Chapter 6

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Trigger Warnings for this Chapter: Mental Illness Traits, Trauma, mentions of neglect/abuse

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roman wasn't sure what to expect when he got to the lab, but it wasn't this. It wasn't his mother being unresponsive to anything his father did. When he entered the cage and waved bye to Bunny, he was quickly snatched by the wrist.

The moment Brain saw his son, he grabbed him and led him to Pinky. "Roman! Good, listen. I need you to try to get your mother to respond to … well, anything!"

Roman allowed himself to be dragged over to his parents bedding and felt uneasy at the sight of his mom. He was just staring off into nothing. He wasn't even blinking. "Dad? What's goin' on here?"

Brian released his son's wrist and sighed defeatedly. "I don't know. I can't get him to respond to anything. I figured that, being our clo- well, our child, he might react to you. His mothering instincts are quite high."

Roman hesitated at the request, but eventually approached his mother. "Okay. I'll see what I can do." He sat down by his mom and grabbed his paw. "Hey ma. It's me. Romy. Uh, how are you?"

Brain whispered harshly to his son about the ludicrous question. "How are you? Come on Roman."

Roman whispered back. "What? I don't know. I'm not a psychiatrist. I don't know what to ask." Though he wished he did. He also wished he knew what the heck was happening.

"Try something else! Try asking about something that you need advice on." There's no way Pinky would be able to resist his son needing help with something. At least, he hoped so.

Roman rolled his eyes. He could honestly use some advice about this particular situation. "Okay. Ummmm…." He thought carefully until something obvious came up. "Mom, I could use some advice on proposing to Bunny. See, I wanna ask her, but I'm not sure how to go about it. You got any pointers or something?"

Brain was taken aback by his son's question. He wanted to marry the human girl? A mix of judgmental concern and happiness flooded through his system. He was quick to squash it down, though. Pinky. He needed to focus on that.

There was no response to the question. Roman scratched the top of his head. "Uh, we were also thinking about baby names-"

"Baby names!?" Pinky grabbed his son into a crushing embrace. "Oh, Romy! I'm so happy for you! Have you considered any L names? I've got loads of 'em for boys and for girls! Like, Leon! Is it a boy or girl- OH! I'm gonna be a grand-mummy! And Brain's gonna be a grandpa!"

Roman pushed out of his mother's hold. "Well, we don't know. I was gonna wait to tell you guys when Bunny was like, huge or something, but… yeah."

Brain wiped his mind of the intricacies of a mouse being able to impregnate a human. Pinky was … back? He was his normal self. "Pinky! You're okay!"

Pinky looked at Roman lovingly. "Well of course I'm alright, Brain. My baby's having a ~baaayyyy-beeee~!"

Roman blushed and put a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah ma. Um, so… are you okay ma? Um, you were spacing out pretty hard core. It was pretty glarb."

Pinky looked to Brain as if it would trigger his memory. It didn't. "Space out? When did I do that? Narf!" He looked back and forth from Brain to Romy, who were looking at each other with worried glances. "Um. Hello? Poit."

Brain sat on the other side of Pinky. He wanted to handle this delicately. Especially since it felt as if it was his fault. He hated being the cause of Pinky's trauma today. "Pinky, don't you remember? …. The memory machine?" He gulped. "The one I tested on you?"

That earned him a nasty glare from his son. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it.

Roman began to rub his mother's back when he saw tears. "Oh, ma. It's okay. We're right here."

Pinky smiled. "Well of course everything's…. Okay." Pinky put a finger to his cheek. He was crying? When did that happen? … The memory machine? The one I tested on you?"

Pinky focused hard. The memory machine? … oh yeah. So the scientists would forget about their kidney beans. And Brain tested it on him. Things were fuzzy after that. He closed his eyes and focused harder. A vision of the knock-knock jokes arose, and then…?

Then it hit him. Hard.

Brain and Roman noticed the amount of tears from the taller mouse increased drastically and hugged on tight to Pinky.

"I remember."

Brain looked up at Pinky. "What do you remember, Pinky?"

"Oh, Brain. I think… I think I remember everything."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The vomit that had dried on the floor was cleaned up, the memory machine taken apart, and tissues were ready on hand.

Brain and Roman looked at Pinky, ready to listen.

Pinky honestly didn't know where to start. There was so much. So. Much. He wasn't used to having this much in his head at once. He shook his head. He'd start at the very beginning. The beginning was always a good place to start.

"I remember it now. My real parents. Well, my bilingual ones."

Roman swallowed his anxiety. Right off the bat he was scared about what would come out of his mother's mouth. He hadn't been informed of much before he got here, so had no idea what to expect.

Pinky continued. "They didn't want me. Or Sissy. So they dropped us off… at the circus. The moment I realized they were gone, I knew it was just me and Sis against the world. Poit."

Brain gently squeezed Pinky's paw. Being without your parents was something he understood. But this was different. Brain was stolen from his. Eventually Pinky was, too, from his adoptive family. But to be abandoned BY your parents…

"At first, it wasn't so bad. We were too tiny to do much, so the human's fed us and took care of us. It was… nice. I thought that maybe Mike and his brother could be like our mummy and daddy. But then, when we were old enough to stand and stuff, they stopped being so nice.

They stopped feeding us regularly. We only got food if we did our dances and our moves correctly. Me and Sissy weren't the brightest, so we went without food a lot at first." Pinky trembled as he sucked in a shaky breath.

Brain offered him a tissue, and he took it. Then he offered Roman one. He'd begun to cry, too, just silently. But Brain saw it. Roman had a soft spot for his more nurturing parent.

Pinky took in a deep, controlled breath. "Naaaaaarf. Okay. So, when we did the tricks right, we got yummy food pellets. But, when we got them wrong… they shocked us. Not a fun shock either. They made it so mean!"

Brain remembered the experiment that was done to him as a child. The shocks… he could relate, albeit a tiny bit. Being shocked so small was god awful.

"W-we got pretty good at doing the tricks, eventually. The shocks did some of that, but Sissy and I, we just worked so well together! It got to a point where I could pretend that I actually liked the circus. That I like performing. 'Cause when we were together, it was okay. The few times we weren't together… it was always so bad. But not when we were together."

Pinky blew his nose. "When we were apart, the other performers were so mean to me. I assume they were to Sis, too. They would put me with the lion, or they'd put sticky mouse traps on me. "

Pinky paused, and somehow, the air around them felt more ominous.

Then he continued…

"One night, I was doing a performance all by myself. It was scary. I didn't wanna mess up. Be careful what you wish for, though, I guess. Troz. I never got the chance to mess up. The tent caught fire… a-and… I saw p-people get eaten by flames. I went to look for Sissy."

Pinky began to convulse harshly. The sudden and intense movement were cause enough for Brain and Roman to hold tighter. Roman cautiously encouraged Pinky to finish. "What happened when you looked for Sissy, ma?"

Pinky breathed through shaky breaths. "I ran back to our room, and I almost didn't find her. There was smoke literally everywhere. But then…". He choked on a sob, but pushed through. "…I found her. A big chunk of wood had fallen on her. She was dead." She's dead. Dead forever and no longer together. "There was blood all around her. And her face… it looked so consorted."

Brain held back the urge to correct his friend. He was also holding back the urge to kiss Pinky on the cheek. He didn't know why he wanted to, perhaps to offer the other some physical comfort, but that was more of what hugs were for. He was already hugging him. Pinky. His Pinky… to go through that… And now he remembers everything. Because of him. But! That's okay, because Brain was going to be there for him.

Pinky sighed defeatedly. "Now, after that, it's still fuzzy. The next thing I remember after that is being in the pet shop." Pinky graced a soft, small smile. "With mummy and daddy."

The tall mouse looked over to his son. He took a thumb to Roman's cheek and wiped away a stray tear. "Oh, Romy. Poit. Don't cry. Mummy's okay." He smiled a little wider and tilted his son's face to look him in the eyes. "See."

Roman blew his nose. "I'm not crying, ma. Just sweating through my eyes." He gently joked and felt a little better when his mother gave a genuine laugh.

"Narf! Of course you are, Romy. Silly me." Pinky then looked to his friend. "Are you okay, Brain?"

Brain looked up at his cage-mate, a weird feeling blooming in his chest. After everything he'd been through… not just in his past, but this week… and Pinky was asking him if he was okay. "Yes, Pinky. I'm fine… are you sure you're okay?" He'd ask, but regardless of the answer, he knew it was a no.

Pinky stood up suddenly and made his way to the pile of food pellets in the cage. "Of course, Brain. Narf! Now, you two go and do something. I'm gonna cook dinner. It's not everyday we get to see Romy!"

Before Brain or Roman could say anything, Pinky waved his hands to shoo them off. "Go on!" He pointed to Brain first. "You need to get started on a plan, mistah!" Then he pointed at Roman. "And YOU! Hmm… why don't you help your father? Get some father-son bonding happening."

Said father and son looked at each other and carefully walked away. Inch by inch, very slowly. Roman grabbed Brain's hand and arched a brow. "… Okay. Um, just let us know if you need help. With dinner."

They ended up stopping just short of a small chalkboard before glancing back to see Pinky humming and starting up the easy-bake oven.

Roman brought his dad down low and whispered. "This… doesn't seem right. Something feels off. He's acting like he didn't just tell us the world's most depressing backstory."

Brain nodded his head in agreement. "I know, Roman. But… what do we do?" He felt bad that he didn't have an answer to his own question. He was just thinking a minute ago about how he was going to be there for Pinky, but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what that meant in this context. He talked and he listened. But clearly there was more to be done.

"He needs closure. I think," Roman picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the word on the board. "Any ideas?"

Brain struggled to find something to say. Closure? How on Earth could Pinky get closure. Then an idea hit him. "Perhaps we could find his biological parents?"

Roman wrote the idea on the board next to a bullet point. "Okay. There's one." He wrote down a second item. "Maybe visit the site of the circus?"

Brain nodded. "And maybe see if anyone else survived the fire. I'm sure there were some.

The father and son duo continued thinking of ideas, whilst also formulating a plan. They became so focused, though, that they didn't seem to notice Pinky's worrying behavior.

Pinky was sautéing pellets with three in one oil. His plan was to bake them for fifteen minutes afterwards. But, as he was sautéing, he began to shake.

"Poit, poit, poit, poit, Egad, poit… EERR!" His hold on the pan handle became tighter. Why was he ticking so much? His tics normally never bothered him, but they just kept coming. His neck was becoming sore as it twitched slightly with every slip. "Poit, trooooozzzz, trooooozzz, troz, Egad, poit." He tried hard to keep them quiet so his family wouldn't notice his troubles.

He shook more as the need to yell them out increased to an uncomfortable degree. Brain and Romy were already so worried about him, and so sad. He didn't want them to be sad. He didn't want to be sad. Now that everything was out on the table, he just wanted to move past it. He wanted to forget about it. He was happy before he remembered, and he needed to be that. He needed to for them. More specifically, him. His dearest friend, The Brain.

"P-p-p-p-pppppoit, poit, Egad, troz-narf!, naarf, narf, zort!, poit…." He finished sautéing the pellets and shoved them into the oven. He shakily placed a timer before walking over to a corner of the cage. He faced away from everything, holding himself as his tics continued.

"Poit, poit, GAH! Egad, poit, zort, zort-poit!, narf…."

While Brain observed their progress on the board, Roman's ear twitched. It swiveled until it came to a stop. He could hear it. Ever so faintly . "Poit, poit, poit, Egad, zort, poit.."

"Glarb." He tapped his father on the shoulder.

"What, Roman!? Can't you see I'm close to wrapping up the plan?" Brain glared at his son.

"Pops, I think ma's having a tic-fit in the corner. A pretty bad one."

Brain looked over. He was unable to hear anything, but he didn't need to hear to notice the shaking coming from the other mouse. Oh dear. The chalkboard was abandoned immediately.

Brain and Roman cautiously approached Pinky, with Roman speaking up first. "Mom? You okay?"

Pinky jumped, startled. He turned around, nervously swishing his tail. "Oh! Narf! Narf! Are you two, poit, done with, poit, tonight's plan? Poit. Well, poit, poit, let me grab the food pellets out the oven and we can eat really quick, first!"

Brain halted him. "Wait. Pinky." He watched as his cage-mate avoided eye contact, muttering 'poits' under his breath. "Pinky, we can eat in a minute. I need you to look at me." Please.

Pinky did so while attempting to keep his muttering minimized.

The stress was practically radiating off of the taller mouse. He suddenly looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. It shattered Brain's heart. "Oh, dear… come on. Let's go sit down for a moment, okay?"

They walked him over to the table set-up and brought their own seats closer to his. Brain grabbed onto Pinky's paw, rubbing it gently.

"Mom. You don't have to try to hold back, ya know? You can let 'em out."

Brain added his own encouragement. "It's true Pinky. It's not good to hold them in. We won't mind. In fact, I'd prefer that you let them out freely."

With the love from his son and his best friend, Pinky let his tics loose. "Naaaarf! Poit! Troz!…" They came pouring out, one after the other. Brain continued to rub his paw and Roman ended up ticking a few times himself.

When the barrage was over, Pinky laid his head on the table and let out a relieved breath. He didn't remove his head from the table after, though. He felt ashamed at having made his family worry some more.

The shorter mouse could feel the guilt coming off his friend. He shouldn't feel like he did anything wrong. Because he didn't. "Pinky, it's okay. You don't have to try and be strong for us. It won't do anything good for your mental state. …Trust me."

Pinky looked at Brain and smiled. Maybe he could be a little bit vulnerable? Just a tad. Most people would assume he was naturally, but he actually normally hid when he was truly hurting. He sat up. "Okay."

The timer for the Easy Bake dinged. Pinky went to stand up, but was forced back down by Roman.

"Aa-a-a. You stay right there, momma. I'll get the food." He winked. "It's not everyday I get to eat dinner with my parents."

Pinky allowed his son to get the food and stared at Brain. Brain was so nice. He made Pinky feel like he mattered so much. Made him feel like he was important or special. He sighed with some content.

Brain pretended he couldn't notice Pinky giving him lovey-dove eyes and awkwardly drummed his fingers on the table as he thought of words to say to ease the silence.

Pinky giggled at Brain's obvious, adorable uncomfortableness and decided to break the silence himself. "Say, Brain?"

"Hmm. Yes, Pinky?"

"Thank you."

Brain blinked in surprise. What had he done? "For what?" If anything, all he'd done was cause traumatic memories to resurface. That wasn't exactly something he felt he should be thanked for.

"Caring."

Before Brain could say anything, Roman appeared with a tray of cooked-to-perfection food pellets. "Here we are!" He set the tray in the center of the table and fabricated a horribly butchered French accent. "Will zat be all for zé lovely couple?" He was bopped lightly.

"Roman, cease your nonsense and sit down."

Roman rolled his eyes, but did as was told. He took the first pellet and threw it down in one big bite. His eyes lit up. Three in one oil and bake for 15 minutes… who woulda' known? "Not bad, not bad!" He greedily grabbed another pellet.

Brain grabbed one as well, glaring at his son as he did so. "Roman, your table manners are atrocious. Is this how you eat with Bunny?"

Roman nodded. "Sure is! Honestly, you should see her! Especially with her cravings right now. She's a monster!" There was no malice in his words. If anything, there was fondness.

Pinky grabbed his own food pellet. "Oh, Brain. Romy is perfectly nice to our table." He nibbled on the end of the pellet before setting it down. The taste wasn't really doing it for him for some reason.

"What's the matter, ma? Not hungry?"

Pinky smiled weakly. "Uh, not really I guess. Poit." Before Brain could ask anything, Pinky folded his hands neatly on the table and prodded for information from his son. "So, Romy? Are you excited to be a daddy?"

Roman shrugged. "Yeah. It'll be cool, I guess. Can't wait to find out what the little tykes' gender is." He acted nonchalant about it, but there was pure happiness and excitement sprinkled in his tone.

The rest of dinner was spent talking about Romans future with Bunny and talk of parenthood. After the last pellet was eaten (not including the one Pinky barely touched) Roman went and pulled his father off to the side.

"Okay, we need to ask mom about our plan. Make sure this is something he'd be down for. It's a pretty big deal."

Brain agreed. "You're right. I mean…" He glanced over Roman's shoulder to look at Pinky. "It's not quite perfect. Do.. Do you think this is a good idea?"

"Only one way to find out."

Curious about what his son had dragged his father away for, Pinky went to check in on what was being said. "Find out what? Is it about tonight's plan?

Brain and Roman spun around, arms extended to hide the chalkboard behind them. Brain struggled to find anything appropriate to say and ended up stuttering.

Roman took his father's incoherent babbling as a cue to take the reins. "Not really, um. It's a plan. Just not one for tonight. It's a different kind of plan."

The buck-toothed mouse became noticeably confused. "A not tonight plan? So, it's for tomorrow?"

"Not necessarily." Brian looked to his son for guidance on how to domination schemes were easy for him to explain. This was so different, so sensitive, that he was at a loss as to what to say. He didn't want Pinky distressed any further. His behavior before and during dinner was so unusual and honestly, concerning and disheartening.

Roman observed the faces his father made as he worked through fast-paced thoughts and sighed. He brought his arms back down to his sides and stepped aside. Brain reluctantly followed suit. "It's a plan for you mom. We thought that maybe some type of closure could be good for you." He looked down at his feet. "We don't want you to act like nothing's wrong. So, if you wanted," he gestured to the board, "we could maybe help you face this head-on?"

Pinky stood still for a moment as he digested his child's words. He swallowed a lump of uncertainty and approached the board more closely. His eyes darted left to right, up and down, and crossed a few times.

Brain became increasingly worried when Pinky didn't say anything. It was a bust. A failure. He had failed his cage-mate yet again. He was a horrible companion. "Pinky… look, I'm sorry. This was a horrible idea! I'm sorry." I'm sorry.

Pinky turned around with his face scrunched up in bewilderment. "Don't be sorry, Brian. I'm sure this plan is simply beautiful." He looked at the chalkboard once more. "Uh, what exactly does it say?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Note:

Two more chapters left. Yet again, I hope you like it so far.