A/N: Wasn't sure if I was gunna include/finish this, but I guess I am now. Some Mike x Soph bonding. : 3

D, I'm the same way. I can't blame mothers for being annoyed, either. Nia thought she could be polite about it but...heh. Instinct. XD

Sciencegal, baby cuteness in general. Yush please. x3

January 11
9:42 P.M.

Michelangelo lay on his plastron. Not that the comfort of the full-size bed inside the Anders' second spare bedroom made any difference, he just found it easier to watch Sophia fold clothes from the mattress.

"Why don't you have more orange in your wardrobe, Hoshi?" he asked, chin stifled by the crossed arms he rested it on.

Sophia maintained momentum in her task and set a pile of shirts beside her boyfriend. "Can't help it, Figo. I'm a pink and black kind'a girl."

"You have more yellow than you do orange."

"Don't cry about it."

"I'm not crying. I just wanna see you in my color! Nia wears more red since she started dating Raph and Mel…Well, she doesn't really wear much. But when she does, it's purple-ish."

"Your point?"

With a pout, Mikey met the blonde's hazel eyes. "Don't you understand? It's a homage."

"That's overdramatic."

"You think? I don't."

"I know."

The Chūnin blanched. "Being real here, okay?"

Sophia giggled, but then returned to her laundry once she realized he wasn't kidding.

"Let me set things straight," Mikey continued as she started work on another pile, "I don't approve of men claiming women or whatever. Not as trophies. But I do believe when two people become a couple, they agree to a mutual surrender."

"Surrender?"

"Yeah. They give themselves to one another."

Hoshi quirked a brow, leading Mikey to snort.

"Not in that way, Gutter Brain," he said. "I mean they basically claim each other as theirs. And there are physical signs to prove it. Rings. Bracelets. Even signature colors."

"So you feel like I'm denying our claim by not wearing orange?"

Wasn't that clear? What further explanation did the blonde need? She looked ready to shot back a smart remark from her thin lips. It was her instinct. Would a smile let her know the truth? Mikey tried it.

"Aspetta." Smirk falling, Hoshi sat back on her bare feet. "Really?"

"We aren't ready for rings, but…we are dating, aren't we?"

"It's just a color, Figo."

"It's a symbol. Nia wants to wear red. What little opinion Mel does have steers her towards purple. Why…why don't you like orange?"

"Just because I'm not parading around like a sun doesn't mean I hate orange. It's my second favorite color."

"Why don't you wear it then?"

"Non lo so."

Mikey groaned. "See? You ignoring my color makes me feel like you aren't as serious about me as my sisters are with my brothers."

"Right; we aren't married."

"Wearing my color would be a step towards that."

"Things like buying a house or planning a wedding should be considered steps, not clothes. That's on par with sex."

Michelangelo paused—a sudden action where his jaw physically dropped. "How on Earth are those considered on par?"

"I take it you haven't slept with someone?"

"No! 'Course not! It's important to wait for the right person."

Sophia's smirk returned, strained though it may be. "Romanticism. That's so you."

"For your information, Romanticism has played a small role. Contrary to what you may believe, ladies haven't exactly been lining up for this green machine. Tragic, I know. April has always been an older sister, but she was cute. Knew then I was attracted to human girls. It wasn't until Christie, though, that I realized I wanted to find that special someone. Then Nia came along. You know how that went. Now there's you."

"And I do believe I'm a better fit."

"So what's stopping you from being serious? Or even talking to me about intimacy? I somehow get the feeling you aren't a virgin."

"I turned twenty-five, like, two weeks ago."

"And I'm turning twenty-five in two months. Age means nothing."

"If you were a normal guy, you wouldn't have been able to wait this long."

Frowning, Michelangelo pushed himself up into an Indian-style position, eyes narrowed at the blonde who piled several capris. "Hey, now. Even as a mutant, it hasn't been easy. If anything, it's been worse."

"Yeah…" Hoshi stopped mid-fold to send the mutant a glance. "Scusa."

"You're forgiven. But while we're at it, why not tell me who've you been with?"

"If this is some roundabout way to scan me for STDs—"

"It's not. I'm"—the mutant held his breath then released it—"curious. I deserve to know, right?"

"I guess," Hoshi said with a shrug. "My health's clean, by the way."

"Good to know."

"Let's see…Marco was my first and only, for a few years. Until I moved here."

"You've had other boyfriends?"

"One night stands. Once a year. Same day."

"That's oddly regular."

The blonde squeezed the shirt she had begun folding. "I needed it."

"Why?" Michelangelo watched Sophia's gripping fingers turn white. She avoided eye contact and her hands began shaking before she lowered the shirt into her lap.

"January eleventh," she whispered, "today, is the anniversary of Cosima's death."

Mikey felt his heart wrench. It was like heartburn timed a thousand, leaving him silent with pain.

"It's been over a decade," Sophia added, "but that day…I still hear it, screams at the back of mind. I feel a chill in my blood, an iron taste in my nose. All I want is to be numb, so…I drink myself stupid and, well…"

"That's"—the Chūnin licked his lips—"that's destructive, Hoshi."

The blonde snorted. "I call it coping. It's what I do."

"Is that what you'll do tonight?"

Instantly, hazel eyes narrowed at Michelangelo on the bed. "Not funny, Figo. I—I may be recreational, but I'm not unfaithful."

"So how are you gunna handle yourself if you don't wanna be with me?"

"I do what to be with you. That's the problem!"

"Ugh! You're making less sense than usual, Hoshi."

"Then listen!" Sophia paused, her glare unwavering. "Marco was my first. But I admit, I gave myself to him more for comfort than love. We…we were bonded by our mission. It was our purpose. And sometimes…we really needed the break."

"Does that mean your one night stands served the same purpose?"

"Yeah. It felt better with Marco. I'm realizing now, though, that I've moved passed that. Because…" The blonde's stare softened. "Because of you. Wh—when I give myself to you, it won't be a 'why not?' moment. It'll mean something. Which scares me."

Mike forced a lopsided grin. "Guess I can be a little frightening."

"Seriously, Idiota! It's the weirdest thing I've ever felt. Even when we joke, it seems more real than what I had with Marco and I"—Soph groaned—"I don't know what to do with myself, okay?"

"You don't need to do anything special, Sophia," Michelangelo said, soft. He slipped off the bed, knelt before his girlfriend amidst the laundry, and although she hesitated and frowned, he wrapped her small body in his arms. "Just be yourself. That's the person I'm starting to fall in love with. That's—"

"Love?" Sophia's whisper barely reached the mutant's ear, but the obvious surprise in it left a smile on his face.

"Yes, love. I've been seeing new sides of you these past few months, Sophie, and it's not off-putting."

"Even the…kid thing?"

"Everyone had their own pace. Raph and Ni's just so happens to be fast. I want a family too, but…I can wait for when you're ready. We'll have Tobias around anyway. Then the twins an—"

Sophia began shaking. The quivers rattled Michelangelo more on the inside than out, and he tightened his grip around her to keep them both focused through their strained voices.

"I've waited this long for the right person, Soph; I can wait a while longer for the full life I want with her. Si—sincere things scare you since you don't want them ripped away. But know I'm here to hold your hand. I'm ready to help you through anything, so…we can go forward together."

A sniffle sounded in Mikey's ear. "This is nothing like what I—I had with Marco."

"That's kind of a relief."

"I'm—I'm sorry I give you so much trouble, Figo."

"Don't be." Lifting a hand, the mutant ran it over Soph's back. "Unless you plan on cheating on me toni—ow!"

Sophia pulled her fist away from Michelangelo's thigh. "If you don't want cheated on," she said with a small sniffle, "I suggest you stay here tonight."

"We'd have to convince your mom. You're sharing a bed with her."

"I'm sure she won't mind this one night. I…I doubt she'll sleep anyway. She never does."

"Maybe we should keep her company then. Wouldn't her children be more comforting than memories?"

Sophia pulled back to look up at her boyfriend. She met his smile, jaw slack, eyes glistening. Why the awe? Had Marco been too dense to suggest such a thing before?

'He had her living life all wrong. But I guess it must've been all he knew…funny how that works.'

"Come on," Mikey said while standing up, "clothes can wait for tomorrow."

"Aspetta!" Sophia cried.

The blonde glanced around the room, from the bed to the wood floor. She crawled towards an untouched section of laundry by the bedpost then pulled out something bright, something orange. She slipped it over her black tank top and when she turned, Mike noted the ornate skull print logo on its front.

"Baby steps," she whispered.

Michelangelo returned Soph's smirk with a smile then outstretched a hand that she accepted. "Seems orange is both our color."

"If you say so, Figo."

Smile growing, Mikey pulled the light young woman up. She practically floated towards him and he never let go, not even when she bumped into his plastron. Instead, he pulled her close, and without consent captured her in a deep kiss.

A/N: These two have some heavy baggage, and while I didn't delve into it, it's important for them to take the first step into WANTING to unload that stuff on each other. I'll be having a Mike/Soph-centric mini-book in the future, after "The Distance", "Zadir's Peace", and "Warriors". So more information about the Sect of Moher and Christina will be revealed then. Sorry for the wait. My characters just have so many layers. XD