Chapter Text
The quiet hiss of a spray paint can filled the mostly empty alleyway. The only occupant was a small figure in a large black hoodie, paint splattered sweatpants, and a face mask. They sprayed out line after line, the previously haphazard looking design slowly turning into a recognizable image. They painted for a couple hours, occasionally humming and shaking whatever can they held to the beat of whatever song they were listening to. Once they seemed satisfied with their work, they signed it with a pair of stylized nunchucks and popped open a manhole cover, taking their paint with them into the sewers.
It didn’t take long for the painting to be noticed, it never did.
~~~
Mikey flopped onto his bed, tired after a long day of training (Which may have consisted mostly of playful dares) and ready for a nap. However, his much desired rest was stopped before it even started by his door opening. He blinked a few times, squinting at the light flooding into his train car, before processing who had opened the door. Usually, it was Raph or Leo, occasionally even Splinter, who would come to his room, so it was a surprise when he saw Donnie.
He sat up and smiled, an unspoken invitation “Hey Dee! What’s up?”
His brother just walked in silently, sitting on the bed and handing him a tablet. Mikey took it curiously and watched the video that was playing on it. It was a clip from some news station and his smile immediately dropped along with his stomach as he realized what it was covering.
“In other news, the ‘Spraypaint Ninja’ as they have been dubbed by locals has struck yet again, this time in an abandoned alleyway near Central Park. It seems to be yet another depiction of the mysterious beings who laid siege to the city just a few months ago. There have yet to be any sightings of the artist themselves and people are beginning to wonder if this is just your average artist, or something more sinister.”
Donnie stopped the clip, turning to Mikey, “Before you say anything, I hope you’re aware that while I may be oblivious to some things, I’m not an idiot.”
Mikey chuckled nervously, “Ah, I was starting to wonder when one of you guys would notice.”
The purple clad turtle scoffed, “Oh please, I had a feeling ever since the first painting was covered, I just decided to finally confront you after this latest one.” his tone softened slightly, “I… Noticed a theme with your paintings. Would you want to talk about it?”
Mikey stared at him in shock. Donnie? Initiating an emotional conversation? Something was clearly wrong.
“Woah, who are you and what have you done with my brother?” He joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
He only received an unimpressed look, “Just because I tend to avoid emotional confrontation doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore someone I love obviously struggling. Again, I’m not an idiot Michael.”
The blunt honesty was surprisingly comforting. Sometimes, it was borderline agonizing trying to talk about his feelings with Raph or Leo. They always tended to beat around the bush or try to soften the truth for him. With Donnie, it was always straight to the point since he saw no point in hiding plain facts.
Mikey gave him a strained smile, “That’s fair.” it fell immediately after, “And yeah, there has been a bit of a theme with my art lately, I know.”
His brother nodded, showing that he was listening and gestured for him to continue.
Oh boy. Mikey thought before beginning.
“Obviously, the whole fight with the Kraang kind of stuck with me, but I didn’t know who to talk to about it. Even mentioning them around Raph and Leo causes them to stress out, dad and April didn’t exactly see what exactly went on in the ship, and Casey’s already struggling enough as it is.”
“And me?”
The question caught him off guard, “I guess… I don’t know, I guess I figured you were too busy or wouldn’t want to talk about it like everyone else.”
He received a quiet hum, “Well, seeing as I’m here and talking about it with you, I’d think that’s a sign that I’m the best, and only, option.”
Mikey hesitated, “I don’t know, I don’t want you to have to deal with all of my problems. I mean, I know you’ve probably got a billion projects to work on and you never seem to really want to talk about feelings and stuff.”
Donnie rolled his eyes, “You’re worse than Leo sometimes.”
He snickered, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, the dummy is always trying to do everything himself because ‘heaven forbid I ask for help’. Not to mention how much he tries to deal with all of our problems instead of his own.”
And there’s that brutal honesty again.
He thought for a moment, “However, if you really don’t want to talk about this, I completely understand. It’s obviously not the easiest subject to talk about."
Mikey felt a smile creep across his face as it felt like his heart was swelling with affection.
"Yeah," He said after a moment, "yeah I'd love that."