Rating: T
Warnings: Overall story - Brief mentions of torture. Bit of language.
Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.
A Very AOtGO Christmas
ch 3
24th December
By the time Mikey emerged from his room mid-afternoon, April and Casey were there and from the happiness on their faces, he figured they'd just been told the good news about the other Michelangelo.
"Wondered how long you'd be before you finally got up," Raph grumbled.
"You guys were waiting for me?" Mikey asked in surprise.
Raph grunted and looked away, refusing to meet Mikey's eye. "You're the one who wanted to make these lame baubles together."
"Like you don't?" April teased, shooting a knowing smile Mikey's way. They both knew that despite the initial protests from the other turtle, seeing their past made him nostalgic.
Scowling, Raph crossed his arms and glared. "It's kid's stuff! We outgrew that shi... ah stuff years ago!" he scoffed as Casey laughed at his near mistake with Splinter only in the next room.
"Well, I think it sounds like fun and I'm sorry we didn't do this last year," April retorted. She jumped lightly to her feet to go grab her bag and pull something out.
"Glitter pens!" Mikey cried gleefully as she held up a small packet in hand. "Sweet!"
"I thought we could add a little sparkle to them," April beamed, placing the packet on the table as she returned. Mikey looked down, surprised to see a pile of cardboard circles already prepared and sheets of white paper with circles of the correct size drawn on them, ready to draw on and cut out for gluing onto the cardboard when done. From the fact all the sheets were exactly the same, he figured Donnie must've printed them out.
"April and Casey brought down pizza for lunch if you want some, Mike," Leo offered knowingly. "We saved you a couple of slices."
"Great! I'm starved!"
"I'm not surprised. You didn't exactly eat a lot this morning, not that I blame you," Leo observed quietly.
"Are you dissing the breakfast you made, dude?" Mikey asked, laughing as Leo's face reddened.
"No!" Leo spluttered as his brothers laughed too.
"Dude! You let Leo cook?" Casey asked incredulously, eyes boggling as he stared in horror at the turtles. "Are you guys suicidal or something?"
Mikey snickered as Leo huffed indignantly. "There was no cooking involved, Case-man, only sharp knives and I think I trust him more than most with a sharp blade," he teased, tossing the comment over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen for his prize. A few minutes later, he returned with the reheated pizza and a drink, munching on a slice as he walked. For a moment, he gazed around the pit at the assembled teenagers, then put his plate and glass down, asking April to keep an eye on it as he didn't trust his other brothers and Casey not to snatch.
"Like April could stop me if I actually wanted it," Raph scoffed derisively.
"Yeah, you wish, Raph," April smirked back. Raph wouldn't dare go against her under normal circumstances but it wasn't due to her fledgling ninja skills.
Mikey grinned in amusement as he went back to his room for a flat drawing board and a supply of pencils and textas to share.
"Do you guys mind if I make more than one?" he asked hopefully, already planning on making one for each of his family. Leo on one side and Splinter on the other, Raph and Donnie on another and April and Casey on the last.
"Go ahead," Donnie replied easily, gazing at the supplies on the table. "I printed out extra in case of mistakes or anyone wanting to try different things and we can easily cut more cardboard circles."
"Great!" Mikey cheered happily. "Shell, if anyone wanted to make bells or stars, we could do that too!"
Raph grunted and Mikey looked over to see him seemingly more interested than he'd been letting on.
Seeing the little available space on the table, Donnie glanced at Mikey's drawing clipboard and went to get something for himself. None of them wanted to move to the big kitchen table, preferring the intimacy of the pit with the TV on and set to a music station and for the next couple of hours, the group sat sprawled around the pit, working on their own art projects and chatting happily about their plans for the next day.
Casey had to spend the day with his father and sister, along with some relatives he barely knew and only saw once or twice a year but at Mr. O'Neil's 'invite', his father agreed to Casey joining everyone in the late afternoon/early evening and then spending the night.
April, likewise, would not be coming around until later in the day as her aunt insisted on April and her father joining her for lunch. April was a little sad her aunt couldn't meet everyone but she wasn't exactly sure how her aunt would react to the Hamatos and knew it better just to keep them secret. Kirby was supposed to come down too but everyone knew whether he would or not depended on if it was a good or bad day for him and that his bad days were not only more frequent than Mikey's – Mikey already being used to a life of danger just by his very existence in a world that insisted he should not even exist – but they were often far worse too.
Despite the generally festive mood, there was an undercurrent of melancholy with everyone missing their Mikey and Mikey desperately missing his own family. Still, they were happy to know for certain that their missing brother was alive and safe and being cared for by whoever had been supporting him in the Astral Plain.
Splinter came out to sit with the teens as they created and he looked at Mikey's artwork in concern. "It appears you are missing someone, Michelangelo," he stated as he admired the simple, yet beautifully done drawings. Mikey had kept them deliberately simple or he wouldn't have had time to make them all, considering he still had other things to do later in the day.
Mikey gazed up at his grandfather in confusion. "Who am I missing, Grandpa-sensei?"
Splinter chuckled. "Yourself. If you are partially making these for us to remember you in the future after you return home..." no one knew if Mikey would make it home by next Christmas or not but they had to believe he would for his sake and theirs, "... then you are missing the most important person."
Mikey felt a wave of warmth gush through him. If he couldn't be home, then he was so lucky to be here where he'd been welcomed and made part of the family. He grinned and reached out for another sheet of paper to draw himself, grinning and sticking his tongue out Gene Simmons style and he drew Klunk for the other side, only feeling slightly bad not to include Leahpar too.
Finally, everyone had finished and was admiring each other's art – even if not all were great, they'd still put in the effort and had fun – and they moved into the dojo to add their new, sparkly baubles to the tree and that's when the sadness over the missing member of the family really kicked in, with everyone knowing just how much he would've loved being a part of this and Mikey, thinking furiously, wanting desperately to help them somehow.
Just as his other brothers turned to shuffle from the dojo, Mikey found himself crying out, "Wait!"
As one, they turned to face him, the joy from their creating simply gone.
"What is it, Mike?" Raph grunted gruffly.
Mikey fixed Raph with a knowing look and fingered his T-phone, making a gesture to indicate recording.
Raph frowned a moment, then his eyes widened in surprise as he gazed back at the tree again. Then, he turned to his brothers.
"We should make a video card for Mikey," he said, his heart fluttering anxiously given how close he was to revealing the secret that only Mike knew about.
"A what?" Leo asked flatly.
His face burning, Raph made an impatient gesture, shooting a desperate look at Mike for help. Mike just grinned and mouthed, 'You got this, bro!'
"A video card, whatever!" he snapped. Then he breathed and answered more calmly. "We shoot a video wishing Mikey a Merry Christmas and give it to him when we finally find him and bring him home. I guess... show him we were thinking of him and how much we wanted him here."
"That is not a bad idea," Splinter mused thoughtfully.
"I can do the recording," Mikey offered. "That way you can all be in it together and no one has to miss out."
Donnie nodded eagerly, the idea rapidly growing on him. "That would be great and if we film it in front of the tree, we can show him he was part of the celebration too, even if he wasn't physically here," he said, motioning to the baubles hanging from the dojo tree.
Leo appeared dubious but nodded all the same, recognising the growing desire to do this between his family and friends.
Raph hesitated momentarily, then, "We can make a group message then... do more personal messages to him that no one else is here for or sees."
"That sounds fine but we don't have a tripod or a way to hold one of the T-phones steady enough," Donnie mused with a frown. "If you could give me time, I could rig something up. I'm not sure I have the parts though so I'd have to go work it out and that could take a few hours."
"Mike can do it. I don't mind him hearing," Raph mumbled. "And... we should do it now, while the light in here's good." Not to mention before he lost his nerve.
Leo, Donnie, April and Casey all stared at Raph in shock and Raph fidgeted irritably under the scrutiny, already regretting suggesting the video card and wanting to threaten the first person who said something wrong.
"What?" he demanded.
"You really don't mind Mike doing the recording of the personal messages?" Leo asked in disbelief. "Mike?"
"Wow, Leo," Mikey said dryly. "It's nice to know you think so highly of my ability to be confidential, dude."
Leo spluttered indignantly. "It's not about you, it's about Raph and uh... well, you may not be Mikey but you still kinda are."
"Uh-huh," Mikey said flatly. He wasn't enjoying Leo's discomfort in the slightest. Really. "You're floundering and it really doesn't become you, dude."
Raph scowled. "Let's just get it over with before I change my mind!" he snapped.
Before the conversation could devolve into an argument or Raph storm off due to 'teasing' and 'feelings', Mikey beamed at them. "You guys work out what and how you want to say the group message and I'll work out the best shot angles," he said, already circling the tree to look for the perfect shot. The most important thing was making sure some of the other Mikey's art was in the frame and would be easily seen. The second was the angle and the lighting itself and if he had to move a couple of the handmade baubles to make it work, so be it.
About fifteen minutes later, everyone was in place, grouped close together in front of the great tree and several baubles, two of which were this universe's Mikey's, hanging prominently in place just above and behind them. Holding the T-phone landscape, Mikey began recording. Then, sticking his fingers and thumb out on his right hand, counted down silently.
Three...
Two...
One...
"Merry Christmas, Michelangelo!" everyone chorused joyfully.
As prearranged, everyone fell silent and gazed at the camera, patiently allowing Splinter to continue.
"We know that due to circumstances beyond our control that you cannot join us for the holidays, my son but we would have you know that we miss you more than any of us thought possible..." Splinter's ears twitched and flattened in his obvious distress.
"Thanks to several events, we now know that you have somehow been spirited away to another reality to our own. However, you can be certain that we have not and will not give up on finding you and bringing you home, whatever it takes.
"We know that you will not be able to watch this video until you are safely home again but regardless, we wished to record personal messages for you as a way to include and to show that our thoughts lay with you on this day."
Splinter finished speaking and Mikey counted silently back up to three and shut off the recording. He walked over to the small family and replayed the video for them to see. Luckily, no one was critical enough to demand a re-recording because, as he explained, it was better to be natural than to appear too rehearsed.
"So I think we should do the individual messages in here too, since this is the heart of your home but if anyone wants to do theirs somewhere else, we can work with that," Mikey said seriously, looking around the group in turn. "It's up to you guys."
"Yes, that sounds good," Splinter agreed as the others looked at each other and murmured among themselves. "I shall do mine in here, although I would like to record mine in front of the family shrine to include Tang Shen and Miwa."
Mikey nodded; that made sense. "In that case, do you want to go first, Grandpa?"
Splinter inclined his head gratefully and walked over to the shrine. Meanwhile, Mikey turned to everyone else who was already heading out. "Work out who's next and I'll call for you when you're up."
-:-
"Michelangelo my son, you have no idea how relieved I was to find you in the Astral Plain last night. Not to mention, surprised," he chuckled. "It seems that I have greatly underestimated your ability for meditation. You must know that when you do finally return home, I will not be making that mistake again."
It was all he could do not to laugh aloud at the pain the other Mikey was destined for when he returned. As it was, he couldn't help but grin, stifling it quickly at a rather displeased swish of Splinter's tail. At least, he mused, Splinter's tail was not in the camera shot so he wouldn't have to edit it out later.
Splinter's ears shifted, making him appear as downcast as Mikey knew him to be. "I am very sorry that I lost the connection with you that night. I could sense how close you were to your limit, yet I... foolishly allowed distraction to separate us."
He cringed apologetically at the subtle reminder of what his and Raph's misunderstanding cost this family. Time with their missing son and brother and answers as to what actually happened to him all those months ago.
A part of Mikey hadn't told Raph about Leahpar all that time ago because he was curious as to how long it would take for Raph to realise but what he kept forgetting was that this Raphael had far less control of his short fuse and that, on the surface, at least, this Raph just didn't seem to care whether he did or not. In fact, he often seemed to enjoy and take advantage of the reputation he'd earnt for his temper. For a moment, he wondered if he should take Raph aside some time and tell him what almost happened the last time his Raphael lost his temper so badly. However, he wasn't sure this Raphael would welcome such a story. Either way, as he'd explained that morning, he hadn't meant to hurt or upset him and he'd have to work harder to control his mischievous side to prevent such misunderstandings from happening again.
Splinter nodded decisively. "I will give you time to recoup your strength and then I shall begin reaching out to you from within the Astral Plain more frequently. Hopefully, we will come across one another again."
Suddenly, Mikey realised Splinter was beginning to wrap up his message so he pushed the invasive thoughts from his mind and concentrated on his task. To his relief, Splinter was still perfectly in the frame.
"I miss you so much, my son but I have faith we will see each other again soon, either in the Astral Plane or in my arms when you finally return home."
-:-
Mikey replayed the recording for Splinter and when the ninja master was satisfied, he offered to send the next person in as he wanted to go to the kitchen to make tea anyway. A minute later, Leonardo entered the dojo, looking more unsure about the whole thing than ever.
"Are you okay, Leo? You don't have stage fright or anything, do you?" Mikey teased in a light tone. "If you do, just imagine the audience, your enemy, naked. Maybe their pants fell down mid-fight after you cut them loose and are wrapped around their ankles and tripping them up."
"No!" Leo protested with a laugh. "It's not stage fright. I just... don't see the point of this, that's all. We'll see Mikey again before he sees this so~"
Mikey canted his head as he listened to the other turtle's explanation. "Well, I get where you're coming from, Leo but it's not about just your Mikey seeing this, you know? Doing this is helping the others. Some of them, at least, feel better for it. It's therapeutic, I guess," he explained, screwing up his face as he tried to come up with the best way to explain it. "And then, well, I can't really speak for your bro as I've never met him but I know I'd love to get something like this when I get home because it'd show me just how much my family missed me and wanted me back and I could look at it any time I needed that boost, even in the middle of the night when everyone's asleep. And... it'd be a relief, too..."
"A relief how?" Leo asked with a confused frown.
"It'd show me that while everyone missed me and even though I knew they were doing everything they could to find me, that they didn't let it consume them and they also continued to live their lives. Especially during special occasions and holidays." A sad smile made its way onto Mikey's face and try as he might, he couldn't brighten it. "In my case though, I... well, they think I'm dead so there... there won't be anything like this waiting for me but there will be for your bro and you have no idea how much that'll mean to him when you give him the messages."
"Mike..." Leo reached out sadly, aching to do something to help him feel better. "I know that's what you believe and it... it makes sense based on what you felt last time you connected to your Donnie in the Astral Plane but... maybe you're wrong? Maybe they think you're probably dead but aren't sure and are still trying to find you anyway."
"You're... you're just saying that to make me feel better bro," Mikey sniffled, his heart breaking at the knowledge his brothers were hurting so badly. He'd seen the pain in Donnie, he'd felt it in the way Donnie turned away from him like he couldn't take the dreams any more. He hated being the reason his family suffered so badly.
Leo shook his head though Mikey could see he was totally lying. Leonardo was a horrible liar in any world due to being 'too honourable' and too much of a 'daddy's boy'.
"I'm not, Mike. Look, you're a superhero and comic fan too. What's the one thing comic readers know best of all?"
"That Peter David is the most awesome writer ever after Stan Lee and that Jack Kirby and Sophie Campbell are the best artists?" Mikey asked with a straight face. It may have been the truth in his opinion but he knew it wasn't the answer Leo wanted.
Leo shook his head again, this time with a laugh. "I've never even heard of any of them so I can't agree or disagree with you on that."
Mikey stuck out his tongue. "You seriously need some culture, Leo. When you guys finally get me home, I am so giving you some comics from my world."
"I'd like that," Leo agreed with a small smile, "but stop trying to deflect. You know what I'm getting at. Without an actual body, there's no proof of death and that means there is hope, no matter how little it might seem. What I'm saying is that even if they believe you're dead, they'll still be searching for proof or a body and they won't find that because you're here."
Mikey shook his head. If that was the case, Donnie would never have turned away from him that night he definitely made contact. Sleeping or not, dreaming or not, he would have answered Mikey out of hope alone. No, he knew that even if what Leo said was true, they'd have long given up by now. Especially since pieces of him or rather his belongings, were left behind when he was transported away, screaming.
"I... we should get on with this because the others are waiting for their turn, o-okay?"
Leo nodded slowly and headed for the tree. "Do you want me in the same spot as before?"
-:-
After Leonardo finished and approved his recording, he left and sent Casey in. Having not had a lot of time to get to know the missing brother, Casey kept his message short and sweet and didn't see the point of going over the recording, though Mikey replayed it anyway due to wanting to make sure nothing went wrong with it. Donnie came in very shortly after and wasted no time.
"Hey buddy," Donnie said with a nervous smile as soon as Mikey finished the silent countdown. He couldn't meet the 'eyes' of the camera, instead looking anywhere else and Mikey figured the shame at not being able to find or help his brother had taken root all over again.
"I'm so sorry it's taking so long to find you but at first we didn't even know you were lost in another dimension! It was only thanks to Leo sensing you within the Astral Plain twenty-four days after you vanished that we even began to suspect what happened to you." As Donnie spoke, his voice became faster and higher pitched, showing just how distressed he really was. "Since then, we discovered a couple of other clues supporting that hypothesis; just over a week later and then a few weeks after that when we discovered that the Kraang now have smaller, portable, dimensional portals."
The portals that were hopefully also Mikey's way home too. His heart clenched at the thought of stepping through a portal one day soon and finding his family waiting on the other side. They'd be shocked but then so happy and he'd be able to reassure them that he was fine and that he didn't blame them for not realising he was still alive. He just prayed that by the time he reached home, they'd all still be alive and well themselves and not have fallen victim to one of their enemies because he was gone. Donnie had once told him of a world in which Donnie was the one to disappear and everything had gone so badly wrong. Mikey didn't want to be the reason something like that happened to his family.
Donatello shook his head in wonder. "But do you realise just how hard it is finding any trace of you? Do you know just how many dimensions there even are out there, Mikey? Do you..."
Startled from his reverie, Mikey looked up as the frustration in Donnie's voice began to crescendo. He forced a smile onto his face and laughed lightly, "Chill, Donnie-boy."
Donnie's eyes flicked over to meet his in shock and he snapped out of the spiral he'd been circling down into. With effort, his breathing slowed and he schooled his features, calming down.
"Yeah... Thanks..." he replied, his face brightening in embarrassment.
He then looked at the camera again, this time directly into it and smiled warmly, "Sorry about the lecture, Mikey," he chuckled, "but it really is quite fascinating, the things we've seen and done while trying to find you. If you're willing to listen, I'll tell you all about them when you're home safe, maybe even take you to show you a few."
Donnie went quiet for a few moments, looking back down to the ground as he seemed to contemplate what to say next. He finally took a deep breath and grinned brightly. "I'm not really sure what else to say that won't lead me to babbling on about things I know don't interest you," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "What I do want to tell you though, is this. Stay safe and don't give up on us. Whatever it takes, we're coming for you buddy. Don't ever doubt it."
He nodded at Mikey, signalling he was done and Mikey counted back from three before turning off the recording.
-:-
April came in next and she too, was quick to get ready and start recording. While she'd probably thought about what to say, she hadn't prepared or rehearsed anything, choosing instead to speak from the heart with a genuine warmth that Mikey felt as much as heard.
"It's been so hard on all of us not knowing what's happened to you, Mikey and even after all these months, we still don't know but at least we now know for sure that you're alive and probably safe from what Master Splinter was able to tell us," April said softly, wilting in relief where she stood looking at the camera. "The guys were frantic the night you vanished; we all were. The worst thing was that it was weeks before we even began to suspect what actually happened to you."
April took a deep breath and shook her head, laughing almost nervously. "Honestly, I have no idea what anyone else has talked about with you, Mikey, but I wouldn't be surprised if they already mentioned these things." She paused as she thought. "So how about I just talk about other news instead?"
"Well first, some good news. D finally found a retro mutagen for my dad! He's been home safe for the last two months now and he doesn't blame any of you for what happened." April's smile turned sad. "While he knows what happened, he doesn't really remember much of his time as a mutant bat. Just random flashes here and there which is for the best, really, especially when you consider his experience with the Kraang before that."
Mikey couldn't help but nod at that. However, while what April said was true, Kirby remembered far more than he let on. Something he'd only spoken to Mikey about when they saw each other to talk about the crap they'd each been through.
"Um... oh! My friend Irma has been becoming more insistent about meeting my 'secret friends'," she said, motioning the quotation marks with her fingers as she spoke. Then she giggled and added, "And by secret friends, I mean you guys, Mikey."
Mikey couldn't help but grin at that and he wondered if the other Mikey really was a ditz like was often suggested or if like him, he often put on a bit of an act just to get a laugh. He just hoped he'd get the chance to meet him one day and find out for sure because sometimes, he sounded fun and having a partner in crime would be so great! They could get up to such awesome mischief together!
"Hmm... what else... Oh, your brothers have made a new friend."
That had Mikey blinking in surprise. April was actually bringing him up? Naturally, he'd been there when they'd had the conversation about whether they should mention him or not and it wasn't that anyone wanted to hide the truth about him but that it was too complex just for a mention on a video letter and it would be better to talk about it in person when the time came.
"In some ways, he's a lot like you and he's promised to help us to find you! This is really great because we can use all the help we can get. Oh... and speaking of help finding you... Donnie lost Metalhead... He upgraded him to help with the search for you but then Metalhead sacrificed himself to save them. D was really cut up about it," April said sadly. "He'll probably try to rebuild him but not until after we get you back. There's just too little left of him..."
-:-
Finally, it was Raph's turn and he wanted to retreat into his room where he normally recorded, facing a group photo of him with his brothers and focusing on the image of Mikey and since he was used to recording alone, he stole Mike's T-phone, set it up the way he usually did and shooed Mike out to talk in private.
-:-
"Can I grab your flash drive?" Mikey asked once all the recordings were done. He held up his T-phone, waving it slightly when Raph grunted questioningly. "I'll borrow Don's laptop and edit all this together, then transfer it to the drive for safekeeping," he explained.
"You won't let anyone see what's on it, will you?" Raph asked, trying to hide his anxiety.
"Promise! I'll even move everything already on it into a separate folder so they can't be seen at a glance, okay?" Mikey agreed, knowing just how sensitive Raph was about his previous recordings. Seriously, he'd told Raph before that no one would laugh at or mock him about them but Raph still refused to let anyone know his secret. That the only way he could cope with all this shit was to record secret messages to his missing brother.
"Yeah, sounds good," Raph grudgingly grunted. "Just put it back when you're done."
"Sure, dude," Mikey beamed. Having been the one to originally suggest making the videos, he'd been helping Raph with them for months. Together, they'd worked out where and how to set up the T-phone to record himself and then left the other turtle to it. Since then, whenever Raph had a new recording, he'd sneak up to Mikey to get him to transfer the file to the flash drive whenever Mikey had hold of Donnie's laptop. Since Donnie had the desktop he could use and he'd learnt he could actually trust Mikey with it, Mikey used the laptop for at least a good couple of hours almost every day and it was something that surprised everyone around them with how often Donnie willingly surrendered control of it.
Raph picked up the drive from its place on his bedside table and tossed it Mikey's way. Mikey easily snatched it from the air and left the room, knowing that Raph needed a few minutes or so alone to settle himself.
April and Casey were still in the lair, chatting with Leo and Splinter in the pit and Donnie, nowhere to be seen. Mikey glanced over at the lab to see the door firmly closed with the keep-out sign in place and he smirked. Donnie wasn't supposed to have the door locked for safety reasons and everyone, as a result, knew to respect his privacy when that sign was in place. If they didn't, he'd threatened to actually lock the door and he'd long ago proven that he could and would, regardless of the rules. He'd argued that he needed a lock for everyone else's safety but promised he wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary (like during Mikey and Raph's altercation last night). He did, however, give Splinter and April an override in case of emergency and more recently, Mikey himself. Mikey had been surprised at that for several reasons but Donnie explained that not only did he trust him not to abuse the privilege despite his mischievous and nosy nature – they'd gotten to know each other really well over the last months thanks to all the time Mikey spent with him trying to learn to get past his fear of the Kraang – but also because he knew that Mikey didn't like being in there alone, despite all his sessions around the repurposed Kraang tech.
Making his way to the lab, Mikey made sure to knock extra loud – he'd suggested a doorbell instead but Donnie had given him a withering look before explaining he used to have one only for certain brothers to go out of their way to buzz it whenever they went by for no reason or to hold it down extra long until Donnie snapped. Mikey chuckled at that because he'd have done exactly the same given the chance.
The door opened just wide enough for Mikey to make out one reddish-brown eye peering out from within.
"What, Mike? I'm busy!"
"Kinda leaving it to the last minute there, aren't you, dude?" Mikey asked with a knowing laugh.
"Leaving what to the last minute?" Donnie asked tersely, that single eye narrowing into a scowl.
"Last-minute gift-wrapping is so not fun. Take it from me, bro," Mikey teased, snickering at Donnie's expense. And it totally wasn't. Not when you had a million and one other last-minute things to do too. Even worse was leaving it to the last minute only to realise you'd either forgotten someone or lost something. Then it was just too late to do anything about it. "Anyway, since you're so busy, I guess you don't need the laptop, right? Can I steal it for a bit?"
Donnie blinked. Or winked. Mikey wasn't exactly sure since he could still only see that one eye.
"Uh..." Donnie glanced behind him at something, then turned back. "I actually do need it soon. Besides, I thought you said you'd be too busy to use it today?"
"Yeah, I kinda am but something came up," Mikey shrugged. "I only need it for like thirty minutes or so. An hour tops."
Donnie stood there silently for a moment as he considered. Then he sighed. "Alright. I won't be ready for it for at least another forty-five minutes if all goes well but if it's not back in an hour, I'll be coming for it myself and you'll never be allowed to use it again," he warned in a dark voice.
"Eep!" Mikey laughed at the (hopefully) empty threat. That laptop was his window to the world, allowing him to stream and play games with his online friend, post and sell his art and keep them all in the food the family had become accustomed to over the last few months. "I'll have it back, Donnie! Scout's honour!"
Donnie snorted. "And when were you ever a scout?" he asked. He didn't wait for a reply though, simply closed the door in Mikey's face and presumably went for the portable computer. A minute later, he returned, opening the door a crack and passing the warm computer through, making Mikey realise that Donnie had been using it.
For a moment, Mikey felt bad but it was for a good cause and Donnie had agreed. Anyway, he didn't have much time so he ran for his room, set up the laptop on the desk under his bed and set to work.
-:-
Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth continuing to post...
Well, in the meantime
Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.
* 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.