A/N This is a request from guest reviewer Janina Jamana who wanted a cute tickle story between Raph and Donnie. My brain totally latched on to the idea which is why I'm posting this earlier than I expected. Hope you enjoy! (Especially you Janina.)
Disclaimer: If I owned the turtles, the plotline would be a fluffy mess… Since the plot for TMNT is NOT a fluffy mess, I do not own the turtles.
Leo, Raph and Mikey were all sitting in the sitting room, eating pizza. Well, actually, Mikey was lying on the floor and Raph was only picking at his pizza but close enough. Donnie wasn't with them. None of them had seen Donnie out of the lab in days (except for training). They knew that Donnie had taken April breaking friends with them the hardest, but this was getting kind of ridiculous. And the brothers were getting tired of it. They were concerned for Donnie, but every time one of them tried to get in the lab, they got shoved straight out and Don locked the door. But today Raph was putting a stop to this.
"So! What will we watch tonight!" asked Mikey brightly. "We've got soccer, space heroes, this drama show or-"
"That's it!" Raph suddenly shouted. Mikey and Leo both jumped.
"Uh.. calm down bro. We don't have to watch any of this if you don't want to," said Mikey nervously. Raph glared.
"It's not about the stupid TV shows! I'm talking about Donnie!" Raph growled.
"Look Raph, we've tried getting him out. He's not responding. We just need to give him some time," said Leo patiently.
"We've given him FIVE DAYS Leo. I'd say that's enough time." Raph scowled, folding his arms.
"Nooo, you've DECIDED that it's enough time and-" Mikey was cut off as Raph tackled him to the ground. "Never mind," Mikey grinned sheepishly.
"Look, I don't care if you two don't think I should leave him alone. I'm gonna go talk to him anyway, and that's that." Raph narrowed his eyes and stared defiantly at his brothers, daring them to stop him.
Leo gave a weary sigh. "Just make sure it's 'talk' and not 'punch'," he eventually replied. Raph rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna hit him when I'm worried about him Fearless."
"You did that to me once," Mikey cut in. "You said it was to knock some sense into me."
"Yeah, well you don't count. You're like a walking punching bag," Raph smirked at his youngest brother.
"Thanks!"
"Uh… you're welcome?" Raph didn't waste anymore time trying to figure out Mikey. He had been trying to do that for years and was still no further forward.
And with that, he set off towards the lab.
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Donnie sighed despondently as he tweaked a few things under the Shell Raiser. It didn't need any new updates, but at least he was under the vehicle. It meant he couldn't see the photos on his wall.
Oh April, he thought. I'm so sorry. He knew he wasn't really doing anything to fix her Dad yet, but he needed some more information before he could attempt to make the retro mutagen. And he didn't exactly feel like leaving the lab right now. Oh yes. That was problem number two.
He knew he driving his brothers crazy by not coming out or letting them in, but he didn't feel like talking. So that's why he barricaded himself in his lab with only machines for company.
Donnie screwed up his eyes and tried to look at the engine. He couldn't see much. He needed a torch. The purple banded ninja began to wriggle out from under the Shell Raiser but was abruptly stopped half way. He squirmed a little then groaned and leant his head on the ground. He was stuck with his legs and half of his shell out, and the rest of him trapped under the vehicle.
Great. Just great.
Another thought occurred to him suddenly. Please tell me I locked the lab door… please.
The door suddenly opened and he heard his immediate older brother calling "Hey Don! Where are you?"
Donnie slumped under the Shell Raiser. Luck was definitely not on his side today.
"Donnie? Get outta there, I wanna talk to ya." He could hear Raph, only a few metres away from him.
"I don't wanna talk Raph. Just leave me alone," he said back.
He could almost feel Raph's glare. "I don't give a damn brainiac. You've been hiding here too long, you need to just get over this!" Raph was starting to sound a little angry, but Donnie knew that Raph was actually just concerned.
"But Raph…. I can't."
"Yes you can! You just need to face up-"
"No! I mean I can't get out." He wriggled a little to illustrate his point. "I'm stuck."
Raph blinked. "Really?"
"No Raph, I just like lying here. Of course I'm stuck!" Donnie cried impatiently. There was a silence for a moment.
"Can you help me out here?" Donnie finally asked. Raph thought for a moment. "Depends. You gonna talk to me afterwards?"
"No." Donnie replied stubbornly.
"Oh really? I take that as a challenge," Raph smirked. He knelt down. "Just don't move OK?"
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed hold of Donnie's feet and tried pulling him out. The effect was immediate. Donnie squeaked and immediately yanked his feet out of Raph's grasp.
"I thought I told ya not to move!" Raph cried in exasperation. "Geez, did it really hurt that much?"
Donnie didn't answer. It hadn't hurt at all- he was just really ticklish. But there was no way he was letting Raph know that. He would never be able to live that down.
"Sorry Raph. I won't move this time."
"You'd better not," muttered Raph and grabbed his feet again. Donnie bit his lip using every ounce of his willpower not to laugh. I will not laugh, I will not laugh, I will-
A giggle escaped his lips and he once again pulled his feet away from Raph.
"Donnie! You gotta stop- are you laughing?" he asked incredulously. A thought crossed his mind and a smirk grew on his face.
"Wait. Don't tell me that you're still ticklish?"
"Huh? No! I just… uh…" Donnie wracked brains trying to think of a cover up.
He couldn't.
Raph poked his foot again and his little brother squeaked. "Then why" he said, poking his foot again. "Are you laughing?"
He was only met with silence.
"So Donnie! You gonna talk to me once I get ya out?" Raph grinned, knowing he had Donnie exactly where he wanted him.
"I already said no Raph!"
"Unfortunate. It seems that I'll have to persuade you a little huh?"
Donnie's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"Would I?"
Raph spidered his fingers over Donnie's foot.
"Rahahaph! Stahahahahap it!"
"You gonna have a proper talk with me?"
"NOHOHOHOHOHO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Well, your loss!" Raph said, continuing to tickle his immediate younger brother.
"RAHAHAHAHAHAHAPH! STAHAHAHAP! DOHOHOHON'T!"
Raph grinned. "Don't what?"
"TICKLE MEHEHEHEHE!" Donnie managed to get out before dissolving back into laughter.
"Tickle you? Got it brainiac," Raph smirked, reaching up and scrabbling his fingers behind Donnie's knee whilst the other hand kept at his three toed foot. Donnie laughed even harder if that was possible and started trying to kick at Raph.
"GEHEHEHEHEHET OHOHOHOHOHOFF!"
"You gonna have a talk with me afterwards?"
When there was no reply (apart from laughter) Raph reached up and poked what was visible of his brothers side. Donnie's breath hitched and Raph smirked. Looked like he had found where he was most ticklish.
The red banded turtle moved up towards Donnie's sides and dug his fingers in. Donnie began to laugh even harder, an octave higher. Tears were building up in his eyes from laughing so much.
"Well? We gonna talk?" asked Raph, his eyes glittering mischievously.
"YEHEHEHEHEHEHES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I GIHIHIVE UP! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Raph smiled. "That's all I needed to hear little bro," he said, finally stopping.
Donnie panted, a helpless smile on his face. "I…. hate…..you…" he panted.
"Careful what you say Don. Just remember who's in this position right now."
The purple clad turtle immediately buttoned his lip and Raph chuckled. "OK. Lemme try and getcha outta there again."
Instead of trying to pull him out, Raph crouched down and grabbed on to the bottom of the Shell Raiser. With a lot of grunts, he managed to lift it up a little and Donnie slithered out. Raph put down the heavy vehicle and sat down opposite Donnie.
Don was still smiling a little and breathing heavily. Raph waited for him to regain his breath (and composure) before he said anything.
"So. Why have you been in here for so long? We know you miss April knuckle head. We all do. And I know that you really like her. But seriously? You literally locked yourself in here for five days!"
Donnie stared at the floor and mumbled something. Raph sighed. "Gonna have to speak up a little genius.
"It was all my fault that the mutagen got spilled over the city."
Raph stared at him in shock. "What?"
"You heard me Raph. It was all my fault."
Raph was thoughtful for a moment, then sighed as he realised what he had to do. It wasn't common for him to show affection or any of that heart to heart stuff, but sometimes the situation called for it.
"Donnie? Look at me."
Donnie slowly looked up. Raph was looking straight at him, his eyes full of passion and sincerity.
"Donnie, what happened with the mutagen wasn't your fault. It was a team thing. ALL of us screwed up there, not just you. It's as much my fault as yours."
"But I'm supposed to be the smart one! I should have realised-"
"Yeah you're the smart one. But Leo's the leader. He's supposed to lead us, how do ya think he felt? And Mikey always tries to fix people's problems. How'd you think he felt? And I'm the protector. I want to protect the people of New York. And I know that I felt awful. Still do. But we're not hiding away. We're just… accepting it."
Donnie didn't say anything but he perked up a tiny bit.
"Look, what I'm trying to say is that if you just stay in here then you're not gonna get over it for a long time. But if you come out and hang round with us then we're all gonna get over this together and start fixing it. As a team." He pulled Donnie into a one armed hug. "As brothers."
Donnie rested his head on his big brothers shoulder. "You're right Raph," he sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't have stayed here for so long… I was just fed up. But that's gone." he said determinedly. "I'm not just gonna sit around here moping anymore."
"You don't know how glad I am to hear that," grinned Raph, squeezing his shoulder. "And just in case you ARE ever tempted." He poked Donnie's side, resulting in the younger turtle giving a small giggle. "I know your weakness."
"Well that's definitely enough to confirm that I'm never gonna do that again," Donnie chuckled. He then turned serious. "And Raph? Thanks bro."
"For what?" asked Raph in confusion.
"Everything," Donnie said simply.
"Even tickling you half to death?" asked the red banded turtle with a teasing smirk.
"Even that." Donnie admitted. "To be honest, I needed to laugh. Oh and do me a favour and don't tell the others I'm still ticklish will you?"
Raph pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm. I dunno… what's in it for me?" he asked, mischievously.
Donnie fully returned the mischievous look. "I won't tell the others you hugged me."
Raph pulled his immediate younger brother into a loose headlock and gave him a noogie.
"Deal," he answered, before the two made their way out of the lab.
Well that was a heck of a lot longer than I had originally planned… but I did love the idea. It was loads of fun writing this, so please feel free to request again! Now I'd better do my homework. See? My priorities are totally in order. Please review!
TMNT Fanatic xxx