When Destiny wakes up on October 18th, Leonardo is not next to her. She frowns as she sits up, staring at the empty space at her side. Weird. She slept through the night and whatever nightmares did pop up, they didn't wake her.

She peers over the edge of the bed. "Sarina?"

The cyborg's eyes snap open with a brief flash. "Yes?"

Destiny starts to smile. "It's our birthday."

"Oh..." Sarina blinks, something whirs in the back of her head, and she gasps. "Yes! It is! The eighteenth day of October, the end of our eighteenth year! Truly, a special day!"

"I think they call it a Magic Birthday. You know, when you turn the same age as your date of birth," Destiny says. "I think Annalise was saying how hers was when she was twelve, and Taylor has to wait until she's thirty."

"Ah, I see! And ours is eighteen!" Sarina gets up, resting her hands on her hips. "It is only my second time celebrating a birthday. I am delighted to be sharing it with you."

Destiny swings her legs off the bed, giving her wings a shake. "Mhm, same. It's fun having a twin." She stills, nose twitching. "Oh my god..."

"What?"

Destiny leaps off the bed and books it for the door. "They're burning breakfast!" She throws the door open and runs, her voice carrying. "LEO! DON'T GO NEAR THAT TOASTER!"

Sarina chuckles and follows her at a leisurely pace.

----------

"We just wanted to surprise you..." Leonardo says, scraping burnt eggs off a pan.

Destiny, standing at the stove and making new eggs, shakes her head. "I think we've established that no one except Mikey or me is allowed to surprise people with breakfast."

"Even Sarina?" Raphael asks.

"Especially Sarina."

Sarina pouts a little. "At least I can make coffee, and food...food is not that difficult."

"Okay, Ms. Burns Water," Destiny teases.

"Destiny, it is my birthday. I do not appreciate your tone."

Donatello snorts into his coffee mug, making Sarina lightly cuff him on the shoulder. Leonardo gives up on scraping burnt eggs and goes to his seat, taking his cup of tea with him. Michelangelo, working next to Destiny, turns around and brandishes his pancake pan and spatula. He grins, making Raphael mutter something like "brace yourselves" under his breath.

"I give you..." He flips the pancake onto Sarina's plate. "Pancakarina!"

Sarina stares at the pancake that looks oddly like her and her eyes flash. "Oh, I see. It is my face...in pancake form. Hence, Pancakarina."

"Don't forget Desticake!" Michelangelo says, flipping over another pancake that looks like Destiny.

Destiny turns around and starts to dole out scrambled eggs. She eyes the crude breakfast caricature and almost laughs. "Thank you, Mikey. It's beautiful."

Michelangelo winks. "Anything for the birthday girls!" He sets a plate in the centre of the table. "I only made two special pancakes though. The rest is normal."

"Good. I don't want to eat Sarina's face," Donatello says.

"At least, not in that way," Sarina states, making her boyfriend drop his pancake and boggle at her. Leonardo stifles his laughter in his teacup.

Splinter enters the kitchen, fashionably late as always, and takes his seat. "I see the carnage has been remedied," he says. "Destiny, Michelangelo, I thank you for making us food."

"You're welcome!" they both say.

"And, Destiny, Sarina," Splinter says, a soft smile on his face. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Sensei!"

----------

That evening, Destiny and Sarina work side by side in the bathroom, doing their best to help each other look good. They both have their dresses hanging from the towel rack, ready to be worn.

Sarina borrowed some makeup from Taylor and April, but Destiny adamantly refuses to put any on.

"No. Have you seen that thing?" Destiny asks, pointing at the mascara brush. "It looks like something I never want near my eyes, ever!"

Sarina pouts. "You will not wear it?"

"No."

"Fine, then I will do my own makeup and you will do whatever you please."

Sarina turns to the mirror, reaches up, and promptly stabs herself in the eye. They spend another good long while flushing mascara out of Sarina's erratically flashing iris, and when that fiasco has passed, both girls decide to leave makeup to April and Taylor.

Their hair goes better. Their haircuts are still looking okay and the dye hasn't left Sarina's hair yet, so they help each other fix their parts, comb and style, and then finally get their dresses on. Destiny's is a simple black dress with a heart cut out of the back and a short, flowing skirt, leaving her wings and tail the space they need. Sarina's is a tighter, blue dress that cuts off above the knee and has a neckline that goes to her throat.

By the time they're ready to go, Destiny has lost a few feathers to stress, but she feels alright. Sarina looks confident and poised. They leave the bathroom together and go to the turnstiles, where Leonardo and Donatello are waiting.

Leonardo rests a hand over his mouth to hide the wide grin on his face when he sees Destiny, cheeks turning pink. Donatello touches his heart, gasping, and Sarina grins.

"My lady," Donatello says, extending his arm to Sarina. She takes it, smiling up at him.

Leonardo blinks, letting out a long breath. Destiny looks down at her dress, hands fidgeting with the material as her tail sways.

"Is...is it okay?" she asks.

"Sorry, I..." Leonardo shakes his head. "I just...I thought you were an angel at first—"

She blushes hard and reaches out to shove him. "Oh, stop. Geez..."

He grins and she takes his arm, the two of them following Donatello and Sarina out to where the Party Wagon is waiting for them. They pile in and head for the surface.

Murakami's restaurant has a closed sign on the door, but the lights within say otherwise. Leonardo reaches the door first and holds it open for the others. Donatello goes first, only so he can proudly announce the arrival of the birthday girls. They enter to the cheering of their friends: Splinter, Michelangelo, Raphael, Taylor, Annalise, Casey, April, and Murakami, all there, all smiling.

Destiny flushes red and hides her face in her hands, although her tail is wagging. Sarina beams.

"This is wonderful!" she says.

April, wearing a sunny yellow dress, moves forward and pulls Sarina into a hug. Casey wanders up after her, although he checks on Destiny. He reaches out to poke her forehead, making her peek at him from between her fingers.

"You good, wolfie?" he asks.

She slowly pulls her hands away. "It's...a lot bigger than my seventeenth, that's all."

Taylor, leaning against the counter in her sleek red dress, smirks. "I'm not used to seeing you all...flustered, chica."

"Well, don't get used to it."

Taylor laughs.

Murakami, already cooking away, smiles. "Gyoza will be ready right away!" he calls, making Casey whirl away from Destiny and race over to the counter.

Leonardo moves to Destiny's side, arm around her waist. "We tried to invite Diaval and Melanie, but they couldn't make it," he says. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. This...this is nice."

She means it. She misses them, of course, but looking around at everyone, she feels good.

----------

"Destiny-chan, I have something for you," Murakami says, a little later on in the night when most of them have eaten their fill.

Destiny lifts her brows. "Really?"

"Indeed. It is something very special to me. I made one for my daughter for her eighteenth, and I made a...slightly different version for you."

He hands her a wrapped present and when she tears the paper off, she finds a cookbook. When she opens it, she finds that each page has a different recipe of Murakami's that she has come to love over the years: gyoza, her favourite ramen...all with affordable ingredients and tips written in the margins.

"Oh my word," Destiny whispers.

"For my daughter, it was to make sure she knew how to make delicious food when she was living on her own in college. For you, I hope you will continue to feed yourself and your family something more than just pizza."

She laughs, hugging the cookbook close with one arm and reaching out her free hand to grasp his. "Thank you, Murakami-san."

"You're very welcome." He smiles. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"Could you teach Sarina how to not burn everything she touches?"

"I am afraid that some people are just hopeless in the kitchen, Destiny-chan."

"Excuse me, I heard that!" Sarina calls from her booth.

Destiny and Murakami burst out laughing.

----------

The party continues. Aside from the cookbook, there are only two other gifts, one for each of the girls. Sarina insisted she didn't need anything, but even she can't resist the hoodie Donatello and April got for her. Anything with the periodic table of the elements on it is a win in her book.

For Destiny, the package is, surprisingly, from Karai. When she opens it, she finds a modified leather jacket with studs on the shoulders and a few patches from New York, Tokyo, and a red maple leaf for Canada. There are two slits on the back with a clasp at the hem so that she can slip the jacket over her wings and close it back up.

"Oh...wow," Destiny whispers.

Leonardo smiles. "Karai said this jacket's good at keeping out the wind. She used it for biking, you can use it for flying," he says. "And...yes, I helped make it."

"Did...did she send this to you?"

"A few months ago, yes. Do you like it?"

She stares at the gift some more. "I'm...yeah, I do, I'm just...shocked she thought of me."

He smiles a little as she hugs the jacket close.

----------

"Happy birthday, Des. Sarina too," Diaval's gravelly voice says through the phone.

"Thanks, Di," Destiny says.

"We are sorry you couldn't attend," Sarina adds.

"Ah...yeah. Kinda busy. Kinda cold too," Diaval says.

"Is there snow there already?" Destiny asks.

"A little. Not too bad. Gotta cloak...and tea."

Both girls giggle. There's a shuffle from Diaval's side of the phone and Sarina touches Destiny's shoulder, aiming her thumb back at Murakami's before going back inside.

"Sarina went back. She says bye," Destiny says.

"Mhmkay," comes his response. "Miss you."

"Miss you too, but you're going to come visit soon, right?"

"Yeah. Soon as possible."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

There's a soft exhale of breath. "You're an adult now..."

"I am." She smiles. "When's your birthday, Di?"

"July...turnin'...twenty-three."

"You're like a grandpa."

"Psh...no."

She laughs again. "I'll let you go. I'm sure it's late."

"Yeah. Talk t'you soon."

"Bye!"

"Mhm."

She turns off the phone and turns her gaze to the sky. She takes a deep breath of cool night air and brings her new jacket closer to her body. It was a good birthday.