Ch 7

"That was an awesome movie," Grayson said as he and Leo walked out of the movie theater. He took a deep breath and reveled in the warmth of the night air, "And this really has been a great night," He continued as the two made their way back through central park. "And I really do hope we have a chance to get together again."

Leo nodded absentmindedly, "Sure why not."

"So tell me Leo, do you ever do competitions with your martial arts?"

"Sure do," Leo responded enthusiastically, "My sensei has a dojo I work out in not too far from here and I even have a regular sparring partner." He looked over at Grayson curiously, "I don't suppose you would be interested in watching me compete?"

"I would love to come to one of your matches, Leo," Grayson told him with a huge smile, "Let me know when and I'l be there."

Leo nodded as the two walked up to a bright blue convertible, "Well, you have my number so if you want to give me a call the next time you want to get together, maybe I'll have a date scheduled for my next competition." Leo stuck his hand out in order to shake Grayson's hand, "I did have a good time Grayson," He told him as the other turtle looked down at Leo's hand in bewilderment, "Maybe next time we can check out a museum."

Grayson nodded as he slowly took Leo's hand, "Um, sure," He responded, "Do you need a ride home?"

Leo shook his head, "I live right over there," He pointed toward a cluster of buildings across from the park, "And it's a nice night for a walk." He stood back from the car and started to walk away, "Well, I'll see you soon, have a great night." He smiled and waved at Grayson as he started toward his home.

Grayson watched him walk away then, with a shrug, got into the car and headed toward his home.

Xxxxxx

"Wow, what a great movie Donnie," Mikey said as he watched his genius lover turn off the DVD player.

"And we finally got through the whole film without any interruption," Donnie smiled as Mikey picked up an empty bowl and their two empty wine glasses, "Do you think this means your brother actually had a good time on his date?"

MIkey shrugged as he walked into the kitchen, he came back a moment later with two bowls of ice cream, "Don't know but I'm dying to hear all about it."

"I can't believe all this time Leo's had a thing for the same sex," Donnie said as Mikey handed him one of the bowls, "And to think he's been getting on our shells about us being gay."

"I honestly believe he didn't know, Donnie," Mikey told him as he took a huge spoonful of ice cream, "At least he tried hard to not admit to knowing."

Donnie reached behind him and picked up a stack of envelopes, he flipped through them and pulled one out, "Do you think Leo would like to invite his new friend to our wedding?"

"Let's see how things turned out between them," Mikey told him, "I don't want to assume things went great when they may not have."

"You do realize our wedding is less than a month away and we need to get these invites out soon," Donnie advised.

"Yeah, I know," Mikey responded as he settled back against the couch, "We can mail them out tomorrow and just hand Leo his when he's ready," He took the envelope and placed it to the side, "After all, we know he's coming and he knows he's coming so if there happens to be an extra," Mikey shrugged, "We can deal with it."

Donnie nodded and placed the other envelopes behind him. The two settled back and continued to enjoy their ice cream while Mikey, remote in hand flipped through the channels. He had just settled on a show to watch when Master Splinter came walking down the hallway.

"Ah, what a wonderful Sunday night," The large rat sighed as he made his way toward the kitchen, "I got through a few of my stories and managed to meditate without interruption." He looked around in wonderment, "I take it Leonardo has yet to return home?"

The two turtles on the couch chuckled and shook their heads, "Not yet Sensei," Mikey told him.

"Funny," Donnie took the remote and muted the television, "We were just wondering how Leo's date went," He looked at the clock, "It's past ten and he has yet to come home."

"He probably had a nice time then." Splinter stated confidently and continued toward the kitchen. He had just walked back into the living room when the door opened and the blue clad turtle made his way inside.

"Speak of the devil," Mikey said happily as he turned off the TV, "Hey Leo," He greeted, "How was your evening."

Leo looked from one turtle to the other then toward Splinter. He narrowed his eyes as he realized everyone was watching him in anticipation."I'm not sure," Leo finally told them, "I had a good time but it really didn't feel right." He shook his head and started toward his room, "I'm going to bed."

The others watched in bewilderment as Leo slowly made his way down the hall and into his room. They looked at each other and shrugged, "Oh well," Mikey muttered as he slowly started to clean up, "At least he didn't come home angry."

The others nodded in agreement and while Donnie followed Mikey into the kitchen, Splinter made his way back to his room.

Xxxxx

The next morning, Mikey stood in front of Leo's door and gently knocked. "Uh Leo?" The orange clad turtle slowly opened the door and cautiously looked in. "Are you in there bro?" He questioned as he noticed his older brother's room was still very dark.

He heard Leo sigh tiredly, "What do you want Mikey?" Leo asked from his bed.

Mikey walked inside and looked around. It was just after nine in the morning and normally about this time, Leo would be up, dressed and eagerly ready to face the day. But on this particular Monday morning, this was certainly not the case.

"Um, Master Splinter is getting ready to go to his dojo," Mikey walked over to Leo's bed and sat by Leo's feet, "He was expecting you to go with him."

Leo rolled over onto his side with his shell now to Mikey and pulled the covers over his head, "I'm not in the mood." He muttered.

Mikey shook his head, "Wanna tell me what's wrong?" He asked.

Leo peaked out from under the covers and looked over his shoulder at his younger brother, "No," He said with clear annoyance.

"Does this have to do with your date last night?" He once again heard Leo sigh heavily, "Why don't you tell me what happened that has you so upset bro?" Mikey urged.

Leo rolled over and sat up, "Like I told you last night Mikey," Leo looked at him tiredly, "The date was fine and I actually did have an okay time."

"Then what's wrong?"

"You're kidding right?" When Mikey shrugged in uncertainty, Leo ran a hand over his tired face and stared hard at his brother, "It's just that I feel confused about what happened last night." Leo shook his head as he got out of bed and began pacing, "One minute I'm dating Karai and I thought I was happy, then the next I'm going out with another turtle, but this turtle is a male and it was nice but…." Leo stopped pacing and looked at Mikey in exasperation, "But…"

"But you don't want this kind of relationship to make you happy because then you'll have to admit that you may actually be gay." Mikey finished for him.

"Well, I…no….that's not it," Leo stammered, "It's just that…that," Leo narrowed his eyes as he attempted to think of what he was trying to say.

"Look bro," Mikey stood and placed a tender hand on his brother's shoulder, "I have to admit that when I first started looking into this dating service thing, I really thought being gay was the last thing I was," Leo looked at Mikey curiously as he continued, "And the first date I went on with Donnie was awkward to say the least but then after a few more dates I was finally able to come to terms with it and you know what?" Mikey looked at Leo excitedly, "I found myself not just being happy with the situation but actually being happy with myself."

Leo looked down at the floor in contemplation as Mikey started toward the door, "Give it some time Leo," Mikey told him, "You may be happily surprised with how it all ends up.'

A few minutes later, Leo, fully dressed, walked out of his room and toward the front door where Splinter was currently waiting for him.