Try

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Chapter One: Cold As Ice

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by: Akiko, Keeper of Sheep

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Leo sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the short wall that ran along the rooftop. Lights of all colors winked at him, as though enticing him to come enjoy their promise and pleasure.

Right.

He didn't generally brood on rooftops. Fifteen was a little young to be developing a heart condition. Still, with all the criminal activity lately, not to mention all the family drama, the broody thing was starting to become a routine.

The presence beside him was becoming more and more familiar, as well. Not that he wasn't aquainted with the turtle that leaned with his shell against the wall, back turned almost symbolically to the wicked glare of the city. It just seemed that Mikey had made it his personal mission to accompany Leo on any topside excursion that was designated as 'Brooding Time'.

They stood in silence, every time, until Mikey would break down and make some off-the-wall comment. It would slice through Leo's ponderings of the sinfulness of mankind, dispelling all dark thoughts with one well-timed grin, bright as any of the artificial lights below.

This time it took only fifteen minutes before the smaller turtle spoke.

"If you don't want to hang out with me, you don't have to."

Leo looked over at his little brother, confused. "When did I say I didn't want to hang out with you?"

The blue-eyed turtle rolled said eyes. "You never say anything. It's like hanging out with a brick wall."

Which kind of hurt, Leo thought. He had never been very verbose, but Mikey knew that. What was he expecting, a monologue?

"I didn't think there was anything to say," he murmured, looking out over the deceptively innocent twinkle of city lights again. He felt Mikey shift beside him, heard him sigh.

"No," the despondant response came. "I guess not."

And for some reason, that hurt even more.

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Mikey wasn't speaking.

Well, that wasn't quite true. To be more precise, Mikey wasn't speaking to Leo.

It bothered him, more than he'd ever care to admit. Sure, they'd rarely had a deep, meaningful conversation, but Mikey had always run to the eldest turtle with questions, fears, odd little ponderings. They had always been like that. Leo would be the silent protector, and Mikey would poke and prod at him until he smiled. It was the system. It worked.

Mikey was not obeying the system. He was defying the natural order of things.

It bothered Leo.

So when Donnie had asked why Leo was trying to sharpen the wrong edge of his sword, the blue-bedecked brother had procceeded to explain the system to Donnie, and everything had poured out.

And now Donnie wouldn't stop smirking, which just made things worse.

Without waiting for Donnie to say anything, Leo had left. He'd left the room, left the lair, left the sewers.

And damned if Mikey hadn't followed him.

They stood, side-by-side, on the roof of an apartment building. New York City spread out before them, glittering jewel-bright. Leo felt a curl of disgust in his stomach. It was wrong, the whole city. The few good parts were being eaten away by the festering evil of the heart of the place. It was diseased, rotting from the inside out.

And yet, as the moon shifted slowly above them, Leo found himself brooding less and less over the state of his hometown and more over the fact that Mikey had yet to speak. Even here, now, Mikey was determinedly sticking to his vow of silence. He wanted to scream, to beg his brother to say something, anything.

With a sigh, he turned his back on the city and began to lead Mikey home.

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He was trying to tell Leo something.

The swordsturtle groaned to himself as he rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. It had been days since Mikey had spoken to him last, and it had ceased to bother Leo. Now it was driving him up the wall.

He knew Mikey was trying to get some message across. What was it? That Leo had gotten what he'd asked for? That Leo was an asshole?

No, everyone knew that one.

If his goal had been to show Leo how very irritating he himself could be, he was succeeding. It wasn't just the talking. Leo had become aware of an even more disturbing change in his baby brother. Mikey was now closing himself off from Leo.

Though he acted just as outgoing and carefree as always with the rest of the family, around Leo he had adopted a sort of poker face. He was...blank. It was more than disturbing, it was wrong. Mikey should never, ever look like Leo.

Hugging his pillow, Leo muffled another groan. This was his fault. He wasn't sure what he'd said or done to start this, but he knew he was the guilty one. And now he had to figure out how to fix it before he lost his brother for good.

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Dinner was awkward now. Instead of joking and laughing and arguing, there was silence and averted eyes.

Donnie and Raph were noticably trying to keep spirits and energy up. Neither was very good at it. Splinter just gazed from turtle to turtle, obviously knowing (as always) precisely what the problem was and hoping his sons would be wise enough to figure it out.

Yeah. Thanks for the help, sensei, Leo thought bitterly.

He watched Mikey out of the corner of his eyes. The youngest turtle was eating methodically, not looking up and not speaking at all. His posture was stiff and rediculously proper, the way Leo had been exaspiratedly attempting to make him sit for years. It was like his brother had been replaced by a mindless zombie.

And if Mikey was throwing his own behavior back at him...what did that say about Leo?

"I'm done," Leo muttered, tossing his utensils down and shoving his chair back so hard it made a horrible noise against the tile.

His brothers looked up, startled at the sullen tone and abrupt movements. Without looking at Mikey, Leo trudged towards the dojo.

Once inside, he stood for a moment, contemplating. Brown eyes roved over the assorted weapons lazily. And for the first time in his life, Leo couldn't muster up the strength or will to train.

Turning back around, he left to dojo and barrelled past a startled Raphael to disappear into his room.

He wondered vaguely if he could just hide under the bed until this all blew over.

He was such a coward.

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A/N - And now it's Leo and Mikey's turn! I'll bet they're thrilled! Set of turtle plushies if anyone can figure out what Mikey's game is! Hinthint - it's not drug abuse!

For those of you who know me and my sister, that's pretty big news.

Once again, this takes place a few months before the turtles meet April. If all goes well, I might do a few fics that cover the movies in BL-verse. Depends on how my exam goes.

Review, review, review! Or I shall smite thee!

Peace! (--)