LEO - POST MOVIE

[semilethal]

[ nobody asks where april found the van. some mild criminal activity feels irrelevant in light of the day they just had anyway, and they couldn't exactly walk all the way back to the lair.

not with leo like...this. not just leo either; raphael couldn't hardly hold his head up, hunched and clearly wearing his 'i'm the eldest and i won't complain' face as he cradles leo so carefully on their way to the van. mikey's hands and arms won't stop trembling, even when he twists them together and presses them to his plastron. donatello is sore all over and his skin and shell feel raw, like someone rubbed him down with sandpaper.

and leo's quiet. leo's too quiet.

so there they are in the cargo van, raph tucked toward the front with a leg stretched out for mikey to use as a pillow to doze upon. april and casey sit up front, throwing concerned glances over their shoulders as often as is safe while april slowly weaves the vehicle through the half-destroyed streets toward the nearest access point. splinter sits near the doors as their only other capable fighter, though he keeps his tail curled around leo's uninjured ankle.

and donatello, he's stripping off his gloves because he's going to have to touch his brother to get a better idea of his injuries, and his skin doesn't feel like his own and that'll interfere with his judgement. the fewer layers between he and his brother, the more accurate he can be. ]

Alrighty Leon. Look alive, let's...let's diagnose.

Comments

[neonleon]

[Has water always tasted this good?

Granted, parts of the water lines above are messed up, so they're pulling from their own source down here, but it's better than the alternative. Still, savor it as much as he can.]

What's that?

[It's not a promise or agreement to provide whatever it is. With Donatello, there's no way to really guess at what it could be, not with the way he's forcing his tone flat like that.]

[semilethal]

Let me fix things. Including you. Stop fighting me and let me do my part already.

[donnie's proud of his abilities and he likes to think he's fairly objective about his contributions to the team, but nobody could say that he provided a fair share during this entire debacle. he only even managed to get to the ship's computer thanks to mikey's quick thinking, and he didn't even manage to get the krang ship all the way into the portal fast enough before he got ripped loose.

if he'd just been less- less him, if he hadn't hesitated and have dove right in like his brothers always seem to be able to do, maybe he could've done it. if he was someone just a little different, maybe leo wouldn't have felt like he needed to-

well. back to the point, which is- it's that his greatest contribution to the team is always preparation and then recuperation. he fixes what's broken. he's usually the least hurt because he usually does the least fighting, so he can at least look after his family this way. if he can't come up with incredible strategies, if he can't put villains in the ground with his own strength, if he can't rip open space-time to save his brothers when they need it the most, he can at least do this.]

[neonleon]

[Something in Leo's expression shifts, from an eagerness to listen to confusion. Had he been fighting Donnie on the way back? He doesn't fully remember, he remembers the van and the bumps, that moment of excruciating pain in his side, but not a lot else. The whole ride back had been a faded mix of pain and exhaustion and relief that his brothers were all right (mostly).

He chances stepping closer, almost in arm's reach now.]

How?

[It isn't an accusation, it isn't meant to make Donatello feel like he can't do whatever it is. Leo's genuinely asking, wanting to know how to help his brother.]

[semilethal]

Tell me the truth. Don't brush off my questions. Don't try to redirect my attention, or my concerns. I need data, not reassurances. [this is really what donnie spent most of his time doing sequestered in his lab, besides melting down two of his busts to start on new battle shell components. figuring out how to articulate this without sounding pathetic and/or demanding, so he sounds sure and so his requests are clear and easily understood. the nuances of what he wants to ask are exhausting, and with how often he and leo vibe on the save wavelength, they seem to miss each other just as often.]

And trust me to take care of you, and them. [raph and mikey.

maybe donnie's no good in an actual fight, maybe donnie can't always get the job done out there, but here in the aftermath? he will mend every tiny tear, ice every miniscule bruise. he will use every ounce of his considerable capacity for project management to make sure his family mends in the most efficient, painless way possible. it's his specialty. it's the only thing he's truly good at, when it comes to this.]

[neonleon]

[It's a simple enough set of requests. Something Leo immediately wants to agree to; for as often as they get on each other's nerves, he'd give anything for who is effectively his twin.]

I do. -And before you try to say otherwise, I wasn't going to talk about it in front of them. [The others, their brothers, their father. The rest of them will hear about the details eventually, once Leo's had a chance to really break it down, bit by bit and put it together again in a more palatable way. But Donnie? He knows Donatello will react to it, but he at least will keep the emotion out of the immediate and circle back around to it later.

He looks down at his free hand, slowly closing it into a loose fist before opening it again.]

If you want the truth, now's a good time. They'll probably stay glued to us when they wake up again. [It's as much an offer as it is a fact.]

[semilethal]

[though donnie would refute it with any number of hypotheses sometimes for the sake of the argument itself, leo is effectively his twin. and that's why when leo brushes it off as 'i just didn't want to talk about it in front of them,' donnie doesn't quite buy it.

...but if it gets him the information he needs, he'll leave it alone. for now.] All right.

[the coffee maker has already poured enough into the pot to make at least a mug, but donnie ignores it in favor of taking advantage of leo's rare straight-forwardness. he folds his arms, finally turning to face leo fully and leaning his hip against the counter.] How many times were you struck on the head, that you can remember. And where.

[neonleon]

[Right to it, then. But even he'll admit he's tired, so moving to sit on the counter for now.

God, how many times? Struck on the head versus just hitting his head like normal...]

Only counting the times it was intentional? Like.. three. [He thinks. A few slams from Raph while he was being controlled head his brain bouncing around. But the only really intentional ones were from Krang.] A couple times in the face, at least once... [It's fuzzier than it has any right to be, mingled with Krang's agonized fury screaming in his ears as what was left of the ship fell apart. He shakes his head slowly.] Thrown a few times that hit my head.

[semilethal]

[and donatello reaches up to push leo to sit up straight on that counter instead of hunching over. if leo tries to lean forward, he'll find his brother's hand there bracing his outer shoulder to keep him upright.] Don't slouch.

[so, half a dozen times. donnie's not sure where he'd even find an MRI; he may have to put one together himself. he should put this pot in a thermos and start another.] When did your plastron crack; specifically, after how many blows? Did you receive additional blows after it cracked? Did you notice if anything in the prison dimension was able to cause damage to your shell or plastron, or if it was all obtained from your opponent? [a small consideration there. don't use proper nouns to help maintain distance from the subject matter.]

[neonleon]

[Something about sitting up straight catches his breath, stuck somewhere on the way out each time he exhales. Likely a problem with that rib.]

It, um. It was him. [And that is a difference between them. Leo can't not use proper nouns and names when he knows them, it keeps him focused.]

Back in the subway. When we got separated, a chunk of cement fell on me. I think that... probably started it. Didn't really crack like this until he was slamming me into the floor.

[He sips his water, runs one hand down his face.

Y̵o̵u̴'̶v̸e̴ r̶u̴i̷n̷e̷d̷ e̷v̶e̷r̵y̴t̶h̸i̷n̶g̴

Think. Other question, this is for Don. Think about that, and not about how it felt or what he was thinking at the time. Focus on the facts.] Yeah. Additional blows after. Plenty of broken up building and pieces of the ship floating around I got slammed into.

[semilethal]

[all right. multiple trauma to the same place is most certainly less than ideal, but donnie almost prefers that to the thought of one strike or blow causing this much damage to their shells. resilience is one of their best traits as turtles, he supposes.

donnie doesn't have any other questions specifically about his wounds, so he can let the topic rest here. at this point he's lost again, knowing he should comfort leonardo somehow but unsure how to do so. providing him with good news and a plan of action should do it, right?] Michael's fine. Mild contusions, and some mild patterned burns on his hands and forearms, but they should heal quickly without scarring. Draxum said he would make his way to us in the next few days to give Mikey a 'mystic' checkup.

Raphael might have some scarring around his eye, but his other wounds are mild and the damage to his shell and plastron is cosmetic only. His bloodwork is clean so far, but I have to wait for my cultures to finish cooking before I can completely rule out lingering pathogens.

[satisfied that leo isn't going to go back to slouching, donnie removes his hand (shakes it as discreetly as possible before twisting both hands together) and returns his attention to his coffee, rummaging for that thermos after all.]

As for you, keep your shoulders back and no bending at the waist. No picking up anything heavier than a sandwich for at least two weeks. Immobile with bed rest would be ideal but I'm not gonna pretend you'll listen to that. I want to give you an MRI as soon as I have the equipment together, but in the meantime tell me if you experience any vertigo, sudden nausea, heart palpitations, forgetfulness, slurred speech, blackouts, or loss of any of the senses, partial or full. In fact, just tell me if you feel anything other than 'bruise hurts.'

[neonleon]

[He's almost certain Donatello needs or wants more information than that. Whether he's putting it off to wait on whatever equipment he needs, or he just truly doesn't need it this second, Leo's skeptical.

But even he perks up a little hearing the results of their brothers' examinations. He'd picked up about the burns, but is glad Draxum will take a look. The scarring around Raphael's eye... That's just something they'll come to terms with. And he can work on some of the lingering parts of that with Raph later.]

Good. About them, I, um. Yeah.

[He sighs. Moves enough to slowly peel his bandana off and hold it in both hands now.]

Hard to tell you that if you stay away, y'know.

[semilethal]

[glances aside at leo before topping off that thermos, dumping the grounds to make another (strong) pot of coffee.] You need an MRI sooner rather than later. Once I get that together, I can join everybody. [and maybe by then, his won't feel like dousing himself in hydrochloric acid every time someone accidentally brushes up against his skin] Call me instead, don't go looking for me.

[neonleon]

[He compromised, gave Donatello information and in the way he asked for it. He's doing a lot by still sitting here when he really feels like he should get horizontal, the way his vision is starting to swim sitting up straight like this. He lowers his voice to a whisper again.]

You know they want you in there with us, right? Mikey almost wouldn't even try to go to sleep until April came back and said you weren't coming.

If you can tell me that's what you actually, really want right now, then fine. I'll leave it alone, tell them to leave you be. But we're just as worried about you.

[semilethal]

[leo...vision swimming is a symptom. for gods sake please report your symptoms]

Oh.

[hm. a miscalculation.]

I don't want to be touched right now. I really do need to build the MRI machine, though, it's not an excuse.

[neonleon]

[YOU ARE AWARE HE HAS A CONCUSSION, SIR.

But it's hard to tell if Don's request is because of the emotional navigation he just spent all evening doing, or if it's because of something else.]

Fair enough, no touching. [Leo can be annoying. He can be frustrating, he can push people's limits, he can see like he doesn't care. But for his brothers, he does take care to their idiosyncrasies. And he knows Donnie requires some consideration for boundaries and requests as simple as 'please don't invade my personal space right now'. He also doesn't want to mess up this tenuous understanding they've reached.

Speaking of. He sets the now empty glass down before slowly climbing down from the counter to the floor again, one hand firmly keeping him upright.] Hey, you said, uh. Symptoms right? How's vision starting to slowly go blurry?

[semilethal]

[considering donnie's usual response to unannounced touch is to just look kinda mad about it instead of telling his brothers to stop, yeah, the consideration is simultaneously warranted and appreciated.

however. there are more pressing matters. donatello immediately puts the thermos aside and comes over to leo's side. he can touch leo and that's fine, because he's expecting it, so he takes leo's arm and starts leading him back to the medical wing.] How slowly?

[neonleon]

Since 'call instead, don't go looking for me'. Um.

[That wasn't entirely the answer to the question, and he ponders over that as Donnie shuffles him along. Leonardo instinctively wants to drape that arm around him, and Donnie can probably tell by the way his muscles tense and flinch as Leo fights it, keeping his arm firmly where it is in his brother's grasp

Think. Try not to wake everyone up as they walk past the mountain of fabric and snoring.]

Pretty slowly. Enough I can tell.

[semilethal]

[actually, that first answer was better than the second. the first one provides donnie with a definite marker, from which he can approximate a length of time.

donnie peers around the medical wing with a scowl. where is the cot. did they move it, these bastards. at least his worktable is still in here, though it's probably less comfortable, but he has leo lay down on it nonetheless and adjusts the incline to at least make it a little easier. he'll find a pillow in a minute but for now, april's discarded jacket over on the counter will have to do.]

It's probably just exhaustion, but I want liquids in you. [over the course of minutes is better than within twenty seconds. less likely to be the result of aneurysm or abrupt brain bleed.] Turn your hand over. [he's gonna get an IV in there. .......hesitates]




Do you want morphine.

[neonleon]

[These bastards really did leave the cart in the blanket fort, which Leo said Don would get mad at them for moving it. He suspects Raph will be asked to bring it back sometime in the next twelve hours.

But they do agree on that - it probably is just exhaustion (he wants it to just be exhaustion, pleading with his broken body to just let that be the worst of it). So he'll follow the instruction, turn his hand over.]

Um. [He's battered, bruised, definitely in pain. But he'd rather be aware of what's happening around him and consciously able to concentrate and process everything.] No. I don't need it.

[semilethal]

[good because he didn't wanna give it to you anyway, for MYRIAD reasons] Once you soak up this saline, you can go back to the others. [tapes it down for now, adjusting the valve for the bag and holding it up rather than searching for their IV pole, which is probably being used as a coat rack or weapon somewhere.] If you don't sleep tonight, I'm giving you a sedative. You need rest.

[neonleon]

[Leo's gaze flicks up to his brother, debating something to say. Weighing the options and... Donnie's come this far. The worst he could do is just drop the bag.]

You know those are two different things, right?

[semilethal]

What are? [not paying attention because he's hyperfocusing on this IV bag to make sure the drip isn't too much]

[neonleon]

Sleep and rest. Two different, but not mutually exclusive, things. I can be resting without sleeping.

[he's not saying he won't at some point. But he needs some semblance of normalcy here, and sometimes that takes the image of annoying his twin with pedantic nonsense.]

[semilethal]

[semilethal]

[just fkn tapes the saline bag to the wall]