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Mikey peeks his head out, lifting the manhole cover up a couple of inches to get a look around. The sliver of light that flooded out from the outside was mesmerizing. He blinks, adjusting to the brightness.
“Woah…!” He lifts the lid even higher.
“What do you see?” Donnie whispers. “Is it a horse? I read that there are horses out there sometimes.”
“You read that there are horses in New York? Please,” Leo sighs.
Raph climbed up the ladder behind the other three, urging them to keep moving. “Quit holdin’ up the line!”
Leo and Donnie crash into one another, knocking their noggins awkwardly. “OW!”
Heaving the manhole cover to the side, Mikey jumps through the air. He tucks his body in to do a quick backflip, crying out a high-pitched “Hoo-wah!”
Mikey stood in hushed amazement, taking in the view of the street they popped out of. He’d only seen places like this on T.V. or in comic books, or while sneaking secret looks through sewer drains. But to stand on the pavement, feeling the dirt and grit beneath his toes, it was something else. He simply couldn’t contain his excitement any longer.
“This is amazing! Hello dumpster! Hello alley cat! Hello mysterious rainbow-colored puddle!” He hopped and skipped with glee, greeting every object his eyes fell on.
Eventually, Donnie, Leo, and Raph made their way out of the sewer to join him. They too were taken with the mundane sights around them, amazed at the fact that they were finally above ground. Donnie had already pulled out a crumpled up notepad to scratch down notes. Little observations of the people and buildings he saw. Leo was equally enraptured, following Donnie around as he pointed out various things on the ground.
“Woah, a used cigarette. Cool!”
“Don’t eat it,” Raph warns.
The red-clad turtle was trying his best to stay vigilant of his brothers, making sure none of them wandered too far off or ingested something they shouldn’t. He couldn't help but be star-struck as well, however. The ambient sounds of cars passing by and humans talking amongst themselves filled his ears. Raph claps his hands together, getting the others’ attention.
“Okay, boys. Splinter said we could come up and explore for exactly thirty minutes. Not thirty-one minutes, thirty minutes.” Raph gathered up everyone in a tight huddle, laying down the ground rules. “If any of you mess this up for us–”
“All we have to do is keep a low profile and not die, right?” Leo scoffs.
Mikey nods enthusiastically, siding with Leo. “Easy as pie!”
“I concur. Let us all go our separate ways and reconvene here in a half-hour. Commence the synchronizing of watches.” Donnie readjusts his glasses on the ridge of his nose before hitting a button on his wrist.
That was all Mikey needed to hear before bounding away, giggling to himself. “Cowabunga!”
Raph was soon left standing by himself as the others followed suit, going off in separate directions. Sputtering, he calls out to them. “W-Wait up! Don’t leave me alone!”
Quickly, he chooses to run after Leo across the street.
Mikey made a beeline through a nearby alleyway to explore its contents. The smell was strangely worse up here than it was down in the sewers. The pungent scent of garbage made his nose scrunch up in disgust.
“Nasty. Humans just leave their trash lying out like this?”
Once he gets one last look at the graffiti markings on the brick wall, he flattens himself to the corner of the building to check out the perimeter. There were a couple people walking around, talking on phones and looking somewhat distracted. Taking a chance, Mikey steps out onto the sidewalk, suddenly very nervous.
The locals didn’t seem too interested in a pre-teenage mutant ninja turtle, not so much as sparing him a passing glance. Mikey twiddles his fingers together, almost waiting for someone to scream out in horror.
“Huh…” he blinks. “I guess New Yorkers really have seen everything.”
He scans around for a moment, casually people-watching. There were so many humans, and they all looked so different!
Suddenly, his eyes catch a glimpse of a playground just a couple of yards away. His eyes go wide, sparkling.
“Omigosh!” Without thinking, he sprints over.
The playground was sizable, seemingly a part of a larger park in the neighborhood. Mikey marveled at the monkey bars, jungle gym, and various slides. He does one more double-take, making sure there was no one else around, before launching himself into the air.
“Aw, yeah! All mine, baby.”
For the next fifteen minutes or so, Mikey sampled all the playground had to offer. This kind of place was the perfect outlet for all his manic energy. He swung off of every monkey bar, climbed through all the plastic tunnels, and dug through the sandbox for any potential treasures that were hidden away.
As he buried himself within a sand castle he constructed, Mikey patted himself into a cocoon. “There, perfect.”
“What are you doing?” A tiny voice calls out.
“Hm?”
Mikey turned his head toward the swingset to his left. Somehow, he failed to notice a human girl sitting right beside him. She sat clutching the chains of the swing, letting her foot move herself slightly back and forth.
“I said, what are you doing? You’re gonna get sand everywhere.”
Mikey laid there, looking up to the sky in deep thought. Only his head was visible, while the rest of his body was buried in the sand. That must be the reason why she wasn’t terrified by the sight of his unusual green skin.
“I like being buried.” He chirps.
The girl continued to stare, pushing herself lazily on the swing. “Whatever.”
Mikey turns back and gives her a pleasant smile. He was thankful for the company, even if it was a slightly annoyed human. As he opened his eyes to fully look at her, he felt a sudden tightness in his chest. And it wasn’t just from being trapped in a sand prison.
Mikey didn’t know how to describe it. He could look at a painting and call it beautiful, or look at the moon up above and say it was enchanting. But the person sitting next to him, looking at him with slight indignation, left him gobsmacked.
She tried to look away and continue to enjoy her swing in peace, but she felt Mikey’s eyes bore into her.
“Do you want me to leave or something?” She sighs.
“What’s your name?”
She turns back to him, a small frown gracing her charming features. The way her scowl curled to the side was adorable. Every minute detail of her face was drawing Mikey in.
“What’s your name?”
Suddenly, Mikey sits up and lets the sand fall from his person. “Michael. Angelo. Michaelangelo!”
Her annoyed expression falls away as she takes notice of his shell. The green skin, the bald head, suddenly it clicked.
“You’re a…?”
Mikey scrambles up, putting his hands out in a placating gesture. “I-I know, it’s weird! Is it the mask? It’s the mask, isn’t it?”
He reaches up to untie it and pull it off of his head. Holding it out before him, Mikey waves it around in her face. “See!”
Scoffing, she bats his hand away. “I mean you’re a turtle!”
Mikey secures his mask back on before giving her another winning smile. He shoots his hand out for a shake.
“Yup! And you are?”
“I’m leaving.” She slaps his hand away again, rejecting his friendly gesture.
Mikey watches as she moves to sit up, heart-broken. His lips tremble slightly as he rubs at his hand. Maybe he was being too presumptuous, but he didn’t really expect to get such a cold welcome his first day up on the surface.
His eyes search around, desperate to find a reason to make her stay. “Wait! I can push you on the swing? If you want…?”
She stops, looking back at Mikey. After a couple seconds of contemplation, she sits back down.
“I guess that’s fine.”
Instantly, Mikey’s mood does a 180. “Yes!”
Stepping behind her, Mikey places his hands on the chains. He begins to step backward and lift the girl into the air. She gulps, her hands gripping tighter.
“This is kinda high.”
“That’s the best part! Here. We. Go!”
Then, Mikey reels back and lets the swing go. He doesn’t take into account the fact his strength was a little more intense than most, accidentally sending the girl flying.
Screaming, she does a full rotation. Mikey stares on in horror as she does another spin. And another. Eventually, she becomes tied to the top rung of the swing set, bound tightly by the chains.
“That, uh…might be a little too high?” He chuckles.
“GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!” She wails, wiggling against her restraints. “How did you even do that?!”
Mikey quickly jumps up into the air and lands on the bar. He gives her an apologetic look, feeling like he was in real trouble.
“Sorry! I’m so, so sorry! Let me just—“
She blinks at him, watching as he untangles her from the swing. “You’re…really strong!”
She grins in spite of herself. Her limbs finally go slack and she’s pulled up into Mikey’s grasp. He holds her for a second before gently setting her back on the ground.
“I’m really sorry again. I kinda can’t control my own strength yet.”
Mikey hangs his head as he lands on the wood chip surface of the playground.
She kicks her feet, feeling a little awkward for making such a fuss about it. He looked so genuine, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
“It’s fine. That was actually kind of fun.”
Mikey looks up, hopeful. “It was?”
She nods, holding out her hand. “I’m Y/N, by the way.”
Mikey beams, his eyes shining like stars. He wasn’t sure what it was about this girl that was making him so upbeat. Well, more upbeat than he usually was. He launches forward and brings her into a tight hug, shaking her back and forth.
“Y/N! You’re my first new human friend! The first of many!”
She groans, trying to escape his enthusiastic hold. “Okay, that’s enough!”
Chucking, he releases her. “Right. Sorry, too much.”
Mikey rubs the back of his head, smiling goofily at her. She flits her eyes down to his mouth, noticing his missing tooth. Without thinking, she covers her mouth.
“Your teeth.”
Mikey, feeling suddenly very bashful, closes his mouth. “Yeah, I know. My dad says the tooth gap will go away eventually, but…”
The girl blinks, moving her hand away. She didn’t mean to make him embarrassed at all. To Mikey’s shock, she breaks out in quiet laughter.
“H-Hey!” He shouts, waving his hands around. “That’s not very nice!”
She laughs even harder, moving her hands away from her mouth. Then, Mikey sees it. She was missing her top right canine.
Blushing, she points up to her teeth. “You’re just like me! I lost this tooth last week. That’s so funny!”
Mikey’s eyes go wide, watching her continue to heartily laugh. Slowly, his lips curl into a smile. He chuckles along with her, his voice steadily growing in volume.
As the two of them wind down, Mikey’s smile falls away. He never really interacted with a real human before, was this how he was supposed to feel? His stomach was full of butterflies, hands opening and closing out of sheer restlessness.
“Can I give you something?”
Walking back to lean against the swing, she nods. “Depends.”
Mikey sweats, realizing he didn’t really have anything to give her. He pats his chest, searching for a gift. “I— I’m gonna give you…”
Looking down, a couple of dandelions sprouting out of the corner of the sandbox catches his eye. Mikey quickly picks them from the ground and presents them to her. He accidentally tore them out by the roots, stringy grass and dirt dangling from the flowers.
“Flowers! You’re supposed to give cute girls flowers!”
“You…think I’m cute?”
Before he can respond, Mikey notices a large clock face against the side of a neighboring building. It had already been a half-hour! Panicking, he shoves them into her hands before running away.
“GOODBYE!” He screeches.
Mikey peels out, sprinting back toward the direction of the manhole cover he emerged from. He stumbles and trips on the wood chips, accidentally getting some in his mouth.
“Blecch—!”
He scrambles up to continue his less than graceful exit, leaving the girl behind. She sits dumbfounded, staring at the bouquet of dandelions. A small blush colors her cheeks.
—
You smile to yourself, remembering the day you and Mikey first met.
You look over to him as the two of you stroll through the same park. A good number of years later, things were relatively unchanged. The playground had a couple of updates, some new equipment. Tonight’s destination, however, was the botanical gardens. Mikey insisted that you accompany him tonight, eager to show you the exhibits.
“And, why couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow again?” You ask.
“Because,” he skips ahead, giving you his signature gap-toothed smile. “There’s no one around at night!”
You fold your hands behind your back, winking at him. “So we’re breaking in.”
“No. We’re sneaking in.” He corrects.
Chuckling, you playfully shove him aside. “You just want an excuse to hang out with me alone, don’t you?”
You close your eyes, confidently walking forward. You hear Mikey sputter and cough, having seemingly been found out. He tries his best to cover up his bashfulness with a cool facade.
“W-What’s so wrong with some good-natured plant watching between friends? You need a little more culture in your life, and who better to provide it than me.”
Mikey places his thumb and forefinger on his chin, his eyes glinting under the dull moonlight.
“Uh-huh. Sure,” you scoff.
You didn’t consider yourself a particularly perceptive person. Especially when it came to matters of deciphering people’s intentions. But, Michael was unfortunately kind of an open book. He wore his heart on his sleeve, the poor guy.
Even a fool could see that he was head over heels for you. You’re not too sure if Mikey had always had a crush on you, but lately he had made quite an effort to shower you with attention. His texts were more frequent, sending you random online quizzes and songs that you just had to see. Mikey was always pretty touchy-feely with his family and friends, giving out plenty of hugs. He was a very physically intimate turtle, sometimes to your detriment.
“We’re here!”
His voice rips you from your thoughts and you glance up.
Before you stood a grand building, composed almost entirely of glass windows. The yard surrounding the gardens were almost a little more impressive, countless hedges and water features decorating the area.
Mikey slides up next to you, waggling his eyebrows. “Right?”
“Okay, this is pretty cool.” You smirk.
“I know. Allow me to razz my tazz…”
You watch as he backflips into the air and sticks to the exterior of the glass building. How did he do that, you wonder? Mikey feels around the glass panel, looking for the loose edge to wiggle himself into. He finally finds it, knocking his elbow against the window.
Suddenly, he slides in, letting out a surprised squawk. “WOAH—!”
You cringe hearing him fall through a number of limbs, leaves shaking and vines ripping from the impact. The jungle of foliage inside was dense, so you can’t really see where Mikey lands. You run up to the service door, waiting for him to give you some sort of signal.
“Oh, Michael? Are you dead?” You cup your hands together, calling out to him in a sing-song voice.
Pressing your face against the door, you strain your ears to listen closely. Silence. You click your tongue in annoyance.
“I’m gonna call Raph.” You slowly reach for your pocket.
Mikey slams his head against the other side of the door, his pleading face squished against the glass. “NO, DON’T!”
“AAAH—! Don’t jumpscare me like that!” You shriek.
Mikey quickly throws open the door before pulling you in by your shirt collar. Stumbling in, you nearly fall over. You huff indignantly while he lifts you back up on your feet. For such a little guy, he sure was strong.
“Falling for me already, eh?” He jokes.
You flick his nose. “In your dreams.”
He awkwardly snickers at you, feeling a little shy about his casual flirtation. Mikey didn’t know if he was coming off as cute or just creepy, unable to gauge your reaction. You were always a little more cool and collected than him, your quick wit and charm rivaling even Leo’s. It was humbling, even a little attractive. He follows you from behind like a love-sick puppy, desperate to impress you.
The two of you eventually walk into the center of the botanical garden and stand in awe of the plant life. Part of you wishes that Donnie was here to inform you both on each and every plant name, he was full of fun facts like that. But, you were happy just to have Mikey here to yourself. It was a good opportunity to test out a theory you had brewing in the back of your brain.
“So, what first?” You smile, turning to Mikey. “Lead the way.”
He gives you an even bigger smile, eager to have you on the hook. “Oh! There’s that one stink plant!”
He directs you to the right, walking ahead of you before stopping dead in his tracks. You peek your head over his shoulder, looking around curiously.
“What?”
“I, uh— I forgot we kinda made it into a mutant with a security guard.” He chuckles.
You stare at his face, looking all at once bashful and spacey. Smirking, you edge your head closer to his. You were usually pretty touch-averse, but maybe you could try being more physically intimate with him. Just to see what would happen.
“Maybe that’s for the best. I know you have a very sensitive nose,” you whisper.
Mikey covertly gulps, caught off guard by your sudden closeness and your low voice in his ear. “Let’s go look at the babbling brook! I think I can hear it…babbling!”
Spinning around, he grabs your hand and drags you along behind him.
You bite at your lower lip, entertained by his flustered behavior. You hated to admit it, but teasing Mikey was just too much fun. You hold his hand tighter.
“Aww, it’s like a tiny waterfall!” You gush, walking up to stand beside Mikey. “I wonder if there are any fish in here?”
Mikey shakily lets go of you, placing his hands on his hips. “There actually are. Lemme show you!”
You furrow your brows, watching Mikey step into the tiny river. The water led to a larger pond, lilly pads and other aquatic plants scattered about the surface.
“That’s probably a bad idea,” you warn. You follow him along the bank, careful not to step on any of the flowers.
“Relax. I’m a turtle, water is my natural habitat.”
You narrow your eyes. “Don’t Ornate box turtles drown really easily?”
He tosses his head at you, continuing to march forward. “That’s a myth.”
You fold your arms over your chest, meeting his cocky gaze with your unimpressed scowl.
“Let’s see…I think I saw a fish somewhere around here.” Mikey leans down, moving aside a lily pad to investigate. “Ah-hah! Told ya.”
He shoots back up, holding out an orange-spotted koi fish. It thrashed wildly in his grasp, flapping its tail against his hand.
Sighing, you walk closer to the edge of the pond. “You’re gonna regret that.”
“I’m putting it right back, okay? Chill—“
Suddenly, a whole army of koi fish swarm around Mikey’s feet in the water. They apparently did not take too kindly to his rude intrusion. You wordlessly watch on as Mikey got practically attacked by a dozen or so fish, their tails repeatedly slapping against his body.
“Woah, hey! Stop that! I’m not your enemy! AAA—!” Mikey tries to run out, lifting his legs high and shaking off a fish that had clamped its jaw onto his foot.
Your hands grip onto your arms in an attempt to stop yourself from laughing. But, as soon as you see Mikey fall into the water, you break. Cackling, you grab at your sides as Mikey pitifully splashed around in the pond.
“This is amazing!” You tease. “I’m sending this in the group chat.”
“Help me! I lied, I’m drowning!” Mikey screams, waving his limbs about.
You hold your phone out and start recording a video, chuckling. “The water’s barely a foot deep.”
The last koi fish gives Mikey a harsh slap across the face, leaving him behind to lie in the water. He looked utterly shocked and defeated.
Once you’ve gotten all the evidence you need, you stow your phone away and kick off your shoes and socks. You were cruel, but you weren’t that cruel.
“Okay, I think you’ve had enough.” You roll up the cuffs of your pants and gingerly step into the pond, holding out your hand to Mikey.
Blinking up at you, he scowls. “I could have died back there.”
You purse your lips, resolving to just reach down and pull Mikey up by the edge of his plastron. “Serves you right for disrespecting the pond.”
As you lifted him out of the water, his body was stiff as a board. His face was still screwed into an exaggerated frown. You can’t help but chuckle again at him, wiping off some pond scum that had gotten stuck to his shell.
“What?” He pouts.
“You’re so cute when you look like that.” You pull Mikey out of the pond, peeking back at his offended expression.
“That’s totally not demeaning.”
Once you both get back onto the path, you give him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, okay? You just have a naturally cute face.”
Your hands drift up to land on Mikey’s face, gently squishing his cheeks. His eyes were still angry, but you could tell from his blush and his wavering frown that you were really testing his resolve. You knew he wasn’t really mad, just embarrassed. It only made him even more cute.
Mikey stared at you, using almost all of his willpower not to melt into your touch. You had never been so brazen, so comfortable with casually touching him like this. The cheeky way you were looking at him only made him more flustered. Clearing his throat, he dips out of your hold.
“The succulents are over here.”
Huffing, he marches away. You can only smirk to yourself as you follow behind. Maybe you were teasing him a little too much. You didn’t really care, though. With a pep in your step, you catch up to meet him at the desert flora section.
You saw a collection of cacti, some towering over your heads, others small and rotund. Mikey shakes off his growing nerves to present them to you.
“Behold, the pokey plants. As you can see, they are covered in pokey bits.”
Nodding, you sit your chin upon your fist. “Ah, yes. Very pokey indeed.”
The two of you nod to one another in mock-seriousness. You watch as Mikey begins to smile again, and you feel a little relieved. While you quite enjoyed seeing him playfully mad, you can’t deny that you miss seeing him happy.
Mikey quirks his head to the side, an idea knocking around in his head. “I wonder…”
You cock your head as well. “Wonder what?”
“Dare me to touch it?” He lifts a hand up toward a particularly sharp-looking cactus.
You shift your eyes from the plant and back to him, cautiously interested. “I won’t stop you.”
“I’m gonna do it,” he warns.
“Fine. See what happens.” You toss your hand over your shoulder, walking away. This was bound to end well.
Before you know it, you hear a loud crunching sound behind you. You twist around to find Mikey crumpled over the cactus’s broken trunk, absolutely covered in thorns. His eyes were as wide as saucers, almost in disbelief of his own actions.
“Michael!” You gasp. “I swear to god.”
Shuddering, he crawls out of the exhibit, moving through the pebbles that laid about. “Pain…I’m in pain.”
You turn your back to him, exasperated with his antics. “I’m not helping you.”
“Don’t need it. I’m perfectly capable of helping myself.” He stands, legs wobbling. He tries to grab at a large spine poking out of his forearm.
“Ow.” One thorn.
“Ow.” Another.
You grumble, listening to Mikey remove the spines one by one. This was just sad. You slowly turn around, watching as he stands there plucking at his arm. Sighing, you decide to be a little more merciful.
“You’re lucky you have that shell.”
You find a nearby bench and plant yourself on it. You pat your hand to the seat next to you, beckoning him to sit down. “Come here.”
Mikey quickly pads over to sit in front of you, swinging his legs around the bench. You follow suit and do a once-over. Thankfully, his legs were mostly unharmed, but his upper body and face were covered in barbs.
“What did we learn?” You sigh, carefully removing all of the larger spines.
Mikey tries holding back each cry of pain as you pluck them out, his eyes squeezing shut. “I wasn’t trying to throw myself into a cactus, you know. I just tripped.”
“That’s why are you covered in pokey bits?”
“I– Ouch!” He seethes, recoiling away from you. “I was trying to be cool, okay. Aren’t you impressed?”
Chuckling dryly, you move on to the smaller, more difficult barbs. You knew he was just trying to show off, even if it was kind of pathetic. Internally, you frown. No, he wasn’t pathetic. You somehow felt bad for even thinking that. It wasn’t like he was putting on airs, or being fake. He was actually pretty genuine.
“Not impressed. Just slightly concerned.”
Mikey sniffs, feeling a little disheartened with your reply. “Sorry.”
You flit your eyes up for a moment. “Why do you think you have to impress me? I already think you’re cool.”
He turns his head away slightly. “I don’t know? I just want to.”
Mikey was usually pretty good about verbalizing his emotional desires. But for some reason, he felt so confused.
After you pick out the last barb from his cheek, you toss them all away into the bushes. “There, all done.”
You were about to stand back up before you felt Mikey grab at your upper arm. You freeze, looking down at him.
“I just– Sometimes I feel like I need to show off. Show you that I’m cool and strong, I guess? I’m not super buff like Raph, or smooth like Leo. And I’m definitely not smart like Donnie.”
You move to sit back down, staring at him. You don’t know how to react to his sudden confession, simply opting to remain silent.
Mikey lifts his head to look you in the eye, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “I just want to make you feel safe.”
You frown. “You think I don’t feel safe?”
Shaking his head, Mikey bails on his own admission. “No, I don’t know. Nevermind.”
In an instant, you get an idea. You rummage around in your bag to pull out your old, worn sketchbook that you carried around everywhere. You leaf through the pages to land in the middle. “You recognize this?”
Mikey blinks away a tear that threatened to accumulate in his eye before looking over. “Your sketchbook?”
“No, this.” You reach in and pull out a couple of pressed flowers. They were shriveled and brown with age, but they were very clearly dandelions.
Mikey’s sad frown melts away as he leans forward. “Those are…”
“The flowers you gave me. When I first met you, I was actually kind of freaked out. I just remember thinking, ‘Why was this weird turtle harassing me?’” You allow yourself to smile, recalling the memory.
You hear Mikey chuckle quietly, his eyes softening.
“But, you were obviously just a huge dork. Sweet, but still a dork. I took those weeds you gave me and put them in here.”
You carefully place them back into your sketchbook, closing it. “I carried them with me all the time, so I wouldn’t feel so alone, y’know? If I ever felt scared, I would just clutch onto this and pretend you were there.”
Mikey sat up straighter, letting your soft words wrap him up into a warm blanket. He felt so safe, so secure in your presence.
“Thankfully, I didn’t have to do it too often. Because you were always there, somehow.”
Finally, you put your sketchbook back into your bag and look up. You give Mikey a lopsided smile, watching him look at you with quiet amazement. Reaching up, you place your hand upon his flushed cheek, bathing in his warmth.
Mikey was speechless. Words couldn’t begin to describe what he was feeling right now. He unintentionally allows his head to nuzzle up against your hand, practically sighing.
“You okay?”
“My skin kind of hurts.” His voice was oddly low, laced with a shy sweetness.
Leaning forward, you debate with yourself whether or not you want to tease him even more. He looked so vulnerable right now, you wouldn’t dare ruin a rare moment like this. Humming, you indulge yourself and decide to place a soft kiss upon his cheek. You didn’t want to scare him off.
Mikey’s skin tingles with excitement, electric sparks surging through his body. “Hahh…”
“Am I hurting you,” you whisper. You weren’t sure if he was hissing out in pleasure or in pain.
He immediately responds. “No, you feel really nice.”
Angling your head lower, you slot your lips gently against his. The kiss is chaste and short, but you feel your heartbeat thrum in your ears. The low light of the night sky illuminated the two of you, making Mikey’s skin practically glow. Moving an inch or two away, you admire his features.
Mikey sighs, his eyes fluttering open. You meet his soft gaze with your own. After a charged couple of seconds, the two of you break out into laughter. His head falls onto the bend of your shoulder, his breath heavy.
“I can’t believe you did that.” He exhales shakily.
“Pull out nearly a hundred cactus spines from your body? Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” You chuckle.
In a bold move, Mikey smiles against your neck before placing a kiss on your hot skin. You shudder, feeling his teeth brush up against your pulse.
“Woah-hoh-hoh! Ouch!” You tear yourself away, flapping your hands at his face. “Your teeth are sharper than I thought.”
Mikey gives you a cheeky smile, his tooth-gap on full display. “Sorry, I’m kinda pokey.”
He feels his heart swell in his chest, his limbs going limp and gooey. He wondered if he could even stand up. Seemingly reading his mind, you reach over and hook your arms underneath him. In an impressive move, you heave Mikey up and carry him bridal-style.
“H-Hey! What are you doing?” He cries out, blushing furiously.
“Carrying you back. Because I can,” you smirk.
Out of sheer embarrassment, Mikey covers his face. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Neither did I!”
And with that, you make your way back to the exit, giggling with Mikey as you bask in your newfound closeness. You hope that he felt safe with you, safe enough to let you into his heart just a little bit more.