Chapter Text
The streets of New York City were beginning to come alive once more, it was Saturday night, and most people were out celebrating the end of another week in the various bars and clubs scattered up and down the streets. A few floors above street level, however, the mood was vastly different.
Marie sat near the edge of her apartment's tiny balcony surrounded by plants, soft piano music could be heard from inside, dulling the somewhat chaotic noises of the city below. She appeared rather at home among all the greenery, her brown wavy hair and hazel eyes giving her an earthy look which was accentuated by the black maxi skirt and burgundy turtleneck sweater she currently wore. A quick glance at the clock would tell that it was fast approaching midnight and as the song came to a static end Marie stood and sauntered indoors, changing the record over to another piece. Her small one-bedroom apartment was full of paintings that were scattered around the place and any space not taken up by those was filled by books and yet more plants. The walls were a dark purple and were adorned with lots of little Victorian style picture frames, the light hanging in the center of the room was likely older than the building itself and the lamp next to the worn brown leather sofa looked ready to collapse and yet somehow, she had made it work.
Moving into the similarly decorated kitchen area Marie began to mist the plethora of herbs and seedlings that were growing on the window ledge when a large bang caused her to jump, spinning on her heel to face the living room. It sounded like a gunshot, she was sure, and it had sounded close, but nobody had screamed in alarm or in pain. She cautiously made her way to the balcony door once more only to freeze as she noticed a very large figure stood hunched just inside the doorway, they quickly took notice of her and leapt forward to cover her mouth before she could let loose the scream that her mind was demanding she let out. The piano music was still playing away in the background, its gentle sound a complete contradiction the current situation she was in. A slight turn of her head allowed her a good look at the tall intruder, and as she took in its appearance, her eyes widened to almost perfect circles and the air in her lungs froze. It was a turtle, a giant turtle with a piece of cloth over its face and it was covered in blood. As her mind began to race with a thousand possible, equally horrific outcomes she heard a voice outside, someone in the alleyway below her balcony. The giant turtle grew incredibly tense at the voice though all Marie could make out was something about a 'mutant freak' and how 'he couldn't have gotten far' before the voice grew further away accompanied by the heavy footsteps of the people he was talking to. Glancing back to the 'mutant' turtle beside her, she could quite clearly see the worry in his eyes, he was also very slightly shaking she realized. It took her only a few moments to create her own chain of events and make her mind up about what to do. She gently began to pry his hand from her face, she was almost surprised when he let her go but she still moved to put her hands up in a placating manner. Her fear now eased considerably, was replaced with the need to protect this strange being who had sought shelter in her home.
"You're hiding from them?" she asked without really expecting an answer. A small nod from the turtle was her only response but it was enough, she dropped her shoulders into a relaxed position and allowed her face to fall back into its natural soft smile as she spoke again.
"Well alright then. Make yourself comfortable on the couch, I'll draw some hot water and we can get you cleaned up a bit hmm?" she said simply as if speaking to an old friend or a family member, she didn't wait for his response as she turned back to the kitchen, boiling the kettle and grabbing a clean rag. The turtle stood rigidly where she had left him in the living room, blinking in confusion. It didn't take long for the water to heat up and she returned shortly with the rag soaking in the gently steaming liquid.
"I – I don't understand" he spoke quietly, his voice was very hoarse but not so much that she was unable to make out what he had said. She tried not to let her surprise at his perfect English show, instead hiding it behind a kind smile,
"You're injured, and by the sounds of things it's because of those men. Why wouldn't I help you?" she inquired calmly, trying to put the turtle at ease as much as she could. He shuffled his feet, keeping his gaze down as he spoke again.
"You don't know me; I could be the bad guy. I broke into your house, and I could have really hurt you" he said, his voice beginning to lose some of the hoarseness, though he still appeared rather rigid, Marie raised an eyebrow at his odd reply, a smirk spreading across her face,
"But you didn’t. Now, make yourself comfortable while I take a better look at these wounds." she said with a tone of finality, the turtle was obviously badly injured and she was going to help whether he understood why or not.
Motioning to the couch, she watched as her intruder turned guest made his way over, favoring his right leg a little before he sat down and let her set up the bowl next to him. He still hadn't looked her in the eye but that did little to deter her, she began with the blood above his eye. He let out a small hiss of pain as the cloth made contact but didn't move to stop her or flinch away,
"Sorry", she murmured, "Oh, I'm Marie by the way" she added on as an afterthought, realizing that she had failed to introduce herself beforehand. The turtle finally looked up at her, catching her eye for a moment before diverting his gaze once again to the floor,
"I'm Leo", he replied quietly. The two sat in silence as Marie continued to clean Leo's wounds, his hands clenching into fists every time her cloth found another cut. There were so many and eventually she found the cause of the bang earlier, a bullet wound to his left shoulder. She couldn't see an exit wound so she concluded that the bullet was still in there, after mentioning it to Leo he confirmed her fears.
She glanced at her clock which now read 01:25am before sighing and moving back to the kitchen to get the first aid kit as well as some tweezers to remove the bullet. She grabbed some frozen peas on her way back through as well, getting Leo to hold them over the wound while she prepared her other tools as well as boiling the kettle again with fresh water.
Returning to his side she let out a deep sigh, handing him a damp towel that was rolled up. At his questioning gaze she suggested that he bite down on it,
"There's no point in lying to you, this is going to hurt like hell but once it's out that's it, I'll clean it and stitch it as fast and as best I can and then you can sleep, ok? You look exhausted" she said rather bluntly, her soft nature temporarily taken over by a steadfast, confident look that would have put any other doctor to shame. Leo stared at her intently before nodding and putting the towel in his mouth and maneuvering into a more comfortable position on the couch.
Marie removed the icepack, gently prodding the wound before cleaning her tweezers in alcohol and digging in. The sound Leo made was gut-wrenching, but she couldn't stop, not till she got that bullet out. It only took her a few moments to locate it, luckily not too deep, and briskly pull it out. A steady flow of dark red blood oozed out after it which Marie quickly cleaned up with boiling water and more alcohol, she tried her best to ignore the agonized wail that Leo let out at that before quickly closing the wound with a couple of sutures. As soon as she was done the turtle's head fell limply back, his ragged breaths still holding a slight whimper as the pain began to dull back to an aching throb. Marie wordlessly took the towel from his mouth, setting it on the floor with the rest of the utensils and grabbed a blanket from the dryer, draping it over him as he fell into a deep sleep.
Marie gave him one last look, fighting the temptation to soothe her hand across his head, before settling back into her original position on the balcony, keeping an eye on both the street below and the currently sleeping guest while she waited for the morning to arrive. There was no way she was getting any sleep now. With everything that had just happened she had to question her own sanity, this strange creature shows up injured with an unknown group looking for him and she just takes him in? Without knowing whether he was even safe to be around? She glanced back at his sleeping form, taking note of the muscles on him, he could break her in two with little effort. But he hadn’t...
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The first thing Marie became aware as she woke up was that she was cold, and as she opened her eyes she realized why. She was sitting on the balcony slouched against the doorframe, still in yesterday's clothes. For a moment her mind couldn't quite figure out why she was here and then suddenly everything came rushing back to her, the gunshot, the men in the alley and the mutant turtle, who was sleeping on her sofa. Slowly she turned her head towards him, he was still passed out, covered in the blanket she had draped over him the previous night, and it seemed he hadn't moved an inch. The daylight seemingly knocked some sense into her, what on earth had she been thinking?! Letting a stranger stay in her home, and not just any stranger, some sort of mutant experiment gone wrong or something. He had climbed in her 3rd story apartment from the balcony like it was nothing and that was while he was severely injured! She dreaded to think of what he would be capable of while at full health. Why hadn't she just screamed bloody murder to those men in the alley who were looking for him anyway?
The last thought made her pause, that niggling voice at the back of her mind making itself known again. He really was injured, wasn't he? She had spent a good hour or two cleaning all those wounds up and digging a bullet out of his shoulder. Those men in the alley were the ones who had done that to him he had said, she could remember the fear in his eyes as he had tensed up at their voices, how could she even think about turning him over to them after that when she knew it would only lead to him being hurt more or perhaps shot dead. No, she had done the right thing she was sure of it. Marie glanced at the clock, 08:35am. She supposed she should get freshened up and check on the turtle, Leo he had said his name was. Yes, she should check on Leo first and then get changed into something clean and then maybe make some breakfast.
Pushing her stiff body up off the floor she headed inside, gently closing the glass doors behind her and moving towards the sleeping figure on the sofa. Giving him a quick glance over she noticed that his breathing seemed a little raspy, though it wasn't shallow or particularly uneven so perhaps he was snoring lightly, if turtles could even snore. Marie leaned over and very gently touched his arm,
"Leo?" she whispered, prodding slightly as she spoke before pulling back to watch him from a safer distance. She knew he was injured and that he had been very polite so far but that didn't mean much when she had only just met him last night, people were far too unpredictable this early on. A slight grunt followed by a grimace let her know that Leo was awake, and so she gave him space but called his name again. The turtle forced his eyes open at that and seemed a little disoriented which was to be expected but he made no move to attack or even glare at her, instead once he realized where he was and turned his attention to the dark haired woman before him, he gave a half smile though it didn't last long before he grimaced again.
"How are you feeling?" asked Marie, crossing her arms in front of her and hugging her still chilled body,
"Like I've been hit by a train", Leo groaned out. His eyes squeezed shut, he hadn't seemed as sore last night but she supposed he was likely running on adrenaline and now that it had worn off he was feeling it all. Plus he had passed out as soon as she had finished cleaning the bullet wound and she hadn't given him any pain killers,
"Do you want some ibuprofen and aspirin? I can make you something light to eat with them" she said softly as she came forward again, reaching a hand out to feel his brow which ended up being worrying cold. She frowned, turning her hand over and pressing her warm palm across his forehead. Leo let out a hum as she did, closing his eyes.
"Yes please, if it's not too much trouble" he said in a whisper, eyes still closed. Marie smiled at him sadly, he seemed so sweet and yet someone had hurt him so badly that he was now lying on her sofa barely staying conscious. Marie's plan to freshen up was immediately put on hold as she decided that taking care of Leo was much more important than her comfort.
"It's no trouble at all, is toast and scrambled eggs ok?" she smiled softly at him, petting his head absentmindedly. He nodded with a hum of approval; his eyes still shut, and let out a deep sigh. Marie moved off to get things ready for him, grabbing a hot water bottle on the way and boiling the kettle before making a start on his breakfast. Once everything was cooked she grabbed a glass of water and the painkillers, setting everything out on a tray before heading back to him.
Marie helped Leo into a sitting position before setting the tray on his lap. He thanked her and dug in, Marie smiled at his eagerness to eat and excused herself, heading to the bedroom to change quickly. Once she was freshened up and now sporting a black, knitted, knee length dress that was at least 2 sizes too big but drawn in at the waist with a belt, she grabbed another thicker blanket off her bed and headed back through. She turned to her living room and froze; Leo was not on the sofa. For a split second she worried someone had broken in and stole him until she heard a clink from the kitchen, rushing forward to the doorway she spotted her guest hunched over the sink attempting to wash the dishes. His head snapped up as he noticed her and he looked terrified for a moment,
"I'm so sorry, I won't be long they're almost done" he stuttered out in a rush as he began to shakily lift the cloth to continue. Marie crossed the small kitchen in two large steps, and grabbed the cloth before he could put it back in the water, he looked at her like she would hurt him but she simply gave him a stern look, gently pulling the cloth from his still shaking hands. Leo hung his head as she set it back on the counter,
"What are you doing up, you should be resting, Leo you got shot less than 12 hours ago" she reminded him, voice as soft as it could be while still holding enough sway to make him listen.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help. You shouldn't have to do the dishes, or make me breakfast, or patch me up. I should be strong enough to do those things myself", he said rather dejectedly, his head still low though Marie wasn't sure whether it was from the situation or his rather obvious exhaustion. She sighed, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head with a smile,
"You're really something you know that? Leo I appreciate that you want to help but honestly at this point the best way to help me is to help me help you. And that means resting for now. The sooner you rest, the sooner you can go back hom", she said as kindly as she could while still having a slight humour to her tone. This guy was nuts, he was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, burns and bullet wounds and he was still up on his feet trying to help even while he could barely stand. Marie helped him back to the couch and draped the first blanket over him before grabbing the hot water bottle and second blanket, bringing him those as well. Leo murmured a quick thank you as she wrapped him up in the cozy couch before sitting next to him, her legs tucked up beneath her.
“So where are you from anyway?”
Marie sat in awe as Leo told her about how he had been mutated, about how he had trained to become a ninja and had been fighting some group called 'the foot' for the last few years to protect the city. He had left out his brothers existence for now, he was sure Marie was trustworthy but after what had happened recently he just couldn't bring them into any more trouble than they needed.
"Wow, your life is so much more interesting than mine. I mean I knew it would be a little different with you being a mutant turtle and all but wow" Marie beamed at him. She couldn't stop smiling, it made her so happy to see how someone so different had still managed to make a way for themselves in this city. Leo also couldn't keep a small smile off his face, having Marie be so positive about everything he told her was something that he had never really experienced before, even April had a hard time at first accepting them. He soon realized, however, that while Marie now knew a whole lot about him that he knew very little about her, not even her last name.
"I'm sure that's not true. You seem like a very interesting person…" he said almost shyly, leaving the sentence open for her to respond to. Asking her directly could be seen as rude so he hoped she would take the hint and open up a little. Not that he had any right to expect her to tell him after everything she had already done for him. The smile started to fall off his face as he began to realize just how indebted he was to the woman next to him. Without her, he would likely be dead or wishing he was. She had no real reason that he could think of to help him and yet here he was, sitting comfortable in a warm apartment with blankets and a hot water bottle, his stomach full of the delicious breakfast she had made him, and his wounds all cleaned and treated. He wanted to know more about her, try to understand what it was that she could possibly gain from helping him-
"Hey, you ok?" a voice softly cut in, pulling him sharply from his thoughts. Marie was staring at him with a concerned look on her face; her head was tilted slightly as she observed his expressions. Drawing in a breath he finally bit the bullet and decided to just ask her.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about what comes next. I, I don't really know anything about you and yet I owe you my life", he said, his throat constricting slightly at the admission. He kept his gaze on his lap as he awaited her response. Marie gave him a sad smile as she moved into a more comfortable position on the couch, now facing the turtle before her,
"Leo, you don't owe me anything. Not a single thing, everything I did last night was of my own volition. I'll tell you about my past, though I'm afraid it's pretty boring compared to yours. I was born in Dalton Ohio, my parents split up when I was around three, they got back together after a few years though and they were pretty happy again, that's when we moved to Akron for mom's work and Granny Ruth came with us. I had a pretty normal childhood after that, went to school, had a group of friends and when I turned 15 I met Adam. We dated for a year and then decided to move here to start our lives together, but it didn’t work out, he left to go back home and I stayed. A couple of years later I lost my parents to a drunk driver, Granny Ruth came to live with me until she died last year and since then it’s just been me and Oliver”, she finished with her smile returning at the last part, though the rest sounded like a rehearsed script to Leo, like she had been preparing herself to answer that particular question.
"I'm sorry about your parents Marie" Leo gently put forward, not quite sure what else to say,
"It's ok, it took me a while to realize it but despite the fact I miss them, life goes on. And besides, one day we'll meet again" she said with a forced smile, her eyes glazed over before she decided that maybe it was best to change the subject, there was no use dwelling on things that she knew would make her upset.
“So now that the boring stuff is out of the way, what do you do for fun?” She smiled.