This is probably the longest I've kept you waiting for an update, and I'm really sorry. I thought I could update two weeks ago when I thought I had wifi at my holiday destination, but I was wrong. So... Yeah... :(

But it's Monday, so I guess that counts for something, right?

Well, I don't keep you guys waiting any longer. This one's for JunjouRomanticafortheWinxoxo, who wanted a fluffy chapter with Leo and Mikey. Maybe it's not that fluffy, but it's something :P.

Enjoy!

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That's What Big Bros Are For

Heaving a tired sigh, Leo loosened his neck a little. It was just past two in the morning and although Mikey had let them know he would be late, he couldn't help but worry over his youngest brother. It wasn't really the lateness that made him uneasy, because that happened every now and then - it was Mikey's tone of voice and unusual curtness when he talked to him on the phone earlier this evening. So instead of going to bed, Leo decided to wait for his return.

I

Another half an hour went by, making the oldest rather nervous. What if something had happened to his brother? The moment Leo actually was thinking about calling the youngest on his phone, he heard the front door open. Giving a relieved sigh he got up, deciding to meet his brother half way. When Mikey appeared in his line of sight, Leo wanted to greet him and ask him gently where he had been. Instead he stopped dead in his tracks, his heart skipping a couple of beats by the look of his youngest brother. Mikey's plastron, arms and upper legs were covered in blood of which mostly was already beginning to dry. Thick droplets had made a way to his shins as red smudges covered his cheeks and neck. Oddly enough this wasn't what scared Leo the most. It was the downcast, broken look on his younger brother's face which he had never seen before. Something had happened, something bad and immediately Leo's big brother instinct took over. With careful steps he approached Mikey. "Mike? Are you alright?" he asked, looking him over for any injuries. There wasn't any response, although Leo knew Mikey must had heard him.

"Mikey?" Gently he laid a hand on his brother's shoulder to get his attention. With great concern he felt how Mikey's cold body was trembling. Immediately questions rose up in Leo's mind. Was his brother out in the winter weather this whole time? What happened in these past hours? Whose blood was this? Was Mikey okay?

He gave Mikey's shoulder a little squeeze. "Michelangelo. You're there, buddy?" He looked down on Mikey's bowed head, seeing a bloody smudged handprint. Judging from the three thick fingermarks it had to be his own. "Are you hurt?"

Still not getting a reaction he put his other hand on Mikey's other shoulder. "Come on, Mike. You're scaring me. Talk to me," he said firmly. He felt Mikey's body tense up, and instantly he regretted his somewhat hard intonation. There was a shaky sigh and a hard swallow. "I'm fine," Mikey finally said in a small raspy voice, although barely hearable. He didn't look up though and kept his gaze downwards at a random point on Leo's lower plastron.

Albeit glad he finally got an answer, Leo's concern still rose. Never in his whole life he had seen his youngest brother like this - anxious, silent and on the verge of breaking down. What in the world happened that was making Mikey act this way?

Leo gripped Mikey's shoulder a bit firmer. "Come on, bro. Let's take care of you," he said softly, trying to lead Mikey to the couch. Suddenly Mikey shook his hands off. "No."

A little dumbstruck Leo looked at him. "What?"

"No," Mikey repeated without emotion. He gave a shaky sigh. "I'm going to bed."

Not waiting for anything Mikey started to walk past Leo. Immediately Leo reached out again and softly grabbed the rim of Mikey's shell, hoping to stop him. "Mikey, what happened?"

Lashing out to the back, Mikey turned around to free himself. "Back off!" he fell out and for a second he looked Leo in the eyes, who gave a startled and almost frightened look back. Instantly Mikey cast his eyes down again. "I- I just wanna go to bed," he mumbled and hesitatingly waited a moment.

Feeling heartbroken by the look of his youngest brother, Leo let instinct take over. He reached out and put his arms around Mikey, pulling him close in a hug. Softly he fought against a weak struggle from Mikey, until it went quiet. He felt how Mikey started to tremble even more and this time it wasn't from the cold. Knowing something terrible must have happened, he tried to comfort the youngest. "It's okay, little brother," he said softly as Mikey put his forehead on his shoulder in defeat. Tightening his hug, Leo sensed Mikey's heart rate increase, along with his breathing pattern and he knew it was just a matter of time before his brother would break down.

For a full minute they stood like that, until Mikey took in a deep, quivering breath. "I'm sorry," he finally mumbled into Leo's shoulder. Leo gave a sad smile. "Don't be." He ran his hand over the back of Mikey's head, feeling the dried up blood. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

It remained quiet and although Leo didn't want to push on, he knew Mikey had to open up to him. "Are you injured?" he tried, averting his previous question. Again there was an inhalation. "I'm sorry," Mikey repeated himself after a few seconds in an almost broken voice. Leo closed his eyes desperately. "It's okay, bro. Just tell me what happened out there."

"I'm so sorry." A small sob escaped the youngest, but after a deep and shaky inhalation it went quiet again - only the uncontrollable trembling of his body remained. Leo noticed how hard his brother was trying to keep himself together, but he also knew that if Mikey didn't open up soon, he would keep his problem to himself for the longest amount of time possible, until he couldn't take it anymore. Although Mikey had his heart on his sleeve most of the time, he was great at keeping secrets when he wanted to.

"I… I couldn't…"

Leo gave a desperate sigh as he pushed his cheek against Mikey's head. "Tell me, Mikey. Tell me what you couldn't."

Finally Mikey broke down and multiple soft sobs erupted from the youngest. "I just - I..." Another shaking inhalation followed. "It's all my fault... I couldn't..." he muttered. "I just couldn't save them... him..."

This startled Leo. "Save th-... Mikey, what happened?" he almost begged as he lifted his head up again, looking down on his brother, whose face was still buried into Leo's shoulder. "Please, you're scaring me."

There came no response but some small noises from his brother, and Leo closed his eyes desperately. Carefully he laid his hands on Mikey's shoulders and gently pushed him off to look at him. "Mikey," he said in a calm, but firm voice. "Look at me." He gave his brother an encouraging squeeze. For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, until Mikey brought a hand up to his face to wipe away some tears. Hesitatingly he looked up and finally he met Leo's eyes for real, for the first time this night. It broke Leo's heart to see his brother's pained expression, but he also knew that he had almost broken through the wall Mikey had set up. As he looked deep into Mikey's watery blue eyes, he gave a gentle smile. "It's okay, Mikey," he said softly as his thumbs ran up and down over his brother's collar bones in a comforting way. "Tell me what happened tonight. You know you can trust me."

Mikey swallowed, quickly casting his eyes down again. "I know," he said in a whisper. Almost Leo wanted to smile for forcing Mikey out of his guilty state, but he withhold himself. "So tell me then. I won't judge."

A small silence followed, until Mikey nodded. "I know," he repeated himself, and almost Leo wanted to sigh again, but then Mikey opened his mouth again. "I don't want to."

This time Leo nodded. Knowing how stubborn Mikey could be when he had something in mind, he tried another approach. "Well, I can't send you off to bed when you feel like this. So it's either telling me, or we keep on standing here the whole night," he said light-hearted, as he looked down on his brother. He felt his brother's shoulders shake a bit, and mentally he hit himself for making a poor joke at a time like this, until he realised Mikey actually chuckled softly. It wasn't much, but for Leo it was almost everything and he latched on to it. "Come on, Mike. Trust me. You know you can."

Mikey swallowed away some tears as he still kept his gaze down. Although Leo didn't look directly into his brother's eyes, he knew the look as the youngest was reliving the night in his head. He didn't push on, hoping Mikey was finally ready to talk. And indeed... After a minute or two Mikey opened his mouth. "I-I was south, at the old train switching station," he began in a raspy and unsure voice. "Y-you know... To run and jump and stuff. Since sensei kinda send me out off the lair before for being too energetic." His voice slowly died as Leo just nodded. He didn't want to interrupt his brother now and with just a simple gesture he made Mikey continue his story.

"A-a few hours in I suddenly heard some hard noise, coming from the road above." Mikey swallowed and paused. "So I looked up and - eh..." It looked like the youngest struggled to continue. "And at - at that moment a car flew right through the barrier, crashing down below with a... sound," he said, hesitatingly saying the last word. "It was the worst I've ever heard."

Squeezing Mikey's shoulders gently, Leo looked down on him with a heavy heart. "I can imagine, Mikey."

Mikey shook his head. "No, you don't understand," he said, looking up with some fierceness in his eyes. "It wasn't just the crash..." he said followed by a self-calming sigh, looking away again. "It was the screaming, Leo. Someone was so scared and then... wasn't. When the car hit the ground... it was just over."

This time Leo had to swallow. "I'm so sorry, Mikey. I -"

"I-I didn't do anything," Mikey said as he never heard Leo speak. "I just stood there, witnessing the piece of smoking metal that used to be a car."

Not really knowing what to say, Leo carefully moved his arms a little bit for some support. "Mikey, whatever you're thinking... It wasn't your fault. It was a car accident, not a -"

With unexpected force, Mikey pushed himself away and took a few steps back. "There were people in there, Leo! People!" he almost yelled out frustration. "And I just stood there like an idiot, when I had to move to see if I could help or anything!"

Leo gave his brother a sad look. "Mike..." he said desperately, since he hated to see his brother so hurt.

Mikey had turned away from him, his hands rubbing frustratingly over his head. "And then I heard it. So soft. And I started sprinting, hoping I still was on time." Letting his arms fall at his sides, he sighed, slumping his shoulders. He turned around and looked Leo in the eye. "But I wasn't, Leo. I wasn't." Without looking, Mikey let himself fall back and sat down on a low foot bench. He put his elbows up his knees and buried his face in his hands. "When I came to the car, there - there was almost nothing left of the front, I could just -" He stopped talking, and swallowed hard, "- recognise two children who were sitting in the back."

With big eyes, Leo looked at Mikey speechless. His brother had his share of unmoving bodies, pooling blood and gruesome injuries in the past few years, but this... this was different. None of them had ever experienced something like this. Quickly Leo grabbed a heavy box with some of Don's stuff and shoved it closer to Mikey, knowing his brother could use the support. The youngest barely seem to notice it, as he continued his story with a trembling voice. "I-I knew the little girl was gone, but the boy was crying and calling for help... And I don't know why and how, but I got him out of the car," he said and he flinched when Leo put his hand on his knee. He looked up into the caring eyes of Leo. "There was so much blood, Leo. I didn't know what to do. I wished Donnie were there, or you. Or Raph. All of you guys would know what to do. But you weren't. It was just me. And so I couldn't help him... I couldn't save him..."

Leo swallowed away a lump in his throat. "Don't sell yourself short, Mikey. You got him out of the car and I bet you really tried to help. You did good."

"No, I didn't. I didn't try anything to help him!" Mikey called out, ripping off his gaze. "He was injured so damn much. And there was all the blood, and his face... And his eyes..." He got quiet again. Then he shook his head as to push away his horrible memories. "All I could do was hold him and talk to him, tell him it was okay to let go." Tears appeared in his eyes again. "I promised him to stay until he was asleep."

"And you did," Leo said in a soft voice. After a moment Mikey nodded. "I did." He breathed in deeply and then shook his head again, this time out of desperation. "He died in my arms, Leo. I pulled him away from his family in the car, just to let him die in my arms."

"Don't think like that, Mike," Leo said as he tried to find Mikey's eyes. They were still stubbornly turned away from him, so Leo gave Mikey's knee a gentle clutch and he started talking. "If you weren't there, the poor child would have died alone." He saw Mikey open his mouth to say something, but this time he didn't let him. "The boy asked you for help by crying and you gave him the only help he could get. Both of you knew there was no way he could be saved. You knew, but I bet the boy knew too. By staying with him, to comfort him, to help him, you did the best thing he could wish for: Giving him company. No one likes to die alone, Mikey. By staying with him until he was asleep, you did the best thing for the boy. You did a great job."

It was quiet for a while as Mikey thought Leo's words over. At last Mikey gave a small sigh and looked in Leo's waiting eyes. "I don't even know his name..."

"And he probably doesn't know yours," Leo said. "But I still bet he was very grateful for you to be there with him. "

A very small smile appeared on Mikey's face, but quickly fell. "You're probably right," he said softly as he lowered his head. He ran his hands over the back of his head and inhaled deeply. "Dude, this is gonna haunt me for a great length of time, man," he said in full honesty, but way more calmer than the past half hour.

Leo nodded and moved his hand up Mikey's shoulder. "I know, bro. And it's okay. It would be really unhealthy if it didn't move you." He gave a smile Mikey didn't see. "Just remember that none of this is your fault and you did the only - and the best - thing you could do at the moment. The boy was lucky you were around. He probably couldn't wish for better company."

Mikey gave a soft snort. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious, Mikey. Like I'd said before: Don't sell yourself short. You're a great guy. You're loving, caring and handle every situation individually, meaning you know exactly what to do when it's needed at a time," Leo said truthfully, hoping to cheer up his brother a bit, but all he got was a dull glare. With a small grin, Leo raised an eye ridge. "Look, I don't want you to use this against me, but just take it from me, bro. You're an awesome guy, a great friend and above all a tremendous brother. Everyone you meet should be lucky, and so was that boy. Really, you did an outstanding job."

For some moments it was quiet in the room, until Mikey breathed out hard. He looked up and Leo was happy to see to see a genuine smile on his brother's face. "Thanks, Leo."

Leo nodded. "Any time, bro." He gave it a moment to let the conversation set in, and then cleared his throat. "How about I put on the shower for you?"

Mikey gave him a confused expression and looked at himself. He huffed out a sad laugh as he saw his blood-covered plastron and mumbled something Leo couldn't hear. Then he shook his head. "That's okay. I'll do it myself," he said, pushing himself off with his hands so he could stand up. Leo saw it and quickly stood up himself, grabbing Mikey's hand in the process. With some little effort he pulled him on his feet. As Mikey looked down on his bloody arms, Leo gave him a concerned look. "Mikey, I really think someone shou -"

"It's okay, Leo. Really. Your talk really helped," Mikey quickly said. "I just... I just want to shower and go to bed. I kinda need some time for my own. Tomorrow you can keep me company." An almost honest smile flashed over his face. Hesitantly Leo gave it a thought, and although he didn't like the idea, he decided to respect his brother's wishes. "Alright. But just promise me - if there's something, even the smallest thing, you will wake me up."

Mikey nodded. "I will."

"Good," Leo said satisfied. "Now go take a nice, hot shower. I'll wait right here until you're finished." He saw Mikey's unmeant frown and quickly he crossed his arms. "No discussion," he said gently. He managed to get a very soft chuckle from his brother. "Now move it."

Nodding again, Mikey gave Leo a smile. "Thanks, bro. Really," he softly said, and without waiting for an answer, he walked past him towards the bathroom.

With a sad expression on his face, Leo watched Mikey's back disappear into the small hallway that lead to the shower. After a few moments he sighed deeply, feeling really sorry for his youngest. Quietly he wondered why bad things always seemed to happen to good people - or good turtles. He didn't know. All he knew that his brother didn't deserve this. He gave the empty hall one more sad look. "You're gonna be okay, Mikey. I'll make sure of it." With that he walked over to the couch and sat down, keeping a close eye on the dark hallway. As he listened to the running shower, he hoped the water would wash off some of the burden his brother was carrying. "'Couse that's what big bros are for."

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I really hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought!

NB: I'm totally gonna try to update next week, but if I fail (again -_-), I'm still trying my best to put a chapter up ASAP.