The Words That Hurt Me

39 Brother Talks: Mikey

Leon thought that these turtles were an incredible team.

He had seen it during training, how easily they fell into form and executed their plans, and to be honest, he was the tiniest bit jealous. These guys were a force to be reckoned with when it came to fighting.

As a family, however...

These poor kids mixed like shrimp and peanut butter, and it was painful to watch. Now, Leon couldn't say that he and his brothers were the peak of family relations, but compared to these guys, they looked that much better.

Leon was somewhat aware of their current circumstances, Mikey's behavior made it clear that he was avoiding his brothers. At first, Leon assumed it was due to Goo's recent mutation, however, it became obvious that wasn't the whole reason.

'Why don't you trust me?' he had asked, a painful question he had asked himself once, and Leon couldn't help but relate to the poor turtle. Maybe it was wrong to interfere with this sensitive situation, but how could he after hearing that?

He followed the path Mikey took out of the room, trailing along the upset energy he left along the hallways. That was another thing, their lack of magic. Strange.

At the strongest point of the energy, Leon found Goo sitting on top of a shelled in Mikey, nibbling on a breadstick. They glanced up at him, looking a bit relieved.

"Hey, Leon!" They said, swallowing their mouthful, "I was looking for Mikey but all I found was this rock,"

Leon chuckled, settling beside the two.

"That's a pretty cool rock," He said, "We might be able to get a pretty penny for this!"

"I don't know," Goo lilted, "I think it's hollow,"

To prove their point, they reached down and knocked on Mikey's shell, eliciting a dull thudding sound. Mikey grumbled, rocking back and forth in an attempt to knock Goo off. They let themself backward off of him, leaving their legs dangling over his shell.

"Woah, earthquake," 

Leon chuckled again, leaning back against the wall. Mikey popped out of his shell and sat up, letting Goo's legs fall off of him. They sat up as well.

"Oh! So it was Mikey," Goo said, feigning surprise, "Hey dude," 

Mikey didn't respond, instead, he hugged his knees and hid his face. Leon reached out to lightly rub his shell.

"It's okay Mikey," Leon said, "You don't actually look like a rock,"

Mikey huffed out a laugh, quickly muffling it. Leon took that as a win.

"So, I think I'll just cut the crap," Leon stated, Mikey glancing up at him, "There's something up,"

Mikey let out a deep sigh, dropping his legs back down. 

"It's just, i-it's stupid," He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Leon shook his head.

"It's not!" He assured, "I know it always feels like that, like how sometimes getting teased stings a little too much,"

Mikey looked over at him with wide eyes.

"I know, I know! It sounds dumb!" Leon chuckled, "But sometimes you're having a bad day and just can't take it,"

Leon chuckled a bit more, looking at Mikey.

"But that's what this is for," He continued, "I mean, the only way I get them to stop is to tell them what's up, and it's, y'know, a bit...rough. I get just wanting to just shut up and take it, but that's the problem,"