Friday December 10th, 2021

The restaurant was one that Michelangelo had somehow managed to overlook in the years since he first got to go topside in broad daylight. It wasn't a five-star establishment, or a famous hole in the wall. It was an average looking place; well-kept over the years, sitting quietly by itself in the peripheral vision of one's eye.

He had wondered at first, since he was only given an address and not the name of the place, what made it so special to Alex. That is, until he got close enough to read the sign. The dots connected easily from there.

Michelangelo pulled open the door to 'Jim's Mario's', setting off the little chime as he did so, and blinked to let his eyes adjust to the shift in the lighting. Someone was playing the old piano set up by the bar. When he got closer, squinting still, he realized it was Alex. "Hey, dude!"

The elderly man didn't pause, but he did glance up when he heard his name called out and smiled at his young friend. "You're early, I wasn't expecting you to get here first!"

"Yeah, I know. I had an appointment with Jacob, but it wrapped up faster than I thought so I figured I'd pop by now." Michelangelo took a seat at the table closest to the piano and watched the retiring cabbie play. The melody was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place the song. He glanced around the room, drinking in the little details. "So this is the restaurant your friend owned back in the day?"

"Yup!" Alex finished the song, and shifted on the bench to face him. "A bunch of us used to hang out here after work at the end of the week. Man, those were fun times. The food was never anything to get excited over, but it was decent enough. It almost closed in the early 80's, but Jim wouldn't stand for that so he bought the place himself."

"He wanted to keep the gang together," the young mutant remarked with a smile. He'd do the same thing if he had the money and had a special place that he hung out with friends at. It sounded nice. "You still come here since he died?"

"From time to time. When our schedules synch up enough to allow it, like today, we try to meet up here. Although it isn't quite the same without him." The elderly man was quite for a moment, thinking back on those years. "I'll always appreciate that his brother kept the place going after he passed away, Jim would have liked that."

"Yo! Alex!" Someone cheered gleefully from the doorway, drawing their attention to the entrance. They hadn't heard the chime go off. A handsome looking man with graying hair stood there with a bright smile spread on his face. "Man, it's good to see ya! You're looking great!" He practically bounced into the room, and gave the old man a gentle but warm hug. "Sorry I've been out of touch lately, I've been in the Boston area checking out the fresh talent. Man, things have gotten so good in the business since the mutants showed up." He noticed Michelangelo, and grinned bashfully. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I kinda get like that when I get excited." He offered a calloused hand in greeting. "I'm Tony! You gotta be Mikey?"

"Got that right!" Excited himself, the turtle accepted his hand happily and gave it an enthusiastic shake. "This is cool, meeting Alex's old crew like this. Nice to finally meet you!"

"Likewise," Tony replied as his expression sobered a bit. He took a hold of Michelangelo's shoulder, and looked him square in the eyes. "Anyone who risks their neck for one of my friends, like you did for Alex, is a friend of mine. You ever need help, don't hesitate to ask!"

Mikey nodded his head, "That's nice of you, thanks." He sat back down and pulled out the chair next to him to offer the retired boxer a seat. "So you're a coach for boxers, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" The man made his way around the table and accepted the seat. "My heyday as a boxer came and went pretty quick. I wasn't anything special, but I enjoyed a good fight none the less. Anyway, after I called it quits I decided to take up coaching to see how I liked it." He leaned back with a slightly smug grin on his face. "Turns out, I'm really good at it." Noticing the alcohol menu, he snatched it up to take a look at the beer selection. "Boxing's not as popular as it used to be, thanks to that ultimate fighting stuff, but it got enough of a following to let me keep my job! We've gotten a lot more attention since we started letting mutants do matches though, it's been great!"

"Yeah, I caught that from when you came in." Michelangelo drifted back in time for a moment, with a sad smile forming on his face. "If my brother Raph was still alive he would have been so psyched about that! He was really into boxing. He didn't care for that ultimate fighting stuff, he said it looked too much like wrestling." He blinked away the tears he could feel forming, and shook his head. It wouldn't do to get all weepy before Alex's retirement party even got officially started. "I don't really follow sports, so, uh, how long have mutants been allowed to box?"

He listened as Tony animatedly launched into the history lesson, even though he quickly realized that most of it he was already familiar with due to his disturbingly close connection with how it all began.

Unbeknownst to him or his brothers during their battle to defend humanity from the Kraang, New York City wasn't the only one with a secret infestation of the aliens, nor were they the only ones to have mutant captives. The Kraang had a network set up all along the East Coast, across the mid states, and a small branch along the West Coast. And nearly all of them had mutants locked up in them. From what the EPF had disclosed to the public after they took down the Kraang and took over their facilities, it looked like the aliens had their sights set on some European countries next.

All the mutant captives that were discovered by the EPF, when they did their sweeps through the Kraang facilities, were freed and registered by the EPF; entering society to live their lives as normally as they possibly could. But, as to be expected, there were struggles for the mutant community. The herbivores, like Mikey, had it easier than most because they weren't viewed as threatening by the human public. However, a lot of the omnivore and carnivore mutants suffered a lot of prejudice because of their appearance and associations with their natural counterparts.

Sports was a field of work where mutants had been barred from participating in. It was felt, in some cases, that they would have an unfair advantage over the human players. None of the major sports franchises would even consider funding all-mutant teams; they felt it would generate too many expenses and not enough profit to be worth their support. It was only a few months ago that the tide had begun to turn in the sports world. Equal rights protesting was seeing to that, and boxing was one of the first sports to allow all-mutant matches. Tony had leapt at the opportunity to coach for mutants, and had watched on as the sport he loved was revived.

"Robin's got a lot of skill, he's a frog and has a natural gift in the ring." Tony informed them with undisguised pride as he began discussing his current charge. "He's been making his way up the ranks pretty quickly. I think he's going to make the big win this year!"

"Aw, that's great,"replied Mikey as he munched on some fries that had been served during the discussion. "Give him my well wishes, dude!"

The chime for the door rang off, and all three heads turned to see who had arrived next. Alex's friend Elaine, who Mikey had met a few times over the years, entered with a cheery smile and an excited shriek of hello. Two men and a woman followed in her wake, who Alex and Tony smiled and cheered at the sight of. Tony dashed over and gave the posh looking man a bright smile and tight hug, while Alex greeted the other three with hugs and handshakes.

Michelangelo recognized the man in the fancy clothes, even though his polished style was drastically different from what the young mutant was used to seeing him wearing. Bobby Wheeler was an actor on a popular crime drama that Splinter and Karai liked watching, who's character was often disheveled in the episodes Mikey had managed to catch. He couldn't help feeling a little giddy in the presence of the celebrity, and debated whether or not it was a good idea to ask the guy for a couple of autographs or a selfie later on. He didn't want to be rude or annoying, but couldn't help thinking how cool it would be. Plus, it'd make a great gift for his father and sister's upcoming birthdays!

While he had never met the married couple Alex was talking to, he immediately figured out who they were when he caught their accents and quick way of speaking. "Latka and Simka Gravas" He reminded himself, smiling at the happy reunion. Remembering Alex remark once that Latka was, in an odd way, like a son to him. "Alex has that effect on people," he thought as he watched the old cabbie crew migrate back to the table next to the piano. Joining them, and introducing himself to the ones he hadn't formally met yet.

Others from the group's era wandered into the restaurant as the next half hour ticked by, mingled among the younger cabbies and mechanics that had come to the party to give their congratulations and well wishes to Alex for his retirement, and to give the man their thanks as they happily exchanged stories with each other about him.

"Hey, you."

Michelangelo glanced over his shoulder, and grinned brightly at the woman approaching him. Feeling a jolt of warmth and happiness in her presence. He wandered over to her with a wave of his hand.

Flinging her winter coat over one of the bar stools, Sara shook her hair free of the snow flakes and flashed him a smile. "Sup, cutie? Pretty big gathering, huh?" She cast an impressed glance around the room at their coworkers before setting her sights on Alex. "He's a great guy though, like you, so this doesn't really surprise me. Is it true Louie's footing the bill for renting out the restaurant tonight for this little shindig?"

"I've been telling you for months now that the boss man's not that bad."

"Yeah, well seeing it's believing it." She replied with a laugh, leaning onto the bar and catching the bartender's attention. "What's your poison, hon?" She asked Michelangelo as the bartender nodded at her in acknowledgement and finished preparing the drink they were already making for another customer.

The turtle's eyes danced over the variety of bottles lined up on the shelves behind the bar. Mentally running through the list of easy to make cocktails he had accumulated on his Yummly app. He noticed that they had Drambuie as well as Scotch whiskey, and considered ordering a Rusty Nail. But his palate nudged him in another direction, towards the Peppermint Schnapps and the lovely possibilities there. There was Irish Cream, and after some searching he found the Kahula. He presented his request to the bartender, who gave him a nod and turned their attention to Sara for her request.

"You know what," she pointed at Michelangelo, "I'll have what he's having." She flashed the turtle an impressed look, which made him blush. "Mikey, that sounds like a wonderful combo! I'm surprised I haven't thought of that before myself!"

"Candy made it for us a few winters back when I was hanging out with Ry and the band." He explained with a bashful smile. Not wanting to take credit for someone else's idea. "It's kinda become a traditional drink for me in the winter months. I can't bring myself to drink it before November, or once Spring starts arriving."

"Yeah, I get like that too." Sara assured him as she hoisted herself up on the stool she had flung her coat onto. "I only drink Whiskey in the cold months, and there's only certain meals I'll eat at certain times of year. I tend to do that with movies too, now that I think about it. I mean, besides the obvious with the movies that take place on Halloween or Christmas."

They watched as Mitsu and Kenshin made their way into the restaurant. Michelangelo whistled to catch their attention, and waved them over. "Hey, lovebirds! Wasn't sure you were going to be able to make it!" He teased once they broke through the crowd and hugged the two of them in greeting. "You staying long?"

Mitsu eyed the drinks the bartender brought over, and got settled on the stool next to Sara as she reviewed the selection the bar had to offer. "My mother is babysitting Yoshi tonight." She shifted on the stool as her husband took a seat next to her. "Ken and I have to work tomorrow, but our shifts start late enough that we can have a little fun tonight. Right baby?"

The couple had been married for five years now, but still acted like gleeful newlyweds. It made Michelangelo smile as he found himself, not for the first time, feeling a little envious of them. When he was younger, he thought he would be perfectly content without having a life partner like that. He was asexual, and had plenty of friends, so he didn't think he'd ever be lonely. But as the years went by, and he watched on the sidelines as his sister and friends got married and started their families, he found himself changing his mind on how he felt about that. Especially when Yoshi, Mitsu and Kenshin's son, was born.

The moment he was introduced to the baby, with pure joy radiating from his friends as they gently handed Yoshi over for him to hold the infant in his arms, he realized what he was missing out on. He wanted a family too.

"Hey, Mikey, what's going on in your headspace?"

He blinked, pulled out of his longing thoughts, and turned to look at Sara. "Hm?"

"You looked kinda sad."

"Just thinking about stuff."

"Wanna share with the class?"

He sipped from his drink with a shrug. "No biggie, just thinking how nice they've got it." He said as he gestured at the couple. Watching as they tried each other's drinks while chatting it up with one of the other mechanics from the cab company that had come over to say hi.

"Ya mean, being trapped in a lifetime of bleeding money and being stressed all the time?"

Her pessimistic attitude surprised him with its harshness. "Wow, tell me how you really feel Sara!"

"Sorry, I just never bought into the wholesome family life shtick." She replied unapologetically, signaling for the bartender again. She had already finished her first drink. "Don't let me burst your bubble because I'm being a cynical bitch about it though. Honestly, you'd make a great boyfriend and I bet you'd be a good dad too based on how cute you are with Mitsu and Ken's kid."

She gave him a look that he wasn't sure how to read, and then told the bartender what she wanted.

"Um, thanks." Michelangelo said softly, happy for the compliment but saddened by her drastically different opinion on the topic. He had suspected, based on her desire to constantly travel and comments she had made in the past, that she wasn't keen on relationships, but it still broke his heart to hear her say so out loud. "For the record, I don't think you're a bitch." He told her as he watched her new drink slide across the bar and stop in front of her. She lazily flung down her cash, and took a generous sip of her whiskey on the rocks. "You're kinda blunt sometimes, but I'm not gonna judge you for wanting different things than me."

"Appreciate that," she replied. Looking over his shoulder, and gesturing over to the other side of the room. "You're being beckoned."

He swiveled in his seat, and followed her gaze. Tony and the rest of Alex's old crew were gathered around his elderly friend, waving him over. "Oh, okay." He turned back to Sara. "I should probably go see what that's all about. I'll be back."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He got up, leaving his drink behind, and crossed the crowded room to visit with his older friend. "Hey, Alex. So, how are you feeling about being officially retired?"

The man's face was flushed with alcohol and cheer, as Bobby and Tony laughed and gave him congratulatory pats on the back. "Well," Alex replied with a grin, "I don't know how to feel about it quite yet to be honest. I've been a cab driver for a long time now, and have been working since I was 15 years old. I'll probably go mad with boredom within a week!"

Everyone chuckled at that, because they all knew it was true. "Aw, don't worry Alex. I'm sure once you find the perfect habit to preoccupy you that won't be a problem anymore." Elaine reassured him optimistically. Michelangelo liked that about her, she always tried to see the bright side of things.

"Isn't there something you've always wanted to do?" Tony asked, thinking about what he'd like to do once he was able to retire. "Like, I dunno, travel the world?"

"That sounds like a fun idea," Mikey agreed. That was definitely something he would like to do someday. Although, he wasn't waiting until he hit retiring age to do it.

"Well, I've traveled a little bit." Alex informed them as he shared a knowing look with Elaine, who smiled fondly at the memories. "I've never been on a cruise before though. Those river ones always look nice, so maybe I'll look into that once I start going stir crazy!"

"That's the spirit!"

"Take lots of pictures if you do!"

"I live nearby," Bobby reminded him, "so I'm more than happy to swing by your place if you need plants watered or if you have any pets you need looked after."

"If I go on the trip, I'll give you a ring for your assistance." Alex replied with a chuckle, turning his gaze on the young turtle with a teasing glint in his eyes. "You've been pretty chatty with Sara since Louie hired her. You're, uh, being careful about how you're spending your time with her, right?"

Michelangelo gave him a questioning look, not quite following the implications. A sense of déjà-vu came over him, like he had had this conversation before. "What do you mean? We're friends, there's nothing wrong with hanging out with friends."

"You sure that you're not more than that?" Tony teased, with Elaine giggling over his shoulder. Bobby didn't join in on the fun, if anything he looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Um…yeah?" It wasn't a lie. He knew his relationship with Sara would never be more than friendship. It bummed him out, but he would nurse his broken heart now that it was subtly confirmed and learn to accept it. He valued her friendship, and didn't want to lose it over unrequited feelings on his part.

"If it escalates," Alex said a little more seriously, "then just make sure you're very careful about it. Okay?"

The dots connected.

"Oh, come on!" Michelangelo protested, embarrassed. "Not you too!" He felt his cheeks heat up, and shoved his face into his hands. "Louie gave me this little interrogation back when he agreed to hire Sara. You all have dirty little one track minds!"

"Hey now, don't get on the defensive!" Elaine scolded him playfully, as she rounded the table and hugged him from behind. "We just want to make sure you don't rush into anything that will get you into trouble later on. That's all. The equality protests are swaying the tide in your favor, but as it stands…intimate human/mutant relationships are still frowned upon."

"Yeah, kiddo." Bobby pipped up, trying to be supportive despite his obvious discomfort. "You gotta keep your inner animal in check, it's not worth going to jail over."

The others gave the actor varying looks of surprise and disapproval over his choice of words, but Mikey understood he meant well. He was sure Bobby hadn't meant to be insensitive about it.

"It's not like that between us," the young mutant insisted. He was still a little embarrassed by the whole conversation.

"Yeah, well, maybe she didn't get that memo," Tony remarked as he looked over at the bar where the woman in question was still sitting. "She was giving you bedroom eyes for a little bit there."

"What? No way, you're reading too much into things!"

"Hate to say it," Bobby pipped up, "but Tony's right. She has been giving you that look. We should know, we've been around the block a few times. In fact, she's giving it to you now."

Hesitantly, Michelangelo turned to look over his shoulder towards the bar again. It startled him to discover that Sara was looking at him with the same expression he had caught from her before that had left him puzzled. "That look's code for wanting sex?" He asked, confused and curious at the same time.

"Yup." Both of the younger men confirmed, nodding in sync with each other as if to cement their point.

Elaine rolled her eyes, but couldn't deny their observations. "I hate to agree with them, but she does seem to have a thing for you. Let her down gently, okay?"

The young mutant nodded his head in understanding, keeping his eyes locked on Sara's. He was completely out of his comfort zone, and wasn't sure how to proceed. Should he just pretend like he didn't catch on that she was interested? He didn't think that would fly. She was smiling at him now, and he suspected she had picked up on the fact that he had figured it out. She was going to bring it up later, he just knew it. "Oh, geeze."

The night wore on with a more uncomfortable air to Michelangelo. Alex and his friends left midway through the party, leaving the younger cabbies and mechanics to their fun. The turtle wanted to head home himself, but Sara was still at it and he didn't feel right letting her travel home alone. He was just afraid of what would happen once he had delivered her safely to her doorstep.

"I'm getting kinda tired," Sara slurred when she approached his side around midnight. He had just called to update Splinter that he was waiting for his friend so he could bring her home. "Think it's time for me to go. Be a pal and walk me back to the apartment?"

"No problemo!" He replied cheerfully, trying to hide the nervousness from his voice.

They gathered their coats, and exited the restaurant. Venturing out into the snowy night.

"So you spent most of the evening avoiding me." She remarked after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence had passed between them. "You wanna tell me what that's all about?"

"I was? I'm sorry if it came across that way. I guess I didn't realize I was doing that."

"You're a bad liar, Mikey."

A car drove by, sliding slightly on the slush covering the street before the driver regained control. Then it was just more unbearable silence accompanying the crunch of their shoes as they walked down the sidewalk's fresh coating of snow. They were halfway to the bus stop they needed to go to before she attempted to kick start the conversation again.

"I'm leaving in two weeks." She informed him soberly, as she pulled out her cellphone and opened up its photo gallery. "I finally got enough saved up for a good used car, and bought one yesterday." She handed him the phone to let him see her new transportation. "She looks nice, huh?"

"Yeah, it does look nice." Feeling even more confused over what to think, Mikey politely scrolled through the gallery. Feigning interest in the car, and pretending not to notice her staring hard at the side of his head.

"So…I'll be back on the road soon. Any suggestions on where I should strike out to first?"

He handed her back the phone numbly, "I dunno…is there any place you haven't been to yet that you'd like to check out?"

"I'm more interested in what you're thinking."

Hershel's farmhouse from the second season of 'The Walking Dead' popped into his mind. He always loved how cozy it had all looked. "Someplace with lots of farms and open fields would be nice I think."

"Okay…so how about you tell me what else is on your mind." She put the phone away, and walked into his path. Forcing him to stop walking. With her hands on her hips, she stood still and glared at him. "What did Alex and the old timers tell you that got you all riled up to avoid me the rest of the night?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh, come on! I may be drunk, but I'm not dumb," she snapped huffily. Rolling her eyes at his bad attempt to dance around the issue. "Let's not fight right before I leave the city, okay? I know they said something about me, all of you stole glances at me during your chat. So what was it? They think I'm bad news or something because I'm a vagabond?"

"No, it's not like that!" Michelangelo insisted, putting his hands up defensively. He didn't want her thinking his older friends didn't like her. "They, well, they think you want to have sex with me."

"Well, they weren't wrong." Sara replied with a burst of laughter, glancing down at his pelvis area. "I did my research online on regular turtle anatomy, and was very intrigued by how large their baby-makers seem to be. It kinda threw my curiosity into overdrive to be honest!"

"Aw, hell!" He thought, panicked. "What do I do?!" He wasn't ready for this, how was he going to talk his way out of it without hurting her feelings.

"I know you're not into it though," she said nonchalantly, still grinning with amusement. "I remembered you told me once you were ace, so I know sex isn't something you're interested in at all."

"Well…" He hesitated, wanting to correct that stereotypical assumption but afraid of making things more complicated by doing so. He caught her eye, and knew it was too late to backpedal away from explaining it to her better. "Asexual folks don't find other folks sexually attractive to them…but they can and do have sex. I mean, yeah some asexual people are sex repulsed and aren't curious about it at all, but that doesn't mean all of them are like that."

"So, you are interested in having sex?" She asked, sounding a little hopeful now.

"I am curious about it, yeah."

"Soooo…."

"Even if the threat of jail time wasn't a factor…I want to wait." Michelangelo chuckled nervously, giving her an apologetic look. "I like you Sara, honest, but…"

"We both know you like me a little more than that."

He stopped, the warmth fluttered inside him again as they locked eyes. He couldn't help feeling a little hopeful himself. Maybe her cynical opinion on relationships was just a front after all. "Sara…"

"Even if we were both human, it wouldn't work." She interrupted softly, giving him an apologetic look of her own. "Like I said before…"

"You and I want different things," he confirmed somberly. He tried to ignore the ache he felt as his emotions went through the whiplash. Hope had fluttered to life mere seconds earlier, and was now being smashed to bits just as swiftly.

"You're a sweet, old-fashioned kind of guy." Sara said with a kind smile on her face. "You want to wait and indulge in your curiosity with someone special who loves you back. You want a spouse, kids, a house with a picket fence, the whole shebang! I can't give you that. I mean…You're a really nice guy, a wonderful friend, with a great athletic body and a nice package if my internet research on turtles is anything to go by…so, yeah, I've had a few fantasies about you the past few days."

She glanced at him again, looking a little embarrassed. "…aaand, I'm sliding way too far into the TMI lane. Sorry! The thing is, I'm on the other side. I don't want the whole shebang; I don't want a committed relationship at all. Romance isn't my thing, and never has been. I just want a little bit of fun once in a while. So even though I totally find you attractive, and would love it if we were friends with benefits, I get it that we will never have that kind of arrangement and I'm sorry that you've developed feelings for me since we've gotten to know each other. If I could give you my aromanticism to magically take the fluffy emotions you feel towards me away, I totally would!"

Michelangelo nodded his head in understanding. Still feeling a little bummed out knowing she didn't feel that way about him and wasn't interesting in trying to date, but at the same time feeling relieved now that it had all been aired out. He was glad that the two of them had finally talked about the clashing, opposing, feelings they were experiencing towards each other. Love and lust, a song and dance that wasn't meant to be between the two of them. But at least no damage was done from them finally discussing it.

They were still good friends, and that was good enough for both of them.

After a brief snowball fight to ease the tension from the talk, the two continued on their way down the city's sidewalks. Hopping on a bus for a quick ride, and then getting off once they hit Queens and resuming their trek on foot. A few minutes later, they found themselves outside of the brownstone apartment building where Sara was co-renting with her friend.

"See you Monday?" She asked, as she headed towards the door.

"Yeah," he replied softly, "I'll see you on Monday." He turned to leave, and then stopped. "You drank a lot tonight, make sure you drink plenty of water or an electrolyte drink before you crash into bed. Okay?"

"Yes, mom!"

They both laughed, mutually grateful that they were able to ease so quickly back into friendly banter after such a serious conversation earlier. Then she went inside, and he turned to make his way back to the bus stop. Retracing their footsteps down the sidewalk.

So this chapter turned out to be longer than I expected it to be, and I managed to finish it in a timely manner too! Yay me!

I meant to give more details on the extent of the Kraang invasion, and the size of the mutant population as a result of it, sooner than this but couldn't find the right way to bring it up without making it feel forced. It just kinda happened when I had Tony show up in this chapter, and I went with it. I hope it didn't feel too much like an exposition dump, and that it clears things up for any folks who were curious for more information.

Thanks for reading, if you have the time then please drop a line to let me know what you think so far!