He was supposed to be the happy turtle.
Energetic, lovable, and enthusiastic. That's what Mikey thought of himself as, and so did everyone else.
But lately... He didn't feel too happy.
He wasn't allowed to cry. He had to be happy. He had to come through for his brothers and help them when they were feeling down.
Take Donnie for example.
Whenever the softshell was in one of his moments, Mikey was always the first one to notice. He would comfort his brother and try to make him feel better, even if that meant he had to sit and hug him for hours while the genius cried. It usually ended with Donnie apologizing and a trip to the lab, Mikey beaming over the new inventions his brother had created.
Honestly, that's probably why their bond was so great.
Leo was different. He always tried to act like the cooler brother, so getting him to admit to his sadness was harder, but Mikey could always manage. He usually pulled out the Dr. Feelings card with him (most of the time it was for Donnie, but it was getting easier for the softshell to vent).
It usually ended with Leo crying, trying to hide his sorrows in his one-liners. If Leo was really in a bad state, Mikey would end up crying as well. It was getting easier for Leo to laugh it off in the end, something that Mikey had always envied.
And then there was Raph.
A big softy, something that the box turtle loved about his big brother. Whenever he was sad, he would always come to talk to Mikey. If he needed advice, a hug, a talk, you name it; Mikey was always there for him.
These talking fest ended with lots of crying, like buckets full. But in the end, it made Raph feel better, so who could complain?
Mikey though... Who came to comfort him?
Sure, when his brothers sensed that something was up, they always asked. But lately, it felt like they had become less observant.
Granted, Mikey was becoming better at masking his feelings.
He was probably around Donnie too much. The softshell could hide anything and act like everything was fine until something in him made him crack. That's why it was so easy to talk to Donnie, he related to him so much.
He didn't like to hide from his brothers, but it was becoming more of a frequent thing.
He'd hide his feelings from them all day, and when nighttime fell he'd cry in his room. Tears would fall like waterfalls as the box turtle sobbed, and he held onto his mouth to muffle the noise. If Mikey was lucky, he'd get at least five hours of sleep those nights, but now it was becoming less.
One time he couldn't wait for nighttime.
It was early on that Tuesday morning. Mikey had just started on making breakfast for his family, humming a soft tune as he cooked. Faint footsteps could be heard, and Mikey turned around to see his older purple brother.
"Hey, Dee!" Mikey beamed. "How's it going?"
"As good as it can get," Donnie answered as he stifled a yawn. Mikey frowned a bit; he could tell that his brother hadn't slept again. He always wondered how Donnie relied on coffee, whenever he tried it he usually just passed out from all the caffeine.
Maybe it's a Donnie thing, he thought to himself.
Smiling again, he started the coffee maker for his brother. Donnie sat at the table and scrolled through his phone, leaving only the faint sound of popping coming from the bacon.
