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

Chapter 35 - Unhealthy Comparisons

Your POV

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "What is it, Leo?"

He swallowed hard and led me out of his room, a guiding hand on the small of my back. I could feel it start to shake, and I realized that whatever was happening was serious.

I wrapped an arm around him and held him close. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"You should see for yourself," he mumbled.

We walked into Donnie's lab after Leo checked to make sure that no one else was following us inside. Is he keeping this a secret from everyone else, too? I scanned the room and gasped when I saw a girl with ninja gear tied to a chair against the far wall. "What the-"

"Long story short, that's Karai, Splinter's daughter, and she thinks that we killed her baby brother, which we didn't but she thinks that because her father, our sworn enemy, brainwashed her into thinking that and she came here to attack us and possibly kill you so we knocked her out." Leo took a huge breath after finishing and kept his gaze fixed on the ground.

Well, that was more than I was expecting. My eyes raked over Karai, taking in her heavily toned features. I absentmindedly placed a hand over my stomach as I noticed her ridiculously small waist. Raph did say that Leo used to have a thing for this girl. Maybe that's what he was into?

To distract myself, I looked over at the desk, where Donnie was feverishly typing with one hand while holding an ice pack to his head with the other. "What happened?" I asked, panic in my voice.

Donnie glanced at me for a split second before looking back at his work. "She attacked me, but it was okay for a while until the bump flared up again. I can't step away from this yet so the ice will have to do."

"Donnie, you have to take care of yourself." I walked to the shelves and pulled out the first aid kit. "What do I have to do?"

"Uh, wash cloth with soap and water, fresh cold compress, bandages."

I turned to Leo. "Can you replace the ice pack, please?"

He nodded and took the used ice pack from Donnie, avoiding looking in Karai's direction as he left. The way that he darted out of the room worried me. This girl is trouble for sure.

Focusing back on the first aid kit, I pulled out a wash cloth and wet it in the sink nearby, squirting some soap on it and squeezing out the extra water. Once it was damp but not dripping, I carried it over to Donnie and examined his wound. It was much more severe than I thought. "Hold still." I carefully pressed the cloth to his wound, and he winced.

As I finished cleaning the wound properly, Leo returned with a cold ice pack from the freezer. He transferred it between his hands from the extreme cold and stood next to me. "Here, it's freezing."

I chuckled slightly at his reaction. "That's what ice packs are supposed to be, Captain." After I took it from him to lightly hold against Donnie's head, I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "You're cute."

Leo gave me a small smile that was fleeting. "Thanks, Y/N."

"Hate to break up this moment, but it's too much," Donnie groaned. I immediately took the ice pack off. He tenderly rubbed the skin around the wound and sighed. "I seriously don't need this right now."

"I'm sorry, Donnie. Is there anything else I can do?" I asked.

Donnie shook his head slowly. "Nah, I think that's all that can be done. Thanks so much for everything. Go rest up for school tomorrow, study, whatever you have to do."

I stepped back, my eyes trailing back to Karai. Even knocked out, she still looked really good. Scary good. My skin tensed a bit at the idea of her being a professional ninja with all the gear and that body. I couldn't even throw a proper punch to save my life. Well, maybe one, but then I'd break my wrist or something.

An arm snaked around my waist. "I'll look after Donnie, okay? He's right, you should get some rest." Leo quickly kissed my temple. "Thank you for helping me today," he whispered.

I left my wandering thoughts and leaned my head against his chest. "Of course, I'm always here." After he let me go, I speed walked out of the lab and went straight to my room.

The idea of Karai being more than me was haunting. I had no idea of what her history was with the guys, and I didn't even want to think about how Leo used to see her. He seemed really annoyed when they last met up before she was tied to a chair, so I assumed something happened to make them drift apart. But what about before that?

I opened a closet door in my room to reveal a full body mirror that Raph had installed. Checking over my shoulder to make sure I was alone, I lifted up my shirt. I had so much more skin and body fat than she did. There was much more than I remembered, too. My fingers pressed the skin and bounced back up with every touch. Karai probably has abs under her armor, rock solid too. I need to workout.

Turning to the side didn't make things better. It felt like there was excess skin everywhere, too much to be healthy. Is that a roll? There was no way I had a roll.

I've never looked at myself like this before.

"Y/N! Will you share this pizza with me?"

I shoved my shirt back down and shut the door as Mikey stepped into the room. "Uh, sure, let's go."

He beamed and grabbed my hand. "Come on! There's another episode of Crognard that you haven't seen yet! It's my favorite!"

I let Mikey's enthusiasm wash over me and replace the thoughts of Karai for a moment. His smile was infectious, and soon I was grinning along with him. As I was dragged into the living area, I kept my gaze fixed on the TV and tried to forget the fact that pizza would only make my body worse.

A/N - Body image is a huge issue that isn't always explored in fanfiction, so I just wanted to say with this chapter that all of you are beautiful. Stay true to your own identity and who you are instead of comparing yourself to others. No one else can be the amazing you that you are! Leo might have something to say about this in a future chapter too...