Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 7: Late Night TV

Destiny wakes up again after what feels like hours. No sounds are made outside the room, prompting her to think that everyone's asleep. She gets up, padding slowly to the door and pushing it open, making her bandaged shoulder quiver. She glances over her shoulder and eyes the crutches leaning by the bed for a moment before shrugging them off. In her mind, she's always been one for quick recoveries, or maybe that's her stubborn nature insisting that she doesn't need the healing that she does.

Her stomach growls, making her tense as her ears scan for anyone who may have heard the loud sound. Nothing except for the steady drip of water in the damp tunnels reaches her. She heads towards the kitchen, wanting to stop her stomach's discomfort. On the counter in the kitchen is an old pizza box and a little note.

Destiny,
I managed to save a slice for you. Enjoy it :)
Donnie

She smiles a bit and opens the box, taking the piece of pizza out and munching on it contentedly. It disappears swiftly and she looks around as she stretches her sore shoulder a little and brushing her hands off. Something moves outside the kitchen.

Her wolf ears twitch as she freezes, listening. A prickly feeling crawls up the back of her neck, footsteps approaching nearer and nearer.

Something touches her shoulder and she yelps. She spins around and pins the attacker to the ground, claws extended and aimed at their throat.

She meet Leonardo's surprised look, his eyes wavering to the claws still situated against the nape of his neck. She takes a few short, panting breaths as he slowly lowers his raised hands. A soft chuckle leaves him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologizes.

She scrambles off of him, cheeks flushing with colour and tail pressing closer to her body. "No, I'm sorry," she says. "I'm not used to other mutants being around and I acted recklessly."

"That's not your fault," he says. They stand in a tense silence, the only sounds the occasional drip of water or the fridge whirring. He clears his throat. "You got the pizza Donnie insisted on leaving for you?"

She nods. "Yeah...thanks again."

He smiles. "Thank Donnie. He had to stop Mikey from eating it, and let me tell you, that is no easy feat."

"I'll do that."

There's another beat of silence. Destiny forces herself not to physically cringe, wishing that their conversations would stop having these awkward breaks. Maybe now is the time for her to slip back to bed...

"How'd you learn that?" he inquires.

Her eyes widen a little as she puckers her lips. "Learn...what?"

"When you pounced on me, those reflexes were pretty quick," he compliments, giving her a look that's almost playful in nature. "Also, when you took the pizza out of the scooter a few days ago, I noticed that you performed a pretty good flip."

Her face flares with heat again, making her flick her hair in front of it as she lowers her head. "I just sort of picked it up..."

"You must've had a teacher or something." He tilts his head a little, his curious expression rather adorable. "Were you...in any clan?" He tenses at that, like something that has to do with clans is incredibly terrible and horrifying.

Destiny shakes her head in response. "No. I've been pretty much on my own for my entire life. I learned everything just by experience...but it's not much. I've just fended off creeps, among others."

Leonardo's lips twitch slightly as his shoulders sag. "For being self-taught, your skills are impressive."

"Thanks." She returns the minuscule smile before glancing around, hooking her thumbs in the tattered loops of her jeans. "What are you doing up?"