Lunch was a quiet affair. Fortunately, Leonardo stuck to his original plan. Peanut butter sandwiches with tomato soup. He even threw in some carrots and celery sticks for good measure. Nutritional. Unburned. Safe.
Dry, Mike thought. Bland. Boring. He dipped his sandwich into the soup to give himself a break from the desert that was his mouth. He had to give Leo credit. The boy knew his limitations and cooking was one of them.
Leo watched his family a bit anxiously. "Well? How is everything?" He'd heated up the soup himself, a fact he was damn proud of. For some reason, kitchen appliances did not like him. Toast came out burned. Anything heated on the stove had a layer of film on it that you had to peel off. Once, pizza that he had been heating up in the microwave exploded and covered the entire inside with cheese and sauce. It had taken forever to clean up.
"The meal is very…." Splinter searched for the words. "Very nutritionally sound, Leonardo." He rather enjoyed the raw vegetables. But he wished there was some sort of sauce to dip them in….other than peanut butter.
"Yeh, Leo," Mike chimed in. "At least with boring food, you can't poison us. But maybe for dinner, we can have something with taste."
Leo glared at Mike, but he didn't have much to say to that. He knew he had played it safe. Maybe for dinner, he could try something a little more adventurous. Maybe cook some kind of meat.
Raphael polished off his third glass of water to wash down the sandwich. Tomato soup wasn't on his high list of favorites, but he figured he'd grab some chips later. "Yeh, great Leo." He got to his feet. "But we did have jelly you know."
"No," Leo mumbled. "I dropped the jar and broke it." He ignored the chuckles from his family at his expense. There were so many things he could do almost to perfection. But even with being a skilled ninja, he felt downright clumsy in a kitchen and he couldn't explain it.
"I'm gonna go check on the outer perimeter alarms," Raphael announced gathering his dishes.
Don looked up. He had been concentrating very heavily on eating without choking. The food was edible, but the peanut butter and bread was cloying in his mouth if he didn't drink something to wash it down. "What's wrong with the alarms?"
"Nothing. But, I saw you wanted to add some improvements, so I was gonna see what I could do." He put his plate in the sink.
"Maybe I should go with you," Don volunteered getting to his feet with his dishes. "Those things can be touchy and go off if you're not careful."
Raphael shook his head. "Nah, I got it. 'Sides, you got chores to do right? Dishes?" He barely hid the smirk on his face. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Be careful," Splinter said. "And do not be gone too long."
"Look both ways before you cross the street," Mike warned.
He didn't bother correcting Raph's language when his brother rolled his eyes and mumbled something about Mike being a "dumbass." A good leader had to let some things go and not sweat the small stuff.
The dishes clattered in the sink, for a miracle not breaking from the way Don tossed them in exasperation. He glanced up, noticing the lack of noise in the kitchen. He saw his brothers staring at him in confusion and Splinter giving him a sort of "you're pushing your luck" warning look.
"It slipped," he said offering a believable, if completely false, explanation. Splinter gave him a look like he didn't really believe him, but he let the excuse lie and went to do a little training himself while his sons were occupied.
Mike got to his feet and set his dishes on the counter beside the sink. He gave Donatello a chiding look. "Now Donnie…" He was setting himself up to give a Leo-like lecture. One that would stand the test of time, maybe even be written down to use through the years. One that would cut through the haze of frustration in his brother's heart and leave him feeling…
"Shut up, Mike," Don cut his brother off. He wasn't feeling very receptive to any lectures. Especially one from his younger brother.
Mike wagged a scolding finger at Don. "Tut, tut, Donnie-boy. If you can fix something like the Battle Shell, then you can certainly fix this little attitudinal problem you have."
Don frowned at Mike. "I know one problem that can be fixed with a few stitches around your mouth."
Leonardo watched the exchange with a sort of morbid fascination. He wondered briefly if this was how he and Raphael looked every time they exchanged words. He shook his head in answer to his own question. Donnie didn't look nearly pissed off enough and Mike was enjoying himself a bit too much. He didn't see any of the frustration on Mike's face that he always felt while dealing with Raphael.
Mike folded his arms. This wasn't going exactly how he envisioned it would. Don wasn't supposed to be so…so…Raph-ish.
"I think someone needs a timeout," Mike declared.
It took all of Don's self control to not scream. He calmly tossed the rag he had been using to wash dishes into the sink and stormed out of the kitchen.
"Hey!" Mike followed him. "You didn't finish the dishes." He was surprised to find Don putting on his topside clothes. "Where are you going?"
"Out," Donatello decided putting on his hat. He wrapped a scarf around his face to better conceal himself.
Mike shook his head. "You can't go out. It's broad daylight. Too dangerous." He knew that he was on very solid ground with that piece of advice. Splinter didn't want them topside during the day. It was hard to be invisible under the glare of the sun.
"I'll take my chances," Don said pulling on a pair of boots. He glanced over to Leo who was watching from the kitchen. He could read his oldest brother's face pretty well. "I'll be careful." He said for Leo's benefit more than Mike's.
But the temporary leader was not to be swayed. He considered it his civil duty to be as much a pain in the ass as Leo always was. "Don, if you go out, you could get hurt." His tone reflected genuine concern, not the arrogant and patronizing voice he was using earlier.
Don matched Mike's sincere and serious tone. He even put one hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Mike, if I stay here, you WILL get hurt." With that said, he left the lair not looking back.
He left Mike standing there with his mouth wide open. "He left." He was so stunned he didn't notice Leo walking over to him.
"Yes, he left." He reached over and closed Mike's mouth.
Mike turned to Leo, his face registering shock and awe. "What do I do?"
Leo fell silent and he appeared deep in thought. "Well…if I were you…" He smiled slightly. "Which I am. I know what I'd do."
"What?" Mike thought he was kind of out of his element here. He never imagined that one of his "men" would desert like this. What kind of leader had his followers going AWOL within the first few hours of command.
Leo chuckled. "I'm going to play Street Fighter." He jumped over the couch and grabbed the controller. "Wanna play?"
