One night on the roof...

I retied my mask behind my head once I had dried off enough, making sure to hang up the guest towel before I left the bathroom. I was grateful that in the year 2105 showers seemed to still be in fashion. I'd have felt the biggest fool if I had needed to ask how to bathe. And heaven knows Raph and Mikey would probably keep rubbing it in my face if I had.
I made my way to the living room in a vain hope that the TV might actually be Mikey-free for once. It's not that I mind a B grade horror every now and then but with, to quote “a 100 years worth of bad movies to catch up on” I was really craving something that actually had a plot line. If a repeat of 'Plan 9' was on I was doomed though.

I entered the large living room to see the holographic screen flickering as usual, however I was surprised to see a documentary playing. Donny had done some configuring on whatever passes as cable in the future, blocking most of the informative channels. This was after a discussion regarding how much we allow ourselves to learn while visiting the future with Master Splinter. Sensei had given us a lecture on how no man should be able to discover their fate before it had a chance to unfurl on its own. In laymen's terms, Sensei was worried we might discover something that happened between the present and the future that we might be better off not knowing. For this same reason we were forbidden to read any of Casey and April's journals. As if I would even if we were permitted. I don't make it a habit of prying into the personal thoughts and feelings of my friends.
Donny had also blocked Animal Planet... but for different reasons.
I rounded the screen to see what was playing. Donny and Cody had taken root on the couch and were passing a bowl of popcorn back and forth as a rather stuffy looking man droned on about something far too technical for me to even start to decipher.
“I thought you'd blocked all the documentary channels.” I said
Don nodded but didn't break his gaze from the TV. “Yes, but I couldn't resist a documentary on advanced Cybernetics! Besides, if  Cody and I are ever going to repair the time portal I need to gather sufficient information on the sort of technology we have available to us.”
I merely nodded. I spoke 'Donatello' fluently enough to know when he meant 'I really really wanted to watch this'.
I looked around the living room. “How'd you get Mike to give up the remote? I think it's the first time this week he hasn't been rotting his brain more than it already is.”
Don passed the popcorn back to Cody with half a shrug. “He wasn't here when we came in. Maybe he got sick of watching movies with the word 'Terror' in the title.”
I made a meaningless noise, not convinced.
“...Where's Raph?” I asked.
“I think he's in the kitchen.” Cody said, turning to spare me a glance.
“Mikey with him?”
Cody merely shrugged and turned back to the TV.
“Leo if you're so worried why don't you just go and see?” Don said with just a  small tinge of announce. He was trying to focus on his program. No doubt making mental notes.
“Fine fine.” I sighed and turned to leave, heading for the kitchen.
I didn't take offence at Don's dismissal. We've all been trying to adjust to the complete and utter change of lifestyle and despite the fact that we all seemed to be coping fine I was aware that a certain amount of stress existed. Raph was being the loudest about it, expressing his dislike for the future every chance he got. I had a feeling it was more for show than anything else though. His mood had brightened quite a bit since we got here. Maybe it was all the sunlight, I dunno.
I walked into the kitchen and looked around. Raph was half buried in the fridge grumbling to himself about the lack of decent snacks. I couldn't help but grin at this.
“Serling throw out all the junk food again?”
He mumbled some things Mikey likes to refer to as “Raph words” as he straightened and closed the fridge door a little harder than necessary.
“I don' MIND the health food but I swear Leo if I don' get somethin' in me with actual sugar I'm gonna go nuts!”
I shrugged. “You could always go buy something yourself.” I smiled and added “How often will you get the chance to do that?”
Raph made a drawn out noise and waved a hand at me. “How often will I get the chance ta say 'Nah I don' feel like it'?” He turned and clicked the kettle on.
“Going for caffeine instead?” I guessed, sitting down.
“Better than nothin'” he replied before giving me a sideways glance. “Did ya want something?”
“What? Coffee?”
“Nah. I mean ya came in like ya wanted to ask somethin'.”
I shrugged and shook my head. “Not really. Don and Cody are watching TV and I don't know where Mike's gotten to.”
Raph snickered at me. “You're bored.”
I pulled a face. Being bored was not a good thing in this family. If you were bored and couldn't think of something to do you could be using the time to train. I'd finished my training for the day though, and just having showered I didn't feel like getting dirty and sweaty again.
“I'd go out for a night run if I could.” I tried to defend myself.
“Nothin's stoppin' you.” Raph remarked.
“The rooftops have kinda gotten high Raph. The buildings practically scrape the stratosphere.”
“I think that's why they call 'em 'Skyscrapers' bro.” He  said, rummaging around for a mug as the kettle started to whistle before switching itself off. “Besides, who says ya gotta use the rooftops? You could just, you know, use the sidewalk or somethin'. It's boring sure but it's better than nothin'.”
I shook my head again. “It's not really the same is it? Besides, that sounds dangerously close to 'jogging' to me.”
Raph made a snorting noise and flinched, trying not to crack up. “Oh yeah. I can just see you! Water bottle, step-counter in hand, wearin' indecently tight shorts.”
I gave an exaggerated shudder. “Thanks for the image.”
“Yeah well I'm sorry but I can't help you.” He poured his coffee and turned to face me, blowing on the mug. “Why don't ya go lecture some-one? I know ya like doin' that.”
“Oh ha ha.” I gave him a sideways smile and got up. “You know I think I prefer your bad moods to your good ones.”
He shrugged his shoulders at me and took a swig from his mug.
“Do you know why Mikey gave up on the movie-a-night thing?” I asked to change the subject.
“Don't question things Leo just enjoy them while they last.” He advised. “If I hafta hear one more girl screamin' her head off at a giant insect of some kind I'm gonna snap that remote in half.”
I gave a laugh. “I believe it.”
He took another sip from his mug. “He was out all day today with that board of his. He probably just tired himself out for once in his life and went ta bed.”
I arched a brow at him.
“...yeah. I guess that ain't likely.” He said at my expression.
“Where is he anyway?” I asked. I was starting to sound like a paranoid mother and I knew it but with nothing better to do searching for Mikey was at least keeping me busy.
“Last I saw he was talkin' about gettin' some air.”
“I thought you said he was out all day?”
Raph tilted his head slightly as he thought about this. “The roof then maybe?”
I smiled and gave a nod, turning to leave. “I might as well check.”
“Yeah, ya wouldn't wanna miss the chance to lecture him about getting sick from the cold or somethin'.”
I merely pulled a face at him before leaving, knowing he didn't mean any harm by the jab.

I took the elevator and rode it to the rooftop where Master Splinter had started his garden. I smiled inwardly at the thought of it. I wondered if the others realised that although keeping a garden seemed typical and really unsurprising of Master Splinter he had never done so before, simply because he had never been able to in the sewer. Oh sure we had carried in small pot plants now and then and Sensei had had his delicate bonsai trees, a skill he had tried to teach us once with limited success, but he'd never really had a chance to cultivate a proper, growing garden before. I hoped Mikey wasn't using the rooftop as his own personal skate-park. If he crashed and wrecked the plants Sensei would be more than angry, he'd be saddened.
When the elevator doors opened to the roof I saw to my relief that Mikey wasn't on his board. At first I didn't see him at all and thought perhaps he'd gone back downstairs to bug Serling or maybe bother Master Splinter for some attention, but I eventually spotted him sitting on the edge of the building. I could see even from this distance that he had one leg dangling over the side as he rested his arms and head on his other knee. One thing I'll say for Mike, he had no problems with heights. I walked over to him, sparing the city skyline a glance as I did so. It was already completely dark but the entire Manhattan island was glowing a bright neon with the amount of lights from various buildings, signs and commercial blimps. I wondered briefly if the farmhouse still existed. The Neon Skyline was very pretty, but I kinda missed seeing stars. Even in our own time you could usually find at least one in the sky, but here they were completely drowned out. Still, it was a pleasant night all the same.
I wandered over to Mikey, about to ask him what he was looking at. I figured it must be pretty good to hold his attention for so long. Just as I got close enough to do so though, I noticed his shoulders were trembling. I swallowed what I was about to say as I became slightly concerned. It wasn't t that cold out but then I'd only just arrived. If he'd been sitting there a while the night air might've cooled him down quite a bit. I gave a silent sigh, realising that Raph had pretty much hit the nail on the head with his last comment about me lecturing. But then I wouldn't need to lecture if Mikey just used common sense now and again. Getting a little chilly might not sound like the biggest deal in the world, and really it normally isn't, but if me and my brothers got a little too cold while being inactive at the same time we tended to get drowsy, and seeing him practically dangling over the edge of a building was stirring some old feelings of uneasiness in me regarding the height.
“Mikey?” I said, loud enough for him to hear but making sure not to startle him. “Mike aren't you pushing your luck just a tiny bit?”
He did indeed start slightly at my voice, but not enough to lose his balance. He twisted himself around to see who was talking to him.
“Leo.” He said, turning himself to face me better while wiping his face with the palm of his hand. “I didn't hear you come up.”
I gave a small aggravated sigh. Not only didn't he hear me but I took the gesture he was doing as a sign that he was indeed groggy. “You'll fall if you're not careful.”
“Oh. Oh yeah. I'm sorry I... I guess I wasn't thinking.” He replied, rubbing and eye before sitting up a little straighter.
I frowned, surprised by the readiness of his apology. “You alright?”
“Yeah... Yeah I'm fine.” He flashed me a smile, and that's when I caught it.
His mask was stained a little darker near the bottom rim of the material, and his eyes were reflecting the city lights more than they should.
Concern dropped into my stomach and I took the remaining steps towards him.
“Hey are you ok?”
He nodded again, using the back of a hand briefly to wipe at his chin as he smiled again. “Yeah, I just said I'm fine didn't I?”
I said nothing for a few moments, looking him over. I wondered if it would be a good idea to open up what could be a can of worms. Although I do what I can, I'm not very good with an upset Michelangelo. 'Annoying Mikey' was fine because you learned to live with him if you were in a bad mood and learned to enjoy it if you were in a good one. Heck I could even deal with angry Mikey. I once heard Master Splinter tell him during a little pep-talk that Mike had a purity about him which is difficult to find in people and even more difficult to hold on to as we go through life. It was meant as a compliment, but really purity of character doesn't just refer to the good stuff. Purity means something that isn't  affected by anything else, so pure happiness is joy without any underlying emotions to contaminate it, but the same goes for anger. To compare, Raphael's anger for instance is like a roaring fire burning out of control. Mikey's anger is like a white hot explosion.
But I would pick an angry Mikey over an upset Mikey any day. For one thing an upset Mikey needs comforting but my little brother has a terrible habit of keeping quiet when it comes to his personal problems. And trying to get him to talk about what's upsetting him is always a mission and a half.
But then what kind of person would I be if I didn't at least try? Besides, the image of him crying on a rooftop at night by himself was far too depressing and was tugging at my heartstrings to hard.
I sat down beside him, ignoring the high drop. “...you're obviously not.”
His smile faded and disappeared at this as he turned his gaze back to the city.
I waited a few moments before trying again.
“Come on Mike. What's bugging you?”
He gave a bit of a protesting whine as he drew up his other knee. “It's no big deal.”
I said nothing but kept my gaze on him, hoping my stare would unnerve him enough to say something else.
We sat in silence for a few moments before he shifted uncomfortably.
“Really Leo. It's nothing.”
“It's upsetting you though.”
He shifted again, frowning lightly to himself.
I sighed and adjusted how I was sitting. “Come on, if you don't talk about it it's just gonna keep bothering you and then you're gonna mope around for days on end and drive the rest of crazy.”
“Aww, you mean I don't already?” He turned to give me one of his grins albeit half-heartedly.
I smiled but didn't fall for the trap, knowing he was trying to change the subject.
“Well yeah you do, but more in a 'I'm gonna pound him' kind of way. But when you do this;” I waved a hand up and down at him. “You make me worry.”
“You always worry.” He retorted.
“Maybe, but I can't help it” I smiled and decided to play the trump card, nudging him gently with an elbow. “You're my bro.”
He smiled at this and turned stare at the view again.
After a pause I was about to say more when he started talking.
“Everything's just so messed up.”
I frowned at this. “What is?”
“Just... all this man.” He said, waving a hand at the city.
I blinked and turned to look at it. “...New York?”
“Nah.” He shook his head, sitting back a little. “This isn't New York Leo. I don't care what they call it, it isn't New York.”
I think I could see where he was going with this. “It is pretty different.”
“Yeah but... It's like, it's similar enough to be familiar but I don't recognize any of it.”
I nodded.
“And it's not only that ya know?” he continued. “It's...”
He stopped and made an aggravated noise, wrapping his arms around his knees.
I frowned again. “What?”
He said nothing, but I could tell whatever he was holding back was the real issue here.
I thought for a moment before saying. “It's ok to be homesick Mike.”
He gave his head a shake. “It's not that exactly.”
“Then what is it?”
There was a long pause. I could see Mikey was trying to decide whether or not to tell me whatever it was he wanted to tell me. Afraid he might clam up if I pushed him too hard I kept quiet, letting him get his thoughts in order.
Eventually he sighed again. “All our friends are dead.”
The words felt like a kick in the gut. I actually had to take a brief second to calm my emotions. Too many nights have I fretted about hearing something along those lines and the panic I felt right now was more instinctive than anything else, but it still made my heart pound a little harder. I did my best to mask my upset from my brother though. If he saw he was making me uncomfortable he'd never talk to me about this regardless of how badly he wanted or needed to.
I opened my mouth to reply but to my surprise he kept going on his own.
“All of 'em Leo. Dead dead dead. With headstones and everything. Shell...” He shifted again.
“Is that where you were today?” I asked softly.
“Yeah. It's nice.” He turned and gave me a nod. “It is. It's clean with trees and grass and stuff. You can see they have people keeping it tidy.”
I nodded but kept staring at him with wide eyes. Mikey sometimes surprised the hell out of me.
“Doesn't change the fact that they're dead though.” He said, turning to the front again. “Every-one we know Leo. Every-one we've ever known. They're just gone.” He pressed his fingers against a temple. “I've been thinking like they're just in another country or something. Like if we really really started to miss them and stuff we could just pick up the phone and go 'Hey guys! Watcha up to?'. But that ain't true is it? I mean they're not in some magical land waiting for us to show up for tea and crumpets they're dead.”
His voice was cracking as he started to shake again.
“They're not back home in our lair making sure the place doesn't get dusty and they're not visiting Casey's mom and they're not at the farmhouse because none of that stuff exists any more! I miss Klunk... I miss April, I miss Leatherhead, I miss Angel, I miss SS, I miss Casey, I.. I miss Klunk.”
I shifted a little closer to him.
“It's ok Mikey. It's alright. But ...what did you expect? We're 100 years in the future. Our friends aren't immortal.”
He brought both his hands up and started rubbing at his face and eyes.
“Yeah but... It's not fair.”
“What do you mean?” I asked gently.
He shook his head again “it's just not fair is all... I wanna go home Leo... I wanna go home so badly...”
“Hey. Hey. Come here.” I slid closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders.
He  turned to look at me .
“I mean I don't hate it here. I don't. There's a lot of stuff here that's pretty friggen' awesome. But who cares right? None of it matters. It's all just.. just stuff. Pretty awesome stuff but just stuff. And I don't care about stuff. I don't care about any of it!”
I kept my grip around his shoulders, listening silently. He made a choked noise and gave a spasm as some tears finally escaped him. His mask was already water-logged and they continued to slide down his face.
“I mean when we were stuck in the cruta-whatever Period with the dinosaurs and stuff at least we knew our friends hadn't been born yet and they were gonna exist and stuff some day, but here they... they've come and gone and now they're gone forever. Forever and ever and they're never gonna exist ever again and we.. we've... we've been left behind and we're all alone and it's not fair!”
“Ok, ok.” I tightened my grip on him very slightly. “I know. It sucks. It sucks hard.”
He gave a sob and wiped at his face with the side of his palm but didn't say anything else as he tried to calm himself down again.
I bit my lip, unsure of what I could say to comfort him. There was little I could say really, it wasn't as if I could lie to him. And in some way he was telling the truth. I hadn't really been thinking about these things, I wasn't aware any of my brothers had either. I mean I'm not an idiot, I was aware that none of our friends were still around but I felt it kinda went without saying really. Personally I would've found it worse to end up in the future and see the ones I cared about decrepit with old age. I'm not sure I would've been able to handle that. With them simply not being here I did my best not to dwell on the subject. Out of sight out of mind right? It's unhealthy to focus on things you can't change, and death is right at the top of that list. But here I was faced with my youngest brother who had obviously been thinking about these things long and hard, and the reality of the situation was crushing him. Mikey always had a knack for thinking about things differently than the rest of us.
I gave him another squeeze before letting him go and getting up.
“Stay there. I'm coming right back.”
“Where're you going?” He asked miserably.
“I'll be right back just stay put.” I reassured him as I trotted back to the elevator.
He watched me go before turning back to the view. I could see him wiping and rubbing at his face again as the elevator doors closed.
I rode it down back to the penthouse, trying to process everything Mike had said. I must admit I was a bit in shock that, firstly, he'd been thinking about such a serious matter so deeply and secondly, that he had actually opened up to me as easily as he did. This made me a little uneasy and I wondered how long he'd been dwelling on this. Had he been thinking these things for quite a while and I just didn't notice? Mikey was good at hiding his negative emotions but he wasn't that good. I could usually tell when something was bothering him. Had I been so wrapped up in my own stuff I'd missed it? I'm suppose to be the one who understands my brothers the most. I'm the leader. What have I been doing that I'd miss my brother suffering like this?
The doors of the elevator opened and I marched out and into the living room. Raph had joined Don and Cody on the couch. I half registered the fact that they'd changed the channel to something they could all enjoy but I didn't even bother to check what it was.
“Hey Cody. What passes for Kleenex in this century?”
“Uh... Kleenex?” He shrugged and gave me a smile. “I think there's some in the bathroom.”
“Ok thanks.” I hurried towards it.
After a brief search I spotted the box and took the whole thing, exiting the room again and heading back for the elevator.
“Aww, what's the matter Leo? Ya gettin' the sniffles or somethin'?” Raph teased as he watched me go, giving me a toothy grin as he readied himself for a retort.
I was far from the mood though.
“No. ...Mikey's upset.”
“What?” His face crashed and I saw him sit up before the elevator doors closed.
I felt a little bad as I rode it back up. I wondered if I really should've just blurted it out like that. Raph was without a doubt going to worry about what's going on, and if I know him he's not gonna relax till he's sure it's nothing serious. But I couldn't worry about him right now.
I reached the roof and hurried back over to Mike. I was glad to see he hadn't moved. I was half afraid he'd have gotten up and left to go be by himself somewhere.
I sat down beside him again and offered him the kleenex box.
He'd calmed himself down in my absence and made a soft amused noise as he took one, no doubt finding it funny that I'd run off just to get some tissues.
“Thanks.”
I smiled at him and nodded.
“Don't mention it.” I put the box down beside me as I gathered myself to start talking again. “Hey, listen Mike.”
He dried his eyes before half turning to look at me. He seemed reluctant to continue the conversation but I couldn't just drop the subject where we left it.
“Look. I know things are really screwed up at the moment, but it's not gonna be forever. Donny and Cody are gonna fix the time portal and then we'll go home, and I'll let you be the one to tell April about all the crazy stuff we got up to while we were here. Although if I were you I wouldn't emphasize on the existence of Cody too much.” I gave him a grin. “At least not while Casey's in the room.”
He merely gave me a blank stare, obviously not getting how uncomfortable it'd make our hard-headed friend to hear about future children and grandchildren.
I decided to leave it alone and carried on. “And speaking of which, we're not completely alone. We have Cody don't we? I don't know how you feel but he's become a very good friend of ours as far as I'm concerned. I'm happy to consider him part of our extended family. He's a good kid. A great kid.”
Mikey smiled at this as he listened. He gave an amused chuckle. “He's like a kid brother.” He tilted his head slightly, thinking about his own statement. “...never had a little brother before.”
I laughed. “Don't let it go to your head Mike. But seriously, I don't know what we would've done if it wasn't for him. Who knows where we'd be right now. Down there, somewhere.” I nodded to the city below us. “As lost and confused as we've ever been with no allies or friends to rely on at all. Perhaps we'd be fine, but I for one am much happier to have a friend I can count on.”
Mikey nodded at this. “..he's a good kid.”
I smiled and nodded. “...I'm not suggesting that you let him replace the feelings for the friends we left behind Mike, but you gotta remember we're not alone. And that means you too.” I nudged him gently with my knuckles.
He laughed and nudged me back playfully.
I felt the tightness around my stomach ease slightly, glad to see he was brightening up. However having come this far I felt that if I really wanted to make him feel better I had to return to the rather heavier issue at hand and deal with it then and there or else he'd just let it keep eating at him.
“...I'm sorry it took me so long to realise this was bothering you Mike.”
He blinked at me looking slightly confused. “Uhm... no problem.”
I shook my head lightly.  “I'm afraid, as far as the other stuff goes I don't really have anything I can say to make you feel better. I mean you're kind of telling the truth. Our friends don't exist in this timeline anymore. I want you to remember we will see them again though. I promise you we will.  But.. that's all the comfort I can really give you.”
“You don't always have to fix everything Leonardo.” He said softly.
I shifted, not full comfortable at having happy-go-lucky Mikey use my full name on me but I gave him a smile all the same.
“'Sides.” He sat up straight and stretched his arms above his head. “You're getting better at the pep-talks. Not that ya needed much practice.” He flashed me a cheesy grin.
I rolled my eyes at him, accepting that I wasn't going to get any more seriousness out of him tonight. Still, the compliment felt good.
“Come on.” I slapped his carapace lightly. “Raph heated the kettle a while ago, we can make hot chocolate or something.”
He instantaneously brightened. “With Marshmallows??”
I chuckled, getting up and offering him a hand to pull him to his feet. “yes yes with Marshmallows.”
“And sprinkles??” He took my hand and gripped it tight as he stood up too.
I nodded. “Sure.”
“And maybe some whipped cream? And we could put some vanilla in it too! And then we can put chocolate sauce on the whipped cream!”
I laughed, tugging him to the elevator as he was refusing to let go of my hand just yet. “yeah, Anything you like Mikey.”

We exited the elevator and walked into the living room, Mikey still listing all the various ingredients he wanted to put in his hot chocolate, although I had a sneaking suspicion “Hot chocolate” had somehow turned into “Ice Cream” at some point in the conversation. I half stumbled out the elevator as he lead me eagerly in the direction of the kitchen with both hands attached to my shell.
“Come on come on! Ya got me starving now!”
I laughed, trying not to trip over myself with his pushing. “Ok ok, alright already! Just stop with the shoving!”
He gave an impish laugh and gave my shell a last push before trotting around me to lead the way.
My two other brothers and Cody had looked up when we stumbled into the room but upon seeing as goofing around they relaxed, Cody turning back to the TV. Donny spared me a smile and gave Mikey a quick glance before he turned his attentions to Cody, passing him what was left of the popcorn in a sly attempt to make sure the boy wasn't unnerved at hearing one of us had been unhappy.
Only Raph seemed unconvinced. He got to his feet when we came close enough, his eyes fixated on Michelangelo. Mikey caught his gaze and blinked at him before giving him a wide grin accompanied by a silly expression, as if unaware that Raph was showing clear concern on his face. Raph made a scoffing noise and gave a him a smirk in return, shaking his head in mock disgust. I noticed his shoulders drop slightly as he relaxed, relieved to see Mikey was ok.
“We're making hot chocolate.” I said, addressing the group on the couch. “Any-one else want any?”
“Geez Leo, why don' ya just put on an apron, make us call ya 'Ma' and get it over with already.” Raph sneered at me.
I pulled a face at him. “If you don't want any all you have to say 'no' Raphael.”
“I don't think we have any hot chocolate.” Cody said apologetically.
“Sweet Moses is there any kind of sugar content that walkin' humidifier will allow ya ta have?! What kinda childhood is this kid havin' Donny I ask ya!”
“Huh?” Donny turned to Raph, his attention once again dragged away from the TV. “I'm sorry What?”
Raph rolled his eyes. “Nevermind.”
“Sorry guys.” Cody piped up again.
Mikey made a very long drawn out cry of disappointment and basically slumped over to half his height.
“No big deal.” I said, turning to smile at him. “We'll just go find a convenience store or something and get some.”
He perked up again as if his spine had an elastic band attached to it.
“Man,” He grinned at me happily. “I love the future!”