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Donnie was, while expressive - contrary to how his harsh personality comes off - is still definitely reserved. He kept secrets like one keeps spare change, casually and without much thought. He was independent, often isolated, and emulated that 'bad boy' energy like he insisted he was.
That didn't mean he was cold. He was in certain ways, but he had never meant to be. He just liked his personal time and had very high standards. Due to his approval being so hard to grasp, sometimes his brothers would chase after it unconsciously. Michelangelo - making him snacks, practicing for hours at cooking to perfect the most delicious meal he could manage for his very, very specific taste buds. Not to mention how some textures and scents would send him gagging, no matter how good the food was; it was hard work.
Leonardo would show off his mystic abilities and skills. And when making something to soothe his insomnia, he'd end up with two mugs, his hands instinctually making a cup of black coffee; of course portaling into Donnie's room to give it to him, acting chic and relaxed despite a sense of nervousness. Sparring with Mikey or Raph, his eyes would unconsciously linger on Donnie to see if he may be watching and if he was at least a little impressed by his so-called twin.
Raphael noticed it the least, being the oldest, obviously looked for Donatello's approval much less than Mikey or Leo would. But he did it in subtle ways; when he'd listen to Donnie's unintelligible rambling with rapt attention despite it making his brain hurt (Donatello must be making up some of those words... right?), or when offering to carry him despite his insistence against it. Donnie came off as innately lonely. Some feeling of something forlorn; distant, which both Raph and Mikey picked up on (Leo may have, perhaps unwittingly). He would always give Donnie small and short check-ins throughout the days, fearful if Donnie would accept them or not.
And this all, beneath the surface, finally rose to the top in a total accident. It was a usual day in all aspects, the early morning when just Leo (thanks to insomnia) and Donnie (thanks to pure, terrifying willpower) were awake.
"Doooonnie," the voice echoed down through his lab, making Donatello nearly fall backward out of his chair. Sleep deprivation always made him jumpy (or maybe it was the caffeine?). He let out a deep sigh, clearly irritable, but did not share any objections when Leo slinked into the room with a genial smile, two mugs in his hands. At least he didn't portal straight onto my lab table again, Donnie thought, relieved. "Leo."
Leo perked up at not being immediately kicked out, setting the purple, steaming cup of coffee next to his twin, leaning onto the counter far too naturally. "So, what sort of doohickey are you making, mi hermano ?"
Giving him a suspicious side-eye, Donatello cautiously started explaining. "I'm working on a third battle shell. I have my jet pack and my spidey one, but I decided that if I could modify some of the wirings and rewrite some code - not to mention the high-grade titanium I was able to purchase recently I'd be able to make a two-in-one. It'd be more convient."
To his surprise, Leonardo was actively listening.
Leo himself couldn't help the grin that overcame his face. Donatello was always wary, and seeing him so alarmed by him just... sitting there, listening, was...
Well. It was something. Leo couldn't quite identify the feeling, but it was a fun one.
Donnie swallowed, licking his lips (how did Leo notice that?), before continuing. "I was debating the type of titanium alloy to use, but I just decided to go classic and go down the 6 percent aluminum and 4 percent vanadium route."
"Of course," Leo said as if he knew what Donnie was even talking about.
"... Right . Of course. Anyway, just after I decided that I finished making the shape and I'm just halfway through the wiring." Donnie decided to make his typically long technological ranting short and sweet - he knew if he went on for too long that Leo would tune him out.
Leo simply looked at him expectantly. Donnie stared back, expression matching his brother's. Leonardo couldn't help but snort. "C'mon, Don-Ton. Already out of words? I-"
And then Michelangelo walked in. Neither twin expected the sudden entrance, jumping out of their seats. Both instantly relaxed out of the battle-ready stances as the sleepy Mikey walked right over to Donnie, holding out his orange bandana to him. Leo stared at the scene a little confused, face going from confusion to surprise as Donatello sighed, took the bandana, turned Michelangelo forcefully around, and started tying it.
"Donnie ties on your bandana every morning?!"
Mikey, finally noticing Leo's presence, eyes widened. The two looked at each other, awkwardly gobsmacked at the other for utterly no reason at all. Donnie interrupted their staring contest with a straightforward answer, "yeah, almost every morning." He finished and shoved Mikey away. "Now, shoo. I'm working."
Swatting at his little brother, he sat back down and looked over at Leo. "Well?"
Leonardo sputtered, realizing his brother was actually expecting him to stay . He thought he'd usher him out, the same as Michelangelo. It made him feel a little smug.
Right away, Donatello went on raving about his new tech, Leo seemingly having to have unlocked his obscure excited gibberish button. Leonardo tried to listen, really, but Mikey just standing there looking like some abandoned puppy was making him feel a little bad. (And he was still a little shellshocked from this Mikey-and-Donnie discovery. Hmm... would Donnie tie his bandana too? Probably not...)
Then Mikey teared up, leaping upon Donatello and hugging him like he was some sort of teddy bear, babbling some nonsense about "we don't have nearly enough time together", full of sniffling and nonsense; down on his knees, hugging Donnie tightly around the midsection. Leo only raised a brow, letting out a small puff of laughter. What is this absurdity? He's never seen Mikey act like that with him. He's seen him act childish, sure, but not... like that .
To his shock, Donatello just sighed (again, but this time audibly with a "Sigh."), and allowed the hug like it was a regular occurrence. Wearing his spidey battle shell that was soon to be replaced, a mechanical arm popped out to pat Mikey on the head. He was acting as if this was a chore he disliked but was used to. Leonardo knew Donnie had a soft spot for Michelangelo, but this was why?
"D... Mikey, what are you doing?" Leo said hesitantly, finding this vaguely hilarious, yet a little weirded out.
Donnie gave Leo a deadpan stare, before looking at Mikey with this weird sort of affectionate exhaustion.
And then Mikey peeked out from Donatello's plastron, smirked; smug, letting out a little scoff before continuing his emotional dramatics.
...What?
Leo felt his eye twitch. Oh . Ohohoho. I see . Ha! No, I see Mikey . HAH.
He stood up, his typical smile awfully forced through anger, absolutely seething, with crossed arms. Both brothers looked up to the younger twin before Leo slowly relaxed his pose. He moved a bit robotically, but it came off as normal (at least to Donatello) as he pats his older twin on the head (Donnie quickly tried to push the hand away). "All. Right. I'll. Get. Going. Donnie." Yup . Real natural. "Make sure to drink that coffee I gave you . Before it gets cold." He said, before storming out, steam nearly coming out of his ears.
You want competition? I'll show you a competition! Hah! Hahaha!
"What's up with him?" He could hear Donnie mumble before Mikey quickly distracted him again with more whining. Leo could hear that stupid whining until he finally escaped the metal hallways of the lab.
You'll learn to challenge me, little brother!
Leonardo wouldn't be Leonardo if he wasn't sickeningly competitive, you know.
It was a slow change. Those mornings of Leo entering Donnie's lab with kindness and a cup of coffee once a rarity were now a near-daily occurrence. Any time Donatello broke into his tech-rants, Leo took his goddamn notes and made sure to remember it all, even if he had no clue what the shell his twin was even saying. Snacks composed of granola bars and flavorless juice (literal water with way too much ice and sugar) were delivered to Donnie's room as per the Leo-portal-express, sometimes the snacks were replaced with pizza, along with a dessert of giving a big ol' hug.
As expected, everyone noticed this sudden change. Raph thought it was good, resulting in the hell of teambuilding exercises that would come once a month to harass them going down to once every two months (an announcement which cheers in response shook the sewers). Splinter would give Leo the most confused, doubtful look, and April was suspicious... but welcomed it. Donatello was so paranoid after the first week, looking ready for a cruel prank to come crashing down upon him, but after a month he had gotten... sort of used to it.
Michelangelo, of course, finally understood what was happening just as Donatello got used to the strange, affectionate behavior (thought he'd try to fight those "Free Leo Hugs" tooth and nail).
Its dramatic climax was met when a tired Michelangelo, clearly unused to staying up late, came crashing into the kitchen as Leonardo was making his and Donnie's coffee. "What are you doing ." He said, panting for breath in the doorway.
"What are you doing up?" Leo asked, raising the blue cup to his lips.
"I set an alarm. What are you doing? Are you messing with Don?"
" Nooo . why would I?"
Michelangelo stood there, catching his breath, before snatching Donnie's purple mug and trying to dump the coffee down the drain. "Hey!" Leo cried out, barely stopping him as the two began to wrestle each other for the cup, and, well, you can imagine fighting over an extremely hot liquid ( Donnie liked it hot enough to scorch his taste buds) in an easily breakable mug MIGHT be a bad idea .
The two ended up in the med bay with burns on their hands with a weary, clearly irked Donatello. "You just. Shoved your hands in the ICE CUBE TRAY?"
The two flinched, looking off to the side with sulky expressions. Donnie had their hands under some slightly cool, lukewarm water, holding them in place with his mechanical arms. "You two are lucky you didn't wake Raph up with how you were yowling. Can you imagine how he'd react? He'd actually go crazy."
Leo decided to speak up first, albeit hesitantly. "I- it's not my fault, hermano . It was-" Michelangelo quickly realized what he was doing, intervening with a well-timed yelp of pain.
Obviously, Donnie lost all interest in what Leo was saying to inspect Mikey's hand some more, trying to hide his worry under his normally indifferent disposition.
Leo's neck nearly creaked at his slow turn toward Mikey, giving him the most murderous, intimidating glare he could manage. Mikey, as Donnie was distracted, just stuck his tongue out at him. Oh, I am so going to kill him.
" Sigh . You're fine, Mikey. Come on, now." He pulled them free from the water, turning it off and shoving them both onto a cot. He sat back on a rolling stool, spinning himself away from the two and crossing his arms. "So what happened?"
Both of the younger brothers started speaking at once, both of something along the lines of "It's his fault!"
Donnie's mechanical arms struck them both on the head. Leo gasped, smacking the arm away and standing up. "I was just trying to bring you your coffee when Michelangelo decided to wrestle over the goddamn cup!"
Michelangelo gaped, stuttering. "I-- that isn't- no! That isn't- what- that isn't what happened!" He cried out weakly.
Donatello looked between the two, unsure. It's not like he can side with one over the other. Mikey wasn't one to lie, but neither was Leo. At least when they did, it was obvious - or so he thought. He huffed with a spoken "Huff!" aloud, pressing a hand to his face as he thought. "Let's just say it's both your faults." Honestly, he didn't care enough to think about it that hard. It was too early in the morning for this.
He grabbed their wrists, pressing some cooling gel upon the slight burns on their hands, just in case. It wasn't that serious, but better safe than sorry.
The two both seemed so stunned by Donatello's response they sat there for a few moments before he started to leave. Both immediately started to plead their case.
"Seriously! It's not my fault! Mikey just got in my face all ridiculous-"
"I wouldn't do something like that! He spilled it on me-"
Donnie ignored both of their pleas on the way to his lab and slammed the door in their faces.
...
"This is all your fault!" Both exclaimed, going forehead to forehead before tackling each other again to fight. This continued until Raph separated them nearly twenty minutes later, finally awoken by the ruckus.
He decided not to question it, as he was still half-asleep himself.
On the next patrol, Leo stuck to Donnie's side like glue. Luckily his brother was too busy messing around with his new 2-in-1 battle shell to notice, anyway. It was cute, how excited he was about such an invention. He kept showing it off, combined with paragraphs upon paragraphs of how they worked. Raph ignored him in favor of watching the streets, and Mikey had fallen asleep, so it was just him and Donatello.
Donatello, it seems had gotten a bit used to Leonardo's consistent listening, which only made him more animated and excited that someone was actually listening to his gibberish. It was so full of enthusiasm that Leo couldn't help but pay attention, despite his past claims that it was boring. And, in some ways, yes, it was, but Donnie was honestly good at explaining things when he genuinely wanted to teach someone something. Not that Leonardo understood it whatsoever, but he could get the concept of some of his tech mechanics now.
And, not to mention, the fact that Donnie's full attention was on him fed his ego.
Of course, they were interrupted by a villain, which was uncommon after the numerous near-world-ending debacles. One, because it was likely some of them may have died, two, because they were spooked out of it, and three, the turtles were much, much stronger because of it. Of course, for the turtles, it wasn't all well and good, such as Leo's insomnia getting worse, along with other issues that resulted from such occurrences - however, long enough time had passed that they could look back upon them without much issue.
Mikey was awoken by Raphael, and all four of the turtles went leaping off the roof. At least Meat Sweats attacks were quite consistent, though he was bolder. He now had nearly no issue with going out in the open - which was inconvenient for the turtles, but luckily tonight was desolate, not a person in sight.
The fight was nothing special, though Leo's "funny" quips were dialed up to eleven (possibly in some stupid attempt to impress Donatello, who was thoroughly unamused, but maybe it brought a minute smile to his face). But due to Meat Sweats absorbing some big animal through his nasty tentacle arm (ick!) he was much, much stronger, and within a few well-placed hits, he had sent Leo flying.
"Leo!" Raph called out, moving to go after his brother before Meat Sweats struck him, immediately distracting the eldest. Mikey quickly went after his brother, but Donatello, thanks to his new battle shell, was able to zip over and catch his twin before even the tails of his mask could brush against the ground. He scooped him up and held him against his chest, skidding to a stop. "'Nardo," he said in a tense voice. "You okay?"
Leonardo looked up at his brother, his heart racing in his chest for reasons unbeknownst to him. "Ah? ...Yes- yes! Yes. I'm good." He scurried out of his arms, his throat suddenly feeling painfully dry. "Thanks, hermano ." Did his voice sound weirdly squeaky, or was that just his imagination? And, wow, he was taller than Donnie. It's been a while since he noticed that. Why was Donnie still holding him? When did their faces get this close?
Why was he still out of breath?
And suddenly he was snatched. He gasped, being yanked back by the chain of a kusari-fundo - Mikey . He is going to throttle him!
"Whoops! Donnie already got you." Said Michelangelo, with a blatantly false smile, before yanking him back into battle. Donatello followed with a "Careful, Mikey!"
Of course, it ended with Meat Sweats retreating.
Michelangelo had stepped into the garage that held the Turtle Tank with tentative steps. Donatello always got a bit obsessive when he worked on that tank, and Mikey is pretty sure he may have been awake for at least 48 hours out of sheer resolve, due to the air just smelling like gasoline and oil, not coffee. His brother was always so cool like that, not that he'd ever say that aloud, or else Donnie's arrogant self-image might get even more conceited.
Even more, luckily, it was midday, typically when Leo would pass out, his sleeping issues catching up with him.
"Donnniie?" He called out, and finally spotted Donatello, head buried into the engine. His brother jerked, bumping his head on the hood before peeking out to see who the unwelcome guest was - ah, Mikey.
"Michelangelo." He said dully, before going back to work without paying much mind to him. Mikey crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. Stupid Turtle Tank. Even if it was super awesome . Mikey's voice was careful - Donatello always would pull away if he sensed your worry - "Why don't you take a break?"
Ah, no. That was too strong. He could tell by the way Donnie's shoulders tensed. Mikey quickly switched gears. "I'm reeaaally bored. C'monn, let's go skate on the ramp."
Donnie stepped free from the hood, black powder of something smudged on his face and gloves, the spidey arms of his battle shell all in the forms of various tools, each of which Michelangelo had no idea what they did. "Please, Michel. I'm working on the Turtle Tank right now - I have an array of ideas, mostly in the weaponry department... missiles, you know, the uzhe."
"...Really? Sounds... fun. Uhm," he bit his lip. How to get his brother out...
Guilting it is.
"I really wanted to work on some art with you... but I get it if you're busy. You always are."
He did feel a bit bad, but he knew the guilting never actually made Donatello feel guilty - Donnie always struggled with guilt and empathy, so it was more like he just irritated Donnie into hanging out with him. He always enjoyed it in the end though. Usually.
"Eugh. Alright, alright, fine. Stop your... whatever."
Mikey cheered, grabbing Donnie and tugging him off, ignoring the exasperated expression on his older brother's face.
He, truthfully, didn't know what he wanted to do, but he was sure he can figure it out!
They ended up in Mikey's room with a myriad of paints and brushes, and Donatello's battle shell being (maybe a bit forcefully) discarded.
"Michelangelo. You are not going to paint on me."
"C'mon!! It'd be fun! Please, please, please, pretty please?" He begged, hanging onto Donnie's arm. Donatello shrunk back, his lip curling in clear disgust, debating if he could escape without Mikey bursting into tears or not. Apparently, he decided it'd probably be impossible, groaning in defeat.
"You have one hour ." He said, hissing through his teeth, and turned around.
Mikey couldn't help but cheer again, grabbing his softest brush to paint the shell of his soft-shelled brother. He always found Donatello's shell to be cool. Sure, it wasn't super protective (still better than a human's back), but it could do a lot of things Mikey's, Leo's, and Raph's couldn't. Donnie was the most flexible, and could even take hits to the shell without it being lethal, unlike his brothers.
Of course, Donnie being a spiny softshell turtle wasn't always great. Like one time, Donnie fell asleep during a cold bath and stayed asleep for nearly six months. Spiny softshells hibernate, you know? They didn't know at the time of course, which resulted in breakdowns being held.
Mikey pressed a hand to the leathery texture of Donatello's shell, slowly moving the brush over the rough surface. It wasn't the best canvas, but it was Donnie, so it was perfect. Even if he kept wiggling with how the brush tickled, which made Mikey giggle.
He'd never say that aloud, either.
It seemed after the hour was up, Donatello even got used to the sensation, so he permitted Mikey to continue for a while longer. Mikey decided to go down a flower route, illustrating a purple-and-orange flower field design with a pretty sunrise. He always preferred sunrises over sunsets, being an early riser to an extent. He was spooked easily, so the brighter, the better.
After another hour and a half, Donnie got sick of the feeling and quickly decided to cut it off. "My back feels numb. No more!" He said, pushing Michelangelo's hands away, leaning back as he turned toward Mikey. Now both were alarmingly close to one another, faces mere inches away, with their hands intertwined, the brush going slack between Michelangelo's fingers. Neither of them moved, equally paralyzed, Mikey unable to look away from the multi-colored eyes Donatello had, biting his lip unconsciously. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. Donatello's body was against his own, lukewarm in the way that only nearly-human reptiles were. He knew Leo (ugh, Leo) claimed to be the 'pretty face' but doesn't Donatello match that description a little more? Not just pretty - handsome. Pretty and handsome. And soft. His hands - they were soft. He always worked with so much machinery. He wondered how Donnie kept them so soft.
"Your eyes," Mikey started, "are so pretty-"
Just as those so-called pretty eyes widened, the door slammed open. "Don-Ton! Help! The remote is broken again~"
Leo.
Mikey looked at his newly entranced older brother with an angry glower, nearly snapping his paintbrush. "Don't just come into my--"
Leo pulled on Donnie's arm, already trying to drag him out the door. "Dooooonnniiie, pleeeaseee. I'm going to die if I can't watch TV. Actually die. Not just because of boredom, but because Splinter'll kill me."
"I- scoff ! I'm not a repairman. I'm not going to fix all your problems, 'Nardo. But fine. Give me the stupid remote."
Suddenly Leonardo went quiet, eyes glued to Donatello's back. "I see someone felt artistic today," he said, gaze slowly moving toward Michelangelo. "You should wash that off, Donnie. Paint can be toxic, can't it?"
"It's fine." He said stiffly, but Leo kept insisting as he jerked Donnie out the door.
Mikey broke his paintbrush in half.
Another patrol.
Raphael had noticed the unusual behavior from both of his little brothers, which was strange because Donnie is usually the "weird one". Not that it's bad, it's just how Donnie was.
But now Mikey and Leo were both actin'... freaky.
He didn't know how to talk with them about it, but it was getting a little ridiculous. Along with that fight they recently had - a physical fight - he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He had upped team-building exercises back to once a month (his brothers booing sent tremors up to the streets of New York), along with paying extra, extra attention, but none of it helped. And it wasn't as if Mikey and Leo weren't getting along normally - they'd still all skate together, still chat occasionally, and still have their playful competitions.
It just got all weird when it came to Donnie.
And it wasn't even that bad of an issue. It was just weird . Just some sort of rivalry for their brother's attention. Donatello seems to have not noticed - yet, but he was probably putting those puzzle pieces together. Donnie was always smart like that.
But this was just getting ridiculous.
During their patrol, both brothers had been lingering around Donnie, continuously giving each other side-eyes, before Donnie asked for help with something. Raph wasn't sure what - he was high on the ledge of the rooftop, the trio far back in the shadow, and before he knew it, Leo and Mikey were arguing (which it'd generally be Donnie and Leo snapping at each other, but now...).
Raph hurried closer to split them up, catching a little of the conversation.
"I will literally go grab it myself-"
"No!" Both brothers yelled at Donnie, starting up their argument once again.
"I'll go back, mi hermano . I can portal right there and back."
"I- okay, but why do you have to do it? Why not me?"
...Seriously?
"Because Donnie probably trusts me more with his stuff!"
Donatello quickly interrupted. "That is the furthest thing from the truth, Leonardo-"
Mikey interrupted his interruption. "See! Even Donnie thinks you're being stupid. I'll just head home and grab it, D."
Leonardo threw his arms around Donnie, nuzzling against his brother's face. Donatello quickly tried to push him away by the face, snarling. "I'm sorry Donatello just loves me more."
And Michelangelo tackled him off the roof.
Michelangelo had no idea what was wrong with his older brother recently. He was trying to get closer to Donatello, in some way, but it was annoying. Like he was trying to upstage him, or something. Maybe it was because he mocked him that one time for stealing Donnie's attention, he isn't sure, but it must've hurt his overcompensating ego.
He loved Leo, and all his brothers equally, obviously, but he had always been closer to Donnie. It made him feel special, being the colder brother's soft spot - to be the one he always took the side of, let touch him the most. And he liked how Donatello let him do what he wanted. And he actively showed interest in Mikey's art. He wasn't the baby of the family with Donnie, just his little brother.
He liked that.
But for some reason, that morning, when Donatello made him feel like he was choosing Leo over him , it upset him. He knew it was a childish sort of possessiveness, but he had to do something about it!
He just hadn't expected Leo to try to get him back for it.
And he hadn't expected to be so angry about it, either.
A few days later after his and Leo's little... scuffle on the rooftop, Raphael sat them both down in his room and gave them both his signature death stare - cue one of Raph's array of "stinks". Leo and Mikey both sat on the floor, facing away from one another.
"Leo." Leonardo flinched.
"Mikey." Michelangelo did the same.
"What is up with you two?"
They both cringed again, looking toward each other, urgent that one of them would cover the topic instead of themself. Of course, Raph didn't allow the panicked silence to last for long. "C'mon, explain. Now!"
The few days after their brawl, their fixation on Donatello only got worse. The two fought over bringing him snacks, drinks, and pizza slices not to mention they'd argue over alerting him of going on missions, patrols, and repairs. Even Splinter was tired of it, which means he paid attention enough to be bothered by it, which shows how ridiculous it really was. Donatello would dodge them both and groan every time there was a knock on the door, because, guess who? It was likely one of the two - for once Donatello was actively seeking out being around other people, ie, Splinter, April, or Raph, because he was tired of the duo.
"I don't know what sorta... competition ya got going on, but ya both gotta quit it!"
Leonardo scoffed, and Mikey just rolled his eyes.
But Leo seemed to realize first that, maybe, he was being a little excessive. He huffed, looking off to the side. "Alright. We'll stop." He said, standing as he dusted himself off. Whistling, he started to walk off, but Raph snatched him by the shell and dragged him back. "No- no, no! You don't get to just... ignore this! Explain!"
Leo looked to Mikey with a wry smile, shrugging.
Oh, he's so going down, Mikey thought. Finally, he decided to speak up. "It's 'cuz he's jealous of how close me and Don are."
Leo's eyes went wide, slipping out of Raph's grip and giving Mikey the most malicious look he could make. "Whaaaat?! You liar! You filthy, little son of a- of a rat- you assh-"
Raph covered his mouth before he could curse worse than a sailor. "So this is about some rivalry." He said, the two shrinking into themselves, having forgotten their eldest brother was observing the exchange.
Leo awkwardly shoved Raph's hands off, stepping back and gesturing to Mikey. "Ask him, not me."
Mikey squeaked beneath Raph's gaze, mumbling something under his breath before responding. "Ugh. Leo keeps stealing Don's attention!" He said, pointing to his older brother. Raph just looked at the two, clearly not having enough energy for this bull. "Is that really it? That's all?"
Leo smirked. "And I'm winning."
Mikey growled before leaping upon him, a brawl starting up once more.
Raphael stared, shocked.
...
" Out ! Out, both of you!"
Due to Raph's intervention, the sewer home almost went to normal. As close to normal as it could get.
Though Leo and Mikey were definitely still competing, it was subtle enough that Raph couldn't say anything. Not yet, at least.
And by now, Donatello knew what was going on.
He knew for a while now. He was just playing dumb - something he would never do, until now. Mostly out of curiosity - he wanted to know why . He can't believe he hasn't figured it out. For once, his dumb-dumb brothers succeed at keeping something from Donatello.
And it was driving him crazy. He bugged them all for a reason, after all!
He knew it was some sort of accidentally formed competition because his brothers never said aloud why they were competing for Donnie's attention. He wasn't sure if his brothers even knew why themselves ! It wasn't as if his focus was anything special - he lept from obsession to obsession just as easily as one could breathe. Now, in some ways, he did enjoy it. The free coffee and snack runs were great, especially for his work, with his progress in his tech speeding up substantially.
But it was also really goddamn annoying.
He loved his brothers, so, so, very much, but Donatello was introverted as could be. He could only take so much social interaction, even with the ones he cares about. And he's sick of Leo and Mikey.
Though it was fun to mess with them. Plus, making Leo burn in rage but having no choice but to be nice to him was the funniest thing he's experienced in a while .
He has a new appreciation of Raph from this experience, however.
So when he could see Raph silently gloating (they all knew his "victory stink") at Donnie choosing him over Leo and Mikey to spend time with, he chose to ignore it. And he thought Raph was the most mature out of the three. Scoff. Though he was totally secretly laughing at all of them. Not that they had to know.