Step 3: Become a Leader
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"Leo!" He heard Mikey call out from the bottom of the ditch. Leo sat up and groaned. Looking down at his arm he saw he got a cut from the slide down. It wasn't anything too serious but it sure did hurt.
"Leo! Leo are you okay?" Mikey called out again.
"Shhh. Mikey be quiet! We don't know if there are any humans around!" He told him. Mikey looked around to see if there was a quicker way down and took the same route Leo did. He slid all the way down, losing control and slamming right into one of the beams.
"Mikey!" Leo got up quickly and rushed over seeing Mikey was holding his face and crying. When he moved his little hands, Leo saw that one of Mikey's teeth was knocked out and face tinted with red from the impact. Leo immediately wrapped his arms around Mikey and gave him the biggest hug he could muster.
"Mikey I'm so sorry! I just wanted to be a good leader. I wanted to show dad I could do it." He cried, baseball sized tears rolling down his little face. He was so mad at himself. He couldn't do it. Master Splinter was right, he wasn't ready to be a leader.
Mikey wiggled out of his brother hold. He reached up and untied his mask and tied it around Leo's wounded arm. Leo looked down at the orange bandana on his arm and back up at his little brother. Mikey smiled at him with a now gap in his teeth.
"That's okay Leo. I don't really care if your a leader just be my brother." He told him. "Sure this wasn't a good game of follow the leader but it was still fun." Leo stopped crying and smiled. It was nice to hear Mikey speak so highly of him. He didn't feel as bad knowing he got them stuck in a bad situation. Instead, he was determined to get them out.
Leo looked around and gasped in excitement as he saw a ladder leading out of the man made ditch.
"Mikey we gotta get to the ladder and get to the closest manhole." He said getting up and leading his little brother up the ladder. They were quick and silent, moving along with the shadows across the street to the man hole that was next to the old barber shop. They ducked in and Leo knew where to go to get home.
"We made it!" Leo called out in the empty lair noticing quickly that they got back before Master Splinter, Donnie and Raph did. He was relieved to find the empty lair thought because that meant he didn't have to get a lecture from Master Splinter.
"Boy I'm beat." Mikey mentioned, sitting down on the couch with Leo following his lead. Mikey reached over and took off his bandana to look at Leo's cut. The wound was minimal, nothing to really worry about. But, there was a small stain of blood on the middle of the bandana. Leo saw the stain and got an idea. He took the bandana and ripped it in half, having it so that it was longer but thinner, keeping the eye holes where they were. He tied it back on Mikey's head. The tails were shorter but it seem to fit him better. But, he could see the uncertainty on his little brothers face. So, Leo took his own mask off and ripped it as well. Though his tails were slightly longer, than Mikey's, he placed it on his head and he slightly felt more like a ninja and seeing Mikey be more comfortable with the new mask, made him feel a little proud.
"We're home!" Raph's voice boomed through the lair. Mikey and Leo looked up to see Raph's pudgy little arms carrying in some groceries and Donnie playing around with some new tech he must have picked up at the junkyard. Master Splinter looked over his two other sons and noticed the cut on Leo's arm.
"Anything eventful while we were gone?" He asked. Leo felt slightly tensed.
"What? Nope nothing at all!" He responded with a nervous laugh. Master Splinter watched him for a moment and laughed.
"Alright. Well, dinner will be ready soon." Master Splinter knew Leo was not being truthful but also felt his most ambitious son had learn a very valuable lesson.
Leo huffed in relief that he wasn't interrogated and saw that Mikey had the same look on his face.
"Hey, what happened to your mask?" Raph asked, grabbing at the back of Mikey's mask.
"New look. You can't have it!" Mikey pouted.
"Pshh, don't want it. Looks weird. I'm hungry." Raph announced heading towards the kitchen, followed by Mikey and Donnie. From the distance Leo could hear Donnie commenting on Mikey's absent tooth. Leo sat there for a moment and looked down at the remainder of his mask in his hand and smiled. He wanted to be a leader and that was a dream he would always have. But, he had accepted he just wasn't ready yet. And he was okay with that because for now, he would just enjoy his life with his family.
A/N: AND ITS DONE! Sorry it was short it was jsut a small little drabble that came to mind when the new series came on which by the way I recomend people to watch its really funny! Well, time to work on all the other projects I have. Till next time!
-F
