Chapter Text
Ah, the Nakamura tech headquarters, just how long had it been since Donatello slipped in here?
By now it’d be what, over three years ago? And he only broke in because a certain group of teenagers had done it before him, using his tech.
Water under the bridge now, and no longer important. In fact, Donatello hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the dragons since he stole some of their tech from their own warehouse. What a riot that had been.
And that was what? Almost nine months ago at this point?
Whatever, again, not important.
Donatello returned his focus to the task at hand. Hacking into the building’s security and shutting it down had taken a bit of focus, but it was a doable task. Now he simply walked in through the back door and took the elevator up.
He checked the pockets of his jacket for the seventeenth time. His notepad, phone, and multitool were all still in place in the silky pockets.
There really wasn’t a need to fret. This wasn’t even a big mission. A simple job of going in, taking some observations and notes of the new tech they planned to display at the showcase tomorrow, and then leaving. He didn’t even want to steal anything besides a few ideas.
It seemed scummy, but it’s not like he could attend the actual event. It was the next best thing, and staring at photos on the computer simply would not suffice.
Donatello hummed to himself in the elevator. It dinged as it reached the floor, and the automated voice of a female that spoke far too smoothly announced the floor number.
He sauntered out and glanced around. The hall was dark. The entire building was since it was closed. All the cameras were still inactive, like they should be. And, as far as he knew, a physical security guard wasn’t present.
Donatello headed down the dark hall, at least thankful that the windows on this skyscraper were so bountiful that the other lights in the city poured in. He could see the reflections on the tiled floor and it led him down the hall and into a massive room.
Nice, but not what he wanted. There was no tech displayed here, just some kind of employee lounge. Or perhaps an area for guests during an event? There were plenty of tables surrounded by plush chairs with planters in between them. Massive ferns sprouted out of them, and in the center of the room was even a working fountain.
Donatello made a mental note of it. Whenever he and Holly Blue got big enough to build their company into something more, he wanted to get a new building for them. In an ideal world he’d have one in the Hidden City and one on the surface, interconnected through a portal.
A massive lounge with a fountain sounded nice.
Moving on.
Donatello headed past all the inviting seats. He could easily see a turn off at the end of the room. Maybe he needed to go through another hall to reach the display room?
He pulled out his phone and tried to bring up the floor map again. Better to make sure he didn’t get off a floor too early and miss out on his chance. He read the screen as he walked.
Then it was suddenly so much harder to see it. A bright light flooded the space in front of him. He was about to be annoyed at the possible streetlight blocking his view, but when he glanced up he realized the source was from someone standing only ten feet in front of him with a flashlight.
Shit.
Donatello immediately shifted his stance, scrambling through his options. Run back to the elevator? Knock this person out? Just jump out of the window?
Then the flashlight lowered, though the white light still glinted off the massive pair of glasses this person was wearing. “Othello Von Ryan.”
It took him a beat to even recognize the voice, and even then he had to actually take in the features of their face for it to click.
“Jason?” Donatello tilted his head at the purple dragon whose name he barely remembered. Well, he didn’t look very purple right now. His button up shirt was white, his slacks were grey, and even if his hoodie had a deep purple hue to it, it looked black under this light. “What are you doing here?”
The guy glared at him and stepped closer, cutting off his flashlight. “That’s what I should be asking you. Come to steal something again?”
“Scoff.” Donatello pointed at him. “Last I checked, that was your job.”
“Oh really? Because last time I saw you was when you were robbing the warehouse for EMP devices. And whatever you ripped out of our computer.”
“All for a good cause.” Donatello crossed his arms and studied Jase up and down. “Just how did you break in here?”
The guy somehow narrowed his eyes further. “I work here.”
Donatello’s brows shot straight up. “Huh? I know that has to be a lie.”
“It’s not. I’m a security intern. I was doing some extra work after hours when I noticed our entire system lock up.” He pointed at Donnie. “And that was you, wasn’t it.”
“It’s not a big deal. It will reactivate when I leave.” Donatello tried to step around Jase.
But he was stopped as Jase held out an arm. “Hey. Like I said. Security intern. I’m not letting you walk around in here.”
“It’s almost cute that you think you can stop me.” Donatello smirked at him. “See you later.” He trailed his heel along the floor before shoving Jase back about a foot.
Small box-like contraptions popped up on the floor in a square. Each of them lit up before rods shot out of them and then formed a roof at the top. A simple prison cell of sorts.
“Wh—” Jason immediately grabbed the bars. “Hey, let me out.”
“Not happening. Have fun.” Donatello gave him a wave before continuing on his way.
Now where was he? He looked at his phone again, finally getting the right map. Yup, the show room should be just around this corner. There was another door to go through, but it should be easy to open. Then he could—
Something smacked against the back of his head.
Donatello spun around, expecting to see Jase glaring at him from the cage. Instead the guy stood just a few feet behind him, flashlight still in hand.
“What.” Donatello looked for his cage but it wasn’t even there anymore. “What the heck did you do?”
“Oh come on, Von Ryan.” Jase rolled his eyes. “Just because you can somehow magically summon technology with a wave of your fingers.” He mimicked the motion with his free hand. “Doesn’t make it any fancier than other tech. It’s not that hard to take apart.” He reached into his pocket and flipped a multi-tool between his fingers.
Donatello straightened up as he glared. “A bit impressive, I’ll admit. But you still aren’t stopping me. I could just toss you out the window.”
Jase didn’t even look the least bit worried. “Do it then.”
And he didn’t know how to respond to that. Donatello always had more bark than bite, a thing he almost never wanted to admit. It’s why he was always happy to take April or Cassandra along with him for missions. If those girls made a threat they always followed through.
But did he actually want to risk Jase splattering against the concrete? Not really.
Also, since when did this guy get so bold? This was the same guy screaming in terror as Cassandra chased him around the warehouse last time? Who stared at Donnie and easily coughed up the password and the EMPs when threatened?
Jase looked different. And it wasn’t just the lack of purple.
Donatello sighed. “Fine. How about a deal then.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have no plans to steal anything,” he continued. “My goal here is simply some observation and some note taking. You are free to follow me around and make certain of it, just don’t interrupt me.”
Jason crossed his arms. “You’re serious. You broke in here just to observe?”
“Well I can’t attend the showcase, now can I?” He forced a grin before continuing on his way. “And looking at things on the computer won’t be enough. I want to get an up close look.”
Jase groaned, obviously following behind him. “Fine, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. And you better not touch anything. It took me way too long to get this job.”
Donatello scoffed. “An internship is barely a job.”
“It’s enough of one while I finish college.”
“Oh?” He followed that trail as they turned the corner. “Where are you attending? What was it April said? That the dragons migrated to City Tech?”
“Not there anymore.” Jase spat. “And I’m not with the dragons either, if that wasn’t already obvious.”
Donatello looked back at him, eyebrows raised once again. “Really? I just assumed you were wearing a sort of uniform.” He paused. “Why did you leave?”
“None of your business, Von Ryan.”
“Yeesh, that bad?” He tried to keep up the good humor. “Was there some kind of falling out?”
“Why did you need those EMPs?” Jase fired back. “Or are you the only one allowed to ask nosey questions?”
The guy suddenly had a lot of fire in his words.
But fine, Donatello could combat that.
“If you must know, drone control.” He confessed as they reached the door. He put his hand on the keypad before using his mystics to dive right into it. The correct code was easily visible underneath and he punched it in. The door opened. “You might have seen a few news reports about the things being spotted in the city back then. A yōkai used mystics to hack into my tech and was using it for foul purposes. Due to this, I needed some of yours to fight back.”
“A yōkai hacked your tech? Like what you do?”
“If you want to put it in simple terms.” He flashed a grin at the guy before turning his attention to the showroom. Oh it was beautiful, dazzling. Everything from laptops, to fans, to massage chairs, and even a prototype for a hover chair.
He smiled at Jase again. “In fact, if you want, I can show you.” He darted straight over to the laptop.
“Oh yeah, showing your secrets to your enemy?”
“Are we?” Donatello raised a brow and gently put a hand on the back of the laptop. “If you’re no longer with the dragons, what’s your motive for combating against me?”
Jase watched him. “You broke into my work place.”
Donatello shrugged and activated his mystics again. Rather than dive right into the laptop, he used it to feel around the insides. The shapes of the chips, the drives, how the wires flowed through it. He focused on it all for a second before pulling back and grabbing his notepad. He furiously took a few notes.
Jase stepped around him, flashing his light onto the page. “You inferred all that from touching it?”
“Oh, I can do so much more if I want.” Donatello kept smiling at him. “My mystics don’t just let me summon tech, I can also put my mind right into the machines. I can see every file, every line of code, all in some kind of virtual world.”
“Not going to lie, that sounds like a headache.”
Donatello found himself laughing. “It can get overwhelming at times. I do my best to pace myself.”
He moved onto the next piece of tech, and then another. Occasionally Jason would ask a question and Donnie had no issue with answering it. He didn’t have any concerns about what this guy would try to do to him right now. Especially if he was being honest about leaving the Purple Dragons.
Well, it could be a lie but…
“So,” Donatello decided to try asking questions again. “What have you been up to since our last run in? Not in college?”
Jason kept studying him with a scowl, but eventually his face relaxed, at least a little. “I am, just online. At least for now. Might transfer later.”
“Did City Tech not have what you were looking for?” Donatello ran his hands over the massage chair, getting a feel for the materials used.
“I didn’t like the people there.”
Okay, vague answer. Donatello would normally ask for clarification but Jason had a pretty sharp glare pointed at the windows.
“So, online college and a security internship?” The softshell stepped around the chair to get a look at the button controls. Wait, a touch pad? Eugh, poor design choices. He made a note to scrap that part. “Sounds like a lot changed in less than a year.”
Jason scoffed. “You have no idea, Donnie.”
“I think I’d like to have an idea.”
“Nice try.” Jase intentionally flashed his light in Donnie’s eyes. “But you’re still not getting that personal information out of me. And why do you care anyway?”
“Natural curiosity.” He flashed a smile and finally dove into the chair for a few moments. The massage components were definitely far more complex than he first thought. Drawing the layout for that took a few minutes.
Jase glanced over the notes again. “Why do you need all these notes anyway? Can’t you design your own massage chair?”
Donatello flipped the page in his notebook and moved onto the next thing. “Once again you flatter my genius. Of course I can, but as smart as I am it is still important to draw inspiration from other sources. If I only ever rely on my own imagination, things will turn into a stagnant loop. Besides…” He took a second to do a walk around of the prototype hover chair. How high was that rotor supposed to lift it? “These days I’ve had to backtrack on new inventions to dazzle the intelligent masses. Customers don’t want a particle collider, they want massage chairs and washing machines.”
Jason stepped to the other side of the chair, his head barely visible due to the arm rest. “Customers?”
“Indeed.” Donatello stepped around to meet him. “Did you not notice my gorgeous, stylish, and fabulous jacket?” He turned and posed a few times. “The logo on the back is for my shared company in the Hidden City.”
“Oh, I noticed.” Jason poked his sleeve. “Didn’t realize you missed that satin jacket so much.”
“Scoff. This one is superior.” Donatello crossed his arms. “Though, I confess, I do miss that purple satin jacket at times. Soft, comfortable, and it smelled nice to boot.”
For the first time, Jason’s eyes went wide. “What?”
“It smelled nice.” Donatello repeated. Did the guy not hear him? He pulled up his notepad, about to continue his notes.
“Like me,” Jase said.
Now Donatello wondered if his hearing was acting up. He looked back at Jase. “Huh?”
“Like me.” The guy repeated. Were his cheeks darker? “Kendra gave you my jacket. It smelled like me.”
Donatello’s brain short circuited so fast he swore he heard the sparks.
Huh? What? No. That couldn’t possibly be right. But how the hell was he going to ask Jase to prove it, step over here so Donnie could smell his hair—what the hell?
Jase kept staring at him. The silence was so thick and so suffocating the room might as well have been flooded with liquid foam.
Donatello forced out a laugh in a desperate attempt to get rid of it. “You must have good taste in detergent.”
“R-right.” Jason stuttered for the first time, like he used to. Then he cleared his throat. “Anyway, you own a company now?”
Thank god, a subject change. “Yes, a friend of mine had me working for her back when I stole from you. Since then we’ve been building up the business. I currently build and sell tech to citizens of the Hidden City, which requires me to design it to work with their power sources.”
Jason tapped his chin with the end of his flashlight. “They don’t use electricity, I assume?”
“Nope, stones that contain magical energy, at least that’s the simple explanation.” Donatello smiled as he rolled his eyes.
“Fascinating. Do you have to change a lot of the internals?”
“Assuming I’m not building it from scratch, no, but I do have to include a power converter. Those magical stones can output a shocking amount of energy.”
“So, in theory, laser guns?”
Donatello chuckled. “Back to the weapons, hm? What do you want to arm yourself for?”
Jason actually smiled. “I just think it’d be cool.”
“Sure you do.” Donatello finally took a second to study the hover chair. Hm, definitely a prototype. Those rotors would be good for a display, but they wouldn’t last under pressure. He took some notes.
“Alright.” He finally snapped it closed and pocketed it again. “That’s it.”
Jase tilted his head ever so slightly. “That’s it?”
“Indeed, that is all I needed from this place.” Donatello gave him a mock bow and began to head for the elevator again. “So I shall leave and let the security systems come alive so someone doesn’t get in trouble.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “You’re the asshole who broke in.”
“And I could have done it so much more violently and then you really would have been in trouble. You’re welcome.”
“I’m not thanking you.” Jase spat. “Unless you start leaving faster.”
Donatello found himself smirking as he glanced back. “Aw, what’s wrong? You didn’t enjoy our banter?”
“Every time I see you, you ruin my night.”
“Come now, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” He kept taunting. “In fact, I would dare to say we were having a good time.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Fine, then I will.” Donatello spun around and stopped walking. “If you truly left the Dragons and your escapades in major crime are over and done with, I don’t think I’d mind doing this again.”
Jase looked confused, almost disgusted. “Huh?”
“We never spoke much in the past, but I find it rather fun. Would you care to try it again in a more legal location?”
The guy blinked a few times and even shook his head a bit. “Are you asking if I want to hang out?”
Donatello grinned. “Yes.”
“Like friends?”
“Well, you don’t have to go that far just yet. Consider it more… testing the waters.” He shrugged and continued his trek to the elevator. “We could just meet at a restaurant, or on a roof, something harmless.”
“And this isn’t some trick.”
“Why would it be?”
“Because last time we met, you robbed me.”
Donatello growled and gripped the sides of his head. “It was months ago. In the past. Those circumstances are over with.” He looked at Jase once more. “Would you like to meet with me over a meal or not?”
Jason kept staring at him, sometimes putting the flashlight in his face again. His narrow eyes kept squinting tighter, watching the expression that Donnie refused to change to show how serious he was.
Then the guy let out a long, tired sigh. “Just what kind of food did you have in mind?”
“I can’t believe I agreed to that.” Jason mumbled to himself for the hundredth time as he pulled out the keys to his house. Well, barely a house. One out of twenty on the same street, not only sharing the same shape with the others but using the same line of bricks as well. But hey, better than most apartments.
He unlocked the door and went inside, another yawn catching up with him. What time even was it now?
“There you are.”
Jason looked up at the sound of his father’s voice and saw the man come out of the living room. The faint sound of chatter from the TV carried through the air.
His father—Jae-won Song—looked more than ready for bed between his excessively cute cat pajama pants and the fact he could barely keep his eyes open.
“Jeez, Jase, it’s almost one in the morning.” His dad also yawned. “They never keep you this late.”
Ugh, great, that made Jason yawn as well. “I know. I was trying to finish up a project and then… you might not even believe me if I tell you.”
“You know I’ll believe you.” His dad turned to walk into the kitchen.
Jason followed, put his work bag on the table and dropped into a chair. Fine, maybe he could tell, but certainly not all of it. Mentioning that Donnie was a turtle seemed like a bad idea, and maybe also mentioning that some of their past encounters involved Jason committing several crimes.
His father picked up a mug that sat on the counter and put it in the microwave, setting it for a minute.
“I guess just a bit of backstory.” Jason began, hearing the exhaustion in his voice. “Back during high school, I met this guy.”
His dad immediately looked at him. “Is this one of the ex-boyfriends?”
“No.” Jason groaned. “I met this guy we’ll call Donnie—”
“Is that not his name?”
“I mean, it is. More like a nickname I guess. His name is Donatello.”
“Is he Italian?”
“I don’t think so, and we’re getting off topic.”
The microwave beeped. Jae-won pulled the mug back out, steam now rising from the top. “Sorry, sorry, go on.”
“Anyway.” Jason tried to pick up the pieces. He took the cup of tea that was offered to him. “I met him back then and he was just… annoying I guess is the simple way of putting it. Constantly butting into the Purple Dragon’s projects.” Well, more like stopping their criminal activity but whatever. “And last time I really saw him he straight up robbed the warehouse.”
His father’s brows shot up. “Really?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, I didn’t get hurt or anything.” He really didn’t. Despite the mass of destruction April and Cassandra caused to their drones, and the fact that Jeremy and Kendra both got knocked unconscious, Jason hadn’t sustained any injuries. “Anyway. He sucks. Guess who showed up at my job tonight.”
“Huh?” His dad put his hands on the table as he leaned over. “Are you serious?”
“Yup, he tampered with security and broke in and everything.” Jason finally took a long sip of tea, letting it ease some of his irritation.
“Did you call someone?”
Jason paused, mug still in the air. “Uh, no.”
“Jase.”
“Let me explain.” He waved a hand. “I noticed the security system pretty much shut down so I go to investigate. I find him wandering around on the showcase floor and confront him. Not really worried about him hurting me, for the record. And he tells me he’s just there to observe a few things, not steal something.”
His father put his hands on his hips. “And you let him.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Well it was that or risk him trapping me in a closet or something.”
Jae-won tilted his head back as he groaned. “Knew you shouldn’t be staying there at night. I mean what kind of facility relies strictly on it’s computer security and doesn’t actually hire a few guards. You could have gotten hurt.”
“I’m fine.” Jason insisted. “Anyway, still not the point. I follow him around during all of this and we start talking, catching up in a way I guess, and at the end of it he asks if I wanna go get pizza.”
His father blinked at him, at first not saying anything. He simply stared in silence, and then finally raised a brow again as a small smile appeared on his face. “Oh?”
Jason frowned. He knew that tone. “Not like that.”
“No? Your old enemy, or rival, or whatever, chats with you for a while and then invites you for some pizza?”
He groaned. “Not. Like. That. He… I don’t know. He says he’d like to talk to me again. That maybe we could stop being enemies. Dinner is just a way to test the waters, as he puts it.”
His father giggled.
“Dad, I’m serious.”
“I know, I know.” He waved a hand and pressed his lips together a few times as the laughter died down. “Are you going to go?”
“Well, I already agreed to it.” He confessed. He still didn’t even know why. He supposed part of him, though he wouldn’t admit it, did in fact have some fun talking to the turtle. And besides, he still had too many questions about how his mystic abilities or whatever worked. “I at least doubt it’s going to hurt.”
“It better not.” His dad crossed his arms. “Or I will find where he lives.”
Hah, Jason would almost like to see the man try, but he didn’t say that. “I can handle it, Dad.”
“Like you used to be able to handle Kendra?” The man practically spat out her name.
“He’s nothing like her.” Well, maybe the two had the same amount of ego. But even if Donnie could be a jerk at times, he wasn’t nearly as cruel as Kendra. “I promise I’ll leave if it goes sour.”
“Fine.” His father stepped over and ruffled his hair before leaving the kitchen. “I’m going to bed, kiddo. Finish your tea and do the same.”
“Yeah, goodnight.” Jason called after him. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” His dad called back.
Jason sat in the silence of the kitchen for a while. He mainly focused on the tea in his hand, which got colder and colder as it emptied out. Eventually he finished it off and rinsed the mug in the sink. Then he cut off the downstairs lights—and the TV his dad left on—before heading up to his room.
He tossed off his work clothes and tugged on a sleep shirt. He didn’t move the covers as he collapsed on his bed and pulled out his phone. May as well finally dig through his messages and socials, though there wasn’t a lot to see. Since he left the Dragons and blocked Kendra’s number, he didn’t hear from her or Jeremy much. His mom had been deleted from his life even before that. And as for other friends…
Well, he was in a handful of fan groups, but none of them were people he could actually meet up with.
Maybe that’s why he agreed to go get pizza.
It’d be nice to have someone in person that he could hang out with, even if that person was Othello Von Ryan. AKA BootyyyShaker9000. AKA Donnie.
Though he still couldn’t wrap his head around why Donnie even suggested it. He couldn’t have possibly enjoyed talking to Jason that much.
But he had been smiling almost the entire time, and even laughing, and watching Jason with a curiosity that he’d never seen before.
“It smelled nice.”
Jason’s cheeks burned hot all over again as the phrase suddenly jumped out in his brain. He buried his face in his pillow, trying to toss it back out.
Why did the stupid turtle have to say that? He could have just said the jacket was comfy. That’s all he needed to say. But no, he had to toss in that comment and Jason still could not get it out of his head.
It left him imagining the turtle holding the collar of it up to his nose and taking a deep breath. It left him imagining Donnie standing closer to him, cheek brushing against Jason’s hair as he—
Jason rolled over, but still kept the pillow pressed against his face as he screamed. Stop. Stop it. What the hell was he thinking about?
Kicking that image out of his brain didn’t help much. Because then it was replaced with that mess in the warehouse. How Donnie caught him in his arms, flashing a smile with his oh-so-sharp teeth. And Jason couldn’t stop staring at them, briefly wondering how they’d feel against the skin of his shoulder—
Jason sat up in an instant. He tossed his glasses off and darted to the bathroom. With the sink on full blast, he cupped some cold water in his hands and planted his face right into it.
The cold water banished the heat from his cheeks and finally cleared his head.
He didn’t need his brain wandering like this. Especially not with Donnie of all people. Not because the turtle was ugly or gross, but because they were freaking enemies. Rivals. Whatever.
And even if this pizza hang out went well, that didn’t mean they’d be compatible like that.
Jason groaned and hung his head. “I can’t believe I agreed to that.”
“I can’t believe I suggested that.” Donatello said as he landed just outside of the lair. What the heck was he even thinking when those words tumbled out of his mouth?
None of it had been a lie, at least. He got the faintest hint that, maybe, in the right circumstances he and Jase could get along. And they’d not only befriended but made family out of Draxum and Cassandra once. If Jase was already moving away from his criminal life, befriending him should be easy.
Though the guy clearly had a lot of walls up.
Whatever. Donatello suggested going to get pizza and Jase wound up agreeing to meet him on Friday night. What’s the worst that could happen? They find out they still hate each other’s guts too much and go their separate ways? He certainly couldn’t imagine Jase making a threat out of himself anymore.
Donatello went down the steps and headed inside. Everything was quiet, to be expected at this hour. His family had already shifted to a more diurnal schedule over the years, but after Raph adopted Comet that just got cemented. The little mushroom yōkai had a school schedule to keep, so everyone else fell in stride.
Though at least someone was awake. Even from here Donatello could see the light coming from the living room. He headed in that direction and down the small set of stairs, finally spotting Leo on the sofa. The slider was laying across it, a blanket around his legs and a comic book in hand.
“Hey.” Donatello leaned over the back of the couch.
Leo looked up, smiling, eyes tired. “Hey, get everything you needed from the tech tower?”
“I did indeed, though you won’t believe what happened. But before that, why are you still up?”
“Eh, trouble falling asleep.” His twin lowered the book and sighed. “Just another one of those spells.”
Donatello hummed. “Want to ask Draxum for some of that tea tomorrow?”
“I might, but in the meantime.” Leo tugged his legs up close and patted the sofa. “Tell me what happened.”
Donatello jumped over the sofa and landed on it in a sitting position, bouncing a few times. “Well, I got into the tower smoothly enough, but you will not believe who I ran into while I was there.”
Leo grinned as he leaned his face against his hand. “Who?”
“Jason.”
The slider blinked a few times. “Who?”
Donatello snorted. Right, his brother probably had no reason to know this guy’s name. “One of the Purple Dragons.”
“What?” Leo’s voice peaked as he asked that question. “Seriously? Wait is that the tall guy or the shrimpy guy.”
“The shrimpy guy.”
“What was he doing there? Was it just him?”
“Yeah, and apparently he works there.”
“Didn’t we rob them back during that whole thing with Varii?”
Donatello nodded.
“When did he get a job at Nakamura?”
“I do not know that yet.” The softshell tapped his chin as he looked at the ceiling. “Many of my questions about his recent activities or goals were met with a solid ‘nunya.’”
Leo chuckled. “What, did you tie the poor guy up and interrogate him before going to take notes?”
Donatello folded his hands together in his lap, letting his fingers drum against each other. “No, actually. He works with the security program there, and was concerned about me stealing things. So I just let him follow me around while I observed.”
Leo’s smile fell and he raised a brow. “Huh? You just let one of your worst enemies tail you around after you broke into a building?”
The softshell blinked. Only now did he realize how illogical that sounded. “I wasn’t really concerned that he could do anything to me. And it was better than wasting my time trying to trap him.”
“Did a little Q and A session then?”
He shrugged. “I may as well attempt conversation. And despite his lack of desire to share personal information it was actually rather… easy.”
“Huh?” Leo tilted his head, curling his lip into not quite a smile. “Like, what, you were getting along?”
“It certainly felt that way.” Donatello tapped his fingers faster. “And afterwards I asked if he wanted to go get pizza.”
Leonardo stared at him in silence for approximately seven seconds before his leg suddenly kicked Donnie in the thigh. “Bro, what?”
Donatello flinched and rubbed his new sore spot. “What do you mean, ‘what?’”
“You asked your enemy or rival or whatever to go get dinner with you?”
“I wished to extend an olive branch, as Michael would put it. Pizza seemed like the best place to go.”
Leo rolled his eyes and leaned back against the arm of the sofa. “Hope this doesn’t blow up in your face. Or maybe it should. It’d be funny.”
Donatello reached over to slap the comic book up into his dumb twin’s face. “Whatever, Nardo. I can handle it.”
The slider just kept smiling. “Sure, but if you do want us to gang up on him, let me know.”
“I will.” Donatello said before a yawn escaped. “Apologies for leaving you with your insomnia, but I am exhausted. You are welcome to crash in my room if it would help.”
“Thanks, maybe after I finish reading this.”
Donatello nodded and left him to it. He stepped into his bedroom and then his lab to deposit his hover shell.
Shelldon glided up to him in an instant. “I heard what you told Leo.”
“Did you now?” Donatello scratched him behind one of his many ears. “Picking up quite the habit of eavesdropping.”
“I’ve always been an eavesdropper.” The drone scoffed. “I usually just keep quiet. Anyway, what’s the deal with you going to get pizza with Jase?”
The softshell raised a brow at the drone’s tone. “You don’t like the idea?”
“I’m still mad at those guys for tricking me into that drone race.”
Donatello laughed. “Fair enough, but you’re not the one going to get pizza with him.”
“I think it’s a bad idea, Donnie.”
“He’s not with the dragons anymore.” Donatello waved a hand and moved back to his room. “At least he claims, and I don’t think he’s lying.”
“Want me to spy on him?”
He gave the drone another pat. “No. Not yet at least. Now get back to recharging. You didn’t do that at all during work this morning.”
The drone sighed, sinking in the air as he did. His glare never left. “Fine, but you better keep me updated.”
“Goodnight, Shelldon.”
Shelldon flew back into the lab and the door closed. Donatello yawned again and removed his goggles, mask, gloves and leggings before finally pulling off his jacket.
This one was still softer than the old satin one. Sometimes he swore it just got softer with use. He rubbed the material against his cheeks, always remembering how he got it when he did. A birthday present from Holly Blue that took him by surprise.
Yeah, this jacket was leagues better.
But he truly did still miss the old ones at times. Especially how it…
His memory snapped to what he had said earlier. That he liked how it smelled. Why the hell did he say that?
Yeah it was true, but he didn’t need to say it. How did he not once consider it smelled like that because of—
Donatello tugged his jacket away from his face. Because now he was remembering how he did that with the other jacket and Jase could absolutely not find out about that ever.
He shook the thoughts aside and hung his cooler, softer, better jacket up in its proper place before curling up under the sheets. There was no point in dwelling so much on Jase until he saw the guy again on Friday.
He kind of hoped it didn’t go sour.