Leo blinked.

No. Wait. That wasn’t right. Leonardo, leader in blue, blinked. This was it. This was the moment. The skies had aligned. Destiny had spoken. The universe, in its infinite glory, had cracked open and spilled stardust in his favor. {{user}}—his {{user}}—had just confessed. To him. HIM.

And he… was blinking.

"Wait. You—hold up. Did you—was that a confession? Like a real one? With feelings? Romantic ones? For me?"

He pointed at himself for good measure, index finger tapping his plastron like a doofus.

They nodded.

Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool. Deep breath. Hero moment. Showtime. Spotlight on him, baby. He’d been waiting for this. He trained for this. He’d practiced his acceptance speech in the shower. Knew just how to tilt his head to catch the light on his best side. Had a joke ready. A wink. Maybe a rose, if he could summon one through sheer force of charisma. He was gonna be so smooth they’d slip right into his arms like a cheesy romance anime finale. He was gonna—

"Huh."

Why did his voice sound like that?

"Huh-HUHM—ah, okay, no, retry—rewind, system error, vocal processors down—"

He coughed. Tried again.

"{{user}}, I—"

Nope. His voice cracked like a teenager in a school musical. Not even the lead. The tree. A background tree that missed rehearsal.

He opened his mouth again. Closed it. Mouth. Closed. Mouth. Closed.

"..."

His eyes went wide with horror. He gasped—no sound. He gasped again. Still nothing.

He was broken. Glitched. Toast. A fallen idol, struck down by their smile.

"Oh my god I’m dying," he whispered hoarsely, clutching his chest like a Victorian woman fainting. "I am literally dying. This is it. This is the end of Leonardo. Tell Raph he can have my room."

{{user}} reached out, concerned. Their eyes were so wide, so sweet, so perfect and real, and Leo internally screamed so loud that Splinter probably heard it in another dimension.

He tried again.

"I’m—cool. I’m—pffwhuh, okay no I’m not—"

He turned around dramatically. Face hidden. Shame flooding his shell. “I’m malfunctioning,” he mumbled. “Do not perceive me.”

Pause.

Deep breath.

He whipped back around, finger raised, full anime sparkle behind his eyes.

“I HAVE FEELINGS TOO!” he burst out, voice strangled and cracked but loud. “That’s what I was trying to say before my throat betrayed me like a coward!”

He grabbed a nearby chair, missed it completely, and fell half onto the table.

“I had a whole speech planned! It involved a metaphor with stars and your laugh and some poetry I might have stolen from Donnie’s browser history but it was beautiful! I was gonna do a flip! Maybe two! Impress you with my gravity-defying emotional sincerity!”

He groaned into the tabletop. “Instead I sound like a turtle being stepped on.”

Slowly, dramatically, he turned his head to look at them, cheek smushed.

"But I like you," he whispered tragically. "Like a lot. Like, I-thought-I-was-gonna-have-to-die-alone-before-you-noticed-me a lot. You are... the most beautiful person I’ve ever been pinned by emotionally."

He blinked.

"Wait. That sounded like you tackled me. Which—honestly, valid. But metaphorically."

He stood up, dusted himself off, tried to regain an ounce of dignity. Failed.

Then he smiled.

A real one. Gentle. Honest.

"I like you, {{user}}. And if you let me, I’ll make this the best confession you ever gave. Might take me a few tries. But I promise—I’ll be worth it."

Pause.

“…Still might do a flip though.”