Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Chapter 17: Soldier

Annalise comes home after another fun date with Michelangelo, carrying bags laden with goofy prizes from the arcade. Any time she's not working or going to school, she ends up spending it with Michelangelo in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes they go out to get coffee or visit an arcade, other times Michelangelo just hangs out with her while she does her homework.

Today, when she comes inside, she sees her mom sitting at the dining room table, working. Pepper trots over to Annalise, tail wagging.

"Hey, mom!" Annalise greets. She kneels to pet her dog. "Hewwo, Peppy Pep. Sweet baby..."

"Hello," Leanne replies, looking up from her computer. "How was the arcade?"

"Super fun! Mikey's really good at video games," Annalise says as she lifts her prize bag. She grins. "I'm gonna head upstairs, so—"

"Oh, actually, I..." Leanne clears her throat, standing up. "Can...can you stay for a bit? I'd like to talk."

Annalise doesn't like the look on her mother's face, but she smiles nonetheless and heads over to the table, taking a seat while tossing her prizes onto another open chair. Her mother closes her laptop and pushes it aside, folding her hands before her.

"You...you know I like Michael quite a bit, and I can see how happy he makes you," Leanne says. Annalise's entire body bristles a little. "You...really love him."

Annalise nods. "I do, mom. He...means the world to me." Her mom looks at her folded hands, lips pursed tightly. "Mom?"

"I don't want you to get hurt," Leanne whispers.

"I won't."

"You can't say that for sure," comes the easy retort. "You're so young, Annalise, and Michael...his lifestyle is dangerous."

Annalise bites back the retort on her tongue, shoulders slumping. She knows where this is coming from. Her parents met in high school and her dad was a soldier. He spent his too-short life fighting a war, doing everything he could to heal the wounded.

"Michael is...in many ways, a soldier, and I'd hate for you to end up like me," Leanne whispers. Tears swell in her eyes and she unfolds her hands just enough to fiddle with her wedding ring. "I...was not ready to be without your dad, but I wasn't given a choice. What if, one day, Michael doesn't come home? What if he leaves you against his will?"

Annalise would be lying if she said she had thought in depth about this before. Even when everything happened with Circa, Annalise never thought that anyone would really die. Everyone around her was ready to accept that but Annalise just...didn't feel the weight of it. She wouldn't die.

But, Michelangelo and his family were prepared. They're always prepared, it seems, although nowadays their lives aren't nearly as rough as they were before. The Shredder is gone, his cronies scattered to the wind. Still, they have enemies, people who want them dead, and they fight their own battles.

"I...I didn't think about that," Annalise murmurs.

Her mother reaches out, taking her hand and giving her a wobbly smile. "I'm...I'm not saying you have to leave him, but...I'm scared. I'm scared for you," she says. "If...something does happen, please try to find love again. I never did."

Annalise can't imagine being with anyone other than Michelangelo. She can't imagine waking up to anyone else's smile, seeing anything other than bright blue eyes and freckles and an orange mask.

"Okay, mom," she whispers.

----------

"Huh? She thinks I'm like your dad?" Michelangelo asks.

Annalise nods absentmindedly, her head resting on his shoulder as he plays video games. The lair is relatively quiet aside from the sounds of Destiny and Leonardo training in the dojo and the brief pops of noise from behind the laboratory doors.

"She worries," she adds, glancing up at him as his tongue pokes out the side of his mouth. "She thinks that, if you die someday, I'll end up sad and alone like...like her."

His brow furrows, tongue disappearing back into his mouth as his game beeps, signalling "game over," and he looks back at her. "Lisey, even if that does happen...you're not gonna be alone. You'll have all my brothers and sisters and April and Casey—"

"But I won't have you."

He smiles, just a little bit short of his usual bright grin. "Well, let's just make sure we have a ton of babies before I die, so there are a bunch of mini-me's running around to keep you company!"

Annalise snorts, a "psh" sound leaving her as she tilts her face into his arm. "Mikey...we're way too young to think about babies..." she mutters. In truth, the idea of having a baby freaks her out.

"What? You don't want kids?"

"Not right now..." She sighs. "Maybe in the future."

She slowly looks up at him, concerned by his silence, to find that he's just...gazing at her. He looks at her like she's something magnificent, something beautiful, and she can almost feel how much he adores her. It melts her inside.

"Okay," he says. "Then, I promise to stay alive, so that one day I can marry you and give you a beautiful little family."

She flushes to her ears. "M-Marry? Mikey..."

"I found you, against all odds, and if staying alive is all I've got to do to keep you, then..." He shrugs. "That's easy enough to do."

She stares up at him for a second longer before she laughs again. "I love you, goofball."

He grins, leaning down to peck her forehead. "Love you too, Lisey-cakes."