Donny stood in the doorway and watched Raph as he worked out, bench-pressing with his legs parted. Don’s eyes drifted down to settle on Raph’s thick tail, resting on the bench between his muscular thighs. Each time Raph pressed up against the weight, his tail would twitch a little.
Donny pictured himself playing with that tail, running his tongue along the cloaca and eliciting deep churrs from Raph. In fact, he had been fantasizing about Raph a lot lately. So he was there, trying to build up the courage to ask Raph out but he couldn’t fight the fact that his throat closed the second he entered the room.
He was frozen in place, mesmerized by Raph’s tail. So much so that when Raph stopped pressing and sat up, Donny didn’t notice. “You want something?” Raph’s voice broke Donny’s trance.
“Ah…. I… just… ah… w… w…,” Donny stammered. He hoped that Raph hadn’t noticed that he was looking at his tail.
“Spit it out,” Raph prompted. “What do you want?”
Donny’s eyes came up and locked with Raph’s, “I was wondering if you wanted to go out…, with me.”
Raph sat frozen in place, unsure how to respond.
“You want to go out with Raph?” Leo asked, entering the room.
Donny turned to see Leo and Mikey walking up to them. Raph stood up off the bench and picked his towel up to wipe the sweat off. “I’m flattered Donny,” Raph shook his head. “But I ain’t interested.”
“What?” Donny’s heart sank as he turned back to look at Raph. “Why?”
Raph looked past Donny, at Mikey then down at the ground, “You just ain’t my type.”
“Donny,” Leo stepped forward. “Why do you want Raph?” When Donny turned to look at him, Leo grabbed Don’s hands. “I was hoping that we could be together.”
Donny pulled his hands away from Leo’s. “No,” he shook his head. “We’re not good for each other. We’d be boring together. I need someone who’ll get me out of my lab every once and a while.” He pointed back at Raph, “He does that for me.”
“No, Donny-boy,” Raph patted Don on the back. “You two would be perfect together. You’re both so in control and, like you said, boring.”
“No they wouldn’t,” Mikey chimed in. “Donny’s right.” Mikey turned to look at Leo. “You need someone who will help you loosen up and who can make you laugh.”
Leo scoffed, “Are you suggesting that we be together?”
“Yes,” Mikey flinched at Leo’s reaction. “I think we would be great together. I get you to have fun and to laugh.”
“Really?” Leo turned to look at Mikey. “How would we be good for each other? We’re nothing alike. You take nothing but your comics and videogames seriously. I like peace and quiet and calm. You’re none of that, Donny is.”
Tears streamed down Mikey’s cheeks, “But… tha… that’s why. We… c… could help each other. You could make me better and… I… can get you… to… to have fun.”
“Don’t waste your time with Leo, Mikey,” Raph pushed his way passed Don and Leo to get to Mikey. “He’s got a stick up his ass. Let them be together,” Raph dismissively waved at them. “Me and you, we’d have fun.”
“No,” Donny grabbed Raph’s hand. “You two are all wrong for each other. You’d be like a flash in the pan; all hot and heavy then it will fizzle to nothing.” Donny pulled to try and get Raph to look at him. “You need someone who is even tempered and patient and Mikey needs someone who’s able to keep him under control. I’ve thought long and hard on this, you’re the best one for me.”
Raph turned to glare at Don, “Let go of my hand.”
“Why do you want Raph?” Leo pulled Donny away and stood between him and Raph. “He’s violent.”
“Only if you push his buttons,” Don argued. “I wouldn’t do that. Mikey would quickly get on his nerves.”
“What is going on in here,” Splinter demanded as he walked through the door, silencing their argument. “Why are you not in the dojo?”
“I’m sorry father,” Leo kneeled down in front of Splinter. “We got into a heated discussion and it got out of hand.”
“Why is Michelangelo crying?” Splinter looked at each of his sons. “And Donatello looks to be on the verge of tears as well. I demand to know what it was you were talking about.”
Leo took a deep steading breath, “It appears that we have a complicated love… square, so to speak.”
“Oh?” Splinter raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”
Raph stepped up, “I like Mikey, but Mikey like’s Leo, Leo likes Don and Don likes me; to put it simply.”
Splinter sighed, “I expected the four of you to eventually pair off, maybe even have two of you fall for the same one and one be left out, but not this.” He shook his head, “This is not good. I can only see anger and resentment in this.”
“So, then, what should we do?” Raph shrugged. “Give up and just be alone?”
Splinter shrugged, “This is something the four of you will have to work out for yourselves. I am not an expert in matters of love. I just ask that you try to take into consideration each other’s feelings as you work through this. It will be difficult, but I believe that you will find a way.”
“Yes, Sensei,” they said in unison.
“Now,” Splinter struck his walking stick on the ground for emphasis. “It is time for your morning training.”
“Hai, Sensei,” they said again and made their way to the dojo.
They trained in silence and Splinter made sure to pair up Raph with Leo and Don with Mikey to keep the awkwardness to a minimum.
After training, they all went to separate rooms. Donny locked himself up in his lab, placed his head on his desk and just sat there. Everything went so horribly wrong. He couldn’t figure out why Leo and Raph were blind to his logic. When he had spoken with Mikey the night before they were both relieved to find out that they didn’t like the same brother, or each other.
He knew that if Raph just gave him a chance that he would see how good they were for each other. Ideas started to form in his mind. He would get his chance and he would make Raph see that they were right for each other. He just had to go talk with Mikey again; he needed to make sure that Mikey wouldn’t cave in to Raph first.
**
Their early morning routine was the same as every morning, though this morning was filled with tension. Donny sat at the table reading the latest science journal while drinking his coffee. Leo sat across from him sipping his tea and reading the paper while Mikey made breakfast and Raph stood at the counter preparing his protein shake.
Everyone was silent, not wanting to push themselves on the one they wanted and look desperate. Donny could tell that Raph was seething while Mikey was working extra hard on breakfast. Mikey hadn’t touched his games or even watch television since the incident the previous morning. Instead he spent extra time in the dojo and even sat with Splinter during his daily meditation.
Leo spent all of yesterday checking up on Donny and even managed to pull him away from the computer for a game of chess. Even though Leo wasn’t pushing anything, Donny could see what he was doing. Just like Mikey, Leo was trying to prove that he wasn’t as he was accused of being.
Raph moped and spent most of his time either out of the lair or in the weight room. Donny kept his distance from Raph and humored Leo with the game but did his best not to encourage him.
But, today was a new day and Don knew that as time passed his brothers were going to try to make their moves. He just had to bide his time. He and Mikey had reached an agreement last night, that they would not give in and help each other whenever possible. Don picked up is cup to take another sip only to discover that it was empty. “Oh,” he mumbled and got up for a refill.
Raph was standing directly in front of the coffee pot and Donny gently nudged him, “Can I get past you, please?”
Raph noticed the empty cup in Don’s hand and shifted enough out of the way so that Don could reach the pot. “Thank you,” Donny mumbled as he poured the coffee. He glanced over at Raph as he placed the pot back on the burner. “If you keep bulking up you’re gonna rip through your skin,” Donny attempted humor. Raph glanced over at Donny and narrowed his eyes. Don cleared his throat, “I can give you an ointment that will reduce your stretch marks and help prevent new ones. You would have to put it on when you get up and after you shower at night.”
“Yeah okay,” Raph mumbled. “Whatever.” Raph turned and grabbed his drink, “I’m gonna work out.”
Donny turned to see Mikey place a plate of food in front of Leo and the way Mikey’s eyes lit up when Leo accepted with a gentle, “Thank you, Mikey.”
Donny accepted his food and sat back down to eat his breakfast. He kept his eyes down on his plate while he ate. Mikey would gently kick him under the table to get him to look up and catch Leo looking at him.
Donny barely had the chance to taste the wonderful but small breakfast that Mikey had prepared. He just wanted to be away from the table and Leo’s occasional glances. He ate as fast as he dared then excused himself from the table.
That morning’s training was the same as the day before. Splinter kept Leo with Raph and Donny with Mikey to try to avoid problems. After training was finished, Leo went off to meditate, Mikey stayed in the dojo for extra training, Raph headed back to the weight room, and Donny headed to the sauna.
Living under ground made it hard to get the required sunlight to be healthy. They used to have to venture out of the lair and bask in whatever shafts of sunlight that they could find and in the winter they would get so cold that they would hibernate.
When they were twelve, Donny had figured out how to keep the lair warm and set up lamps for basking. It wasn’t as good as sunlight but they no longer had to hibernate through the winter to stay healthy. He eventually set up a room just for basking and added a sauna element to it, as well as a large bath tub. It was a nice spot to unwind and warm up after a long winter’s night of patrols.
He went through his normal routine of cleaning his shell and basking, naked under an ultraviolet lamp. He loved the feeling of the warm light on the rarely exposed flesh and the freedom that he felt when his shell was off.
Whatever force had decided how they mutated knew what it was doing. In order for them to be able to stand and have the flexibility to be ninjas their shells couldn’t be attached the same way as a normal turtle’s but the space created in order to obtain that flexibility caused problems of their own. Debris and moisture could become trapped between their shells and skin, causing irritation or worse sores and infections.
When they were little, Splinter did his best to keep the area under their shells clean and dry but it still itched. Then, one day, when Donny was so irritated from the grime under his shell, he managed to remove it. The carapace and bridges came off as one piece and he was finally able to get himself clean.
Poor Mikey had a nest of fleas tucked in the spots under his shell that Splinter couldn’t get to. After they were able to properly clean under their shells and remove the parasites, the four turtles’ health improved.
Despite all of this, his brothers hated being without their shells and often suffered from mild skin irritations as a result. Mikey and Raph were the worst and Donny had to remind them to remove their shells for a good cleaning and bask.
He must have dozed off under the lamps because he was startled awake by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Leo looking down at him. “Can we talk?”
“Um, sure,” Donny sat up. “Let me just get my shell back on.” He looked over his shoulder as he slipped his shell back on, “When was the last time you cleaned?”
“I showered this morning,” Leo answered quickly, crossing his arms over his plastron.
Donny rolled his eyes, “Take it off Leo.”
“I hate being without it. I feel so exposed,” Leo complained as he worked to detach himself from his shell. It took some effort to detach each connector along the spine and down both sides of the plastron. “I never understood how you like being without it.”
Donny shrugged, “I’m able to relax better without it. If I could I would sleep all night without it but that would only result in the connectors drying out and a great deal of pain.”
Leo slipped out of his shell and handed it over to Donny before hopping up on the bed to lie under the light.
Donny placed Leo’s shell in the warm bath for a good soak then walked over to look at Leo’s back. “You have a spot where moisture was trapped and it’s starting to smell and you have minor irritation in several spots.”
“Maybe it has been a while then,” Leo replied sheepishly.
Leo tried his best to relax as Donny applied ointment to his back. Leo had no idea how Donny managed to keep his hands so soft. He loved the feel of Don’s hands on him and wished that the touch was more intimate.
Once Donny was done, Leo was left to bask in the light and he had to admit that it felt good. He hadn’t even realized how much the grime under his shell had been irritating him until it was gone.
“Can we talk now?” Leo asked with a sigh, without looking up.
“I know what you wanna talk about,” Donny said and he really wasn’t in the mood for it at the moment.
“I just want a chance with you,” Leo pleaded, propping himself up so he could look at Donny.
“And Mikey just wants a chance with you, and I just want a chance with Raph,” Donny argued. “This revelation is still all too new for all of us and I don’t think any of us are willing to give up on the hope of being with the one they want yet.”
Leo looked down at the bed, “I don’t get what you see in Raph. You know what he is capable of. You say the wrong thing to him and they next thing you know, you’re on your back, looking up at him, and his sai is embedded in the ground next to your head.”
“I’m not afraid of him, Leo,” Donny said. “I don’t anger him the way you and Mikey do.”
“So that time he almost hit you, for arguing with him over his use of violence to solve problems, was you not angering him.” Leo stated flatly. When Donny looked at him in surprise, Leo said, “Mikey told me about it.”
“He almost hit me,” Donny emphasized. “He didn’t actually hit me and I did goad him that time. I won’t do anything like that again.”
“Are you really blaming yourself for that?” Leo sat up. “That’s the kind of things people say when they are in an abusive relationship. He’s gotten so big. If he were to hit you out of anger…,”
“It wouldn’t be an abusive relationship,” Donny almost yelled, cutting him off. “He’s not like that. I’m done with this conversation.” He went over to the shell bath and removed Leo’s shell to dry. “Bask for thirty more minutes, then you can put your shell back on. You really need to remember to do this more often; it’s not my responsibility to keep reminding you.” He left the room, leaving Leo alone.
Later that evening, after they returned from a night of patrolling, Donny handed Raph the ointment. “As promised.”
Raph looked confused for a moment then took the jar from Donny, “Right. Thanks.”
“No problem,” Donny answered. “Just don’t bulk up too much; you don’t want to overdo it.” He turned and walked away from Raph, heading back to his lab.
Raph stood there with the ointment in his hands. As he entered his lab, Donny looked back to see Raph look at his arms, flexing them slightly as he did and running his fingers over the stretch marks.
