This is my sad attempt at a brotherly-fluff. I usually write really depressing stuff, so this probably sucks. I wrote this during one of my migraines and wanted my favorite character to feel my pain. So yeah. I'm evil.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. Oh, and I don't own Catwoman.

It was early. Very early. The only person who would possibly up at this hour was the blue masked workaholic on the top floor. Everyday Leo got up early to eat and warm up before training, and today was no different.

A blaring alarm clock suddenly went off. The eldest turtle rolled over and stared blearily at the clock that read 5:00 AM. He sat up slowly and turned the alarm off before standing.

He groaned and rubbed his temples. For the past week he had been training nonstop, as well as staying up late to help Donny with a project, help Raph work on his bike since Casey was out of town, and keeping Mikey away from his new videogame long enough to practice. On top of that, there had been an increased number of thefts at the hands of Karai's Foot Ninjas, and he had been trying to come up with a way to anticipate their moves. All of this had left him exhausted, though he would never admit it.

Forcing himself to go downstairs, he tiredly went to the kitchen and filled the kettle on the stove with water. He slowly sat down and laid his head on the table. It felt cold against his green skin. His head was throbbing slightly but it wasn't quite a headache yet, though it was still a bit uncomfortable.

A loud shriek from the kettle jerked him out of his thoughts. He quickly turned down the stove and made his green tea, hoping he hadn't woken anyone. Sipping his tea from a tiny mug, he then proceeded to the dojo to warm up with a few basic katas and then an hour of meditation.

The katas were easy, and allowed him to think about how he was going to figure out the Foot's next move. After a half hour of physical warm up, he slowly walked over to the meditation matt. Sitting down, the ninja realized he was a little more fatigued than he should be after such a mild exercise. Not only that, the annoying pain in the back of his head had turned into a full blown headache. He mentally shook off the uncomfortable feeling and focused on meditating. For a few minutes, he managed to slip into a deep meditation, but soon he began to struggle just to stay awake. Still in lotus position, the tired turtle found himself unable to stay conscious any longer.

"Leeeeoo! Oh Leeeoooo!" A voice yelled.

The blue masked turtle's eyes suddenly shot open and he found himself starring directly at his youngest brother.

"Hey bro!" Mikey smiled. "Everyone else is eating. You must have been in a pretty deep sleep to have lost track of time!" The turtle teased. In his mind, sleeping and meditating were one and the same. He hadn't actually realized his eldest brother really had fallen asleep.

Leo blinked, trying to adjust to the light. It seemed very bright, and caused sharp pains in his head. He ignored it and stood up quickly. "Meditation isn't the same thing as sleeping, Mikey." He replied, following his brother into the kitchen.

"Whatever!" He said dismissively. The energetic turtle ran over to the table and poured himself some cereal.

Leo shook his head slowly in an attempt to clear it, and went to make himself another cup of tea. Not paying attention, he bumped into Donny who was also at the counter to get coffee.

"Sorry, Don." Leo apologized. His words were softer than normal, and slightly slurred.

Donny looked at his eldest brother curiously. "You ok, Leo? You look a little off."

"I'm fine! Just a little tired, that's all!" He assured his brother, paying special attention to the articulation of his words. Knowing Donny the way he did, he assumed that was what tipped his brother off in the first place.

"Well, ok. If you're sure."

"Positive! Is Raph still sleeping?" The more time that passed, the easier it was to ignore the pain.

"Duh!" Mikey called from his seat, having overheard the conversation.

Leo sighed and shook his head. The kettle whistled, causing the teenager's head even more pain. He quickly finished making his tea, if only to get rid of the obnoxious noise.

At the same time, Donny finished making his coffee and poured some into a porcelain mug.

Leo tried not to gag at the smell. He normally didn't care for coffee, but for some reason it went as far as to make him nauseas today. He had to consciously focus on his breathing to keep his previous cup of tea down.

Thankfully, neither of his younger brothers noticed. He followed Donny and sat down across from him in order to avoid the stench coming from his mug.

For a while it was fairly peaceful as the brothers ate (or in most cases, drank) their breakfast in silence. Donny wasn't much of a morning person, so he was always quiet. Mikey WAS a morning person, but was too wrapped up in his sugary cereal to be bothered. Leo was thankful for the peace and wanted to milk it for as long as possible. The quiet kept the throbbing in his head down to a minimum.

Unfortunately, Raph had different plans. He grumbled to himself as he entered the kitchen. Still half asleep, he poured himself cereal and sat down next to Donny. He then reached for the milk, only to find Mikey had used it all in his last bowl of cereal.

Raph growled and glared at his youngest brother. "Mikey!"

"Eh he he." Mikey laughed nervously. "Early bird gets the worm, right Raph?"

"Yer so dead!" The red masked ninja scowled as he jumped up from his seat.

Mikey let out a girly scream and made a beeline out of the kitchen, Raph in hot pursuit. Raph's threats and Mikey's taunts could still be heard in the kitchen. Leo grimaced at the volume of their voices.

Donny sighed. "Idiots."

Leo nodded in agreement, not really paying attention to what was happening. He was just a tad more concerned with getting this headache under control before training started.

"Time for lessons." Donny sighed, standing up and proceeding to put his cup in the sink.

Leo begrudgingly followed his younger brother.

Raph and Mikey saw the others enter the dojo and quickly followed, their quarrel forgotten for now.

All four turtles knelt in front of Master Splinter. They didn't have to wait long for the wise rat to begin the day's lesson.

Luckily, it wasn't an overly rigorous session. Most of the moves were simple review, and Leo was able to go about the training like everything was normal, though the pressure in his head was building with every passing minute. By the end of it, the lights seemed brighter, and the labored breathing of his brothers (as well as his own) seemed louder.

"That concludes our lesson for today." Master Splinter informed his students.

Leo let out subtle sigh of relief.

"Now we will have a brief sparring match, and then you may go." The old ninja finished.

It was all the eldest turtle could do to keep from cringing.

"Raphael with Michelangelo, and Leonardo with Donatello." He waited for his sons to get into position. "Now, begin!"

Leo looked at his second youngest brother in dismay. Don was an amazing fighter, but usually Leo could beat him in a match. He hoped he could ignore his aching head and finish this quickly.

Donny charged at his older brother, bo staff at the ready. Leo sidestepped him, and attacked with one of his katanas. The two brothers remained locked in combat for a while. One would attack and the other would block it, then they would switch roles. Eventually, Don got tired of the game and jumped over his big brother, giving him a nasty whack on the head with his staff in the process.

Leo inhaled sharply and grit his teeth. The pain in his head increased tenfold. He reopened his eyes to see Don looking at him strangely. The blue banded turtle noticed there seemed to be gaps in his vision, as well as squiggles and stars. He tried not to focus on them as he realized it made him even more nauseas, and instead attempted to focus on his brother. He immediately took on a defensive stance.

Don was still looking at him curiously, but attacked none the less. The battle continued on much as it did before. Leo tried to attack with one of his katana, only to be blocked by Donny. While his opponent was still recovering, the genius turtle tried to attack his now open side. Leo made to counterattack, when he felt his stomach drop unexpectedly. He swayed slightly, trying to get his footing. Luckily, he was still able to block Don. He tried to shift positions, but continued to sway slightly with each movement. He felt like he was on a rollercoaster. One moment he felt weightless, the next he felt like he was falling. Donny noticed this too, and kicked his brother's legs out from under him. Leo fell flat on his shell, while Don triumphantly kept his bo staff hovering over his older brother's head.

"Nice job, Don." He complimented his brother.

Donny frowned in return. Leo's words had become slow and sloppy again.

"Leo, don't pretend like nothing's wrong." He growled. "You obviously aren't feeling very well."

"I'm fine!" He insisted. "Like I said before, I'm just a little…" He frowned, concentrating hard to find the right word.

Don looked at him funny again. "Tired?"

"Yes." He agreed. He righted himself, and stood up. Don noticed he was still swaying. He quickly looked over at the others. Raph and Mikey were still sparring, but Master Splinter was watching Leo closely. It looked like Don wasn't the only one who had noticed Leo's odd behavior.

A loud and sudden clatter caused Don to be jerked from his thoughts. Leo had dropped one of his katanas.

"See? You would never drop a weapon. So what's wrong?"

Leo began massaging his right hand with his left one and looking at it strangely. "Weird."

"What's weird?" Don practically screamed in frustration.

"Huh? Oh, nothing!" He said, still touching his right hand. Unbeknownst to Donny, Leo's entire hand had gone numb. Suddenly, he moved his left hand to his beak as his lips began to go numb as well. The loss of feeling was starting to make him even more nauseas than before, and he wasn't sure if he could hold his breakfast down this time.

"Stop lying to me, Leo!" Don scowled.

"Uh, Don?" He began with his mouth still covered. "If you need to talk, you can find me in the bathroom!" He called, sprinting out of the dojo.

Donny stared after him like he'd grown three heads and slapped a hand to his forehead. He looked over at Master Splinter. The ninja master nodded and Don quickly ran towards the bathroom.

By this time, Mikey was basically just toying with Raph, making the hot head even angrier by the second. He paused when he saw Leo and then Don run out of the dojo, though. That gave Raph just enough time to tackle his brother.

"I gotcha!" Raph snarled.

"Yeah, yeah. You won. Now let's go see what's got Leo and Donny all excited!" Mikey grinned as he stood up.

Master Splinter nodded at them. "Very good my sons, you are excused for today."

"Thanks, Sensei!" They replied in unison before bolting out the door.

"What do ya think they're doin'?" Raph asked curiously.

"I donno. Maybe they've both got secret girlfriends!"

Raph frowned at his brother and slapped him.

"Ow!" He frowned, rubbing his head. He stopped for a second, listening hard. "I think I hear them in the bathroom."

"Both of 'em? Together?" Raph asked in confusion.

"You know what that means. One of them is losing their breakfast right about now. My money's on Don."

"I'll take dat bet. Loser pays five bucks."

"You're on!" Mikey grinned as the approached the bathroom door. They both peered in to see Leo kneeling over the toilet, puking his guts out. Donny was standing over him and shaking his head.

Leo sat up slowly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don, do me a favor and turn the light off." He mumbled.

"Sensitivity to light? Does your head hurt?" The brainiac asked as he did what he was told. He spied Mikey and Raph poking their heads through the doorway and sighed. "This bathroom isn't big enough for four people. Let's go to the lab, ok?"

Leo grunted in response and used the counter to help himself stand up. They then proceeded to all follow Donny into his lab. Thankfully, he kept the lights off.

"Leo, get into the bed, ok?" Don sighed. Over the years, he had found it wise to keep a spare bed in the lab, just in case something happened and one of his brothers needed to be monitored overnight.

"But, Don-" He began to protest. It sounded more like a groan.

"Just do it."

Leo gave up and did as he was told. As soon as his head hit the pillow, it exploded in pain. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Symptoms, Leo. Now. Before your words get any less recognizable."

"Jeeze Don, you're kind of scary right now." Mikey gulped.

"My head hurts, nausea, vertigo, can't see very well, and my hands and lips are numb." Leo told Don while fumbling over his words.

"You have a migraine. A really bad one, too. And me hitting you on the head while we were sparring probably didn't help, either."

"It hurt like a mother." Leo slurred.

"…That was out of character. Not that I'm complainin' or nothin'." Raph frowned. Leo usually didn't use slang.

"Migraines will do that. It makes it hard to think, so I really doubt Leo's very focused on being careful about what he's saying, or about his actions." Donny told the other two brothers quietly. He then turned on Leo. "See, this is why I say not to exhaust yourself! You probably got this from lack of sleep! And then you go and overexert yourself by training even though you had it already, am I right?"

Leo didn't protest, which Don took as a yes.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Leo!"

"Don, I know. But can you please keep it down?" He replied shortly. His words were slightly muffled because he decided to pull the covers over his head to help block out any light.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath. "I'll be right back. I'm getting you aspirin."

Leo grunted in response.

"So Leo," Raph began, smiling mischievously. "Any leads on the Foot?"

Leo growled in frustration and curled his hands into fists. This was NOT what he wanted to be thinking about right now.

"'Cause ya know they need ta be stopped soon…" The red masked turtle pried.

"Damn it Raph, shut the hell up!" Leo snapped.

Raph burst out laughing. That was an even better reaction than he had hoped for.

Mikey snickered as well, finally catching on to what Raph was doing. It wasn't often they could get Leo to cuss, and when he did it was fricking hilarious!

The eldest growled, also realizing they were trying to get a reaction out of him. "Seriously, keep it down." He mumbled. "Thinking about that stuff makes me…" He had to pause to think of the words. "Makes me, um…"

"It makes ya stressed." Raph finished for him.

"Yes. It makes me stressed and that makes my head feel worse."

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Mikey asked innocently.

"Is tonight movie night?" He mumbled.

"Yeah, why?"

"We should watch Cat Woman."

Mikey and Raph shared a look. "Why Cat Woman?" Raph asked.

"'Cause she's hot." He replied as he rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable position.

The two younger brothers covered their mouths in an effort to not laugh out loud. Leo was talking about girls. Now this NEVER happened. Cussing happened occasionally when Leo thought he was alone. But talking about girls? Never.

"Like hell she is." Raph agreed.

Donny walked in just then with two pills, a glass of water, and a wet washcloth. He frowned, hearing Raph's comment, but decided to ignore it. Whatever they were talking about, he really doubted he wanted to know.

"Alright, Leo. Take these." He demanded, handing him the pills and water.

Leo accepted them without complaint and did as he was told. Once he finished, Don gave him the washcloth. Leo sighed when he put it on his forehead. Although it wasn't in reality, his head felt very hot to him.

"So are migraines really this bad?" Mikey asked curiously.

Donny nodded. "It's a bit different for every person. I get them occasionally, but never this bad. Usually I have average ones. Meaning sensitivity to light, sound, and smell, on top of a nasty headache. The only person I know who gets them this bad is April, and that's only once a month."

"Why would she get them only once a month?" Mikey asked innocently.

"Because…well…erm…you see, Mikey, human girls have this thing that happens that makes them upset easily, and…uh…" Struggling, he looked to Raph for help.

"It's…ya know. That thing that happens once a month."

Mikey bit his lip, thinking very hard. "Is it what I think it is? Because I didn't know that was part of that."

"Well, what do you think it is?" Don asked.

"…What do you think I think it is?"

"If what you think it is is what I think you think it is, then you're right."

"Oh for the love of…" Leo mumbled. "They're talking about her period."

"Oh. Then what you thought what I thought you were talking about was right." Mikey shrugged.

Raph and Don were trying their hardest not to burst into laughter.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Donny said in between snickers. "Did you really just talk about April's 'time of the month'?" He asked Leo.

The eldest brother moaned in pain and clutched his forehead. "I dunno! Just don't start talking in riddles again! It hurts my head."

"Riddles?" Raph asked.

"I think he means when we went on our 'thinking' tangent." Don replied, smirking slightly. So this was Leo without most of his mental restraints. Interesting. This was probably about as close to drunk as any of them would ever see him, and needless to say it was quite funny. "Maybe I should call April." He suggested finally. "Her and Casey were coming over later for a movie night, but she might be able to come sooner. Since she gets migraines, she might know some tricks."

"Sure." Leo sighed. He breathed in slowly, trying not to throw up again.

Don nodded and took out his shell cell.

"Hey Don! What's up?" April answered after several rings.

"Hi April! You know how you get migraines?"

April groaned. "Don't remind me. Those things feel like someone put an exploding bomb in your head or something."

"Interesting. Well, Leo has a really bad one and I was wondering if you had any tricks to make it go away."

"Of course Leo would get one. He's always stressing about something! The only advice I can give you is to try and get him to relax and go to sleep. Does he ever get stress headaches?"

"I don't know." Don turned to look at his brother. "Leo, do you ever get stress headaches."

"…Maybe every once in a while."

"You're a bad liar."

"At least three times a week." He answered finally.

Donny sighed and shook his head at his brother before turning back to his conversation with April. "Yes. He says he gets them quite frequently."

"Then the migraine is probably a mix of stress and lack of sleep. Why don't I come over there? I'm not really doing anything and you could probably use the help…Oh, and don't bug him too much. Migraines make it hard to function, so if you have one you usually say and do things without really thinking. If you embarrass him, he'll remember it once the migraine is gone. Knowing Leo, he wouldn't be too pleased."

"Alright, April. Thanks. See you in a bit." The genius turtle sighed before hanging up. He turned on his brother. Leo was gritting his teeth and had his hands on his head again.

"April's coming to help."

"She didn't have to do that." Leo muttered, eyes squeezed shut.

"She wanted too. She says you need to relax and try to get some sleep."

Leo snorted at that. "Riiight. You'd think she's never met me before, or somethin."

Raph grinned in disbelief. "Wait, did Fearless just agree ta bein' uptight all the time?"

"Shut it, Raph."

"It is kind of funny, Leo." Mikey put in. "You sure are saying weird things."

"Can't help it."

"Come on. If we leave, he'll have to fall asleep." Donny grinned evilly. The others followed him out before Leo could say anything.

He growled to himself, staring up at the ceiling. It was pretty dark in the lab without the lights on, though the light from outside poured in clearly since his brothers had forgotten to shut the door. Leo tried to relax, but when your head feels like it's in a compressor, relaxing is easier said than done. The whole Foot problem was driving him up the wall. He knew he should forget about it, but he just couldn't leave it alone. He also knew he really needed to control what he was saying a bit better, but he really couldn't care less at the moment.

He sat there in the darkness for what seemed like hours. Sleep wouldn't come, and his head was starting to hurt even more, though he doubted that was possible at this point.

"Hey, bro." Mikey greeted.

Leo looked up in surprise. His youngest brother had snuck up on him without him noticing. He must have been really out of it.

Mikey sat down on the foot of the bed. "I knew you'd get lonely."

He smiled. "You know me real well, Mikey."

They sat in silence for a moment. "Hey, Leo? What does it feel like?"

"The migraine? It's like…like…you know in Harry Potter? When Harry's scar hurts because he's looking into …um…who's the evil guy again?"

"Voldemort."

"Right. Because he's looking into Voldemort's mind?"

"Yeah, I remember that."

"That's a lot like how this feels. 'Cept Harry didn't have the nausea, vertigo, stars and squiggles, or numbness."

"Ok, that sounds like it hurts." Mikey grimaced. "I'm glad I don't get those. I don't get headaches unless Raph smacks me too many times."

"I'm glad you don't get them too, Mikey."

"I think April's here. She's probably gonna make a big fuss over you. "

Leo groaned. "She's worse than Don."

"I find that offensive!" Two voices said simultaneously.

The brothers turned to find April and Donny standing in the doorway.

"Hi April." Leo greeted.

She frowned. "Awww. Leo, you look awful!"

"Thanks. I try."

April laughed, trying her best to keep her voice down. "Sorry. It's just that, your mannerisms are odd right now."

"Well, it's kind of hard to think, so I'm talking without thinking first."

"I understand. When I get them, I tend to cuss people out." She and Don both walked over to the bed. "Don already told me all of your symptoms. You have one heck of a migraine."

"Tell me about it."

"Give me one of your hands."

Leo gave her a funny look, but did as he was told.

She squeezed the pressure point between his thumb and first finger.

He sighed with relief. The pain in his head wasn't completely gone, but it had dulled considerably.

April smiled, releasing his hand. This caused the pain to slowly come back. "Constant pressure there will make the pain lessen. You're really not going to like this, but you should drink some coffee. Caffeine opens up the capillaries in your brain so the blood flows better. And we both know coffee has more caffeine than tea, so don't even try to pull that on me."

Leo frowned. "Alright, but only this one time. That stuff tastes awful." He sat up slowly, constantly squeezing the pressure point in his right hand. His head protested the action by throbbing.

Raph walked in just then, holding a mug of what Leo assumed was coffee. He grinned wildly and handed Leo the mug.

"I always love the face ya make when ya drink this stuff!" Raph laughed. "It's hilarious!"

The eldest brother sighed and took the mug. Holding his breath, he downed the coffee in three large gulps. Once he was done, his face twisted in disgust.

"Yup. That one right there." Raph grinned.

"Remind me not to help you with your bike again." He told Raph, handing him the cup.

"Don't worry 'bout that. Casey's back in town today, remember? He's comin' over later."

"You were helping Raph with his bike?" Donny asked curiously. "And you were also helping me with my invention."

"And you were keeping me from playing my videogame for too long." Mikey put in, feeling slightly guilty.

"Leo, when did you find time to practice in the dojo during all of this?"

Leo hesitated before answering, "Um, after patrol."

"We get back from patrol at eleven at night! And you always practice for at least two hours, not to mention an hour of meditation! You were staying up until two, and then getting up at five in the morning every day? That's three hours of sleep!" Don growled.

"I only did it this week, Don."

"Leo, Donny's right. You need to relax and take better care of yourself." April chided.

"I don't know how to relax."

"I think yer exaggeratin, Leo." Raph frowned.

"I really don't, Raph. When I try I get restless and feel like I'm being lazy. Unless I'm with you guys, then I feel like it's ok because we're spending time together. But I don't really know how to relax by myself."

"That's unhealthy." Arpil said in a worried tone.

"I don't really mind. That's just the way it's always been." He yawned. The coffee was kicking in, causing the pain to dull. Without the pain being so great, Leo realized how tired he really was. His eyelids began to feel heavy.

"Well, we're going to change that." Mikey declared determinedly. "Next time you want to help one of us and we know you haven't relaxed at all, we're going to make you take a break!"

"I think that's a good idea, Mikey." April smiled.

Leo tried to think of something to say in protest, but he was too exhausted. His eyes closed of their own accord and he instantly fell asleep.

The next morning was peaceful. There was no sound of an alarm clock, and Leo found himself waking up of his own accord. He sat up slowly, feeling refreshed for the first time in a few days. He took in his surroundings. The lab. Why was he in the-

His mind became totally awake when he realized everything that happened the morning before, and everything he had said.

"Oh no." He groaned. He stood up and walked out of the room. His brothers were in the entertainment center, along with Master Splinter, April, and Casey. He realized with a start it wasn't the next morning, simply later that day.

"Hey! Feeling any better, Leo?" Mikey asked, looking happily up at his brother.

The others turned too, now noticing he was there.

"Um, yeah. Thanks Mikey…uh, about what I said earlier-"

"Don't worry, we didn't videotape you saying anything crazy." Mikey assured him.

"They wouldn't let me." Raph frowned. "Not even in yer sleep."

"My sleep?"

"You were talking in your sleep." April answered. "Something about taking down the Foot…and Cat Woman."

Leo tried as hard as he could to repress his blush. It must have worked, because no one seemed to notice.

"Um, well that's good, because I wasn't paying attention to what I was saying and I actually do know how to relax…and for your information, I'm not that uptight, Raph."

"Can we pause da movie?" Casey asked suddenly.

The others rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, Case." Raph answered. "And yeah ya are, Fearless. I know ya know it, too, 'cause ya admitted it last night.

Casey pressed a button on the remote and switched his attention to the conversation the others were having.

"All the things you said, you meant. You weren't spouting off nonsense. You just usually keep yourself from saying the kind of stuff you said earlier." Donny protested.

"Yeah, Leo! Like how you never talk about Harry Potter but you did this morning, and I know it's secretly your favorite book series." Mikey exclaimed.

Leo raised an eye ridge.

"Oh…whoops." The youngest brother blushed, realizing he'd accidentally revealed the secret.

"I knew it!" Don yelled in triumph.

"My son," All eyes were instantly on Master Splinter. "I know you like to take care of your brothers, but you cannot forget to take care of yourself as well. A true ninja learns balance."

"Yes, Sensei." Leo replied in defeat. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He hadn't read a book for fun ever since Mikey decided he liked waiting until they came out with a movie version better than having Leo read out loud to him. Maybe that could change.

"Chill out, Leo! It's not like it's gonna kill you." Mikey smiled. "Come watch the movie with us! It's only been on for a couple of minutes."

"What are you guys watching?" He asked curiously while sitting down next to his youngest brother.

"Cat Woman!"

The three younger brothers began laughing hysterically at the sight of Leo blushing.

"Kids." Master Splinter smiled as he shook his head.

The Catwoman part is kind of silly and dumb, but I put her into this as a personal joke. She was the first girl my little brother ever thought was hot, and every time I mention her he blushes. XD Anyway, if you liked it R&R. If you didn't, R&R so that I can know what sucked and eradicate it from my writing. I implore you, use constructive criticism. Mean-spirited criticism only makes writers defensive and will not help me or others to improve at all.