Chapter Text
Donnie had never been particularly affectionate. If he had ever bothered to check his love language it was probably either acts of service or quality time. He had never felt more loved then the time Mikey had agreed to watch the entirety of Fullmetal Alchemist with him or the time Leo had gone out of his way to get him the latest volume of Jujutsu Kaisen after he accidentally dropped his into the depths of the sewers.
That’s not to say Donnie didn’t like physical touch or was adverse to affection from his family. Donnie adored his family and was happy to show it from time to time just preferably on his own terms. Which was something the family all understood about him. Donnie would come to them when he wanted a hug and as long as he got a warning beforehand he would be happy to give them all one whenever they needed it.
Suffice to say, Donnie hugs were pretty rare, especially when they came out of seemingly nowhere. So when Donnie came home from computer club an hour early and immediately went Raph, who was sitting at the desk in their bedroom trying to catch up on homework he was behind on,and wrapped his arms around him from behind; it was clear something was up.
Donnie had his face buried into his shoulder, not saying a word. Raph, to most people’s surprise, was actually a big fan of physical touch and hugs so he immediately wrapped his arms around Donnie’s shell and tugged him close.
At first Raph thought maybe he was still just a bit shaken up after Bishop’s attack with her mechazoids from a few days ago. Raph knew he was certainly still feeling a bit uneasy after the whole ordeal. He had tried to convince Splinter to let him bring some shuriken and his sais to school but apparently that was against the school handbook or something. He felt naked without his sais strapped to his belt.
“You good, Man?” Raph finally asked after they had been glued together for a long enough silence. Donnie just shrugged and mumbled something that Raph couldn’t understand.
“What?”
“I think I have a concussion.”
What?
Donnie had said it so bluntly, Raph almost didn’t believe him. Was this seriously Donatello his supposed smart brother, casually dropping that he might possibly have a concussion? Thanks to his newly formed bond with star senior hockey player, Casey Jones, Raph was all too familiar with the seriousness of concussions. Even minor concussions could lead to things like confusion and memory loss.
“Don’t you think that’s something important to lead with!?” Raph spat.
Donnie lifted his head to look at Raph with bleary eyes, “What?”
Raph furrowed his brow, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Donnie just stared back at him with a vacant expression, blinking to reveal his concerningly dilated pupils. Raph thought he was going to have to repeat himself again, when Donnie finally answered. “‘M just a bit dizzy ‘s all,” he mumbled, pressing his face back against Raph’s shoulder and letting out a relaxed little sigh.
“Oh, just a little dizzy,” Raph mocked. “When’d you hit your head?” Raph’s heart skipped a beat as he remembered giving Donnie a pretty gnarly kick to the head during one of their 5:00AM training sessions that Splinter still roped them into doing every Saturday. Raph wouldn't forgive himself if this was because of him.
“Well, when the mechazoid was chasing me through the subway a few weeks ago, I ended up hitting my head pretty badly in an elevator,” he paused to let out a little groan when the light started to bother his eyes. Raph turned out the desk light. What little natural light made it into the lair would have to do for now. Donnie relaxed a little, finding some comfort in the darkness. “I may have passed out for like ten or fifteen minutes.”
Raph’s brow furrowed. He felt a little better knowing it wasn’t him that caused the concussion but he couldn't say he was pleased that this was because of Bishop and one of her stupid robots. If he didn’t already hate her, he really did now.
He knew Leo wanted to look past her mistakes. He always tried to see the good in people even if there was hardly any to find but Raph wasn’t like Leo. He had a hard time forgiving anyone that crossed him and especially if they messed with any of his brothers. Bishop could rot away for all he cared.
That’s what she deserved.
“And you didn’t mention this before because?”
“Prob adrenaline,” Donnie replied, his words slurring ever so slightly at the end. “I didn’t even realize my head was hurting so much until we got back to the lair and by then we were all so exhausted. I just wanted to sleep.”
Raph couldn’t be too mad. The adrenaline had gotten to him too. It was easy to forget about all your injuries after an adrenaline crash when you were so tired and all you wanted to do was sleep. Raph hadn’t exactly mentioned all or any of the injuries he had received that day to his brothers either. As if to drive the point home even harder, he felt a slight pain in his ribs.
A check-up would probably do them both some good. Without a second thought, Raph grunted as he scooped Donnie into his arms bridal style. Though he was the biggest and dense with muscle Donnie wasn't that much smaller than him. Certainly not enough for him to be easy to carry; plus the weight of his shell wasn’t doing them any favors.
Donnie let out a squeaky yelp as he was lifted. “Hey! Put me down!”
“Yeah, sure,” Raph said as he carried Donnie out of their bedroom. “ I’ll put you down, once we’re at the hospital!”
Donnie was about to protest, when he let out a low whimper of pain and buried his face back into Raph’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his brother’s neck. He let out a weary sigh then nodded, “Yeah, okay,” he paused. “That sounds like a good idea.”