Books

"What'cha readin', Don?"

Startled somewhat from the unexpected presence, Donatello looked up from his book to find Casey looking over the edge of the couch where the turtle was comfortably sat, peering over the turtle's shoulder to see what he was reading. Smirking slightly, Donnie turned the book so that Casey could see the cover. "It's called The Book Thief," he explained. "April found it upstairs in her dad's old bookcase and thought I'd enjoy it."

Quirking his brow, Casey gazed at the cover of the book, which had a beautiful yet bizarre illustration of a little girl in a plain dress, holding hands and supposedly dancing side by side with a skeleton man wearing a black cloak. "…What's it about?" he asked. "Is it about death or something?"

Donnie smiled. "Well, that's the interesting thing; it's actually narrated by a personified version of death, which follows this little German girl who steals books to read, because he finds her intriguing. Pretty cool, right?"

Both of Casey's brows rose up at that. "Huh. That does sound pretty cool, I guess," he admitted. "How far have you got?"

Donnie looked down at the page number. "Hmm…not that far ahead, actually. Why?" He looked up at the boy, raising a curious eye ridge and smiling at him slyly. "Does the Great Casey Jones actually want to read with Dork-atello?" he probed.

Casey wanted to deny it. Really, he did. He was a man of action, adventure. He was a daredevil vigilante, donned with a hockey mask that struck fear into the weak hearts of evildoers. He didn't have time to read books. Sure, the occasional short story was fine, but to actually sit down and do nothing but read a book thicker than Mikey's head…it seemed almost impossible, unthinkable for a hero always on the run.

But there was just one problem. They were stuck at a farmhouse. There were no bad guys that needed pounding out here (at least not ever since that Speed Demon mutant, which had been a really freaky experience for them all) and with Raph out helping Leo with his training, Mikey out feeding the chickens, and April out cleaning the bedrooms upstairs, Casey found himself very bored. The only one who could possibly entertain him was Donnie. And when Casey saw him sat across the couch with a rather large book in his hand, though he knew he was going to regret it, his curiosity had taken over him.

And now that he'd asked, there was no going back. Casey Jones never backed down from anything.

Casey nodded his head once. "Sure. Why not?"

Donnie actually looked surprised at his answer. "…what, really? But I thought you weren't into reading," he said.

Casey smirked, jumping over the top of the couch to sit beside Donnie. "That's Casey Jones for ya; I'm full of surprises," he grinned as Donnie rolled his eyes. "But yeah, I've read a few books before. I'm not a complete illiterate, you know."

Dog-earing the page he was on so he didn't lose it, Donnie cast him a skeptical glance. "Really? Name a few you've actually read all the way through."

Shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets, Casey leaned back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling as he pursed his lips in thought. "…ummmmm…I've read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Help and…the entire play of Romeo and Juliet."

Donnie blinked. "You actually read Romeo and Juliet?"

Casey shrugged. "School stuff."

"Oh. What did you think of it?"

"It sucked."

That actually brought out a laugh from the mutant turtle. "Oh yeah, I have to agree," he smiled. "It was a little melodramatic if you ask me."

Casey laughed as well. "I know, right? I mean, I'm all into teenage romances and all, but seriously, those two barely knew each others names and they killed themselves in the end because they couldn't bear to live without each other?! What the heck?! Who actually falls in love like that?" he grinned as he shook his head.

Donnie's eyes darted to the side, a blush forming on his cheeks. Wanting to change the subject, he cleared his throat. "S, um…you still wanna read this?" he asked, gesturing the book in his hands.

Smiling as he scooted closer, Casey nodded. "Sure. Read away."

Donnie smiled back as he opened the book back to the first page, reading the words aloud with Casey paying rapt attention. "Here is a small fact: You are going to die…'"

"Hey guys, we're back – oh."

"What's up, Leo?"

"Raph, look at that."

"…Pfft! Oh my gosh. What are they doing?"

Later that afternoon, Leonardo and Raphael returned from their training in the forest to find that Casey Jones and Donatello were leaning on each others shoulders, fast asleep and snoring lightly, though the gap in Donnie's teeth was making him whistle a little bit. On Donnie's lap, there was a book that was half open, probably having been dropped from Donnie's hands.

Smirking, Raph took out his T-Phone, moved around the couch so that he was facing them and quickly snapped a picture. "This is pure gold," he snickered evilly.

Leo shook his head with a tolerant smile at his younger red clad brother, and picked up the book from Donnie's lap. "Huh. The Book Thief. I think I've read this before," he mused as he looked at the cover.

Putting his phone away, Raph moved over to look over his brothers' shoulder. He raised a brow. "…looks kinda weird to me. What's it about?"

Leo looked at him. "Wanna find out?"

Raph considered it for a moment. Then he shrugged. They didn't really have anything else to do.

So after sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the silent T.V, dog-earing the last page Donnie and Casey had read and flipping to the front of the book, the two brothers began to read.

"'Here is a small fact: You are going to die…'"

A/N: The Book Thief is one of my all time favorite books! And I thought that some Donnie and Casey bonding over reading would be kinda fun, along with some Leo and Raph as well! If you guys have any ideas, message me and I'll make it happen!

Thanks for all your reviews so far! More are on the way!