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Ever since… Everything that happened , the four brothers sleeping in the same room became more frequent. It was something that they used to do a lot when they were children, but grew out of it. Or to better word it, got their own rooms and splinter made them actually use them.
Normally for most people, it was hard and difficult to fall asleep in the same room. But now, it was harder without them. With them all in the same space, you didn’t need to constantly check if the other was okay, because they were right there. And you could see them breathing, see that they were alive.
For the first time, they’d been getting proper genuine sleep. Rests where you slept through the entire night, and even woke up late. It was amazing, and the brothers found themselves sleeping earlier. Doing more things together- So much stuff, even if they didn’t speak much in the day they knew they’d still have the night together.
Watching over each other and making sure the other was there. So that nothing bad would happen.
Leo got jolted into awareness at the pleasant time of three am, not that he knew that. He knew that one moment ago, he was dreaming about eating imaginary pizza, and the next he was in a pitch-black room with the sound of muffled coughing echoing off the walls.
Leo’s eyes tried to adjust in the darkness, it was a little hard with everything having happened so suddenly. As he shifted his arm to feel for his dear brother, he instantly sat up as he felt the presence of the other was gone.
At the edge of the couch where the four had fallen asleep, his eyes scanned the edge. He could see his brother, Donnie. Or at least he believed it to be him. Considering something orange was drooling oh him, and he was still laying on something big, red and warm it was safe to say it couldn’t be Mikey or Raph.
Now realistically? He wanted to call out to ask if his brother was good, if he was alright and not like… Silently choking or something, but as Donnie sniffed hard , Leo was beginning to have trouble telling if his brother was sick or crying . Please don’t be the second one, or both actually. Please don’t be both.
Not that he wouldn’t comfort his brother, of course he would! He was just very shit at comforting people, especially Donnie. Mainly Donnie. Yeah, he’d never been able to comfort him at all, in the rare times he saw his brother crying. But perhaps this was his redemption? Still, he hoped he’d just misheard it.
As his brother coughed again painfully, voice wheezing a little, Leo made his move. Sitting up and sighing, as he carefully nudged his arm forward slowly, watching as Mikey’s head helpless rolled off it, their little brother staying sound asleep. He walked silently, or as quiet as he could muster. Reaching out a no-doubt cold hand and placing it on the others shoulder.
Donnie flinched, understandably. Breathing in a startled breath, wow he looked to his brother with the same expression as a deer in the headlights. As if he somehow thought nobody would hear that god awful coughing. It was silent for a few minutes, the other looking to Leo in fear as if he was suddenly going to yell for the other two to wake up.
He’d considered it.
But as Leo saw the shine in the corner of his brothers eyes, the way his eyes drooped way too much for someone healthy, as if even the task of keeping them open was a chore… He decided to take control of the situation, for now.
“You okay, Dee?” He called quietly, eyes glancing to the others as if the others. The two were still sound asleep, good.
Donnie paused for a second, as if he had to think of his answer. “I’m okay, Leon. It’s just-” His words were taken from him before he had the chance to say them. He turned, coughing harshly into his elbow. Even with a few words , Leo could tell how horrible his younger twin sounded.
That sounded horrible , and the possibility of everyone being awake in the next few seconds was also just as bad. But it seemed that his smart brother had somehow thought the same, taking a wobbly stand. One in which Leo wasted no time in the slightest to lean in closer and help keep his brother stable.
“I can walk .” Donnie scoffed, trying to pull his arm back only to nearly fall over. Leo would most definitely laughed at him, if it weren’t for the fact that he looked like he was about to cry.
It seemed that Donnie didn’t actually know where he was going, more so just a random urge to walk around the house. That was something Leo remembered pretty well from when they were younger.
Whenever Donnie used to get sick, he was insistent on doing things and being productive. Never being one to just lie down and rest , no. The stubborn bastard could always be seen tinkering at new technology, or even walking around the house! Even with the highest of fevers.
Speaking of fevers, Leo not so gracefully slapped the back of his hand to his brothers forehead, who let out a startled cry. Whoops. He swatted the hand away, understandably. But it still gave Leo a good enough feel of how warm he was. Not too great, not great at all.
Neither was the harsh breathing, as if each step was taking his breath away. Probably not great that his dear brother needed an inhaler sometimes either. Which was why whenever his sibling got sick, it was a little terrifying.
But right, Donnie was here. He was definitely sick, but he was here. And his brother kind of needed him right now. Well, maybe not but Leo was going to be here and making sure he was okay.
Where were they headed again? Right, Leo opted for the bathroom. Purely because he was 90% sure all medical things were thrown in there. Everyone had hidden an injury or something at one point, and the bathroom was a good place to do it. So not only was there a medkit in there, but behind the mirror was a cabinet, one which contained the greatest of pills that he would use to heal his poor sick brother.
He was unaware of the thoughts going on in his brother's head.
Right now, Donnie was only panicking a little bit. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the movie’s he’d been watching, the ones about the diseases and outbreaks where the characters would feel just like he was right now- A part of him was definitely anxious that he was suddenly going to die, but he was trying to use reasoning right now.
He was good, he was fine and he was great. Sure he couldn’t really talk more than seven words without coughing violently, or maybe he had to awkwardly breathe out of his mouth other wise he’d suffocate. Yes, okay! He couldn’t go twenty minutes without sneezing but that didn’t mean he was sick. It was just asthma, or something. Something he’d cure with whatever his trustworthy brother was taking him to get.
They had arrived, Leo was holding onto his hand and he couldn’t find the energy to swat it off. The other dragged him to go sit down on the closed lid of the seat, so that he wouldn’t fall over. So Donnie just stared up, watching as Leo began to rummage through the array of medication.
Oh they had everything in here! Even Mikey's missing paint- Which, he honestly had no clue why it was in the cabinet. As Leo pulled things out he began to realize that everything was kind of broad. He wasn’t actually sure how much of this stuff would help. As he looked at the things it treated, he grimaced.
“You feel sick or anything?”
“Yes, but sick how.” Oh, right.
“Uhh… Nausea, Vomiting, Fever, Migraines…?” Even if his brother didn’t have all of that, he could still probably take it right? Or had Donnie thrown up, did he have a migraine? Well, he’d just await his brothers response.
“Mmm, I feel like I was hit by a multi-decker bus , but no. I haven’t thrown up, yet.” Leo frowned at the, ‘yet’ part. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be one of those nights. He wasn’t good at this, it was stupid bringing Donnie here when it was just the two of them.
He didn’t even know the right stuff to give him and- “Leo?” His brother was sitting up, straighter than before.
“Yeah, Donnie?”
“Are you okay?” Leo looked puzzled, Donnie was the one who was sick, why wouldn’t he be asking if-
Donnie cut him off before he could finish his train of thought. “You look… Bad.” What? Bad how…? Leo shut the cabinet of the mirror and saw… Himself, he didn’t look wrong, he didn’t think so. He turned to his brother who looked down at the hands clasped around the container of pills.
“Your hands, they’re shaking.” Oh.
He didn’t expect them to be, he wasn’t anxious. Sure he was a little concerned over his brothers health right now, and if he was going to be okay. Maybe he was paying extra attention to the crackling the other's breath made each time he breathed but that wasn’t anything to be anxious over, surely?
Donnie stood again, and God Leo hated the way his brother leaned. As if he was unbalanced, like he was going to fall the second he let his eyes trail away.
Uneasily, the purple turtle walked over. Leo was confused, was he alright? As his mind raced with every bad scenario that could be happening to his dear brother, he hadn’t expected the feeling of two hands exhaustedly wrapping themselves around him.
Oh, was this a hug? He glanced to Donnie, who was practically asleep at this point. Now Leo wasn’t sure if the shaking was coming from him or his brother, although it was logical for it to be the other because he was well, sick- Leo couldn’t lie in saying he was a bit nervous.
“I don’t know which one’ll help.” He apologized, as his eyes stared at the array of medicine. Donnie cracked open an eye as he glazily stared at the choices, blindly reaching for one of them. “Aren’t you gonna read it-” He stressed, before taking it straight from his twins hands.
As he glanced he glared at his brother. “This is propranolol. I’m pretty sure you’re not having a heart attack.”
“ You should take one.” Donnie joked, though he sounded miserable to the point Leo wasn’t sure if he was genuine or not. “I’m kidding, by the way.” Ah.
Donnie sniffed helplessly as Leo’s hand rummaged. Based on what he could tell, Donnie felt sick. Fever, probably. Coughing and sore throat? Of course he didn’t know everything wrong, but he had enough to know that Tylenol would probably do something.
It was children's Tylenol, but it was medicine nonetheless.
The box contained one of those weird little plastic syringes, the ones which were usually sticky at the top. Giving it a quick rinse in the tap, Leo wasted no time in putting it in the bottle. Or, at least after he’d struggled with the childproof lock for a good twenty seconds.
It wasn’t filled to the top, and he had to re-fill it twice when there were air bubbles. But he’d successfully gotten most of it in the stupid thing. Donnie let out an annoyed grunt as Leo not so gently shoved it in the other's mouth, pressing down on the bottom of the syringe. The other breaking the hug in this act of betrayal.
Yeah it didn’t taste great, but Donnie had swallowed it. In reality? It wasn’t going to do much, but it was good they’d given him something for it.
But what if that wasn’t enough? It wasn’t strong, wasn’t good, and probably expired. Could that make him worse? What if Donnie got worse and Leo was asleep for it, or wasn’t near his brother. What if something happened to him and he couldn’t help him?
If something bad happened to Donnie, he would be completely lost. He needed all his brothers. And if he got worse- They couldn’t go get help, they were mutants. Nobody would help them- They couldn’t go to hospitals. They had to treat him with what they had here, and here wasn’t good.
What if he stopped breathing-
Donnie jolted upright from where he’d been leaning uncertainty forward, and Leo was stressing more. What was wrong? Donnie looked alarmed, maybe? Leo just stared at him as the other spoke.
“... I’m gonna go and get Raph.” He hummed, exhaling shakily, he used his brother to push himself up which Leo continued to look for a few moments before realizing.
“Wait, why? Do you feel worse?” What did Donnie need Raph for anyway, Leo thought he was doing a decent job taking care of his brother. Was he messing it up already?
No, he would’ve told him if he was doing something wrong, right? All he’d done was hand the other medicine- Sure it might’ve been the wrong one, but he’d been trying! He- He-
He was rambling, mentally rambling but even he picked up on the way his mind was racing. He hated the way that Donnie looked at him in concern, it was meant to be the other way around. Leo was concerned for his brother, of course. But only he was meant to be the one worrying, not him.
“I just- Need him.” Ah, so it confirmed it. He was doing something wrong, of course, Donnie wanted Raph, he was older and he knew more and probably knew how to make the other feel better a thousand times more- “You’re all… Anxious and worrying, I’ll be back. Stay for a minute.”
And Donnie was gone, he could tell by the way the sound of jagged breathing ceased, and how Leo couldn’t hear the sound of his brothers breath crackling each time he spoke. Leo was alone.
He should’ve walked with Donnie, was it too late? His brother told him to stay here. But it was so silent. Cmon, he was acting ridiculous. They’d been separated for no longer than a minute.
It was true that anything could’ve happened in that minute- He could’ve tripped and fell or worse and-
Leo could’ve sworn if he could detach from his shell, he would’ve with how hard he jumped. A large warm hand found itself grasping onto his shoulder, and for a split second, he forgot that Donnie said he’d be returning.
Except he hadn’t returned, this was Raph. Where was Donnie?!
“Hey, It’s okay.” Raph spoke softly. “Donnie’s alright, Mikey’s with him.”
“But-” He began to ramble, “How do you know if he’s okay? He sounded really bad-” He felt like he couldn’t breathe. “And we can’t go get help, what if he needs help?”
“We’ll help him, right? This ain't the first time he’s got sick, and you know It’s gonna sound worse with the whole asthma situation.” Raph gave a reassuring smile. He was really gonna be fine?
Even though realistically, his brother was making sense- It was still scary. Because even if you knew, you didn’t know. He understood that even in his own head he wasn’t making sense, but his mind just scrambled to the worst cases.
“Wanna go see him? He’s okay, you know.” Despite the disbelief in Raphs words, Leo found himself nodding. Almost convincing himself that maybe his brother would be fine.
Raphs hand was still on his shoulder, guiding the two out of the bathroom he was standing. They found themselves walking, and there was the entrance to the living room.
Leo found that he couldn’t make himself walk further, as if he were frozen in place. It was weird, it felt like if he walked into that room he would find something horrible, unimaginable.
He didn’t like how silent it was in there.
As the dread of the silence was going to make him panic again, he felt Raph pushing him. It wasn’t forcing him, but it was enough pressure to get his legs to work again. Leo entered the room.
“ Don-”
They were cut off by the sound of two harsh sneezes coming from the purple turtle into his elbow. The other simply sniffed and groaned, “ Ugh..” He whined, flopping more into leaning against his brother.
“You okay?” Raph asked before Leo got the chance. It seemed that question had been asked a thousand times today, and only would be asked more.
“Mm, tired.” The other hummed, he was currently leaning on Mikey who was grinning mischievously, probably due to the fact Donnie was being clingy to him.
“Yeah, you’ll be fine.” Raph reassured.
As Leo stood in the middle of the living room, he looked at his brother. The way he looked so… Exhausted , that he could fall asleep for hours any second. Though this time, now that he was surrounded by all of them. He could see the way they cared, and how nobody else was acting like he had.
Cautiously he walked, moved to the couch they slept at no more than half an hour earlier. Donnie had let his half-asleep grip fall from Mikey, shifting to Leo. To which the orange turtle shot Leo a look of betrayal.
As if Leo were somehow his fault for Donnie’s new victim of clinginess. Mikey dropped down, back on towards the sofa as he flicked the television on quietly, Mikey and Raph being drawn to the shows.
Donnie used this opportunity to speak, unbeknownst to the other two.
“... Calm now?” He mumbled quietly into the other’s shoulder. “You calmed me down…” He hummed.
Leo gave Donnie a genuinely confused look, not that the other could see. “Huh?”
“I… Panicked bad earlier,” He hummed, sniffing slightly. “I wasn’t alone, but I was the only one awake… Or I thought I was.” Leo nodded at him. It made sense why he was so- Jumpy when he first touched him.
His brother continued, “In the bathroom, I thought I was going to die.” He cackled lightly, pulling away from Leo to cough into his elbow again. Leo gave a reassuring pat on the back as he spoke. “I was… Nervous , but you helped me?” Even he sounded confused as to where he was going with this. “Just, thank you for being there Leon. I appreciate it.”
He would always be there, even if he’d gotten scared he still always wanted to be there for Donnie, for all of his brothers. He’d been scared too, more than his brothers could ever imagine.
But Donnie was leaning on him, he was here. He was real, and it was safe.
As Donnie’s eyelids began to droop, he let out a muffled yawn, his voice ever so quiet as he felt himself drifting off. “Love you, Leo.”
“Love you too, Dee.”