Chapter Text
“Son of a bITCH.”
“Raph please.”
“Are you even looking at the weather?! Jesus Christ, Leo. All you have to do is look outside!” And with that Raph stood, and stormed to the windows and yanked the curtains aside to expose them to the lovely deep gray sky.
Donnie, on the other side of the couch, barely looked up from his book. “Uh-huh. ‘S real nice, Raphie.”
The older boy cast him a (half-assed) glare. “You, shut up. You’re not even listening.”
“Mhm.”
From the armchair in the corner of the room, Leo sighed and shook his head, blue eyes moving back to his laptop screen. He’d been hunched over it for a better part of the evening. “It’s just rain, Raph. Relax.”
And of course, the universe sent them a giant “screw you”.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and was followed by a (somewhat) loud clap of thunder.
Mikey screamed and toppled down the stairs and Leo nearly spilled his cup of water onto his laptop and Donnie yelped and dropped his book and Raph jumped at least four feet off the ground.
And then everything was quiet again, apart from Mikey’s occasional whine.
“You jinxed it.” Raph complained, making his way out of the living room and toward the stairs (“Mikey. It was one clap.” “Did anybody ask you for your opinion? No? Didn’t think so.” “What were you even doing upstairs?” “Cleaning? ‘Cause the path to my bed vanished under clothes.” “No.”).
Leo shrugged and placed his laptop on the floor, standing and moving toward the window. “It’s really coming down hard out there.” He mused, tucking his hands into his pockets.
They were quiet for a moment as Donnie joined him at the window, placing his hands on the windowsill.
Mikey and Raph both appeared in the doorframe, the younger making a wild dash for the couch and launching himself onto it. Raph shook his head and reached down, shoving Mikey’s legs off to make room for himself. Mikey kicked him.
“Look,” Leo pointed suddenly, pointed into the rain. “They left their garage door open.”
Donnie squinted into the rain, leaning forward to peer out the window.
Leo was right; The family across the street had left their garage door open. And the street was full of water. From their window, it looked like there was a pool in the garage.
“We should go warn them.” Leo began to fret, playing with the hem of his jacket. He cast a forlorn look at his computer. “But I need to finish my emails..”
“I can go.” Donnie wasn’t even aware he had said it until Leo’s eyes widened hopefully. And then there was no way out of it because damnit, Leo was just as persuasive as Mikey sometimes.
“Would you?” Leo actually looked misty-eyed. “Thanks, Don.”
“Woah, woahwoahwoah,” Raph. “He can’t go by himself! It’s pouring outside! Look at the street! It’s looks like a flood out there!” He protested. “I’ll—“
Mikey cut him off with bright blue eyes. “I’ll go with him!”
Raph was on his feet within a second. “No way. No. I—“ I let you out of my sight once and everything went to hell. Yeah. We get it.
“Donnie can’t go alone,” Leo repeated, a familiar frustrated tone rearing it’s ugly head. “I have to finish these emails and you’re grounded. Remember? So who else is going to go with him?”
(Mikey looked a little hurt, actually.)
Raph was scowling, looking between Leo and Donnie and Mikey before backing down, hackles lowering. “Fine. Whatever. Don’t get sick. Again.” He grumbled before stomping out of the room.
Leo sighed and made his way toward the closet, sliding the door open and reaching in to grab Donnie’s purple jacket and Mikey’s orange one. “He really is worried, you know.”
Donnie refused to meet Leo’s soft gaze as he took his jacket. “Yeah. I know. C’mon, Mikey.” He sighed, turning around and padding toward the door, pulling on his boots and pushing the door open.
“Just a sec,” Mikey responded, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his jacket and yanking on his sneakers at the same time. “Okay. Okay, let’s go!” He smiled, hurrying out the door after Donnie.
Leo remained in the doorway, arms crossed over his stomach as he watched them trot down the stairs. He looked like a concerned parent, Donnie reflected. He finally turned and wandered back inside, shutting the door behind him and Donnie could breathe again. Because he loved his brother, but Leo could be suffocating.
And Mikey, little Mikey, noticed. “You okay, Don?”
“Yeah. Careful. The stairs are slippery.” Donnie replied swiftly, pace slow and careful as he made his way down the stairs.
“I know.”
It was quiet for a bit as the two made their way down the stairs and onto the driveway.
The cement was soaked, a river running down it as the rain continued to pour. It dripped through his hair as he readjusted his hood a bit so it truly covered his whole head.
Mikey was slightly behind him, splashing through the puddles with occasional bursts of laughter. For a fourteen year old, he really did act like he was six.
He was still laughing, even as they made it to the road. Donnie whirled around, deciding to tell him to shut up with his left foot slipped and his whole body went down with a thud and an abnormal sounding ‘crack’.
Mikey was there in an instant, hovering over him anxiously. “Donnie? Donnie, are you okay? Oh my god.”
Donnie groaned and pushed himself up with his hands, leaning back on his palms. “Yeah, I’m o—“ There was a sudden flash of searing pain that shot through his right wrist and he buckled, drawing his hand in close to cradle it.
“Donnie? Donnie!”
He ignored his brother in favor is gripping his arm and taking deep, steadying breaths.
“Should I go get Leo? Maybe we should go back. Raph is gonna kick my ass, oh my god.. Donnie, we need to go back,—“
“Would you shut up for five seconds!” The brunette snapped, whipping his head around to glare at his younger brother. “Seriously! Five seconds, Mikey!” The movement jostled his wrist and he hissed, returning to his previous fetal position.
(He missed the look of hurt that splashed across Mikey’s face.)
It took a few minutes, but eventually Donnie could breathe again. “We gotta tell them their garage is flooded.” He decided firmly, pushing himself to his feet with his good hand (which immediately went to cradle his likely fractured wrist once freed from its duty). “C’mon. Let’s keep going.”
“B-but doesn’t it hurt?—“ Mikey protested, sky-blue eyes blown wide.
“No,” Donnie lied through his teeth. His wrist was throbbing with pain. “Doesn’t hurt at all. I was just overreacting. Come on, we’re almost there anyway.”
Mikey cast a mournful look back at the house before following after him, though his pace was slightly slower than before.
Donnie trudged up the driveway, cradling his wrist and ignoring the white spots crowding his vision. They were almost at the front door anyway. There was no point in turning and going home, even if the rainwater was but to his ankle.
It was Mikey who rang the doorbell and greeted their neighbor with his usual huge smile plastered on across his face. “Mr. Saki, your garage is open!” He was saying when Donnie finally tuned into the conversation.
The man standing in the doorway did a double take before groaning and shaking his head. “I knew I forgot something. Thank you, Michelangelo. Donatello.” And he stepped back into his house and closed the door.
“There. You happy?” Mikey scowled in his general direction as they made their way back across the street. “C’mon, D. You should tell Leo.”
“It doesn’t hurt!” Donnie protested immediately, because the last thing he wanted was Leo kicking up a huge fuss and Raph getting angrier and Mikey blaming himself. And god only knows how Splinter would react. Probably call him a klutz or something.
So no. Telling Leo was definitely out of the question.
And it was a good thing he’d made his decision, because they were on the front steps before he knew it.
He caught Mikey’s arm with his good hand. “Don’t tell Leo,” He pleaded. “I honestly feel fine.”
“B-but—“
“If we tell Leo he’ll just worry. And then he’ll accidentally tell Raph and Raph will be mad. And then Raph being mad will tell Splinter that something happened. Please, Mikey.”
Sky-blue eyes met chocolate brown and Mikey sighed. “Fine. But—“ He held up one finger threateningly. “If you look like you’re in pain I’m telling.” He sounded like a child again.
Donnie had missed that tattle-tale-like tone.
“Deal.”
Mikey pushed the door open and they both stepped into the warmth of the house, dripping rainwater everywhere.
Leo was there almost immediately with two fluffy towels. “You okay?” He asked softly as Mikey shed his coat and disappeared into his towel. “You look like Splinter’s rat when we tried to give him a bath.”
Donnie found himself smiling despite himself as he accepted the towel (and steeled his features to make sure no winces came through). “Yeah. Mr. Saki closed the door after we left.” He said, throwing the towel over his shoulders after removing his coat. “It was really slippery. Nobody fell, though.”
“That’s good.” Leo smiled before lifting both of their coats and padding into the kitchen, tossing them onto chairs to dry.
Raph came pounding down the stairs, eyes trained on both of his younger brothers as he paused in front of them as if assessing the situation. Green eyes were slightly narrowed, though it was only when they fell on Mikey’s shivering form. So Donnie was in the clear.
“I’m going upstairs. Gonna go to bed early, we have a test tomorrow.” He lied, making his escape as quickly as he could. He made his way to the stairs, pausing briefly when Raph spoke up.
“Do you want an extra blanket?” The older was saying, looking directly at Donnie. He had one arm draped around Mikey’s shoulders, and in all honesty, the youngest looked as miserable as Donnie felt.
“No, I’m okay.” Donnie forced a smile before turning and making his way up the stairs.
He was okay.
Or, he would be. No need for extra attention. He could take care of himself.