Chapter 22: Moments...
It was moments like this Leonardo just wanted to apologize to Donatello.
If his behavior had been anything like his brother is right now, then by all means he didn’t resent when Donatello went searching for him in the need of some… release.
What originally been waiting three days to explain to their family had been completely sunk down the drain. Now his job description included to avoid Donatello all together. Or at least when family is around.
Leonardo did mean to speak to his father about their situation. He really did. But… this happened…
Alright maybe it was a bit of an excuse, he’ll admit. An excuse to extend some time and prolong the mandatory meeting he needed to speak to father about. And he wouldn’t deny it either, after all he just... Alright call him a coward, but this kind of talk wasn’t easy to come up with or figure out how to break it to their dad that they were in a relationship together.
There were just so many outcomes, so many ways it can go right, but also so wrong…
The smells of candle wax and tea didn’t do much to sooth his racketing nerves.
Great… not even meditation was helping him think this over, the last thing he needed was to stop meditation altogether because he couldn’t come up with a single phrase that didn’t involve.
‘Guess what dad!? We’re gay and totally into incest since we‘re sleeping with each other!’
Leo cringed at that…
Alright. Now that was just bad, even for him…
The leader sighed, already making his way to grab the candles, he blew them out knowing it was just better to set those aside until his mind wasn’t scattered with all theses thoughts and omens.
Just as he was setting the map away there was a knock on his door. Leonardo almost scowled, right now was not a good time to be sexually active!
The thought of ignoring the door did come to mind, but ultimately he just couldn’t leave Donatello waiting out there…
He really hated himself right now…
Pushing the candles to a safer corner along with the meditation mat, he turn by the heel at the door, the second he opened the door he was going to tell Donatello to-
-only to see it was Michelangelo.
“Oh, you need something?” He asked trying to mask his confusion, panic and stress in his voice.
“Do you have a minute?” The baby of the family asked looking up.
Sapphire met baby blue, for a moment Leonardo didn’t move, but once he took notice of the urgency in Michenlangelo's eyes. Leo quickly cut loose and allowed his younger sibling enter inside.
“Wow, you’re starting to get bad as me.” Mikey said taking a good look around the leader’s room.
Quite certain Leo did have the cleanest room in comparison to his family, with the exception of Splinter, who believed brevity was the best option in sleeping quarters. So to see the meditation mat lazily placed in the corner, the papers that would have painted with Kanji characters scattered on his desk and floor. Heck, even Leo's wooden training swords and wrappings were sitting idly on the ground oppose to on the displays.
“Yeah, I’ve been busy lately.” Leonardo added, not really speaking or paying attention to Mikey as he closed the door behind him.
The orange banded turtle looked at his oldest brother in question. “Busy?”
Leonardo froze at his sudden response, but didn’t answer right away. “-Just with some… personal issues.”
The older of the two could have sworn he saw a look of understanding in the younger’s eyes, but at the same time there was nervousness.
“S-so what did you want to speak about?” Leo asked hoping to take the subject clean off the plate.
For a second Mikey didn’t say anything, even as he sat down on Leo’s bed. However he did managed to keep his gaze up rather than down. “Is there’s something bothering you Leo?”
Out of all the things Leonardo expected the other to ask, that was not one of those things. “I beg your pardon?”
Lighter scheme blue eyes faced his brother’s darker hues. “Is there’s something going on your mind bro, lately you…” He swallowed heavily, it looked at if he bit his tongue over that matter. “…been stressed out.”
Leo paused for a moment, letting the question to sink in. “Nothing is bothering me at the moment Mike, I can assure you-”
“Why do you always keep secrets Leo?” The youngest asked.
The blue banded turtle blinked, surprised for the quirky interruption. “What do you mean? I’m not…-”
“Look bro, I may be young but I’m not blind, obviously you’re hiding something. I just… I just want to help you, I don’t know if I can stand seeing you punish yourself like this bro.” Mikey stated his orange covered eye ridges slanting down in worry.
Time felt like it went slow for Leonardo, and for the first time he wasn’t sure how to respond. “Mikey…”
He crouched down, right in front of Michelangelo as he placed both hands comfortably on both shoulder’s of his brother. “I’m not punishing myself Michelangelo, whatever gave you that assumption?”
“Because…” Again he was holding something back. “It’s because of the nightmare.”
The Nightmare…
“Care to evaluate?” The eldest trended carefully.
“You always say it’s alright, when you’re in trouble you never want to share your problems, always demanding it’s your business, but…” Tears looked like they wanted to fall from his eyes. “But you went to Don…”
Time paused for a split second.
“You went to Donnie and asked for his help, but… you… you looked like you were scared of us.”
Leonardo felt his blood run colder than it should, “Mikey, I-” But he didn’t finish his sentence, he knew he was right, there was no way he could argue about it.
The moment he decided to be selfish for one night, just one night! He never realized the damage he caused just with one action alone.
Mikey may be young, but there is no way he was ignorant. If anything he has inestimable, creative intuition that they don't credit him for. Leonardo then saw those bright eyes glare at him, the youngest glared at him…
“Do you not trust us? Do you not want us to be your brothers-” Mikey stopped when firm forest colored hands moved from his shoulders to his face.
“Don’t you ever think that Mikey.” Leo stated firmly making sure those same glaring eyes were on him. “I trust you all with my life, you’re my family… you are everything to me, all that I have…” He never realized he began to speak for himself.
“I could never bare the thought of ever loosing you and your trust… all of you…”
Mikey watched in shock when he noticed the tears that began to crystallize in his older brother’s hues.
“Leo…” He never realized just… just how close his older sibling was to breaking down.
“I could never… I could never think what father would ever think about…” Leonardo paused, feeling his stomach drop and his veins freeze cold. He dropped his head, he felt his younger brother’s forehead against his own.
“Leo…” Mikey felt a void, a void dragging him closer before…
“Mike-”
Deep blue eyes widened when suddenly he felt lips over his own.
