Rating: K
Word Count: 675
I do not own TMNT.
06. Light
"Leeeeeeo."
Leonardo withheld the sigh that so desperately wanted to escape his lips as the quiet whine came from behind him. He couldn't quite bring himself to turn around and considered for a moment ignoring the nagging voice. The thought however, was short lived.
"I'm busy Mikey," Leo replied in a clipped tone. He locked his eyes onto the tree in front of him and slowly stretched out his arm, his jaw tightening. Dark bruises were littered across his shoulders like black and blue constellations. His legs moved into a basic stance for katas, and slowly he began to move his arms in wide arcs and patterns. Each movement caused the bruised skin to stretch and ache. It wanted to stay stagnant and stiff, to be as still as possible to minimize any further damage. But Leonardo would not allow the bruises to hold him back. Would Shredder wait for him to heal before he made his next move? Would Tigerclaw back down from a fight because his opponent was not physically prepared?
"But you said you'd marathon Super Robo Mecha Force with me!" Mikey pouted, breaking Leo out of his thoughts. Leonardo could imagine the devastated look on his face, and it furthered fueled his resolve to not turn and look his brother in the eye.
"That was before," Leo said, his voice strained as he brought his arm over his head in a wide arc. "I'm not really in the mood anymore."
"Well, can we do something else then?" Mikey pleaded.
"Like what?"
"Uh...baking?"
"No."
"Monopoly?"
"No."
"Silly spray war!"
"No."
Mikey groaned as Leo made his way through the exercise with slow, fluid movements. "Don't you want to do anything?" Mikey complained.
"Yes," Leonardo said calmly. "I want to practice my katas." There were a few beats of silence, where Leonardo almost thought that perhaps Michelangelo had left and given up on pestering his older brother. But he should have known better - Michelangelo was, if nothing else, very perseverant.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Mikey asked. Leonardo turned around and finally faced his little brother, pinning him with a hard stare.
"I can't let my arms become stiff from disuse," Leonardo explained, gently brushing his fingers over the still tender bruises. "Maybe we can do something later Mikey." That was the not-so-subtle cue for Michelangelo to leave, but the younger turtle either didn't pick up on it or didn't care.
"We could play I spy," Mikey offered somewhat hopefully.
"I spy something annoying and green that is distracting me from my katas," Leo replied pointedly,
"Hey!" Mikey said with a pout, crossing his arms.
"Look Mikey, I'm not changing my mind. Go bother Donnie or Raph," Leo huffed in irritation.
"You always say that though Leo!" Mikey whined. "You never have time to do anything with me anymore." That made Leo pause for a moment and reflect. Now that he thought about it, he had been a little distant from the family as of late. The visit with Karai certainly hadn't helped matters. He had withdrawn to the dojo, perhaps hoping that he might train away his problems. The realization made him uncomfortable.
When his eyes landed back on Mikey - with his hopeful blue gaze and young freckled smile - a quick flash of guilt raced through Leo. He had told Mikey he would watch the television show with him, even if it had just been an absent minded promise at the time. And he couldn't, wouldn't, allow his brothers to drift farther away from him. He was more than their leader - he had responsibilities to uphold as their brother too, which were equally, if not more, important.
Leonardo's shoulders relaxed and he fell out of his kata stance. "You're right," Leo admitted, "The kata's can wait. After all, I did give you my word."
Even if he had to sacrifice his extra training time, it was worth it to see Michelangelo's eyes light up.
