Leo didn't come to breakfast or training the next morning, begging a day off to nurse his growing headache - a favor that was readily given to him by the others because they all knew how bad his headaches could get.

It wasn't unusual, Mikey mused as he prepared lunch. After all, the guy deserved a sick day just like anyone else. He worked just as hard for their family, if not harder, as Donnie or Raph did. He could afford to take a day off every once in a while.

What was unusual was the fact that the youngest turtle heard Leo talking to someone on the phone later that day. Mikey hadn't meant to eavesdrop; he was walking to his own bedroom and it just sort ofhappened. One minute he was walking, and the next minute, he was crouching in front of the not-so-thick sheet of metal.

"-don't know how much longer I can take this," Leo murmured on the other side of the door. "It's not like I can talk to them about it. They're all busy with their own stuff. I-" He paused and then sighed. "No. I think they'd be just fine without me here to bog them down."

There was another pause, like he was listening to whatever the person on the other end of the line had to say, and then he continued again. "I'd love to get away, even for a little while. Just pack a bag and disappear. See the world. Be free, for once." Mikey bit his lip, thoroughly confused, yet his heart was aching for his brother. Leo just sounded so sad-

Footsteps sounded behind the ninja and Raph appeared without warning. "The hell are you doing, Mike?"

"Eeep! Oh, heh, hey Raph. I, um... I fell. Tripped." He stood up hastily and backed away towards his own room. Leo, meanwhile, had gone completely silent behind the door.

"Well, would you go trip somewhere else? Somewhere that ain't right in the middle of the hallway?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Sorry."

The hothead gave him another weird look as he disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Mikey alone in the hall once more. But Leo was obviously done with his phone call; there was no more noise from inside his room...except the footsteps headed straight for him.

Before the orange-banded turtle could decide whether to duck into his own room or maybe climb into the rafters, the door opened. Leo raised an eyeridge at him. "You okay, Mike?"

Mikey was too busy studying his older brother to register the question. The leader looked normal, if slightly more exhausted, and - wait, were those tearstains on his mask?

"-ike? Michelangelo."

He snapped back to the present to find Leo openly staring at him now. "What? Oh, no, I'm fine, dude. Why d'you ask?"

"I heard you tell Raph you tripped. You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Pshh. Nah. I'm ninja, remember?" Mikey flashed a grin and then slung an arm around his sibling's shoulder. "But hey, you're doing okay, right? You're, like, getting enough sleep and everything?"

"...yes?"

The younger turtle chuckled to hide his concern at Leo's slightly dubious answer. "Y'know, you generally aren't supposed to answer a question with another question."

"I think you've been hanging around Donnie too much. Go to bed, Mike."

A derisive snort was the only response he gave, and as he tugged on his older brother's hand he felt him flinch a little. "You first. It's almost two in the morning and you get up earlier than me." There was another strange look cast Mikey's way and then Leo allowed himself to be pushed into his bed and tucked in. "Hey, d'you think that if I asked Sensei, he'd let us have the day off from training tomorrow? It's been awhile since we had a break and we could all really use it."

"Mike-"

"I'm sure he wouldn't be against it. 'Sides, I could probably get Don and Raph to back me up if I needed it."

"Mikey-"

"I should go and ask while I'm thinking about it, probably."

"Michael-"

"Eh, you're right. It's too late. I'll ask tomorrow." Mikey flashed a smile at him and booked it out of the room, tossing a "G'night, bro!" over his shoulder.

Leo sat up in bed for a long moment, trying to process what had just happened. Eventually he decided that he would never understand and it would probably be better if he didn't know, anyway. That settled, the leader heaved a sigh, laid down, and fell asleep instantly.