Chance
part 1

Leonardo was Jonin.

That knowledge was empowering. He was no longer simply 'leader'. His new title had been earned through hard work and real-life experiences. He was battle scarred, hardened, and wise beyond his nineteen years of life.

There was one higher title still. It could be his now; their father was gone and no one in their small clan was more gifted, more worthy, than Leonardo. However, his brothers were not yet ready for their oldest sibling to step into that position. They needed a push.

All three, in one way or another, were willful and disobedient. Leonardo smiled as he thought of them. He would never dream of robbing them of the things that made each unique. What he needed was to bring them closer without destroying the spark that made them who they were.

Leonardo led their training sessions and pushed them hard. Their skill level was greater than ever; as a group the four turtles were beyond formidable. They had all mastered many mystic techniques as well. There was no area of ninjutsu to which Leonardo could have pointed and said, "You can do better."

The problem lay within their attitudes. Though they had lived many lifetimes inside of their nineteen years, his brothers often fell back on behaviors from earlier times in their existence.

Raphael still had a tendency to go rogue, to allow his temper to make his decisions for him. When he was riled, he pushed back against Leonardo's commands, second-guessing the orders given to him.

Donatello's mind was beyond compare, but his distractions were many. There were still instances during battle when something would catch his attention and draw him away from where he had been told to remain.

Michelangelo's insight and understanding of the motivations of others served their team well. He was physically gifted but his thoughts were often unfocused and scattered. There were still times when he would lower his guard and leave himself or his brothers unprotected.

Corrections to these behaviors needed to be made. In his youth, Leonardo had argued, shouted, grown angry and sometimes vindictive in his attempts to bring order to their chaos.

Those tactics did not work. With age came knowledge; Leonardo had watched how his father had handled each of them, how he had altered his strategy to deal with the individual personalities of his sons. Master Splinter had rarely shown anger. He was firm, he was strict, but he was also loving and patient.

Firm and strict were things that Leonardo had tried. He realized that there had to be balance as well. While he loved his brothers and they him, none of the four allowed themselves to display that love.

Leonardo's eyes narrowed in thought. They were the only four of their kind. The call of species to species was strong.

There had been opportunities in the past for each of them with people outside of their clan, chances that had offered physical fulfilment and perhaps something more permanent. Chances that would have meant the end of a future filled with celibacy and loneliness.

None of the four had accepted what had been offered. Not even Leonardo, though Karai had certainly tempted him with her wiles. Something had been lacking, when he'd touched her, kissed her, there was no spark.

Inexperienced as he was, Leonardo knew that being with the right partner should set fire to his loins and Karai did not do that for him. His refusal of her offers made her stomp off in a huff, whether from embarrassment or anger he wasn't certain. She had left for Japan shortly afterwards and the Foot contingent who were left behind were not well disposed towards the turtles. The chance to make allies of the Foot had vanished with Karai.

Leonardo had been forthright with his brothers. Not one of them had faulted him for his decision. A look passed between them, one of understanding, empathy, and something else as well. It was of resignation; acceptance of the lot that had been cast with regards to their ever having the chance to experience the special closeness of a loving companion.

The idea, when it hit him, did not shock Leonardo. Rather, it felt suddenly as if all of the pieces of a huge puzzle had fallen into place. In his meditation Leonardo examined the concept and found that it suited their circumstances perfectly. That it left him quivering in anticipation only proved the rightness of the decision he'd just made.

Opening his eyes, Leonardo leaned forward to blow out the candles that surrounded him. In darkness, he reviewed the strategy he meant to employ and found it solid. Now all he needed was to determine who would be first.

He settled on Michelangelo. A corner of Leonardo's mouth lifted. The youngest of his brothers was the most open to trying new things. It was an excellent choice.

xxxxx

Two days and a night passed before Leonardo made his move. He spent that time watching Michelangelo, observing and studying him in a way he had never done before.

Michelangelo's energy was intriguing. Even when he was seemingly at ease there was always some part of his body moving. Sometimes it was his toes tapping the ground, or a foot bouncing where it was draped across his knee. Often it was his fingers dancing; on a table, the couch, the floor, his newest video game. Frequently his head bobbed to some unheard rhythm. At times when he was required to be perfectly still, Leonardo would see his lips part to mouth the words to some song.

When Donatello asked Raphael to help him drop the engine from one of their vehicles, Leonardo saw his chance to get Michelangelo alone. Remaining in the lair was not an option, just because the other two were occupied did not mean they would remain so for as long as Leonardo required.

"Mikey."

Michelangelo looked up from the comic book he'd just opened. "Yeah?"

"Put the book down and come with me," Leonardo said, looking at his brother expectantly.

Closing the comic, Michelangelo eyed his brother with a touch of suspicion. "Where are we going?" He added quickly, "I've already meditated today, it would be cruel and unusual punishment if you asked me to do it again."

"No meditation. I thought we'd take a look at that building on Jefferson. I noticed the other night during our patrol that it had a 'for sale' sign on the door. You know how an empty building attracts the wrong sort of people," Leonardo said.

Expression brightening, Michelangelo hopped up off the couch. "That sounds like fun. Isn't that the building next to a senior living center? I'll bet they'd appreciate having a pair of heroes keeping their neighborhood safe."

As they left the lair and began jogging through the tunnels, Leo glanced at his brother. "Before you ask, no you may not put on a costume and go looking for recognition."

Michelangelo pursed his lips in a pout. "How about I leave a business card? I was thinking about making some. We could get a side business going, maybe charge a fee for solving problems. No one would have to see us. I'd take pies as payment."

He continued pitching ideas as they ran. Leonardo enjoyed listening to them, no matter how outrageous they were. Michelangelo's imagination had always brought color to an otherwise dull existence. What they would ever do without him was something that Leonardo did not even want to imagine.

The building in question had indeed just been put up for sale, but it wasn't in danger of being broken into, at least not by street people. The lower windows were heavily boarded up, as was the front entrance. A tall barbed wire fence surrounded the property and the current owner had installed motion sensors around the perimeter.

None of that deterred the pair of ninjas, who didn't bother with approaching from the ground. It took Leonardo less than a second to pry open an upstairs window so that he and Michelangelo could gain entrance.

Remaining together, the duo silently moved from room to room. The building had at one time housed offices for a number of small companies. Each area had a slightly different set-up, dependent on the type of company renting it.

Leonardo had already made a survey of the building on a previous lone visit. After they had searched from the bottom floor up to the fifth, Leonardo made certain their quest ended in one particular spot. It was in the office once occupied by a psychiatrist.

The man had gone into bankruptcy and some of his furniture remained in the office. That included a very large chaise lounge.

As soon as Michelangelo's eyes landed on that lounge he started to snicker. "Wonder what the doc used that for?"

Not one to miss an opening, Leonardo walked over to it and sat down. "This is very soft. Maybe the guy went out of business because his clients kept falling asleep."

Michelangelo took the bait, his curiosity bringing him over to sit next to his older brother. "Wow, this is nice." He smoothed a hand over the plush surface of the chaise. "We should keep this. There has to be a way to get it out of the building. We could remove those double windows, and use a winch to get it up to the roof."

As he talked, Leonardo watched him, entranced by the animation in Michelangelo's expressions. While he knew he could easily just sit and listen to him, that was not what Leonardo had in mind.

Lifting the hand nearest his brother, Leonardo very deliberately placed it on Michelangelo's upper thigh.

Michelangelo's eyes widened and his words trailed off. He looked down at Leonardo's hand, staring at it like it was some sort of foreign object. They never touched each other's bodies, not when they weren't practicing. Certainly never in this manner.

He finally looked up at Leonardo, who was waiting patiently for his brother's reaction. That Michelangelo hadn't immediately jumped off the chaise was a good sign.

"I would like to propose that we do a trust exercise," Leonardo said, emotion making his voice deeper than usual.

"O~kay," Michelangelo responded carefully, his brow creased slightly. "I think you already know I trust you with my life."

Leonardo nodded, never taking his gaze off of Michelangelo's. "Of course I do. I trust you with mine. This is something different."

Michelangelo's eyes shot down to Leonardo's hand on his leg and then back up again. He took a breath before asking, "How different?"

Very gently, Leonardo squeezed his brother's thigh. "Does this make you nervous?"

The younger turtle bit his lip. " . . . no."

"I can feel the muscles in your thigh jumping under my palm," Leo said. "Tell me the truth."

"It . . . kinda makes me nervous," Michelangelo told him.

"Why?"

Michelangelo seemed to think about that. "I guess 'cause we don't touch. Sometimes we'll hug, but only when something really emotional happens."

"Does this feel bad?" Leo asked.

In a barely audible voice, Michelangelo replied, "No."

"How does it feel?"

Once more Michelangelo bit his lip and then placed a hand to his stomach. "I get this tingly feeling in here. It gets stronger when you move your fingers."

Leonardo squeezed again before sliding his hand ever so slightly inward. "Like this?"

"Yeah," Michelangelo said in a near whisper. He was heavy lidded now, the space between his thighs widening almost without his notice.

"Is it a bad feeling?" Leonardo began moving his thumb over Michelangelo's skin, rubbing in a circular pattern.

Michelangelo churred. The sound apparently took him by surprise because he clapped a hand to his mouth. From between his fingers, he said, "I didn't mean to do that."

In response, Leonardo slid his hand closer to his brother's groin. His own body was heating up, his nostrils widening to take in the scent of arousal that Michelangelo's skin had begun to excrete.

"I wanted to hear it," Leonardo said. He reached up with his free hand to pull Michelangelo's hand away from his mouth. "You didn't answer me. Is this a bad feeling?"

With the tip of his pinky finger, Leonardo brushed the crease between Michelangelo's thigh and groin.

"No!" Michelangelo squeaked. He swallowed thickly. "N . . . not bad."

"Do you want more?"

Michelangelo's mouth opened and then closed. "Should . . . is this something . . . is it okay? Is it . . . is it right?"

Leonardo could have spent an hour explaining how he had reached this decision, how they were the only one's of their kind, how he had come to the conclusion that his brothers felt the same as him. He could have reminded Michelangelo that he was the one to break things off with Renet, stating when asked that it didn't 'feel' right.

Instead he simply said, "Yes."

Nodding, Michelangelo accepted that in exactly the same way he had come to accept anything that his Jonin said. It made Leonardo's heart flutter in a way it never had when he'd been with Karai.

But the last thing Leonardo wanted was for any of his brothers to think that this was required of them. If what they did with him was not of their own free will, then it wouldn't be what Leonardo had envisioned. It would pull them apart rather than bringing them closer together.

"Mikey. Listen to me. The only thing we are right now is family. I'm not your leader giving you orders. We're equals," Leonardo said, making certain he had his brother's full attention. "I know what I want but this is as far as I go with you. At this point, you have to decide what happens next. We can get up and go back home and there will be no repercussions. I promise."

He was pleased to see that Michelangelo appeared to be giving it some thought. Then Michelangelo surprised him the way that he usually did; by acting.

Without a word, the younger turtle leaned in and placed a kiss to Leonardo's mouth. It wasn't a light peck either, his lips lingered on his brother's, shifting positions a couple of times to savor the feeling.

When Michelangelo broke the kiss, he stayed close to his brother. "Remember when me and Renet broke up? I told you guys it was 'cause things weren't right between us, that she was always running around through time instead of being with me. Really it was 'cause when I would kiss her, I didn't feel anything. I did it 'cause she expected it, but it never made me want to do more. She did and I just couldn't."

He was blushing, the sight so endearing that Leonardo very nearly dove in for another kiss. Instead, he held steady and said, "I experienced that same thing with Karai."

"I always wondered," Michelangelo said, looking very wise. "I wondered too if it'd be different if I was with another turtle. That made me think about you guys like . . . that."

Leonardo blinked. It hadn't entered his mind that any of his brothers would be entertaining the same sort of desires that he'd had. "You did?"

"I dreamed about stuff too." Michelangelo stared at him. "I'm not dreaming right now, am I?"

"No, you're not dreaming," Leonardo said. "Was I in any of them?"

"You sure were," Michelangelo said. He cleared his throat. "You were a really good leader in them too."

The hopeful look on his face was all that Leonardo needed to see. This time he initiated the kiss, deepening it so that their tongues connected and wound together in a sensual dance.

When Michelangelo churred again, Leonardo responded in kind. Barely breaking the kiss, the pair removed their weapons and slid up onto the chaise, their bodies winding together.

Leonardo's lips left Michelangelo's so that he could cover the younger turtle's neck with kisses. Michelangelo's grip tightened to pull his brother closer and Leonardo bit his shoulder enough to leave a mark.

Their gazes met when Leonardo lifted his head. Michelangelo's eyes were filled with need and desire surged through Leonardo's veins.

"Tell me what you want, Mike," Leonardo urged. "Tell me your dream."

Michelangelo rolled onto his carapace, pulling Leonardo along with him. "This is how it starts," he said, his voice breathy and eager. "I'll bet you can figure out the rest."

Leonardo smiled. The rest was easy. It was all instinct.

TBC...