Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 21: Truth

Destiny lays still for a few seconds, then pitches her weight sideways. Frowning, she pounds her fist into the pillow a few times and tucks her arm beneath it. She closes her eyes, counting slowly to herself.

One...

Two...

She groans and flings herself onto her other side, kicking one leg out from under the blanket to get some cool air beneath it. Another couple of seconds, her eyes remain wide open.

Weeks, it's been weeks of just staying in the lair. Training, eating, learning how to play video games and work a remote properly, lots and lots of repetitiveness, and it's driving Destiny insane.

Unable to take it any more, she flings herself out of bed and heads to the living room. How long has it been since Leonardo took her to the surface? Two weeks? Three or four?

She counts back, remembering how her sessions with Donatello only began after that midnight rendezvous. It has been three weeks! Destiny forces herself not to scream and rip her own hair out.

She stops short when she reaches the living room, searching for anyone who might be up.

Specifically, Leonardo.

To her surprise, the blue-masked turtle is nowhere to be seen. She takes a deep breath and walks to the gate that will lead her to freedom. Enough of this wandering, staring, and turning back around. This time she's gonna go. This time...

She stops, her ears flicking once. She can't help but ask herself why she's doing this; betraying the little trust that the turtles and Splinter hold for her, little by little, and for what? Feeling the moonlight on her skin?

Then again, is it really so wrong of her to long to breathe in the cool night air and watch that pale orb gleaming so far away from her? If she could fly away to the moon, she would.

"Destiny..."

She sighs, her shoulders slumping, and she slowly turns around. Leonardo stands at a distance from her, a look of pain on his tired face.

"Hey Leo," she says softly.

He purses his lips, opening his mouth for a second before closing it again. He shakes his head, reaching a hand to his neck and twisting his head to the side.

"Are we really so terrible you can't just...stay?" he asks, not looking in her direction.

Destiny feels a lump rise in her throat as she takes a staggering step towards him. "It's not you. I swear it isn't," she insists.

"Then what?" he asks, his sapphire eyes locking on her. "What can I do to help you?"

"You can't do anything."

His gaze drops to the floor and he places a hand on his belt. Destiny watches him, trying, and failing, to keep her mind from their training session a few days ago. Why is it that he makes her feel so different than anyone ever has before?

"Why?" she asks, the simple word ringing in the quiet lair.

"Why what?" Leonardo asks, his eyes meeting hers.

"Why do you always get up to come and stop me?" She takes a few steps towards him. "I've done it a couple times. You're almost always there, in some way or another. Why?"

He remains silent for a long while, alternating between her face and the sewer tunnels behind her.

"Because..." He stops again, biting his lip. "Do you want the truth?"

"I'd want nothing else."

"Because...every time you leave, I wonder if it's the last time I'll see you," he admits, his voice saddened.

Destiny blinks once, her lips parting. "...the last time—"

"You never said you would stay," he points out. "Every time I go to sleep at night I wonder whether you'll still be here in the morning. When I hear you leaving your room, I get up and go after you so that maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to say goodbye."

She tries to respond, but she's silenced by his words. His tone, expression, and she's sure his heart, are completely sincere and that's a type of honesty that she hasn't seen before.

"I don't want you to go, but I know I can't make you stay," he whispers.

They grow closer to each other, eyes locked and breaths soft. She hesitates, feeling as if electricity is passing between their bodies, like they're back at their training session all over again with his lips hovering so close...and yet so far.

"Your freedom...means a lot to you," he continues softly. "I get that, but I don't want you to be hurt by the Foot or anything that might be out there waiting for you. This world isn't as safe as you may think it is."

His fingertips brush hers. Her chest swarms with warmth and her lips grow ever closer to his. Just as they're about to touch, she pulls away abruptly, turning away from him to look back towards the sewer tunnels. Her heart races in her chest and the irrational and mushy side of her draws her to turn around and hold on to the ninja turtle standing before her, like he's the only anchor on her boat and she needs him to survive the storm that's coming.

She could still go. He wouldn't stop her.

How can you leave? After everything he just told you?

She spins in place to see that he's walking away, and she swears that some figurative part of her heart shatters to bits.

"Leo!" she calls.

He stops, not yet spinning to face her. She lets her heart move her body as she strides forwards and wraps her arms around his shell, pressing her cheek against the rough surface as she squeezes her eyes shut. He tenses for a brief moment before his muscles relax and she can hear him let out a long breath.

"I'll stay. I promise," she whispers.

He turns around, pulling her into a long hug. His embrace is strong and sure, and it makes Destiny feel safe the same way his hand in hers did. Everything just seems to fit; his arms around her, hers around him, the sound of his heart beneath her sensitive ears.

She rests her forehead against his shoulder, taking in a few shaky breaths as the reality of what she's agreed to sinks in. Leonardo doesn't let go.

"Thank you, Destiny."