"Okay," Mikey said, spreading his hands above the table, the way Donatello sometimes did when there was a bee in his bonnet about something sciencey he learned at school or something stupid Casey talked him into. It was a pretty specific gesture, all things considered. "So, get this. You ready?"
He was feeling- pretty good, right about now. About everything. Like there was something magic in the walls of LH's apartment that made scary stuff harmless and bad stuff disappear. It kind of felt like being at home, before stuff with his brothers got all weird. Mikey didn't totally understand it- but feeling pretty good was way better than feeling nervous and shaky and a little sick to his stomach all the time.
So heck, understanding stuff was overrated as far as he was concerned. And Mikey wasn't the type of guy to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Leatherhead pushed aside his empty mug and folded his arms on the top of his tiny kitchen table, giving a firm nod. Mikey gave him bonus points for keeping a straight face. He was kinda setting this whole thing up as a joke. Oh, well. It was just how he dealt with stuff.
"I'm ready," his friend said, and Mikey settled into story-mode.
"Awesome, okay. So...remember Spike? Raph's old friend, the one I told you about?"
"The scrappy one," Leatherhead supplied helpfully, and Mikey pointed at him with a triumphant snap of his fingers.
"That's the one!" Man, astrophysicists were smart cookies. "Well, scrappy Spike is back in town. That's pretty crazy timing, right? And- it turns out- Spike is the creep from my soccer game. You know, the Boogeyman. Also goes by the name of Slash."
Okay... Just let that sink in...
Leatherhead sat up straight, blinking. Opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Mikey watched, a little fascinated, and then a wrinkle creased his friend's brow and the edges of his mouth turned down.
"And you know this how?"
"'Cause he was at my school today. Talking to Raph." Despite the magical powers of LH's Fortress of Solitude, a little hint of the dread was creeping back into the pit of Mikey's stomach, and his smile started feeling a little fixed and wooden. "They're buddies, apparently."
A few more minutes went by, and Leatherhead just sat there staring at Mikey like he was some kind of mutant. Not cool, dude. His next move, when he shook himself out of his semi-stupor, was to snatch up his half-empty mug and knock it back like it was something a lot stronger than lukewarm hot chocolate. Heh, he probably wished it was. Mikey seemed to have that effect on people these days.
"I sure know how to liven up a Friday night, am I right?" he joked weakly, and Leatherhead huffed a half-hearted laugh.
"You sure do. At least that explains why your teammates kidnapped you without your coat."
Why was everyone so hung up on the coat? Jeez, it wasn't Antarctica outside. Kitty chose that moment to jump back into his lap, and he scratched her behind the ears. LH ran a hand through his hair, giving Mikey a quick, careless glimpse of the burns underneath; he looked restless, all of a sudden, and worried.
Man, Mikey felt bad about that. All he did was worry people these days, and it was always his favorite people, too.
"Did your brother leave with him?" came the unexpected question, and Mikey felt tripped up by it.
"Uh- I dunno. But I don't think so, Raph has a long shift tonight. He would have gone to work right after school."
LH's eyes narrowed by about a milimeter. "Call him," he said firmly, and Mikey's gut twisted uncomfortably. "Just to make sure."
Obviously he needed to call him. Raph could have gone somewhere with that creepy guy- and his brother was tough as nails, but Spike- Slash- the Creep, whatever- that guy was huge. Mikey would worry about Leatherhead alone with that guy. And he was worried about Raph, of course he was.
But...
"But he's friends with him," Mikey whispered, and it was such an ugly thing to say. He knew it was. Raph didn't know, Raph didn't mean to. Raph wasn't choosing Slash over Mikey, not really. But... he'd been so freaked out for so long, and he still was a little bit, and everything felt uprooted and shaken and unfamiliar, and-
And he'd never imagined that his big brother would smile at the man who scared him. It seemed to change everything, make everything different. It shouldn't, Raph was Raph and always would be, but...
"What if he... What if he doesn't... "
"He's your brother." Leatherhead's tone didn't change very much, but his steely eyes were understanding, and the lump in Mikey's throat shrank just a little bit. "Just call him."
Well, how could he argue with that logic? He shifted the ball of Kitty in his lap to shimmy out his phone, and unlocked it with a swipe of his finger to scroll through his contacts. He had all his brothers' work numbers saved, they all did- just one of those weird, inconsequential things that made Leo feel better about letting his little brothers loose into the world- and finding the number of the auto shop where Raph worked was a matter of a few seconds.
He put the phone to his ear as soon as it started ringing, and Leatherhead smiled encouragingly at him from his side of the table, getting up to gather their empty mugs and Kitty's empty dish.
He was being terrible and selfish and dumb. He should have called Raph first thing. He should have never left him in the first place. He should not be counting each ring and praying no one would pick up the-
"Pomonok Tire and Auto, Ruth speaking."
Aw, man.
But at least it was Ruth- the tiny, tattoo'd owner of the garage, and the only person in the world besides Leo and maybe like two teachers that Raph would ever answer to. She was in her late thirties, Mikey thought he remembered Al saying once, and dainty as could be, with curly brown hair that framed a heart-shaped face; but she could pretty much strike pure fear into anybody's heart, if her temper was lit and she had a torque wrench in hand, and she had a mouth on her that reminded Mikey a little bit of the gruff sailors in the old films Casey liked to watch.
"Uh- hey, Ruthie! It's Mike!"
On the other end of the line there was a soft sound of papers moving, then the creak of the ancient office chair. He couldn't help smiling at how delighted she sounded next.
"Mike! I haven't heard from you in ages, how've you been?"
"Pretty good! How 'bout you?" Leatherhead gave him a pointed look from the other side of the kitchen counter. The "I know you're trying to stall right now, knock it off" look. Huh. When had he gotten so good at reading into the nuances of LH's facial expressions? "Um... actually, I was wondering if Raph came in tonight?"
And it was right there in the two-second pause before she answered that Mikey realized how honestly worried he was. What if she said no? What if she told him Raph was a no-call, no-show, that she hadn't heard a peep from him all night? What if-
"Yeah, baby, of course he's here. I always give him long weekend hours, he 'bout whines my ear off when I don't."
Mikey sank into his chair, head falling back. Thank god. The "what-ifs" were getting worse by the second. He waved to get LH's attention and gave him a thumbs up, returning his friend's relieved smile with a bright version of his very own. Things were totally on the fast track to being A-Okay again-
"You wanna talk to him? Give me just a second... RAPH! Office!"
All his thoughts came screeching to a halt, complete with the smell of burnt rubber and rolling smoke that spelled out "uh oh" in cartoon letters. "No, wait- hang on, Ruthie, I don't- "
"Yo."
Mikey froze. Blinked. Swallowed hard. "Hi, Raph."
"Oh, hey." His brother sounded... okay. Fine. Not hurt or stressed, or shaken or stirred. Kinda... kinda ticked off, actually. What was that about? "How's that pre-season stuff?"
Woah. That was a calling-out if Mikey ever heard one. He wilted, right there on the spot. "Uh... actually, we didn't... Hob and Woody just, sorta- "
Raph cut him off almost right away, like he had a whole bunch of pent-up things to say and he couldn't help but get started. A guilty pit opened in the bottom of Mikey's stomach at how upset his brother sounded. His fault, totally his fault.
"Can it, kid. You got a lot o' nerve, you know that?" It would have been better if Raph started shouting, probably. Mikey sank low, like a wounded dog, at his brother's calm, steady tone of voice. The not-yelling was always way worse. "Do you think I'm an idiot or somethin'? Seriously? I mean, you look at Spike like you've seen a freakin' ghost, and then- "
"Raph- Raph hold on a minute." Pull it together, Mikey! This is important. You promised no more secrets from your brothers, right? Talking about it the first time helped, everything turned out great. This time it'll work out, too. Probably. "I don't think Slash is Spike. I mean- wait. I mean, that guy is the guy who- "
"I know, you moron."
Okay, wait.
What?
His silence must have done all the talking for him, because Raph sighed with gusto on the other end of the line.
"I asked him after you took off. He must have figured I'd find out one way or another, 'cause he told me flat out."
"He... " Mikey couldn't believe that. He traded a gobsmacked expression with Kitty, who looked more interested in the dangling, woven fringe of the blanket draped over his shoulder than anything else, and added an intelligent, "For real?"
"Yeah, for real."
Mikey leaned forward to rest his elbows on the tabletop and cradle the phone closer to his ear, feeling paper thin and hollowed out by sheer surprise. "Then what?"
"Then I called him a dick for scaring you, and punched him in the throat. Would've been his face, but the dude's stupid tall. He left after that, and I came to work."
"You punched him?" That was a manly squeak that came out of his mouth just then, thank you very much. In the kitchen, Leatherhead dropped something in the sink with a sudsy splash and turned to give Mikey a wide-eyed look that probably mirrored his own perfectly. Unfortunately, Raph probably wasn't kidding. "Is your hand okay?"
Raph snorted. "Bruised like crazy. I had to ice it when I got here." He paused for a moment, and Mikey just sat there blinking into thin air, hanging on the silence. "Kid... Why didn't you tell me? Why'd you- shit, Mikey. Why'd you try to shake that creep's hand?"
He hunched over a little, feeling his shoulders come up defensively. "I thought- if he was Spike, I thought you'd- "
"No way. Never. Mikey, I don't know what goes on in that head of yours half the time, but you gotta know you come first. You know that, don't you? You, Don and Leo, you three are always first."
He sounded frustrated, and so freaking sincere that Mikey's eyes started burning with stupid tears that he wasn't about to let make an appearance. He rubbed his face and nodded, even though Raph couldn't see it, then blurted, "I'm really sorry, Raph. Really. I didn't mean to- "
"For the last time, you dork, I know. We're all tryin' to look out for each other here, and we only manage to get it right every once in a while. But we're tryin'. And... I'm glad you called." His tone changed, into something not quite as hard and sharp-edged, which meant Mikey was being forgiven. "It was way late in the game, but you told me the truth on your own. Thanks for that, little brother."
Finally, Mikey felt free to smile. "Does it still count as on my own if LH told me to?"
"Just this once," was the dry reply. "And hey- tell Leatherhead thanks from me, alright? He's a decent guy, for leavin' his door open for you all the time."
Mikey's smiled tugged wider. "I'll tell him."
"Good. And let Donnie know where you're at, if you haven't already. Dude's gonna flip if you go AWOL again."
Yeah, that was true. "I will."
"Alright, then. I'll see you at home. And, Mikey... don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine, okay? We'll take care of it."
"Looks like that talk went well," Leatherhead said as he returned to his spot at the table, in the all-knowing manner of someone who was proven totally and completely correct about a thing. Probably because Mikey was grinning at his phone like a maniac as he hung up, but who knew for sure, really. "But... did I hear you right about Raph punching Slash?"
"Hah, yeah. Good old Raph." That was probably definitely gonna have ramifications later, but Mikey was determinedly not thinking of new things to stress out about. Not when his brother just punched the Boogeyman for him. How many kids could say their big brother did that? He was definitely in Smug Zone, and worry had a speed limit of like two miles per hour there. "He wanted me to tell you thanks, by the way" Mikey added, somewhat coyly, "for being such a great guy. Wasn't that sweet?"
He let LH flounder for a moment, so obviously trying to decide what to do with that information, and fired off a text to Donnie before he managed to forget.
"hey D, im at LHs place. will u pick me up when ur done with ur nerd stuff?"
"He thinks I'm a great guy?" LH said after a moment, testing the words carefully as he said them. It made Mikey chuckle a little bit. He could afford to do some reassuring of his own now, right?
"Duh, of course he does. Leo, too. And Donnie... Donnie's coming around."
His genius brother spent a ton of his free time after school in the science labs, so it wasn't a huge surprise when Mikey didn't get an answer to his text right away. But sometime after LH ordered dinner, and Mikey picked out a DVD, he found a few messages waiting for him on his phone.
"What are you doing there?"
"Nevermind."
"I'll come get you when I'm done. Be ready to go at eight."
Donnie was... slowly coming around. Yikes.
