The Peripheral Brother

The Peripheral Brother

I've recently decided that my brother, Donatello, is a fuzzy grey spot… sort of. What I mean is that he's just like those weird little blobs that you sometimes get on the edge of your vision; you kind of know what it is and you can see it, but at the same time you're never quite sure if it really is what you think it is and you doubt whether you can actually see it at all or if it's just your eyes playing tricks. Ouch, this is getting way too complicated. Let me start again…

Watching Leonardo attempting to put up with Mike has always been one of my favourite hobbies. The sight of Leo becoming less and less patient with every second is just far too much fun and when I snicker quietly behind my hand my older brother throws a death glare my way. Deciding to leave Mikey to it I make a hasty retreat and opt to take refuge in Donnie's lab before Leo tries to kill me – as if he could!

When I wander into the subway cart I'm not surprised to see Don carefully welding a thin piece of metal into place on some strange gadget that will probably end up saving our tails some day. My brother: the brainiac. I notice he's listening to music on his walkman and with an evil little grin I begin to sneak up on him. Silently I loom over him and prepare to strike…

'Don't even think about it Raph.' My entire body seems to deflate but before long the confident smirk is back on my face; I briefly wander why exactly I'm in such a good mood today but shake it off as one of those unexplainable things, like crop circles and how Mikey can cram half a pizza into his mouth in one bite.

'How d'ya know it was me?' I ask while I hop up to sit on the edge of the workbench. Rolling his eyes Donnie attempts to hide a smirk of his own but it doesn't work.

'Well, it could be because I'm an incredibly powerful ninja with an infinite knowledge of how to detect the auras of others with the minimum of effort… or it could be 'cause I saw your reflection in the metal.' He tapped the shiny metal of the doodad he's working on. I chuckle – okay so it's not just Mikey, all little brothers are goofy. For a while I just look at him quietly – something must really be wrong with me today – and pay attention to his precise movements. However after a while I notice his lips moving silently. Curiosity getting the best of me, I rap on his head and he starts, looking up at me with an annoyed expression on his face. He takes the headphones off and cocks his head to one side.

'What are ya listenin' to?' Donnie looks ready to physically throw me out of the room for my pointless question but he takes a deep breath and unwinds again.

'It's called How Far We've Come, by Matchbox Twenty. You've heard of them right?' I crease my brows and shake my head.

'No.' Apparently that stunned Don 'cause his eye ridges rise slightly as if I should've heard of them for some really obvious reason.

'Huh, that's weird. They've been my favourite band since I was, what? Six? Yeah six I think. I'm surprised you've never heard me playing their songs before.' That really threw me for a loop. His favourite band? Since he was six? How could I not know that? And then it hits me. Over the past fifteen years I've practically ignored my little brother. The turtle who at the age of five, caught a terrible flu and had Master Splinter chasing after him as he attempted to take the toaster apart. The turtle who burnt his bandana so many times in experiments that for his birthday we (Leo, Mikey, and I) bought him a fire extinguisher. The turtle who is always just on the edge of my sight, always there but blending so easily into the background that one might think he is a ninja master instead of an underdog student often overshadowed in the dojo by his brothers.

'Raph?' Instantly I look up at my brother. He's got this strange smile on his face as he scrutinizes me; it's half concerned but amused as well.

'You okay? You're acting kinda weird.' I smirk widely at him.

'You dunno know the half of it Don. I've even been nice to Mikey today!'

'Aaaah!' In a bout of over dramatics Don leaps up to his feet and points an accusing finger at my plastron.

'Who are you and what have you done with my hot-headed, irrational, short tempered, reckless older brother!' Narrowing my eyes I slip off of the desk and spot for the first time that I'm taller than Donnie. Reaching around him I tug sharply on his purple bandana tails. Gingerly he rubs the back of his head and sends me a pout that would give Mike a run for his money.

'Hey, don't you give me that look! I don't care if I'm in a good mood, I'm still allowed to pound on ya!' At once his pout turns to a grin and he begins moving about the room, gathering a couple of things into the duffle bag that always seems to be stocked with some wondrous contraption he's built that will save the day. Soon he's zipping up the bag and checking he hasn't missed anything he needs.

'Going topside?'

'Yup. Need some spare parts for the microwave. Guess who tried to use it without supervision again?' Cringing I bite down on my lip to keep from laughing. There's only one person in the family who is so disastrous with technology.

'Leo?' I ask.

'Leo.' He makes to leave the room but in a split second decision I grab his wrist and ask to come with him. Guilt settles in the pit of my stomach when I see the dumbstruck look on his face. It shouldn't be so surprising that I offer to do something with him. Leo watches all those documentaries with him; Mikey almost always goes to the junkyard with him – even if he does just end up goofing around on his skateboard. The shock quickly slides off Don's face and is replaced with a genuine smile.

'Sure, just as long as you don't start moaning when you get bored.'

When we arrive at the junkyard I can see Donnie settling in to his home away from home. It's quite funny really. The way he knows what objects will be in which pile is just classic nerd but he is Donnie so it doesn't surprise me much. I settle down on the bonnet of a wrecked car while Don shifts around in front of me, slightly high up so sometimes it's hard to see him properly. It's a strange thing, watching him move with ease among the heaps of junk; I wonder just how many times he's actually done this.

'Probably seven hundred and twelve.' I startle and glance up at Don who's walking towards me, somehow managing to carry a long heavy girder on his shoulders. I frown thoughtfully.

'I said that out loud?'

'Yup, looks like Mikey finally made you crack bro.' Shaking my head a little a sudden thought pops into my head, something that's not quite right.

'Weren't you supposed to be fixing the microwave?' I ask, eyeing the slab of metal hoisted up on his shoulders.

'Gee Raph, I would like your help carrying this beam. Thanks so much for the offer.' Rolling my eyes I go over to help him and soon find myself being roped into searching the pile of junk that only Don could possible see the potential in. While we scavenge amongst the scrap metal and broken appliances I decide to do something about my severe lack of knowledge on my brainiest brother.

'Hey Donnie? What's your favourite pizza topping?' I can see the top of his olive green head poking up from a ridge of rubbish, looking at me oddly.

'What?'

'Your favourite pizza topping, what is it?' For a while he just stands there blinking and I feel silently pleased that I left the mighty Donatello speechless.

'Uh, jalapenos I guess.' Now it's my turn to blink.

'Really? I thought you didn't like spicy food?' He just shrugs and I set to work asking as many questions as I can think of; what invention are you working on, how many times have you overslept for training, is it true that when you were four you set fire to Master Splinters tail?

He answers them all, every last question, although he does seem a bit confused – he probably thinks I've gone nuts. Finally I understand my brother, a little bit anyway, and we start home, the duffle bag now choc full of parts.

As we climb a fire escape I remember something and call over my shoulder.

'So you didn't need that girder then?' A little lower down, were I can just see his movements but not much else I hear Donnie chortling.

'Nah, I had a feeling you wouldn't be strong enough to help me carry it home.'

'Watch it you.' We've reached the top of the fire escape and, under the moonlight, hidden away from the eyes of humans, I relax after having been on my guard since we left the lair. It's then that I notice the light-hearted spark in Donnie's eyes.

'Bet I can beat ya back home.' Before I even have the chance to make some smart-ass comeback he's sprinting over the rooftops; he's faster than the last time we raced. Refusing to be beaten by my younger brother I chase after him, closing in as fast as I can. I'm only about one and a half rooftops from him when from nowhere a group of Foot ninja appear in front of me. I don't shout for help. On instinct I've already started fighting, two of the countless Foot are down and I haven't even used my sai's yet. But they keep piling in and before long one of them gets a lucky hit in. I feel the hard bokken smack against my shoulder and I fall to my knees, eyes watering.

And then I hear a shout of alarm and the thuds of bodies hitting the hard ground. Lifting my head I can see Donnie, a blur of green because of my moist eyes, sending each one of the Foot careening to the floor. As my eyes begin to clear I catch sight of Donnie's dark brown eyes and the fire behind them almost scares me. But as quickly as it arrived it's gone. Donnie is by my side in seconds and I can feel his strong grip on my arms, helping me to my feet.

'You okay? Whoa! Raph what happened to your shoulder?' He's closely examining my bloodied shoulder; I can practically see his brain thinking a mile a minute working out what to do.

'Bokken.' Don nods sympathetically.

'I remember that feeling. I've still got the scar from when we were eight.'

'Are you ever gonna let me forget that? It was an accident and you know it!'

'Course I do, but you seem to be forgetting the fact that I'm your little brother. Ergo it is my duty to use anything and everything against you. Now c'mon, I'll sort out your shoulder back at the lair.' Gently he tugs on my arm and I follow him back to the lair compliantly.

In a matter of minutes Wonder-Boy has cleaned and bandaged my shoulder; I'm almost annoyed by just how talented he is but only for a moment – and of course I'd never admit that to anyone. At some point Donnie's moved me to sit in an armchair in the den where he and Leo are quietly discussing something, probably the ambush tonight. After Leo asks me how I'm feeling he disappears off to tell Master Splinter what happened.

'Hey Donnie!' Ah Mikey, the most irritating thing on the planet, has entered the room. I look at Don, who seems to be Mikey's main focus; run while you still can bro.

'Donnie you know how you're my favourite big brother? Well… could you play Space Destructors with me?' If that were me in Don's place then Mikey wouldn't have stood a chance but maybe because Mike was Donnie's only little brother, or maybe just because Don has a soft spot for the doofus, the brainiac smiles a little tiredly and agrees to a couple rounds.

The sounds of laser beams shooting into space and exploding star ships, accompanied with Mikey's hints of advice to Don, fill the room as I analyse what has possibly been the oddest day of my life. I've worked out quite a lot about my little brother. There are more sides to him than I really expected but it doesn't surprise me either; Donnie is never simple, never. Smiling I toy with the idea that Donnie has multiple personalities… nah. But still, there's a lot going on in that brainy little turtle. Sure he's the genius but in the last few hours I've noticed how many other roles he has; cheeky – sometimes maddening - little brother, ardent warrior, dedicated family doctor, kind older brother and I know there's probably more hidden away somewhere.

'Raph? Hello? Earth to Raphael!' I snap out of my thoughts with jolt and see Donnie staring at me, quite obviously fighting back his chuckles.

'You're thinking too hard Raph, if you're not careful you might explode!' Rolling my eyes I retort.

'Says the turtle who was working out algebra equations when he was sleep talking!' Rolling his brown eyes Donnie slumps back into the couch and grabs a book off of the table in front of him whilst Mikey turns to me to explain his latest idea for a prank on Leo. About halfway through I suddenly realise it's happened again. Donnie has sunk back away from my thoughts but at the same time he's still there, in the corner of my eye, ready to help when he's needed but in the meantime content to just take a backseat. I groan slightly as I feel a headache coming on. Since when did my thoughts get so deep that they actually make my head hurt?

'Hey Don?' He looks up and stares at me expectantly.

'You're right, I am thinking too hard.'

'Told ya so!' With a mock glare I go to smack him upside the head but he dodges. Darn! I'll have to get him another time. My smirking little brother has settled back into the couch again and I realise something; Donnie may be complicated sometimes, he might be all those different people and he might be a complete conundrum but he's still my annoying little brother and there's absolutely nothing I can do about that. I smile one more time. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.