A/N: 40. Whole. Chapters. Wow.

This is also the chapter that pushes the word count over 40000. Lots of fours with this one. This is hands down the longest thing I've ever written.

I'd like to say that a lot happens in this chapter since its so special, but then I'd be lying. Not much happens.

Thank you, again, to Muttlpe Mike and Kitkatkatester for reviewing the last chapter. :)

Enjoy!

To say that Mike expected his trip home to go well would be a complete falsehood, as he was tired and doing his best to mentally prepare himself for what would likely be a swiftly dealt punishment of some kind on his return, while also dealing with the fact that his basket felt heavier the closer he got to home. The feeling of eyes on his back that crept in slowly certainly didn't help matters either.

When he finally decided to see who it was, he was surprised.

"Man, you moved faster than I thought you would," DJ admitted as he stood a

ways behind Mike's current position. "Took me a minute to catch up."

Mike stared at him for a second, processing what that implied, then blinked twice. "Why'd you follow me?" he asked quietly, confused and a bit impatient to keep going.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere other than that play, and I figured it out after thinking a minute…" DJ began explaining.

Mike raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to continue as he switched the arm he had his basket hooked on.

"...I'd rather talk about this in a less open area," DJ admitted. "But you seem to be in a hurry, so I won't keep you too long." Out of his pants pocket he pulled out a piece of metal, a pin or something of the like, that he quickly showed Mike. On it was the crest of the royal family, as well as a shield representing the order of royal guards.

Mike's eyes widened slightly, recognizing the symbol; Jo had worn it prominently on her armor, and he'd of course seen other guards wearing it too. It hadn't been relevant until now so it hasn't been brought up. Now that he thought about it, he had seen DJ before...

"You're the same guy that went missing at the king's ball. I helped in the search for you that was orchestrated by the king," DJ continued.

"...you still haven't really answered my question," Mike pointed out, getting more impatient and anxious by the second. He didn't deny that it was indeed him, because it was, but he had somewhere he was supposed to be at least two hours ago.

"Hey, hey...I'm getting there," DJ insisted. He pocketed the crest, then took another item out of his pocket and offered it to Mike. "I was told to give this to you if I saw you. I didn't expect to so quickly, honestly…"

Mike warily accepted the item- what looked to be a rolled up piece of paper-and placed it in his own pocket, to be examined later. "Is that all?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's all...but I have a feeling we'll see each other again soon," DJ said with a smile. His tone wasn't cryptic or anything, more assured and friendly.

"...sure," Mike agreed half-heartedly. He watched DJ turn and walk back towards town before continuing onward himself, towards his doom….

Okay, it wasn't that dramatic, but it sure felt like it to Mike.

It started when he walked up to the door and saw it was already open. Expecting some sort of ambush, he stepped carefully through the doorway and was immediately spotted by Scott, who was sitting in a chair in the living room, his feet kicked up on one of the little tables in there. He was holding some book that he had likely never actually read.

The plan began just then.

"Wow, I thought you'd never come back. or got kidnapped or something, but you're real persistent, aren't ya?" Scott asked loudly while looking up from his book, as if alerting someone else in the house. "I can't believe I lost you when that weird foreign guy attacked me, and then you tried to run off!" His tone then shifted dramatically, a frown forming on his face as he stood from his chair. "But it's great to see you're doing alright…" He glanced at the basket. "Got what we needed. Just like you said you would."

Mike started to move away from Scott, slowly at first, but then quicker towards the kitchen, where most of the items in the basket were meant to go. He moved his hand to remove the sack of ribbons Dakota bought him from the basket when Scott stopped him with a grab of his arm; he was physically more able than Mike, after all, and therefore quicker. "Please let me go…" he asked under his breath, glancing behind him.

"You think I let you get away with that little stunt earlier?" Scott asked, his grip on Mike's arm tight. "I already told Dad what went down...he's not home right now, had a quick meeting to go to. But when he comes back...well, I don't think you'll be seeing past the windows anytime soon."

Mike felt his throat closing and his heartbeat increase, despite having expected something like that to happen. With a sharp breath, he pulled his arm forward and managed to barely make it out of Scott's grip, causing him to move forward and for Scott to step back slightly in surprise. "...I'll put these things away, sir," he said as if this were a normal situation, not looking at Scott. "I have w-work to do…"

Scott's frown only deepened. He took another step back. "You'd better clean the place before Dad gets back...he'll be wantin' an explanation," he sneered, finally turning to leave Mike alone.

Mike let go of the breath he was holding, feeling his heartbeat through his chest. God, he was tired. So very tired…

Still, he couldn't rest just yet.

Once he'd carefully put everything away that he'd bought, and made sure the extra money was secure to give back to Noah at the appropriate time, he made his way slowly up to his attic in order to change his clothes to those he wore when he worked in the house. However, once he sat delicately on his uncomfortable mattress, his body made the decision to stay there for now.

With a slightly unsteady hand he undid the ribbon in his hair and worked his fingers through the braid. His hair had become a bit wavy but he didn't think much of it, letting it curl around his face as normal. He lay back and stared up at the ribbon in his hand, a few of the embedded rocks catching light from the nearby window. His hand closed around it slowly and he lowered it to rest on his chest with a deep breath, in and out.

He almost fell asleep there, staying in that position for a little too long, as a knock on the door at the bottom of the attic stairs rattled them enough to grab his attention. He sat up with a sigh, unclenching the ribbon to place it in a drawer in his little bedside table along with the little bag of other ribbons that had made it to his pocket, except for a black one he'd pulled out. He also stuck the roll from DJ in there, planning on opening it later. Closing them in, he reluctantly changed into a more suitable outfit for work, tying his hair back as best he could with the ribbon and securing his bandana as well. Dakota had certainly picked a good one; he had a feeling he wouldn't be worrying too much about his hair moving.

He could instead worry about everything else that awaited him downstairs.

I swear I'm not trying to stall Mike and Ella's reunion...it just sorta happens.

Since this is chapter 40, I'd like to ask you all who have ended up reading far this some questions about the fic. 4, to be precise. Answer them in a review, if you want, or you could PM the answers to me. Or don't answer them at all, I can't make you do a thing. (Reviewing normally is always an option too)

1. Favorite chapter? 2. Favorite character(major or minor)? 3. Least favorite character and why? 4. Why have you kept reading this fic?

I appreciate all of you who've read this far. Next chapter will come hopefully soon. Stay safe out there, and see ya next time. :)