Always Be There

Let Me Fix It, Please

Donatello awoke, realizing he was laying on something- or rather someone. He quickly attempted to sit up, but was held down by two arms hugging him. He blinked, slowly turning his head to meet the culprit. Casey. . ? He blinked again, then his eyes widened in realization. Shit when did I fall asleep on him? I don't remember ever falling asleep—

He attempted to move his good arm to wake the boy, but failed miserably, as the hug only tightened. The teen mumbled something inaudible as he snored away.
Casey wake your goofy ass up! He mentally screamed, scowling. While he did admit, he liked the warmth that radiated off of him, he knew he would get made fun of for falling asleep like that if he didn't get up soon. He resorted to bonking his head into the boy's stomach to wake him, not too hard, so he didn't hurt both himself and Casey.

Casey awoke with a jolt, looking around in surprise. "Hey what the he— huh?" He noticed there wasn't anyone in front of him and blinked. Am I just imagining things? His question was answered by something shifting in his hold. He looked down, staring at the terrapin who stared back.
The turtle was able to grab the T-phone, typing something in it one handed before it spoke. "Jones, can I have me back now?"
"Oops! Sorry bro— I dunno what the hell that was." He quickly let go, just realizing he was still hugging him. You idiot. When did you hug him? Wait I don't remember doing that. This shits too confusing. He sighed.
The turtle just nodded slightly, slowly sitting up and leaning against the back of the couch. He barely had a slouch, sitting up relatively straight so as to not ruin his back more with his already horrendous posture he already had.

The two sat in silence for a while, before Casey finally broke it.
"Hey- Gap tooth—" The boy began.
The turtle turned a bit, looking at him in confusion.
"So, Mike and I talked last night after they all got back, and- I just had a question."
The terrapin tensed. That doesn't sound good—
"About your- habits—" He continued, nervous that the turtle might get offended.
"Irrelevant." The T-phone suddenly spoke.
"What?"
"Irrelevant information. I am fine. I know what you were going to ask, Jones. My sleep schedule is perfect, my work is going well, and I haven't done anything different with my life other than—"
. . . .
Crap.

"Done anything different? So you're telling me you have been going through this for God knows how many years, and it's basically become a schedule now?! Donnie do you know how bad that is for you? No wonder you keep losing to the other three during sparring, you're weak from these 'habits'!"
The turtle froze, tensing up yet again. He slowly typed into his phone. "I'm fine, Jones. I have been able to deal with it fine. Time is valuable, and I simply cannot waste it. There isn't anything else you need to know."

"Donnie, are you hearing yourself right now?! What you're doing is dangerous not only to you, but the rest of us as well!" The boy snapped.
"Oh? How so?" The terrapin typed, glaring daggers at the teen.
"Because, you fall asleep at your desk and it gets so bad that you fall asleep with- Deadly. Chemicals. By your face! I'm worried to know how often that happens! That's not even mentioning your endless working on the retromutagen and other stupid side projects! You barely eat, you only drink when you're dehydrated to the point of collapsing, and you basically live off of coffee! Yeah, the others told me everything. Apparently splinter can't even stop this? I call bull, you're just being stubborn! More stubborn than me! You're refusing help and I know it's because you just don't like when people try to help, you think it just makes them pity you and it makes you look weak. You shut people out emotionally so they don't have to deal with whatever is going on behind the scenes. I know, trust me." The boy replied, fists clenching and teeth gritting.

The turtle sat, stunned by what he heard.
"I know how that feels, Dee. I know how it feels to be that way. And 'm trying to learn from it and help get better by asking others for help more often. But you know it isn't healthy. You know it just makes things worse, so why do it?" The boy looked up at him, tears swelling his eyes and pouring from them relentlessly. He had a look of desperation, worry, fear.
The turtles eyes widened. "Casey, I didn't know you—"
"Donnie. Do not try and avoid the question. This isn't about me. This is about you. I'm trying to help, we all are. But you keep pushing us away! Why?"
". . Because I don't want you all to hate me more. . ." The phone replied, the words seeming to echo through the lair.
Casey went silent.