Walking on Sunshine

[tic_tech_turtle]

Characters: Leonardo betterthanraph, Michelangelo thepartydude, and Donatello tic_tech_turtle [CLOSED]
Location: Deck 3~
Date: Before Splinter's arrival
Rating: PG, just in case.  Will change as appropriate.

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[thepartydude]

Mikey hated waiting. It was so boring. But more than waiting, was waiting alone.

Crouched by the edge of the forest with a lollipop stick sticking out from the side of his mouth, he drew invisible lines and pictures on the ground with his finger.

If Donnie didn't get here soon, he was seriously going to find something else to do with his time.

[betterthanraph]

Leonardo abandoned his lotus position in favor of stretching; when something in his knee popped, he figured it was time to give meditation a rest. A quick glance at a watch he'd pilfered from deck twelve told him that he'd been at it for three hours.

Yeesh. That was hefty even by his standards.

Standing and collecting his gear -he'd taken off his belt and mask since he'd taken a quick dip in the stream before meditating on a rock in the middle of it- Leonardo hopped back to the bank and tied his belt around his waist. He would grab a quick bite to eat, then maybe make his way to Raph's room in an effort to talk to him. With his mind calm, hopefully it would go better than he was dreading it wouldn't.

He didn't expect to run across Mike at the entrance to the forest. Blinking in surprise, Leonardo paused in lifting his mask to his face. "Mike? What're you doing here?"

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don bolted towards Mike's position, rounded a corner, and nearly forgot how to stop.

"Hng!"

He abuptly locked his legs, skidded a ways, then backflipped to bleed inertia, stumbling foward a bit on landing and hopping to avoid stepping on any brothers.

His bag rattles.

"Erm, hi! Sorry about tha- Leo?"

...Oh, well, this was slightly embarassing. Sheepish grin, anyone?

[thepartydude]

Looking up, Mike grinned at Leo around his lollipop.

"Hey Leo, I wa-- AAAAAAAAAUGH!"

He let out a high-pitched shriek as Don skidded around the corner and almost barreled into them, leaping to his feet, taking a step back, and promptly falling on his ass.

[betterthanraph]

And Leonardo, with a grace that belied his true occupation, just sidestepped to avoid Don's barreling excitement as if he'd been expecting him. His eyeridges did raise a bit in surprise, though.

"Don. Hello."

[tic_tech_turtle]

Mikey had...tripped over thin air again and fallen shrieking. Nothing new. Don winced and shifted closer to peer down at him before - warily, almost unwillingly, he didn't want to get pulled down too, thanks - offered a hand to help him up.

He grinned at Leo though, over his downed brother. He was still sheepish and it showed.

"...Hi."

[thepartydude]

Patting his plastron, Mike lets out a deep breath and takes Don's hand, climbing back to his feet. Miraculously, he still has his candy.

"Dude, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

But he grins after that and looks at Leo.

"Me and Donnie are going swimming. You should come with!"

[betterthanraph]

Leonardo blinked again at the invitation, a little startled. He knew that Don and Mike would probably start falling back in together, especially since Mike had gotten Don to skate again. It was just natural; the two ended up hanging out, it was gravity at work.

He didn't expect to be invited along, though.

Awkwardly, Leonardo ducked his head so he could tie his mask back on. "Well, I don't know. Aren't you guys doing something together...?"

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don glanced at Mikey, then shrugged.

"No? He was just there when I mentioned swimming earlier and...er, 'asked' to come along. You didn't mention it so I didn't think you were interested, and I'm going to be collecting samples anyway, so..."

Please Leo? Please?

[thepartydude]

"Lighten up, Leo! Donnie's gonna be "doing science"," he wiggles his fingers in a menacing way, "anyway, and you know how boring that is."

He grins at Donnie teasingly. He knows it's necessary. Sometimes. But damn is it boring as hell. Having someone else to swim with will make it less unbearable.

[betterthanraph]

"...yeah, okay." Leo pulled the knot of his mask tight with a nod and only a somewhat uneasy smile. They'd been getting along better since Raph had arrived, but it was still a long journey to get back to that casual comfort only the really close-knit families have. That they had, back when they were sixteen.

Maybe this was a start toward that though. Leo hoped so.

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don gripped the strap of his bag and immediately moved toward the doors. Matter settled.

This was his element now. Oh, sure, maybe the whole forest portion was Leo's, but he was here to do science. That made it his. He grinned over his shoulder.

"Just for that, you have to wait until I finish "doing science" to swim, Mike."

[thepartydude]

"Whaaaaaaat?" Mike wailed and ran up to Don's side. "Donnie, you're killing me! No fair, dude!"

As far as Mikey was concerned, they were starting to fall right back into old patterns. Sure Leo was still Super Serious Ninja all the time, and Raph was being even grumpier and sulkier than usual, but Mike had already cracked Don. It was only a matter of time before he got to them too.

[betterthanraph]

Leo followed after Mike with a smile mixed from both exasperation and fondness, his arms folded. "Don, what exactly are you investigating? Still on about that water stuff?"

[tic_tech_turtle]

"Mmhmm, yes."

Don led the way to the pool, still bouncing subtly forward on the balls of his feet every now and then. And ignoring Mikey.

"I still have the samples I managed to scavenge from the penalty, and I want to compare it to the rest of the water on the boat." He pauses here, visibly reigning himself in. "Of course, I can't do it properly, but there are certain things I can test."

[thepartydude]

Science. BOOOOOORING.

Mikey dropped back and sulked around his lollipop, hands locked behind his head. Maybe he could just jump in before Donnie could say no ...