Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The cool colour-coded brothers' footsteps echoed off the walls of witch town, their feet occasionally stepping into the wet cracks of the cobbled pavement.
Both were wearing thick grey cloaks that reached their ankles, and a hood that covered their faces just enough to be disguised, but not enough to blind them.

Donatello knew the risks of coming here, especially after what happened a few months prior, almost destroying the whole town and all, he knew the witches wouldn't be too forgiving. However his love for his inventions would always over shadow any worries or doubts, and right now he was determined to find a piece of advanced mystic tech. One that could make him ever so powerful.
One to make sure his family is never hurt again.
One to make sure his brothers are never hurt again…

Ever since the invasion, Donnie had been determined to help his brothers recover. Making compression gloves for Mikey's hands, treating Raph's eye with gentle care to reduce as much scarring as possible.

Staying by Leo's side during his coma.
Hence down the worst week of Donnie's life.

Out of all the brothers Leo got it the worst, i mean its not the biggest shock. He threw himself into a dimension that's nearly impossible to escape, WITHOUT a weapon to defend himself. Oh and we can't forget about Krang prime, that monster nearly killed Leo, slamming him into debris and other solid things, hurting him until his shell cracked, and he was on the front of death's door, all he had to do was knock.

Thankfully, with the help of Donnie and Raph, Mikey was able to open a portal and that reality never haunted theirs.

And now, three months later, they were mostly healed. Mikey's hands still occasionally shook, Raph still had nightmares from when he was krangified, Donnie's shell still ached, and Leo still had days where he remembers the eerie, dripping silence of the prison dimension.
But aside from those unfortunate events, they were doing better.
Until today.

You see, the only reason Donnie agreed to Leo tagging along on his mission to retrieve the mystic parts was because the softshell didn't know how big they were.

The only information he had gotten about the pieces of tech was from Draxum, and not once did the goat man tell Donatello what size they were.
He didn't want Mikey to damage his freshly healed hands carrying them, and he wasn't sure how easy disguising Raph would be.
And so he settled on Leo.

At first Donnie didn't want to drag his newly recovered twin into witch town, however, Leo had insisted he was fine (the dumb dumb had been free from his leg cast for no longer than a week).
However Donnie was desperate to get that tech as soon as possible, and it would be nice to spend some quality time with Leo, so begrudgingly he agreed.

God he would regret that later.

…

The two had almost reached the centre of the town, bottom half of their cloaks drenched, dyeing the fabric into a darker grey. The streets weren't too busy, and because of the thick fabric surrounding them no one seemed to recognise Donnie.

Leo was cracking jokes about the way some witches looked, Donnie was trying not to laugh at the idiotic comments the slider had announced (he had a bad boy reputation to keep up), until he saw it. The shop that contained the mystic tech he had been craving for weeks.

The building wasn't the newest looking considering it was home to countless pieces of tech, the roof seemed unstable and the walls were covered in something Donnie couldn't even make out. But that didn't bother him, what did Mikey always say? Something about it’s not what matters on the outside, it's the inside? Eh, frankly Donnie didn't care too much, he sees the one thing that had been making itself home inside his head for weeks now, and he would not hesitate to get it.
Quickly shushing Leo’s rant, Donnie grabbed him firmly by the wrist and led them both to the entrance of the shop, dodging witches in the process. The door made an awful creek once opened which sent shivers down his spongy shell, and he could hear Leo cringe behind him. However It was the smell that activated his senses. It was a musty smell, dense, one that clogged his nostrils making breathing feel like a chore. And the inside wasn't much better, cobwebs claimed every corner like it was their own kingdom, the wall paper was peeling, revealing a damp looking wood behind it. For what it sold, it didn't live up to your stereotypical tech shop.

But he didn't care.
He couldn't.

As this was the shop that contained his current obsession. The shop that contained the source to his family's safety.

“Nardo, go left and I'll take the right”
Donnie spoke, before turning towards the direction near the closest shelf of countless pieces of glowing metal until he felt Leo's hand grab his shoulder.

“Uhhh, Don..”

His voice had that guilty tone to it that Donnie hated. Rolling his eyes to meet Leo's culpable expression.

“WhatexactlyamIevenlookingfor?” Leo seemed to rush the sentence, like it would anger Donnie less if he did so. Spoiler, it did not.

Great.
Classic Leo.
Signing up to things he doesn't even have the knowledge about.

“Annoyed sigh. Leo, we are here to find this piece of mystic tech that I need for stuff your dumb dumb brain can't comprehend”

An unimpressed look washed over Leo's face
"It will look like an average piece of metal, however it should have a faint yellow glow to it, and the shape is similar to a christmas tree, oh, and i’m not too sure how big it is, that's why you're here”.

Slowly letting go of his twin's shoulder, Leo nodded and headed down into the depths of the creaky shop.

Donnie looked to make sure Leo wasn't touching anything that could potentially hurt him before heading his own way.

…

After almost fifteen minutes of digging through dusty pieces of tech he found it. Buried under countless pieces of glowing shards and different ores, was the mystic piece of tech that Donnie would day dream about. Gently picking it up he realises it isn't very big, maybe double his hands at the most.

There was no need for Leo to come, to be put in potential danger.

Speaking of his twin, he should go look for him, before Leo accidentally turns himself into a worm.

Resting his prized possession into the storage compartment of his battle shell. He starts to follow the ilse he saw Leo walk down earlier.

When he finally spotted his twin, Leo seemed to be digging through some mystic parts in the back part of the shop, brows furrowed and letting out frustrated sighs when each piece of tech was either the wrong colour or shape. He approached Leo and reached for his brother's arm to get his attention, when feeling the warmth against his striped arm Leo turned to meet the same heterochromic eyes as his.

“I found the tech, it's time to go”

Donnie spoke, his voice its usual monotone.

Leo seemed to sigh from relief as he dropped the metal parts he was holding, and smirked.

"Thank god, I felt like I was wasting away here”.

Donatello rolled his eyes at his brother's over the top comment. Why was Leo such a drama queen?

“Nardo, we have barely been here for more then-” He looked down at his wrist tech, “Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes and forty seven seconds to be exact”.

“Gee, feels more like twenty years”.
Leo spoke, looking around as if the conversation was too boring to focus on..

Donnie felt rather unmoved by his twin's antics.

“Whatever, lets just pay and get out of h-”

“YOU! How dare you show your face after the last time you were here!?!”

A scratchy familiar voice that Donnie remembered all too well boomed through the shop's walls, cutting him off.

Both brothers whipped around to see a tall gangly witch staring from the nearby shelf with wild eyes, wild eyes staring directly at Donnie. She was wearing a brown robe with silver details, a belt that held multiple potion bottles and some black worn out boots.

“You are banned from this town, why are you here again?!”
Her voice spat.

“Heyyy, long time no see, eh? *Nervous chuckle* Me and my brother here were just trying to grab a few things and go, I'm not here to demolish buildings again, I swear. So if you could just move your freakishly tall body out of our way that would be appreciated”. Donnie blurted out, probably not the best thing to say to a witch, but come on! he was panicked!!!

The witches' eyes may as well have lit the dingy shop up from how much hatred they held.

“YOU, COME INTO THIS TOWN, DESTROY IT, COME BACK AND PRETEND THAT NOTHING HAPPENED??!? NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU INSULT ME? OH I WILL MAKE YOU PA-”.

“Woah there, instead of turning my twin into a pumpkin how about we talk this out? I have a uhh-”
Leo quickly started to dig through his fanny pack before pulling out a free pizza voucher for Run of the mill.
“Ah yes, a free pineapple pizza, best flavour if I do say so myself. So how about you take this and let us leave, hmm?”

Donnie frowned, Seriously Leo? A pizza voucher? And there is NO way she would accept pineapple.

The witches gaze shifted onto Leo, she stared at the slider for a few moments before a wicked grin crawled up her face, you could see her brain forming a plan.

“Twin you say, hm? I mean you look a little…different if you ask me, or is this one of those sappy ‘found family’ dynamics”

She was obviously referring to the fact Leo had bright red stripes across his face, Donnie did not. And yes she was right, biologically speaking he and Leo weren't twins, they chose to be, which might be a little cheesy to others but Donnie didn't care. Leo not being Donnie's twin would feel unnatural and just wrong. From being little they had always shared a birthday, shared clothes, shared rooms, toys,etc. It's what felt right.

“Well that doesn't matter right now, in fact, if you chose to be twins then I suppose that this will hurt more”. The witch cackled, before chanting something quiet under her breath that Donnie couldn't quite make out.

Donnie hated the smugness in her tone, it made him feel uneasy, and what exactly did she mean by “hurt more”? What would hurt more? All he knew is he didn't want anything to hurt Leo considering he had barely been free from the med bay for a month.

Slowly reaching for his tech bow he let out a shaky breath.

“Nardo, get behind me-”.

The soft shell barely had any time to react before a bright green light shot out from the witch's bony hands. Engulfing the shop in a bright green essence.

A bright green essence that was heading towards Leo.

Donnie shot towards his brother in an attempt to take the hit, however he wasn't fast enough and unfortunately, neither was Leo.

The spell hit the centre of Leo's plastron before knocking the slider off his feet and sending him into one of the many shelves of the shop. He hit the ground with a sickening thud and a gasp for air.

Donnie's world slowed for a moment, seeing his twin on the ground struggling to breathe sent alarm bells off in his mind. He was crouched by his brother's side before he could even process the movement in his legs.

“Leo, oh-god are you okay, what hurts?”

Leo looked up at him with sleepy eyes, his brain seemed to take time to process who it was before realising it was his brother.

“Mhhm, i'm fine Don, just tired-hey have you always had such a big head..?!”

Normally Donnie would have started an argument over a comment like this, or at least said an insult back, but it was pretty clear that Leo was a little out of it. And besides he was more worried about what just sent his brother flying across the shop. Especially as Donnie had no idea what it was.

“Nardo i'm serious, you are clearly loopy but does anything else feel abnormal, or- or hurt you?!”

Donnie was trying to sound intimidating but his worry betrayed him as his voice seemed to crack on that last part.

And he never got a response as Leo seemed to have passed out...

As he lifted Leo into a laying position so his brother would be more comfortable, his worry slowly transformed into anger the longer he felt his twins limp body in his arms. Not to mention when he looked for the one who caused it she was staring, watching the scene play out, with some sickening amusement.

“Ah yes, I knew I made the right choice, I mean what's worse than suffering Donatello? Oh i know, watching the one you love most go through it instead”

Donnie slowly stood before pulling out his tech bow and pointing it at the witch.

“What did you do?” He spat.

She grinned cruelly, slightly tilting her head.
"Making both you wretches suffer”

“NO!”

Donnie dived towards her, desperate to find out what she did to Leo but was just an inch too late, before he knew it she had vanished into thin air.

Donnie just stood in the place she had been just a few moments prior. He was angry-no furious, she had done something to his twin and he didn't know what.

Slowly walking over to Leo he slid his arms under his unconscious twin's legs and neck, the action reminding him a lot of when he had to carry Leo's body to the med bay after the invasion. Once he had a secure grip he reached for Leo's katana's that had fallen from the slider's belt. Finally he used the last remains of his ninpo to portal them back to the lair.

He had no idea what the witch did to his brother.

This would be hard to explain to Raph...

Chapter Text

Stumbling back into the lair, the portal closing behind him, Donnie sighed. The familiar smell of the sewers flooding through his nostrils.

He unclipped the button on his cloak, letting fall to the ground in a heap before carefully walking over to the med bay, Leo still resting in his grip.

He looked peaceful like this, features relaxed, his mouth slightly hung open. Sadly the reason wasn’t as sweet.

Donatello's plan was to get his brother checked for any injuries, treat said injuries if there even were any, and then take him to his lab for testing to find out what exactly blasted his brother across a shop.

Because there was no way Donnie would rest until he knew for certain his twin wasn't gonna explode the moment he looked away.

Reaching the med bay, Donnie felt a sickening nausea in the depths of his stomach, the whole thing reminded him all too well of the invasion, however Donatello was trying not to think about that right now.

Thankfully he hadn't bumped into any of his family, it would be pretty horrifying to walk in on the soft shell holding an unconscious Leo, and besides, he was too worried to explain the situation at the moment. All he wanted was to know if his twin was safe or not.

He gently laid Leo down on one of the many cots the turtles had collected over the years, before taking off his brother's drenched cloak. He was hesitant at first, not knowing how bad the damage would be.

He didn't know if he could fix it.

However, once the cloak was completely removed and he had a clear view of his brother's still body…
He paused.

There was nothing?

No cuts, no bruises, no new cracks in his webbed shell.

It was like nothing had happened.

This should have soothed Donnie's panic, right? His brother wasn't hurt, he didn't have any injuries that would cause him pain.

But it didn't.

Because there was no way Leo is fine after being sent across a building?! There was no way he was fine after slipping unconscious because of it!

Quickly searching more, lifting Leo’s arms, legs and other areas he was met with the hit of grief when he found nothing, no clues to what had infected his brother.

Donnie let out a broken sigh, his voice seemed to crack.

The moment Leo woke up Donnie was going to drag him to the lab for more scans, he wasn't going to rest until he knew what was wrong.

…

The first thing Leo felt was the full body ache he seemed to have possessed, it felt like his muscles had been ripped apart before being stuffed back into his body. His eyes felt heavy, he was struggling to keep them open.

Where was he?
And what had happened?

The last thing he remembered was a green light, and….a big purple rectangle?

He shifted, trying to sit up on whatever bed he seemed to be resting on, until he felt something squeeze his hand.

“-ardo?”

Hmm, that was weird

The voice was familiar, but also muffled, Leo couldn't make the person out.

Their thumb was now gently stroking his hand. But the slider could feel a slight shake in their grip.

“-eo? Leo, can you hear me?”

Ah that monotone voice that somehow always comforted Leo.

Donnie.

Now being able to fully open his eyes he saw him, the soft shell was looking down at his brother, the expression he wore was one of worry and concern.

Leo's gaze shifted from his twin to the room he was in, it was the med bay?
Okay yeah this was weird, he hadn't been here…well since the invasion.

His eyes crawled back onto Donnie, who still seemed to be on edge. He wanted to ask what happened, why was he here again. Opening his mouth to say something he couldn't let anything out, Instead, all he let out were rough groans.

Geez his throat was sore.

understanding what his twin needed, Donnie reached over to the bedside table to hand Leo a water bottle.

“How are you feeling?”

Donnie asked. Leo ignored him.

Accepting the drink, he unscrewed the lid and lifted the plastic to his lips, swallowing hurt a little, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

He lowered the bottle, resting it on his lap, turning back to his brother, he cleared his throat.

“Wha- What happened?”

His voice croaked, it sounded jagged and ruff, however at least he could talk.

Donnie's eyes widened at his brother's comment, was it because of what he said or because Leo could actually speak?

Either way Leo saw a glisten of relief in his twin's eyes.

Shifting slightly, Donnie sighed, he looked down at his hands and started to twist his fingers, intertwining them with the other hand.

Donnie always did that when he was nervous.

“Well you see Leon, we were in Witch town looking for that piece of mystic metal? However, towards the end of our journey, a witch spotted me. As revenge she decided to hit you with some sort of-”

“-green light”

Leo finished, the memories came flooding back.

“Unfortunately. However you don't seem to be physically injured and so that's good, although I'm not sure what she did to you…for all we know it could be a curse.”

Donnie's voice went quieter on that last part, before speaking again.

“Which is exactly why I need to get you to my lab”

Leo seemed to feel a lot better then he did 5 minutes earlier, obviously not perfect, however he thought that someone who had been “cursed” probably shouldn't feel this normal.

Maybe it was just a dud?

Either way Leo could already feel Donnie's arm wrap around his shoulders, carefully lifting Leo like he was porcelain.

“I wont take too long i promise, i just want to make sure you are safe.”

Leo couldn't argue with that. He would want the same for his twin.

And so they both headed out the med bay, and towards the lab, Leo insisted he could walk by himself however the soft shell didn't seem to believe him.

…

After seating Leo, Donnie grabbed his equipment, a lot of it was scanners and mystic detectors.

He couldn't think of anything else he would need.
Taking a spare chair and pulling it closer towards Leo, Donnie got to work. He first scanned Leo's body, checking for any mystic poison, curses, or infections.

When the scanner came back clear he frowned, surely there was something?

He grabbed a mystic detector, the device was meant to be held against the object/person who may have some form of mystic poison inside them.

Pressing it into Leo's plastron, right above his heart, his brows fell deeper when the results came back as negative, again.

“That's odd..”

“What's odd Don?”

Leo spoke, he wasn't as nervous as Donnie however you could still see an unsure expression carved into his features.

“These results are telling me you're free of anything witch related”

Leo's face brightened at the news.

“That's good though? I mean the witch was probably just some dud”

The slider got out his chair to leave, assuming what Donnie had said was his invitation to go. Just as his weight had left the chair he was suddenly pushed back onto it by a very annoyed purple turtle.

“Nardo you were sent flying across a shop, I do not believe that was ‘just a dud’, and so I will be performing one more test. Those results will tell me whether you are free to go or not.”

Leo just rolled his eyes.

Walking over to one of the lab's many draws, Donnie pulled out a cotton swab and activated one of his machines. He filled out some data on it before walking back towards Leo.

“Open your mouth”

Sighing, the slider did as he was asked.

Donnie grabbed the cotton swab and started to rub it around the inside of Leo's mouth. Once the piece of wool and wood was covered in his brother's saliva, Donnie walked back to his machine, trying not to gag, and placed the cotton into a small container.

He then went to the back of the machine, pressed a few buttons before pulling a lever down.

The machine lit up and started to buzz softly.

After a few minutes it dinged, Donnie rushed over to it, almost tripping over his own feet.

The machine started to print a piece of paper, which most likely had the results of Leo's condition, when it was finally printed the soft shell ripped it out and scanned the sheet.

His eyes were darting from one side to another until they came to a halt. He stammered.

“What? Bu- but there has to be something?”

Leo felt extremely smug, he was right! It was just a dud, however he wasn't going to let Donnie see this. Putting on his best empathetic look he walked over to his twin.

“Its clear, isn't it”

He spoke softly, trying hard not to let the smugness leak through.

Donatello sighed,

“Yes, it is. Maybe it was just a dud.”

Leo couldn't tell how sure Donnie was on the results, either way he was right and he was so going to rub it in his brother's face, maybe not right now though as Donnie still looked worried.

“Sooooo, I'm free to leave..?”

Leo said, he was itching to get out of the lab and start that gaming tournament he promised Mikey before the whole witch thing, he had almost forgotten.

“I suppose, all the results have said clear, however I WILL be keeping a close eye on you Leonardo, I swear.”

The slider just nodded, quickly wrapping Donnie in a hug which the soft shell half leaned into, he had never been one for physical contact.

“Thanks Don, love you- oh and maybe don't tell Raph, hes just as big of a worrier as you”

Donnie hummed, and Leo parted from the embrace before waving and walking out.

Donnie was now left alone with his thoughts.

Leo was going to be fine, all the results had come back as clear.
However he couldn't escape the creeping dread in his body.

Sighing, he went over to his work station, he had almost forgot about the mystic metal, the thing that he went to witch town for in the first place.

The piece of metal didn't bring Donnie the same joy it had earlier.

Chapter Text

Donnie barely slept.

The only rest he managed to acquire was when he dozed off to the sound of Leo and Mikey’s laughter, and a couple of Raph’s tired grunts. His brothers were safe, his twin was safe. Donnie played that sentence over and over in his mind until he got a headache.

But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t shake that awful feeling brewing in his gut. It's the feeling that kept him up all night, unable to rest his eyes for even half an hour. Because every time he did, he didn't know if Leo was okay.

Being asleep meant Donnie wasn’t able to hear Leo laugh, or talk. It meant that he didn't know if his twin was alive…

Nope! We are not going there.

Donnie sighed and slowly sunk out of bed like a slug. Slipping his feet into a soft pair of slippers April bought him a few years ago, he stepped out of his room and made his way towards the kitchen.

The sweet aroma of waffles greeted him with a realisation of hunger. The first thing that came into view was Mikey dancing around the stove, he was singing some K pop. Personally Donatello preferred rock music, maybe even some heavy metal, like Nirvana, Bmth, ect. His little brother however always seemed to like upbeat songs, it fit his personality so Donnie wasn’t too shocked. The softshell took a small glance at Mikey’s arms, they seemed to be doing alright. The compression gloves seemed to really be helping. Donnie was glad.

The next thing he saw was Raph’s tired expression. Donnie had a feeling it was because he was up all night watching Mikey and Leo’s gaming competition. He also seemed to have flicks of cereal dabbled all over his face…? Donnie turned his head to where the sprays of food were attacking his big brother.

Oh.

Leo was sitting at the main dining table, one leg on the chair, the other hanging limply to the side. He was laughing whilst throwing yet another spoonful of food at the fed up snapping turtle. Leo seemed to always take joy in annoying his older brothers.

Donnie scanned his brother up and down, looking for something that could be wrong. When he found nothing out of the ordinary he took a seat close, but not too close as Leo had just been handed a bowl of honey covered fruit, yeesh poor Raph.

“Heyy Don tron”

Leo said, parts of food sprayed out his mouth and onto the table, ew.

“Why hello my dear Nardo, I see we are acting like 5 year olds today?”

Leo rolled his eyes, despite this Donnie could see a faint curve to his lips.

“Ha ha ha, very funny. Raph seemed tired, so I decided to wake him up!”

“With your breakfast?”

“Yep! I know I'd much rather be woken up to lucky charms than water!”

Raph didn't seem to share the same sentiment.

“Mhm, well i’ll leave you guys to that..”

His eyes trailed to his wrist tech. He had a lot of work to get done, and a twin brother to keep an eye on. He still wasn’t a hundred percent sure that the curse was just a dud, and so for now he would hover slightly until it was very clear that Leo was completely fine.

…

Not too long after breakfast, Donnie got an alert declaring that there had been a robbery downtown. The soft shells biggest guess is that Hypno and that random worm guy were at it again.

Bile seeped into his throat, the idea reminded him of the invasion. Of the mistake his twin had made that had almost cost him his life-

Okay what was with him today!?

Donnie knew he pondered on the invasion often, it was a raw, painful subject that none of the brothers had fully recovered from but seriously, Donnie felt like it was hurting him more than usual!

Leo had learned his lesson, the last thing the slider would do was repeat that mistake. Not on Donnie’s watch anyway.

Sighing, he opened his com to tell his brothers about the robbery.

Donnie: Slight annoyance, but Hypno and his worm boyfriend are at it again with the stealing.

Multiple groans could be heard from each mic.

Raph: Are ya sure Don? Raph was planning to practice his fighting technique. Gotta get back into shape after the whole- well uh, ya know, alien city destroying thing?

Mikey: I wanted to bake a cake!

Donnie: *sigh* Yes Raphaela, never doubt my tech! Also how many times do I have to tell you to take it easy? I put you on house…lair arrest for a reason! This mission should be easy which is why I am making you come. Angelo, didn't you bake chocolate fudge brownies a few days ago? I am not going to the supermarket again because you used up the whole pantry.

Mikey: Yeahhh…but Leo ate them all!

Leo: Lies.

Raph: Raph doesn't take it easy, i'm the oldest I gotta be the strongest- and hey didn't you and Leo go to the hidden city yesterday? I thought he was on lair arrest as well!? In fact now I'm thinking about it, why did I hear movement in the med bay last night..?

Donnie: Oh err, well you see Raph, my older, lovely, talented, perfect brother, me and Nardo ran into some tr-

Leo: Uhm guys? We can discuss this later…Right now we have a robbery to stop!

Donnie: OH yes *nervous chuckle* we need to go stop those mutants and never discuss what happened yesterday ever again!

Raph: …Okayyy that's not convincing at all but you are right! Mad dogs role!

Donnie sighed a breath of relief, Leo had just saved them from a long session with doctor feelings…ew.

The soft shell grabbed his tech bow and headed to the turtle tank.

…

New York was quiet, normally this would have been a rare sight, however after the invasion, most citizens decided to stay in their homes. Leo didn't blame them.

In fact he would much rather be in the lair right now, watching some JJ movies with his brothers. April had just bought this sparkly blue nail polish that Leo desperately wanted to try, maybe he could be doing that right now! But nope, instead he was on a rainy roof top, barking orders at his brothers whilst trying to catch the van with the villains inside. Boringggg.

Mikey looked annoyed that he wasn't baking the cake he wanted to make, Raph looked half asleep- okay maybe cereal wasn't good for waking up cranky older brothers…, and Donnie kept glancing back at Leo and sighing with relief when he realised his twin hadn't grown horns or something weird?!

Why couldn't his brother forget about the whole ‘curse’? Leo felt fine! Okay well he felt a little ill, the whole waking Raph up with breakfast thing was a bit of a lie, he just didn't want to eat as it made him feel a bit sick. NOT that he’d tell Donnie though…Geez could you imagine? Donnie would lock him up in his lab and experiment on Leo like some dumb lab rat. Heck no! Not to mention he didn’t want his brothers seeing him as weak…after the invasion they had treated Leo like something that can only break, not fix.

Zoning out of his thoughts, he realised that Hypno and worm guys van was in the perfect spot for him and his brothers to capture. Shaking his head and taking a breath of fresh air, he raised his swords and opened a bright portal, the beautiful shade of blue crackled and swirled with the wind, it felt almost like an invitation to dive into its gorgeous atmosphere. Not wasting any time, he yelled at Raph to make a barrier up ahead, turning to Donnie and Mikey he told the two to help him corner the van into Raph's mystic barrier. Mikey nodded and swung towards the van using his nunchucks, Leo chuckled to himself, it reminded him of Spiderman when his little brother did that! Donnie looked more unsure but compiled, trailing behind Mikey on his jet pack.

Once all his brothers were in position Leo finally took the invitation his portal offered and dived into it. The inside of his portals were weird, he couldn't see much inside, it was like being underwater! A blur of mystic blue and the small part of New York's streets he could still see. The only way to get where he wanted was by imagining it, and right now he imagined being in the air, breezing through the streets with the wind flowing through his mask tails, hopefully he'd get it right above the villain's van.

Picturing that very scene and feeling, he swiped his swords again, finally releasing himself from the array of alluring, blue brightness. He landed exactly where he wanted, in the air slightly above the robbers van.

He felt like he was floating at first, maybe he was who knows? Either way that feeling fades pretty fast and before he can fully process it he was falling again. Not to worry as that is what his portals are for. Swiping again he unleashed more blue sparks…however this time there was no portal? Okay this was fine…maybe he just didn't hold his katanas right?

He swiped again, nothing. He kept cutting through the sky, getting closer to the ground after each failed result. What was happening? It’s like someone had snatched all life from his mystic katana, draining it until it was just well...a katana. Leo was panicking, helplessly kicking his legs and swinging his swords around, he did the last thing he could think of, scream. Okay not his most heroic move, but the ground was heading towards him faster each moment! One of the first few missions after the invasion and Leo was already falling to his death, great- wait was he gonna die here? Hit the concrete and turn into fleshy mush just like that? The thought made him scream louder, he didn't care about how stupid he sounded, Donnie had always made fun of him for having a ‘girly scream’, but right now he just wanted a portal to work- and oh god the ground was so close, andhewasgonnaendupdyinghereandnobodywouldevenknowitwasnthisfault-
Something slammed into Leo's side right as he was about to leave into his terrifying descent of death. They hoisted Leo into their arms, gripping the slider under his armpits. Slowly opening the eyes he hadn't realised he had locked shut, Leo saw him. His twin brother.

Donnie’s expression was hard, he looked pissed off yet terrified.

They were both in the air, Donnie was flying on his jet pack with Leo dangling from his arms.

Eventually landing onto a rooftop. Donnie dropped his twin onto the roof and deactivated his jet pack. He stood there for a moment, back turned to Leo, the slider only just realised how hard his brother was shaking. The silence stretched into what felt like forever until Donnie finally spoke.

“Leo..what the hell was that?”

His breath was also shaky, maybe even shakier than his hands.

“You…”

He gulped.

“Y- you told me to go, go help Mikey corner Hypno and whatever his name is into Raph's barrier? You told us you'd also be there and the next thing I know you are screaming and falling to your death.”

Leo felt even sicker than earlier, not to mention his head was now pounding in agony.

“Don…I swear it wasn’t on purpose, My portals just stopped working. Look!-”

Leo pushed his katanas into his twins hands.

“No matter what I did they just wouldn't work. Like someone had drained the life out of them..”

Donnie pushed his goggles down, once looking at the swords he paused.

“Nardo…theres no mystic energy on them.”

He spoke like he didn't believe it himself.

“What!? No there has to be! They did work, just not on that last portal! How are they- why do they not work?”

Leo's sentences came in fast, it was silly but he loved his portals, they were a part of who he was! Without them he just wasn't Leo!

Donnie pushed his goggles back onto his head and let out a sigh.

“I'm sorry Nardo, I promise i'll test them when we arrive home.”

He paused.

“You don't think this has anything to do with…well, what happened yesterday in witch tow-”

“OMIGOSH LEO!”

Mikey yelled, running towards his older brother, arms open before engulfing Leo in a tight embrace, nuzzling his brother with a worried face.

“What the shell happened back there!? We all heard you scream and before I know it Donnie's flying towards you because you were FALLING!! Falling through the sky about to plummet to your death! Were your portals not working!?”

Mikey's voice also had a shaky ring to it.

“Leo!”

Raph shouted, jogging to his little brothers, just as Donnie and Mikey had displayed he had a very worried face engraved into his features.

Great.

All his brothers had heard his very un-manly cry for help, god he was a wuss. Now his headache was really taking a toll, geez what was with that. He had felt fine yesterday before the curse…NOPE! That was just some stupid dud, Leo had zero reason to worry as it wasn't real! He was completely fine!

“What was that?! Why weren't ya using your swords? You almost gave Raph a heart attack!”

Before Leo could answer, Donnie spoke.

“Nardo explained his portals would not work, and after scanning his katanas I can confirm they have lost all mystic energy. We should head back to the lair so I can examine them.”

Leo felt a twinge of relief that Donnie said that. His headache was getting worse by the second and he was beginning to feel nauseous.

Raph looked between the twins before slowly nodding he turned and started to head back, Mikey trailing behind him. Leo looked at Donnie who was already staring at him before offering his hand. Leo gently took it and together they walked.

…

The lair was quiet, the muffled voices from Splinters TV could be heard from a few rooms down, but for now it was the silence of four brothers in the living room soaking up each other's presence.

Raph had been the first to fall asleep after telling Leo about what happened to Hypno and the worm. Let’s just say they wont be stealing again anytime soon. The eldest of the four had claimed an armchair for himself.

Not long after the snapping turtle Mikey had fallen into slumber, his face was smushed into Leo's arm, drool slightly spreading into the slider's hoodie.

Lastly Donnie had fallen asleep, his hand still in his twins and his head resting on Leo's shoulder.

Leo was the only one still awake. He wanted to sleep but he couldn’t, his bones ached, his headache was now painfully raw and drumming into his skull.
And despite the fact he had barely eaten that day,

He wasn't hungry.

Chapter Text

A violent pounding sensation in his stomach is what Leo awoke to. It felt like his insides were being choked, twisted and punched all at once. Gasping he shot up from where his brothers were nestled, still asleep tucked under heaps of cozy blankets. That headache from yesterday had gotten worse overnight, it was sore and painful.

Great.

Oh well this is just what Leo needed straight after his three month stay in the Medbay, I mean come on! He had just healed from the invasion and now he had to deal with this crap?!

Groaning, the slider slowly scooted away from the pile of clingy brothers and headed to the bathroom, stumbling a few times in the process. Once inside he locked the door and slumped to the ground, his whole body sagged and he took a deep breath in, filling his lungs with oxygen. Even breathing felt harder than the previous night.

Hm, last night was embarrassing.

Leo grimaced at the thought of what happened yesterday, his katanas just failing on him mid air, Donnie having to catch him. Jee no wonder his brothers babied him so much, he couldn't even get his stupid ninpo to work.

I mean how did Leo, the same guy who stopped and trapped a killer alien, not manage to portal himself across a few streets of NewYork? It was humiliating.

And then poor Donnie, Leo's amazing (not that he'd ever tell him) twin brother had to come and save the slider, all because Leo couldn't get his own swords to work. His brother picking up Leo's slack, just like all his brothers have to do. Like how Raph did during the invasion….

When he almost…almost-

Nope! Leo already had a stabbing pain in his head, he did not want to make it worse with thoughts of his older brother krangafied.

Shaking all the bad thoughts out his head Leo grabbed tightly to the sink ledge next to him, heaving from the weight of his body. Come to think of it, his whole body felt weaker, not to mention he still wasn't hungry even though he hadn't eaten yesterday, apart from a few bites of cereal early in the morning.

Something was definitely wrong. As much as Leo hated to admit it he knew that he needed help…again.

He thought about it for a few moments. Asking for help would mean asking his brothers for another favour…Another favour that would make him seem more pathetic then he already is.

No he wouldn't do that, he doesn't…want that. For his brothers to look at him more like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to finally explode.

He looked into the mirror above the sink, even in the dimly lighted bathroom he could still see how horrific he looked. Eye bags a deep dark purple, his skin wasn't his usual vibrant green, it had been replaced by a sickly light colour. And he looked just a little bit thinner.

The slider felt ashamed of his own reflection and quickly ran the tap, warm water gushed out and he splashed his face with it, just trying to make himself look more put together.

It didn't help much.

“Come on Leo” his tone was filled with frustration, "You're supposed to be the faceman- actually no, the leader! Get it together man..” His tried mismatched eyes met themselves in the mirror, almost mocking him for how weak he was.

Leo shamefully lowered his head, the top of his mask reached the sink, water soaked through his bandana.
“You're meant to protect them…keep them safe, and right now you can't even walk without stumbling”. The slider couldn't quite tell if the wetness on his mask was from the sink or his own tears, either way he turned the tap off and grabbed a towel, making sure to rub his eyes extra hard.

Breathing deeply, letting oxygen refresh his lungs, he turned to the door. and unlocked it.

“You may not be the face man anymore”, he pushed it open.

“But you sure as hell can act like one.”

…

By the time Leo had re entered the living room his brothers were awake. Raph was folding the blankets they had used with such gentleness Leo thought his big brother was handling a baby. Mikey was rambling on to the snapper about his dream, from what Leo heard from that conversation is something about dancing bookshelves…yeah he wasn't going to question his baby brother on that.

He rubbed his eyes for the last time, just to make sure he didn't look like he was crying just 5 minutes ago, that's when he felt a tap on his shell. He turned around to see Donnie staring at him, his twin's eyes widened when he saw Leo's sick looking state.

‘Your the faceman (sort of), you got this’ Leo thought to himself before plastering his face in a smug grin, trying his absolute best to not look like he had been dug from a grave.

The eyebags, or maybe the slight shake to his mouth gave it away as Donnie was quick to question.

“What happened to you? Are you feeling okay?” he said, clearly worried but trying to hide it with his monotone expression.

Leo's grin widened, however it probably looked more like a grimace. “Who me? Oh I'm doing just fine Don.” His smile faded suddenly and his voice took on a hurt tone, “What are you trying to infer? That I look bad?”

Donnie's face dropped slightly. Yes, perfect, make him feel guilty.

“Oh Leo, I wasn't saying that, you just look…very…uhm-”

“Very what, Donnie? Do I look very weak? Is that what you mean?”

“What!? No Nardo I'm not saying that, you just look-”

“Look what huh?! Because if my memory is working right then I can tell you I only just recovered from the invasion. So I'm sorry if I don't look perfect enough for you”.

Okay Leo felt pretty bad about using the invasion against Donnie. He knew his twin suffered a lot from it but he needed something that would hurt his brother, any mention of the invasion usually did. And besides, part of him meant it. It's how he felt about his brother's treatment, like Leo was something imperfect and in need of fixing.

As expected Donnie's face morphed into horror.

“What! Leo no I…I’m..sorry. That's not what i meant I just” He took in a long shaky breath. “I- I’m just worried about you…you are my brother and i love you very much, I want to make sure you are okay.” As if Donnie suddenly remembered something his expression fell into a scowl. “Especially after the witch town incident…Leo I know I tested you and I know I promised I'd drop it but I still don't believe you are-” His hand gestured to Leo shaking body “...Okay…not to mention what happened yesterday with your katanas”

Leo's eyes widened, he hadn't realised he was shaking so hard, or that he felt like collapsing if he stayed up any longer. The slider thought for a moment, before taking a step towards his twin and pulling the softshell into a tight embrace. “Dee, I promise you I'm okay. It's just the leftovers from the invasion. Krang did a number on me eh?” Leo's tone was light and jokey, however the mention of Krang prime made Donnie wrap his arms around his twin, the softshells grip was tight. Leo was slightly grateful for his brother's death grip as it acted as a support for his shaking Legs.
It wasn't often Donnie gave hugs so Leo nuzzled into it. His twin wasn't speaking anymore so Leo assumed Don believed him. Perfect.

“Mh, you're cold” Donnie suddenly mumbled. Nevermind.

“Hoodies in the wash” Leo responded, praying that Donnie wouldn't bring up the fact Leo never did his washing and always had to be nagged by Raph.

Donnie just nodded, curling in closer to his brother, cheek squished against Leo's head.

…

After what felt like hours, Donnie finally gave his brother one last squeeze before pulling away. “Well that's enough hugging for me, come again next month”. The joke was light but his face bloomed with worry when Leo wobbled like a baby deer the moment Donnie let go of him.

He wasn't okay.

Donnie knew this, he knew something was up.

…but Donnie had made a promise….and Leo was right about him still recovering from the invasion. So he would stick to hovering. For now.

Leo just laughed nervously “Oh man, maybe I should go eat something, see ya Don”.

Donnie wanted to say something, he wanted to shake Leo until his twin admitted something was wrong. But he didn't. Instead he watched Leo walk away, stomach flipping every time Leo tripped.

The softshell swallowed his worries, and turned towards his lab. Mikey and Raph were no longer in the living room and Donnie started to wonder when they left.

Reaching the doors of his lab, Donnie entered his usual password before stepping inside. Already laying on Donnie's desk were Leo's swords, a soft glow of blue still snaked around them, even though his scanners detected absolutely no trace of mystic energy.

The softshell took in a deep breath, and started to work. He will find out what's wrong with the swords.

And Leo.