There's a quiet tap at Destiny's bedroom door, one that rouses her from her disrupted sleep. She sits up, blinking a few times as she rubs her eyes. She looks around, casting her eyes to the door and momentarily question whether she actually heard something.

"Destiny? You awake?" Leonardo's soft voice asks.

She crawls out of bed and steals across the floor, stretching her arms as she goes. She opens the bedroom door, a small yawn stretching her face out briefly as she leans against the doorframe.

"I am now," she answers, rubbing at her eyes again. "Hey Leo."

He smiles, looking far too awake for the hour. "Hey," he responds. He looks around for a moment, gauging their surroundings. "Listen, I want to help you out."

Destiny arches an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"If you're going to keep visiting the surface anyways, I'm going to go with you."

She stares at him, eyes squinted and lips parted. "Huh?" she repeats.

He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "You heard me, Destiny. Come on, let's go."

Before she can react, he's taking her hand and dragging her through the silent lair. She stumbles after him, still trying to comprehend whether she's dreaming or not. Only then does it register that she is wearing nothing but her baggy hoodie, which thankfully hangs far below her pelvis, adding a second layer to her butt and nether regions.

"Leo, I'm not dressed," she hisses, her cheeks flaring with heat.

He stops, turning around to look at her. His eyes flicker to her bare legs for a fleeting moment before they shoot back up, his cheeks turning pinker as he gulps.

"Oh...yeah," he says. "Sorry, I don't really wear clothes, so—"

"I get it," she says, stepping backwards and maneuvering her hand from his grip. "I'll be right back."

She dashes off to her room, the excitement of returning to the surface numbing the ache in her foot.

She returns in record time, wearing her tattered green shirt and equally-tattered jeans, seeing as she has little else to choose from. Together, they head out of the lair in silence.

The sewer tunnels twist and turn the way they always do, but they pay no mind. They just keep going, knowing the way out by heart—or at least, Leonardo does. She follows him with a blind sort of faith, hoping that if he's the one who wants to bring her up, he has something planned.

Eventually, they reach the vertical tunnel reaching up to the surface. Leonardo climbs up first, shoving the manhole upwards and scanning the surroundings. He climbs out, sliding the heavy cover away and peering down to where Destiny is still working her way up the ladder.

He reaches a hand out to her once she gets nearer. She accepts the help, him pulling her from the sewers easily. She stops in place as she settles on solid ground again, a sigh of relief passing her lips before she can stop it as the cool night air caresses her face. Leonardo glances over at her before crossing his arms and casting his eyes to the sky.

"Come on, I've got a spot I think that you'll like," he offers. "Follow me."

They head off after a short nod from Destiny. He leaps up the side of a building effortlessly while she scrambles after him using the fire escape. No matter what Destiny does, she stays far behind the turtle in blue.

He keeps stopping to look back at her, his smile feeling as though it's teasing her. Even so, she keeps running and maneuvering over obstacles that come along as best she can. Leonardo always manages to stay ahead.

For a turtle, he's fast. Really fast.

"If you want, I can just carry you and we'll get there before the night is over," he says, skidding to a stop. He pivots on his foot, waiting for Destiny to catch up.

She holds up one hand, keeping the other on her side as she catches her breath. The stitch in her side that's shown up is making it hard for her to breathe, plus her foot is starting to ache again. To make her feel even stupider, Leonardo doesn't even look like he's out of breath.

She finally stands up straight, breathing deeply before sighing. "Sure, if it'll be faster."

He smirks and beckons her closer. When she does, he scoops her into his arms and takes off, leaping off the building ledge and sailing towards another. She yelps at the sudden movement and instantly secures her arms around his neck, eyes going wide and heart pounding.

Please don't drop me, she begs silently.

As if hearing her plea, his lips twitch and his arms tighten around her just a little more. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna drop you," he says.

"Oh...good," she breathes, a shaky laugh escaping her lips.

He does another jump, making her bury her face against his neck and squeeze her eyes shut. Blinded, she relies on the feel of him rocking, his feet pounding against the rooftops as he performs terrifying leaps over huge distances between multiple buildings. When they finally slow to a stop, Destiny lifts her head. Leonardo sets her down carefully, but her eyes are already fixated on the view.

New York City stretches out in front of them, miles and miles of lights and skyscrapers, the land almost completely surrounded by water. A small sigh of awe escapes her mouth as she inches closer to the edge of the building, taking in the river of vehicles weaving through the glassy buildings at the heart of New York City.

"What do you think?" Leonardo's voice breaks her from her daze.

Destiny looks at him, noticing the way his eyes are shimmering as he watches the horizon. The wind rustles his mask tails ever so slightly and he keeps his defined arms crossed over his chest. 

"It's beautiful." She tilts her head as a teasing smile rests on her lips. Her wolf ears twitch. "Did Donnie tell you about my happy place?"

He shrugs, but his eyes glisten in a way that reminds her of a child who knows a secret and can't tell.

"Maybe," he responds curtly.

"Either you know me really well already, or you and Donnie talk about me in your spare time," she guesses, her tail starting to wag.

His cheeks turn slightly pink, but he coughs and covers it. "You'll never know."

Destiny laughs softly and sits down, her legs hanging over the edge as she gazes up at the luminescent moon. Leonardo settles down next to her. The only sound is that of their breathing. Sirens sound faintly in the distance, and every now and then the honk of a typical New York driver raises up from the din.

"Did you do this often?" he asks. Destiny gives him a confused look. "I mean...before?"

She sighs, her tail flicking to lay alongside her thigh. "Yeah, every night."

They fall silent again, but Destiny can't help but think that her blue-masked friend has more on his mind. He doesn't speak right away, and she makes no motion to further their conversation.

Still, the silence isn't uncomfortable. In fact, Destiny finds it pleasant.

"You know, I never really get to do this," he comments. "Just sit and watch everything. Every time I'm up on the surface, I'm with my brothers or I'm fighting off Foot or Kraang or whatever else..." He looks over at her, a tiny smile on his face. "It's nice to just relax and watch the city with you."

She looks down as she brushes a curl behind her human ear, a warmth in her chest making her skin feel tingly. "Well, I'm glad to be out here too. It's refreshing."

He looks back up at the sky, the moon reflecting in his sapphire eyes. She watches him absentmindedly, admiring the way his face is lightened with contentment. He takes a long breath in.

"The city seems so big when you see it like this," he says, perching his elbow against his knee and leaning his head onto his hand. "I've never been to the downtown area, since there's so many people and lights. It's—" He stops, an air of melancholy assaulting his tone. "It's...unfortunate, but it's the way things are."

Destiny shifts in place, brushing dust off her legs. "Sometimes...I'll just sit on a rooftop for hours, gazing up at the stars and wishing that I could fly away and be happy, because then I wouldn't have to think about everything that I'll never get to do..." She trails off, coughing a little as she clears her throat. "But...hey, I don't have any wings. That won't be happening any time soon."

Leonardo's expression is hard for her to place. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at her again.

"You don't need to fly away to the moon to be happy," he says, voice wrought with honesty. "To me, that sounds...sad." He places his hand on the spot between them, scooting a little closer. "Don't you ever feel lonely?"

She swallows and drops her eyes from him. "All the time, but I guess I'm just used to it."

"It didn't look like that yesterday."

Her memories flicker with images and sounds of the turtles laughing, the splashing of water, the sparse giggles that traversed their little group once Splinter arrived and made them clean up the mess that they made. Leonardo's not wrong, Destiny did act more confidently than she has before.

Still, her heart clenches. "That was me...letting some of my walls down," she mumbles. "I didn't mean to."

"Des," Leonardo says, making her purse her lips. "It was good to see you like that, laughing, loosening up. For a while, I just thought you didn't like us."

"I do like you guys!" she insists. "It's just...you know I'm not used to having friends."

His expression is pitied, yet thoughtful. "Donnie told us about what you said to him," he comments. "I know it's new, maybe a little scary, and that you don't know whether you're ready to let yourself be vulnerable." He swings his feet, looking at them for a short moment. "But...it's alright to be like that, Des, especially after what you went through."

"But Leo...I—" She cuts herself off, stirring in place as she grips the edge of the building a little bit tighter. "I don't want to always feel hesitant around others. I want to be confident and fun and laugh without being afraid."

"Okay, so why don't you?"

She goes absolutely quiet, her mouth half open. Her wolf ears flatten against her head, her muscles getting tenser as she looks away. Her knuckles turn white, thumbs scraping against the concrete.

"Because," she says as the feeling of an invisible hand closing around her throat makes her words sound choked, "I've never been normal and I don't know how to be normal."

Leonardo turns his head out to the scenery, donning another playful smirk. "Good news, Destiny, my family isn't normal. Meaning," he says, giving her a pointed look, "you don't have to be normal."

She whips her head his way. "Your normal and my normal are different, Leo. You've grown up with a family and brothers and I..." She swallows, her eyes darting down for a second. "I've been a dog or a homeless nobody, with no family to boot."

Leonardo looks at his lap, his lips pressing together in thought, but he says nothing. They lapse back into silence for a few long moments, the city noises filling in the gaps in their conversation.

"To me, that part of your story just shows how strong you really are," he admits.

Destiny still doesn't put in her own two cents, although the words make her feel slightly better. She looks up at the sky again, watching the bright moon and its dominion over the night. Slowly, she reaches over and rests her hand on top of Leonardo's, not yet averting her eyes from the beauty of the starlit sky.

"Thanks for taking me up here, Leo," she whispers. "And...thanks for listening to me."

He smiles. "You're welcome."

After another moment of silence, she adds, "Do you want to watch another episode of Space Heroes when we get back?"

"Always."