A Little Poetry in the Night
by KC
Summary: The guys indulge in a little poetry on the rooftop.
Other Info: Again written for the flamer who insists on me writing more ficlets. I swear, this troll's gonna have me fill up the front page with 'cest.
o0o0o
When they were on the farm, Michelangelo refused to sleep inside. He spread a blanket on the rooftop and sat up for hours watching the stars. They spilled like milk across the sky, spinning slowly overhead.
"Shattered diamonds," he said softly, "poured out like water. The pieces tumble into the darkness until I can't see."
Beside him, Leonardo smiled and rolled his eyes. He came up here with his brothers to relax, and it had been hell convincing Michelangelo to leave his notepad behind for the night. But he could indulge his little bro' for awhile at least.
"Tumbling dice where we can't see," he said, following their usual modified tanka form. "A gamble, a risk...try to catch it before it's lost."
On Michelangelo's other side, Raphael grumbled. Typical. Michelangelo couldn't stay quiet for half a minute, and big brother always followed after him. Worse, after he tried dabbling once in their poetry games, now they expected him to keep it up.
He glanced at Michelangelo, thinking of how he'd tell him to knock it off and just stare at the sky quietly...and his little brother looked at him.
Raphael grumbled again. Amazing how much his little brother got out of them with just one of his looks.
"You know I ain't any good at this," Raphael sighed.
"You think you aren't," Michelangelo corrected him, leaning over and nuzzling his beak. "Just try? For me?"
Try. Sure. Raphael looked up and thought about the stars and the way his brothers had described them. Diamonds, dice...he couldn't think of anything else poetic. Nothing sounded good in his head and he couldn't stand the thought of them laughing at his clumsy attempts.
"Don't think so hard," Donatello said beside him. "I can practically see the gears in your head grinding."
After a long day of walking through the forest with Leonardo, hiking and talking among other things, Donatello savored these nights with everyone. It was nice to get away from family for awhile, even from his beloved machinery and half-finished builds, but only because it made coming back to them so much the sweeter.
"Shooting stars that slip between my fingers," Donatello said, holding his hand up to the sky. "I catch one and hold it still."
Geez, even braniac could think of something all artistic. Raphael clasped his hands behind his head and stared up. Eventually the silence stretched so long that he thought they'd given up on him.
Funny how the sky changed at night. He tilted his head and let the stars swirl around in his eyes. During the day, the sky was flat blue, beautiful but like a ceiling so that he didn't feel how isolated they really were. With the sun gone, the darkness spread out into infinity. In fact...
"S'like they're stairs," he said, "climbing up away. Makes you wonder where they go."
A moment passed, and he realized how quiet they had been. He glanced up only to find them all sitting up looking at him.
"What?" he asked, defensively ducking his head.
"Damn," Michelangelo said. "Nice upward movement."
"I could feel that pulling the motion back and up," Leonardo nodded.
"And you said you aren't good at this," Donatello said with a laugh.
Smiling at the praise despite himself, Raphael turned his attention back at the sky. Maybe one of these days he'd understand what the heck he'd done.
end