Mikey could not believe what he was hearing. After April had left, comforted by her friends and the knowledge that what was wrong with her baby was not her fault, Leonardo, along with Rachael, pulled Mikey and Michelle aside.
“Splinter and Sliver have given their permission for Rachael to move in with me,” Leo told them in a whisper. “But, for that to happen, Mikey, you have to agree to move in with Michelle.”
“So you guys break the rules and you’re rewarded for it?” Mikey exclaimed in a loud whisper. “You get away with everything, Leo.”
“I do not,” Leo hissed back. “You sound like Raph.”
Mikey snorted in response.
“We’re in trouble,” Leo informed him, “and you know how much I hate having Splinter disappointed in me. What other choice did they have? They know that attempting to keep us apart would be pointless. On top of that, there is a good possibility that we will have children. So… we need to be together. Besides, what are you complaining about?” Leo waved his hand in frustration. “You benefit from this.”
Mikey crossed his arms over his plastron and glared at Leo. “I’m not ready. Unlike you, I wanted to take things slow with Michelle. We haven’t even kissed yet.” Mikey’s anger over the situation faded as something dawned on him. Before Leo could react, Mikey held up his hand and asked, “Do you think Rachael is ready to share a room with you?”
Rachael looked at Mikey in confusion, lifting an eye ridge. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Leo looked away, suddenly finding the floor interesting. He tried to speak but no words came out. There was no doubt that Leo knew what Michelangelo was talking about.
Mikey felt sorry for Rachael. She committed herself to a man she only knew on the surface. There was so much more to Leo; a hidden darker side. ‘I’m sure Leo’s terrified that Rachael will come to regret it,’ Mikey thought to himself.
He knew firsthand how rough Leo could be. Considering how much Leo had been worked up, Mikey was fairly certain that Leo had been rough with her during sex. So it was likely she had experienced that part of him and accepted it. Leo probably wasn’t as bad as he had been with Mikey since Rachael was a willing participant. But, did she know that it wasn’t going to be a onetime thing?
Add to that Leo’s night terrors and that he was under a great deal of stress keeping the family safe. There were times that Raph’s temper was nothing compared to Leo’s. It was a lot to take on in a short period of time. She needed time to prepare.
“I had this plan in my head,” Mikey said, leaning down a little in an attempt to get Leo to look at him again. It worked. Leo lifted his head and fixed his eyes on Mikey. “First I was gonna encourage you to tell her about everything. Then I was gonna explain things to her, let her know what works and what doesn’t. It was meant to take days.”
“If this is about his PTSD and nightmares, I already know,” Rachael interrupted. “He told me all about it before we fu….” A sharp glance from Leo stopped Rachael. She cleared her throat before continuing. “…. before we were intimate. He wanted to give me every chance to turn tail and run. Even after he laid it all out, I decided to stay.”
Mikey let out a deep sigh of relief and looked between them. Okay so she was aware of what she was getting into but she didn’t really know. If she wasn’t properly prepared, she could be hurt during one of Leo’s night time fits. The fact that he wasn’t used to her would be an added issue. In his moment of nightmare induce confusion he could see her as an intruder. “I think I should at least run through a few things with you, just so you are a little more prepared.”
Rachael shrugged. “That’s fine. We can talk after dinner.”
She shrugged it off now but Mikey knew that her first time dealing with one of Leo’s night terrors was going to make her head spin. The first time Mikey experienced one it left him with a black eye. He was fairly certain that Leo having someone new in bed with him would most likely trigger one.
“Whatever advice you can give her would be great, Mikey.” Leo’s smiled, conveying to Mikey a genuine appreciation. “You have done so much for me and it means a lot that you have these concerns. Thank you.”
Getting a little flustered with embarrassment, Mikey snorted and tried to wave it off. “You would do the same for me.”
“I don’t want to push you into doing something you aren’t ready to do,” Leo said honestly. “If you’re not ready to move in with Michelle then it can wait. I don’t mind waiting.”
Mikey looked over at Michelle and tried to get a read on how she felt about all of this. She simply grabbed his hand and smiled at him. She was leaving the decision up to him. However, her eyes looked hopeful.
“Okay,” he said, without taking his eyes off of Michelle. Her smile widened and the look of hope was replaced with excitement. Turning his attention back to Leo, Mikey said, “I’ll move my things in with Michelle so Rachael can move in with you.”
“Thank you, Mikey,” Leo said.
Rachael started off towards the bedrooms. “I’ll go get my things. What few things I have.”
Mikey sighed and followed after her. “I guess I’ll do the same.”
“Do you want me to help?” Michelle offered.
With a grin on his face, Mikey looked back and motioned for Michelle to stay put. “It’s best you not come into the room. There are a few personal things in there we don’t want you to accidentally find. Leo can help me move my things. He owes me.”
“I’m coming,” Leo said with a laugh, following after Mikey.
“I swear we are never allowed to settle in one place for very long,” Mikey said as soon as they entered the room. He headed straight for his things, some of which were still in their boxes. It didn’t take him long to pack the rest. “I guess it’s a good thing I was too lazy to unpack this stuff.”
Leo chuckled in response. “Maybe deep down you knew this was only temporary.” Leo stacked some of the boxes and lifted them with ease. He probably could have carried more if it weren’t for the fact that he needed to see.
“Nope,” Mikey said, picking up the rest of the boxes and following Leo back out the door. “Lazy.”
They passed Rachael on their way. “Just set your things anywhere,” Leo told her.
“That’s easy,” Rachael said flatly and held up the few items in her hands. “I don’t have a lot. They’re not gonna take up too much space. I’ll find an empty shelf… or rearrange things so there is one.”
Leo stopped and turned to look at her. “Don’t mess with too much.”
“I’m not promising anything,” Rachael replied, continuing towards the room.
They’re already acting like a married couple, Mikey thought to himself, shaking his head while he tried not to laugh.
Tello was sitting under the stairs, playing with the cats when Leo and Mikey passes. “What’s going on?”
“I get to move in with Michelle,” Mikey explained, “so that Rachael can move in with Leo since they already committed to a relationship with each other.”
“Well I guess it’s fortunate that Rachael was rooming with Michelle and you were rooming with Leo then,” Tello observed. “That way none of the rest of us has to shuffle around.”
“I guess it is fortuitous,” Mikey agreed as they reached his new room. “The longer we can go without telling Raph the better. I can just see his head exploding in anger now.”
Michelle greeted them with a smile. “It will be so nice to finally have things in the room.”
“Cut him some slack,” Tello said, standing up and moving to stand in the doorway as Mikey and Leo placed the boxes on the floor. “You and Leo have had it fairly easy. You got the girls you wanted, while Donna wants nothing to do with Raph. She’s actually in her room crying. Leah’s in there with her now.”
“You sound a little upset,” Leo observed.
Tello flushed a little and diverted his eyes to the floor. “Leah and I talked a little before April showed up. After everything was sorted out with April, Donna headed back into her room and Leah followed. They’ve been in there ever since.” He fidgeted with his hands a little. “I’ve been out here, trying to process it all… without her.”
“So… then…,” Mikey said with a toothy grin. “You also got the girl you’re into.”
Tello’s blush darkened. “It seems like it.”
“Yeah,” Michelle said, drawing the word out. “I thought you would be the one Leah went for.”
“Um….” Tello tilted his head slightly. “You did? Is there a reason for that?”
“Well,” Michelle’s voice went up in pitch. “Don’t take this the wrong way but, you’re the most docile one in the group and Leah…. Well…. Let’s just say that she likes to be in control of things.”
“Leo’s counterpart alright,” Mikey said, dodging an attempted punch to the arm by Leo. “I’ll admit,” he said to Michelle, “I pegged Leah for a dominating type. She’s always to prim and proper, like Leo, so she’s bound to have the same issues with letting go of control.” Again Mikey had to move in order to avoid being hit only this time Leo adjusted and managed to land a solid punch to Mikey’s arm. “Ouch.”
“Wait a minute,” Tello said in protest. “I’m no weakling. I can take charge of things… in the right situations.”
Mikey placed his hand on Tello’s shoulder. “We’re not saying that you’re not capable of taking charge, just that you’re more comfortable as a follower.” He gently shoved Tello. “And it doesn’t make you any less of a man…, so to speak. There’s nothing wrong with letting a girl take charge in the sack.”
Even though it wasn’t a hard shove, Tello still rubbed his shoulder more out of shyness than pain. “Now you’ve given me more to think about.”
“That’s enough,” Leo said, glaring at his brother before he had a chance to say anything more. “Let’s stop talking about sex.”
“Why? Getting you all worked up?” Mikey teased, grunting as once again Leo struck him. “Okay. I’ll stop.”
“I’m gonna go make sure Rachael isn’t snooping out of boredom,” Leo said, leaving the room.
“I’m gonna go as well,” Tello said, backing out of the doorway, “and think some more.”
With a smile on her face, Michelle closed the door. “Now we’re alone.”
“Yep,” Mikey said, swallowing hard as nerves set in. “Time to unpack,” He said quickly and headed for the stack of boxes, eager for the distraction from his screaming libido. Nothing kills desire like the mundane task of unpacking. Right?
With a sigh of exasperation, Michelle grabbed Mikey by the arm and pulled on him until he was facing her. Before he could say anything in protest, she pulled him down into a kiss. It was a soft, sweet, closed mouth kiss that lasted for just a few seconds but it left Mikey’s head spinning like he had just been kicked.
There was a soft smack as their lips parted. “That was nice,” Michelle whispered, her lips still just a hair’s breadth from Mikey’s.
Mikey’s lips were still tingling. “It was,” he agreed, fighting the urge to pull her into another kiss and ruining the tender moment. His body was on fire. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop with just one more kiss. At the same time he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her.
“I will admit that I was a little afraid that it was gonna be like when Deadpool and Mr. Deadpool kissed.” Michelle chuckled, resting her hand on Mikey’s chest.
“Me too,” Mikey exclaimed, snapping out of his trance. In the comic, when Deadpool had kissed his female counterpart from an alternate dimension they were both disgusted. Part of him had feared the same result with Michelle. Fortunately that was not the case. It was the exact opposite in fact. “Only in my comic it was Deadpool and Lady Deadpool.” Rushing back over to his boxes, Mikey searched for the one that held his comics, grateful for the distraction from his raging hormones.
Progress was being made and the first hurdle had been crossed. The fear that had kept Mikey from acting was starting to melt away. After finding the comic he settled on the tatami with Michelle to read it together and she was just as excited as he was to start reading it. This really could end up a perfect relationship.
