In the Arms of the Enemy (Raph x OC)

Chapter 12

Esme's POV

It had been a week since my fight with Leo, and I had been thinking. Maybe I was a bad person. Would it really be that easy to leave? Could I get a job somewhere, my own place, and cut ties with the foot clan? Was I staying here out of convenience and as a result, hurting others for no reason?

I had gone back and forth so many times with these thoughts that I even decided to ask Karai about them. What I got was a horrified reaction and a quick, "Don't mention it ever again." She basically confirmed my thoughts that if I tried to leave I'd be hunted down, hurt, or killed for insubordination.

Shredder gave us food, shelter, and raised us to be his soldiers. He wouldn't just let us leave because we decided we didn't want to do this anymore. Even so, I still felt bad about how I talked to Leo. He was concerned for his brothers, a trait I had openly admired since meeting the four of them. As far as he knew I was the enemy, and being Shredder's daughter definitely didn't help my case. So I decided to finally reach out to Raph.

Esme: Hey, I was wondering if you could ask Leo to meet me somewhere for a private conversation. If he doesn't feel comfortable I understand, but I would really like to talk to him.

His response was almost immediate.

Raph: Sure, I'll ask him, where would you wanna meet?

Esme: Tonight at the skatepark?

A few minutes passed before I got another response.

Raph: He says he'll meet you there at midnight, is that good?

Esme: Perfect. Thanks.

.  .  .

I sat in the same place we had gotten into a fight before, feeling a comfortable breeze flow against the back of my exposed neck. My ponytail blew lightly in the wind as I focused on everything around me, suddenly hearing soft steps coming from behind.

"Thanks for coming," I said. He came up and took a seat next to me.

"I'm sorry about how angry I got in our last conversation," I started.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't know about your situation, so I'm sorry for making assumptions," he replied. I glanced over at him, a little surprised, but decided to go through with what I had been planning anyway.

"I also wanted to say that if you really don't want me spending time with your brothers anymore, I won't. I'll respect your wishes."

"Even Raph?" he asked.

"Even Raph."

"Why are you offering that? I thought you wanted to spend time with them? Especially Raph," he said, clearly surprised by my willingness to back off.

"When I first saw you guys the thing that stood out the most to me was how close you seemed. Although I'm starting to have a better relationship with my own sister, it took a long time to get there. All of this to say I can tell that you're coming from a place of wanting to protect your brothers and I can't sit here and say that I admire and respect that while simultaneously going against your wishes. So, if you want me to stop communicating with you guys, I will."

I didn't want to keep forcing something that they were wary about and I definitely didn't want to be the reason for their arguments. A small sigh left Leo as I braced myself for his response

"I don't want that."

"You don't?" I asked.

"Do you know how little people we have in our lives who actually care about us? A new friend is always a win and all of the guys already really like you. The lair has been so depressing this week because Raph's been in the worst mood I've ever seen him in, and Mikey and Donnie want to know when you can hang out again. All of them blame me, rightfully so. But you're right, I didn't consider you or their feelings in all of this. I'm sorry. Do you think we could maybe start over?" he asked, looking over at me with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.