Chapter Text
Eight months after the invasion, Leo was finally healed enough from his injuries and was cleared from the med bay
“FREEDOM!!!” Leo screamed at the top of his lungs after Donnie gave him the official diagnosis, skipping his way down the hall to the kitchen, where he knew Raph and Mikey were out. Donnie was right on his heels, shaking his head in fondness at his twin’s antics
He haven’t seen Leo this excited since the…well since the morning of the day that their lives have changed forever
It had been a long and grueling eight months for sure. The first month saw Leo in a coma, and Donnie wasn’t sure if his twin was ever going to come out of it. There were times when Donnie would spend the night in the med bay because he couldn’t stand the thought of being away from Leo. He would check his vitals and then lay down beside Leo on the medical cot. He wouldn’t sleep though as he was scared of the heart monitor flatling and Leo dying on them, or that he would miss the moment that Leo would wake up from his coma
The day that Leo did wake up was both the best and worst moment of his life. Donnie was at first relived that Leo was finally out of the coma, but then came the horror realization that Leo still had a long way to go in his recovery.
Donnie and the rest of the family did their best to help Leo recover, but Leo was such a difficult patient. He would complain a lot of the time and was super stubborn as heck. He would try to leave the med bay constantly when he wasn’t supposed to and Donnie threatened to put him on bed rest if he kept it up
Surprisingly, Leo did as he was told after about the third month, but he did so begrudged. After that, it was a long five months of intense therapy with Leo and Mikey’s injuries, as well as all of them healing from their mental wounds. Moral in the lair was low for the longest time as they all had nightmares about every other night, with Leo being the worst. A turtle pile was almost guaranteed and when there wasn’t a turtle pile, Donnie was the one who stayed with Leo most of the time, with Raph and Mikey having their fair shares every now and then
Finally, after eight long months, they were healed from their physical injuries and Leo was finally freed from the med bay, hence his excitement. And honestly, despite Donnie sometimes getting annoyed with his twin’s loud voice, he was happy to hear it. Especially when he walked into the kitchen and saw Leo excitedly spinning Mikey around while letting out a bout of laughter. Donnie missed his twin’s laugh as it was somewhat absent for the past eight months
“Well Mad Dogs, I think this is a cause for celebration!” Raph said excitedly
Leo and Mikey’s eyes light up. “I think this calls for a trip to Run of the Mill” Leo then rushed off to his room and before any of them could say a word, Leo run back into the room with his katanas in his hands. “Vamanos Hermanos”
But before Leo could make a portal, Donnie came up to him and held his wrist. “Oh absolutely not. Just because you have been cleared from the med bay, doesn’t mean that you should be using your ninpo to make portals again. I did not clear you for that”
Leo groaned loudly as he gave Donnie a side eye, his smile slightly diminishing. “Come on Don-Tron. Walking there is going to take forever. Using my portals is the fastest way” Leo then turned to Raph “Tell him Raph”
All eyes were now on Raph, his nervous stink radiating off of him as he glanced between the twins
Eventually he sighed. “As much as I hate to say this, Leo is right Donnie. Getting to the Hidden City by Leo’s portals is the fastest way. And besides, I trust that Leo’s ninpo is all good to go and that he can get us there safely” Raph smiled at Leo, and Leo felt like he was on cloud 9 hearing such big praise from his big brother
Leo then turned to Donnie who just looked exasperated. The softshell sighed loudly. “Fine…fine have it your way. Portal us to Run of the Mill Leo”
Leo gave a dramatic bow to Donnie as Donnie rolled his eyes at his twin’s antics “With pleasure” A blue portal opened in front of them and the four brothers stepped through, the Hidden City greeting them with vibrant colors, as the four of them walked to Run of the Mill
Hueso greeted them warmly and even gave Leo a hug. Leo may or may not shed a tear or two, though no one said anything about it. Hueso guide them to their usual table and the four of them order, engaging in light conversation
The pizza came and the boys dug into the meal, Leo feeling grateful for the heavenly pizza
At some point, Donnie shifted closer to him and when Leo eyed him, he noticed that his twin was trying to hide slightly behind him and was looking at something across the room with a nervous expression. Leo saw that Raph and Mikey didn’t noticed so he whispered softly to Donnie, “What’s wrong Dee? Is something bothering you?”
Donnie turned his head in Leo’s direction and nodded to a table across the restaurant. “Sitting at that table over there is one of the witches from Witch Town. I recognize her. She…she is giving me this ‘murderous’ look and I don’t like it” Donnie whispered back
Leo subtly glanced at the other table and sure enough, the witch was indeed giving them this murderous, dirty look that Leo certainly did not like. It even made him feel uneasy. He can’t imagine how it much feel for Donnie, knowing his twin’s history with Witch Town
However, the uneasiness was overshadowed by Leo’s protective instincts. “Do you want me to go over there and say something to her? I can even get Hueso to kick her out or something?” Leo asked softly. Donnie just shook his head. “I appreciate it Nardo, but it’s ok. I…I don’t want to cause a scene or anything like that. Don’t want to get into more trouble”
Leo looked like he wanted to argue, but the look that Donnie gave him so ‘please don’t’
So, Leo didn’t. He pulled Donnie closer to his side, which Donnie leaned into, resting his head on his twin’s shoulder. Raph and Mikey paused their conversation for a bit when they noticed the twins’ odd behavior. Subtly, Leo nodded his head towards the witch, and Raph and Mikey immediately got the message. Leo could tell that Raph wanted to go say something but Leo mouthed ‘don’t go over there and make a scene’, as he casted his eyes on Donnie. Raph got the message and went back to talking to Mikey, though the atmosphere had changed, with all three of them giving the witch the same murderous expression when they knew that Donnie wasn’t looking
The witch did eventually leave and all four turtles let out a sigh of relief. They finished eating their pizza and thank Hueso, before wandering back out into the Hidden City
Leo could tell that Raph and Donnie wanted to go back home, as he did only promise a quick trip to Run of the Mill. But Leo wanted to go out and explore. He had been cooped up for eight months in the sewers after all
However, when he proposed the idea, Raph and Donnie, as to be expected, were slightly against the idea, Donnie especially so. Leo really wanted to explore, but he also didn’t want to make his brothers uncomfortable
Mikey, being the voice of reason, said “Why don’t you two go on home? I’ll go and explore the Hidden City with Leo and make sure that he doesn’t get into trouble” Mikey nudged Leo when he said that, which lead to Leo rolling his eyes
The portal duo thought that Raph and Donnie would agree to the idea. It was certainly a compromise. Raph seemed to consider and he was about to say something but Donnie stepped in, looking nervous suddenly “Um actually…I don’t mind staying out a bit longer”. Then Donnie came to stand beside Leo. “How about Nardo and I go and explore one part of the Hidden City, while you two explore a different part? We will meet at that water fountain over there in about an hour”
Leo didn’t understand why Donnie was nervous all of sudden, but if Donnie was on board with exploring the Hidden City, then he wasn’t going to complain. Raph and Mikey seemed to agree and they went off in their own direction, but not before Raph called to them to be careful and to call them if there was trouble
As soon as the sunset duo was gone, Leo grabbed Donnie and the two of them set off on their Hidden City adventure, unaware of a certain witch watching them from a distance
…
Donnie tried his damn best to put on a smile and to try and have fun with Leo. And don’t get him wrong, he was having fun with Leo. Any time spent with his twin was some of the best time that he ever had
But, Donnie just couldn’t shake this awful growing feeling inside of his chest. He had been feeling that way ever since he saw that witch at the restaurant. The way that she looked at him gave him the major creeps. He was glad he was there with his brothers as they gave him a sense of protection, Leo especially
There was also the fact that Donnie haven’t been ‘topside’ since the invasion happened and the crowd of yokai was making him feel slightly overstimulated. It wasn’t bad enough to warrant a breakdown but it was enough for him to feel agitated, picking his nails and rubbing his arms, both nervous habits.
Leo picked up on Donnie’s discomfort almost instantly and stayed close to Donnie as much as possible, holding his hand and squeezing it, letting Donnie know that he was there. It was subtle gesture, yet one that Donnie appreciated greatly.
No one knew exactly the birth order of the twins. They didn’t know who was older or who was younger. That didn’t matter to the twins however. They took turns being the older or younger twin. They slide into both roles easily. It just depended on what the situation called for and who needed to be loved and comforted by their twin
Donnie would admit that lately he was the younger twin while Leo was the older twin, and that could be because of the circumstances that felled upon them. Ever since he thought he lost his other half forever and got him back, Donnie had been slightly clingy to Leo, not wanting to leave his twin for long if he could help it. Leo, bless his sweet and wonderful soul, let Donnie cling to him. Donnie wasn’t sure if the closeness benefited him or his twin more.
Whatever the case, the twins became even closer during Leo’s recovery, since Donnie was mostly in charge of it. The past eight months, while hard, were filled with late-night talks and sleepovers in the med bay. It was bittersweet as it let Donnie be close to Leo, but he wished it didn’t have to come with his twin almost dying and being so injured
The only thing that made everything worth while was to see Leo smile again. Donnie would do anything to keep that smile on his twin’s face
It was at that moment that Donnie’s phone rang, the image on his phone popping it to reveal that it was Mikey calling him. Donnie answered the call with a curious ‘Hello?’
He could barely hear what Mikey was saying on the other side as him and Leo were in a back alley, which probably meant that reception wasn’t the best.
Donnie covered his phone and told Leo that he couldn’t hear Mikey and was going to go out in the open and see if he could better reception. Leo was checking out at one of the shops they stopped at and gave Donnie a thumbs up, saying that he would join him once he was done. Donnie gave him a thumbs up back and went a few feet out into the open
Leo watched his twin go and finished checking out, paying for a shiny blue turtle plush that he knew that he had to have
Once Leo was finished, he started walking towards where he knew his twin was. But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the witch from the restaurant from earlier. And it appeared that she wasn’t alone. There was another witch with her and they were closing in on Donnie
Wait…
OH MY GOSH, THEY WERE CLOSING IN ON DONNIE!!!
Leo didn’t have much time to think as he dropped his gift and ran towards his twin, who was unaware of the witches approaching him
Donnie had just got off the phone with Mikey and was waiting on Leo when he heard his name being called in a panicked voice, one that he never heard from his twin in a long time “DONNIE!!!”
Donnie just had enough time to turn around to see the witch from earlier and another witch, moving their mouths, though Donnie couldn’t hear what they were saying, and their wands being and hands being moved around as blue and green light emitted from them…both of which were aiming for him
Donnie felt like a deer in the headlights as he felt frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do or where to go
Time seemed to slow down as the witches cast wherever their spell or curse was and the light traveled towards Donnie. However, in the last second, Donnie watched with horrible realization as Leo pushed him out of the way and ended up diving in front of the light, taking the hit that was intended for him
…
Donnie groaned as his senses finally came to him after a few minutes. He looked around him to see that most of the yokai had fled the scene, probably being scared by the blast of light.
The events of what happened came back to Donnie in a flood and he looked around furiously for the two witches, finding that it was just him and Leo
Wait…Leo
Donnie gasped as he saw his twin lying on the ground. Donnie started to panic as he crawled over to his twin and turn him over. His twin didn’t look hurt, physically at least.
However, when Donnie tried to shake Leo awake, his twin did not stir. Donnie’s panic increased and could feel tears forming behind his eyes. ‘Please. Please don’t…’ Donnie thought as he placed his fingers against Leo’s neck. Donnie let out a big sigh of relief when he found a strong pulse. He even noticed Leo’s chest slowly moving up and down. His twin was alive, thank goodness
Donnie sniffled as he wiped his eyes and he held Leo close, wanting to protect his twin. From what, Donnie wasn’t sure. He just knew that he didn’t want anything to hurt Leo
Though, Donnie had a feeling that maybe he would be hurting Leo later. He knew that was going to berate Leo later for taking that hit for him. He thought that Leo was done with pulling stunts like that. He thought that they were done with the self-sacrifice BS
‘Guess not’ Donnie thought bitterly as he held an unconscious Leo in his arms. Donnie wasn’t sure if he should be more angry at Leo for taking the hit, or the witches for doing this to his twin. Or…maybe he should be mad at himself, since he was probably the reason for why the witches cast their spells in the first place. They were obviously still mad at him from the incident in Witch Town last year, so maybe it was his fault that all this happened
Honestly, the more Donnie thought about it, the less angry he became. It didn’t honestly matter in the moment. All that moment was that Leo got hit with some kind of spell or curse and they needed to figure out what it was so they can find a cure for it
Donnie pulled out his phone and decided to call Raph. He tried his best to remain calm as he explained what happened to Raph, who of course started to freak out, and he told Raph for him and Mikey to get here as quickly as they could
After sending his brothers him and Leo’s coordinates, Donnie hung up and just sat there against a water fountain as he held his unconscious twin in his arms. Leo appeared to be sleeping, and it honestly looked the most peaceful that he ever seen from his twin
Donnie would have thought it was sweet, if not for the reason why Leo was sleeping
Donnie curled around Leo as he mumbled out apologies to Leo for causing all of this to happen to him, waiting patiently for his other two brothers to arrive, as he tried to hold in his tears