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“I'm not sick, Mikey, so you can just cut it out!” Raphael protests. His protest is weakened by the pathetic sounding cough that ekes its way out of his body.
“But Klunk wants to hang out with you! You don't want to disappoint this cute little kitty, do ya?” Michelangelo asks, waving the orange little furball in Raphael’s face.
Klunk swats at Raphael’s face and he growls at her.
“Hey, hey!” Michelangelo says, pulling Klunk back to his chest. “Be nice to her! She just wants to help you feel better.”
“That little furball started it! And for the last time, I'm not sick!” Raphael yells before letting out a huge sneeze, just like he’s been doing all week.
Before Michelangelo can say anything, Raphael turns and stalks away.
“Don't worry about it, Klunk. We'll help him out anyway,” Michelangelo assures her as he scratches her behind the ears.
Klunk just mewls in response, which Michelangelo takes as a whole hearted endorsement of his plan.
“Wait! Wait! Where are you going?” Michelangelo yells as he sees Raphael heading towards an exit sewer. He smoothly slides between Raphael and his exit.
“I'm hooking up with Casey. He's got something he wants to show me,” Raphael says gruffly. “Why?”
“You can't go out when you're sick! When you're sick it's the perfect time to watch Star Wars or catch up on comics!” Michelangelo says. That’s what he always does; it’s also a great excuse to not train so much.
“I'm not sick, you bozo,” Raphael says. “Now out of the way.”
“Raaaaaph,” Michelangelo whines, “c’mon and watch the trilogy with me. I got pizza!”
“You always got pizza. Now I gotta get to Case’s,” Raphael says, shoving Michelangelo out of the way. The exertion makes him cough.
“See!” Michelangelo says gleefully. “You totally are sick! Probably with the uh turtle flu. Which is super dangerous to humans so you should stay away from Casey until you're better!”
Of course, Michelangelo was making the turtle flu up, but he knows that if he can't get Raphael to care for himself, he can get him to care about someone else at least.
Sure enough, Raphael pauses. “Turtle flu?”
“Yeah!” Michelangelo exclaims before realizing that he has to persuade Raphael all the way now. “For turtles it's just coughing and stuff, but for humans their skin gets all green and falls off. Turtle flu, duh.”
“And how do you know all that?” Raphael says skeptically.
“Uh, Leo mentioned it once and it sounded gross,” Michelangelo says. “So that's why I was paying attention.”
Raphael is looking at him hard and Michelangelo tries to look like he knows what he's talking about.
“I don't usually like to play it safe, but I guess Casey needs his skin,” Raphael says.
Michelangelo tries not to look too relieved. “So you'll stay and watch Star Wars?”
“Yeah, yeah, don't get too excited about it,” Raphael says, heading back towards their home. “And don't forget the chow.”
It only takes about half an hour for Raphael to pass out on the couch once he finishes eating, which is even quicker than Michelangelo had figured. It’s good, though, because it means that Michelangelo can bundle him up tight. His stubborn brother had resolutely refused even a blanket to keep warm, insisting that he was totally fine, even though the sewer is chilly.
But Michelangelo is gonna fix that! He grabs the knapsack that he had stashed under the couch before Raphael showed up and pulls out the first item: a scarf.
Very carefully, Michelangelo wraps the scarf around Raphael’s neck. He makes sure it’s not too tight, so he doesn’t wake Raphael up. It’ll keep him warm, though.
Next is the hat, which is a little trickier because Raphael’s fat head is leaning against the couch. However, the way of the ninja is stealth and care, or something like that, probably, and Michelangelo manages to maneuver the hat onto his brother’s head to keep his normally hot headed brother warm.
The last thing from the knapsack is the big blanket, big enough to keep both of them warm. It’s a little worn with a few holes here and there, but Michelangelo is still fond of it- when they were little Master Splinter used to wrap all four of them up in it.
The finishing touch is, of course, Klunk, who Michelangelo places on Raphael’s shoulder. She’s super warm, especially when he gets sick, so Michelangelo figures she’ll be able to help.
“You be good now, okay, Klunk?” Michelangelo whispers.
She meows at him.
“I know, but he’s my brother,” Michelangelo replies.
Klunk circles on Raphael’s shoulder a few times before curling up, purring gently.
Now, Michelangelo is satisfied that he’s taken the best care of Raphael he can, and he gets back to watching Star Wars.
“Mikey…” A low growl comes from beside him.
“Shhhh,” Michelangelo shushes, mouthing ‘I know’ along with Han Solo.
“Don’t shush me! What’s goin’ on here?” Raphael protests.
“Keeping you warm, duh,” Michelangelo says, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“I’m gonna knock you in the back of the head for this,” Raphael says, coughing a little and then yawning. “But later. After Return of the Jedi.”
Michelangelo struggles against making a snappy retort- he’s got Raphael warm and resting, just like he’s supposed to be, and he doesn’t want to ruin it.
It’s a nice afternoon, turtle flu and all.