Destiny doesn't want to wake up.
Even when she feels herself resurfacing from the depths of sleep, she forces herself back down into the abyss like a diver desperate to find what lays at the bottom of the ocean. She doesn't want to open her eyes and find herself hanging from the walls of that cell again, doesn't want to see the cruel faces that stared and listened as she screamed for help.
The screams...the cries...she knows that the sounds echoing in her head are hers yet she doesn't want to believe that she could make a noise that's so tortured. Maybe she can run. Maybe she'll have gotten enough strength back from her blessed sleep to transform into a wolf and bust out of that hellhole. One can only hope, right?
Soft music trickles into her ears, lulling her with the gentle sounds of tenor male voices. Her eyes snap open and she doesn't see a bleak, brick wall, but the ceiling of her guest bedroom. She stares, unblinking, unbelieving. She moves her hand slightly, touching the smooth material of a bed sheet.
She shuts her eyes again, pain starting to wiggle its way back into her conscious thought and make her aware of her body and what's happened to it. This is a dream. When she wakes up next, she'll be back in that cell and she'll have to fight or die if she wants to get out.
"Destiny?"
Karai, her thoughts instantly say. It's Karai. She's come to force Destiny to wake up again. She's probably got the bucket of water ready, or perhaps she's found some new method of making the mutant's life a living hell.
"Des...can you hear me?"
Something changes. That voice isn't female, it's male, and it doesn't belong to any of the males in the Foot Clan either. Still, Destiny doesn't risk it and remains silent with her eyes closed. There's a soft sigh from beside her and her spectator's footsteps fade away from her.
She opens her eyes again, waiting for the blurriness to disappear. She's still in the bedroom, laying on a very warm surface with a blanket draped over her body. She swallows thickly, letting out a dry cough that makes her hiss out in pain.
Once it subsides to a low, throbbing presence, she lifts her arm, blinking slowly as she brings her hand up to hover above her face. She clenches and unclenches her fingers, massaging the stiff joints and taking in the bandages covering most of her arm.
She looks down at herself, hesitantly lifting the blanket and nearly cringing at the sight of her half-naked body. She drops the blanket back over herself, the tightness of emotion rising into her throat like bile.
The door opens and she rolls her head to the side to see who it is. Leonardo has his head down, a droopiness to his entire disposition, and he doesn't yet look up at her as he gently closes the door behind him.
She finds her voice. "Leo?" she croaks.
He spins around, his sapphire eyes wide and his face slack with shock. Upon seeing her, a wide smile reveals his impeccably white teeth. "Des!"
A moment or two later, he's engulfing her in a tight hug that makes her body surge with warmth. She coughs again at the sudden force, her hands gripping the blanket to her chest, and he instantly jumps back.
"Oh, right, sorry," he apologizes, lifting a hand to the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I just...Des, you're awake," he whispers, dragging his hand down his face to his neck.
"Yeah, I am," she responds, a sort of blankness in her tone as her wild green eyes flicker back to the ceiling. "I thought I was dreaming."
"No, you're not, you...you're home," Leonardo says, kneeling down next to the bed and resting his hand on the lump where her leg is. "You're here with us again. Shredder can't—"
Destiny flinches noticeably, hiding her face against the edge of the blanket as a weak whimper leaves her and her wolf ears flatten against her hair. Leonardo halts without another word, his hand tightening slightly on her leg.
"I...I'm sorry," he repeats.
"N-No, I...I just..." Destiny peeks back out from the blanket, a shudder making her shoulders shift. "I'm...fine. I overreacted." He stays silent, making her look at him. "Sh...Shredder can't find me?" she clarifies.
"Never," he assures.
She exhales, slumping back into the pillows. "Thank God."
He gives a few short nods of agreement, slowly pushing himself to his feet. She looks up at him, the ceiling light in the bedroom hovering behind his head and blurring out some of his features.
"Do you need anything?" he asks.
"Answers," she says, making him purse his lips and settle down on a stool that Destiny knows wasn't in her room before. She doesn't take her eyes off him. "Is everyone else okay?"
"April got a nasty smack to the head, but that's all," he says.
"Mr. Murakami?"
"He's fine too. Said he woke up in his kitchen with an ice pack on his head. He kept your stuff safe," he nearly recites, saying every word carefully and gauging her reaction as he finishes each sentence.
"And no one else got hurt?"
"Nobody."
Another long breath escapes her. "Was I out long?"
"A couple days or so."
She ponders that. "Oh...so that's why I feel so hungry."
He laughs, making her lips twitch upwards into a tiny smile. The sound drops off swiftly, the two of them falling into calm silence.
"I'll...leave you to get dressed. The others will want to see you," Leonardo says as he clears his throat, standing back up. "Just check that bag over there, okay?"
"Okay," Destiny responds. She looks down at her lap, her eyelids fluttering shut for a moment. "I...I just want to be alone for a little while though. I need to get a hold of my thoughts."
"Right, of course," he says. He walks towards the door, reaches his hand out to the knob, then halts. He turns back to her. "I'm glad you're awake, Des. I was worried."
She gives a tiny smile as her only response and he turns again. His hand tightens around the doorknob, but he falters. Destiny sits up in the bed, still holding the blanket to her chest as she gives him a questioning look. Her wolf ears twitch.
"Leo?" she asks.
He mutters something under his breath, spins around, and takes the few confident strides needed to cross the room to her bed. He cups her face in his hands, leans down, and presses his lips to hers in such a way that her nose is mildly squished against the beak of his. She freezes and melts at the same time, her eyes fluttering shut.
The brief two seconds pass and he pulls away, their eyes locking for a moment.
"I'll...uh...see you later," he says.
He nearly bolts from the room, his face a mess of colour the entire time. Destiny stares after him, lifting her fingers to her lips and touching them. Her heart pounds a little faster.
----------
Out in the living room, Destiny is the centre of attention and she doesn't feel entirely comfortable with it.
"We're really glad you're alright," Raphael says. "I was about to lose my shell with everyone worrying about you all the time."
Destiny rewards him with a tiny laugh, shifting in her place as she tugs the blanket—Leonardo's Space Heroes blanket, in fact—closer to her body. She's wearing the new pyjamas that April bought for her, black ones with a top that reads "Come to the dark side, we have cookies". They bought it out of fun only a few days ago, but now it's just ironic.
Destiny knows first hand that the dark side does not have any cookies.
"Wolfie, I gotta tell you, but you're a badass," Casey says, appearing in her line of sight as he flashes her a gap-filled grin. "Major skills."
Destiny forces a smile. "Uh...what skills?"
"Y'know, still being awake and functioning after—" April elbows him in the gut, making him wheeze. Destiny gives him a confused look as he smiles back at her. "Actually, you're just tough. That's all."
"Okay?" she asks.
Donatello butts in, shoving the rambunctious hockey player aside. "Des, how're your vitals? Any difficulty breathing? Is your vision clear?"
"Mmhmm," she says, nodding. "Just feel sore."
"That's expected." He flashes a kind smile and pats her knee. "Good, so just keep me posted—"
"Desti-bear, do you have any idea how worried we were?!" Michelangelo exclaims, making her flinch at the volume. The turtle grasps her shoulders, his eyes nearly watering. "You scared me so bad, dude!"
"I'm sorry," she repeats.
He promptly engulfs her in a hug, one that she feels up to returning this time. Raphael finally pries the hyperactive turtle off of her, aiming a scolding glare his way that does little to ruin Michelangelo's mood.
Leonardo stands near the pinball machine, watching everyone interact with Destiny. Eventually, she says something to them that makes them disperse, and she slowly lifts herself to her feet. She starts towards her room at a gait that imitates a bunny with a bad hind leg.
Leonardo follows after her, every nerve in his body like a live wire. As Destiny reaches her room again, he finally speaks up.
"Destiny."
She stops and glances over her shoulder. The reddened marks along her face give her a very asymmetrical look, one that does serve to unnerve him. He swallows, taking a shuffling step closer to her as she completely swivels herself in his direction.
Before he can speak, she shatters the silence.
"You kissed me," she says.
"Yeah," he says, straightening up as if to feign confidence. "I...I did."
She averts her eyes to the door, her face taking on a melancholy countenance. "Why?" she asks, hand tightening around the blanket as she flicks her hair over one half of her face.
"I wanted to...to..." The words stick in his throat and he has to clear it before speaking again. "I wanted to show you how I feel."
She doesn't meet his eyes. "Even when I look...like this?" It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the way she casts a judgemental, forlorn gaze down at her bandaged arms and the bruises dotting her legs. "I haven't even seen the worst of it. I haven't looked in a mirror since before—"
"It's not bad," he says, making her attention latch onto him. She gives him a look that makes him feel like she's staring straight through him. "And even if it is, that doesn't change things, or how I see you."
"Leo..."
"Des, I...I want to get to know you better, on a different level," he states, making her cheeks rise in colour.
"Leo, I—"
"I don't know if this is weird but...I don't know, I feel like there's something more between us than just a friendship," he continues, fidgeting in place.
"Leo—"
"I don't know what dating would be like but I want to try," he says. After a second, he adds in, "with you. If you want. I won't make you do anything that you don't want to do."
"Leo, stop talking," she whispers, and only then does it get through to him.
He obeys, his green skin taking on a red hue. Destiny takes careful steps towards him, tugging at the hem of her pyjama shirt as she goes. She stops next to him, eyes on his plastron.
"Do you mean it?" she whispers.
"Yes," he answers.
She tilts her head up at him. "It sounds like you want me to be your girlfriend."
"If...if you're okay with that."
She smiles a tiny bit, nodding her head. "Mmhmm," she answers.
She leans over and kisses his cheek, beginning to pull away after the brief touch. He, on the other hand, has another idea.
His hands find resting places against her neck and unhurt cheek, tilting her face and reconnecting their lips with the fluidness that a ninja should have. Destiny leaves the blanket draping over her shoulders as her hands shakily move to rest on his chest.
He breaks away, their soft breaths mingling in the minimal space between them as they gaze into one another's eyes. Destiny averts her stare first, a short, breathy laugh escaping her.
"I kinda forgot about the pain for a second," she admits.
He steps back and bows his head to her. "Glad to be of help."
That makes her smile a little wider, a reward that Leonardo wishes he could keep forever.