mnt_mike | (no subject)

(no subject)

Mike is in his element: Surrounded by happy family.
It doesn't matter that he's elbow-deep in dishwater with a stack of plates and flatware nearly taller than he is to his left, his family is here and safe and happy, and that's all that really matters.

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Sallie usually adheres to a strict "cooking-not-cleaning" dishwashing policy, but every now and then she pitches in and dries the odd utensil to keep the impromptu housekeeper company.

"Wèi, Mike - need anything in here?"

"Wei, Sallie," he says shooting her a lop-sided grin over one shoulder.
"You wouldn't happen to have a Rachel Weiss or a Gina Corano about your person anywhere would you?"

"Is Ginacorano a beer?"

"If only, Sallie. If only."

Insert wistful sigh here.

"I think I got this, but if you want to dry...or even sort out which of these return to which home? That'd be great too."

"Can do, can do."

Sallie disappears briefly to come back with a cardboard box - the majority of the dishes came from Sallie's kitchen in Shadow, so it's packing things up to go back more than anything else.

"Keepin' track which one's which is starting to get complex."

"Heh, no kidding. I was just thinking that. Never in a million years did I ever think that'd be something we'd ever have to think about, let alone actually deal with."

He takes one of Don's mugs and sets it off to one side.

"It's certainly gotten a bit easier now, that I live more here than at the ranch. Not that that isn't its own set o' complex."

Oh?

"Is that a good complex? A bad complex? Or a so dirty I shouldn't talk about it in front of Mike complex?"

Mike!

Sallie jabs at him with a spoon. "No, it's just - I never thought on living elsewhere ever, and now that my life's more here than on Shadow, I feel like somethin's gonna give. Just don't know what that might be just yet."

His is a shameless grin as he bats away her attack with the spoon, spritzing the room with water as he does so.

... probably even Sallie a bit too.

"Oh...that kind of complex."

Uh.

Am I missing something?

Yes?

"I just know how that feels, I tried to be here and home for a while, and so did Splinter. Raph...went from being here and home, to being there and here."

"Shi a, yeah."

Bein' here is more important than the land, but the land is all I've had the majority o' my life, dong ma?

"Enh - I think the new year comin' up is making me think too hard."

"New Years are good for that," he turns back to his sink and the washing going on in there. "Or bad for that, really it depends on your perspective."

How's your cup looking? Half full? Or half empty?

"Almost entirely full. I'm very lucky."

"And we're back to things that are too dirty to say in front of Mike again..."

This time he's prepared for the smack that's sure to follow.

"Mike!" More jabbing, aiming for the shoulder blade.

"You know exactly what I meant. Unless you're fishin' for compliments or some such."

"Is there ever a time when I'm not?"

Because if there is, he can't remember it off hand.

"There was that time when your mouth was full of pie..."

You and your ba almost matched. It was adorable.

"He gets it from me."

Mike leans over and gives Sallie a peck on the cheek.

Hrumph.

So impetuous. Between you and all the other random questions I get in the bar, don't know how I keep up.

"Occupational hazards abound," he grins, wiping his hands on the towel over his shoulder.

What's the best one you've heard recently?

I did get asked recently when your ba and I were getting married.

A picture of Rue pops up in the front of Sallie's mind. Folks don't live together in her world without the getting hitched part.

Mike bites the inside of his lips in an effort to fight the laugh that very nearly escaped.

"If I'm honest, they don't do it a whole lot in my world either."

And it's never done in my where and when, so...

And then the idea of being married (again) just seems so...

"So that's probably the big one that happened."

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