Stretching, Mikey made his way through the small apartment, trying to be as quiet as he could. Amazingly, contrary to popular belief, he was quite capable of being quiet. He just found it normally quite boring when noise, excitement and movement added so much flavor to one's life. That was why he was always rushing around-why be quiet when you could embrace the moment?
In this case though, it wasn't his idea.
They'd come to April's when Splinter got sick with some kind of cold and Donnie was worried it might turn into pneumonia. The water plant had been put through a lot of upgrades, courtesy of their resident genius (updates that he had "recruited" his brothers to assist with) but the fact of the matter was that wet air was still wet air. April, in all her awesomeness, had been quick to offer her apartment, on the condition that no Foot Ninjas broke through and burned it to the ground again.
Donnie said that Sensei was improving and that they could probably head back to the Lair tomorrow. That was excellent news to Mikey! April had to man her store downstairs during the day and that meant that they couldn't exactly be rambunctious and loud. Their training had been pushed into the evening, after April closed shop. While on the one hand, it meant that he could sleep in (glorious sleep!) it also meant they were very limited during the daytime hours. As it was, he had even grown bored with his handheld video games and was desperate for SOMETHING to do.
If it was winter, then they might have been able to sneak out a bit during the day because in winter, people were more concerned with getting inside than paying attention to what was going on around them. Slowed them down quite a bit though as the reason no one was paying attention was because it was so cold and when the humans were cold, they usually were freezing! And freezing meant that their reflexes were slower. Winter, aside from the fun that came with Christmas, was not the season for mutated turtles. Now, summer...that was the season he was made for! The time to be moving around and jumping and exploring and everything inbetween! Summer though, there were tourists and kids and everybody was everywhere!
Hence, the current house arrest. He understood it; it had always been that way but that didn't mean it was fun. Worse when they were staying on the surface and couldn't go out and enjoy the wondrousness of life that was just past their fingertips!
Such was the ninja life.
Passing through the living room, he spotted his father sitting on his pallet, reading through a book as Donatello and Raphael bantered back and forth on the couch, currently watching the end of a game. He could hear Leo in the kitchen, making some kind of snack. Speaking of which...
"Hey Mikey..." Leo greeted his sibling as he pulled a bowl from April's cabinet. "You wanna join us for a movie fest?" He gestured to the freshly popped popcorn coming from the microwave and oh, if it did not smell heavenly. Though, Leo never did get the hang of what was an appropriate amount of butter for a bowl. A drizzle of butter was hardly satisfactory! One should be unable to grasp anything for two hours post-popcorn eating due to the amount of grease that should be distributed to the fingers.
That being said though, the popcorn wasn't burnt! Color him impressed! "Leo, you didn't burn it?" He inquired incredulously.
Eyes narrowed in annoyance, Leo countered "I can pop a bag of microwave popcorn, thank you very much!"
"Not like that bowl of soup when we first got here?" Raph called from the living room.
"Hey!" Leo countered "I didn't see you do any better!"
Unfazed, the hot blooded turtle responded "Cause if Mikey's available, why try? He'll make it better than me anyway." Raph may not have usually gone out of his way to praise his youngest brother (didn't want him to get a bigger head) but truth was the truth and the truth was that out of all of them, Mikey was the only one he trusted to make food that would not make them puke their insides out.
On the contrary, it usually was take-out-level good. If he'd ever had the chance to actually eat in a restaurant, he might have called it culinary level good.
Not that he'd admit that out loud, of course.
Donnie chuckled, half turned, arm draped over the back of the couch and called "And I was the one that popped the bag, Leo. You just opened the microwave!"
"Ah," Mikey responded, raising a finger as if experiencing a deep epiphany. "That explains everything..."
Shoving his sibling with his shoulder, Leo remarked as he picked up the bowl and jostled the snack temptingly "Fine, we don't have to share..."
"Using food as a weapon? Totally against ethics, bro!" He followed his eldest sibling to the living room and inquired "So what's on the entertainment agenda?" He beamed, leaning over the couch and wedging his way in between Donnie and Raph much to their annoyance.
"Your face meetin' my fist if ya don't move," Raph snapped at him.
Donnie added "Yeah, Mikey. Don't crowd us!" He raised a brow "And I doubt the back of this couch is used to taking on your weight."
Pouting "You callin' me fat?" he challenged but slipped off and rounded the cushions, flopping down across the laps of his siblings, at least for a moment until both Donnie and Raph pushed him to the ground.
Sitting up, well used to such treatment, Mikey inquired again, "So what are we watching?"
"Sin City"
"The Last Samurai"
"Back to the Future."
Blinking, Mikey commented, sitting up "Seems we have a difference of opinion, my bros." He draped one arm on his knee and observed his siblings. A difference of opinion was never anything unusual but that didn't mean it always ended well. Given the vastly different genres, well, this might get ugly. If he tried to suggest something, it would just be ignored until they had settled their venting of opinions. So, he sat back and waited.
Didn't have to wait long.
"Seriously, Donnie? Back to the Future?" Raph
"It's a classic!"
"It's old!"
"Well, Sin City is just violence-porn!" Leo fired back.
Mikey winced. Yeah, this was going to get ugly.
"And whatta you call your Samurai movie?" Raph retorted. "It ain't any better."
"I'll have you know, Raphael," Leonardo responded in kind "That The Last Samurai is based off the Satsuma Rebellion-"
Donatello interrupted "Oh, come on, Leo. I know you love a good movie based in Japan but it's LOOSELY based and that's being fairly generous."
"So are your scientific "facts" in Back to the Future" the leader countered.
"Hey," Donnie retorted quickly, hands up in a peaceful surrender pose "I never claimed that they are factual. Just that the movie's fun."
"So is the Last Samurai," Leonardo stated simply and firmly.
Rolling his eyes, Raph argued "Uh, not really, Fearless. I'm pretty sure you're the only one that doesn't fall asleep during that one." Donnie, while not outright agreeing gave a semi-affirmative shrug of the shoulders.
Setting his bowl to the side, and hardly wanting this to evolve into an argument, Leo shifted, then stood "Well, what's another-"
"REEEOW!"
Yelping, the four turtles jumped as Klunk, who had been sleeping quite soundly under the couch, took offense to Leo stepping on his tail as he stood and the frantic feline darted across the room, sending Leo's bowl flying in the process. Donnie dove and caught it before the glass clattered completely to the ground, attempting and failing to salvage the few kernels that had not become projectiles.
Mikey was already on his feet and scowled at Leo, "Big foot!" as he pushed his sibling aside. A moment later, he was darting out of the room, following the direction that his cat had darted, calling "Klunk! It's okay. Uncle Leo just has big feet!" If he heard Raph and Donnie snicker behind him at his rather exasperated older brother, he made no indication of it.
It didn't take him long to locate the distressed kitty. Klunk had his favorite places both at home and here and they were usually his go-to places when he was upset. Thus, when Mikey made his way into April's office, it was unsurprising to locate his battered feline on April's windowseat, stretching out amid the sunlight and licking at his tail. Face contorting into an expression of utmost pity, Michelangelo took his seat next to the animal before gently pulling him into his arms, gently scratching behind his ears "Aw, I'm sorry Klunkie." He gave the cat a kiss on the head, "Uncle Leo is sorry too. Poor kitty."
Klunk meowed in appreciation of the comfort and nuzzled against his owner, clearing making it apparent that more cuddling and pampering would be required for this transgression to be forgiven. As always, Mikey was more than happy to oblige, curling up in the corner of the window seat and begin his routine of petting and sratching and coddling his beloved cat.
Eyes trailing outside, Mikey glanced down at the streets below. Amid the warm light, he could see kids riding their bikes, couples walking hand in hand, people jostling along amid the sidewalks on their way to and from work, college, family homes and who knew what else. With the horrible traffic, standard for New York, he could make out some trailers, some trucks with coolers and surfboards as people headed for the beach. He saw one car literally packed to gills with what looked like tents wrapped on the roof.
"Must be nice, huh, Klunk?" He inquired to his small cat, nuzzling his head.
Cocking his head lightly, the cat let out a half-whine in inquiry.
"Being able to just go wherever ya want." Mikey felt inclined to explain. "Man, do you know what my bros and I would do if we could go anywhere, any time?"
The cat mewed and nuzzled his master, turning a bit but shifting his bright eyes up at him. Smiling at his favorite companion, Mikey scratched under the cat's chin "Yeah, we probably would get in trouble. But it would be the best kind of trouble!" He smirked, his eyes still on the streets below as a handful of teenagers rushed by, jumping their skateboards on the guardrails by the subway entrance. "Yep...would totally do that!"
He HAD done that but the point of skateboarding wasn't the tricks itself, it was the people you did it with, it was the atmosphere. He and his brothers had gone out at night when they could but they still usually had to keep to the shadows. New York was the city that never slept after all. There was usually SOMEONE about. That brief time when the power had gone out and they had been able to actually ride in the open had been glorious. It had never happened again.
Absentmindedly, Mikey found himself pondering what it would be like to actually go to the park and skateboard like a regular person. He was really the only person that liked to skateboard but he could just picture Raph rollerblading, Leo on his bike and Donnie on his scooter as they zipped through the park. Leo calling after him that he was going to "break his neck" and Donnie offering some scientific explanation against it as Raph laughed and tried to outdo him. Maybe even finding a couple of teens his age to duke it out with while Leo and Donnie took bets on the depth of injuries that would be obtained. That kind of thought...a carefree, no worries and let's-just-be-teenagers-for-once...
Nice to think about.
He saw people paddling in central Park sometimes when they watched TV or if they passed by the park, he could hear the laughter. April had teased about how Casey had taken her on a boat ride, trying to be romantic, and had wound up capsizing the thing. Much as she had probably griped at Casey for it, she stated it had been touching, in its own sweet way.
Mikey wondered, scratching Klunk's head as he watched everyone scurry below, what would he and his brothers be like if they didn't have to live in the shadows. Would they have been taking a boat ride in the park? Eh, probably not but the vendors with food, the zoo...
Smirking down at his feline friend, Mikey asked aloud "Whatta you think Klunk? Be nice to see animals when they're actually awake."
Oh, they sometimes snuck in at night but all the diurnal animals were always in the back or asleep so they had a limited selection. Could they throw on human clothes and go during the day but kind of like when they went to the museum for Donnie, they had to go when there was little people and even then, their senses were always on alert. Hard to enjoy yourself if you're worried about being discovered and dissected.
Mikey smiled at his pet "Aw, but they wouldn't be as awesome as you Klunkie!" He assured the animal who purred lightly in response before squirming loose.
The cat stretched a bit and jumped down, pacing the floor and finally laying on his back where the sun filtered in the window. With a mew of satisfaction, Klunk settled, content.
Mikey snorted a little with a laugh. "So I've been rejected for a warm patch on the floor? Way to make me feel bad, Klunkers!" All the same, he followed his feline companion and sat, letting the light flow in. Bright but oh if it didn't feel good. He stripped off his mask and pads and flopped next to his pet, admitting that being able to feel that sun on his face and skin really was the best thing in the world.
Like the farm, he mused to himself.
That place, despite being "forgotten by Time itself!" had been one of the few places that he could truly and honestly say he felt "safe" at. Those places were far and few between and truthfully, even home didn't always feel "safe."
It had been broken too many times, found too many times and they had been scattered and shattered too many times. Despite Donnie's continued improvements and security measures, it was always in the back of the mind—how long will this one last?
The farm though, that place had been untouched. Maybe not physically as there had been that minor incident with Cousin Sid but...in comparison, that had hardly been a threat. It still felt...emotionally untouched. Spiritually clean, so to speak.
Maybe weird to think of him as pondering such things but he did. More often than any of his family was aware of. He couldn't help it. Donnie was a thinker, Raph was a do-er, Leo was a planner and Mikey was a feeler. He couldn't help but think about it because his emotions wouldn't shut up about it. Especially coming off of a time like this when there was worry about Sensei...he automatically tried to recapture that serene emotion.
Oh, one would think that because of the circumstances of going there the first time that Mikey would loathe the memory but quite the opposite! He couldn't speak for his whole family but for him, that place represented healing. That wasn't the place where Leo got hurt; that was the place where Leo woke up. That wasn't the place where Leo nearly died; that was the place where Leo survived and thrived. That wasn't the place where Leo broke; that was the place where Leo grew.
They'd been there a few times afterwards, every now and again. Well, when they could in-between the life-and-death situations that had become c'est la vie for them. Every time, no matter what time of year, Mikey found himself lost in the best possible way. Sometimes he would simply wander the trees, sometimes they would swim and sometimes, even hyperactive Mikey would find himself perfectly content to just loaf in the hayloft of the barn.
He'd cover it up with his complaints about no cable but truthfully, he could easily see himself just living there. No real goal in mind but doing more than just existing. Living, like, as in actually discovering and growing and not fighting every day and just enjoying the family he had. Raph seemed to calm there, Leo relaxed and even though Donnie didn't have all his mechanical "toys" he would have all the time in the world to just fiddle with whatever he happened across. Master Splinter seemed content, at peace.
No vengeance, no war, no fighting.
Nice. Closing his eyes, Mikey let himself drift, the warm of the sun soothed over his skin and he could almost imagine himself back there on that farm. The sweet scent of the apples, the soft breeze, the light chirping of bugs and crickets. The simplest of comforts.
Klunk's fur against his skin, he could almost imagine it to be grass. The light banter drifting in from the living room, he could nearly see it as the fun teasing and playful jests that his siblings would do as they wrestled in the clovers. Simple. Life really was more complicated than it needed to be. Warm sun. Food. Family. Shelter. That was all he needed. So, for a few hours, what harm would it do to let that warm sunshine let him drift?
He could practically...it was like he was there again. Warmth that traveled over his body and into it and outward again. A sense of utter and complete tranquility that made even his hyperactive mind still and calm and just...be. Family by his side and no conversation even required. Just a feeling of belongingness. In a life where they never really belonged anywhere, that feeling was golden. Klunk had the right idea. Let's linger in it, even if it was only in the mind. Simplest of comforts.
Mikey never did know how long he slept. All he knew was that when he did wake, his eyes fluttered open on not a bare wooden floor but on a nest of limbs.
Donnie to his left, Raph to his right, Leo curled behind his tail. Not really sleeping but not really awake. Just like him, letting the sunlight...just be. Letting themselves just...be. Occasionally Donnie would turn inward towards him as would Raph and Leo opened his eyes.
Smiled at him. No words, just smiled.
Simplest of comforts.