Living Apart | Tony & Mike
Mike was up early. He was still on college time (going to sleep late and waking up early ā which, convenientlyĀ enough ā was mobster time, too). Neither lifestyle was very friendly to a healthy sleep schedule. He was attempting to read a medical journal that he had downloaded off the internet when he heard his brotherās voice at the door.Ā
Tony had been home for three days now, but most of that time had been spent at his fatherās bedside or checking in on things back at Vegas and, as a result, Mike hadnāt seen much of him and so when Tony suggested that they do something ā anything ā together, Mike was already halfway to the door.Ā
"Hey, yeah, sounds good. Wanna go into the city?" He asked. He was eager to get away from the house, too, although he wasnāt entirely sure what he wanted to get up to. NYC, though, had a thousand options.Ā
Mike smirked as he pulled his old brown jacket over his shirt (one that his mother would always scuff at and make some comment that he should throw it out), āI think sheās got a long enough list, as it is,ā He said, grinning, āHer list of requirements is shortening ā I think sheās lowered her expectations a little ā and anyone who is single, Catholic, and Italian meets the bill.ā He paused, āHey, how come she never bothers you about that? I guess sheās given up hope,ā He said, teasingly. Although he knew the actual reason: their mother wasnāt worried about Tony. He was, by far, the most dutiful of the three of them and he wouldnāt need help selecting a wife that not only met, but surpassed, their motherās expectations.Ā
Tony laughed softly. "Believe me, I'm all up for anything that gets me out of the house," he admitted, quirking his brows. "Besides, it's been - what? - three years since I actually got a chance to explore the city. As you know, city or not, it's nothing like Vegas." Mike had been the only one of his siblings to come visit him in Vegas, but that had been early on and since then, life had steamrolled him, but that hadn't eliminated what it had meant to him. For Mike, it may have been a little thing, but it was anything but for Tony. The circumstances immediately preceding that transition had made it seem like a banishment and here, at least, was some little reminder that it wasn't (afterall, it was technically a promotion). Tony might not have admitted it, but he'd needed more support during that time than any other in his life and, besides Alek, Mike had been the only one to give a little - whether or not he ever knew it. Tony snorted. "I think she might even be willing to look the other way if it was a soon-to-be single or simply willing-to-become single situation. Sonny might have done you a favor. Really, at this point, just about anything would suit, as long as you don't dredge up Lucy's long lost sister," he joked, of course utterly ignorant to the fact that Lucy did, in fact, have not just one, but multiple, long lost sisters...and Mike was, in fact, interested in one of them. He laughed. "Maybe she has a cousin. Though, poor girl would have to be ridiculously tall, I'd think, to keep up," he teased. Chuckling softly, Tony quirked his brows. "She's probably afraid to see what would actually pass Alek's inspection. I'm fairly certain he'd find fault with the Virgin Mary." He smirked. "She's be a fearful beauty, sporting a meticulous pedigree, connections to put us to shame, and no doubt Plato's form of birthing hips," he joked. And she's be utterly heartless, he thought. Just as she should be.
