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remmushound · 3 years

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Chapter 9 - Dinner Drama!

Summary: The Splintersons have a look around the home and then try to enjoy their dinner with their hosts.

Tags: @brightlotusmoon @scentedcandlecryptid @selfindulgenz @digitl-art-monstr @ilo-artistry

After a swift perimeter check to ease their nerves, the visitors finally started to settle into the lair. It was still so new, so enclosed, that Leo couldn’t see himself being comfortable any time soon. Not until he could confidently locate all the exits, and all the entrances, and where weapons were stored. Not until everything was as secure and as open as his lair was. It wasn’t his right to change the place, but it was his right to not feel comfortable when there were so many places enemies could be hiding unseen. So many dark corners, concealed cubbies that could be hiding threats. So much potential for danger.

When Leo got an opportunity alone with Leonardo, he immediately knew what he wanted to ask. “Hey Leonardo, is your Raph still… you know, calling the shots?”

Leonardo had been anticipating that question all day. He gave a pointedly loud sigh and rolled his eyes as he slumped around to be facing his counterpart, “You ask that every time we see each other. You know that?”

Leo felt his cheek grow hot and his head shrank slightly. Trying to save face, he was quick to defend himself. “Well— a lot can change in six months!”

“Six months…” Leonardo sighed again, and this time it was more genuine and heavy. The revelation of just how long it had been washed over him like an icy bucket of water. Yes, it had been six months, hadn’t it? The time seemed to slip away from him. “Yeah… and a lot has changed. But that hasn’t.”

“I just figured… your whole situation would have changed by now. Especially with you boys growing up.” Leo made an effort to explain, awkward now that he knew he was wrong in his assumption. And he had been so certain too! Since he and his brothers had arrived, Leonardo was acting so confident, so much like a leader! Had Leo just imagined all that?

“Well you figured wrong.” Leonardo said, and now his voice had a defensive edge, “Raphael is just as capable as ever. He is and will always be our leader. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, no, not at all!” Leo put his hands up in an offering of peace, “i was just wondering.”

“Yeah.” Leonardo made sure to side-check Leo as he passed, “Sure you were.”

~~~

“Hey little Mike, you got a minute?” Raph waved at the smaller version of his brother.

Michelangelo looked back, and then skipped over to Raph while humming a happy, upbeat tune. “You’re really risking it all by calling me little again~! What do you need?”

“Er…” It took Raph a second to brush past the threat laced into the happy voice, “Just… y’know… I saw a pool during the tour and was wonderin’ if it was recreational or jus’ for training?”

“Well we usually swim laps in it for warmups, but I don’t see why you couldn’t swim whenever. We got floaties if you need ‘em! Mine have sharks on them!”

Raph grinned. “Do they now?”

Michelangelo nodded eagerly. “Yeah! I’m not allowed to go in the pool without them cause I can’t swim so good.”

“Aw.” Raph nodded along, “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah! I‘m too heavy— I sink like a rock! Can you swim?”

“Eh, more or less.” Raph gave a so-so motion. “If my life depended on it, sure. Never really had much access to water that wasn’t a cesspool or Amazon river.” He shivered at the memory of being dropped in the water, the current pulling him and his brothers along like they were little more than skipping stones.

“Oo! Sounds fun!” Michelangelo chirped, “But do be mindful of Piebald; she likes to swim in there sometimes!”

“Piebald?”

“Oh, she’s a mutant goldfish. She was dad’s pet, but then we flushed her and she mutated and then pretended to hunt us with a hook, but it was really all just an elaborate prank from her and dad to punish us for lying.”

Raph stared. “Oh.”

“Yeah, but she’s totally nice now and not at all sadistic and revenge-driven! No worries.”

“Wasn’t worried at all.” Raph lied.

~~~

After their quick assessment, Leonardo and Donnie had come to the decision that Mikey needed the simplest medicine of all: rest. Raphael had been more than happy to stay with Mikey until the turtles could adjust to the new environment, but exactly when that would happen was anyone's guess. Mikey was sat in Raphael’s bed, wrapped in the snappers heaviest comfort blanket and hugging Cheech as he listened to the snapper chatter with all the joy of a child. Klunk had settled in and was sleeping on Mikey’s lap in a tight orange ball, purring to his hearts content.

“Oh oh oh!” Mikey chirped quickly, “Tell me more about the capybara tell me more about the capybaraaa!”

“His name’s Todd.” Raphael indulged, “He owns a puppy farm in the woods near here.”

“Puppies..” Mikey sniffled softly and hugged Cheech tighter, “This day just keeps getting better and better. Are he and the mantis friends?”

“Todd’s friends with everyone.” Raphael answered.

“Oh my gaaaawwdd…” Mikey fell back down on his carapace, laughing weakly as he stared up at the ceiling. “That’s awesome…”

Raph moved to carefully reposition Cheech in a way that Mikey could still hug him while laying down, fixing the blanket and pillows to make sure the shinobi was as comfortable as possible. Mikey’s eyes were closed now, the stuffed bear drawn to his chest as he laid peacefully. Raphael stood slowly and made his way to the door.

The moment Raphael’s hand touched the handle, Mikey sat up straight. “Where are you going?”

“Oh— sorry. I thought you were asleep.” Raphael said, and he returned to Mikey’s side.

Mikey settled back into the bed, cuddling deeper into the blankets and giving a series of high pitched chirps that eventually faded to nothing. Raphael gave it a few more minutes before slowly getting up and going to leave again.

Like Dracula out of his coffin, Mikey sat up again and spoke so suddenly that Raphael couldn’t help but flinch. “What about the other mutants?”

Raphael took a deep breath as he spun around on his heels to face the turtle who still wasn’t asleep. “What do you wanna about them?”

Mikey grinned. “Everything!”

*** 

Donnie didn't think anything could top him meeting Shelldon that night— and then he saw Donatello’s lab for the first time. The beautifully artistic designs mixed with a generally futuristic style made for a gorgeous display of technological genius . Just like Donnie’s own lab, Donatello had several screens activated at once, scanners and alarms and traps all set to be activated at the simple trip of a sensor. The entire room was lit up in a peculiar violet hue, almost as if it was under one big black light. If that was the case, then Donatello certainly kept his room spotless.

“Oh my kami…” Donnie gulped, his eyes emeralds in the darkness. “Can I live here? I wanna live here…”

“You gotta pay rent.” Donatello said.

“I’d give anything to have my lab like this!”

“Would you give your right cornea?” Donatello leaned against the wall.

“Eh, my eyes are useless. I would give up a kidney or a gallbladder though.”

“I’ll grab the bone saw.”

“I’ll sign the consent form…”

***

“Dinner is served!” Michelangelo presented a simple dish of pizza gyoza to the table; one could say it was just homemade pizza rolls, but that ruined the magic! Besides, they were more doughy like a dumpling than anything crunchy.

The two families were gathered around and eager to eat, seated around two tables that had been pressed together to make enough room for ten diners; each set of brothers were on opposite sides of the table, while the heads of the table were reserved for the Splinter’s. The absence of one of the two fathers didn't go unnoticed.

“Itadakimasu.” Splinter said to the proud Michelangelo, “The food looks delicious. Won’t your father be joining us?”

Another chill came to the room. Another exchange of unsettled looked.

“Dad asked not to be disturbed.” Leonardo said simply.

The Hamato family turned their eyes to their food, working with the same mind to scarf down the gyoja as fast as possible, filling their mouths so they wouldn’t have to speak. The Splinterson family took the same opportunity to look around at each other, all but Mikey having the same, constricted looks on their faces; Mikey was already lost in his own mind, his eyes blank as he smiled and shoveled the offered dinner into his mouth.

“Surely your father would prefer to eat his supper while it is still hot?” Splinter insisted.

Raphael stood abruptly. His plastron bumped into the table and made the dishes clink and glasses splash with the force of his motion, but chair screaming as it was pushed back.

“You know what? You’re right.” Raphael hurried to gather another plate and pile it with gyoji, his eyes avoiding Splinter’s as he piled the dinner on a tray with freshly brewed tea. “I’ll bring this to him right away.”

When Raphael left, he took the conversation with him. He returned minutes later but the air of the room remained quiet and tense. Eager to break the silence, Leo finished off the last of his gyoji.

“Gochi sou sama deshita.” He said, and bowed to Michelangelo, “And while I am thankful for your hospitality— we all are— this isn’t a social visit. We really need to get back to our world. Can your gift do that, Donatello?”

“Should be able to.” Donatello said with a nod, “It was designed for two trips, here and back.”

“Great, then what are we waiting for?” Leo looked around for an answer but no one offered one, “Those creatures are still in our world, could be targeting our people, our city!”

“We need a plan first Leo.” Donnie tried to reason, “We can’t just run in blind.”

“Then we should be planning instead of just hanging out!”

“Can’t plan on an empty stomach.” Michelangelo said, pointing his chopsticks at Leo. “We’re eating!”

A sharp hiss came from Leo’s throat. “Don’t. Point. It’s rude.”

Michelangelo put his chopsticks back down and shrank away from the violent hiss, the retreat as instinctual to him as going into his shell.

“Leonardo…” Splinter tried to reason, “Please settle down and allow us to have a nice supper before discussing.”

“But we need to discuss this now!”

Leo’s disobedience of his father made his brothers gasp, Raph pulling back slightly while Mikey even broke out of his minds wandering to tune back in. Leo flinched at his backtalk and fell into a quick, clumsy bow.

“Shitsurei shimashita, sensei.” Leo said in a low voice before regaining his composure, “I just feel like these guys aren’t taking this situation seriously.”

“And I feel like you expect us to pull a solution out of our asses.” Leonardo hissed back.

“Now now, there’s no need for vulgarity…” Splinter tried.

“I’m not suggesting that you have the answers, I suggesting we need to find them instead of doing house tours!” Leo snarled back.

“If you don’t like it, you can get out.” Leonardo didn't back down.

“Leo, it’s fine, cool it.” Donnie tried to mediate, grabbing a hold of his brother’s arm; he was almost convinced Leo might lunge over the table at his smaller counterpart if this went on for much longer.

“I am cool!” Leo pulled his arm free, knocking Donnie back in the process. That got Raph involved, the box turtle standing up ready to confront his brother. Before he got so much as a word out, however…

“Everybody COOL IT!” Raphael slammed his fists down on the table.

The table splintered under Raphael’s slamming weight, chips of wood flying out like dangerous projectiles. The words, with all the force of a hurricane knocking trees out from their roots, brought a silent stalemate. Raphael looked pissed. His eyes were white, entire body like a taut wire that would snap at the slightest breaths. His nostrils flares, and when he had screamed, white, foaming spittle flew across the table. Now, it dripped down his lopsided jaw and chin.

“Not another word.” Raphael said, this time calmer as he left the table once more. All eyes followed him to the doorway to find a small, gray rat standing there watching them.

Yoshi’s mouth was pulled down in a tight frown, eyes glossy. His paws, shaky as they were, held his tray of dirty dishes that he had been intent on cleaning; for now, he just… stared. His fur seemed several shades paler, his hair tangled and unkept, and though it was hard to tell through the clothes. he looked skinny. The mutant looked around at the table, at the turtles and the rat he had paid many visits to, but when his eyes passed over them they held no recollection. No memory. Just dark confusion, empty and cold.

“Dad…” Leonardo said softly, but at Raphael’s threatening chuff, Leonardo said nothing more.

“Hey pops— here, let me get that for you…” Raphael took the tray from his father and hurried over to throw them haphazardly into the sink. He came back after, his massive hand completely engulfing Yoshi’s back to guide the old rat away away. Yoshi followed the snapper at a slow gait, though his feet dragged as if they were made of the heaviest lead and it took a while for him to get anywhere. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed okay?”

Everyone watched as the father and son disappeared out of the dining room, none of them daring to breathe, nonetheless utter a word.

#Leo Drama starting early #raph risking it all #Mikey: who needs sleep when it’s story time?!#Yoshi dear?#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #tmnt au #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #bay turtles #beyond the bay #bay/rise crossover

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definegodliness · 3 years

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The Tragic Story of the Tumble of Icarus

There once was a boy called Icarus. He, and his dad...

Well, we're not off to a good start. I always forget the name of the dad. Let's call him 'Dadalus'. That has a nice ring to it. Right? Good. Back to the story.

There once was a boy, Icarus. He and his dad Dadalus got stranded on one of those picturesque Greek islands last summer. His mother Momalus had warned them not to go to the island, as it was the last orange covid zone within a red region. Therefore, bound to become red; meaning flight restrictions. But Dadalus was all like:

"Can it, woman. Ain't no government tell me what to do. I work hard all year and deserve a vacation!"

So they went anyway, Dadalus and Icarus, and, of course, right upon arriving the island was flagged a red zone. Restaurants and bars closed, the beach off limits... you know? Lockdown. The works. All they had left was one daily trip to the supermarket, which had to be undertaken alone. Then, back to the hotel room. Flights to and from the island were restricted until further notice, and their government had already stated there'd be no repatriation for vacationers taking risks. So Icarus and Dadalus were very much stuck. Boredom soon struck, and Icarus tried to whine about it to his dad. But Dadalus was all like:

"Shut your trap, boy! Can't you see I'm staring out of the window?"

Icarus wept. Big tears flowed over his cheeks. And Dadalus took pity on the boy.

"Okay, fine. Tell you what. Today's my turn to get to the store, you can have it. But don't you come 'round back here whining. Buy a crossword puzzle book or something."

This cheered up Icarus instantly. He liked crossword puzzles, and from high above in their hotel room he had seen an alternative route to the store which would grant him at least five whole minutes extra outside time! He grabbed his rucksack and flew down the hotel's stairs not to wait for the elevator. Outside, instead of taking a left, he took a right. And all too soon he found himself wandering the island's back alleys. Things looked a lot different down on the ground. He had to keep a keen eye on Google Maps not to get lost. Focused on his phone's screen, Icarus was not aware he ventured into the bad part of town. Till all of the sudden he jumped at the sound of histing.

"Psst, ya wanna buy some weed?"

"Sure!"

Icarus liked weed. Almost as much as he liked crossword puzzles. But he reckoned that if he'd be stuck on Bore-island, he'd better kill the time cool as a capybara. So, Icarus rolled up the fattest one you'll ever see, and immediately proceeded to get baked like a Galaktoboureko. The sun's warmth caressed his face, and, for a moment, everything was good. Icarus whoozed in dreams of Greek's divine beauties, dressed in fine white robes. He dreamt of ouzo flowing from the cornucopia, figs and oranges, and soon drifted off in visions of perky centaur tiddies. In his mind resounded the playful tunes of a bouzouki, and he fantasized about dancing on the beach till sunrise. Free, in a world that was free.

All of the sudden he heard a well-known intrusive noise that immediately popped him out of his dazed, Disney's Fantasia-inspired daydream. His phone rang. And brightly flashing on the screen: Dadalus. Icarus tried really hard to compose himself, looking at his dad's ever stern and grumpy face flashing before him, thinking: 'don't laugh, don't laugh', as he picked up the phone.

"Finally! When are you gonna learn to pick up the damn phone, boy. Get your ass back here immediat--"

Icarus could not hear the rest.

As Dadalus once again spurted in unleashed pent up frustration, all he managed this time was trigger his son's kite-high cackling laughter. Icarus quickly slid the phone symbol to red not to make things worse. And when his dad immediately called again, he decided it'd be best not to answer. He was feeling pretty good there in the back alleys, and felt no urge to return to his grumpy overworked dad for an ass beating, and another window staring session.

Instead, he put his phone on silent and pocketed it. Then, inhaled his sweet green deliverer again, till his lungs reached peak volume. And as he kept it in all he did was think: back to the dream; back to freedom; back to centaur tiddies.

So it went on. Icarus kept rolling and lighting up fat ones, escaping to his own world of fantasy. Trying to maintain and elongate his high for as long as he could, till ultimately and inevitably all his daydreams revolved around figs and oranges, fresh from the tree; olives and feta cheese; all kinds of sweet pastries! And, of course, gyros. Heaps and heaps of gyros. Where upon, like snow on mountainous peaks, lay slathered the freshest tzatziki. His stomach growled, loud and demandingly. Icarus slapped his knees.

“Right. Time to head home and order something to eat.”

He pulled out his phone to Google Maps his way back, and to his shock discovered the notifications of twenty-six missed calls. Three from Dadalus, and a whopping twenty-three from Momalus. Along with the missed calls were several text messages, the ones sent by Dadalus filled with profanities. And as Icarus scrolled back to the first message sent that day, he read, to his dread, that the island's authorities had arranged a small plane to fetch stranded tourists and fly them to the last bastion of orange zoned mainland, where travel company Sunweb had arranged a new hotel, and, for those who'd so choose, a way back home.

One plane. Icarus scrolled on, and through strings of dumbasses, deadbeats and synonyms of the sorts, he read that Dadalus was already on it. Panic stuck, but before he could actually begin to wrap his last two functioning brain cells around the text messages, Icarus heard an ominous buzz in the distance. There, high above, in those Mediterranean skies of perfect blue, flew a small single-engine plane. Destination, liberty. Well, under the respective rules of whatever new normal's there applicable. But in any case freer than the island, which was put in total lock down.

He followed the plane misty-eyed, till it was no more than a dot. And when it finally faded into the horizon, the reality of his situation at long last managed to sink in: there was no telling how or when he'd ever get back home.

"Suit yourself!"

He reread Dadalus last message, the climax after many a threat he would leave his son to fend on his own. And Icarus knew it could take weeks or even months before Momalus calmed down his dad enough to send help in any shape or form. He fucked up big time, this time. Dadalus had always warned him about the dangers of getting too high.

Icarus wept. For the second time that day, and once again big tears flowed down his cheeks. Yet this time they were not tears of boredom. They were tears of bitter shame. For ignoring his dad’s words. For the call ending in cackling hyena giggling, betraying his spaced-out state. Woe was he. Icarus tumbled. Down from his cloud nine kite-high, all the way to the dismal depths of paranoia. Poor Icarus, caught in the back alleys of a foreign country as the dark of evening fell. Poor, poor, Icarus, who was too high to fly to the Sunweb hotel.

--- 29-3-2021, M.A. Tempels ©

#absurdism #prose #icarus #story #creative writing #words #spilled ink #writing #writers on tumblr #long read #alt lit #lit #writers #writeblr

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thisisthepartwhereyou · 4 years

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BEASTARS MINI-STORY #4: “A Different kind of Charity pt. 2” by JCL

--- Several male admirers of varying, herbivore-species are crowding around Juno. Juno smiles politely, but it looks she is starting to get a little uncomfortable with all the attention she is getting. DUCK: "Who is this fetching young lady?" SEYMOUR: "Louis friend, from the drama club." TOM: "She's a dancer!" DUCK: "In that case, you gotta save me a dance for tonight." KOALA: "With your flat duck-feet? Get real!" One of them, a LLAMA (llama, 27 years old, dressed in a black suit with a green shirt and black bowtie) who appears to quite drunk, is taking a keen interest in Juno's posterior. He is reaching for it with an open hand. LLAMA: (My, my, what cute little ass she's got...!) Suddenly, Louis grabs the llama's arm by the wrist and pulls it away from its intended target. Louis fixes him with a pair of murderous eyes atop a stiff smile. LOUIS: "I LIKE YOUR WATCH. IS IT SWISS?" He refers to the expensive-looking watch on the llamas arm. The llama looks terrified. LLAMA: "N-n-n-no?" LOUIS: "I see." Louis lets go of his hand. The llama and a few of the admirers takes steps back. Louis moves closer to Juno and extends his arm. LOUIS: "Juno, shall we find our seats?" Juno blinks a little in surprise. After a second she grabs it, like she did when they first walked in. The two walk away toward the restaurant-section. Seymour, Tom and the rest of the admirers gives each other nervous looks as they leave. --- We skip ahead and see that Juno and Louis are now sitting opposite each other at a round table in the restuarant-section, looking through a menu each. Suddenly, Juno puts her menu down to look at Louis. JUNO: "So what happened to not being 'touchy-feely?'" Louis's focus remains on his menu. LOUIS: "I changed my mind." JUNO: "Why?" Louis raises the menu a little higher, like he is shielding himself from her look. LOUIS: "Those guys didn't folllow the same rules. It may have bothered me a bit." Juno looks confused. JUNO: "Not follow the same rules? What do you-" However, her thoughts suddenly illustrate the whole previous scene with cute chibi-versions of everyone involved. She imagines Chibi-Louis moving the chibi-llama's hand away from Chibi-Juno. As he does, she visualises a circular arrow appearing between the llama's hand and Chibi-Juno's behind, and from there on calculate what Louis meant. As the chibi-sequence dissappears, Juno attains a look of realization. JUNO: "Oh! Oh...!" Juno then stares at Louis. Behind the menu we can see that he looks embarrassed. LOUIS: (This is ridiculous!) --- We go over to a flashback, where a 7-year-old Louis is sitting at a long dinnertable. He is looking over a series of cutlery lined out next to his plate and seems to struggle with differentiating between five different kinds of forks. His tutor, a proper-looking penguin, seems to lecture him as he picks up a table fork instead of a salad fork. LOUIS: (After Oguma took me home, I got everything. Wealth, education, manners, purpose...) --- LOUIS: (Despite this, there's been plenty of times where I've been envious...) We see a flashback of Louis and Legosi fighting over Haru's kidnapping. LOUIS: (I was envious of Legosi for his strenght, and I was envious of Juno for winning over all the members of the club at such a short length of time) This transitions over to another flashback where Louis shoots Juno an annoyed look as she happily greets the other members of the club. --- We flash forward to just recently at the UniFeed charity. We see Louis observing Juno as the crowd of male admirers gather around her, greeting and complimenting her. LOUIS: (This is something different though. I didn't care that she won those people over so fast. No, it's when they were getting too close... And the way they looked at her...) He observes that several of these admirers are starting to get a little too friendly for a group of strangers; Gestures like a hand on her shoulder, kissing her hand and looking a little too keenly at her exposed back. LOUIS: (IT MADE MY BLOOD BOIL!) Louis hand tightens into a fist, and he glares at the group. LOUIS: (Jealousy... That was jealousy!) --- Louis looks panicked and regretful behind his menu. LOUIS: (How could I have acted so stupid?! She probably could've managed just fine without me coming to her rescue. She's a big girl, not some damsel in distress!) Juno reaches out and grabs his menu, lowering it so that she can see his face. JUNO: "Louis-senpai, did you get jealous back there?" At first, Louis looks completely stone-faced. LOUIS: "No." However, as Juno continues to stare, this facade begins to crack and he looks away. LOUIS: "... Maybe." Finally, he sighs and meets her gaze. LOUIS: "A bit...!" Juno crosses her arms and gives Louis a bothered look. JUNO: "You know, I can't help but to notice the irony: You worried that I would be the one to act less than platonic, but so far, you're the one being awfully non-platonic. So how do you want it? It's a bit annoying when you jump back and forth, so... Hands on, or hands off?" Louis seems to ponder about this, before giving an answer. LOUIS: "Hands on. At least to ward off other hands from inappropriate places." Juno rolls her eyes and begins to speak in an ironic fashion. JUNO: "Okay master, but I still need to shake hands and give an occasional hug, otherwise it'll just be rude. Is that alright with you or should I go and fetch my leash first?" She mimes having a leash around her neck which is getting pulled. Louis looks really annoyed at this. LOUIS: "I am not a fricking taliban! Of course it's alright!" Juno laughs at this. JUNO: "Good. And you don't have to worry about my innapropriate places..." She leans forward and gives him a seductive look. JUNO: "... Since you've clearly called shotgun." Louis eyes widen and he looks away with a blush on his face. LOUIS: "I have not! I mean, I did not-" They are then approached by a DOG WAITRESS (Cocker Spaniel, 25 years old, black and white waitress clothes). DOG WAITRESS: "Are you ready to order?" Louis coughs and takes up his menu. LOUIS: "Ehum, yes. I'll be having a greek salad, some garlic-bread and a glass of ginger ale." The waitress begins to write the order down on the notebook. Meanwhile, Juno grimaces as she hears the word 'garlic-bread.' JUNO: (Ew, garlic!) The waitress then turns her attention to Juno. DOG WAITRESS: "And the lady?" Juno looks a bit weirded out at being referred to as a 'lady' despite being younger than the waitress. JUNO: (Lady?) "I'll have a spinach and mushroom omelette. And some orange juice." DOG WAITRESS: "Got it." The waitress writes this down as well and then takes the two menus. She walks away. Juno suddenly looks self-conscious about something. JUNO: "I didn't think to ask, am I supposed to tip the servers?" LOUIS: "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." Juno looks surprised and gives off a wide grin. JUNO: "Louis, always so generous!" Louis smiles and shakes his head in feigned annoyance. LOUIS: "Juno, always the leech." A litte vein appears on Juno's head and she looks a bit offended. JUNO: "Hey, I wouldn't mind paying!" She then swiftly shifts into a theatrical, feminine pose, hand over her heart and everything. JUNO: "But if we are to go by traditional gender roles anyway..." Louis sweatdrops at this. LOUIS: "It's hard to imagine you being a traditional ANYTHING." (And what's with that pose?) Juno then leans forward and leans her chin on her hand. JUNO: "Anyway, how does the program look? Are we supposed to sit here all night?" LOUIS: "Of course not. It's a charity, so there's a number of events to go by, including dance, a couple of performances from the band, speeches held by the hosts and speakers from UniFeed. Then there's always the gambling table, the bar and mingling." JUNO: "I look forward to the dancing. It's been a while." Louis looks a little reluctant as she mentions this, thinking back to when he danced with Juno the last time. LOUIS: "Yes... Though maybe it won't go as smooth as last time, on account of my leg." JUNO: "You still have problems with it?" Louis looks up, but then, he notices something across the room: A lion that appears to be a member of the Shishigumi, the criminal group he formerly led. He immediately gets up and walks toward him, leaving a confused-looking Juno behind. LOUIS: "I am sorry, I just saw someone I need to talk to. I'll be back shortly." JUNO: "Ah- What...?" Louis quickly disappears out of sight. Juno blinks and then puffs her cheeks in annoyance as she is left alone. JUNO: (Jeez, he sure blows hot and cold!) Then she begins to look kind of sly though. JUNO: (But all in all, I think things are going pretty well. I didn't expect him to get all green-eyed, but considering the circumstances, that could work more to my benefit rather than against me. All in all, Juno's seduction plan, aka operation 'Good Moon Rising,' phase 2, is progressing according to plan. So far, there hasn't been anything I can't handle) OGUMA: "Young lady, if I may bother you." Juno looks up to see that she has been approached by Louis's father, Oguma. Accompanying him is SHIGURE (Capybara, female, ca 35 years old, glasses and grey blazer over a white shirt and a long skirt). OGUMA: "I saw you with my son as you entered. You wouldn't happen to accompany him for the night?" Juno's eyes widen. JUNO: "...!" (Louis father?) TO BE CONTINUED...!

#beastars #louis #juno #red deer #grey wolf #shipping #x #romance #a different kind of charity #part 2 #mini story #fanfiction #jcl

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fanfic-inator795 · 5 years

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RotTMNT Oneshot: Lemonade, Old Photos and Family Talks

(This story is also on AO3, so leave a kudos/comment there if you can!)

Plot: “A friend?” “Well yeah! We’ve got April to vent to when we get stressed and to hang out with when we wanna have some extra fun, but think about it- Pops hasn’t had another adult to talk to in YEARS!” “Huh… I mean, it’s not a bad idea, really." “Though it should be noted that the last time he tried to socialize with someone his own age, he was nearly eaten by one of our enemies, so I don’t think we can trust him to meet someone NOT evil on his own.” “Which is why we have to help him! We know plenty of mutants now, there has to be someone who’d wanna hang out with him and NOT try to kill him afterwards.” “This family has the weirdest issues.”

The boys try to find Splinter a new friend, but they all learn that sometimes the best people you can talk are your family, even when the conversation is bittersweet.

((Another Splinter and his past-centered story! Because they're just way too easy to think of and they give me all the feels, lol. But yeah, this started out as just a sort of joke scene of Splinter trying to hang out with Todd and then emotions happened. I really hope Shen shows up in the show proper sometime, and that she and Lou were best friends and she's not just dead like every other dang version of her. But until then, enjoy my writing/headcanons! Also sorry for the bad title, I literally could not think of anything else, heh. But yeah, here we go!))

They all noticed it, eventually, after the incident in Grand Central Station and after Splinter revealed all that he could to them. Splinter - Lou Jitsu - had also begun training them properly, finally acknowledging that they were ready for the next level. (And besides, watching Lou Jitsu movies was… sort of awkward now, and probably would be for a little while.)

Getting to learn new things and become even stronger, their weapons and strategies becoming all the more effective as they were taught both as individuals and as a group - all in all, it was a great change in their routine. Even the fatigue they’d sometimes feel after more intense training or the lack of free time couldn’t completely turn them off from it. Those things didn’t matter, not when they were going to be true heroes and save the world from Draxum and the foot’s Dark Armor!

...But, with these positive changes came not so positive ones, for everything came with a price and Splinter was not the only one who’d had to explain things…

Sometimes Splinter would be up waiting for them when they got home, and would actually ask questions rather than just continuing to watch TV, even if he still sort of pretended not to be too concerned. Other times he wouldn’t even be in his chair, and was instead pacing around their home, giving the excuse that he was simply stretching his legs. And other times he wouldn’t be home at all.

Instead, he was going out and searching for more Armor pieces while the boys were either out fighting the evil mutant of the night or were getting into typical teenage shenanigans. (Because Splinter still refused to let them sacrifice the rest of the childhood for training and war. Not yet, not until there was no other choice.) By this point, he was starting to do more searching than TV watching, which was strange to say the least. He even missed a few new episodes of Scorpion Treadmill, which was COMPLETELY unheard of!

Their father was beginning to have trouble sleeping too, and while he pretended to stay asleep during it, Mikey shared that he recently caught Splinter sneaking into his room to check up on him, just as he no doubt already did that night with his other sons. The tucking-in and the quick kiss on the forehead was admittedly nice in a sort of nostalgic way, but it was the concern behind the gesture that made Mikey frown instead of smile at it.

There was no doubt about it, their usually lax, sometimes stern but still totally chill rat dad was worried about them. Worried about who they would run into while they were out and what mutant and mystic dangers they would face, now that he knew what most of them were. Worried about them coming home so badly hurt that he wouldn’t be able to help them. Worried that they wouldn’t come home at all…

While they’d never truly understand until the day they became fathers, if that day ever came, the four of them did understand Splinter’s worry on some level. It wasn’t like they weren’t scared of getting hurt or dying on a mission too, as much as they might have tried to hide it. But even so, all of that stress and worry just wasn’t good for Splinter, and game shows and old Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu movies just weren’t going to cut it as distractions anymore.

He needed something else to distract him, or (even better) something to help him get all his feelings out in order to deal with them and get them off his mind. He needed-

“A friend?” Leo repeated, tilting his head slightly.

“Well yeah!” Mikey nodded, “We’ve got April to vent to when we get stressed and to hang out with when we wanna have some extra fun, but think about it- Pops hasn’t had another adult to talk to in YEARS!”

“Huh… I mean, it’s not a bad idea, really,” Raph nodded as he thought about it. Everyone needed someone to talk to or laugh with when things got rough, and they couldn’t exactly take him to a therapist so, this was probably the best option.

“Though it should be noted that the last time he tried to socialize with someone his own age, he was nearly eaten by one of our enemies,” Donnie pointed out, “So I don’t think we can trust him to meet someone NOT evil on his own.”

“Which is why we have to help him!” Mikey insisted, “We know plenty of mutants now, there has to be someone who’d wanna hang out with him and NOT try to kill him afterwards.”

“This family has the weirdest issues,” Leo flatly stated, though was ignored as his brothers tried to think.

“He got along pretty well with Bullhop when he was stayin’ here,” Raph spoke up after a few moments. He may have been a little bit annoyed with the bull’s clumsiness, but was otherwise comfortable enough around him. And sure, Bullhop was younger than Splinter, but they were both still adults so that had to count for something. Though the fact that their former house guest was now a whole country away was a bit of a problem. “Maybe we could hook them both up with webcams so they can talk whenever?”

Mikey hummed. “I dunno… Sure they didn't mind each other but they didn't really talk either? I don't think they have much in common. Besides, do we really wanna bother him while he's tryin’ to put together his mutant ballet thing?” Donnie nodded at this point. Both he and Mikey understood how frustrating being interrupted while in the middle of a project could be, whether that project was artistic or scientific.

Getting an idea, Leo snapped his fingers. “I've got it! Senor Hueso! He's probably about as old as Dad, and both Hueso and Splinter are dads and are sword fighters, so that's two things in common!”

“A fair assumption to make, Leon,” Donnie replied, “Although, Hueso just barely tolerates us thanks to our frequent customer status. Do you really think he'd be able to tolerate someone like Pop?”

“...Okay yeah, good point.” Personality wise, they were both pretty different.

“WAIT!” Mikey said suddenly, nearly jumping out of his shell, “I know who we can get to hang out with Splinter, and he's the perfect, friendliest friend a rat guy could ever have!”

()()()()()()()()())()()()()

Splinter stood at the entrance of their home, blinking slowly. He certainly hadn't been expecting anyone that afternoon. April was long past needing to knock whenever she visited, and they didn't exactly get many other visitors down in the sewers - especially not ones this… smiley.

“Hello there!” The stout, furry man greeted, “You must be Splinter, right? Oh, or should I call you Splinter-San? I always try to be polite, after all.”

Splinter’s ears folded down slightly as he gave the man a flat look, but he did manage to keep his tone civil. “Just Splinter is fine, thanks.”

“Of course! And you can call me-!”

“Todd!” Suddenly all his sons were there by his side. Funny, he couldn't seem to find ANY of them just a few minutes ago when he was forced to greet their surprise ‘guest’ on his own… “Glad you could make it, buddy!” Mikey greeted, his grin matching his brothers’.

“Same here! Gosh, you would not believe how hard it is to get away from those pups, even for just an afternoon.” The man giggled, giving a wave of his hand. “Oh, but those cute little furry faces and all the smiles I get are worth the hard work!”

“Furry faces?” Splinter mumbled, completely and utterly confused.

But before he could even try to ask any questions, his oldest butted in. “Why don't you go make yourself at home in the kitchen, and Pops’ll be there in a sec, okay?” Raph told him, his welcoming smile becoming more and more sheepish by the second as his dad glared at all of them.

“It's on the second floor, right across from the arcade!” Donnie added thoughtfully, “Super easy to find, can't miss it!”

Todd chuckled again, his small basket of snacks (plus a thermos) bouncing slightly on his arm. “Sounds good to me!” He thanked the four turtles once again for their invitation and made his way past the entrance tunnel and into the main atrium of their home. And, as soon as the family of five was alone-

Splinter turned around, scowling as he crossed his arms. “Okay, why is there a gopher in our house and why am I going to be the one keeping him company?”

“He’s a woodchuck,” Mikey corrected.

“Actually, he's a capybara,” Donnie explained, “Way bigger than a woodchuck and interesting enough from South America-”

“Buuuuut more importantly,” Leo said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his purple and orange brothers, “He's someone who we think you could have a great time hanging out with! You know, chat a little, get to know each other, watch a movie together - whatever you want! Sooo, let's get to it, huh? Huh? What do you say, Dad?”

However, Splinter was just as stubborn as his sons. “I think I will pass, and since you boys invited him over, it is only fair that you four-”

“Ah, we would, totally would!” Raph interrupted suddenly, “You know, since Todd’s such a great guy to hang out with. But uh, we can't cause- cause we just got a call from April! And she said, uh, that there’s a-”

“A giant pizza pigeon!” Mikey butted in, waving his arms wildly, “Totally wrecking every pizza shop in New York!”

“And honestly, Father, what heroes would we be if we didn't go stop it immediately?” Donnie asked, throwing in a bit of dramatic flair for good measure, “So while we would LOVE to stay here and hang out with you guys, alas, we must go! Buuuut we’ll try to be home within, let's say, two hours?” As in, the perfect amount of time for a decent visit and to make a connection with a possible new friend.

“Also your favorite tea cakes are in the cupboard,” Leo added, figuring that when all else failed, bribery still had its merits, especially when it came to Splinter and his sweets, “Okay have fun we’ll be back later byeeeeee!”

With that, his boys dashed off into the sewers, not even looking back at him. Splinter sighed, grumbling under his breath. He didn't know what his sons were planning or why they needed him to be kept busy by visiting with this Todd guy, but he would reluctantly play along. ...For now.

Stepping into his kitchen, Splinter could see that the perky capybara was already making himself at home. He’d already poured two glasses of lemonade from his thermos, and had found a plate that he was currently using to set homemade, dog shaped cookies on. “Hey, you!” Todd greeted again, still grinning, "Just getting our refreshments ready!" Frankly, Splinter was starting to wonder if Todd ever stopped grinning.

“Yes, hello,” Splinter modded, sitting down, “So, uhh… You made lemonade, huh?

“Oh yes, my famous recipe!” Todd nodded. He took a moment to push a glass of it towards the rat man. “And I don’t wanna brag, but I’m pretty sure it lives up to the hype and I can promise that every glass is made with care and a smile!”

“Of course it is,” Splinter mumbled. Honestly, did this gopher-woodchuck-capybara guy step out of a fairy tale picture book or something. Still, he was never one to turn down free refreshments, so he took a sip. Almost instantly, his ears perked back up while his fur tingled slightly, like it was being warmed by sunlight while the rest of his body became cooled and refreshed by the ice cold drink. “...Huh. Not bad.”

“Thanks!” Todd grinned. He hadn’t met a single person yet - human or mutant - who hadn’t enjoyed his lemonade, but the compliments were still nice to hear. “It’s a shame the boys can’t join us, I know they like my lemonade too.”

“Mm, yes, well, you know how teens are. Going off and doing… whatever it is that teens do.” And apparently that included keeping secrets and being sneaky with their father. Yes, he was definitely giving them a talking to when they got home from their ‘pigeon battle’.

Todd however was still blissfully unaware of Splinter’s annoyance - or if he was aware, he just ignored it. “They really are great kids! I’m sure you know all about the work they did for me down at my puppy shelter.” He paused, noticing the curious look on the old rat’s face. “Well, my place was kinda small for all the pups I had, and they needed my RV, so they offered to make me a whole puppy paradise!”

“Huh, you don’t say…”

“Oh yeah! Lots of play equipment and robots to help with cleanup and baths, and all sorts of neat things! Donnie stops by every once in a while to give everything a bit of a tune up and makes sure it’s all running right, and the other three are more than happy to help with training and keepin’ the pups happy. Ugh, I really do mean it when I say that you’ve raised four wonderful sons, Splinter.”

“...” Hearing these words, Splinter found himself giving a small proud smile, despite it all. He chuckled, shaking his head. “They are nothing but trouble sometimes… But yes, they can also be pretty wonderful to have around. I… honestly do not know what my life would be without them.” Averting his gaze, he took another quick sip of his lemonade and cleared his throat. “And, uh… Do you have any family?”

“Weeeell, I DO have plenty of adorable little puppies that I’m pretty close to!” Very excited now, Todd pulled out his phone, and opened up to his photos. Two hundred and seventy one photos, to be exact, and every single one of them starring one or many of the adoptees at Cuddle Cakes Rescue. After the ninth candid puppy shot though, Splinter stopped him. “Why don’t we continue this in the TV room? Much more comfortable!” Besides, Scorpion Treadmill would be starting soon, and there was nothing wrong with a little gameshow watching during conversation lulls, right?

“Oh! Of course!” Needing both his hands, Todd quickly pocketed his phone and grabbed both the snacks and their drinks. “Lead the way, friend!”

“Yes, friend, right. Come, it’s just this way-”

“Oh, hey, I was meaning to ask you what you do! Or, I guess what you did. Mikey said you were retired?”

“In a way, yes,” Splinter nodded, his tail moving to hold the dividing curtain open for Todd as they moved into the TV room, “And, technically, I am the boys’ sensei as well as their father. But before that…” He hesitated for just a moment, years of paranoia still having a bit of a kick in him before he was able to shrug it off. Draxum and his sons all already knew, not much of a point in hiding it from anyone else. “Before that, I was in the action film business.”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

When the turtles arrived home two hours later, they could hear a pair of voices within their home, rather than just a Japanese announcer’s booming exclamations or the cheers of a live television audience. That was DEFINITELY a good sign. Raph quickly shushed them, and one by one they snuck up to the TV room…

“-So I just put a few drops on each of them and you know what, it worked like a charm! No more chewing on wires!”

“You know, I had the same problem with Red when he was a toddler, although I could not exactly get vinegar, so I just used a bit of sewer scum. It stunk up the place like crazy, but it kept him from electrocuting himself, so I lived with it - and for the next few months, I did not have much else to worry about. Nonono, the REAL trouble started when they started learning how to walk on two legs!”

They heard Todd giggle. “Oh, I could just imagine all the mischief those little rascals got into! Just the other day I took Kimi’s pups outside for the first time, and the first thing those little dachshunds tried to do was dig a hole under our fence!” The capybara laughed again, easily shrugging the whole thing off like he did most things.. “‘Course, their puppy paws weren’t strong enough to do any real damage, but I’m definitely gonna have to keep an eye on them- Whoa! ”

Even more curious now, the four turtles opened the curtains slightly, just enough to see the tail end of a classic Lou Jitsu scene - a spinning split kick, followed by a quick cartwheel towards the final boss of the film’s climax and a sucker punch right in the gut. “Gosh, I may not be much of an action movie fan myself, but THAT was amazing!”

Splinter smirked, allowing himself to be just a little proud of the old stunt. “Yes, and would you believe I did it all in one take?”

“Oh I believe it!” Though that didn’t stop Splinter from diving into the story of how he spent a whole week perfecting that bit of choreography himself, not that Todd really minded judging by the smile on his face. ...Alright, to be fair, he always had a smile, but still!

“I can’t believe it,” Donnie whispered, “They’re actually getting along!”

“I know, right?” Leo nodded, pleased but just as surprised, “I thought for sure Dad would’ve kicked him out before we got home.”

“See!” Mikey beamed, crossing his arms in victory, “I TOLD you guys Todd was the perfect friend for him.”

“I’m just glad they’re talking at all,” Raph mumbled, knowing that just like how he sometimes stumbled over his speeches or explanations, his dad wasn’t always the best with words either. But hey, sometimes you just need the right person to listen.

Satisfied, the four of them quietly busied themselves, killing time until Todd finally announced that he would have to leave, not wanting to leave his pups alone for too long even with all the robot assistants keeping an eye on them. “But I had a great time!” he insisted, “And it was just so great getting to spend some time with you, Splinter! After hearing about you from the boys, it was nice to finally meet you in person.”

Splinter paused for a moment before replying honestly, “I enjoyed your company as well, Todd.” (Out of the corner of his eye, he could’ve sworn he saw a couple of his sons fist pump.) “Have a safe trip back home.”

“Will do!” Todd then said a quick goodbye to the boys, with Donnie promising to stop by with another set of puppycare-tech upgrades soon and Leo getting an update on Matilda’s soon- to-be-born litter, wanting to be there the moment they were born so he could christen them all with only the coolest puppy names. And, once Todd was on his way through the sewers and out of sight, all eyes were on Splinter.

Splinter looked back at them with squinted, unimpressed eyes. “...So, how was the fight with the giant pizza pigeon?” he asked coolly.

“The what? OH! Yeah! That! Uh, we totally kicked its butt, naturally,” Raph nodded, “But uh, hey, you fight giant bird mutant, you’ve fought them all.”

“Heh, yeah, like, it was so boring I barely even remember the fight!” Leo added, with Mikey backing him up with a nod, “Mmhm, yep, tooootally gone from my mind!”

“I see,” Splinter nodded. It took all his strength for him not to roll his eyes at them.

“Sooo, since we’ve got nothing interesting to share,” Donnie begun casually, trying not to sound too interested, “How was your afternoon with Todd, Pop?”

The rat hummed, making them wait for an answer for a few seconds before telling finally them, “It was nice enough. He was a good listener, and not too annoying I suppose. Makes good snacks too. So, a pretty good time.”

His sons grinned at each other, silently enjoying their successful mission. “That’s great to hear, Dad! So, you want me to text him and tell him that you want to get together next week?” Mikey asked, already getting his phone out.

Splinter suddenly gave a sharp laugh. “Oh goodness no!” Seeing their faces fall, he added, “Todd was nice enough, yes, but I don’t think I could hang out with someone like that ALL the time! Wayyy too friendly and cheery. Hmph, I would probably get a cavity from all that sweetness… But perhaps in a few months we can get together again. Now, if you four will excuse me, I am way overdue for my nap.” With that, he easily moved past them and headed downstairs to his room. He easily heard the groans behind him once he was out of the room, along with a few stray bits of conversation-

“Ughhh, I thought for sure they’d be BFFs!”

“I guess it’s onto Plan B, then. ...You get it? ‘B’ for ‘Bone man’?”

"We get it, Leon…”

“Man, there’s gotta be a friend for Splinter somewhere in this city…”

Ah, so that was it, then. “My sons,” Splinter sighed. Good hearts with good intentions… but still not the brightest of the bunch. He appreciated their efforts but, as pleasant as his visit with Todd had been, it had also felt a little bittersweet.

It was not their fault, of course. They couldn’t have known… But some things - some people - just couldn’t be replaced, even with happy and friendly capybara men…

The four of them ended up waiting a few hours before making their way to their father’s room, a new plan in mind with the hopes that this one would fare better than the last. “You sure we shouldn’t wait longer?” Leo asked, “I mean, he might be annoyed that we’re trying to set up on another stranger hang out sesh so soon, and you know he’s not afraid to be petty and stubborn when he’s really annoyed.”

“Buuut, he could also be half asleep,” Donnie pointed out, “And therefore MUCH easier to convince to leave the lair.”

“Plus, Splinter never says no to free food!” Mikey added.

Taking the lead, Raph knocked gently on the frail wooden divider in front of his father’s room before opening it. “Hey Pop, you awake-?”

As it turned out, Splinter wasn’t in bed. In fact, it looked like he hadn’t even made it to his bed, and was instead over at small chest that he’d usually had his tv sitting on. But now the chest was open, with most of its secret contents having been set on the floor next to him. A pair of old, cracked yellow sunglasses (which the boys immediately recognized), some letters and yellow envelopes, a few postcards and- ...something else in their dad’s paw that they couldn’t quite see. “...Dad?” Raph spoke up again, a bit louder this time.

Splinter flinched slightly, his tail moving to try and hide the stuff on the floor. The turtles were a bit confused at that. They already knew that Splinter and Lou Jitsu were one and the same, so why would their dad try to hide it? “Ah, boys, I uh, I-I was just, ah, doing some cleaning up before heading to bed. Just got a little distracted, is all. It is nothing-”

Of course, that wasn’t nearly enough to deter his sons’ natural curiosity, and within a few seconds, they were all kneeling on the floor next to him. “How come you’re looking at some of your old Lou Jitsu stuff?” Leo asked, just a bit of concern slipping into his voice. Raph was looking at him with the same concern while Donnie, ever the observer and note taker, was already looking through the envelopes to try and see what he could learn.

“I- W-Well-”

Suddenly, he felt his youngest at his side, managing to catch a quick look at the picture in his paws. “Wait, is that-?” Mikey started to say.

“It is noth-!” “Tang Shen?” Raph asked, his height allowing him to look right over his rat dad’s shoulders even as he tried and failed to hide the photo. His brothers quickly joined him, leaning in to get a better look at the picture as they crowded around their father.

Sure enough, the woman in the picture - with the stylish 80’s outfit and the short black hair, smiling next to the younger, human version of their dad - was the same actress they easily recognized from ‘Jitsu For Justice’. In fact, Tang Shen had been in quite a few of Lou’s movies… And in that moment, they realized that all of these certain films were ones that Splinter didn’t rewatch nearly as much as all his others, usually only putting them on for their sake, whether it was for their entertainment or their training...

Splinter sighed, suddenly feeling very tired, and perhaps a little guilty. But, there was no denying it now. “Yes… That is me and Tang Shen.”

“I… didn’t realize you two were friends,” Donnie said slowly, “I mean- I just figured you guys were just co-actors.” After all, pretty ladies in Lou Jitsu movies were common, so what would be specific about this one?

The rat man gave a short, humorless laugh. “We started out that way, yes… She was just starting out, and like most women in films those days, the only role she could really get was being a damsel that needed help escaping some villain. I thought she was a decent enough actress while the cameras were rolling, though had a bit of an attitude when they weren’t.” Splinter chuckled again, though this time he actually smiled as he did.

“We got into an argument about something, I don’t even remember, and she ended up challenging me to a spar. I decided to take it easy on her, and for it, she ended up kicking my butt pretty good. She had just as much skill as any other martial artist in Hollywood, and she certainly made sure I knew it.” His smile softened slightly. “And after that… We just became friends.”

Glancing back down to his small piles of personal memories and memorabilia, he picked up another envelope. This one had folded up magazine article in it, an interview the two had done together for one of their films. It was typed out in Japanese, so its content was completely lost on his sons, but the snappy and sarcastic answers Shen had given their interviewer to questions like “Would you consider yourself a Lady Lou Jitsu?” or “How do you keep your outfits and hair camera ready while doing your stunts?” still made him grin every time he read them.

“Shen had good audience appeal, so our managers wanted us to work on a few more movies together,” Splinter continued.

“Oh! Like that one where Shen was an undercover bartender?” Mikey asked, “‘Late Night in the Street Lights’?”

“Oh yeah!” Leo grinned, “And then you guys work together to take out not one but two crimelords in the city, and then go out on date afterwards?”

“Mmhm, that one was definitely a fan favorite,” Splinter nodded, “We agreed to work together, but we both gave the producers one condition: Shen and I would only do a film together if she was my co-star in it, not a damsel. I may have still gotten top billing, but she got to be involved in the action scenes instead of just being tied to a chair or death trap or whatever. And as it turned out, she would never again be a damsel, because once her contract expired, she went to work on getting her own movies off the ground. I was able to give her a bit of help, using connections and all that, but it was her skills and talent that got her the jobs. She was very good at what she did, just as good as anyone else… And a pretty great person too.”

“...What was Shen like?” Raph asked as he placed a comforting hand on his father’s arm, his tone curious but cautious, “Outside of her movies, I mean.”

Splinter hummed again, his eyes becoming a bit distant. It had been years, but he hadn’t forgotten a single thing about her. He refused to forget. “...Well, she was just as fiery as the characters she played, never let anyone try to talk over her or treat her like a second-rate actress. Strong willed, tough with a sharp tongue for those who dared to give her a hard time… But she was also gentle, when she liked you.” He shut his eyes, just for a moment as he tried not to get overwhelmed or too emotional.

“She… She looked out for me during rough times, just as I looked out for her. She could be fun, and very kind, knowing just what to say or do even when I felt completely clueless. We would spar and go out to clubs and parties, get ourselves in and out of trouble-” Though, he could secretly admit that he was usually the one foolishly getting them in trouble, and would always be thankful that Shen didn’t just get frustrated and leave him to fend for himself during those times (even if she still chewed him out afterwards). “And other times, we would just find somewhere quiet and talk. Catch up with each other or, or vent to each other, or just try to make each other laugh. Even when we were filming different projects in different countries, we still tried to call and write as often as we could. We… We were very close.”

Taking a chance, Mikey decided to ask the question he was sure his brothers were all thinking. “Did you, you know… like her?”

Thankfully, this inquiry didn’t offend, nor did it open up old wounds. Splinter just gave them all a flat look and asked, “Have any of you ever liked April?”

And just like that, they suddenly knew the exact sort of relationship Lou had had with Tang Shen. Something deeper than just friendship or even a romantic Hollywood fling, something on the level of family. For their dad, Shen hadn’t been a co-actor or friend, she had been his person. She had been his April, and it was no wonder he missed her so much…

“Did she move to New York too? I mean, did you guys ever team up in the Battle Nexus or-” Donnie asked, but Splinter shook his head.

“No no, she was in Hong Kong during that time working on some sequel, though I still tried to keep in contact, up until…” He trailed off, guilt once again settling in his gut as his boys stared at him. “No, the… the last time I saw her was…”

The last time he saw her, it hadn’t even been in person. It had been on a small, crappy black-and-white TV that he had swiped from the dump, just barely working enough for him to see her tear-stained face, as the news reported on his funeral, an event planned after weeks of searching for him and the police only finding a jumpsuit that Splinter himself had burned and planted in an alley dumpster.

Suddenly, Splinter stood up, not caring if he accidentally bumped into his sons or if his tail knocked over the small stacks of paper. “I, I need to go- T-To go do a thing. In another room. Right now.”

“Huh? Wait, but Dad!” Raph shouted, as he and the others started to stand up, ready to follow him if they needed to.

Splinter ignored them, just as he ignored the burning in his eyes. “I am fine,” he insisted.

“But Pop-!” “Wait, just-”

“I am busy-”

“You’re not- just hold a sec!” “Dad!”

“I have to go, I am fine-! ”

“Master Splinter!”

Splinter finally stopped at that. ...To be fair, when all four of your children shout your formal title at you - something they used as often as he used their full names - it was sort of hard not to stop… Still, he refused to turn around, just as he had refused a lot of things up to this point in his thirteen years as a father. Refused to let them know the truth. Refused to let them know all that he had gone through.

Refused to let them feel guilt, just for being born.

Unfortunately, as much as he hated them, Splinter couldn’t exactly deny his feelings of loss and occasional longing. After all, it was still very possible for someone - even someone who loved their new life and wouldn’t change a thing about it - to still miss their old life occasionally. Old hobbies, old experiences, old friends...

But that was not the fault of his children, and he absolutely refused to let them carry that blame! The loss of his old life was HIS burden to bare, not theirs! He would not let them think that he regretted his choices - that he regrets his family - just because he was feeling a little nostalgic or lonely. He couldn’t do that, and he wouldn’t, promising himself over and over that he wouldn’t.

...And yet, as a three-finger hand took him by the shoulder and slowly turned him back around, Splinter didn’t see looks of guilt or self resentment or even of pity. He just saw his four sons, looking at him with love and concern and just a tiny bit of relief.

“Dad, it’s okay, really…” Leo started out, “It’s… You guys were best friends so, it makes sense you’d miss her if she was really such a cool and great person. It makes sense that you’d miss being Lou Jitsu too, but we aren’t gonna get mad at you for that. We know that doesn’t mean you don’t still love us or whatever.”

“Yeah, though... we’re sorry that you can’t still be friends with her,” Raph continued, frowning for a moment before offering his father another smile, “But, we’re glad you told us about her. We just… We know you want us to be okay, but we want YOU to be okay too.”

“Yeah!” Mikey nodded, “We don’t want you to feel stressed out and alone all the time, and holdin’ in your feelings isn’t exactly good either, Pop. But hey, if you wanna talk to us about the stuff you miss or the stuff you’re worried about, we’ll listen! Just like how you listen to us when we’re dealin’ with stuff!”

“That is how a family works, after all,” Donnie finished with a small smirk.

Splinter stared at them all, almost in disbelief, before giving a teary smile. “My sons…” Their own smiles never faltering, the turtles quickly pulled him into a tight group hug, with Splinter allowing just a couple of tears to finally fall as he held his boys close. Todd’s words echoed in the back of his mind, and once again agreed with him: He really did have wonderful sons.

After a couple minutes, the five of them separated somewhat, though still stayed close. “You know, maybe you could look her up sometime,” Leo suggested, “Reconnect and all that? Old people do that, right?”

Splinter slightly swatted his shoulder at the old comment, but otherwise considered it. “Heh… Do you think she would really be alright with… This whole situation?” he asked, gesturing to himself.

“Eh, if she’s still anything like how you described her, I think she would be cool with it,” Donnie shrugged, his brothers agreeing.

The rat chuckled, thinking about it. Knowing Shen, she’d probably give him a hard smack, followed by one of the tightest hugs he’d probably ever receive. She’d listen to his tale, and scold him for not letting her help him even while understanding why he didn’t, and they would talk and catch up and he would introduce her to his sons. Maybe not the family she would be expecting, but he knew deep down that she would love them nonetheless. And, with a bit of luck, it would be just like old times…

“Perhaps, one day,” he said finally. There was still the Armor and Draxum to take care of, after all. But, if they survived all of that, then truly anything was possible. But, until then- “I will be fine,” Splinter gently insisted, giving his sons a genuine smile, “As long as I have my family with me, I will be fine.”

“And so will we,” Raph agreed, his younger brothers strongly and happily agreeing to that.

They helped their father pack his memories back into his chest, his small TV returning to its place on top of it, and then led him out of the room. Raph was suggesting they call in for pizza while Mikey suddenly remembered he had a dessert idea he wanted them all to try. Leo and Donnie began arguing over whether to watch that night’s sitcom line-up or pop in another movie. Not that it mattered, since Splinter would most likely take control of the remote, but he let them have their little debate anyway as a content smile remained on his furry face.

He would have many more stories to tell them, if they were ever interested. Stories about Shen and his manager, of other friends - actors and yokai - he knew during his time. Stories that were funny and exciting, and others that were bittersweet but still nice to share and to listen to. Stories that were sadder, perhaps even a bit tragic, but still an undeniable part of his life. If they wanted him to, he would share them all. He had promised them no more secrets, and they had promised him just as much support as he gave them.

But, until those moments came, he wouldn’t dwell on them - just as he wouldn’t dwell on possibly seeing Shen again, no matter how much he might have wished for it. After all, with his boys and their shenanigans, and with a warm and happy home and good food and a comfy chair to sit and watch great TV and classic movies in, Splinter decided that he was still much better off living in the present, no matter how appealing the past occasionally might have been.

His new life was as perfect as it could be, save for centuries old demons and warring warrior scientists, and he wouldn’t dare trade it - wouldn’t trade them - for all the second chances in the world.

THE END

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #splinter tmnt #lou jitsu #my writing #oneshot #fanfiction

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nyappyforeverbr · 5 years

Photo

100 Questions&Answers: Yuuki MEMORIAL ARTIST BOOK

In addition to several photos AN CAFE Memorial Artist Book also brought an interview and a special questionnaire of 100 questions with each of the 5 members. Here is the translation of the 100 questions with Yuuki’s 100 answers.

Translate: Japanese>Portuguese by Hiyori Portuguese>English by Shiro 001 How many sushi can you eat? 15 002 Which sushi's ingredient do you like? Breaded shrimp, tuna, corn and salad 003 If you have to eat something until you die, what it would be? Mochi 004 Which kind of lamen do you think has the strongest flavor? Tenkaippin 005 What do you in like in a hot drink? Bergamot Orange by Earl Grey 006 Which mixture do you think most matches rice? Shogayaki 007 What flavor of chewing gum do you like? Blueberry 008 What flavor of candies do you like? Milk-based 009 Soba or udon? Udon NOTE: Soba is a pasta made from buckwheat and udon is made from wheat only 010 Of your whole life, what was the most painful experience you've ever faced? (referring to physical damages) When I fell in the show 011 One part of body that demonstrates more confidence? Nose 012 What do you think about old times? Sloth 013 If you had won 100.000 yen what you would make? (Around 900 dolars) Renovate the furniture of the house 014 And about 100.000.000 yen? (Around 900.000 dolars) I would buy a house for me and my family and put the rest into the savings 015 I know this is kind out of reality, but if you could have a wild animal, which would be? I would be the capybara, they are very cute 016 To Cook, wash clothes, clean the house. Which one do you do better? Cook 017 If you were going for a walk with your girlfriend, where would you go? Hot Springs 018 Where would you spend your last days of life? (If you were an old man where would you want to live?) and why? Somewhere in a countryside, I think because I would have more social contact and I would do an exchange program 019 Is there anyone you consider to be the strongest person in the world? Of course it’s the candies 020 An anime character, manga, etc. that you consider to be the strongest?Deadpool 021 If you could turn into some anime character or something like this, who would you choose? The spiderman 022 First CD you bought? The album of Morning Musume 023 Your preferred winter song? “Yuki no Hana” 024 Your preferred xmas song? Meri Kuri 025 Forgetting that you were part of a band, if you were about to start one, what would it take? And why? A bass, they play fast and I can barely hear 026 And what would be the name you would choose for the band? Sweet Sweet 027 If you went to a desert island and could only take three things, what would it take? 1. Survival Knife2. Solar battery3. Cellphone 028 Do you know how to swim? Yes 029 Something you would never want to happen? Bungee jumping 030 If you were a child, how would you like to be called? At that time I seriously wanted to change this, something like Ramune, I even thought in DQN 031 Do you speak when sleeping? If yes, talk about something already happened to you.For now there is no information to prove this 032 If it was your last day of life, what would you do? I would like to stay with the person I like 033 What was the longest time you could stay awake? I guess it was about 60 hours or less? 034 If you could become someone important in history, who would you be? I don't admire anyone in particular... 035 Do you use a lot of emoticon on LINE? Have you been using LINE lately I’ve been using! The emoticon is Tsukkomi Kuma 036 What's the biggest lie you've ever told? "Hm? This? Afro? Yes Yes! It's my natural hair!" 037 Write the kanji that you think represents 2019 and why? 探 Because I'm looking for my new “me” NOTE: kanji's meaning is: to feel around for; to fumble for; to grope for; to search for; to look for 038 The most expensive thing you bought this year? On Kanon's birthday, I bought him an automatic machine to prepare several types of egg NOTE: If you’re interested in know how this looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk0dfEiiBS8 039 The most convenient thing you bought recently? A cardcover for the Suica card, I bought this year NOTE: Suica (スイカ Suika) is a rechargeable contactless smart card, electronic money used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. 040 A number from 0 to 9 that you like more than others? 04 41 Your longest finger without the middle finger, is it your index finger? Ring finger? Or are they both the same size? Ring finger 042 The word you most speak? “I don’t know, but…” 043 At what time do you think "I'm being bourgeois"? When I prepare a dish and the ingredients are all very expensive 044 If you could have powers, which one would you choose? Power to make barriers 045 If there was a magic word that said things would happen, what would it be? Oh, yes! 046 If you have to choose a follow up for the curry what would it be? Cheese 047 Some kind of punishment game you'd like to avoid? Need jump from somewhere high 048 Do you like of a specific hour? Why? The night. Because I prefer night-time habits 049 How much would you pay for a T-shirt? 2.900 yen (Around 27 dollars) 050 Tell something you would say to you 10 years ago.Are you living!? Are you happy with this!? 051 If it was 50 years ago, what would you be doing? I would be happy... I guess? It would be all right... I guess? 052 How could you imagine yourself 10,000 years ago? I think the language would be completely different... 053 What is the first impression you have of each member of An Cafe? Miku: A handsome guy; Takuya: A reserved stylish dandy; Kanon: Ha? He scares me? He scares me?; Teruki: has a high voice 054 If underwear could have another name, what would you call it? “what you wear underneath” 055 A live that you can not forget? The first live in Shinjuku 056 During those 15 years which member has changed the most? I would not say one in particular. Other than me, if it's just about them, I think their feelings have changed. 057 Do you prefer the traditional breakfast or bread? I don't eat breakfast 058 A teacher you always remember? He was a teacher who was always angry 059 The most fun song in a live? "Darling” and “Hatsumitsu + Lemon = ?” Look like happy songs to me 060 Where do you most like to do a live? Shinjuku Reny 061 A thing you most buy at a convenience store? Jasmine tea 062 If you were not an artist, which career would you choose? A confectioner ... I guess? 063 Which city goes through your head before a live? After I joined An Cafe,, the first city we come back, Kagoshima 064 A stationery item that you like? Ruler 065 An electronic device that you like? Electric oven 066 A person you think is erotic? A friend from high school age 067 What do you think of the vocaloids? Incredible. They are conquering the world, no? 068 A TV show that you like? Ame Talk 069 What's the first live you've been? Precisely in Bou's last live 070 How many pairs of shoes do you have? I think about 3 pairs 071 What is your average time in the bath? 30 minutes, I think 072 A mobile app you liked right away? LINE 073 Do you use a computer for what purpose primarily? I want to use at the same time I use my cell phone 074 What have you found funny lately? Those funny things that happen on TV 075 Who would you most like to meet? My best friends of long time ago 076 When you were a kid, who was your superhero? It was a Power Ranger (I just can't remember which one) 077 The flavor of Umaibo that you like? Mentaiko (Pollock roe) NOTE: Umaibō or "delicious stick" is a small corn cylindrical snack from Japan. 078 An entertaining artist that you like? Tokyo 030 79 First time you did a makeup? After I joined An Cafe 080 Talk a little bit about your first live. I didn't understand very well what I could do and always was standing without doing anything at all (lol) 081 Do you prefer night or day? Night! 082 When you can't sleep what do you do? I watch lives about games 083 Not counting your part in the band, which musical instrument do you like? Guitars, because they're so stylish, no? 084 The oldest memory you have? When I was a kid, I asked them to buy me a gumball machine 085 What color do you like? Black and white 086 What is your favorite mascot? Kanon 087 Where do you usually buy your clothes? GU! 088 Are there any manga or magazines that you buy frequently? One Piece 089 How long you already waited for a person who did not show up? I calculate the exact time of things, so it was about 3 hours and 24 minutes 090 How many times can you do sit-ups? Lately I'm not counting, so I don't know... 091 At this exact moment how much you have in your wallet? When I saw it was 534 yen (Around 5 dolllars) 092 Which Cocoichi curry do you think is the most spicy and the topping? Level 2 and cheese topping NOTE: Cocoichi is a Japanese restaurant franchise specialized in curry 093 Subject at school that you was better? Physical education and music 094 Subject at school that you was worst? Apart from those I’ve mentioned now... 095 What do you do before each live? I get worried about the setlist and keep reminding myself over and over again 096 What is the essential item for a live? Cell phone and recharge batteries for backup 097 Are there any objects that you can not throw away? Things that make me have memories, even just a little bit, I can't throw it away 098 What do you usually buy at McDonald's? French fries! 099 What do you use at bedtime? For over 1 year I have been wearing a jersey shirt 100 Leave a message to Caffekos. Thank you very much for your support! From now on I want us to continue living supporting each other!

#an cafe #antic cafe #an cafe yuuki #an cafe memorial artist book #an cafe interview #an cafe translate #an cafe q&a #visual kei #jrock #oshare kei #rockstyle #an cafe keyboard #keyboardist #harajuku #Harajuku Fashion #japanese #jpop #cafekko #nyappy

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meenasmoon · 7 years

Text

Singing in the Moonlight Ch 2: Talking to the Moon

The next day Johnny rolled out of bed around eight and shuffled into his bathroom to get ready for the day. He sleepily stared himself down in the mirror as he lazily brushed his teeth. His eyes were kinda red and he was starting to get bags under his eyes but it wasn’t anything too noticeable. Once he had freshened up and was dressed in his signature jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket he wandered down the stairs to the makeshift kitchen in the back of the shop. He opened the fridge and let out a loud groan. The bare shelves were scattered with old takeout and ROAR! energy drinks, neither of which sounded too appealing to him. At that moment his body chose to remind him that he was surviving on a grand total of 4 hours of sleep by forcing out a huge yawn.

Johnny shrugged, grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge and opened it. He chugged half of the can as he walked over to where his old black truck was parked. He pulled up the garage door and then got in. With a turn of the key the great engine roared to life and the truck shook slightly with the force of the engine before Johnny shifted it into gear and drove it just outside the garage. The radio was already on at half volume as soon as he turned on the car and the DJ was babbling about some events going on in the music world. Johnny put his truck in park and let it idle as he jumped up and grabbed the handle on the garage door and pulled it down. When the heavy door hit the ground he pulled a padlock out from his jacket and quickly secured it so that no one could get into the garage while he was gone. Johnny pocketed the key and jogged back to the truck, checking his watch to make sure that he had enough time to get to the theatre.

He got in just as a soft piano melody accompanied by guitar came through the speakers of his truck and a man began to sing:

“At night when the stars light up my room

I sit by myself…”

Johnny blinked in surprise at how accurate the lyrics were to his experience last night, and he quickly turned up the volume until it consumed every inch of space in the cab of the truck. Dazedly he put the truck in drive and began driving to the theatre, his attention only half on the road and the other half on the lyrics that struck him like an arrow.

“Talking to the moon

Trying to get to you

In hopes you’re on the other side talking to me too

Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?”

With that last word, the song moved to a piano break. Just before the singer came back Johnny’s arm shot out and pressed the button that shut off the radio. The colorful display went dark immediately but the ghost of the melody still danced around in his brain, taunting him. He rolled down all of the windows in order to banish it with the onslaught of the noises of the city. The honking and the hum of the other cars around him did nothing to banish that annoying little melody that made his heart hurt.

He pulled up to the theatre frustrated and drained. All he could think about was another night alone. As soon as he went home there would be no one there. And nightfall was inevitable. The garage was always waiting when he got back…empty and unchanged. Johnny chugged down the rest of the energy drink and jumped out of the truck. He locked the doors and trudged into the theatre, his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets. When Moon greeted him cheerily just like usual, Johnny mustered up a smile and made his way up the stairs to Moon’s office.

He shook his head in rueful amusement when he saw the mess of papers that were waiting for him on the desk. He pulled a stool over to the desk and began sorting through the absolute mess that lay before him.

It was around 10:30 when he finally stood up and walked out of the office. He couldn’t stare at those numbers for another second or he might lose it. He walked down the stairs to the practice rooms where the others were immersed in their rehearsals.

Ash was sitting on the floor of her practice room, writing furiously on a sheet of lyrics, trying to perfect her latest song. She looked so deep in her work that Johnny didn’t dare disturb her for fear of her wrath. She knew exactly how to use her quills to inflict pain when she wanted to. He had learned that from experience. He flinched away in reflex as he remembered the fury on her face and high tailed it towards where Rosita and Gunther were practicing their new dance.

They looked flawless as always but knowing Rosita she would accept nothing except for protection, and Gunther was always game to dance around. Johnny gave them both a small wave when they saw him. Rosita’s gaze narrowed in on him and she took a step towards the door.

Sensing a motherly concern moment coming on Johnny jogged away towards the concessions stand where he found solace in the drink vending machine. He struggled with smoothing out his extremely crumpled dollar for a few minutes before he deemed it flat enough to be accepted by the overly finicky machine. He slid the dollar in through the slot and the machine accepted it for a second before spitting it back out again. Johnny groaned in disappointment and once again went about straightening his slightly crumpled dollar.

After about five more tries the machine finally took his money and he was faced with a harrowing choice. He could go with the water bottle that made his parched mouth water or he could choose from the assortment of ROAR! flavors that the machine carried. He began yawning uncontrollably and decided that being conscious for his lesson with Meena was more important than his thirst. Besides he could get a drink of water later. Satisfied that his reasoning was sound, he punched in the code for Screamin’ Strawberry ROAR!. He was just taking his first sip when someone cleared their throat behind him.

He spun around to find Rosita watching him with a disapproving frown on her face. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she stared him down. He stood frozen with the drink pressed to his lips, eyes wide and petrified. He had never seen a mom look quite this powerful before and to be honest he was terrified of the pig who was about a third of his size.

“What do you think you’re doing young man?” she asked in a serious tone and Johnny, who was feeling a little bold in that moment, took a sip of the energy drink. He swore that he saw Rosita’s eyes light on fire her fury was so tangible.

“Johnathan!” She yelled and held out her hand for the drink. Reluctantly, he handed it to her and mournfully watched as she stomped over to a trashcan and threw it away angrily.

“Aw Rosita tha’ cost me a dollar.” he mumbled but didn’t dare look her in the eye when she approached him.

“Well then you wasted your money Johnny. Those things are terrible for you!” she scolded him and he looked down at the ground in shame. She led him over to a nearby bench and sat him down next to her.

“What’s going on Johnny? You seem down today. And you look a little thin.” She started fussing with his shirt and he let her in an attempt to avoid answering the questions. She wasn’t fooled and instead pinned him with a piercing mom look. He sighed and caved a little bit while desperately searching his exhausted brain for a solution.

“It’s nuffin’ Rosita we just ain’t been uh, shoppin’ in a lil’ while.” he mumbled and checked his watch. It was only 11:00 but maybe he could go to the bakery a little early.

“Well why don’t I take you and your father shopping later? I can give you some great meal ideas.” she began gushing about her recipe ideas and Johnny immediately tensed up. He hadn’t had the courage to tell anyone that his father was the infamous gang leader Big Daddy. Johnny didn’t want or need their pity and he definitely didn’t want them to look at him differently because he was the son of a criminal. He wanted to be judged for his voice, not his father’s actions. He was his own gorilla.

“Oh tha’ sounds super fun Rosita but uh, I’m gonna tutor Meena tonight and I’m late. Gotta go!” Johnny said quickly as he leapt up from his seat and sped out the doors of his theatre to his truck. He got into his car just as Rosita burst out the doors of the theatre in hot pursuit. Before she could even take a step towards him he was speeding off down the street. He tried hard not to look back but he couldn’t help but glance back in his mirror. He only caught a glance of Rosita’s worried face as she stood in front of the theatre.

Johnny forced himself to turn his attention back to the road as he sped through the streets with no particular destination in mind. His mind ambled along just like his route and he found himself driving on autopilot. The radio began to play the song that had been stalking him once again and Johnny found himself too tired to change the song or turn of the radio.

He easily got sucked into the easy melody and the striking lyrics. Near the end of the song he even found himself singing along to the chorus. He let the song guide his hand and his mind automatically began directing him to an unknown destination. As the last notes of the song faded out and DJ came back on the radio, he came to a stop in front of a small shop.

The shop was obviously family-owned and an old wooden sign above the door was painted with swirling red and orange letters that spelled out ‘Sunrise Bakery’. Johnny got out of the truck and slowly walked up to the front of the shop. The windows were stuffed with a variety of tasty treats that made his poor empty stomach growl.

Johnny winced as his body chose that moment to realize that he hadn’t eaten in a day or so. His passive stomach had transformed into a growling, aching beast that was nearly impossible to ignore. It was even worse when he opened the door to the shop and was immediately assaulted by the sweet smell of fresh baked goods. The smell only made his stomach growl louder. He covered up his stomach as if that would conceal the noises that it was making but the elderly capybara at the counter let out a chuckle.

Johnny blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment when she called out to him in her shaky voice. “Come here young man. Let’s get you some goodies.” Johnny hurried over to the counter as the older woman disappeared into the back for a few minutes. He sat down on one of the cushy stools nearby the counter and took the time to look around the old-fashioned bakery. There were exquisite looking goodies everywhere he looked and he began to wonder where the old capybara had disappeared to. He heard hushed voices coming from the back where the kitchen was but since he couldn’t make them out he resumed his examination. In the display case in front if him was an assortment of muffins and cupcakes, all lined up perfectly and obviously decorated by hand. He was eying up a yellow cupcake with very light blue frosting when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun around to greet the old capybara woman but instead came face to face with Meena.

As soon as she looked up from the tray that she was carrying her cheeks turned bright red and she pulled her ears in close to her face. “Johnny!” she squeaked out in surprise and subsequently lost her grip on the tray. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her hard work hit the ground, and definitely not wanting to see Johnny’s reaction to her clumsiness. When she didn’t hear the clatter of the metal pan on the tile floor she peeked open one eye. Johnny had dove across the counter and caught the falling tray just in time. He smiled up at her and handed her back the tray with a sweet, lopsided grin on his face.

“Careful Meena, you’re carryin’ precious cargo.” He joked and she felt her tense muscles relax a little at his words.

“Th-thanks Johnny. I uh… you’re early.” she stumbled a little over her own tongue but Johnny didn’t seem to notice or care. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and looked away at the cupcake case.

“Oh! Uh yeah… I just needed ter get away from the bloomin’ theatre. Rosita was bein’ a lil’… suffocatin’.” Meena immediately empathized with the gorilla. There had been many a time when Rosita’s mom instincts had come out a little too strongly when she was trying to encourage Meena to step out into the spotlight. Even after a year Meena was still painfully shy in any and all social interactions. She sang well enough on stage when she was able to lose herself in the performance and ignore the crowd but beforehand she still had to be coaxed a little. While everyone else handled their newfound fame quite gracefully, Meena avoided reporters like the plague and only gave interviews when they weren’t live.

“Believe me I understand.” she grumbled as she set the tray down on the counter and began putting away the red velvet cupcakes that adorned it. Johnny’s laugh broke her from her reverie and she blinked as the wonderful sound filled the shop.

“I betcha do.” He chuckled and Meena’s chest was suddenly filled with a weird fluttering feeling. She realized that she was staring at Johnny and quickly resumed her task of restocking the cupcake case.

“So uh wot is good ‘ere? I’m kinda starved.” his stomach growled loudly and Meena let out a little giggle when he turned red and covered his stomach with his hands.

“Sounds like it.” she grabbed a small plate from the rack behind her and placed one of the yellow and blue cupcakes that he had been eying earlier on it. “I uh, made these an hour ago. They’re my favorite.” She put the plate down in front of him and bit her lip nervously as he excitedly inspected the cupcake before picking it up and taking a huge bite out of it.

Johnny immediately groaned in appreciation and Meena’s nervous look turned into an overjoyed smile. Johnny looked up at her in amazement and Meena flushed once more but this time her ears stayed open and away from her face. She was flattered.

“This is amazin’! Ya made this?” he asked incredulously and Meena nodded her confirmation.

“I didn’t kna that ya could bake.” he gushed and took another bite of cupcake. This time a small bit of blue frosting smeared across the top of his lip and Meena couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he looked. She handed the sheepish gorilla a napkin and leaned against the counter so that she was closer to him.

“My mom taught me when I was a little girl and I’ve been baking away ever since.” she absentmindedly wiped at an imaginary spot of the counter with a washcloth. She didn’t want to look like she wasn’t working but she didn’t want to stop talking with Johnny. It was easy to talk to Johnny. She liked talking to him because he made her feel safe. She could do just about anything and he would be there with a smile just for her.

“Tha’s awesome. I’ve never made anythin’ loike this before. Well, besides microwaved meals and cereal.” They both laughed and Johnny leaned in too so that the two of them were face to face. “Wots the flavor this cupcake anyway?”

“Oh! That’s our lemon blueberry cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting.” she watched as he gobbled the rest of the cupcake down eagerly.

“Fantastic!” he praised it once again and then they launched into a conversation about her cooking history, favorite recipes, etc. Before they knew it time had passed and the clock on the wall struck eleven with a loud ringing noise that startled both of them. Meena jerked back and collided with the counter with Johnny jumped clear out of his seat and slipped off of the stool. When Meena recovered from the shock of the noise she disappeared into the back to find her boss to make sure that she was all set to leave.

As soon as Mrs. Peterson saw her she swatted her away from the dishes and gently pushed her back towards the doorway. “You’re all set to go Meena dear. Now you go and have fun with that handsome young man of yours.” she said with a wink and Meena’s entire face turned bright red. She sputtered out an indiscernible reply and made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen. The old capybara just shook her head with a chuckle and resumed the dishes.

When Meena came back to where she had left Johnny he was dusting himself off from his fall. Mean felt her face burn even hotter as she remembered her boss’s words as the echoed through her mind, taunting her and making her blush uncontrollably.

Johnny looked up from his clothes when he heard Meena come back in. She took off the white apron that she was wearing, hung it up on a hook, and then grabbed her bag before coming around from behind the counter and joining him in the store. For the first time, Johnny realized that for the first time, besides performances, he was seeing Meena in something other than her jeans and old blue sweatshirt. She was wearing khaki pants and an orange, yellow and red tie-dyed t-shirt. She looked cute.

Johnny held the door open for her as they left the bakery and then made sure to open the truck door for her like the gentleman that he was. She blushed when he did so and timidly sat down in the spacious cab of the truck. Johnny then rushed around to his side and hopped into his truck. He started up the vehicle and pulled away from the curb. Meena occasionally gave him directions until they had left the city center behind and were driving through the surrounding suburbs.

When they finally arrived, Johnny parked in front of the small yellow house and hurried out of the truck so that he could hold Meena’s door for her again. As the two walked up to the house he stared at it in awe. It wasn’t much but it was like nothing he had ever had before. Ever since he could remember he had been living in a cramped apartment above the garage. Meena pulled out a small key chain and unlocked the front door. When he walked in after her, Johnny decided that he like the inside of the house even more. There were family photos everywhere he looked and everything was gently worn and well loved. The house even smelled like a home should. There was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen that made Johnny’s mouth water. Meena went into the kitchen to say hello to her family and Johnny stayed behind to look at the photos of his friend and her family. There were so many but Johnny savored each one. There were tons of Meena at every stage of her life. Infancy, adolescence, her graduation from high school, and finally the opening day picture of them all in front of the Moon Theatre.

Johnny closely examined each photo and when he looked at all of them he turned around to find Meena. He jumped and let out a loud yell when he found himself face to face with an older male elephant. He was glaring coldly at Johnny and seemed to be looking him over from behind his glasses.

“Who are you boy?” the old man asked gruffly and Johnny stood at attention, ramrod straight with wide eyes.

“Mah name is Johnny sir.” he said nervously and gulped desperately, his throat suddenly dry in the face of that intimidating glare.

“Hmmm.” The elephant suddenly leaned in close enough that Johnny could feel his steely gaze drilling holes straight through him.

“So you want to date my Meena huh?” he asked and Johnny choked on his words for a second before he began to protest.

“No! Uh I mean it ain’t loike that. I’m just uh, teachin’ her piano.” he felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and for a second he glanced back at the front door and he considered making a speedy escape before he was mauled by his friend’s grandfather.

“Grandpa!” Meena’s admonishing shout saved him from having to make that decision as she reentered the room with her mother close behind.

“Oh leave the poor boy alone.” Meena’s grandmother glared at her husband. Meena’s grandfather just huffed and hobbled out of the room towards the living room where the TV was waiting for him. Johnny let out a sigh of relief and his body relaxed for a second before he was swept into a tight hug.

Meena’s grandmother gave him a squeeze that nearly cut off his air supply but just when he felt like he was going to suffocate she released him and clapped excitedly.

“Oh honey I’m so happy to meet you! Meena’s always talking about you and her other little friends down at the theatre.” she winked at him and Johnny smiled nervously.

“Grandma.” Meena gritted out, obviously embarrassed, but her grandmother waved her off with a laugh and started backing up towards the kitchen.

“I’ll let you two crazy kids get to it.” with that she disappeared and Meena took Johnny’s arm and all but dragged the startled gorilla to her room. She shut the door and rested her forehead against it for a few seconds in shame. Meena sucked in a breath and bravely turned around to face whatever Johnny had to say about her crazy family, but to her surprise he was admiring her record collection as if nothing weird had happened at all.

“Um… the piano is right here.” she got his attention and gestured to the old piano that was up against the wall in her room. Johnny sat down on one end of the bench and patted the space next to him for her. Meena nervously sat next to him as he launched straight into the lesson.

“Let’s get started shall we? The first fin’ that I’m gonna go over ‘re basic scales and notes.” Meena watched avidly as his long fingers danced over the keys and the piano immediately responded with the corresponding notes. He did it quickly a couple times so that she could get the hang of how it was supposed to sound before he broke it down individually and taught her each part. After about 45 minutes Meena seemed confident enough to go about the scales on her own so Johnny got up from the bench and sat on her bed so that she could do the scales all by herself. He relaxed against her pillows as he listened to her timid scales. With each round she got more and more confident and Johnny found himself doing slightly against her pillows. He adjusted to get more comfortable and desperately tried to keep his eyes open but he was fighting a losing battle. He was so warm and comfortable and his surroundings were a salve to his lonely soul. Everything in Meena’s house was so full of warmth and life and for the first time in a long time he felt safe enough to let his guard down.

His last sight before his eyes closed and he was sucked into the darkness was Meena’s form as she sat at the piano, determinedly playing the piano. He could just make out her face from the side, her concentrated look, and the sparkle in her blue eyes.

And then suddenly he was falling, falling, falling.

#sing the movie #singing in the moonlight #meena #meena x johnny #johnny #fanfiction

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speedygal · 6 years

Text

Not a logical intervention - part 67

Kirk waited resting in a chair with trembling hands.

Doctor Hall informed him that they had the best Vulcan professional in surgery with Spock. The Vulcan professional had come along just in case of a bad case scenario like it happened. On his once bright white and black formal admiral wear was the shape of Spock’s head in faint green blood. Kirk’s fingers were set together. He was angry. He was upset. He was a number of things. This was never supposed to happen in Catalia’s joining of the federation. The surviving representatives were taken to their quarters, being treated for their injuries, or talking to a counselor regarding what happened. The look on Durches face when she looked over toward the man had fallen. They could not have missed anything for that matter.

They had gotten all the devices. He didn’t know how happened. How it happened. Kirk was in his black service boots with his head lowered. Kirk was having the cat cloned, quickly, in a science lab on the USS Hood with technology shared by the Catalians. A black kitten with the forehead ridge. It wouldn’t be the same without Italian in the Kirk house. Oddly quiet. Kirk would admit seeing Italian in Spock’s lap while listening to a novel was a comforting, yet soothing sight. The loud purring coming from the cat. It was a domestic sight that Kirk, himself, had decided was far too precious to let go. It was mainly for Spock’s comfort and his own. The cat, in every way, would be Italian. Nothing different about it. A officer in security yellow approached the man with a black insignia on the chest.

“I am Officer Reeds,” Reeds said.

Kirk stood up now in full height towering the much shorter man giving a death glare.

“Get. Out.” Kirk said. “Now.”

“We would like---” Reeds said.

“Don’t!” Kirk raised his voice, then added with a deliberate pause between each word. “Don’t. . . you . say . . . that.” He lowered his trembling index finger. Clear, concise anger was on his brightly red face with emotional hazel eyes. Kirk shook his head, half ashamed, half angered, at who he was seeing. “Out.”

“My superior--” Reeds started to say.

“I am your superior officer,” Kirk said.

“Thinks--” Reeds tried to finish.

“They should retire and go off to a penal colony,” Kirk said.

“You don’t want to go after the person who did this?” Reeds asked.

“I want no part in what you do. I am . . emotionally compromised,” his eyes acted as daggers toward Reeds. “I can’t be part of any mission related to Starfleet at this moment.” He made his way from the door. Then shifted toward the officer. “Is that clear, Officer Reeds.”

“Crystal clear,” Reeds said.

“Good,” Kirk said, walking away. “share that with your crewmates.”

"Uhhhh, I think one of us made a mistake here,” Ensign Washington said.

The small science group looked over to see a bright white flailing small wet creature waving its arms in the air covered in a thin film. Lieutenant Brooke, with Andorian qualities yet a Tellarite like nose, brought over a female cat that began to do the cleaning. The kitten mewed, high pitch, loudly.

“The cat is supposed to be black,” Cadet Mart said.

“Someone went wrong,” Washington said, as the small group looked in the direction of Telleriate Lieutenant Hancho.

“I don’t know what your dumb faces are looking at but I put in the gene for black,” Honcho said.

“Someone removed it,” Mart said.

“I didn’t!” Hancho said.

“I am pretty sure the admiral will like it,” came the voice of the head science officer. Mart, Hancho, Mart, and Brooke. The head science officer came to the group to see mewing kitten. They looked over in the direction of the head officer sheepishly. The head science officer looked over toward the mother cat then toward the kitten. “I am not sure what you are trying to do but making a kitten for your indulgence is not a reason why we have this equipment out.”

“We tried,” Hancho said. “It just. . .”

“Morphed on its own,” Brooke said.

“As we told you,” Washington said. “We have to read up on cat geneology and essays regarding cat DNA. If we’re cloning a genetically engineered cat then we have to do it right.”

The head science officer looked over toward the kitten now sucking on a nipple

“Klingons do mature quickly,” the head science officer said.

“Yes,” Mart said. “We don’t know how quickly this will make the kitten mature. Never been studied or observed.”

“Give it another go,” the head science officer said. “use the color orange.”

“Orange has nothing in common with the color black,” Honcho said.

“Try,” the head science officer said.

“And if you make another cat that is not the color that we want, one of you must keep it,” the head science officer said. “then hand over the white kitten to the Miller’s.”

Washington nodded.

“We will,” Washingon said.

“By the time we return to Earth, there must be a kitten,” the head science officer said. “no excuses.”

The head science officer turned away then strode on out of the science lab. The doors wooshed behind the officer. The small group of on duty officers glared at Washington as though she had promised the moon that could not be given. They faced in the direction of the cat the move on to their stations. On a blue scanner surrounded by a transparent barrier laid Italian on his side with a flattened torso with light brown dust bunnies covering the one fine poofy main coon cat fur. Mart came over to the body with a long hypospray placing it near the neck.

Orego entered the admiral’s quarters.

“I don’t need people right now,” Kirk said, standing in front of the large window in his black matching PJ’s.

The room was dark and gloomy. Kirk’s arms were folded. His matching admiral outfit was clean, yet laid on the table not taken care of as it should be. Orego noticed a vase, a pastel, on the floor. A roomba was taking care of that. The roomba’s humming was distinctive and pleasing in the unsettling silent room. There was no meows in the room. It was unsettling. Orego sensed a cat yet there was none. From the corner of his eye, he saw a rather heavy feline like figure dart by a chair.

“I know how it is when you lose a cat,”Orego said.

Kirk slowly turned from the window.

“It is like you have lost a good friend,” Orego said. “Less worse than you have lost your best friend,” he slowly walked in. “I lost a pet of mine in the field shortly after my defection. It was a vole.”

“A vole,” Kirk repeated, raising a eyebrow, placing a hand onto the couch.

“Yes, a vole,” Orego said. Kirk lowered his eyebrow yet still baffled. “My trusted friend to make life miserable as possible for those I wanted out.”

“I can see why it is gone,” Kirk said.

“It only died because of engineering,” Orego said. “they were . . experimenting. . at the time.”

“Did you lose the best friend you ever had during you defection?” Kirk asked. Orego was starting to speak but Kirk cut him off. “A Cardassian friend.”

“I did,” Orego said. “For a time, it seemed my life was dim. It was a long process.”

“I am not going to lose mine,” Kirk said.

“Yet you’re upset he is in surgery,” Orego said. “You know he will come out of this alive.”

"I am used to him saving me,” Kirk said.

“Oh,” Orego said. “I see.”

“Yes, that’s it,” Kirk said.

“Look at it this way,” Orego said. “he wouldn’t be on the operation table had you not gone after him. . . I am a terrible form of comfort. And I must say, I have another pest with me.”

“A rabbit,” Kirk said.

“Noooo,” Orego said. “Capybara. She is at home acting as a mother for rescued sehlat cubs.”

“Capybara’s are not pests,” Kirk said.

“On parts of Earth and severely colonies they are labeled as such,” Orego said. “then again, I have a bad taste in everything.” Orego had a short laugh to himself. Kirk didn’t laugh nor smile at the Cardassian’s attempt of humor with him. “There’s a good feel good movie recently added to the computer. AI, Artificial Intelligence.”

“I will give it a try,” Kirk said. “never seen that one.”

“Counselor Vores is willing to talk,” Orego said. “Or listen for that matter to you.”

“I will consider that,” Kirk said. “Happy to know you’re not interested in Section 31.”

“Section 31,” Orego said, annoyed. “Is the worst organization to exist,” he started to make his way out. “did they approach you? Which one? They promised me they wouldn’t be aboard the hood.”

“Reeds,” Kirk said. “Officer Reeds.”

Orego stopped at the doors then turned toward Kirk.

“You’re one of the good officers in the ‘fleet,” Orego said. “No wonder you are a Admiral.”

Orego walked out of the admiral’s room with a death glare on his face.

“Aren’t all officers good in Starfleet?” Kirk said, as he sat down onto a seat. He can feel new tears ready to sting his eyes.

#space fic #my fic

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