Take Me There
By WittyKins
Prologue
The sun had completed its tour for the day and was replaced by the dark, velvety canvas of the night sky. The blackened canopy, spangled with brightly colored stars, glistened over the bustling urban metropolis.
The night welcomed the inhabitants of the city into its cool embrace, for autumn had finally returned. The chilly wind sashayed its way down the endless streets with a soft whisper, tickling the napes of passersby. Cars with closed windows weaved in and out of traffic lazily; steam rising steadily from the exhaust. The night was relatively silent in the lively city minus the occasional horn that filled the air. People shuffled here and there completely engulfed within their own lives. No one in all of New York City noticed the two shadowy forms overhanging an old red-brick building.
The two figures sat side by side, their feet dangling over the building's ledge. Their heads craned upwards, completely entranced by the assortment of stars that splattered the seemingly endless void.
Nights like tonight were few and far between.
Sighing, the youngest of the nameless figures adjusted his position so that he was facing his friend. They had just partaken in something truly magical and he wasn't too sure what he was supposed to say.
Or if he even was supposed to say anything.
Biting the inside of his lip, he squirmed closer to the other's form while smiling silently at the warmth their body provided. When his friend leaned into his advances, he knew that he had made the right decision.
"That was," the young boy paused as he took a moment to gather his thoughts, "umm… amazing."
"What was amazing, Mikey?" the youngster questioned coyly without taking his eyes off the night sky.
"You know… the…" Mikey mumbled as his sentence began trailing off. After a few moments he felt heat rising to his face. He hoped that his friend would step in and save him from excruciating embarrassment.
"The…kiss?" they added as a small smile began appearing.
"Yeah, erm… that..." the young turtle murmured while glancing away shyly.
"Was that your first time?" his friend questioned while turning to face him, finally taking his attention off the night sky.
"Yeah, why, was it yours?" Mikey blurted, suddenly feeling defensive. It wasn't his fault that he lived an isolating lifestyle in the shadows of New York.
Could his friend tell?
Did he do something wrong?
Was his first kiss really that bad?
Michelangelo began fidgeting with his thumbs nervously. In his young mind, he began toying with the idea of his friend leaving him because he was a bad kisser.
Suddenly, the other figure put a comforting hand on Mikey's carapace, chuckling softly as he carefully rolled the ends of his worn orange bandana between his fingertips. The two teens sat side by side in silence for what seemed like ages, staring at the city below and shifting nervously back and forth, each not quite sure what to say to the other, but enjoying the company nonetheless.
Finally, Mikey's friend broke the silence.
"That was my first kiss."
"Really?" Mikey questioned, his eyes growing wide.
"Yeah, really," his friend remarked. "Why, could you tell?"
"I mean, no… but how would I have known?" Mikey questioned while furrowing his brows. "This was my first kiss too."
The two teens stared at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.
Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped they both fell backwards onto the rooftop, gripping their ribs with laughter. Streams of tears rolled down their faces, leaving behind little dark pools on the rough surface. The teens rolled around and laughed until their fits of glee began sounding more and more like bouts of pain.
"My ribs hurt!" Mikey exclaimed to no one in particular.
"Mine do too. Stop making me laugh," his friend wheezed through bits of laughter.
"No, you're the one making us laugh," Mikey retorted as a fresh wave of tears fell from his face.
The two sat side by side laughing into the night sky. Slowly, their laughter began to wane, eventually reaching a halt. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Enjoying the sounds from the city below. They must have sat in silence for a while because his friend's sudden speaking startled him.
"Do you remember when you knew?" his friend gently asked as he scooted closer to the young turtle.
"When I knew what?" Mikey questioned while gently tilting his head to the side so that he could get a better look at the one he had fallen for. He remembered a lot of things and he wasn't quite sure what his friend was asking.
"When you knew you… y'know… knew that you liked me?"
Mikey tilted his head while carefully raising an eyebrow. If he was being completely honest with himself, he never entertained the thought. He preferred to live in the moment and didn't tend to dwell too much on life's many details.
Had he remembered?
After a few more minutes of silent thinking Mikey wasn't sure if there was one specific grandiose event, or a series of small moments. Glancing back at the teen in front of him, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. The moon was bright tonight and it gave his friend's normally tan skin a beautiful glow. He licked his lips as his eyes rested on his friend's pouty grin.
Like a bee going towards honey, Mikey felt an instinctual pull towards this source of happiness. Closing his eyes, Mikey leaned in, his own lips brushing gently against the cheek of the teen.
The youngster turned, placing a gentle peck on Mikey's quivering lips. Pulling away, the teen's deep green eyes pleaded with Mikey, silently willing him to share what he so desperately desired to know.
"I think I remember when I knew," Mikey sighed breathlessly. "But it's kind of… and I…" Mikey paused embarrassed by his own stammering.
"You don't know where to begin?" his friend offered.
"Yeah, Miles. It's kind a long story, I guess," Mikey stated while falling backwards in defeat.
He heard Miles shuffle near his side. Opening his eyes, he recognized that familiar look. The look Miles had given him every time he asked the question. The only question that, at least in Mikey's opinion, truly mattered. Mikey couldn't stop the small smile that made its way to his lips.
He loved this question because he loved Miles.
He loved every part of him, even his quirks because at the end of the day, Miles' little oddity was nowhere near as strange as his very existence. He loved the closeness and the intimacy of this innocent sharing of information that was about to take place.
Miles sat up clearing his throat dramatically. Glaring down, Mikey chuckled as the boy let a mischievous smirk adorn his youthful features. Carefully, he lay down next to Michelangelo, placing his head in the crook of his plastron. As Miles began reaching up towards his face, Mikey caught the teen's hand midway and guided it towards his eyes.
Mikey allowed his eyes to drift shut.
"Relax, Mike."
He let himself succumb to the warmth that radiated from the teen's hands. The hands that he had grown to love. Or better yet, the hands that belonged to the boy who had captured his heart. The boy who had opened his mind to endless possibilities that he didn't even know existed in the universe. He loved Miles' gift. It was truly magical and it gave them the ability to relive many adventures together.
The feeling of being completely vulnerable to another's embrace was completely terrifying and invigorating. He opened his mind, his heart, and soul to the boy, to Miles, the wandering being looking for somewhere to lay down his roots for the future. He didn't mind sharing. He could let Miles see and experience feelings and events that he never thought of sharing with his own family.
All through the touch of a hand to his eyes.
The feeling of fuzzy weightlessness began setting in. Mikey felt himself becoming more and more removed from the present. He loved this feeling. He felt invincible.
Just before all ties were cut to the present, he heard Miles whisper the question into his ear.
The question…
His question…
No, their question…
"Well, Mikey," Miles voice rang out clear and strong, "if you don't know where to begin, why don't you just take me there?"
And with that, Mikey's tether to the present was cut.
Darkness hit Michelangelo like a stack of bricks, his mind blindly flying through an ethereal realm with no clear end in sight. His perspective of time became more and more distorted as he continued onward with no clear destination in sight. As unsettling as this feeling was, it was familiar. He had taken Miles into the deep recesses of his subconscious on more than one occasion and he found relief in knowing that this particular feeling of endless ambiguity would soon pass.
He knew because he trusted Miles and he would eagerly show Miles everything.
Everything from the very beginning, with that chance encounter, until this moment on the rooftop where they shared their first kiss. As if his silent plea was answered, his flight through the suffocating space began to cease. Slowly, splashes of light began to fill his pitch-black vision.
Familiar sounds and smells titillated his heightened senses as the memory of that fateful night crept into his mind like a ghostly fog. He could smell the scent of buttery popcorn and he could feel energy that provided life to an otherwise cold vessel. A familiar sound began to emerge from the veil of the fine mist, guiding him down the endless well of memories.
This was it, where it all began. Where he will begin his story.
He would show Miles his story of how he fell head over shell in love with him.
"It takes a village to raise a child," is a popular saying that I find very applicable to all aspects of life. As a new writer, I was humbled by the overwhelming support, education, and encouragement that I have received from this community. Fanfiction offers writers and readers alike with a creative outlet. A means to express ourselves and share our love for creative writing and popular culture with the world. I would like to extend an extra special thanks to Ravenshell and Dondena for their beta reading.
-WK