Work Text:
Donnie woke up feeling slightly drowsy
He chalked it up to falling asleep late last night and not getting enough sleep
He put on his mask and battle shell and got ready for the day, enjoying the wonderful breakfast that his baby brother made. Or at least trying to without throwing up as eating was making him feel a bit woozy
His brothers asked if he was alright and Donnie gave them a lazy thumbs up, saying that he wasn't really all that hungry. Raph looked at him a bit concerned but he didn't press about it. Donnie then turned his attention to Mikey and could tell that he was trying to hide his sadness and worry, but slightly failing too. It made Donnie feel guilty inside and he decided that he was going to make it up to Mikey later by actually joining his brothers for dinner, which was becoming a rare occurrence for the softshell now since their fight with the Shredder
Don't get Donnie wrong he loved being with his brothers. But, with almost of all of his tech being destroyed, Donnie spent most of his time in his lab, trying to repair what he could
Speaking of which, that was what Donnie was doing now as he pulled down his goggles and tried to wire some circuit boards together
Donnie wasn't sure what set it off, but the headache from earlier was coming back, and this time, it was a lot worst then this morning
Donnie check the time on his wrist tech and saw that it was a few hours past lunchtime. He didn't realize how long he had been working
Donnie thought about going into the kitchen to get himself something to eat as he could feel his stomach slightly growling. However, the moment he tried to stand, he just felt really shaky and woozy and the pain in his head spiked
Donnie immediately sat back down and just pulled out one of his emergency snacks that he kept in one of his drawers, hoping that it would satisfy his hunger for a least a few hours until dinner time
While the snack did satisfy his hunger, it did little to ease the headache
The longer that Donnie tried to work, the worst the headache got
Donnie decided that he couldn't work any longer under these conditions. With a heavy sigh, he slowly got himself up (though it hurt to do so) and made his way to the medicine cabinet that they kept in the bathroom
He shakily opened the medicine cabinet and took out the Ibuprofen and took it to his room
Donnie popped open the lid and shallow two of the pills, making sure to use some water that he normally kept in his room
Donnie took off his battle shell and made himself comfortable on his bed. Or at least he tried to. No matter what, he just would not get comfortable and his headache seem to be getting worst. It was to the point where it felt like pins and needles were inside his head. Like someone was taking a jackhammer to his head and constantly pounding on it
Donnie could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he realized that he was having a migraine. Donnie knew that Raph got those from time to time and he knew how much pain it caused his big brother. He was now beginning to feel some sympathy towards Raph as the migrane just seem to get worst and worst the more that Donnie tried to fight it.
He put a pillow over his head as a way to drown out any background noise that he could in order to lessen the pain. It didn't really help much and Donnie was just beyond exhausted and tired at this point. He just wanted this pain to go away so that he could get back to work
On top of all of that, Donnie could feel his stomach growling. Donnie tried to glance at his phone, but he forgot that his phone brightness all the way up, the bright light shining in his eyes and making the pounding sensation in his head increase tenfold
Donnie was able to catch the time though and saw that it was 6:30 in the afternoon. Donnie just groaned in frustation knowing that he had probably miss family dinner. It made Donnie cry even more knowing that he missed another family dinner. He couldn't imagine what Mikey must be feeling right now.
'Oh gosh! He must hate me! I miss another family dinner and he must think that I don't care about them' Donnie thought to himself. The image of seeing his baby brother was just the saddest look of hurt and hatred on his face was enough to bring Donnie to more tears as he squeezed the pillow that was over his head
Donnie hated every minute of this. All he wanted right now was for one of his brothers to come in and just hug him. I know it sounds ridiculous for the turtle who is never up for physical comfort, but Donnie didn't really care right now about his usual undesired need for affection. Right now, Donnie wanted that love and affection more then anything in the world. He just wanted someone to hold him and squeeze him until the migrane popped out. He knew scientifically that it was impossible, but he was honestly willing to try anything right now. Anything to get rid of this pounding force inside of his head
Donnie was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the soft footsteps of one of his brothers entering his room until he heard a familar voice
"Heeeeyyyyy, Dee? You okay in here? Dinner's been ready for a while..."
Leo
Donnie wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed at the fact that Leo popped into his room without so much as knocking. Or maybe he did knock and Donnie just didn't hear him
Whether the case, Leo's voice was another noise that he had to process and one that sounded grating to his ears
Donnie just pressed the pillow tighter on his head, hoping that it would be enough of an answer for Leo that he was indeed still here, much to Donnie's dismay
Leo noticed Donnie's back was to him and the pillow pressed against his head. Leo then walked closer to the bed and noticed the Ibuprofen and Donnie's water bottle on the nightstand
Leo picked up the Ibuprofen and seemed to immediately understand the situation. "...Ah. There's the Ibprofen I was missing" he whispered quietly to himself but turning his attention to his twin lying in the bed. "Bad headache?" he asked softly
Donnie felt the tears flow down his face even faster at the soft tone in Leo's voice. It wasn't patrionizing or the usual Leo cockiness. It was warm and sweet and understanding, something that he doesn't hear often from his older twin
Donnie turned his body slightly so that he was now laying on his carapace. Leo immediately saw the tears and the hiccuping sobs that were coming from his usually stoic brother. It broke Leo's heart to see his twin like this. "...Okay. Really bad headache then" Leo replied quietly as he looked at his twin with sad eyes. "You already took the pain killers...we just gotta wait for them to kick in"
Donnie didn't say anything, not even a head nod of understanding as he continue to cry in front of his brother. Donnie didn't really care at this point as he was just glad to have at least one of his brother here with him. This meant that he wasn't going to suffer alone
Leo's face then dissolved into something softer and Donnie wasn't prepared for the next words to come out of Leo's mouth. "...are you comfortable with me giving you a shell rub while we wait for the medicine to kick in?"
Donnie slowly opened his eyes to see Leo looking back at him with a smile and soft, caring eyes. It warmed something up inside Donnie's heart and made the migrane a little bit more berable. A shell rub sounded really nice right now and it would allow him to spend more time with his twin. All in all, it was a win-win situation for Donnie, so he gave a small nod in response to Leo's question
Leo flashed a really big smile before going to climb onto Donnie's bed. "Alright then, make me some room"
Donnie scooted over slightly so that Leo could climb onto the bed. Leo then reached over onto the nightstand and press a button on one of Donnie's remotes, which turned on the purple night lights that Donnie had hanging over his bed. After Leo made himself comfortable, he grabbed the pillow that Donnie was using and placed it on his stomach, patting the pillow for Donnie to lay his head down on
Donnie made himself comfortable on the pillow as Leo began the shell rubs. A chirp immediately left Donnie's mouth as the shell rubs began, which lead Leo to let out an amused chuckle. "That feel good Don?" Donnie just let out a content sigh and Leo knew that he had his answer
Leo then brought his other hand around and began to also rub Donnie's head, applying enough pressure to hopefully help ease the migraine. Donnie seemed to appreciate the loving gestures by his twin as he laid there on his brother's plastron
The two middle children just sat in silence for a good while, the only sound being the occassional chirping noise that Leo would let out as a way to help soothe his younger twin
"Thank you Leo" Donnie whispered after a long silence, bringing his arms around Leo in an attempt to hug his twin. Leo bent down to plant a soft kiss on top of Donnie's head as he continue to rub his shell and forehead, slightly hugging Donnie back. "Anytime Don" Leo whispered back
The sweet moment was interrupted by the sound of Donnie's stomach growling. Donnie let out a groan, though Leo didn't comment on it. "How long has it been since you last ate Don?" Leo asked. Donnie shrugged his shoulders. "Few hours I guess" he answered. "Well I'm sure that Raph and Mikey are probably done eating by now. How about I go into the kitchen and bring you some leftovers, ok?"
At the thought of Leo leaving him, Donnie gripped onto him tighter. "Don't go" Donnie whispered, his voice slightly cracking. Leo frowned at his twin's reaction. "You need to eat Don. Mikey would get really mad if you missed out on eating" "Mikey probably hates me now" Donnie said in a barely inaudible voice but Leo heard it all the same
"What?!? Why would you think that Don?" Leo asked, horrified that Donnie would even think something like that. Donnie sighed as he hide his face into the pillow. "I have skipped eating with you guys so many times. I pritiotize my work over family time. I know how important that stuff is to Mikey and yet...I...gosh I'm such a terrible brother. He must hate me" Donnie was sobbing at this point, the pillow doing little to hide the tears. "All of you should honestly hate me for not being there and for being a bad brother"
Leo just listen to Donnie's sobs. It broke his heart that Donnie was feeling like this. He honestly had no idea. No wonder the purple turtle was absoutely exhausted and just overall drained. The fact that Donnie's migranes mostly stemmed from working too hard or from overthinking was not surprising and Leo knew that Donnie had been doing that a lot lately, hence why this migraine was so bad
Leo reached into his shell and grabbed his phone out, sending a quick text to Mikey to come to Donnie's room as quickly as he could and to bring some food
Once that was done, he hugged Donnie tighter and quitely shushed him. "Mikey doesn't hate you Donnie. None of us do" Donnie just sniffled in response. "You are an amazing brother Donnie. We knew that your tech is your life's work and we would never take that away from you. Sure, we do miss you for family time but we understand how busy you get. We are not mad at you for it. We...we love you Donnie and we miss you"
Donnie just cried harder at Leo's response as he hugged his twin closer to him. "Shhh it's ok Donnie. I'm right here. Just let it out. You are ok" Leo gently coaxed his brother into getting his breathing under control
When Donnie finally calmed down a bit, Mikey entered the room with a plate of food and a worried expression. "Hey" "Hey little brother" Leo called out, gesturing Mikey to come furthur into the room. "Is Donnie ok?" Mikey asked quitely. "Migraine" Leo whispered, to which Mikey nodded in understanding
Mikey sat the plate down on the nightstand and walked over to the twins, sitting on the edge of the bed as to not crowd them. "Hey Donnie. Leo told me that you have a migraine, so I brought you some of my delicious food"
Donnie smiled as he reached out and grabbed onto Mikey's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as a way of saying thanks. Mikey smiled in returned and squeezed it back. "You're welcome Dee"
Donnie looked down at their interconnected hands and frowned. "I'm sorry Mikey" Donnie whispered. "For what?" Mikey asked, confusion on his face. "For not being there for dinner tonight. And...for other nights before that" Donnie sighed as he turned away from Mikey. "I know how much family time means to you and I'm sorry for not being there. For putting my work over you guys. I'm sorry for being such a bad brother"
Donnie felt the tears started to flow again as he buried his face into the pillow again. Mikey looked at Leo with wide eyes and Leo just gave him a sad look
Mikey realized that he was going to have to pull out Dr. Feelings tonight
"Donnie? Dee can you look at me please?" Mikey gently asked, as he placed his hand on Donnie's shoulder
Donnie slowly lifted his head up as he stared into the soft, loving eyes of his baby brother. Mikey then cupped his hand on Donnie's face, wiping away the tears. "Donnie there is nothing that you can say or do that would make you a bad brother in my eyes. I don't care that you missed family time. I mean I care to a certain degree but that's only because I like spending time with all of my brothers and that includes you Don. Whatever bad thoughts you got going on inside your head, I'm here to tell you that none of that matters"
"I know that you would never put your work over us. In fact, the tech that you make...is for us. You make tech to make our lives better. That's your way of showing how much you love us Dee. Sure you don't love like the rest of us do and that's ok because that's what makes you special and we wouldn't have it any other way"
Mikey then wrapped his arms around his immediate older brother. "I love you Dee. Nothing will every change that"
Donnie began to sob again as he moved away from Leo and pulled Mikey in for a big hug. He buried his face into Mikey's shoulder. "I love you too Angelo. I love you so damn much" Donnie then lifted his head towards Leo and brought his arm out. "I love both of you so much" Leo happily obliged as he was pulled into the hug. "We love you too Don" Leo echoed as Donnie hugged his two brothers close to him, the migraine seeming to have melt away just being here, hugging two of his brothers
Mikey and Leo would end up falling asleep on Donnie's bed that night, with Donnie lying in the middle and a brother on either side, holding their genius brother close and Donnie feeling lighter then he had in a long time
(Raph ended up finding them later after making his rounds but not before silently snapping a picture of the three of them and making sure there were all nice and comfy, giving them kisses on the forehead, and giving Donnie an affectionate head rub, because he just had an older brohter instinct about these kind of things)