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“Mikey?” Leo calls, peeking out of the dojo at the sound of the entrance opening and closing. “That you?”
Mikey makes some sort of squeaking sound, and Leo watches, bewildered, as his baby brother darts around the couches and squeezes into Donnie’s lab, yelling, “Hi Leo, bye Leo!” Leo doesn’t have a moment to answer before the door to the lab–Donnie’s lab, which Donnie does not let people in–is slamming in Leo’s face.
Well–okay. Not in his face, considering Leo is still leaning halfway out of the dojo, ten feet away, but still. It’s weird. Weirder than Mikey usually is.
Leo may have been back at home, but it’s clear in the small things that not everything has stayed the same during the two years he was gone.
Curious and–not that he’ll admit it out loud–a little hurt at the brief greeting, Leo abandons his training and makes his way over to the lab door.
He raises his hand to knock, only to hesitate at the screeched, “What the hell?” from Donnie. “Mikey!”
Leo is opening the door to the lab before he can consciously think about it, heart in his throat, reacting subconsciously. That’s Don’s I’m going to knock someone into the ocean and watch them drown voice that really only comes out when he’s pissed and protective.
Donnie and Mikey both jump at Leo’s abrupt entrance, turning to look as Leo rushes in, and that’s when Leo freezes.
Mikey–sweet, compassionate, fun-loving, impulsive Mikey–is bruised to hell and back. The bruises are fresh, promising to swell as they trail down his face, from just below his eye to just above his jaw. Leo squeezes between Donnie and Mike, cupping his baby brother’s face to gently tilt it to the side.
“Who did this to you?” Leo demands, voice strangled with anger.
“Um,” Mikey says, looking startled. His eyes flick towards Donnie and then back to Leo. “It was just–sometimes the birthday parties get rowdy, ya know? They were just kids, so….”
Leo blinks. “Kids did this to you?”
Mikey looks back over to Don, who has recovered from Leo’s honestly unnecessary push. Donnie hip checks Leo gently away, and Leo reluctantly lets his hands fall away, letting the brother with more medical experience look Mikey over.
Don shines a penlight into first one eye, and then the other. “Any vision problems?”
“No,” Mikey says.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
Mikey rolls his eyes, but some of the tension in Mikey’s shoulders loosens, and Leo watches as Mikey leans back against a counter. “Promise, Doctor Dee.”
“What happened this time?”
“This time?” Leo echoes, bristling. “This has happened before?”
Mikey startles, like he’s forgotten that Leo is standing right next to him. “Oh! Uh. Yeah, I mean, eight year olds don’t have a lot of impulse control, and when there’s ten of ‘em, the parents can’t do much. Sometimes it gets a little out of hand.”
“This is more than out of hand, Mikey,” Leo says, voice hard as his gaze trails back over the fresh bruises on Mikey’s face. “This is–”
“Normal,” Donnie cuts in.
Leo’s attention switches to Donnie. The tech genius is calm, and doesn’t seem at all worried about the fact that Mikey has come home beaten up as he turns off the penlight and puts it to the side.
“Promise, Leo,” Mikey says, giving him a wobbly smile. Leo watches in stunned silence as Donnie starts poking and prodding, actions belying his words. Mikey relaxes more and more with every word out of Donnie’s mouth.
It’s because of him, Leo realizes. Mikey is uncomfortable with Leo being here.
And why wouldn’t he be, Leo thinks. It’s been two years since Leo left, and Donnie, Mikey, and Raph filled in the gaps. Raph with Nightwatcher, apparently. Mikey and Donnie, though. They’ve always been their own little unit. Watching them now, though, Leo can see where they’ve come together.
It’s as comforting as it is devastating.
Leo swallows down the lump in his throat and gives Mikey—who has cocked his head to the side, brows furrowed as he looks at Leo—a wobbly smile. “I’ll go grab some ice for you, yeah?”
”Sure,” Mikey says, still looking at Leo with an odd expression. “Thanks, Leo.”
Leo firms his smile into something more solid. “Always, Mikey.”