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The night was warm as Donnie jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The stars were blocked by the city's light pollution and the dark, heavy clouds that promised an early morning rain. The moon shone just behind those clouds, giving a bit of natural light above all the fluorescents. But below the moon, Donnie ran.
Raph wasn’t far behind him, his own chuckles making their way up to the night sky. They had just turned fourteen, and sneaking up to the surface was something only the two of them were confident enough to do. Leo was a stickler for the rules, he had been since they were little, and Mikey had his eyes glued to the game he had gotten as a gift from their dad when the two had left.
But they didn’t mind.
Being so high up, Donnie felt his stomach twist as the humans moved below them. They looked so small, so insignificant from so far. Raph was at his side, a hand on his shoulder. The two of them had always been close, dubbed as the twins of the family not long after they had learned the meaning of the word. Donnie didn’t mind, and Raph had never put up a fight, so they accepted it.
Having a twin was nice.
Grinning, Donnie looked at a pool far below them. If they ran fast enough, they could make it without getting hurt. “Do you wanna try something?” He whispered to his brother, grinning when green eyes met his own.
Raph raised a brow ridge. “Depends… What is it?”
“There’s a pool right there,” He pointed at the rooftop covered in water. “Wanna try to jump it?”
The red-clad turtle grimaced, shifting in his place nervously. It was pretty unspoken, Raph’s fear of heights and falling. There was something about it that terrified him, bringing him to his knees whenever the idea was brought up. “I dunno, Don. You sure it’s safe?”
Donnie huffed, nudging Raph’s shoulder with a grin. “Didn’t know you were turnin’ into Leo. If I did, I would’a come out here without you!”
It was playing dirty, Donnie knew that, but sometimes you had to. He knew his little plan had worked when Raph narrowed his eyes, glaring at the pool. “Fine.” He grunted, taking Donnie’s hand into his own. “How’re we gonna do this?”
“Well, we gotta jump first, dummy!” The purple-clad turtle snorted when Raph glared at him. “If you really don’t wanna look, you can go in your shell and I’ll hold onto you!”
“What? How would that even work?” Raph was scowling now, but more out of confusion than anger now.
“I’d just hold the ridge right here,” Donnie poked the little ridge just behind Raph’s neck, showing that he could get a good grip. “And I’d just keep a hold on you.”
Raph was quiet for a moment, and Donnie thought it was all for not, but then he nodded. “Fine.”
Taking a deep breath, Raph tried to prepare himself for the jump. The pool wasn’t too far from where they were, but if they missed, it would hurt like absolute hell.
“You ready?” Donnie asked, and Raph inwardly screamed.
How he had let his little brother convince him to do this, he really had no idea. “Yeah…”
And suddenly, the floor beneath them was gone and the wind was surrounding them. Terror flooded Raph’s system, screaming at him to find something solid to grapple onto, but there was nothing. Donnie was laughing beside him, hand tightly grasping his own. The pool was getting close, but there was something they hadn’t accounted for.
Donnie had taken all his gear off before coming to the surface, meaning that he was lighter than usual. Meaning he was much lighter than Raph. Far too quickly, Raph was falling faster than Donnie and he was pulling his brother with him. “I-I can’t do thi-this! I can’t-”
Darkness surrounded Raph.
Donnie watched as Raph retreated into his shell, hand pulling from his grasp. The younger turtle had to move fast if he wanted to keep Raph close, and he found the ridge he’d pointed out earlier. He kept a tight grip as they fell, new anxiety bubbling in his stomach as the water came closer and closer. With Raph falling faster than Donnie had predicted, they wouldn’t just fall into the pool as he had predicted.
They would skip.
Gasping, a new idea came to the genius. He grinned as he let Raph’s weight pull the two of them faster and faster. “Okay, Raphie, new plan!” Donnie planted his feet on Raph’s carapace, keeping his grip tight. “I’m gonna use your shell like a, uhm, a surfboard, ‘kay?”
He was met with no response, so Donnie prepared himself. “Hold your breath!”
Water sprayed all around them, turning Donnie’s skin cold. The pair of twins skipped through the water a few times before they finally slowly, sinking below the icy waters. The two resurfaced with a gasp, feet kicking to keep them afloat. Raph looked at Donnie with wide eyes, a disbelieving look on his face.
“Did we just…” He started but stopped when Donnie started laughing.
“We just did that!” Donnie gave a short cheer, snorting between his chuckles.
Raph just shook his head fondly before splashing some water on his brother. “Whatever, nerd. We’re never doing that again, y’hear?”
The two knew that was a lie, and the twinkle in Donnie’s eye betrayed any form of mischief he tried to hide.