Author's Note: I'm realizing how many times I have used Mikey's P.O.V...huh... Sorry for the long wait guys! I'm also starting to work on another story so, unfortunately, the updates probably won't come much faster. But, this chapter is here! So, read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: No ninja mutants around here sadly...except in this fanfic ;P
Review Replies from Chapter 19:
Remcicles: I'm glad you liked the chapter :). I also love Raph and Leo bro moments! Thanks for the review!
Insanity21: Yeah, sorry for the long wait. I'm glad you really enjoyed Raph being a big bro to Leo though! Please don't die though! After all, there will be even more bro moments between the four turtles ;).
Sairey13: I've never really realized that about Raph and hugs! But I like it :). And yes, Leo is afraid Karai/Miwa will act differently once she is a human, like the other humans that have hurt him. Leo might dream about Karai before she was truly Miwa, but I'm not sure. If he did, he probably won't realize that it's her...but we will have to see. Also, I don't think Miwa really has a choice on whether she wants to be human again. If they don't change her human, she would lose her sanity and hurt her family. Although, I do see her getting upset that she won't be able to help as much in the future ;). Thank you for the review!
tmntlover2013: I'm glad you liked the Leo and Raph moment ;). And thank you :). Sorry this chapter is a bit late, but I hope you like it!
BubblyShell22: Thank you for the compliment and the review! As for Leo turning back...you'll have to wait and find out ;). Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Mewfem: Hey! Thank you for leaving a review! Here's another chapter because you asked nicely ;)
Michelangelo's P.O.V
Stretching till my arms pop, I walk downstairs, hearing the silence that fills the Lair. It's early in the morning, but I couldn't sleep last night. There is also the fact that I'm craving pancakes something awful! If I don't get to the kitchen and make some soon, I'm sure I'll go crazy! Smiling at my own thoughts, I lightly jump off the last of the steps, landing like a small feather. Ninja skills; enough said.
My eyes look over to the living room and I pause in my movements. There, on the floor, surrounded by warm blankets and fluffy pillows, is little Leo lying next to big, tough Raphie, both sleeping like babies. The smile turns into a slight mischievous one as I start to think of where the camera is and how I can use it as blackmail in the future. However, my plan is interrupted by a low rumble coming from my stomach. Making the tough choice, I decide to get some breakfast before working on getting blackmailed for my wonderful brother. Trying to be even quieter than I was just seconds before, I slip through the room into the kitchen.
Even though the younger brother part of me is thinking about how I can make fun of Raph and stuff like that, I am also proud of him. It shows that he is getting through the whole "younger Leo" thing. The scene also shows the connection between them is beginning to grow. Again, a good sign.
Once getting into the kitchen, I find Master Splinter holding a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. Looking around, I notice how there is warm coffee in the coffee pot. Donnie has already been up and has gotten his coffee. I can't decide whether to let out an annoyed sigh or smirk. For years, my brothers and I have been picking on our genius brother about how coffee has become the new oxygen for him; however, we are concerned for him. At this pace, he's going to run himself down. Simply letting out a light, quiet sigh, I walk over to grab a cookbook from the cabinet. Even though the recipe to make homemade pancakes is practically scarred into my brain, I always like to double check I have it right. I really don't want to add too much salt and not enough flour or something crazy. And wasting all those ingredients if I do mess up? I'm pretty sure I would have a heart attack!
"Want a pancake, Sensei?" I offer quietly to my father. His response is a grateful smile and a light shake of his head. Returning to my cooking, I begin measuring the amount of milk before pouring it in and adding an egg. Turning to Master Splinter again, I ask him, "You see the two little angels out there?"
I can hear him chuckle slightly as I put the milk away before pulling out the dry ingredients form the lower cabinets. "Yes, I heard them talking last night a little bit; although, I was still slightly surprised to see them that way this morning."
"Honestly, I'm surprised Leo didn't come to you."
"He did," my father replies simply. "However, I knew Raphael needed to move forward and Leonardo needs to learn to reach out to others more. I believed the best choice was to pretend to be in a deep sleep so Leonardo would have to go to the closest person: Raphael."
"Well," I start, my gaze traveling towards the living room, "it worked, as usual."
My response causes Sensei to chuckle before taking another small sip of tea. For the next few moments, we enjoy each other's company in silence. As I finish up the pancake batter, I can hear Master Splinter turn pages in his book. I don't even need to look at the cover of the book to guess it has something to do with traditional Japan or something like that. Culture stories or folktales and history stories have always peaked the interests of my brother, Leo, and Master Splinter. It was one of the many things the two had in common.
After flipping the last pancake on a plate, I make sure my dirty dishes are moved to the sink while I make my way to the Lab to offer Dr. Frankenstein some food. Pulling out my T-phone, I take a detour to my sleeping brothers on the floor, wanting to snap a quick pic. Once I reach my brothers, I kneel down after pulling up the camera on my phone. Looking through the screen, I see two blue eyes staring at me with silent laughter. Smirking, I look over my phone to see Leo looking at me, a smile on his face. Busted.
"Good morning," I say quietly, lowering my phone. "Don't mind me; just trying to get some friendly blackmail."
He chuckles lightly before resting his head on Raph's chest. I can't stop my hand from quickly lifting up to snap a photo when Leo closes his eyes and yawns. Fighting the urge to send it to Raph and let him know I have a weapon or save it as my wallpaper, I decide to simply save it and decide what to do with it later. Leo might now what I did because once he opens his eyes and looks at me again, he sends me a playful glare.
"So, how long have you been up?" I ask, wanting to change the topic.
Shrugging slightly, he whispers to me, "For a while."
"You didn't get up?"
Another small shrug. "I don't want to wake Raph up."
Smirking I say, "Maybe I can help you with that, but you have to do me a favor."
He seems to hesitate for a minute before nodding with a smile. I think he has a bad feeling about my plan. Maybe he didn't lose his Jedi mind tricks when he changed.
"I need you to go into Uncle Donnie's lab and ask him if he wants a pancake once I get you out of your Uncle Raphie's grip."
"Okay," he replies quietly.
"Now, as soon as get his arm away from you, I need you to get up as quickly and as quietly as possible, alright?"
Raising an eye ridge at me, he reluctantly nods, a small but curious smile still on his face. As soon as he nods, I step over Raph before crouching to the floor again so I am at Leo's side. With great ninja skill and stealth, I slowly and gently lift Raph's arm that is wrapped around the little turtle. As soon as Leo is free of my brother's grasp, he quickly sits up and crawls away, giving me enough space to take his place. Feeling Raph's arm wrap around my shoulders, I see Leo covering his mouth out of the corner of my eye. Once making eye contact, I look at the Lab door, wanting to send Leo away before he burst out laughing and to let Donnie know breakfast is ready if he wants it. Giving me a nod with a hand still pressed tightly against his mouth, he quietly rushes to the Lab, shutting the door softly behind him.
As soon as Leo is away, I turn my head slightly to face my brother's sleeping one. Raph almost looks like a peaceful baby with his mouth open slightly as he lightly snores. This also simply brings memories of when me and my bros all slept together at night. Being little turtle tots, we all had a hard time sleeping on our own, but we were too big to sleep with Splinter. To not only seek comfort but also warmth (since we were low on supplies at the time) we often slept with each other on a big mattress with many pillows and blankets. At the time, it was kind of a struggle since we had to share room and blankets with one another; but looking back on it, it was cute.
I don't think it took Raph long to realize the change of the turtle at his side. The first hint I got that he was waking up was that his snoring slowly came to a halt. Feeling my brother shift slightly, I made my eyes land on his closed eyelids, staring at them hard. It's when Raph's eyes flicker open when it takes all my willpower not to smile or burst out laughing.
"You have such beautiful eyes," I say kindly.
Apparently my wonderful and kind compliment is not taken to heart, though, as my brother yells in shock before sitting up, scooting away from me. The look of pure shock, confusion, and hint of fear causes me to fall on my back and burst out laughing. Over my laugh, I hear a growl coming from Raph's direction. Moving with my quick speed, I dodge Raph's tackle before taking off into the kitchen, knowing Master Splinter will keep me safe in there.
By the time I reach the kitchen, you can hear the familiar and annoyed yell "Mikey!" coming from my hotheaded brother. Master Splinter sends me a look before returning to his book and tea, not commenting on the subject. Instead of saying anything to him, I just give him an innocent smile before setting the table up for breakfast. Raph comes into the room, looking mad and glaring at me before glancing at me. I'm pretty sure his eyes are silently telling me he'll repay me for that later, but right now I don't care enough to really be worried. After all, this isn't the first time I messed with Raph. As a response, I send him a large, cheesy smile.
Don comes in with a little Leo at his side when Raph rolls his eyes at my amazing smile and sits down. My genius brother looks slightly tired, but I think Leo coming in and offering breakfast cheered his day up a bit. A small smile paints his face as he comes sit down between Sensei and Raph.
Instead sitting down at the table with the rest of the family, Leo comes over to me, looking up with his big blue eyes and smiling. "Can I help?"
"Of course!" I reply to him with a smile. I would be crazy not to accept a bit of help, especially when it's a small turtle and he is willing to take some work off of my hands. It's only a few seconds before we begin forming a system. After putting a pancake on a plate, I would then hand the plate to Leo for him to deliver it to a person. Handing him the last plate, he holds it in both of his hands before walking over to his own seat. Decorating my pancake with tons of butter and syrup, I hand over the tasty ingredients to the little turtle across the table from me. Sadly, Donnie had to limit the amount of butter and syrup for the little guy since he's still not use to sugary or greasy foods, yet. I'm not worried though since I'm sure that will change pretty soon.
Not even bothering to cut it, I stab my fork in the middle of my pancake. As I lift it up, the delicious breakfast flops over the sides, some of the syrup falling to my plate. Taking a big bite, I smile and close my eyes. This is definitely what my I needed this morning! Opening my eyes, I hold back a smile as I see Leo stabbing his fork in the middle of his own flapjack, copying my movement from earlier. Before he was able to lift it, though, Master Splinter puts a paw over his small, green hand.
"I do not think it would be wise to copy Michelangelo's actions," he says softly as he removes Leo's fork from the middle of the pancake, his hand still over the small turtle's. My father's statement causes me to give him a not-so-innocent smile. Ignoring me, he instead shows Leo how to cut and eat his breakfast properly. As for me, I continue to eat mine the easier way, eating a couple of eyerolls from my brothers.
Donatello's P.O.V
After working in my lab all day, trying to create a retromutagen that would work for Miwa, breakfast put me (as well as the rest of my family) in a good mood. Mikey was being his goofy self, Raph was trying not to punch Mikey in front of Master Splinter, and it was almost normal. Of course, I can't ignore the fact that it is still slightly awkward to have your once older brother having Master Splinter help him cut his breakfast into smaller pieces.
Leaning away from the set of chemicals I have in front of me, I stretch out my arms and back. After Master Splinter informed us that we were going to have a small training session tomorrow morning, we went to go do our own thing. Raph left to go hang out with Slash and the rest of the Mighty Mutanimals, Master Splinter went to meditate and work on the lesson for tomorrow, Mikey and Leo went to play and watch a movie, and I started working again.
The sounds of Mikey playing with the younger turtle stopped about half an hour ago. Leo claimed to have a stomach ache and after giving him a good check-up, I was able to conclude that it was most likely due to the sugar in the pancakes. Even though he didn't have a lot, it was more than his body is use to. So, pausing from their game, Mikey put in a movie and sat on the couch with Leo at his side. Since then, the only sounds in the Lair are the TV and whatever small noise I make here in the Lab.
Letting out a small sigh, I push my chair close to my desk again, my eyes peering into the microscope I have in front of me. I have already talked to both April and Rockwell earlier today, letting them know I wouldn't mind having a little bit of extra help. There is also the fact I'm sure Master Splinter and possibly my brothers would I have killed me if I continued trying to work on this all by myself. As I expected, they did not hesitate to immediately offer their help. In fact, they mentioned coming over tomorrow after lunch. It's almost like things are slowly turning more normal around here by the minute! I think that's a good sign.
It's not until about an hour or two later till I am once again forced out of my world of science and technology. The sound of the coming footsteps has me turning to the open doorway to my lab to find Raph heading my way. Giving me a small half-smile as a greeting, he leans against the counter I have my equipment on. I have to fight the urge to yell at him to move, knowing he would only make fun of my geeky paranoia.
"The rest of the Mighty Mutanimals mentioned coming over tomorrow with Rockwell," Raph states as I scribble down a couple more notes.
"I guess the Lair is going to be pretty full tomorrow, huh? It'll be us, the Mighty Mutanimals, April, and Casey," I reply with a smirk.
"Well," Raph starts to explain, "me, Slash, and Case' will probably head out, you, Rockwell, and April will be in here doing science stuff, Master Splinter will probably meditate or hang out or something, and everyone else will be in the living room playing games or watching movies. I don't think it will be too horrible."
"True," I agree, closing up my notebooks and putting everything to the side. "Did you see if the two on the couch fell asleep?" I ask, noticing that I can't hear any voices pass my lab besides the TV.
Raph shrugs. "I think Mikey is starting to doze off; don't know about Leo, though."
With my brother trailing behind me, we walk out of the Lab to peer towards the couch. Sure enough, Mikey is sitting there, his head falling to the side as his breathing becomes deeper and even. Leo's head lays on his lap while the rest of his body is spread across the couch as far as his little green form will go. Wrapped in a blanket, his eyes are watching the TV with a mixture of curiosity and amazement. My own curiosity grips my mind and I move slightly to see what's on the television screen.
Zoomed in pictures of stars and planets are on the screen, revealing the hot gas traveling around them and making them what they are. It's a documentary on outer space and astronomy. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to see that on the screen; but, I'm not as surprised on why Mikey fell asleep. The only times he really watches documentaries is when he is upset or doing to hang out with me. Of course, if there was a documentary on super heroes or creation of comics, he would probably be glued to the TV.
Looking back at Leo, his eyes filled with wonder, got me thinking. I remember Miwa talking to me about how he has never been outdoors except when they were escaping. Learning about the outside world is probably something Leo really wants to do. Maybe he wants to learn about the stars, nature, and maybe even good humans and how they live their lives.
Turning to my brother in red, I notice his face wearing a look of confusion and curiosity. Obviously, he has not made the connection about our brother's - I mean nephew's - I mean Leo's curiosity and interest in the Earth.
"I have an idea," I tell him in a quiet voice. I don't want to advert Leo's attention to us. "But we are going to need to talk to Master Splinter and we need Mikey awake."
Raph's eyes narrow evilly and a smirk crosses his face. It is a look I have seen before and it honestly reminds me of the Grinch. Raising an eyebrow but not wanting to voice my opinion on his actions, I watch as he punches a fist into his palm. "Oh, don't worry about Mikey," he tells me through his evil grin, "I'll take care of him."
Not wanting to see what happens next to my sleeping and unexpecting brother, I quickly walk to the Dojo, moving quickly and trying not to look like I'm running away. Sadly, I don't think my cover-up worked, for I hear my brother chuckle behind me before he starts moving to the couch. Making it to the Dojo doors, I open them quickly and slowly, trying not to see too rude as I disrupt his meditation. Luckily, his already open us meet mine as I walk inside, showing me that he either already knew of my presence or he wasn't deep into meditation anymore. Just before I'm able to close the door behind me, I can hear my younger brother yelling at Raph.
As more noises from the living room meet my ears, I quickly close the door and pretend I didn't hear anything. I can't keep myself from sighing at my brothers' childish actions and I'm sure I see Master Splinter shaking his head silently from the corner of my eye.
Hours later, when twilight finally settles on the city above us, I find myself walking to the sewer tunnel leading out of our home. In front of me, my brothers and Leo wait for me to catch up with them. At the sound of me approaching them, Raph turns to look at me. With a smirk, he gestures to the small turtle next to him. Leo's eyes are wide and excited as he talks to Mikey quickly while almost bouncing as he stands. We didn't tell him where we were going, but I think the small turtle was excited to simply get out of the Lair and explore a bit. I think we are all excited.
"I hope you all have a phone?" Master Splinter asks, walking behind me to join us. His hands rest on his cane as he looks at us with old but gentle eyes.
"Hai, Sensei," my brothers and I state as Leo simply nods at Master Splinter. Part of me is silently hoping our father won't go through a whole list of what we should have or what we should do before we leave. I still remember when, at age fifteen, me and my brothers wanted to finally leave the Lair. Yet, there was Master Splinter, telling us to use the restroom before we leave because "the restrooms up there are filthy." The memory brings a smile to my face.
"We won't be gone too long, Master Splinter," Raph assures, slowly moving towards the exit. His movement only proves that Leo's not the only one excited to get out of our home for a bit.
"And call me if anything changes with Miwa," I tell Sensei. As excited as I am, I'm still nervous something is going to happen to my sister while I'm gone. I know it's crazy and highly unlikely, but I can't help the nervous energy the pools in my stomach.
My father, in response, nods and gives me an understanding smile. "I will see you soon," he says before turning around and slowly walking away. The four of us call out our own goodbye's over our shoulders as we quickly walk off into the sewers. It's not only me that has to hold myself back to allow Leo to keep up and not wear himself out so quickly. While we would normally run up to the surface as quick as we can (sometimes even turning it into a game or race) now, though, we are simply walking at a quicker pace than our average walking speed.
Throughout our journey, Leo doesn't ask where we are going. In fact, he is just asking what things are as he jumps around our legs, excitement filling his veins and causing him to make sure he doesn't miss a thing. It kind of reminds me how he was when we first made it to the surface. Running from alley to alley, my older brother searched for anything exciting or adventurous around every corner. Even when he didn't find anything, it didn't damper his mood and he continued to run and try somewhere else. That same energy is in the small turtle that is next to me now.
"Calm down, little dude; or else you are going to use up all your energy before we even get there," Mikey calls out to Leo, who is trying to step in the same spots Raph is. It's pretty funny though since Leo practically has to jump from spot to spot since his strides aren't nearly as big as Raph's.
At Mikey's comment, though, he stops and turns to look at us, his face showing embarrassment and timidness. "Sorry," he says quietly, walking behind Raph normally except for the slight bounce that hasn't left his steps. The situation causes me to smile.
"Don't worry, Leo," I tell him with a smile. "We will be there before you know it.
Over the next five minutes, it became obvious on how hard it was for Leo to keep all his energy to himself. However, you could see the energy fade away from his features when we came to the ladder that lead to the surface. The memory of me first bringing him to the Lair and learning of his fear with heights come back to me. Allowing Raph and Mikey to go ahead and climb up, I walk over to the small turtle, kneeling down so we are now roughly the same size. He continues to stare up at the ladder, paying no attention to me.
"I promise, I won't let you fall."
At my statement, Leo turns his wide, fearful blue eyes at me. It takes him a few minutes to silently think to himself before he gives me a shaky nod. Standing up, I keep my knees bent slightly and open my arms out to Leo. Looking up at me, I can see Leo swallow hard, fear still resting in his eyes. Letting out a small sigh, he takes a hesitant step towards me. Then, he takes another. As soon as he is close enough, I wrap my arms around him and carefully lift him up. Gently, I push his head into the the crook of my neck.
"Just don't look down," I tell him softly. "Imagine what you are going to see, okay?"
Feeling him nod against me, I walk over to the ladder. Quickly climbing up, I look up to see Raph and Mikey looking down at me, their faces full of concern and worry. Trying to tell them everything's okay with my eyes, I continue to swiftly climb upward. It's only a couple more seconds before I reach the surface.
Slowly and carefully, I bend my knees and allow Leo's feet to touch the ground. Even though we are no longer on the ladder, I can feel him shake and he slowly lifts up his head and looks around. While he still keeps a tight grip on my neck, I allow him to take his time before. I can tell both Raph and Mikey are feeling slightly impatient, but I don't want to rush Leo any way. No matter how uncomfortable I feel just kneeling in this position.
Taking a few steps away from me, Leo releases a sigh of relief. Turning towards us, he sends us an embarrassed smile, his eyes darting away from our gazes slightly. Raph walks over to him and rubs his head as he walks past the small turtle. "Come on," he says. "Let's get going already."
Leo's smile grows slightly and follows my older brother. Within seconds, the same skip in his step he had before we made it out of the sewers, almost as if he just remember what he was doing. I hear Mikey chuckle beside me as we watch Leo dart his head this way and that, his eyes full of wander. My brother darts over to the small mutant, telling him what objects are and sounding excited at whatever Leo points at, no matter how non-interesting or how common they really are.
It doesn't take us long to reach the nearest park. Still being cautious about humans, we walk to the edge of the park, resting under two trees that stood tall next to one another. Raph and I sit on the soft, dew-covered grass as Mikey showed Leo the swings nearby. As much as we wanted to let the small turtle run around on the playground, we didn't want anyone to see him. Besides, we came for something better.
The alarm on my T-phone goes off, causing both me and my older brother to jump. Clearing my throat as a silent way of saying not to mention our actions to anyone, I pull out my phone and turn off the annoying sound. Looking up, my eyes meet Mikey's. Giving him a nod, I watch him kneel down in front of Leo to say something before walking him over by the hand.
Patting the ground next to me, Leo walks towards me before turning around and laying on the grass. When his face looks up at the sky, I am able to see the large grin that shines brightly in the night. Whether it's in search of warmth or just some love, the small mutant scoots closer to me, his small body touching mine before he lets out a content sigh. His cheerful reaction now, is nothing compared to what happens next.
Just as Mikey's shell touches the ground beneath us, Leo lets out a sharp gasp and sits up, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. Sure enough, my eyes follow his to find small rays of light streaming across the night sky. I feel his small hand tap my arm as his other hand points at the sky. Glancing quickly between me and the sky, not wanting to miss much of the show above us, I watch him struggle to find words.
"Look! Donnie, look!" he manages, his eyes glued to the night sky as meteors miles and miles away are thrown in a variety of directions.
"Yes," I say with a small laugh, hearing my brothers chuckle on the other side of him, "I see, I see."
His reaction is better than what I originally imagined. It takes him a good couple minutes to calm himself down enough to lay down next to me. He seems so content, more content than I have seen Leonardo, my older brother, in a while. Everything just seems so peaceful here. Right now, we don't have to worry about the Foot, or the Shredder, or the Kraang, or creating a retro-mutagen for Karai, or fixing Leo. Currently, it's just me, my brothers, and a small mutant turtle at my side.
Once the meteor shower is over, Leo is fast asleep. Honestly, I'm glad he fell asleep when he did. He didn't miss much of the shower and we can get him home easier when we don't have to worry about his fear of heights. Picking him up, I turn to find Raph helping Mikey to his feet. My younger brother looks very exhausted, practically leaning against Raph as we make our way to the sewers.
Looking down, a smile crosses my face as I look down at the turtle I will have to (hopefully temporarily) start calling my nephew. Resting my chin on his head, I let out a sigh of my own. I forgot how much I cherish these moments; and even though tomorrow morning we have a bit of training and I'm going to have to work on the retro-mutagen once again with a few friends, I'm really glad I was able to have a small break from it all. As I look around at my brothers' faces, I can tell they are just as thankful for the break as I am.
A/N: Again, sorry for the long delay! Please leave a review to let me know what you think and if I accidentally made any mistakes. Looking forward to hearing from you! :) :) :)