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Sometimes, when Huey got too into his own head and Dewey got so obsessed with standing out, Louie had to step up as oldest brother. Cause while that was officially Huey's title, they were triplets and they swapped titles constantly. That was to say, he was good at being the oldest brother when he had to be. And that was something he took comfort in. He liked being able to help his brothers, he liked that they were able to rely on him, he loved that they trusted him enough to let him take that role when he needed to.
If there was one thing Huey was known for it wasn't letting someone else take control of a situation. If there was one thing Dewey was known for it wasn't letting someone get in his way when he really wanted something. So the fact that they listened to him during those times meant a lot to him.
But, that was just how they were really. Most of the time he and Dewey listened to Huey when they were struggling, but when he and Louie were out of commission it fell on Dewey to take charge. The three of them trusted each other, more than anyone else in the whole world. That didn't change the fact that Louie felt special whenever he was the oldest brother, as he knew his brothers did as well. That didn't change the fact that it was a hard thing to be.
Look, Louie loved his brothers more than anything, and he would always be there for them no matter how many times he had to be. But having no one to fall back on could be difficult. Making sure he was saying and doing the right things took more thought than he wanted when all he wanted was to wrap them up and make whatever was bothering them go away. He liked being vindictive and spiteful, and he couldn't do that when he was taking care of them because he would never turn that side of himself on them. But it was a needed side and it was especially needed when they were wronged.
The three of them didn't work if Louie couldn't have his dark side. There would be no one looking out for danger or being skeptic of things and they would get into a lot more trouble than they did. He knew that. His brothers knew that. Hell, even his family knew that! So that was why he was the oldest the least. That was why when Huey and Dewey were spiraling at the same time it could get bad.
He didn't know how it happened, and he didn't care really, all he cared about was that his brothers were currently unresponsive. They were conscious, thank god, but they weren't moving or responding to anything. Frankly, it was terrifying.
They had been gone on some adventure Louie had no interest in going on and so he stayed behind. He shouldn't have stayed behind. Usually, he would've gone anyways- to look after them, but they had assured him they would be okay. They thought he had been pushing himself too hard lately and that he deserved a break, he didn't see it but they had been persistent and he didn't want it to turn into a fight. He should've let it turn into a fight.
But now wasn't the time to think about what if's. Now was the time for action.
First, he had to make sure the others didn't crowd them. They were concerned but overbearing. Thankfully, he always had help with this step. As a kid he could really only do so much so it often fell on Uncle Donald to make sure they stayed away. And as he handled that Louie moved on to his next step: reassurances. It was hard when he didn't know what was wrong but never let it be said he always did the easy thing. He told them over and over again that they were okay, that they were safe, that whatever happened was over now. They responded to that.
It wasn't with words but he could see the life slowly start to reenter them, hanging onto his every word. He kept repeating those words until they gripped onto his hands. Now the third step, asking what they needed, what he could do to make things better. This was a hard thing to ask when they weren't talking but he knew how to read them like the back of his hand.
The answer was simple, stay.
Stay. He could do that, he would do that, no matter how long it took. He wasn't leaving their sides until they were better.
Uncle Donald brought them something to eat and drink, and since they could no longer hold hands they sat squished together on the couch. Louie would've asked their Uncle what happened but he had stayed behind too. The only people that knew weren't allowed in the room or weren't talking. This, was going to be a hard one. Louie was undeterred.
His brothers were silent all through dinner, and while the four of them were watching TV, and Louie knew his final step would have to wait. But it usually did so he wasn't too bothered, and even if he was he would still wait. He would never rush them with stuff like this, just as they wouldn't him. No, he knew it would be a while before they were ready to talk, that this time was particularly bad. He just wished he could make it better for them.
Being the oldest, he never said he didn't get the instinct.
Without a word it was decided that the triplets would camp out in Dewey's bed that night. Huey's was too close to the ceiling, which meant the two of them had probably been trapped somewhere, and Louie's was too easy to fall out of, which didn't need an explanation. Plus, Dewey's was the best to make a fort from. Which fell upon Louie to do, and which he did without complaint.
Normally he would at least a little, but these were special circumstances. And sure, it was harder to do by himself, but his brothers deserved to rest. It took a lot to get them unresponsive, they must be exhausted. He knew he would be by the end of this.
The good kind, though. The kind you got from taking care of someone you loved.
Louie fell back onto Dewey's bed with a groan once he was done setting up the fort, making his brothers giggle. And that, well how could he not be happy hearing that, even at his own expense? He would forever deny the grin that popped up on his face, but few could make him smile in the way his brothers could. Even in times like this. Maybe because of times like this, it wasn't like anyone else could get them to laugh right now. But he was getting off track, it was time for his final step:
Getting them to open up. This was always the hardest step, cause who liked talking about heavy stuff? It would be even harder since they weren't talking, but he had to at least try.
"Do you, want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly.
"Not tonight, Louie." Huey said tiredly. The first words either of them had spoken since they got back. He was so relieved that it mostly cancelled out his worry. Mostly. But he wouldn't push it. Not even if they were usually ready to open up by now. Whatever this was, whatever happened... It had really gotten to them.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Because if he had been there it wouldn't have happened, because he would've seen it coming and done something about it. This wasn't his fault, but it sure felt like it was.
Dewey shook his head and pulled him up between him and Huey. "Don't say that. It was a good thing you stayed behind, trust me," He paused. "We should've stayed too." And that, well he couldn't really argue with that.
"What happened, happened. We just have to move forward now." Right, no what ifs. Only action.
Louie grabbed his brothers' hand and felt them squeeze his. They would get through this, he'd make sure of it.
No matter how long it took.
He was surprised the three of them were able to fall asleep, he wasn't surprised when they woke up. Something had his right hand in a vice grip and he instantly recognized it as Dewey's hand, looked like he found the culprit then. Both of them turned to Huey to see if he woke up too to find him already staring at Dewey. Dewey sighed.
"Sorry, nightmare." He said softly. As if they couldn't have guessed that. As if that was something that needed an apology.
"No sorry's." Louie groggily chided. "Not about this. What... what happened today?" He tried to wake himself up, in the hopes they were ready to talk now. Either way, he didn't think any of them were going back to bed tonight. Which sucked, but what could you do?
"Can't we just watch a movie or something?" Dewey weakly asked. Okay... that was... interesting. But Dewey did tend to avoid things. Still... no, no he still shouldn't push it. Even if the fact they hadn't said anything by now was very worrying. He would leave it alone tonight. What a mistake that would turn out to be.
But for now they would watch Ghilbi movies and playfully tease each other when they cried at the sad parts. For now, things were okay. For now, Louie could relax and put down the older brother role. Not that he would. But he would lay there with his brothers, he would always do that.
Nothing really changed in the next few days, his brothers started talking more but that was about it. And it was never about what happened. It worried Louie more than he cared to admit. It was like them not to tell the others, it wasn't like them to not tell him. They told each other everything, and the one time they didn't... Well, they didn't like to dwell on that. But this wasn't like that, he wouldn't let it be. It was time to start pushing.
Gently pushing.
"I really think you would feel better if you talked about what happened." Louie told Dewey after he jumped for the millionth time that day. Dewey looked away from him and he sighed. "Look, I don't wanna force you but you're not okay." He looked at Huey, who had been watching them from their desk. "Neither of you are. I'm worried." They softened up but still didn't say anything. And, look, he has never been the eldest triplet this long, he was starting to get out of his depth here. He wasn't proud of what he said next. "I don't understand why you can't just tell me!"
"We don't have to tell you everything, Louie!" Huey shot back then promptly clasped a hand over his mouth. And in theory that was true, they didn't technically owe each other anything, but they did anyways cause that was just how they were. Louie didn't know why this time was different. "Let us work through this on our own, okay?" He asked softer, and Louie could never deny his brothers anything, even if he thought it was a terrible idea. So he agreed.
He kept agreeing, kept letting them try to heal themselves, until he couldn't. Until Huey got sent to their room for yelling at their Uncle and Dewey didn't protest it like he did every time Louie or Huey got in trouble. Until Louie realized what a stupid idea it was to give them space when that was obviously the last thing they needed. Enough was enough, they had to confront this.
It was best to go to Huey first, Louie decided, since they were sort-of-not-really-but-kinda fighting. He had to fix that before getting either of them to talk. But when he got to their room his approach changed, Huey... he looked like he was two seconds from falling apart. He had to let Huey come to him. So he went over to his bed and got on his phone instead.
After some time he heard footsteps walk over to him and looked up, "Hey, Huey." Louie gave him a sad smile. "You don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." Cause he didn't really, Louie was the one who didn't know what gentle meant.
Huey sat next to him and grabbed his hand. "You didn't either. You were just trying to look out for us, you're always trying to look out for us."
"Glad someone finally noticed." Louie lightly replied, trying to play it off as a joke.
"We've always noticed." But of course Huey saw through it. "This isn't something Dewey and I can get through on our own, is it?" Louie shook his head sadly. Huey tightened his grip on his hand. "Okay. Okay, let's do this right then."
Huey texted Dewey to come up and the two of them sat in silence as they waited for him, exchanging weak smiles and reassuring hand squeezes. Their door opened and Dewey immediately asked Huey if he was okay, or, "Okay as you can be right now?" Huey just gestured for him to join them on the bed.
"We need to talk about it." He told him as soon as he did, not specifying what he was referring to. "We can't keep doing this to ourselves, to our family. It's not fair, it's not healthy." And if Louie were a bit more vindictive he would've spoke up and agreed, but he knew it wouldn't help anything. They were opening up now, hopefully, and he wouldn't do anything to ruin that. He messed up once, he wouldn't again.
Dewey looked at Louie then back at Huey, as if asking 'are you sure?' Huey nodded. "Then I guess we're doing this." He said unsurely. Louie and Huey grabbed his hands and squeezed them. "We should start by saying why we've been so hesitant to talk about it. A lot happened that day, but the reason we were like that was because, we got shown our worst fears." Louie felt himself freeze at that, of all the things... that hadn't even been on the list of possibilities. No wonder they had been acting so weird. That, wow.
"We got separated from the others and ended up in an antechamber, there was some kind of artifact in it and it made those fears tangible. And seeing them... being forced to deal with them... It was hard. We've been trying to wrap our heads around it but we just keep getting stuck." Huey explained and without even needing to think about it Louie threw himself at them in a hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." An understatement. Louie wanted to go to Dimminster and destroy that artifact himself, destroy the whole temple if it meant his brothers would be okay again. Hell, he wanted to destroy it just for making them like this. But he wouldn't, he was the oldest right now, that side of him had to wait.
Words, he had to find the right words. He was usually good with that, but what could he say right now? Well, he probably had some idea of what those fears were, he had them too. "I don't know what you guys saw, but I can guess. And, I mean, you know there's nothing that can separate us permanently, right?" He looked at Huey, "You won't ever have to be alone." He looked at Dewey, "There's nothing you can do to make us hate you." He looked at both of them, "Okay? Those fears... there's no weight to them. They're not real. They never will be."
Please let those be the right words.
It was their turn to hug him and he breathed out a sigh of relief. "How do you always know what to say?" Dewey softly asked him.
"It's a gift." He paused. "I just know you guys is all."
Huey pressed his head against his, "And that's definitely a good thing. Thanks for making us confront this, Louie. It doesn't fix everything, but it's a good start." And sometimes, that was all you could take. Louie smiled and pulled his brothers close to him. Maybe he could be the oldest a bit longer.