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

Chapter 50 - One Year Later

Life had gotten away from me, but Leo brought it back to me, neatly wrapped up in a package with a bow. He knew when I needed a good cup of hot chocolate or a blanket to keep me warm, he knew when I needed to vent and cuddle to relieve my stress. I lay in bed with him at night and listened to him talk about the world and his ideas of what things would be like if he was human. He was always pondering the future and spirituality, and I loved to lay there and take it all in. His voice was so soothing, and he read me stories from a Japanese folktale book to help me go to sleep sometimes.

When he got stressed about patrol or training, I would do my best to make him laugh or set up adorable dates. We'd get all dressed up, him in a bow tie and me in a dress from a thrift store, and make our own candlelit dinner on a rooftop or sneak into a movie theater through the vents so he wouldn't be seen. I would watch him and the guys train in the dojo and try to keep up, only to mess up and fall on my face. Leo taught me how to play a few guitar chords, and we'd play cheesy romantic songs together in a duet sometimes. His voice was intoxicating, so much so that our musical sessions would most likely end in impromptu make outs. But nothing past that, and I was perfectly happy with it.

I was at my desk, typing away at another paper, when there was a soft knock at the door. "Yeah?" I didn't even look away from the screen.

A familiar pair of arms wrapped around me, and soft lips pressed my cheek. "How's it going, Angel?"

"Good, tired, the usual." I finished my sentence and turned around, hugging Leo's waist.

He rubbed my back. "Do you have a minute? I want to steal you for a while."

I chuckled. "Well, I can pencil you in right now. I'm done with school for the night, it's late." I reached over to close my laptop and stood, stretching out.

Leo walked over to my closet and searched through my wardrobe, picking out a summer dress and jacket and laying them on my bed. "You wanna wear this? I'm taking you out tonight."

"Ooh, where are we going?" I smiled at the dress. Finally, after a whole year, I was starting to feel more confident about myself. A year ago, I wouldn't have dared to wear this dress. But looking at it on my bed didn't feel scary anymore.

He gave me a playful smirk. "You'll see. Just go to the shellraiser when you're ready." He walked over to give me a chaste kiss and left the room. I heard him say, "I love you!" as he went down the hall.

So adorable. I quickly slipped the dress and jacket on, surveying my appearance in my closet mirror and combing my hair with my fingers. Things really had changed in my mind. I felt beautiful. The cliché glow that people get when they're in love was shining across my skin. Healthy confidence oozed from my features, in a good way. Not anything gross, I promise. I reached into my closet and picked out a simple pair of stud earrings to complement the dress. Perfect.

We had been through so much together. That's what I was thinking about as I packed my shoulder bag with my phone and wallet. And Leo had been there for everything. He was my rock, my soulmate, my everything. I had to do something for him tonight, a way of surprising him as he surprised me with this adorable date.

That's it! I snapped my fingers in recognition and dashed back to my laptop. I had been thinking about stopping by the comic book store for weeks. There was a limited edition set coming out for the Space Heroes twenty five year anniversary, and I was checking on the status for weeks. Finally, it came out the day before, but I forgot when I had to stay late for work. According to the website, the shop still had a few of them in stock. This was perfect. I figured that the small stack of bills in my purse would be enough to cover it, and I took my bag as I left the room.

Leo stood next to the shellraiser with a gorgeous dark blue bow tie around his neck. He held two blue balloons in his hands and held them out to me. "You look incredible, Angel. Wow."

I took the balloons and kissed his cheek. "Aw, these are cute! Is it my half birthday?"

"Everyday is your birthday down here." He slung an arm around my shoulder and walked me up to the sliding doors of the subway car, peppering my skin with kisses. "I'm so excited to steal you!"

I laughed. "But I thought you were supposed to be the good guy!"

"I am!" He let go of me and opened the doors for me. "You're just irresistible. And you know it."

I rolled my eyes and stepped into the shellraiser, sitting in the seat Donnie installed next to the driver's seat. Yeah, we were so mushy that we had to be next to each other whenever possible. But I was so grateful that Donnie did it and ignored Raph's snide comments.

Leo sat next to me and started the engine. "This is going to be fun."

"I can't wait. Oh, can we stop by downtown? I have to grab something."

We started moving along the tracks, through the dark tunnel. "Okay, but be quick. I want us to get there before sunset."

Before sunset? "Where's there?"

"You'll see, Angel. I love you."

"I love you more."