A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Disclaimer - I do not own TMNT or any of the characters therein. Some VERY rich dude does.
Rating - Mature Audiences
Story Warnings - Fluff, Swearing, Slight Tcest, Emotional distress, Romance (Don't like these topics? Do not read.)
Pairings - Leo X Donnie. (Don't like? Do not read.)
Universe - 2003
Ages - All turtles are over 21. (Based on my calculations of the 2003 series, they would be this age by the time April's wedding came around. If I am incorrect, I would welcome your proof to the otherwise.)
Chapter credits - Alice In Wonderland - quote
Summary - One of Donnie's brothers sets out to make the family genius less sad.
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
It had been a beautiful wedding. April looked so radiant; literally glowing with happiness.
Casey cleaned up pretty good too.
Everyone was dancing at the reception, eating, and teasing the newlywed couple, having a wonderful time.
It was truly a perfect day by any standards, even with Shedder and his goons crashing in uninvited.
A day to remember.
Donnie blinked. What had he been doing?
A part list was displayed on the monitor screen in front of him.
Were they motorcycle parts? Water craft parts? Vehicle parts?
Three items were highlighted.
Was he ordering, checking for availability, or cancelling?
He couldn't remember.
"Shell," he groaned leaning back in his chair, running his hands over his head. "I have never been this distracted in my life. What is wrong with me?"
Donnie leaned forward, turning off the power to the monitor before crossing his arms on his desk and laying his head on them.
Why was it so hard for him to concentrate? Why could he not get his act together? It wasn't like his feelings for April had been reciprocated. Shell, she hadn't even known he felt that way about her!
Maybe if she had...
Donnie sighed.
Who was he trying to kid? April was human. He was a mutated turtle.
He sighed again.
And life wasn't a fairytale.
Suddenly that part list didn't seem very important. Donnie didn't care in the least why it was there. He was completely content to lay there and do nothing.
It fit his mood.
After several seconds, Donnie realized he wasn't just sitting there zoning out, but was in fact quite focused.
On the corner of his desk sat a mug.
A mug the exact color of his mask.
Steam drifted up from the liquid inside. Donnie found it oddly fascinating, the way the clouds curled in and around making new patterns, different designs.
It was really rather pretty.
He caught a whiff, then raised his head inhaling deeply as he reached for the cup.
He took a sip.
There was nothing as wonderful in all the world as a well made cup of coffee when you desperately needed to relax.
He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes letting the delectable aroma waft over him as he savored the rich flavor. He took a second, longer sip, this time humming in appreciation.
After his brief moment, Donnie wondered which of his brothers had brought the coffee in. Normally they would have gotten his attention before leaving if for no other reason than to remind him to drink it while it was hot. This time they hadn't.
Or had they, and he hadn't noticed?
Donnie snorted in disgust shaking his head. Mikey could have come in there singing at the top of his lungs, and playing a one man band and Donnie doubted he would have noticed. He had been too wrapped up in his own personal pity party.
Well, enough was enough! It was time to stop wallowing, get up and find out which brother had brought him the coffee, and show his appreciation.
April's life had been the one to change, not his!
After draining the contents, Donnie set the mug on his desk before carefully stepping over several boxes of scavenged parts sitting on the floor waiting to be sorted. Even if the floor had been clear of obstacles, Donnie still would have put his hand on the edge of the desk as he turned the corner.
He had tripped over Mikey stretched out on the floor reading comics, or drawing one too many times not to.
His brothers knew that.
Which was probably why the slip of paper Donnie noticed tucked under the edge of his keyboard was placed in that exact spot to begin with. It was positioned just right for him to see it as he rounded his desk.
Curiosity piqued, Donnie pulled the paper out from under the keyboard. He was more than a little surprised to discover it wasn't paper at all, but an instant photograph.
"Who's using the Polaroid?" he muttered looking around the lab as if half expecting to find the culprit standing in a corner grinning at him.
When he turned the picture over, Donnie's surprise grew along with his curiosity.
He leaned to one side to better see around his computer monitor then glanced back at the photo.
"Curiouser, and curiouser."
The purple mug currently sitting on his desk, the one he had just drank coffee from, appeared to be the same mug pictured in the photograph. The only difference was the mug in the photograph was full of bluebells instead of coffee.
Bluebells just happened to be Donnie's favorite flower.
"What..."
Donnie stared at the picture, then smiled.
"Alright, which one of you bozos is playing a prank on me."
He could use a little positive distraction right now.
Donnie didn't even realize he was still smiling when he picked up the coffee mug, and headed for the door.
Donatello figured it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out which of his brothers was trying to prank him, their personalities pretty much gave it away.
Raph didn't have the finesse for elaborate pranks, and this one had the potential to be highly convoluted.
Mikey however did.
But Mikey wasn't the most patient.
That would be Leo.
And all of them, unfortunately, were more than capable of slipping in and out of the lab unnoticed no matter what Don's state of mind.
Donnie gave an exasperated sigh.
Maybe figuring this out was going to be a bit harder than he originally thought.
What he needed was more clues.
"Ask and ye shall receive," he grinned stepping into the hallway.
Taped to the far wall right at eye level was another photo.
This time it was a shot of several candles, all different sizes, shapes, and colors in a grouping arranged on what Donnie knew to be a meditation mat stored in the dojo.
It was the meditation mat he normally used.
Or was it?
The rip Master Splinter had repaired when they first found the mat was missing. And the pattern was brighter, not threadbare and worn.
The mat in the photo appeared to be brand new.
"What is going on?" he muttered, pulling the photo from the wall.
Second photograph in hand Donnie headed for the dojo, having completely forgotten about going to the kitchen. He wanted to check that meditation mat, and felt certain there would be another clue to this mystery waiting for him in the dojo.
Donnie continued to mull over which of his brothers was most likely behind the picture pranking as he headed down the hall.
A new thought popped into his head.
What if this wasn't a prank?
Donnie paused as the new possibility began to form.
If not a prank, what was it?
He glanced at the pictures he held.
It almost seemed as if... Donnie shook his head, "Nooo… It can't be... Could it?"
He started walking again as the sounds of muted gunfire rang out.
Not so surprisingly, Mikey sat perched on the edge of the sofa, controller in hand, pizza in mouth, trying to complete the last level of his most recent video game acquisition. He seemed to be doing fairly well.
Donnie made sure to stand just outside of his brother's peripheral vision as he watched Mikey play. He knew Mikey was completely aware of his presence, but Donnie felt it in his best interest not to bring any unnecessary attention to himself.
He preferred to observe as unobtrusively as possible.
Mikey was the jokester of the family. Everyone knew it. Mikey himself took incredible pride in it.
When pulling a prank Mikey had proven time and again he could out calculate Donatello, out ninja Leonardo, and out muscle Raphael.
Was he the brother behind the photos Donnie held in his hand?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Mikey also had a gift for misdirection that put Master Splinter to shame.
The youngest brother had been known to pull off a prank then three seconds later be four rooms away looking as if he had been there half the day.
So, the question was, could Mikey have taken the pictures, brought the coffee to the lab, arranged the photos for Donnie to find, and still have enough time to make it appear as if he had been sitting on the sofa for hours playing a video game and gnawing on cold pizza?
Absolutely!
Donnie needed more proof. He made a mental note to check the internal timer on the gaming console later.
Donnie silently contemplated his brother a few seconds more before continuing on to the dojo. He never saw Mikey turn to glance his way as he left, nor the slight uplifting of the edges of Mikey's mouth.
The purple banded genius felt a slight sense of disappointment when he stepped inside the dojo.
The only one there was Raphael working out with his speed bag, and given the amount of sweat coating his skin, it appeared as if he had been doing so for quite some time.
Nothing else was out of place.
"Ya look like ya got sum'tin on yer mind der, bro. S'up?" Raph said in way of greeting, giving the speed bag one last jab.
"Oh, uh, nothing, really," Donnie suddenly found himself at a rare loss for words. "I was just checking some things out."
"Ya need any help?"
"No, thank you. I can manage."
Donnie watched as Raph grabbed a towel off the floor to wipe the sweat from his face then picked up his water bottle, taking a long refreshing drink.
"Ya change yer mind, I'll be inna shower. But ya might wanna take dat ta da kitchen before ya get too involved, an' Leo catches ya wid it in here," Raph pointed at the coffee mug Donnie held in his hand.
"Oh," Donnie gave his brother a sheepish grin. "I forgot I had that."
"I never saw dat one before, z'it new?"
Don raised an eyeridge. "Yes, I believe it is."
"Good," the corners of Raph's mouth twitched as the brawler fought to keep from smiling. "Take care of it so ya don't have ta worry 'bout catchin' yer mouth on a chip when ya use it."
With that Raph left the dojo, leaving one highly confused genius in his wake.
"That was odd," Don muttered, watching his brother as Raph disappeared around the corner. "It's not like Raph to notice something as mundane as a coffee mug, unless... hmm..."
Now that he was alone, Donnie hurried over to the storage cabinet to check the meditation mat.
It wasn't there.
Tapping the photos against the edge of the cabinet, Donnie quickly went over all of the evidence he had; which wasn't much. But he did have more than he had before.
It was doubtful Raph was the prankster.
Given his brother's size, and physical ability, it was highly unlikely Raph could have worked up that much of a sweat from the time Donnie had found the coffee until now.
Unless that wasn't sweat Raph wiped off his skin, but water.
It looked like a short detour to the laundry room was in order too.
Feeling more confident in spite of the lack of clues to the photo prankster's identity, Donnie figured he'd best heed his brother's advice and put the coffee mug in the kitchen. It was never a good idea to tempt fate where Leo was concerned.
Leaving the dojo, Donnie reached for the for the switch to turn off the lights. It wasn't a good idea to tempt fate where the New York City power commission was involved either.
His fingers brushed across a smooth, now familiar surface.
Pushing aside the curtain Splinter and Leo used when privately meditating, Donnie found another photo taped to the wall. This one was of a saucer holding a slice of chocolate marbled cheesecake complete with chocolate flakes sprinkled on top.
Donnie's favorite dessert.
And two forks.
Donnie's brain went into overdrive.
Was this really a prank? Was one of his brothers simply trying to make him feel better? Or was his brother hinting at something more?
And who was it? Mikey? Raph? It could be either one of them. Or neither.
Could it be the one brother who had yet to make an appearance?
All of these questions and more ran circles in Donnie's mind until he couldn't make heads or tails of anything. He felt as if he was right back where he had started from.
Placing the now clean mug in the drainer to dry, Donnie realized there was one distinctive difference between his distraction now and his distraction earlier.
Now he felt excited and eager to see this through to the end, not despondent and sluggish.
"Alright, Donatello. You can figure this out. All you have to do is sit down, and think this through logically."
The olive genius stopped right in the middle of drying his hands.
"Great," he grumped, tossing the towel onto the counter. "I have now been reduced to talking to myself, alone, in the kitchen."
And for some unknown reason, that simple fact made everything seem just a little more exciting.
What Donnie needed was privacy, and the only place he knew he could find it without interruption was in his room with the door shut.
Years ago, Master Splinter had mandated when a private door was shut no one was to bother the occupant unless it was a life threatening emergency.
Secretly the four brothers thought their father just wanted some quiet time to take a bath, but for whatever the reason, that rule had stuck, and right now Donnie was very thankful it had.
He made a beeline for his room, hurrying faster than he normally would, but not so fast as to draw attention to himself. Donnie glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching before opening the door and slipping inside. He locked the door behind him with one hand as he flipped the lights on with the other.
Scattered on the floor of his room were dozens of photographs.
Sunsets. Sunrises. Bluebells. Daisies. Sweet pea. Butterflies. Hummingbirds. Christmas lights. Starry skies. The moon in all its phases.
"These are all things I like," Don whispered, gathering the photos into a pile. "What..," he was startled by a sharp knock at his door.
Don threw open his bedroom door knowing he probably wouldn't catch whoever had knocked, but hoping he would none-the-less.
A picture was taped to the front of the door, keys in the shape of a heart with a single purple key placed in the middle.
This time there was a message; '7 PM tonight' was written at the bottom in bold, black marker.
Donnie looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It was fifteen til seven now.
He felt nervous, excited, and giddy all at once.
Promptly at seven there was another knock at Donnie's door.
He opened it, feeling a bit disappointed when no one was there. On the floor was the purple coffee mug from earlier, or one similar to it, filled with bluebells. A picture taped to the side.
"I know this," Donnie lightly tapped the image in the photo. "I know where this is."
He stood at the edge of the roof, his mask tails fluttering in the breeze.
It was a nice night, clear, warm, pollution levels lower than usual. It wasn't perfect, but all things considered, it was as close to perfect as he was probably going to get in the city.
He wished it was better. Donnie deserved better.
Donnie deserved the best.
He looked right, scanning the rooftops for his brother.
A smile slowly spread across his face. Donnie should be here any minute.
It had cut him deep, deeper than he could have ever imagined, seeing Donnie at April's reception. His brother had been standing as far from everyone as he politely could on the verge of tears.
He didn't blame April. It wasn't her fault. All she did was find what made her happy, and go after it.
From the corner of his eye he saw a slight ripple along the shadow of a water tower two rooftops over. His smile grew.
Only a ninja moved like that.
And the momentary flash of purple let him know it was friend, not foe.
He turned and walked back to the small mat complete with picnic he had spread out on top of the cooling unit.
Yeah, all April had done was go after what made her happy.
He brushed his fingers against the fringe of the mat.
And that was all he was doing.
He looked up and smiled at the soft sound of feet scuffing against the asphalt.
Donnie landed on the rooftop with barely a sound. What little sound he did make was to simply let his brother know he had arrived. Not that his brother needed an announcement.
Leo never did.
"I got your..." Donnie was going to say message, but that wasn't exactly correct. "Invitation," he said instead.
Leo turned, his smile grew. "What about my message?" he asked closing the distance between them. "My question?"
"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking." Donnie's heart began to race as Leo drew closer.
"Let me enlighten you." Leo reached up running his fingertips along his brother's jaw. "I saw you at April's reception."
Donnie tried to turn away to hide his embarrassment, but Leo didn't let him.
"Standing alone, back in the shadows."
"I didn't want to ruin her day."
"You were in tears."
Donnie looked up, his eyes wide. "Leo, I..."
Leo silenced him with a fingertip to the lips. "It made me mad."
Donnie was shocked. His cool, calm, collected brother admitting to being mad.
"I was jealous too."
"Jealous?"
Leo nodded. "Yeah. I was mad because you were sad, and jealous because someone else made you cry."
Donnie's eyeridges furrowed, showing the olive turtle's confusion. "Leo..."
"You should be happy, not sad," Leo interrupted. "Not ever."
Donnie couldn't help but smile, Leo sounded so serious and determined.
"And I'm going to be the only one to ever make you cry again."
"Isn't that a bit of a contradiction?" Donnie asked feeling slightly breathless.
"No," Leo moved in closer until his breath ghosted over Donnie's skin making the genius shudder. "People cry when they're happy, don't they?" he whispered.
Donnie nodded, and blinked once before letting his eyes close as Leo's lips met his. His arms circled his brother's neck. He sighed when Leo's fingers stroked his cheek, momentarily wondering about the damp chill left in their wake.
Donnie reached up to wipe his face when they broke away only to have Leo beat him to it. He blushed, suddenly feeling shy.
"So, umm... what are you going to do now, since you've achieved your goal?"
"Keep a tally," Leo grinned, leaning in for another kiss.
Three rooftops away, hidden behind a gardening shed, Raphael held out several folded bills to Michelangelo. Grinning, the sea green turtle took the cash, stuffing in inside his belt.
"Boy, Raph, at this rate you're going to stay broke forever."
The emerald brawler turned to scowl at his brother. "I wouldn't if doze two would jus' get dere acts tagether," he growled. "I mean come on."
"Patience Raphael, some need more guidance than others." Even though his words said otherwise it was easy to tell Splinter's feelings on the matter were very similar to those of his red banded son. "Now come, let us have dinner, and give your brothers their privacy. Michelangelo is buying," he smirked.
"Aww, but Sensei..."
"Knock off da whinin', knucklehead," Raph took a good natured swipe at the back of his brother's head. "Let's go get pizza before Sensei decides he wants sushi or some shit."
Appeased by the thought of deep dish double pepperoni, Mikey took off across the alley, his emerald brother right behind.
Splinter watched as his two brightly banded sons disappeared into the shadows before turning back to glance at his other two sons holding hands in the moonlight.
"Kids," he smiled.
Thanks for reading.