saisdontmatter | (no subject)

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[When sickness hit the Hamato household, it swept through like wildfire. And ever since Splinter found himself with two sick little turtles on his hands, he was determined to keep the other two as germ-free as possible. So as soon as they woke and they ate their meager breakfast, he shooed Raphael and Leonardo out of the den, hurriedly telling them to bring back anything they found of use before being pulled away by his sick ones' alarmed whimpers.

Raphie was more than happy to leave the den. It stank like throw up in there, and being hungry made it even worse. Ever since Donnie and Mikey got sick, Splinter hasn't been able to go topside for food, and splitting a can of tuna fish and a couple slices of stale bread with Leo left him feeling hollow inside. He'd been growing a lot lately, way more than his brothers, and it was making him feel hungry all the time. Maybe they'd be able to find some cool stuff while they were out, or even some more food.

The only problem is, he has no idea where to look. Splinter doesn't usually take him out on scavenge runs. It's because he's too noisy and doesn't listen, but his brothers tell him it's because he cries too much. But that's because they're stupid and Splinter doesn't take them either! No one gets to go except for Leo, because he's a daddy's boy and the favorite. And a stupid idiot, but that's besides the point.

So. That leaves two nine year old turtles and one mission. Raphie looks at his brother, shrugs, and starts shuffling off to wherever his feet take him. Because there's no way he's gonna let Leo tell him where to go. He'll just walk until he finds something.]

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[Finally, they're home! It felt like they were never gonna get back. Raphie's almost relieved until bam!, there's Master Splinter. He lets out a startled squeak, eyes wide and way too innocent, ducking behind his brother with the bag of pastries held close to his chest. Better start talking now, Leo.]

[Leo whirls back around so fast it takes his vision an extra second to catch up with him, and the extra weight from his brother clinging to his shell only makes things worse. He ulps loudly, clutching the coat to his chest and hoping to god his stomach isn't burbling as loudly as he feels like it is.]

[he's not gonna puke he's not gonna puke he's not gonna puke]

S-sensei! We were... uh... we went out scavenging like you said and got some... [he trails off and winces] ...stuff.

[great talking there leo.]

I see.

[For a moment, it almost seems like he is buying it. Spoiler: he isn't.]

I was not aware of any bakeries whose floors were filled with holes of such expanse that entire bags of pastries could slip through to the sewers.

[And as always with Splinter, his nose knows.]

[Leo, you suck at lying! Just let him take it from here.]

U-uh, yeah! [He says, pushing past his brother and nodding eagerly.] Big holes in the floors that stuff falls into the sewers! And then it all washes down the storm drain.

We found it for you, Sensei. [He adds sweetly, offering the pillow case to his father. Just take it. Even the thought of that stuff is enough to make him barf. Even then he winces when his tummy churns angrily, making him go a shade paler than before. Ugh...]

[Sorry, Raph and Master Splinter - he's not paying much attention anymore. The second Raph pushes him to the side, his mouth floods with saliva, and he makes a soft sound of panic before slapping both hands over his snout and clenching his mouth shut.]

[He knows Raph just made up some kind of excuse, so he nods vigorously, willing the hot acid at his throat to go back down. Yes, Sensei - whatever he's saying. That. That is what happened.]

[Splinter holds off on his anger for a moment. Even if they did go to the surface, they returned with something useful. Something that they needed. However, he cannot allow them to repeat such a journey lest they end up dead.

So, for the moment, he sets aside his cane, takes the offered pillow case of food, and then touches Leo's shell to direct that the small turtle should turn away from the food to be sick. It is food that Splinter cannot risk contamination of, no matter how angry he is.

He will kill you two later. With fatherly love.]

I expected better out of both of you. It is enough that your brothers are ill. You being injured or killed could threaten the survival of our entire family when I would be forced to stop attending to your brothers' illness and instead tend to the consequences of your foolishness.

[Quite simply, he is too tired to be angry. The food is a relief. Yelling at the two will only upset their very sick brothers. So instead of anger, they face something far worse: utter disappointment.]

Edited 2014-04-20 06:45 (UTC)

[...Oh.

Oh.

Splinter doesn't like the food they brought. He isn't even proud of what they did. They went topside and met that scary human and even though he doesn't know that part, he doesn't care.

Raph feels completely and utterly crushed, his eyes welling up with tears. But there won't be any dramatics this time. He just ducks his head and runs off to his bunk on the other side of the room, burying his face in the pillow.

He knows he's not supposed to cry when he gets in trouble, but he can't help it. His tummy hurts so bad and he's tired and Splinter hates him.

This is the worst day ever.

He does his best to smother his sobs into his pillow, trying not to wake his sick brothers.]

Edited 2014-04-20 06:53 (UTC)

[His whole body is burning with shame at those words - so raw and intense that he hardly notices when Splinter turns him to the side, can barely feel the nausea in his gut as he shuffles closer to the wall or the acid in his throat as he leans over and vomits into the wet rubble.]

[He's trying to be quiet, but he can't help it. He feels like he's the loudest person in the world right now. Oh man. He messed up. He messed up real bad, and now Sensei is ashamed of him and Raph. He promised so many times he'd never go topside... and then he just did, like an idiot. And brought Raph along just to be extra stupid.]

[Splinter's going to be mad at him forever. And he deserves it. Because he put his whole family danger and talked to a human and - and - he's the worst big brother and son in the world.]

S-ssorry... [He gags into the chalky dust, tears springing into his eyes from clenching them so hard.] M'sorry, Sensei...

[He doesn't stop Raphael. It is necessary for him to feel some sort of consequence for his actions. If the boy is still disturbed after a while, he will go to him then. For now, it is Leonardo that needs his attention.

His hand stays on the back of Leonardo's shell as he throws up. Splinter doesn't shy away, instead being a presence as he loses his stomach. Even if he is disappointed, being ill is still being ill, and he cannot help but hover.

To the apology, he says nothing, letting Leonardo finish first.]

[Even over the sound of his crying, Raph can hear Leo getting sick. It makes his own stomach turn dangerously, the smell of vomit filling the tiny den almost instantly.

All he can do is squeeze his eyes shut and clamp his pillow down over his head, swallowing reflexively against the saliva flooding his mouth.

Off in the far corner of the den, the two sick turtles are huddled in a nest of blankets on Splinter's mattress. There, Mikey stirs groggily, woken by the sound of his brothers' arrival.

"Leo's sick," he slurs helpfully.]

[The soft pressure of Sensei's paw touches against his shell - he tries to concentrate on that instead of his aching head, the sour smell of illness dominating his senses, the painful vice-grip cramping of his insides. His stomach clenches painfully once or twice more, but there's hardly anything left in it, and he spits a few mouthfuls of pinkish bile into the dust before quietly gasping down air.]

[Leo stays propped against the wall for a few moments, eyes screwed shut so he doesn't have to look at the sick in front of him or see Master Splinter's shadow cast on the wet brick. When his head stops spinning and he's sure he's not going to throw up again, he silently pulls away, wiping his mouth with the side of his wrist and turning to Splinter, eyes downcast.]

[He doesn't say anything else; just stands in his father's disappointment, waiting.]

Go and rest. Think about what could have been... and what was not.

[He has no energy to tend to sick feeling in the hearts of two sons when the other two are sick in the body. Yelling will do no good, and may only disturb the two when they can ill afford an interruption in their rest.

Training the stupidity out of them is also not an option. They need their strength if they are to not grow sick like their brothers. Two sick turtles is already bad enough.

He will see to it later, when he is sure that their brothers will survive. For now, it is a distraction that he will not partake in.]

[In the meantime, Raph's pushed himself up on his bunk, tears still trailing down his cheeks. He really doesn't feel so good, and with the fresh smell of sick permeating the air, he's not sure if he has to throw up now, too.

There's a dazed expression on his face, and his color's gone far greener than it should be. For now he just swallows reflexively. He just doesn't want to get sick and make Splinter even more mad at him than he already is.]

[Leonardo only clenches his eyes tighter and shakily nods. He feels too sick and dizzy to do a bow, but he tries anyway - just a quick dip, his hands locking together briefly before he turns and shuffles away as quickly as he can.]

[It feels like it takes forever to make it to the bunk, but he crawls onto the matted cot and curls on his side, firmly clenching his teeth. He's not gonna cry. That would only make him the biggest baby on the planet. He can hear Raph gulping loudly to the side, and he didn't even stop to check if his sick brothers were well enough to sleep in their shared room again...]

[He's so ashamed. He just wants to sleep and have this all go away when he wakes up.

[A few minutes pass in silence, and the uneasy feeling in Raphie's stomach is getting harder and harder to ignore. When he's sure Splinter's moved out of earshot, he whispers wetly to his brother, his voice wavering pathetically.]

Leo?

[He sniffles, wiping his snotty face on his arm.]

[The gross, snotty sound makes Leo wince. He clenches the back of his throat, tasting acid and sour bile. He doesn't want to throw up again. It's so embarrassing, and his stomach hurts from all the heaving.]

[He just wants to go to sleep, but Raph calls him, and after getting him in trouble, there's no way he can just ignore him. Leo moves his head a little just so his brother knows he heard him.]

Mmnn?

My stomach hurts too. Really bad.

[Distract him from wanting to throw up, because he knows that'll only make Splinter madder.]

[Oh. Well, he can't ignore that either, he guesses. He really, really just wants to sleep, but...]

[His expression twisting in pain, Leo slowly sits up, one quivering hand wrapped around his plastron. It hurts, but he doesn't feel like he's going to throw up again if he moves around a little. He scoots over to Raph's adjoined bunk slowly.]

C'mere, Raphie. [He whispers, his voice trembling a little as he holds his arms out to pull Raph into his side.]

[His face crumples as he scootches in, lying down next to his brother and trying not to sob.]

Splinter huh-hates us. [He sniffles again, whimpering as his stomach gives another sickening lurch.]

Edited 2014-05-10 05:16 (UTC)

[Almost by reflex, Leo slips a thumb under Raph's head scarf and pulls it off, resting his palm on the top of his brother's head. It's for his own comfort as much as it is his brother's.]

[The smarter part of him knows that Splinter really doesn't hate them - he's really angry and disappointed, and he has every right to be, but it's only 'cause he cares. But Leo let him down, and the part of him that's still nine years old and desperate to please can't help thinking that Splinter might hate him.]

I'm sorry. [He sniffles a little, and it's not because he's crying. He turns his head away a little so Raph doesn't have to smell his disgusting breath.] It's all my fault.

[Raph doesn't say anything, just closes his eyes and tries to breathe through the roiling nausea in his guts. He swallows hard a few more times, trying to keep the bile from creeping up his throat.

It's not really Leo's fault, but it kind of is. And it makes him feel better to let his brother take all the blame for the both of them.]

[Leo's quiet for a few minutes, waiting if Raph will say anything - say it isn't, agree that it is, something. But he doesn't, and Leo's forced to face the truth of his own words all alone: every bit of this is on him. If he can't even keep one brother out of trouble... is he really going to be fit to lead his brothers one day?]

[The question makes the sick feeling crawl back into his gut, and he clenches his eyes, teeth gritting. He can't mess up like this again. He has to be smarter and better. No one's gonna be able to depend on him if he's always this dumb.]

I'll... I'll tell him it wasn't your fault. [He swallows thickly, and his voice trembles a little when he speaks again.] Just... go to sleep, okay?

O-okay. [He breathes, trying to make himself relax. Leo will take the blame, and it'll all be okay. His big brother's gonna take care of everything.]

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