For the Record

"Hey Don, you wanted to see me?" Leo asked from the doorway to Don's lab.

Donatello spun in his chair and looked over at his brother. "Yes, please come in and shut the door."

Leo's brows knitted imperceptibly as he turned to do as asked. The expression on Don's face was very solemn and just a bit daunting, the face he portrayed when upset by something.

Crossing the room towards Don, Leo's agile, battle trained mind played over dozens of possibilities for the cause of his purple banded brother's appearance, but couldn't come up with one that was bad enough to warrant a private conference.

So he opted for the straight approach. "Is something bothering you?" he asked.

Don indicated a chair and Leo sank into it slowly.

"I have a list for you and I want you to read it carefully before you start making any kinds of decisions about our future," Don told him, handing Leo a sheet of paper.

Leo's hand came out automatically. "A list? A list of what exactly?" Leo wanted to know.

"All of the reasons why you and I cannot be together," Don answered in a straight forward manner.

The Turtle leader's head shot up and he stared directly into Don's eyes. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

Don nodded complacently, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms before saying, "Ever since Raph and Mikey got together, I've been noticing you looking at me with more frequency. You've interrupted my work more often to ask if I've eaten, and I lost an entire day's worth of computations on Tuesday when you insisted I go to bed and then closed my laptop."

He rubbed at his chin and continued, "Of course, that was partly my fault because I disabled the auto-save function, but the fact remains that even Mikey knows better than to touch one of my computers."

Leo's eyes narrowed and he crumpled the paper just a bit. "There is a bit of a difference between Mikey and myself, Donatello." He used Don's full name rather than his nickname to formalize and take control of the conversation. "I am this team's leader and the responsibility for your health as a member of this team falls on me when you aren't self-aware enough to take care of yourself."

Don waved a hand in his direction, unperturbed by Leo's tone. "Number twelve on the list has to do with your control issues. I yield to your knowledge and authority on the battlefield, Leonardo, but you insist on trying to command my personal time as well."

Counting to ten slowly, Leo managed to keep his anger in check. At least with Raph the disagreements were a flash fire; they flared up and the root cause was easily seen and contained. With Don, it was hard as shell to understand what exactly was going on beneath his supercilious exterior.

Finally he said, "For a scientist, you are making an awful lot of assumptions."

That got to Don. He sat up straight, frowning as he regarded his older brother. Having his acumen questioned annoyed the shell out of him.

"What exactly does that mean?" he asked carefully.

"You want to make lists," Leo waved the paper in his face, "then let's make lists. I'll grant that you are by far my superior in intellect and learning, but you allow your pursuits to sometimes cloud your judgment during a fight, and though I count heavily on you, that tendency is a major problem. After an altercation where you've wandered off to play with new tech stuff, I spend half my meditation time trying not to be sore at you for being who you are."

"Well, really Leo," Don huffed, "it isn't as though my mental prowess hasn't been useful to this team."

"And that is exactly why I don't go off on you," Leo said. "I work very hard to allow for each of your personal quirks when I'm making field assignments. The reason I pair you up with either Raph or I is so that one of us can watch your back if you become distracted. Personally, I prefer to team you up with Raph; he seems to have a better knack at getting you moving. Besides, I can make use of Mikey's talent for insight during a fight."

"I've included that in my list. Raph and I have many things in common that we can discuss, such as mechanics and sports, and Mikey and I can spend hours talking gaming, but I'm afraid you and I don't really have much to share," Don said.

"In addition," Leo went on as though Don hadn't spoken, "the study of ninjitsu requires a level of commitment that I have a hard time getting from you. It is a strain getting Mikey to focus, but at least he has his natural talents, and though Raph is often resentful of my authority, he busts his shell during practice. I practically have to drag you into the dojo."

Don shrugged as though the matter were of little importance. "There is another illustration of an item on that list, Leo. Our priorities are not the same. I think I can be more useful to this team by continuously updating our security measures and creating more hi-tech equipment for our field use. I train enough to maintain my skill level."

Leo rubbed his forehead. "I know you and I have talked about this before, and I know you've talked with Master Splinter about it, but it's still exasperating. Why would you simply settle for being good enough?"

With a sigh, Don said, "Just because you've chosen ninjitsu as the single most important purpose in your life, doesn't mean it's that way for the rest of us. I prefer to be a little more well-rounded in my pursuits."

"All right, I'll concede you that point," Leo said. "Do I really need to read this entire list?"

A sound from outside the lab drew their attention. Raph was shouting something at Mikey and they both heard their youngest brother's squeal of delight.

Leo shifted uncomfortably and Don said, "Master Splinter accepted the choice those two made, and now you're wondering if he has expectations about the two of us."

Shaking his head, Leo said, "Master Splinter has no such expectations."

"That's good to hear, although it does seem to prove my point if you've already talked to him about it," Don said and then frowned. "Earlier you said something about my making unwarranted assumptions. What exactly did you mean?"

Another loud screech was abruptly cut off and Leo smiled.

"About my desire to have a relationship with you that mirrors what Raph and Mikey have," Leo answered. "I have no such desire. Period. Never have had."

Don tilted his head. "But then why have you been on my case so much more frequently?"

Leo stuck a thumb back over his shoulder and pointed towards the lair. "Those two have been going at it like rabbits. It's driving me crazy."

"But not like you and I . . . ." Don started to say.

"No," Leo interrupted. Holding the paper out, he let it drop in Don's lap. "I don't need a list to tell me we aren't compatible in that way Don. I've lived with you my whole life and know you well enough that I don't need anyone to spell that out for me."

"That's good to know," Don said with obvious relief, "because I did sort of leave one major thing off of this list."

Suddenly curious, Leo asked, "What?"

With a sheepish grin, Don said, "I, um, well Leo, I . . . I really, really like girls."

Leo smiled his understanding. He had a preference for someone else as well.

The sound of a churr drifted into the lab from the crack under the door and Leo sighed.