Chapter Eight

Leo's hands and feet felt numb as he watched Arella take a seat in the living room in front of Splinter. His brothers were also watching; Mikey with excitement, Don with curiosity, and Raph with relative indifference.

"It would seem you already know about all of us," Splinter observed.

"I told her," Leo said weakly. "I..."

He wasn't sure what to say. This wasn't how he had planned this. Not that he had made any real plan for introducing Arella to his family yet.

"Leo rescued me a few nights ago," Arella said smoothly.

Splinter's whiskers twitched. "He mentioned a mugging."

Leo vaguely remembered lying about that. Arella didn't know he said that, but she brightened. "Yes, that was me. He took me home after that, and he stopped by again later to make sure I was all right."

Picking up this train of thought, Leo lowered his head. "I did," he murmured, "but I was afraid to mention it because, well...I wasn't sure how everyone would react when I said I had been seen."

"It's not like you did it on purpose," Don pointed out.

"No," Leo agreed, "but we've stopped muggings before without being seen. I got careless. I'm sorry."

This was close enough to the truth that he didn't feel bad about saying it, even though he was technically lying again. But so long as it meant he could see Arella freely now, he didn't care. He was glad he didn't have to hide her anymore.

"You're forgiven," said Mikey, his eyes glued to Arella.

His eager expression made Leo frown.

"I assume we can trust you not to speak about us to anyone," said Splinter.

Arella shook her head. "Never. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's keep a secret."

Splinter's expression was also making Leo frown. There was something strange in his eyes, something that suggested that he didn't trust Arella. It was a vague expression, like Splinter himself wasn't sure where this feeling was coming from.

On the other hand, Mikey was practically drooling, and Don was only pretending to read the science magazine he was clearly watching around. Raph was busy pumping a weight with one hand and didn't look like he was paying attention anymore.

Arella seemed to have picked up on Splinter's mood too; she flashed her best smile, making her cheeks dimple in that way that was both adorable and sexy. "I promise you, I will keep your secret until I die. But if you don't feel comfortable with me hanging around, I'll leave."

"That might be best for now," said Splinter, after a moment's silence. "If Leonardo wishes to visit you, then he is free to do so, but for the time being you should not come here."

Mikey made a sound. "Why not?"

Splinter shot him a look, and he quickly shut up. Leo wanted to demand the same thing, but he held his tongue. Arella looked surprised too, flinching like she hadn't been expecting him to withdraw Leo's earlier invitation. She stood, looking shaken.

"I understand. I'll go now. It was nice meeting you."

Before Leo could say anything, she had hurried up the stairs and climbed up the ladder. He jerked his gaze to Splinter, but he had already gotten up and was heading to his room. Leo hurried up after Arella.

"I don't know why he did that," he said after he caught up to her; she was leaning against the wall a few feet from the ladder, looking winded. "He never said any of our other friends couldn't visit whenever they wanted after we met them."

"He must have a good reason," Arella said weakly.

Leo was thinking the same thing - but he couldn't imagine what that reason could be. Arella was so sweet and innocent; he didn't understand why everyone, including Splinter, hadn't fallen as in love with her as he was.

"I have something I need to take care of," she said, pushing away from the wall. "Come see me later if you can."

"I will," he promised.

Back in the living room, Mikey hurled a ping pong ball at him. Leo watched it bounce off his shell. "Yes?" he asked icily.

"I can't believe you kept such a cute girl a secret," Mikey groused.

"I told you, I was worried about mentioning her because I thought it might get me in trouble. Well, more trouble," he added, with a glance at Splinter's room.

Splinter was visible through one of the windows; he was sitting down with his head lowered. He didn't look up, but Leo knew he had heard.

"She seems nice," said Don, who had given up the pretense of reading his magazine. Raph had drifted over to a punching bag, a sure sign that he wasn't paying the least bit attention.

"What's her profession?" asked Don.

"Why do you ask?" said Leo.

"I dunno. She seemed smart to me."

"She's an artist," Leo replied - then cringed. He shouldn't have said that.

Too late; Mikey's eyes had lit up, and he grinned wickedly. "You mean a painter," he said gleefully. "So that's why you decided to-"

Leo gestured rudely for him to shut up, and Mikey closed his mouth with a frown. Leo glanced at Splinter, who looked like he was deep in thought. "So, when are you going to go see her again?" Mikey asked in a quieter voice.

Leo drifted over to the couch and sat down, absently switching on the TV. "Later tonight."

"Can I come?" Mikey asked eagerly.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because she has better things to do than entertain an immature nut like you," Leo snapped, rapidly losing patience.

Mikey quieted, looking hurt. Donnie frowned hard. "That wasn't called for," he said, disapproval plain in his voice.

Leo scoffed and sunk lower on the couch. "Whatever..."

He hoped Splinter wasn't listening to this. He would probably wind up grounded again.

But Mikey looked genuinely hurt and wasn't interested in talking anymore. He moved to another part of the room and remained unusually quiet, while Don went back to his magazine.

When evening came it was a relief. Leo noticed that he felt less tired once the sun went down, too. Not that he had to wait until after dark to visit Arella anymore; it had just become a habit.

"I'm going out," he announced, just as his brothers sat down with the mound of pizzas they had just ordered.

"Aren't you going to eat first?" Don wondered.

"Nah. I'll pick something up on my way to Arella's."

He looked over at Splinter, who was still sitting quietly in his room. "It's all right if I go, right?"

It was a moment before Splinter answered. "If that is your wish," he said quietly.

Leo almost sighed in relief. "Thanks," he said, before hurrying to the upper tunnels.

Along the way he paused at an all-night Japanese takeout stand, a place that was always in such a hurry and so dimly lit they never bothered to look at their customers - something he had learned while looking for meals Master Splinter would enjoy.

When he reached the alley next to the movie theater, Leo found a slender metal ladder propped up against the Dumpster. Pleased, he propped it up outside one of Arella's windows, scurried up and knocked politely.

"Prince Charming comes bearing gifts from exotic lands," he joked when Arella opened the window.

She giggled and took the takeout box he passed to her before crawling into the apartment. "Forget princes; Ninjas are so much more fun," she declared.

"I am so in love with you. Have I mentioned that?"

Arella smiled at him a moment, her green eyes as bright as stars in the warm candlelight. Then she looked down at the box in her hands as she popped it open. A frown touched her pink lips. "I don't think I can eat this."

"Sure you can," Leo said with a smile. "Japanese food is some of the healthiest in the world."

That was what Splinter said, anyway. When he tried in vain to get his sons to expand their dining menu a little.

Arella didn't look convinced, but she took the chopsticks Leo passed her. He sat down on the floor and dug into his own box; Arella knelt primly beside him and sampled a tiny piece of noodle.

"I'm so glad I can come see you whenever I want now," Leo commented with a happy sigh.

"Me too," she smiled.

"Although," he added, after thinking for a moment, "I should probably go out and patrol the streets later. Just so I don't get in trouble again."

Funny, he was having a hard time remembering why keeping an eye out for crime was so important.

Arella tasted another noodle, right before she fumbled the chopsticks. She set them and the takeout box down with a frown. "If I had to live somewhere else," she said, smiling again, "I think I'd like to move to Japan. All that food in one place...and it must be a lot less toxic than a place like New York."

She shook her head with a scoff. "Someone once told me to try the west coast, but pollutants are even worse over there. Coasts are supposed to be clean and crisp; why do they have to be so polluted in this country?"

Leo had more or less stopped listening after she said 'move to Japan'. "You'd go all the way to Japan without me?" he asked with a frown.

Arella glanced at his expression and laughed softly. "Of course not. It would be you and me."

What a wonderful image that made. He and Arella living all alone in some quaint little cottage near a rice paddy field. Just the two of them.

He had never really pictured life without his family before, but now that he had, he found he liked the idea greatly. In fact, if she asked him to leave with her tonight, he wouldn't hesitate to say yes.

Arella absently speared a vegetable with a chopstick and tasted it, then pushed the takeout box away. She scooted over to her stack of canvases and picked up a small square one. "I finished your painting," she said, with a hint of pride.

It was a glossy, fanciful image of pale flower blossoms, with curling white ribbon around the edges to frame the pair of gold rings in the center. They were layered so they looked like they were interlocked, and beneath them, in a pretty, flowing script, were the words 'On This Day, Our Two Hearts Became One.'

Underneath was the date April and Casey's wedding was scheduled to take place. "It's perfect," said Leo, with approval.

"It's still drying," Arella told him as she set it down again. "You can pick it up tomorrow."

"I'll be here. There's no where else I'd rather be."

Arella smiled a shy, dimpled smile - and then suddenly turned her head away. She lurched forward, gagged, and was sick on the hardwood floor. Leo set his dinner aside with a hard frown.

"I guess it was too much for you after all," he said unhappily as he reached to rub her back.

Arella choked and coughed for a moment. Leo frowned harder and glanced around the room, looking for a rag or cloth. "Here, let me clean this up for you."

"No," she said quickly, weakly. She twisted around and threw her arms around his neck. She looked horribly pale, and she was trembling. Leo held her close, stroking her curls.

Slowly, her trembling subsided, but she didn't let go of him. She rested her face comfortably against the hollow of his throat, her eyes closed tight as she leaned against him. Leo continued to hold her as he closed his own eyes.

Arella's arms tightened around him and he felt a pressure against the side of his throat. It was like her lips when she kissed him, only harder. Deeper. It was strange.

When he opened his eyes again he found himself lying on Arella's bed. Arella was on her hands and knees on the floor, scrubbing at that dark stain, which had been rubbed away to a mere spot.

"I just can't seem to get rid of all of it," she groused. She sat back on her heels, hands on her hips, and let out an annoyed huff of air. "Guess I'll have to buy a rug or something."

Leo didn't feel concerned with stains right now. His head buzzed and swam unpleasantly as he slowly sat up. "What happened?" he asked, his voice faint.

Arella glanced at him and smiled. Her eyes were oddly bright, and her cheeks were rosy. "Same thing that happened the last time you asked me that."

"I fell asleep?"

"Out like a light," she confirmed.

Leo wanted to laugh and say something about how peaceful and content he felt when he was with her, but he couldn't bring himself to. He didn't feel peaceful right now; he felt wobbly and sick, and there was a strange tingling in his hands and feet.

Groaning, he leaned his head on his hand as he struggled to swing his feet to the floor, but his legs refused to obey. "I'm supposed to be patrolling," he said dully, but he couldn't picture himself jumping rooftops right now.

Arella stood, crossed the room, placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pressed him down to the pillow. "Don't worry about it," she said soothingly. "Rest now."

She drew her hand across his forehead; her fingers were hot. "Just rest," she whispered.

Leo closed his eyes, and the world disappeared into a haze of gray and black.