the curse - 1 - [rottmnt - COMPLETED]

#34

"Ouch."

"Sorry!"

"No, it's okay. That's how it is with injuries…"

When they left the room, she had to grin at Donnie's sarcastic announcement to the others. He really had a sharp mind and a sharp tongue.

So they made their way here, grinning and chuckling when he suddenly stopped and looked at her. With a deeply frightened and questioning look. She knew right away what was going on inside him. He was afraid she would leave. That she would stick to her plan like she always did.

She remembered his family's words to her in the kitchen and his eyes before she lost consciousness.

“I promise.”

And probably for the first time in her life, she relied on others. This family felt so right to her, and she wanted to believe them, as they wanted to keep her here and help her.

And in silent reply to the turtle, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. She felt his relief and how he very carefully held her even tighter.

The rest of the way, Donnie couldn't stop smiling.

Now she was sitting on the old operating table in the med lab with a bottle of water, from which she drank in small sips. The pant leg rolled up wide. It's good that the sweatpants were so big and allowed this. She couldn't pull it down to clear the wound because she wasn't wearing underwear. Thank God, she already knew that.

"May I ask you something?" Donnie began while he disinfected and cleaned the wound. He didn't look at her.

"Yes…?"

“Those scars…?”

“Yes?”

“Are these from your escape? When you escaped from the Kuraiko clan?"

"No. Most of them came from training.”

"What kind of training was that?!"

"That's how the Kuraiko clan trains their offspring…"

"They trained you?" he sounded surprised

She sighed and put the bottle aside.

“Oh! Sorry, I… I didn't mean to offend you. I…” he got up to look at her and put swabs and disinfectant aside. She looked away.

"No, it's okay. I'm afraid, any kind of conversation about me ends in concern." 

The turtle sensed her sadness at not belonging anywhere. Not to fit. To be alone.

He realized how lucky he was to have his family, no matter how much they annoyed and infuriated him at times. They were his home, the place where he could and was himself. He shook his head slightly, and she turned her gaze back to him and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sure we can change that." he said.

"Oookay?"

"Do you feel the flame too?"

Now she viewed him with wide open eyes. He caught her off guard! Oh, how he watched her! She swallowed, and the flame began to dance with a bright light.

She looked him in the eyes and knew that he knew the answer. He started smiling. A billion butterflies erupt inside her, and she felt herself blush. His smile widened, and his gaze made her head swirl. She suddenly realized how close they were.

"If you don't answer, it's not a conversation," he teased.

Donnie hadn't acted on mere impulse, he had made a quick calculation that it wasn't tactically wise to continue sneaking around the obvious, and figured there was a good chance that asking this question would definitely dispel her sadness. Win-win.

And so she sat in front of him and looked completely stunned and blushed. Donnie felt the flame dance brightly. He thought she was the most beautiful being in this universe.

"Yes, I feel it too." she replied with almost no sound

Time seemed to slow down and the world got smaller and smaller until only the two of them were left. At that moment there was no Kuraiko clan, no ancestors, no descendants, no loss, no hunts, no scars. They were alone in this world.
Donnie knew this was one of those moments. One of those moments he thought that would never happen to him. 

The young woman was insecure to infinity. Yet again. She wasn't prepared for this. She had never trained for anything like that! She had never thought about such a situation longer because she was sure that it would never happen to her.

And now she was here in this mess and couldn't think of anything else than…

Donnie raised his hands and cupped her face. It just happened. It seemed like the best thing in the world to him. She turned fully towards him and placed her hands on his. As the pain of her wound kicked in from the movement, she was distracted for a second. But when she looked up at him again, with this big eyes, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"May I… kiss you?" his voice was incredibly gentle

“Yes.” she wanted to melt away and with his question, she felt her self-confidence returning.

The turtle thought she should feel his heart beating wildly as she pulled her hands from his and reached down to place her hands on his plastron. He ran his hands down her cheeks and back through her hair. She felt amazing!

Then they were already down her neck and on her upper back, he slowly pulled her towards him and just couldn't tear his gaze away.

It seemed to him that his legs were about to give way when he saw her parting her lips briefly to wet them. She knew he noticed the movement and became aware of how he looked at her like she was from another world. She had to smile.

"If you don't, why are you asking?" she teased back

Donnie recognized the counter to his teasing before, smiled back with pure affection, and put one hand under her chin. And that's when her smile deepened, she grabbed the shoulder plates of his battleshell, pulled herself up a little towards him and tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Touché." he whispered, smiling, and closed his eyes.

She felt his hand tighten the grip on her upper back and saw him coming closer and closer. She felt his breath on her lips as he whispered, and it was driving her insane. Her eyes fluttered shut.

Their lips touched with infinite care. The flame shone with bright and strong light. Their hearts were racing in sync. No conscious thought could be grasped as they parted their lips, and a shiver ran through them both before they fell into a slow, intense rhythm. She no longer had to pull herself up on him, let her hands wander, along the sides of his neck - he almost lost his mind from this touch - where she could then wrap her arms behind it. Donnie now embraced her fully in his arms. One hand behind her neck, the other arm around her back. 

They didn't notice the white and purple flames dancing around them again, nor the glowing of purple stripes on Donnie's skin and white lines down her back and shoulders. They were separate from everything but each other.

And so April sneaked into the room, put the folded clothes and the painkillers on the table, and scurried out again.