Chapter Text
*~Chapter 2~*
Awareness crept into me slowly as the haze of darkness faded and thoughts came to light instead. I stared at unfamiliar surroundings, dread slithering over my skin, even as I felt warm and soft in orange pajamas I’d never seen before. They were loose, the collar low enough that my sternum was exposed to the air. I was on a large, four poster bed, cocooned in heavy layers of blankets and pillows. The space around me was clean, albeit a little cluttered with art supplies, posters, and CDs. I was in a repurposed train car, under orange fairy lights. It was…cozy.
Sounds from outside the train car reached my ears. Footsteps? I pulled the blanket up to my shoulder, flopped down into the cushions and closed my eyes.
“Hey! Mikester! That’s some breakfast platter you got going on there.”
“Shh! People are still sleeping. And none of this is for you. Don’t even think about it.”
My heart thundered. Mikey? Was this his room?
There was a pause. It sounded as though someone skid to a sudden stop.
“Ooooh. You got someone in there, lil bro?”
“Not someone, Leo. The one.”
“The one?”
My heart did a little summersault.
There was sharp inhale. “No way. From the train?”
“Yep. So I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down.”
“Ya got it, but,” his voice then lost its playful edge, “you know what this means, don’t you?”
“I know.” Mikey’s voice sounded urgent. “We’ll talk later, okay? I’ll break the news to Raph after I’ve got her settled in.”
“All right. Though it’s going to be tough the next few days, what with lying low and all.”
“Lying low, huh? And just where are you going in that getup?”
There was a chuckle. “You worry about your catch and I’ll worry about mine. See ya. Oh, and tell Donnie if you’re going to be making noise. I’d rather not have to hear him complain to me about setting up a silencing feature in the lair for the millionth time.”
“You’re part of that problem too!”
“I can’t help that my partners enjoy me so much!”
“Gross!”
The door to the train slid open. I didn’t hear any footsteps. The door closed. Silence stretched for several minutes. Was Mikey gone?
I lifted my head, looking around and yelped when I noticed him standing at the foot of the bed. He blinked at my surprised face, but then a cheerful smile settled across his cheeks.
“Morning, Cupcake. Did you sleep well?”
Mikey was holding the fanciest breakfast platter I’d ever seen. Silver cloches atop white plates, a jar of juice, a china tea pot and a mug, a little flower in a vase.
“Fancy much?”
“I hold my food up to a high standard, I’ll have you know. Of course my plating skills will have to match.”
“All that for me?”
“I’m not going to let you go hungry. What kind of host would I be then?”
“You really weren’t kidding about bringing me home with you.”
He shook his head, setting the food down in front of me. “Nope.”
I shifted under the blankets, sitting up, lifting the metal dome off one of the plates. The most perfect looking omelet and bacon was hidden underneath. I breathed in the steam.
“Looks delicious.”
Mikey sat at the edge of the bed. “Tastes delicious too.”
His eyes lowered, and I remembered that the pajamas I was wearing gave him a nice view of my almost non-existent cleavage. Trying to ignore the heat rushing in my thighs and my cheeks, I took a bite of the omelet. The eggs were so fluffy, the chives and parsley so crisp, that I couldn’t help but moan around my fork.
I lifted another cloche. Oatmeal porridge, topped with blueberries, was underneath. The third cloche had waffles with powdered sugar.
“Are you secretly a Michelin star chef or something?”
Mikey laughed. “I wish. I’m too busy for that kind of life.”
“Doing what exactly?”
“Lots of things. Though I’m most interested in spending time with the girl I found again last night.”
“Found again, huh.” I chewed slowly, trying not to think about last night but my heart and my brain and my body had other ideas. Mikey’s chains wrapping around me, how he made me cum with his fingers alone, how he-
“Shit! I gotta go!”
The breakfast tray was shoved aside as I jumped out of the bed. I searched around for my old clothes. It was only then that I realized that I was not wearing any underwear and I turned to give Mikey a look between a glare and complete astonishment.
He was up instantly, concern shining in his golden eyes. “Did you have something important to do today?”
“No, I didn’t-I need to get to a hospital-a clinic-right now!”
Mikey’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong? Does anything hurt, or-”
“I need the morning after pill!”
Mikey blinked. “Oh. Is that all?”
Fury boiled under my skin. I stomped up to him, poking him in the chest. “Listen here, I’m broke as shit! Do you know how much prenatal care costs in this Ferengi hellhole of a country! I can’t afford to get pregnant with-with-”
I gaped at him.
“Oh god, just what exactly will come out of me? Will it even come out of me? Human babies are already big enough! What-what will even tell the doctor? What if-”
Mikey pressed a hand to his mouth, eyes watering. I banged a fist against his plastron.
“This isn’t funny!”
“Y-you-you’re-g-gonna-b-be-”
He had to turn his head away, gritting his teeth in a smile that was so wide that I felt fear slowly start to bleed into my anger.
“I need to go, right now!”
Pajamas or not, no health insurance or not, I was going to find the nearest hospital and piss off as many doctors, nurses, and staff as it took for them to give me what I wanted! There was no way-
A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and yanked before I reached the door of Mikey’s train car. I kicked in his arms.
“Let me go!”
There was still an edge of humor in Mikey’s voice as he wrangled me back into the room.
“I’m sorry, Cupcake! I didn’t mean to laugh! Would you please let me explain?”
“NO! You and your stupid, cute face have done enough damage already! Just-you-Ah! I should have known better! Boys are nothing but trouble! Let me go!”
Mikey snickered as he sat down on the edge of his bed with me sitting between his legs. His arms still around my waist, his jaw nuzzled my head, that strange, trilling sound rumbling from his chest returning and vibrating in my back.
“Now as cute as you, baby,” he chuckled. “You’re adorable!”
“Don’t say that word!”
“Cute?”
“Baby! That is the last thing I need to hear right now!”
“Here’s something you do want to hear: you’re not pregnant. And you won’t become pregnant. Well, not unless you want to, but that’s a whole other conversation.”
I stilled, pressing my thighs together as a rush of heat threatened to wind its way into my lower belly. This was so not the time. Stupid, cute, turtle boy!
“W-what do you mean, not pregnant? Do you know how much you poured into me back on the train?”
Mikey slapped a hand over his eyes, leaning over my shoulder, his body shuddering.
“Cupcake, you’re making it really hard not to laugh right now, or pull you down into this bed for round two.”
“HELL NO! Not until you’ve proven to me there is no way I’m-”
“You’re not! I promise!” His words dissolved into a hearty chuckle. “I use a conceptive especially made for me and my brothers. Do you know what a nightmare Leo is? It’s like, the moment he turned seventeen, ‘horny’ was his singular defining character trait. Though I’m pretty sure that sex was a coping mechanism for stress at the time, but that’s besides the point.”
“Speaking of points, do you have one? Because I’d like to know how well this so called contraceptive works.”
“The point is that the moment it became clear that one of us was sexually active, my brother started working on contraceptives. We don’t know what a mutant pregnancy could look like, and if any of us were to ever try, probably Raph first, Donnie would have to be informed and monitor the pregnancy every second of the way.”
“So your brother knows a thing or two about pregnancies and contraception on top of hacking into a government train? What is he, a-”
“Genius?” Mikey groaned in annoyance. “Yes, actually, he is. And he never lets us forget it.”
His hand cupped my cheek, turning my head so that I could look up into his face.
“You’ve got a bit of a temper, don’t you, Cupcake?”
I turned my head away, my face burning. “Yeah, well, life hasn’t been so nice to me in the last four years.”
“I want to be nice to you today. Some breakfast, take you to your old place to pick up your stuff-”
“I’d rather not.” I cringed. “Other than all my important documents, which were in my purse thanks to the job interview I was going to, there’s nothing worth retrieving. Just some old sneakers and worse for wear clothes.”
“Not even a laptop?”
I shook my head. “I had borrowed one from the library and returned it a week ago.”
“Man, I really have to spoil you rotten.”
The trilling sound was back. It vibrated from somewhere deep in his chest and seemed to tremble through my very bones as he continued to hold me. For a moment, I almost settled back against him and closed my eyes.
“Okay, what is that?” I asked.
“What’s what?”
“That sound you’re making.”
“You mean the churring? It’s a turtle thing. It means I’m happy, or content.”
All my anger and annoyance evaporated. “Happy?”
“I like what I’m learning about you.”
“That’s I’m broke as shit?”
“That you’re fiery and resilient.”
I felt warm and sweet, like a unicorn had put rainbows in my stomach. He kissed my cheek. I jolted, remembering that I wasn’t wearing any underwear.
“Listen,” I began, “I was a mess yesterday, and I needed a break. So when you-”
“Please don’t tell me it was a mistake. You’ll break my heart.”
I snapped my mouth closed. Fine. Maybe that conversation could wait.
“You swear that I’m not pregnant.”
“I can have Donnie give you a full proof pregnancy test if you’re still worried.”
“I think I can only handle one mutant turtle right now.”
“Well, Donnie’s locked in his lab, so he won’t be coming out for a while. Raph and Leo went out this morning, so you and I will actually have the whole place to ourselves.”
“Speaking of, are we in an abandoned subway station?”
Mikey nodded.
“Then can you help me get topside so I can buy an actual pregnancy test, for my peace of mind?”
“Hell yes!”
Mikey stood, bringing me to my feet with him. For a second, I almost whined the sudden loss of touch. Sure, I was a bit nervous about a possible baby scare, but the churring was actually calming me down and it was nice to be held for once.
“Then we can go shopping, maybe pick up some stuff for you after! Donnie only sent over a toothbrush and some menstrual products, but you’re going to need way more than that! Can’t exactly have my girl walking around in my T-shirts and shorts all day, no matter how much I like how my clothes look on you.”
“Wait a minute. Shopping? We’ve got a lot to talk about-”
“Actually, we have to finish breakfast!”
Mikey grabbed my hand. With his other hand, he grabbed the massive breakfast tray, balancing it perfectly. He didn’t even make the orange juice spill. What? Was he a ballet master too? How did anyone have so much stamina and balance?
“The food is probably cold by now, but I can always make a fresh omelet, and bacon is great hot or cold, so I have no problem eating it.”
He pulled me out of the subway car and I stepped into a surprisingly clean and spacious underground station. There were all kinds of artwork and graffiti on the walls, and the air was crisper than anything I have ever breathed in the Big Apple itself. I tried to stop Mikey but he was planning away, happier than a teenager holding his long awaited sequel video game on release day. Even as I tried to get his attention, to free my hand, I couldn’t help smiling. Must be nice to be so carefree.
The kitchen had an endless supply of cooking utensils and tools. Mikey set the cold meal down on the table, and then picked up and twirled a skillet in his hands. I watched, memorized as he spoke and cooked without missing a beat.
“I never got the chance to ask, but anything you like in your omelet?”
“Sausage, broccoli, spinach, and mushrooms.”
I wasn’t going to turn down a free meal, especially not one offered so enthusiastically. Besides, who knew when I would get something so nutritious again.
“You got it.”
Mikey buzzed around me, cooking the omelet in less then five minutes, placing a bowl of berries in front of me, a steaming plate of waffles, as well as a bowl of tatter-tots.
“Not sure what you liked, so I covered the basics. I can also make a Japanese breakfast,” he grinned, taking a seat, “if you like mackerel and tamagoyaki.”
“That sounds yummy, but this is fine,” I said, digging into my omelet.
The savory mix of eggs, veggies, and sausage made me visibly deflate into my seat, my eyes rolling back into my head. The last time I’d had actual breakfast was when I bought a frozen egg and sausage burrito from the coffee shop I used to work at. It was so not worth twelve dollars, especially with the mild aftertaste of freezer burn. Mikey’s food? It was like watching the fancy, perfectly crafted commercials on YouTube, getting to eat the food, and have it be as good as it looked.
I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. I’d been living off of instant Ramen and street hotdogs for almost a month. I finished my omelet, ate the tater tots, chugged two whole glasses of orange juice, and then took a piece of bacon from the cold pile of breakfast that Mikey had set on the table. He was right. Hot or cold, it was good. I heard him hum playfully and glanced up to see that he was smiling again.
“What?”
“Nothing, just happy to see you enjoying your meal.”
“Why are you this nice?”
He tilted his head. “Because I like being nice.”
I finished my meal and sat in silence while Mikey cleared the table. Unable to sit still for too long, I got up and started helping him with the dishes. He started to protest but I gave him a look.
“It helps me feel normal.”
“I can respect that,” Mikey passed a plate to me. “But you don’t have to feel like you owe me anything. I’m just helping you because I want to.”
“You’ll be singing a different tune when I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
Mikey frowned. “The more you talk, Cupcake, the more I worry about you.”
I made a noncommittal sound at that. It was always like this. Friends were nice and helpful in the beginning, but then things got too tough for them. Suddenly, I couldn’t crash on their couch anymore because they got a new boyfriend or girlfriend or family they needed to care for, or we didn’t click as roommates because all I did was work and had no energy to hang out, blah, blah, blah. Mutant, subterranean turtle or not, he’d get tired of me eventually too. I had to use this time while I could, find a job, find a way to pay Mikey back, and maybe get the hell out of New York.
With breakfast done, Mikey let me borrow one of his hoodies and a pair of shorts from when he was a teenager. I wondered if the hoodie I wore was the same one from the night we met. He did give me my interview clothes, along with my nylons and underwear back, freshly washed. I tried to ignore the sudden rush of heat in my cheeks when I remembered that he had tucked my panties and tights into his pocket yesterday night.
Damn, I couldn’t believe I would have done my walk of shame in my interview outfit. I was really stressed last night. I winced as I changed in Mikey’s room. My legs ached, muscles protesting the sudden movement. And my core...wow. I've never been that sore, not even after my high school boyfriend. There was a mirror in the corner of Mikey’s room. I walked toward it and winced.
My hair was a mess, so a messy bun would have to do for now. There were several marks on my neck from…oh. I smacked my hands on my face. I could spend the whole morning yelling at Mikey but simply thinking about how he had complete and total confidence in what he did to me yesterday turned me into a blushing mess. What was I? A teenager?
Okay, it didn’t matter that I hadn’t really had sex with anyone outside of one loser in high school, who I thought I would love forever, until he basically abandoned me shortly after my dad kicked me out and went straight to his perfect university in Los Angeles.
What was I doing? Why did I think Mikey would be anything different? Hadn’t I learned in the last four years that the only person I rely on was myself? People always told me they would help. Group projects, trading shifts at work, moving out, helping me with my resume and cover letter, and who ended up doing all the damn work? Me.
I couldn’t let myself fall for this again. I needed to stay on task, needed to be ruthless. I would use the help I would get and then get the hell out of here as soon as I could. No falling for a cute smile and delicious cooking…or some really nice, long fingers and sexual sweetness.
I dressed, excited the room, and passed by Mikey without looking at him.
“Okay, so how do we get topside?”
“Why not take the train?”
Mikey let me down to another level of his family’s “lair,” as he called it. There was a subway train waiting for use down there. We had the whole train car to ourselves. I sat down in one of the seats and tried to not think about how just last night, I’d been sitting on one of these seats, with my legs wrapped around Mikey’s hips.
I glanced at him. He stood a little off to my side, holding onto the subway pole. He wiggled his eyebrows at me, grinning.
“You thinking about what I think you’re thinking about?”
“NO!”
“Your face is red.”
I pressed my hands to my cheeks. “It’s so not!”
“Want to try for round two now?” He teased.
“That’s not happening again.”
“Okay,” Mikey shrugged.
I frowned. “What? That’s it? What happened to ‘being fully naked and taking our time?’”
Mikey’s eyes danced. “Oh, so you do remember that. The offer is still on the table, if you want it. I definitely do.”
I bit my lip. Standing over me, with nothing more than his T-shirt, ripped jeans, and tennis shoes, he looked much less imposing than the powerful mobster he’d looked like yesterday. Still, the clothes hung off him like he was made to wear them instead of simply being sewn together in a factory somewhere. What did he look like underneath? I’d only felt a smooth plastron, a word I only knew from introductory biology. I hadn’t seen what his shell looked like.
I’d already felt how tight the muscles in his arms were, and seen the strong tendons when he’d pushed his fingers into me. Was the rest of him as tightly built as well?
What the hell was I thinking?!
I turned away from Mikey, looking out of the subway windows as we entered a busier train station. But I still heard his low chuckle tingling my red ears.
New York was as busy as ever. I ran into the first drug store I could find and picked up a pregnancy test, only to smack my forehead for totally forgetting my purse back in Mikey’s room. Bad enough that I had to penny pinch and I was hardly sure I could even buy a twenty dollar test that had the cashier staring at me, but it was even worse when Mikey put down cash on the counter for me!
He waved me off when I swore to pay him back. Taking my hand, he led me out of the drug store.
“Time to go shopping!”
I pulled my hand out of his.
“What? No! I have to go home and use this!”
Mikey paused, shooting me grin over his shoulder. “Home?”
“You know what I mean!”
“Okay, how about a compromise? We’ll go back to the lair, and you tell me your sizes. While you're busy waiting for the obviously negative results, I can go online and put some things in a cart for you.”
“I’m not having you spend more money on me.”
“I really don’t mind-”
“No, thank you.”
“Really, it’s fine-”
“You’re sweet, but I’m starting to feel a little uncomfortable, like I’m taking advantage of you. I’m sure I can find some spare clothes at a donation center or something.”
Mikey pouted at me. Actual. Full on. Pouting. As though I just told him we couldn’t keep a puppy he’d brought home.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Let’s go home.”
He flitted about me, bouncing on his heels, grabbing my hand, suddenly cheery again. “But if you change your mind, I would love to take you shopping! And I’d happily be your pack mule!”
I laughed. “What? Like those movie where a rich girl is dragging her boyfriend around and he’s holding a million shopping bags and boxes?”
“Exactly! We’d do a full on eighties movie makeover montage and everything!”
“With a diamond necklace at the end?”
“If you want one.”
I shook my head. “Not my thing. Honestly, I’m happy with simple stuff. Roof over my head, a good job, food in my stomach. Asking for more would just be greedy.”
“It’s okay to want things, Cupcake.”
“That’s not what I mean,” I shook my head. “I mean, I don’t really need much. Some books to read would be nice, and that’s what libraries are for.”
“Books? What kind of books?”
“I like mystery novels. Manga sometimes.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Mikey waved his hand. “Do you read Detective Takahata?”
My lungs burned with excited air. “I love Detective Takahata! How do you know that? That manga is so old, none of the anime nerds I knew have even heard of it! Only people in their forties.”
“One of the producers of the Jupiter Jim Jazz Blues movie based the space cowboys scene on Detective Takahata’s-”
“-Jazzy Jams Mystery! You like Jupiter Jim too?”
Mikey glanced at me, swinging our hands, delight dancing in his eyes. “Made a Star Trek reference, likes Jupiter Jim, Detective Takahata, my food, and has a cute as hell temper. I swear you were made for me.”
My heart squeezed.
“You should see my collection. Hey, we can have a marathon back at the lair.”
“Do you have the lost movies? I haven’t seen those since I was in middle school. If I wasn’t afraid of getting a virus, I would have tried to find it on a pirating sight.”
“Which ones?” Mikey asked. “Jupiter Jim’s Cascade Crusade on Callisto, or JJ’s Railway Road Rage?”
“Railway Road Rage? You have that? Do you know how expensive a used copy of the DVD is these days?”
“Would you believe me if I told you that my brother and I found a copy in a junkyard as teenagers?”
“What dummy threw that out?”
“Right!?”
“I can’t believe-”
Mikey glanced at something over my shoulder, frowning. I turned around. Other than a regular city street with tons of people out on their daily walks, nothing stood out to me.
“Everything okay?”
“It’s all good,” Mikey grinned. “Thought I saw someone I recognized for a second. Come on.”
He tugged me into an alleyway.
“Now I really want to go home and dust off those old DVDs. This will be fun!”
“Uh, Mikey, are we taking a shortcut or something?”
He looked around and then gave me that stupid, confident smile that made my knees shake.
“Yep! Check me out.”
He let go of my hand and rubbed his palms together. Golden sparks began to form between his fingers. Fascinated, I watched as he stepped back and threw out his arms, palms open in the air. Orange sparks radiated along his skin. A dot of pure, golden light appeared before him, bathing us in orange hues and lighting up the dark shadows of the alley. The light expanded, turning into a big circle.
I stared into the golden void. Then I squeaked. Mikey picked me up in his arms, and jumped right into the light. I yelped, expecting to hit the brick wall. When I opened my eyes, we were standing in a large living room.
“Home sweet home, baby!”
I cringed.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot that was a no-no word.”
Mikey put me down. I looked around.
“You make portals too? I thought that was your brother’s thing.”
“Leo’s portals are faster and he can’t make them without a sword, or something metal. I can summon them at will, but it takes a little bit more energy.”
I lightly hit his arm. “That was cool. But warn a girl next time.”
He looked guiltily happy. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist a chance to show off.”
“Where’s the bathroom?”
Mikey directed me. As I closed the door to the bathroom behind me, I spotted movement. One of Mikey’s brothers, probably.
“Mike!”'
“Hey Raph! Welcome back.”
Their conversation was drowned out as I stared at the bathroom sink and then at the mirror. I pulled the pregnancy test out of the bag and took a deep breath. About ten minutes later, I left the bathroom, with the negative pregnancy test thrown in the trash and a much lighter heart.
I heard Mikey’s voice drifting my way from the kitchen.
“One week at least,” said a voice I didn’t recognize. “Can you manage that?”
“I can. Did you give Leo this speech too, because he left this morning?”
There was a groan. “I did, but he left anyway. I think he’s up to something again.”
“Don’t try to guess how his brain works. Even I have trouble with that one.”
I stood by the doorway, not sure if I should interrupt whatever they were talking about.
“Anyway,” Mikey said, “you’re welcome to join us for Jupiter Jim movie night.”
A big turtle suddenly came around the corner. He didn’t see me, still talking to Mikey.
“Naw. I need sleep. That last operation took a lot out of me. I’m not a night owl like the rest of ya-Oh!”
He stepped back when he noticed me. Rubbing the back of his head shyly, he put out his hand.
“Hi! The girl from the train, right? Mikey told me about you.”
Big Red wasn’t that scary once I got a good look at him. I swore that there was a nervous blush on his scales, one that matched the bandana covering the top of his head. He was so big and spiky that his sweatshirt and pants seemed to stretch too tight on his body.
I shook his hand, giving him my name.
“Name’s Raphael," he introduced himself, "but my friends call me Raph. Sorry, I can’t stick around and join you two, I really need a nap.”
“Please, don’t let me get in your way. This is your home. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to watch over me while I’m here.”
Mikey clearly had inherited Raph’s brilliant smile, except Mikey’s was more boyish and cute. Raph leaned down, putting his hand in front of his mouth as though he were about to give me some kind of secret.
“Trust me, I’ll sleep much better with you in the house than three crazy little brothers. The only thing that seems to make the rest of them behave themselves is having guests over.”
Mikey clicked his teeth from behind him. "Wow, way to represent us."
“I’m only telling it like it is.” Raph put up his hands. “Not my fault I got three knuckleheads to take care of.”
Mikey jumped on Raph’s shoulders, wrapping his arms around his big brother. I watched the two of them, feeling a stab of envy in my heart. Being an only child, I always wondered what a bond with a sibling would be like, but age made me realize that I never would want anyone else to go through what I did, even if it meant going through it alone.
“All right, are ya a turtle or a monkey?”
Raph reached up and pulled Mikey off his shoulders, putting his feet back on the ground. He pat Mikey on the head before turning to me.
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. I could use more restful nights!” He brightened suddenly. “A week, at least! Please! If you stay, I won’t have to deal with Donnie’s loud music, or Mikey’s morning banging of pots and pans, and Leo’s-”
“All right, don’t you have a bed that needs napping in?”
Mikey pushed at Raph’s shell. He laughed before walking down the stairs that led to the platform near Mikey’s bedroom.
“He’s really nice,” I told Mikey.
“Hey now,” he wagged a finger at me, “don’t let Raph sweet talk you! Besides, I want you to stay here for me, not him.”
“You wear your heart on your sleeve, don’t you?”
Mikey put his hands over his heart. “I am an honest and open turtle, and perfectly emotionally stable, thank you very much! You won’t ever have to guess where you stand with me, Cupcake.”
I laughed. “I’ll bet.”
“Oh, and look what I got!”
He pointed to a box on the table in the kitchen. Inside were several Jupiter Jim DVDs. I looked through all the options.
“I haven’t seen some of these since I was a kid! Ooh! I can’t wait to watch this!”
Mikey leaned on the table, resting his chin in his hand. “You seem more relaxed now.”
“Yep. The test was negative. Talk about a relief.”
“Told you,” Mikey said, opening a cabinet and taking out a skillet.
“So…about that contraceptive you mentioned,” I began. “You’re sure it’s 100% effective?”
Mikey pulled out a container of popcorn. “You’ll never find anyone more thorough on that kind of stuff than Donnie. So the answer is yes. Also protects against STDs.”
“No way!”
“You doubt my genius?”
I jumped, turning around.
The purple clad turtle-Donnie-stood behind me, an empty coffee cup in his hand. He shook his head, tsking at me.
“I’ll have you know that if my contraceptive was on the market, the human birth rate would plummet faster than when a republican is elected to public office.”
“You make that sound like a bad thing.”
Donnie raised a really thick, black eyebrow at me. He then looked over my head.
“Micheal, I like this one.”
“What can I say, I have good taste.”
Mikey poured another round of coffee into Donnie’s empty coffee mug. Twirling a chair around and sitting down, Donnie rested his arms on the chair’s backrest. He looked at me from the top of my coffee mug.
“Don’t be rude, Donnie. Introduce yourself.”
“After I’ve had my coffee.”
“You’re the one that hacked the train yesterday,” I said.
“Indeed I am.”
“And you’re the family accountant? And the business one that can liquidate assets? What else can you do?”
Donnie took a long sip of his coffee and then smacked the cup down on top of the table. “More like what can’t I do. What do you need help with?”
“Where do I start?”
“At the beginning.”
“Oh, you think you’re funny.”
“Just being logical. Also, yes, I am the funniest,” he said, rather dryly.
The popcorn started popping, and Mikey lowered the heat on the stove and turned around. “Actually Dee, got any resources on job hunting?”
“Why waste time with that?” He looked at me. “Just tell me where you’re interested in applying. I’ll figure out the name of the hiring manager and have them set up an interview.”
“You can do that?”
“I can do a lot of things.”
“Mikey said that too.”
The two brothers shared a look, a secret smile between them. I felt like turning away, unable to look at what I never had.
“As for resumé writing and interview practice, ask either Mikey or Leo to help you with that. I have a too much damage control to do for that kind of thing.”
“Damage control?” Mikey frowned.
“Leo’s being a bit…difficult.”
“Ah, Raph told me.”
Donnie’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Mikey. “Did he tell you the other thing too?”
Mikey turned back toward the stove. “Yeah.”
Donnie stood, suddenly. “If you need me, send me a text. My lab will be soundproof for the next few days. You can leave all my meals by the door as well. Enjoy your movie night.”
He walked past me, muttering. “This wouldn’t be a problem if Leo let me soundproof the whole lair, but nooo, ‘we need to be able to hear what’s going on and yell if we need to.’ You soundproof the garage and get locked in there one time-”
He kept grumbling until he was out of earshot. I turned back to Mikey.
“What did Donnie mean by ‘this one?’ Am I not the first girl you’ve brought down here?”
He poured the steaming popcorn into a bowl. “I’ve had a few flings since I turned eighteen, but none that I’ve brought home with me.”
“Flings huh? So much for being the girl you’ve been dreaming about for four years.”
“Would it be fair of me to be jealous of any of your old boyfriends?”
“Of course not.”
Mikey picked up the popcorn and walked toward me. “I meant what I said on the train, Cupcake.”
He put the bowl of popcorn in my hands. I turned to say something and then froze when Mikey bent down to whisper in my ear.
“Besides, no other girl blew my mind like you did last night.”
I nearly dropped the popcorn. A buzz of warmth blossomed along my entire body. Mikey pressed a quick peck against my temple and then picked up the box of DVDs from the table.
He tilted his head as he looked at me. “You gonna stand there being dazed or are we going to go watch some movies?”
When I struggled to find a response, Mikey winked.
“I could just carry you down to the living room.”
I moved, suddenly afraid, or hopeful, that he would do just that.
Movie night was surreal. By the time we finished our fourth bowl of popcorn and Jupiter Jim movie, I was sure it was a little past sunset, even though I could not see the sky. None of Mikey’s brothers had entered the living room, and it had just been the two of us for hours on Mikey’s long couch. I was wrapped in a blanket and drinking hot chocolate while Mikey and I rattled off, arguing about which of JJ’s lost films was weirder and which one would be totally wild as an animated remake, as if that would ever happened.
“Roadrage sounds good on paper,” Mikey was saying, as he pulled my blanket over his legs. “But that’s so boring.”
“And Cascade would be better? Come on, don’t you want to see all the cartoon violence from all those interplanetary death races?”
Mikey waved his hand, his legs tangling with mine under the blanket.
“Psh! Girl, I’d rather see the Cascades of Europa in glorious, vibrant 2D. Just imagine all those colors.”
I took a sip of my hot chocolate. We’d completely skipped dinner. Instead, Mikey and I had devoured two entire meat lovers pizzas.
“Is that because you’re an artist?”
Mikey leaned forward. I started. His hand rested on my ankles. He stretched out my legs, laying them over his before he settled his shell back against the arm rest.
“I’ve always loved cartoons. If I weren’t a ninja turtle, I’d definitely want to try animation. What about you? Any anime you like?”
I shook my head. “I always prefer manga and comic books. Something about the drawings, you know.”
I gasped. Mikey had one of my feet in his lap, and he was pushing his thumb into my arch.
“Oh man, what are you doing?” I sighed.
“Don’t like it?”
“No, it’s great! Can’t tell you how much my feet were aching because of those heels yesterday! I totally forgot until now.” My eyes widened. “Wait! You didn’t give me back my shoes this morning! Don’t tell me you have a weird foot fetish and you’re keeping them somewhere!”
Mikey belted out a loud laugh.
“You’re hilarious! No, I forgot them on the train. Don’t worry though, I can buy you a replacement pair, and let me have this one. I lost the shoes, so I owe you.”
He pinched my toes gently, rotating them between his fingers. I hummed a low sound of appreciation before I smacked my hand over my mouth. What was I doing? I hadn’t even known him for two days, and now my legs were in his lap, at his house! Why was he so easy to talk to? His smile was soft when I met his eyes, not a hint of any expectation in there. My stomach fluttered with butterflies.
“Tell me something, Cupcake, do you still dream about being an addictions counselor?”
I looked at him and then down at my empty mug.
“If it was possible, yes.”
“What if the world was perfect and the only thing keeping you from reaching for that goal were your own wishes?”
“I would do it,” I looked back up at him. “I’ve been wanting to help people since I was sixteen. Since the last time my dad…If I could make one person get free from whatever is holding them back, get them closer to fulfilling their dreams, I would.”
Mikey smiled. “Your answer hasn’t changed.”
“Huh?”
“That’s what you said the night we met.” He reached across the couch and put his hand over mine. “So, do it. Go back to school, get your bachelor’s, apply for master’s.”
“You think it’s just that easy? Did you not hear-”
“Yes, life has been tough. But you’ve got support now, you’ve got me, I’m not going anywhere.”
I stared at him. “What’s it like to see the world through your eyes?”
“In my eyes, I have the power to help someone and I’m doing it.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I laughed. “You almost make me want to believe you.”
I didn’t want to start crying. What was it about him? He listened and when he did talk, he painted the world in vibrant, hopeful colors. I felt my eyes start to water. Was it pathetic to depend on someone? On a boyfriend?
“It’s not.”
I blinked blearily at Mikey. “W-what?”
“It isn’t pathetic to depend on someone.”
Oh crap, had I spoken out loud?
“Do you think anyone has gotten anywhere without help? No one has done anything by themselves, not ever. Why should you be the exception?”
I opened my mouth to reply, only to find that I didn’t have any words.
“I think I want to go to bed,” I said suddenly, feeling emotion clawing its way up my stomach. “I’m tired.”
Mikey nodded, leaning over to grab the remote and turn off the projector, which still had the credits rolling from the last film we watched. My breaths shuddered. I couldn’t breathe without sobbing. Why was I even crying? I didn’t cry when I got kicked out of my first apartment, when my dad slapped me across the face and threw me out, when I was fired and rejected from several jobs, but two days with Mikey and suddenly it was waterworks central.
“All right, come here, Cupcake.”
Before I could stop him, he lifted he up into his arms. I didn’t resist. Too busy trying to calm myself, which only made it worse! Emotions kept me pinned. I couldn’t see, or feel, or think, just cry. I did not realize anything until I was lying down on Mikey’s couch with his arms around my waist and his legs tangled between mine. He pat my hair and kissed my forehead.
It had been such a nice afternoon, I’d been so caught up in the energy of this place, of being accepted, welcomed without any strings attached, by massive, mutant turtles no less! So when reality came back, crashing down, reminding me that of the outside world where rent and money and work were the only things that defined my value, it was too much. I turned over and wailed into the couch cushion.
Could I rely on someone? Just once? Or would Mikey break my heart too?
Arms grabbed my waist and tugged. One moment I was pressing my face and chest into the mattress, the next I was sitting in Mikey’s lap and he was rocking me back and forth. After several minutes of blubbering that only made me cry harder, I finally managed to string words together.
“I’m s-s-sorry.”
“There’s nothing wrong with crying, you know. Seems like you body needed it after holding it in for so long.”
“Geez, you sound more like a therapist than I do.”
My laugh was followed by a sniffle. I whipped my nose with my sleeve. I couldn’t help closing my eyes when Mikey’s jaw pressed on top of my head.
“I’ve read a few books here and there. Let’s just say that my brothers and I had a lot of problems and topside wasn’t exactly someplace we could get counseling.”
“Do you still have those books?”
“In my condo.”
“Condo? Don’t you live down here? With your bothers?”
“When we need to lie low, we’re here. To the rest of the world, we’re overseas, in yokai spaces, and so on. But, in general, we have several buildings across the city that have empty floors that only we can access. Leo and Donnie are paranoid though. They still don’t completely trust being out in the open one hundred percent of the time, so we come back down to the old lair from time to time.”
“What exactly do you guys do?” I peaked up at him. “That was one hell of a gem I saw last night.”
“We trade and make deals in a number of products. The human world loves yokai items at the moment, and there’s a lot of illegal trading that my dad doesn’t want getting out. So my brothers and I keep track of it and deal with anyone that gets too powerful.”
“I thought you said your dad died a long time ago.”
“My other dad.” Mikey’s jaw tightened. “My yokai dad. He mutated us with our human dad’s DNA. He’s still alive.”
“You okay?”
“It’s complicated,” Mikey absentmindedly rubbed his hand up and down my arm. “Draxum became a better father over time, but he still has opinions about the human world that my brothers and I don’t fully agree with.”
I felt a chill race up my spine. “What kind of opinions?”
“Maybe some other time, Cupcake. I’d rather just be in this moment for now.” He huffed. “Look at me, talking about myself when I should be comforting my girl.”
I peeked up into his face. He was so relaxed, so comfortable, confident, as though what he said was true, no complications, like only having known each other for a day, to consider. I really hadn’t thought about anything further than a one night stand when I’d agreed yesterday. Now, I was completely lost and the temptation to just let fate have the wheel and see where it takes me was really hard to resist when I was curled up close to a sturdy body, safe inside a home somewhere, well fed, and…taken care of.
“I’ll take good care of you, Cupcake.”
I grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it over my face.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just, you know, thanks.”
“Happy to help.”
I lowered my shirt over my eyes. “It’s really okay for me to stay here?”
He nodded. “Though, you’ll be stuck down here for a week. Not safe for my brothers and I to be out and about right now, and I don’t want you going somewhere I can’t exactly protect you.”
“I was perfectly fine protecting myself for four years.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to be alone anymore.”
I lowered my shirt collar, fists resting under my chin.
Mikey’s eyes danced. “That’s a cute pose.”
“How do you just come out and say things like that?”
“It’s easy to say because it’s true.”
I wasn’t sure if I should listen to my own thoughts in that moment. Emotions overpowered the words of logic as my heart fluttered and I reached up, cupped his cheeks in my hands, and pulled him down. As though he’d knew I’d do it, his eyes fluttered closed before his lips met mine. I felt my chest rise as I breathed him in, felt him take my top lip between his. He pushed me back into the couch, his hand tangling into my hair.
My fingertips dug into the fabric of his shirt, searching for grooves in his shell, my head tipping back, mouth opening to give him better access, letting him steal the breathe from my lungs. He moaned, his body pressing down on mine, his hips settling between my legs, arms keeping me pressed to him like he couldn’t believe I was real and had to squeeze me to feel my presence. The sweet warmth in my chest fluttered out over my skin as I held him close, nibbling on his lower lip, enjoying the feeling of his beak pressing into the side of my nose.
I breathed out and he breathed me in, a strange synchronization of senses, some kind of dance that I instinctually knew and couldn’t help but follow. The tip of his tongue slid over my lower lip, and I couldn’t help opening my mouth, giving him access, easily following his lead. A steady rhythm of lips coming together, of tongues sliding against each other, of breathing together made me dizzy, the world around me swirling until nothing else existed but Mikey and I.
Unable to fully wrap my arms around his shell, I settled for his neck instead, keeping him from escaping. He was churring again, one of his hands leaving my back to slowly move down my side, until he cupped the roundness of my hip. He squeezed, and I mewled at the feeling. His fingertips were rough, a contrast to my softer skin, but with just the right amount of friction that I enjoyed the feeling of it, as his hand dipped under my waistband.
Electricity zipped along my skin, but so did an edge of worry. I broke away form him suddenly, gasping,
“Mikey?”
“Hmm?”
He pressed his jaw against my forehead, rubbing his cheeks and chin against my my hairline. His churrs soothing my nerves, almost lulling me into a trance. I had to shake my head to break out of it.
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“Sex. Not now. I’ve had,” I breathed, trying to get air into my frazzled mind, “a day.”
“That’s all right.” He rubbed his beak against my throat, taking a piece of my skin between his teeth before saying, “you smell so good.”
I bit my lip, momentarily forgetting what he’d said as he ran his long tongue along my neck and then over my shoulder, the soft, hot touch being followed by the small sharpness of his teeth.
“B-besides, we’re in the living room. Someone might-”
“Raph’s asleep and Donnie won’t come out of his lab until his work is done, which usually takes a day or so. So you can scream as loud as you want, if you were in the mood for that. Or I could keep you quiet, if you were still worried.”
I felt a thrill, a combination of curiosity, nerves, excitement that zipped through my bones, but fatigue, both emotional and physical tugged at me.
“I want to, but I can’t.”
“You don’t have to give me a reason, Cupcake. Holding you is enough.” He inhaled deeply near my skin before pulling back.
I clung to him. “Can we still cuddle though? At least for a little while?”
Chuckling, Mikey settled over me, moving my body so that he could rest his head on my shoulder and his torso between my legs. He was heavy, but the pressure felt nice, grounding, warm.
“I’ll be here for as long as you want, Cupcake.”