Rascal's Turf
A Misinterpretation
"Hold the light a little higher Mikey," Don said as he leaned farther under the hood of the moving van.
Mikey lifted his arm, tilting his head simultaneously to stare at Don's rear end. Don's tail wiggled enticingly as he struggled with a bolt that refused to come loose.
"Hey Don," Mikey called, continuing his perusal of Don's round, firm buttocks.
"What?" Don asked, grunting with his efforts.
"Remember when Leatherhead was here the other day?" Mikey shifted a bit as the view began to create a reaction in his lower regions.
Another grunt, and then Don said, "Of course I do."
"I think that broken microscope story was just an excuse," Mikey said before licking his suddenly dry lips.
Don leaned back, his weight on the bumper dropping the van's front end down. Mikey's eyes shot up quickly, before Don could see what Mikey had been focused on.
"What the shell are you talking about Mikey?" Don asked; a puzzled look on his face. "An excuse for what?"
"To come and see you," Mikey answered.
Don shook his head and turned back to the van's engine. As he tipped more of his upper body under the hood, Mikey returned to his study of Don's backside.
"LH doesn't need an excuse to come visit, Mikey," Don's muffled voice came out of the engine housing.
"He does if he's only coming to visit you," Mikey explained, his voice dripping with hidden meaning.
Don once more pulled away from the engine to stare at his brother. "What's that supposed to mean Michelangelo?"
Mikey met Don's eyes and a cocky grin painted his lips. "It means I think LH has a thing for you Donny."
Without saying anything, Don picked up his shop towel and began wiping his arms and hands before leaping off the bumper. Walking over to his workbench, he pumped some hand cleaner onto his palms and rubbed them together.
Mikey hooked the shop light onto the open van hood and wandered over to join his brother. Leaning a hip against the workbench, Mikey studied Don's face while his brother carefully cleaned the grease off his hands.
"Did you hear what I said?" Mikey pressed. "I think LH has the hots for you."
"Mikey, LH does not have the hots for me," Don told him with a half-smile.
"Sure he does," Mikey lifted a hand and fluttered his fingers in the air. "He's always telling me how smart you are, and gentle, and that he enjoys visiting because he can review his theories and stuff with you, and…"
Don placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop," Don said quietly.
Mikey's mouth snapped closed, but he still wore the knowing grin.
Don bit and released his bottom lip, watching Mikey's eyes carefully as he said, "LH isn't interested in me Mikey. He's interested in you."
Mikey sputtered, "Is not! Why's he always talking about you then?"
"Because he wants to talk to you, and I'm one thing you both have in common," Don informed him, the gentle smile returning to his face.
"Oh shell, really? How am I supposed to act now when he shows up? I won't know what to say," Mikey said with a little moan.
Don's other hand came up to cup Mikey's cheek and he dipped his head closer to his brothers. "It's okay Mikey. Don't worry about it. I already told LH you were spoken for."
Life of the Party
"Ya' wanna tell me why you're standing out here all by yourself?"
Raph's gruff voice startled Mikey out of his daydream. It was Halloween, one of his favorite times of the year, and he was standing on a street corner out in plain view of all the people drifting by.
Mikey loved Halloween because it was the one day out of three hundred and sixty-five of them that he could walk down the street rather than run across rooftops. He could wander into shops, or knock on people's doors and be greeted by a pleasant smile, rather than listening to a high pitched scream if someone caught a glimpse of him.
Dipping into his belt, Mikey pulled out a handful of candy. "Want some chocolate bro?" he asked Raph, a big grin splitting his face.
Raph helped himself to a piece, peeling back the wrapper and popping it into his mouth.
"Ya' didn't answer my question. Leo's gonna shit if he finds out ya' were out here alone."
"You see that apartment up there on the second floor?" Mikey pointed at a building across the street.
"Yeah," Raph answered; a puzzled look on his face.
"They're having a party. I got invited," Mikey said with a wistful smile. "They said I have the best costume they've seen in a long time."
Raph chuckled. "I guess ya' do at that."
Sighing loudly, Mikey said, "I've never been to a Halloween party."
The silence between them lingered for a few minutes. Raph studied his little brother's face as Mikey watched party goers climb the stairs and enter the building. Everyone was dressed in outrageous costumes; loud music and laughter spilt onto the street each time the entry door opened.
"Come on," Raph grabbed Mikey's arm and began pulling him across the street.
"W…what are you doing?" Mikey asked in a state of confusion.
"I'm takin' ya' ta a party knot head," Raph told him.
Mikey stared at his hot headed brother with incredulous amazement, not daring to believe it until he was actually inside the apartment and surrounded by strangers.
It wasn't long before Mikey was the life of the party. His jokes were rewarded by peals of laughter; his turn at the karaoke machine had everyone singing along.
Raph leaned against a wall and nursed a beer while watching his brother. He couldn't help but smile as Mikey was pulled into the middle of the room to dance, several women fighting for his attention.
The brothers enjoyed themselves for a few hours before Raph figured it was time to leave. He'd texted Don that he and Mikey were together and just hanging out so that Leo wouldn't come looking for them. Raph didn't say where they were hanging out.
Extracting Mikey from the party was harder than getting him in. No one wanted him to leave, and Mikey was floating rather than walking by the time Raph got him out of the apartment.
On their way home via the nearest sewer tunnel, Raph asked, "So did ya' have a good time, Mikey?"
Mikey turned glowing blue eyes on Raph, his entire body radiating pure joy.
"I had the best time ever Raphie," Mikey told him. "It was worth every second of the ass chewing I'm gonna get from Leo."
Raph chuckled. "Ya' ain't gotta worry about that. I let Don know we were together and safe. Just make sure this stays a secret between us, okay?"
"Okay," Mikey said with a giggle. "Guess what I got?"
Looking over at Mikey, Raph asked, "What?"
Mikey's held his hand out and showed Raph several scraps of paper. He chortled with glee when he saw Raph's questioning look.
"Phone numbers!" Mikey said. "Girls were giving them to me left and right."
Raph lifted his head and laughed loudly. Finally turning back to his little brother, he asked, "And what the shell are ya' gonna do with them?"
A mischievous smile etched Mikey's face. "I'm gonna hang onto them in case a certain hot head ever gets tired of me."
Raph came to an abrupt stop and wrapped an arm around Mikey's neck, pulling his orange banded brother up against his plastron.
Dropping his voice an octave, Raph said in a husky rumble, "Like that could ever happen."
The Happiness Factor
Mikey stepped into the dojo to find Leo staring at the weapons wall.
He stood quietly watching his older brother, wondering what was going through Leo's mind.
"You remember when we were sixteen, Mike?" Leo asked, sensing the others presence.
Mikey moved closer. "Sure. Was there a particular moment?"
Leo turned his head and looked at Mikey. "It was just like this one. I was staring at the weapons and you came in. You told me you loved me. Why did you tell me that?"
Mikey shrugged. "I guess 'cause you looked like you needed to hear it."
Leo turned back to stare at the wall again. Mikey stepped up beside him and stood there silently.
"It was the first time you ever told me that," Leo said softly.
"I told you that a lot when we were growing up," Mikey responded, puzzled at Leo's tone.
"Not like that," Leo said. "It was just after we started being physical."
"Oh yeah," Mikey answered with a chuckle. "You were kinda stressed out about it."
Leo glanced out of the corner of his eye at Mikey. "Is that your way of saying I was uptight?"
"You were wound up tighter than a guitar string, bro," Mikey said with a grin. "I could tell it was bugging you 'cause you always come stare at those weapons when you're worrying about something."
"And you always show up to help me with through it," Leo turned around to face Mikey. "How do you know?"
"How do I know you need me?" Mikey asked. "I guess I can just sense it. Like right now. I knew that you having to kill that guy tonight was gonna get to you."
"You could just leave me to deal with it on my own," Leo suggested.
Mikey slipped nearer to his brother. "No way dude. You're always there for me Leo. You've always been there for me and I'm always gonna be there for you."
Leo reached out and took Mikey's hands into his, saying, "You're pretty special Mike, do you know that?"
Mikey grinned. "Of course I do. I also know you guys couldn't survive without me."
A heavy weight seemed to lift from Leo's shoulders; the shadow over his heart beginning to fade. With a deep sigh, he pulled Mikey closer.
"We certainly couldn't Mikey. You're the one who reminds us to be happy," Leo whispered against Mikey's mouth.