Okay here's the next part, please review (I love reviews :)
Donnie walked past Mikey's room two hours after the sudden death of his big brother, deep in thought. All of his thoughts were shoved aside when he heard a sniffing sound coming from inside the room.
He stopped and peeked into the bedroom. Michelangelo was sitting on his bed looking at a notebook and from the look of the dark spots on his mask he'd been crying as well. "Mikey?" Donnie inquired.
The turtle jumped slightly and shut the notebook. "Hey Donnie. How are you doing?" He asked quickly, forcing a slight smile to ghost across his face as he asked.
Donnie shrugged a little as he leaned against the door frame. "I'm doing as well as expected." Donnie said sadly. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," Mikey said gloomily as he reached up and tried to rub the tears from his face.
"I'm not crying, really" He lied, his smile cracking even as he said it. Donnie gently shook his head and stepped into the room. He made his way through the mess of the floor and soon climbed up onto Mikey's bed, sitting cross legged in front of him.
"You miss him, don't you?" He asked wearily, placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder.
Mikey dropped both his gaze and his pretense. "Yeah. Like a lot." He opened the notebook so that Donnie could see an old sketch of Leonardo on the page. On the faded white paper the eldest brother stood in the dojo holding his beloved katanas as he gracefully practiced a kata. The lines were smudged in some places and the paper was warped in a couple spots where it had gotten wet.
It was kind of obvious how the paper had gotten wet.
"You, um, you want to talk about it?" Donnie asked hesitantly, his voice a bit shaky, shutting his eyes tightly to prevent tears escaping his eyes, before he looked at his youngest brother again.
Mikey ran a thumb over the illustration, further smearing the lines. "He's supposed to be here." He said quietly.
Donnie frowned and tilted his head slightly. Mikey glanced down at his notebook, trying to put his feelings into words. "Leo's always been here for us, helping us even though we never really appreciated him... What are we going do without him Donnie?"
Donnie paused for a long time as thought about what to say, then in a dejected voice he said very softly, "I don't know Mikey."
"Why did he die Donnie?" Mikey asked in a small voice.
Donnie crawled across the bed and sat next to Mike, putting an arm around his shell and giving his baby brother a small one-armed hug. "I'm sorry Mikey I don't know why he died but I'm working on finding the answer." A lump about the size of a fist rose in Donnie's throat and threatening to choke him. He had always known that the lives they lead and the danger they faced each day would one day end up like this. That one of them wouldn't make it but he thought it would happen in battle not silently in their own home. Not yet, his thoughts continued. It shouldn't have happened yet...
Mikey nodded absently. He stared at the sketch for a moment longer before closing the notebook and placing it aside gently on the night stand. Before Donnie could stop him or move he seized his purple banded brother and gave him a huge bear hug. Donnie quickly returned the hug holding his brother tightly against him. Mikey's head was nestled against Donnie's neck as he whispered softly, "I didn't even...get a chance to say good bye..." Mikey's voice hiccuping slightly before he continued "I hope you find answers Donnie. Thank you for everything. I love you bro."
"I love... you to... Mikey," The wavering in his voice gave away just how much Mikey's breakdown was affecting him.
Donnie felt fresh tears on his neck as Mikey slowly cried himself to sleep in his arms. Donnie careful laid Mikey down on his bed and paused a moment to watch his baby brother. Mikey's eyes were closed, and his breathing was deep, slow, rhythmic...
Finally asleep.
Donnie gently draped a blanket over his sleeping brother, bending down to give him a quick kiss on the forehead before he quietly left the room.
Don continued to head to his room to grab a medical book from his bookshelf before he went back to the Lab. But paused in front of the closed door that lead to Raph's room. Inside he could hear the dull thumping sound coming from flesh meeting with leather as Raph poured his grief into his punching bag. What broke Don's heart was he could hear his hot head brothers quite sobs coming from behind the closed door.
"He shouldn't have to face this grief by himself," Donnie whispered sadly before working up the courage to approach his temperamental brother's door.
"Raph," Donnie called as he knocked on the door.
The noise within stopped as Raph took a moment to pull himself together. "What da ya want genius?" He growled a reply through the still closed door.
"I was wondering if we could talk." Donnie answered back.
Several minutes later Donnie was wondering if Raph was going to ignoring him till he went away, but before he could turn away and leave his brother alone with his grief, there was a soft click and the door creaked open to revealed his red clad brother.
Raph turned on his heels and walked over to his hammock and sat down. Donnie followed his brother into the room looking for a place where could sit but the decision was taking out of his hands when Raph snagged one of his wrists and pulled him careful into the hammock with him.
Donnie watched Raph as he sat beside him in the hammock. Then Raph hesitantly wrapped one of his arms around Donnie's shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug, burying his forehead into Donnie's neck.
"It's going to be alright, Raphie." Donnie choked out when he felt dampness on his shoulder as his brother silently wept openly for the first time ever. Donnie held his brother tightly while he gently rubbed his shell soothingly, trying to calm him down. While his own tears joined his brother's as they silently wept together.
It only lasted a few minutes before Raph sighed against Donnie's neck and lifted his head a little to look at his purple banned brother with his fierce amber eyes.
"How do you keep going?" He whispered to Don in a broken voice.
Donnie's exhausted, tear stained face was grave as his chocolate eyes met the amber gaze. "I don't know, just get to the next moment. I guess," Donnie said sympathetically at his brother.
For a moment, Raph had no idea what ask his intelligent brother next despite the thousands of thoughts and questions that swirled inside his head before he blurted out:
"This place's will never feel the same without Fearless here," Raph stated matter factly.
Donnie's mouth tightened into a grim line, shaking his head a little. "No it won't," he replied quietly before his throat closed painfully. His grief coming to the surface once again as single tear rolled down his check before he brushed it away.
Tears sprang back into Raph's eyes, but he tightened his jaw and nodded, refusing to break down again.
"I know it's hard right now but we will get through this...together" Don said as he held his brother tighter.
"Don?" Raph asked.
"Yes, Raph" Don asked, he could tell by his voice that Raph was starting to drift asleep.
"I love you, I never got a chance to say that to Leo..." Raph whispered sadly as his head slumped to rest on Donnie's shoulder again. "God the things I said to him, did to him. Now he's gone I never got to say 'I'm sorry' for being such a jerk." Raph whimpered miserably.
Don smiled sadly and held him closer and kissed his head, "I love you too Raphie. Leo always forgave you no matter how big a jerk you got." He quietly murmured to Raph.
Soon after that Raph fell asleep in Donnie's arms, and it wasn't long after that Donnie closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep as well. 'I'll get up in an hour and get back to the Lab,' were his last thoughts before darkness claimed him.