saisdontmatter | (no subject)

[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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[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.]