Heart to Heart
Disclaimer: everything owned by Disney/ Saban.
Wow, I'm finally updating! Who's happy/crickets chirp/ Fine, be that way.
The smell of eggs cooking roused Mike from sleep and he sat up warily, unsure of his surroundings. Looking over to the kitchen unit, Mike spotted Leo, up and acting as though all was right with the universe. This was in stark contrast to the tired, beaten individual Mike had had to carry back to their shared quarters yesterday. And that was another thing! The Rangers had been in the cafeteria when Mike had come across them. With the severity of the injuries they'd sustained and the fact that Leo was unable to walked unaided, if at all, why hadn't the teens gone to the infirmary? Why on Terra Venture would they go to the dining area before being cared for? Which, come to think of it, Mike should be doing for Leo this moment. Taking care of him, that is.
"Leo," the dark haired man called to his younger brother, his deep voice sounding oddly loud and echoing in the small living space. The human in question looked up from the eggs he was in the middle of preparing and grinned brightly at his older sibling.
"It's good you're awake, Mike, you're not fun company asleep. What were you doing sleeping on the floor?" Mike let his confusion at Leo's comment show on his face.
"I don't remember falling asleep, or even lying down." The Red Ranger shrugged his broad shoulders, big brown eyes leaving Mike's face and resuming their watch on the sizzling breakfast.
"When I woke up at around one AM, I found you out cold on the floor next to my sleep couch. Though I must say, I'm touched you'd worry so much." Mike's head shot up so fast his neck cracked painfully, and stared at his brother with puzzled eyes.
"I always worry about you. Whenever I lose track of you in a battle, whenever you face a monster without me, whenever you get sick and don't tell me about it, forcing me to find out when you collapse." This last one was added pointedly, but Leo either ignored or didn't pick up on it, so Mike continued. "It's my job as your brother to worry and I do overtime almost everyday." Leo's chocolate brown eyes found Mike's grayer ones and held them, thoughts unable to be put into words speaking through the eye contact; a powerful love that could not be expressed making itself known. Not breaking the stare, Leo turned off the oven before the eggs could burn, and let his long legs carry him to his brother in three strides, so that he was right in front of the other.
"Mike…" he trailed off, not knowing how to put his thoughts. "Mike, I don't tell you when I'm sick because I know you'll worry. You shouldn't worry so much on my account. You won't be able to protect me forever, you know." Mike reached his hand out and grasped the younger man's upper arm tightly, almost painfully, needing to make him understand.
"I have to try," he choked, tears beginning to fog his vision. "You're all I have left. I have to try, because I can't bear the thought of you not being there anymore." New fingers curled around his and squeezed hard, as though trying to relieve some of Mike's pain.
"I lost you once, and it almost destroyed me. Trust me, I would never, will never, leave you. I promise, Mike." By now, both Corbetts were in tears, the eggs forgotten.
"I thought that you were really hurt when I saw you in the cafeteria. Hurt worse than I could handle. I've never believed in the phrase 'too scared to move'. I always figured that is you were scared, the fight or flight mode would automatically take over. But when I saw you there… for a few seconds I froze. I couldn't make my legs move so that I could see how you were." Mike lifted his free hand and wiped away the remaining tears. "Promise me again, Leo. If you left me, I wouldn't be able to take it."
"I promise, Mike. Even if I had to crawl my way out of Hell, I won't leave you alone." Leo's solemn voice reassured him and his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. Needing the physical contact after such an emotional exchange, he pulled Leo toward him wrapping his arms around the smaller, muscular frame and held on tightly as Leo's arms snaked around his waist and returned the embrace. Inhaling the scent of his sibling's hair, Mike sighed, and after a last squeeze, released the teen.
Taking a deep breath, Leo turned back to the previously forgotten eggs. Thankfully they were still warm. Spooning them onto two plates, the brother's ate in companiable silence until Leo had to leave for training. Mike cleaned up and then he too went to work, ready to start another busy day.
"Okay, let's test this," Mike ordered, and the monitoring personnel were a flurry of activity as buttons were pushed and switches flipped. A loud hum from the laser guns Mike had been working on rewarded the group, and there was a collected sigh of relief among the technicians. Those guns were the space stations main defense, but they had been knocked out for two days due to a meteor that had somehow strayed out of orbit and been attracted to Terra Venture. Nodding in satisfaction, Mike made his way to do the next think on his list, but instead ran headlong into Damon just as he stepped out of the room. The Green Ranger steadied them both, then looked at Mike frantically, like he just realized whom he'd run into.
"Mike, you… you gotta come quick, man!" the teen panted, his hand still latched onto Mike's forearm as he started back the way he came.
"What is it? What is it!" Mike asked loudly, nervousness building in the pit of his stomach as he jerked both of them to a stop.
"It's Leo, Mike. He collapsed."
A/N: Wow, it's been a while. But at least I'm updating! Review, review, review!
Reviews:
TF Princess: Yes, not much you can do without a comp, now is there? Poor Leo, indeed. Nasty Trakeena, making him so worn out. I'm glad you liked, and hope you like this chapter
Girlie G: Thanks for your support. It's the fans who review that keep this story going. Please tell me what you think of this latest installment.
Lillybeth 1: Long time, no talk to! It's great to see your username again! Lol. All your questions will be answered next chapter, so wait and see!
Reiven: Yes, that seems to be the problem with all my chapters. Good ideas, but I have trouble drawing them out to good-sized chapters. This one is better, though.
Etcetera Kit: Thank you! I try to do the best that I can, and am proud that this is the third Mike/Leo story out there. But one of the better LG fics out there…! I'm flattered!
PRfangirl: Sorry I wasn't able to update soon, but I hope you are appeased in your thirst for more chapters. Just one more coming, and that should come quickly, though I can't make any promises.
MzPink: I am glad to add to the collection of LG fics out there, as it's a very underrated series. It's not usually written about, and I am out to fix that. Looking forward to your review.
doc trigger: Thanks for taking time to review. I hope you like the story so far.
Wild Force Ranger: I shall give you two chapters, instead of just one. The next one will come ASAP, because I know people want answers and want Leo to get better.
