The Silent Partner

A Normal Day

It was a quiet morning in the turtle lair. Michelangelo was, as usual, in the kitchen rushing to and fro like a mad-turtle as he attempted to manage three different things at once. Despite his current tasks, the youngest turtle was counting down the seconds in his head...three...two...one...

Right on cue, Donatello stomped into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffeemaker. The brainiac rubbed his aching temples with two fingers and sighed.

Mikey frowned. That sigh never boded well. "Migraine?" He hazarded a guess, currently unable to turn away from the pancakes he was trying to keep from burning.

Donatello glanced briefly at the back of Mikey's shell and grumbled, "Gee, ya think?!"

Mikey flipped the pancake and after catching it and placing the pan back on the stove he held his hands up in surrender and said innocently, "Hey, don't blame me just because you decided to stay up all night working!"

The purple-masked turtle's normally soft, brown eyes narrowed dangerously at Michelangelo as the young, orange-masked turtle once again turned his shell to him. "If it weren't for you and your plans last night, I wouldn't have spent half the night doing surveillance sweeps on empty alleyways!" Don exclaimed, frustratedly.

Mikey sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Don! It's not like it was all for nothing. We were doing it for Raph, remember? Besides, you're the one who decided you wanted to work in your lab for the rest of the night after we got back." The youngest pointed out.

Donnie was just about ready to explode. And so was his head. "Yeah, because you and Leo dragged me away to play chaperone! I didn't get to finish!"

The pancake was done and Michelangelo was quick to get it on the plate before it started burning. Once that task had been completed, Mikey turned back to his immediate older brother. "Donnie." He began sternly. "Raph and Mona have been dancing around this thing for weeks! It was about time they finally got it all sorted, and let's face it bro, neither of them were going to do it on their own. Don't you think it was worth it to see Raph so happy?" When faced with that bright, earnest, and heartwarming baby-blue-eyed expression, Donatello was unable to stop himself from looking down in shame.

"Y-You're right Mikey. I was being pretty selfish. I shouldn't have snapped at you, either."

Mikey waved off Don's attempt at an apology with a soft smile. "Don't sweat it bro. You're tired, hungry, and you've got a killer migraine, I wasn't really expecting you to be cordial."

"Good to know." Donnie murmured softly in reply, lifting the steaming cup of black coffee up to his lips. He took a slow sip and sighed as he savored the taste and scent of the beverage. Mikey turned back to the stove and immediately began preparing more pancakes. The brainy turtle watched in silence, simultaneously draining the coffee from the cup. Once that coffee had vanished, Donnie stood and proceeded to pour himself yet another cup. As the seconds and then minutes ticked by, the cogs of Donatello's highly refined brain wheels began turning and he stared contemplatively at his younger brother's back. "Hey, Mikey."

"Hmmm?" The youngest answered as he flipped two pancakes directly onto a plate, one on top of the other. For some tasks it helped to have the reflexes of a ninja.

Hesitant, and not particularly sure he wanted to know the answer Donnie asked, "How long had you been planning...you know...?"

"Raph's date?" Mikey asked, just to make sure he and Don were talking about the same thing.

"Yeah."

The orange masked turtle shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know exactly...a week, maybe? Leo helped too. He could probably give you a more specific date."