Title: "Vacation At Last"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: G
Summary: Every one needs a vacation sometime.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
"That's it!" she says, throwing up her hands. Everybody stops talking at once and gawks at her. Donald silences in mid-squawk. Daisy's eyes mist over.
"Gawsh," Goofy whispers.
"I've had enough!" Minnie continues. "I can't work like this any more! I need a vacation!"
Fiagro meows and reaches up a tiny, white-tipped paw. Minnie immediately softens, bends down, picks him up, and begins to cuddle him. "Oh, Fiagro, it's okay. It's not you," she croons. They rub noses for a moment. Then, both their tails slash through the air, and they look pointedly at Mickey, who's standing beside Donald.
"Was it something I said?" the duck questions. He then shoots a glower at Chip and Dale, who are laughing hysterically at the edge of the set.
"N-No, I don't think so," Mickey speaks cautiously. He approaches his lifelong girl with as much wariness as though he's walking into a room filled with mouse traps. "M-Minnie?" he squeaks.
She turns and stalks away, her tail and Fiagro's swishing in matching irritation. She walks off of the set, through the studios, and out into the bright sunlight filled with the music of rides, the high-pitched screams of children, and the delicious aromas of fried foods, ice cream, and cotton candy. Mickey follows her all the way but doesn't speak again until they are outside. "M-Minnie?"
"Oh, Mickey!" She sighs. "I know I overreacted to you scrambling your line, but I'm so tired! I never get a break!" She waves a hand at the rides. "I can't even enjoy the park any more without hordes of children screaming my name!" She looks sadly over at him; her big, black ears made a motion somewhere between a wriggle and a downwards scrunching as though both trying to get attention and protect themselves. "Their screams hurt."
"I know," he says and takes her in his arms.
"MINNIE MOUSE!" a child screams. Minnie braces herself, but Mickey whirls them back into the studio and slams and locks the door behind them. She looks up at him in surprise and sniffles, stopping one long tear from falling all the way down her face.
Fiagro mews and reaches for Mickey with a paw. Mickey takes his paw, squeezes it softly and fondly, and scratches his little, furry head before looking back up to his mother. "How about this?" he squeaks. "We take a break on shooting for the rest of the week." He knows all his friends are tired and frustrated like Minnie; she was only the first one to break. "We can stay home during the day if we want," he continues, knowing he never actually could, "play games, shop, sleep, cuddle with Fiagro - whatever -, and then, late at night, after closing, we come back to the park and ride or play games or do whatever we want to. The park is ours from midnight to six AM."
Minnie sniffles. "You'd do that for me?" she asks in surprise. Fiagro meows, looking up at his crying mother, and leans up. He puts two, tiny paws on her polka dotted blouse and licks her cheek in his imitation of a kiss.
Mickey wrings his gloved hands. He slides a shoe across the floor. His tail whisks around behind him. "You . . . You know I'd do anything for you."
"Oh, Mickey!" Minnie cries. She grabs him and kisses him, but then she frowns. "What about my daily Princess parade?" she asks. "The little girls would be so upset!"
"I'll hire somebody," he answers, thinking quickly, "to dress, look, and act like you and Donald and Daisy and Goofy - "
" - and you," she says quickly, breaking in on him. She hugs him. "You deserve a vacation, too!" She kisses him again.
"Aw, shucks!" Mickey blushes, but he asks himself silently and simultaneously, Can he really do it? Can he, too, take a vacation at long last?
Almost as if sensing his thoughts, Minnie tells him, "You will. As your girl, I command it." Mickey laughs nervously but smiles truthfully, and then Minnie keeps him from thinking too seriously as she starts covering him with kisses. Fiagro meows happily and pounces and rolls across both giant mice. His parents are finally taking time off! Now they'll have plenty of time to play with him! And who knows? Maybe they'll finally get married, too!
The End