Donnie squinted at his laptop, scrolling through the video feeds that filled the screen. He could feel the faint throbs of a blooming headache behind his eyes, but he couldn't pry himself away… didn't dare pry himself away. At least not till he'd sorted through today's footage. If the Foot was up to something big, as he had no doubt they were, they needed any scrap of info they could get.

The sound of knuckles tapping on wood broke into Donnie's thoughts and his nerves, already wound tight enough to snap. His head whipped up, ready to snap a reprimand, only to be met with Mikey's concerned eyes.

"Dee?"

Though he would never actually admit it, Donnie was not at all immune to their baby brother's charm. The look on the youngest turtle's face was more than enough to stop his rebuke, but not to ease his irritation.

"What is it, Miguel?"

The words still came out harsh, but when Mikey's eyes flickered, it was with no trace of hurt… only worry. Anyone else might find that surprising, but almost nothing about Mikey's emotional intuition surprised Donnie anymore.

"Dinner's about ready," the youngest turtle said. "So you can take a break to eat."

Donnie pressed his lips together, glancing at his laptop screen. He still had some footage to go through, and the thought of delaying made unease gnaw at his gut. It wasn't just that he hated to leave things unfinished, but that he might not see something important in time, the implications that might have…

"I'm… not sure if I'm hungry right now…"

But it was at that moment that his stomach chose to betray him by letting out an obnoxiously loud growl. Donnie cringed, his teeth clenching. When Mikey spoke again, Donnie could hear the smile in his voice.

"Chicken gyoza. Himari let me cook."

That thought alone was almost enough to make the softshell salivate. Of all the Japanese food he'd learned to make, gyoza was one that Mikey had down to a fine art. Donnie didn't even care when the youngest turtle added mushrooms, it was that good. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he closed his laptop.

"Fine."

Mikey's eyes lit up with delight, and Donnie couldn't stop himself from smiling a little as he rose from his cross-legged seat on the low bed. Once again, his little brother knew how to brighten anyone's day with a smile.

"How's it looking back home?" Mikey asked. Donnie sighed, his face sobering in thought as they headed down the hall.

"Not much change from the regular footage, but Shelldon's been scanning the area around the lair. There's been Foot activity the past few days."

He heard Mikey's sharp inhale, and the box turtle's voice was softer and fearful when he spoke.

"You… you think they know…"

Donnie shook his head.

"No. They show no sign of having any knowledge of the location. It looks to be focused more on the nearest entrance to the Hidden City." He pressed his lips together, almost hearing the gears in his mind turning. "It's been almost a week, and I'm sure our absence has been noticed. No doubt they've concluded that to be our likely location. With the yokai security all but impenetrable to them, it seems they're monitoring known portals."

He fell silent for a few moments, then Mikey's soft voice broke it.

"You're gonna tell Leo, right?"

Donnie clenched his teeth; he knew Mikey would ask that question. He also knew that the answer he should give wasn't the one he wanted.

"Dee," Mikey prompted. "You know he's gotta know."

The softshell let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. Mikey was right, of course. Granted, Donnie knew that was the only real option all along… he just hated hearing it.

"I know," he mumbled. "I just… I hate making things harder for him. Especially now."

He felt Mikey give his shoulder a gentle pat. Normally such sudden contact would make him cringe away, but for some reason, Mikey was the only one who'd never had that effect on him. Even Leo, his self-proclaimed twin, couldn't claim that.

Baby brother charm, bro, was all Mikey would say about it.

"It'll be harder for him if he knows you're keepin' stuff from him," the box turtle said. "And he'll know."

Donnie felt a wry smile tug at his face. It was true… one if the things he found most admirable as well as infuriating about his twin was the fact that Leo was able to read him like a book.

"I know. I will tell him."

By now they had reached the house's tatami room, and the others were already there, seated around the low table. Leo was the only one not sitting cross-legged, his injured leg resting on a cushion, but his mood seemed lighter, and he was gesturing in his usual flamboyant style as he spoke.

"And Raph made up his mind that he wasn't gonna bail us out, even if he was arguing with himself like an old married couple. So there I was, flat on my shell in the tank with three fans running full blast. I admit, my face man routine hit a slight snag that time…"

Usagi smirked, raising a brow.

"And what exactly was the snag… that your head was on fire, you were dripping sweat, talking like you were drunk, or you smashed up the shop, all while trying not to pass out?"

A ripple of laughter followed as Leo crossed his arms with a disgruntled frown.

"You try smooth talking with mystic fever," he grumbled. "Not easy even for an expert."

"Hey, you guys were th' ones who kept eating the poison," Raph chuckled, then looked up as Donnie and Mikey entered. "Hey, guys, good timing!"

The others followed his gaze, then Donnie's smile widened as Leo grinned, clearly relieved to see them.

"Hey, 'Tello… Mikey get ya pried from your screen?"

Donnie waved a hand.

"Michael informed me that he'd made gyoza, and I was almost done anyway."

Leo's grin remained, but Donnie could hear a little more tension in his voice.

"Anything we should know about?"

For a moment, Donnie considered at least delaying until the end of the meal, but he knew that was very unlikely to put his twin's mind at ease.

"Nothing too major," he said, careful to keep his voice neutral. "But the Foot are monitoring certain portals to the Hidden City, presumably the ones they know about. Likely they suspect we're here."

Leo's brow immediately furrowed; the rueful thought came to Donnie that he was developing his own brand of a 'Raph chasm'. Hopefully his skin treatment regimen continued to work, or the whole clan may soon be subjected to an intense bemoaning of premature wrinkles.

"If they're looking for us," the slider said softly. "They might start trying to draw us out. And that means people are gonna get hurt."

He directed his gaze to the table, tapping his fingers against it, then let out a sigh.

"It might be time for you guys to start running some patrols. Without me."

Donnie felt an uneasy clench in his stomach. Of course, the thought had occurred to him

too, but he'd done his best not to focus on it.

"But, Leo," Mikey said in a quiet voice. "If you're not there, they'll know one of us is down."

Leo looked up at his younger brother, giving him a reassuring yet solemn smile.

"It's okay, Mikey. You guys can manage fine, I know."

His eyes moved to Raph, and Donnie could almost hear the words his twin was leaving unsaid.

You can lead them better than me.

The softshell had little doubt their eldest brother could hear the same thing, but Raph only patted Leo's shell with a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry, Leo. It might be more of a challenge, but we can make it work till you're up to fighting again."

That made Leo's smile widen and he nodded.

"Thanks, Raph."

The tension in the atmosphere eased noticeably, and the meal was able to proceed with lighter, more idle banter. But Donnie couldn't help noticing those ever-present shadows in his twin's eyes, and he wondered what was bothering the slider more: the fact that he couldn't be there to support his brothers and take the role he was now determined to fulfill, or that he was certainly sure they would manage so well without him they'd decide they didn't need him in it.

Never gonna happen, Nardo, Donnie thought firmly. We'll always need you, and I will make sure you get that through your dum-dum head one way or another.