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Mikey is a lot of things. He’s definitely the most handsome turtle of the four of them, best sense of humor, most likely to brighten up a room with his smile, etcetera, etcetera. He has to admit, though, he isn’t the smartest. Definitely smarter than Raph, but he supposes Donnie is a genius or whatever, and that’s a little hard to beat.
Usually, he’d say Leo’s pretty smart, too, but there’s an exception to that and it’s suspiciously rabbit-shaped.
The others don’t quite get it, but Mikey has literally never seen that soft look on Leo’s face. Ever. Not even when he’d try his most deadly puppy-dog eyes when he was trying to get Leo to do something for him, the likes of which even Master Splinter caves to.
Or that fond look in Leo’s eyes when Usagi is just standing somewhere in the room, talking to someone else. It’s embarrassing, and the only reason Mikey hasn’t pointed it out yet is because, well.
Unfortunately, Mikey also isn’t the most articulate turtle out there. It’s just vibes, man. Leo is head over goddamn heels for Usagi, and, despite the fact Mikey usually likes meddling in everyone’s personal affairs, he decided to sit this one out.
This is a thing they have to work out themselves. You can’t force romance.
Normally.
See, if it were still a few months after “Merry Swords-mas,” Mikey wouldn’t have entertained the idea of crossing that line just this once. They were now a little over two and a half years since that, and not only has Leo become more aggravating (respectfully), but Usagi is being dumb, too!
Mikey’s third eye is not wrong about this.
He’d call it a gaydar, but he doesn’t get out much. Sewers, and all.
He can almost hear it now.
“Usagi and I are just- just friends!” the Leo in his head stammers out, blushing at the mention of Usagi. “Besides, he doesn’t have time for. That.”
That, he says. Ugh, Mikey would slap him silly if Mind Leo was real. Fortunately, there is a very real Leo who said the same thing a few weeks ago just a few dozen blocks away.
Mikey didn’t slap him that time, but he did have to stifle a laugh.
Oh, speaking of stifling laughs, he’s going to have to do that again in just a few seconds. He hears footsteps.
They stop, probably not far from where he’s hiding, and Mikey imagines they should be just by the lightswitch.
“Michelangelo,” April sternly calls out. “I told you the store isn’t closed yet!”
“Come on, I really need to get something off my chest!” Mikey cries in faux indignation.
He hears April sigh and the lights flick on, and she, presumably, looks around the room. Wrong room, though. She’s checking the living room, and Mikey is just sitting on the kitchen counter.
“April!” Mikey sings.
She turns around, and her face drops into annoyance. There’s a hint of fondness to it, but April’s resting bitch face is a powerful thing. “Get off of there.”
He giggles under his breath as he hops down, then jogs over and hugs April.
“Hi, Mikey,” April hugs back.
It’s a short one by Mikey’s standards, since he really is here on business. “Okay, you know Leo and Usagi, yeah? Merry Swords-mas?”
April snorts. “Hard to forget. You won’t stop bringing it up.”
“Exactly,” Mikey snaps his fingers. “And y’know how Leo went on that big, soul-searchy journey thing a while back?”
“Yeah..?”
“He still hasn’t talked to Usagi since he got back!” Mikey exclaims, throwing his hands up.
“What? Really?” April gasps.
“I know!”
“He’s not even writing letters?”
“No!! That’s the part that confuses me!” Mikey starts pacing around April’s living room. “He’s definitely started a few!”
“How many?” April cautiously asks.
“You don’t wanna know, man,” Mikey shudders at the memory of all the crumpled up papers he saw on Leo’s desk a few days ago.
April thinks about this information for a few seconds. “Okay, he needs an intervention.”
“That’s what I’m saying! Even Casey wasn’t this embarrassing!”
“You think so?”
“Fair. Anyway, what do we do?” Mikey is desperate here.
“Well, Splinter knows how to send letters, we could send a secret invite?” April says.
“Yeah! Then Leo has to talk to him!” Mikey likes the sound of that. “Though, uh, what if Leo hides?”
“Why would he hide?” April asks.
“I dunno, he, uh,” Mikey mulls over his next words. “He’s been doing better, but he’s not, like, cured.”
“I take it he hasn’t talked about Japan much, either?”
“Correct!”
April hums to herself, then checks her watch. “Okay, I should really get back to the shop, but try just talking to Leo.”
“Yeah…”
“You know I like gossipping, but maybe Leo’s love life should concern him more than me,” April teases.
“Can’t argue with that,” Mikey shrugs. “See ya!”
“Tell everyone I said hi!”
Mikey jumps out the window he’d come through, making sure he remembers to shut it this time.
He has some planning to do now. He does like the secret invitation, but maybe he’ll have to take the secret part out. Leo really has been doing a lot better since his trip to Japan, but if those letters were what Mikey thinks they are…
Well, he’d prefer to not stress his brother out any more.
Talking to Leo, though…
Obviously, he’s tried it, but Leo either hardcore deflects or changes the subject. Both of which are honestly more damning than if he’d just answered the question, but Mikey digresses.
In any case, he’s got two options: surprise Usagi visit or planned Usagi visit.
Surprise might backfire and Leo will make something up and hide. Mikey doesn’t know Usagi half as well as he knows Leo, but he can see Usagi going to find Leo. Last time they all met, Mikey could tell there were definitely some reciprocated feelings. Usagi’s a pretty straight-forward guy, too, so… maybe?
On the flip side, planning this might backfire. Leo would get super stressed and try to make everything perfect, and then he’d get into a mood, and then it’d get awkward and be a whole thing.
Much to think about.
Currently, he’s thinking he should start with planting the idea in Leo’s head, just to see how he reacts. After that? It’ll work itself out, probably. Planning ahead is for Donnie and Leo, Mikey prefers to wait and see.
One short, uneventful trip back home later, and Mikey heads straight to Raph’s room.
“Hey, Grandma!” He dramatically flops down into Raph’s hammock. Raph momentarily stops knitting whatever it is he’s making to glare at Mikey.
“How many times do I gotta tell ya to knock first, knucklehead?” Raph pointedly goes back to his knitting.
And yet, he still doesn’t kick Mikey out. Curious, that one. “Dude, I think we gotta stage an intervention for Leo.”
That gets Raph’s full attention. Probably because Mikey forgot to lead with the important part. “...Why?”
“Cuz Usagi! Leo hasn’t talked to him like, at all since Japan!”
“Ain’t you the one who’s always saying to let him figure his crush out?” Raph asks.
“Yeah, but have you seen how Leo acts around Usagi?” Mikey answers back.
“Hard not to. It’s disgusting,” Raph fake-gags.
“Exactly. They’re adorable,” Mikey says, and shit, wait. “Wait, is Leo home?”
Leo’s room is right next to Raph’s, it would be awkward if he overheard this. Raph points behind him with a needle. “Meditatin’ with Master Splinter.”
Eh, that’s far enough away. “Okay, anyways. April says we should have a surprise party.”
“That ain’t gonna work.”
“What, why?” not that Mikey entirely disagrees here, but Raph seems pretty sure of that.
“Cuz you’re a damn blabbermouth,” Raph snarks.
“I can keep a secret!”
Raph judgmentally stares at him.
“I can!”
“No.”
“Fine! What do you think?” Mikey crosses his arms, pouting.
Raph shrugs. “I dunno.”
“Wow, thanks, Raph,” Mikey jokes.
“Hey, parties ain’t my thing,” Raph says. “Why d’you care, anyway?”
“Cuz like, well…” Mikey makes a few vague hand gestures. “I dunno, you know Leo.”
Raph grunts in affirmation.
“Usagi makes him happy, y’know?” Mikey admits. “And Usagi’s totally got a thing for Leo, too.”
“You think so?” Raph seems invested now.
“Yeah, you remember when Leo was still in his Batman era and we dragged Usagi and Gen around New York?”
“That wasn’t that long ago.”
“Usagi kept looking at Leo,” Mikey realizes that doesn’t sound like anything notable when Raph gives him a confused glare. “Like, a lot.”
“Have you been watching Splinter’s soaps again?”
“A little, but anyway!” That was a while ago, so the details are a bit hazy, but Mikey remembers enough. “Usagi had this dopey look on his face every time, and-”
“Wait, ‘dopey?’” Raph interrupts. That’s fair, Usagi’s “dopey” face was way more dignified than what would normally constitute as a dopey look.
“Okay, not dopey, but like, the same look that Leo gives him when he thinks no one is looking,” Mikey explains.
“Still not following.”
“Dude, Casey and April,” Mikey tries.
“Oh, that look,” Raph says.
“Also the swords.”
Raph snickers at the mention.
“Anyway, we gotta do something or else I’m gonna scream!” Mikey throws his hands up. The hammock jostles threateningly, and he yanks his hands to his sides in case he falls. He doesn’t.
“Dumbass.”
“We have to do something!”
“Yeah, heard ya the first time,” Raph grumbles. “And we can’t just, I dunno, sit this one out?”
“I’ve been waiting for something to happen for like, two years, dude,” Mikey flatly says.
“Woah, can you start being patient about other shit?”
“Maybe when you start answering my questions!” Mikey pouts.
“I’m thinking!”
“Think faster!”
“I’m holding needles, Mike,” Raph threatens, holding them up for effect.
Mikey sticks his tongue out at him.
They think about what to do for a few, agonizingly long seconds.
“Y’know what? I’m just gonna get Dad to go invite Usagi over,” Mikey rolls out of the hammock.
“Uh, him and Leo are still meditating?” Raph reminds him.
“Oh, yeah,” Mikey hums to himself for a moment. “Think they’ll be done soon?”
As if on cue, Leo appears in the doorway, asking, “Done with what?” Dammit, he has got to stop walking so quietly.
“Uh!”
“Mike here is just uh, watching Splinter’s soaps!” Raph deflects. “He was gonna ask Splinter if the next episode was out!”
“Yeah! Is the Duchess gonna propose to her true love? I gotta know!” Mikey exclaims.
Leo gives them both a confused look. “Um, well, I just finished meditating with Master Splinter, so he’s probably making tea now if you want to-”
“Yes! I’m gonna go bye!” Mikey rushes out of Raph’s room.
He speedwalks down to the kitchen where Splinter is, indeed, making tea.
Before Splinter can even properly greet Mikey, he’s already talking. “You know that portal-y postal delivery service thingie, yeah?”
“Ah, yes,” Splinter slowly confirms. “What might you need it for?”
Mikey slides closer and whispers, since Leo’s up and about now. “You gotta get Usagi over here.”
Splinter chuckles under his breath, “Your brother was just talking about him.”
“So you know how dire it is?” Mikey jokes, mostly.
“Quite so, Leonardo is, to put it bluntly, hm…” Splinter idly looks at his teapot. The water isn’t boiling yet.
“Dense. Like, denser than a big stack of bricks dense,” Mikey finishes.
Splinter hums to himself. “Yes.”
“You gotta invite Usagi over, Pops, I dunno if I can handle the sound of Leo crumpling up another letter,” Mikey pleads. God, so much paper… and he thinks he’s being sneaky about it.
“I take it you do not want Leonardo to know of this?”
Shit, Mikey still hasn’t actually decided how he feels about that one yet. “Uhh, nah. I guess not.”
“After my tea, I shall send a letter.”
“Cool, great!”
The teapot starts whistling, and Splinter grabs two mugs, holding one out to Mikey. “Would you like some tea, my son?”
“Eh, what the hell, why not?”
“Language.”
“Oops.”
Mikey takes a seat with Splinter, and they actually do end up talking about soap operas. The whole Duchess story wasn’t a real show, but Mikey really has been watching them again. They’re not good, but they are very entertaining, which is basically the same thing.
Tea time lasts longer than expected, which, ironically, isn’t actually that surprising. Splinter promises to send out a letter to Usagi once he’s back in his room, and now Mikey is left with the agonizing task of waiting to see what happens.
Is Leo gonna propose to his true love? Hah, if only real life were so simple. Also, Mikey’s pretty sure gay marriage isn’t legal yet.
He’s heard Casey rant about that before, and if Casey’s actually angry about something, then Mikey’s angry.
Granted, it’s not like most human laws really apply to mutants, let alone bunnies from alternate dimensions. And anyway, it’d be too soon to get married. They have to sort out their feelings first.
Obviously, Mikey is going to eavesdrop on that conversation. He has a feeling Leo might wait a bit to tell them, and Mikey just can’t wait that long.
Unfortunately, it’s barely passed noon, so it’s too early for Mikey to just sleep and skip over to the good parts. He decides he’ll pass the time with some good old TV.
Not the soaps, though, those will just make him think about love and romance, which would be a little counterproductive right now.
That just leaves him with the herculean task of figuring out what else he wants to watch.
He ends up channel surfing for a good hour or so. There’s never anything good on when he’s actively trying to be distracted.
Luckily, or unluckily, because this is a surprise even for him, a green portal manifests in the middle of the lair. At this point, Mikey is a betting man.
Normally, he’s not one because everyone banned him from gambling, but right now? He’s raking in a lot of money because lo and behold, Usagi steps through it. It’s equal parts amusing and terrifying that he’s here already.
He looks like he’s panting slightly, tightly holding an oddly familiar letter in his left hand. Usagi composes himself, probably thinking no one has seen him yet. Mikey decides he’ll let him have this.
On that note, this confirms all of Mikey’s suspicions. There’s only one reason someone would immediately hop dimensions as soon as he gets a letter; big, gooey, sappy crush.
Doofus.
Mikey wipes the initial panic off his face, then jumps off the couch like he just noticed Usagi as opposed to seeing everything. “Usagi!”
He runs over to Usagi, stopping just short of barreling into him. Usagi isn’t the most huggy person out there.
The first thing he notices, aside from Usagi startling at his approach, is just how tightly he’s gripping that letter. Mikey takes this as an opportunity to start probing. “That letter do something to ya?”
Usagi looks down at it like it’s the first time he’s seen it. “Splinter-san invited me.”
D’aww, he does such a good job of sounding composed it’s almost convincing. “I’ll go grab him!”
He runs to Raph’s room again, not bothering to knock.
Klunk is laying in the hammock now. Mikey was wondering where the little guy had gone off to.
“Raph, emergency!” Mikey whisper-shouts.
“I’m not helping you clean up the kitchen again,” Raph doesn’t even look up from his current project. It looks like a scarf, but it doesn’t look like it’s people sized.
“What? It’s not that, Usagi is here!” Mikey frantically explains.
Raph’s eyes jerk upwards, a shocked expression on his face. “I thought you were still thinking about that!”
“I was! I told Pops and then he sent a letter and then I started watching TV and now Usagi is here and I’m freaking out, man!”
“Does Splinter know he’s here already?”
“Probably not!”
“Go get him! I’ll go find Lover-boy!” Raph gingerly sets his needles down and leaps out of his chair.
They run off in opposite directions, and Mikey soon skids to a halt outside of Splinter’s room. He knocks on the door, then opens it before his father says anything.
“Master Splinter!” Mikey realizes he probably looks terrified as his dad gives him a look of concern.
“Michelangelo, are you alright?”
“Yeah! Yeah, just, Usagi is here! Already!”
It takes a second for that to sink in, and Splinter softly chuckles. “I expected this might happen.”
Well, Mikey sure as hell didn’t. “Really!?”
“Yes, do not worry, my son. I believe Leonardo and Usagi will be just fine,” Splinter calmly reassures. There’s a small smile on his face as he heads out the door, patting Mikey’s arm.
Mikey is feeling a little dumbstruck, though. He absently follows Splinter, mind unsure of whether it still wants to panic or be optimistic.
The optimism wins out, as usual, being almost immediately rewarded as the two reach the living room. In the middle of the room, Leo is standing very close to Usagi, both of them have stupid grins on their faces, just looking at each other.
It’s contagious, honestly. Mikey feels a smile of his own growing bigger on his face. He has half a mind to start clapping and cheering, but resists it in favor of letting the two have this.
Donnie must’ve noticed the silence at some point, because he pokes his head out of his lab. He notices the town idiots in the middle of the room, and, with a blank look on his face, walks over to Raph. The two start whispering to each other and snickering.
Beside Mikey, Splinter softly chuckles, waiting a few more seconds before lightly tapping his cane against the ground to get Usagi and Leo’s attention.
Usagi jerks upright and Leo lets out a surprised yelp, blushing a deep, dark green. He clears his throat and fumbles around with his fingers. Usagi, on the other hand, seems to find the floors and walls very interesting right now.
Splinter seems to find great amusement in this, and Mikey realizes this must be where he got his sense of humor from. Splinter looks between the two dweebs and says, “Would you two like some privacy?”
Mikey snorts at that. Splinter pointedly side-eyes him, but it’s not his fault that sounded like an innuendo.
Leo and Usagi stiffly nod. “Let’s, uh, go to my room, Usagi.”
Usagi silently agrees and they awkwardly scurry off.
“Privacy means letting them be, Michelangelo,” Splinter says, for some reason.
“I know!” he pouts.
Mikey ends up huddled close to Leo’s door a few minutes later. Can you really blame a guy? It’s not like he can imagine he’ll hear anything he won’t be able to un-hear.
That’s Leo in there, for crying out loud. For as much as Mikey likes hyping up Leo’s crush, there’s definitely something… different about it. Not in a bad way, just a little different.
Or maybe there isn’t and Mikey is just reading too much into it. He’ll find out, eventually.
It takes a bit of strain to make out what the conversation is, but Mikey can just barely hear them.
At least, he would be able to, if anyone was talking.
…Wait, does that mean..?
“Uh, it’s nice to see you again, Usagi,” Leo stammers out. It’s a bit muffled through the door, but it’s unmistakably Leo sounding nervous but not wanting to come across that way.
“It has been too long,” Usagi says, a hint of fondness to his voice.
“Yeah.”
It’s quiet for a few seconds.
“What brings you here?” Leo asks.
“Splinter-san invited me over recently,” Usagi answers, apparently leaving out the part where that happened barely two hours ago.
“Oh, really?” Leo sounds surprised.
“Were you not aware I was coming?” and Usagi sounds a little amused, if anything.
“No?”
“How odd,” Usagi chuckles.
“Sorry,” Leo awkwardly says. “I would’ve cleaned my room if I knew.”
Yeah, like he doesn’t already keep it spotless. “I’ve not seen a room this clean since I last visited Lord Noriyuki,” see, Usagi gets it.
“Oh,” Leo hums. “How, uh, how have you been?”
“I’ve been well, but I should think your life is more interesting right now.”
This is why Mikey likes Usagi. He just gets to the point. It sounds like this takes Leo off guard, though, as it takes him a second to respond. “Well, it’s getting better.”
“That’s good to hear,” Usagi says. There’s a brief pause. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Why?”
“Last we met, you seemed-” Usagi stops. “You were so…”
“Angry,” Leo solemnly finishes.
“I recognized that anger, even felt it before.”
“Yeah…” Leo stays quiet another moment. “Listen, I want to apologize for how I acted. It wasn’t-”
“There’s no need,” Usagi interrupts, not unkindly.
“But-”
“Leonardo,” Usagi softly stops him. “I understand, I really do.”
“It still doesn’t excuse how I acted,” Leo tries.
“Perhaps, but it’s in the past. We cannot hold onto past mistakes forever.”
Leo sighs. “So I’ve been told.”
“It is easier said than done,” Usagi agrees.
It becomes quiet again, and Mikey can hear some shuffling around behind the door. There’s the telltale sound of a shell clunking against a wall, followed by bed springs. They probably both sat down on Leo’s bed.
“It’s stupid, looking back on it,” Leo says.
“How so?”
“I just got so... wrapped up in my head, for so long. I thought I was fine, but now I’m realizing I did it again.”
“Did what?” Usagi prompts.
“Getting all wrapped up in my head,” Leo explains. “I meant to uh, write to you sooner.”
Usagi doesn’t say anything.
“I kept starting letters, and scrapping them, then starting new ones,” Leo admits. “And now you’re here, and you’re not even upset.”
“Why would I be?” Usagi asks.
“I dunno,” Leo says.
“I must admit, I should have come by sooner,” Usagi says. “You were struggling, and I could have done more.”
“No, I think I had to figure that out myself,” Leo argues. “I’m glad you tried at all.”
“Still, I was not of any help.”
“Hey, you said not to hold onto past mistakes,” Leo teases.
“Ah, using my words against me?”
Leo giggles. “Besides, I’m glad you’re here now.”
That seems to catch both of them off guard, as neither speaks for a moment. “What are friends for?” Usagi says, eventually.
“Yeah!” Leo squeaks. “Friends.”
There’s a hint of disappointment to Leo’s voice, and if Mikey caught it, then it’s not a surprise that Usagi did, too. “Is something the matter?”
“No! Nothing,” Leo obviously lies.
Mikey is positive that Usagi is giving Leo some kind of scrutinizing look.
“Seriously, it’s nothing.”
Probably a raised eyebrow.
“Usagi,” Leo whines.
“Leonardo.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re blushing quite a lot,” Usagi says, sounding just a little apprehensive.
Leo groans, and probably buries his face in his hands. Mikey knows he’d be doing that in this situation, too.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Usagi backtracks. “My apologies for putting you on the spot.”
“No! It’s just…” Leo starts. Mikey hears the bed squeak under some small movements. “It’s about. This.”
“And… by ‘this’ you mean?” Usagi prompts.
Leo doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Us.”
It’s Usagi’s turn to be silent after that. Mikey starts to wonder if eavesdropping was really a good idea.
“Sorry, it’s just, when I’m around you…” Leo trails off. “It’s dumb.”
“No, go on,” Usagi says, impossibly soft for someone who normally looks so intimidating.
“Okay,” Leo takes a deep breath in, and out. “I feel like- with you…”
Leo trails off again, likely trying to find the right words. Usagi is patient, as always.
“I feel like I want to be closer,” Leo mumbles, the words just barely intelligible through the door. “I just want you to be there.”
“I can visit more often, you need only ask,” Usagi says. Kind of missing the point, in Mikey’s opinion.
“Not just visiting, I want to be by your side, always,” Leo corrects. “In your world, too.”
“Leonardo…”
Leo hesitates before continuing. “I never… I never stopped thinking about you. Even when I wasn’t really…myself. And these last couple of months, I tried to write so many letters.”
There’s a wry laugh in Leo’s voice, covered slightly by his nervousness.
“They’re actually underneath my bed,” Leo says. “And I wanted to see you so bad, but I thought I had made you hate me.”
“I could never,” Usagi says, and Mikey can almost hear the smile in his voice.
Another beat of silence. Mikey hears the rustling of sheets.
“Leonardo, you should know that I, ah…” Usagi starts. “You’re wonderful.”
“You are, too,” Leo says back, sheepishly.
“But…” oh god. “You can’t… Be with me.”
It sounds pained, like Usagi is forcing the words out.
“My life is dangerous. I don’t want to involve you,” Usagi says, slowly.
Mikey really wants to burst through the door and yell some sense into him. Luckily, Leo has him covered. “Usagi, we’re trained ninja.”
Mostly. The suddenness of that forces Mikey to stifle a laugh, and he kind of wishes he could see Usagi’s face now.
“If I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that our lives are always going to be dangerous,” Leo says. “And that, no matter what, I’ll always want to be with you.”
The words sit in the air a few seconds, then Usagi sighs. “I was worried you would say that.”
“What?”
“Of all my years traveling, you are the kindest person I’ve met,” Usagi continues. “I did not want to sully that, and I fear my lifestyle has a way of doing so.”
Another beat.
“It would be a great honor to have you by my side, if you would have me,” Usagi says, sounding more nervous than Mikey has ever heard him before.
Leo doesn’t respond with words, not immediately, at least. Instead, the bed loudly creaks, and Mikey hears Usagi grunt as, presumably, Leo launches himself at him. Mikey just knows that one of Leo’s legendary bear hugs is happening behind closed doors.
“Of course,” Leo responds, simply, and the words hold untold depth to them.
Usagi wetly laughs. “You know, it has been many years since I’ve had a place to call home. I thought I’d forgotten what it felt like.”
He pauses for a second, then continues, “I know now that my home is with you, Leonardo.”
Mikey finally decides he’s probably invaded their privacy enough for one day, and carefully tiptoes away.
He heads back to the kitchen, where Splinter is at the table, sipping on another cup of tea.
He sets the mug down on the table. “How was it?” Splinter asks, smiling in just such a way that Mikey knows that he knows Mikey did the exact opposite of what Splinter told him not to do.
Mikey plays dumb anyway. “How was what?”
“Michelangelo…” Splinter says, unamused.
“Sorry…” Mikey sheepishly grins. “They’re gonna be just fine.”