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"You used the nitro too soon."
Through gritted teeth, Raph growled, "I know, Don."
"It lost you seven seconds."
"I know, Donny!"
Don raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You know it lost you seven seconds?"
Raph threw his hands up. "I know it lost me time, I don't need ta know how many fuckin' seconds!"
"Hm."
The tone was neutral, but the intention was judgy. That was typical Don, couldn't control his tone for shit. Almost always sounded mild and neutral and innocent.
Even when he was bein' an asshole.
Raph had originally been over the moon when Donny approached him and asked if he needed help with his pit crew. Opportunities to spend time with his brother had been few and far between ever since Don co-founded O'Neil Tech with April. And with Raph being a relatively new racer, he didn't have a permanent crew yet. Frankly he'd be nuts to turn down help from the brother he'd learned car maintenance with.
What had seemed like a dream come true quickly became a nightmare.
Donatello was nitpicky and naggy, constantly on him about the smallest mistake. Strangely and unpredictably intense about certain races.
"You could also stand to take the turns sharper," Donny added, just as good at reading the room as he always was. "The bike can take it, it's much more stable after the recent upgrades."
Raph bunched up his jacket and threw it at the wall Donny was leaning on. His brother didn't even flinch, didn't look up from the tablet he was frowning down at. Somehow that made Raph even angrier.
"Why does this matter so much t' you?" Raph snapped. "You never cared about my races half as much as this one before. So what's changed?"
Donny pressed his lips together tightly, glaring at his tablet. So there was something different about this race.
"What th' hell's up with you lately, Don?" Raph demanded.
Donny lowered his tablet so fast, Raph was briefly worried he was going to throw it on the floor. When Don finally looked up to meet his eyes, there was an uncharacteristic fury on his brother's face.
"Dunn's vehicle is ugly and poorly-built and I want to prove ours is better!" Don hissed.
It was Raph's turn to raise a skeptical eyebrow. "Yer gettin' competitive 'cause of aesthetics?"
"It's not the goddamn look of the thing! It's not even supposed to look like that!"
Now that was a suspicious statement if ever Raph heard one.
"An' how d'ya know what it's s'posed ta look like?" he asked.
Donny froze, expression clearly saying he'd said more than he meant to.
"Don…" Raph coaxed.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Donny glared down at the floor. Reluctantly, he said, "It's my design. Or it was. Originally."
"Dunn's racer has a bike you designed?" Raph tried to clarify, disbelieving. "I didn't think ya did vehicles anymore."
Donny slumped back against the wall, the anger that had previously had him holding himself tight and high-strung suddenly leaving him. Now he looked almost sad. "I don't, usually. O'Neil Tech has to focus on more…practical products and services. Especially with it still being a relatively new company. And I've been so busy with that…I didn't have much time to design anything just for myself. Just for fun."
"But ya designed a bike," Raph prompted gently.
The arms crossed over Don's chest had become more of a self-hug, shoulders hunching defensively. He sighed through his nose. "It was supposed to be a surprise. For you." Donny grimaced, eyes flicking up to meet Raph's. "I know I haven't been around much lately. Haven't made time to be around much. I thought…with things finally slowing down enough I can delegate, it could be something for us to work on together."
Well now Raph kinda felt like an asshole for yelling at him. But only kinda.
"So what's Dunn's racer doin' with it?" he asked, finally moving closer and leaning against the wall beside his brother. The way Donny was pulling in on himself, he probably wouldn't appreciate any physical contact. But he'd never minded them being close when he got like this.
Donny let go of the death-grip he had on his arms and hissed furiously while shaking his fists in front of his chest. "He stole it! Dunn stole my design and perverted it into that...that...abomination! That bastard child of poor taste and inefficiency!"
"Damn, Don, tell me how ya really feel," Raph said, grinning.
"I don't just want you to beat him, I want you to grind your dust in his face and make him choke on it!"
"Bro." Raph paused, frowning in thought. "Wait, so this whole thing, offerin' ta be my pit crew, hangin' out, was just ta get back at that asshole for stealin' from ya?"
Donny threw his hands up. "I really did want to spend more time with you. But yes, I also wanted revenge. This wasn't even proper corporate espionage, it was personal. I know wanting to win against him just to prove he can't get away with stealing from me is stupid and petty, and I feel dumb for not protecting my private files better. That's why I didn't say anything."
"Nah, bro," Raph replied, grinning and nudging Don's shoulder with his own. "Now I really want t' beat 'em. No one steals from my brother ta make a shit bike an' gets away with it."
The smile Donny shot his way was grateful. "I'll try to back off a little. You've been doing this longer, you know what you're doing."
"I don't mind goin' over the race with ya, just…maybe not listin' off how I fucked up before I've even had a chance t' shower after."
"I can do that," Don agreed, leaning against his shoulder and bringing his tablet back up to study a still-frame of the race.
"Knowin' Dunn, the bike's ugly 'cause he added a bunch of stuff it don't need just ta make it look more impressive," Raph said, glancing over at the tablet screen. "A bike weighed down with useless bells an' whistles is less maneuverable, and the next track's mostly an obstacle course. We'll beat him easily."
Donny frowned thoughtfully, then nodded to himself. "I'll add more missiles."
"Wh—Donny no! I don't need— Wait, 'more'? Does my bike have missiles already?"
"You can never have too many backup missiles."
"What th' hell ya been doin' ta my bike, Don?!"
"If I told you that, you wouldn't have plausible deniability."
"Donny!"