"Come on, Leo, give me your best!" Raphael challenges as his fighter advances on the TV screen.

"You'll gain no ground," Leonardo retorts, moving his own player closer and clicking the buttons on his controller rapidly.

Destiny leans over the back of the couch, her tail wagging as she watches from between the two turtles. Diaval sits next to the window, staring out at the trees with a blank expression back on his face. His hair has been somewhat cleaned up, meaning that it's been combed to cover any thin patches and he's got his ponytail—however tiny it is—back.

"Want hair back," he mutters.

Destiny glances over at him, a sympathetic smile on her face. "It'll grow back, Di. You were probably in need of a haircut anyways."

"Hmph."

Michelangelo bursts into the living room, arms held above his head as if celebrating something. "Oh, man, Bigfoot is amazeballs with the forest stealth stuff!" he praises.

Bigfoot scampers in after the orange-masked turtle, shoulders hunched. She draws her hands to her furry chest, her pointer finger just grazing her chin. "Bigfoot...scared!" she exclaims, trembling like a leaf.

"Aw!" Leonardo groans as his fighter goes down with a droning beep. Raphael laughs in triumph, shaking his butt in his older brother's face.

"Finger bad!" Bigfoot cries as she scrambles to the window and shuts the curtains.

Diaval lurches away from her and claps his hands over his head. His chair promptly tips over and he goes crashing to the ground. Donatello walks in, blinking a few times as he takes in the multiple events going on all at once.

"Right, fingers are bad," Raphael says, completely ignoring everything going on behind him.

He grabs Leonardo's fingers teasingly, making the blue-masked turtle yank them away and pout. Destiny scrambles over to Diaval and helps him up as he rubs the aching spot on his head. Raphael twists his body so that he can look over the back of the couch, a grin spreading across his face when he sees Donatello.

"Hey Donnie, want to play the winner?" he asks, shaking his controller.

Bigfoot makes another whimpering noise and peeks out the window from between the curtains. Not a single mutant pays attention to the ape-woman's distress.

----------

April walks into the kitchen that night. Bigfoot is already there, lumbering to and fro between the stove and the cabinets.

"Evening, Bigfoot. What are you making?" April asks, wandering over to the stove and peering at the large soup pot.

"Food!" Bigfoot announces, her voice ringing with excitement.

April reaches over and lifts the lid of the pot. The stench of burning fur, rotting meat, and something she'd rather not classify hit her in a cloud, all coming from a boiling yellow-orange slop ridden with chunks of disturbing furry meat. April lets out a yelp of surprise, slamming the lid down.

"Donnie!" Bigfoot continues gleefully as she walks to the fridge.

"Um, you realize that meat has fur?" April asks, forcing a smile.

Bigfoot grins and nods. She turns and opens the freezer door, finding Ice Cream Kitty inside. The mutant cat looks up, they make brief eye contact, and the kitty screeches. Bigfoot screams.

Screech.

Scream.

Screech.

Scream.

The fridge, neapolitan cat and all, is thrown out the window, shattering the glass and nearly hitting Destiny, who had been doing some late night training stretches. The wolf girl stares at the appliance and inches towards it, slightly shaken, then looks back at the house. April waves in apology from the window and Destiny sighs.

She opens the freezer door. Ice Cream Kitty wobbles in place, her tiny black eyes squinted, and she lets out a warning hiss when she sees the wolf girl.

Destiny, while she doesn't necessarily like cats, nearly laughs. "Ice Cream Kitty, are you alright?" she wonders.

The cat meows weakly in response. Destiny reaches down and pats her strawberry-flavoured head hesitantly, making Ice Cream Kitty mew again, as if saying thanks. Destiny gently shuts the freezer door and steps back, giving the refrigerator a long, tired look. She turns back to the house.

"DIAVAL!" she hollers.

She pauses. There's about a three second interval before one of the windows on the upper level opens and Diaval pokes his head outside.

"Destiny?" he calls back.

She waves. "I could use some help getting this back into the house!"

"Coming."

He's quick to get outside. Together, the two manage to get the fridge back into the kitchen, although not without Destiny using her wolf form and Diaval nearly dropping the heavy appliance on his toes now and then.

They go into the living room, Destiny panting rather heavily while the only sign of Diaval's exhaustion is the sweat that's beaded on his brow. Raphael sits on the couch playing video games.

"What was that crash?" he asks, not taking his eyes off his video game.

"Bigfoot threw the fridge out the window," Destiny responds, flopping onto the couch next to him. Diaval gives an agreeable grunt before he droops into an armchair and starts sifting through magazines.

"Is it back in the house now?" Raphael wonders. Diaval selects a magazine and starts flipping through it lazily.

"Yup." Destiny nods and snatches up the extra controller. "Count me in for the next round."

----------

Donatello hops down the stairs, his feet hardly making a sound as he goes. He reaches the bottom floor and hangs a quick left, whereupon he immediately runs into Bigfoot and her kitchen creation.

"Eat!" she says, shoving the pot of roadkill soup towards him.

"Gah!" he gasps upon noticing the repulsive concoction. "Did you—" he starts, then his gaze travels upwards to her face.

She's gotten a makeover. Pink lipstick has been painted all over her thick lips and there's blue eye shadow smeared across her eyelids. Even her hair is done up differently than before. She grins widely at him.

"Wow...whoa, uh, yeah, um, uh..." he stammers. He cuts off and chuckles awkwardly. "Thank you," he forces out, trying not to breathe in the scent coming off the soup. "Gotta go, bye!"

He turns and zooms away, nearly tripping over himself. Bigfoot whimpers at the rejection. The purple-masked turtle dashes into the living room, where Raphael and Destiny are still playing video games.

"Ugh. This is so uncomfortable," Donatello says as he starts to shut the sliding door at the living room entrance. "Bigfoot follows me around everywhere like a lovestruck puppy," he continues, peering out at the empty front entry.

"Now you know how April feels," Raphael comments, letting out a grunt as Destiny manages to smack his character.

Donatello opens his mouth to protest before a realization blankets him. He sighs heavily and droops his head, leaning against the half-closed door. Destiny pauses the game and looks back at him.

"Where is she? Maybe I could talk to her," she suggests.

"Upstairs, maybe," Donatello replies sullenly.

Destiny pats Raphael on the shoulder as if to signal that she's leaving before hopping over the back of the couch and heading upstairs. She walks into one of the bedrooms to find Bigfoot outside, sitting on the roof looking sad and rejected.

"Bigfoot? Mind if I sit with you?" Destiny asks softly, leaning out the window.

"Destiny, sit." The ape manages a small smile.

Destiny crawls outside, settling down next to Bigfoot. They look out at the forest for a moment.

"Listen, I know it must hurt right now with Donnie, but he's never really had anyone have a crush on him," Destiny starts. "So...it's a little weird."

"Donnie...not like Bigfoot?"

"Oh, no. Donnie likes you and all, but the way you're...showing your affection may be a bit much."

Bigfoot tilts her head and stares down at Destiny. "How get Donnie to like Bigfoot?"

Destiny sighs and looks towards the barn. The distant laughter of Casey and Leonardo reaches her sensitive ears, making them shift and swivel. She lowers her gaze and hugs her knees to her chest.

"That's the thing, Bigfoot," she sighs. "I don't think you can make someone like you. It just...happens."

Bigfoot ponders this for a second before looking towards the barn again. The laughter is still present as ever. Bigfoot slides off the roof, bringing a few shingles with her, and lumbers towards the barn. Destiny arches an eyebrow and stands up, then climbs back through the window.

Inside the barn, Casey works on an old truck while Leonardo watches. The truck body itself is set on three large cinder blocks, one block missing. That's where Diaval is kneeling underneath the truck, helping to hold it up with very little effort.

"So she's wearing makeup now, and she keeps making soup for Donnie," Leonardo says, amusement evident in his tone.

Casey pulls back from the truck's hood, wiping a grease stain from his forehead. "Do you think she's his type?" he asks, hiding a laugh.

Leonardo purses his lips, smiling behind it. "Maybe after a shave!"

They both burst out laughing. Diaval frowns slightly but says nothing, grunting slightly as the truck shifts. Casey hears the creaking and turns back around.

"Dude, careful!" he says. "Don't want to drop her again."

"Sorry," Diaval mutters.

There's a soft whimper from the doorway and all three boys look up, finding that Bigfoot is huddled at the entrance to the barn. Leonardo and Casey's happy demeanours fall as her bottom lip starts to tremble.

"Bigfoot, wait—" Leonardo starts.

Bigfoot bursts out crying and dashes away. Both the human and turtle follow her out, running into a less-than-happy Destiny. She leans on her left leg, tapping her fingers and keeping her arms crossed. At the farmhouse behind her, the front door swings open and Donatello and Michelangelo emerge onto the porch and start towards them at a sprint.

"Oh! Hey wolfie..." Casey greets.

"What did you say to her?" Destiny demands, looking pointedly at Leonardo. "I heard laughing. You weren't making fun of Bigfoot, were you?" Her eyebrows furrow.

"We didn't mean it! We were just joking around a little," Leonardo stammers.

"About makeup and gross soup..." Casey mumbles, getting quieter as Destiny's glare gets angrier.

"You're the last person who should be making fun of someone's looks," she snaps, her wild eyes fixating on Leonardo. "I expected better of you. Both of you."

"Guys!" Donatello shouts. The purple and orange-clad turtles join the group. "We heard almost everything."

"What is wrong with you guys?" Michelangelo exclaims. "Making fun of people?"

"We didn't mean to hurt her feelings," Casey defends, although that doesn't stop him from looking guilty.

"Bigfoot! Wait up!" Donatello calls.

He takes off after the distraught cryptid, Michelangelo following quickly behind. Destiny's attention flickers to the barn, where Diaval is still holding up Casey's truck.

"Di?" she asks, her mouth falling open.

She dashes into the barn. Casey and Leonardo turn around, both casting quick glances at one another, and Casey groans before he starts after the wolf girl, Leonardo sticking behind for a moment or two longer.

"He volunteered, Des! I swear!" Casey shouts as he disappears inside the barn.

"Mhm," comes an agreeing grunt from Diaval.

"Seriously? You could ruin his back!"

"M fine."

"See? He's fine!"

Leonardo's sapphire gaze flickers to the trees for a split second as he gulps. With a heavy exhalation, he limps back to the barn.

----------

"Seriously? There was a bounty hunter after her the whole time?" Destiny asks, eyes wide as she brings a cup of hot chocolate to her lips.

"Yup! And his name was the Finger!" Michelangelo says, leaping onto the coffee table and waving his arms around.

Casey stifles a laugh. Diaval takes a tentative sip of his spiced tea, eyes locked on Michelangelo, completely enraptured by his storytelling skills. Raphael rolls his eyes and looks at his non-existent fingernails while Leonardo stirs his cup of tea.

"He had a weird extra finger on his hand, I bet that's why he named himself that," Michelangelo continues, tapping his forehead. "His mama was a shrunken head that he wore around his neck and he talked to her...a lot. Sometimes he made her talk back." He snatches up a flashlight and shines it beneath his chin. "All seemed lost. Donnie had been pancaked, I was knocked down, and then...BOOM! Explosive arrows! The Finger got bounced around like a beach ball!"

"Could use explosive arrows..." Diaval mumbles thoughtfully.

"The Finger knew his time was up. He turned on Bigfoot, crossbow aimed...but then he saw her face."

"Now I'm a believer," Destiny sings under her breath, making Casey snort.

"Dude! Don't interrupt my story with pop culture references!" Michelangelo whines. Destiny claps a hand over her mouth and shuts up. The orange-masked turtle clears his throat. "Bigfoot's beauty took his breath away. Their eyes met, their heartbeats synced, and then it was history." He swoons and wiggles the flashlight beam around. "Bigfoot clutched the Finger close and took him away into the woods, never to be heard from again!"

Casey claps a few times and hoots. Destiny laughs and nearly bumps Diaval as he tries to take another sip of his tea.

The lights in the living room snap on and the teens instantly groan, covering their faces at the sudden brightness. Donatello stands by the light switch, his entire disposition drooped and annoyed.

"Mikey, for the love of shell, we heard the story already," he says. "Could everyone just go to bed? April did."

"Aw, come on, D! You ruined the vibe!" Michelangelo complains.

"He's got a point," Leonardo says as he finishes his tea. "It's late. Everyone get some sleep."

"If you say so, fearless leader," Raphael says, heaving himself off the couch.

The group funnels out of the living room and heads for their own bedrooms until there's only one turtle left. Michelangelo yawns widely as he hops off the coffee table, although even exhaustion can't dull his sparkle.

"Tomorrow, I'm gonna tell everyone about the thrilling sequel: Bigfoot and the Finger, love and hardships," he says, lowering his voice to make it dramatic.

"Go to sleep, Mikey," comes the communal request from the sleepy household.

He giggles and bounces off to bed.

----------

April grunts as she chops wood the next morning. Donatello walks up behind her, watching her split a few logs, wincing every time the axe makes contact with the wood.

"Hey April," he greets as she fixes the firewood pile.

"What's up, Donnie?" she asks, wiping her forehead as she turns around. She smiles lightly at him, making his heart pound.

"Um...well, I just wanted to let you know I won't be bothering you with music boxes anymore," he says, trying to smile but having it fall flat every time. "I get it now. Donnie is to April as Bigfoot was to Donnie." She tilts her head, lips parted, and he sighs heavily as he looks away. "I'm just...a mutant."

April looks at her feet, smiling a little bit as she holds her hands behind her back. "You're not just a mutant, Donnie." Her hands fall from their hold and she steps closer to him, earning his instant attention. "You're my mutant."

She leans up and kisses him for just a second or so, then pulls away. His mask tails stand on end for a second and he goes rigid. She smiles, turns on her heel, and disappears into the house with an innocent smile. Donatello watches her leave, completely shell-shocked.

"I understand...nothing," he breathes.