Disclaimer: I sadly do not own the TMNT. If I did, Donatello would be constantly in my arms, Mikey would be set loose on the free world, Leo would stop trying to be a gosh darn perfectionist, and Raph would be forced to laugh and have fun!
What? It would be funny…
Enjoy my chapter!!!
When Leo and Raphael enter the lair, their eyes are drawn immediately to Mikey who kneels outside their Sensei's room. He waves frantically at them to be quiet, Klunk batting playfully at his feet. Oh no, what has he done this time? Curious, they join Mikey, both surprised that the sounds of Don tinkering in his lab cannot be heard. As they near Mikey they hear a muffled conversation from the other side of the screen that is ajar to let a thin slat of light escape the room. All three brothers squat outside the door, Raph pressing his ear against the screen and Leo pretending not to be interested, though he perks up when he hears Donatello's voice.
"…Should I feel guilty or something? I mean, I'm making her trust me, when really I'm lying to her. I have to though, I'm not human like her, I'm not normal. I'm a ninja, my past filled with violence and darkness, things I don't think I can share with her. Honestly, I don't want to do this to her, it's just so unfair to Lily, and I have a deep feeling of deception…" Don trails off, lifting his eyes from the stone floor to his Sensei, whom kneels in front of him as Don pours out his thoughts and feelings. Splinter's gaze is steady, his face motionless except for the twitch of his whiskers as he asks, "Is this the only deep feeling you have for this girl?"
The flushed face of his son tells all as he lets his eyes fall to the floor, unable to focus on his Master any longer. Splinter continues, "If you feel this way about lying to her, then you do what you think you must do and tell her. However, I suggest you exercise caution and consider the safety of both yourself and our family before you act. Do what is right, my son."
A smile slowly works its way onto his muzzle as he searches his son's thoughts with interest. Splinter places his paw on Don's shoulder and assures, "My son, I am sure she will not hold anything against you about her nose."
Don's brow furrows in confusion, then shoots upward as he demands, "Did you read my mind, Sensei?! Can you hear people's thoughts?" The old rodent closes his eyes and gives a slow nod, ordering without opening his eyes, "Enter, my sons."
Mikey looks toward his accomplices with his mouth agape, his expression matching both Raph and Leo's surprised faces. Leo snaps his mouth closed and stands erectly, walking in with Raph and Mikey trailing guiltily behind him. The three kneel beside Donatello whose eyes narrow dangerously. Ignoring the apologetic looks on his brothers' faces Don stands up, turns on his heel and sweeps icily from the room, closing the screen behind him loudly.
"Do you not understand privacy? This is a terrible thing to do to your brother, he keeps his emotions to himself too often, and now you give him more reason to bottle them up? I am disappointed in you three, especially you, Leonardo; I trust you to use good judgment and set an example for your brothers."
"We're sorry Sensei, I assure you it won't happen again under my watch," Leo promises, cringing under his Master's gaze with his head bowed.
"Do not apologize to me, I am not the one who has taken offence," the rat comments, nodding to the door Don slammed moments earlier. Resting his hands on his knees, he continues, "Trust is one of the most important things in life, and if Donatello cannot trust you, he will not be able to train and fight with you properly. His connection with you will weaken if you do not give him the respect and privacy he deserves."
The trio stands up and exits Master Splinter's room. They walk toward the lab now alive with the sound of Donatello clacking rapidly on the keyboard and hang for a minute in the doorway. Unable to stand the tension, Raph says, "Look Donnie, ya know we didn't mean nothin' by it, we were just wonderin' what ya were talkin' 'bout. C'mon, don't give us the cold shoulder."
Don keeps his eyes on the screen, typing at a lightning pace. He ignores them even when Mikey steps forward and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. Able to tell Raph is losing his patience with Donatello, Leo orders firmly, "Just listen to us, Don. We didn't mean to hurt you. We understand that trust is an important foundation in family-"
"What, did you hear that from Sensei? Is that the only reason you're apologizing, because you were scolded?" Don snaps. Leo is smacked by his brother's angry words, wincing visibly from the harshness of his tone. Mikey retracts his hand from Don's arm as if he has been scalded by his words. Glaring at his brother's shell, Raph abandons all thoughts of reconcile, growling with a ferocious inflection to his voice, "Ya know what yer problem is?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me," Don replies dryly, scribbling some notes down on a pad of paper, angering the hot head further. In an attempt to get his words through to the genius, Raph shouts, "Ya keep yerself locked up in yer lab, ya don't tell us anythin', ya just hold yer emotions inside yerself!" There's a long pause, and Don finally murmurs bitterly, "I guess that's one thing you and I have in common, Raph."
Eyes narrowed to slits, Raph bares his teeth and snarls, "Ya don't know nothin' 'bout me, Don!"
Slamming his fist on the desk to which they all jump, Don forces out, "I know more about you than you could ever know about me, Raph! Now, can you please leave?" He clenches his eyes shut and slumps forward in his chair. Still upholding his leader façade, Leo orders, "Not until you talk to us about how you feel, we need to know. We want to know."
Aware he has no chance to avoid it, Don turns to them fully and studies each face before explaining, "I have different interests and I can't talk to you guys about my inventions. Since I don't have much to talk about with you guys, I just surround myself with my projects. Building, reading, making diagrams…they all have straightforward answers, yes or no, right and wrong."
He shakes his head, the look on his face one of a timid child, and continues, "But you guys, you don't have simple answers. I don't know what to say to Raph half the time, because his emotions change at the drop of a hat, and forget about Leo. He is just so intimidating; I don't feel very comfortable around him. Mikey, you wouldn't understand or even care about what I had to say. When paths for regular conversation are closed off, I don't feel tempted to talk about my feelings. I just…don't know how to relate to you three."
His brothers look at him empathetically, the confused teen adding, "And now, there's this girl, who likes science and engineering and knows exactly how I feel…except the whole giant, mutated ninja turtle thing. Someone who's honest to me, and I can't even tell her who, or what, I am. It doesn't seem fair."
"Wow Donnie, that's deep," Mikey comments soberly. A grin quickly spreads across his face and he teases, "Bro, you got it bad for her!"
Donatello throws his hands in the air in surrender, deducing his attempt at getting through to his brothers was in vain. Choosing his words carefully, Leo encourages, "You know what, Don? I think that was a good thing to do," and shoots Mikey a glare. To get back on the eldest brother's good side, Mikey nods in agreement. Satisfied, Leo continues, "Now that we know how you feel, we can try to change for the better."
"Don't change too much, I would miss you guys," Don confesses, smiling thankfully. Raph smirks and reminds him, "It's us! How much can we change? I mean, Mikey's gonna be a kid forever." Raph laughs as he receives an elbow in the side from an unimpressed Mikey. An uncommon mischievous smile appears on Leo's face, and he presses, "So, how was your night, Don?"
Being under their scrutinizing gaze is like having his mind read, and Don has already decided that he dislikes this as Master Splinter discovered he kissed Lily. A malicious smile on his face, Mikey crows, "The green and nerdy got white and dirty! Did you kiss her? Was it good? Tell us!"
Don shakes his head wildly 'no', so Raph says menacingly, "I guess we'll have to get our information another way." Before Don can act, Leo and Raph have him held in place. Mikey rubs his hands together in anticipation and begins to tickle Don. Not wanting to break, Don squirms, eyes watering from the effort of holding his laughter inside. Finally he gasps, "Alright, I'll tell you!"
They release him and wait in relative patience for him to catch his breath. Casting a glance at the door, Don murmurs so their Master won't hear, "Yes, I kissed her and it was…great. I don't know how great it was for her though, seeing as our noses collided-"
He is interrupted by Mikey bursting into a violent fit of laughter. Raph and Leo join in but opt to chuckle behind their hands instead of rocking back and forth like Mikey on his chair. Don allows them to laugh, thinking how funny it would have looked from a different perspective, but tells them to calm down when Mike is in danger of falling off his chair. At the time, he was mortified; now, it doesn't seem too bad. Taking his brothers by surprise, he turns the same question on them.
Mikey is the first to speak, admitting, "Yeah, I kissed her, but the stupid waiter had to come in the middle of it to give us the dumb check."
"Prob'ly the luckiest break she ever got, considering it was you she was kissin'," Raph quips. In an attempt to embarrass Raph, Mikey counters, "Oh yeah? What did you do?" Raph's eyes dart from Leo to Mikey and back, but Leo maintains his neutral expression. Shrugging, Raph replies, "Well I…uh…I kissed her at the restaurant, but she wasn't feelin' good, and then on the couch, well, she was influenced by then, so I'm not sure that counts—"
"WHAT?!" The brothers cry in unison.
"You kissed her on the couch at her house?" Don asks, truly shocked at how fast his brother took things. Eyes the size of saucers and voice about an octave higher, Mikey demands disbelievingly, "You kissed her twice?"
"You didn't tell me that!" Leo shouts in offense, a little hurt he wasn't let in the loop. In sheer desperation, Raph points accusatively at Leo and counters, "You didn't tell me anythin' either, Fearless." Leo's face turns a deep red as the spotlight is turned to him. He looks for an escape, but as Raph is in his way, there is nowhere to go. Grinning madly, Mikey wolf whistles and teases, "Ooo! Does our levelheaded leader have a crush? Scandalous!"
Pleased with himself for putting Leo in such a position, Raph persuades, "Come on, Leo, out with it." Raph is answered by a scowl from his older brother. Before Leo can blink, Raph snatches the shell cell from Leo's belt and flicks it open, finding the recent calls file and offering, "I can call Rachel and ask her 'bout it if yer too embarrassed."
"You wouldn't dare," Leo growls, shifting to a fighting stance. Holding his thumb dangerously over the 'call' button, Raph retorts with a smirk, "Try me."
Leo tackles Raph to the floor, the pair scrapping until Leo gains the upper hand and retrieves his shell cell, snapping it shut loudly and clutching it to his chest. He knows they won't leave him alone unless he tells them something, so he says, "It was…well, for lack of a better word…wonderful. Okay?"
They leave him be and Leo thinks he's in the clear. That is, until Mikey starts singing loudly, "Leo and Rachel sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-AHH!"
The pillow from Don's bed comes in contact harshly with Mikey's head, and he tumbles off his chair to the floor on impact from Leo's incredibly hard throw. Don can't help but smile, thinking, 'Maybe we're more alike that I thought.' And he watches as Mikey retaliates by flinging the pillow at Leo. It misses its target and hits Raph in the face.
"I'm gonna kill ya, Mikey!" Raph bellows, threatening to strangle the turtle with poor aim. Becoming alarmed, Don steps between the two at the risk of his own safety.
'Okay, we are more alike than I thought, just not as much as I'd hoped.' Don says to himself, trying his best with Leo's help to keep Raph from shoving the point of his sai into Mikey's eye.
O.O Emo Donnie is sexy! Haha, this was a nice Don-centric chapter in my opinion, we got to know more about the misunderstood genius. And, it was very much fun to find out about the guys', ahem, 'progress' ;)
Hehe, they sounded like thirty year old women, the way they were interrogating each other and comparing kisses.
More to come, so come back soon! Now that it's summer, it will be a lot easier to update and it will go faster (note I did not say smoothly).
Please review, the button is begging you to push it!