Rating: T for occasional language. Also see other warnings.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: Bradford has always blamed Michelangelo for his misfortunes and especially for his mutation so when he manages to capture the young ninja, he's going to make sure he knows exactly what it's like. 2k12 AU.

Warning: Warnings for physical and mental torture in this story abound, as well as for implied and highly disturbing situations. Trigger warnings may apply for some chapters. There will not however, be gruesome details. Some things are best left up to the imagination.


Nefertirix: Thank you. That doesn't sound like fun. I hope you are able to cope better as time goes on :-)


How Much is that Turtle in the Window

ch 42

Raphael glared belligerently past Leonardo, not at him but at the wall beyond the tree in the dojo.

"Raph," Leo ventured quietly after a minute of Raphael refusing to speak, "we're not here so I can rip into you or anything. I just want to know what really happened. If you're okay?"

"Course I am," Raph snorted aggressively. "Why the hell wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you were sick all over the kitchen," Leonardo stated dryly. "I'm assuming while you were trying to look after Mikey."

Raph stiffened, caught out, "Already told you, breakfast didn't agree with me."

"That was hours ago and you, me and Donnie all had the same thing, cereal with milk and it was fresh," Leo pointed out gently. "What really happened? You can tell me, Mikey's not here to overhear."

Raph stood there, his jaw working angrily as he tried to come up with something to say, anything but the truth in case Leonardo took it wrong. Just in case Leonardo thought it was Mikey himself that made him sick.

"I know you don't normally like to talk about your feelings, Raph," Leo prompted after a couple of minutes of continuing silence, "but honestly, all of us are having trouble right now. Everything we've been through to get him back, those months we thought it was too late and that we'd never find him again... then finding him to realise he didn't even recognise us or remember us..." Leo swallowed painfully, reaching out and resting a hand on Raph's upper arm "... losing Master Splinter... everything that happened on the 'Umi-Ryuu'. It's been hard and it's okay to admit it." He closed his eyes, looking sick himself, Raph noticed out the corner of his eye.

"We keep trying to encourage Mikey to talk but he's not the only one who needs to... he's not the only one who's been traumatised by everything," Leo whispered, sounding half-broken himself.

"He's not the same," Raph uttered hoarsely, despondently.

"Of cour..." Leo fell silent at a scathing look from Raph.

"I knew that already, Leo. No one goes through shit like he did without being changed but you... you didn't see him. He just sat there and took it."

Leo gazed at Raph, slightly perplexed. "Took what?"

"He had to be hurting!" Raph exploded, struggling to keep his voice down so no one would hear in the kitchen.

Leo nodded sadly, "I don't think he's stopped hurting since we found him, emotionally or physically. Not fully, anyway."

Raph shook his head wildly. "It wasn't really bad but it wasn't just some scrape. His forehead was bleeding, Leo! He banged it pretty hard when he went down and he didn't seem to care or notice! He was surprised when I told him it was bleeding."

"He's probably had far worse over the last year and so often that it's likely that it wasn't that he didn't notice, just... it didn't bother him so much because it was nothing in comparison," Leo said softly, sounding ill at the realisation. They all knew that but to hear it said aloud...

"Probably and that's bad enough," Raph muttered angrily, "but he didn't even flinch when I was cleaning it or disinfecting it. He didn't even blink. Just stared up at me!" He took a deep, ragged breath. "The worst part was, he was so still but he was terrified. I could see it in his eyes! In how stiff, how still he was, Leo! I... I couldn't handle it!"

"Raph," Leo murmured softly.

"How could they do that to anyone, Leo? He was helpless! Our baby brother was completely helpless!" he cried out.

Leo stood there, reeling from the emotional onslaught. "I wish I knew, Raph but it's the Foot. They operate under a cruel, vindictive man so it makes sense that they'd be just as cruel and vindictive as an organisation. It's probably a survival mechanism for most of those who get caught up in it or an outlet for those who revel in hurting others and would otherwise be dealt with by the law."

"Yeah... probably..." Raph shuddered. "Dunno if you've noticed, but he's... Mikey's been like that since we found him, only..." he choked a moment, the feelings and words just too much as he remembered the awful look in Mikey's eyes. The fear, which at that moment was directed at him! "Only... we didn't have time to stop and pay attention earlier..."

Leo froze, caught unaware. "I hadn't..." he said softly. "I was too busy trying to make sure we weren't discovered. But," he brightened slightly, "he wasn't like that with Asahi-sensei, he was terrified and trying to get away from him."

"He was delirious at the time, Leo," Raph pointed out tiredly, shaking his head. "Once he began to recover, that changed. He was exactly like I just said. You were with him a lot right at the beginning but after Donnie came back, when you were with him, it was mostly overnight and even then, you were mostly with him while he was sleeping or Asahi-sensei was gone. Leo..." Raph stopped a moment and then looked directly into his eyes, holding them and for once not trying to downplay his own vulnerability. "What if Mikey starts being scared of us? Just because... because we're trying to help him when he's hurt? What if the fear is so ingrained in him that it starts making him afraid of us?"

Leo's jaw clenched and he straightened. "Never happen! Look, Raph, we're his brothers, his family. He trusts us and knows we'd never try to hurt him. He's already improv..."

"He's scared of you," Raph cut in, "or he was last night at least. Not sure about today yet but..."

Leo sighed, looking away for a moment. "Yeah, something happened, another flashback but I don't know what triggered it or what it was about." He reached up, pinching the bridge of his snout. "I wish he'd tell us more about what's going through his head."

"Yeah..." Raph muttered. It was so hard getting anything out of Mikey, he knew. He himself was usually only given one or two-word answers but then again... it wasn't like he could keep up with longer ones. Not that Mikey gave him much of a chance to learn anymore. Not one-on-one anyway. He just gravitated to Donnie, tapping against his leg or arm so no one else could overhear when he did actually talk and it hurt! Not just the fact that Mikey was keeping them at a distance when things became too much but also that he couldn't have understood even if Mikey actually gave the rest of them the chance.

"I was only trying to help him last night," Leo pointed out, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. Raph looked up at him again. "He was blaming himself about April. I tried to convince him he wasn't at fault... That's when..." he sighed miserably, staring in the direction of the kitchen, even though he couldn't possibly see through the dojo walls. "That's when he froze and became caught up in that flashback. I tried to get him out of it and bring him back to now but I think I was only making things worse and I don't know why or how!" He clenched his fists as he spoke, obviously anguished and Raph wished he was better at words and comforting but that had never been his forte. The only one he'd ever seemed to sometimes help in the past was Mikey and even then, it was rare. No, the one most likely to draw someone out of a funk was Mikey himself but he'd changed, too damaged to step up as he used to. Even though it was obvious he was still trying to protect them emotionally at times.

Raph too, turned to gaze in the direction of the kitchen.

"He needs a professional," a voice spoke up suddenly from behind them. Raph jumped and whirled around to see Donnie. "However, that's not really an option for us. He couldn't even use one of the helplines now because he can't speak."

"What about online?" Leo asked, completely unflappable and making Raph want to stab him. "Surely there'd be some online sites or forums that might help?"

"Maybe," Donnie hesitated, "but I don't think they'd be enough right now and then there's the matter of him being able to access them. With his hands in that shape, he can't type."

"Which is why you haven't offered him your laptop to talk to us with as you said you would," Leo pointed out.

Donnie nodded miserably, "Pretty much, yes."

Raph took a deep breath.

"What about Mr. O'Neil?" Leo asked. "He's a psychiatrist, isn't he?"

"Psychologist," Donnie immediately corrected.

"What's the difference?" Raph blurted.

"Primarily, a psychiatrist has a medical degree and is capable of prescribing medications where a psychologist cannot," Donnie explained. "They also tend to use different techniques to help their patients, even if many of them are similar. Mr O'Neil, however, isn't a sitting psychologist who sees patients. He's more experimental, a researcher." Donnie sighed and looked away a moment before meeting Raph's and then Leo's gazes. "Even if he was a sitting therapist, I don't know that he could help Mikey anyway. After what he went through with the Kraang, he's barely functional himself some days. We've seen it ourselves, how he rarely leaves the apartment, the way he panics over April even going to school and it's not like he can talk about what he went through with anyone either. They'd lock him away for talking about aliens."

Raph and Leo both nodded reluctantly.

"I mean, it is possible things have become better for him, it has been a few months since we last saw him after all, but the fact that April asked Murakami-san rather than Mr. O'Neil to help says a lot," Donnie continued sadly. "I wouldn't even want to try to ask so much of him right now."

"I understand," Leo agreed softly. "Do you think... he'll even be able to come on Saturday?"

"I couldn't say," Donnie replied, shaking his head. "It would all depend on how he is on the day but we've given the invitation, that'll count for something."

Leo nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at Donnie sharply. "Wait, you left Mikey? Why?"

"He was scared you were reaming into Raph," Donnie explained wryly.

"I can take care of myself, Don," Raph retorted indignantly with a frown.

"I know," Donnie blushed, "but he was worried and it was my fault he walked to the kitchen alone earlier, not yours."

"But yet you've left him alone again now?" Leo pointed out drily, giving Donnie a look.

"He agreed not to leave the kitchen and I left my T-phone with him. If he needs us before we get back, he can call."

"How? He can't talk."

"He doesn't need to. If he dials one of you, I go straight back, simple as that," Donnie replied, "and since you two aren't actually tearing into each other, I'm heading back now."

"Yeah, we're coming too," Raph said, following Donnie out the dojo. "How's he s'posed to dial anyway?"

"I turned it on and set it to the contacts page," Donnie explained. "Since there are only a few contacts in there, it shouldn't be too hard to press one of them, whether with a knuckle or the stylus I left him with."

Leo nodded in approval. "Is there some way you can fix something up so he can contact us if he's ever alone and needs us? Not that I plan on leaving him alone at any time."

"Everyone needs to be alone for a bit sometimes, Leo," Raph growled. "They'd go crazy otherwise."

"Not Mikey," Leo protested firmly. "He never liked being alone much. Before you say anything, the 'Umi Ryuu' was different. We were all trapped in a confined space. We needed, he needed, that space in there but we were all still close by. In earshot."

"Even Mikey," Raph corrected as Donnie nodded in agreement. "There were times before all this shit where he wanted to be alone. They just never lasted long. Okay, right now, I agree, he shouldn't be alone and I doubt he wants to be but occasionally, he'll probably need the space and we can't deny it to him or he'll get more upset. Even so, we should still be close by, like in the next room or something, so he knows we're right there and then, only if it's what he wants. We can't crowd him. It's damned suffocating."

Leo sighed. "I get what you're saying but it's too dangerous to leave him alone. You saw how he fell earlier. He's still trying to get the use of his legs back and still adjusting to using crutches when he can't grip them properly."

"There's no easy solution," Donnie said quietly as they came upon the kitchen, "but right now, we need to shelve this conversation because you know he doesn't like us talking about him in front of him."

"Who does," Raph snorted lightly.

"Oh, you'd be surprised about how many people actually get a kick out of hearing others talk about them," Donnie said dryly, "but most of..."

"Where's Mikey?" Leo interjected sharply the moment they reached the doorway.

Raph looked up to see what appeared to be an empty kitchen, Donnie's T-phone still on the table where Mikey had been sitting when he left and his heart started racing in fear.

"I thought you said he'd stay here, Donnie!"

Donnie's mouth dropped open in dismay, obviously about to protest, when Raph heard a faint tapping calling out to them from the other side of the island bench. He darted inside and rounded the bench to see their youngest brother on all fours and scrubbing with difficulty at the congealing spew. Raph felt sick all over again as he dropped beside Mikey and grabbed hold of his hands, prying the washcloth from between them. Mikey looked at him, startled and reeling as he took in the annoyance and anger on Raphael's face.

{I'm sry,} Mikey tapped fearfully, unable to take his eyes off Raph. Raph, however, could see that though his brother's eyes were on him, they wouldn't meet his own. {Was just tryin' to help.}

Raph grit his teeth as he realised once more, that he barely even understood half of that. Still, it was enough to get the gist.

"Well, don't. It's my mess and I said I'd clean it up." He tried desperately not to snap but Mikey's reaction told him he failed miserably. Raph took a deep breath to calm himself, even as their brothers crowded them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap, it's just... how'd you even get down without falling?"

Mikey blinked uncertainly, telling him that was exactly how he did it and controlled fall or not, it wasn't something Raph wanted to think about while his brother was still healing from everything and getting used to walking again.

Raph sighed, breathing out his frustration. "I'm not mad at you, I'm worried about you."

Mikey canted his head slightly as he blinked his confusion.

"If something happened, how would you call us? Donnie's T-phone is up there," Raph motioned just short of aggressively at the top of the kitchen table. "You're stuck down here!"

At that, something dark flashed across Mikey's face, pain, annoyance, anger... hurt... Raph wasn't sure what, and he pulled his hands free. Then he turned his shell on Raph and quickly crawled around the bench as Raph stared in disbelief. He jumped up and followed, reaching down to pull Mikey up but Mikey pulled away again, this time with a growl and baring his teeth, before crawling to the nearest chair. Raph couldn't believe it when Donnie started to smile. A moment later, he realised why as he watched Mikey reach for the seat, plant his hands on it and struggle to shaky feet.

It took entirely too long for Raph's taste and of course by then the T-phone had powered down but Mikey's triumphant challenge said it all and Raph couldn't help but smile back proudly.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're not helpless and we shouldn't treat you like you are."

{Yes,} Mikey tapped obstinately.

Raph's smile grew harder; Mikey was still scared far too easily and hurt by his long ordeal but the Mikey he was was fighting to come back to them and he couldn't be prouder. "Just... could you stop scaring us so damn much, huh? We've only just got you home, you gotta give us time to get used to things too."

{k,} Mikey tapped sheepishly. Then he looked away and tapped more quietly. {It stank.}

Now Donnie moved in, helping Mikey by pulling a seat out for him, which he gratefully sat on before his wobbly leg muscles could collapse on him. "I understand, bud but you still... look, all we want is for you to take the time to heal enough to be mobile again. When we ask you to stay put for just a few minutes if you're alone, we don't want you leaving the room or the chair or getting onto the ground." Mikey's gaze began to turn wary with the edges of fear and Donnie was quick to add, "That's not any kind of command or demand, it's a request, for our peace of mind so you don't scare us half to death when we come back to find you seemingly missing. We don't want you wandering on your own just yet in case you have an accident and get hurt again and we certainly don't want you cleaning up messes, whether it's our own or yours. Okay?"

Through much of Donnie's impassioned plea, Mikey had looked away, now his expression turned sly and he risked a peek up at Donnie.

{So no chores?}

"Absolutely no chores," Donnie agreed with a firm nod.

{Eva?}

Donnie nodded again, "Ev..." then he choked with laughter as he realised he'd almost been trapped by their conniving little brother. "Until you've healed," he stated firmly, looking to Leo and Raph for support.

Leo smiled warmly, "For now, it's our job to look after you, little brother. Yours is to work at your rehabilitation, avoid scaring us and let us worry about the rest. Can you handle that much?"

{Hai!}

"Right! Gimme a few to clean this up, then I'll get you that food!" Raph promised.

-:-

For the fifteenth time in the last few minutes, Mikey's eyes flickered from the television towards the kitchen, even as he worried at his lower lip with his teeth. For a moment, he contemplated on how to get out of the pit while carrying his cup and using his crutches before sighing softly as he realised he'd have no chance of refilling it anyway and slumped helplessly back into his seat.

Leonardo turned his head away from 'Space Heroes' to gaze at him in concern. "Are you okay, Mikey? I can put something else on if you prefer."

Mikey coloured in embarrassment. To tell the truth, Leo's show held little interest for him but it kept his brother (mostly) focused on something other than himself and Mikey felt that to be a good thing. {I'm ok... L,} he tapped hesitantly. Leo frowned, obviously realising the lie but how could he tell his own brother he felt too afraid of him to ask for water?

"No, you're not," Leo observed softly, switching the TV off and turning to face him properly. Mikey tried desperately not to squirm under the searching expression. "What did I do to upset you, Mikey?" he asked plaintively. "Why are you so afr..."

No! So not going there! Mikey's heart began to beat frantically and he scrambled to grab hold of his cup between his locked, damaged hands.

Leo stopped mid-sentence and his eyes dropped to Mikey's fumbling hands in confusion. Then his expression cleared before becoming ashamed. "Your cup's empty? I'm sorry, I should have checked sooner but... you could have just asked. You do know that, right?"

Mikey swallowed fearfully, {Didn't want to bother u,} he lied softly. {U were watchin',} he motioned vaguely to the TV.

Leonardo sighed, "Yes, though I turned it on more for you." He rose easily to his feet and reached out for the cup. "Will you be alright alone for a couple of minutes or would you prefer I get Donnie or Raph to come sit with you?"

{I...'ll be fine,} Mikey replied, trying not to obviously swallow. It would only be for a minute or two and the kitchen was just there - he looked over to it and Leo smiled down at him softly.

"Okay," he relented, "but please don't wander off, okay?"

It was all Mikey could do not to scoff. Seriously, how fast did Leo think he could climb out of their once childhood playpen, clamber clumsily to his feet and get ahold of the crutches properly? He'd be back before Mikey even made it halfway!

{I'll b here,} he promised. Leo attempted a warm smile and it was all Mikey could do not to shudder in fear at the wan look. He forced a smile back, however, trying to convince him everything was alright when they both knew it wasn't and watched Leonardo make his way to the kitchen. Moments later, his brother disappeared through the curtain draped across the doorway and Mikey breathed out a slow but quiet breath of relief before allowing his eyes to dart around the room again.

He hated being alone and yet he felt overwhelming relief at Leo being away from him. Tears threatened at the realisation and he grit his teeth, hating himself for feeling this way. It was so stupid!

"Your turn," Leo insisted firmly, "that's an order."

Mikey's stomach churned sickeningly at the memory, threatening to expel everything he'd eaten that day and he twisted in his seat, instead forcing himself to focus on the details of the room to calm himself. At their pinball machine, at the old refurbished arcade machine, the painting on the wall - a gift he'd given his father ages ago which he claimed he'd found in a junkyard run and cleaned up but in reality had painted himself, at the turnstiles in the entryway of the lair, at the skinny, dark-haired human boy jumping said turnstiles as he entered their home.

Human boy?

Mikey gasped in fright and scrambling backwards, fell off the bench, landing on his shell with a heavy thud.

The sound of his carapace hitting the ground caught the attention of Casey and Leo both. Casey pelted to the edge of the pit with a concerned expression on his face, even as Leonardo raced from the kitchen.

"Are you okay, little dude?" Casey asked as Leo exclaimed, "Mikey! Are you alright?"

Mikey groaned pathetically to himself. Why couldn't he keep from worrying his brothers for just five minutes? {I'm good,} he tapped in exasperation where he lay staring up at the ceiling and doing his level best to ignore Casey despite the fear welling and swirling inside at his proximity. {U no wot a klutz I am.}

Leonardo jumped down to land beside him, offering his hand to help pull him up. Mikey stared up at it a moment, swallowing, then forced himself to reach up, accepting it and Leo pulled him to sit upright where he caught sight of his brothers' friend again and he couldn't help but flinch backwards. Leo followed his gaze and understanding filled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Casey but could you please back away? The condition for you coming around..."

"Yeah, I got it, Leo, I know," Casey smiled reluctantly, revealing his missing teeth as he backed away at last. "Sorry, Mikey, I was just worried when you fell. It sounded like it hurt." He turned to look worriedly at Leo, "Is he okay?"

Leo studied Mikey a moment, making him squirm yet again, and smiled fondly, "Yeah, he said he's fine."

"That's good," Casey nodded, backing up a step further. "So where's Raph?"

Leo shrugged, "Room, I think."

"Right, I'll go check and get outta sight."

Relief surged through Mikey but Casey paused to look seriously at him.

"But hey, before I go I just wanted to say thanks for letting me come around. I hope we can be friends too when you're ready."

Mikey blanched and pulled his knees to his plastron, pulling himself into as tight a protective ball as he could as he watched Casey whirl around and saunter out of view.

"It's okay, Mikey. As we've already told you, we wouldn't let anyone who would hurt you near you again," Leo promised quietly.

'That's what you said before,' Mikey thought miserably, pulling away from Leo again now the greater source of fear and discomfort had disappeared. Not that that helped, considering he knew the human was still in their home and in fact knew exactly where they lived. Tears prickled his eyes again and he fought desperately to keep them contained.

"Casey is a trusted friend. He helped us a lot while you were missing and also helped April when she was being atta...uh..." Leo floundered a moment and corrected himself, "when she needed help a while back and we were too far away to help her at the time."

Mikey frowned up at Leo. He wanted to know what his brother was suddenly trying to hide but it was too hard to talk to him and ask questions right now.

Leo gave a supposedly confident smile. "Do you want a hand back to the bench?"

'No,' Mikey blinked; he needed Leo to back off for a bit and let him collect himself again. 'Thirsty.'

Leo gazed down at him for a moment as if trying to read him, then nodded. "Right! I was getting you a drink. I'll be right back!"

Mikey watched as Leo leapt out of the pit and made for the kitchen again and only then, closed his eyes and took a huge breath of relief.

For the next couple of minutes, he was left alone and Mikey took full advantage of the chance to centre himself again. Leonardo was his big brother and team leader. Mikey had never had trouble following his orders before, knowing full well Leo was giving them the best chance of survival in a world fiercely against them. Now though, his mind had been messed with, his perceptions warped and obedience drilled into him. His survival, mental and physical, had depended on it for so long but unlike with Leonardo, his Alpha and Master Hakuba, indeed the whole of The Foot, did not have his best interests at heart and he had quickly learnt to fear those controlling him.

Trouble was though, those fears had followed him home and Leo having ordered him to obey an order that went completely against his belief had triggered them. While he was fully aware of the problem, he couldn't separate Leader from Alpha and he was too terrified to say something.

And too scared of hurting Leonardo to try to explain it...

He desperately needed his big brother right now, not someone demanding and expecting obedience.

Suddenly, he felt movement before him and opening his eyes, he lifted his head as a deliciously warm scent wafted into his nostrils.

Leo smiled gently at him, "I swear it's impossible to sneak up on you now, Mikey. You know, you're really going to have to give our brothers some tips on how you always detect people so easily."

Mikey worked to hide a scowl. No, he'd never put them through that. He'd learnt the hard way and he'd never wish that on even his worst enemy who was thankfully dead now and couldn't hurt anyone ever again.

"You worked really hard at your rehabilitation today, completely surpassing our expectations." Leo chuckled slightly. "I'm not sure Donnie liked you pushing yourself that far when you're still getting headaches and particularly after that earlier fall but I have to say I'm proud of you."

Mikey felt his fear ebb away a little and warmth begin to fill his soul.

"So I figured you deserve a reward."

Mikey canted his head slightly even as anxiety instantly began to overwhelm him again.

Leonardo held out the cup for him to take, "Careful, okay? It's still hot."

Curious now and still not quite recognising the tantalising scent, Mikey reached out and carefully took the cup. Bringing it to his mouth, he took a careful sip and rich, velvety flavour exploded in his mouth. The smile blossomed on his face as he remembered what it was; Leo had actually made him his special hot chocolate that he never shared the recipe for.

-:-

"The bathroom's all ready to go for you, Mikey. All the taps have been replaced, the handle on the door, I've even built a bench for you to sit on in the shower and placed it in the first cubicle," he explained. "Oh, and I set up a stand for your crutches so you can lean them nearby without risking them falling down."

Mikey shrank back in shame at needing so much and forcing Donnie to do much just for him and yet, a small part of him was happy that his brother was so willing to help him however he could. {Ty, D,} he tapped softly.

Donnie smiled warmly. "Anything for you little brother. Oh yeah! I also plan to install a communications device into the shower and toilet stalls."

But he couldn't talk... Mikey's heart sank. In theory, it was a good idea but... his eyes lifted to look into Donnie's, his hand trembling as he tried to work out what to say but he needn't have bothered.

"It'll have an emergency button you can press if you need help with anything, emergency or not. Press it and it'll message all our phones and one of us will come. Another option will be messaging me or Leo or Raph directly. For this, there will be a little lever or button you can tap so you can use Morse Code, we'll work out together what works best for you." Donnie shrugged self-consciously. "I'll need a day or so to complete this one and make it waterproof but I'll get it done as soon as I can. As a result, I'll have to leave replacing the kitchen taps until after, if that's okay?"

He was asking him if that was okay? Mikey stared at Donnie in shock.

"Mikey?" Donnie pressed a moment later when he still hadn't answered.

'Yeah,' Mikey hurriedly blinked. It just wasn't normal to be asked like that and he wasn't sure how to take it.

"If you'd prefer me to change the kitchen taps first, I can, it's just I think the communications device is more of a priority," Donnie explained uncertainly. "It's your choice though, since this affects you."

{I'm fine with what u think is best,} Mikey finally replied, tapping softly but quickly. He ignored Leo as he frowned, trying to keep up.

Donnie pursed his lips slightly. "It's important that you have a say too, though, Mikey."

{Y?}

"What do you mean why?"

Mikey glanced at Leo, his heart quickening as he did. {B'cuz... well...} he shrank back, {no one ever cared wot I thawt b'for so y care now?} The sad thing was that it wasn't even just an excuse to cover for his current fear of Leo.

Donnie stared at him, stunned. "Th-that's not true!"

{But it is...} he tapped even more quietly. {No one ever lissened to me b'fore or wanted my opinion. U all shut me down without lissening or sed I was stupid so... y do u care about my opinion now?}

-:-


Please let me know what you think.

Also, don't forget that receiving e-mails about updates on FFNet is now opt-in and has to be renewed every 6 months or they just stop sending you emails about stories and authors updating :-s

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.