Weakness

[Guest Xylaphone]

I thought I'd drop by and share my TMNT obession w/u guys!

Rating: safe for all

Disclaimer: I do not own them (pity ) Mirage does

Summary: Leo's struggling with something worse than the Shredder

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“Heh’KSheeh!”

Leo hated sneezing. Sneezing was a weakness that a leader (like himself) could do without. But as Donnie tried to explain, a sneeze was a necessary occurrence in order to protect the body from inhaled irritants.

He still hated sneezing. What he hated more was the sound of his own sneeze. It sounded so desperate and almost, girly. When it came to his brothers: Raph’s was harsh and forceful, Don’s soft and usually muffled in a tissue or handkerchief, and Mikey’s was just obnoxiously loud (usually on purpose).

Why couldn’t he have strong leaderly sneezes? Something more fitting of his personality than the pathetic noise that issued from agitated sinuses. Agitated sinuses caused by hay fever, the worst thing imaginable to happen to Leonardo Hamato than having his shell kicked by The Shredder.

This embarrassing affliction made controlling his sneezes near impossible.

Normally, the turtle in blue would duck into a corner and quickly stifle his sneezes before anyone noticed anything. However his father always was aware of it and would look on disapprovingly whenever he met his eyes. His brothers never really teased him for his sneezing ,but he was sure they laughed their shells off behind his back.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Leo exhaled slowly, feeling another sneeze coming on. Closing his eyes he reached for another tissue, holding it steadily in front of his face.

“Huh..HuhCHew! EkShuu! Hah…NehKixxt! Uh.” some how he failed miserably in catching the first two, settling on at least stifling the last one. He wondered if keeping the tissue pinched to his beak would ward off any more sneezes. He imagined how silly he’d look walking around the lair with tissues clutched to his face. Well, that though stopped short as he hadn’t planned on setting foot out of his room till this sneezing ceased.

“Hmgnxt! Uh. “ that one made his ears pop.

“Leonardo, you must not suppress them.” a quiet voice spoke behind him.

Leo nearly fell off his bed at the sound of his father’s voice. This accursed sneezing made it impossible to sense the presences of others easily. But then again, Splinter’s presence wasn’t something he could always easily sense in the first place. He was still learning.

Lowering the tissues, he stood up, doing a small bow as he father stood there holding a cup of steaming liquid.

“Masder Sblinder.” damn his congestion.

A look resembling sympathy flickered on the rodent’s face before disappearing.

“Why you choose to take this on alone, I can not imagine.” he handed the steaming teacup to his oldest son who suddenly made a face, quickly handing the steaming contents back to him.

He turned away from the rat, shoulders shuddering as he took an unsteady breath. Damn his hay fever, his weakness, congestion, Itchy watery eyes, and damn his overtly sensitive beak that chose to go haywire around this time of year.

“AhShesh! AiShoo! Hah…*snif sniff* HahGessh!” the sneezing continued another 5-6 times before honking his beak and sniffling deeply.

He couldn’t face his father. To have him see him like this? So weak and out of control? He really hated this.

Splinter’s gaze never faltered from his son, whose shell was now facing him .

“Look at me my son.”

Leo sniffled again before facing his rodent father. The look of sympathy returned on his face, this time not vanishing. There were many things he could’ve said or done. But as a father, he found that sometimes, the best ways was without words. Especially if we wanted his son to drink the herbal remedy without protest.

Taking in the turtle’s teary eyes and reddened beak, Splinter handed his son the tea again. Leo looked down at the swirling steam, ignoring the fact that it was making his beak run. Slowly he brought the hot liquid to his lips blowing gently on it before consuming the contents.

When he finished, he was surprise to see that Splinter had left. He suddenly thought about the look his father gave him before attempting to hand him the tea again. That expression on his face said more than any words in the universe could communicate. Setting the empty cup on his nightstand, the turtle in blue rubbed his beak with the sodden tissue before tossing in his wastebasket. Yawning he sneezed once more before climbing into bed and drifting off to sleep.

~end~

A/N: I figured if I just titled the ficlet "Hayfever" it would leave lil to the imagination.

And yes the summary was lame. Hayfever worse than the Shredder? Well, it's possible.

The sneezes were amusing in my opinion, though I sometimes struggle on getting the write wording.

Aw wells, hope you enjoyed it.

[Helzbelz]

I enjoyed that, good story. They all sounded in character too.

But hayfever is worse than Shredder? Hmm... lol

[Guest Xylaphone]

Glad you liked it.

I went with a lil over dramaticness on the "hayfever worse than Shredder" part.

We know Leo can be over dramatic too.

He is a teenager after all.

[Umeko]

*drool* now if you'd plot something with Raph I'll love you super much! *sighs wishfully*

[Glowie]

*drool* now if you'd plot something with Raph I'll love you super much! *sighs wishfully*

Hehe, I'll second that!

[Guest Xylaphone]

Wellll I'll see what I can do....

Torturing Raph is fun.