A/N This is a rather light, fluffy chapter. Not a whole lot goes on, but it's kinda necessary after the heavy stuff from the several previous chapters. Besides, it's building up the second part of the story. Hope you enoy.
For the first time in his life, free of the burden of guilt heaped upon him by his family, Leo was able to discover just exactly who he was. True, he still put in more hours training than the rest of his brothers, but simply because he found a joy in doing so, rather than because he felt pushed to be the best in order to protect his family. But, to his family's bemusement, Leo also discovered he had a lighthearted side that gave Mikey a run for his money. Indeed, one of Leo's greatest moments was the day he was able to prank all three of his younger brothers, resulting in all of them covered in purple goo, and convincing them that Mikey was the culprit who simply got caught in his own trap. They probably wouldn't have figured it out if they hadn't discovered the "sleeping" Leo in his room laughing so hard he couldn't stand up. The younger turtles were so surprised to see this side of their oldest brother, and so pleased to see him feeling confident enough to let it loose, that they couldn't complain too much. Well, Mikey and Donny didn't complain too much; Raph ended up chasing his big brother around the Lair only to punish him with an intense bout of tickling.
Not that Leo didn't still have his bad days. Responses as ingrained as his were couldn't be overcome that quickly, of course, but his brothers were quick with the necessary reassurance Leo needed to overcome his rough times. And as the months passed, the bouts of guilt and low self-esteem became fewer and farther between. This was due in large part to the action plan the brothers had sat down together and created.
The first order of business in the plan was the practice and training schedule. Without their sensei, Leo was the natural choice to take over as his brothers' trainer and teacher. However, the younger turtles acknowledged that it wasn't fair to make Leo shoulder all that responsibility. That being decided, they first decided days and time for their training, with the result that they practiced morning and evening Monday through Thursday. Each turtle was given the responsibility for leading the training for one morning and one evening practice. For Fridays and Saturdays, the brothers decided that only one mid-morning practice, led by alternating brothers, would be necessary, allowing for evening activities on those two days. Sunday was a free day, wherein the each brother was free to do as he wished. Attendance at practice was required, but each brother was given one free pass per week. However, if a brother chose to pass on his day to lead, he had to arrange with one of the others to take over, and agree to take one of that brother's sessions within a week's time.
In addition to keeping Leo from becoming the "bad guy" for nagging his brothers about their practice, the varied routines had the added benefit of actually improving the brothers' skills. By not doing the same types of maneuvers and routines every day, no one got bored, and they were forced to stretch their skills in new ways. Very rarely did practice end in an argument, and quite often they stretched far over the two hours set aside by the brothers, simply because they were having too much fun to stop. After several weeks of reconditioning, Leo agreed that it would be safe for he and his brothers to return to the nighttime patrols, and a similar schedule of leadership for the outings was established. This way, Leo was able to relax quite a bit when they were topside. By unspoken agreement, however, leadership was immediately handed back over to Leo in actual battle situations, which there were a few, but due to their new training, the brothers worked even better as a team, without even Raph questioning or arguing with Leo's orders. To everyone's, even Leo's surprise, this resulted in fights won more quickly, and fewer injuries among the brothers.
Another part of the family's plan, one that was initially started as a way of keeping Leo from becoming isolated from his family, was the deepening of the fraternal bonds between the brothers. It started with a simply question from Mikey to his big brothers.
"Hey, Leo, I was wondering if you would like to help me make dinner tonight?"
Leo was a little stunned; Mikey never, ever let anyone, other than Raph on a rare occasion, help him in the kitchen.
"Are you sure about that Mikey," Leo said, uncertainly. "You know me. I'm horrible in the kitchen; I even burn water."
"No prob, bro," Mikey reassured him. "We'll start with something easy that doesn't require too much actual cooking. Besides," Mikey added, playing his trump card, "it will give me a little one-on-one time with my big bro that I don't have to share you with anyone else."
That had clenched the deal, for Leo, and he had agreed. To his surprise, Leo actually came to enjoy his time in the kitchen, at least once a week, with his youngest brother. Not just because it gave him time to visit seriously and on an equal level with his brother, but because Mikey was an excellent teacher, and was making real headway in teaching Leo how to cook.
Donny, seeing the increasing bond between Leo and their younger brother, decided next to get in on the act. So, one night when he was headed out to do some work on the Battle Shell, Donny invited Leo to come along.
"I'm borrowing Mikey's idea, and stealing some individual time with you," Donny admitted upfront. "If you pick something about how to keep the Battle Shell in shape, great. If not, well at least we can visit without interruptions."
From then on it became tradition for the two brothers to spend every Tuesday or Wednesday evening together, either working on the armor-enhanced van, or performing repairs and maintenance on the defenses around the Lair. Leo found he actually had quite a bit in common with his second youngest brother, as the two had similar tastes in literature and music, leading to a number of very interesting discussions that helped the time pass quite quickly.
As for Raph and Leo, no actually time was set aside for them to spend together because they were pretty much inseparable already. For Leo, it was like time had somehow slid back a few years to when he and Raph were younglings. The pair laughed, talked, and teased each other unmercifully, but without the bitterness that had tainted Leo's former relationship. If anything, Donny and Mikey began to protest that Raph and Leo spent too much time together. With this in mind, Leo began urging his other brothers to spend more time together; advice they all took to heart. The profit from his suggestion was enormous. As each of the brothers spent more time with the others, a greater appreciation and understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses were born, turning them from a well-tuned team into a seamless unit. Arguments went from rare to almost non-existent. Hurt feelings were dealt with quickly and kindly, and animosity became a thing of the past. Wherever he was, Leo knew their sensei was smiling down on his sons, for they were finally the team, the family he had always wanted them to be. It was good thing, too, because the brothers were about to face the greatest threat ever to their family and its continued happiness.