The Bravery in his Eyes - A TMNT Leo X Reader Story

Chapter 26 - Stitching Back Together

A/N - This may be where the three most important words are said...

Leo's POV

Luckily, it didn't take too much convincing for Sensei to let Y/N stay in the lair with us. He sympathized with her situation, and he even told me that his own parents were overbearing on him. They wanted him to be the best fighter in the Hamato clan alongside Shredder, and they pressured him beyond what I would have thought.

Human parents must suck sometimes.

Y/N and I were in the extra room in the lair, going through all the random stuff that had been thrown in there over the years and clearing it out for her to stay in. I tossed another one of Mikey's random sweat socks off to the side, shaking my head slightly.

I turned to look at Y/N, who was smiling down at some of our old toys from when we were kids. "Well, this is some date, huh?"

She looked at me with a cute smile and an eyebrow up. "Um, no, this is not a date, it's a nice time with my boyfriend cleaning an old room." Her breath blew the dust off of the toys and into the air in front of her. "It's fun seeing all your old stuff."

"Well, it's not all mine." Thank goodness. "But I'm flattered anyway."

Y/N scoffed, amused. "Jeez, someone's being cocky today."

I admired her as she started organizing objects into vague piles, strands of her hair falling in her eyes. How her spirit was finally up after what happened based on the little grin playing on her lips. And her eyes, the way they shone when they discovered something new.

She glanced over at me and saw me looking. "Uh, hi."

"Hi." I took her hand and kissed her knuckles, watching pink appear on her cheeks.

Her smile widened, and she looked down at her lap.

I caressed her hand with my thumb. "What is it?"

"I just...I like when you do that."

"Do what? This?" I‌ kissed the back of her hand again.

She nodded slightly. "And all the things you do. You really do treat me like a princess or an angel, even though I'm not."

I shuffled past the pile of stuff we hadn't tackled yet and tilted her head up so she was looking at me. "Never say that again. You have no idea how you make me feel." I‌ took her hand and placed it on my shell, where even through its thickness you could still feel my heart racing. "Feel that?"

Her eyes were locked on mine. "Yeah."

"That's what you do to me. Because you're this incredible angel princess that the world has never seen. You're perfect as you are." I took a breath to find the confidence to say the next few words. "And I love you."

She froze, and a single tear welled up in her eye. "Oh, princess," I‌ murmured, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"Leo, I-I love you too," she whispered.

I pulled away, stunned at the reality of the situation. We both loved each other. It wasn't just me. I had hoped she would say the same, but I wasn't fully sure. Now, it was in the air.

She grabbed my face and pulled me in for a long kiss. We sat on the floor of the room like that for as long as I could remember. Her hands were pulling my shoulders to bring herself closer, and I‌ delved my hands in her silky soft hair.

I had to pull away first, needing oxygen. Stupid air! "You really love me?"

Y/N nodded, her eyes burning into mine. "Yes."

I was about to pull her in for another kiss when Raph stepped inside, crossing his arms. "And what do we have here?"

"Save it, Raph." I‌ stood up and held out a hand for Y/N, who took it gratefully. "We've been organizing this stuff, without your help."

"Really? Or have there been other activities?"

The blush on Y/N's face gave us away. He smirked and leaned against the doorway. "And that's what I thought."

"Just-just get out of here if you're not going to help!" I sputtered, shooing him away. "Don't ask me for anything later!"

He turned to leave, and I‌ heard him mutter, "And what have I ever asked you for, anyway?"

Once he was gone, I exhaled slowly and scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed. "Sorry about that."

"No, no, it's okay." Y/N sat down on the floor again and resumed organizing. "Let's put the dustiest, weirdest things under his pillow tonight for revenge."

I doubled over in laugher. "Oh, man, that's perfect! What are we gonna use?"

A glint was in her eye. "I have some ideas."

***

"Ahhhhhhh!" Raph's scream echoed off the walls as he sprinted out of his room, a huge patch of dust covering his face. He darted into the living room, clutching the nasty old stuffed cockroach we found in the extra room in one hand and breathing heavily with a scowl. "Who did this?!"

I held my breath, trying to suppress a laugh. "I don't know, Raph, looks pretty unfortunate there." Sitting further back into the couch, I wrapped an arm around Y/N and pulled her close to muffle her giggles.

Donnie raised his brow and looked between us and Raph, then closed his laptop and sat on the edge of his seat.

Raph blew falling dust particles out of his face and growled. "Why was there even a stupid cockroach in there? Why would anyone buy this?"

Just as he was about to turn around, a puff of purple smoke appeared in his face. "What the heck is this?" He tried to fan it away, but it kept clouding back up and surrounding his hand.

Outside of the smoke, Mikey quietly crept over with the stuffed roach hanging from a string and turned to us, putting a finger to his lips. He hung it on the ceiling and slipped away as the smoke started to clear.

Raph wiped his eyes to clear his vision, and they popped when he saw the roach swinging in front of him. "Ahh!"

"Oh, yeah! Dr. Prankenstein and the fam won this one, yo!" Mikey cheered as he jumped up from behind the couch. "We're the best!"

"I'm gonna haunt your nightmares, Mikey!" Raph yelled, starting to chase after him.

I pressed my lips together as I heard Mikey squeak out, "But it was Leo and Y/N's idea, no!"

Once they were gone, we all exploded in heaps of laughter. Tears were about to stream down my face.

"Guys, that was awesome!" Donnie said with a smile. "I've never seen him so mad!"

Y/N lifted her head up from my chest and wiped her face. "I'm glad we got Mikey to do the whole thing, he was hilarious to watch!"

"See, that's why he shouldn't mess with you." I nudged Y/N's arm.

She beamed. "That's right. No one mess with me, or I employ Mikey to do my pranks for me."

I kissed her forehead. "You're fun."

But in the distance, Raph was screaming, "Y/N! I'm coming for you next!"