Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles
Lines.
That's all they were.
Line after line. All different shapes and sizes. Each one unique.
Yet there was something more to it.
With every line he felt release. He felt free. Like he really wasn't stuck down in the sewers, trapped like a wild animal.
"Hey Mike."
Mikey glanced up quickly to see Don walking towards him. Mikey subcousiously tried to hide the pad of paper in his hands from unwanted eyes.
Don came to take a seat next to him. He looked at Mikey. "What's up?"
"Umm…" Mikey shifted nervously, unknowingly bumping into the paper pad and pushed it into Don's view.
Don saw the paper next to Mike and gave his brother a puzzled look. He pointed to it. "What's that?"
Mikey glanced down at it and panic seemed to enter his mind. "Uhh…Nothing! Nothing, just some paper."
Don gave him a suspisous look. "Then let me see it."
Mikey stared at him. The room went quiet as they had a short stand off.
Suddenly, Don made a grab for it and all chaos boke loose.
"Donnie!" Mikey screamed. He pulled the pad of paper to his chest tightly as Don tugged at it.
"Come on Mike! I want to see it. What so important that you have to hide it?" Don exclaimed. He lightly pulled on the corner of the paper pad.
"Let go!" Mikey yelled. He turned away from Don. "It's mine!"
"What's going on in here!"
Mikey and Don frooze and turned their heads to find Leo glaring a both of them with his arms crossed.
"Mike's hiding something!" Don said pointing at the paper in Mikey's hands.
Leo's eyes drifted to Mikey. "What is that?"
"Nothing!" Mikey snapped. "Leave me alone."
"What is it Mike?" Leo demanded.
"It's none of your business, that's what it is!" Mikey snapped holding the pad of paper to his chest.
Leo narrowed his eyes menicingly at his brother. "You know, I've had enough off your attitude latley. The last few days you've been worse than Raph."
"I just want to be left alone!" Mikey yelled standing up from the couch. "Why can't I just have some quiet time by myself? You all complain how noisey I am all of the time and how I bug you. Then when I'm quiet you all bug me!"
"That's because when you're quiet you're usually planning something disatirous." Don piped up. "We just want to know what's going on Mikey. This silent treatment is starting to scare us a bit."
Mikey huffed. "Nothing's going on."
"We both know that's a lie Mike." Leo said. "Just tell us what you were doing."
"I was drawing okay!" Mikey screamed stepping up to Leo. "Why do you have to know every little thing I'm doing every second of the day? All I wanted to do was draw for a little bit but I can't even do that without you looking over my shoulder constantly."
Mikey rushed past Leo roughly knocking his shoulder into his older brother's.
Leo stared at Mikey as he walked down the hall.
"Jeez, what eating him?"
Leo turned and glanced back at Don who was still sittimg on the couch. "I don't know Don."
"I really don't know."
Mikey sighed as he stepped out into the cool air of New York City.
He held onto his paper and pencil tightly and began searching for a place to sit in peace. He wasn't suppose to be out and knew his brothers would soon realize he was missing and would find him quickly. Then he'd get a big lecture from Leo over being out alone at night.
Mikey sighed as he came sit on the edge of a tall building that overlooked one of the many neighborhoods. He felt guilt twist deep in his stomach. He knew he shouldn't have flipped out but he really did need some space. Mikey was frustrated. Half of the time his brothers treated him like a child that couldn't do anything. He was tired of it. But that was only half of it…
"Mikey?"
Mikey sighed, looking up from his drawing. He turned around to find all of his brothers standing behind him.
"Hey guys." Mikey said quietly.
Don was the first to come up to him. He cautiously sat down next to Mikey.
Mikey looked away from him. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you guys earlier."
"It's okay Mikey." Don said.
"Sometimes I just…" Mikey trailed off sighing. "It's frustrating."
"What is?" Leo asked from behind him. He took a seat on the other side of Mikey and Raph took a seat silently on the other side of Leo.
"Just…" Mikey gazed over the city. Mikey paused for the longest time, thinking. He turned to Leo suddenly. "If you could go anywhere where would you go?"
"Uhh…" Leo was caught off gaurd by Mikey's seemingly random question. "Well, um, I'd be nice to see Japan."
Mikey nodded subcoinsously, once again gazing over the city skyline blankly.
Leo looked at him curiously. "Why?"
Ignoring Leo's question Mikey looked at Raph who had been silent so far. "What about you Raphie?"
Raph stared at Mike for a few long seconds. Then he mummbled. "I don't know. Upstate? Somewhere quieter."
Leo glanced at Raph slightly, he'd never would have expected that comeing out of the most action loving turtle of them all.
Mikey turned to Don."Where would you go Donnie?
Don shrugged. "Who knows? Somewhere in South America would be cool or Iceland maybe."
Mikey nodded and hummed quietly. They sat in silence for a while.
"Where would you go Mikey?" Leo spoke up quietly.
Mikey stoppes humming and turned looking Leo straight in the eyes. He stared silently into Leo's eyes for what seemed like hours before turning his gaze back to the city.
"Italy." He said simpily.
This interested Leo. Mikey had never shown any disire ever to even leave New York and now he was saying the place he wanted to be the most was Italy.
"Why…Italy?" Don asked the question for Leo.
Mikey stayed silent and looked down at the pad of paper sitting in his lap. He traced his finger lazily over one of the many lines he drew on the paper. His brothers waited patiently for an answer.
"His paintings." Mikey said quietly. "I want to see Michelangelo's paintings."
"Really?" Don asked. They all were named after famous artist but Mikey was the only one who really took after his namesake. His passion for art was strong. Yet Don wondered why Mikey wanted to see his namesake's art. Don had never even given it a second thought.
"I guess-I-I," Mikey stammered. "Is it wrong to say I'm jealous?"
"What do you have to jealous of?" Don asked.
"Him! He painted and sculpted hundreds of years ago yet people still admire him. People come from everywhere just to see his works." Mikey sighed. "I'll never live up to him. It just hurts that… no one will ever see what I create. No one will travel hundreds of miles just to admire my work."
Raph laughed slightly. "Seriously? That's what's been buggin' ya? That's stupid Mike."
Leo shot Raph a glare before turning to Mikey. "What Raph's trying to say is who sees your art doesn't matter Mikey. As long as you like what you do that's all that matters."
"You guys like what I draw, don't you?" Mikey asked tentivly.
"I don't know." Don said. He pointes to Mikey's pad of paper."Half of the time you won't let us see what your drawing."
"I'm not done yet! You can't see it yet!" Mikey protested. He quieted slightly. "You do like it though, don't you?"
Leo wrapped his arm around his little brother's shoulders. "Of course we do Mike. Your art is amazing. I know I could never draw what you can."
Mikey laughed. "You can't even draw a stick man Leo."
Leo smiled. "Exactly my point."
A/N: I got this idea while we were learning about Italy in geography class. They talked a little about Michelangelo and his paintings in the Vatican City. I've always wanted to go there to see his paintings and this idea kind of blossomed from that.
Thanks for reading!