Authors Note: Just wanted to let you guys know that I reedited the last chapter. I found quite a few grammar mistakes and fixed them. If you guys ever notice a problem like that please let me know. I want to put out the best story possible.

Donnie was heading outside to meet with Raph and Leo when he saw Leatherhead.

The junior stopped when he saw Donnie and smiled. "Hey Donnie."

Donnie smiled back."Hey Leatherhead."

Leatherhead was about to move on when he stopped. "Hey Donnie tell Mikey good luck at practice today."

Donnie frowned. "Practice," he asked confused?

Leatherhead nodded. "Yeah he said he couldn't study because you guys had practice."

Donnie's frowned deepened. "No we don't have practice…. at least not today. Besides Master Splinter would much rather have Mikey work on his math than train."

Leatherhead frowned. "Why would he lie to me about that?"

Donnie shrugged. "Let me call Leo, and see if Mikey's with them".

He called Leo, and talked to him. He grew worried when he was informed he wasn't with him, or Raph. Donnie hung up. "Come on let's head outside, and see if we can figure out where Mikey went. He was fine at lunch, but at dinner last night he mentioned he'd had a bit of a hard time at first."

Leatherhead nodded. "Yeah, but I think he was just nervous. Once he calmed down, and refocused he did fairly well."

When they got outside Mikey was still nowhere to be found. They were talking about where Mikey could be when April came outside with Casey.

"What's going on," April asked confused why the three brothers, and Leatherhead looked so worried? "

"Mikey's missing. He told Leatherhead we had training today, but none of us have seen him since lunch," Donnie explained.

April frowned and was about to bring up her own idea of where Mikey was when she was interrupted by her friend Irma. "You guys are wondering where Mikey went?"

The group nodded and Irma pointed south. "I saw him going that way by himself. He looked like he was thinking about something."

"That's how we get to the park from here," Leo said.

"Why would Mikey go to the park," Raph asked?

"He must have wanted to be alone," Donnie explained.

"Let's head over there. I'm sure it's nothing, but we should make sure. He's going to need a good reason to explain why he's missing his tutoring sessions," Leo said.

"Do you want us to come with," April asked?

Leo shook his head. "Naw, whatever it is we'll call you later to tell you. It's probably nothing."

Leatherhead frowned and pulled out his phone. "Can you call me too? I'd like to know if it was something I did."

Donnie nodded, and he traded numbers with Leatherhead. Once that was done the three brothers headed to the park. What they saw made their jaws drop.

Mikey and Chris had been fighting for a few minute. Mikey was bruised and cut, but he had a fierce look in his eyes. Bradford was less beat up, but Mikey had gotten a few punches in. He had a smirk on his face like always.

He turned when he saw the three teenagers and laughed. "Oh hey Mikey look who's here. Just in time for them to come to the rescue."

Mike growled, and punched Chris right in the face causing the teen to fall to the ground. He groaned and sat up. His nose was bleeding and it might have been broken.

Chris slowly stood up and growled. He was about to move forward when Leo, Raph, and Donnie moved forward to surround Mikey. Chris looked at them and growled knowing he couldn't take all four brothers.

"This isn't over Mikey. I hope you weren't planning on keeping quiet about your secret for much longer because by Monday the whole school is going to know about it." He then left the brothers alone with Mikey.

"Mikey what the hell is going on," Raph asked confused and somewhat angry?

Mikey frowned. "Let's go home," he said heading for their apartment. The brothers looked at each other with worry, but followed after him.

Mikey knew he was going to have to face Master Splinter, and he wasn't looking forward to that.

When they got home Master Splinter was waiting. April had probably called him so he knew what was going on. He looked displeased to see his youngest son hurt, but he also looked angry.

"Michelangelo what in the world happened? You abandoned your studies to fight?"

Mikey was quiet, but shook his head no. Splinter sighed. He ushered the boys to the dining room table. Everyone sat down, Mikey wincing as he did so.

"Michelangelo what reason do you have for not only skipping out on your tutoring, but coming home looking like you've been in a fight?"

Mikey sighed. "I… I just needed to figure some things out. I…. I didn't mean to get in a fight with Chris he just showed up. If I didn't fight him he would have beaten me up. I know I shouldn't have ditched my tutoring session, but the fight was in self defense."

Splinter's frown deepened. "What was so important that you felt you could skip your studies to think about it?"

Mikey didn't speak, and Splinter moved near him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Michelangelo is there something you want to tell us?"

Mikey looked at Splinter and wondered if he knew. It wouldn't surprise him because his father seemed to know everything when it came to his sons, but Mikey couldn't find the words to speak.

"Does this have anything to do with that secret Chris was talking about," Raph asked?

Mikey hesitated before nodding. "I…. I was trying to figure out my feelings for someone. I know I like them, but I'm not sure if they like me back and…. I… I…," Mikey felt like his throat had a giant lump in it to keep him from speaking.

"Michelangelo it is okay, we will love you no matter what," Splinter said softly.

So Splinter did know or at least he'd figured it out quickly. Mikey looked at his brothers who were confused.

He took a deep breath and said. "I'm gay."

No one said anything for what felt like hours, but was probably second.

"That's all," Leo asked with confusion.

Mikey frowned and opened his mouth, but Donnie spoke before he could.

"Don't trivialize this Leo. It must have taken a lot for Mikey to admit that."

Mikey looked at Leo and he rolled his eyes. "But…. who cares? He's still Mikey he just likes guys instead of girls." He heard a grunt come from Raph and watched with horror as his big brother stood up and left.

Mikey felt the tears come again, and a hand rub his back.

"Michelangelo give your brother time. This is a shock for him." Splinter said pulling Mikey into a hug.

Mikey nodded, but he still felt like he was going to cry.

"Don't worry Mikey we'll work on him," Donnie said, and when Mikey looked back up Leo was nodding.

Master Splinter had a kind look on his face, but it slowly changed. "Now we must talk about your punishment. Not for the fighting, but for not going to your tutoring session. I know you wanted time to think, but you should not have skipped your tutoring to do so."

Mikey sighed and nodded, but was slightly relived. Being punished meant that he was still in trouble and that his announcement hadn't shocked Splinter too much that he forgot about what Mikey had done.

"No TV. or video games for two weeks, including your phone and I'll have extra chores for you to do" Splinter explained.

Mikey nodded, and stood up to head to his room. Before he did he was hugged by Master Splinter, Leo, and Donnie. He felt a little bit better, and hugged back before heading to his room.

An twenty minutes later dinner was being made, and Mikey was laying in bed his mind spinning with what had happened today. He knew things could have been handled better and he knew even when he thought of the idea that it was irresponsible.

His thoughts turned to Raph and worry that his big brother hated him. He, and Donnie had a bond being the youngest, but Donnie was still a year older than him. Leo was like a second father at times. He was the oldest and most mature of four. He could still have fun, but it took more coaxing to bring out the fun older brother than in years past.

Raph was now the older brother. He was the one who it was most fun to prank and annoy. He was the one who Mikey felt most comfortable talking to when he just needed someone to listen. That might sound strange to the people who knew Raph as a tough guy, but he was a good listener.

If he wanted advice he'd go to Leo, and if he wanted an over complex explanation of things he'd go to Donnie. That was one of the things that made wanting to tell his family about his sexuality so hard. The brother he was normally so reliant on when it came to talking about his fears was a wild card.

There was a knock at Mikey's door, and he wondered if it was Donnie. Even though the brothers shared rooms they all knew that knocking wasn't something to not only do out of politeness, but to give the occupant fair warning.

"Come in," Mikey called and was surprised when the door opened and reviled Raph.

"Can we talk," Raph asked looking nervous?

Mikey nodded and made room for Raph to sit on the bed. Once Raph was comfortable the room was silent for a moment.

"Mikey I'm sorry," he said softly.

Mikey frowned in confusion. Mikey was surprised since Raph almost never apologized.

"I shouldn't have acted like that. I was mad that you hid something so big from us. I mean you've known about this for a while right?"

Mikey nodded slowly.

"It's just… I felt like you couldn't trust us. I mean did you really think we'd hate you for being gay?"

Mikey shrugged. "I…. I didn't know what to think," he said softly.

He was surprised Raph pulled him into a hug. "You can tell us anything Mikey. I promise in the end we'll always be there for you.

Mikey let go of a shuddering breath and hugged back, as they pulled away there was a knock on the door.

They looked up to see Leo with a soft smile on his face. "Dinners ready," he said and walked away. Raph and Mikey got up and headed for the dining room.

Dinner was filled with Master Splinter talking about how important grades were and that they needed to be open and honest with each other. How they needed to depend upon one another when faced with a problem. It was a lecture, but they boys listened, and agreed with Splinter.

After dinner Mikey headed to bed. He took some aspirin knowing he was going to be sore in the morning. He spent the night finishing up some homework and reading.

In the morning Mikey groaned as he felt every bruise and cut ache. He went to the bathroom and looked himself over. He'd looked like he'd gotten into a fight, but not like he'd lost one. He took two more aspirin and headed downstairs.

On the weekends the boys did their own things. They had training with Splinter in the afternoon and that would become twice a day as they got closer to the exhibition, but for the moment mornings were relaxing.

Mikey sat down for breakfast, and was surprised when all three of his brothers sat down without any food.

Mikey frowned. "You don't have to do this," Mikey said. He knew they were trying to show that they were fine with him being gay, and that they still wanted to be around him.

"We know, but we want to," Raph said without looking up. Mikey smiled slightly and sat down.

"Hey Donnie did you call April yet," Leo asked?

"Yeah she said she'd call Casey and let him know everything's okay. Oh I just remembered I need to call Leatherhead."

"WHAT," Mikey yelled causing his brother to look at him in confusion? "You have his number?"

Donnie nodded and got out his phone. "Yeah we traded at the school. He was worried about why you would lie about having practice."

"GIMMIE," Mikey yelled diving across the table, and grabbing Donnie's phone. He heard Donnie yell in surprised, but ignored it, and found Leatherhead's number.

"Leatherhead hi, it's Mikey just wanted to let you know I'm fine… Well I needed time to think about something and kind of ended up in a fight…. No no I'm fine, you won't even be able to tell by Monday. Yeah, I'm sorry for lying I shouldn't have done. Will you still tutor me…?You will great… Okay I'll see you on Monday…. Bye."

Mikey hung up and looked at Donnie. "When I get my phone back you're giving me his number."

Donnie only nodded in confusion. It was quiet for a second before Raph started bursting out laughing.

"Raph do you know something we don't," Leo asked confused?

Raph nodded and kept laughing. "Mikey's acting just like Donnie when he first had a crush on April."

Leo and Donnie looked at each other, and burst out laughing along with Raph.

"What? No I'm not."

Leo laughed harder. "Oh yes you are. It's so obvious."

"NO I'M NOT" Mikey yelled his face red with embarrassed.

"Awww it's Mikey's first crush," Raph teased.

"He's not my first crush," Mikey yelled.

This caused all his brothers to stop laughing, but for evil grins to appear on their faces

"Oh no no no no I am not telling you who my first crush was."

"Come on Mikey we swear we won't make fun of you," Leo said still smiling.

Mikey shook his head. "No way".

"Please Mikey. Pleeeeeassse," Raph begged.

Mikey groaned and pressed his face into his hand before mumbling. "Risford."

"Who," Donnie asked a grin on his face.

Mikey move his hands, but still mumbled."Chibad."

"Come on Mikey nice and clear," Leo prodded.

"Chris Bradford," Mikey said is eyes on the table.

"WHAT," his brothers yelled in confusion?

Mikey groaned. "He was so cool and…. hot and I could see that he was kind of a jerk, but I just thought it was a small personality flaw. Like how Raph's a good guy, but you gotta be careful about what buttons you push. I knew he was straight, but it still mattered that he let me hang around with him."

Mike sighed. "Then the party happened and then the drinking, and then I'm lying in the snow drunk with a broken arm and police sirens coming closer and, it took that for me to realize that my first crush was a complete asshole," Mikey looked sullenly at the table.

He felt an arm on his back. "I'm sorry Mikey we didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Leo said.

Mikey shook his head. "It's okay you guys were just teasing. I just….. I hate that I'm going down the same road just with someone who's not a jerk."

Raph frowned. "You think you'll end up lying in the snow with a broken arm again?"

Mikey shook his head. "No of course not, but me liking a straight guy more than a friend is going to get me nowhere."

Donnie shrugged. "He could be gay."

They all looked at him with confusion.

"Leatherhead's in the straight gay alliance with April. The club dose have gay students, but some students aren't out and there's a strict no outing policy in the club. Maybe you should join Mikey."

"NO," Mikey yelled and his brother looked at him with concern. "Look by Monday afternoon the whole school's going to know I'm gay thanks to Chris. I won't flat out deny being gay, but I don't want to do anything that confirms them either. If they stick around fine, but if everyone thinks it a rumor until they see me kissing some guy in the hallway that's fine too. Let's just let things take their natural course and see what happens. If it gets too bad I know you can count you guys, but you won't be around forever and I think I've proven I can take care of myself."

Mikey's brothers looked at each other and nodded. "Okay, but no more hiding either Mikey." Leo said firmly.

"We're going to get through this as a family, no trying to handle things yourself when you know you should ask for help. For the most part we'll let you deal with things on your own, but that means you have to be willing to let us step in okay?"

Mikey nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

Leo nodded "Good."

Mikey finished breakfast, and went to his room. He drew for most of the morning. Focusing on landscapes as the only face he could picture was that of Leatherhead.

Mikey, and his brothers headed to the dojo to train. When they got there they did their warmed up. When they were younger Master Splinter would guide them, but as they grew older they were allowed to warm up however they wanted. Master Splinter never interfered unless he felt that was they were doing was ineffective.

They all stretched, but after that they did their own things. Leo meditated, Donnie analyzed whatever moves he was working on and calculated how to prefect them, Raph practiced with a punching bag, and Mikey did whatever he was in the mood to do. Normally that was listening to his iPod and moving with the music.

Being grounded meant that his iPod and phone were taken away so he practiced a kata he was having a hard time mastering.

Normally Mikey was good at learning new katas. Once he got a feel for the moves he could just flow with them. This kata was a lot more structured than others and that was causing problems. Mikey could just not find how the kata flowed. He was working on transitioning from the stance into the first move. He was starting to get a feel for it, but it was taking some major concentration and, Mikey could never concentrate for long. He was glad when Master Splinter appeared, and called them to line up.

"Today we will be working on the kata routines you have created and then spar in preparations for your fights. Leonardo you will go first."

Leo nodded and got up.

Leo was the most practical when it came to making a routine. He made a routine that could be used in practice once the exhibition was over. It looked good if a little stiff, and when Leo finished Master Splinter pointed that out. He and, Leo worked on relaxing the routine and by the end it flowed much better.

Raph went next and had the most power in his kata. It was strong and fierce. Still it wasn't very unique, and Splinter worked with Raph to add moves that would help diversify the kata. When he was done Donnie got up.

His routine was the most structured. Donnie probably spent the most time planning his routine. It looked good, but it was clear that Donnie was thinking too much. The look on his face was one of pure concentrations and the moves came out with slight hesitations. Master Splinter had Donnie do the routine a few more times and, it was clear the more he did it the more relaxed he got. It was recommended that Donnie practice to get more comfortable with his routine.

When it was finally Mikey's turn he got up and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes let his breath out and opened them. Out of all of them Mikey was the most free. While his brothers had tendencies to plan out their kata's from the get go Mikey didn't. He found a move he liked and started with it. If a new move came along that he loved, but didn't go well with what he already planned he'd change everything just to incorporate it. His kata's always started out messy as he just did the moves that came to him, but it slowly grew more and more defined. Even when he had a finished routine he was always tweaking it.

The exhibition was still almost two months away and in that time frame Mikey would likely add or subtract several moves. When Mikey he looked at Master Splinter and was relieved to see a proud smile on his face.

"Mikey that was really good." Leo said smiling.

Donny and Raph nodded in agreement and Mikey felt proud. He'd been worried that while Splinter had approved his routine the other week that it wasn't as good as he thought it was.

Master Splinter went over a few moves with Mikey to help things look more put together, and reminded Mikey to not rush through things like he sometimes did.

"Now we will practice without your weapons. Leonardo you are with Raph, Donnie you're with Mikey. The boys nodded and stood up.

"Hajime" Master Splinter yelled and the boys began to fight.

In the end Donnie and Leo won.

Splinter shouted. "Yame" and the boys all lined up and kneeled. "You boys did well, but you can do better. I know you are not use to not being able to use your weapons, but it is something you must become better at.

Raphael you might have won if varied your moves. I know you rely on your sais, but I also know you are very capable of fighting without them. Practice on some more advanced moves and remember that while you must not over think you must not rely on strength alone.

Michelangelo you need to be more focused. I know you have trouble with that, but you must remember that fighting with your brothers is easier because you know them so well. When you fight these strangers you will need to be able to focus so you can fight to the best of your ability.

Donatello, Leonardo you both did well."

Master Splinter looked at them and was silent for a moment. "We will do this again."

The brothers got back into position and started again. They fought several more , and by the end they had improved a little. They finished their training with a meditation session.

After that Leo, Raph and Donnie headed home while Mikey stayed behind to clean up as part of his punishment. As he was finishing up he noticed Splinter watching him.

"Is something the matter sensei," Mikey asked confused?

Splinter gave a sad smile. "I was just thinking of why you felt you couldn't come out to me, and your brothers. I feel that if I had made myself more open you wouldn't have felt the need to hide your sexuality. I know I do not speak often on political topics, but that is because I want you boys to make decisions on your own. I did not stop to think that you would take my silence as disapproval, or let my old fashion ways of teaching color how you thought I would react."

Mikey frowned he wanted to tell his father that he was wrong. That Mikey hadn't thought Splinter would disapprove because of his old fashion ways and silence, but that would be a lie.

Mikey in all his life with Splinter had never lied about something so serious. The biggest thing he'd ever lied about was a grade on a test, but after a long talk about why that was wrong he'd never told a serious lie. Sure he might try to pass the buck when something broke or a chore wasn't done, but plenty of teens did that. Mikey and his brothers were told to be truthful, and Mikey did his best to do so.

"Father I know you didn't mean any harm by it. You were doing what you thought was right. I'll admit I was scared that you disapproved, but even if you had shown support towards gay rights I still would have been scared. Just because someone says their okay with gays doesn't mean they won't disapprove if their kid is gay. It wasn't just you either. While I figured Donnie would be on my side I was unsure about Leo and Raph. I'm glad I came out, but it was one of the most terrifying things I've ever done."

Splinter sighed and pulled Mikey into a hug. "I am sorry you felt so scared Michelangelo. I will always love you, and your brothers no matter what. We are a family, and that means that we accept each other for who we are. I am so proud of the young men you all are becoming."

Mikey felt himself get choked up as he, and his father shared a hug. Master Splinter was the first to pull away.

Splinter looked at Mikey with an amused smiled and said: "I guess I'm going to have to worry about boy trouble after all."

Mikey laughed. "No worried dad. I don't have any plans to date anytime soon."

Splinter suddenly got a sly smile on his face. "Ah then you do not have a crush on the young man who is tutoring you?"

Mikey looked at Splinter with shocked and his sensei laughed. "Hindsight is a wonderful thing my son, and looking back at how you acted during dinner the other night it's not hard to see how you feel about him."

Mikey blushed and looked down. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You are young Michelangelo. It is normal to have crushes and while some will simply stay crushes I do look forward to the day you realize what it is like to love someone. You my son will give everything you have, and my biggest hope is that whoever you give yourself to they will give just as much back."

"I hope so too sensei," Mikey said softly. He got back to work, and once done he and, Splinter walked back him in comfortable silence.

When they got home Mikey headed to his room. Donnie was working on a project for school so Mikey got out a book his english teacher had recommended and began to read. Dinner was soon ready, and the brothers headed downstairs. Dinner was nice and peaceful, with some joking around. Going to bed that night Mikey was happy to reflect on the day as he drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the weekend went as usual when Mikey or any of his brothers were grounded. Mikey mostly stayed in his room except to do chores and train. He, and his brothers were getting better, and Splinter said they'd train a little more before moving on.

Mikey was worried about Monday, but he tried his best not to think about it. He could only hope that it wouldn't be as bad as he feared.