Work Text:
Donnie was not sure what urged him to look outside. He had recently made great progress in analysing some of Leo's DNAs to create a healing serum to work with their mutations and had found himself completely engrossed with that for the last few hours.
Or it was probably days based on the pile of dishes collecting in the corner. Every Time someone came in to drop off some food for him, he found himself just waving off their concerns to take a break and ignoring any attempts to pull him away from his work. He was making progress! And the sooner he solved this problem with Leo, the sooner they could go back to New York and save everyone. It was on him to get this all done and a break was just a distraction.
Despite his focus, he still felt the need to look out the window. He was met with twinkling stars and the moonlight washing the field outside in a gentle blue glow, once again finding himself working straight into the night. He squints however when he notices something new in the field, a figure walking towards the treeline. They were too far away to make out who they were, but the hulking shape on the back was a clear indicator it was one of his brothers wandering around - most likely Mikey as Raph was yet to leave Leo's side.
Donnie attempted to assure himself that it wasn't totally strange for Mikey to be out at night nor was it a cause for concern - they were still adjusting to their new sleep schedule, Mikey wanting to enjoy as much of the sun and freedom during the day as he could before they were forced back into the sewers and cover of darkness, but after being nocturnal for almost 16 years of their lives, it was hard getting used to sleeping throughout the night. Mikey probably just wanted to go for a walk instead of his usual habit of turning on the TV when he was restless.
But concern spiked deep inside of Donnie at his brothers odd gait - slow and almost dragging, like he didn't know where to go - and he couldn't shake off the need to check on Mikey, just in case something was wrong with his baby brother. So he reluctantly left behind his work on Leo's DNA and trudged out into the field, calling Mikey's name when he had his brother within earshot. Donnie was sure he was loud enough to be heard, but Mikey didn't turn, still wandering towards the trees. He was almost into the woods by this point, and as much as Donnie trusted Mikey and his ability to come home safely, he still didn't like the idea of him being alone in an unfamiliar place during such an odd hour. Donnie picked up the pace, grabbing Mikey's arm and pulling him away from the treeline, right as his foot crushed some of the wild flowers growing around the border. That was definitely strange as Mikey was always so careful around the flowers within the surrounding area, treating the rare sights in the cities almost like gold.
Donnie repeats Mikey's name, a bit more frantic this time, and he finally turns, looking at him with distant eyes. He blinks once, twice, and squints at Donnie's face, confusion crossing his features and scrunching up his face. "Donnie?"
Donnie breathes a sigh of relief, releasing his grip on Mikey's arm and grimacing at the finger nail marks left behind. He must have been more nervous than he believed about Mikey's actions. "It's night time, Mike. What are you doing up?" He asks gently, trying to not sound annoyed despite being away from his work.
Mikey blinks again and somehow manages to look even more confused, looking around at his surroundings before turning back to Donnie. "I don't know. I was in bed a few seconds ago - I don't remember leaving the house or even leaving the bedroom." He explains, and the pitch of anxiety and fear in his voice tugs at Donnie's heart. His eyes were wide now, sleep blown from his mind by the whirlwind of panic and it was his turn to grip Donnie's arm tightly, breathing suddenly picking up pace. "Why am I outside?!"
"Okay, okay, it's alright." Donnie attempts to soothe, studying Mikey's face for anything else abnormal. He lifts the hand Mikey wasn't clinging to, resting it against his cheek and tilting his head back to notice deeper eye bags than usual under the blue eyes, a stark purple that matched the mask around his own face. "Have you been sleeping well lately?" Mikey shakes his head anxiously as Donnie tells him to breathe, running through one of the grounding techniques he had memorised after finding Leo in the midst of a panic attack a few months ago and not knowing what to do. Slowly Mikey begins to settle, the only audience to his panic being the stars above them and a cluster of fireflies a few feet away. "You must have been sleepwalking - I'll look into some causes of it later, but for now we should probably just head back to the farmhouse and you should try getting some rest. I'll ask Casey to keep an eye on your since you're sharing a bedroom."
Mikey nods along numbly with Donnie's words, allowing his older brother to tug him back to the farmhouse. He looks behind them only once, eyes distant once again and concern coils in Donnie's chest.
After making Casey promise three times to keep an ear out for Mikey leaving the room and ensuring his brother was comfortable in the bottom bunk, Donnie felt safe enough returning to his work. He could feel Casey's eyes on him as he left however, knowing his friend was concerned about his work ethic but also aware it was a losing battle to convince him otherwise. He still finds himself glancing out the window every few minutes until the sun greets him in the morning, cresting over the trees that had called his brother and crushed flowers left behind.
《{•}》
A few days pass without another incident from Mikey and Donnie almost forgets about it. He had briefly researched sleep walking - also known as somnambulism - and some causes of it between working on medicine for Leo and assessing his progress. He chalked up the cause to stress and just made a decision to monitor Mikey's sleep habits alongside Leo's progress. If his brother noticed the graph with his name underneath Leo's board, he didn't mention anything, just pestering Donnie until he agreed to watch a show with him or train for a few hours. Mikey also seemed to have forgotten about the incident, never talking about it again.
It was about eight days later when Donnie caught Mikey leaving the house again.
He was nursing a cup of coffee and debating on if his new headache was from sleep deprivation, too much caffeine or a bit of both when the front door suddenly opened and closed. A quick look outside the kitchen window revealed Mikey wandering outside again, Donnie frowning at the action. He was clearly on a mission towards the treeline, and Donnie decides to just skip trying to call his name and jogs to catch up, nudging Mikey's shoulder to try and wake him up.
He was not expecting Mikey to turn around and sock him in the face with a hooking punch and wasn't able to block it in time before pain exploded across his face. The impact sends him sprawling to the ground, momentarily stunned as he places a hand against his burning cheek, already feeling a welt swelling where he was struck. He had read that waking up a sleepwalker can trigger sudden aggression, but he just wasn't expecting it from Mikey , looking up at his younger brother towering over him to see his third eyelid covering his irises, blank stare on his face as the moon turned him into a silhouette.
Mikey blinks once, twice before gasping loudly and dropping to the ground beside Donnie, third eyelid disappearing to reveal panicked tears in his blue eyes. "Oh my God, Donnie, I'm so sorry!" He apologises profusely, shaking hands hovering around Donnie's body as if Mikey feared touching him.
Donnie grimaces, rubbing his face one last time before grabbing Mikey's hands, pushing them back onto his lap. "I'm fine, you just caught me off guard." He explains as Mikey pulls at his fingers anxiously. Donnie frowns at the movement. Mikey has never pulled at his fingers before - he would tug on his straps and masks when bored, but he was never a knuckle cracker like Raph or scratcher like Donnie. "Mikey, what's going on? You're acting strange."
"I don't know!" Mikey cries out, panic evident in his voice. "I thought I was getting better - I don't remember leaving the farmhouse!"
"Mikey, you need to breathe." Donnie reminds him, noticing that his brother was almost pitching into hyperventilation. Donnie begins to exaggerate his own breaths and slowly Mikey eases into a more manageable pace, tears now rolling down his round face. Without his mask, he appeared far too young for what their life was, baby fat still clinging stubbornly to his freckled cheeks and Donnie didn't think it was all that fair that Mikey was stuck sobbing on the ground and they had an entire world to save.
Donnie manages to coax him to stand up after a few minutes on the ground, but it was clear Mikey was too shaken up to go back to sleep, refusing to even walk up the stairs. So Donnie put on some movie instead and let it play in the background as formulas mixed in his head. By the time the sun came up in the morning, Mikey's head was on his shoulder and his younger brother was fast asleep.
《{•}》
The sleepwalking got worse as time progressed, and Mikey became more and more frantic about leaving the farmhouse. His aggression upon being stopped increased and with it came severe emotional distress, his baby brother wasting away into tears that Donnie did not know if they were shed for his injuries or for Mikey not making it into the woods. Casey reported more incidents of Mikey waking up screaming in the bottom bunk, crying out in terror about Shredder, the Kraang or any of their other numerous enemies. Everytime, Donnie helped him settle, like big brothers are supposed to do, but the lack of answers and solutions to Mikey's situation was wearing him thin.
Mikey himself was faring no better. He began to fear sleeping and went as far as forcing himself to stay awake. It was affecting his health, making him irritable and April had pointed out a significant decrease in his weight to Donnie one day, wringing her hands nervously as Mikey's physical and mental state worsened in front of her. Donnie's own irritability from his own insomnia and lack of solutions to Mikey and Leo just increased the tension in the home and Raph was no better. Their stress only added to Mikey's and the situation just continued to escalate.
"You need to sleep with Mikey for the next few nights."
Raph picks at his breakfast, not making any indication of hearing Donnie. They had the kitchen to themselves and it was almost a miracle they had even crossed paths. Donnie could count on his two hands the amount of times Raph had left the bathroom and most were to just train by himself before retreating back to Leo, the second oldest waiting desperately for any sign of improvement.
Donnie feels his temper spike at being ignored, but shoves it down. Mikey had grown insecure lately over having to be babysat, expressing guilt that Casey or Donnie had to be with him during the night and the last thing he wanted was for Mikey to overhear them talking about him. "I'm getting tired and stressed being with him during the night. It's not his fault, but I really need a break and so does Case. He's not saying anything, but waking up every three hours is affecting him and he's already doing so much to help you with looking after Leo and doing odd jobs so we can survive here."
"Mikey can't handle seeing Leo in the tub, you know that." Raph explains after a few seconds of silence, still not looking up from his plate. "It shatters that false reality he built up where Leo is just napping or whatever."
"Raph, please."
More silence until Raph tilts his chair back, rocking it onto the back two legs. "Yeah, okay." He finally agrees softly. "I feel bad I haven't been helping Mike much. I just don't want Leo to wake up alone, y'know?" He admits, letting his chair fall back down with a thump. Donnie had originally thought his hunched shoulders were rooted in annoyance over being bothered but he could see now it was actually guilt. "Just make sure you're doing compassionate care, not empathetic."
Donnie squints his eyes at the suggestion, not understanding what Raph was implying. "What do you mean?"
"It means you're being nice to Mikey without relating to him. The second you start feeling empathy, you're going to burn out." Raph briefly eyes the bags on Donnie's face before turning back to his breakfast. "You already look burned out anyways though."
Donnie frowns at Raph's observation, reaching up to feel the bumps under his eyes. Between stressing about Leo and Mikey and also making sure Mikey didn't run out on them, he was getting even less sleep than usual. "Where'd you learn all that?"
Raph shrugs. "I did some research on being a care provider and found out about caregiver burnout and stuff. Someone has to look after Leo when he wakes up. Coma patients can't be independent for a few weeks - he's gonna have atrophy and probably can't even bear weight for a while. Even when he wakes up, I'll still be wiping his ass for a few weeks. It's easier when he's unconscious because he's definitely going to bitch and moan about it when he's conscious." Donnie couldn't tell if the last line was a joke or not, but regardless he was grateful for what Raph has done for Leo so far. Mikey couldn't handle seeing Leo motionless and cold in the tub and bodily fluid - especially bodily fluid coming from the lower ends - just made Donnie's skin crawl.
"Thank you by the way. For the Leo things." Donnie adds, Raph grunting in reply.
"Thank Casey, too. Moving and cleaning Leo is a two person job." Raph reminds Donnie as he finishes his breakfast and dumps the dishes in the sink. As he's about to leave, Mikey enters and Raph claps a hand on his shoulder. "I'm spending the next few nights with you so pick some good movies, okay?" He comments casually before leaving. The smile that spreads across Mikey's face made Donnie realise that maybe the break would benefit Mikey too.
《{•}》
A month and a half into Leo's coma, Mikey goes missing.
The sun had come up and Donnie was forced awake by pounding on the door and April frantically calling his name, peeling his face off his desk and grimacing at the drool left behind on his paper. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he opened the door and April immediately blurted out the news. Sleep still clung to his mind and it takes a second for realisation to sink in and panic erupt inside of him. "What?!"
"Casey woke up and he was gone!" April explains and Donnie could hear Casey and Raph yelling Mikey's name in the distance. Casey's voice was just as panicked as Donnie felt, and anger seethed underneath. Donnie squeezes his eyes shut, pinching between his brows and pushes the frustration from his mind. Casey was tired - from dealing with Mikey and helping Raph with caring for Leo and working odd jobs around the town. He couldn't blame him for catching up on sleep and not hearing Mikey leaving their room. "He doesn't have his T-Phone either - we have no idea where he is or how far he went -"
"Okay, it's..." Donnie almost said it was fine. It was not fine. For all they knew, Mikey could have walked right off a cliff or fell into a stream. He could be miles away by now. Mikey was lost and it was not fine. "It's fixable." Donnie finally settles on instead. "If you see Casey before I do, let him know this isn't his fault. We just have to keep searching the woods and hopefully he'll hear us. Mikey isn't stupid."
The sun was setting when Donnie found his first clue for Mikey's whereabouts. Blood the same colour as the sky shimmered on crushed white flowers, about 26 miles from the farmhouse. It created a trail for Donnie to follow that left him equal parts grateful and horrified. Donnie manages to catch up to Mikey a few minutes later, still following the bloody trail with his heart in his throat and his brother is limping through the trees. Donnie doesn't care about the pain in his feet from walking for so long or how much his throat burns from screaming Mikey's name - he doesn't even care about the branches that had hit him while he rushed haphazardly through the foliage to catch Mikey.
It takes too long for Mikey to register that someone was shaking him, eyes focused on something Donnie could not see until they lazily turned towards him, blinking a few times in fatigue before Mikey's face suddenly crumpled up and he collapsed to the ground. He was the one screaming now, legs shaking in exhaustion from being overworked and soles ripped to shreds and the source of the bleeding. Donnie had to yell into his T-Phone to be heard over Mikey's wailing, his younger brother crying out in confusion and fear. He still hadn't settled by the time Raph catches up to them and only cries harder when they try to stand him up, knees buckling beneath them. Mikey couldn't recall anything that occurred after saying goodnight to Casey, but it was clear he had been walking non-stop for hours, slowed only by his injuries. A small part of Donnie whispered that Mikey might have walked himself into Death's waiting arms had he not been found and Donnie believed it. Raph and Donnie had to take turns carrying Mikey home, the youngest clinging to their backs like he used to do as an enfant as his feet dripped blood to the ground.
His tears had dried by the time the farmhouse came into view, but the shaking in his legs did not cease, even as Donnie cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Casey had apologised profusely the entire time Donnie was treating Mikey, but it only seemed to stress Mikey more, the turtle's shoulders hunching in as looks to be on the verge of crying again. Donnie manages to signal to Casey to stop it and he instantly clams up, Mikey relaxing slightly under the silence.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." Mikey manages to push out through a scratchy voice. He accepts the water Casey offers and it eases some tension from between Casey's eyes. Whatever stress remained seemed to ooze away when Donnie echoed Mikey's words.
Mikey was too exhausted to even argue when Donnie told him it was time to sleep, but before he could leave the room, a hand grabs his and Mikey pleads for him to not leave him. The bottom bunk was not built for two, but they make it work, Mikey's bandaged feet brushing against Donnie's shins. Mikey repeats his request again, voice sleepy now and Donnie responds back with a single word.
Never .
The next morning, Donnie almost trips on April sleeping in the hallway and he finds Raph awake by the staircase. They don't exchange anything beyond a glance, but Donnie knows what Raph is suggesting and he asks Casey to set it up.
Donnie averts his gaze whenever he passes the room now, the bolt on the outside of the door making him feel sick to his stomach.
《{•}》
As much as Donnie hates it, the lock works. Mikey kicks at the door throughout the night, but gives up easily. One time he managed to escape through the window, and another lock was placed on the outside of the building. His feet heal, but his mind doesn't and the screams continue throughout the night.
《{•}》
"I don't know what's going on with him." Donnie admits in defeat, scribbling away at another chemical formula for a potential medication. The pencil in his hand snaps under the pressure from his grip, Donnie growling in frustration and slamming it on the table. "His vitals have all increased drastically, he's sleep walking and trying to go into woods, and everytime I stop him he pitches into a panic attack! There's a lot of stress and that can trigger all these things but at the same time, Mikey has the best stress regulation out of all of us! He's never acted like this ever !"
"Yeah, I can tell you all suck at stress regulation." Casey comments, eyeing the broken pencil on the desk. Donnie bites back a venomous reply, satisfying his frustration instead by crumpling up the paper in front of him and tossing it into the garbage can with more force than necessary. "Sleepwalking runs in my family, dude. I used to piss in closets as a kid and Angel had a habit of trying to leave the apartment - we grew out of it. Besides, the lock works, right? He hadn't been able to leave his room at night and despite how angry he gets during those hours at it being locked, he's fine in the morning and understands why we did it. We did the same thing to Angel's door when my dad found her digging through the knife shelf at 3 am."
"But why is Mikey growing into it?!" Donnie snaps. "None of us have a history of sleepwalking. Nightmares and night terrors, yes, but not sleep walking."
"Maybe it's not a human problem." April suggests from his other side. "I mean, you are part turtle right? What if this is a turtle thing."
"... do turtles sleepwalk?" Casey questions, and Donnie elects to ignore it, mulling over April's words as he stares at the blank paper before him.
They spend a few more hours with him, the conversations more between the pair than all three as Donnie picks at both the Leo and Mikey issue again. The latter wanders in as darkness falls over the home, sheepishly letting them know he was ready to go to bed. April and Casey both bid Donnie a goodnight (not without suggesting he go to bed as well) and leave him to his thoughts.
On a whim, he decides to review his own DNA alongside Leo's. Some part of him thinks he just wants a change from focusing on the same two turtles, another part chalks it up to needing a stable variant - or as stable as he could consider himself to be.
It takes an embarrassingly long amount of time for him to realise that his DNA had no similarities to Leo's.
Donnie could pick apart the human genes - he knew what made his brothers bipedal and gave them the ability to talk - but he could not pick apart the turtle genes. They did not match any turtle building blocks, instead they created a unique strand that essentially created an entire new species.
They were a new and completely different species of turtle.
《{•}》
"You have box shell DNA." Donnie explains after swabbing samples from his remaining brothers. Once he was able to break apart his and Leo's genetic coding, Mikey and Raph were easy and he finally found his answer for Mikey's new and deadly habit.
Mikey's face seems to scrunch up at that, confusion flitting across his face. "We all do, but you have it more . When I cross referenced all of our DNA samples, I noticed there was an unequal division - we're split three ways, not two. My computer was able to determine what percent of us is human - which ranges between 47 to 58 percent with me being the least human and Leo being the most. The other percentage was turtle. That's all the computer could tell me - it was unable to differentiate what species, just that we have the building blocks of a turtle. So I did research on the pet store we were bought from and they sell red eared sliders, diamondback terrapin and boxshells. And then through research, I was able to find some unique trait each species has and which one more strongly relates to us individually. We don't possess any traits of a red eared slider - but you and Raph can fully pull into your shells like box shells. I have the eyesight of a box shell turtle which allows me to have better vision than you all in the dark, and then with diamondbacks, Leo has webbed hands and feet. It's not super noticeable, but it's there and so do I." Donnie explains, gently taking Mikey's hand so he can show the difference. He spreads out their fingers, and while Mikey's were fully separated, there was webbing between Donnie's that extended to the end of his proximal phalange. The webbing was flexible, able to lay flush against his fingers when tied and provide no discomfort so he never really picked up on it until now.
"I think Splinter bought two of each, and since we had contact with humans and contact with each other, we ended up mutating with all three which is what gives us some more unique traits. You and Leo love water and can hold your breaths for an ungodly amount of time - diamondback. Raph and I can't handle getting wet - box shell. The genes mixed together so much that it really doesn't matter much, but in your case, the box shell genes are stronger than the diamondback terrapin and that's the root of your sleepwalking."
"Do box shells... sleepwalk?" Mikey questions, still visibly confused as he tries to pick through all the new information Donnie presented him with.
"No, not... not really." Donnie corrects, scratching his arm nervously. "Us moving here is the equivalent of taking a turtle out of its habitat. Usually, it triggers stress but oftentimes turtles adapt fairly quickly and resume their natural instincts. Box Shells don't do that. The stress of change get's so bad for them that they will wander until they die. So you sleepwalking into the woods and not stopping even though you ripped the skin of your feet and couldn't stand up anymore were your turtle genes forcing you to wander until you either return to your old habitat or die."
Silence greets Donnie after the explanation. He faced problems with logic and facts, laying out the solutions as bluntly as he can to ensure no confusion or miscommunication. It hurt sometimes, like when he said it may be weeks before Leo would wake up and Raph had turned cold and unreachable or when he told Mikey that the odds of Splinter surviving were miniscule and he heard crying seeping through closed doors shortly afterwards. He always felt sick afterwards, more so when he realised his words had brought harm to those he loved and he feared Mikey's reaction to this news the most. How does one handle the knowledge of knowing they were attempting to die?
"So I'm trying to kill myself?" Mikey asks. "I'm just going to keep walking until I die?"
"The lock is working." Donnie says weakly, trying to shed any positive light on the situation. "As long as you stay in the room, you can't wander. So you're safe."
"But I'm not better." Mikey argues, but there was no bite behind his words. Instead, he just sounded defeated. His eyes drop to his scarred feet, and Donnie could only describe his appearance as being exhausted . His round cheeks were abnormally sunken in and his skin had turned a few shades paler. "I'm not better, Dee."
And then Mikey breaks.
He screams, voice brittle and weak as tears run down his face. It was exhaustion, and frustration, and anger, and grief all rolled into one wavering cry. It wasn't just the sleepwalking destroying his younger brother - it was the unknown. It was not knowing if Leo would wake up, it was not knowing if their father was even alive and it was not knowing what state New York would be in when they returned.
It was not knowing if they even would be able to return.
Donnie had one brother physically shattered in the farmhouse - shell cracked like a mirror and scars spreading like lightning bolts - but he had another brother mentally shattering in his arms and Donnie did not know what was worse.
Later, the shattered brothers were together. Donnie could hear Mikey speaking in a hushed tone through the chipped washroom door. Raph's gruff voice shortly followed whatever Mikey said and Donnie just managed to piece together something about rage .
Raph knew rage. He knew all the dark and sometimes ugly emotions that can grip onto a person and hiss in their ears. Donnie knew rage too, but he did not know how to speak about it. Raph would help.
Donnie could not.
Donnie learned he did not like being unable to help.
《{•}》
"So in the newest episode of Crognard, Crognard and Spooch get separated from the team and have to work their way back to everyone - we get more of Spooch's backstory which was cool -" Mikey rambles, kicking his feet from where he sits on the bed. Donnie hums from his spot on the floor, laptop balanced delicately on his lap as he typed away about his most recent findings about mutagen. His eyes darted to the clock clicking away at the bottom of his screen, frown deepening as it grew closer to Mikey's bedtime.
Despite it being a few weeks now since they placed the lock on the bedroom door Donnie still felt uncomfortable about it. He knew logically it made sense - he could see Mikey's soles as his feet swung and the scars that still remained from his death walk - but another part just felt like he was treating Mikey like some animal that needed to be placed in a cage. They were already mutant turtles and he knew how much Mikey struggled with the non-human side of himself; locking him up just seemed to solidify what they were.
Mikey's voice trails off, the story dwindling to a halt before he sighs. "It's fine, Donnie. Really. I get it."
Of course he knows what I'm feeling. Stupid empathy.
"That doesn't suddenly make me feel alright about it." Donnie responds back sourly, slamming his laptop shut. "I don't like... Locking you up." He explains, tapping his fingers on his laptop. There had to be a better way to solve the problem, a solution that doesn't result with dried blood on the door and Mikey's frustrated screams howling through the house. Donnie is supposed to be smart enough - he's the one with all the solutions but he didn't have anything to solve this. "What did you do in Dimension X? You were somewhere new - you should have been sleepwalking there too."
Mikey squints, rubbing his chin as he thinks. He shrugs after a few seconds of heavy silence, returning to swinging his feet against the bed. "I dunno. In the rare moments I could sleep, I did wake up somewhere new. I just thought it was the islands shifting or something. It did stop though once Leatherhead was watching me and he never mentioned me sleep walking. Maybe I was just too tired to do it?"
Donnie considers Mikey's words, rolling the new information over in his head. "You didn't sleepwalk when I slept with you. What about when Raph spent the night?"
Mikey shrugs, picking at his blanket. "I don't think I did - Raph never mentioned anything. I did have a nightmare once, but he helped me calm down before I could freak out and start kicking things." The last portion was said in a way to be joking, but the humour sounded flat to Donnie's ears. "You probably have to get back to work and I'm tired. Let's just get this over with." He rolls over pulling the blanket over his shell and facing his back to Donnie.
Donnie sees the hunch in Mikey's shoulders and knows his brother is on the verge of tears. He was trying to act like it did not bother him, but Donnie knew all of Mikey's silent indicators and he was not alright with it. Donnie looks back down at his screen, mutagen formulas calling to him to solve them and decides to ignore it for once. His laptop closes with a gentle click and Mikey's shoulders grow higher as he prepares for what comes next.
"Why don't I stay here for the night?" Donnie suggests, and Mikey rolls over with wide and bright eyes.
"Really?" He asks, and his voice was full of so much hope that Donnie feels another crack grow in his already broken heart. "Who's going to lock the door then?"
Donnie shakes his head, pulling up the covers so he can crawl in beside Mikey. They had moved the bunk bed after Mikey started sleeping alone, replacing it with a larger bed for him that allowed them more room together. Despite the space it offered, Donnie was only slightly annoyed by Mikey somehow managing to dominate over half of the mattress. "No one. I don't think you'll sleepwalk tonight."
Mikey grows silent, and Donnie wonders if he has already fallen asleep. It wouldn't surprise him, but his voice suddenly fills the space again. "Why not?"
The hope is replaced by hesitance that causes another crack to grow. There were glow-in-the-dark stars scattered on the ceiling, the glow gone as it had faded long ago. April doesn't remember putting them up and Donnie always wondered who did - what child slept in this room before them? Did they also have nightmares, silly dreams about shadows and monsters? Or did they have that peace that always seemed to evade his family? "Box shells wander because they are looking for home. They know they have been displaced and are seeking familiarity. They die on that quest." Donnie pauses, knowing the last sentence would weigh heavy in the air and almost regretted saying it. "You were walking to New York. You always walked the same path on the field and woods. You were trying to go home, but you don't sleepwalk when Raph or I are nearby. You are a materialistic person, Mikey." Donnie says, thinking about the collection of toys, comics and games Mikey would hoard in his room. He placed value on physical things despite Splinter's teachings, crying as a kid the time he ripped his stuffed elephant by accident.
But he was also emotional, and despite this not being their home, Mikey tried his best to make it. He had found a way to make their favourite foods and tacked blurry photos over picture frames of families who once lived there. He somehow managed to find a perfect match to their fraying blanket left behind at the lair and kept messaging April and Casey all the books he knew his brothers would read to fill the shelves. Mikey made this a home with the little they had, and Donnie now knows what drove him to do it.
"We're your home. Me, Raph and Leo. Splinter too if he was here. You don't sleepwalk with me and Raph because you feel like you are home." Donnie could tell by the silence that Mikey was mulling over his words and he knew why. It wasn't his usual hypothesis or explanation. It was based on emotion only, a handful of straws that could easily be blown away if he woke up to Mikey missing. There was no logic to his words, just pure hope.
Which was what Mikey was made of, so maybe it was just logical enough for him.
"That makes sense." Mikey finally responds, his voice gentle and sleepy. His head rests on Donnie's shoulder, arms wrapped around his own in a tight hug. Donnie thinks Mikey could also be part octopus or squid with how he hugged. "'Night, Dee."
"Goodnight, Mika."
《{•}》
When Donnie wakes up, he finds Mikey's side of the bed empty and cold.
It takes a second for realisation to set in and he bolts up, panic erupting so violently inside of him that he feels like he's going to be sick. Light streams through the white curtains, reflecting off the hardwood floor as the afternoon approaches. How long was he asleep?! When did Mikey start sleepwalking?! He could be out of reach by now! He should not have based his hypothesis on emotions, he should have locked the door anyways regardless of how much it hurt him because that would heal with time - but Mikey dying would never leave. He trips on his rush out the door, face knocking against the frame as he almost misses brightly coloured paper pinned to the back of the door.
His eyes scan it so fast that the words blur, Donnie unsure if it was from the speed or the tears growing in his eyes. The only thing he's able to make out is Mikey's scribbled signature at the bottom and skateboard and it eases his nerves enough to breathe. Mikey wouldn't be able to write or draw while sleepwalking so obviously he was conscious enough to do that task. Donnie rubs his eyes, rereading the note now that his nerves have settled. It said that Mikey did try waking Donnie up but he refused to rouse despite his efforts so Mikey left him to continue resting. He was safe and downstairs making breakfast and to join them when Donnie was ready. In brackets he included a promise to save a batch of blueberry pancakes for him in case he slept for an entire week.
Donnie slides down, shell to the wall as he grips the paper tightly in his hands. Mikey was safe, Mikey was alright and Mikey slept for the first time in weeks. There was no blood on the door or walls from him trying to kick it open, no claw marks on the window frame from him trying to pry it and no one screaming and howling in pain and frustration. They would need more trials, more testing before he was comfortable enough to believe his theory, but it worked . Donnie was home for Mikey so Mikey had no reason to try and find him.
When he calmed himself enough to go downstairs, he found far too many pancakes in a wide variety of flavours and everyone but Leo downstairs enjoying the warm afternoon. Mikey was smiling and his face was bright; there was still a shadow hanging over him, there since Leo crashed through the window, but he was happy and it didn't look forced or fake.
Raph and Donnie continued to trade off and whenever they were with Mikey, he stayed home. There were nightmares still, but Donnie woke up sometimes to a racing heart and darting eyes and it was those nights he was happy Mikey was beside him. Sometimes they wanted a break and the lock was used. Those nights were hard, with Mikey howls coming back and Donnie needing to wrap his toes and fingers come morning, but they were rare now and Mikey still smiled despite it all.
It was when Leo finally woke up that things changed. The oldest was bed bound for a few days while he healed, exactly like Raph predicted and he had no complaints about Mikey being glued to his side. It was obvious that Mikey was healing by being close to Leo once again and the oldest was feeling the same way as well. The shadows disappeared from under his eyes and his features rounded out once again.
There were no incidents of sleepwalking after that.
They returned to find their physical home overrun, forced to once again flee to a new place and Donnie's fears for Mikey's condition returned. His brothers were ready though and kept him safe, like they always promised to do.
Six months later they returned and were embraced by a furry hug and Donnie knew they were whole again.
Raph collapses face first on the couch, a new scar across his shell that Donnie caught Splinter eyeing with fatherly concern. "It is great to be home." He admits, voice muffled from where it presses into the cushions.
He squawks when Mikey launches onto his shell, the youngest giggling in malice intent. "As long as we're together, I think everything will be okay. Turtle luck, bro."
There were still scars on the soles of his feet, and his fingers had grooves and cracks that would not fade anytime soon. The farmhouse still had the lock on the door, but it was so rusted by the time they returned that Donnie could get the bolt to budge. Mikey had a shadow, as they all did, that seemed to grow as time passed but they grew too and it became more manageable. He still had a fake smile, however it appeared less now.
Mikey was safe, Donnie's family was together again and he was home.