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

Chapter 7 - Rest and Relaxation

Your POV

I started going into the lair a lot more just to hang out with the guys. Of course, I wanted to hang out with‌ Leo the most, but when you go visit one, you get them all. It's like an unspoken package deal.

After watching an intense Space Heroes episode for the first time, I learned a lot about Leo. Most of his leadership skills were inspired by this Captain Ryan guy, who he looked up to a lot. I‌ watched his funny reactions to the show and how his brothers kept teasing him about being a nerd. Sure, it was kind of nerdy, but it was a cute kind of nerdy.

At the end of the day, everyone was sprawled in different places on the couch with popcorn and soda, watching old cartoons. Mikey was directly in front of the TV on his stomach, his head propped up by his hands and his legs dangling back and forth. Donnie was sitting with his laptop, switching back and forth from typing to watching. Raph sat back with his arm across the couch, about to fall asleep but wouldn't admit it.

Leo and I sat next to each other, slightly closer than everyone else. He was enthralled by the screen, almost as much as Mikey. I watched too, but I was exhausted. I went for a run at the nearby gym to clear my head before coming to the lair, and my tired muscles were catching up with me. I leaned back on the couch and shifted, trying to get comfortable.

Leo noticed and held his arm out for me. I smiled and leaned on his chest as he wrapped his arm around me, feeling much more relaxed.

His other hand grazed my hair lightly. "Can I braid your hair?"

I looked up at him. "You can braid hair?"‌ When I saw him nod, I smirked. "When did you learn that?"

Leo shrugged. "April. She started doing her hair for fancy dances at her school and I picked it up. Well, after Donnie tried and failed."

Donnie looks over from his laptop, offended. "Hey!" Then he did a double-take and got up with his laptop. "Okay, while you say mean things about me, I'll be in my lab where my experiments respect me."

I laughed and relaxed as Leo sat up straightened and took my hair in his hands, carefully pulling and separating it into sections. "You know," he said, "I really like the color of your hair. It suits you."

Blush started creeping onto my cheeks. "Aw, thanks. And I like the color of your mask. It really works with your blue eyes."

He chuckled behind me as he kept braiding.

I turned my attention back to the TV and smiled as Mikey started inching closer and closer to it. "Mikey's a little cutie," I whispered to Leo. "He's like a little kid."

Leo laughed. "Yeah, that's my little bro," he said proudly. "Sometimes he can be a handful, as you probably know."

I nodded slightly, trying not to mess up his work. "But it's all in good fun. I wish I had a little brother like him."

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"No, I'm an only child. I live with both of my parents back home, so I'm surrounded by adults a lot until my friends come over. I don't leave the house a lot."

He tilted my head to the side as he keeps braiding. "How come?"

I‌ fiddled with my hands in my lap. "They're very protective of me."

"Well, they let you come all the way to big bad New York. That's gotta mean something."

I giggled. "Sure, they sent me with people who don't watch me and have no idea. If they knew, oh man."

"Hair tie," he requested. I‌ held my arm out so he could take the one on my wrist. "But I think you're doing pretty well on your own. No craziness yet."

"Yeah, I met you guys. It's been really fun. Much more interesting than being at that apartment alone."

"And, done."

I felt the back of my head, then reached for my phone and turned on the camera. A perfect French braid. "How in the world - ?"

Leo chuckled as I‌ admired his work. "I'm glad you like it."

"I can't even do these things on my own! It's amazing." I looked at him in awe, then leaned closer and hugged him. "Thank you so much. For everything."

He held me tight, and I‌ relaxed against him. It felt perfect.

The cartoons ended, and Mikey switched the TV off, yawning. "Good night, guys, I'm tired." And he trudged off to his room.

We separated, and Leo checked his T-Phone for the time. I glanced to see 8:56 pm. My eyes widened. "I have to get back! What if they go home and I'm not there?"

I stood up and grabbed my shoulder bag from behind the couch, slipping my phone inside.

Leo stood up and led me out. "I'll be right back, guys!" he called.

We walked next to each other through the winding tunnels of the sewer until we reached the opening at my grandparents' street. He went first to open the manhole cover, and he helped me up. "I'll take you up to your room this time."

"Really?‌ It's pretty high up."

He smirked. "So it's a challenge, then?"

Before I could respond, he picked me up bridal-style and jumped into the shadow of the building, then started scaling the fire escape, counting the floors out loud as he went.

"21, 22, 23, 24. Your stop, milady."

I had left the window open a crack, so he put me down and I lifted it up all the way.

I turned around to face him and gave him a sad smile. I really didn't want to leave. "Thank you so much for taking me back. You didn't have to scale the building."

"Hey, I wanted you back safely. And what's safer than that?"

We both laughed. Feeling brave, I reached up and hugged him again. He returned the hug, almost surprised at my action. I‌ felt slightly embarrassed, but still bold enough to go through with it.

I‌ let him go and stepped through the window. "See you tomorrow."

"See you." Leo waved, then started climbing down the fire escape back to the sewers. I looked out the window to make sure he got down safely, then heard a notification on my phone.

Leo: Good night, can't wait for tomorrow!

Me: Same here! Good night!

I couldn't help the smile on my face.