At first it was little bits of chips, sprinkled on his bedsheets like a minefield. He never usually ate in bed – never usually had a reason to, since he was more often than not sharing snacks with his brothers – but she would ask if he wanted to watch a movie together, and he took any opportunity to steal her away from the others for a few hours. She would kick off her shoes and sprawl out beside him, the bowl of chips balancing precariously between them. Sometimes she pushed it aside and moved closer so she could see the screen better. He liked those nights the most.

Then, it was a dent in his pillow, the duvet left in a tangle and occasionally a smear of red lipstick, if she had forgotten to take her make-up off. As she grew more comfortable in the lair, she would check the time at the end of their second – sometimes third – movie and shrug, saying she couldn't be bothered going home. He would offer to sleep on the couch and she would roll her eyes at him. She would strip to a shirt and underwear and curl up under the covers, and when he finally won the war with his nerves, he would slip an arm around her waist. She never made the bed in the morning, and no matter how much the messiness bothered him, he never fixed it afterwards.

Pretty soon afterwards she started leaving make-up remover in a drawer of his desk, along with an eyeliner pen, mascara wand and lipstick. Just in case, she would say. He opened that drawer accidentally quite a lot.

Next, it was her clothes. Never big items, of course; usually it was just the odd sock or two, something little and black and lacy once. Sometimes she would take them off in such a frenzy she forgot where she'd tossed them, but he always made sure they were washed and ready for collection the next time she visited. Secretly, he quite liked finding the occasional garment; the memories would crash over him again like waves onto the shore, and he'd find himself feeling very hot and bothered all of a sudden. He would imagine her soft skin on his own again and blush at his own reflection.

She left earrings pretty often. They came off with her clothes once she realised how much he enjoyed playing with them. Apparently, he could get a little heavy-handed with the delicate little decorations when he was intoxicated by her. She piled them neatly on his bedside table to be replaced when they were done, but they were an easy oversight. He didn't mind; the silver sparkle on the wood was another nice reminder.

Eventually, he began to leave things for her. Not the flowers and love notes he had done previously (although he did maintain those – seeing her awkward and flustered was precious), but spare shuriken that fell out of his belt pockets as he tossed it off, finding it much more comfortable to lie down without. He left the bedsheets neatly folded and cleaned the make-up off the sink, and every time something was slightly more presentable than she had left it, she groaned through her smile. Once, he had been running particularly late and had dashed off without picking up his mask. She hid it in a shoebox full of pressed flowers and paper, then told him he must have dropped it on his way home.

Neither was quite sure how it had happened, but slowly and surely their lives had blended together, become as irreversibly intertwined as the mutagen in their DNA. He expected to see her chipped navy mug on the counter and she expected to see his nerdy shows on her search history. The little details were no great cause for attention, for they were simply what life had become. Little pieces of her blending into him and little pieces of him blending into her, until ultimately they had bled into one.

Truthfully, Leo was not unhappy with the result. And as Karai rolled over, murmuring sleepily and pressing her face into his shoulder, he decided she probably wasn't either.

You guys know how much I adore these two, they're so cute! And writing about them is an amazing stress relief during A Levels.

Speaking of writing though, the TMNT Reader's Choice Awards opened for voting recently (the link is on my profile, please check it out!) I've actually been nominated for three categories: Best Romance, Best Crossover and Best Portrayal of a Canon Ally, so I'd obviously be very appreciative if you voted ^^ *casual plug*