The musk that was coming from Leonardo was so strong that it was starting to affect Mikey, causing him to be fearful of his older brother. He had never been afraid of his brother before. Doing his best not to show his fear, Mikey instead offered his support.
Leonardo rejected his help and insisted that Mikey leave. As much as he wanted to help his brother, Mikey was eager to leave the room. He closed the bedroom door, leaving Leo alone.
Mikey would have to make do without the CD he had burned just for today. The lack of music wasn’t going to stop him from going through with his plan. He had worked too long and hard. He didn’t want to wait another day.
Michelangelo wasn’t as great with his hands as Donny or Raph but he had some skill. He had only needed a little bit of help from Donny with the electrical work but everything else he had done himself. Weeks of patching, sewing, painting, and mending was about to pay off. He was going to advertise his feelings for Michelle the best way he knew how, with pizazz. And, sadly, without music.
As Mikey made his way to the stairs, he saw Rachael standing by the kitchen entrance. She was just standing there, which was strange, but Mikey didn’t want to waste his time trying to figure her out. He had another girl to impress.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Mikey raced up to the entertainment room. He walked in to find Michelle sitting on the sofa with Leah. They were watching a movie. From the sound of it, it was a movie they had seen on their world. Michelle was pointing out all the differences while Leah passively listened, occasionally nodding.
The movie was almost over, so Mikey stood and listened. He loved to listen to Michelle talk. She was so enthusiastic and animated. It brought a smile to Mikey’s face. In his opinion, they were perfect for each other.
When it finally ended, Mikey walked over and leaned over the back of the sofa. “I have something for you,” he said in sing song to Michelle.
Her already cheerful face lit up. “You do?”
Mikey nodded. “It’s down in the tunnel.”
Leah cleared her throat. “The two of you are not allowed to be alone.”
“You could come with us,” Michelle suggested hopefully.
“Sure,” Leah sighed as she got to her feet. “Being a third wheel slash chaperone sounds fun.”
“You’ll like it too,” Mikey promised. “I had Michelle in mind when I made it but it’s a place all of you can use, if you want.”
Mikey led the way down the stairs and onto the platform. They were met by the scent of a particularly strong incense. Leo must have been doing his best to mask his musky scent or block out the girls’, one or the other.
“That is strong,” Leah commented as they passed the rooms.
“Leo’s been having a hard time with you girls around,” Mikey explained. “It is driving him crazy. That’s why he’s been spending a lot of time alone in his room, meditating among other things.”
“It’s hard for us to get to know him and for him to get to know us if he spends his free time away from us,” Leah said.
Mikey sighed as he jumped down off the platform. “He’s upset that he can’t get himself under control and afraid of what he might do.”
“Why do you think it’s only affecting him this way?” Michelle asked. She accepted Mikey’s offer to help her down. She was perfectly capable of doing it herself but it was a good excuse to have some physical contact.
Mikey didn’t want to get into any details. The last thing he wanted to do was hint at the fact that he had experienced the way Leo likes to satisfy his sexual desires. The usually self-controlled leader had a tendency towards aggression when it came to sex. It was frightening.
When Michelle was down on the tracks, Mikey offered to help Leah down. “He was already under a lot of stress to begin with,” Mikey lied. “Now he has to fight the instinct to prove himself the dominate one.”
As expected, Leah politely refused the help and jumped down on her own. “In my case,” Mikey continued with a shrug. “I’m laid back. I will admit that having you girls around is affecting me… a lot…, just not as bad as it’s affecting Leo.”
“In what way?” Leah wanted to know.
Mikey thought for a moment before answering. “For starters, I can’t tuck my tail to save my life and I wanna show off. On top of that, I’m a little more aggressive. I mean, I punched Raph. I’ve never been the type to pick a fight before. On the other hand, if Michelle had touched Leo that day…, I would have just sulked in the corner. He’s the alpha and I am terrified of him right now. I wouldn’t challenge him for anything.”
“Not even for me?” Michelle asked, pouting a little.
Mikey sighed. He hated to admit it but he nodded. “It’s a good thing that you’re not the one Leo wants.”
“Who does he want?” Leah asked, trying to sound casual but Mikey could tell she was eager to know.
“I don’t know,” Mikey lied once again. He didn’t know if it was the right choice or not but he didn’t want to be the one to break it to her. “I don’t think he’s made his choice yet. He’s only assured me that he respects that Michelle is the one I want and that he wasn’t considering her.”
Michelle crossed her arms over her chest. “You know we have a say in this too.”
Mikey held up his hands in defense. “I know. I know. My brothers and I know in our heads that we’re not some basic animal. But the natural urges are overwhelming and not something we’ve had to deal with before. It’s gonna take us some time. We’re trying out best. Trust me. I have no desire to rush into sex again.” He regretted it the moment the words came out of his mouth. He groaned. Why did he have a tendency to ramble?
Confusion set in Michelle’s eyes and she stepped back as she scanned Mikey’s face. “Have you had sex before?”
Looking down at the ground in an attempt to hide his shame, Mikey nodded. “I saw an opportunity to experience something I thought I would never get the chance to and took it. It felt great while I was doing it but afterwards I felt… bad.”
“Did you pay for a whore?” Leah asked, flatly.
Mikey shook his head. “No. I went to a furry convention and hooked up with… two girls there.”
Leah and Michelle’s mouths dropped open in disbelief. “Two?” Leah asked. “At the same time?”
Mikey once again held up his hands in his defense. “I was sixteen. I went to the convention because I saw it as a place where I could walk around openly for a while. I started talking to a couple of girls and the next thing I knew we were back in their hotel room.”
Mikey let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the space between his eyes. This was not how he had planned the day going. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his past regrets. “I was at least smart enough to use condoms and took them with me when I left so there was no DNA evidence.
“I did all that before I even knew that there was a possibility of your existence,” Mikey said in his defense. “I thought it was something I wanted but it wasn’t. I felt used and hallow afterwards. I don’t want just sex. I want a meaningful relationship, a companion…, someone to spend the rest of my life with.”
“You guys don’t need me here,” Leah stated and headed back up onto the platform.
Mikey’s heart sank as he watched Leah climb up and expected Michelle to follow. “You think I messed up.”
Leah shook her head. “You’re a good guy, Mikey. You’ve made your mistakes and I believe that you won’t repeat them. I can trust you with my sister and that you will follow our parents’ rules.” With that she disappeared over the edge.
Mikey turned to look at Michelle. “Are you disappointed in me?”
Shaking her head, Michelle smiled and took Mikey’s hand. “It’s not like you did it last week. And… to be honest, given the chance, I probably would have done the same thing.” Sliding her bottom lip through her teeth, Michelle looked into Mikey’s eyes. “I don’t want to rush into things either, even though, in my heart, I know you are the one I want.”
A rush of joy lifted Mikey to cloud nine. “I knew I would make the perfect girlfriend.”
Michelle giggled and kissed Mikey on the cheek. She then started pulling him down the tunnel. “Don’t you have something to show me?”
“Yes,” Mikey replied, taking the lead.
Michelle nudged Mikey as they walked hand in hand. “So you were able to hold your own with two girls?”
“They got what they wanted out of me,” he replied.
“I’m sorry it didn’t end up being the experience you were hoping for,” Michelle said.
Mikey shook his head. “I’m not. It opened my eyes to what I really wanted.”
At the end of the tunnel, as far away from the rest of the lair as possible, was a large dark blue tent. It was not a camping tent. It was the kind of tent a merchant would set up at a fair. Mikey had found it at the junk yard. It was most likely damaged in a wind storm and its three walls had needed a lot of patching but it was spacious and fit Mikey’s needs.
Mikey had added a curtain to the front for more privacy. He pulled it aside to allow Michelle inside. The gasp that followed told Mikey that she was impressed.
“This is amazing!” Michelle headed straight for the refurbished, loveseat sized, wooden swing and sat down. She patted the space next to her. “Join me?”
“That was the plan,” Mikey said, closing the curtain behind him.
The tent was lit by several strands of white Christmas lights that crisscrossed over the ceiling and were intertwined with artificial ivy to look like the night sky through a canopy of trees. The floor was cushioned by a carpet that Mikey had pieced together to look like cobblestone and grass. It was something he has seen someone do on the internet and fell in love with the idea. A few artificial plants rounded out the effect of being outside.
Michelle leaned over and placed her head on Mikey’s shoulder. “This is lovely, Mikey.”
“I wanted to do something nice for our first date.” Mikey wrapped his arm around her and they leaned against each other as they swung back and forth. This was what he had always wanted. Being with Michelle felt right and Mikey felt a since of peace. There was no need to rush into anything.
“You are so beautiful to me,” he started to sign to her. He didn’t need that CD after all.
