Title: Odd Turtle Out 4/5
Summary: The stories of five turtles who felt left out.
Notes: This story is a refection of Leo's story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the universe they live in.

Michelangelo

As long as Michelangelo could remember, he was separate from his brothers. Despite the fact that they had no way of knowing who biologically had been hatched first, or even if their eggs had come from the same mother, Michelangelo had taken on the role of being the youngest.

For whatever reason, whether it had been the order in which he was named or just that he had naturally been slower to develop, Michelangelo had always been the last. The last to eat solid food. The last to walk. The last to speak. The last to learn to spell his name, though, to be fair, his name was the longest and most likely to be misspelled. Being the last meant being the youngest, the littlest, the baby of the family; too childish and immature to be allowed in on the fun his older brothers were having. Donnie didn't want him in the lab; he broke things. Leo didn't want him in the dojo; he was distracting. Raph didn't want his around period; he was annoying.

All there live, this difference had been there and it only widen with time, as Michelangelo's older brothers moved away from him. Donnie was no longer interested picture books and comics; he found them too easy. Raph no longer wanted to wrestle and horse playing; he found it childish. And Leo, well, he'd been the one most distant brother of all. Even when he was willing to play a game of monopoly, he rarely seemed to be enjoying himself. To Mikey it seemed that Leo did it out of some weird sense of obligation, not for his own enjoyment.

The years passed.His brothers took on more serious roles but Mikey had no desire to be anything but what he was. He refined his skills, became a better cook and drawer, but still kept that child-like part of him that was the littlest brother. His fun loving nature was not something that he would simply grow out of. It was a part of him. In fact, it was the part of him that kept him different and separate from his brothers.

Michelangelo watches his brothers sometimes and he can't imagine being them. Leo is burdened by leadership. Raph is so angry at the world that rejects him. Donnie isolates himself in his lab day and night. They have put their childish things away.

Michelangelo watches his brothers and wishes they could be more like him.

End