Here you go guys! Sorry it took so long. Review please. Thanks everyone!

This chapter is pretty much fluff, but it's cute. And fun. Midori and Leonardo interact a little bit, and Raphael has a surprise for his best friend.

Ch. 25-Getting Acquainted

For the first few days after Midori had awoken the turtle lair was quiet. She slept most of the day, and most of the night too, for that matter. Raphael was worried and kept pestering Donatello about it.

The purple banded turtle had to almost constantly reassure his older brother that, yes, it was completely normal for her to sleep so much after a traumatic experience. Honestly, Raphael should be thankful that she wasn't suffering from nightmares or insomnia…yet. She probably wouldn't reach that stage until after her physical injuries had begun to heal. Because after the injuries had healed, there would be nothing else for her to focus on. Only her experience.

But even Don's rational reassurances didn't comfort him much. Raph wouldn't be satisfied until he could see that Midori was recovering for himself.

And he hadn't seen much of her lately.

But then again, he'd been occupied as well. He was working on a…surprise for Midori. He'd been working on it for the past few days.

On the fourth morning, Midori woke up relatively early. It was almost eleven in the morning. She wandered out into the main room. She stumbled as she was bombarded by the bright light. When her eyes came back into focus she realized that it was empty.

The shuffle of feet in the next room prompted her to wander towards it. She poked her head around the door frame and took a look inside. It appeared to be the kitchen. Midori took a few tentative steps inside and glanced around.

Leonardo popped up from the behind the counter, startling her. He must have been bending over, so it had appeared as though the room was empty.

But it obviously wasn't.

Midori was completely tense. She stared at the eldest with shocked eyes.

Leonardo held up his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay!" He said hurriedly. Midori visibly relaxed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's good to see you up and about."

She made a sound of agreement.

It struck Leo that she was strangely quiet. "You okay?"

Midori nodded distractedly. The comic on the counter had caught her attention. "You like Space Heroes?" She asked, her golden eyes gleaming almost hopefully.

He stared blankly at her for a moment. Finally the eldest cleared his throat and answered. "Yes."

Midori exploded with excitement. "Oh my gosh! That is so awesome! I'm like the biggest Space Heroes fan ever! My favorite comic is the one with the time portal where captain Ryan has to save the ship, the crew and the alien planet!"

Leo's eyes were wide. So was his smile. "I LOVE that comic! It's so awesome! Like when he sacrifices himself for the others."

She grinned excitedly. "And then that thing brings him back from the dead cause it wasn't his time!"

They both squealed with excitement. Leonardo wasn't even bothered by the fact that he sounded too much like a girl. He was overjoyed just to have someone to share his excitement with. As minutes turned to hours the two of them moved on to more serious topics.

"A ninja's honor is his greatest asset. Without it he cannot call himself a ninja."

"I agree, but sometimes a ninja has to sacrifice his principles to maintain his honor." Midori stated.

They were both seated at the counter in the kitchen with warm cups of coffee within reach.

Leonardo then added as an afterthought. "But if honor is created by principles how can one afford to do that?"

"It's all a matter of how you look at yourself. There are some who believe they cannot retain their honor by sacrificing their principles, while on the other hand in certain situations the only way to protect one's honor is by crossing boundaries. By taking a risk."

Leonardo was silent as he mulled that over.

Midori went on. "Honor is ambiguous. Everyone has their own definition."

Leonardo nodded in agreement. Then he smiled.

Midori raised a questioning eyebrow.

Leo's smile grew as he explained. "And I thought we wouldn't get along."

Midori smirked. "Turns out you were wrong, sword boy."

Leo smiled again, a little wider. "Yeah, sure was."

Midori's smile was bright enough to light up a room. Her cheeks colored. She tore her gaze away and murmured, "You don't have to be so nice to me."

"Hey, Raph trusts you with his life." Leo stated evenly. "Raphael's trust isn't easily won."

Again she avoided his gaze. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. "Your brother has been a better friend to me than…well anyone. He's so caring. That is, he would literally do anything for me."

Leo's smile dampened a little. He spoke softly and gently. "You know he cares a whole lot about you."

Midori was silent.

Leonardo continued. "I hope you're aware that Raphael feels things very deeply."

Again she was silent.

"Please don't hurt him. He's gotten so attached to you. Everyone knows it. It's pretty obvious."

Midori's cheeks turned red. Beet red. "Raph and I have always had a strange trust in one another. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I bruised that trust when I snapped at him the day I woke up."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. Raphael can be very sensitive sometimes. But don't you worry. He still sees you as his closest friend. Just give him a little time. He'll come around."

Midori frowned. "I hope so."

Leo put a hand on her shoulder gently. "He will. Don't worry."

She smiled at him, her eyes brightly gleaming.

The sound of loud voices made them look up. Raph and Casey came into the room.

"Oh there you are." Raph stated, he said to Midori, acknowledging Leo's presence with a questioning glance. "How did you get in here?"

Midori sent him a bland stare. "Same way you just did. I walked."

Green eyes narrowed. "You're not supposed to be walking yet. You could hurt yourself or reopen your wounds."

Midori sighed. "Relax Raph. Just relax. Nothing happened."

"Just because nothing happened this time, doesn't mean it will be the same next time. Please Midori, you have to be more careful."

Midori smiled. "I'll be fine, Raph. You don't have to worry about me. It's sweet of you to be so concerned." She kissed him on the cheek. Raphael turned a different shade of green.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well I…I care about you. I'm worried and I want to help you."

She grinned endearingly at Raphael. For a moment, Leonardo was certain he'd glimpsed a flash of something more than friendship in her eyes.

Silence spread between them. Raphael looked her up and down inquiringly. "Are those…April's clothes?"

Midori blushed. "Yeah. They're not very comfortable."

His bottom lip pushed out a little in a frown. "They don't suit you."

"Yeah, they're not quite my style." She agreed. "Unfortunately, I haven't got anything else."

"Oh yes you do. Come with me." The red masked ninja took her hand gently and led her down the hall to a door. He turned back towards her, "Close your eyes."

She wondered why, but did as he said obediently.

Raph opened the door and led her through. "Don't open until I say so." He fixed a few things around the room, and made sure everything was just the way it was supposed to be. "Alright open them."

Midori did. She stared. It was…beautiful. It was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever done for her. Her eyes began to tear up. She turned to her best friend. Joy lit up her face. Her smile alone was enough to make Raph's heart rate increase. She was stunningly radiant. "You did all of this…for me?"

"Of course I did. You're..." Raph stopped himself and changed the wording. "Your happiness means a lot to me."

She beamed at him. "But how?"

"You've been sleeping a lot lately. While you slept…" Understanding dawned on her.

The room was beautiful. The walls were dark red with a black cityscape in the foreground complete with roads and the occasional vehicle.

It was amazing.

Midori stared open-mouthed for a moment as she examined the detail. "Who painted this?"

Raph looked surprised. "I did."

"I didn't know that you could paint." She said surprised.

The hothead shrugged. "Eh, I dabble." He was named after a famous painter, after all.

"It's incredible."

Raphael moved on, not particularly comfortable with discussing his artistic abilities. "I took April to your hideout we got your suit and she was about to use it to estimate your measurements." He nodded towards a dresser in the corner. "Take a look."

Midori raised an eyebrow inquiringly but did as the turtle said. She opened the drawer. Her eyes practically bugged out of her head. She lifted a long-sleeved red top out of the drawer. There were shirts, pants, shorts, tank-tops, even a leather jacket folded neatly in the corner. Golden eyes clouded with tears. "Oh Raph, they're beautiful! And they're all just my style!"

"I hope they fit." He replied.

"I'm sure they will. Thank you so much! How on earth did you manage this?"

"April went out and bought them. I told her exactly what your style was. There's undergarments in one of those drawers, too. April took care of that herself. I thought it best to leave that to her" His cheeks reddened a little, but Midori ignored it.

"Raph, how did you get the money for all of this? I hope April didn't have to pay for it herself."

"She didn't. It came straight out of my savings, don't worry."

"You…" her voice faded away in awe. She cleared her throat and then asked, "What were you saving up for?"

"Don't worry about it." Raph answered, rather too quickly.

Midori closed the drawer and moved over to her best friend. She took his hand gently. "Please Raph. I'd like to know."

Raph smiled. "A motorcycle." He answered. "Consider it my payment for the Ducati."

Tears of joy filled her eyes. "Oh Raphael!" She leaped towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.

Even though he weighed nearly twice as much, the turtle was almost toppled by Midori's hug. His face was getting warmer and warmer by the second. When she stared up into his eyes with complete and utter adoration, his resolve cracked.

He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. They already had their arms wrapped around each other from the hug. Raphael could feel Midori stiffening. He saw her eyes had gone wide with surprise. Raph waited for her to pull away gently.

Strangely enough, she leaned into the embrace and lifted her head up slightly. Her lips were only centimetres from his. Raph leaned in a little closer probingly. He didn't want to force anything on her. To Raphael's surprise Midori closed the space between them.

The kiss was beautifully chaste and soft. Raphael's heart was flying. It was even more amazing than he had imagined. Adrenaline coursed through him and he allowed one of his hands to run down her side softly.

Unfortunately, memories swept back through Midori's mind. Memories of her uncle's twisted obsession with her mother. She jerked away from the turtle, her heart pounding with trepidation.

When Midori pulled out of the kiss, Raph's eyes flicked open. He immediately recognized terror had filled her expression. At first he thought it was directed towards him, but after a minute he realized her mind was no longer in the room with him. Raph reached out for her, but she pulled away.

Then Midori realized what had happened and, more importantly, who she was with. Her tensed muscles relaxed.

"You okay?" Raph asked. She nodded an affirmative. He continued. "I should have known it would trigger a flashback. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Midori whispered, putting a finger to Raph's lips.

He stared.

"I didn't mind." She stated. "Um…If it's all the same to you, I'd really like to change clothes."

It took a few seconds for him to register what had been said before comprehension dawned on him. "Oh, yeah, sure. You do that. I'll be in my room." He said hurriedly. He dashed out the door as quickly as he could. His face was almost as red as his mask.

Midori smiled after him, shaking her head. Then she brought her hand up to her lips. She wasn't exactly sure what that kiss had meant, but something was starting to change between her and Raphael. Somehow, she had a feeling it was a change for the better…

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