Chapter Text
Typically, Mikey loved the first snowfall of the year, for a myriad of reasons. Usually, it was because it meant the approach of winter holidays, which he tried to wait patiently for every year. After it snowed, though, it was hard for him to be patient. He also liked it because it meant the occasional snow day. That, and it was just fun to play in.
This year was different, though. This year, Mikey had Leatherhead, and despite getting found that one time, Mikey continued to sneak out late at night to the park to see him. It was too agonizing to keep all socializing to school, but it was near impossible to see Leatherhead during the day. And now, with the snow, there was no way Mikey would be able to sneak out at night to see him. How would he get through winter break?!
Mikey mused over these thoughts as he sat in the kitchen chair he’d pulled over to a window. The snow was falling softly, but he found it too difficult to enjoy.
Donnie strode past with a box of holiday blankets he kept in the lab basement and glanced out the window at the snow Mikey was watching. “You’re usually more excited about the snow than this.” The immediate eldest frowned at Mikey. “In fact, you look a little depressed about it.”
Mikey looked up at Donnie, blinking before a grin spread across his face. “Nah. It’s just that the ending of Crognard the Barbarian has got me down. Now all I have to watch is Space Heroes with Leo.”
“Crognard ended years ago,” Donnie argued.
“That doesn’t mean the ending doesn’t get me every time!” Mikey cried, throwing his hands in the air.
“Mikey’s just upset he won’t be able to sneak off late at night anymore, ‘cause it’ll be a hell of a lot easier to catch him now,” Ralph said where he was laying on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
Mikey let out a short ‘psh’ and waved Raph off, trying to hide his alarm. “I stopped sneaking out to the park weeks ago. No need to worry about that.”
Donnie threw a blanket that belonged on the couch at Raph, and it hit the ginger square in the face. “Now that I think about it, you never actually told us why you were sneaking out.”
Mikey opened his mouth to protest and then closed it. Donnie was right. He hadn’t told them he had a boyfriend, just that he liked boys.
What a predicament he’d found himself in.
Donnie’s statement immediately alerted Raph, and he looked up from his phone with a scowl, focusing it squarely on Mikey. “Yeah…. why were you sneaking out to the park? And what did being gay have to do with it?”
Mikey floundered for a moment, before shrugging. “I just like going to the park at night. No toddlers or elementary schoolers.”
“You have a boyfriend, don’t you?” Donnie asked, and judging by the look that crossed Ralph’s face, Mikey was in a deep load of shit.
“What would make you say that?” Mikey tried.
“Whoever it is, I’ll beat ‘im to a pulp.” Raph slammed his fist against the couch cushion. “You’re too young to be dating.”
Mikey’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t doubt that, but what made it worse was that it was Leatherhead . Mikey knew he already dealt with so much of that at home, and he was so easy to set off (Mikey once scared him into a panic attack just by flinging his arms above his head, and he learned to be a lot calmer and exhibit more self-control after that), so saying anything that could risk Raph trying to hit him….
“I’m not seeing anyone,” Mikey said with a pout, folding his arms over his chest for added effect. “And frankly I find it quite rude that that was your first instinct. Maybe I just like taking walks at night. You ever think of that?”
“Yeah, that better fucking be all it is.” Raph leaned back against the couch cushions. “Otherwise you and your boyfriend are gonna get a face full of fist.”
“Calm down Raph. I think he gets the idea.” Donnie turned away to resume distributing the blankets.
Mikey sighed and turned back to the window. A knot of guilt had settled in his stomach. He hated lying to his brothers, he really did. But he’d gotten so used to bad things happening when he told the truth that it became so much easier to lie than admit to something and have to suffer. In fact, he’d done it so much that he ended up lying about everything. And he got away with it too. That was probably the worst part. He’d somehow trained himself to lie, and he sometimes wondered how difficult it would become to start telling the truth again.
He shifted in the chair when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and pulled it out with a frown, hoping it wasn’t Renet asking for help on the math homework.
Somehow, the fact that it was Donnie felt ten times scarier.
WalkingFirstAid: I get not wanting to tell Raph, for obvious reasons
WalkingFirstAid: but you know you can talk to me, right?
Mikey felt like he was going to cry. He hated this. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to tell the truth, to admit to someone that yes, he was seeing a guy. But how would they react? They’d want to meet him, right? There was no way he could bring Leatherhead home. The last time that Leatherhead had come in contact with any of his brothers, Donnie ended up upsetting him to the point he’d lashed out and given Donnie a black eye that lasted weeks. Donnie hated Leatherhead, and after that incident, Raph was terrified of the big guy.
Mikey knew, Leatherhead had told him, that it was just the effects of. The abuse. PTSD. Donnie had set it off, and Leatherhead was so so sorry, but Mikey knew Donnie was stubborn, and Raph even more so. And there was no way in hell Leo would approve of the guy that had hurt Donnie staying for a meal.
So Mikey did the only thing he knew how to do,
He left Donnie on read and went for a walk in the falling snow.
Mikey loved Donnie, he really did. In fact, sometimes he thought he loved Donnie a little more than his other brothers because Donnie understood what it was like to be one of the youngest in a big family.
But god did Donnie sometimes annoy the shit out of Mikey.
They had settled down for dinner that night. Leo had decided to join them for once, which was both wonderful, and also the worst thing ever, and part of Mikey was convinced Donnie had set it up.
The conversation was at a lull when Donnie set his fork aside. “So,” he started, to get everyone’s attention. Everyone looked at him, including Mikey, but when he and Donnie made eye contact, Mikey wished he hadn’t. He felt his stomach drop to his feet and he moved to grip the side of the table with his fingernails. He prayed as loudly with his mind as he could for Donnie to stop, to not say anything, but it was too late.
“I have come upon some very interesting information that I’m sure you all would like to hear,” Donnie said, making Raph scowl.
“If it’s so important, just spit it out already.”
“I think,” Donnie continued, giving Raph a look. “That I should ask Mikey’s permission before continuing.”
Leo and Raph turned to look at Mikey— Raph scowling and Leo looking almost worried.
“You can not give him permission,” Leo reassured as if Mikey hadn’t thought of that already.
He looked from Leo to Raph, then to Donnie. Donnie had a glint in his eye, the kind he got when he came across a new question to experiment on, and the glint made Mikey sick to his stomach. Despite Leo’s reassuring tone, Mikey knew there was no backing out.
He shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his lap. “You can say it,” he mumbled regretfully.
Donnie immediately perked. “Mikey has a boyfriend,” he said proudly as if he was presenting a new piece of evidence to a court hearing.
Raph immediately slammed a fist on the table, making the plates rattle. “Dammit, Mikey!”
“Calm down, Raph,” Leo tried.
“Calm down?! He’s too young for this shit!”
“He’s almost sixteen, Raph,” Donnie retorted. “It’s normal.”
“ I didn’t have a girlfriend until I was seventeen at least,” Raph argued.
“Yeah and she was a bitch,” Mikey muttered, earning a gasp from Leo.
“Mikey!” He scolded.
“She locked me in the janitor’s closet!” Mikey whined. “She was a Grade-A Asshole!”
Leo turned his attention to Raph, who suddenly looked unwilling to continue the conversation.
“That doesn’t fix the fact,” Donnie interrupted before Leo could start a lecture. “That, while it’s obvious Mikey has a boyfriend, we don’t know who it is.”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Mikey murmured, staring at his half-eaten dinner. He had suddenly lost his appetite. The concerns about what they would do if they found out it was Leatherhead rose and made him feel nauseous. He couldn't do that. Not to them, and certainly not to Leatherhead. It would result in nothing but backlash for both of them.
“Hey.” Raph waved his hand in front of Mikey’s face, making him jerk back into attention. “Are you listening?”
“It’s improper to not introduce the family to your partner,” Leo repeated.
“Oh.” Mikey straightened his back. “Well, that’s not a problem then. You already know him.”
Donnie rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t narrow it down. Between the four of us, we know everyone at the high school.”
Mikey grinned. “Exactly.”
Raph went to smack Mikey upside the head but Mikey scrambled out of his chair.
“Finish your dinner!” Leo snapped as Mikey headed up the stairs.
“Not hungry,” Mikey called back as he dove into his room and scrambled to pull his phone out of his backpack.
He’d have to admit this to Leatherhead. He had to know. He deserved to.
OrangeJuice: hey
OrangeJuice: hey
OrangeJuice: hey
OrangeJuice: hey
MegaGator: ?
OrangeJuice: hey
OrangeJuice: oh thank god
OrangeJuice: L listen
Orangejuice: they’re onto me
MegaGator: ???
OrangeJuice: about the fact i’m seeing someone
OrangeJuice: donnie’s dumbass caught on
MegaGator Is that a problem?
Mikey hit his phone against his forehead. Leatherhead was such a sweetheart. A big, dumb, sweetheart.
OrangeJuice: the last time i had you over you hit donnie and scared raph
MegaGator: Oh, right.
MegaGator: I had tried to forget about that.
OrangeJuice: i know, im sorry
OrangeJuice: but it means itll be difficult admitting that its you
OrangeJuice: ya feel?
MegaGator: I understand.
MegaGator: But you also know you’ll have to tell them eventually, right?
OrangeJuice: nooooo dont say that :(
MegaGator: I may not have a healthy relationship with my family, but I’m smart enough to know that it’ll only cause problems if you keep this from them too much longer.
MegaGator: What if they start prying? Going through your phone?
OrangeJuice: oh god
MegaGator: I don’t mean to scare you, but you see my point, right?
OrangeJuice: yeah
Mikey felt sick.
OrangeJuice: but i still dont think im ready yet
MegaGator: I understand.
MegaGator: How about you sleep on the situation, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.
OrangeJuice: ok
OrangeJuice: thanks babe
OrangeJuice: love you
MegaGator: I love you too.
Mikey buried his face in his pillow. It was only six, but he felt
exhausted
. His stress-induced walk in the snow and conversation over dinner had really taken it out of him. He didn’t usually go to bed for another four hours, but maybe the extra sleep would serve him well.