Where We Collided || ROTTMNT ||

Lost In My Head

Donatello was a curious creature, Leo had found. He worked just as diligently as his own brother did, but his tech was less advanced and he had fewer resources. Leo realized they were quite lucky in their dimension, especially Donnie, because he could build his battle-shell out of titanium. Donatello had no titanium.

"Oh, hi Leo," Donatello had finally noticed him, having been so engrossed in his work.

Leo waved at him, smiling. His hearing aid was still malfunctioning and he held it in his hand. Donatello waited for him to reply, but Leo didn't. The younger turtle simply held out his hearing aid for the other to take.

Donatello took the hearing aid with a confused look on his face before understanding dawned on him and he sat down at his desk to fiddle with the small device. Leo sat on the desk, watching him work in silence. The rushing of blood in his head was the only thing he could hear, the feeling of his heartbeat pounding becoming increasingly more annoying. He would have liked to hear stuff again, but with his hearing aid going haywire, it wasn't quite possible.

He wished Donnie could fix it, but there was no way because Donnie wasn't here.

"This is such an intricate device," Donatello mumbled, and Leo smiled.

He might not be able to hear, but he could still read lips, and he could mostly guess what Donatello was saying. He nodded at the other and Donatello turned the device over in his hands, tongue poking out as he worked on fixing it. It took a few minutes, but then the purple-clad turtle returned Leo's hearing aid and Leo popped it back into his ear, blinking as the sound came back on.

"Well, hello," he said to Donatello with a smile.

"Is it working properly?" the box turtle asked curiously.

Leo nodded. "It is, thanks," he said.

"That's good. I hope I didn't damage it in any way. Make sure my counterpart takes a good look at it once we have him back," Donatello instructed. "I'm not sure I fixed everything wrong with it. He's the one who made it, so he has to make sure."

"I will," Leo said. "What are you working on?" he asked, curiously looking around Donatello's desk, which was full of little projects.

"Ah," Donatello said, rubbing his neck and cracking it. "Just some minor things to help us in Dimension X. I upgraded the Neck-Breathers we got from Bishop to work as comms so we can all hear each other. I thought it might help us."

Leo raised a brow in surprise. "That's actually quite a smart idea, now we can keep tabs on everyone while we focus on our own battles."

Leo had to say, he was impressed. Donatello sure was smart, but what else could he have expected? This was his brother's counterpart after all. He knew, deep down, that every Donnie was smart. And every single one of them was prepared to do anything for his brothers.

"I thought so, too," Donatello said.

A crash and a shout outside the lab startled both turtles and Leo turned his head to listen to the racket. It was most definitely Mikey, who was shouting for Michelangelo to come see something. Leo smiled, curious now. He slid off the desk and thanked Donatello once again. Then he made his way out of the lab to see what his little brother was so excited about.

He found Mikey and Michelangelo sitting in front of the TV, which wasn't on, surprisingly. They were watching a little kitten lap up some milk from a bowl, and their faces were filled with fondness. The kitten was small and white, covered in orange splotches.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Leo joked, moving around the TV to come closer.

Mikey looked up at him and beamed, smiling so brightly Leo thought he was looking at the sun. Michelangelo was also smiling, a bowl full of ice-cream kitty in his lap.