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The next day, Donnie had found himself on the tail end of a 10 hour shift. He had the adrenaline to go even longer, but a sudden text pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Hey, clock out and get some rest, okay? Everything will still be here tomorrow.”
“...ok.”
Donnie sighed, clearly not wanting to end his work day. However, he didn’t want to piss his boss off and deal with that mess, either. So he just clocked out and slid out of his chair in exhaustion. He started to head to the kitchen, eager for a cup of cold coffee or maybe some Advil.
“Something, anything…”
As he stepped into the kitchen, he couldn’t help but notice how messy the hallways were. They were coated in dust, and he even found a smidge of dried blood on the walls from the day he was stabbed. There was also a mass of knick-knacks and garbage that littered the shelves, and it pissed him off to no end.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
He didn’t even think before grabbing a garbage bag from under the sink and gathering all of the clutter. With garbage thrown away and the knick-knacks organized, he began to sweep the floors. He also made sure to mop, utterly shocked that even Pine-Sol and hot water caused the floor below to change color.
“That much dirt? Really? I get we live in the sewers, but this is ridiculous…”
As he dumped the dirty water down the sink, Splinter grabbed the mop and whacked him upside the head with it.
“You should have cleaned the bathrooms. They’re filthy.”
“...I will go do that now, Sensei.”
Another whack sent Donnie on the floor, but Splinter offered no help. Instead, he threw the mop at his exhausted son and grabbed his wrist, practically throwing him into the hallway.
“If you don’t clean those fucking bathrooms, you will be sorry!” Splinter yelled.
Donnie just sighed and grabbed a spray bottle of bleach cleaner. He also made sure to grab one of the newer sponges and a tattered old rag before starting to clean.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
The task itself wasn’t too tiresome, but there was a side effect that he hadn’t quite expected. The fumes from the bleach cleaner combined with the lack of ventilation in the bathroom had started to trigger his more annoying respiratory conditions. He barely finished cleaning the tub before he had started to cough, and the mere task of wiping down the outside of the toilet had left him wheezing.
“Goddamnit!”
He had powered through the rest of the tasks, but it didn’t help matters. If anything, the physical exertion made his wheezing worse, and he even coughed up quite a bit of bloody phlegm. As he shut the door to the bathroom, Mikey found him barely able to catch his breath.
“Follow me.”
He hoisted Donnie off and snuck him to his room.
“This way, Dad can’t make you do any more chores.”
By the time they made it to Mikey’s room, Donnie was spent. He very quickly collapsed into some inflatable furniture, and as he relaxed, his wheezing eventually stopped.
“How do you feel?”
“...not the best.”
“I get that.”
“...when did you set this up?”
“Last Christmas. No, the one before last year. Leo got that and another chair for me, but Dad broke the other chair.”
“Shit.”
“I know… Hey, do you feel comfortable being alone? I’ve been dying to test out those fixed machines.”
“Go for it.”
“Thanks.”
Mikey left, making sure to lock the door behind him. With him gone and the room quiet, Donnie leaned back into the chair and finally let his weary eyes close…
=====================================================================
Mikey came back 2 hours later. He was clearly thrilled to have set the high score on the fixed machine, but his excitement slowly waned when he found Donnie.
“You’re finally sleeping. Good. Come on, though. We need to sort out dinner.”
Mikey walked closer to Donnie, hoping that the sound of his footsteps would be enough to wake him up. But Donnie didn't stir. Confused, he tried poking his arm and even shaking his shoulders a bit.
“Dee? Wake up. Come on, wake up!”
Still nothing. Mikey decided that fighting wouldn’t work and just laid Donnie down in his bed. As he pulled a blanket over him, Mikey just sighed to himself.
“...you look like you need something to eat. You’re getting thin again.”
Mikey stood up and headed to the kitchen. It didn’t take long for him to find a sleeve of crackers and a can of chicken and rice soup, and even less time to heat up the soup and open the sleeve of crackers.
“Perfect.”
Only when he walked into the room did Donnie wake up. The smell of warm soup piqued his interest, and he shakily sat up.
“Did you eat yet?”
“I had some pizza while I was gaming. When was the last time you ate?”
Donnie couldn’t answer, which told Mikey everything he needed to know. The older brother took the mug of soup in his hands, allowing the soup to help clear up his lungs.
“Not hungry yet.”
“No pressure.”
Mikey left again, but quickly came back with the nebulizer set up. As Donnie breathed in the steam and even tried to drink some of the broth, Mikey managed to figure out how to set up the medical device.
“Ready when you are. But you should probably have some food.”
Donnie nodded. He managed to eat all of the soup and even 5 saltine crackers before fitting the mask over his face and starting a round of treatment. With meds and food in his system, he was able to relax, and Mikey just sat next to him with the GameBoy Advance. He spent the rest of the night gaming while Donnie rested.