A Rose by Any Other Name

Chapter 16 (Donnie)

My eyes flutter open. I wake up with my head on the table. My arms were holding my head like a pillow and five empty coffee cups sit beside me. 

Looks like I blacked out again. I need to find a more potent coffee.

I get up and stretch. My shell aches because of how long I have been crouched over the table sleeping again. I need to put my shell back on again so my back stays straight. It works as a back-brace for when I'm leaning over my work or computer.

I get up and check on the bow I was working on. It seems I finished last night. I don't quite remember everything I put on it but it should come back to me in a few minutes.

I walk out with the bow in hand and close the secret room. I turn to put the bow on my bed when I see Rose stretched out over the couch snoring. 

I smiled as she was still holding an arrow in one hand with the net falling to the floor slowly.

I grab the jacket on my bed and drape it over her. My blanket is being washed so it's not in my room. And unlike my brother Raph who hordes stuffed animals and blankets, I only have one blanket, pillow, and singular stuffed animal I hide under my pillow. My "precious smokey bear" as Leo mentioned.

After quietly putting on my battle shell I walk out into the Main Room. Smelling delicious pancakes coming from the kitchen. Mikey must be cooking as per usual.

"Hey Don-tron! Morning! Mikey made some pancakes." Leo says, eating on the edge of the second floor.

"Yea Dee! You look like you could eat something." Mikey says, walking in wearing a chef hat and apron. He's holding a spatula in one hand and a plate in the other.

Before I can argue he hands me a plate of star shaped pancakes drizzled with honey and powdered sugar.

So instead I sigh. "Thanks Mikey. This looks amazing as usual." 

Mikey beams and rushes back to the kitchen. 

I chuckle and walk up to where Leo is sitting. Raph is doing tricks on the skate ramps we have installed on either side of the Main Room. 

"So. What do we have planned for today?" I ask Leo as I start eating the pancakes. 

These were really good. They seemed to melt in my mouth and the powdered sugar complimented the honey. I need to know how Mikey does it.

"I don't know." Leo says, finishing his pancakes and setting his plate down next to him. "Maybe we can visit April in our granny costumes again and scare her." He grins.

"I like that idea. But I don't want to be hit in the face with her baseball bat this time." I say as I continue eating.

"No can do guys. April has a test today so we can't bother her." Raph says as he goes up the ramp towards us.

"Ugh. That kid always has a test. Maybe we can mutate her so she can live with us forever!" Leo laughs.

"Nah. She wouldn't want to live with us. She would be too furious and want to kill us in our sleep." I say plainly as I finish my pancakes. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I guess it was because all I had for the past 19 hours was coffee.

"And you won't do that to her anyway. Right?" Raph asks giving us his motherly look.

"No Raph." Leo and I say in unison. 

"Besides. April is way too good to turn into a mutant like us." Leo says grabbing his skateboard off the wall.

"Who's April?" Rose says walking in from my room.

"Ah. Looks like the Clumsy Flamingo is awake." Leo laughing.

Rose looks at him confused. So does Raph and I.

"Oh come on, you didn't get it? It took all night for me to come up with it. It's because she came crashing in with pink wings?" Leo looks at us trying to get us to understand. 

Raph shakes his head slightly as he goes back down the ramp. 

"Y'all suck. You just don't get my humor." Leo responds to Raph's head shake and goes back down the ramp with him.

As Rose tries to find her way up to the second floor Mikey hands her pancakes from the kitchen. Eventually she finds her way up to me and sits down. Farthest away from the ramp.

"So...Who's April?" She asks again, taking a bite of the pancakes.

"Oh. That's our human friend." I reply.

Rose seems to almost choke on her pancakes. 

"You guys have a human friend?" She asks baffled. 

"Yea?" Raph says coming up the ramp. "We met her the first time we came to the surface. We've been best friends since." 

"Huh." She says with little to no emotion.

"So...I finished the bow?" I say. "Wanna test it out after breakfast?" 

Rose nods as she shovels down her food. 

"Your brother is an amazing cook." She says through mouthfuls. 

I chuckle. "We don't know how he does it."