New York in December is a lot warmer than Canada in December. That's the first thing Destiny notices. The second thing she notices is that there's very little snow compared to the snow in Saskatchewan. It's good to be home.
The streets are decorated with Santa Clauses, lights, holly, shimmering ornaments, and festive things of all kinds. There's a faint ringing of bells every now and then and people calling out greetings to one another, voices filling the air. It's Christmas Eve in New York City.
Destiny feels almost at ease. With cold comes reasons for her to bundle up, thus it's just a little easier for her to walk down the street without being noticed. The only other time of the year when she can go all out is Halloween, where people still think she's scary but follow up their screams with compliments on her realistic werewolf costume.
During the winter, bulky sweaters and winter hats—or bunny hugs and toques, as she's learned to call them up in Canada—cover up a lot of her less attractive features. Tucking away her tail still sucks, but she won't have to deal with it for long.
"Diaval, do you think they'll want to see me?" Destiny wonders idly as they pass a house absolutely packed with tweens, most no older than twelve, in varying states of festive dress. The blonde woman on the front steps ushers her equally blonde daughter out the door, calling out something about being home well before midnight.
Diaval watches the children squeal with delight and race past them, singing carols as they go.
"Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all the way!"
He shrugs as he adjusts his own hat, one decorated with maple leafs. "Pretty sure."
She lowers her head, tucking the Space Heroes backpack dangling from her hand closer to her leg. "I'm nervous, Di."
"It's okay," he says. "Y'know what you've gotta do."
They resort back to silence, their breath creating swirls of fog in the cool night air. As they walk, Destiny prepares herself for the worst, running over what to tell them about Diaval and where she's been and why she hasn't called.
Leonardo, of course, is a whole other thing that she'll have to handle.
She swallows the lump in her throat, trying to put her mind back at ease. She's got her backpack full of presents, small ones but presents all the same, and she's ready for the worst.
She looks to the rooftops and sees nothing but drifting snowflakes in the curtain of grey sky. Diaval follows her gaze, but lowers it sooner.
They reach an alleyway with a manhole cover hidden within, where the two drop down into the sewers and head straight for home. The tunnels twist and turn like a never ending maze, but Destiny knows where to go and Diaval follows her willingly.
A soft glow can be seen coming from the abandoned subway station as they approach, instantly causing her to slow down. Diaval bumps into her, his hand flying out and catching her arm as he stumbles. She looks up at him as he releases her, clearing his throat in embarrassment.
"Stay quiet, okay?" she whispers. "I just need to see them first."
Diaval nods and steps back, the shadows nearly obscuring him completely from view. Destiny sneaks to the edge of the lair, poking her head up over the turnstiles as her heart races.
They set up a tree and it's decorated with all sorts of junk, like ornaments made from cardboard pizza boxes and scraps of shiny metal. There's lights and tinsel, but that's not what warms her heart most.
Casey, April, Splinter, and the turtles are laughing and sitting near the tree wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers. Raphael's arm is back to normal, Leonardo's biceps are mark free, and Donatello, Michelangelo, and Casey look like they were never attacked. The signs of her greatest mistake have disappeared in the physical sense.
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Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)
Fanfiction"I'll tell you all the stories you want." In New York, the buildings are quiet as the people of Manhattan sleep. By the glow of the moon, the silhouette of a girl stands atop a roof, her arms crossed as she watches the celestial body with wild green...
