Chapter 4
By:Veteliunde
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Trigger Warnings for this chapter: Mental Illness Traits
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"Would you look at that, dear! The latest newspaper! And we get to sleep on it!" Pinky's father rejoiced.
"Oh, Pinky!" His mother grabbed Pinky into a firm hug. "You're spoiling us!"
Pinky bashfully twisted in his mother's hold. "Oh, only the best for you guys!" Pinky's ear twitched as he heard aggressive tones from the other side of the cage. He whispered to his mother. "You guys get comfortable. I'm gonna go check on Brain. He gets all nervous around his parents."
Pinky's mom gave off a confused stare. "Nervous around your own parents? That seems silly."
Pinky shrugged. "Well, ya see, his parents can be a bit judgemental of him." Pinky was released from his mother's hold.
She grabbed onto her son's cheek and gave it a quick pinch. "Well, okay dear. Go and save your little friend." She winked and giggled.
Pinky rubbed his cheek where it was grabbed and waved back to her as he headed to the part of the cage where Brain and his parents were. He became very concerned when he saw Brain's mummy wagging a mean, pointy finger at him. He got closer and was able to hear what was being said. Brain's mom sounded very scary.
"Are you kidding me?! Match boxes?! You want us to sleep in match boxes?! Can you believe your son?!" She looked over to her husband.
He grumbled. "You're mother's right! This is ridiculous!"
Brain rubbed his temples. "It's what I could come up with on such short notice, okay? I wasn't expecting company." Oh, he already couldn't wait for tomorrow evening. A failed plan and a visit from his parents? Was the universe punishing him?
His mother shook her head disapprovingly. "Mm mm mm. Well, I guess I'll just have to pop some extra melatonin to get to sleep tonight."
His father murmured under his breath. "The cage door still squeaks, too."
Pinky had enough of watching Brain's parents be so rude, so he decided to step in. He walked over with the biggest smile he could smile. Maybe he could get them to simmer down with some jokes? "Hello Brain's parents! How are you!?"
Brain's mother responded. "Well, I've been better. It hurts when your son lies to America about his upbringing and then makes his parents sleep in matchboxes, but what can ya do?"
Pinky laughed. Oh, they had jokes to tell, too! This might be easier than expected. "Oh, good one! Narf!"
Brain smacked his face. Oh, this was gonna be rich.
Pinky ignored the judge-y stares he received and tried to control his giggling. He practiced this joke and was just wonderful with it's timing. "So, what did the orange say to the banana?!" He bounced up and down on the heels of his feet. He couldn't wait to tell the punchline!
Brain's father adjusted to stand side-by-side with his wife. He shrugged. "Well?"
Pinky stopped moving. Oh dear. He forgot what joke he was telling. "Well, what?"
Brian's dad flailed his arms. "What did the orange say to the banana?!"
Pinky clapped his hands together. It's okay that he forgot. Brian's dad had a joke of his own! "What did he say, what did he say!?"
Brain snuck away slowly while Pinky distracted his parents with his nonsense. Pinky would have them occupied for a while, he was sure of it.
He tip-toed away, not paying attention to where he was going. "Oof! Oh!" He looked up to see the blue eyes of Pinky's mother. Hm. They weren't nearly as blue as her son's. "Pardon me, ma'am. I wasn't looking where I was going." Suddenly, he was without the ability to breathe.
"Oh, that's okay, hun! And stop with the ma'am nonsense. Just call me mummy! Sooo, how are you, Brain?"
"Icantbreathe!" He spat out what he could of his discomfort.
He was dropped onto the floor and he sucked in a big breath of air. "Goodness!" he panted a few times before scowling at the mother.
She rubbed her arm with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, hun. So, how are you, Brain?"
He got up and dusted off his fur. "Well, I must admit that I've been better. But, around evening tomorrow I suspect I'll be feeling much better." He crossed his arms.
Pinky's father approached. "Brian! Good to see you! How have you been?"
Brain was about to answer, but Pinky's mother cut in.
"Oh, I'm afraid I already asked him that."
The father scratched his head. "Okay. Hmm, I know! How's it been living with our son, lately? All good, I assume?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "He's been behaving himself, right?"
Brain ignored the odd behavior as he considered what to say. Things, technically, haven't been "all good" with Pinky. He was about to lie and say that everything was fine, but then he reconsidered. Maybe his parents had some advice to offer about his friend? He'd decide to leave out the part where his friend was sexually assaulted. It wasn't his place to talk about something of that context. But everything else… "Well, actually, I'm afraid Pinky's hit a rough spot."
Pinky's parents gasped. The mother spoke up. "Oh no! Would cement help smooth it out?"
Brain took a deep breath. "How about you sit down and let me explain?"
They did as asked and Brain coughed to clear his throat. "Pinky's been having problems with his memory as of late. As well as a problem with, eh, his imagination."
Pinky's mom piped in. "Well, remembering things is hard." The father hummed in agreement. "And a problem with imagination? I didn't know that was possible."
The short mouse paced back and forth as he explained further. "Every so often, something happens where Pinky stares off into space. It takes a lot of effort to bring him back to reality when he gets like that. It's very… scary. Sometimes, there's tears in his eyes. It's as if he's gone away and left behind a shell of a body. When I am able to bring him back to reality, I ask him what's wrong, and he says he doesn't remember. There's also a suspicious correlation with the concerning behavior and his desire to pretend that empty spool over there is his sister." He pointed to where Pinky's toy chest was. "Something about a pink bow he has as well… I'm not really sure what's happening with him. Perhaps, as his parents, you have advice on the matter? Has he had this behavior with you guys?"
Pinky's parents looked at each other with sullen faces. Pinky's father spoke up. "Oh no. And it's… pretty bad?" He raised a questioning paw.
Brain was surprised at the sudden seriousness they took on, but went with it. "Yes. It is."
Pinky's mother motioned for Brain to come closer and sit. He did, a little reluctantly. What was he about to find out?
She sighed and wiped away a tear that had snuck it's way down her face. Her husband hugged her close to comfort her. "When we… found Pinky, we found him in the woods behind the pet shop. His father and I had snuck out to go on a date that evening. He was lost, in more ways than one. When we found him, he had that look on his face that you described."
Brain felt whiplash at the information. Did they just say they FOUND Pinky? "Wait. You FOUND Pinky? You mean…"
She finished his thought. "Yes. Pinky's adopted. He was all alone when we found him. And he had some burns on him and soot on the weird little jacket he had on. He was also holding that pink ribbon you mentioned." She wiped away another tear. "When we approached him, he started crying about his "Sissy." It wasn't anything coat-hear-ant, but we could tell something horrible must have happened. We looked around to see if we could find his parents, but we couldn't."
Pinky's father decided to finish up the story. "We couldn't just leave him alone, so we decided to bring him into the pet shop with us. We decided that we'd be his parents. The boy just absolutely stole me and his mother's hearts. After a few weeks, things seemed normal. He would, here and there, pretend random items were his sister, but we just let him have that. We figured, what's the harm? Then, of course, our family was ripped apart when Pinky was bought by some weird humans with white coats. They had some letters on their coats. What were they? A, B, N, E?"
Brian assisted the father's memory. "Perhaps, A.C.M.E?"
His father shook his head. "Yeah! That was it!"
Brain was already sitting, but he felt like he should stand. That way he could sit down again. His parents were so similar to him, though! His mother looked so much like him! That was all just a coincidence? "So, Pinky was found all alone. And when you found him, he already had that particularly concerning behavior. Interesting." He put a paw to his chin. "And you found him.. With burns?" The memory of Pinky being burned on the metal plates and then forgetting what happened popped into his head. "I see. And you found him… with the pink ribbon?" The memory of Pinky reacting oddly to his reflection and asking Brain to hide away the ribbon popped into his head next. "And he was crying about a sister?" Memories of every time Pinky brought up "Sis" took up the space in his mind.
His father shook his head. "Yup. That's the truth. And even though we aren't his real parents, we love him so much. He's our Pinky." The mother hummed and closed her eyes as if she were remembering fond memories of Pinky.
"WHAT?!"
Brain and Pinky's parents spun their heads around and gasped in unison.
Pinky was standing, trembling.
Brain quickly inquired about what his friend had heard. "Pinky!? What did you hear?!"
"I heard enough! That you aren't my real parents?!" He pointed to his mum and dad. "I'm adopted?!" The last question was stated in a way that he wanted clarity.
Brain sighed a breath of relief to himself. He didn't know if it would have been a good idea for Pinky to have heard all of what was said at once. It might have caused another… space out.
The father spoke quickly. "We're sorry, son! We wanted to tell you, honest! Please don't hate us!"
Pinky's mother chimed in. "You're still our Pinky! You know that, right?!"
Pinky sniffled in place for a moment before running up to his parents and hugging them. "I-I know! B-but, then who are my bi-law-gul parents?! Oh, this is just like one of my T.V specials, poit. Except I feel bad for me!"
His parents shushed and cooed at Pinky, trying to calm him down. Brain backed away, figuring his poor friend would need a moment alone with them. But, as he backed away, he backed into someone.
"Oh brother. Drama, much?" Brain's parents had come over. His mother pried. "What's goin' on with them?" She pointed a thumb at Pinky's family.
Brain moved past them to his and Pinky's shared bedding. "Pinky just found out that he was adopted." He tucked himself in and grabbed some earplugs that were next to him.
Brain's mom went to hover over him. "And what exactly do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going to bed." This day was way too much for him to handle. He'd get some much needed rest, and maybe when he woke up, he'd have the energy to properly digest everything that happened, and everything he learned. Part of him hoped that maybe he'd wake up and half the things that happened would have turned out to be a dream.
His parents began to berate him, but he just smiled and put his earplugs in. "Goodnight mother. Goodnight father." He pulled out a remote and hit the only button that was on it. The lights in the lab all turned off. He closed his eyes and ignored the stares of his parents. They'd give up and go to bed eventually.
Pinky was drying the last of his tears when the lights went out. "Poit. Guess it's bedtime." He led his parents to the newspaper they were going to sleep on . "Alright… mummy and daddy. I think we all need a good sleep. I know I do. Poit." He walked off, heading for his and Brain's shared bedding. "I'll see you in the morning, eh,... mummy and uh, daddy." They were still his parents, but it felt a little weird saying mummy and daddy to them. It was probably just shell-shock.
As Pinky walked off, he realized something. "Oh dear. I wonder how poor Sis is going to take the news? Her brother. Adopted. Oh the inhumanity!"
He took a small detour to the toy chest. He looked at the pink ribbon, and then at the spool. He whispered gently. "Sissy. I have some tough news." He gulped. His head played back the memory of Brain asking him if he knew deep down she wasn't real. A part of him knew it was nonsensical. But he chose to ignore it for now. "I'm adopted, Sissy." He paused and imagined how she was taking the information. "I know, I know. I consider you and mummy and daddy my family, though, okay?" He paused again, then beamed. She was taking this really well! "Oh, splendid! I'm so glad you took the news well. I know you love me all the same! Troz!" He waved her off and headed to bed. "Goodnight, Sis. We'll talk more in the morning!"
When Pinky made it to the bedding, Brain was already asleep. Pinky put his paws together by his cheek and sighed. His friend was so peaceful and angelic when he slept. Pinky fluffed his side of the bedding and hunkered down. He felt his eyes become heavy and he yawned. "Goodnight, Brain."
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Pinky's eyelids fluttered until they eventually stayed open. He had awoken to what sounded like chaos. He sleepily stretched and yawned. "Did I fall asleep at the circus?" He sat up and looked around. "Oh, Nope. Narf! I fell asleep where I normally do." He stood up and headed to where the noises were coming from. The closer he got, the more he could make out. "Sounds like a lot of yelling."
Then he could see and hear everything. Brain, Brain's parents, and HIS parents were all arguing with each other in one big circle!
"You have to hide! The scientists aren't THAT stupid. They know there's only supposed to be two mice in this cage!" Brain was like a little firecracker with the way he flailed his arms about!
"I think you're just embarrassed of us! Also, are we really not waking up to breakfast?! You're a terrible host!" Brain's mummy looked like she was ready to pop!
"For goodness sake! He's not asking much! He's your son! You should be a little nicer to him!" His mummy looked like an angry balloon!
"Yeah! What's wrong with hiding, anyway? It's fun!" His dad was like a mean cloud on a rainy day!
"Oh, hush! Like you're any better than we are at being parents! Didn't your son just find out he's adopted?!" Brain's dad was like a ticking time bomb on a rocket ship!
Brain pulled some hair from his head and yelled some bad words that Pinky usually wasn't allowed to hear.
Pinky cringed in on himself as he watched his friend explode. It didn't look like he was having a good time. None of them looked to be having a good time. It was a bit frightening to the taller mouse. His whole family was having a meltdown! (He considered Brain family, and therefore Brian's parents, as family.)
Pinky grabbed at his ears and began to shake. He didn't have jokes good enough to ease this catastrophe. Then he released his ears and perked up. His whole family wasn't fighting! He ran over to the toy box and ribboned the spool. Sis wasn't fighting!
Pinky sat down and put the spool in his lap. He knew. He knew it wasn't real. But, like he did last night, he ignored the fact. "Oh, Sissy! It's just awful isn't it?!" He could still hear everyone in the background. "They aren't getting along at all!"
He waited for a response and frowned. Then he made up a response for her. He smiled at his sister's (his own) idea. His tail wagged and he stood up. He held Sis out, overjoyed. "I hope this works! Narf!"
He ran over to the crowd with his "sister" under his arm. Once he got close enough, he whistled for everyone's attention.
Everyone stopped and snapped their attention to Pinky. All of them looked confused.
Pinky set Sis down and placed a delicate hand to his chest as he presented the two of them. "Ladies and gentleman! I present to you!..." he paused for a moment to keep them on their toes, "...US!"
Pinky flipped and landed on one hand while his tail grabbed Sis and placed her on his feet. He beamed at his audience. He had their undivided attention! Or was it multiplication? He shook his head and focused. "Ta-Da!"
Then, with his tail, he threw Sis high into the air. While she descended, Pinky did three backflips before catching Sis in his arms and displaying her at his side. "Ta-Da again! Troz!"
"Now for the big finale!" He put Sis on his head and began to dance. At the end of the rather short dance, he twirled around as fast as he could before facing everyone with his hands sprawled out wide. Sis was still on his head. "Bravo to us!" He set Sis down and laughed while he clapped his paws together. "Come again! Come again!"
Brain just stared. His companion was always rather acrobatic, so the other's abilities came at no surprise. He was, though, confused at the random performance.
Both sets of parents exchanged odd looks before Pinky's mom decided to cheer out. "Bravo, sweetie! How wonderful! What a show!" Her and her husband offered their brief applause.
Brain's father shrugged. "Go figure. No breakfast, but we get a show. I'm outta here! Come on, honey."
Brain's mother followed with her nose pointed high in the air.
Brain couldn't help but smirk. They were going to leave, at last! He rushed to the cage door and held it open for them. As they exited, he put up a front of dissatisfaction. "It's not evening. Are you sure you want to leave?"
They huffed in response and soon, their heads disappeared behind the door to the lab area.
Brain exhaled his relief and walked back over to the others.
Pinky looked at Brain with a shocked expression. "Oh, Brain! Poit. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make them go away! I thought everyone was gonna love the performance! Everyone was so grumpy, I thought they'd be happy seeing a show!"
Brain smiled at Pinky and laughed. "Well, you've made ME very happy."
Oh! He made Brain happy! He loved making his friend happy! "Brain. Stop it." He blushed and covered his eyes. "You're making me feel all gooooshy."
Brain avoided eye contact as he blushed, too. "Yes, well…anyways." Brain turned to address Pinky's parents. "I presume you'll be staying until evening?"
They shook their heads yes. "Of course! We love hiding!" They both grabbed Brain into a suffocating hug. "When the scientists leave, we can watch a few episodes of Gilmore Girls before we go!"
Brain squeaked out a response. "Oh, joy."
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Evening rolled around and Pinky's parents left. Brain wiped some sweat off his brow when they had disappeared behind the lab door. "Thank goodness." He then rubbed his hands together. Only one thing could help him feel better right now. "Now I can plan!"
Pinky popped up beside him. "Plan what?"
Brain grabbed at his chest and scowled. "I thought I told you to stop doing that?!"
Pinky shrugged. "Stop doin' what, Brain?"
The shorter mouse walked past his cage-mate who followed close behind. "Scaring me!"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Troz!" He was bopped.
Brain waited for his friend to stop swaying before he spoke again. "Well, try to remember for next time." He walked off to start plotting, and then the conversation he had with Pinky's parents played in his head. He sighed. "Pinky, would you like to help with making the plan?"
Pinky's eyes were practically stars. Help?! MAKE a plan? "I'd love to, Brain! Naaaarf!" He hopped up and down, thinking of ways they could incorporate jelly into tonight's plan.
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Author's Note:
Chapter five will be here within one to two days. :) I hope you liked chapter four! It was fun writing for both sets of parents.