Work Text:
The ride back home was quiet.
Usually, it wouldn’t be- Mikey would be re-acting his favorite fighting moments of the night, Raph would be laughing about how stupid the Shredder's goons had looked, Donnie would be commenting about how with all their planning he still managed to outsmart the villains on his own- and Leo would listen. Listen to all of it with a smile, let their laughter warm him in ways his cold-blooded nature would never allow him to, let himself be assured that they had survived another day and could go home, and eat whatever left-overs they had, probably stay up and god-awful hours and maybe watch an episode that they had missed while gone.
This time, all four of the turtles were quiet.
The past couple of days had been ridiculously exhausting, barely getting any sleep at night because they had to chase after Tigerclaw and the others non-stop to get some stupid device thing before Shredder could get his hands on it. Leo didn't know what it was. He didn't care. He was tired.
In his lap, Mikey had already fallen asleep. The youngest was so tired he didn't even move or flail around like he always did, instead, his beak was buried in Leo's neck, tickling him with his breaths, legs on one side as the oldest held him the way he would hold a child. Next to him, Donnie kept dozing off, only to jolt awake at the last minute, look around, then start nodding off again. He had worked in his lab non-stop to track the stupid thing, after all, and the light bouncing off the car and the sound of the engine seemed to be soothing him enough to finally rest. Still, he resisted. (And failed) the exact reason he refused to lean against Leo. He knew he would lose.
Even Raph, who was focused on the road, seemed less energized than usual. He did glance at the rear mirror now and then to check on his siblings, but other than that, he didn't do much. Kept rubbing his fist into his eyes. Kept yawning.
Leo himself just stared ahead. Finally. Finally, they were done. He didn't even feel like catching up on the Space Heroes episodes he missed, he just wanted to go to bed. Maybe even sleep in. Cancel the training in the morning, his body ached while his mind screamed for rest.
Not yet, Leo.
He finally snapped out of his trance when the familiar sewers came into view, and sluggishly looked out the window. Mikey mumbled in his sleep as the car slowed- and Donnie was falling asleep again, almost there. He didn't wake him up.
"...Alright." once the car was parked, Raph got up, stretched his arms until his shoulders and back popped, then turned to the other three. His expression softened at the scene in front of him. "...Should I get Don?"
No tease, no joke. Not even a smart-ass comment.
Still, Leo didn't, either. "Can you even pick him up right now?" He questioned, having noticed the way his younger brother was swaying- he too was ready to pass out now. Still, Raph growled.
"I can always."
"Well, then I can't."
"Hm...?" The genius blinked open his eyes once hearing the whispered comments and looked around. "Wha...? We're home...?"
His voice softened at once. "Yeah," Leo murmured, leaning over to press a kiss against his forehead. Raph's scowl faded, and he held out a hand for Donnie to take.
"Oh..." he nodded and attempted to get up.
Usually, Leo would have carried Mikey to bed himself, but he didn’t think he had the mental strength for it right now. So, with great regret, he gently shook him awake, brushing his fingers over Mikey's face in a feather-light touch. "Pst, Mikey." He whispered. "Wake up, little brother."
"Hmm...?" Mikey shifted slowly, nuzzling his face into his neck as he did, before cracking open his eyes. "Ani...?"
Leo smiled at the croaky voice. Yeah. Time for bed. "We're home."
"Oh..." the youngest pushed himself up, sleepily stumbling out of the turtle tank- allowing the oldest to stretch his long-having-fallen-asleep legs, and get out too. The middle two were waiting outside, Donnie falling asleep on his feet while Raph was yawning more than before, looking as if he would fall over any second. Really, how had he managed to stay awake enough to drive-?
When the final two got out, Donnie got the keys from Raph to lock the car. The new, small device in his hands. Without a word, turning to the lair- the lab.
"...He doesn't think he can actually-" Raph yawned again. "-work on something, does he?"
"Probably to put the charger thing somewhere..." Leo mumbled. Managing to grab Mikey's arms when his knees buckled. Not even batting an eye. "Geez, Mikey."
Mikey whined, pushing himself up again. "Nighty night..." he mumbled, right after his older brother. Not waiting for the other two to respond.
"...I'm going to check on them."
"Have fun doing that." The hothead stretched again. Finally, the two made their way inside the lair. "I'm passing out for two weeks."
With a gentle laugh, Leo shook his head. "Night, Raph."
"Hm... night." No sarcastic remark. No nicknames. Yep. His sweet, hotheaded brother really must have been exhausted. Leo would make sure to check on him too... after checking the other two.
Who first? Donnie, or Mikey?
...
Well. He hadn't seen Donnie come out of his lab yet.
So Leonardo turned to check on him first. Quiet and slow until he reached the lab. Snorting at the sight.
Apparently, Donatello had finally lost the battle against sleep- the device on the table... the genius himself leaning against a wall, snoring softly. Somehow standing. Leo sighed again. Yeah, no. That wouldn’t do.
"Don-Don," he mumbled, gently shaking his shoulder. Donnie snorted in his sleep, then blinked awake groggily.
"I- huh- wha-"
"Shh. Come on." The oldest took his arm. "It's time for bed, Otouto. Wouldn’t that be so much nicer than the wall?"
"...Yeah." and his knees buckled.
Leo was quick to catch him, then lifted him again, having a strong grip on his shoulders. The genius allowed himself to be lead out, giving chirps now and then when he wanted to say something but English failed him. Gently, Leo replied with churrs until they got to his room and bed. In front of it, Leo grabbed both his arms- and lowered him down. Donnie didn't protest- even allowed himself to be tucked in when Leo covered him with a blanket.
"There we go..." he smiled, sat on the edge of the bed, and reached down to undo the purple bandana Donnie had forgotten to take off. The genius mumbled incoherently, snuggled into his pillow, and sighed. The leader's smile widened just a little, letting his hand trail down until he reached his shell, giving gentle scratches. Snickering when he heard the gentle purrs and chirps not even a minute later.
"Hm... ani?" His smile softened at the sleepy murmur. It wasn't often Donnie allowed himself to relax- always too panicked, too busy with upgrades and machines and being smart and whatnot. Yet, right now, from the way his shoulders relaxed, Leo could tell that finally, Don was letting that big brain rest. Good.
"Shh." A tender kiss was left on his forehead, and Leo moved to get up. "Goodnight, Donnie."
Another soft mumble followed by a chirp was all that answered him.
Leo carefully closed the door behind him, then moved to Mikey's room next. He had no doubt the youngest had passed out already, but just in case. Didn't hurt to check. Plus, he might have tried taking Icecream Kitty to wish her goodnight as well- so he should make sure the cat was where she was supposed to be too.
The leader knocked on the wall, hard enough to be heard if awake but soft enough to not disturb someone's sleep, then waited. Once no one answered, he slipped inside. And couldn't contain his laugh this time.
Mikey had thrown himself onto his bed, not even having bothered to take off any of his knee or elbow pads- even his nunchucks still on his belt. He wasn't even completely on the bed anymore, somehow having managed to roll off of it partially.
Leo, while shaking his head, focused on the pads first. Each pad was pulled from each limb with care, and discarded on the floor afterward. While normally he would have put them away neatly, Leo didn't have the energy for that right now. The bright, orange bandana was removed next, and more carefully stored by folding it and placing it on his nightstand. His chucks were placed inside it.
Next, the oldest snaked his arms under Mikey's knees- lifting them both so they were back on the bed, but also so he could pull the covers away from below. Once he pulled those away, he lowered the turtle back down, pushed the pillow under his head, and tucked the cover over him this time.
Mikey stirred at the movement, sadly, cracking his eyes open just a little. "...ani...?" He hummed sleepily.
"Shh." Similar to how he had done with Donnie, Leo sat on the edge of the bed, raising a hand to pet and scratch the youngest's shell. "Go back to sleep, Mikey."
Michelangelo gave another inaudible mumble but was quick to doze off again with a final chirp, melting into his pillow. The leader shook his head once more, leaned down to press a kiss on his temple, and snuck out of the room again.
Okay. The two had been tucked in, Raph had already gone into his room... sleep.
The oldest yawned- yep. He was canceling training tomorrow, they could sleep in. He already knew that Donnie had left his T-phone in the lab and Mikey's had died mid-chase earlier, so he didn't need to worry about their alarms waking them. He should tell Raph, though- he liked sleeping in anyway.
So Leo changed his course, ending up in front of Raph's room instead- and just opened without knocking. Raph, who had been putting his gear away, turned around quickly. But relaxed when he saw who it was. "There's this thing called knocking, you know."
Leo ignored him. "Since I've lost my will to live, we have no training tomorrow morning- so please don't wake up too early tomorrow and then be grumpy about it."
"Damn." The hothead sat on the bed. It was something to hear Leo cancelit'saining. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you dying, Batman?"
"Too tired for that today. Maybe tomorrow."
Raph undid his bandana, revealing the bags under his eyes that all four of them had. "Have fun with that. Do Mike and Don know?"
"They're asleep already, but their alarms are off." Similar to how he had done for the youngest two, Leo automatically took the blanket Raph had lying on his bed, unfolded it, and then tried to throw it around his shoulders.
Emphasis on tried. Raph slapped him away at once, looking offended. "I'm not a baby, Leo."
The oldest blinked. He blinked again. "It's just a blanket."
"Yeah whatever. I don't need your mother-henning."
"..."
Leo threw the blanket in his face.
Raph yelped, pulling it off and about to yell at him- but the leader had already sped off, yelling "Love you!" As he made his great escape. He snickered at the offended calls of his name that followed but didn't turn around. Instead, he got into his own room, didn't even bother to turn on the lights, nor did he bother with his gear- he just threw it all on the floor, then finally collapsed onto his bed. He took a minute to hug his pillow for a moment. But then he got under the covers properly, tied his bandana to the bed, and closed his eyes.
As he had been exhausted already, it didn't take him long to drift off. The warmth of a blanket felt wonderful on his cold skin, the softness of the bed allowing him to relax completely and let his body rest. His mind did not, however.
Something was moving around the lair. Someone must have woken up.
Leo tried to ignore it- whoever it was probably just got thirsty or something, but his Big Brother Senses(tm) kept yelling to check, that something was wrong. Yet, the oldest remained where he was.
That was until he heard the door crack open.
Leo made sure to keep his breathing even and kept his eyes closed- he had his back turned to the door anyway, so it wasn't like he could see who it was. Footsteps got closer and stopped in front of his bed. Probably staring. The leader could feel the eyes on him.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bed dipped. His blanket got lifted so that whoever it was could join him under the covers, pressing his plastron against Leo's shell, arms wrapping around his torso and head behind his neck. From the calloused hands that held him, Leo didn't even need to look to know who it was. He smirked, slowly turned around, and wrapped his arms around Raph, pressing his head against his plastron with his hand. "I thought you didn't need mother-henning, Raphael?"
"Shuddup." Muttered the younger one. But without the fire behind it, it sounded more amusing than threatening. Leo, instead of making fun of him, chose the more soft approach, and gave him a kiss on top of his head too. Tucked the blanket a bit better over his shoulders, gave a quick scratch on his shell so he wouldn’t have been left out, ignored the churr that followed so Raph wouldn't be self-conscious, and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Otouto."
"...Goodnight, Ani." A whisper so soft he barely heard him answered- but it made him smile anyway.
What would those three have done without their eldest to tuck them in?