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It was 3 AM, and Mikey definitely should be asleep.
Everything felt too loud; the Rookidees screaming outside, the occasional chattering from Nickits getting caught stealing food, the snoring from Happiny next to his head… all of it was too much. It wasn’t a problem usually! He never had problems sleeping, in fact, he needed the sound like he needed breathing; his brain otherwise went on adventure and couldn’t bring itself to shut down. He could remember how often he turned left and right under his covers as a kid when he didn’t have his background music playing.
He couldn’t say he didn’t know what was the root cause, though.
Mikey was anxious.
He wasn’t anxious for himself, though, far from it. He wasn’t the one shooting his shot for the Champion Cup tomorrow. No, that was Leo – and all on his own. His big brother would be all alone for the two weeks it would last; running around the country with only his own wits to guide him and his own reckless attitude. None of them were used to being alone for that long. Raph had barely managed to finish his own gym challenge, and he had done it with Cassandra . He hadn’t been alone, and yet one person had barely been enough. Donnie hadn’t shown any interest in doing it with Leo because of his apprenticeship, and now…
Leo was shooting his shot, three years after April had earned the Championship.
Mikey was anxious for Leo. He knew how his big brother could be, and the last thing he wanted was to see him come back home after failing one arena. You always had the chance to try again as much as it was needed until the deadline for that arena or until you gave up, but… Mikey knew his brother. He did not handle failure well, and he didn’t want to see him give up after trying one time and failing miserably in front of everyone. His reputation would take a hit and he would play it off saying the whole thing was for nerds.
Everyone knew Leo had what it took, even if they didn’t really admit it.
Mikey sighs when Happiny lets out the loudest snore she can let out, and he groans a little as he slides out of his bed with his blanket on his shoulder. Happiny rolls face first on his pillow without a care in the world, her little rock snuggled in her pouch not stopping her from being comfortable in the slightest. Mikey knew she would wake up and migrate to him when she would wake up, but he didn’t care much at the moment. He simply adjusts his tie-dye blanket on his shoulders and leaves his room, closing the door behind him.
His father could be heard snoring from the room farthest down the hall and soft keyboard tapping came from behind the door on his left. Clearly, Donnie was still awake, but Mikey wasn’t about to rat him out just yet. Raph’s door was wide open, his big brother spread across his mattress in the star position as he slept deeply. It was tempting to go to him directly, but… he looked away, then, and at the door next to their father’s. The door is wide open.
Mikey sneaks past Raph’s door and stops at Leo’s instead.
Mikey peeks in gently, and isn’t surprised whatsoever when he spots his brother lounging in his bed while staring at the ceiling. He hasn’t spotted Mikey, yet. His face is set in a nervous frown, his leg bouncing up and down on the floor from where it dangles down the mattress, and Froakie is snuggled in its blanket at the foot of the bed. There’s no light aside from Leo’s bedside lamp, and Mikey has to be careful not to step on any of Froakie’s squeaky balls on the way over – just as he needs to make sure not to trip on any of the clothes Leo left on the floor.
His big brother finally notices him when Mikey throws himself on the mattress, and Leo very, very visibly startles at his little brother’s sudden appearance. Not that he would ever admit he had been successfully snuck on – he had a reputation to keep, yadda-yadda.
“What are you doing awake?” Leo finally says after a second, his tone only a little breathless from shock as he throws an arm around Mikey to bring him closer. Being forcefully taken out of his thoughts visibly wasn’t enough to stop him from showing Mikey affection right away, at least. “Out of all of us, I didn’t expect you to come to check in on me like a mother hen.”
“Oh, Raph still won’t let you go tomorrow,” He answers, snuggling himself up to his big brother easily. His head rests on his right shoulder near his neck, and Leo squeezes him tighter with that arm as he finally gets comfortable. “He’s gonna give you the sad eyes...”
“ Augh, I can imagine it already,” Leo groans gently and lays his cheek dramatically on top of Mikey’s head as he does so. It makes him giggle, and he can feel the smile it gives Leo. With that encouragement, his big brother keeps the drama going the best he can while still keeping his voice low to not wake up his Froakie. That Pokemon was always grumpy when woken up against his will. “He’ll definitely sick Mr. Snuggles on me too. That Bewear has one hell of a grip I’m never gonna leave–”
“Not if you tickle it under its chin,” He answers, smothering another giggle. “It’ll let you go in a matter of seconds.”
“...How did you even learn that one?”
“I asked Casey.” He grins up at his big brother at that one. Casey liked Mikey and he knew how to use this to his advantage. As it turns out, his little brother puppy eyes worked on her just as well as on Raph. Mikey stares at Leo for a second longer before his smile melts away, and he looks away as he smushes his cheek back against Leo’s shoulder. His big brother shifts a little, and Mikey clears his throat a little to get his attention back. “Hey, Leo?”
“What is it, Big Mike?”
“I wish I could go with you.”
Silence reigns for a second before another Rookidee screams outside. Froakie shifts at their feet and Leo sighs at that one, patting Mikey on the shoulder as he does so.
“You’re too young, Big Mike, you know that,” He answers sadly, and you know it’s serious when his big brother doesn’t entice him to break the rules. Not that Mikey could try – the tournament had always been strictly regulated when it came to who could participate. You needed to be a certain age, you couldn’t exceed a certain age, and you needed a letter of endorsement from someone within the league… it was a lot of work to keep the tournament elite. They had the endorsement letters in the bag, but… he couldn’t fool the age system. “Just two years and you can try, alright?”
“I still wish I could come with. Hype you up a little…”
“I can be my own hype man, thank you very much,” Leo answers, and it just makes Mikey roll his eyes as he sighs and settles back. He plays with his brother’s hoodie strings, and his eyes drift back to the backpack settled near the door. The camp equipment was squeezed in there with whatever food he would need for two weeks, along with money, extra Pokeballs, and clothes… and all of it made it surreal that Leo was leaving tomorrow. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be a Champion in no time!”
Mikey stays silent, at that one. For maybe a second too long. He can almost hear the doubt form in Leo’s head, and he knows he has to stop it before it gets any worse.
“You can do it, you know. You can beat April,” Mikey says quietly, and he feels his brother’s breath freeze at the center of his chest. They didn’t always voice everything, they were still brothers, and putting each other down for a joke was what they did, but… he figured they should encourage Leo more often. Especially with this. “And you can’t give up. I expect front seats in the arena for me and Happiny, and if you don’t manage that, I’m gonna make sure you eat burnt food for the next month.”
“You wouldn’t,” Leo lets out a dramatic, joking gasp with that one, but Mikey can hear the emotion clogging up his throat. He’s kind enough to not point it out – he knows his big brother would just clamp back up about it. It’s good to let him open up even if just a little, on his own accord. “Even the curry?”
“Especially the curry.”
Leo lets out a whiney nooooo and all it does is make Mikey laugh a little. He feels Leo calm down gradually, and they bask in the comfortable silence as Leo takes in what he’d just been told. Raph hadn’t managed to beat April; neither had Cassandra. There were reasons for that, of course: they weren’t the most strategic and they always went in guns blazing. A good offense is always a good defense, as they would say… this is why they co-lead the Fighting gym these days. Now, Leo… he had a good brain and a good head on his shoulders. He would find a way.
Mikey knew he would.
“If I get to the finale though… you have to make Happiny evolve by then.”
“Come onnn,” Mikey whines, and it’s Leo’s turn to snicker a little bit. “I need a Dawn stone for that! They’re so expensive and hard to find around here!”
“You just need to explore a little bit! Or…. bother Donnie–”
“What’s this about bothering me?”
This time, both Leo and Mikey startle loud enough to wake up everyone in the house.
Mikey was right, in the end, when he said that Raph definitely wouldn’t be letting go of his little brother before he left.
Aside from the rude wake-up call for everyone in the house at two in the morning, everyone seemed to be in good form. They had migrated for a sleeping pile in the middle of the living room when it became obvious neither Leo nor Mikey would be able to sleep properly, and from there, it had been easy to be up bright and early at six in the morning… ready to eat and wish Leo good luck on his new adventure.
Well, if Raph let him go on his new adventure. Even their dad’s hug hadn’t been this long.
“Raph, he’ll miss his train,” Donnie pipes up, arms crossed from his spot next to their dad. April hadn’t managed to come around this morning, she had some preparations to do in regards to the whole Championship Cup and tomorrow morning’s Ceremony, but… she had been there last night. It had been good enough. “I doubt you want to pay his Flying Taxi.”
Raph lets out a big whine at that one, and Leo just chuckles from his spot in the hug and pats his big brother on the shoulder with a big smile.
“It’s fine, Big Guy. You’ll see me at the Stow-on-Side anyway…”
“But Raph will have to fight you there!”
“We’ve done it before, we can always hang out afterward!” Leo reassures and starts wriggling in his brother’s hold so he can be put down. Raph lets him go, Leo hits the ground harshly, and he has to pinwheel a little before settling a hand on his big brother’s bicep to steady himself. He takes a breath, then, and finishes his sentence properly. “I’ll buy you a meal. How about that?”
“ If you have money left over,” Donnie mutters, and he just smiles to himself when Leo laughs. He opens his arms, and Leo comes to hug his twin brother quickly, before stepping back just as fast. They all knew Donnie’s limits, and sometimes emotional moments were harder than others – but Mikey knew Leo appreciated the quick hug anyway. “Call me if you need anything. I added a GPS with the fastest road possible to all the arenas on your phone–”
“Thanks, Dee,” Leo stops him before he can get into a rant, and squeezes his twin brother’s shoulder. They nod at each other, and Donnie clears his throat saying he’d send him the instructions via text. Then, it’s Mikey’s turn – Leo turns to look at him, a warm and fond smile on his face as he looks at his baby brother. “Anything to add, big man?”
Mikey doesn’t answer. He just laughs and throws himself at his brother. Leo picks him up easily to hug him tight while swinging him from side to side, and Mikey has to fight back his own tears as he gets hugged tight enough to crush his ribs.
Mikey had said all he had wanted the night before. Leo knew who believed in him.
Mikey squeezes his brother back tight after a minute spent like this, and he is the first one to step back. Leo picks his bag from the floor and swings it over his shoulder; Froakie climbs his shoulder immediately, and the Pokemon gets a scratch underneath his chin, a soft croaaa leaving him in the process. Leo throws them all a salute, turns towards the entrance of the train station to step in…
And Mikey knows he’ll step back out of it a Champion.
