Ice cream and chicken (a TMNT fanfic)

Chapter 13 - Settlement

After a crazy night, Mikey and Brian laid in bed, still riding off the intense aftershocks, they laid on their backs side by side, heavy breaths of exhaustion, hands intertwined with one another, Mikey was completely blown away, he was stuck with a smile on his face, still seeing stars, his body tingled as butterflies flied wildly in his stomach, his eyes were so wide open that he could barely blink, his chest felt so light and fluttering, he was completely washed off by his feelings and he didn't make a single effort to hold his feet on the ground, meanwhile Brian, he was having to come to terms with the fact that cupid striked him with his mighty arrow for him to be so head over heels for this turtle guy, as much as his body and heart knew what was up, his brain seems to still be processing the fact that he might not be straight after all, not only that, but he was in love with a mutant turtle from another country, after these past few months, this fact was undeniable, and as shocked as Brian was, he wasn't all that upset or bothered, just surprised really, that he never considered this before, though he never really could have seen that one day he'd figure himself out by sleeping with a mutant turtle.

Having this spontaneous occurrence happen so suddenly created a bit of a shift in their relationship, their simple friendship was suddenly evolved into something else, and for the next couple of days the two were awkwardly trying to adjust with having these new feelings for eachother, but Michelangelo took the initiative to actually talk with Brian about what happen and bring up the question of what they are now and what they would do next, which got Brian thinking about it, the two of them were pretty much in love with eachother but it didn't felt like those cheesy romances on tv, Mikey has never been in a serious relationship before, so he wants to be open to learn how they should go about this, Mikey does have somethings in mind after that steaming night with Brian but he still wants to ask him about it another time, but as the two discuss about what they want, they decide to hold off the whole "dating" thing for now, they want to experiment this dynamic more, just to see how they'd work out differently as a couple.

So from that day on, they basically became friends with benefits, they weren't officially dating but they were sure as hell not acting like it, their whole experimenting was just them doing couple stuff without actually being a couple, they were going on dates, snuggling, making out, engaging in eachother's hobbies, the whole package, but if their friends asked if they were together they'd always respond with either "no" or a classic and more comical "not yet", and this was what worked for them until they both felt ready to actually take that step just a few months later, it had been over a year since they met and a few months since they began hanging out, and when they remembered that they forgot to make their relationship official and finally asked eachother out on a romantic date on a local restaurant, something they had planned since that place had a special discount for couples if they proposed in the establishment, so not only they finally became a full on pair, but they also got a cheaper meal and accidentally announced it to the whole town, since there was a lot of people there who saw Brian's proposal, word quickly got around, it was a small town after all, but thankfully, the townsfolk were all really supportive, everyone seemed to mind their own business most of the time, so Mikey and Brian were able to chill in peace as a couple.

The two made themselves comfortable, taking every chance to spend time together, getting closer and closer as time went on, and just as life had somehow gotten even better, a not so great seed had been planted back in New York, April shared her knowledge to Michelangelo's brothers, showing them his old account and Donnie was quick to dig through it, not in an attempt to find him, he was just looking for more things to latch onto the memory of Mikey, his room was cleared of everything they could've kept as a memento or a keepsake from Michelangelo, so he felt that even something as pointless as pictures or log-in accounts would satisfy the hunger inside of him, the emptiness in his heart had be fulfilled, because Donatello just couldn't bare this gap in his chest, this utter lack, the feeling of something so crucial missing, the need to reach something that is unreachable, it was just crushing him, after some hacking into April's computer Donnie was able to break into the refined data of the account and finding Mikey's email, that was used to create his old account, Donatello proceeded to attempt just about every password he could assume Mikey would use until something finally worked.

He was in, now Mikey's account was accessible and on his hand, but he just didn't want to use it again, Mikey's digital footstep had to be kept intact otherwise it couldn't be truly considered his, so instead of actually using the account, Donnie decided to just look and search through it, and just as he opened the Google account, the search history immediately made his heart freeze, one of the first suggestions was a bus stop site, Donnie felt his brain throb, veins popped, his face went white as the gears started turning in his head, he hesitated before clicking on it, but when he did, it was just a matter of minutes before he tracked down Mikey's ticket, the date, the time, the bus number, and most importantly, the destination, Donnie found out that all this time, Mikey wasn't dead, well, not that he or anyone knew, but to think that Mikey didn't just leave them to go die, was already a bit of relief, and according to the site the ticket had been handed and used, comproving that Michelangelo did indeed ride that bus, where exactly did he got off? Who knows! The bus has just about dozens of stops along the way, from New York all the way to Canada, wherever he was, that bus path was the only clue they might have, but Donnie decides to follow the tracks and try his luck at finding Mikey, he tells Raph and Leo about it and the two decide to join him, Splinter wasn't exactly hopeful, but he told his sons that he would be there if they needed him, and with that, the three packed some stuff and left.