Warnings: None that I can think right now. Oh, yes, this has not been beta-ed at all. So, if somebody can help me with it, I will replace this with a revised version.

Author note: The turtles are young on this one, I haven't exactly defined their age, but we can make that between nine and twelve. Any comment is welcomed!

Part 1: Donatello

It was infuriating. I had been working on this project for almost a month now, although the last week couldn't really qualify as work at all. Dead end after dead end I faced, everything moving at a snail pace; maybe my patience is not as short as Raph's and Mikey's, but even I have a break point.

Giving my unlimited attention to the problem was the only way to find a solution, or at least that's what I hoped. Skipping house chores was easy enough, as I promised to take care of Raph's duties for the next two months while he was only covering me for a week. Of course, I didn't really believed he will be doing all of it, more probably botching and ditching some in order to make Leo come on his aid.

Leo. I sigh.

Usually, I find somewhat amusing Raph inferiority complex and his never ending taunts and complains regarding our older brother so-called 'perfection', but right now I agree wholeheartedly with every single thing he had ever said. Because, it's like this: Raph and Mikey understood how important this was for me; why couldn't Mr. Perfect just stop being such a prick, if only for this occasion?

But nooo, how could I ever think on skipping Ninjitsu practice, he said. And then he started this lecture on how important it was and how we needed to be constant and babble babble something I paid no attention because I was so mad everything looked red. There was no way I could convince Master Splinter if Leo was not on my side, I mean, he IS his favorite, isn't him? You had to be blind to not notice that; I should know: I was, all this years. But not any more, he just opened my eyes.

Of course, Master Splinter said no, then made Leo spar with me, if only to show how clumsy I was and how much I needed training. I stomped out of the dojo as soon as he dismissed us, eager to make up for the time I should had been devoting to my project. And then, Mikey decided to come humor me. I am not, I was not, mad at him; it is such an unusual occurrence, given our character. But he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh, and he just happened to break my project.

I lost it, utterly and completely, against my baby brother. I yelled, cursed and said a lot of obscure words I knew he had not even the remote idea what they mean. I throw bulbs, chips, wires and books, and he was really lucky because the hammer, screwdrivers and other tools were not at hand. Even then, he didn't comprehend it, and kept making fun of me. Just how much of an idiot could he be?

"Mikey, stop it".

Oh, great, look who's here! Mikey's personal mighty knight in shining armor. Just this time Raph is not the one about to strangle him. And then I realize the whole meaning of his words: he is here to rescue ME. Ha! It would be humorous if I weren't murderous.

"I can handle this", I say, stressing every word. We would be two brothers short once I'm done, but that doesn't seem that much of a loss right now. He looks me at the eye, and then blinks. I notice when he come to the conclusion that Mikey may need some rescuing after all. Good, someone at this place has brains at well. Not so good, I really need to vent some of my frustration by beating Mikey to a greenish purplish pulp.

"Is almost lunch time", he casually says, and why I'm not surprised he is right? My would be victim glances the wall clock, peeps and dashes out, wondering out loud what could he prepare in such a short time. My brain doesn't really registries when I throw the first hard object my hand could find, which happens to be the project I have been working at. No need to worry, really, as Leo catches it with ease and drops it softly on the bed.

"Your help was not needed", comes from my mouth, although it sounds more like a growl to me. Nonetheless, he understands either the words or the meaning, and gives me a small nod while starting to move out of my room.

"I know", he agrees, "but it was true". It's not the words which infuriate me, but the fact that he is always in control and that, no matter how hard we try, none of us would ever be as good as he was on Master Splinter eyes. I've never hated nothing or no one with the intensity that is now cursing thru my veins. The force of my hate should be scaring me but is not.

"Stay out of my life!" I scream, shutting the door with such force its echo reverberates all over the lair. The rest of the day moves on an agonizing pace, as I slowly cool off. My brain has refused to acknowledge its own existence, therefore no really advance came. And, thanks to Mikey, now I'm back to the point where I was nine days ago, if not beyond. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but did he have to butch the only part of it that I have no replacement for?

Somebody knocks my door, but I remain silent. I've yelled at Raph when he came to collect me for lunch, and then yelled again at Mikey when he tried to tell me about meal. It was dinner time and I was not that mad anymore; besides, it could be Master Splinter, and it really didn't seem such a great idea to yell at your Sensei. The door opens slowly, and the smell of fresh made pizza makes me realize how hungry I am.

"Donnie, can I come in?"

Leonardo. I say nothing, just look at him from my place on the floor. He choose to take this as a 'yes', coming in and leaving the tray on the floor, within my reach. Then he closes the door and sits in the floor, too; I feel the anger slowly blossom and prepare myself for whatever he has to say. He says nothing.

"Shouldn't you be training?" it is a question but I make it sound more as a reproach. It is not completely true, as his training hour should have ended about half an hour ago. But it is a valid question, says a nagging voice on my mind, he doesn't seem as tired as he usually is after it.

"I skipped practice today", he says, grabbing a slice of pizza and taking all the olives out of it. Raph likes dark olives; he always eats those that Leo would let aside. "I had other things to do". There is enough pizza for both of us, so I take some of it just to have something to do with my hands. So he can skip practice and I can't? But then, these are his extra lessons we are talking about, and nobody ever said they were mandatory.

"Like what, retrieving pizza?"

"Among other things". I follow his gaze to the tray, and discover a little napkin swan on the corner. There's only one member on this family that can make a piece of paper look sorrowful, and I can't really be mad with him any more. I pick up the little bird, just to discover it is heavier than it should. A small dark light bulb is stuffed inside, and all I can do is to look at it as if it were the most important object in the entire universe.

"Mikey says he is sorry" Leo says, and a little voice on the other side of the door says 'Sorry'. "That's number one hundred and twenty six", Leo adds, with a little smile I can help but return.

"But how …?" I trail, unsure of what I'm trying to ask.

"How did we know? Well, Mikey draw it for us". That makes sense; Mikey drawing skills are very accurate. "We remembered how thrilled you were when Master Splinter gave it to you".

"But people just don't drop things like this on their trash", I should know, have been looking for other since the first one came to my hands. "It is impossible to find one on the dump".

"It is possible" he gets up, picking up the tray and leaving on the desk a glass of cold plain milk, the way I like it. "You just need the right motivation to find it". He pops an olive on his mouth and opens the door, barely avoiding the green andorange blur that tackles me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Mikey whines and I can't do other thing than hug him back.

"One hundred and twenty nine" points Raph, while Leo hands him the discarded olives. They both laugh and leave us alone, but I'm not really paying attention to my baby brother any more, as one of Leo's arguments of early came back to me.

… and Donnie, really, I don't think it is healthy at all. See, you have this tendency to block yourself when keeping just one idea at mind. A break from time in time is not really such a bad idea, is it? …

"Mikey, do you want to watch a movie?"

No, it doesn't seem a bad idea anymore.