TMNT2003: After the Season

[shadowshock]

Title: After the Season
Author: ShaddaShk/Shadowshock
Rating: G
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003
Spoilers: Some for Season 3 Christmas Aliens
Disclaimer: I do not own Ninja Turtles, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello or any related items. I do not make a profit out of this story, this is a free to read and archive (do tell me though) fanfiction story created out of inspiration.
Genre: Humor
Type: Multi-chapter - Chapter 1 of 4
Summary: 'Twas the week after Christmas... and Mikey couldn't read his comics! Good thing he's not an only sibling. A slice of life set in 2k3 after Season 3's Christmas Aliens.
A/N: When this story was written in 2015 it was suppose to be a simple story and I only had two concrete scene ideas in my head. It turned into a 20k monster and I have no idea how I wrote so much about a non-adventure story. Hence you folks will only be getting Chapter 1 for this posting.





Looking back, the signs, Michelangelo thought ever so slowly as he blinked his eyes blearily, had been right there in front of him. Only now, of course, does he remembered rubbing at his nose two days ago when he was finishing up leftovers of April's delicious creamy Christmas cookies from their spectacular Christmas party. And there had been the dry throat he'd woken up with yesterday; only to promptly forget about when he heard the hungry meowing of his new friend. By the time he felt the fever setting in he had been in the middle of his Monster Mayhem Movie marathon - something he'd been looking forward to ever since Splinter announced there would be no intense training the whole Christmas week. He hadn't been thinking too straight when his burning eyes had forced him to stop and the only thought he had was of hauling himself up into his loft bed and sleeping his misery away.

If only he'd paid more attention he could have stopped it cold.

"Ha." he whispered hoarsely. "Stopped it cold. Get it Klunk?"

He barely heard the kitten's response from the corner of his bed as the words tickled his throat and sent him into a coughing fit, one which seemed to do nothing for him and everything towards making his throat hurt more, his eyes burn more and his whole diaphragm ache.

Mikey rubbed at his nose and eyes with both fists as the fit finally ended. Rolling over on his side with a groan he grabbed and buried his head into his pillow. It gave him a few seconds of relief as the fabric felt cool against his eyes and he almost whimpered when it faded away. If only he'd been able to sleep through the night instead of being pulled awake by his fever and coughing.

He felt Klunk stand up and stretch before jumping off the loft bed with a small "brreow".

"Aw, Klunk," Mikey whined. The white paws and waving tail tip were the only way he could track the kitten in the dark as the cat made his way out the room. Deserter.

Well, it wasn't like Mikey was exactly awake either, he figured as he let out another weak cough. If he were fully awake he'd figure out how to get down and head for the kitchen to make himself some tea. Or go wake Leo up to make the tea. Maybe this was what it was like for Arachnid Boy when he'd been poisoned with the deadly dastardly-

His thoughts were interrupted by another round of harsh coughing and he decided it wasn't worth the effort right now. Right now he felt horrible and all he wanted was to be able to go to sleep and wake up with it all gone. If only he could get one of his brothers to get something for him...

He cracked an eye open and peeked over the edge of the bed, barely making out the outline of the green shellcell on the floor. Definitely out of reach. He should start putting it under his pillow or along the bed edge with his nunchucks. Well, he could just try to do it the old fashion ninja way. He half lifted himself up on his elbows and called out.

"Donnie!"

Or tried to. It squeaked at the end when Mikey tried to make it loud enough to reach out of his room and in the end all he got from it was another round of coughing. No way he could wake up Donnie like that. He collapsed back onto his bed and curled up under the blankets, letting out a shiver even though he didn't feel too cold. He wished someone, anyone, was awake in the lair. But except for his coughing it was all quiet.

He figured he'd try to go back to sleep. Again. And if he couldn't, well it was only... he peeked over the edge of the bed again, squinting to make his eyes focus on the glowing numbers. At least six hours before there was a chance anyone would start to wake up. It was the holidays after all. There was a chance even Leo would be a little slow.

Mikey let out a moan - what, it wasn't like anyone was around to hear him - rolled onto his back and squeezed his eyes shut, throwing an arm over them. Time was going to move excruciatingly slow for him. Turtle luck true to form.

He heaved a sigh which irritated his dry throat and made him cough again. He dropped his arm from his head and shifted on his bed restlessly, kicking off a blanket from one foot. He shifted again and found himself staring at the ceiling without really seeing it, coughing.

The next thing he knew something was making his bed shift and a sleepy voice was calling his name. A hand was on his shoulder, nudging him.

"Mikey? Hey, bro, what's going on?"

"Wha?" Mikey managed to reply intelligently. Pulling together enough energy to lift his head off his pillow and twist around, he blinked at the silhouetted figure hanging on the edge of his bed. Funny, he didn't remember leaving his lamp on. He blinked again, unsure which brother it was... not that it mattered much. One of his brothers were here; things would be much better.

The hand was back, this time pushing at the blankets pulled up to his chin and touching his forehead. "Feels like you're running a fever."

"Mmm-hmmm," Mikey sighed and leaned against the cool hand, letting his eyes close in relief.

"You getting any sleep?"

Mikey shook his head and opened his eyes, letting all the misery he was feeling come out. What? It was great to be pampered by older brothers. No need to hold it in! "It's like trying to fly a Razoredge on BattleDawn with half your engines out cold and the other half randomly going off in random directions. Oh yeah and the nav-com won't shut up. All the while you're trying to land on that stupid rotating asteroid base."

"Heh," his dark green brother gave his head a rub with his knuckles. "That sounds like you on a normal day."

Without another word, Raph pulled away and started down the ladder. Mikey huffed in annoyance as his brother vanished from his sight, flipped onto his stomach and wiggled himself up near the edge. Didn't Raph know the extent of his misery? He was not about to sit in bed with another six hours of night to go! He was dying of boredom as it was and he was going to let Raph know.

"Raphieeeee!"

His whine was ruined by the coughing at the end but he figured he'd gotten his message across when Raph paused as he stepped onto the floor. He eyed Mikey with a grunt and if it wasn't for the fever Mikey might have found the annoyed yet sleepy expression on Raph's face funny.

"I'm just gonna go get Leo," Raph told him, rubbing his eyes before reaching up and patting Mikey's arm. "Helping you down without breaking a leg is going to be a two man job."

"Oh." That made sense. Not even Raph would tease him too much when he was this sick. He relaxed, then added quickly. "Okay. You can go. But only if you come back!"

"I'm coming back," Raph rolled his eyes as he made his way over to the doorway, yawning loudly.

Time stretched so it seemed to take forever for the digital clock to change numbers. And his eyes were still itchy and burning. He rubbed at them with the back of his hands again, trying his best not to rub too hard as Donnie's voice echoed in the back of his head; an admonishment that the older brother had repeated over and over again. Something about rubbing too hard actually made the itching worse? Or was that for mosquito bites?

When he finished and blinked his eyes open, Raph was back with Leo. If Mikey wasn't already ill, the alert look Leo had would have been enough to make him sick. How did Leo manage to look so awake? It had to be some older brother super-power or something.

Raph looked up at Mikey and raised an eyeridge. "You ready to come down?"

"No," was the miserable reply. He didn't have the energy to pull off the coordination that usually came so natural to him. At the same time he knew he didn't want to stay in bed - he really would be bored, not to mention the misery of being sick. "BattleDawn. Razoredge. Stupid rotating asteroid base. Remember?"

"Right." Raph climbed up the ladder again, making the bed frame rock. "Come on, get it in gear."

Mikey sighed, half in relief that something was finally happening and half in exhaustion at the mere thought of having to do anything like moving. This was the hard part. Usually when he got sick he'd realize it in time to go crash on the couch. Or somewhere that didn't pose the risk of injury just to go get a drink of water. The last half dozen times he'd been in his own bed and too sick to move it had been a pain in the shell to get to the floor without some help. Not that he'd ever exchange his loft bed for a floor mattress like Leo. He liked being up high.

Just not when he was sick.

Scrunching up his face, Mikey flip off the blankets and crawl nearer to the edge of the bed where the ladder was. When he got within reach, Raph grabbed the edge of his carapace and tugged him around so that his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed. Raph gave him a push to start him sliding off the bed, then changed his grip to Mikey's arm. Mikey grumbled and shifted as the wooden edge dug uncomfortably into his plastron. Hands grabbed him around the waist to help guide him down, taking his weight so he wouldn't drop uncontrolled to the floor.

"Got him," Leo said as his feet touched the floor and Mikey shivered at the cold, curling his toes.

Raph grunted and released his hold on Mikey's arm. As soon as he did Mikey turned and buried his face into Leo's shoulder, hugging his older brother's arm to himself. The fever made him feel lousy and gave him that hated feeling of being out of touch with the world around him, like a hazy film was between his mind and the physical realm. But Leo practically radiated calm and holding onto him, feeling that his brother really was there, helped to ground Mikey and calm his nerves.

"Your room?" Leo asked as Raph jumped off the ladder.

Mikey frowned, not sure he liked where this was going. Because, hello! At least his room had a TV in it! Raph's didn't, just a radio and no way he'd be entertained from that, certainly when there weren't any notable sports games playing in the nearby states. And playing cards wouldn't even come close to dulling the state of sheer boredom Mikey was in. He could only imagine Raph falling asleep, snoring pleasantly while he could only kick his heels against the wall, unable to even read his comic books to pass the time.

"Leo," he surprised even himself at how cranky his voice came out. "I'm bored!"

"No, you're just over-tired." Raph corrected, reaching out to lay the back of his hand against Mikey's cheek.

"Can't sleep," Mikey whined back, shrugging his shoulder against Raph's arm in a quick rise of irritation. His voice squeaked unexpectedly at the end and he reluctantly pulled away from Leo to start coughing into his own arm. It was harder then his previous ones, making his throat and diaphragm ache in sympathy. Leo rubbed his back and waited patiently till he was done.

"Mikey, when did this start?" There was a frown in the eldest' voice even if Mikey couldn't see one on his face at the moment.

"Dunno, maybe yesterday?" Mikey told his brother honestly, his voice rasping uncomfortably. He swallowed a cough and couldn't help wincing at the pain. He went back to hugging Leo's arm. "But the fever started after I went to bed tonight."

"Let's do the couch." Raph continued their previous discussion.

"It's not the warmest out there..." Leo started but Mikey felt Raph wave his hand in the air.

"It's not that much colder, Leo. Look, I'll get a blanket. It's not like he's going to be able to go to sleep and he'll only get crankier which will mean I won't get any sleep. I can manage to get him up to my room when he does fall asleep."

"Alright." Leo rubbed Mikey's back again. "Come on, little brother. Let's get going."

Mikey let out a whine of protest as Leo tugged him forward but allowed himself to be led out the bedroom door. Raph stayed behind for a few seconds while Leo guided Mikey towards the reclaimed fire escape stairs, a hand on his shoulder. As Mikey grumbled at the cold metal on his feet Raph jumped down past them, a blanket bundled under one arm. He landed silently on the stairway halfway down, a slight shiver in the whole metal frame the only evidence of his landing, before dropping the rest of the way to the floor.

By the time Leo and Mikey made it to the ground floor, Raph had turned on a few lamps around the entertainment area and was fiddling with the wires on the Xbox, making sure things were connected.

"Mindless or funny?" Raph asked as they came around the couch. He pulled the box of games towards him and flipped through the jumble of game cases.

"Mindless," Mikey replied without hesitation. He wanted comedy when he could actually enjoy it, plus laughing probably wouldn't be all that good for his throat. Leo helped him ease down into the couch and he leaned back against the armrest with a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to make you some tea," Leo told him, pulling the blanket over him and patting his shoulder.

Mikey peeked an eye at him, hopeful. "Honey?"

Leo smiled and gave a small chuckle. "Of course."

He reached a hand up to rub at his eyes but Leo snatched at his wrist, stopping him. "Mikey, don't do that. It'll make it worse."

"Leo," Mikey whined and tugged at his hand. Didn't getting pampered also mean he got away with doing what he wanted? "It itches!"

"I'll get you a cold rag." Leo pushed his hand down and started walking away, only to spin on his heel and point a stern finger at his younger brother, his eyes narrowed in his "I am the leader, don't make me prove it" look. "Don't rub your eyes!"

Mikey immediately dropped his left hand back in his lap, trying to look innocent but when that didn't change Leo's stern expression he heaved a sigh of long-suffering and tucked the hand under the blanket. Leo just shook his head and left for the kitchen. But Mikey had spotted the smile fighting to get on his brother's face and had to hide a grin.

Hah! Even with half a brain I can still make Leo - wait what did I just say about myself?

He scowled and gave a snort of dismissal, only to regret it when the cooler air of the main lair tickled against his throat and made him cough again. He curled around himself, pulling the blanket tighter around his body. As the cough subsided he noticed it was one of his favorite fluffy blankets. It was usually tucked under two other blankets. Mikey reached up to rub at his nose and then moved to his eyes.

"Nyah!" Raph was suddenly there, flicking his hand away from his face. "Geez, you're worse then a rat around fresh cheese."

Mikey groaned and dropped his head back against the couch cushion. "Oh come on, you too?"

"Just wait for Leo." Raph ordered, ignoring his little brother's whining. Game controller in one hand, Raph scooped up Mikey's legs easily enough with his other arm. Sitting down, he dropped Mikey's feet across his lap.

"Raphieee," Mikey cranked. When Raph rolled an annoyed look in his direction he wiggled his toes. "My feet are cold, cover them up... please?" he added when Raph's scowl grew darker.

"The things I have to put up with," Raph grumbled. But he tugged the blanket down around Mikey's feet and tucked it in around them as the TV screen flickered to life with the game intro. And if he left his arm curled around Mikey's feet - which really were cold! - Mikey pretended not to notice.

"Bounty Hunter?" he questioned as Raph quickly scrolled through the starting menus.

"Figured it's pretty mindless." Raph commented as he started the level. "After all, you play a bounty hunter-"

"-you don't need a story." Mikey echoed along with Raph and let out a snicker that ended in coughing. He squeezed his eyes closed and tucked his face into his blanket. "Oooww... this is so not fun."

"Here, Mikey. This should help."

Leo's voice - still sounding far too awake for someone woken up in the middle of the night - pulled Mikey out of his misery and he looked up to see the turtle approaching with a wooden tray. Leo kept talking as he set down the tray on the coffee table.

"The cup has ginger tea in it. I want you to drink that first. The thermos has licorice root though to help your throat - I already put some honey in it. Oh, and here's a cold rag for your eyes and the tissue box."

Mikey sat up, eyes flicking between the cup of tea and the rag in Leo's hand, not sure which one he wanted first. The coughing and pain in his throat was just as bad as the itching and burning in his eyes. The choice was made for him though when his hand strayed towards his face.

Leo sighed, grabbed his hand and dropped the rag over his eyes.

"I was just going to scratch my nose." Mikey protested, even as he reached up to move Leo's hand away and press the rag against his face. Oh, man. Pizza was the best food but the cold rag was a slice of heaven at the moment.

"Sure," Leo's voice said he was just playing along to humor his little brother. "You probably shouldn't rub that too much either. Hold out your hand - careful, it's hot."

Mikey switched the hand over his eyes and held out his left hand. A warm cup was placed in it and he automatically threaded a finger through the cup handle before tightening his grip. He felt Leo loosen his grip on the cup slightly but did not quite let go, so Mikey told him. "I got it."

Mikey felt Leo move back. "Okay. Anything I can get for you, Raph?"

"Naw, I'm good." Raph replied over the sudden surge of blasters firing and in game citizens yelling. "Go back to bed."

"Come get me if you need anything-"

"Ug, Leo! It's just a cold, stop hovering. Go to bed."

Mikey didn't need to see to know that Raph was doing an exasperated eyeroll. He hid his grin by taking a drink of tea, then puckered his lips at the taste. Leo always made really strong ginger tea that had a spicy bite to it - something that Leo and Splinter seemed to enjoy. But the honey mixed in helped take the bite away and as he heard Leo sigh and start to move away he quickly swallowed it so he could speak.

"Hey, thanks Leo."

A cool hand rubbed his head affectionately in reply and Mikey soaked it up, letting it wash away his fever induced irritation. "Anytime Mikey. Try and get some sleep."

He gave a neutral hum as the hand drew away. He certainly would try and would gladly welcome the chance to fall asleep but at the same time he wasn't sure how successful he'd be. Leo's presence drifted up the stairs and faded as he reached the second level.

The rag was starting to make his eyes feel a little too cold and so he tugged it off, flicking his wrist to toss it onto the wooden tray Leo had left behind. He shifted around and dug his shell more comfortably into the couch cushions, before looking over at the TV screen.

"Which bounty you after?" he asked before taking a sip of tea, puckering his lips again.

"Boocanno. Worth 50k."

"Oh, he's that three legged alien that looks like a kangaroo? Man, he's tough."

"Yeah, he already skipped out on me twice."

Mikey nodded his head as he swallowed another mouthful. No, drinking it faster didn't do anything for the taste but his throat didn't seem to protest as much. "He moves ridiculously fast when he knows you're - oh wait, wait, go back! You just missed a weapons upgrade in the alley!"

Raph grunted and obediently flipped the speeder around, nearly crashing it into a green hovercar before he got it off the main street.

"Which alley?"

"The one on the right - no your other right!"

"That's the left side, Mikey."

"You knew what I meant!"

Raph steered into the hard to see back alley that was not on the right. Mikey swallowed the last of the ginger tea as Raph shot a vending machine to pieces to make it release the weapons bonus. "Ah, yes snare net. This'll help catch that kangaroo."

And now the hot tea was starting to make his nostrils run. Without taking his eyes off the game - Raph was speeding through the highways trying to catch up with his bounty and it was hard to look away from all the near crashes - Mikey reached blindly for the tissue box and tugged two sheets free.

He wiped the runny snot before pressing it against his nostrils, first the one side then the other. Finished, he crumpled it up and dropped it off the side of the couch before grabbing another handful. Yeah, he'd probably catch it later from Splinter or Donnie, but he figured it was worth it.

A bird like meow was the only warning he had before a bundle of orange fur jumped up into his lap, claws tightening against his skin through the blanket as the kitten wobbled around on his knees before finding a stable spot to settle down in.

"Whoa, Klunk!"

Thankfully the teacup was now empty or else the surprised jerk Mikey couldn't stop would have dumped hot liquid all over his chest. He hurriedly set the cup down on the table and scratched the cat under his chin, which set the feline purring. "Did you come to say hi to me?"

"Little beast woke me up tonight, clawing at my hammock supports and wouldn't stop until I got up and chased him away." Raph snorted and glanced away from the screen.

"Really?" Mikey was surprised. While it had only been a week since he'd brought Klunk home on Christmas Day, the young cat hadn't shown any inclination to scratch at things. Well, at least not since Mikey had set up a scratching board using old cardboard boxes, plastic from some salad container and glue. Donnie had been quite understanding about the incident.

"Yah. Was going to put him in your room and get back to sleep but then I heard you coughing. That thing is almost as annoying as you are, Mikey."

None the less, despite his rough tone, Raph reached over and scratched the top of the orange cat's head briefly before returning his hand to the game controller.

"That's my little buddy," Mikey managed to say, his voice turning rough again. Wincing and holding back a cough, Mikey reached for the thermos and unscrewed the lid. Not bothering with the teacup, he slurped the hot tea and let out a sigh of relief as it soothed the pain in his throat.

Whatever you might say about his cooking, Leo knew how to make the perfect batch of licorice root tea. Not so strong that the earthy taste overrode the flavor, but just light enough so you could add honey without making it sickeningly sweet.

He took another drink before having to set the thermos back down and grab more tissue for his running nose. As he crumpled it up, he went back to watching Raph chase after the three legged alien bounty, snickering as a snare net toss went wild and tangled around a trash can.

"Quiet, Mikey." Raph grumbled, mashing the buttons. "I'm only half awake."

Mikey's comeback was lost in a round of coughing which, Mikey realized as he swallowed more tea, was probably for the better. Snapping back with a "is that why your shoe's untied" wasn't a very good line and he blamed it on the fever. Better wait till he was better to continue teasing Raph.

He wiped his nose again and started to sip some more tea, only to hold it away as more coughing clawed its way up from his chest and into his throat. He could feel some phlegm loosen in his throat but no matter how hard he coughed it didn't seem to do anything but tickle his throat and worsen the coughing. When it didn't end he struggled to sit up straighter on the couch, grateful that he had the armrest to push up against. Gah, when did his back become so sore?

Raph reached over and plucked the thermos of tea out of his hands as he kept coughing, for which Mikey was thankful. Sticky tea water and a damp blanket was not something he wanted to deal with right now. With his hands free he grabbed the blanket edge and buried his face into the soft material, trying to muffle his coughs, squeezing his eyes shut.

Ug, just stop already!

Fingers started massaging and squeezing his feet systematically. After what felt like forever - though he knew it could barely have been a minute - Mikey felt his coughing ease to the point that he could finally draw a breath in without having to cough it up right away. Another half minute and the tickle went away, leaving behind a sore and throbbing throat. He raised his head up enough to peek an eye at Raph over the blanket.

"Thanks, Raphie," he said and winced at the sound of his own voice. Forget the bullfrog stuck in the throat. This was way worse. More like King Kong crossed with an alligator of the mutant kind.

Raph gave his feet one final squeeze before pulling his hands away and tucking the blanket around them again. "Don't try and talk too much. You'll just aggravate your throat."

"What, you don't want me yacking your ear off?" Mikey couldn't help but tease, only to pay for it by having to cough again. Thankfully it was just two weak ones, but it still got his throat throbbing even more. Ug, and now his eyes were burning again.

Raph rolled his eyes. "There are plenty of other ways for me to shut you up when you're being annoying. Want your tea back? And don't rub your eyes!"

Mikey managed to make his snort both amused and annoyed without getting snot all over himself. He stuck his hands out and Raph placed the still warm thermos into one hand, the wet rag in his other. He took a long slow gulp of tea, letting the herb do its magical work of soothing his throat.

"I. Hate. Being. Sick." He grounded the statement out, draping the rag over his eyes again. His rough voice helped convey his utter loathing. Being sick was so wrong in so many different ways.

Raph gave his feet a pat but it was quick and distracted as he dodge incoming fire from some lowlifes on the video game. "I hear you. Just hang in there."

Mikey just made a noise in the back of his throat and tried to relax against the couch armrest. Nursing the thermos of tea, he pulled the rag away and watched through tired eyes as Raph managed to take down the three aliens shooting at him. Klunk stirred, stretched and unexpectedly slide off Mikey's leg. Klunk blinked, then decided he liked the new spot and settled back down. Absently Mikey reached a hand out to pet the cat, triggering another round of loud purrs.

Two captured bounties in, he started drifting off without realizing it, his eyes drifting half closed.

It was only after he almost spilled the thermos over himself that he realized he was starting to fall asleep. Raph quickly rescued the thermos from Mikey's slack grip, turned the game system off and moved a complaining Klunk to the side so Raph could pull Mikey to his feet.

The younger turtle helped as best as he could. With sleep insistently tugging at his eyes now, though, he was clumsy and he had barely had enough coherency left to leave the direction of travel up to Raph. He did somehow keep a grip on his blanket - hey, it was his favorite, so warm! - and was dragging it on the floor behind him before Raph heaved a sigh of long suffering and snatched it out of his grip. Bundling it under his arm, Raph steered Mikey towards the stairway.

Soon Mikey was curled up on his stomach on the carpet underneath Raph's hammock, his blanket bundled around him, snuggled up against one of Raph's many pillows. A hand ghosted over his forehead before patting him on his shell. Distantly he heard the sounds of Raph climbing into his hammock.

My brothers are the best. Ever. Was his last thought before drifting off to sleep.