Leo carefully made his way through the city. His chest felt tight, his heart felt like it would burst out of his chest at any moment, but that was expected when you consider he was on his way to tell you how he felt about you.
The two of you had known each other for roughly a year or so. You'd been through everything from simple hanging out, fighting alongside him and his brothers, fighting with and making up with him, and even being kidnapped by The Foot. The last one had happened last week and Leo could still hear the conversation he overheard between you and Karai.
"You like him, don't you?" Karai bluntly asked you.
Your face flushed as you looked away and struggled against the tight rope that bound your arms to your sides. There was a moment of silence before Karai spoke again.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
"Huh?" You gave her a confused look.
"I'm just saying," She said with a shrug, "It must suck."
There was another moment of silence between you two. You both were unaware of the turtles high above you in the rafters. Leo's mind raced, what in the world were you two talking about? Who was it you liked? It couldn't be him... Could it? Leo quickly realized his brothers were staring at him. Before he could react to them you had started talking again.
"No." You said coldly, "You know what sucks? It's not that Leo doesn't think of me that way, I'll eventually get over that. It's the fact that he's into a girl that I know is going to hurt him and there's nothing I can do but sit back and watch. He's so into you that he's convinced himself he can save you, but all you're going to do is hurt him and I can't do a damn thing about it! That's what sucks."
Your words had been like a slap to the face. Had he really been so blind that he couldn't see your feelings? More importantly, did he really seem that desperate to save Karai? True, he did have feelings for her at one point, but after countless fights and attacks on his family those feeling had started to fade. Then of course there was the fact that he had just learned Karai was really Splinter's daughter. He was the only one who knew that now though.
It wasn't until that fight, until Dogpound threatened to pour mutagen on you, that Leo realized his own feelings towards you. Since then, he wrestled with the idea of telling you how he felt. Donnie and Mikey were nothing but supportive, telling him he should go for it. Raph on the other hand was more hesitant. He wanted Leo to be happy with you, but there was still that gnawing doubt that it wouldn't work since you were human and Leo wasn't. In the end, Leo decided he had to tell you his feeling. Which is what lead him to the fire escape of your apartment that night.
He gently tapped on your bedroom window, heart pounding as he waited. He had never felt so nervous in his life. He was wondering why he felt so nervous when he already knew your feelings towards him. Would you be mad that he over heard you? Would you by some chance be relieved he heard you? His questions stopped when the window opened. Leo opened his mouth, expecting to see you, but quickly closed it when he saw a small red haired girl looking up at him.
"Mr. Turtle!" She exclaimed happily, "Did you come to have tea with me and (name)?"
Before Leo could reply you stepped into the room, "Tiffany what are you doing in my roo-"
The two of you froze, staring from one another to the girl then back to each other.
"(Name)! (Name)!" Tiffany exclaimed as she happily grabbed your hand and pulled you to the window, "This is my friend Mr. Turtle! Mr. Turtle this (Name), she's my cousin!"
"C-cousin?" Leo stuttered as he looked from you to the girl.
"I-it's nice to meet you Mr. Turtle, why don't you come in?" You say as you quickly signal him to get inside before anyone else saw him.
Leo nodded, quickly sliding passed the window as Tiffany hugged him.
"You're just in time for the princess dance party!" She said happily, "Wait here, I'll get the music!"
As the little girl ran out, you shot Leo a confused look.
"How the heck do you know her?" You asked.
"It's a long story." He sighed, "She got a canister of mutagen and when I tried to get it back she thought I was an imaginary friend or something. She's your cousin though?"
"Yea, my mom asked me to babysit her tonight so she and my uncle could go to the movies." You replied, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"
"I, uh..." Leo could feel his face heat up as his heart began to race again.
This was not how he expected the night to go and he was grateful to see the little girl return once again. She had a large stuffed animal under one arm and a couple cds in her hand. As she pulled the chair of your desk out, you both watched her curiously as she climbed on to your desk. She replaced your current cd with an unmarked disk as she turned to you both with a grin.
"What'd you put in there Tiff?" You asked.
"Its a cd with all my favorite songs!" She exclaimed as she pushed the play button.
You instantly recognized the Disney song as the music started. You smiled at the little red head as she jumped off your desk and handed the large stuffed rabbit to Leo.
"You can dance with Bunny first and I'm going to dance with (Name)!" The girl chirped happily.
Leo shot you a questioning look as you shrugged. With a small sigh and a smile Leo agreed to dance with the stuffed rabbit while you danced with your cousin. As the song ended, you couldn't help but snicker at the blue masked turtle. Here he was, partly bent over as he tried to keep the rabbit's feet on the floor to make it look as if it were dancing too. Leo looked to you and smiled. He had never said it out loud, but he loved hearing you laugh.
As the next song started playing, a gentle melody filled the room and made your heart skip a beat as you recognized it. Tale as Old as Time was now playing and Tiffany was pulling you to Leo.
"Now you two dance!" She beamed at both of you as she took the rabbit from Leo.
You both blushed as you stared at each other for a moment. You felt your heart starting to race as Tiffany looked from you to Leo and smiled.
"I'm going to the bathroom!" She exclaimed as she ran out of the room, only to peek back in a moment later.
Tiffany ducked back into the hall when she saw you and Leo look at her. Leo quietly laughed as he shook his head. You couldn't help laughing yourself. That's when Leo got an idea.
"Would you like to dance, Princess (Name)?" He asked as he bowed slightly, offering his hand to you.
"Huh?!" You squeaked, feeling as if your face were on fire.
Leo looked up at you and smiled before glancing over to your cousin. You glanced to Tiffany, who ducked back into the hallway again. A smile crossed your face as you took Leo's hand and curtsied to him.
"I would love to, Prince Leo." You giggled as Leo's face turned red.
The teen turtle cleared his throat as he straightened up and pulled you close to him. As he held your hand, he placed his free hand on your waist as you put yours on his shoulder. True to his nature, Leo took the lead, guiding you two across the floor as you both moved in time with the music. It only took a moment for you to recognize he was leading you in a waltz.
"Since when do you know how to waltz?" You asked with a smirk.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Leo replied as he smirked back at you.
You chuckled at his response before letting your gaze return to his beautiful blue eyes. You could always get lost in his eyes and on several occasions you were sure he had noticed you staring, even though he never said anything about it. Little did you know, he felt the same way.
Leo let himself melt as he stared into your eyes. He had always loved the color and he loved the way they lit up whenever you would get excited about something. He could feel his heart drumming in his chest as he moved with you. Part of him wondered if you could hear how loud his heart was beating in this moment. He wanted to tell you how much he liked you, how much he wanted to be with you, but what if you decided you didn't want to be with him after all? Not only would it ruin this moment, but he felt as if he would be too embarrassed to face you again. At least for a while anyways. Maybe it was best he didn't say anything.
You knew the song was coming to an end, but you didn't want it to be over. You loved the feeling of Leo's large hand around your own smaller hand. You wished you could be closer to him. Then the thought came, why couldn't you be? You smiled wider at Leo, who shyly smiled wider too. As you danced, you stepped a little closer and let your head rest on his shoulder.
Leo thought for sure you could hear his heart racing now. He felt as if his face were on fire but he didn't care. Letting his chin rest on your head, he breathed in the sweet floral scent from your shampoo that mixed well with the incense you had burned earlier that day. He couldn't stand it anymore, he had to let you know how he felt about you.
When the song came to an end, you reluctantly pulled away, looking once again into his deep blue eyes. You both felt as if you were the only ones in the world at this moment. You watched as Leo opened his mouth to say something, then he quickly closed it as if he were trying to find the right words. You smiled as you watched him do this a couple more times, his face turning redder and redder until finally...
"We're home!" You hear your mom call from the living room as the next song started.
Both Leo and you freeze, hearts leaping into your throats as Tiffany sighed loudly.
"Aww you two were going to-" Tiffany started to say before you quickly cover her mouth.
"You have to keep this secret, okay?" You said franticly, "If anyone knows Mr. Turtle was here he can't come back to play cause... cause he'll get in big trouble with his dad, okay?"
With wonder filled eyes Tiffany nodded, "You know Mr. Turtles dad?"
"I-I do." You say as you glance back to see Leo's no longer in your room.
You sigh, half relieved and half disappointed.
"There you are!" Your uncle says as he and your mom come around the corner in the hallway.
"Oh, you guys are back!" You smile, acting as if you didn't hear them come in.
"What are you two up to?" Your mom asks, giving you a suspicious look.
"We were playing princess dance party!" Tiffany exclaimed excitedly before looking at you with a smile.
"That's right!" You nod.
After a few minutes of small talk, goodbyes, and returning the cds, your uncle and Tiffany leave. You tell your mom that April reminded you of some homework you forgot about and you shut yourself in your room.
You sigh, wondering what would have happened if your mom hadn't come back when she did. You didn't have to wonder for long though as a small tapping on your window made you jump. You look to see Leo waving sheepishly through the glass. You quickly go to your window, letting him back in.
"That was close." Leo said, chuckling nervously as he looked around.
"Yea it was." You reply, laughing a bit before looking at him again. "Um, Leo, what were you trying to say?"
You watch as Leo's face turns bright red, "Um... well, t-that's actually why I came here today. (Name), I... I really like you a lot!"
You blush as Leo blurts out his confession, "Like, like like me?"
Leo nodded, his face glowing red as he continued, "That day when Karai had you tied up... I heard everything, so did the others."
It was your turn to feel as if your face were on fire.
"Oh god!" You hissed, covering your face with your hands, "W-why didn't you say anything?!"
"Because I... It wasn't until Dogpound threatened you with the mutagen that I realized how I felt about you." He said, "(Name)... Karai is Splinter's daughter. She's my sister."
"What?!" You looked at him in shock, "B-but you... I mean-"
"I didn't know until recently." Leo explained, "The others don't know yet. I'm the only one sensei has told to far."
"I see..." You said as you started to lose yourself in your thoughts as you sat on your bed.
Leo sat next to you, gently taking your hand as you looked at him. His blue eyes stared into your eyes as he carefully squeezed your hand.
"I know I should have said something sooner, (Name). I was just... I had a lot on my mind and in that moment all I cared about was getting you back." Leo said, "Once you were safe though, I was able to really think about how I feel. (Name) I would really like to... I mean..."
Leo felt his heart racing once again as he tried to work up his courage. He had faced countless foot soldiers, a Kraang invasion, and other mutants. So why was talking to you so hard right now? He looked away and took a deep breath before turning to you once again.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Leo blurted out, staring at you with a mixed look of hope and nervousness.
A wide grin spread across your face as you threw your arms around him in a tight hug, "Of course I will!"
Leo breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to him. He smiled as he heard you giggle. Leo was so happy he felt like he would burst.
"(N-Name)?" Leo said quietly, "Can I kiss you?"
You smiled as you pulled away from the hug. A faint pink color still stained your cheeks as you nodded. Leo smiled softly as he leaned closer to you. You leaned in too, your eyes closing when your lips met his. His lips were soft and surprisingly warm against your own. Both yours and his stomach felt as if it was doing flips as Leo brought his free hand to your cheek.
Although the kiss lasted for half a minute, it felt like an eternity. When you both pulled away you couldn't help smiling at one another.