Delilah was completely unfocused during business hours. She kept humming to herself and could only make one drink or dish at a time without getting distracted. Dill couldn't help but notice. So, between the breakfast and lunch rush, Dill sat Delilah down to talk about it.
"You know, I heard you playing for Raph earlier," Dill stated. Delilah's eyes went wide.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Casey pointed it out, but I told him there was usually a duo playing around the corner so your cover wouldn't be blown." Delilah sighed in relief.
"Thanks."
"No problem. But I do have questions." Delilah gulped.
"You really trust him, don't you?" Dill started. Delilah thought.
"Yeah, I do."
"You're fond of him?"
"I guess you could say that."
"You would protect him."
"Yeah, and Mike and Don. They're all my friends," Delilah stated. This seemed to be what Dill wanted to hear.
"You don't just sing a love song to your friend then hug them." Delilah's eyes were wide.
"You heard that?"
"I heard that he asked you to play. Then you played 'Running Home To You' by Grant Gustin in that one episode of the Flash. I also happened to peek into the window and saw you hugging him like a little couple," Dill stated. "What is between you two?" Delilah gulped.
♦️♦️♦️
Donnie immediately went into his lab when he got back to the lair. He sighed in relief when everything was exactly the way he left it.
"You guys didn't bother my stuff?" Donnie asked Mikey and Raph.
"No, I couldn't even go in without being nervous," Mikey responded from the doorway.
"Delilah wanted to take a look and geek out, but I know you don't like anyone touching stuff, especially when you're not here," Raph added. Donnie looked at them with a wide smile, then looked confused.
"Delilah?"
"Vincent agreed we could let her come here," Mikey stated. Donnie nodded, then smiled again.
"You guys thought of me."
"Totally, dude. You're our brother," Mikey smiled. Donnie chuckled and put an arm around Mikey's neck.
"Speaking of Delilah, though," Donnie said. "I noticed something between you. Did you form a relationship in the midst of this?" Raph's eyes were wide, then he put on his usual, rough-around-the-edges persona.
"Why would you think that? She'd never want to be with one of us, much less me..."
He stormed off and went to his exercise room. He let himself relax once he knew he was alone. He heard what Mikey then said to Donnie.
"He likes her, he just doesn't know it yet." He wanted to disagree, but he wasn't even sure where to start thinking about it.
♦️♦️♦️
Delilah had to close early, due both her and Dill to being overtired. She let herself pass out on the couch near the door until Donnie arrived. Donnie went alone that night, for he wanted to take Delilah to the lair to talk about her and Raph. He wanted to get her side of it since he knew Raph wasn't going to budge.
Donnie called Delilah since he saw her asleep. She jumped up, looked at the time, then closed the blinds and shut off the lights.
"Early night?" Donnie asked when she let him in.
"I did not sleep much, if at all, for the past 24 hours. Dill and I were falling asleep standing, so we closed at 8 instead of 10," Delilah chuckled. "Just you? No Mike or Raph?"
"Just me. Nerd to nerd," he smiled. She chuckled.
"Want a chai?"
"That would be awesome." She smiled and started it. "Do you have To-Go mugs?"
"Yeah, want it in there?"
"Yeah. I want to take you to the lair, so I can test your knowledge." That was a white lie.
♦️♦️♦️
They made themselves comfortable by sipping their drinks and tinkering with some of Donnie's tech in his lab. She was having a field day with the coding in his inventions, and Donnie ecstatic to have another nerd in his inner circle.
"Hey so... I have a question," Donnie asked. She took the safety goggles off of her eyes and looked at him.
"What's up?"
"I... As I was waiting, I tried to enter the Abraco computer system, but someone put up a very strong and complex firewall that had layers and layers that kept attacking any bug I tried to attack it with. I think someone hacked your system." Donnie was confused about why she was beaming.
"I made multiple layers of complex code that was personalized to that computer and fought off any foreign bugs." Donnie was flabbergasted.
"How?"
"I took a few coding classes in middle school. I did personal research, then added multiple layers of code to protect my personal laptop's health, as well as the health and finances of the Abraco. Though, Abraco's is much more complex and many more layers than my laptop since it has more importance."
Delilah shrugged as if it were nothing. Donnie was becoming jealous of her.
"How old were you?"
"I was thirteen when I started. Both at the same time, like a dumbass," she smiled. Donnie chuckled. "I finished my laptop's coding at sixteen. I finished Abraco's more recently, actually, about a year ago, when I turned eighteen."
"I'm jealous," Donnie pouted.
"It was very difficult," she stated. "I wouldn't have done it so soon if I knew how complex it was."
"And? I have a lot of experience in coding and building firewalls-"
"No!" She snapped slightly.
"It took me 3 years to build an average OSI Model, and I'm much higher intelligence than the average creature at age eighteen, even with professional training." Donnie looked at her. She seemed tense. "I'll walk you through what I did when we get to back to the Abraco, and if you think you can handle it, then fine, go ahead."
"What do you mean?
"I mean, you just got out of a place without access to any technology and you just want to throw yourself into building complex codes and firewalls as soon as you get back."
"But-"
"But, that's not good for your brain, and if you are as smart as you're showing, you'd know I'm right," Delilah explained. Donnie looked at his computer system, then back at her.
"I am. You're right," he sighed. "I need to do a bit of practice before I go into it full-throttle." She sighed slightly.
"Exactly."
♦️♦️♦️
It was around 3 AM when they finally let themselves relax. They sat at the kitchen island and were sipping on some green tea Donnie had made.
"I'm surprised Mikey hasn't come down from his game room at all," Delilah chuckled. "Or Raph from his bench," she added.
"Me too, on Mike. I have an idea for why Raph won't show himself," Donnie responded, casually leaning his elbows on the island.
"Why Raph?" Delilah asked, her nose scrunching.
"Well, Mike and I think he has a bit of a crush on you," Donnie smirked. Delilah's eye went wide. She bounced her knee and looked away from him. "And you reciprocate his feelings."
"No! I just... I am fond of him." Donnie looked at her.
"Really?"
"Yes...?"
"You don't answer a yes or no question with a question." Delilah groaned. Donnie chuckled. "Checkmate."
Mikey snickered just outside the doorframe. He looked at Raph, who was next to him. Raph was looking at the opposing wall, wide-eyed. He clenched his fist and entered the kitchen. Delilah's face flushed red as they made eye contact. She was the first to look away.
"Really Don? You're back for 24 hours and you already-"
"Hey, I'm good at reading expressions," Donnie shrugged. Delilah looked up at him, then at Mikey who entered the kitchen as well.
"Okay, so, um... I do have to get sleep and make sure Abraco is all clean after we closed," Delilah stated. She stood up and headed toward the door. "Thank you for the tea, Don, and for letting me tinker around-"
"Wait." Raph stopped her. "Um, I'll take you, since Don brought you." He glared back at his brother. Donnie sent him a finger gun with his right hand.
"Thanks."
♦️♦️♦️
Raph watched Delilah clean up and set everything. She looked sleep-drunk by the time she was done, so Raph monitored her as she plopped herself onto the couch in the corner. It felt like an eternity since she sang for him the night before. Time works in mysterious ways.
"I'm sorry about Donnie," Raph stated, sitting in the nearest chair. "He has a weird way of doing things." Delilah huffed a laugh.
"As do I, but Donnie... He's a special type," she smiled. "But he wasn't wrong, either," she added.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked as his lip curled slightly.
"If he was right about you, then he was also right about me reciprocating the feelings." She looked at him as she was sprawled out on the couch. "I do think I am attracted to whatever we have."
"What about me?" he asked. "Why?" Delilah smiled.
"Your eyes, first off. They're very pretty," she stated, looking directly into his eyes. "I love how green they are. It's my favorite shade of green, to be frank." Raph was confused.
"My... My eyes?"
"They are lovely." She was smiling. "What about me? Why me?"
"You... Your eyes. One is that dark green, and the other... is blue. You're strong, and you're... different. I appreciate and respect that, all of it." Delilah smiled.
Delilah sat up and made grabby hands towards Raph. He looked confusedly at her. She had the look of a child in her eyes and continued to make the grabby hands at him.
"What?" he asked, getting a chuckle at how she was acting.
"Hug me!" She demanded. Raph's eyes softened as he chuckled. He stood up and picked her up off of the couch, holding her like he did the night before; her legs were on the right side of his body while her arms were around his neck. "Thanks..."
"Not a problem..."
She was asleep in moments.
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