Oooh, makes so much sense Leo is bi, that's why he took Mikey's coming out to the heart; not that he wouldn't if he wasn't, but this is another reason too
Right, it's layered. I think Leo didn't really think of himself as being part of the queer community, I think he tends to be a "don't label it," and "why is it anybody's business" kind of guy, at least in the beginning. But when he sees how Mikey is struggling I think he feels a pang of regret... He wishes he had been more vocally queer, or at least more vocally supportive, if only so that Mikey wouldn't have felt so alone for so long, or had to struggle so much with coming out. I think he also realizes his passing privilege in that moment... Because his brothers mostly knew about his relationship with Karai and only had vague suspicions about Usagi, he could kind of fly under the radar... Which suited him fine, being a private person... But now he's seeing how that wasn't helping Mikey. I think for the first time in that moment he had to grapple with why he chose not to come out to his family and "it's nobody's business" wasn't a good enough answer anymore. (Lol just realizing Leo is me basically, didn't "come out" to my family until I was in my thirties for the same reasons. Live and learn.) I think he's also blaming himself because he's an authority figure in the family... By that point, Splinter was no longer leading the Hamato clan and hadn't been for a while... For all intents and purposes Leo was the head of that family, their clan leader, leading them into combat, but also taking over as both Momma Hen and Dad of the family... Though Splinter obviously did the child rearing the torch was definitely passed by that point... And I think Leo's realizing he's responsible for his family at that point... If Mikey didn't feel safe to come out to them, then Leo feels the buck stops with him - it should have been on him to create that environment. That's what he's worrying about when he asks "Am I a good brother?" Thanks for the good observation Nonny and thank you for reading!
