Chapter 2

Author's Note I had waaaayyy too much fun with the Mikey and Leo interactions throughout here. Theirs is a character pairing that I love in any form. Also, majorly expository chapter ahead. May I never have to do this much editing again. I swear I added like 5 pages onto this. D:

Michelangelo stretched his arms behind his head as he stepped through hole in the wall that led into their lair. His gaze automatically flicked around the living space, searching for threats or anything out of place. Some of the practice equipment had been knocked out of place, more than likely Raph's handiwork. Though he normally at least picked up after himself, but he might have been in one of the Moods that had become so common. Donatello had closed the door to his lab, but the lights were off. Was he even there?

He threw himself face first on the couch with a relieved groan, glad for the chance to finally rest after running a patrol in the city. He didn't bother to flip over, only buried another moan in the cushions, not even caring that they were cold and scratchy against his skin.

A weight landed on his shell and a cold nose shoved at his head with a petulant mew. Mikey managed to reach back and stroke soft fur once before Klunk jumped off.

He did look up at the sound of hurried footsteps coming out of one of the adjacent rooms. He relaxed at the sight of green kin, identifying his brother even before he saw the blue mask. Only to tense again when he saw the way his brother moved, like he was on the verge of panicking.

"Donnie's gone," Leonardo said, and his wide-eyed gaze flicked up toward the second level. "So's Raph."

Mikey waved it off with a flick of his fingers and lay his head back down. "Donnie's probably gone to the junkyard for parts, and ya know Raph, the punching bag probably wasn't playing fair. I mean, it can't be trouble, we'da heard from Donnie, not to mention the lair's not trashed, so I wouldn't worry about it."

"They should have called," Leo grunted, finally relaxing his posture, and moved to stand over Mikey.

Michelangelo took the unspoken hint from his brother's hovering and shifted his legs off the couch.

Leonardo eased himself down, his legs stretched out in front of him head lolling on the back of the couch.

Not that Mikey could see him, what with his face in the couch, but he just knew Leo always sat like that after a run.

The TV clicked on and flipped through several different channels, until it landed on a news program. Despite the apparent dismissal of the topic, he could tell their Fearless Leader was pissed, he could hear it in his voice.

Michelangelo's head popped up and he looked askance at his older brother. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Leonardo smirked as he tucked the remote for the TV into the side of the couch. "Waiting for you to make dinner. You lost the bet after all."

Mikey dropped his head back onto the couch. "Oh man, that's right." He snuck a suspicious glare at his Fearless Leader. "Dude, how the hell did you get here so fast? Instant transmission?"

Leonardo's mouth pulled up on the other side, into an almost full grin. "No. That's just what you get for eating so much junk. Which I don't want for dinner by the way. Steak, and rice. There's a bag of veggies in the freezer. Biscuits. With honey butter. Lots of it."

The steak, seriously? Was he forgetting some special occasion? Michelangelo groaned in dismay, and he could all but imagine the grin on his big brother's face. "Shell Leo, just ask for the kitchen sink next time, man."

That earned him a snort. "Tried it, tastes nasty."

Michelangelo laughed outright at that. "You have the weirdest sense of humor, bro."

Leo stood, though he didn't switch the television off. "And you should get busy on dinner. I'm going to pay my respects."

The eldest turtle headed for the small shrine situated just outside of the door to his office. At one time, it had been Sensei's room, both for sleep and meditation; a place where he could speak to them privately if he needed to. Leonardo had taken it over, though he'd left it untouched for nearly half a year. He had even adopted some of their father's mannerisms, and methods. Mikey had pointed out that it made the rest of them uncomfortable when he did that. They didn't want another Splinter, they would rather have Leo be more himself, and do things his own way. Donnie and Raph had helped this idea along, by dragging a larger table and an actual chair to replace Splinter's old coffee table , giving him an imprompt to desk to speak to them across.

"Right, right." Mikey stood, stretching the last kinks out of his muscles. The newscaster gave the date and time in post commercial greeting. Friday? He froze, staring at the screen, but not seeing the beginning of the sports segment, as a thought occurred to him. "Oh shell!" How could he have forgotten! He turned and to call out to his brother. "Hey, wait! I can't make dinner tonight, bro."

Leonardo paused at the door to the shrine, eye ridges lifted inquisitively.

"Can I postpone till tomorrow? I mean, the steaks are still in the freezer! I don't have time to defrost them, and all, ya know?"

Lean arms crossed over a sturdy plastron and Leo gave Mikey a Look. The younger brothers knew his opinion on shirking a debt. Especially when it came to Mikey losing said bet and having to cook dinner in payment. "You'll find them already in the fridge. They should be ready for you."

Michelangelo flailed his arms expansively. "Pleeeeaase? I'll make something real special! There's that lamb…" his voice trailed off at his brother's utterly unconvinced expression. "Aw come on bro, I can't disappoint Angel either. I made plans with her tonight."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why did you even make that bet then?"

"I forgot!"

A slow blink; "Poor Angel," and then Leo turned toward the room.

"Leooooooo!" Michelangelo wailed.

"I don't hear dinner being made," his older brother called back.

Bastard.

Mikey flopped back down on the couch with a resigned sigh. He grabbed his shell cell from his belt and hunched his shoulders as he flipped it open to call her. Man, this sucked. He'd really been looking forward to getting together with her. Oh right, she would be at school. He opened up the texting program and started typing the bad news. She was gonna be pissed.

His skin crawled with the weight of eyes on him. He jerked his head up in alarm for a second time in less than half an hour, but it was only Fearless Jerkface smirking at him from the door to his office.

"If you really wanted to see your jailbait girlfriend, you could just ask her to come over, you know. Not stopping you. Just don't get your cooties all over the living area."

Michelangelo's wide-eyed surprise dropped into a mischievous grin. "Well, you could just consider it revenge for you and Donnie getting your cooties everywhere. I mean, hellooo, bedroom sound familiar to you? Ya got two of them to choose from."

Leonardo snorted derisively. "Privilege of being the Fearless Leader, Mikey." With a flick of his bandana tails, he disappeared back into his office, denying his youngest brother the chance at a rejoinder.

"And she turns 18 in a few months anyways!" he shouted, just for good measure. Mikey shook his head, but the grin stayed plastered on his face.

He deleted what he had been typing and texted Angel the change in plans, (though not the reason for them) and she replied with enthusiasm, adding a snark at having to be at school all day. He sighed with relief that she would take any opportunity to come down here, and doubly so that her Grandma was out of town for the weekend. Boy did he have plans for them. Casey had promised to keep an eye on Angel for the weekend, Mikey just planned on… helping while Casey was at work. Anything else was bonus points as far as he was concerned.

He pulled the remote out of the cushions and shut off the TV before heading into the kitchen to begin making dinner. Cold water gushed over his hands as he scrubbed them clean.

He checked the fridge, and sure enough there were the steaks. It had been Leo's turn to cook, but why would he pull out the meat. They didn't get much quality meat, and tried to save the really good stuff for special occasions. Or when Leo thought they needed the protein... that was probably it; Fearless Leader wanted something more solid than their normal fare, especially since Donnie's usual diet was anything but healthy.

If Leo had been planning something special for just him and Donnie, then he wouldn't have pulled out enough meat for everyone, much less forced Mikey to cook it. That's what he used to do, back when Sensei was still alive, so that he and Donnie could be 'late' to dinner, and have to eat by themselves in the kitchen.

Michelangelo pulled the package out of the fridge and started up the burner on the stove, intending to sear them before sticking them in the oven. While he waited for the pan to heat, he cleaned: dishes, the counter, his hands again, anything to keep his hands busy while he reminisced.

Klunk wound about his legs, hoping for a treat, small orange ears, and so Mikey dropped a few goodies under the table for his cat.

They wouldn't have even been able to joke so openly only a year ago. Master Splinter frowned on any relationships that distracted from their training (though Michelangelo secretly suspected that it also had to do with their being teenagers). So he'd kept the budding relationship with Angel quiet. He also had felt a little bad that he had found anyone to date period, considering that well, he was a giant, mutant turtle and all, and he didn't really wanna rub it in his brothers' faces. (Casey had been a factor, at the time cause if Raph had found out… yeah… Didn't even want to go there at the time.) He hadn't wanted to make them jealous that he was getting some and they weren't.

At least, so he had thought.

Then he'd stumbled on Donnie and Leo necking in the hallway one very late night, early morning. Not the tentative kisses and touches of the newly dating, and Mikey's gut had clenched so hard that he squeaked in surprise.

Which of course had gotten Leo's attention.

They had separated so fast, that Michelangelo had really only seen them move because he sure as hell wasn't blinking at the time. The three of them stood their staring at each other for a long time, though what had most drawn Mikey's attention were the swollen tails between their legs. Donatello had taken a step toward him, mouth open to speak, breaking the tableau and that was when he'd bolted. He'd locked himself in his room for the rest of the day, ignoring the timid taps that initially followed his self-confinement, not even answering when Master Splinter had knocked at the door. He didn't know what excuse Leo might have given, but Sensei hadn't tried the master key he kept for all their rooms.

He couldn't remember everything that had been going through his mind at the time, he just recalled vague impressions of disgust and shock and a realization that stemmed from putting two and two together. Donnie's late nights, which coincidentally ended around the same time as Leo's early mornings. Their tails hanging free, swollen and indecent, like Casey running around with his pants off (not a pleasant sight, really. Ew). How much Leo depended on Don's input during their missions. All the little glances and private smiles (which he'd always thought had been because of some joke that had passed right over his head) that suddenly had an added meaning. Then he'd remembered similar glances between Leo and Raph back when they'd been thrown into the future… and he hadn't wanted to consider any more than those glances. (Had not needed those images in his head, still didn't for that matter.)He had to admit that the thought of any of his brothers doing the horizontal mambo creeped him the hell out (was he the only ninja turtle who had not screwed another ninja turtle?), but could he blame them? Who else would they find?

The feeling of Angel against him, and knowing that in this world where they were freaks and outcasts—unwelcome on the surface—he still had someone willing to touch him, be with him, in ways he'd never thought possible. Hadn't he kept his involvement with her secret from his brothers precisely because these things were so hard to find?

In the end, that had been what settled him.

Knowing the pleasure, and euphoria of being with someone who cared; how could he deny his brothers the same thing?

When he had come out of his room the next morning (ostensibly to eat, though he never made it as far as the kitchen), Master Splinter drew him aside and asked if he was feeling better. Mikey had apologized profusely for having been too out of it to answer the door, glad that he had a way out that wouldn't require him lying outright to his Master. He sucked at pulling stories out of his tail, and worse still at maintaning a lie, especially to their father.

They had practiced as normal that day, though he hadn't missed the furtive, nervous glances both Donnie and Leo had sent his way. He'd chosen to ignore them, for the time being, until he caught Leo alone later that day.

His big brother had looked positively trapped, eyes shifting nervously back and forth; fearful, as Mikey had never seen him before. Michelangelo recalled that clearly as though Leo were standing right in front of him.

He'd had a whole big spiel prepared, but when he'd seen how lost his big bro—their Fearless Leader—had looked, it completely slipped his mind.

"It's okay," he'd told him.

Leo's eyes had narrowed, as though waiting for more, but when nothing more was forthcoming, his eyes went wide in surprise, and then he'd finally relaxed. He hadn't said anything, but a brief smile of thanks had flickered across his face.

Close observation of his third brother revealed that he knew about it, and had apparently accepted it. Raph's face would harden with a resignation that Mikey had only seen when he'd been forced to swallow some bitter truth. And as much as it really did make Mikey's skin crawl, he also couldn't help but feel sorry for his bro. Talk about mondo suckitude. Yet Raph had never seemed to let it crawl under his skin like he was normally prone to do about things, and that made Mikey think that Raph had been the one to end things, and not Leo dumping Raph for Donnie. Pity they couldn't have included Raphie in some kinda giant, incestuous orgy or whatever... Okay, that was gross. God, Mikey hated how his brain worked sometimes. He still didn't need those kinda images crawling around his brain. Especially when he was cooking.

Cooking right. He supposed he'd better actually start doing that, instead of just standing around like an idiot. He greased the frying pan and plopped a steak down on it.

And then Sensei had found out about Angel. Mikey couldn't remember what had given him away, but Sensei had found out and reamed him something fierce, using words like 'honor' and 'obligation' and 'family' and wielding them as though they were as sharp Leo's katana. Remembering it still brought the sting of tears to his eyes. Like he could ever forget his team, his family, just because of a pair of pretty legs (or Angel, who was so much more than that).

Then Leonardo had stepped into the room, hadn't even waited for their Master's permission before he knelt next to his youngest brother and defended him. Saying that he'd known about it (a load of bull, if Mikey had ever heard it), but had decided not to mention it so long as it didn't jeopardize their team.

Splinter had succinctly dismissed Michelangelo, and hadn't even wait for Mikey to be out of earshot before laying it into their Fearless Leader. Leonardo, kneeling before their sensei, unflinching despite his bowed head, remained with Michelangelo to this day.

Michelangelo remembered shaking so badly after that, from relief and surprise that his big bro would step in. He'd lied to Sensei. Leo. Lying to Splinter. To their Father? Unheard of.

The steaks went into the oven, and Mikey's stomach rumbled in anticipation.

He had hunted Leo down later that day, so that he could stammer his thanks.

Of course, Leonardo couldn't have just let it rest at that, he'd asked a few questions (Mikey could not remember what those questions were) and informed his little brother that he would not tolerate slacking off for this relationship. Then he'd smiled and clapped Mikey on the shoulder and finally left it at that.

Man, it still felt so weird being able to be so open about everything. Even Angel knew about them, though they hadn't told April and Casey yet… Adults tended to be a little more close-minded than most kids. They hadn't even meant f;r Angel to find out, but Don and Leo had lost track of their surroundings and she had caught them in the dojo, fortunately not doing anything worse than petting each other, or so she said. (Bad ninjas, no cookies.)

The steaks came out of the oven, and he set the pan on top of the stove to let it cool. He moved to dump rice into a pot of boiling water.

A hand dropped onto his shoulder. "Mmm, that smells good. Almost done?"

"AHHH!" Michelangelo yelped, not quite stifling the outcry before it had a chance to become a girlish screech. He whirled to face Leo, automatically dropping into a defensive stance, wielding his bag of rice like a weapon. "Shell, Leo! Gonna give a turtle a heart attack why dont'cha?"

"Should pay attention then." His eyes traveled back to the steaks in the pan. "Kitchen's a mess. Dinner must be almost ready?"

A grin spread on Mikey's face, and he turned to raise the temperature on the oven for the biscuits. He glanced around, and sure enough the kitchen had somehow gotten messy despite his earlier cleaning. "Why? Is Donnie antsy for food before you two get back to horizontal mambo."

Leo didn't say anything for so long that Michelangelo actually had to turn around and see if he was still there.

Mikey took in his brother's pensive expression and quickly jumped to a conclusion. "Donnie not home yet?"

A simple shake of his head answered the question.

"Not answering his shell cell?"

Brown eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What do you think?"

"Right. How about Raph?"

Leonardo sighed and abruptly changed subjects. "Angel ready to come over yet?"

Avoiding the question. Ouch. Michelangelo glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Yeah." His eyes fell on the food still on the stove and the pack of biscuits waiting to be cooked. "Err..."

"I'll go get her. Let her know I'm coming, would you?" Leonardo turned around and left, his mask tails flying behind him.

"You're the best, bro!" Mikey grabbed up a washcloth and wiped his hands clean before taking out his shell cell and calling Angel. He let her know that Leo was on his way and then turned his attention back to the remaining items to be cooked.

Leo was not a happy camper, if Mikey knew him (which he did). He hated leaving the lair when any of his brothers were missing. He'd also probably been hoping to send Donnie to get Angel, so he could keep waiting for Raph to show up. Mikey foresaw a major league tongue-lashing in their future, whenever they came home at least.. He almost felt sorry for them.

Michelangelo had cleaned up and was setting the table when the Lair door opened. He glanced up, from laying the forks out, and grinned when Angel came in followed by Leo.

The teen's dainty nose lifted to sniff at the air. A pang went through Mikey's heart at this unintentional small reminder of their dead Sensei. "Ooh that smells good, Mikey." She set her overnight bag down on the couch and shrugged her coat off to put it down beside it. Klunk bounded onto the back of the couch for attention that she gladly gave him. Then she made her way over to the youngest turtle to plant a kiss on his snout.

Leo took off his own surface clothes right there, starting with the scarf wound around his neck. His eyes rolled in silent exasperation at Mikey.

The silverware rattled on the table, so that he could wrap his arms around her in an enthusiastic hug. "How's my favorite girl?"

She matched his grin, and poked her forefinger at his plastron. "You have other girls? I should be jealous."

Mikey laughed and posed for dramatic effect, fists planted on his hips, chin lifted and saucy grin in place. "Well, I have to fight them off with Don's bo sometimes, but you're still my favorite."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, in affected hauteur. "I'm sure you're just a pimp daddy who can't touch his own man-whores."

He feigned shock with a hand placed over his plastron. "Man-whores? I'm sorry my dear lady, but I only deal in mutant-whores. Just ask Raph."

She burst out laughing. "Ooh, burrrrn."

Leonard snorted and shook his head at the entire exchange. He moved past the youngest brother to grab a plate. "It's all ready, right?"

"Yup." Then Mikey realized what Leo was gonna do. "Hey, Leo! Don't you have any manners? Ladies first!"

"You're one to talk about manners, Mikey," Leo retorted from the kitchen. "Did Donnie or Raph ever show?"

Mikey finished setting the silverware down and took Angel's hand to pull her into the kitchen where dinner waited to be served. "Sorry bro, still no sign of them."

Angel's stepped up next to Michelangelo to grab a plate off the counter. "It actually doesn't look like a pig sty in here this time."

Leonardo filled his plate, and then turned around and held it out to Angel. "You should have seen the place before I left to get you." His eyes glinted in mirth at their surprise, and he took the empty plate from her fingers to replace it with the full one.

It took a few seconds before Angel's wits seemed to catch up with her. "Er, thanks, Leo."

"You're welcome," he said and turned to fill the empty plate.

"Hey, you know what they say. Artists always make a mess to create a masterpiece." Mikey grinned. "Is that one for me?"

Leonardo's eye ridges lifted at that, and he snorted, dropping of second spoonful of rice onto his plate. "Reall,y then where's this artist? I wanna meet him." He turned to leave, gesturing for Angel to go first. "You can make your own." Angel only stared dumbly at him and so he led her by the shoulder . "You'd think you haven't been treated like a lady before," he said, with a teasing look aimed at his brother.

That snapped her out of it, and she tossed her hair at him. "Well, I have been around hoodlums for the past few years."

"Hmm. You shouldn't pick on Raph when he's not here to defend himself."

She laughed, bumping Leo's shell with her hip as she walked past him and out to the table.

Mikey sniffed once and gave his brother a sly look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were hitting on my girl."

Leonardo paused, and leveled a speaking glare on the youngest brother. "Yes Mikey," he drawled, "I am absolutely hitting on your jailbait, human girlfriend. You have found me out."

Mikey plopped a biscuit on his plate and sniffled, blinking his eyes to draw tears. "Ah man, bro. What-what can I do?" He rubbed at his mask and set his plate on the counter so his other hand could join in drying his eyes. "I mean how can I ever hope to compete with you? You charm all the ladies away from me, dude." He sobbed a few times for good effect.

Leonardo was silent for the longest time, and Mikey could just imagine the expression on his face. He could always be trusted to pull the straight act. "Well, if you don't hurry up, I'm just going to go and wile this one away from you, too." He left the kitchen, cheerfully greeting Angel already sitting at the table.

Grinning, Michelangelo joined them and the three of them carried on a lively conversation. He didn't miss Leonardo's furtive glances at the two empty seats, or the worry that occasionally touched his face. Mikey couldn't make their two missing brothers appear, but he could do his damnedest to make their leader smile.

~*~*~*~

"HAH! Take that Mr. Battle Nexus Champion! This little chick is totally kicking your ass!" The Playstation controller swung on its cord from slender fingers as Angel gloated her video game victory over Michelangelo.

The youngest turtle dropped his controller, and grabbed the girl around the waist. He yanked her into his lap, to tickle her sides. "You think you're so tough, but I can still get you right where I want you."

She howled and beat at his plastron and shoulders with balled up fists, squirming and trying her damnedest to get out of his grip. They wound up tumbling off the couch, each trying to gain the upper hand in their tickle fight. It ended with Angel pinned under Mikey's plastron, wrists held down next to her head.

"Like I said, I can still get you where I want you." He moved to kiss her.

She narrowed her eyes and her voice held a note of warning. "Yeah, in the living room where your brother's practicing."

Leonardo hadn't stopped his kata throughout their whole game. But that didn't mean that he was unaware of them, and what they were doing. He didn't appreciate Mikey flaunting his relationship with Angel. He joked about her being jailbait, but the truth of the matter was that it did disturb him. Mikey felt he didn't have any room to talk, considering past and present relationships with two of their brothers.

Michelangelo kissed her anyways, but let her up. He reclaimed his seat on the couch while she shook out the rumples from her clothes.

She scooped up the controller, but he caught her glance toward his eldest brother.

Leonardo paused in the midst of a kata and turned to the door. Apparently his Leader Sense was tingling because not even five seconds later the lair door opened and Donnie walked in. Or maybe it was Klunk waltzing up to the door expectantly.

A relieved sigh escaped from the eldest turtle and he turned to finish the set. But his motions had lost their grace, to become jerky and short.

Didn't take a genius to realize that he only did so, because he was both relieved and spitting mad.

Donnie had his arms full of junk,; odds and ends that Mikey had no idea what he planned to do with. Not exactly unusual. But that wasn't what caught his attention. His eyes widened.

Angel beat him to the punch though. "Don, are you okay?"

Donatello glanced at the teen and a smile pulled at one corner of his mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine, Angel. Wasn't expecting you to be here, or I would have gotten back sooner."

"I wouldn't be here, but Mikey managed to wreck our plans again."

Aw shell, she figured it out. "Hey! What makes you think that was my fault?"

Angel blinked at him, eyebrows raised, like she shouldn't even have to explain.

Leonardo finally stopped, and slid his swords into their sheath.

Michelangelo tensed. A slowly simmering anger radiated from the eldest turtle, and Mikey worried that Leo wouldn't even notice their brother's appearance.

A dark bruise partially closed Donatello's left eye, spotted his arms and he could make out faint scratches on his snout, and jaw. It looked like the quietest of his brothers had been in a fight.

Leonardo stalked toward Donatello, a wolf raising its hackles at a disobedient member of the pack. "Where the hell have you been Donatello? You didn't let anyone know you'd left. I would have been happy with a-." He broke off abruptly, eyes wide, and his shoulders dropped. "Don, what happened?"

Donatello tensed, turning his attention on their eldest brother. They all knew that Leonardo didn't swear if he could help it, not like Raph or Mikey. Even Donnie cussed more. But it let them know that he was furious, on those rare occasions when actually he did.

"Maybe we should let him sit his shi-uh, stuff down before we start playing twenty questions, bro."

Leonardo's eyes flicked toward the couch, then his critical gaze swept over the other turtle's body. Assessing the damage, no doubt. He took a deep breath, and nodded. "You should eat, too. Leftovers are in the fridge."

Donatello pressed his mouth into a thin line, looking none too pleased, but he didn't argue. "I'll just set these in the lab then."

Leo crossed his arms over his plastron and leaned his weight onto one leg. "I'll be waiting right here."

Donatello ducked his head and shuffled into his lab.

Leonardo didn't move from his spot, and his breath came in measured pulses. One of his favorite methods for controlling his temper.

Angel hesitantly sat down next to Mikey, her eyes wide and uncertain. Mikey knew exactly how she felt, too.

It looked like Donnie had the shell beat off of him. They looked at least a few hours old too. Why hadn't Donatello come back sooner?

A soft body pressed close to him, and a warm hand touched his thigh.

Michelangelo turned his head toward the warm breath on his cheek.

"Should I leave?" Angel whispered

Leonardo glanced toward them, but remained silent, whether he'd heard the question or not.

Michelangelo tucked her possessively against his side (even though he knew she hated when he did that), and slung his arm over her shoulder. "Nah. If he wanted us gone, he'd say so."

Angel nodded and squirmed out from under his arm to lean forward and grab the controller from where it had fallen on the floor.

Donatello came out of his lab and wordlessly disappeared into the kitchen.

The two of them played their video games, though much quieter than they had been. Leonardo continued to pull his living statue routine. Mikey couldn't seem to relax his shoulders, and even though his eyes watched the TV screen, all of his senses were straining to catch Donatello's return to the living area.

As a result, he lost another two rounds to Angel.

She didn't gloat about her victory, just mashed the correct buttons to start the next match.

Donatello finally came out of the kitchen, his footsteps quieter than normal.

Michelangelo let Angel win again, waning interest in the game fading into non-existence. He knew he really couldn't just stop playing though. Leo would figure he would be listening in, but would be pissed if he made it too blatantly obvious.

Donatello stopped just a few feet away from where Leo still stood his ground. He crossed his arms over his plastron, but he kept his eyes deferentially on the ground, despite this defiant stance.

"You ate?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Leonardo advanced on his larger brother, and grabbed hold of his arm to turn him around. He glowered down at something on Don's side that Mikey couldn't see, and then he gingerly touched whatever it was.

Donatello's breath hitched in a wince.

Leonardo's glare snapped up at that and he dropped his hand. "How badly are you hurt?"

Donatello didn't even flinch at the snap in Leonardo's voice, but met his gaze evenly. "It's worse than it looks. Just bruises and scratches."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Leo"

"All right, so would you mind explaining where you went, without a note, and why you couldn't be bothered to pick up your phone?"

Donatello took a breath, a moment he normally used to organize his thoughts, but this one was short, pained. "I was at the junkyard. I found out I needed some equipment for some of my projects. I'm sorry I didn't call, I was… zoning. You know how I get when I'm working." He worked something out of his belt, shifting from one foot to the other. "And my shell cell got damaged while I was out, that's why I wasn't picking up."

Michelangelo tensed, eyes widening of their own accord, but he didn't dare glance back at the two behind the couch. Donnie was hiding something. Though what, he couldn't fathom, but he just knew in the pit of his gut that his older brother had failed to tell Leo something. Donnie was usually pretty good at lying too, Mikey would bet a month of chores that Leo couldn't tell.

"Why didn't you come back here when that got damaged? What if something had happened to you?" A pause, and a quick glance back showed Leo's eyes on Don's face. "Like it apparently did. You needed us and you couldn't even call, because your shell cell was damaged." Another pause, and then Leonardo started up again, voice cracking like a whip as he drove home the point surest to reach this particular brother. "What if we'd needed you, and we couldn't reach you? Did that ever occur to you?" A few steps closer to Donatello, and Leonardo's voice dropped low, almost into a whisper. "I panicked when I came home to an empty lair. You understand what that means to me."

Donatello's voice came in a soft whisper of sound that almost couldn't be heard from the couch. "I know, I'm sorry."

Annnnd now Mikey felt like he was intruding on something more private. Though why Donnie would understand was anyone's best guess. Then again, there had been that time when Ultimate Draco had taken them. They'd all had interesting stories to tell, except for Donnie. He'd just sat quietly through all their stories and when his turn had finally come up, all he'd said was that everyone had died. He wouldn't say anything besides that, but his eyes had spoken volumes. Leo was easy to figure out; he had something like nightmare flashes whenever the lair was deserted when he came home. Probably because most of the times it has spelled trouble for them and then... They had gotten back one day and found Sensei... He'd had a heart attack and none of them had been there to help him. They came home, and their Father was...dead. It had disturbed Leo the most out of them, him and his big sense of responsibility and overbearing protectiveness, which had gotten worse for a while afterwords.

"So..." Michelangelo finally spoke up, turning away from the TV to face the other two. "What happened? Did you decide to skateboard on your face? Trust me, that is not a cool thing to do, bro."

Angel patted the top of his head. "So speaks of the voice of experience. I always wondered what was wrong with you."

"Hey!" Mikey whapped her on the knee, but grinned at her tease. Then he turned and waited expectantly for his brother's answer.

Donatello glanced toward Michelangelo "You guys are blowing this way out of proportion. It wasn't trouble. I just sorta took a bit of a tumble."

Leo's eyeridges rose, the corners of his mouth turned down in suspicion.

"Really. I was, uh, climbing on this pile, and misjudged how much weight it could take. Slid right off and onto a pile of cinderblocks."

Michelangelo blinked, and reminded himself to close his mouth. "Dude, what'd you do? Rub your face in them?"

Donatello grimaced, rubbing his fingers over his scalp in embarrassment. "No, it was just… a pretty bad fall."

Mikey narrowed his eyes, because something still wasn't right. He could see the strain in his brother's smile. He wasn't even touching the bruises though they probably hurt like hell. Donnie was lying. Why and what he was hiding escaped him; he still didn't have all the pieces.

Leo's hand landed on Donnie's shoulder, full-blown worried big brother mode activated. "Are you okay?"

The purple mask bobbed up and down. "I told you, I'll be fine."

Two fingers brushed the unbruised side of Donnie's snout, and the brown eyes framed in the blue mask softened.

Mikey dropped his gaze and turned around; knowing your brothers were doing the nasty was one thing, having it shoved out into plain sight still made him squirm uncomfortably.

Leonardo's next words, and the tone he spoke in, belied that small intimate gesture. "Go take a shower, you're filthy. And bring the first aid kit out here when you're done. I don't want you to get an infection."

Donatello murmured an affirmative, and headed for the stairs. As he turned, Michelangelo caught a glimpse of a large bruise between his shell and plastron. Shell, that had to have been some tumble, that was a hard area to hurt in a fall.

Angel hadn't turned around, and she called out before Donatello disappeared into the bathroom. "Hey, how about a movie? I haven't hung with all of you in a while."

Donatello looked back with a surprised expression that turned into smiled at Angel. "Well, looks like I'll be out here for a little while anyways."

Michelangelo grinned. Movie night sounded like a great idea. "Now all we need is Raph and the family would be complete."

Leonardo nodded. "That sounds like a great idea," he said, echoing Mikey's own thoughts. "Speaking of which. Donnie, was Raph still here when you left?"

Donatello stiffened. "Ah, no. He'd left already."

"And did he happen to mention where he was going?"

"No…" The next eldest brother paused. "He, ah, might not be back tonight though…"

Michelangelo stared at Donatello, the picture clicking beginning to fall in place like Tetris.

Scowl on his face, Leonardo crossed his arms back over his plastron. "What makes you say that, Don?"

The hesitation was not obvious to the casual observer, but Michelangelo had been reading his brothers since they were toddlers. Donatello hesitated before answering. "He was upset."

Finally everything clicked together, one solid picture. "Raph did that," Mikey breathed.

Leonardo's eyes snapped toward him. His piercing gaze slid back over to the other turtle, and he waited, glowering.

Donatello looked decidedly uncomfortable, his weight shifted from one leg to the other. When he did speak it was slow, hesitant; as though Mr. Brainiac had to find all the words. "We had a bit of a fight." Then he sped up, eyes wide and hands held out before him. "It was my fault. I was running my mouth and said some stupid things." His gaze dropped to the floor.

The scowl didn't leave Leonardo's face, if anything he tensed up even more, his body fairly vibrating with pent-up anger. "Why did you lie about it?"

Angel spoke up suddenly, surprising the three of them. "Yeah, it's not like you guys aren't used to Raph completely going apeshit on you , why cover it up?" She blinked when Leo frowned at her. "What?"

Donatello shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but either of his brothers.

A grin slowly grew across Mikey's face. "It's okay Donnie. Promise not to tell Master Splinter that Raph completely whipped your ass. Especially if he's got some bruises to show for it. Come on, you getting in a fight with the Raph-meister? I'm totally not telling."

Guilt flashed across his face, but Donnie managed something that might have resembled a smile. "I am kinda embarrassed that I really didn't leave much of a mark on him."

Face met palm with a soft smack. "Dude, seriously? At least one, please! Otherwise I'm totally telling Sensei."

"Mikey!" Leonardo snapped. "That's enough."

Leo didn't have to say anymore, Mikey got the hint. Too soon yet to really joke about. The wound from their Father's death fresh and deeper than anything they'd ever had physically inflicted. Mikey knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"Don, why didn't you tell the truth? Why did you lie?"

Donatello met Leonardo's eyes, and he spoke with more surety than he had since he came home. Like he'd practiced the words in front of a mirror. "Because I didn't want Raph to get in trouble even though I'm the one who instigated the fight."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You say that you didn't leave so much as a mark on you, but you get the blame for fighting?"

"I know better than to tick off Raph when he's in his moods."

The brown eyes narrowed. "Are you asking for his punishment?"

"Yes.Don't touch him on this' Leo."

"All right, fine then." He took a Breath (much like the Look, it heralded something you were sure to hate). "You are restricted to the lair. Patrol and training, the junkyard for parts, and that's it. No visiting April, or your friends on Garbage Island, or Leatherhead. "

Donatello nodded once, matching Leonardo's glare with a defiant stare, and finally left to shower.

Leonardo sighed and glanced toward Angel. "Movie night still on? Let me know when it's ready to start. I'll be in the dojo." He grabbed up a cloth from the shelf just outside the door.

Michelangelo couldn't help the grin on his face. It served to ease the tension in his shoulders. "Gonna go polish your sword now?"

Leonardo paused and then without any warning tossed the cloth at his youngest brother.

Mikey yelped, and tried to dodge, but it still fluttered over his face. He yanked it off and threw it to the floor. "Oh, ew! Now I got Leo cooties all over my face!" He swiped at his snout to clean it off.

Angel snorted as she put the controllers away. "What are you? Twelve."

Leonardo came over and snatched up his cloth, eyes glinting in mirth, though he didn't say anything and his expression never changed..

Arms akimbo, Michelangelo shot his girlfriend an offended pout. "Oh please. My brothers always tell me I'm eight, not twelve."

Leonardo smiled. "Maybe we could graduate you to ten, just for Angel's benefit. It's a little less creepy for her to be dating a ten year old, than an eight year old. Don't you think?"

"Woohoo! Does that mean I get to have two supreme birthday parties to make up for all those years when I was still eight?"

Leonardo waved the cloth at his brother. "Yup sure. Don't forget though, you're only ten. So you have a strict bedtime, and no movies other than G-rated stuff—maybe PG if we preview it first, you have to eat your vegetables to get your dessert..."

Mikey interrupted his brother before he could go on (and boy could he go on). "Whoa whoa whoa! All right, how about I go back to being twenty?"

Leonardo tilted his head, mouth tpursed thoughtfully. He finally nodded once. "I suppose that would be agreeable. I wouldn't have minded, but I doubt the other two would want to stay at home and babysit you."

Angel giggled, and Leonardo grinned. He turned then and headed for the dojo, leaving Michelangelo and Angel alone at last.

Angel watched Leonardo close the door, then she turned to Mikey. "Wonder what Donnie said to get Raph so mad..."

Mikey caressed her purple hair, and tugged her closer. "Nowadays? Coulda been anything."

She let him, and returned his caress with one of her own. Fingers brushed lightly over his snout, before she kissed him.

He loved her hands on his face; he didn't know why. It tingled him all the way down to his toes, which he wiggled in delight. He kissed her back, arms wrapped around her waist.

She broke off first, suddenly shy, fingers touching her lips. God, it made him hot for her. "I'm gonna get some drinks ready. You wouldn't happen to know where Raph's beer is, would you?"

Annnd good feeling gone. "Even if I did, I'm totally not telling you."

Angel grinned. "I thought Raph didn't scare you, Mikey."

Michelangelo snorted. "He doesn't, but have you seen the way Casey wields those sticks of his. Scares the shit out of me." He paused as a thought occurred to him. "Man, we need to make popcorn!" He caught up with Angel and took the opportunity to grope her butt, just to hear her squeal.