Author's Note: This chapter comes a bit sooner for several reasons. One, to hopefully attract more readers. Two, an apology for the mistake earlier this week. Three, and maybe the most important: my family has been thrown back into crisis mode, thanks to my brother and his...well, it's just a whole lot of drama and I need to help my mom through it. I don't know if I'll be able to update on time next week, so better now than later, right?
I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long, but the others will beat this length later on. I wanted to thank everyone for the alerts and favorites and a big thank you to the reviewers. I will be getting back to you soon.
Edit: Is anyone else having trouble changing the first chapter's name? I just tried and I can't get the thing to save. I click but save but it just reverts to saying chapter one. It's so frustrating.
Edit Two: All right, so I had to delete the chapters in a weird order in to change the chapter title, because it just wouldn't save otherwise. Is anyone else having this problem, or is it just me?
Edit Three: No, it's not just me (thank you for telling me) and I really hope they resolve this soon. In the meantime, I will have to be more careful with chapter names.
-Edit Four: I briefly uploaded the third chapter, but looking at it, I think I want to look it over one more time and do a bit of extra editing. It will be uploaded sometime tomorrow or Thursday. Sorry for any confusion.
Fiction Plane.
Michelangelo and Raphael bumped shoulders, clutching their controls and their eyes glued to the television screen. Raph growled as Mikey's mustang blew past his motorcycle again, the bright orange car mocking him as it sped through the pixel cloud of dust. "You're cheating, Mikey. I know you are. You're never this good."
"Oh, are you sure about that, Raphie? Or maybe I was just. Holding. Back." Mikey jammed the stick, chuckling darkly when his car sped further down, ignited by a turbo charge of blue fire bursting from its pipes. Raphael stared, jaw dropping before whirling around at Mikey.
"You were hiding one of those power ups?"
Mikey giggled, hiding behind his hand and rolling his eyes at the ceiling. "I'll never tell. Unless you beg-" Yelp tore from Mikey's mouth as Raph tackled him on the couch, both turtles falling to the floor with hard thuds. Leo looked up from the arcade game he was playing to watch the two roll and scuffle, shaking his head when Mikey cried for mercy.
"You'd think he'd learn," Leo muttered.
"We know better than to expect that from Mikey." Leonardo smiled at Donnie's quip, turning to wish him good morning, only to stop mid-sentence.
Donatello's skin was a paler green than usual and his shoulders were slumped, as if he couldn't quite hold them up. His body sank a bit under its own weight, and Leo noticed how Don leaned slightly on the arcade machine for support. The color in his bloodshot eyes was dull, and Leo felt that if he pulled off Don's headband, he'd see lines or dark circles under his eyes. Worry immediately bubbled in his stomach and he cleared his throat.
"You...feeling all right, Don?"
Donatello blinked after a several second pause, shaking his head and meeting Leo's eyes. They widened for a moment, shifting to the right before Don straightened himself out and put on a smile.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a long night is all. I stayed up too late on one of my projects and I guess it took more out of me than I thought it would." Don rubbed his arm, swallowing.
"More is right." Leo peered closer at Donatello, narrowing his eyes when Don stepped back. "Donnie..."
"Relax, Leo. I'm all right. Just tired. I haven't had much coffee yet. You know how I get when I don't have my coffee. Besides, studies show-"
Leo held up his hand and Donnie stopped, glaring hard but saying nothing. "Don, I'm just worried. I mean, first that fight and now you with getting no sleep? Just...be careful." Leo sighed, crossing his arms and watching as Raphael finally pulled Mikey back up and shoved him onto the couch, demanding a rematch.
"I will, Leo. I promise."
Leo stopped himself from saying, "You've promised not to pull all nighters before but then I find you slumped over your laptop at five in the morning." He didn't want to push Don too hard and keep his brother from opening up to him at all. He'd never be able to help Don if he did. But something about the situation made his throat tighten and he kept glancing at Don while he took over Leo's game.
"Will you be all right for training today?" he asked eventually.
"I'll be fine, Leo." A bit of bite edged into Don's voice and he smashed one of the buttons harder than needed.
"Are you sure? Sensei isn't too forgiving when we start messing up in the dojo. I can already picture him making you do an extra one hundred push-ups for every time you slip or something."
Don shuddered slightly, catching Leo's gaze out of the corner of his eye. "I know you're worried but I can handle this. I just need to pump myself up with a bit more coffee, slog through training, and take a power nap around noon. I'll be fine then."
Leo studied Donatello's unwavering face before he shrugged, caving. "Fine. Fine, if you're okay, I'm okay." Leo stared at Don for a few seconds longer, biting his lip when Donatello missed an easy shot on the machine. "But I'll try to keep sensei's eyes off you, just in case."
Donatello huffed but didn't say anything more, and Leo shook his head. He watched Don's game with a glazed look, gaze switching more to his brother than the actual game. Watching for any more signs of Don's exhaustion, he tried to gauge just how bad Don was feeling. Barking laughter drew Leo's eyes and he caught Mikey pumping his fists in the air. Michelangelo hopped off the couch and started his victory dance, complete with finger pointing and a moon walk. Raphael groaned twisting around so he could look over the back of the couch.
The two locked eyes, Raph slowly shifting his gaze to Don's shell. Raph tilted his head toward Donatello, grumbling at Mikey when he complained about Raph not being a graceful loser and how he needed to watch Mikey's victory dance like a real turtle.
Leo half-shrugged, shaking his head slightly. Raph's brow furrowed, eyes fixed firmly on Donnie as Mikey said gleefully, "Dude, I just kicked your shell again. Wanna make it best four outta five, or did you realize you stand no chance against the great Mikey?"
"Hey, Leo, think you can get me another cup of coffee? I left my cup by the sink," Don said, not looking up from the game. Red lights flashed on the screen, highlighting the exhaustion lines on Don's face.
"Sure." Leo pushed himself off the wall and headed for the kitchen, Raph watching his shell the whole walk out.
Don just wondered how he could be on his third pot of coffee and still feel so tired.
Raphael pushed deeper into the couch, squinting at his comic and struggling to read in the dimly lit living room. His only light came from Donatello's lab as said turtle continued to work on whatever project had come to mind in the early hours of the morning. Raph made sure to stay low on the couch in case Donnie decided to peek look out of the lab. His eyes itched with exhaustion and his body ached, but he was a turtle on a mission.
Donatello had been shaky the first day after the attack, but Raphael had grudgingly expected that. His insides still seethed at the way that creature had managed to grab him in a choke-hold, and that it was Donnie who had to risk his shell to save him. But, as two thirty blinked at him from the clock on the table, he knew Don wasn't back to normal. No, he was still struggling with sleep, still exhausted all day, still fumbling with training, still everything.
And Raph was sick of it.
Tools clanging together in the lab told Raphael to throw his comic on the table and slip into the shadows, hiding near the light switch as Donnie shut down his lab and started toward his room. Donnie moved seamlessly in the dark, knowing the layout by heart from his many late night romps. Raph narrowed his eyes, flicking the switch up.
Light burned both turtles' eyes, but Donnie recovered faster, whipping around in alarm. His purple headband sat like a towel around his neck, and when his eyes found Raph, Don shot his brother a dark look. "What's the big idea sneaking up on a turtle when he's working on something? And shouldn't you be asleep anyway?"
"Funny, Don. I was about to ask you the same thing." Donatello had the decency to look sheepish, but Raph could see the fight surging in his eyes. Raph snorted and crossed his arms, tapping his foot.
"I couldn't sleep, okay? I came out to do something productive. You know, other than sit around the in the dark. Nothing wrong with that. As long as I didn't wake you." His eyes searched Raphael at his, but the turtle didn't say anything, keeping a firm glare on his brother. Donatello's chest swelled and he scowled back. "What, it's not like it's hurting anyone. And if I can't sleep-"
"I am so going to get you back for making me act like Leo." Raph held back a smirk at Donnie's widening eyes and the small step back Don took. "First off, yes, it's obviously hurting someone. You, shellbrain. I didn't think I'd be explaining that to the smart one. Aren't you supposed to be the team medic or something? Second, I don't give one flying shuriken if you can't sleep. After seeing you drag your feet around the lair all day, you're gonna get some."
Don gritted his teeth, stepping forward. "Oh, sorry if my minor performance hit is bothering you, Raph. I'll be sure to be all cheery and goofy like Mikey and you can deal with twice the trouble." Raph watched as Don rubbed at his eyes and left temple, breathing hard through his snout.
Raph shook his head, face incredulous. "Minor? You really want to call walking into a wall minor?"
"It only happened once. I don't see why we need to hold onto it," Donatello said, waving it off as his cheeks warmed. "I'm distracted is all."
"By what, Donnie? What's bothering you so much that you can't sleep?"
Don stared at the floor, eyes fixed on the table legs. "Why do you care so much anyway? How is this any different from my other late night working binges?"
Raph growled, fisting his hands. "Why do I care? Maybe because you saved my shell from that thing. Maybe because now you're acting weirder than usual, no matter what you say. I mean, this isn't like you're usual late night crazy inventing runs, because if it was, you'd still be a little normal during the day. And you're not." Raphael stepped closer and closer to Donatello with every word until he was staring right up into his face. "So sorry, I know it's weird for me to do anything when my brother decides to act stupid and not ask anyone for help, but I just figured I owed you one."
"Owed me one..." Donnie muttered the words to himself, looking down and seemingly lost in thought. Raph growled at being ignored, grabbing Don by the shoulder. Raph's eyes widened at the way Don jumped in response, breath hitching and eyes immediately flickering away. Without looking back, Don said, "Raph, there's no owing when it comes to saving family."
"What? That's..."
"And-" Don stopped, taking one more step back from Raph and pressing his hand to his forehead. Raph slowly closed his mouth, deflating as he waited for a response. "I guess... Maybe I am being a little different." Raph closed his eyes for a second, willing the retort back. He opened them again when Donatello chuckled, worry leaking into his gaze when he saw Don's tired smile and how it made the lines around his eyes deepen. After a few seconds, Don stood a little straighter, pulling his headband off his neck and tying it back on.
"I don't really get it either, but I think I'm just a bit weirded out by what happened. I mean, I really haven't seen anything like that shadow creature before. But I guess I should be used to things like that." Don gave Raph another small smile. "I think I'll be all right in another day or two. After I run some tests on that sample we got and distract myself a bit, I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll feel like I'm actually doing something about it."
Raphael studied Donatello as the words sank in, biting his lip before shrugging and glancing away. "Fine. You better be. The next time I have to confront you, it'll be with fists, not words."
"I don't doubt it." Don's face scrunched up and Raph tilted his head until Don threw a hand over his mouth in a feeble attempt to hide a yawn. Tears pricked Don's eyes and he let his arms fall loosely at his sides. "And now that we've had a fine family chat, I think I'm ready for bed."
"Good. I hate staying up this late trying to read in the dark. I yawned over twenty times waiting for your sorry shell."
Don huffed, leading them down the hall and toward their rooms. He blinked, perking up and smirking at Raph. "Well, that makes sense. Yawning is actually a mechanism designed to help people stay awake. Not much is known about it, but there are some hypotheses about how it's done. One-"
Raph rolled his eyes but let Don continue, the words easily washing over him. He let his shoulders relax, the tension leaving his body as he waved Don good night and promised death if he had to put his sad shell to bed again.
He fell against the bed and passed out in seconds, unaware that Don didn't sleep for the rest of the night.
