"Fae? You in there?" Leonardo whispered loudly, tapping against his friend's window pane.
No answer. He sighed, deciding to wait another five minutes. Just five more minutes, and then he'd finally be convinced to abandon the hope that Fae hadn't forgotten about their earlier arrangement to meet.
His shoulders ached as he cautiously leaned himself against the brick wall beside her window, gripping the rail of the fire escape to keep from losing balance, wincing when every muscle in his arm seemed to cry out in protest. Needless to say, training today had not been kind to him.
Leo, being the responsible turtle he was, had sought out Splinter's permission to embark on yet another'solo mission'. And Splinter, having already become suspicious about his son's adventures during these missions, decided to make the leader earn his time on the town – with hours upon hours of grueling stamina drills, carefully performed katas, and endless amounts of sparring with the mastered rat himself.
Now, sore and aching, Leo was awaiting his friend, whom he feared had already neglected to meet him. It seemed that even in friendships, selfless sacrifices weren't exactly his strong suit.
"Leo!"
The turtle's already tense body was given a painful jolt when Fae's voice startled him. He eased out ofhis relaxed pose to stand in front of her.
"Hey, Fae," he couldn't bring himself to smile.
"What's wrong?" Her crystalline blue eyes flashed with concern, as she half helped him into the room.
"Nothing."
"You're lying to me."
"...no..."
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"
"Because I'm fine."
Fae raised her brow, planting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips in her usual communication of, Don't give me that, I'm gonna get it out of you eventually.
Leo caved almost instantly.
"Training was just a little difficult today. No big deal."
"It's a bit of a big deal. You can barely move without flinching."
"I'm fine."
"If you say you're fine one more time, I'm gonna whack you upside the head."
Her threat never reached her eyes, sparkling with the slightest hint of amusement.
Fae gently took hold of Leo's bicep, not missing the look of discomfort that flitted across his features when his stiffened arm was forced to move. She coaxed him inot a sitting position atthe edge of her bed.
"I might know something that could help," she told him, voice soft and reassuring, waiting tentatively for his approval to proceed.
After a moment's hesitation,Leo nodded, and Fae set off to work. She tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear as she pulled open a drawer of her desk and brought out a stick of incense, grabbing a lighter off a shelf and lighting the end, filling theroom with a pleasant scent that cloaked the wreak of the rest of the house.
Leonardo watched her with an inkling of interest, eyes darting over the small suggestions of muscle beneath her alabaster skin, the sort of elegance with which her hands moved, the subtle excitement teeming within her eyes at the prospect of being needed, of being useful. He saddened slightly, knowing that she'd never thought of herself as useful, or worth anything more than what her brother had told her. Perhaps that was what kept her so grounded and humble, but he hardly saw that as a worthwhile trade in exchange for her own self-confidence.
Fae had brought out a few candles, lighting them carefully and watching the multitude of tiny flames wavering as she set the lighter back on the shelf.
"Umm...what exactly are you doing?"
"I'm gonna try what's called a marma," she explained patiently, sitting beside him and stooping slightly to grab hold of his right foot and setting it in her lap, "It's an ancient healing technique from India."
"What, like a massage?" He was starting to grow more uncomfortable with the plan by the minute.
"No," she answered simply.
Before Leo could ask another question, Fae ran her thumb from the base of his ankle up to his knee, hitting each and every sore tendon in his leg.
"Ouch!" Leo jumped up, holding his leg close and hopping around in pain, glaring accusingly at Fae, "That hurt! More than it already did! What the heck?!"
"That's the point," She smiled apologetically, "A marma targets the points in the body where negative energy is harbored. I'm not entirely sure how it's done, and I'm no professional, but trust me, it'll help."
The leader stared dubiously at the girl for a moment, sitting back down. Fae reached for his leg once more,and he immediately tensed.
"Don't be a baby."
"I'm not being a baby!" Leo frowned disdainfully, "I don't see why I need this. I'm fine!"
Fae reached forward and swatted at the side of Leo's head, making him jump. "What was that for?"
"I warned you I'd whack you if you said you were fine one more time. Now sit still."
She started again, running her hand along his shin and trying to ignore his hisses of pain.
"It helps if you relax," she insisted, closing her eyes in concentration, kneading his calf muscle unforgivingly. Leo inhaled sharply, pain blooming from his overly taut tendons.
"I can't relax."
"You have to – this energy you're storing is stress-based. The only way to relieve the pain is to release that stored energy. So, relax."
He sighed, but squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on letting the tension ebb from individual parts of his body.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
"Okay! You did well," Fae suddenly proclaimed, making him start out of the meditative trance he'd accidentally put himself in. Leo realized, much to his surprise, that the ache of soreness had partially fled from his muscles. Not only that, but his head felt clearer.
"I wonder if Roman torture techniques had the same effect on the prisoners," he couldn't help quipping, chuckling at Fae's faked offense. "Do you know if Chinese water torture has the same calming properties as the physical hell you just put me through?"
"I thought you were a ninja. Trained to look past the pain and defend your honor. Guess I was wrong about your endurance. Feel any better?" Fae diverted with a subtle smile as she set his foot back on the floor.
"Yeah, actually," Leo grinned, despite the obvious hit his dignity took. "Still a bit sore, but I feel much better. Thanks."
"Oh, I'm not finished."
Fae giggled, watching the smile flee from his face, likening his expression to a child who'd been told he couldn't have any more icecream.
"What? How long do these marmas take?!"
"Traditionally speaking? A few hours. But you've probably only got a few more severe points of energy buildup, so it'll take a shorter amount of time."
Leo's eyes shifted to the floor dismally. He reluctantly mumbled out, "Fine."
Fae smiled reassuringly, laying her fingers along his right shoulder this time and closing her eyes once more to restart her work.
Through occasional twinges of pain, Leo watched his friend. Her lashes fluttered each time she expected to cause the turtle any discomfort, her brow subtly furrowed in concentration while she sought out negative energy. The smooth, flat surface of her cheeks curved up slightly any time she managed to relieve a bit of pain. The suggestions of a triumphant smile showed on her dainty, rose petal pink lips.
It wasn't until Fae had continued to a point just behind Leo's jawline that she finally spoke.
"So much...apprehension," Fae murmured under her breath, "You're constantly questioning yourself, afraid to mess up, not wanting to be uncertain about anything."
Leo's breath hitched, and he had to take a few moments to concentrate on untwisting his tongue enough to say, "What?"
"You never want to feel underqualified... always worried about leading your family..." The fingers on her opposite hand traveled up his neck to find the negative energy harbor on the other side of his mandible, her hands now cupping his face. "Leo, you don't have to doubt yourself like this. You're fantastic. Please, never think otherwise."
Her words struck a chord. Fae's eyebrows slanted slightly, gently probing at Leo's jaw until she was satisfied with whatever it was she had observed. Her sky fluttered open, and the both of them realized just how close their faces were. Too close. Their friend zones were mingling, noses only inches apart. He knew he should pull away, but the feeling of her hands on his cheeks reminded him that if they disappeared he'd go cold, absent of her gentle warmth. But it was she who retracted, her hand drawing away and resting in her lap.
"Done," she declared, glancing at him in anticipation, awaiting his comments.
"Thank you," was all he could manage for a while, still unable to grasp why he suddenly felt so rejuvenated.
"No problem," she replied, nodding to herself and standing up to watch the city lights come to life from her bay window. Leo almost thought he caught sight of a new bruise along her momentarily-exposed collarbone. He hoped it had been his imagination.
"So where does all that energy go?" he asked.
"Hm?" Fae's gaze met his once more.
"I know negative energy doesn't just disappear. Where did you transfer it to?"
She stared at him for a second, and Leo glimpsed the gears turning in her head, contemplating whether to indulge her secrets. Her eyes swiveled back to the horizon, cloaked in twilight.
"I have it now."
"...come again?"
"You said it yourself, the energy has to go somewhere. I transferred it out of your body and into my own."
She said it so nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just taken on what had probably been an extreme amount of negative energy.
"But...why?"
"You're my friend. I wanted to help you."
"But now you have all my negative crap! That's... that's ludicrous."
"It's no big deal. I'll meditate later, to rid the energy for good."
"You meditate?"
Somehow, Leo never imagined he could share something in common with Fae. Sure, they were friends, but they were both from two completely different worlds.
"Yeah... geez, don't make me have to conduct another marma," she joked, "You're getting uptight about nothing."
"I'm not uptight," Leo bantered, crossing his arms and pouting in the slightest.
"I'm just messing with you," she insisted, her grin becoming contagious and spreading to her friend's face almost instantly.
"Sorry, I just... never pictured you as the meditation type," he shrugged.
"Well, there are a lot of things you have yet to find out about me, Leonardo."
Before Leo could say another word, a door slammed, and a slur of curses were shouted, along with Faline's name thrown between choice words. Fae groaned softly, glancing at the blue clad turtle with a look that could only mean one thing.
"I'm going," he spoke before she could.
"I'm sorry about this," she whispered as Leo headed toward the window.
"It's fine. Connor's just being... well, Connor."
"Exactly."
"Take care of yourself, alright?"
"I will."
"Thanks for the..."
"Marma."
"Yeah, that." Leo couldn't help the breath of soft laughter that escaped. He stepped out into the refreshing night air.
"I'll see you later, Leo." Fae flashed a chaste smile his way, a smile that never reached her sky blue eyes.
"Counting on it," he replied, just before the window slid closed, and he was left to wonder what amount of training it would take to see her again.