TMNT-2012 (An au of Little Mikey, where Leo is a little instead of Mikey!)
After becoming stressed out due to all of his responsibilities as leader, Leo decides to become a little to help him relax and de-stress. He keeps it a secret from his family...
A/N: Hello Cheesecicles! This was suggested by my awesome little sis mandylaren23! This is similar to Little Mikey, only it's Leo who is a little instead of Mikey! I really hope you enjoy!
Littlespace: A younger mindset someone goes into to de-stress or lower anxiety. Basically, Age regression. Leo's littlespace and varies. He will be in a 3-year-old mindset in this book!
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Leo sat in his room wearing a blue bunny onesie. He had a bottle of milk at his side, Space Heroes toys, plushies and other things with him, including a large Space Heroes blanket.
Leo was a little. He'd become stressed and a little anxious due to everything that's happened, and from the pressure of being leader. He'd been doing this for a few weeks now.
The young turtle was sucking on a blue pacifier, the one he'd used to use as a turtle tot. Luckily, Leo still had all of his baby things that he'd found in storage, so he didn't have to get more.
Leo wasn't planning on telling anyone. Raph would tease him, Donnie would be confused and Mikey...well, maybe Mikey wouldn't mind. And Splinter? Leo knew his father wouldn't understand.
He could almost hear them now...
You? The fearless leader? A little?! Ha!
You're a little?! You can't act like a kid, we're 16! You're such a freak!
A little?! Wow, and I thought I was the youngest! You're so weak Leo! Such a big baby! You can't act like that, you're the oldest, dude!
I will never accept you Leonardo! No one of mine will be a little! You are the leader, act like it!
Leo whimpered as he imagined his family saying those things. Tears came into his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. He couldn't let them find out. He just couldn't.
Leo watched his old Space Heroes DVDs, snuggling against his onesie and blanket. He was holding a lion plushie in his arms as he sucked on his pacifier. Leo was very content.
He was so peaceful that he didn't hear the door crack open. He'd forgotten to lock it. "Hey Leo, can you-" Mikey froze in the doorway, looking at his older brother in complete shock.
Leo's deep blue eyes widened as he spat out the pacifier, blushing a deep shade of red out of embarrassment. Tests pooled in his eyes as Mikey finally snapped out of his shock.
"Gah, sorry, sorry!" Mikey closed the door, running out of the room, trying to process what he'd seen. Why was Leo sucking on a pacifier and sitting on the floor playing with old toys?
"Mikey?" Raph walked by and saw the surprised look on his little brother's face. "Ya okay? Ya look like ya just saw a ghost or somethin'." He asked as Mikey broke from his thoughts.
"Uh, bro I need to talk to you, Donnie and dad about something!" Mikey said quickly as Raph raised an eyebrow. "Master Splinta's scavenging for food, but Don's in his lab what's up?"
"I'll explain when we get to the lab, dude." Mikey said as Raph nodded in confusion, walking with Mikey to the lab. "Wait, what about Leo?" Raph asked. "It's him I want to talk to you about..." Mikey replied immediately.
Raph was still confused. Obviously, Mikey had found out something, but what? They entered the lab. "What's going on?" Donnie asked. "Mike wants to talk to us 'bout somethin." Raph said as Donnie looked at Mikey.
Mikey took a deep breath. "I saw Leo sitting in his room watching Space Heroes, hugging a stuffed lion, playing with toys and he had a bottle of milk...he was sucking on a pacifier too." The youngest turtle explained.
The brothers blinked in confusion. "Huh?" Donnie was speechless for the first time in forever. "Why would he do that? He likes actin' like a baby?" Raph asked.
Donnie hummed. "Actually, I've heard about this...it's fairly common, it's called littlespace or age regression." Mikey blinked in confusion. "What's that?" Raph looked confused as well.
"It's when someone de-ages to help themselves feel less stressed or anxious...they act younger than their age, it helps them feel more content, calm and is sort of therapeutic."
Raph and Mikey nodded, understanding. "So, it helps him relax?" Raph asked as Donnie nodded. "Yes, he probably uses littlespace to de-stress, lower anxiety or both."
"Huh, that's why he looked so embarrassed, he probably didn't want us to find out." Mikey said, feeling a bit back for Leo. "We should go talk to him, let him know we're okay with this." Raph decided as they agreed.
The three younger brothers headed to Leo's room. Leo sat with his head I hid hands, blushing bright red still. He couldn't believe he'd gotten caught. The leader mentally slapped himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He thought.
Who ever heard of a little leader? Leo was the oldest, he couldn't be a little...what was he thinking? Tears pooled in Leo's eyes and dripped down his his plasteron. He knew Mikey had probably told them all.
Suddenly, the door opened. Leo yelped in surprise, backing away a little. He was preparing himself for taunting. He saw his brothers walk in. "Leo?" Raph spoke a little gently.
Leo looked up. "Y-You guys aren't going to laugh...?" The brothers exchanged glances and shook their heads. "Of course not bro, why would we laugh?" Mikey asked with a tilt of his head. Leo sat up a little bit.
"I'm a little, I should have be...I'm the oldest, I'm the leader, I shouldn't be a little..." Leo whispered despondently, looking away a little as he blushed again in embarrassment.
Suddenly, he was being hugged by all three of his younger brothers. "It's okay Leo, we don't mind..." Donnie said softly, rubbing Leo's head.
Leo's eyes widened. "You don't...?" They shook their heads. "Of course not fearless, you're our brother, we don't care if you're a little..." Raph said with a small smile as Leo grinned.
Mikey cuddled against Leo. "Yeah bro, we love you no matter what and we want you to be happy!" Leo smiled a little as Donnie looked at him.
"Did you do it because of stress?" He asked as Leo nodded. "Yeah, from anxiety and stress because of everything we've been through, and from stress of being leader."
The others frowned and hugged him. "And this helps you relax?" Raph asked as Leo nodded, smiling a little. They hugged Leo again who hugged back with a happy churring sound.
"Thanks anis, I love you..." Leo smiled, his eyes shining. They smiled back. "We love you too, Leo!" They churred softly as well, smiling at each other.
Leo then sat up. "Where's father?" He asked. "Out scavenging, he'll be back soon." Raph replied. Leo gulped. "Think he'll understand...?" He was nervous about telling Splinter.
"I'm sure he'll understand dude, he's our dad and he loves us no matter what..." Mikey smiled reassuringly as they hugged Leo who calmed down a bit. He hoped his little brother was right, that Splinter would understand.
Right then, the door opened...
To be continued...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: Hey cheesecicles! I really hope you enjoy the sweet chapter! Aww, Leo is so cute! Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, I hope you like the new book! Thanks, little sis mandylaren23, you're awesome!
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