— turtle dancing —

OVER the past few days, Elle's frequent hang out was now the turtle's lair. After school, she'd race through the hallways only to stop at the first manhole cover and skip through the sewers to her new friends' place.

She got along well with them, April and Sunita included. April was determined to take her sewer kayaking at some point soon. Sunita was not at the lair quite as much, but when she was present—the two got on well.

Raphael managed to show her his teddy bear collection, and Eloise awwed at him and rubbed his cheeks affectionately. It made Raph blush like crazy, but he was also grinning bigger than ever.

Mikey, admittedly and painfully, reminded Eloise a lot of Heath. Being around Mikey was almost like being around a nicer version of her little brother. It was because of this that she already formed a small attachment to Michelangelo, the two often watching Gordin Ramsey and spinning around the kitchen.

Eloise knew how to cook to a certain degree, and Michelangelo was only enhancing that for her. However, the two had already managed to stir up trouble in the three days she had been around by making a batch of laxative-induced cookies.

The two served them to the brothers only to burst out laughing as not five minutes later they all raced to the bathroom. Donnie was lucky because he had installed one in his lab, so he could use that one. Leon and Raph, on the other hand...

Eloise still cringed and felt slightly bad thinking about what had happened, but it made her snicker with Mikey nonetheless. Yeah, Leon had sworn his revenge.

Leonardo was the one Eloise had undoubtedly become closest to in the time. Both of them often lounged across his bed, Leonardo had introduced her to the world of comic reading and now she was addicted.

He had also taken up teaching her how to skateboard when he learned she was incapable of such a skill. Eloise promised to teach him how to rollerskate in return when the time presented itself.

Not to mention, Eloise absolutely loved to hear Leo's puns and laughed until she nearly passed out. It made Leo smile both on the inside and outside, and his grin at someone finally laughing at his humor was brighter than the sun.

Eloise had also met their father, Splinter. He was a nice guy, and extremely funny too. She snorted when he called Raph "Ralph" in a joking manner, pretending as though he had forgotten his son's name.

Splinter was hilarious in his own way, and when he had told his sons loudly that he hoped at least one of them could weasel their way into Eloise's heart so he could get grandchildren—Elle actually fell from laughing so hard. The sheer embarrassment on all four boys' faces was enough to send her into another round of cackles, their faces redder than Raph's mask.

Splinter, who was obviously joking, snickered at his four children as well.

Now, onto the last member of the Hamato clan. Donatello, Donnie, Othello Von Ryan, DonTron3000—whatever he went by was probably the turtle that Eloise was the least close to. He was witty, dry, and sarcastic with an ego almost as big as Leon's. But he was captivating and charming and quirky in his own manner.

Not to mention, his lab and inventions were more amazing than anything Eloise had ever seen. However, he was also a very tough nut to crack. He was not like the other brothers, he did not actively seek the attention of their new friend like the others. He barely even spared her glance the few times he did leave his lab when Eloise was over.

It was painfully obvious that if Elle wanted even the slightest relationship with Donnie, then it was going to need to be her to reach out to him. He was not as in tune with his emotions nor other peoples as the other Hamato brothers'—that was what April had told her, at least.

If Eloise did not make a special effort to reach out to him, then it would take a very very long time for them to build a friendship. Because if Eloise did nothing, then a friendship would only fall in place based on the length of time that Eloise has known the guys and small interactions with Donnie that would inevitably build up.

And so, that was what Eloise was thinking about at the current moment. As she stood atop the second level of the skate ramp with Mikey at her side, both of them watching Leo skate the ramp like a true pro.

Seriously, it was both amazing and a shame. Because every single brother would undoubtedly be able to be considered a pro with their otherworldly skateboarding skillsets. However, because of their situation, the world would never know how amazing they actually were.

But that went with a lot of things concerning the Hamato brothers. Mikey's cooking, Raph's bench-pressing, Leon's basketball skills, and Donnie was perhaps the biggest tragedy. Even Eloise who did not know him all that well and barely spoke to him knew he was perhaps the most impressive prodigy the world had ever seen.

Donatello could literally change the face of mankind if he was not stuck in the sewers. He would no doubt be attending an Ivy League university about five years earlier than average because he had been able to graduate so early. And he would probably have some world-changing thesis that would make him millions and put him down as one of the smartest men in history.

It was such a shame...

"And this...!" Elle's attention was taken to Leo who was riding down the ramp so fast his tires were getting hot. "Is how you perform—" but he could even finish his sentence for one of his skateboard wheels suddenly fell off from the pressure and Leo was sent tumbling down the ramp at dangerous speeds.

"Oh mi gosh!" Mikey gasped as he and Eloise raced down the stairs to the bottom level where Leo was groaning.

"Leo!" Eloise cried out.

Leo sat rubbing his head and a sour pout written across his lips. Mikey reached him first, bending down to his level and fretting over his older brother. Elle, who was still racing down the stairs, cried out for Donatello.

"Donnie! Donnie!"

Eloise finally made it to Leo, bending down next to Mikey. Leo held his head, grumbling to himself, his pride was more wounded than anything.

"Guys," he exhaled over their prodding fingers, "I'm fine!"

Donnie, who had been sitting at his desk about ready to weld something together for his newest invention, jumped at the sound of his name being shouted so frantically. He recognized Elle's voice, and considering the two of them had not spoken much—he knew it must have been serious. That along with the fact that no one ever really screamed for him as such unless there was something seriously wrong.

With no hesitation, Donnie raced out of his lab only to catch sight of the situation immediately.

The three were not huddled too far away from the sliding doors to his lab anyway. Based on how Leo was sitting and holding his head, his broken skateboard, and Mikey's expression—Donnie concluded it was a skateboarding accident.

Leonardo was known for showing off and would often push himself to the point that he became reckless.

Not that Donnie would ever admit this out loud, but it scared him when his brothers became reckless. Because it then became Donnie's job to fix them should they get hurt, and while Donnie was skilled and amazing at many things—there was only so much he could do. He never had any proper medical training—it was all self-learned, he was still a teenager for Christ's Sake, and he did not even have steady access to medicines and medical supplies.

What he got was stuff he was able to scavenge from deliveries arriving at hospitals late into the night.

Overall, while Donnie was a beautiful inventor, his medical skills were not as refined. With medical practices, you cannot just scavenge and make things from scratch as Donnie did with inventing.

Nor was it something easy to learn like math.

No, it was something that takes the correct supplies and knowledge. Donnie could mess up on an invention and it was fine, nothing too bad would happen. Maybe a small explosion, maybe some fried parts, but nothing irreplaceable.

His brothers, on the other hand, were irreplaceable. And one medical mishap on Donnie's part and his brothers could end up seven feet under.

Therefore, Donnie sighed in relief when he saw it was nothing too serious—his heart rate coming back down.

"Leon," the purple-clad turtle ground in irritation—a smart cover-up to his previous fear, "I've told you to be careful a million times!"

Donnie threw his hands in the air dramatically as he walked. He crouched in between Elle and Mikey, bringing his hand up to Leo's wrist, but Leon did not move his hand from his head.

"Move it," Donnie lightly scolded, though his tone was much warier, "I need to see..."

Begrudgingly, Leo moved his hand and revealed a medium-sized gash. It was nothing too serious, but Donnie could already tell that stitches would be the best course of action. If Leo was human, he would most likely need to keep the stitches in for a week, but since they all healed extremely quickly, Donnie could put them in now and take them out by tomorrow night.

"C'mon," Donnie helped Leo stand up, Leo was still a little wobbly from the fall he had taken, "let's get you fixed up,"

Mikey and Elle stood up as well, both of them watching in worry as Leo was lead by Donnie to his lab. Before the two reached the doors, Elle found herself calling out.

"Will he be okay?" Her tone was full of worry and it made Donnie raise a brow in surprise.

But then again, he was not all that shocked, Elle managed to get rather close to his brothers in the few days since they had known each other.

"Yeah, yeah," Donnie waved at her, not even sparing her a glance, "just some stitches and he'll be good as new!" He explained, earning a loud groan from Leo as they passed through the threshold into Donnie's lab.

"Mannn," Mikey shook his head before staring at Elle, "wanna make Leo some get-better-cookies?"

Elle smiled with a nod, "Yeah! Are we adding laxatives?"

"Obviously—!" Mikey started to scoff only for two very loud yells to come from Donnie's lab.

"NO LAXATIVES!" The Disaster Twins chorused, anger about the last incident still clear as day in their tones.

Mikey and Elle both snickered.

"Fine, fine!" Elle hollered before Mikey added a sly "no promises!"

A wrench suddenly came hurdling out of Donnie's lab and straight toward Mikey who yelped and dodged out of its way. Elle was gaping, having not expected that. But then she was drawn to Donnie yelling threats to Mikey and Leo's harsh laughter in the background.

Mikey hastily grabbed Eloise's hand and pulled her with him to the kitchen on the second level. They wasted no time in getting out of what would soon be known as "Donnie's hit-zone".

"Your brother," Eloise puffed as soon as they made it to the empty kitchen, "is honestly terrifying..." she shuddered dramatically at the end, referring to Donnie.

Mikey nodded along, "try living with him—Leo claims he's been possessed by a demon," Mikey started skipping around and getting the supplies for the cookies out, "and honestly, I kind of agree."

Elle laughed at the ending statement, helping Mikey in finding the items.

"Ooh!" Her head suddenly popped up from a cupboard. "Sugar or chocolate chip?"

"Is that even a question?" Mikey scoffed.

The two stared at each other for a second before mirroring the other with a loud, "chocolate chip!"

"Oh, but should we make a few snickerdoodle for Donnie and Raph?" Elle pondered out loud.

After last time, before they all realized the cookies were made specially with laxatives, Raph and Donnie had begged the two to make their favorite next time. Snickerdoodle.

Apparently, the four brothers were divided. Raph and Donnie preferred snickerdoodle, but Leo and Mikey preferred chocolate chip. Seeing as Mikey was the chef and baker of the household, it was usually with what Mikey decided because he was the one cooking it.

Donnie, according to Mikey, was the next best chef in the house. But Don had nothing on Mikey and while he could cook, Donnie could not bake. So sweet treats were normally off-the-table with Donnie.

"Mmm, but then we're all going to want snickerdoodle, and then they'll get mad because we're 'eating all their cookies!'," Mikey said while doing a mock impression of Raphael's voice.

"So then in that case," Elle started allowing Mikey to finish for her.

"We might as well make them all snickerdoodle!"

They high-fived each other and nodded before getting busy in the kitchen. It never crossed either of their minds that despite these cookies supposed to be a get-better batch for Leo, they would be making Raph and Donnie's favorite flavors.

————————

"Why did you make their favorite cookies when I'm the one who got hurt...?" Leo complained with a mouthful of a snickerdoodle cookie.

The other three brothers sat around him, Raph and Donnie munching away happily. Mikey was laying flat out on the counter, dangling a cookie above his jaw. He smiled while turning his head with a mock peaceful expression, and in perhaps the warmest tone he could muster, he replied to Leon honestly.

"Because we don't care about you..."

Leon gasped as Elle snorted along with Donnie and Raph.

"But where is the lie?" Donnie quietly muttered to himself, but it was heard by all.

Leonardo growled at his twin, handing Donnie a sour look before crossing his arms moodily. He was already slightly pissed off from his big skate ramp failure, the stitches on his head did not help with that—they simply served as a reminder. Not to mention, Donnie was low on lidocaine, so he was only able to give Leon enough to take the edge off.

As mutants, it took quite a bit of pain reliever for the boys or even Splinter to be affected by it. It took double the amount of anesthesia to knock them out, triple the amount of lidocaine to numb them, and four times as much Advil just to relive a headache.

Considering Donnie already had a hard enough time gathering medical supplies, this factor did not help at all. Therefore, Leon had to endure not only the pain of the wound but also the pain of getting it stitched with barely any numbing agent.

"Up your ass and to the left," Eloise muttered an even quieter response to Donnie, but they all caught it.

Raph, Mikey, and Leon all snickered as Donnie's head snapped to her with a fierce glare. She shrugged in response, subtly high-fiving Leo from where he sat next to her. Donnie huffed before turning away, surprisingly not having any smart comment to deliver.

"Wait," Raph froze, "are you positive y'all did not spike this with laxatives again?"

This was the third time this question was asked. Damn, where was the trust?

Elle held a dramatic hand to her heart in offense, "wow, still don't trust me?"

Leon and Donnie both scoffed, except Donnie actually said the word 'scoff'.

"After last time," Leon narrowed his eyes, "never again," but he still took another cookie without hesitation.

Elle rolled her eyes at that but Mikey decided to respond. He sat up with a casual shrug.

"Yeah," is all Mikey said making the other three freeze.

"Yeah what?" Donnie asked slowly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't trust us either," he smiled only for his three brothers to panic.

Eloise watched them all easily, resting her head in her hand as she leaned on the counter. She happily fed herself another cookie, humming at the sweet taste of snickerdoodle and chaos.

"WHAT?!" They all echoed, beginning to start trying to spit out pieces of cookies they had.

"Just 'cause you can't trust us doesn't mean we spiked them," Eloise added much to Michelangelo's pleasure.

Whenever the youngest could get at his brothers, he would jump at the opportunity. They stopped spitting out the food, each glaring harshly at the two. None of the brothers liked this evil-duo-thing that Mikey and Eloise had going on.

"Okay," Donnie pinched the bridge of his nose, allowing Raph to speak after him.

"Did you or did you not spike these delicious cookies?" He motioned heavily.

Leo finished for him, "just answer the question!" he wailed, about ready to slam his head on the counter.

Donnie, as though reading his mind, put out a hand to stop him. No need to reopen the stitches. Michelangelo rolled his eyes and huffed.

"No, we did not spike the food," he smiled before heading off to do something else.

Donnie was quick to retreat after him, the purple-clad turtle heading straight for his lab. Eloise was left to the presence of Raphael and Leo, but this did not last for long as Leo quickly tugged Elle toward the arcade. As it would turn out, one of the rooms that Eloise did not find her first time scoping out the lair was the arcade.

It was a massive room filled to the brim with games ranging from the 80s' to now. Some of the videogame machines, as Eloise had learned from Leo, were actually made from scratch by Donatello. She had gasped in amazement while playing Donatello's homemade VR system for the first time.

Everything had been so realistic it was incredible.

For the next hour or so, you would be able to find Leonardo and Eloise in an intense game dance battle. Somehow, they transferred from the game to just dancing at each other on the floor.

"Take this!" Leonardo hollered before smoothly falling into rhythm with a cha-cha-cha dance.

Elle shook her head with a large grin, watching the mutant cha-cha. Surprisingly enough, Leonardo excelled in anything that could be considered Hispanic in nature. This included nearly all forms of Latin dancing.

His feet zigzagged quickly, his hips spinning and shoulders shimmying. To those who thought how a large shell might hold him back, they obviously had never seen him dance.

"Oh, alright, Leon," Eloise bopped her head along with him, "I see you," she near catcalled while he only delivered a smug grin her way.

He ended his smooth dance with a quick spin and head tilt.

"Let's see you what you got, sis," Leo bounced, walking backward slightly as Elle smiled.

"You may be King of the salsa..." she trailed off, slowly starting to move her body to a rhythm of her own, "but I'm Queen of kicking your ass..."

"Oh-ho-ho," Leo scoffed, his eyes suddenly alight, "big words, princess, let's see what you got!"

And with that, Eloise did not hesitate. Now, she was no pro at dancing, but she was a figure skater and that gave her flexibility as well as an idea of how to move her body. Not to mention that she was actually on her high school cheer team for a season and picked up some moves from that.

But it was growing up in the L.A. that really gave her the style. So many cultures, so many varying traditions, so many people. The culture on which Los Angeles was founded, and the rhythm of California seemed to flow through Eloise's veins.

She got up in Leo's face, pulling that grueling face that many referred to as the "stank face". Her body popped and locked, her legs swings. Hip hop moved her, a total wild freestyle that held a strong beat.

She spun around him and got low, she bounced and her beanie fell off, but she paid it no mind. While Leonardo's salsa type cha-cha was fast-paced on its own, Elle's was quick-paced in a different way.

Her hips moved in a totally different way than the salsa required. Less dramatic and spinny but with bigger and more circular motions. Her head snapped left and right, her hands coming to brush her shoulders.

She vaguely heard Leon humming a loud "Aye, aye, aye!" but she was too lost in her moves to notice. It was not until Leonardo literally got behind her and joined her dancing that she took note of him.

His hands moved to her hips, guiding her—their legs moving in sync. He suddenly took her hips and forcefully spun her around till she was facing him. Their eyes met, and as though reading each other's minds, they grinned before going full out.

"Aye, aye, aye," they cheered each other on, jumping, bumping, and pretty much grinding.

Eloise stuck her tongue out and Leon had taken on his own version of the "stank face". And that was how Raphael found them.

Getting low with each other.

His jaw dropped, but he was admittedly not that surprised. He should expect something like this out of them.

It did not matter that there was literally no music playing, Leon and Eloise had made up their own music in their heads and followed along to it. It was not until Elle pulled a shocking move that Raph finally cut in.

Eloise spun so her back was to Leon's front, reached up, and wrapped an arm around his neck before dropping into the splits. He leaned down with her, his eyes wide as even he was not expecting that.

Elle was only glad that the jeans she decided to wear were jeggings. She internally regretted her decision considering it had been a solid few months since she had last stretched or even pulled the splits. Therefore, doing them out of nowhere hurt like hell. However, she did not let that show—only smiling as Leon stood up straight once more.

Holy fucking God motherfucking shit that hurt like a damnnnnn bitch!!!! Jesus fucking Christtttt!!

But Eloise kept smiling on the outside.

Seeing as her arm was still wrapped over his neck, he took her with her, forcing her to stand back up.

"Okay," Raph came in causing the two to look to him with identical smiles, "I have no clue what the hell is happening—"

"Dance competition bro, wanna join?" Leo cut him off, resting his arms behind his head casually.

"Yeah, one that I was winning, but you can try, my guy!" Elle piped only for Leo to start complaining.

"Uhm, no, no, that is not—" Leo was cut off by Raphael.

"No," the large red-bandana-wearing turtle crossed his arms, "Leo, it's your turn to patrol with me tonight."

"What!" Leo exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air, "no way—I did it like... like..." he suddenly struggled to remember.

When was the last time he had patrolled?

"Two months ago!" Raphael spat in anger. "And you are not getting out of it again, let's go!"

Leonardo whined and whimpered but Raphael only grabbed him, lifted him in the air, and proceeded to walk out of the arcade.

"We'll be back later, Elle! I think Mikey is painting in his room if you want to go find him, pops is watching television, and Don is in his lab!" Raph hollered just as he disappeared with Leo out of the arcade.

Elle stood in the middle of the neon-lit arcade watching the scene unfold with an eyebrow raised. She really did not understand how Leon could possibly get out of patrol for two months straight. Leon had ways of laziness that even Eloise would never be able to understand.

She shook her head, debating about what to do next. She chose to go to find Mikey over playing another round of one of the games, beginning to trot out of the arcade. As she rounded the corner out of the arcade, her eyes darting toward the direction of Michelangelo's room—a sudden sound caught her attention.

It was the tune of easy 80s music drifting quietly through the lair. Eloise's head perked up in curiosity, and she realized that the tune was coming from Donnie's lab doors which were left the slightest bit open.

Before she could even begin to process it, the music suddenly changed and got a bit louder. Rhianna sang about being the only girl in the world loudly, her voice echoing the lair. Leon and Raph were long gone, Mikey was no doubt too into painting to notice the world around him, and it was about the time for Splinter's favorite programming—so he would not move an inch.

Therefore, Eloise figured it was her civic duty to investigate. Besides, was Donnie really jamming out to Rhianna instead of that annoying techno that Leo claimed he listened to 24/7? Was he a Rhi-Rhi simp?

Elle certainly was. A sudden thought crossed her mind, perhaps this was her way in. Maybe, just maybe she could bond with Donnie over a shared love for Rhianna. She had been looking for a way in other than the snarky comments they threw at each other.

This had to be it.

She quickly flew down the stairs, hoping the last one to the ground. She padded her way to the lab doors as quietly as possible. Pausing just outside the door, Elle drew in a dramatic breath before slapping herself into action.

She peered through the slightly open doors, staring at his lab. It was as it normally was, a futuristic purple-themed chaotic mess. Except there was one huge difference. And that difference came in the form of Donnie's lab table being completely cleared away.

It became painfully obvious that the reason for this newfound clearing was the giant mutant teen standing on top of it dancing to Rhianna. Eloise's jaw actually dropped, her eyes wider then saucers as she took in Donnie's lip-syncing form.

Jesus Christ, Eloise did not know a turtle could even move their hips like that. Seriously, Donnie's hip swaying put even Leonardo to shame.

His knees were bent, fingers snapping, and head bopping. His intense hip movements soon turned to mock-marching with some pretty fierce hand gestures.

Eloise stared for about ten seconds in totally shock before she finally sputtered out a loud, "Oh my God..."

Donnie immediately turned to her from atop the table, his eyes wide and face turning pale. His mouth had stopped moving to form the lyrics, his body stopping the hypnotizing movements.

Eloise stared back, her mouth still touching the ground. Another ten seconds of silence went by, the two slowly analyzing each other. Except Donnie seemed to catch up with himself, and his face turned to annoyance and anger.

"What're you doing in here?!" He snapped, but his words (despite the anger) were obviously clouded with intense embarrassment. "GET OUT!"

Eloise made no such movement though, her jaw still dropped.

Donnie leaped from his desk, landing with the silence of a ninja and started for Eloise. Elle snapped out of it and spun her way further into Donnie's lab.

"What do you think you are—?" Donnie's question was cut off, the turtle freezing inches away from her and looming over her near-threateningly.

However, despite his horrifying stature, they both knew that he would do nothing to her.

Probably.

Eloise suddenly bent down, mimicking Donnie's exact dancing from before. Her hips swayed out as dramatic as she could, the girl doing everything in her power to copy Donnie's previous spunk. It was a hell of an impression, but not quite the same. She got just a bit too low and her hips jutted out just a bit too much.

Nevertheless, it made Donnie's face turn tomato red and the normally cocky turtle to turn into a stuttering mess. But what really got him was the next words to erupt from her lips.

"LIKE I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT'S IN COMMAND!" She threw her head back, and her voice carried a small tune.

Donnie recognized the lyrics, because they were the same ones currently playing. She was singing along, she knew the song by heart. Donnie's heart stopped, and his eyes were fixed on the girl with purple hair dancing in front of him and singing one of his all-time favorite songs.

This must be a dream.

"CAUSE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS HOW TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A MAN...!" Oh, the look Elle was giving him should be illegal.

The subtle flutter of her lashes, the way her tongue darted out to lick her lips teasingly. This was just downright promiscuous.

It was the cheeky smile her face suddenly split in that broke Donne from his stupor. And he realized, with irritation, that she had once again got him.

Damn it.

But, oh—now, he could play along.

And so, Donnie was suddenly dancing again—his once monotone voice singing in a very eccentric manner.

"LIKE I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT YOU'LL EVER LOVE! LIKE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS YOUR HEART!"

Eloise almost could not believe that she ended up dancing with both Donnie and Leo in a span of thirty minutes. But, then again, what else do you do with giant mutated turtle teens?

Although, this was not exactly a dance battle with Donnie. She was not sure what it was, but all she knew was she had to try and sing Rhianna louder than Donnie and swing her hips harder than Donnie, and of course, try and get lower than Donnie.

This proved more than difficult. Holy crap, this guy is a damn good dancer.

The noise was so loud and the two were so into it that they missed the loud footsteps heading their way. Mikey stormed up to the half open doors, an upset look settled on his face. He had been trying to focus on the arts, and what was he interrupted by?

These two acting like idiots!

Or at least, that is what he thought when he walked in on them screaming their lungs off. Donnie was spinning on one leg and Eloise had her hands resting on her head while she twerked in a manner that was anything but kid-friendly.

What.
The.
Fuck?

And is that Rhianna that the two are screaming about? Mikey could vaguely hear Rhianna playing under their voices.

So this is what happens when Leo and Raph leave, huh?

Mikey rolled his eyes at the two.

"Orange!" Mikey heard his father yelling from the projector room. "Shut up that racket for me!"

Shaking his head in disgust at his older brother, Mikey was briefly relieved that he was not blood-related to that disaster of dude and the chick who would not doubt be his future wife at this rate. Then again, they did both have Lou Jitsu DNA coursing through their veins, so they were related to each other and Splinter to a certain degree.

Mikey decided not to ponder these thoughts any longer, instead he slid the lab doors closed and walked back to his room. He was making a beautiful portrait of pizza and he wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

Donnie and Eloise both did not notice the sudden slam of the lab doors, nor had they noticed Mikey's presence. Rather, Eloise decided to stop popping and dropping it, choosing to grab both of Donnie's hands and tug him to her chest.

Donnie yelped, but did not fight as Eloise started spinning them widely. He went along with it, a bright smile actually lighting up his features as they spun and spun. Their hearts were beating frantically against their chests, short bouts of laughter sprouting from their mouths, identical grins resting on their lips, and equally as red faces.

It was a weird situation, but then again Eloise and Donnie were weird beings. From barely even speaking to spinning as though they were the closest of friends—now that was wild. But hey, Rhianna brings people together.

And finally, for the finishing finale—Donnie tripped and the two went tumbling down. They landed with an "oof" on the hard concrete of the ground. Sadly, Donnie and his 50,000 pounds of fatness lay strewn over Eloise.

She huffed and groaned.

"Ah!" She cried and squirmed. "Get off of me, you're heavy! You're too thick for my lungs!"

"Hey!" Donnie exclaimed exasperated, lifting his head. "I'm not heavy," he complained, but got off of her nonetheless.

He scowled when Eloise began breathing overdramtically, as though she had just been deprived of oxygen.

"Oh, stop being dramatic, I'm not heavy," Donnie grumbled, moving toward his stereo soon after.

He quickly flicked it off, just as Eloise was beginning to stand. She mockingy dusted off her jeans before turning to Donnie—but Donnie had long since started placing random papers and tech items back on his desk. He worked quickly and diligently, not even sparing Elle a glance.

She shrugged, allowing her gaze to sweep the impressive lab. Inventions, blueprints, wires and the mix sat around. Walking toward one of the battle shells hanging on his wall, she examined it—and just as she placed her hand out to touch the cool metal, Donnie's voice rang out.

"Don't touch that,"

She paused, turning to look at Donnie who was no longer focused on his desk, but staring at her. As it would turn out, he actually had been keeping an eye on her—just in case Elle tried touching anything.

She surprisingly did not retort sarcastically, but instead she spoke a question that had been on her mind since she realized just how smart Donnie was. And it was a question that Donatello had literally never been asked.

"Donatello," he found that an unwanted shiver traveled down his shell at the way she pronounced his name—the syllables rolling off her tongue so delicately, "would you consider yourself more of a biologist or an engineering scientist?"

Donnie froze, his eyes went wide. No one—and he means literally no one had ever asked him that before. He figured it had something to do with people simply not caring enough about it: his brothers were certainly not even able to get through one of his scientific ramblings without falling asleep.

Of course, it hurt at first, and even now it stung a little, but he had grown used to it. Despite the many cool things he did, and even if his brothers admired it for a time—it would never be enough to keep them intrigued. And the science that went into it was even less of an interest for them.

Even April, while she was way better than his brothers, could only listen to him for a certain time.

But here sat Elle, asking a completely innocent question that Donatello himself pondered time and time again. He was by far more interested in engineering science, but he had a natural knack for biology.

A lot of Donnie's contraptions seemed to explode or go haywire for the first model, but his serums and chemicals normally were great the first round. It was why Donnie spent so much more time inventing, along with the fact that he just loved doing it—the more practice he got, the better.

Donatello's auburn eyes gleamed, it was as though he had been waiting all his life for someone to ask that sort of a question. Which, to be fair, he kind of had been.

Eloise was shocked at the look of excitement wrapped over Donnie's face, his eyes alight and smile huge. He looked... alive, so very alive. It would seem, the way to get to him, to break him out of that emotionless sarcastic state he was constantly in, was to talk to him about... science?

She supposed it made sense, after all, it was something that he was passionate about. Who does not like talking about the things that they are passionate about?

She smiled as Donnie started talking watching as he motioned and eagerly explained everything. And not once did she interrupt him, not once did she fall asleep, not once did she complain about this being boring, no—she sat there and listened to him with interest. And Donatello noticed this, and it caused a feeling that he had never felt before to blossom in his chest.

He was not sure what this feeling was, but what he did know was that he quite liked this feeling and wanted to keep it around.

"Well, I consider myself a scientist in nearly all departments. Some I am obviously better and have more knowledge in than others, but nevertheless—it is all very enlightening. Now, with biology, one needs to understand the..."