"Huh!" Destiny grunts, swinging her leg out as she lunges at Raphael.

He dodges easily, smirking as he blocks her uchigatana with a quick upwards swipe of his sai. Near them, Donatello and Michelangelo spar, the orange-masked brother making his usual over-the-top noises as he swings his nunchucks. There's a whistling noise as April's tessen flies through the air, just barely missing its mark above Raphael's head. April regains her weapon and flips it open, fanning herself once before she tucks and rolls away from Destiny's next attack.

Casey leans against a tree, a stalk of wheat between his teeth as he watches the others spar. Donatello blocks Michelangelo's nunchucks and stumbles back, adjusting his footing easily. Casey smirks at Donatello, grabbing his hockey stick and spitting the stalk of wheat out.

"Goongala!" he hollers, leaping into the action.

Donatello spins around, stick clashing with bō staff. The turtle grits his teeth and pushes forward, the two frenemies dodging and fighting with each other with a new kind of ferocity. Without his original partner, Michelangelo quickly switches to Destiny, making goofy noises as he bounces around her.

"Oh! Oh! Can't catch me, girl!" he teases as she plays the offensive against him. "I'm too speedy! WHOO!"

She grins. "Oh yeah? How's this?"

With a flash, she zooms forwards, morphing into a wolf and tackling the orange-clad turtle to the ground. They go rolling away, Destiny coming out on top in the end. Her barking laugh comes out as Michelangelo grins, getting up and hugging her fluffy neck.

"Aw, I can't be angry when you're all cute and fluffy," he coos.

She snuffles his face with her long nose before returning to her preferred state. She stoops and retrieves her fallen sword, adjusting her grip before reengaging with the energetic turtle.

Raphael and April face each other, her swinging her tessen while the turtle evades the attempted blows. He ducks and sweeps his leg, tripping her up and causing her to land hard on her back.

"Sorry April," he laughs.

She narrows her bright blue eyes and lunges upwards with a grunt, catching him in the jaw with a well-aimed punch. He drops like a sack of potatoes, his eyes spiralling as he groans,

"I'm almost a full-on kunoichi," she challenges, crossing her arms over her chest in triumph.

"Aw, yeah! Gotta be quick if you wanna be hanging with the ninjas, dog!" Michelangelo whoops, teasing his disoriented brother before Destiny's uchigatana comes sweeping back at him.

Casey takes another swing at Donatello, but the turtle jerks himself to the side and avoids it. "Sweet moves, Donnie," Casey says, whipping out a slingshot. "Eat this!" He releases the pouch and sends a barrage of pebbles into the purple-masked turtle's face.

"Ow! Cheap shot!" Donatello exclaims, chucking his bō staff at the teen.

It hits Casey straight in the gut, earning a grunt of pain. The mutant tackles Casey, sending them both to the ground as they start to roll around and growl at each other, tugging and pulling at whatever their hands can grab. Michelangelo and Destiny stop their spar to watch the boys tussle.

"Okay, you two, enough!" April exclaims, halting them instantly, thumbs pinched on cheeks and fists raised. "You guys are acting like a bunch of caged animals!"

"Aren't...aren't they already animals?" Diaval's low voice sounds.

The redhead turns around, finding that the nineteen-year-old has moved closer to the group. He stands where Destiny's body is blocking Donatello from his view. April exhales as Donatello's palm meets his own face.

"It's a figure of speech, Diaval," she says, resting a hand on her forehead. "Caged animals aren't really friendly."

Diaval nods and looks at his feet as he shuffles in place. "Don't like cages..."

Michelangelo gives him an odd look from the side. April, deciding not to push it further, looks back at Donatello and Casey as they get back to their feet.

"We're just blowing off a little steam, Red," Casey explains.

"Yeah, things are just kind of tense lately," Donatello seconds, placing a hand on Casey's shoulder and making the boy grimace. "Right, old friend?" The former wraps an arm around the latter, nudging him towards his plastron.

"You got that right, old pal." Casey returns with an elbow to the gut.

"Don't think they're friends," Diaval mumbles into Destiny's ear, making her have to swallow a giggle. Diaval blinks in confusion as to why she looks so amused.

"We're all just a little frustrated, April," Raphael cuts in, stepping to the redhead's side. "No offense, but we're turtles..." He glances at Destiny. "...and a wolf. We don't belong in a farmhouse. We belong in the sewers."

"Okay, not entirely accurate but, uh, apropos." Donatello shrugs.

"Yeah, that's all good," Michelangelo says with a smile and a stretch, "but like Master Splinter would say, 'We must accept the hand that the universe has dealt us.'"

Michelangelo shuts his eyes and extends his arms out, palms up as if he's ready to catch invisible raindrops. The rest of the group share a few looks.

"Wow, that's deep, yo," Casey says.

"Master Splinter's gone, Mikey, and Leo may never wake up," Raphael says, his shoulders and head drooping. With those words, the adrenaline and fun of the sparring seems to leave everyone else as well. "The universe dealt us a terrible hand."

Raphael heads towards the house, slipping his sais into his belt. Destiny sheathes her uchigatana and starts after him, Diaval instantly trailing behind her. It isn't long before the others decide to follow.

As soon as Destiny gets into the house, she heads up the staircase and goes into the bathroom. Leonardo remains where he's always been, sleeping in the tub, his maskless face blank. Destiny leans down and kisses his forehead before settling onto her stool.

"Hey Leo," she whispers, brushing her fingertips down his cheek. "Training went well again. I'm getting better with the sword, but..." She sighs and rests her elbows against the rim of the tub. "I wish you could teach me."

Raphael comes up less than a minute after her, settling down in his own spot with a heavy sigh. They sit in silence for a few moments, the occasional drip from the tub faucet creating ripples in the surface.

"Maybe today's the day," Destiny suggests.

"Yeah..." Raphael mumbles.

They dip back into the quiet, the sounds of Michelangelo's newest favourite TV show "Crognard the Barbarian" playing from downstairs. Destiny and Raphael don't have any conversations, but they don't need to. They're here for supporting each other while they wait for what may never happen; Leonardo waking up again.

"Destiny," Diaval says, peeking into the bathroom. She looks up at him, her wolf ears perking. "Kinda need help..."

"What happened?" she asks, standing up and moving towards him.

Raphael makes a low noise in the back of his throat and adjusts his arms on his legs, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the tall boy. Diaval mumbles something to her as he shows her a large cut on his hand, earning a gasp.

Raphael turns away, listening to their lowered voices and the soft sound of Destiny's barking sort of giggle. Their footsteps disappear, leaving the red-masked turtle alone in the bathroom. The faucet drips, sending ripples out from where it landed.

"Leo, I'm just saying this because you can't hear me, but you've got one of the nicest ex-girlfriends ever," he mutters.

A few minutes pass before it happens. Leonardo shifts and makes a small noise. Raphael exhales sharply as he stumbles to his feet. Leonardo makes another sound, his lips parting as his movements disturb the water.

"GUYS! GUYS!" Raphael hollers.

He books it from the bathroom, bolts down the stairs, and nearly careens into the living room. Every pair of eyes falls on him as he takes panting breaths, bracing himself against the doorway.

"It's Leo, he's waking up!" he says before he spins on his heel and races back up the stairs.

Pounding footsteps follow behind him, and just as Raphael skids back into the bathroom and plants himself next to the tub, Leonardo's eyes peel open. His lips purse and he blinks slowly as his pupils flicker to and fro before he finally looks up at Raphael.

"Raph?" Leonardo croaks.

The footsteps brake to a stop outside the door and Leonardo's head swivels to find Destiny staring back at him, face slightly flushed from the sudden sprint and her lips parted, blowing windswept tendrils of brunette hair with every breath. She breathes out his name just as Donatello and Michelangelo arrive and brush past her, snapping her back to reality.

"Leo?" Donatello asks, stopping next to Raphael.

Leonardo diverts his attention to his brothers, a weak smile spreading across his face as he sits up a tiny bit. "Hey guys."

"Dude! You're back!" Michelangelo squeals.

He throws his arms around his brother's neck, happy tears rolling down his freckled cheeks as he tugs Leonardo back and forth, disrupting the water and spilling over the lip of the tub as Leonardo lets out rough, weak exclamations of words like, "Ouch...that hurts."

"Mikey, take it easy," Destiny murmurs, walking just far enough to pull the orange-masked turtle back. She quickly releases him and backs up to the door.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Raphael offers as the three brothers lean down to help Leonardo from his watery bed.

----------

Destiny didn't expect to feel like this when he woke up. She saw herself as calm, collected, able to think straight and politely express her happiness at his alertness, but that's not the case at all. Her heart is pounding, every nerve feels like a live wire, and all she wants to do is hold Leonardo close to her and apologize for everything she did to hurt him.

She doesn't move, standing like a statue behind the armchair that Casey is currently occupying. The others sit and stand in various places all around the living room, save for Diaval. He's currently in the kitchen, petting Ice Cream Kitty and trying to mentally prepare himself for seeing and actually speaking to Leonardo.

"Three months?" Leonardo repeats as Donatello places a stethoscope against his plastron. Destiny's ears flatten against her head automatically, not used to the deepened sound of his voice. "I've been out that long?"

"You had us all worried sick, Leo," April says, her hand shifting off the back of the couch. "Raph and Des hardly slept."

"Eh, it was nothing." Raphael shrugs.

Destiny bites her lip, wrapping her arms around herself as she looks out the window and focuses on the rippling grass. Leonardo's gaze falls on his brother, a tiny smile on his lips, and then shift to his ex-girlfriend. The smile disappears, his face more confused than anything. Her tail lashes, but she doesn't look at him.

"So, like, why does he sound different?" Casey asks.

"He sustained damage to his throat, and pretty much everywhere else for that matter," Donatello says, pulling the stethoscope earplugs from his ears and hanging it around his neck. Leonardo grunts and lets out a ragged cough. "Here, try some of my special patented mutagen medicine. You'll be healed in no time." He holds up a bottle, pouring a dollop into a spoon and holding it out to the blue-masked turtle.

Leonardo gulps down the spoonful, a shiver rolling through him as he suppresses a noticeable gag. "That tastes like it's supposed to come out of me, not go into me."

Raphael jumps up from his seat only to flop down on the couch next to his brother. "First thing tomorrow, we're gonna start training again. You, Des, and me," he says, throwing his arm around him and bumping his fist to Leonardo's plastron lightly. "We'll have you on your feet in no time, bro."

"Raph," Destiny says, obviously strained. "I don't think that's the best idea." The attention in the room flickers to her, her jaw clenching as she inhales. "It should just be you two. I'll stay here and—"

Right on time, there's a thump and a short grunt of pain from the doorway. Diaval clutches his shoulder, his eyes narrowing slightly at the doorframe that he bumped it on. Leonardo's eyes widen. The tension in the room rises noticeably.

"Ouch..." Diaval mutters, giving his shoulder one more rub before dropping his hands to his sides. He looks up to find every pair of eyes on him, all in varying states of annoyance, anger, or worry. "Uh...bad time?"

Silence. Leonardo's head swivels to Destiny, the wolf girl's face slack and her wild eyes blown wide. Raphael stands up, forcing a smile that looks far too unnatural.

"Des, you can explain that," he says. "I just forgot, but I've got this thing to do. Everyone? Yes?" His bright green eyes land pointed looks on every teen.

"Oh, wow, uh...I...have to clean my room!" April says, leaping to her feet and folding her hands behind her back as she scoots towards the exit. "Casey, want to help me out?"

"Sure thing, Red," Casey says, flashing a smile as he saunters towards her. "Casey Jones is amazing at cleaning."

The humans bolt up the stairs without another word. Raphael clicks his tongue once before he too slips out. Donatello clears his throat, an awkward laugh leaving him.

"You know what, I'm so scatterbrained, I completely forgot to turn off the Bunsen burner," he says, smacking his hand to his forehead and sighing loudly. "Wow, how stupid of me! I'll just run to the barn real quick." His russet eyes snap to the nearest turtle. "Mikey! How about you come with me?"

"Sure thing, D!" Michelangelo grins, the only mutant in the room who's actually genuine. "I have to feed the chickens!"

They book it, Donatello practically dragging Michelangelo behind him. They disappear from the room and three seconds later, there's the sound of a slamming door.

Destiny's mouth closes as she swallows, her feet shifting and making the floor creak. In the silence of the room, it's easy to simply hear her discomfort. Diaval's pale eyes flicker between the weakened turtle seated on the couch and the wolf attempting to be stoic and failing. She wears her emotions like a second skin.

Diaval stares at Leonardo for a second, honing in on his desire and finding that above all else, there's a jarring and glaring want for Diaval to not be here. He gulps.

"Gonna just...go," he mutters, scooting backwards and stumbling once. "Mhm, yeah, bye."

He too leaves, leaving Destiny and Leonardo completely alone. Destiny skirts around the armchair, hugging her arms against her stomach as she again shifts her feet, and Leonardo leans back against the cushions with a long sigh.

"I'm glad you're awake," she finally says. "Everyone was worried."

He purses his lips. "I thought it was a dream," he says, eyes locked on the ceiling. "When I pulled myself out of the water and you were there..." He shakes his head. "I thought that there's no way you had come back."

"The serum ran its course," she says, sinking into the armchair as she drags her fingers along her wrist. "I had to come back."

Leonardo makes a noise halfway between a scoff and a cough, his face twisting as he grips his side. "Yeah," he says, not meeting her eyes. "You came back, but you brought him along."

Her worry dissipates in lieu of anger, eyes brightening and jaw clenching as she unfolds her arms. "Diaval came back to find Karai and to make sure that I made it home safe. He's only here because he couldn't find her."

He shifts in place. "She's somewhere in the city right now. He could've stayed and looked for her."

"You know I couldn't do that to him. He wouldn't make it one day with Kraang at every corner!" she nearly hisses as she stands up. Leonardo still doesn't look at her, making her let out a small sigh of defeat. "He's here, that isn't changing. I'm done talking about whatever your problem with him is."

"Fine by me."

She doesn't respond, turning and sitting back down in the armchair with a little more drama than needed. He exhales, staring up at the ceiling as his foot starts to tap. They listen to the scuffling footsteps of Casey and April upstairs, joined by the occasional thump of an item hitting the floor. Eventually, Leonardo does speak again.

"After Shredder got me," he says, earning back Destiny's attention. He looks at his lap, a more melancholy expression spreading across his bare face. "How did you get away?"

Her eyes don't leave his profile. "They left me," she says. "I was bleeding a lot, they must've thought I was as good as dead." He finally looks at her, alarmed, and she smiles weakly. "I just got some more marks. It's all a part of life, right?"

"Leopard attacks are a part of life?" His lips twitch upwards, betraying his true feelings.

"With this family? Yes."

Their soft laughs die quickly when Leonardo coughs again, his body hunching over with the effort and making Destiny wince. When he stops, he rubs at his throat and closes his eyes.

She stands up, walking over to him and sitting down on the floor. She rests her arms against the couch, able to look up at him even if his head is drooped.

"Hey Leo, I've...had a lot of time to think about everything's that happened," she says, her voice low and careful, more careful than she ever is in her day to day life. He tenses, but his expression doesn't change. "I don't want us to hate each other. I don't think I could hate you," she admits. "It's weird now and I'm not gonna lay everything on you at once, but...just know that I wasn't lying when I said I'm glad you're awake." This time, she lowers her head just as Leonardo's eyes sweep over to her. "I missed you."

He stares at her for a second before nodding and looking away. "I missed you too," he murmurs.

She stands, her hand reaching out and running over the top of his head. She smiles lightly before leaning forwards and pressing a kiss to his forehead, letting her lips linger for a second or two.

"By the way, your new voice is weird," she teases under her breath. "But I like it."

She pulls away and heads out of the living room. Leonardo watches her leave, his skin tingling and his heart pounding a little faster than he'd like it to.