Perseverance - TCEST

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT.
Author/Artist: curlsandpearls
Title: Perseverance - Title courtesy of the wonderful Hummerhouse. (Thank you. )
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Don/Leo, Leo/Don. Whichever way you want to look at it.
Summary: A small oneshot that I couldn't think how to continue. Don works to deactivate a bomb whilst Leo sits and waits, slight twist in that the bomb is attached to Leo. Mild cest near the end, PG13 for a kiss and cuddle.


Donatello stood hunched above his brother's shell, his fingers working frantically over the device that had embedded itself into Leonardo's carapace. The sweat started to slowly crawl down the side of his face, teeth gritting in frustration as he tried not to focus on the annoyingly, overdramatic ticking that served as a horrendous reminder of their current predicament.

Leonardo, on the other hand, seemed calm and controlled. His position, as he perched on the table, seemed relaxed as he leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. The only sign of Leo's uneasiness was the clenching and unclenching of his fists, his forearms tensing at the movement.

Donatello narrowed his eyes at the hideous device, the dome-shaped explosive had wedged easily into his brother's shell by four barbed prongs. The whole thing shaped to look like a miniature turtle.

A sinister, wicked, explosive charge, disgustingly designed to mock them, could level the entire building… and it was affixed to his brother's back.

It had been made for him, Donatello knew that much. The only one in his family that could even remotely think about deactivating devices such as these had been the target, Leonardo just got in the way. It was easy to discern from the design that it was meant to lodge into their shells, a perfect way of ensuring that, if it had been successful, Donatello had no way of disarming it on his own. The timer didn't allow enough time for him to instruct a brother on how to deal with it and he knew that he had to think on his feet to get this far. If this had hit him, he would definitely be doomed to this explosive fate.

But the Purple Dragons had underestimated them again, they had been too far away from their intended target and the movement had been seen and counteracted. Leo had seen their intentions and threw himself into the path of the device, grunting as it hit and buried it's talons into his carapace. He didn't fall, there wasn't any pain that he hadn't already felt in the heat of the battle and it wasn't debilitating. Don trusted that Leo could move and, with a quick glance at their predicament, had barked out his intentions. He gripped Leo's wrist and dragged him along, separating themselves from their two brothers and trusting that they would retreat to the sewers and await news of their situation.

He stopped at the next warehouse, wrenching open the door and ushering Leo inside, taking both his and his brothers' cell and discarding them outside the door. Until he knew what he was dealing with, Don didn't want to take any unnecessary risks with potential triggers, the radio frequencies could cause the bomb to detonate early and that wasn't appealing for him.

Making sure that all other threats were removed, he proceeded to study the device, looking for ways to detach it safely from Leo's carapace. The prongs weren't deeply embedded, but enough for him to know that it would hurt when he pulled it out. The small narrow space between shell and metal seemed like an ideal way to extract it and just run like hell, but even that wasn't an option. The underside of the bomb contained small pressure plates that, Don knew, would be immediate and fatal for both him and Leo if he tried to pry it off.

So the only option was to slowly strip the thing apart and deactivate it.

"Don," Leo calmly called. "What does the timer say?"

Don shook his head, knowing that Leo couldn't see it. "I'm not telling you." He replied sternly, "No heroics, got it?"

Leo chuckled, the movement slight as he focused on remaining still for his intellectual brother. "I just want to know how long we've got, I don't plan on throwing in the towel just yet." He placated.

Don continued to work, glancing up at the timer briefly before returning his attention to the mound of wires. "A little over three minutes."

Leo nodded and Don noticed his head moving as he scanned the room. "What's the payload?"

"I'm getting this thing deactivated and off your shell," Don hissed sharply, "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

Don couldn't afford to halt his progress, he huddled down further and ground his teeth together. "Stop planning my escape route."

"Isn't that my job?"

"Yes," he growled, "And my job is to stop my brother getting blown sky high, now shut up."
Leo sighed, his head dropping.

The seconds, literally, ticked by, each one punctuated by the silence of the room as neither one spoke. Leo waited patiently, his breathing steadying out and smooth as he listened to the quickened pace of his brother's.

"Don," He started, but his sibling cut him off.

"No," Don spat, "I'm not leaving you."

"Do you want me to run?" Leo replied firmly, "Because my legs still work and bomb or not, I can outrun you."

Don looked up, wide-eyed. "You wouldn't dare!"

He watched the back of his brother's head as it nodded once, "I know roughly how long we have, so if you can't stop it and don't run out that window when I tell you to, I will. Do you understand me, Donatello?"

The leader voice, typical.

"Yes, Leo. I get it." He replied with a hint of anger in his voice, "But it won't come to that because I'll have it disarmed before that happens."

Leo chose not to respond and Don was grateful for the reprieve, if he could only lift off the small plated compartment, the wiring would be exposed and he could trace the right path…

He reached into his belt and pulled free a shuriken, pinching it between thumb and forefinger and using it to pry open the cover.

"Time, Don."

Don looked up, frowning. "Huh?"

He glanced at the timer and spotted the display, eyes widening.

Fifteen seconds.

"Get out of here, now." Leo spoke softly, as if resigned to his fate.

"No!" Don yelled, "I've almost got it, Leo. Just a few more seconds!"

His eyes darted around the small compartment, mentally tracing the path of each wire. His dry lips moved as if he silently talked his way through the procedure, stopping with a determined look at the intended target. Hooking one tip of his shuriken under the wire, he flicked his wrist sharply and sliced it in half.

The silence seemed deafening, he could hear his heart pounding in his head, his breathing coming fast and hard. Then he heard the best sound in the world.

"You did it, Donnie."

Don's shoulders slumped, he dropped the shuriken to the floor and circled around the table to his brother. With one quick motion, he embraced Leo, crushing him with the panic that began to slowly ebb away into comfort. Don felt relieved when Leo reciprocated, his own embrace fierce and urgent. It became apparent that Leo's attention to control had lapsed when the ticking came to a stop, he needed the reassurance just as much.

"My God," Don gasped, "That… That was too close."

Leo sighed heavily, Don recognised it as Leo trying to control his breathing again. "I'll feel a whole lot better when the deactivated bomb embedded in my shell comes off."
"Give me a minute," Don responded, his beating heart finally levelling off. He pulled away from Leo, taking a moment to stare into his eyes and narrow his own. "You so much as even think of doing something like that to me again, I'll…"

I'll what? He thought, dryly. It wasn't as if this was the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. The fact is that they all choose to take one for the team from time to time, all willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Donatello included.
Shaking his head with a laugh, Don smiled at his older brother. "There's no point in having this conversation, is there?"

The corner of Leo's mouth curled upwards, his eyes softening. "Not really, no."

"Fine," Don said quietly. He closed the gap as Leo watched him, reaching up to touch his arm. "I hate it when you do that, you know. Every time, it's like I've not been good enough and you take the pain for my mistakes."

Leo didn't move, content to let Don touch him. "I'm not in pain."

"No," Don agreed, "Not this time. But you've been hurt before… because of me."

Leo moved at that, softly cupping Don's cheek as he rubbed a thumb over the corner of Don's closed mouth. "I've been hurt before but it's never your fault, each time it's because I don't react fast enough. Don't ever assume you're to blame."

"Can't help it," Don whispered, leaning into his brother's hand. "When you're hurt and I'm not, when you've taken a hit for me; I'll always feel guilty."

"Those last few seconds, I wanted to run, to get away from you. I ignored my better instinct to run away and let the bomb blow me to smithereens, just because you told me not to. I should've run."

Don gaped at him, "If you did you'd be dead."

"Exactly," Leo replied with a smile, his head leaning forward to rest against Don's. "All my training, my whole life has taught me to protect my family at all costs, but that doesn't mean I have to follow a rule book to the letter. I learned a long time ago that life is what it is, I don't have to like it but I have to live it and deal with the
consequences."

Don smiled, his eyes drifting shut as he lifted his chin. "So, I should just expect you to throw yourself into the fire and be done with it?"

"Pretty much," Leo replied, his mouth moving closer to Don's.

Don hummed as he edged forward, slipping between his brother's legs. His arm began to move, gliding up past Leo's shoulder and circling around his neck. As Leo's free arm looped around Don, he knew, and accepted, that he would be no different. Whatever the battle, whatever the situation, he would take the fall for any of them, just as Leo would.
Their mouths met, a gentle, sensual kiss that the silence only helped to accentuate it's importance. A silent agreement that their lives were a tumultuous maelstrom that would keep them fighting against the wind, fighting for each other.

And, Don knew, he wouldn't have it any other way.