thepurpleone | Cyberformed [] Inbox

[Michael, you know your brother has a terrible tendency to overthink things.

The shake does help though, even if Mikey is given a brief confused look at the answer. Fun? Fun. Huh... But how do you have fun with weird magical ar-

Donnie stares again at Mikey before his expression shifts sloooowly, thoughtfully.]

Okay, you have my attention.

[Mikey finally stood so he could pace around as he talked through his plan.]

If we can turn it into something scary maybe? We can hide and chase him around with it, or even just do that creepy shadow thing on the wall. Or we keep popping up so he keeps thinking he's seeing things but they're not there. The trick here is that it's attached so we need to stay out of sight and that really limits our options...

[All of these were pretty low brow ideas, he could do better than this. Think think think.]

[Donnie looks a little hesitant at that.]

I don't know... Haven't you guys had enough scary and paranoia to deal with lately?

[Or maybe that was just him.]

[Ah, right.]

Yeah... good point. [He tapped his chin. Well that certainly limited their options, for the better though. Probably. He steeples his fingers and taps them together, staring out the window like the stars would give him the answers.]

The point was to use your cool new arm to do something, but there is no reason we need to stick with just that. We need to broaden our horizons.

Yeah, I know, but it's supposed to be fun too, right?

Maybe we can just surprise him somehow...

[Somehow setting up things to explode in a flurry of feathers seems so much easier, but then their current environment could hold just as many possibilities as it did limitations.]

[Mikey settles back a little, putting himself into thinking mode.]

Surprise him you say... [He says this like he had any ideas.]

If we set something up while he's sleeping, we could get him when he wakes up, and then it's extra funny because he's not fully awake.

Ooh! That will work. [Because Leo actually sleeps!]

Additionally, I can just morph my hand into something unexpected when he wants me to pass him something. Instant surprise!

[Mikey rubs his hands together.] Ohhhh if you are passing him some food, even better. Pretend like you didn't even mean it.

[He bats his eyes.] I'm sorry Leo, I don't know why this keeps happening. [He mimes tipping over a plate and laughs.]

[Donnie can't help but laugh as well. It's nice having something to laugh at, even if it is at your absent brother's expense.]

Ohhhh he'd probably get so annoyed.

OH! Bonus points if it's messy! Dump a pizza on him or something!

[It felt like old times, being back at the lair, devising increasingly unhinged ways to pass the time and bother the brothers. It felt good. After everything. It felt really good.]

That would be a waste of a perfectly good pizza, Michael.

[But the grin on his face suggests it's still quite an open option. This is how things should be, where they can just be goofy and occasionally do dumb, inconsequential things.]

Not if it's a terrible pizza. All sauce, baby!

[He says this a little too loud with hand motions to match and all the confidence in the world.]

Or even worse, Hawaiian!

I think that's just you, Don. But the pineapple would help it look more like a real pizza...

It must have ham, otherwise it wouldn't be a proper Hawaiian pizza. [He shudders at the thought. Yech. Ham and pineapple together, why?]

Donnie. We're almost making a real pizza here. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's not a waste. [He gives his brother a very pointed look.]

[Donnie makes a face before sighing. Heavily.]

Oh okay, fine. You have a point.

[Mikey gives a dramatic bow.]

Of course I do, but thank you. You know I don't mess around when it comes to food.

Well, if I intend to prank Leo and it involves food, then I will make sure to give you a head's up.

You'd better!

[He laughs and leans back on his hands. He looks at his brother, his expression softening.]

Thanks for talking with me, Don.

[It felt like it had been forever since they had a chance to just... hang out like this. Maybe he was ruining the moment by getting mushy, but he really couldn't care at the moment.]

[Donnie blinks at that, glancing away briefly. He feels kind of bad at the insinuation, but...it does seem like they've just gotten a lot busier and drifted a little. He doesn't want that.

He looks back at Mikey, smile tight.]

There's not really any reason to not talk to each other, right..?

[Mikey looks at his brother for a moment, like he was really taking him in this time. Then, he leans forward and wraps his arms around the purple turtle. Not too tight, but firm, in the way that only he was allowed.]

Of course not, Donnie. We can always talk all the time.

[He rubs his cheek against Donnie's with a happy little hum. Even at 16, some things never changed.]

[That hesitation makes him anxious for some reason. For a split second his overthink works in a thought again, a what-if, a pointing finger-

The thought shatters as it hits a wall the moment Mikey embraces him, and Donnie tries not to seem too desperate when he pulls his own arms to hug back with just the briefest of squeezes. So much has changed but he doesn't ever want that to be so with his relationship with his brothers.

He tolerates the nuzzling with a mild grunt and a scowl to hide the warmth and relief he feels spread in his chest.]

Good.

[Mikey holds onto him a little longer than was probably necessary. He was always good at pressing his limits with this sort of thing.]

Don't worry, you're always going to be the best little brother, Donatello.

[The grin was nothing less than shit-eating.]

[He's still a BRAT and knows it, the absolute worst.

There's almost a growl at that choice term, paired with a scowl.]

Then surely you cannot possibly complain when your dear little brother bites you.

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