Leonardo takes a deep breath as he stands outside Destiny's room. He's faced monsters, mutants, things that still linger in his nightmares to this day, so he can definitely handle his girlfriend when she's in a bad mood.

He knocks.

"What?"

"It's Leo. Can...I come in?"

There's a pause, then the door opens a crack. Destiny's unscarred eye appears. "What?" she repeats.

He purses his lips. "Can we talk face to face? Maybe?"

She doesn't say anything for a second, then pulls the door open the rest of the way. She goes back to her bed, sitting down and pressing her back against the wall, arms crossed. Leonardo maneuvers around Sarina's futon and settles down across from her, noting how she tenses up and how her nostrils flare.

"I want to take you out," he says, "on a real date. I think we can justify using the human patches to go and do something...human."

She blinks. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well..." he says, starting to smile. "There's this...ballroom, masquerade party happening near the Wolf Hotel tonight."

"And...are we invited?"

"I mean, not technically, but..." His smile grows into a sly smirk. "Ninjas have their own way of getting into these things."

"True..." She leans back, staring up at the ceiling, and exhales. "Yeah, okay. Let's do it."

----------

Destiny stares at herself in the bathroom mirror, fiddling with her brand-new Donatello and Sarina patented hearing aids. She hates wearing the patch—it's pointless to her. Her scars don't go away, she can't fly, she can't hear properly and her senses are so...mundane that the entire process is annoying. Today, she's alright with it, mostly because Leonardo's intoxicating scent isn't as prevalent without her wolf senses.

As she stands there, trying her best to make her hair look nice, she's once again glad she isn't human. She can't imagine trying to make herself look nice every time an event happens. It's so much easier to just grab your sword and go.

Her hair isn't quite long enough to put it in a bun, not like she could figure it out anyway, so she braids her long side-bang, creating a multicoloured braid of hair, and pins it up. There, she thinks. Simple but effective.

The dress is another debacle. They're supposed to be going to a ball and yet she's wearing the same short black dress she wore for her eighteenth birthday party. She doesn't have a ballgown and there's no one she knows who could possibly lend her one, so this was her only option.

So she doesn't look like the put-together, effortlessly beautiful goddess that she wishes she could be sometimes, but it's fine. This is fine. She's going to go out and have fun with her boyfriend and try to ignore the ways that nature (or, rather, the unnatural) is changing her.

She leaves the bathroom, walks down the hall, and emerges into the lair. Leonardo is waiting for her, wearing a white button-up dress shirt, black pants, shoes, and a blue tie. He faces the entrance to the lair, running his fingers through his black hair, hemming and hawing as he shifts in place.

Her heart-rate spikes as her eyes wander along his broad shoulders, down his back. She bites her cheek against a low growl and picks up the pace. Leonardo turns around when he hears her coming, his eyes lighting up. She's forever grateful that, turtle or human, his eyes are the same. It reminds her that the human boy she's looking at is truly Leonardo.

"You look amazing," he says.

She blushes. "Thank you..."

He holds his arm out to her. "Shall we?"

She threads her arm through his, her skin prickling at the contact, and she swallows. "Yes, let's."

----------

It's easy to find where the party is, as the large, domed building is lit up with hundreds of golden lanterns and the sound of instrumental music can be heard even at a distance. Destiny wishes they could just fly there, but the human patch won't allow that.

Yet another reason to hate it.

They perch on the nearest building, watching elegant couples make their way inside, and Destiny jolts when she feels something brush her arm, immediately whipping her head towards it. Leonardo looks at her expectantly, holding out a black masquerade mask complete with sleek black feathers and tiny fake diamonds.

"What?" she asks.

His face falls. "I said that I got you something," he says, giving the mask a shake. "Sorry, I whispered it. Do the aids...?"

She deflates. The hearing aids help make everything a little louder, but whispers are hard for her to pick up. Maybe, with time and more development, Donatello and Sarina can create something better. For now, this is all she has.

"Oh, right," she says with a tiny smile. "Thanks, Leo."

He smiles as she takes the mask and ties it on. He pulls out his own, a similar mask but decorated with blue and white. They stand from their perch and Leonardo pulls her close, pulling out his grappling hook.

"Hold on," he says.

Destiny clings to him, burying her nose against his throat as her eyes flutter shut.

----------

"Here, look."

They slip into the building through a window, landing in what appears to be an office. Destiny is never quite sure what purpose these buildings serve aside from looking cool and, apparently, being good ballroom venues.

Leonardo takes her hand, leading her out of the room, and they emerge onto a balcony high above the main floor. Destiny peeks over the edge, taking in the lights, the music, the colourful skirts swinging as couples dance together.

"It's beautiful," she whispers. She grips the railing and looks up, where the glass domed ceiling lets in a view of the night sky. Her smile grows and she swears her tail would be wagging if it weren't hidden away.

She hears Leonardo clear his throat and when she turns to him, he's holding a single rose, his hand extended to her.

"May I have this dance, mysterious woman?" he murmurs.

She giggles. "Oh my, what a handsome stranger," she says. "So alluring...I can't resist."

She takes his hand and he pulls her close, placing the rose between his teeth as he winks, and she lets loose with another laugh.

They dance, hands intertwined, his hand on her waist, hers on his shoulder. The rose falls away somewhere in their movements. The first time they danced like this was before their final battle against the Shredder, right after Destiny discovered more about her birth mother.

Back then, Leonardo still loved her but he didn't do anything about it. Back then, he got her to dance because all he wanted was to make her smile. Now, seeing the peaceful expression on her face as she rests her head on his shoulder, he knows he succeeded yet again.

"Leo?"

"Yes, my lady?"

Her eyes flutter open and he wonders whether their hazy appearance is just because of the lighting. Their colour is so stark behind that black mask. She gazes up at him.

"Do you ever wish you could just stay human?" she asks. His brow furrows. "I mean, so you could be down there, enjoying the champagne instead of hiding up here with me."

"I like hiding up here with you," he retorts. She bites her bottom lip for a second before releasing it and he's consumed by the urge to kiss her. "Maybe it'd be nice to be like everyone else, but..."

"Maybe not?"

"Exactly."

She hums a little and he feels her lips brush against his neck, teeth just grazing the skin, and he can't help the shudder that rolls through him. At least she's doing this kind of biting now, right?

"Actually, Des," he says. She hums again, still leaving tiny kisses and bites on his throat. "I-I...I wanted to talk to you. Have you been...feeling okay?"

The affectionate nibbles stop and she slowly looks up. "Huh?"

He purses his lips. "You know...you haven't really been yourself lately. Donnie and Sarina said I should ask you."

She averts her eyes. "Oh..." she says. "That. Yeah, I'm..." She bites her lip again. "I don't even know how to say it, it's so weird—"

"You can tell me anything. I want to help."

She turns away, hands covering her masked face. "You can't help, Leo. I...I mean it."

He frowns, moving closer to her, reaching out. "Des, whatever it is, I'm sure—"

She flinches away from his touch, a shudder rolling through her, and Leonardo stops. He ruined everything, ruined the mood, and he chides himself internally. He should have waited, maybe talked to her once they got home instead of souring the rest of their evening together.

"Please, Destiny...babe," he says. She shudders again. He repeats, just as sure as before, "I want to help."

"I already told you, I ca—"

This time, her words cut off with a cry of pain, and she wobbles as if her knees don't work anymore. Leonardo surges forward to steady her as she grips her human ears, eyes screwed shut, baring her teeth. Leonardo notices how her canines have sharpened.

"Destiny," he says, urgent.

"G-Get these out," she begs, clawing helplessly at her human ears. "Too...too much—"

His eyes dart to her hair, where her wolf ears have reappeared, and it clicks. He removes her hands and wiggles the hearing aids out as gently as possible, one at a time. He turns them off, slipping them into his pocket, and Destiny leans against him, shivering.

"You okay?" he asks. He unties her mask and lets it drop to the floor.

When she opens her eyes again, they're teary and wolffish. "Y-Yeah, I...I just...I went from hearing a little to hearing a lot and it just...just..."

He brings her into a gentle hug, petting her hair as she buries her face in his shoulder, breathing heavily. He notices as he calms her down that her wings and tail are back too. He checks his hands for any sign that his patch is wearing off, but there's nothing yet. He's okay for now.

"L-Leo," she croaks.

"Des," he whispers. "Can...can you tell me what's happening?"

"I'm...it's..."

All the relaxation he saw in her before is gone, like it disappeared when the patch wore off. Her breathing is fast and he realizes with a start that her skin feels hot to the touch. She's been warm all night, but this is something else. She moves closer to him, her mouth trailing back to his throat as her fingers fall to the buttons of his shirt, fiddling and fumbling and she tongues his pulse. He feels his tie loosen.

He squeezes his eyes shut. "A-Ah...Des..."

He likes this, no...loves this, but there's a mental block stopping him from truly enjoying it. It's too sudden, like something flipped a switch in Destiny's brain, and he's had enough of that to last him a lifetime. He pushes her away, his shirt half undone and revealing his sculpted chest, and he doesn't miss the way she stares at the bit of skin like he's something for her to devour.

"Destiny," he says, firm. "Tell me what's going on."

She stares at him, blinking slow. "I'm...in heat," she whispers, quiet enough that Leonardo has to strain to hear it. She mumbles something else before dropping her head back to his chest, pressing kisses to the skin.

Leonardo's brain whites out, stuck halfway through buffering. Heat? Like, what animals get when they're looking for a mate? Destiny's never had this before, has she? Crap, he should have talked to her sooner, maybe had Donatello or Sarina talk the two of them through this.

Is she in pain right now? Has she been in pain for the last few days?

He reaches down and grasps her chin, pulling her away from his chest so that she's looking at him dead in the eye. He tries to keep his face as serious as possible despite the blush blooming across his cheeks.

"I...can help," he says, "but only if you really want it."

He can't stop hearing it, her insistence that he couldn't do anything. Was it a matter of pride that she refused, some stubborn hope that she could push through this on her own? Was she really that embarrassed? He needs her to know that she can tell him anything.

She nods. "Y-Yes, please, Leo...p-please."

He pulls her in for a kiss, mouths moving together in sync, her fingers gripping his shirt. He breaks away before it gets any more intense, making her whine, and he cups her jaw with both hands as he presses a kiss to her nose.

"Not here, my love," he murmurs. "Let's get home, okay? Can you fly us there?"

She blinks, registering his words, then nods. "Yeah...yeah, I can."

They hurry to the window, she gathers him in her arms, and they soar off into the night.

----------

By the time they get into the sewers, Leonardo's patch has worn off. He, thankfully, doesn't ruin his shirt since Destiny oh-so-thoughtfully unbuttoned it for him already, which leaves him to stumble a bit as he gets out of his pants. He kicked off the shoes as soon as he realized he was returning to normal, so when all is said and done, he's left bare with an armful of human clothes.

Destiny grabs his hand and drags him after her. The lair is quiet when they arrive, broken only by Destiny's shaking breaths, and Leonardo is pretty sure his heartbeat is audible too with how hard it's pounding in his ears. He wonders if it's possible for her heat to affect him, because he's becoming less and less capable of thinking straight with every passing minute.

They duck into Leonardo's room and the second he's closed and locked the door, Destiny is upon him. She kisses any available inch of his skin, tail lashing as she presses him against the brick wall, and his mind goes foggy. Is this heaven? He's pretty sure this is heaven. Destiny has never been this forward before and he can't say he doesn't like it.

But, he can't just sit here and let her dominate him. He's supposed to be the leader here.

He lifts her up, hooking his hands beneath her thighs and making her gasp, arms latching around his neck. He grins up at her, making her eyes narrow.

"You okay?" he asks.

She nods, her face decorated in lovely pink. "Yeah, I'm...I'm more than okay."

Seeing her like that, he gets impatient. He carries her to the bed and they fall into each other, tumbling onto the mattress with a heavy squeak of protest from the springs. Destiny starts to laugh as Leonardo steadies himself, her folding her wings tightly against her back while one of his legs slips off the bed and hits the floor.

"Smooth," she teases.

His eyes narrow and he pushes himself up, crawling on top of her. "You're so beautiful, it's distracting," he retorts.

She laughs again before he continues where they left off. He lets his hands wander as hers do the same, and she keeps making little noises, moans and whimpers and happy little giggles. He reaches behind her, trying to find the clasp of her dress—her clothes are so confusing to him, thanks to the modifications she makes for her wings.

Destiny sits up as he falls back to his knees, unclipping the back of her dress and letting him pull it over her head. He dives back in, bodies pressed together, mouths roaming over each other's and anywhere else they can reach. He gets rid of her bra somewhere along the way, tossing it to some corner of the room.

"L-Leo..." she whimpers.

He manages to pull away, pushing himself up onto his elbows as he gazes down at her. He feels like he's seeing her for the first time, every nerve in his body alive, and he can't help but stare. All coherent thoughts have left the building, failing at every turn when he tries to get them to come back. Her hair is a mess, her face flushed, her neck and shoulders decorated with markings, and she's half-naked. He would argue that that's the best part.

Although, close second is the needy glint in her wild eyes that makes his entire body flood with heat. It's so undeniably sexy that he can't believe he was able to resist her before.

"Y-Yeah?" he ekes out.

Her breaths fly from parted lips. "I...I love you, so...so much..."

He smiles, brushing her hair from her eyes. "I love you too, Des."

He leans in to kiss her just as she does, making their noses bump together. He startles, freezing as if caught in headlights and she instinctively grabs his arm, keeping him in place. When the moment passes, she grins and starts to snicker again, only serving to make him do the same. They lay there, him careful to keep his weight off of her, her giggling into his shoulder and him laughing against her hair.

"You still good?" he murmurs.

She nods, arching her body up into his, creating more friction. "Yes," she breathes. She untangles her arms from around his neck and reaches down to the hem of her panties. "J-Just...get these off me already. I'm..." She whimpers as he takes over for her, slipping the fabric down her legs. "T-Too warm."

He leans down, pressing a kiss to her stomach, then the inside of her thigh, hands gently touching her skin. "It's okay, Des," he murmurs. "I'm going to make you feel all better, okay?"

She barely manages more than another whimper, hand pressed to her mouth as she turns her head to the side, eyes squeezed shut. "H-Hurry..." she begs.

Another gentle kiss, closer to her centre this time. She's so soft, so warm, intoxicating to his every sense, and he slowly brings his eyes back to her quivering body. He wants to kiss every scar on her skin, worship her, remind her of how much he adores her.

Heat or not, this is still something special.

"Patience, Des," he breathes. "This isn't something I want to rush."

And he doesn't. He takes his time with every move, every touch, making sure that she enjoys every second of connection just as much as he does. Every sound she makes is music to his ears, a reminder that he's doing well, and when it's all over and they're left breathless and sweaty in each other's arms, he lets himself enjoy the utter bliss that fogs his mind.

He falls asleep holding her close to his chest, wrapped up in blankets and limbs and gentle breathing.