Adventures In Leo-Sitting *On Hiatus*

The First Step To Older Brotherhood

A/N: It's short, but I wanted something to move the story along! Thank you all so much for your patience and dedication, and welcome to all new viewers! Things are about to get interesting ;)

It occurred to Mikey that Donnie had a point about trash-talking before a match when the two-against-one spar began and he was Raph's first target. His older brother was tenser than usual, and that made his blows more brutal, but Mikey kept his eye on the prize, aka the ability to gloat over their win until the next two-on-one spar, and evaded with his professional ninja skill.

Donnie tried to attack from behind while Mikey held his attention, but the current eldest saw it coming, and roundhouse kicked him back, spinning in time to knock away the genius's bo. Mikey glanced at Leo as he got to his feet and saw that he was watching the fight with an intensity that they had yet to see on the young face.

It reminded him that deep down the small turt was still their ninja-butt-kicking leader, and he turned back to the fight when Donnie called his name. His immediate older brother was attempting to hold the weapon's lock, but Raph's brute strength was pushing him back.

Reminding himself to keep his head in the game as he was sure one of his brothers would have if they weren't small or busy, he dived back into the fight to get the pressure off his brainy brother.

Raph dodged his nunchucks and then tried to sweep the leg, but Mikey flipped back, allowing Donnie to take his place.

His teammate spun his staff and then swung, but Raph swerved out of the way and then snatched the bo from his hands, using it to whack the startled turtle past Mikey and into the tree. When he dizzily fell onto his knees, there was a brief pause as they waited to make sure he was okay, but he used it to do the exact opposite of their usual quiet reassurances for the spar to continue.

It was safe to say that not one of them expected him to jump back to his feet like his shell was on fire, shout "BY DARWIN, THAT'S IT!" and then run out of the dojo without looking back.

Mikey glanced over at Splinter and saw that he was simply staring after Donnie with a hidden smile that said he was unsurprised by the turn of events. He was secretly relieved when their sensei called off the rest of the spar and then turned to make his way back to the shoji door.

Raph grumbled about the fact that there was no loser in an unfinished match as he left the dojo, probably intending to return the bo that he still held.

Mikey immediately headed towards Leo as he picked up the collected comics from the floor. Now that training was over, and the interested gleam had faded from his eyes, Mikey could see that he appeared bummed again, watching as their father disappeared from sight.

The jokester expertly hide his concern as he stopped in front of him and grinned proudly. "How'd I do, bro?"

Leo shrugged. "Okay."

Mikey hated how soft his voice was, and he couldn't stop the frown that formed. "Leo?"

His current youngest brother wouldn't look him in the eyes as he hugged the comic to his chest and walked past, heading out of the dojo and down the stairs. Mikey wasted no time in hurrying after him and flipping in his path, crouching down to look him in the eye.

Leo stubbornly stared at the floor, and Mikey gently insisted, "Hey, don't do that. Look at me."

His current younger brother looked up with watery eyes, and Mikey's heart positively broke as he reached out to take his hand. "What's wrong, lil' bro?"