Chapter Text
He didn't know what was happening.
One minute Mikey was sitting in the living room with his family watching TV, the next he was in the kitchen to grab a snack but instead found himself staring at the fridge, feeling like he was dying.
He felt frozen in his spot. His breathing felt heavy and his chest felt tight.
Mikey looked down and saw his hands were trembling and the words 'sit down' flashed in his mind just in time, as as soon as he sat down a wave of dizziness washed over him.
'What happened?'
The voices from the living room were becoming quiet, muffled, but his heartbeat was becoming louder and faster. It felt like it was pounding in his ears.
They were only watching a movie, he was fine, what happened?
Mikey sat there, trying to remember what caused this to happen but his brain felt too loud, too anxious to properly think about it.
He didn't know how long he was sitting there for staring into the ground.
He didn't realize when he started tapping his foot anxiously or when he started squeezing his arms hard enough that they were starting to ache.
"Mikey?"
He didn't notice when Donnie walked into the kitchen.
"Are you okay?"
He didn't notice his when other brothers paused the movie to see what was happening.
Mikey didn't look up. He kept looking down but it felt like he wasn't actually seeing anything in front of him.
"Shit, I think he's having a panic attack." Donnie mumbled. His purple cladded brother knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The small touch was enough to get him to look at his brother who was staring back at him with his usual calm demeanor but he could see the worry in his eyes.
"Can you hear me Mikey?" Donnie asked gently and Mikey was able to at least nod his head.
"Okay, I want you to try something with me." Donnie shifted so he was in front of his younger brother now.
"We're going to do a breathing exercise. Try to follow what I'm doing." Mikey's grip on his arms didn't loosen and he was sure he was still shaking in his seat.
"Take a deep breath and count to four." Donnie mimicked what he was saying by taking in a deep breath, and Mikey tried to do the same, taking in his own shaky breath and counting to four in his head.
"Let it out and count to four, and do it again." He followed Donnie's instructions. Breathing out for four, breathing in for four, over and over until he started to calm down.
"Feel better?" Donnie was still knelt down in front of him.
"Y-yeah." Mikey's voice was shaky. He didn't hear it when Leo and Raph entered the kitchen, neither saying anything yet.
"Good." Donnie let out a relieved sigh.
Mikey's breathing felt like it was going back to normal and his vision and hearing felt clearer. His chest still hurt though and the anxiety was lingering.
"What the shell was that about?" Raph's rough voice cut through the kitchen.
Mikey looked over at his other brothers.
Leo's face was stoic as usual but he could see the worry seeping through his body language and he could see the concern in Raph's eyes despite it being mixed with his usual anger demeanor.
Mikey felt embarrassed.
Now that he felt calmer, it felt like he was had just been overreacting, and he didn't like that he made his brothers worry about him.
"I-I don't know." Mikey stammered out, not liking all of the attention he was getting right now.
"How do ya not know?" Raph pushed on.
"I-I don't...I just don't know!" Mikey's exclamation caught everyone off guard. His anxiety was starting to raise again and he took in a deep breath to try and it keep it at bay.
"Sorry but...all I remember was being in the living room and then going into the kitchen and I just started...feeling like....I don't know." He just wanted everything to go back to normal, for his brothers to accept that he was fine and they could go back to watching their movie.
That it was just an overreaction, he was fine now!
"You had a panic attack Mikey." Donnie was much more gentle than Raph was. His voice quieter and laced with understanding. Mikey wondered if it was just his brothers extensive knowledge that made him know how to act and know what to say in times like this, or maybe he had been in this position himself and knows from experience.
"I don't know why." Mikey whispered. He couldn't think earlier if something triggered it and he couldn't really think now.
He honestly just felt tired.
"M-maybe I just overreacted, I'm fine now." Mikey wanted to play it off but Donnie wasn't letting him.
"A panic attack isn't an overreaction Mikey." Mikey glanced to the side, feeling even more embarrassed that his attempt to play it off failed.
Raph opened his mouth but quickly shut it as Donnie shot him a glare that said more than enough.
"That's alright, we can talk about it later then. Why don't we go back to the living room." Donnie stood up and extended a hand.
Mikey nodded and loosened the grip he had on his arms, soft spots of white left in place of where he fingers were pressing into the skin.
He got up with his brothers help, his legs feeling a bit shaky.
As Donnie walked him out of the kitchen he shared a worried glance with both Leo and Raph who both internally felt grateful that Donnie was taking charge of the situation.
But Donnie knew that they weren't going to get any answers out of Mikey now to figure out why this happened.
But that was alright.
For now they would go back to watching their movie and making sure their youngest brother was okay.
Donnie made a mental note to himself to grab more blankets as he grabbed the ones they had lying out so he could place them on Mikey, effectively creating a little comfortable corner on the couch for his brother to relax in.
He saw how tired Mikey looked, panic attacks will do that to you.
He knew there wouldn't be anymore talking about this tonight and he would shut down any attempts Leo or Raph tried to make to get an answer.
Donnie took a seat next to Mikey who gave a small smile as a form of thanks.
Leo and Raph came back into the living room. The couch couldn't fit all of them but Raph still found a way to squeeze himself in while Leo took to sitting on the floor in front of them.
Tomorrow they would talk more about what happened, but for now they would enjoy the rest of the night together.