Disclaimer : Still don't own TMNT.
Heroes
The city lights sparkled in the black sky, his youngest brother's body sitting in the shadows. His legs hung freely over the edge of the building, his shoulders dropped, eyes examining the quiet streets. Don quietly watched his brother. Mike sat quietly, unmoving, music faintly spilling from his headphones around his neck. The white cord trailed to the mp3 player tucked into his belt, one that Don had found and refurbished for him. A siren below rang out, echoing on the store fronts, breaking the calm air. Don sighed to himself and crossed the smooth surface, stopping beside his brother. "Pretty brave." He nodded to himself, arms crossed across his chest. Mike didn't respond, his gaze still falling on the city. Everything seemed so small. The street lights twinkled in the cold air, the stars competing with them above. Don sat beside his brother, keeping his feet on the solid surface. "You know, never pegged you for one to run out"
"I needed air." Mike's tone was flat, his eyes never met his brother's. Don nodded.
"Plenty of it here." He grinned. Mike agreed.
"So you followed me"
"Yeah." Don answered quietly, his eyes searching the sky above him. Mike nodded again. "Why Rockefeller?" Don asked, turning to face his brother. Mike shrugged, eyes finally falling away from the bright lights below and meeting his brother's.
"You can see everything from here. One of the tallest buildings in the city. Easy to scale." He chewed the inside of his lip. Don agreed,
"Why not the Empire State Building"
"Its caged in, and too bright." Mike almost laughed. The top of New York's tallest building was brightly lit with red and green in anticipation of the forth coming holiday. Don leaned over the edge, eyes falling to the street seventy floors below. The top of the Rock, as it was called for marketing to tourists, was open offering an unobstructed 360 degree view of the city. New music spilled from the small headphones, the only noise between them. "See that dark mass?" Mike was pointing straight ahead of him. Don glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "Central Park"
"What's that bridge way out there?" Don asked, slightly turning to the openness, his feet still planted on the roof below him. The height was beginning to make him queasy. Mike could barely make out the lights lining it, but he didn't need them. He knew what it was, he knew almost every building he could see.
"George Washington. Connects Harlem to Jersey." A slight New York accent played in his voice. He smiled sheepishly and fell silent.
"What's the one with the slanted roof?" Don pointed to the right of the park.
"Citigroup Center. 53rd street. There's the Chrysler Building." He pointed at the buildings.
"I didn't know you knew so much of the geography." Don smirked. Mike nodded, eyes searching the sea of halogen before him. "Where's the library"
"Behind us. 5th Avenue, near the Empire State Building." Mike's voice was quiet. Don nodded and smiled.
"The lions are pretty cool." He laughed, more people probably went to see them than to actually see the building or books.
"Patience and Fortitude," Mike stated, earning a raised eyebrow from his brother. "Mayor LaGuardia named them that in the 1930s"
"How do you know that?"
"Well, I was raised here." Mike laughed, a smile finally playing on his lips. Don just nodded, slightly awestruck that his brother was so knowledgeable about the city. A still quiet fell between them as they examined the city. A few cars passed, their headlights were tiny specks of light, barely visible. The city looked so vast and open, the building's before them all blended into one another. "Do you think we're heroes?" Mike suddenly asked, breaking the silence. The question played on his brother's ears, catching him completely off guard.
"Well.." Don paused trying to wrap his mind around the words. "What"
"Like, are we heroes? We do good in the city right?" Mike watched the streets below him. Don nodded. "Well, we mostly concentrate on the Foot and Purple Dragons and whatnot. But we help the public if we're around right"
"Yeah.." Don furrowed his brow, completely at a loss.
"Like, we aren't like Spiderman, going out looking for someone to save"
"Mikey, that's a comic book."
"Yeah, well." Mike paused, mind searching for words. He knew what he meant, what he wanted to say. He had a feeling Don did too.
"Well, we aren't the 'bad guys' if that's what you're worried about"
"No." Mike bit his lip. "I know that. But what is a hero"
"A person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities." Don rattled quickly.
"Thanks Webster." Mike laughed, his attention turning to his brother. "Okay. But no one knows about our brave deeds and noble qualities." He made quotation marks in the air with his fingers, sending a smile across his brother's lips.
"Yes they do"
"Who"
"The people we help. The whole world doesn't have to know who you are for you to be a hero." Don stated plainly. Mike nodded and turned back to the city.
"Okay but yeah, we stay to the shadows, no one actually sees us." He stressed the words.
"But they know that someone helped them, and you know that you helped them"
"You still haven't answered my question." Mike turned on the ledge, throwing his legs back over to the roof. His palms rested on the rough material beside his brother's. Don nodded and lowered his head, his eyes searching the dark rooftop. Mike sighed and quietly turned off his forgotten music player.
"What answer do you want?" Don turned to his brother, his eyes searching Mike's face. His eyes were still bright, even in the dark. The cold air was beginning to chill them both. Mike bit his lip and thought seriously for a minute. Finally he rose to his feet.
"Yes." He smiled, running his hands along his upper arms, trying to warm them. Don laughed and followed his brother to the opposite edge of the building, their escape route.
"Okay Mikey, we are heroes. You are somebody's hero." Don laughed following his brother down.
"You know Donny." Mike smiled carefully climbing down the edge of the building, a hint of sarcasm playing on his lips. "You're my hero."