right.Seconds felt like hours."See? What'd I tell ya, bro! They forgot the marshmallows!"Leo and Donnie whipped around at the sound of Mikey's voice to see their cocky little brother standing there, arms crossed, covered in soot, a little burnt around the edges, but otherwise none the worse for the wear, or so they thought.."Mikey! Don't scare me like that," Donnie snapped, relief evident in his voice. "Don't let him fool ya, Don," Raph slowly limped up behind Mikey, one arm across his chest, held in place by the other. "His hands're burned.""And you're bleeding! What happened?" Donnie slipped his duffle from his shoulder, dropping it somewhere near his feet as he helped his injured brother to sit on one of the air conditioning units on the roof."Numbskull wouldn't follow orders," Raph growled, glaring at Mikey."If I'd left, NUMBSKULL! YOU'D be dead right now!" Mikey snapped back with an angry glare of his own."Stop. Both of you." Both turtles turned to glare at Leo. "You can fight about it later after we tend injuries, and get back home. Mikey, let me see your hands."Mikey just stood there, stubbornly refusing to uncross his arms."Mikey..." That one softly spoken word from Donatello carried more authority with the orange banded turtle than any order from Leo, or shout from Raphael ever could. Those two Mikey didn't mind pissing off, but making his purple banded brother angry damn near broke his heart.Reluctantly, Mikey showed Leo his hands.The leader in blue had been expecting to see a few red spots, maybe some blisters, slight inflammation, but definitely not the shredded, blackened skin hanging from torn, and bleeding muscle presented to him."Holy shell, Mikey.""He pushed me out of the way when a beam fell, and it got him instead. I had to get him out, Leo. He would've died," Mikey's voice shook with emotion, all anger gone."You did good, little brother," Leo gently cupped the back of Mikey's head pressing their foreheads together. "You did good.""Will I still be able to use my chucks?""I don't know. That's Donnie's department. But I promise you this, whatever he needs to ensure you can, I have no problem stealing." Leo pressed a kiss to Mikey's temple. "Don," he called over his shoulder. "You need to take a look at this.""Go," Raph pulled away from Donnie as the resident medic reached for his arm. "I'm good fer now."Donnie knew better than to argue, there was no sense in it when Raph was like this; it would be a losing battle. The sooner he took care of Mikey's hands, the sooner he could get back to what he suspected to be Raph's broken arm. Nerves and anxiety over his brothers had caused the genius to pay little attention to where he dropped his bag. When he stood, Donnie's foot became entangled in the handles, tripping the genius when he turned.How could he have been so careless!? He was going to smack into the asphalt covered roof, resulting in another injury he would need to tend to. Their return home would be delayed all because of him.Donatello was understandably surprised when instead of slamming face first onto rough asphalt, he was caught by a pair of strong, yet gentle arms.He looked up into Leo's smiling face. "Well, I feel stupid," he said sheepishly."Don't. You just wanted to see to Mikey, and got a little ahead of yourself."In one fell swoop Leo had saved Donnie's dignity, his skin, and his pride."Good thing you were here, huh?""I'll always be here to catch you." "I should go talk to him." Leo pushed off of the balcony railing, determined to go check on his brother."That will not be necessary, my son." If not for Mikey's quick actions, Leo would have stumbled all over his father as Splinter appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "It is time."Now Leo started feeling nervous.Silently, oldest and youngest followed their father down the stairs to the small, decorated area under the maple tree Donnie had planted on their first trip to the farm. It seemed fitting to Leo they do this under the tree that symbolized so much for his genius brother.Their guests had gathered on either side of the tree, leaving an open space where Splinter now stood. Leo moved to stand to the right of his father, with Mikey behind him. His eyes were drawn to the far side of the farmhouse as he drew deep, measured breaths to calm his nerves. "You might need this," Mikey whispered, slipping something soft into his hand.Leo felt a wave of gratitude as he looked at the thin, blue bracelet he now held in his hand."Don't worry. I made one for Donnie too."Leo smiled, he should have known."And speaking of," Mikey nudged Leo's arm, nodding towards the farmhouse. "It's show time."Watching his other two brothers make their way to the tree, Leo realized just how right he had been all those years ago. Donnie was much more fascinating than anything else.Memory after memory flooded Leo's mind. Donnie taking his first unsteady steps across the twelve foot balance beam during training. Donnie running across an ice covered rooftop. Donnie moving across the ceiling of their first home stringing wire for electricity in a homemade swing. Donnie engaged in hundreds of different activities all resulting in the same thing, he fell.And each and every memory ended the same way, with Leo catching him.Leo stepped forward, taking Donnie's hand for those last few steps. "I always said I'd catch you."Donnie couldn't help but smile. "So you have.""My friends," Splinter raised his hands, speaking loud and clear. "I wish to thank you for coming to share in the joy of our family as Leonardo and Donatello follow in the footsteps of their brothers in proclaiming their feelings for one another."Cheers and applause drowned out Leo's whispered words. "And I'm never letting you go." Leo collapsed beside his brother in a sweaty, panting heap. "Isn't there a rule somewhere about not breaking your mate on your first night together?" he gasped out."I think it's called a honeymoon, Leo," Donnie snickered. "And I believe the other word you're looking for is, spouse.""We're turtles, Donnie. Those are human words. You know I don't like humans.""Then we'll just make our own words." Donnie lifted his leg, straddling his brother's hips. "Gotcha," he leaned down, kissing Leo's neck."Gotcha?" Leo looked questioningly at his lover. "What does that mean?""Well," Donnie grinned. "It took a while, and a LOT of planning, but..." the olive turtle lay himself full length atop Leo's body. "I have finally caught you."Leo was more than a little surprised. "Caught me? I've been the one catching YOU. How do you get that you caught me?"Propping his chin on his fist, Donnie trailed his finger over Leo's plastron scutes in small circles. "Do you remember anything from when we first mutated?""Yes," Leo nodded."My hand didn't really slip when I reached for that puddle of water." Thanks for reading.