Under the Shining Lights

Perfectly Imperfect

The alarm went off and Leo shot up, slamming his hand down on the phone. He tripped over his sheets in his rush and hit the floor. 

"If I had a nickel..." He grumbled, staggering up and out of his room. He quickly freshened up in the bathroom and made his way to breakfast, a happy pep to his step carrying him along the way.

"Morning Leo!" Mikey grinned, the smell of fried bacon and hash browns filling the air, "I'm making a mess!"

"Smells like it!" Leo laughed. A 'mess' in terms of breakfast was bacon, sausage, hash browns, cheese, and eggs all mixed in the same pan. They couldn't devise a name for it, but Splinter called it a 'mess of breakfast things', so that's what it became. 

"You're in a good mood!" Mikey observed, the oil in the pan sizzling, "Did something happen?"

"No," Leo hummed, "Just had a good dream," Except it wasn't a dream. He was going on a date! With Yuichi! He wasn't just in a good mood, he was downright euphoric!

"What was it about?" Mikey placed a plate in front of Leo. "Was it about Jupiter Jim? Ooo! Or Lou Jitsu!?"

"Why would I dream about Dad?" Leo laughed, digging into the food. Mikey continued to prod Leo on the subject of his sweet dreams, unaware that it was something separate putting a smile on Leo's face. He finished his plate of mess right as Raph and Donnie walked in for breakfast, the two giving him a strange look as he rushed past them. 

He wasn't meeting with Yuichi for a few hours, but he wanted to get ahead of the game on picking out an outfit, knowing he would struggle. Just as predicted, he couldn't decide what to wear, tossing around shirts and pants. Did he want to turn heads or go for a subtle sexy look? Blue or black? Should he wear his nice dress!? 

Through careful consideration (chucking out clothes that were too much) Leo was able to narrow down his wardrobe into three outfits. One was a casual blue flannel with a white undershirt with jeans to match. Another was an all-black outfit, with a loose-fitting tank top, skinny jeans, and a beanie and jacket for accessories. The final selection was his stage crop top paired with a pair of waist-high tan pants and a blue jacket that would fall halfway down his arms. Of course, he'd wear his nice shoes with all these outfits. 

After a brief intermission to train (ugh), Leo was left staring at the three outfits in dismay. He needed a second opinion. Mikey was out, he couldn't say that anything looked bad on anybody. Raph was out because he had horrible taste, and Donny would ask too many questions. That left one person, his most trusted opinion giver. He pulled his phone out and dialed. 

"Leo? What's up?" April's glorious voice rang over the phone, "You better have a good reason for interrupting my lunch,"

"April, I need help picking out an outfit!" Leo immediately gushed, "I can't decide! I have so many things!"

"Woah! Slow down!" April laughed, "I can't remember the last time you asked me for my opinion!"

"April! This is serious!" Leo grunted, setting his phone to speaker, "I need to look perfect!"

"Okay, okay!" Some clacking sounds were heard over the line. "You know the drill! Send me some pics!" 

Leo got to work trying on the outfits and taking pictures, sending them to April. 

"So, what are you looking for?" April asked, "Like cute? Casual? Woah!-" Leo flinched hearing April drop something, "That last one! Where'd you find that top!?" 

Leo glanced at himself in the mirror, still wearing the outfit April asked about. "Uh, a second-hand store?"

"It's adorable!" April gushed, "That's the best outfit because of that shirt alone!"