Chapter Text
"Dear Galileo, my head..."
Sometimes, it was quite unfortunate to be a softshell and a Donatello at the same time. Pair it up with feeding into insomnia tendencies by overworking yourself to the brim and you have a walking sickness challenger.
Of course Donnie wasn't all of that on purpose, it was all independent from him after all, yes the overworking part too- he is literally the sole tech guy, and with the Hamato family growing repeatedly he had plenty of work on his hands.
His dum dum brothers naturally didn't get it and kept popping in his lab, begging him to have some 'proper sleep' ( Scoff . His 20 min naps were more than enough), or take a break or do some mindless activity like watching Raph get destroyed by Leo in another platforming game.
No thank you.
He kept to his dry aired lab room, filled with gentle hums of many fans from his countless inventions, or occasionally with stronger techno beats that kept his eyelids from treacherous droopiness that jeopardized his progress.
Just like they must have done recently.
"Oh Einstein, my throat"
He woke up from the cursed involuntary nap, suffering the consequences of letting his body relax and catch up to the abus-
…little overworking on his part.
Well, nothing a glass of water with vitamins won't fix!
And coffee.
Lots of coffee.
Donnie mindlessly grabbed the beloved purple hoodie, to cover his uncharacteristically cold shell. He ignored the fact that his bones felt like sponges and impatiently crawled his way to the kitchen.
Chalky capsule hissed aggressively, bubbling in contact with the tasteless liquid as if mirroring Donnie's averseness to its inevitable use.
Donn didn't like taking vitamins because against his better judgment, deep down he knew it was just a placebo for his inescapable doom.
Nonetheless the bullheaded teen grabbed the surprisingly heavy glass and went to take a seat in the "living room" aka screen room aka dad's sanctuary aka best insomnia lounge.
Bravely eyeing the murky challenge he hyped himself.
"And a one, and a two, and a" Three "Yikes!" he hissed, making definitely not the most elegant faces.
Crap.
He didn't make the coffee AND couldn't bring himself to stand up. Great.
Maybe... Maybe if I close my eyes for a minute and just focus…enough, I will do it?
Yes. That was a great idea, so without any objections the softshell's body focused on the comfiness of the occupied couch.
Well that was a delightfully long minute!
"Oh geez I really wanted to see that exhibition" Donnie heard his youngest brother. What is Mikey doing here in the middle of the night?!
"And you will Miguel!" Nardo too? " You and Raphie go and have fun, local medic will take care of this nerd." Wise Galileo, what are they all doing? "Just promise me to take lots of photos and buy me something nice"
Donnie tried to open his eyes
"You sure Leo?"
But for some reason it was really really hard. And that's two reallys. So he settled on listening.
"Of course. You know how much blackmail material I will collect? It's like a reward~" That prick. What is he up to this time?
That seemed to convince the other two as they sighed simultaneously.
Irregular steps were heard before Donnie felt soft pets on his head and arm.
"Stay strong lil bro"
"Take care Dee! We'll get something for you too!"
What? He tried to say but it came out more like a grumble, that triggered a wave of giggles and, receding this time, footsteps.
Donnie was really confused, so he tried harder and haha! - this time his eyelids cracked open revealing a blurry but mainly blue blob.
"No matter how happy I am to see you out of your lab, dear brother, I must add that it is quite tragic, that it took getting sick to achieve it." Oh he knew that voice.
Donatello smacked his lips and grunted before finally hoarsing "Lee..o?"
"The one and only" the blob answered
"I'm not sick" Donnie blinked repeatedly to see clearer his ass of a twin.
"Of course not!" Leo smiled "And I'm not after a third cup of hot chocolate today" that was such a weird way to answer.
"...you are mocking me?" He honestly wasn't sure.
"I wouldn't dare" Lego tugged at his band
"Oh. Okay then" softshell nodded and shifted to sit a little more straight "Well it was lovely to... talk, but I have to go back to work." He pulled a smug face trying to figure out where did that annoying buzzing in his head come from.
"You are nothing but consistent brother" the slider shook his head
That sounded like a compliment
"Thank you" Dee chirped proudly.
At that, Leo laughed, an innocent honest giggle. "You are hilarious Dee. I love you."
Normally Donatello would scoff at that obvious hyperbole, but with his mind all blurry and slow, the latter sentence felt unusually warm and... Nice. So he smiled softly while attempting to get up.
Leo, who apparently reflected his expression, stopped him " You can work from here Don Tron!" Donnie raised his eyebrows "I can tell you feel pretty comfortable here" well that was true, but..." I will make you coffee and bring you your science stuff here."
"That..." Leo sent him the biggest puppy eyes "that sounds very good Leo. I'm glad you finally understand the importance of my undisrupted workflow" maybe he can condition his brother to be that helpful more often? Oh Donnie's genius doesn't have bounds, does it? Confident smile ~
"Of course dearest twin of mine! In the meantime, why don't you use this *concentration blanket* " he handed him a velvety material.
Donnie eyed it, trying to focus "The what now?" He blurted
"I found it in the Yokai dimension while on a trip with Hueso. It's supposed to reflect your brainwaves back to you for the maximum focus! Or something like that, you are the smart guy, I'm sure you heard of it!" Leo flicked his hand carelessly
"Yea..." He was the smart guy! "Yea!" Dee definitely heard something about that, he just doesn't want to waste energy on trying to remember when.
"Yea!" Leo hyped back, gently wrapping him up.
Oh yes. The focus. Donnie felt it so clearly! The softness and warmness and cozyness never were so evident!
He must ask Nardo later to take him to that place!
After a minute of very focused waiting, Leo got back with his coffee. The mug was pleasantly warm in his hands and the steam ghosted over his cheeks like a gentle peck. It was perfect! Until Donnie realized his coffee didn't taste like coffee. He glanced confused at his brother.
"Lee..o? Something is wrong" He was surprised how fragile his voice sounded
Nardo reacted immediately, leaning closer "Oh no!" His palm covered his heart "I'm so sorry Dee, I must have made tea out of habit!" He suddenly knelt by Donnie's legs "Will you ever forgive me brother?"
Oh.
Oh. Oh no. Donnie wasn't that mad! How could he not forgive Leo when he's been acting so nice. Of course he will forgive him!
"It's ok. A hot drink is a hot drink!" He offered and that must have been really convincing because his brother's tears vanished immediately.
"Thank you Othello Von Ryan! Your mercy can be only outmatched with your wisdom! Allow me to gather thine... Genius Inventions and tools! I shall be back soon!" Leo exclaimed appropriately officially for the situation
Donnie dismissed him with a pleased nod, and retrieved back to concentrating his thoughts. He was doing so well that a new reality enveloped his mind, taking him to a fascinating dimension where everything was still and silent and calm.
Until it wasn't.
Suddenly the peaceful void gained gravity and shape similar to a corridor.
And Donnie was running. He was dizzy, and terrified but he ran, not turning back even when the walls flared an electric blue.
Not turning back when he heard feral, desperate screams.
Not stopping at the frizzling sound of electrocution.
All he managed to do was scream back "IM SORRY! IMSORRYImsorryimsorrysorrysorry!"