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"Aaaaaaaaand. . ." Leo flipped through the air, ignoring the ladder rungs leading down to the sewers. He landed in a roll and hopped to his feet, swinging his arms dramatically. "He sticks the landing!"
"Can you keep it down?" Donnie groaned, pausing on the ladder to press a hand against his temple. "My head is still killing me."
Raph nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, you got pretty banged up out there," he agreed. "You going to be okay?"
"I'm fine," Donnie sighed, dropping to the ground, where Leo was lounging against the wall. "Elbow's still bothering me, but I'll live."
Raph's brow furrowed. "I thought you said it was your shoulder that dislocated?'
"It was both. Hypno threw me pretty hard." He waved his hand dismissively, trying his best to ignore the ache lancing up his arm at every movement. "I popped them back into place hours ago. Don't worry about it. Dislocations and a mild concussion never killed anyone."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Concussions never killed anyone?" he echoed inquisitively.
Donnie rolled his eyes. "Well, not me," he corrected. He winced and pressed the back of his hand over his eyes as his vision blurred slightly. "I'm fine," he repeated. "Anyways, I still need to double-check Mikey's wound from yesterday."
"Poor guy," Raph sighed, rubbing the back of his neck ruefully. "I know he was upset he couldn't come today."
"Aw, he didn't miss much," Leo assured him as they began down the tunnels to the lair. "Just Hypno messing up some zoo looking for his old hippo."
"When do you think he'll figure out that they fused in the mutation?" Donnie asked casually. He lightly pressed a hand against his lower lip, relieved to see that it had stopped bleeding.
"About when he figures out to stop messing with the Mad Dogz!" Leo cheered, sweeping grandly in the lair. "Oh, Mikey!" he called brightly into the empty main room. "Where are you?"
"Kitchen!" Mikey's voice echoed. "I, uh, made stuff!"
"Oh, sick!" Raph grinned, snaggle tooth catching in the murky light. "Thanks, little bro!"
"Mhm." Mikey's voice sounded tight and nervous, but Donnie dismissed it as being upset about being left behind.
As they neared the kitchen, however, Donnie paused and tilted his head. "Do you guys hear that?" he asked, eyes narrowing. A soft, halfhearted beeping was sounding from somewhere, but he couldn't track it in the cavernous sewer.
Leo paused and tilted his head, one way then the other. "Yeah." He shrugged. "It just sounds like Sheldon charging."
Donnie frowned and considered going to check, but Leo's hearing was more sensitive than his, not to mention that Donnie was still suffering from a concussion. He shrugged and turned to follow his brothers.
Mikey had, in fact, made stuff. A lot of stuff. The entire table was practically laden with dishes, pasta and pizza and some sort of dessert that Donnie didn't recognize. Mikey himself was rummaging in the cabinet for something. Donnie noted that he was still keeping his weight off of his right leg, wrapped in a bandage, that had grounded him. Donnie wouldn't be surprised if he had been limping all day. He really shouldn't have been standing for however long it took to make this.
Donnie shared a concerned look with Raph and Leo behind Mikey's back. Usually a meal of this size meant that Mikey was extremely stressed about something.
Raph cleared his throat. "Hey, thanks for this, Mikey," he ventured slowly. "You, uh, doing okay?"
"What?" Mikey laughed nervously, turning over his shoulder. "What? No. I mean, yeah, of course. Why do you ask?" He laughed again and continued his search. "Just, y'know. . . antsy! That's all. Wanted to move." He shook his head and shut the cabinet. "I, uh, I think the parsley's in the game room, I was eating in there." He ducked out the door as quickly as he could.
Donnie winced. That limp was pretty bad. Good thing he hadn't tried to fight today.
Raph made to follow him out, but Leo rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, he'll talk to us when he's ready," he reassured the huge snapping turtle. "He always does. For now. . ." His eyes slid eagerly to the feast on the table. "Let's just enjoy that we have a chef in the family!"
Raph hesitated, then nodded.
Mikey reappeared in the doorway. "Got it!" He brandished a small bottle of dried parsley and carefully sprinkled a little on the pasta dish sitting on the table. "Alright. All done."
Donnie titled his head. "Hey, how's your leg doing, big guy?"
"Oh, it's fine," Mikey replied with a shrug. "I changed the bandages, like you said, and it doesn't hurt as bad as yesterday."
Donnie nodded appreciatively. "So, what've we got here, Angelo?" he asked, finally sitting in his usual chair.
"Pesto fettuccini alfredo!" Mikey announced with a nervous smile.
Donnie lit up, reaching for a bowl. "Oh, yes!" he cried. "That's my fa-" He broke off, staring at the bowl in his hands, then eyed the pizza sitting on the table. Pepperoni and mushrooms.
Also his favorite.
He fixed Mikey with a piercing look. "What did you do?"
"Donnie," Raph hissed.
Mikey sputtered out another nervous laugh. "W-what? No, nothing. This is just, y'know, what we had the stuff for."
Donnie frowned suspiciously, but took a very slow bite of the pasta. It was, as always, delicious. He decided to leave whatever had happened for after lunch and turned his full attention to his food. His brothers did the same, devouring the pizza as they recounted the fight to Mikey.
Mikey, for his part, did not seem as invested in the story as he usually would be. His kept his eyes on his plate, tapping his fingers nervously on the surface of the table. Donnie kept an eye on his throughout the meal. Mikey glanced at him a couple times, but quickly looked away as soon as he noticed.
"Then Hypno grabbed Donnie's arm and just flung 'im!" Leo crowed. "It was crazy!"
Mikey winced and glanced at Donnie. "Are you okay?"
Donnie shrugged. "Nothing serious."
"Oh. Good." A pause. "Y'know, have you, uh, had a talk with Doctor Feelings lately?"
Donnie choked on his soda, sputtering and coughing. He whirled to face his little brother, eyes wide. "What did you DO?!"
Mikey hunched over, hiking his shell up. "I just, uh -"
Donnie froze as he registered the beeping again. He whipped around to peer out the doorway. "Oh, sweet son of Galileo," he gasped, shooting to his feet. "My lab!"
"Wait!" Mikey shrieked, diving after him. He jumped in front of the door, blocking Donnie's way out. "Y'know, something people forget a lot, is that it's important to forgive and forget!" he squeaked, desperately scrambling for his 'Doctor Feelings' voice. "Remember that the people you care about are more important than material stuff!"
"Michelangelo," Donnie hissed, clenching his fists as his heart pounded. "If you don't move right this second -"
"Donnie!" Raph said warningly, standing. "Slow down."
Donnie ignored him, pushing past Mikey and bolting to his lab. He ignored Mikey's frantic voice chasing after him as he swept aside the curtain dividing his lab from the rest of the lair.
His eyes widened in horror.
Chaos.
Not his organized, it-looks-messy-but-I-know-where-everything-is-April-stop-being-so-judgy chaos, but just a pure mess. Exposed wires sparked from the ceiling, broken lights, shattered glass and plastic across the floor, cracked circuit boards fallen from their shelves, tools scattered across the floor. Even the mug of half-finish coffee he'd forgotten on his workbench had spilled and shattered.
A console by the computer beeped weakly.
Donnie's eye twitched.
"I'm so sorry," Mikey whispered, knuckles pressed against his mouth. Raph and Leo stood just behind him. Leo cringed as he took in the damage.
"Donnie," Raph said again. "Take a deep breath." Donnie did as he asked. It didn't help. His head throbbed, vision fuzzing slightly, and his arm still twinged as he kept it outstretched to hold the curtain.
"What," Donnie hissed, glaring at Mikey out the corner of his eye. "Did. You. Do?"
Mikey sniffled, wringing his hands anxiously. "I was reading comics in the game room," he began, speaking so fast that the words almost slushed together. "And then Sheldon came in and he wanted to play or race or something and I said no because you said to stay off my leg and then he grabbed my comic book and flew away and I went after him and then he flew in here and - and -" His breath hitched, but he pushed on. "I ran after him but I tripped on my leg and knocked something off the counter and then it lit up and started flying around and knocking stuff over and I wanted to clean up but I didn't want to make it worse and - and I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Donnie snapped, whirling around to face him. He felt his head throbbing and his chest burning and he was pretty sure he'd twisted his knee and he'd gotten so hurt today and he was so fucking tired! "Why is this so hard for you guys to grasp?! Stay out of my lab unless I'm there! It's not that difficult!" He was vaguely aware that his voice was getting louder, that tears were welling in Mikey's eyes, but he was so incensed that he couldn't get himself to stop. "Ooooh, he stole your comic book!? Could you not have gotten another? Why is it so hard for you to think of anything past three seconds ahead!" He whirled around and stormed in to the lab. "This'll take weeks to fix everything! Just, for once in your life, think!" He swung the curtain shut, wishing that he had an actual door to slam. He ignored the sound of talking outside.
"Donnie!" Leo cried from outside.
"Get back out here!" Raph snapped.
"Oh, sure, as soon as I clean this up," Donnie replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, as he flicked on his computer. "Does ten to twelve business days work for you?" He selected his most obnoxious electro song from his playlist and began blasting it as loud as he could bear. He knew his brothers hated his music. This would get them off his shell for a few minutes.
Raph and Leo continued trying to talk, but he couldn't make out what they were saying over the music. After a bit, they left.
He sighed and ran a hand down his face. God, he didn't even know where to start here.
Donnie muttered to himself as he poked a broken piece of tech on the floor with his bo staff. "You gonna shock me too, huh?" The tech made no response, so he knelt and picked it up, examining it closely. Looked fixable, luckily. He hefted it onto his workbench and continued collecting the smaller debris scattered on the floor. He muttered to himself as he worked, mostly grumbling about messes and time spent fixing things. His anger had mellowed out into annoyance, but he was ignoring it. What mattered right now was trying to wrangle some order out of this. He needed to get the lab in working condition again. So what, if he felt a little bad for yelling at Mikey? He'd be fine. They were brothers, everyone had yelled at each other before.
"Dude."
Donnie jumped and turned quickly to the door, where Leo stood leaning against the frame and glowering. He hadn't heard him approaching over the music.
Donnie sighed and stood, trying not to agitate his sore shoulder. "What?"
Leo jerked his head toward the main room. "You need to talk to your brother."
"Oh, do I?" Donnie huffed. He waved sarcastically. "Oh, hey Leo! How goes it? Anything exciting? No? Great, I'm actually -"
"Oh my God, I hate you so much," Leo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I mean the brother who is tearing himself to pieces right now."
Donnie paused. "What?'
Leo glared, crossing his arms. "The one who is bawling and convinced that you hate his guts." He strode across the room and hit 'pause' on the computer, perhaps a bit more aggressively than necessary. Donnie could now, faintly, hear sobbing from somewhere in the lair. He winced.
Leo gestured outside. "That brother."
Donnie hesitantly walked to the doorway and paused, straining to listen to the muffled conversation.
"He hates me!" Mikey sobbed. "He was already mad before you left because we were playing Roads Racers and I pushed him out of his chair before we crossed the finish line and I just thought - I -" His sentence broke off with another sob. "He's never gonna talk to me again!"
Raph's voice, too quiet to make out, said something, but Mikey just continued bawling.
"That doesn't matter! I messed up bad, you saw it!"
Donnie cringed. "Oh, love of Lovelace," he muttered, fiddling with his goggles.
Leo appeared next to him, still glowering. "Talk. To. Him."
Donnie sighed and tried to wave him away as he stepped out into the hallway, striding towards the source of the noise. Leo walked with him. Donnie couldn't tell if it was to make sure he actually got there or in hopes of listening.
They made their way to the game room. Donnie hesitated in the doorway for a moment, taking in the scene. Mikey sat curled up on the floor in front of the couch, hugging his knees to his chest, shoulders shaking. Raph knelt next to him, a hand on his back. He noticed Donnie in the doorway and glared as Mikey continued talking.
"I - I thought maybe if I made some of the stuff he likes, it'd soften the blow, or something, but he saw right through it." He buried his head in his arms. "I'm such an idiot."
That was too much for Donnie, who stepped forward. "Hey!" he cried, reaching forward.
Mikey jumped and looked up, blinking in surprise. He retreated slightly into his shell as he met his eye.
Donnie rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "Can I, uh, talk to you? For a minute?"
Raph gave Mikey a questioning look. Mikey nodded, and the eldest stood and joined Leo in the doorway. Donnie knew they were standing just outside, listening, but he dismissed the thought as he sat next to his little brother. Neither of them spoke for a moment, or even looked at each other.
Mikey wiped his eyes and turned away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"No, I'm sorry," Donnie replied, chancing a rueful look in his direction. "I should not have yelled at you like that. It wasn't cool."
Mikey wiped his nose. "I swear it was an accident," he added, anxious eyes turning to Donnie's. "I promise, I didn't mean to."
"Oh, Mikey, I know," Donnie assured him almost frantically, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "I know you wouldn't wreck my lab on purpose, buddy, it's okay." He sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry for overreacting. I've had a lot of stuff piling up lately, and I took it out on you. I lost my cool. That wasn't okay."
Mikey hesitated for a moment. He shifted to face him a little more. "It's okay," he mumbled. "I should've been more careful."
"It looks like everything's salvageable," Donnie assured him. "You didn't do any real damage, promise."
Mikey side-eyed him worriedly. "Did I mess up the drill?" he mumbled.
"Yeah, that got set back a few weeks," Donnie admitted.
Mikey groaned and buried his face in his arms. "Dang it!"
"Hey, it's okay!" Donnie insisted. "Doctor Feelings was right, I care about you a lot more than my tech." He smiled apologetically. "We're the youngest, we need to stick together. I forgot that. I'm sorry."
Mikey tugged at his kneepads. "You and Leo are twins," he pointed out. "He says that to you all the time."
Donnie shrugged. "Yeah, well, don't tell anyone, but I like you better than him."
"Hey!" Leo shrieked, confirming Donnie's suspicions.
Mikey's eyes widened before he burst into laughter.
Donnie turned to look over his shoulder. "That's what you get for eavesdropping, Nardo!"
Leo groaned loudly, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Donnie and Mikey paused. "I think they're still there," Mikey whispered.
Donnie waved his hand. "Yeah, I know," he muttered, settling into a more comfortable position. "Listen," he met Mikey's eye and gripped his shoulder firmly. "You are not an idiot, Mikey. You're not dumb."
Mikey frowned suspiciously. "You think everyone is dumb."
Donnie shrugged. "Well, yeah, everyone's dumber than me, because I'm a genius."
Mikey gave him an unimpressed look. "Great save."
"I - you know what I mean!" Donnie huffed, waving his hands. Mikey giggled quietly as Donnie continued. "On the grand scale of dumb-ness, you're not dumb. There are definitely dumber people." He nodded back towards the doorway. "Look, we've all wrecked my lab at some point, including me. I appreciate that you actually apologized, unlike some people." He turned and made a big show of coughing into his elbow. "Ahem - Raph! - Ugh."
"Hey!" Raph this time, shortly followed by a groan of annoyance.
Mikey laughed as Donnie shook his head. "Man, these allergies are crazy!" Donnie cried, wiping his brow. "Wow, that was weird!"
"Yeah, weird," Mikey grinned. He looked away and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I wish I could make it up to you, still." He shrugged hopefully. "Could I help you clean it up, at least?"
Donnie winced slightly. "Ah, well, I. . ." He met Mikey's wide, earnest gaze again. He had initially meant to decline, but he looked so eager to help, and Donnie's arm did still hurt. He smiled. "I could use the help."
Mikey grinned and held up a hand. "We cool?"
Donnie returned the smile and clasped his hand. "Only if you can forgive me for blowing up."
"Yeah!" Mikey tackled him in a hug. "We're cool!" Donnie stiffened at the touch, his soft shell tingling even under the armor, and Mikey quickly pulled away. "Sorry."
Donnie stood and offered him a hand. "I'm sure there's something you can do that'll keep you off your leg," he added.
Mikey accepted the help up and turned to the doorway. "We know you're both still there!" he called cheekily.
Donnie grinned. "Yeah, you guys are getting sloppy!"
"It must be the old age," Mikey said sagely as they brushed past the offending eavesdroppers, towards the lab. "Getting senile, y'know?"
Donnie nodded. "Old and feeble."
"I mean, Raph's sixteen. That's ancient."
The two of them laughed as Raph and Leo glared after them.
"Well," Leo muttered. "At least they're talking again."
Raph shook his head. "I forget how mean they can be together," he huffed.
A couple hours later, after a stretch of silence from the lab, the older two went to check in. When they found Donnie and Mikey sprawled on the giant beanbag, fast asleep, with Donnie's tablet still playing some cheesy romcom, they just smiled and left them with a blanket.
They were brothers. They'd be okay.