Rating: T – rated for one tiny little word and mentions of alcohol.
Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.
Summary: Secret Santa giftfic - "You can't get Donnie Leo, because he's the major problem we need to talk about!" Three nights before Christmas, an overtired Donnie overhears complaints spoken about him, sending him fleeing into the cold night. Thoughts, comments and concrit welcomed.
A/N: This story is a Secret Santa gift for DarkChii13 on Deviant Art who asked for the prompt: Outside in the cold with some warm drinks.
Merry Christmas DarkChii13! I hope you enjoy your gift :-)
TMNT Secret Santa is a yearly event through the group
Cold Comfort
Mikey skidded to an abrupt halt the moment he caught sight of everyone he needed already seated in the entertainment room. "Awesome!" he cheered jubilantly. "You guys are all here!"
Leo and Raph exchanged wary looks and Splinter raised a furry brow as Mikey eagerly bound in between them and the television monolith, blocking their view of the program they were watching.
"Dudes, Sensei, we've got a major problemo and since everyone's already here, I, Michelangelo," Mikey paused for dramatic effect before thrusting his left arm into the air with a single finger pointing straight up, "am calling for a family meeting!"
"Not everyone is here, my son," Splinter pointed out calmly.
"Uh... this ain't about the latest stupid comic you been harpin' on about or somethin' is it?" Raph groaned, a hint of scorn inherent in his voice.
"Of course not!" Mikey vehemently denied. "This is far more important than comics, which, by the way, are extremely important and not at all stupid!"
"In that case, I'll go get Don," Leo offered even as he rose out of his seat and towards the door leading from the room. "I believe he's in his lab."
"Where else would he be?" Raph griped bitterly. His head rested in his hand, propped up by an elbow on the armrest as he tried to look past Mikey to the movie playing on the screens behind.
"No! You can't do that!" Mikey cried in sudden panic as Leo's intentions set in. He rushed forward, somersaulting over the couch to catch Leo's arm just as the leader reached the door, stopping him from opening it and leaving the room.
Leo glanced down at the seagreen hand gripping his biceps, then up to his excitable brother's face. He was completely shocked by the sudden intensity filling the prankster's normally cheerful face.
"You can't get Donnie, Leo," Mikey said seriously, maintaining direct eye contact, "because he's the major problem we need to talk about!"
-:-
Donnie pushed himself wearily back into a sitting position; he'd only just managed to catch himself from face planting into his work bench. Again. The exhausted genius rubbed haltingly at his eyes and stared blearily at the half assembled project in front of him, failing miserably to fight back a jaw breaking yawn.
Over the past couple of weeks, Donnie had barely managed enough sleep to make it through training each day, let alone deal with the myriad of things going wrong or breaking down around their relatively new lair. A few months prior, his family had been forced to relocate but then, while still setting up their new home, they had to stop and deal with the Outbreak Virus, along with the other catastrophic consequences that arose from the fallout. Ever since things returned to whatever normal was, Donatello had been playing catchup. Eventually it reached the point where he was practically working himself into the ground and he while he knew it, there was simply no one else capable of doing most tasks.
Then two weeks ago, Donnie suddenly realised there was less than three weeks until Christmas and he hadn't even started building the 'toys' he wanted to create for family and friends. As a result, not only was he keeping the lair running and working on his ongoing research, but now he was also rushing to get ready for the upcoming holiday.
Donnie glanced tiredly up at the clock. By their standards it was still early, yet he could barely manage to keep his eyes open. Trouble was, there were only three more sleeps until Christmas and he still had another two gifts to finish making.
He sluggishly reached towards the nearby coffee percolator he'd taken to keeping in his lab recently, grimacing at the mere thought of more of the beverage. Normally the anticipation of a freshly brewed cup alone was almost as much of a kick as the caffeine itself but he'd had so much lately that the thought of more of the same old turned the turtle's stomach. As he rested his hand on the pot's handle, Donnie's thoughts drifted towards Mikey.
Despite his prowess in the kitchen, Mikey usually made the worst coffee and tea in the family; Donnie long suspected it to be a deliberate ploy to avoid being asked to make more. However, there was one special brew Mikey created that blew every other type of coffee he'd ever had out of the water. Unfortunately Mikey refused to share his secret recipe, no matter how often Donnie tried asking, nor would he make it on more than rare occasions, usually when Donnie was feeling down or especially tired yet needed to keep working. When his brother did deign to make it, Mikey sat with him until he finished his mug, before taking it away to prevent Donnie from trying to break down the ingredients.
The overworked genius sighed, rubbed at his eyes again and resolved to go ask. Donnie clambered unsteadily to his feet before making his way through the lab door and out into the rest of their home. This time of night, he was fairly certain Mikey was hovering around the entertainment area in hopes of wresting control of the television monolith from their father and brothers for a few hours of intense gaming before bed.
As he reached for the doorknob, Donnie froze when he heard a loud, unusually serious voice suddenly speak from the other side.
"You can't get Donnie Leo, because he's the major problem we need to talk about!"
"Donnie's the reason you want a family meeting?"
"Yeah! That's what I just said, bro!"
Mikey's voice sounded exasperated to the suddenly reeling Donatello. Michelangelo was the last person he'd ever thought would think of him as a problem, let alone actually voice it, and hearing the harsh reality spewing from his buoyant brother's mouth hurt like shell. For a moment Donnie was tempted to burst through the door, demanding to know why Mikey would say such a thing but instead, the weary turtle put his ear slit to the door and listened intently as he heard footsteps move away, his heart pounding wildly as the voices picked up again.
"Hmm, yes. Now that you mention it, I too have been fearing Donatello has not been up to standard of late."
'Et tu, father?' Donnie thought miserably, dismayed to hear Master Splinter siding with Mikey's complaints.
"He's always holed up in his lab all the time lately!" Mikey whined loudly. "I'm always having to go drag him out for meals and catching his attention while he's locked in there is a total nightmare! I even had to pick the lock just to get him out for dinner tonight!"
"Sorry to be such a chore for you..." Donnie muttered, resentment building unfathomably fast.
"And he barely even grunted a thanks, let alone said anything else to any of us! I mean seriously! Grunting's Raphie's job and he does it well enough that no one else needs to!"
"Not to mention ungrateful..." Donnie added sullenly.
"I'm really getting sick and tired of seeing him ignoring his needs and blowing the rest of us off all the time!" Mikey's voice rose in volume until he was all but shouting, making Donnie wince at the sheer anger directed towards him from the brother who was usually so vibrant. "I know there's things he needs to do, things only he can do but it's getting ridiculous, guys! There hasn't even been any trouble with the Foot lately, so he doesn't need to put quite so much effort into his gizmos but he still keeps on at it, ignoring everything else! He's gonna make himself sick at this rate! Again!"
"And just like every other time, he's unlikely to even tell us if he does become sick," Leo interjected tightly.
"My point exactly, dude!"
"Nothin's worse than a sick Don..."
"Physician heal thyself," Leo added wryly.
Donnie's breath hitched with the next words to come from Mikey.
"Enough's enough! Bros, Sensei! We have to drag him out and banish..."
And before he even thought about what he was doing, Donnie was off and running.
-:-
"So is it a plan?" Mikey asked, grinning eagerly as he gazed around at everyone in the room with him.
"Yes, my son," Splinter replied warmly. "It is a wonderful idea."
Mikey breathed in relief; he'd been terrified that Master Splinter would veto the idea on the grounds that their need for training outweighed all else.
Leo nodded decisively. "Then Raph and I will go drag Don from his lab, whether he likes it or not."
"An' I'll enjoy every moment of it," Raph laughed, cracking his knuckles with anticipation.
Mikey suppressed his shudder at the sound the best he could; he was all for knowing his brothers' weaknesses but he preferred if they didn't know his. "Great! While you guys do that, I'm going to go make that coffee he likes so much." Mikey grinned again before beginning to head towards the kitchen.
"Sure coffee's such a great idea, knucklehead?" Raph questioned, brow ridges rising in his concern.
"Yeah," Mikey chuckled. "I've got two versions of it and he can't tell the difference between them."
"Two?" Leo asked curiously.
"Yeah bro, one that gives him his normal caffeine kick and the other to mellow him out."
"You're drugging him?" Leo accused, affronted at the thought that Mikey would do that to a member of his own family.
"Shell no!" the prankster cried indignantly, whirling around to face Leo at the insinuation. "One's decaf! With the extra ingredients, he notices the extra taste but not the difference!"
Splinter chuckled with amusement, "I always wondered why you only make it when Donatello is not at his most aware."
"Heh heh... Gotta get going!" Mikey said a little too quickly. With that, Mikey flounced his way from the entertainment room as fast as he could without arousing suspicion, even as Leo and Raph left straight for the lab.
After they reached their destination, Raph stared around the empty room in concern. "Maybe he went to bed early for once?"
"... Maybe," Leo replied distantly. His eyes were fixed on the partially completed project laying on the bench.
"You don't think so, Fearless?"
"Without packing his tools away and covering his work?" Leo pointed out. "Possible but unlikely. Let's go check his room though, to make certain."
-:-
Fifteen minutes later, Leo returned to the entertainment room to find Mikey, Raph and Master Splinter watching him expectantly from where they each sat waiting.
"Did you find him?" Mikey asked hopefully; Raph had already explained to him and their father about being unable to find the genius.
"Does it look like Fearless found him?" Raph sneered sarcastically.
"Nooo... but if Donnie was asleep somewhere, Leo wouldn't have woken him just to bring him in here."
"Just look at his fa..."
"Enough!" Splinter commanded firmly, preventing the impending argument from going any further with just that single word. "Leonardo?"
Leo bowed respectfully to their sensei. "No, unfortunately I was unable to find any trace of Donatello in the lair."
"That's just peachee..." Raph grumbled irritably.
"So I went and checked over the security footage and Don was last seen high-tailing it along the Eastern tunnels..." Leo explained, his voice low with worry.
"Why would he leave without tellin' us?" Raph asked tensely, clenching his fists repeatedly where he sat.
"I wish I knew," Leo replied, worry filling his voice. "It's unlike him to leave without letting someone know or at least leaving a note."
"I have a bad feeling about this, my sons," Splinter's voice was filled with unbridled concern as he looked at each.
"Then let's grab the tracker and go bring him back!" Raph suggested aggressively.
Leo shook his head. "His shell-cell is still on his workbench."
Mikey glanced towards the door nearest the lab and blanched. "Then... think he might have actually come out at the wrong time and overheard us talking...?"
"Why the shell would that make him take off?" Raph snapped in annoyance.
"Dude, we covered that already. He's too tired and overworked to be thinking clearly and... and if he only overheard part of the conversation..."
"That is quite possible," Splinter agreed softly. "Your brother, while normally a calm, composed and logical being, can be rather sensitive when he does not sleep enough over a long period of time."
Mikey nodded in agreement; that was precisely why he'd called the family meeting in the first place. He hated seeing anyone he cared about suffering, whether they realised they were or not.
"We'll just have to track Don down the old fashioned way," Leo said firmly, straightening where he stood. "Let's get moving, team!"
"Wait!" Mikey called, causing Leo to pause and look back at him. "Just give me two minutes, okay?" he pleaded.
"If he's in as bad a state as you seem to think, Mikey, an' you're almost never wrong when it comes to our moods, we don't have time to wait!" Raph barked impatiently.
"Two minutes," Mikey repeated, already rushing off, "that's all!"
A couple of minutes later, Mikey returned to an anxiously waiting Leo and Raph, backpack in hand.
"'bout time," Raph muttered. "What were you doin'? Packin' for a vacation?"
"It's cold out there," Mikey replied, stating the obvious as if talking to an idiot. "If Donnie took off upset and not thinking clearly, then I don't think he would have paid attention to the weather."
Leo nodded, leading the way to the exit where everyone grabbed coats and scarves. "From what I saw on the footage, Donnie wasn't wearing any warm clothing."
Mikey shot Raph a triumphant look as Leo opened the door.
"Surprised you'd even think of that."
"Hey! I think of these things. I just don't normally need to say them because Donnie usually does."
-:-
The three brothers raced anxiously through the sewers, counting on Leo's memory of the security footage to guide them until they reached where the coverage was lost. After that, they relied on Leo's superb tracking skills instead. A couple of times, the faint traces of Donnie's path petered out, but working together, the brothers soon picked up the track again. Eventually, the trail took them to a manhole leading out the sewers.
Mikey shivered and drew his coat tighter around him, trying to ward off the biting chill. "Well, it could be worse."
"Yeah? Do tell, shell-for-brains!" Raph grunted stiffly. He was just as cold but doing his best to hide it behind attitude. The hothead looked around the area, finally spotting slight scuffing beneath a nearby fire escape.
"Could be snowing?"
"The weather forecast doesn't predict snow until a couple of days after Christmas," Leo stated softly, already moving otherwise silently up the ladder.
Raph snorted derisively, "Not to mention there ain't even any clouds."
"That's not necessarily a good thing. Clouds help trap the warmth in. Clear nights are generally colder than clouded ones," Leo explained as he continued moving upwards.
"Least you didn't say it in mumbo jumbo!"
Mikey smiled wanly as he climbed behind his brothers, recognising the concern beneath Raph's otherwise acidic tone.
Once at the top of the ladder, Leo searched the dust on the roof for footprints, quickly picking up the route again. With intense relief that they still had the trail, Leo quickly led the way across the rooftops.
-:-
After a few rooftops, it soon became apparent that Donnie was heading towards April's so Mikey sped up, ignoring Leo and Raph's protests as he left them in his dust. He crossed his fingers, hoping like shell that Donnie had made it, or would make there without incident. With how exhausted Mikey knew his brother to be, there was no way it was safe for Donnie to be leaping across the rooftops, especially on such a bitterly cold and gusty night as this. Shell, he wasn't tired in the slightest but the cold was even hampering him.
Six blocks from his destination, Mikey spotted an unusual shadow blending into the darkness in his peripheral vision and did a double-take. Cautiously, the brightly banded ninja made his way over, calling hesitantly in a soft voice. "Donnie?"
The shadow stirred slightly at the sound of Mikey's voice and Mikey rushed forward, recognising the huddled shape as Donnie.
Falling to his knees in relief beside the no longer missing turtle, Mikey pulled the backpack from his shoulders and rummaged around inside. He dragged out Donnie's coat and wrapped it around his terribly shivering brother. Then he started rubbing energetically up and down Donnie's arms, trying desperately to get some warmth back into the sleepy genius.
"Donnie, you gotta wake up, bro."
"Not... asleep..." Donnie muttered through a yawn. "Though why you even care, I really don't know..." he added petulantly.
Mikey froze for a moment, his worst fears confirmed, then began rubbing again. "So you really did hear us, huh?"
Donatello looked up, hurt clear in his overtired, chocolate brown eyes. "How could you say such things, Mikey? You of all turtles?"
"I didn't say anything that bad, bro!" Mikey protested indignantly as he continued the vigorous rubdown. "What did you even hear?"
"Enough..." Donnie replied, turning his head to look away from Mikey. "You were complaining about what an ungrateful burden I am..."
Mikey's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe that even overtired, Donnie thought he'd actually say something like that. "I never said... Donnie, what did you actually hear? Word for word?"
Donnie pulled away enough to pull his coat tighter and repeated the conversation as Raph and Leo finally caught up. They immediately huddled around Donnie, helping to break the bitter wind and Leo quickly started rubbing at Donnie's closest arm, leaving Mikey to concentrate on the other.
"Bro, not only have you completely twisted what we were saying, you didn't even stick around to hear the rest!" Mikey complained, stung Donnie really believed those horrible thoughts.
"You wanted to banish me!" The hurt poured from Donnie's exhausted voice.
"From your lab! For the next couple of days!"
"It's true," Raph piped up in his rough voice, "an' you know full well how damned dramatic he is. Knucklehead was only remindin' us about how badly you've been treatin' yourself lately and how tired and irritable you've become because of it. You've been makin' me look like a girl scout in comparison."
"Yeah, what Raphie said," Mikey quickly agreed, hiding his snicker at Raph's dirty look. "I just wanted to come up with a way to help you. I hate seeing you, any of you bros, in such a state at any time, let alone at Christmas."
Donnie glanced around disbelievingly at his concerned brothers.
Leo smiled reassuringly at the gentle genius. "He actually came up with a great idea, you know."
"Hey! No need to sound so surprised, Leo!" Mikey cried indignantly, trying desperately not to laugh.
"Really..." Donnie muttered dubiously, avoiding looking into Mikey's eyes.
"Really, really!" Mikey then pulled away and reached into his backpack again.
Rolling his eyes, Raph started explaining, "Tomorrow you get to sleep in, no trainin' required."
"Master Splinter even agreed to that without having to argue," Mikey grinned as he continued to rummage in the darkness.
"An' then the rest of the day is 'Don stay out of the lab and don't lift a finger' day!"
"While the rest of us spoil you rotten," Leo smiled, slowing in his massaging.
Donnie's tired eyes widened in shock, "But..." and then Mikey thrust something into his hands. Before Donnie could look down to see what his brother handed him or protest further, an enticing, delicious scent filled his nostrils and he couldn't help but take a deep, appreciative breath, breathing in the warm aroma of the hot beverage he'd been craving since earlier that night. A small, weary smile played across his mouth as he clutched the cup tightly and lifted it towards his mouth with anticipation.
"And, by the way, 'Spoil Donnie Rotten Day' begins tonight," Mikey grinned, pouring three more cups and handing them to Leo and Raph, keeping the third for himself.
Donnie blinked, suddenly remembering his protest again, "But I still have a couple of things to finish in the lab before Christmas... I can't be banished from my lab. I don't have time to be banished!"
"If it's for one of us, we'll understand if it's late," Leo offered. "We can always exchange gifts a couple of days later or something if need be. Either way, we'll work something out but we won't talk about it until tomorrow. After you have slept."
"Alright..." Donnie reluctantly nodded in tired agreement. He then drank deeply from the camping mug, closing his eyes in ecstasy as he slowly swished the still warm liquid heaven around his mouth, savouring the much coveted taste.
"You're actually lettin' us drink this too?" Raph asked Mikey in surprise.
"Sure, bro! It's really, really cold out here in case you didn't notice and we all need to warm up a bit before we can head home again," Mikey replied cheerfully. He then turned back to their now found brother. "Do you forgive us, Donnie?"
"There's nothing to forgive..." Donnie said softly in embarrassment. It was always hard for him to stay mad at any of his brothers for long, especially Mikey, despite how much trouble the hyperactive turtle usually caused and this time was no exception. "I'm sorry for worrying you all and taking off like an idiot."
Mikey waved his hand dismissively, "It's all good, bro. You don't need to apologise; we're already used to that kinda thing from Raph."
Raph growled lightly as Leo spoke up, "Are you alright now, Don?" he asked in concern.
"Um... yes. Though I doubt I will be making it home again any time soon," Donnie said, covering up his wince by draining his mug and asking Mikey for more.
Mikey poured the remainder from the thermos as Leo, ever vigilant, asked, "Why don't you think you'll make it?"
Even in the shadows, Donnie's brothers made out the blush heating up the genius' face. "I landed badly when I jumped to this roof and twisted my ankle," he admitted. At the worried looks, he quickly added, "It's really not too bad but I won't be doing any more running or jumping on it tonight."
Leo glanced in the direction Donnie had been heading before he was forced to stop running. "Then we'll just have to take you to April's. One of us can return home for the van to pick you up with."
Donnie hung his head, ashamed "I'm really sorry, guys."
Mikey grinned brightly, "It's okay, Donnie. I know it's only 'cause you're overtired but it's still nice to know even you can do dumb things sometimes! OW! Raph!" Mikey cried at a sudden sharp pain at the back of his head.
Raphael chuckled darkly as Donnie smiled, thanking him for his quick hand action.
"Alright then," Leo stood and looked around, "finish up your drinks so we can get moving." Leo quickly drained his own rapidly cooling drink and looked down at the empty mug appreciatively.
"You know, this is actually quite nice for coffee."
Mikey beamed at the compliment. Coming from Leo, who normally disliked the beverage, such a comment meant a lot.
Donnie finished his second cup and handed it back to Mikey, before reaching a hand up, allowing Leo to help him to his feet.
Mikey immediately put the three cups away before standing to look at Raph, "You done yet, bro?"
Raph stared down into his cup oddly before asking in a suspicious tone, "Is that rum I can taste in this?"
As Donnie laughed at the seemingly insane question, Mikey's eyes widened in shock.
"I'm sure I would have noticed if there was alcohol in the coffee, Raphie," Donnie reassured.
Hurriedly clamping his mouth shut so as to not say something he would regret, Mikey too quickly nodded his agreement.
"Far as I know, Donnie-boy, you've never even tasted alcohol before so how exactly would you actually know?" Raph countered accusingly.
"What concerns me, is that by that statement, you obviously have, Raphael," Leo interjected coolly, staring accusingly at his hotheaded brother.
Raph made a slight choking noise, realising belatedly what he'd just accidentally admitted to. "Only ever had a little here and there, never enough to get drunk, Leo."
"Except that one time," Mikey snickered, unable to help himself. At the death glare Raph immediately shot him, he clapped both hands over his mouth and hurriedly stepped back a few paces.
Leo glared at Mikey briefly before turning it full force back to Raph, "And when was this, Raphael? How is it that I never noticed?"
"It was just after you left for Japan," Raph sighed in resignation. "Don't worry, ain't never gettin' pissed again. It's really not worth the pain. Besides, I rather prefer knowin' I won't be runnin' into Foot while half tanked."
"So that's how you recognised what's in Mikey's secret recipe," Leo observed calmly. "We'll talk about this more later. Let's get Donnie inside where it's warm first."
Mikey quickly slung his backpack back on and sighed with relief that Leo's attention was diverted to Raph and not him.
"Don't think you're off the hook either, Michelangelo."
Raph tossed Mikey a shit-eating grin and Mikey pulled a face back in return.
Donnie chuckled, "No wonder you always refused to tell me how to make it."
Mikey nodded. "You know Leo, you can't get drunk off this, you couldn't even get tipsy," he explained with the faintest of whines in his voice, the kind that often sounded with his puppy dog eyes. "I only put a dash in, just enough to taste and the alcohol mostly evaporates through the boiling."
"That's beside the point, Michelangelo! We're under age!"
"Not in other countries, we're not."
"We aren't in other countries. We're in America!"
"An' how many other laws do we break on a daily basis? Just by even carryin' around our weapons alone?" Raph snapped, his ire rising with Leo's goody-two-shoes act. He slipped one of Donnie's arms around his shoulders while Mikey took the other.
"That's not the point and you know it, Raphael!" Leo countered in exasperation.
Donnie shook his head with amusement before coming to both Raph and Mikey's rescue. "Leo, can we please just head inside? I'm cold and extremely tired." At Leo's reluctant nod, Donnie added, "Besides, it's true. The boiling point of alcohol is much lower than that of water."
"Alright Don, I'll drop the subject altogether. After all, it's almost Christmas," Leo grudgingly agreed. "Though if I ever hear of any of you consuming alcohol again before we're twenty one, you'll all wish I hadn't."
As Leo moved off to scout ahead, Donnie turned to an ecstatically beaming Mikey and murmured in a low voice, "It may be true that the boiling point of ethanol is much lower, however, it's also a myth that the alcoholic content 'cooks out'. In most cases, much of it remains, how much all depends on how the dish or drink is prepared."
Mikey paled upon hearing the facts. "I'm so sorry, Don. I really didn't know."
"It's alright," Donnie smiled gently. "Just do me one favour, alright?"
"Anything!" Mikey gushed, wanting desperately to make things right again.
"Don't stop making me that coffee altogether."
Mikey grinned, "Deal!"
Owari