Michaelangelo, You Made Me Smile (Book 3)

Decorating

(Mikey POV)

We were all smiling. Sensei was bringing in an old box with decorations. This was my favorite time of the year. Us boys had turned one year older a few weeks back, since it's only the beginning of December, and our Thanksgiving was amazing. April and Casey both brought their family's leftovers and we chowed down. It wasn't like pizza, but it as really good, nonetheless.

But I think I was smiling the biggest as Sensei opened the box of shiny decorations. I started grabbing at them but Leo stopped me, "Mikey, stop!" My hands stopped, but my head continued to try and grab at the decorations.

"Let him be, Leo," Naomi smiled. "It's basically Mikey's time of the year to goof off."

"Actually," Donnie started. "There's a lot more holidays where Mikey can go nuts on. There's Easter, Haloween, even Thanksgiving."

"I only agree with Thanksgiving because we eat," Raph smirked. "Even though this year wasn't all Mikey's cooking..."

"I told you!" I wailed. "April called me and told me not to cook much this year because she and Casey were bringing leftovers!"

"It's okay, Mikey," Leo smiled. "Just don't break any decorations."

"I won't!" I grinned.

"Where's Julie?" Raph asked, looking at Donnie as I started grabbing and separating the decorations between who they belonged to. See, we all made a new decoration every year with what we find in the sewers.

I usually put whithered pizza slices on the tree. Raph always found something different each year, so it was kind of a debate with what he might find this year. Leo always found a different colored flower. Donnie melded spare scraps of iron together to make something really pretty and add it to the decoration collection. Naomi always drew something and hung it up. Julie never really did much with the decorating... As for the others... Sophie and Mikito.... Sophie would do what Leo did. Put flowers up. Maybe even yin and yang signs. Mikito would make something different. Not find, make. She was amazing at making new little trinkets.

I had slowed my separating at the memories of Mikito. I understood Donnie and Leo's pain when Raph found Naomi miraculously. They were jealous. And now that Julie was back as well, me and Leo were getting short of temempered.

Naomi said we were gonna find Mikito next, but after the egg was out. Whatever out meant... But I looked at her and she was sitting down by the dojo tree where we would put the ornaments up. Raph was sitting by her and her tail tip was wagging as she had her hand on her stomach. It had grown significantly.... She said it would be out by this week. Donnie said that the incubator was ready and it would take another few weeks before we finally saw anything coming out of it.

I finished with the separating and looked at the collection I had around me. My ornaments were to my left, Leo's and Sophie's were to the right of me, Naomi's and Raph's were behind me, Donnie's were mixed in with mine and Mikito's were in front of me. I stared at all the nick knacks.

When everyone saw that the pile was done and separated, they finished the lights and the tinsel they were putting up and hurried to the decorations. They grabbed some that were there's. Leo grabbed some of Sophie's and put them up.

I stayed on my knees and picked up one of Mikito's favorite ornamanets. She said we could put it up together every year since it was a foam heart with our pictures on it. We were scrunched in close, but we managed to get in the picture and the frame of foam.

Naomi came up to me and set a hand on my shoulder, crouching down. "She'll be here..."

"When?" I asked softly with a hint of pain, I knew. I looked at her, "After new years? It took forever for you and Julie to remember your pasts..."