i_speak_softly | Thirty-Third Theory [Action/Written]

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Thirty-Third Theory [Action/Written]

[Donatello woke up this morning so relieved to be back in his own body that all he could do was cry into his pillow for five minutes. By the end of this catharsis, part of him felt that he really should look in on his housemates to see what state they were in today, but another part just really didn't want to know how much misery he was still in for. These two parts debated for a while, and concluded that they would do the responsible thing, but only after they had had (a) coffee, and (b) some time away from the house.]

[That decided, Donatello hauled himself out of bed, bundled up, and headed to the coffee shop to spend a few hours staring into space and downing as much caffeine as he could stand.]

[Some time around his third cup, he opens his journal and begins to write.]

Usually I'm in favor of having as much information as possible, but sometimes it really is better not to know. Things will never be the same again.

If only I could forget.

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[Raph throws him look.]

I'm havin' an off day. Don't get used to it.

I'm not getting used to anything. That wasn't a fair win.

Whatever. I'm fine.

[He slides into fighting stance again.] C'mon, I'll prove it. Rematch.

[Don's not going to win this one by argument, so he takes up a starting position. He's obviously reluctant, though.]

Hajime!

[Then he leaps at Don with twice the ferocity as before. So he may not be feeling at the top of his game. So what? It only makes him want to try harder to prove how fine he actually might not be.]

[Don falls into a defensive tack, partly because he'd been planning to, partly because trying to counter Raph's fierce blows seems like a bad idea. He'll give ground, letting Raph push him back almost to the wall.]

[He's got him right where he wants him. One last kick for the finishing blow, and it should all be over.]

[Don spins to the side at the last second, and gets ready to catch as subtly as possible. Just in case Raph starts falling over again.]

[Raph does stumble a bit, but catches himself in time to throw another punch.]

[That one catches Don off-guard, but he manages to talk around having the wind knocked out of him.]

Raph, you're - something's wrong.

I'm fine!

[And another punch. He won't be satisfied until somebody wins, and it better be him.]

Raph - [His focus is completely gone. The punch gets him right in the beak, and it hurts.] Raph, stop...

[Okay, Don's hurt now and he's not even paying attention. Raph stops himself and mentally claims his victory, shaking out his fist. He stands there, panting hard until something catches in his throat, making him cough dryly a couple times. But he's fine after a second, clearing his throat.]

Just...havin' an off day, all right? And my throat still hurts from that cold I got durin' the experiment.

[Which was weeks ago, so it obviously can't be the same bug. But Raph doesn't know that.

He frowns at his brother's pained expression.]

You all right? Gotta pay more attention.

You're not having an off day, Raph, you're in recovery. [He rubs his snout with the back of his hand, ignores the last statement, and goes to the corner to pick up his bo.] We both are. We shouldn't even be doing this.

Yeah, fine. [What's he gonna argue? He's not feeling up to much more of this anyways.] But you promised me a bath. Ain't no backin' down on that.

Ugh, you need one. [He crosses the room and listens at the door.] I think April's done.

[He walks up and smacks his brother on the shell.]
Pff. Shell-head.

[He sniffs the air for a moment.]

She always makes the place smell like a freakin' fruit salad.

[He stops himself just short of saying "What's wrong with fruit salad?" Instead he opens the door and sneaks out into the hallway.]

You're not going to let me use that bubble stuff, are you.

No. You're fruity enough as is. [He chuckles at his own joke, giving Don a playful jab.]

[Nice. Don just crosses the living room like he has every right to be walking there, and heads into the bathroom.]

[Raph follows him as far as the door, but only pokes his head in.]

I'm gettin' a drink. You want anything?

A very large pitcher of water, thanks.

[And while Raph is getting it, Don will work on filling the tub.]

[... Stealthily adding just a little bit of the bubble bath is tempting. But he will resist.]

[Raph returns with the biggest pitcher he can find full of lukewarm tap water and two large plastic glasses in hand. He sets them down on the counter and fills them, handing one off to Donnie.]

Wish we had a tub like this at home.

[Or any tub, for that matter. The new Lair doesn't even have the luxury of the turtle pond. If they wanted a bath, they had to go raid April's place. And even then her hot water heater seemed to always be on the fritz.]

[Don takes the glass, drains it, and hands it back.]

The one I gave you wasn't good enough?

[He knows not this "new Lair" of which you speak.]

[He grunts and thinks of whether he should tell Don or not. He was pretty broken up about all his work getting destroyed when it happened...

So nah. Maybe he won't tell him.

He drains his own glass, then fills them both again, offering one back to Don.]

It ah...broke after a while. Forgot about that.

[Half-truths. Yeah, he can handle that.]

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