Part 6-Brotherly Appreciation
The next day…
It was lunchtime in the Hamato Family lair, and after having his own food, Donnie was in the kitchen placing a bowl of hot chicken soup and a glass of orange juice on a tray. He then picked up the tray and made his way towards Mikey's bedroom.
Usually, Donnie would be at Leatherhead's lair and continuing their work on the project that they've been making together, but not today because he had a little brother to take care of.
Shortly after Mikey was found and brought back home yesterday, he had developed a bad cold which Donnie had predicted would happen. The youngest turtle was immediately put on bedrest in his room, whilst Leo, Donnie, and Master Splinter did their best to tend to him, though Raph kept his distance to avoid making things worse with Mikey whilst figuring out how to make things right with him. After Donnie told him the news, Leatherhead had decided to remain in his own lair and give the family some space after telling them to give him an update or let him know if they needed his help with anything.
Soon, Donnie had reached Mikey's bedroom and opened the automatic door. He entered the room quietly to avoid waking up his little brother, and then he approached the bedside table to turn on the small lamp and bring a little light into the room.
When he saw Mikey's face, Donnie could tell how sick his little brother really was; his cheeks were coloured in a rosy-red hue and his forehead was covered in beads of sweat from the fever, and his nostrils also had dried snot coated around the edges and his nose was completely blocked, so the poor turtle had to breathe through his mouth only.
Donnie immediately felt awful for Mikey. All of this happened to the youngest turtle because he was given false beliefs that no-one, including his own immediate older brother, wanted to be his friend or best friend due to having interests that were viewed as being too different for everyone to accept. He was still upset with Raph for causing this, but he knew that he couldn't feel like that forever and something needed to be done to end it peacefully. He made a plan last night, which was to go and talk to Raph after giving Mikey a check-up and something to eat.
Refocusing his attention on Mikey, Donnie placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and gently shook him to wake him up, so that the youngest turtle could have something to eat and have a talk with his big brother. It wasn't until a minute went by that Mikey began to stir and open his eyes slowly.
"Hey, little brother…" Donnie greeted softly.
"Mmm…D-Donnie…?" Mikey rasped as soon as the blurriness faded and recognised his brother in front of him.
"Yeah, it's me…How are you feeling?" Donnie asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"…L-Like…I-I g't 'it by a b's…" Mikey slurred before he slowly sat himself up since his body was aching quite badly.
"Mmm, I suspected that you would feel like that…" Donnie replied with a nod before he placed a hand on Mikey's forehead to check his temperature, which was very warm. "And your fever has gotten a bit higher too, but only slightly…"
Mikey blinked before he spotted the tray with the bowl of steaming soup and juice-filled glass on Donnie's lap.
"W-What's that?" He questioned curiously.
"Hm? Oh, right! I've brought you some chicken soup; April told me that it's great for those with a bad cold…" Donnie announced as he presented the bowl of soup on the tray. Mikey eyed it wearily before he looked at Donnie suspiciously.
"Don't worry; it's soup that's from out of a can, I didn't make it from scratch…" Donnie reassured him immediately.
Mikey's face relaxed in relief and developed a small cheeky smile before he accepted the tray, which sat comfortably on his lap due to the legs that helped to balance it without him holding it. He then tried to grab the spoon and lift it, but his hand was trembling slightly due to his ill state and had caused the spoonful of soup to spill back into the bowl.
Seeing this, Donnie gently took the spoon from Mikey's hand and placed it back into the bowl to refill it before he raised it up to Mikey's mouth for him to take it. Mikey felt embarrassed at the thought of being spoon-fed by one of his older brothers, but he knew he had no choice but to accept it since he was too unwell to feed himself at the moment. With this in mind, the youngest turtle opened his mouth and accepted the first spoonful of soup.
"Mmm…S'good…" Mikey mumbled in delight when he discovered that the soup tasted delicious.
"See? I told you it was edible…!" Donnie teased before he prepared another spoonful for Mikey, who chuckled lightly at his brother's words and accepted the spoon again.
Once Mikey had finished his soup and drank some of his orange juice without any problems, Donnie helped him lay back down with his pillows propped up slightly to help lift his head a bit. Then, he went to the bowl of water on the bedside table and reached in the water to grab the flannel before he wrung out the excess water, folded it, and gently placed it on Mikey's forehead to help reduce his fever. Mikey flinched at the cold temperature of the damp flannel, but he relaxed a few seconds later when it cooled him down, making Donnie smile in relief.
"W-Why aren't you with Leatherhead today…?" Mikey asked after a moment of silence.
"Well…Let's just say that I've taken the day off from doing any science work today; I have a little brother to take care of after all…" Donnie answered warmly.
"Oh…" Mikey replied as he saddened and lowered his head, shifting his eye contact away from Donnie when tears began to develop in his eyes.
"Mikey?" Donnie called his brother's name worriedly.
"T-This is all my fault…I-I'm so stupid…W-Why did I let things get like this…?" Mikey stuttered as he fought to keep his sobbing at bay.
"Hey, hey, Mikey…! What are you talking about? You've done nothing wrong…!" Donnie soothed, placing a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Y-You should be with Leatherhead right now, f-finishing your project…b-but you're here, taking care of this idiot…" Mikey hiccupped.
"I stayed because I wanted to, bro; you're my little brother and you're sick with a bad cold…No-one's forced me to stay home…!"Donnie countered, giving his brother's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"S-Sick or not…I-I'm not good company to you at all…" Mikey whilst shaking his head slowly.
"That's not true…! Look, I know it's hard for you right now because of your illness, but you will get better with time and be to do more amazing things for us again. I mean, look at what you've been doing for me these past few weeks; you've made both breakfast and lunch for me and you've fixed my duffel bag! No-one has ever done all of that for me before…!" Donnie replied firmly but proudly.
"I-I only did all that cos…I-I wanted to be useful…" Mikey admitted sheepishly.
"You've always been useful, bro…! Who says that you're not?" Donnie questioned in shock.
"…E-Everyone…" Mikey answered in a raspy tone before he covered his eyes with one hand.
"I-I'm just sick of being seen as the useless burden who doesn't care about his family and friends! I-I've always cared and tried to be more helpful to them, b-but they would just brush me off and judge me cos I'm not the same as them! T-That's why no-one wants to be friends with me!"
Seconds after saying that, Mikey broke down sobbing again. Donnie immediately engulfed Mikey in a hug and held him close.
The purple-banded turtle was even more shocked when he heard Mikey's last statement. He found it hard to believe, because there was never a time where his friends and family had accused Mikey of not caring about them or judged his actions. However, Donnie suddenly remembered that there had been occasions where his brothers or Master Splinter would berate Mikey for his child-like behaviour and push him away because they didn't want to hear his ideas or be involved in his activities due to seeing them as childish or not worth their time.
Thinking back on all of that now, the purple-banded turtle felt extremely sad and awful for his little brother. This had been going on unchecked for most of Mikey's life, and none of this would've happened if Donnie and the rest of his family had spotted the youngest's feelings of loneliness and rejection sooner.
Just then, Donnie remembered the conversation that he had with Mikey whilst he was sheltering from the rain with him, which had been cut short by the thunderstorm. Now that he and his little brother were back home safe and currently in the same room, Donnie decided to take this opportunity to pick up and continue on from where he had left off.
"Mikey, do you remember the last thing I said to you yesterday, whilst we were sheltering from the rain in a large crate on the rooftop?" The purple-banded turtle asked after he gently released Mikey from the hug, but kept his hands on his arms.
"E-Erm…I-I don't remember…Which part…?" Mikey questioned, his face showing confusion due to memory loss caused by his cold.
"It was the part where I told you that you wouldn't be yourself without the things that you're interested and passionate about…" Donnie reminded him.
"O-Oh, yeah…That part…Y-You said you'd tell me more later, though…" Mikey instantly remembered.
"That's right…" Donnie replied with a nod before he placed one hand on his shoulder again as he spoke.
"Listen, Mikey, I meant that I said yesterday. If you didn't have interests that involved comic books, video games, and superheroes, you wouldn't be the kind and fun-loving turtle that we all know and love today…!"
"B-But Raph said-"
"Don't listen to what Raph said to you, little brother…He always depends too much on his anger to do all of the talking for him…" Donnie interrupted firmly but softly before he continued on from his previous sentence.
"You have helped us out of sticky situations and saved our lives more than once before, thanks to your own interests and knowledge…"
"I-I'm still the dumbest one out of all of us, though…" Mikey said miserably.
"No, you're not…! You're smart in your own way, just like the rest of us…! I mean, have you seen any of us make a proper meal before? Me, Leo, and Raph would always make a mess or cause an explosion in the kitchen because we couldn't read a recipe properly…!" Donnie countered.
Mikey half chuckled and half coughed when he remembered those memories; he would find the kitchen looking like a bomb site, and his brothers standing with food mix covering them from head to toe. He would get shocked at first before he turned angry and started running after his brothers with a wooden spoon in his hand.
"Y-Yeah…You dudes never knew what you were doing…" He rasped with a cheeky smile.
"See? We each have our own level of smarts, just different to one another…" Donnie replied before he asked Mikey a question.
"Also, did you know that we can have more than one best friend in our lifetime?"
"R-Really?" Mikey asked with wide eyes.
"Of course! Even if they have different opinions or interests, they can still form a strong bond of friendship equal to that of siblings…!" Donnie pointed out.
Mikey was stunned. All these years growing up, he believed that people could only have one best friend out of their friendship group, but after hearing what Donnie had just said, he felt like he was no longer restricted or limited to how many best friends he could have now.
"…I-I…never knew…" Mikey said in surprise.
"Well, now you do…So, don't worry, bro; no matter what happens or how many friends I make in the future, you will always be my best friend…!" Donnie replied happily.
Mikey felt some of the weight on his shoulders being lifted after hearing that, but there was something still bothering him on the inside and was struggling to let Donnie know.
"What's up?" Donnie asked when he immediately sensed that something else was wrong with his brother.
"E-Erm…Is Leatherhead okay?" Mikey asked nervously.
Donnie blinked and was unsure why Mikey would ask him that question before he suddenly remembered the youngest's reason for doing so.
"Yeah, he's fine, Mikey…He just wants you to get better soon, so that you could come and see our project when it's finished…" He answered.
"I-I know, I-I just…" Mikey stuttered before he looked down and stopped talking.
"You're worried that he's blaming himself for what happened to you yesterday, aren't you?" Donnie questioned softly.
Mikey nodded silently, with another set of tears falling down his face.
"Oh, Mikey…" Donnie said as he sat back down on the edge of the bed and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before he spoke again.
"I called Leatherhead earlier to check on him and he's doing fine; he's not blaming himself, and he wanted to check on how you are because he's been worried about you…"
Mikey was surprised. He didn't expect to get that kind of answer from Donnie, but the youngest turtle was still feeling guilty on the inside for causing so much trouble and stress for the big croc.
"I-I just don't want him to think that he's responsible for what happened…" Mikey told him.
"Trust me, Mikey; he doesn't…The only thing that he's' thinking about right now is you getting better for the big reveal of our project…!" Donnie reassured him, gently squeezing his little brother's shoulder.
Mikey was relieved to hear that, but he still wanted to clarify something before he could put this talk to rest forever.
"D-Do you think…He still wants to be friends with me?" He asked nervously.
"Of course he does, bro; he said so himself yesterday that you were the one who gave him the opportunity to not only have a safe sanctuary, but also the friends and family that he had always wanted during his life of loneliness…In other words, you are the founder of his happiness…" Donnie answered sincerely.
Mikey's eyes widened at that last sentence. He never realised until now that he was the one who gave Leatherhead the happiness he needed to live a positive life by opening his heart of friendship to him, and he also gave him more friends by encouraging others to give him a chance to show who he really was inside.
"W-Why didn't I realise this before…?" He questioned with more tears developing in his eyes.
Donnie placed a comforting hand on Mikey's cheek before he answered the youngest turtle's question.
"Sometimes, it takes a sad or difficult event for a person to realise how truly important they really are to others…"
Mikey allowed his tears to fall after hearing that. He engulfed Donnie in a hug, which the purple-banded turtle immediately accepted, and whispered a 'thank you' before letting out a yawn.
Donnie heard his brother's yawn clearly in his ear, indicating to him that he was starting to fall asleep again. He gently released Mikey from the hug and spoke.
"I better go and let you get some more sleep, bro. Before I do, though, I need you to promise me something…"
"W-What is it?" Mikey asked after wiping his tears from his face.
"Promise me that, if you ever feel down or upset about anything, you let me or any one of our family members know right away. We love and care about you very much, Mikey, and we don't like to see you so sad and feeling forced to keep your emotions hidden for the sake of our happiness…" Donnie told him as he held his brother's hands.
"…I-I…" Mikey wanted to respond to Donnie's words, but he was finding it difficult to do so.
"I know it's hard when it comes to expressing how you're really feeling, Mikey, but you'll feel a lot better emotionally when you do overtime…Trust me…" Donnie assured, giving his little brother's hands a gentle squeeze.
Mikey thought about that for a moment before he sighed. He realised that Donnie was right; as much as he wanted to keep his true emotions hidden from his friends and family, he knew that it only cause more pressure on himself and, if he held it all in for too long, he would emotionally explode under that pressure.
"…O-Ok…I-I promise…" The youngest turtle finally said shakily.
"Good…" Donnie replied with a pleased smile before he stood up from his seat on the bed and spoke again.
"Get some sleep now, bro…I'll come and check on you again later…"
"M'kay…" Mikey slurred his reply before he laid his head back down on his pillow, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
Donnie smiled warmly at his little brother's sleeping form before he quietly walked out of the room and closed the door to let him sleep whilst it was quiet and peaceful in the lair.
With Mikey now fed and settled, Donnie walked away from his brother's bedroom door and started making his way down towards the garage to go and confront his immediate older brother, Raph.
/
Author's notes:
Finally, another chapter completed!
Sorry for the long delay; I have recently just moved house and I've had no internet for nearly 2 weeks.
I hope you like it and that it was worth the wait ;)
