Don't mind me doing ANOTHER One-shot of the leader in blue. I will admit, i am very biased he is my favorite and I love him so much 😂
⚠️WARNING: THE FLUFFIEST OF FLUFF, AGED UP TURTLE⚠️
Summary: Valentine's Day is right around the corner and you planned to spend the day pretending it didn't exist. Leo, however, decides to plan a different game plan.
You groaned and laid on the old couch you've spent many visits on, laying your head over an unsuspecting turtle's lap. Leo, who had been reading from a poem book, jumped from the sudden weight of your head on his lap. He looked down at you as he closed his book.
"Long day?" He questioned. You huffed and draped an arm over your eyes, confirming his suspicions.
"Can you believe it? All my coworkers are just raving on and on about their plans!"
"Plans?" Leo raised an eye ridge. You moved your arm just enough to shoot him a glare.
"Oh…" Leo pursed his lips slightly and tapped a finger on his book. "And that's a problem, why?"
"Because!" You huffed in exasperation.
"Because why?" Bless his oblivious soul. "I thought Valentine's was about love?"
"Because then they ask me if I have plans or if someone has asked me to be their Valentine." You crossed your arms, annoyance clear on your face. There was a moment of silence between you. Leo sat there awkwardly, attempting to avoid your eye and failing.
"So," he started, sounding robotic, "has anyone asked you?"
"Of course not. What, you think anyone would ask me?" Leo seemed to relax, not that you were noticing anyway.
"And no plans either. Whoop-de-do-da!" You said sarcastically. "Another year of the unbreakable record!"
"Hey now, Y/N, you never know. Maybe things will change this year." Leo tried optimistically but your unamused face made him falter.
"With three days before Valentine's Day? I don't think so, Big Blue." You moved yourself from Leo's lap and sat up, stretching as you continued to speak. "Trust me, I've been through this millions of times. It's the same story and I learned the moral of it years ago."
Leo looked at you, his expression unreadable. You looked at him with a raised brow. You knew what it meant. He was planning. But he was planning something secretive, something only he could know. It made you suspicious of what he could possibly be thinking. Of course, you'd never guess it. Leo was the best at keeping secrets, whether it was his own or someone else's. He had always been a tough nut to crack, even when you first met him some years ago. He was the last to open up to you but even now he seemed closed off. As if he had a part of himself to hide.
"Earth to Y/N, did you hear me?" Leo's voice called out to you with a wave of his three-fingered hand. You blinked, torn out of your thoughts and memories.
"Huh? Sorry, no, can you repeat?"
"I asked if you had plans for yourself on Valentine's."
"Other than no work, no. Why?" You looked at him but Leo kept his gaze away from yours and shrugged, once again tapping his poem book.
"I don't know, self love?" You raised an eyebrow.
"You try having self love with zero love." Now it was his turn to raise an eye ridge.
"Yeah you're right that was stupid." Leo couldn't help the slight smile and the shake of his head. It made your heart skip a beat.
You loved Fearless. You have since two years after you met the turtles. He was always a gentleman. He was always there to listen. Always gave you a hug when you needed it, or a shoulder to cry on during the not-so-great days. And you, vice-versa for him. You adored the way he'd duck his head when he smiled, as if he was embarrassed to let go of his serious leader act. You adored the way he always smelled of green tea and lavender incense.
But you were worried your feelings weren't reciprocated. He had his priorities and if you knew him enough you guessed love was not in them. It broke your heart whenever you thought of confessing and those thoughts would interfere. You had decided it was for the best that you kept quiet.
"Anyway," you said with a sigh, "I'm probably just going to lay around my apartment and watch horror movies."
"Horror movies?" Leo asked with an amused look, though the twinkle in his eye told you it wasn't for you.
"They don't have romance in them." You said simply. You got up from the couch and started to walk away.
"Good chatting, Leo. Now I'm off to see Mikey."
"You didn't think I came down here just for you, did you?" You teased. "Mikey said he needed help with something special."
You left with a wave, leaving Leo alone on the couch. But he simply smiled and opened up his book, a plan combating your own already blooming.
You walked over to your apartment, yawning into one hand as the other searched for your keys. Mikey had asked you to help with a family portrait he planned to paint for Father's Day. When you asked why he was doing this so many months in advance his answer was "you can't rush art, duh!"
You finally grabbed your keys and unlocked your door, stopping only when your foot kicked something. You looked down and was pleasantly surprised to see a small, white box. You weren't expecting a package today. You looked down both sides of the hallway before picking it up and going into your apartment. You locked your door behind you and peeked out the peephole. After seeing no one try to come up you turned your attention back to the box. It didn't seem to be some kind of kidnapping tactic. There was no address, no writing, just a normal, plain white box. You raised a brow and opened it. Inside was a small index card and a small lapis lazuli gemstone sitting inside. You grabbed the stone and looked it over, mesmerized by the deep blue interrupted with streaks of light blue and golden stone. You sat on your couch and placed the gemstone on your coffee table. You looked back in the box and took out the index card, seeing something written on it.
You smiled softly as you read and reread the words scrawled in careful calligraphy. For a moment you forgot how you received the pretty words in the first place. You turned the card around to look at the back but saw nothing. There was no indication on who could have sent it. You furrowed your brows together. You had never received something like this. It warmed your heart. You had-
Two Days Before Valentine's:
"-a secret admirer?" Mikey gasped. You had gone back down to the lair the next day after work to continue helping him with his project. And when you saw him you told him with so much excitement.
"Unbelievable right? Gosh, I swear I couldn't sleep a wink last night!" You smiled, doing little taps with your feet to exhaust the extra energy you got whenever you thought of it.
"Tell me the poem again!" He motioned to the card in your hand, his painting now forgotten. You smiled and held up the card as you read the same six lines you had reread nearly all night and day. Mikey made a whole show of being wooed and wowed as you read each line. When you finished he clapped.
"Oh that was beautiful! Whoever that Lord Brian guy is, he's a smart man!"
"Lord Byron, Mikey." You chuckled.
"And you don't clap to poetry, little brother, you snap to it." A smooth voice spoke from behind you both. Mikey jumped. You, however, felt chills along your spine. You spun around to see Leo leaning on the door frame, sweat slowly rolling down his scaled skin. As you stood staring, Mikey rushed to cover the painting, even though it was nothing more than a background color.
"Leo, my man! What's up?" Mikey said awkwardly. Leo rolled his eyes.
"Nothing, just heard you guys talking after I finished training and thought I'd say hi."
"Well hi. Now goodbye." You said quickly. You needed to flee before that sweat slicked turtle turned your mind to mush.
"Aw, already? You just got here!" Mikey whined. You gathered your things and quickly hid the index card in your bag, dropping your lapis in the process.
"Whoa, what's that?" Mikey picked up the gemstone before you could, examining it out of your reach as you attempted to get it back.
"Mikey, give it back! That's not funny!" You tried kicking his shins but he just jumped away, laughing.
"I wanna see it!" He chuckled, looking at you before inspecting the gemstone. "What is it?"
"It's a lapis lazuli." Leo answered, walking over and easily taking it from Mikey before he could run. "It's not nice taking things from people." He scolded, returning it to you.
"Thanks." You muttered, quickly throwing it in your bag and hurrying out. "Okay, love you guys, bye!"
It took you longer than you liked to get to your apartment. You had to take a small detour to get your heartbeat back to a normal rate. Though, it wasn't much of a detour. You had walked around your block twice before you finally calmed down. You'd be lying if you claimed Leo's sweaty figure didn't plague your mind. You repeated your routine of the night before but halted halfway down the hallway.
There in front of you was yet another plain white box.
Your jaw dropped. You stood there staring at the box for what seemed like an eternity. Realistically, it was probably just ten seconds. You rushed over and picked up the box, fumbling with your keys for another five seconds until, finally, unlocking your apartment door and getting inside. You barely bothered to lock your door before opening the box quickly. You tried to see in the dark but eventually gave up and turned on your light. You let out a small gasp. Sitting inside was another index card but this one was accompanied by an emerald gemstone. You took it out, admiring the rich green color. You quickly took out the lapis from your bag and set both the gemstones on the coffee table. They were both tumbled so you figured they must've come from a store. You looked back into the box and took out the card to read.
You couldn't stop the blush from erupting across your cheeks. Nor could you stop yourself from reaching up and softly touching your lips. Once again, reading and rereading the poem. You smiled and squealed softly into your hand, feeling giddy from the poem. You just wished you knew who it was. You quickly checked the back of the new card only to be disappointed by an empty back. You sighed and lined up each card with their stone, trying to see if either one had any correlation. No matter how hard you looked you just couldn't see it. Whoever this secret admirer was they knew how to hide. You didn't even recognize the calligraphy on the cards. You were stumped. You looked at the gemstones, hoping the clue would simply reveal itself. Nothing. You sighed and decided to head to bed, your brain hurting from the thinking.
One Day Before Valentine's:
"I don't get it, Mikey. What's the point of suddenly appearing just before Valentine's Day?" You asked him, handing him the paint he asked for. Mikey had restarted the background, deeming the dark colors would mix too much with the foreground.
"Maybe they finally got the courage to do it." He replied absent-minded, focusing on the colors as he took the paint from you.
"But will they reveal themselves? Mikey shrugged, switching the new color on a piece of test paper.
"You're a real help Mikey." You huffed. You stood up from the stool you had been sitting on beside him. "I'm getting something to drink, you want anything?"
"If you find any orange Crush I'd love a couple cans, thanks!" He smiled at you. You smiled back and walked out of his room with a sigh. You made your way to the kitchen, looking in the fridge for any beverage that struck your fancy, deciding on a bottle of water when nothing did. You looked at the box of Crush and sighed once more. All you saw was the bottom of the box through the small opening. You picked up the box.
You huffed and threw the box into the recycling bin by the kitchen door.
"Tough day?" A smooth but demanding voice called out to you, making you jump. You swiveled around to see Leo sitting in his usual seat, nursing a cup of tea in his hands. He was a bit hunched over with his elbows on the table and making his biceps bulge. Your cheeks flushed red and you hoped it wasn't visible. You opened your bottle of water and took a quick swig before answering him.
"Uh, yeah, kind of." You said quickly.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked, concerned laced thickly in his tone. He sat up straighter and looked at you with furrowed ridges.
"Uh…" You hesitated, unsure how a conversation about a secret admirer to your crush would work out.
"Or I could make you some tea to calm your nerves." He added quickly. You took a quick breath, clearing your throat after.
"No, no, we can talk." You said. It couldn't hurt if he didn't return the feelings, right? You took a seat next to Leo, holding your water in your hands and rolling it between them. You stared at the bottle, trying to word what you were going to say.
"Take your time." He said after a few moments of silence. You glanced at him and quickly looked away, clearing your throat again.
"Well, I received something two nights ago." You started.
"Yeah, uh, it was a small box. There was no name or address but it had a small lapis-"
"Is that where it came from?" He asked, remembering when he took it back from Mikey.
"Mhm. The box had something else too. A note."
"A note? What did it say?"
"Is it personal? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He said softly, placing a hand on your forearm. The simple gesture made your heart flip.
"It was just a poem. A beautiful one by Lord Byron."
"The poet Mikey got the name wrong and clapped to." He said quickly, more to himself. You nodded.
"Yep, that's him. The poem was nice. Really nice! I'd be lying if I said it didn't touch my heart." You were still staring at the bottle but Leo was looking at you with amused eyes.
"Really?" He said with a small smile.
"Really, really. But I didn't know who to thank so I figured it was just a one and done thing someone on my floor was doing. But then, a second box came last night."
"Another one?" He asked, leaning in slightly. You nodded and finally looked at him, his amused look replaced with one of curiosity. A mask for you.
"This one had an emerald in it and a different poem by someone named…" you tried to remember. "Elly something."
"Ella Wheeler Wilcox?" Leo offered quickly. You snapped your fingers.
"Yes, her! How did you know?" You raised a brow in question. Leo paused for a moment.
"I read a lot of poems." He simply said. Well, you couldn't really deny that logic. The turtle had bookshelves of just poetry books. Sometimes of one author, sometimes of multiple in a single book.
"Right…well, this one was even nicer than the first one. It felt more…personal? I don't know if that makes sense."
"I think I get what you mean. Poems always convey a different feeling to each other so some can feel more closely to your day-to-day life than others." He said, matter-of-factly.
"Right." You said slowly, slightly shocked by the information. "But, yeah, it felt more personal like whoever sent it knew me. So I figured it must be someone I know or, at least, someone who knows me."
"Makes sense." He said, a calculated look overtaking him. "Any ideas?"
"No, unfortunately." You said, shaking your head.
"Maybe they left a clue." He offered.
"There wasn't much other than the poems and the gemstones."
"Maybe the clue lies within both." You looked at him with a confused look.
"Well, I know in some cultures people will hide clues within their gifts when being a secret admirer." You furrowed your brows, intrigued.
"Yes." He said with a nod. "It's so if the other person truly wanted love they could figure out who the admirer is."
You had to admit you've never heard of anything like that.
"Alright, I'll look a little harder then, thank Leo, I can always count on you." You smiled and got up to give him a hug. He returned it, holding you gently but protectively, as he always has.
You rushed to your apartment to see yet another white box sitting outside your door. You quickly grabbed it and rushed inside. You barely had the thought to lock your door before sitting on your couch and taking out the contents from inside the box. You took out three items this time. A rock in a vibrant, bright blue color; a small piece of paper; and another index card. You quickly read the index card, excited to know which poem your admirer chose.
"Huh…" You said to yourself softly. You couldn't help your disappointment. This new poem seemed lacking, to say the least. You couldn't help feeling guilty for feeling this way.
How ungrateful, you thought about yourself. You sighed and checked the back of the card, expecting another blank back. You were surprised to see more writing on the back.
Your eyes widened and your cheeks burned red. Whoever this admirer was wrote their own poem. Just for you. You looked at the other items and grabbed them. You looked over the odd blue rock, having never seen it before. You inspected it seeing seams of other rock lining throughout the vibrant blue. You didn't recognize the rock, hoping to later ask Donnie if he did. You turned to the paper in your other hand. It was the only new thing compared to the other two. You started to read the writing on the small paper.
You raised a brow. You had indeed never seen this rock before but now you had two blue rocks. You'd figure you'd get a different color like the emerald. You placed the items down on your coffee table so you could reach into your bag. You took out the other two gemstones and poems and placed them down in chronological order.
You spent many hours of that night looking through each item and poem. Rereading the poems in hopes of seeing a hidden similarity between each one. You tried googling the poets to see if there was a similarity. Only to be stumped when you discovered each poet being in different lifetimes. Ocean Vuong being the only modern one. You huffed as you finished reading his bio. You couldn't see any correlation between the three poets or their poems besides being romantic. You clicked on the search bar, about to research the rock and gemstones when you halted. You looked at your recent searches with your mouth agape. It all made sense now! How could you be so blind! After the shock, your smile grew wide and your heart warmed.
You were glad you had tomorrow off.
You stood in front of your bathroom mirror, applying makeup as you deemed fit. You had hardly gotten much sleep last night but you didn't mind. The excitement kept you going. You had practically taken a nap until stores around your closest proximity opened. You had searched through four stores until you finally found the perfect dress. It took you another two stores to find matching jewelry. You had rushed home to start getting ready, using your fanciest bath products and perfume.
Now you stood in front of your mirror, perfecting your look with a few touch ups. You couldn't lie, you were nervous. Once you had figured out who the admirer was, you quickly figured out his poem. The where and the when were clear as day for you, almost as if he was telling you exactly where to go. You checked the time on your phone. It was eight o'clock. You figured you had stalled enough and headed to your window. You climbed out and stepped onto the fire escape. Your palms started to sweat and become clay as you got closer to the roof. Your heart thumped in your ears and your breathing grew heavy, though, that could've just been from climbing the stairs.
You stopped before the final flight, nerves making you twist and untwist your fingers. You bit and chewed on your bottom lip. What if you were wrong? What if this was a prank? What if this was just a friendly gesture because he pitied you? Your thoughts clouded your mind and broke your heart. He wouldn't do that, would he? You looked up at the last flight, debating on going.
You probably should, a small voice at the back of your head whispered, he's waiting, no matter the reason.
You sighed. No matter how loud your other thoughts screamed you had to agree with the quiet one. You never once left him dry.
You huffed and took a deep breath, walking up the last flight of stairs and onto the roof. You paused upon the sight in front of you, your breath halting in your throat. A table had been placed between two chairs, a deep red tablecloth adorning it. There was a small candelabra with two candles lit and making the silverware sparkle. You moved closer to get a better look, a hand making its way to press against your chest in shock. You could now see the champagne glasses beside each plate and, upon closer inspection, you could see the tablecloth was velvet. You couldn't help but note how bare the table was besides the candles and silverware. The food and drink wasn't the only thing missing from the table.
"Y/N…" Said a breathless, yet nervous voice. You spun around and looked up at who spoke behind you.
"Leo." You said softly, a smile tugging at your lips. He had shed his gear and his usual cargo shorts. He now wore a nicer pair of slack-like shorts and a bow tie. You had to stifle a laugh when you saw it. Leo stood in front of you awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I guess you figured out who I was."
"I did." Another silence fell between you both. Leo started to avoid your eyes as the silence went on.
"Leo, did you do this cause you felt pity?" The question rushed out before you could stop it. You didn't want to ask it but you'd be lying if you said it wasn't eating you up inside. Leo's nervous expression changed to one of shock.
"What?" He asked, taking a step towards you.
"Did you do this cause you pity me?" You repeated softly. You hated how that question brought down your mood but you couldn't help it, it all felt too good to be true.
"You're serious?" His voice was soft but stern. You glanced at him then quickly looked away.
"You're gonna pretend like you have no idea how I've felt about you, since the first day we met?" He asked, moving closer still. You looked at him in surprise, a blush coloring your cheeks. Your eyes widened and your pulse quickened.
"Sure you were hard-headed at first, but once you warmed up to us you were all I could think about. You're smart, funny and beautiful." Leo said. He looked at you.
"You're…so beautiful." He said breathlessly. Your blush deepened. You couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Come to think of it you started to feel faint. Your knees gave slightly as you reached for the table behind you for support. In a flash, you flet Leo's hands around your waist holding you up.
"Whoa, easy." He whispered by your ear, goosebumps rippling along your arms.
"Leo, I-" you attempted to start. Leo shushed you and sat you down on one of the chairs. He knelt in front of you so he was eye level with you.
"I seem to have an affect on you." He joked lightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I promise I'm fine I just…" you took a deep breath and looked at him. "I've felt the same way about you for so long."
Now it was Leo's turn to look shocked. You both gazed into each other's eyes as you both processed what you said to each other.
"You like me?" Leo asked softly.
"Yeah." You took in another breath. "You like me too?"
"I do." He said softly. You could hear your blood pulsing through your ears. You felt your hands get clamy once more. Then, you saw him inch closer to you. You couldn't help the hitch in your breath. Leo halted for a moment. You could see the hesitation in his eyes.
"Sorry." He started to move away. You caught his cheek in the palm of your hand.
"I am not waiting for another second to finally kiss you." His eyes brightened. Next thing you knew, his hands were wrapped around you and his lips were pressed against yours. You happily returned the kiss, wrapping your own arms around his neck. Your heart did flips as fireworks exploded in your mind. This kiss was everything you ever dreamed about. When you both had finally pulled away, breathless and smiling like idiots.
"I have to admit, the poems were clever." You told him once you caught your breath. "Spelling your name by the first letter of the poets. Smart."
"I knew you'd figure it out." He smiled at you proudly. You smiled back.
"I do have to ask: what's with the rocks?"
"Those are obvious, they're my colors. The Lapis was my mask, the Emerald was my skin, and the Chrysocolla was my eyes."
"Ohhhh." Was all you could say. It was obvious and yet you never saw it.
"Wait, how did you even get the boxes there?" Leo couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"You should really consider locking your window." Your face burned from embarrassment.
"Oh, haha, right." You hated how you had developed a habit to keep your window unlocked for him and his brothers. You felt satisfied with his answers. You had one last question, though.
"When you told me about people hiding clues in their gifts, you were lying, weren't you?" Leo chuckled.
"I was. I didn't know how else to push you in the right direction."
"Well, aren't you a clever turtle." You smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek, feeling the heat from it on your lips.
"Ah, well, you're a clever human." He shot you a side smile, making your heart flutter.
Then your stomach grumbled.
"Hungry, huh? Let me bring out the food."
Tags: @symmetricalkazekage @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @dilucsflame33 @hotredphoenix
