You know that feeling you get when you're at a party, you know nobody there, and you end up having a conversation with a complete stranger for hours on end over such nonsense you cringe when you look back on that moment?
Take that awkwardness and multiply it by a thousand when Mickey realized how little he knew about his brother despite how much they've talked.
Ever since Mickey's second visit to the Wastelands, Yen Sid has allowed him to keep contact with Oswald. It was only fair. They WERE family after all. They're nightly contact was almost like a video chat through the mirror. Whenever the brothers wanted to talk, they could at the snap of their fingers.
Usually they didn't really talk about much. Mostly about how their day had been, plans for upcoming events in their respective worlds, and that was about it. And that was EXACTLY what crossed Mickey's mind one day on his way back home from work. The sad truth of how he knew literally NOTHING about Oswald after all this time.
Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. He knew a few things. Like how Oswald could detach his limbs willingly. He had a wife and kids. He was the first to arrive in the Wastelands. He was a pretty good leader. He had a short temper. Not to mention how tech savvy he was. But other than that, anything personal about the rabbit was unknown, and that made Mickey facepalm over and over as he walked into his house.
He had been talking to Oswald each night for over a month now and he didn't even know his favorite color!
Mickey couldn't help but give a frustrated sigh as he hung up his coat, his mind cursing him over and over with how oblivious he was until now. Discussions of weather and work was saved for strangers you meet on the bus! Not for family! Not for his brother!
"I can't believe I didn't realize it! What kind of brother am I?!" Mickey groaned out loud, falling back on his bed with an upset look.
Now, Mickey wasn't one to be so angry at himself, especially considering that Oswald hadn't exactly tried getting to know him, but Mickey could let that go given how socially awkward Oswald could be. Oswald was at least aware of his existence while MICKEY was the one that didn't even know his brother existed until a year ago, and he hadn't made ANY effort to learn more about him despite that fact.
"Honestly Mickey...you're the supposed best friend to all and yet you treat your brother like a stranger..."
Mickey slapped a pillow over his face with an annoyed growl, not at all realizing a familiar face appearing on the mirror until a voice was heard.
"Uhh...bad time?"
Mickey jumped and let out a yelp of shock, the pillow flying across the room in his wake. Oswald couldn't help but laugh at his brother's reaction, causing an embarrassed blush to come to Mickey's face.
"O-OH! Oswald! Hey! HI! Uh...s'up?" Mickey managed to say, a nervous chuckle escaping as he climbed up to his usual spot on the mantelpiece.
Oswald raised an eyebrow before answering.
"Uh...fine? You?" he answered, suspicion in his voice.
Mickey gave an uncontrollable chuckle.
"Well...ya know...stuff...things...stuff..."
"...cool..."
Both were silent for a moment before Mickey gave a sigh.
"Okay, this is getting too awkward for my liking. Oswald, what's your favorite color?"
Oswald looked his brother up and down in confusion.
"Um...excuse me?"
Mickey gave him a look.
"Oswald. I've been thinking about stuff lately. Stuff about you and me."
Oswald raised an eyebrow.
"Dangerous business there...thinking. Penny for your thoughts?" he asked with a half smile.
Mickey didn't smile back.
"Oswald, I'm serious. We've been talking to each other every night for the past month and we still know literally NOTHING about each other!"
Oswald looked taken aback at this.
"Of course I know things about you! You...uh...um...I...uh...you...really...like to paint? I guess? And you...are an actor...you...um...have a cartoon club! And...uh..." Oswald tried, facepalming as soon as he ran out of things to say.
"Yeah...now I see your point."
Mickey sighed.
"You see? I didn't even know you existed a year ago and I STILL don't know any more than I did last time I saw you in person. You at least KNEW I existed! And yet you don't know much about ME either! We're brothers! We're FAMILY! Shouldn't we know more about each other than what the weather's like where we are?"
Oswald's eyes widened at Mickey's words. He hadn't seen his little brother so worked up in awhile...especially not THIS worked up.
Mickey looked down with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I-I'm sorry Ozzy. It's just...you and me...we're the only family we've got left. I went my whole life not knowing I had a brother at all...and you've lived most of your life with just a vague idea of what I was like. We were lucky...so VERY very lucky to be able to meet the way we did. I...honestly can't say I've had a proper family before. And not being able to honestly say with confidence that I know small, simple things about my older brother...it just hurts a little bit. I WANT to be able to know more about my family. I WANT to be able to make up for so much lost time...I just...can't believe I haven't tried to do it sooner. I'm...real sorry Ozzy..."
Oswald looked down a moment, comprehending what his brother said. He hadn't realized until now how much of a stranger him and Mickey still were to each other. They had gone through literal Hell and back for one another...and yet they never bothered sitting down and properly introduce themselves to one another. Talk about their likes and dislikes. Their hobbies. Their ambitions. Their hopes and dreams. Their fears. They never bothered to try and bond properly. Mickey was right...they were still pretty foreign to each other. And the worst part is...his brother was blaming HIMSELF for that.
Oswald glanced up to Mickey once more, his brother's sad face sending a pang into his chest. With a deep breath, he finally broke the silence.
"...Aquamarine..."
Mickey's eyes widened as he looked up.
"What?"
Oswald gave a small smile.
"My favorite color. You asked earlier...and...well...it's Aquamarine."
Mickey was silent for a moment before giving a smile of his own.
"I'm more partial to Lavender myself." he answered, making Oswald chuckle.
"I thought it was Red."
Mickey shrugged.
"Eh, it looks nice...but Lavender reminds me of this beautiful field I used to visit when I was fresh off the drawing board. Miles upon miles of light purple flowers. Near a stream. Under the Florida sun. It was beautiful. I remember going out there every chance I could just so I could sketch em."
Oswald smiled.
"Huh...guess the paintbrush really WAS a perfect fit for you."
Mickey rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't go THAT far. I'm more of a performer than an artist. You know that." he replied.
Oswald couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, guess that's true. Definitely something you've got that I don't."
Mickey raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Oswald gave him a look.
"Seriously? Look at you! You're Mickey Mouse! An all American icon! Stellar on stage! Cool under pressure! Master of improv! I mean...It takes EVERYTHING to keep myself from blowing up the way I do and I can't carry a tune to save my life! And it's been so long...I don't think I could EVER do what you can so perfectly. How do you even pull it off?"
Mickey stared at him for a moment before doubling over in laughter.
"M-M-Me? Perfect? Th-That's a good one!" Mickey breathed between laughing fits, putting a confused look on Oswald's face.
"Bro...I'm a lot of things...but PERFECT...that ain't one of em. Performing may be my forte, but it doesn't mean I'm an EXPERT at it. It's taken me YEARS to get to where I am now. Years of mistakes, broken sets, forgotten lines, and don't even get me STARTED on my dancing...Minnie has enough bruises on her feet from all the times she's danced with me to last her a lifetime!"
Oswald covered his mouth to keep himself from snickering.
"Seriously? You? Have two left feet? I don't believe that."
Mickey chuckled.
"Yeah yeah yeah. You laugh now, but I'm a hot MESS when it comes to dancing. It takes weeks upon weeks of practiced choreography in order to do what I do on set. And even THEN it takes over fifty takes to get it right. Most of the time on set is spent with me tripping, falling, and trying to smile even though every part of me is absolutely SCREAMING from all the times I've fallen into a wall, the floor, or a piece of furniture."
The idea of his younger brother tripping and falling on a movie set was enough to send Oswald into hysterics, the serious look on Mickey's face making it all the more rich to him.
"Oh my god...you're almost as bad as me!"
Oswald's eyes widened and he instantly covered his mouth when he realized what he had just said, a blush coming to his face.
Mickey raised an eyebrow and gave a smirk.
"Now what is THAT supposed to mean?"
Oswald shook his head wildly, eyes wide in embarrassment.
A grin soon came to Mickey's face.
"Are you implying that my DEAR older brother has had his OWN set of screw ups? NOW I'm interested..."
Oswald shot his little brother a glare.
"I hate you...SO much..."
Mickey laughed slightly.
"Aw C'MON Ozzy! How bad could it be?" he asked innocently.
Oswald gave a gruff sigh as he brought his hands down.
"Try having you, yourself and you nearly ruin a marriage proposal...your OWN marriage proposal..."
Mickey's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh...wow! I was just joking! Really?"
Oswald smiled sheepishly.
"Heh heh...yeah...not...my best moment..."
Mickey looked at him worriedly.
"What happened?"
Oswald gulped slightly with a nervous grin.
"Well, I guess to understand that...you'd have to understand how I met Ortensia. It was way back a long time ago...long before the Wastelands and when...dad was still working for Universal Studios. I think it was...1927 maybe? Me and a few others were on set preparing to film a new short. The Banker's Daughter. Was gonna be a pretty simple cartoon...except this one was different from the others. It was gonna be my Ortensia's big debut. I remembered vaguely hearing her name once in my dressing room, but the only way I knew of her otherwise was through her stage name in the script...Sadie. I never saw her face to face until that first day of shooting...and when I first saw her walk through that door...no joke Mick...I felt like someone just lit a match and dropped it into my chest. All I could feel was this burning hot pressure on my heart...and even after I came here...it never went away. She was just so...perfect. Her sweet smile, the grace she carried with her, her beautiful eyes, that melodic voice...she was like a fallen angel..."
Mickey raised an eyebrow as Oswald seemed to ramble for a few moments, a lovey dovey look on his face.
"Um...Oswald?"
Oswald shook his head as he snapped back into reality.
"Oh! Yeah! Sorry! Anyway...all throughout that first day of shooting...I tried to do everything in my power to catch her attention without making it too obvious. Had a job to do after all. But...I wasn't really good at subtlety. And my attempts to get her to notice me may have lead to...a few extra retakes because I accidentally stared so long I forgot my lines, or tripped over a prop, or forgot some choreography. At one point I managed to bring the whole set down because I tripped over one of the boards holding it up. Dad wasn't pleased...but Ortensia found it hilarious. After the week of shooting, she insisted on taking me out with her sometime. She...asked me out on a date...after a week of me making a fool of myself...because she found my attempts at her heart amusing."
Mickey snickered slightly at the blush on Oswald's face.
"That's actually kinda cute. But what does that have to do with you're near failure at proposing?"
Oswald glanced up as the blush disappeared.
"I was getting to that. After a year or so of dating, she and I became closer and closer. She became the only person I considered a friend...the only one I thought of as family besides dad...she was...my everything...and so much more than that. I...wanted so badly to call her mine. So after a few months of me going back and forth with myself, I decided to propose on the anniversary of the day we first met. At the very same studio. On the very same set. Just to add a little bit of heart to it. I remember planning that moment for nearly six months. I wanted to make sure everything went perfectly. One thing to know about me...I'm a perfectionist. I never try to do ANYTHING without a proper plan. But...that might've been my downfall. I spent so much time physically preparing...I hadn't even THOUGHT of mental preparation. On the night of our anniversary, I was sitting on a prop couch on set. I was dressed as nicely as I could. The ring box was in my pocket. The recording of our first cartoon together was in the projector. Everything was how I planned it..."
Oswald then sighed and gruffly and rolled his eyes.
"But what I DIDN'T plan for was my own stupidity! When Ortensia showed up, the reality of what I was going to try to do hit me like a freight train. I began to feel the same kind of nerves I felt the first day I met her. The whole night, I couldn't control my own body. I was sweating ink, unintentionally deattaching limbs, tripping over air, and there were times I couldn't get my voice to work. Ortensia knew something was up, but I just kept brushing it off like an IDIOT! I got so scared...I tried to up and run away with the intent to never come back."
Mickey's eyes widened.
"You DIDN'T!"
Oswald gulped.
"Yeah...I did. I tried to run away...but...in one of my escape attempts...I ended up losing an ear...and I tripped over it...and...crashed right into the projector with the only known copy of The Banker's Daughter playing...there was fire...and smoke...and I was so terrified of what I did I couldn't move. Luckily, Ortensia was able to get some staff in and the worst of the damage was taken care of...but...the cartoon that brought us together...was destroyed. Because I was too scared to do what I took her there to do. Outside the studio, I was so upset with myself that I ended up spending five minutes on a park bench just...crying. Ortensia was there three of those five minutes...and she didn't say anything. She just let me cry. She...hugged me close to her. She stroked my ears...and...just...let me be upset for five full minutes. After I calmed down, all I could do was stare at her. She lost something so important to her that night, and she didn't even think of herself. She was only worried about me. Her ridiculous, embarrassing, awkward, short tempered, and over confident boyfriend that had taken her legacy from her. I knew right then that I had to do it. No matter how scared I was...I couldn't lose someone like her. So when she asked me what had just happened...I told her EVERYTHING. From the first moment I saw her to when she watched me cry for five straight minutes. After I was done. I got down on one knee...opened the box...and asked her to be mine. And unsurprisingly...she excepted. Despite all the problems I caused that night...she said yes. And that's how the worst mess up I've ever caused...happened on the best day of my life."
"Awwwwwww!"
Oswald chuckled when he saw Mickey wiping his teary eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.
"That was BEAUTIFUL! "
Oswald grinned.
"Yeah. My best and worst moment of all time. Bet YOUR proposal went WAY smoother than mine little bro."
Mickey couldn't help but yelp in surprise, his face turning red as sweat beaded up on his forehead.
"P-P-Proposal?! M-Me? OH no no no no no no no! Minnie and I aren't MARRIED!"
Oswald was instantly confused.
"Wait...what? But I thought you two have been together for years!"
Mickey smiled nervously.
"W-We have! Still going strong too...I just...heh heh...haven't...taken the next step yet..."
Oswald's eyes widened before he gave himself a ginormous facepalm.
"Seriously?"
Mickey raised an eyebrow, his face still red.
"Uhh...yes?"
Oswald gave him a look.
"Mick...you two have been dating for YEARS! Even by TOON standards that's a long time! I know from experience, a girl can only wait so long for a proposal!"
Mickey sighed and covered his eyes with his hands as he face reddened more.
"I know I KNOW! And I WANT to do it. More than ANYTHING! Minnie's the best thing to ever happen to me. She's smart, adorable, sweet, and one of the strongest-willed people I've ever known. I just...don't know if...if I...if...I-I..."
No matter how hard Mickey tried, he couldn't stop stuttering, making it all too clear what he was talking about.
"You don't know if YOU can measure up to all that?"
Mickey brought his hands down with an embarrassed look.
"Yes...I never would've gotten this far without her help...she's seen me at my best and worse...and...behind the curtain...I can be a REAL piece of work. Even to her. There are times when I'm so oblivious to what's going on that I don't realize I've accidently hurt someone until it's too late. Or I end up freaking out over something so much that I'm unable to move. And when I realize I did something wrong, I end up going the most difficult route to try and fix it...and it usually makes things worse. In reality, I'm the dictionary DEFINITION of a mess. Why would she want to spend the rest of her life with someone like me?"
Oswald looked his brother up and down in shock. He hadn't ever even THOUGHT that Mickey was so hard on himself. Especially to this extent. It just proved that Mickey was RIGHT when he said he wasn't anything close to perfect. And while it made Oswald feel a little bit better about his own shortcomings, it was drowned out by the pain in his chest over seeing Mickey so...unhappy with himself. It was like looking in a mirror...literally AND figuratively.
"Mick...stuff like that is NORMAL! Especially with someone who leads as stressful a job as you. It would be INHUMAN for anyone to do what you do without any anxiety or fear. Everyone has moments like that at one point or another. It's a set of obstacles a lot of people can struggle with. Just because you're one of those people...it doesn't make you any less of who you are already. Because despite all that doubt, you still go out and do the same job day after day. You let people in to help you. You ALLOW yourself to be helped! That's something I can say I've never been able to do. So believe me when I say Mickey...you have NOTHING to worry about with Minnie. If she's been nothing but good to you all these years. If she's stepped in and helped you without once asking for you to be different. If you feel comfortable with talking to her about stuff that upsets you. If she's stuck by you all this time even when you DO mess up...then she's the one for you. Girls like her are hard to come by. Hang onto her for as long as possible...okay?"
Mickey couldn't help but smile slightly as tears gathered in his eyes, his chest feeling as if a weight had been lifted from it.
"O-Okay...thank you Ozzy. I...never realized how much I needed to hear that."
Oswald smiled before giving an embarrassed laugh.
"Heh...sorry for making you cry so much tonight."
Mickey shrugged as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Eh, it's not that big of a deal. I'm...honestly glad you did. It's good to know that you're not as judgemental as you make yourself out to be." Mickey answered with a laugh.
"And it's good to know that you're not as level headed and perfect as YOU make yourself out to be."
The two couldn't help but share a laugh at the thought.
"Well, I'm glad we were able to talk tonight. Like, REALLY talk." Oswald finally said, a genuine smile on his face.
Mickey nodded.
"Yeah...me too. Remind to hug you tighter than usual when you finally get out of the Wastelands..."
Oswald rolled his eyes.
"Like THAT'LL ever happen. But...thanks. That means a lot."
Mickey debated for a moment on whether or not he should tell Oswald about the thing he did that day. But after a few moments, he decided against it. It would be more meaningful if it was a surprise.
"Well, I better get back to Ortensia soon. About time the kids were put to bed and it's...more of a TWO person job. Talk to you soon little bro!"
Mickey nodded.
"Goodnight!"
The two shared their farewells before the mirror connection turned off, Mickey's own reflection reappearing on the screen. With a relieved sigh, Mickey jumped from the mantelpiece and walked over to his briefcase, unclipping the locks before flipping to the top open, what lay inside making him grin uncontrollably.
"Don't you worry about a thing Ozzy...freedom is closer than you may think."
As a yawn escaped from Mickey's mouth, he decided it was time to turn in for the night. He had a long filming shoot the next day after all. So with a stretch, he walked out of the room to prepare for bed, the moonlight that flooded through his window illuminating the contents of the briefcase brightly. A manilla folder marked "Wasteland Video Game Concept For Disney" in neat, black ink.
The key to getting Oswald and his family...the life they deserved.