Biker Mice From Mars - Somewhere I Belong

Procrastination Is A Way Of Life

It was cold.
Very cold, actually.
That had probably something to do with him finding himself on the roof of a thirty-story building.
A thirty-story building standing in the middle of the Windy City, to be exact.
Everyone knew the wind could be merciless around here, let alone this high above the ground.
Usually, it didn't bother him that much.
But his fur was still damp from the shower, and not even his beloved black sweater was enough to protect him from the biting cold.
Not this time.
Of course, he could just go inside instead of sitting here on his softly purring bike, staring at the stars and the red dot that represented his former home...

Vinnie frowned.
Former home?
One would say that little red dot was still his home.
After all, it was where he was born and raised among his own kind, so one would say that should make it enough to call it home.
And yet, it didn't feel that way.
Despite being literally an alien on this planet, Earth felt more like home than Mars ever did.
Which was strange, actually, but the fact remained that it was exactly like that.
What could he say?
He was the picture-perfect example of a guy who never felt like he fit in.
Like he didn't belong.
He had his father -may he rot in hell- to thank for that.
But now...
Now, things were different.

Another strong gust of wind went straight through his clothes, and he shivered in response.
Yeah, he really should go inside before he froze his tail off or worse, his pretty face.
But the thing was, he wasn't feeling particularly overjoyed to go inside.
It all had to do with that very same reason why Earth felt like the home he never had.
She was just a human, honestly, and yet, she was everything.
Charley.
The only person who had managed to fully capture his entire heart and soul, bravely and fiercely.
Just like she was.
She was... everything.
Just everything.
And he...
He had been stupid enough to put it all at risk.
He had her.
He had her with everything that came with her, and now...

Now it was all in jeopardy.
All because he left her.
He left her when she needed him, weak and frightened as he was, and that while he had promised her she would never be alone again.
That he would always be there to protect her.
To love her and to guide her.
To make her feel whole again, just like she made him feel.
They belonged together.
Kind of like light and darkness.
Without one of them, the other wouldn't exist.
And for what?
Ghosts of the past.
Ugh.
It was pathetic, really.

Releasing an excessively loud sigh to vent his frustration, Vinnie leaned on the windshield with his elbows and rested his head in his fingerless-gloved hands, his scarlet eyes still fixed on the small red twinkle high in the sky.
Maybe he was being too hard on himself.
He was here, wasn't he?
To set things straight again.
To explain to her why he had done the one thing he promised her to never do.
If only it didn't scare the shit out of him, but it did.
And so here he was, stalling.
One of his many talents, if he might say so.
Or maybe it was more like a curse than a talent.
Honestly, since when did good things come out of procrastination?
Like, never.
He knew.
And shit, he just did it again.

Not able to stand listening to his own very tiring thoughts any longer, Vinnie straightened his back and turned off the engine.
The time had come to redeem himself.
To do the right thing.
To face reality.
No more running.
No more procrastinating.
And no, not even his major hangover would be an excuse.
Nothing would.
He simply wouldn't allow himself.
Not anymore.
The universe had granted him a second chance, or more to the point - a place to belong.
He couldn't just throw that away.
He had to make this work.
He just had to.

Filled with renewed though still fragile determination, Vinnie pushed a button on his handlebar, and a rope shot out of the back of his bike.
After pulling off his helmet, he dismounted his precious ride and patted her on the side.
"You stay here, sweetheart. I'll be right back."
His bike beeped back, sounding almost supportive and Vinnie grinned.
"Handlebars crossed, I get it. Thanks."
A flashing headlight came in response and slightly shaking his sore head in a short-lived moment of amusement, Vinnie used the rope to slide down to the window on the twenty-fifth floor.
Lucky for him, it was still ajar, which was good for multiple reasons but the one standing out was that apparently, Charley wasn't so done with him that she locked him out.
She had every right to though, but she didn't, and it was this realization that took away the last remaining doubts and fears.
Maybe that was the reason why he, after opening the window far enough for him to get through, climbed over the windowsill a little too... well, let's just say enthusiastic.
Or maybe it was because stealth just wasn't his thing.
Or maybe it was due to his giant hangover that his movements, or rather his reflexes, weren't what they were supposed to be.