#s: leonardo

[kathaynesart]

Beachball jumpscare!

Summer is almost here! So it's the perfect timing to release my submission for the @turtlestogetherzine! I wanted to draw the boys having a good time in my neck of the woods. I think they'd flourish in SoCal (albeit our pizza does kind of suck, but hey, Leo can port when needed).

The leftovers sale for the Turtles Together Zine is now going live so if you're still interested, be sure to check it out HERE. It was such an honor to be a guest on it and is filled with so many amazing artists and writers! You will not be disappointed!

[areadboar]

2. A memory of their father

Dimitri has many wonderful memories of his father but the earliest one is from when he was around 3 or four years old.

Little dimitri was crawling around on the rug in front of the hearth of the family room. He’d been making attempts to walk all week, pulling himself up to his feet taking a couple of wobbly steps then falling in his butt again.

“How’s my little lion club doing?” lambert asked, bending down to speak to his son. He leant his Lance against the wall nearby. “Daddy” dimitri cooed back in a determined tone.

Leaning forwards, the Prince grabbed the front of his fathers robes and pulled himself to his feet again. “Well done Dimitri” Lambert praise “How about trying to walk”

Looking around Dimitri spotted the legendary Lance and set off towards it. He was close when he started to stumble but before falling he reached out and grabbed the shaft. Using it to retighten himself, Dimitri pulled it closer then used it like a stick to make his way back to his father.

Reaching the king, he was swept up in a giant hug. “Look at you go!” His father laughed cuddling his son close. “When you can walk without the Lance, we can look to training you with one” he joked.

It was only the vaguest memory but dimitri could still recall the warmth from the fire and his fathers hug. Now the Lance was his but it still felt like his fathers weapon supporting him like back then.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

I learned something new just before bed.

Goddamn I am late for the party.

[leonardospoetry]

You can’t save someone  out of their own lives.

[hotheadedhero]

Baby Bump

AN: A little insight to how the turtles are during your pregnancy because, I dunno, it's cute to think about and fever got me rn

2003 Turtles x Reader

Leonardo

Whilst Leo is sensible and typically thinks before he acts, he once made the sore mistake of telling you to calm down when hormones were particularly unforgiving. He had only meant to ease you in the gentlest way possible but it wasn't taken as such. You could have given Raph a run for his money, jeez. That being said, the brother in question did have some sage advice to give in that when things are already wracking your nerves, the last thing you need to hear is 'calm down'. He supposes he should have known that but he isn't used to you wearing a short fuse.

That has been by-the-by now and it's clear that a lot is going on the closer you get to the nine-month mark. He doesn't want you to get stressed out. There's no imagining the strains your body must be going through, so he makes a point of eliminating as much hassle as possible. Need peace and quiet? He'll take his brothers top side to give you space. Chores and general responsibilities that require a lot of movement? A thing of the past. He took on your share of duties as soon as your bump started to show.

Expect frequent pampering and looking after from this man, some of which is in the form of meditation. His favourite way of doing this is with you sitting facing one another, close enough so the feet and knees of your crossed legs are touching. In this particular session, you're having a little more trouble clearing your mind. It seems someone is a little active in making their presence known, kicking and poking against the inside of your belly. Leo peeks an eye open, breathing a short chuckle, and places his hand on your stomach.

In almost an instant, the baby stops and settles, leaving you both with a widened stare in each other's direction. Seems the message came across. Whether it's pure coincidence or not, it makes his heart melt and his pride grow. There's still some time to go before he gets to meet this bundle of joy but he's already so proud.

Raphael

Raph likes to carry you around when you're too tired to do so yourself. Does this change as the bump grows? Like hell, it does. Despite how much you insist that you're too heavy, he continues to carry you from place to place. It's like killing two birds with one stone: your feet can get some rest and he can make his flirtatious remarks about how much you love his strength. Try as you may to refute this, he's quick to remind you of how you got pregnant in the first place. That always shuts you up.

With how big your belly has gotten, his current favourite way of cuddling is when you're sat on his lap, back pressed against his chest, so that he can rub your stomach and keep you both close to him. It's the perfect means to lull you to sleep for those long days of carrying the baby around. Although, it gives him amble opportunity to think, to envision this future, and worse of all to get worried.

What if this kid doesn't like him? What if he doesn't like this kid? He isn't exactly well-versed with children and this isn't something he can practise for either. He thinks about how difficult he was growing up, how much trouble he caused, and if karma will bestow him the same treatment. That would just be his luck, wouldn't it?

Too scared to bring up the subject with you, Mikey's the only one who manages to get it through his skull that there are going to be difficulties. No family is perfect, especially them, and everyone here seems to be pretty happy, right? Right. He can hardly argue with that, even if it is advice from his bonehead of a brother. Raphael can't anticipate what this lifestyle is going to be like but the two of you are in it together, always.

Donatello

The stereotype that the soon-to-be mum is the one who gets in a tizzy about keeping tabs on the baby's progress couldn't be more wrong in this instance. Not to say that Donatello has been stir-crazy on the whole thing - at least not since you kindly suggested that he need not worry so much - but he's been taking all of the precautionary measures to ensure you and your shared creation are safe and healthy. Good thing technology has its collective perks once again; tracking with you every step of the way with this baby app you both downloaded.

He may or may not have taken the liberty of making an ultrasound machine from old hospital equipment he's found in several junk yards. Don't worry, everything has been sanitised to perfect cleanliness for your benefit and safety. He wouldn't want to feed into the irony by making you ill by trying to help. The only mishaps are when he almost blows himself up but what's new? Your heart swells with affection for the turtle who is so dedicated to making this experience special, even if it means there are a few mechanical hiccups along the way.

Whilst the aid of machines is sweet and all, you do assure him that he's enough without them. Bless the eccentric genius for what he does but in doing all of this, he actually ends up spending a little less time with you than you would hope.

That's when he gets into massages. He knows what methods are best for rolling out those tight muscles but identifying which parts of the body are suffering most is where he's a little stumped. Luckily, when it comes to pressure points, Leo has plenty of sage advice to give on that one, along with aligning your chakras, and it's come in handy. Donnie isn't sure you've ever melted so much into him.

Michelangelo

It's been a learning experience for you both as to be expected but there are so many things that Mikey wouldn't have even thought about with you being pregnant. Mood swings were to be expected but not of this magnitude. Thankfully, if they're particularly bad, you're never short of a good distraction and a laugh when it comes to this guy. He'll do anything for his special lady. At least, where he can.

What he's disliked the most from your list of tribulations is how nauseous you get. Worst of all it's when you go off certain foods completely. That's why he's put so much time into figuring out new recipes and trying to make sense of all this dietary stuff. If he's being honest, all the vitamin mumbo jumbo has been the most confusing part of it.

No worries! Big bro Donnie is here to save the day by simply listing what foods should work best and what your body really needs - mostly folic acid and electrolytes. He has no idea what these things are, even after browsing the internet, but the main matter is making sure you get them in your system. Hey, he's never one to turn down new recipes for his portfolio, so it's an added win. The real win here, in your eyes, is the fact that he's applied all of this for the sake of looking after you.

He's been excited about showing your baby all of his comic books but he's too impatient for his own good. During the evenings, he'll read his comics to your bump, describing the pictures and making sound effects to help create the image. Rest assured, you're probably going to have a little comic book lover in the making.

Splinter has been a quiet observer, feeling ever so proud of his son for taking to oncoming fatherhood as naturally as he had himself all those years ago. It isn't without its hiccups but this is a journey full of both wonderful and scary learning experiences, even before the arrival of little feet. There's a lot to prepare for.

As a soon-to-be grandfather, he'll do his part to make sure you are comfortable. Most of this involves checking on you when he can and calming teas to keep your mind and soul calm. And, perhaps, the odd soap or two on TV for when the boys are making their rounds on the surface. It's a small pass time but one he thoroughly enjoys partaking in whilst keeping you company and it goes without saying that you feel the same, thankful for his like-mindedness for the domestic simplicities.

[bones4thecats]

Can I get the rise boys having a vulnerable moment with human S/o, and they tell the boys that they’re beautiful to them? After having to live in the sewers and have limited contact with people for their looks, I think they all need to hear it :)

┗ Wholehearted; Rise! Brothers × S/O ┛

Characters: Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) A/N: This is kind of short and straight to the point. I couldn't think of multiple different scenarios, so I went with one being where you can just insert their name again. Anyways, hope you enjoy this, Anon! ⇘ Summary: When you notice your boyfriend started to distant himself, you visit him in the lair. But, instead of finding your boyfriend in his normal mood, you find him crying in his room. Now, only comforting him is on your mind.

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

❤️💙💜🧡 Ever since the day you met {Turtle}, you knew how he acted when under pressure. Whether it was pressure to be the perfect brother or the perfect member of the team no matter what, it all got to him so quickly and deeply.

❤️💙💜🧡 But, when his role as a boyfriend came into the mix, his insecurities nearly tripled. It only made it worse that his S/O was a human. They were gone for a majority of the day, leaving him feeling lonely. He began to despise his appearance, leading him to begin pulling away from his S/O.

❤️💙💜🧡 They noticed and felt odd. Their {Turtle} was never like this. He only pulled away when he felt like his emotions would take over - essentially he did it to protect his S/O. And they knew that wasn't the case.

❤️💙💜🧡 After about a week of waiting, they went to the lair, looking for their turtle boyfriend. Obviously, they found Splinter watching some TV in the living room, the other three of his sons most likely ding their own things somewhere. He smiled and waved, asking if they were looking for their 'Lover-Boy'.

"Yeah, is he here?"

"Yep. {Turtle} is in his room."

"Thanks, Splinter."

"Not a problem, child."

❤️💙💜🧡 When they reached {Turtle}'s door, they pressed their ear against it, hearing a sound. A conversation that long passed then rung in their mind, a conversation with {Turtle}.

"If you ever feel down, I will be right there for you. Okay?" "Yeah." They sniffed, feeling their boyfriend's large hands wipe their tears off their cheeks. "I love you." {Turtle}'s eyes widened as his cheeks heated up from being flustered. "I love you too, Y/N." He said.

❤️💙💜🧡 That was the day they first said 'I love you'. Those words hung in their head and they mustered up the courage to open the door. Inside, on his bed, was the mutant turtle. His face was in his hands as he cried.

❤️💙💜🧡 He looked up abruptly and away when he noticed his S/O standing there. {Turtle} tried to stop his tears, but his S/O got to him faster than he believed he could. They held his face in their hands and asked what was bothering him so much.

"It's nothing."

"Malarkey. What's going on?"

"It's just... why do you stay with me? It's not like I can go out and spend time with you at any time of the day or night. I'm a... freak..."

"First off." His tears were being wiped, "you're far from a monster. We've fought worse, from the Foot Clan's reanimated leader to aliens that looked like slime-spiders." They then sat down on his lap, wrapping their arms around him. "Monster is something that is far from what you are. You're unique, and I adore that about you, {Turtle} Hamato."

❤️💙💜🧡 He looked into you eyes and a smile began to form on his face as kisses were placed all over him.

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" He laughed.

"There's the beautiful smile I wanted to see."

"You think I'm beautiful?" He asked.

"You're the most beautiful creature I have ever had the blessing of laying my eyes upon." They replied, eyes staring into his own as he smiled and looked back.

❤️💙💜🧡 The next thing he knew, their lips were on one another's. Their first kiss! While he wanted it to happen in a more 'natural' setting, {Turtle} couldn't lie when he thought...

"I wouldn't have my life any other way."

[spider-mandaily]

In honour of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's first trailer release!

Made a redraw of Leonardo Romero's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Peter Parker!

[fanonisthenewcanon]

had to get this idea outta my noggin

you can’t tell me this wouldn’t happen

OMO!Leonardo by @threestripeslider

[lordfreg]

HERE'S MY FIRST YCH!

DNI tc★st

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[vertigoartgore]

Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night : "Feel the walls crumbling ?"

1998's Strange Tales Vol.4 #2 page 44. Words by writer Paul Jenkins, art by artist Leonardo Manco, colors by Marianna Manco, lettering by Jon Babcock and edited by Joe Andreani.

[rhinocio]

who the heck learned you

--

何が起こっている?! (nani ga okotte iru) - What is happening?! / What's going on?!

それはスコルピオントレッドミル!! (sore wa sokorupion toreddomiru) - It's the Scorpion Treadmill!!

この二人に乗せてのトレッドミルです. (kono futari ni nosete no toreddomiru desu) - It's the treadmill for these two (people). / Put these two (people) on the treadmill. "The boys' accents suggest that they probably learned English first and speak it best, and Splints has been pretty clear that he doesn't really want anything to do with his roots as a Hamato, so I don't imagine he spoke to them in Japanese very much as a way of distancing them from all that. But the reality shows seem to always be on--I wonder how much of the language the boys picked up just because of the background ambience? Like, maybe they can understand Japanese better than they can speak it, and their lexicon is just… the weirdest friggin' shit, because of all that reality TV. They don't know how to ask "where's the bathroom?" they know how to say "I can't believe that man on the treadmill got eaten to death by scorpions""

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

A not so friendly reminder that in the 90's, the turtles went on a tour, known as the "Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour".

Yes, this was real. No, I've not heard any of their songs. No, this is not what Bayverse Mikey references when he talks about their Christmas album.

But I have to admit, Donnie did have some moves.

No for real guys. They were on Oprah with this...

[leonardospoetry]

And if someday  the uncertainty of this world  becomes too overwhelming,  I hope you remember  that some mysteries  aren’t meant to be solved,  they’re meant  to be lived.

[s0fti3w1tch]

DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND SWING

Context: TD!Leo/Trainee jumped out of the bleachers after SLAU!Leo/One (@dianagj-art) turned a Mystic Tot (@thr-333's AU) into a baseball

Aftermath:

w/ @trubblegumm's BloodBath Leo, @thr-333's Mystic Tots Leo (little cameo with the rest of the turtles and Splints), @gemini-forest's Coin Toss Michael

Below cut, first drawing w/o the blur and vfx

[bones4thecats]

Rise boys having a fight with their S/o, who storms out and then the Krang invasion happens. Can we have the boys being saved by and reuniting with S/o months later after thinking they died? Just comfort and fluff pls

┗ Halt the Storm; Future! Rise × S/O ┛

Characters: Future-ish! Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) A/N: This is set for a story where you can choose your turtle. So, you can just put in one of the brother's name for the {Turtle} thing, and choose one of the nicknames from the story depending on the color. Hope you like this, Anon! ⇘ Summary: Blaming himself for his own failures was never good for your relationship. Normally, you could fix it with just a conversation, but when that went out the window, you left, going home. Nearly a year later, the Krang took over, leaving your home desecrated. Meanwhile, your boyfriend mourns you, believing you to be deceased. But, when going on a little mission with his brothers, he is defended by a mysterious stranger. After they say an old nickname, he realizes: you were alive and standing in front of him...

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵

❤️💙💜🧡 When you fought with your boyfriend, it was normally easy to solve. His emotions would get the better of him, the same with you, and you both understood that part of one another. But, this time, it was different.

"Honestly, if you don't understand that I can handle myself and my responsibilities, why don't you just leave!" He yelled, his voice showing how angry he was with you.

❤️💙💜🧡 You stared at him wide-eyed and tried to spit out some kind of sentence to try resolving the situation, but the way his eyes lacked the beautiful shimmer you fell for just made your throat dry up and your eyes tear up.

❤️💙💜🧡 Splinter watched with wide-eyes with your boyfriend's brothers. One tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen, storming to his room, claiming he needed space.

❤️💙💜🧡 They looked at you with sad in their eyes. Splinter walked up to you and hugged you, causing you to break down. He then called for one of his boys to bring you home safely while waiting for the brother you called your own to calm down.

-- Current Time:

❤️💙💜🧡 That was months ago. Almost 12, exactly 11 months, two weeks, three days, fourteen hours, twelve minutes, and 16 seconds. How did he keep count? How could he not? It was that day he spoke his last words to you. And they weren't filled with the positive feelings he felt for you, no. They were filled with the resentment towards himself for failing.

"Hey, bro. You coming? April said she found a signal out just past the city's limits." One of his brothers said from the outside of his room.

❤️💙💜🧡 He sighed and stood up, saying he was before grabbing his weapons and walking outside.

❤️💙💜🧡 Once the four mutant-brothers reached near the signal's location, Donnie told them to fan out, to search everywhere as he looked at the map with his scanner. He pushed it away as they split, looking around for the thing they were told was here. A Krang.

❤️💙💜🧡 Jumping down from the top of the broken-down house, {Turtle} looked around. His eyes traveled faster than a human's, which made him valuable to the resistance.

❤️💙💜🧡 As his eyes traveled in front of him, he neglected to check behind him. A larger Krang, around between the height of the first and second Krang, jumped from behind him, sending its appendages to skewer the mutant turtle.

❤️💙💜🧡 He looked back sharply and furrowed his brow, jumping up and onto the tentacle, successfully smashing it into the ground. A loud scream came from the alien as it looked up and sent more at {Turtle}.

❤️💙💜🧡 {Turtle} scoffed and brought out his mystic weapon and began his attack on the Krang. It jumped to the left at the last second, and landed in front of a steel rod. Its tentacle gripped it, dislodging it successfully, and throwing it at its opponent.

❤️💙💜🧡 In the meantime, {Turtle} was speaking to the brother closest to his location, telling him his locations and ordering him to grab their brothers for backup as quickly as possible. As he did this, he jumped slightly below what he should have, as a rod lodged itself inside of his calf.

❤️💙💜🧡 He wailed as he landed on the nearby ground, gripping his wound with his three-fingered hands. He glared up at the Krang as it laughed and mocked him, pushing on his wound with a sadistic glint in its eyes.

❤️💙💜🧡 Just before it landed the final hit on {Turtle}, a force pushed it away from him and into a nearby building's walls. Above him stood a figure with a gas mask and dark-clothing covering their entire body. Just out of their right sleeve was a robotic arm and their bottom left leg the same.

"Get up, Cardinal / Bluebird / Amethyst / Cheeto. That Krang isn't gonna be down for very long."

❤️💙💜🧡 {Nickname}... that was the nickname you gave him. But, it couldn't be. Your home was destroyed almost immediately after the Krang arrived. It was one of their first targets. How could you be alive?

"Y/N...? Is it... really you?" He asked as you readied your sword and grenades.

"We'll discuss it later. Right now you need medical attention. You call your brothers?" You asked as you took out some bandages from your pocket and tossed them over so he can cover his wounds and hopefully slow down the bleeding.

❤️💙💜🧡 He nodded and pressed down on his wound. But, despite his better judgement (and most likely his brother's as well), he used his weapon and strength to pull out the rod in his leg. The shock from it happening caused more blood to come out. You rolled his eyes from under the mask and laid your weapons down, grabbed the bandages, wrapped them around his leg tightly and added pressure, which you gave to him as you noticed his brothers approaching.

❤️💙💜🧡 You looked back down at him and put your weapons back in their holsters. The others mutants landed nearby you, they asked what happened, to which you said you'd catch them up when safe. They nodded and began to help you keep their brother safe, unknowing to whom they were seeing after so long.

-- Time-Skip...

❤️💙💜🧡 The sound of beeping alerted the turtle who was resting. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up and around, trying to locate where he was. He came to the conclusion that he was in the medical-room that was created just a couple months ago, being made of some still-functioning medical equipment from all around the destroyed city.

❤️💙💜🧡 He tried to sit up, but failed due to feeling a head right beside him. {Turtle} looked down and noticed you. So, you were safe. Thank his ancestors.

❤️💙💜🧡 {Turtle} looked at you and smiled, his somehow-still clean teeth poking out as he did so. He reached towards you and began to rub his hand against your head.

❤️💙💜🧡 He missed this more than you realized. The feeling of your face being in his grasp. The heat that you produced against his natural, cold bodily temperatures. You were his missing other half that he finally found after so long.

❤️💙💜🧡 Though, he knew if you awoke and saw him looking down at you rather than resting from his wound caused by that blob-looking monster, {Turtle} decided to close his eyes once more, this time with his hand covering the ones you had over his thigh.

❤️💙💜🧡 He couldn't deny that he couldn't wait to hear your voice and hold you the same way he used to back then. Couldn't wait to fix what he had damaged all those months ago, rebuild your relationship stronger than ever among the invasion of these beasts.

"I've missed you... my love."

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵

[noirleo]

confessions pt. 2

(bayverse & reader are all adults <3)

leonardo

leonardo has saved the city of new york—and the world, by association, because what kind of world would be left without his precious city—twice before even entering adulthood. since the age of fifteen he’s saved countless lives and can tell stories that would leave even the most seasoned police officers lying awake at night.

nothing in his repertoire of harrowing life experiences has prepared him for the gut-wrenching experience of catching feelings for his best friend.

leo had been the last of the brothers to trust you after mikey had cheerily, thoughtlessly, brought you unannounced to the lair one night. his decision had led to several hours in the hashi after you’d left, but leo couldn’t stop you from coming back. eventually, reluctant trust transformed into a friendship, easygoing and natural in a way that he didn’t know friendships could be.

when you first met leo, he could count everything he cared about in the world on one hand—his family, his training, and his city, in that order. the world he lived in was small, but it was his. his to understand, to care for and protect. he would never have dreamed of describing himself as lonely until meeting you. how infuriating, then, was your insistence on worming your way into that shadow-hidden world, cracking it wide open and exposing that loneliness to the sunlight of your smile.

so here he was, laying on the floor of his own bedroom, hugging a pillow while you painted gentle brush strokes across his shell.

you’d been begging him to let you paint his shell for ages, promising not to listening to any of mikey’s explicit suggestions of what to paint. after years of experience telling his brother’s ‘no’, he’d thought he was immune to pouting.

evidently not.

“you still awake?” you paused for a moment, looking up from your work to check on him, and received a muffled hum in response from where leo’s face was buried into the crook of his elbow. you were kneeling at his side, one hand on his shell to support your weight as you focused on the task at hand.

for the first several minutes, his entire body had been tensed up. leo was never more aware of his hulking size and strength than when he was next to you. however, he had quickly melted into your touch, hypnotized by the swirling brush strokes and comfortable silence in the room.

how long had he been laying here? seconds, hours, years—leo had no idea, and he didn’t care. nirvana was definitely a real thing, he decided, and he’d found it under your gentle touch against his shell.

“alright, i’m finished,” your voice broke through his thoughts and he lifted his head to look at you. paint bottles and cups of water surrounded where you were kneeling at his side, and were all being whisked away to the side.

“wait, wait, wait, don’t move yet—it still has to dry,” you urged him as he began to lift himself up on his elbows. he huffed in response, letting his face hit the pillow he had been laying on unceremoniously, and side-eyed you.

“i didn’t realize this would be an all-day event, or i would have brought some entertainment,” he mumbled dryly. you laid on the ground next to him, arms folded under the back of your head, and looked over to grin at him. he tried to ignore the crackle of electricity under his skin as your arm grazed his, your faces just inches away from each other.

“i’m pretty sure i’m all the entertainment you need, actually,” you replied cheekily, making him smile and roll his eyes.

his gaze lingered on you just a moment too long. it had taken him ages to slow down his racing heartbeat when you had first begun, and now it threatened to beat out of his chest again as he listened to you begin to delve into your creative thought process, careful not to give away all of the details of your work before he could see it for himself. he watched the corners of your eyes crinkle, the furrow of your brow and the way your fingers traced the air as you always did when you started talking about the things you love. where leo was collected and calculated, you were animated and colorful. all of the best parts of being alive begin and end behind your eyes, he thought to himself.

“i think it should be good now,” you decided, leaning up on one elbow to gingerly touch the paint on his shell before nodding, a look of excitement and nervousness crossing your face as you crouched down and extended your hands. “wanna take a look?”

he accepted, taking your small hands in his, rose to his feet and walked over to the mirror propped up against the wall.

leo stood in awe of the swirl of colors painted across the back of his shell. a city skyline in shades of blues and purples was splashed against a dark sky, and he could make out four small figures standing side by side on a rooftop in familiar colors.

“it’s new york,” he breathed, eyebrow ridges raised as he craned his neck, trying to see it more clearly in the mirror.

“you like it?” you asked in a hopeful voice, swaying in place as one hand tapped your cheek in anticipation.

“it’s fine,” he said finally, earning a smack on his bicep from you. he turned to you, grinning ear to ear. “it’s amazing. you’re amazing. the guys are gonna be so jealous.”

he turned down to look at you, towering over you as you beamed that sunshine smile at the praise. amused, he noticed a splatter of bright blue on your cheek and gently wiped it away with his thumb. had he imagined the scarlet blush of your cheeks as you turned your eyes away from him?

did it matter?

“c’mon, i wanna go show the others,” you decided, turning past him towards his bedroom door. without thinking, his hand shot out of its own volition to grab yours. you froze at the large hand gently holding your wrist, rooting you to the spot.

“wait, just…wait,” leo rasped, immediately ashamed at the edge of desperation creeping into his voice. you turned to face him, brow furrowed slightly in curiosity. that familiar stinging that he felt every time you left the lair bubbled up in his chest. he didn’t want to go back to the others and have to see them crowd around you, begging you to do the same for them. for once, just once, he wanted a moment that he didn’t have to share with his brothers. he wanted something to just be his.

he wanted that something to be you.

he wasn’t thinking properly, he knew it, but he never really was thinking clearly around you.

you began to ask if he was okay, your lips forming around the words, but never made it to the end of the sentence as his hands reached up to your face, cradling you in his hands. your eyes widened a little at the touch, but you made no effort to pull away.

“leo?”

the sound of his name rolled off of your tongue so easily, so effortlessly breaking down his usual barriers of self discipline that dictated his every waking moment, and finally he released himself to his impulses as he leaned down to kiss you.

you tensed up in surprise the moment his lips touched yours, and he pulled away as quickly as it began. his fearful thoughts began to race, screaming at him for being so selfish. the one friend he’d ever made for himself, and he’d ruined it.

“i—shit, i’m sorry. i don’t know why i…”

his regretful rambling was stopped midsentence by your hand on his plastron, his chest heaving as your gaze followed a trail from his eyes to his lips.

“leo. shut up.”

it was his turn to be surprised as you stood on your toes, pressing your lips against his.

he poured all of his feelings, the long months of pining and languishing over his certainly-unrequited feelings into the kiss, grabbing you by the waist with one arm and moving the other to quietly shut the door again.

the others could wait a little longer.