A/N: I haven't disappeared! I live! I swear, I'm working on Mikey's goodbye, I promise! I have half of the next chapter written, and, strangely enough, beginnings of chapters all over the place. An idea pops in for something a few chapters down the line, it has to written out in case you forget it later on right? I'll have the next one out soon, I promise!
This is just a silly little thing I had in my head about Mikey when he was hurt and his brothers messing with him. Brothers bug each other all the time right?
It has been about a week since their victory against Krang and the turtles were still riding high from that victory. Each turtle placed their key to the city somewhere meaningful to them and continued on with their training, workouts, experiments and games. They did their best to forget the hardships they went through to be awarded the key, but were reminded of it every time Michelangelo tried to move too quickly and ended up aggravating his injuries.
"Dammit," the youngest sighed from the couch he'd all but claimed as his own for the last week, "how much longer until this goes away?"
"At least another 3-4 weeks Mikey." Donnie confirmed, further downing the youngster's spirits. "The lung infection you ended up with really didn't help speed things up at all, but the pain should start to subside soon." Donnie added, trying to reassure his only little brother.
"Don't take what he said to mean that you can run around like a maniac soon Mikey, or I will chain you to this couch." his red-Clad brother reminded him. "You aren't doing any of your usual crazy assed games or tricks until he gives you the ok. If you try to use that skateboard of yours before he clears you, something may just 'accidentally' happen to it." Raph warned his baby brother with a smirk.
"Could you please quit threatening to break that board?" Donnie whined. "Do you know how hard it was to even make that thing for him!?"
"Donnie," Leo sighed, "we're still trying to figure out why you made him a rocket powered skateboard in the first place."
"Yeah, that was about the craziest thing you could have given him." Raph agreed.
"Hey! I think I won brother of the year with that gift thank you very much." Donnie smirked as his two older brothers rolled their eyes. "And besides, would you rather have him using something he enjoys and giving us some peace and quiet or would you rather he not have it so he can bug us to do stuff with him all the time?"
''Hey guys, I'm right here you know," Mikey reminded them, turning slightly on the couch so he could get a better look at his older brothers who were now all ignoring him.
"But did you have to make him something so dangerous?" Leo asked "I mean, this is Mikey we're talking about here. Trouble is his middle name, remember? He didn't need his big brother to make him something that could get him killed if he didn't pay attention for a second."
"Again guys, right here!" Mikey waved his hands in the air from his spot on the couch. "You know, your baby brother?"
Raph looked down and smirked at his youngest sibling. "And we all know about his great attention span. I'm surprised he hasn't broken anything yet by using that thing."
"Hello! Right here!" Mikey shouted again, pouting and lightly crossing his arms on his chest. "I can hear you all, you know. I will have you know that I'm not that unlucky."
Mikey tried to give his brothers a huff and a glare but his efforts at being upset at them disappeared when he winced in pain from moving so quickly. His brothers stopped their teasing and sighed.
"You know we're just kidding Mikey. But still, I won brother of the year for making that for you, now didn't I?" Donnie asked his only little brother, while reaching for said board. "I mean, it's not like those guys," he pointed to their older siblings, "ever gave you something this cool right?"
"Uhh, well… I ..." The youngest fumbled. "Wow D, that's just mean to put me on the spot like that."
"So it wasn't a good gift then?"
"Are you crazy? It's an awesome gift! One of the best ever, brah!"
Donnie smirked at his older siblings. "See? Brother of the year. Best ever."
Raph shook his head "he said one of the best ever brainiac, not the best ever. For a genius, you miss out on the important things. Clearly, you are forgetting what I got him for Christmas last year. Right Mikey? Like those headphones you whined about since the second you saw them on TV weren't the best things you ever got?"
"Uhh… well yeah they were awesome." Mikey confirmed. "Even though you got them in red."
"That was so that you would never forget who got you the best gift ever."
"Then in that case, they should have been purple to remind him of me and his skateboard." Donnie added, and smirked at his red banded sibling.
Raphael rolled his eyes. "Dream on four eyes. I got him the best one ever."
"Hey umm guys?" Mikey cut in, not liking that they seemed to want to start a fight over gifts. "They were both awesome, Really. The best ones either of you ever got me…"
"So you sayin' that all our other presents were crap there kid?" Reph turned to his baby brother glaring at him. Donnie knew what Raph was doing and had to turn away from Mikey before his laughter gave him away.
"No!" Mikey confirmed not wanting to upset anyone. "All the presents I ever got were awesome! Those two were just the awesom-est of the awesome!"
Raph walked up to his brother cracking his knuckles and doing his best to took menacing to his little brother. "That better be what you meant squirt because I could take those headphones and keep them for myself."
"Ah c'mon, man!" Mikey looked exasperated. "You can't do that! I use those things all the time!"
"Excuse me," Leo interrupted. "But I do believe that I gave him the best gift ever." Leo had sat on the sidelines at first, not approving of the game his two other brothers were playing on Mikey, but he soon changed his mind. Now he wanted to join in on the fun too. "Isn't that right Mikey? You still use that stuff all the time, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Mikey confirmed smiling happily. "That was an awesome gift too!"
"See? That confirms that the oldest sibling always knows what the best presents are."
"How the hell does your gift do that? You got him paints, canvases, charcoal pencils and a few sketch pads . How does that make it so spectacular?"
"Are you saying that what Mikey makes with my gift is bad?" Leo glanced over to Raphael, raising an eyeridge.
"Oh, hell no. I did not say that, Fearless. The shit he paints and sketches are awesome, we all know that. What I said is why does your gift make you the best big brother?"
"The answer is very logical Raphael," Leo said. "And I am surprised that Donnie doesn't see how mine is better than both of yours."
Donnie shook his head he looked at Mikey. His poor kid brother looked like he wanted nothing more than hide under a rock because his brothers were arguing over presents. He had to turn away before he laughed again. He looked over at Leo, shaking his head. "Nope sorry. I don't see how your gift is in any way better than my perfect skateboard."
"Your gift is a toy appealing to his fun side." Leo began, looking at Donatello. "Raphael's gift just keeps him sitting down doing nothing, or distracts him more when he is on that death board."
"Skateboard, Leo" The purple-banded turtle reminded him.
"No, no, I was right the first time." He smiled and started pacing around the room, slowly making his way to the couch Mikey was relaxing on. "Now, my gift encourages his creativity, and it also further develops his focus as well as his attention to detail in a way that seems like play to him, but is, in the end, beneficial to him as an individual."
"Uhhn… what?" Mikey had no clue how to answer his brother "Umm they're paints? Not a life lesson. I don't get it."
Donnie and Rapt burst into laughter at Leo's expense.
"Right Leo, because those things are key to a great gift. Fun and hobbies be damned. I don't know how we missed that." Raph snickered.
"Yeah but, painting and sketching is a fun hobby to me." Mikey spoke up in defense of his brother.
The three older brothers turned to look at their baby brother. His two middle brothers looked at him in disbelief, while his oldest brother looked back at Raph and Donnie, smug and proud.
"I rest my case. Oldest brother knows best." He sat down on the couch, next to his baby brother, grin on his face. He took a glance at his brothers, nothing the look of fear on Mikey's face towards his red and purple wearing siblings, and the look of shock still present on both Raph and Donnie's faces.
"Ummm…" Mikey stuttered. "Hey guys!" He started, trying to sink into the couch. "You know that I still love your gifts right?" He raised his hands in the air in surrender towards the two approaching turtles. "Leo's gift last year was the awesome-est of the awesome that he ever got me!" His eyes grew wider as his older brothers continue their slow advancement towards him. He carefully made his way to Leo's side, for protection.
"C'mon, you guys always give me awesome gifts that are super fun to me!" He stared up in fear at Donnie and Raphael, who now surrounded him. "You are all awesome gift givers?" He added meekly, hoping to appeal to the protective side of his brothers and stop them in their tracks.
Raphael lowered himself to Mikey's level and stared him down. "So, defending Leo's gift huh?" Raph said, looking up at Leo and Donnie. Donnie again turned away quickly to avoid laughing at the pitiful look on Mikey's face. "Didn't defend my gift, didn't defend Donnie's, not that his mattered as much as mine anyway..."
"Hey!"
"But you defend Leo's." The red-banded turtle shook his head as he stood up, then smirked. "That's fine. There's a perfectly good way to deal with this."
"No wait!" Mikey shouted, carefully reaching his hand out to grab the larger turtle's arm. "C'mon brah, leave the stuff out of it! What do I gotta do!?"
"What do you have to do, he asks." Donnie laughed. He then tried as hard as he could to look upset. "What do you have to do? You didn't defend our choices at all but ran right to Leo's defense. Do you know what we think of that?"
Mikey shook his head, blue eyes not hiding his worry as to what they were going to say.
"Do you really want to know what we think of that?" Donnie asked. Mikey nodded his head, too worried to say anything.
Donnie and Raph both approached Mikey, lowering themselves to his level, eye to eye with the youngster. Raphael smirked and whispered in Mikey's ear.
"Got'cha."
The three oldest turtles began laughing uncontrollably as realization hit their baby brother.
"You three were kidding!?" Mikey asked in disbelief.
"Of course we were, little one." Leo confirmed as he rubbed his baby brother's head.
Mikey shook his head and stared at his three big brothers, shocked. It was usually him that pranked his siblings, not the other way around.
He thought about it all for a moment, before laughing a little himself. "But, why?"
"It made you forget about the pain for a little while, didn't it?" Donnie asked and smiled when Mikey nodded his head. "We just wanted to take your mind off the whole injury thing for a bit."
"Besides," Leo added with a smile, "it's not like we get a chance to prank you very often, so we weren't going to miss this one."
"Plus it's just fun to tease the hell out of you anyway." Raph added with a smirk as he rubbed Mikey's head himself. "Like I'd ever miss a chance to do that."
"Thanks guys," Mikey smiled at his three big brothers. It may have been a strange way to go about it, but they managed to make Mikey feel a little better. If only for a while. Better be ready guys, because payback will be mine! Mikey thought to himself as he watched his brothers getting ready to watch a movie with him. No one pranks a prankster!
Thank you all for reading! I hope you guys found it at least a little amusing. Please let me know what you think!
