A response to a challenge over at Stealthy Stories. It didn't quite come out as planned, but I like it.

Also, when I first wrote this, I figured the turtles would be the age they are in the current show. However, upon re-reading and editing it, I realized that they seem a little younger, at least to me. I guess it's up to you to decide what age they are.

Disclaimer: I own no turtles, rats or mutants. Not even an origami swan.

It was quiet and still, the only sound coming from the soft footsteps of a blue-clad, reptilian ninja. And while he could move more quietly, he didn't think it would be necessary. He knew quite well how lightly or heavily his family slept.

He took the leap down to the bottom floor, utilizing his body in every way possible to make the noise seemingly nonexistent. He stopped briefly when he saw a light coming from the kitchen, wondering who would, no who could be up at this hour. He made his way to the lit room even as he considered the possibilities.

Raph and Donnie were out of the question, he quickly concluded while making his way through the dark main room of their lair. It was far too early for either of them; morning practice wasn't in another hour.

For the same reason, he found it hard to believe it would be his youngest brother. While Mikey was never late for their morning practice, he was always the last one to arrive in the dojo.

As for whether or not it was his master Splinter, he doubted that as well. Their adoptive father made a habit of never coming out of his room before it was fifteen minutes left until practice started. Why? Leo chose not to think about it. He remembered when they were younger, and Splinter would be up between an hour and forty-five minutes before practice. Thinking about that change reminded him that his father was aging, and he didn't want to be reminded of that.

As the blue-clad ninja entered the kitchen, he quickly closed his eyes. Since they were still used to the darkness in the rest of the lair, the bright light in the kitchen hurt them. That was why he didn't notice the other being in the room.

At least not until he managed to force his stinging eyes open again. That was when he spotted an orange-clad turtle at the table.

"Mikey?" he said hesitantly in a soft voice.

His youngest brother caught him completely off guard at that moment. He more or less sprung to his feet, making the chair he occupied fall backwards, and threw himself at Leo, embracing him in a tight hug. The leader stood completely motionless, his breath caught in his throat.

"Leo!" the normally wound up turtle cried as his arms nearly crushed his older brother's ribs.

"Uh… Mikey?" he tried again, while uncertainly moving his arms upwards in an awkward attempt to return the embrace. "Something wrong?"

His brother pulled himself out of the hug, breathing heavily.

"No, I… I got a little carried away, that's all," he said, quickly turning his head away.

Leo frowned. He had never seen his youngest brother like this, and frankly, it scared him. However, he wouldn't be much of a leader or big brother if he ran away from it. So he reached out with his right hand and touched Mikey's shoulder.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Nothing," the orange-clad joker said. "It's just…" He paused, throwing his hands out in a hopeless motion. "I'm sick of this."

For the second time in five minutes, Leo was stunned. His youngest, wisecracking joker of a brother was depressed?

He wasn't sure how to respond to that either. Whenever Mikey had any problems he'd go to Donnie. And Leo was pretty sure their purple-clad brother would have mentioned it if Mikey was depressed.

"Sick of what?" he asked hesitantly, not at all sure what to do.

For some reason, this really had never been his department.

"This!" Mikey suddenly snapped, turning to face his oldest brother, his brown eyes filled with anger. "I'm sick of hiding down here, I'm sick of always being the happy one, I'm sick of never being taken seriously! I'm sick of not having the privilege of getting angry!" he finished off, tears forming in his eyes. "You're going to laugh…"

Leo didn't laugh. For the third time in five minutes, Mikey had managed to stun him. Once again, the 'fearless leader' wondered why it had to be him and not Donnie. Or even Raph. No, maybe not Raph. Raph and Mikey in the same room didn't seem very safe at all at the moment.

"Mikey," he tried, not at all knowing what he was supposed to say.

He was about to say that they did take him seriously, but stopped himself. To be honest, Leo couldn't remember the last time he had actually taken time to listen to his youngest brother and hear what he had to say. He couldn't remember if Mikey had said anything of importance in the last week, or if it had only been jokes as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Don't tell me I'm wrong, Leo," the orange-clad ninja continued tiredly, freeing himself of Leo's hand and sitting down at the table. "Just…"

The older brother closed his eyes for a moment before he sat down at the other end of the table. His youngest brother was right, and it made him realize something about himself. Something he never would have realized, had this conversation never occurred.

"You're right," he said softly.

Mikey's head shot up, his eyes wide as he looked at his older brother.

"I'm what?" he wondered, staring at the blue-clad terrapin like he had grown a second head.

"You're right," Leo repeated. "I… I'm sorry for not listening to you, Mikey."

He wasn't sure what he expected to happen next. He certainly didn't expect this to be over yet. And he was right.

"It's okay, I guess," his orange-clad brother mumbled, his eyes wandering towards the table again.

Leo watched his every move, not sure what to expect next. However, his younger brother didn't do much at all. He just stared at the table, his fingers fumbling with a napkin that for some reason was folded into a swan.

"It's not okay, Mikey," Leo told him, forcing his gaze away from the swan and up to Mikey's face. "As a leader, I should always be prepared to listen to everyone. I've failed in that aspect."

He stopped there. The rest of the realization wasn't for Mikey to hear. Leo would discuss it with Master Splinter later.

His eyes once again focused on his brother's hands when they made a sudden move. The swan was pushed away, and the green fingers moved to find a still unfolded napkin. The orange-clad terrapin didn't seem to realize what he was doing as he began to fold it.

"Yeah, maybe," Mikey agreed. "Maybe you are a terrible leader."

Leo's eyes went wide. He didn't think he had said that out loud. Actually, he was sure he hadn't said it out loud. Maybe he had just guessed his thoughts?

"But I don't think so," his youngest brother continued. "You're good at leading. You always come up with a plan to get us out of trouble. And Donnie's good with his techno-things, and Raph's a great fighter, always there to back us up." Another swan landed on the table. "But I'm not really good at anything, am I? I'm not into the whole spiritual part of ninjitsu like you, and I know I'm not really leading material. I can't even be in Don's lab without breaking something, and I'm not a strong fighter like Raph. I'm not good at anything."

A third swan made its way from Mikey's hands and scrambled over the table, stopping close to Leo. The confused leader grabbed it carefully, eyeing it from every angle. He wasn't an expert at swan-folding, but from what he could make out, it looked perfect.

And for some reason, it made him feel a little calmer, more focused. Suddenly, Leo knew the real truth.

"Mikey, you're good at being you," the blue-clad ninja said seriously, putting the swan down on the table again as he focused on his brother. "And we need you to be you. Without your jokes, this place would fall apart. I may be the leader, Don may be the technician and doctor, Raph may be a warrior and Master Splinter our sensei and guide. But your part is equally important. You're the spirit of this family, of our clan."

"I'm a spirit?" his orange-clad brother asked, sounding offended and hurt. "This is what I get for thinking you'd actually pay attention," he mumbled, his fingers moving at seemingly impossible speed as they folded yet another swan.

Leo almost recoiled, hurt by his brother's words. He couldn't say he didn't deserve them, but he still hoped that Mikey didn't mean it. That it was just something he said right now, that he would take back when he felt better.

He watched Michaelangelo's hands as they folded the napkin. They moved swiftly and with an ease that seemed almost magical. Fold, fold, turn, fold, turn, fold.

At least now Leo knew why they ran out of napkins so fast. It wasn't any comfort, especially not if his youngest brother only folded them when he was depressed.

"That's not what I meant," the leader tried, forcing down the frustration he felt. He should have known Mikey wouldn't get something that could be considered deep, at least not right now. "What I meant was, we need your sense of humor to keep us going, just as much as we need Master Splinter for advice, or Donnie for fixing injuries or technological stuff."

Mikey glanced at him, maybe expecting a laugh or at least a smile. Leo kept his face dead serious. He wanted his brother to understand this, to know. Thus he didn't move a muscle under the searching glance.

"Really?" the orange-clad ninja asked, sounding a little like his old self.

Leo took a deeper breath, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He tried telling himself that he shouldn't think of the situation as cleared yet, but hearing the light eagerness in his younger brother's voice made him feel as if the worst was over.

"Yes. Really," he assured him. "You helped me relax just now," he added for more reassurance.

Now he had his full attention. His brown eyes were curious as the focused on his blue-clad brother, the napkin/swan-hybrid in his hands completely forgotten.

"With this," the leader clarified, picking up the swan he had placed on the table. "I didn't know you could do this."

"Oh, that's easy," the orange-clad brother answered with a dismissive wave of his hands, slight disbelief echoing through his voice. "You can have that one."

For the first time since he entered the kitchen, Leo dared to smile. Even if Mikey didn't fully believe him, he had still gotten through.

"Thank you," he said, setting it down on the table again. "But I can't take it."

"Sure you can. I just told you they're easy to make. If you really like it, then take it," Mikey urged, his voice growing sharper by the minute.

Leo nodded soberly and let his hand touch a wing on the origami-swan. Carefully, he lifted it, still marveling over how small his daily worries seemed as he looked at it.

"Thank you Mikey," he said once again. "I mean it," he added as no reaction came from his youngest brother. "It's the nicest thing anyone has ever given me."

The brown eyes behind the orange mask once again darted up to meet Leo's. The older brother didn't move this time either.

"Really?"

"Yes."

A mischievous spark was suddenly lit in Mikey's eyes. Leo forced himself to breathe, knowing he had just stepped into a trap of some kind.

"Even nicer than your katana that Master Splinter gave you?"

He was about to answer, when he realized that he couldn't. At least not at first. But as he thought about it, he realized something else as well. He'd gladly sacrifice both his katana for anyone in his family. Especially his brothers.

"Yes."

This time, he was met with slight disbelief again. However, it wasn't disbelief fueled by self-doubt, like it had been earlier.

"Really?" Mikey asked. Leo was about to answer when he continued. "Didn't think anything was more important than your swords."

This time it was Leo who stared at Mikey with disbelief. However the disbelief was soon replaced by acceptance. He could guess how he must sound to his brothers sometimes: Completely obsessed with practice and keeping his skills on top. He had thought they knew why he did it, why he always strived to be on top.

"My family is," he answered his youngest brother.

He got a smile from his youngest brother, a smile that seemed more genuine than any other Leo had seen all morning. Nothing else was said for a few minutes, and the only sounds in the kitchen were the ticking of the clock and the soft shuffle of fingers stroking napkins when they were folded.

Then another sound entered the kitchen, faintly and from the main room. The two brothers easily recognized it as the sound of their master's door opening.

"We should get going," Leo mumbled quietly and got up from his chair.

Mikey finished his last swan quickly and got up as well. He looked over the table, where ten swans now rested, the one he had given to Leo excluded. For a moment, the orange-clad turtle considered throwing them all away, like he always did. He changed his mind, though, as he caught sight of the swan he had given to his oldest brother.

Leo had taken the swan and placed it on the shelf by the doorway, where it had the view of most of the kitchen. His brother's hand rested next to hit, hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if he should leave it there or not.

As the blue-clad ninja finally decided to leave it there, at least for the moment, Mikey made his decision as well. Leaving the swans scattered over the table, he made his way around the table.

"Hey, Leo," he whispered at his brother's retreating back.

Leo stopped instantly, seemingly ready for an attack. It made Mikey feel a little bad, he knew he had scared his oldest brother a lot this morning.

"What?" the nervous turtle wondered as he turned around.

From the way he held himself, it was clear that Leo didn't want to show how nervous he really was. Too bad he couldn't really hide anything from his brothers. None of them could really hide anything from the others.

"Thanks."

The nervousness faded from Leo's face, and he gave his youngest brother a smile that probably wasn't supposed to hold as much relief as Mikey saw in it. Still, it was a smile and it told him more than just that Leo was relieved. It also told Mikey that he was welcome. That he would always be welcome.

I have no idea where Mikey learned to fold swans. It seemed to fit, so I used it. Maybe Splinter taught him how to do it, maybe he learned it from watching TV. You decide.

Constructive criticism is welcome.