When Leo Met Mona
Chapter Eight: When Mikey Met Kala
A knock at the window. Mona Lisa had learned to love that sound. Though it sounded much earlier than usual and she hadn't been expecting it at all that day. She had just been home long enough to change into lounge clothes and it was still light out. But then she saw it wasn't the usual turtle poised on her fire escape.
"Hi Mikey!" She sang as she opened the window.
He looked just as delighted as she did at the greeting. "Hey, girl, what's up?"
"Not much here. Just having an awesome guest at my window. What are you up to?"
"Seeing if you're free tonight. I was thinking I'd take you out."
Now that was a interesting and unexpected proposition. Mona wanted to hear more.
"Yeah? Where to?"
"You'll see." he paused and got a good look at her in her frumpy, comfortable sweats. "You'll want to dress up. You got anything fun to wear?"
"Uh...what do you mean by fun?"
"Just let me look in your closet. I'll pick out something perfect for you."
After inviting himself in, the large turtle proceeded to attempt to wriggle in through her window. He also proceeded in knocking several things off her counter in his wake.
"Mikey! What are you doing?"
The turtle kicked and squirmed, trying to finagle his shell through the small opening. "Hold on Babes. If Leo can squeeze through this, I definitely can."
Mona moved to rescue all the various items sent flying from their posts. "He doesn't get in through the window. He goes through the door like a normal-ass person!"
Michelangelo immediately stopped struggling. "Oh. Okay then, push me back out. I think I'm stuck."
It took a bit more wriggling and squirming (and more stuff being knocked to the floor), but they managed to get Michelangelo free and he was smuggled into the apartment. As soon as he was let in, he looked at the place in confusion. His brothers had mentioned her apartment was small—barely big enough for one turtle. But they didn't say how absolutely stark it was. No furniture. No TV. How did this girl keep herself entertained? Aside from his brother, of course.
"This is it," Mona said, motioning to the entirety of the apartment. "That's the tour."
A smile pulled at the side of his face. It mattered not to him how people chose to live, he was here to show her a good time and helped himself over the pile of discarded laundry and into her closet. Alas, there was little to choose from in there, too.
"I don't have much," she said as she stood behind him. "I don't really go anywhere but home and work. I'm boring."
He dug deep into her sparse wardrobe. "You think you're boring, huh? I know a few turtles who would disagree. Oh! What's this?" He pulled out a shimmery purple shirt she had once bought at a thrift store and then never wore. Where would she ever wear something like that? "This will do. You got a nice pair of tight jeans?"
.
"Girl, you will not believe this. Mitch just walked in with a WOMAN," Moxxxy called to the others as she walked into the dressing room.
Jiji looked up from where she was applying her wig. "What? Honey, are we sure Mitch even knows a woman?"
Moxxxy sauntered over and checked her lipstick in the same mirror. "Apparently he knows one now."
"Don't let Fantasia know, she'll flip her wig."
As she finished speaking, Fantasia Divine, just finished with her full drag look, walked over to their section of the dressing room.
"I just heard Mitch brought a woman to our club. Bitch, what? What sort of street gutter trash did he find?"
"Let's be nice," Jiji said. "Any friend of Mitchy should be welcome here, right ladies?"
Fantasia huffed loudly while Moxxxy didn't seem too inclined to be accommodating either. As the words left her mouth, Michelangelo walked into the dressing room from the back area. And he did indeed have a woman's hand in his. She was a doe-eyed, curvy brunette that seemed a little overwhelmed with it all. She was cute, but not exceptionally gorgeous or eye-catching. She clearly didn't have much talent in putting on makeup either.
"These are some of the girls who perform here," Michelangelo was saying as he led her in. "That's Moxxxy, Jiji. Over there, that's Fantasia. Ladies, this is Mona Lisa."
The two former drag queens both gave her a polite wave.
"Mona Lisa. That's a cute drag name," Jiji said.
Fantasia, however, flounced dramatically up to them, giving Mona Lisa a very open look of disdain. "Michelle, who's this? I don't know her."
Mona grinned at him over the fact that he was being called 'Michelle' by this drag queen.
"Oh, this is my friend," Michelangelo insisted. "Also, she's dating my brother."
Fantasia gasped dramatically, grasping at imaginary pearls. "The hot one?"
"Uh...I think he's the hot one," Mona replied. "But I might be biased."
"Yeah, she's talking about Leo," Michelangelo told her.
A smile pulled at the side of her mouth. "Then yes, I am most definitely dating the hot one. Like, big time."
Fantasia managed to look impressed and her aggressive attitude melted away. "I like this one," she said, though she still didn't sound one hundred percent happy with it. "Though you might want to consider dying that hair."
"My hair?" she wondered, touching it. Her thick, brown mane was luxurious tonight, cascading over her shoulders.
"Yeah, girl, haven't you heard of all those brunettes going missing on the news?"
Mona just blinked at her. She didn't have a TV and didn't do much on her phone either. She had no idea what was going on with the news lately. Especially anything local.
"Apparently we've got a serial killer out there torturing and raping girls and you are just his type." Fantasia almost seemed giddy to give her such information. "You might want to consider going as a redhead for a while. I think that color would look good on you."
Mona looked to Michelangelo, who shrugged. He wasn't big on watching the news either.
"Well, it's your ass," Fantasia said. "Do as you like." With that, she turned on her heel, tossed her air, and sashayed off.
"Wow, Michelle, that was...something," Mona said, eyes a little wider than usual. "So is the fact that everyone knows you here. How did that happen?"
He grinned at the nick name and didn't seem at all bothered by it. "Yeah, I happened to be roof-hopping right when a shooter walked into the bar a few years ago. Right place, right time, you know? I had to show myself to help the people here and not one person screamed. No one called me names or ran in fear. They thanked me. They clapped for me. They accepted me for who and what I was the second they saw me. It was...I never experienced anything like that before. This place is all about being who you are and being accepted."
Mona listened, nodding as she warmed from his story. She was so happy for him that he had people like that in his life. "So how do they know about Leo? Have they met all of you?"
Michelangelo laughed, a little self-conscious. "Nah, just Leo. I think this place intimidates them. Too bright, too loud, too crazy. They only met Leo because I brought him to a Pride parade one year."
She made an audible gasp. "You did not!"
"I did!" he said proudly. "He got on my ass for being in the parade the year before. So I made him come with me the next year."
"You were IN the parade?"
"Yeah, man. No one cares during Pride. You can be yourself!"
Her grin kept getting wider as she found she was loving learning about the smallest turtle brother. "Michelangelo, you are extremely cool."
"Be sure to let my brothers know," he replied with a wink. "How about we go up front? You can take in some of the shows."
Her eyes widened. "You're going to go into the main part of the bar? Is it okay?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, a lot of the regulars know me. Though I still kinda stay in the dark parts. Don't want to scare anyone who hasn't been turtle-initiated."
To Mona, it felt almost like she was having an out of body experience. She was going into a public place with a giant turtle. Her and Michelangelo were just going to hang out at a drag bar, in the open with other people around. This was nuts and she was here for it.
He led her through the dressing area out around the stage. Most of the place was dark and there was currently a drag queen on stage lip-syncing to "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls. The audience, all sitting at tables with many drinks, was really into the performance and having a great time. Michelangelo kept to the dark wall and skirted the room until they reached the back where a long bar kept the patrons' drinks filled. Behind the bar was a petite woman in a very fetching pixie cut and black leather top. Her hair was platinum blonde with the tips dyed bright purple.
Her whole face lit up when she saw Michelangelo. "Hey Mikey!" she called over the music. Her excited expression immediately died on her face when she noticed Mona and her voice went flat. "Who's this?"
"This is Mona Lisa. We're hanging out tonight," he replied proudly. "Mona, this is Kala. Easily the coolest girl I know."
Mona could have slapped him for being a dumbass. She knew that look of excitement. She made it herself practically every time Leonardo knocked on her window. This idiot brought her here to show this other woman. Time to do some damage control.
"Hi," she greeted, leaning in to be heard over the music. "I'm Leonardo's girlfriend."
Kala leaned in closer. "Who?"
"Leonardo. Mikey's brother?"
"You're dating his brother?" she clarified, looking hopeful.
"Right. I don't know the brothers very well so I've been trying to hang out with them more; get to know them better." Yes, make it sound like the hanging out was her idea and that Michelangelo didn't purposefully parade this strange woman in front of this gorgeous girl that seemed to like him.
Kala looked relieved and brightened. "What'll you be drinking?"
"Um..." Mona's face went blank. She had never been much a of drinker. Couldn't really afford the alcohol.
"Let me fix you something," Kala said with confidence. "You'll like it."
"Okay, sounds good."
Kala left them go to mix drinks and Mona sat herself on the last bar stool and tried to look chill. She was such a quiet homebody. This whole place was a little out of her comfort zone.
"What do you think?" Michelangelo asked.
She tried not to wince as the queen on stage did the splits and the audience went nuts. Everyone was having such a good time. Why wasn't she?
"It's nice," she said with a wide yet insincere smile. "Very spirited in here."
Though she had tried to hide it, he knew instantly. "It's too loud for you."
"Oh no! It's fine! Really!"
Kala returned with drinks for both of them. Michelangelo leaned in to talk to her. "We're going up to the roof. You got a break coming soon?"
She glanced at her watch. "Give me five to ten."
Michelangelo nodded and grabbed both their drinks. He motioned with his head for Mona to follow. She happily left with him, eager to get away from the noise as Moxxxy stepped on stage for her set. The crowd cheered and whistled, and a heavy base thumped through Mona's whole body.
Michelangelo took her back the way they had come and led her up a dark, metal stairway to the roof. The nights were getting warmer and the city sounds were a welcome change to the loud music.
"Better?" he asked, handing her her drink.
"Yes. Though it would have been fine if we stayed. You didn't have to leave because of me."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Leo's the same way. He doesn't like a lot of loud noise either. That's probably why the two of you work so well."
Mona almost snorted. Maybe Michelangelo didn't know that Leonardo for sure wasn't coming to see her that night because he was sulking.
"Mmmhmm," she said with humor as she sipped her drink. "Ooh, this is yummy."
Michelangelo looked proud. "Yeah, Kala's a wiz with a drink. She can look at a person and tell exactly what they like and she has a bunch of drinks she mixes herself."
Mona grinned at him. "Is she the reason you made me come out here?"
He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Yeah, kinda. I was wondering what you think of her."
"She's cute."
He beamed. "I know, right?"
"She seems to like you."
"Yeah? I mean, we're friends, of course she likes me. But I wanted a second opinion on whether there's a chance she could LIKE ME like me, you know?"
"Well I'll tell you what, when she saw me with you, she did not look happy. And when I told her I was already involved with Leo, she brightened right up."
"Ah, so that's why you told her that. I guess maybe bringing another woman to show her wasn't the smartest idea."
She elbowed him. "No worries, I covered for ya. At least you didn't bring April with you."
He snorted into his drink and then schooled himself. "What? No, you're just as hot."
"We both know that's a lie." She quickly continued before he could argue. "So are you going to ask her out?"
He immediately looked uncomfortable. "I want to, I mean...but I don't know if I should. Maybe we should just be friends for a while longer."
She nodded as she listened. "Do you think she wants to be more than friends?"
He huffed in frustration. "I don't know! I don't know anything about girls. I can't tell if she's being friendly or if she wants something more. Help a turtle out, Mona! What do I do? How can I tell?"
"Well, does she touch you casually a lot?"
"Yeah. I guess so."
"Does her face always light up like that when she sees you?"
A smile pulled at his mouth. "Yeah."
"When she hugs you, does she put only her shoulders on you or does she give you the full-body press. Like boobs right on you?"
He grinned. "The second one. Definitely."
"Those signs are pretty promising."
He pumped his fist. "Great. So what do I do now? How do I kiss a girl? How do I know if she wants to kiss me? Where do I put my hands?"
Mona didn't consider herself an expert on romance, not even an expert on the female mind. The only man she ever dated was a giant turtle. But if Michelangelo had found his person, she wanted to help any way she could.
"So the next time you two are alone, pay close attention to her body language. Is she always trying to touch you or move closer to you? When she talks to you, does she keep looking at your mouth? That's a good sign she wants a kiss. Or she's at least wondering what it would be like to kiss you."
Michelangelo nodded seriously, hanging on every word. "Okay, got it. Got it."
"Shoulders are always a safe place to put the hands if you're not sure. If she likes it, she'll probably move into you closer. That should be a green light to put the hands on the hips. And if she seems to like them there, you're probably gold."
"Great! Awesome advice, Mona!"
"I sure hope so. I mean, every woman is different, but I feel like most would respond in the same way to something like that."
He was about to respond when the door opened and Kala stepped out on the roof.
"Hey, Babe, glad you could make it," Michelangelo greeted.
Kala glided the distance like she owned the place, walking purposefully between the turtle and Mona and planting herself solidly next to Michelangelo's side, claiming her territory. She gave Mona the once-over. Kala was easily thinner and prettier than her; Mona was okay with that. This woman was not her rival.
"Mona said she loves the drink," Michelangelo praised, seeming to not notice the blonde next to him was giving off territorial vibes. "You get it right every time."
"Yes, thank you. Best drink I've ever had," Mona praised. "So how long have you two known each other?"
"I started working at the bar a few months ago and Mikey was there," Kala said, touching his arm. "We just hit it off so naturally. Like we've always been friends."
"Yeah, she makes it really easy to know her," Michelangelo added.
"Bar tending at a drag bar—sounds like an interesting line of work. How did you end up with this job?" Mona asked.
"Oh! My brother works here, too. Zack—Fantasia—is one of the performers."
"Oh, I met Fantasia back stage. She's gorgeous." And now her attitude to Mona's presence made a lot of sense. It seemed the brother approved of this coupling as well.
"Runs in the family," Michelangelo said to Kala and she visibly looked flattered.
It was then Mona's phone rang and she fished it out of her pocket. April was calling.
"I'm going to take this. I'll be right back." Mona walked to the other side of the roof out of ear shot and answered the phone. "What's up, April?"
"Hey, Donnie told me you and Leo are fighting?" April never wasted any time getting to the point. "He said you called him names or something?"
Her jaw dropped in offense. "I did not call him names. This is what happened. The other day, he was venting to me and I wanted to say something to let him know I was listening, right? So I just said something like 'That sucks, Bro.' I didn't even really think about it. But Leo suddenly got all serious and offended and was like 'I'm not your bro, I'm your boyfriend.'" She lowered her voice to mimic that of a man's. "So of course then I've got to call him 'bro' for the rest of the night."
"Oh, you got to," April confirmed. "That's why he's mad?"
"Yes, that is why he is currently not talking to me."
There was loud male laughter on the other end.
"Is that Donnie?" Mona asked, grinning. She liked that laugh.
"Yeah, he's here installing my new door cam. What are you up to?"
"Oh, I'm out on the roof of this drag bar with Mikey. He took me to meet this girl he likes."
"Whaaaaaat?" April demanded. "Is this his girlfriend?"
"Uh, not as of yet." Mona glanced back to see the two in the distance. The body language and the way they conversed with each other indicated there was definitely some heavy flirting going on. "Our boy is working on sealing the deal as we speak though."
"And she's into it?"
"Oh yeah, she looks very into it."
"You've got to—"April paused and Mona could hear Donatello's tenor talking in quick tones, but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying. "Donnie, I'm in the middle of—" More quick tones. "Just call him on your phone." Donatello continued to negotiate in rapid fire. "Ugh, fine. Fine! Mona, I'm giving the phone to Donnie, he wants to talk to Mikey. YOU are going to tell me everything you saw later."
"Will do. One brotherly cock block coming up."
She heard April snort on the phone and then Mona lowered it from her ear as she walked back toward the flirting couple.
"Mikey, phone for you."
She was completely ignored.
"Mikey. Mikey." Her tone grew louder as she closed the distance, but it was like she wasn't there at all. The two were only aware of each other as Kala stayed close, her fingers brushing his arm.
"Michelangelo!"
The both startled as Mona was now only a few feet away from them. "Phone," she said holding it out to him. "Your brother wants to talk to you."
"That's your full name?" Kala exclaimed. Apparently, she and Mikey hadn't gotten to a lot of the personal information yet. Mona could relate to that.
Michelangelo blinked at Kala, then at the outstretched phone, trying to decide which to give his attention to. "Uh, Leo wants to talk to me?"
"It's Donnie." Mona shoved the phone into his hand.
Perplexed, Michelangelo then took his turn to walk off as he addressed the turtle on the other end. The girls were left alone. Kala didn't look too pleased Mona had interrupted her flirting. There was still a hint of jealousy there, but also curiosity.
"So you said you're dating Mikey's...brother? What did you say his name was?"
"Leo. Leonardo."
"And his full name is..."
"Michelangelo. But pretty much everyone calls him Mikey."
"And the brother he's talking to now?"
"That's Donatello—Donnie."
"So he has two other brothers."
"He actually has three brothers."
Kala pressed her full lips together. "Are you telling me that there are a total of four giant turtles running around this city?"
"Pretty much."
Now Kala looked intrigued. "And you are actually dating one of them."
"Have been for a few months now. The hot one, apparently, according to your brother."
"We'll see who's dating the hot one," Kala mumbled and then immediately went wide-eyed, face flushing in embarrassment.
Mona mimicked her wide eyes, but her grin was absolutely delighted. But before either could address that statement, Michelangelo walked back toward them and handed Mona her phone.
"We gotta go pick up Donnie." He looked to Kala. "You okay? You're a little flush."
She quickly brushed off his worried hands while keeping a careful eye on Mona. But Mona wasn't going to say a thing. At least not now.
"Go," Kala insisted, not addressing his worries. "I gotta get back to work anyway." She gave Mona Lisa one more warning glance. "Nice to meet you."
Mona grinned back. "I'm sure we'll definitely be talking again."
.
"Not that I don't love Donnie, but why do we have to go pick him up?" Mona asked as she climbed down the fire escape from the roof of April's apartment building.
"Donnie doesn't like being out alone in the city at night," Michelangelo replied, taking the lead. He knew exactly which balcony they were going to. He had done it dozens of times. "His night vision isn't too good."
"Oh, I didn't know that. Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. He can totally get home okay on his own if he wanted to, but he feels better with the company."
"Aw, you're a good brother, Mikey."
He winked at her before landing on the target balcony. After helping Mona down, he walked right in through the unlocked balcony door. "Mikey in the house!"
Donatello and April were both on her couch talking when they came in and the conversation stopped immediately.
"Just in time to tell us all about your new girlfriend," April greeted, indicating that had been the topic of the conversation.
Uncharacteristically, Michelangelo looked uncomfortable. "She's not my girlfriend..."
"YET!" Mona piped up. "I'm pretty sure she wants to be."
"Can we not talk about that?" he whined. "I'm still figuring it out."
"If you trust her, you can always bring her down to the lair to meet us," Donatello said. "Don't be like Leo and hide her away forever." He paused and glanced at Mona. "Uh...no offense?"
She shook her head. No offense was taken. "Everyone moves at their own pace."
"Maybe," Michelangelo replied, but he still didn't look comfortable. "I'll think about it. We gotta get going." He looked at Mona. "What do you want to do? Come back to the lair with us or should we take you home?"
"Leo's not talking to her right now," Donatello smirked.
"You two had a fight?" Michelangelo looked crestfallen. "But...but you're going to make up, right? You'll forgive whatever dumb shit Leo did."
She snorted. "I appreciate that you think whatever happened was Leo's fault. I was the one kind of being an asshole. I was teasing him too much."
"Oooh yeah, Leo doesn't like teasing." Michelangelo suddenly brightened. "But he'll get over it. Come back to the lair with us. If he's still pouting, you can spend the night in my room."
"YOU have a girlfriend," Donatello insisted as he unfolded himself from the couch. Mona forgot how tall he was until he was standing over her with a playful smirk. "But you're always welcome to spend the night with me."
Ooh, so the tall one could flirt, too. And it was working. Mona felt her face flush as she barked out an awkward laugh. "Let me ask my boyfriend first. I think he'll have some opinions on that."
.
The three returned to the lair hand in hand in a train with Mona in the middle. 'So Donnie doesn't get lost,' Michelangelo had said teasingly, to which the taller turtle took with good humor and seemed happy enough to walk hand in hand with Mona through the sewers.
When they entered the lair, Raphael was lounging on the couch, watching wrestling. "How cute are you three," he smirked, as they were still holding hands. "Does Leo know about this?"
"Leo will have to accept our love the way it is," Michelangelo joked back, though Mona had now pulled her hands from both turtles.
As if summoned by his name, Leonardo walked into the main area and stopped in surprise at the sight of her. He didn't look happy she was there.
"I invited her over," Michelangelo spoke up. "She's my guest tonight."
Mona waved him off as she approached the blue-clad turtle. "Still mad at me?"
His frown was minute, but still there. "I was going to call you."
"Uh huh." She paused. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. You're very fun to tease, but I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I don't like it when you're mad at me."
Leonardo glanced at his brothers who were all watching. He would have preferred this conversation to be in private. He knew the argument had been stupid to begin with. He hated himself for being that sensitive about it.
"I'm not mad," he said softly.
She moved in closer. "That's good. Because mad turtles don't get smooches."
A string of nonsensical syllables fell from his mouth as she tried to pepper his face with kisses.
"Can we not do this in front of my brothers?" he complained. Glancing at them, they were all getting a kick out of the show.
"Where would you like to do it?" she asked in a sultry voice.
He looked at her, grabbed her hand and pulled her off toward the bedrooms.
"Hey, that's my overnight guest, Leo!" Michelangelo called after them., though he didn't look too put out. When they left he added. "Looks like we're still on track for a new sister-in-law, my brothers. Crisis averted."
"You were worried?" Raphael chuckled.
"I don't want to lose her," he protested. "What if they broke up? Would she just not come around anymore? That would suck!"
The responding silence told his brothers felt the same.
"It's up to you guys," Michelangelo then said. "If they break up, one of you will have to date her. I can't. My heart belongs to another."
Raphael snorted. "Mikey, that's the stupidest—"
"Dibs," Donatello called. "If they break up, I call dibs."
Raphael snorted again. "You two are idiots."
.
As soon as his bedroom door was closed, Leonardo was planning on collecting on those promised kisses. But as he leaned in, Mona stepped away, watching his face.
"You want to tell me about what exactly bothered you about my teasing the other day?"
He huffed in disappointment and plopped himself on his bed. "Because I'm your boyfriend and you were calling me bro. Like I was just some guy friend. Or your little brother."
She choked down the guffaw that threatened to break from her throat. "I know, that's why it was funny."
"But I'm your boyfriend."
"Yes, you are, Leo." She couldn't stop grinning. "That hasn't changed, no matter what I call you."
He looked so irritated. Just as he had been before. She couldn't help but find it funny.
"I take this seriously," he insisted.
"I can see that."
He flashed his ice-blue eyes at her. "You don't understand how long I waited for—" He stopped and looked away.
Her heart picked up, but she was still smirking as she moved in between his thighs and into his space. His fingers found her belt loops and he tugged her in closer while his face hid in the softness of her bust.
"You look nice," he muttered into her shirt.
"Your brother picked it out." She pulled back a bit so he would look at her. "Me cracking a few jokes at you is never going to demote you from boyfriend status. I like goofing around with my friends and you have been and will always be my friend. My best friend, AND my boyfriend." She kissed him on the nose.
His hand wandered under her shirt, finding the dip of her spine. "April loves us, I know that, but I also see her looking at us like we're her cute younger brothers that she can mess around with. I don't want to see that same look coming from you."
She leaned into him, arms resting on his shoulders as she played with his mask tails. "I can't say I see any of you guys like little brothers. But definitely not you, boyfriend. I'm too into wanting to tap that ass."
He was half way through a responding snort when she pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top. Leonardo lay there with wide eyes as she cupped his face and kissed him soundly. It only took a moment for his mind and body to catch up. Then his hands settled on her waist as he happily kissed her back.
A few good kisses and she pulled back to remove her shirt. Leonardo was very happy with where this was going until he noticed something on her skin.
"What's this?" He thumbed the red spot on her side.
She looked down at herself. "Aw, jeeze, another one?"
"Another one what?" He sat up to get a closer look, Mona still straddling his thighs.
"I keep getting these weird rashes. I've never had them before I started my current job. I think I'm allergic to something there, but I can't figure out what it is."
Leonardo continued to touch the skin gently with his thumb. It looked red and irritated. "Maybe let Donnie look at it."
Now it was her turn to snort. "Is Donnie a doctor?"
"No."
"Then I'll go see an actual medical professional when my benefits kick in. It's not a big deal. They come and go. I've got a cream at home that helps." She paused and looked at Leonardo's dubious expression. "But if it grosses you out, we don't have to—" She didn't get to finish as she was flipped on her back with Leonardo now trying to peel the very tight jeans off her legs.
"What are you up to, boyfriend?" she said with humor. Her breath came out stuttered as he kissed her stomach. The tip of his tongue tasted her skin. Then he moved to do the same with the inside of her thigh.
"Leo?" she asked breathlessly.
He looked up at her with a heat that made her heart pound as he tugged her panties down her legs. Then he settled his head between her thighs once more, going down. "I told you. I take being your boyfriend very seriously."
.
Since that night he had taken Mona to the bar, Kala had been aloof whenever Michelangelo visited. Polite, but her face no longer lit up like it used to when he appeared. When he would ask her when her break was or if she had time after the bar closed, she would always say she was too busy.
He had no idea why she wasn't talking to him, but Michelangelo worried about irritating her further, so he let her be. After a few weeks of her blowing him off, however, he had had enough and informed her that he needed to talk to her on the roof when the bar closed. She didn't answer, but he waited for her anyway. The music had been off for about twenty minutes when Kala stepped onto the roof, looking put out that she had been ordered to meet him.
Michelangelo was taken aback at the cold demeanor, but he did not back down. He had been learning from Mona Lisa and how she dealt with Leonardo when he was in a mood. Communication was the key.
"What?" she demanded.
"Can we talk?" he asked without accusation. "I miss you. Why do you keep blowing me off? Why are you mad at me? Whatever I did, I'm sorry."
She looked away and huffed out a hot sigh.
"Please?" he tried again. "I want to know how you feel, what's on your mind. You can be honest with me."
"I'm irritated with you," she said. "I thought I understood certain things about you and then you bring that woman here and I find out it's all been a lie."
Michelangelo looked confused. "I never lied to you."
"You didn't tell me anything! I thought you were this lone turtle out in the city and we've kind of adopted you here. I didn't know you had a whole family. That you had other people—other humans—in your life. A life that you never told me anything about. Even Zack knew you had at least one brother. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Sorry," was all he could think of to say.
"Why?" she pressed. "Why didn't you trust me with this?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I dunno. We were having fun; living in the moment. It was just us hanging out under the moon, here on the roof. I liked having you to myself. I liked having a place that felt like home but wasn't a sewer."
"You live in the sewer?" she demanded. "You have three other brothers. Once of which is apparently dating a human woman so it's not like you had any reason to hide me from them just because I'm human. Is it my profession? Is it because my brother does drag?"
"What? No. All of that's fine."
Emotion filled her face. "Then why are you hiding me from your family?"
He saw the wetness in her eyes and his chest hurt. Everything Mona told him about watching for signs flew out the window and he acted on instinct. He wanted to make the hurt go away and so he kissed her.
She immediately stopped as his mouth met hers; gentle and brief. Kala was wide-eyed as he pulled away.
"I was selfish," he told her. "If I talked about them, I knew you'd ask to meet them. If I introduced my brothers to you, I knew I'd be jealous if they took up your time. I worried you would like them more than you liked me. And I really, really like you, Kala. I wanted you to meet my family, but I wanted to know what you and I meant to each other first."
He shifted as he looked away. "That's my truth."
Her fingers touched his cheek, guiding him to look at her again. She was smiling now. Smiling in a way she had never smiled at him before.
"I really, really liked you too, Mikey," she whispered. "That's my truth."
A smile tugged at his mouth. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She leaned in.
He held her close and they kissed under the moon.