I am about to lose precious sleep over this and I really don't care.

The prompt is simply "your character telling someone they love them for the first time".

Enjoy.

____________________

Shelby and Mikey sat in Mikey's room, his comics skewed across his bed. 

"This one is okay, but I honestly get really confused about it. Like, the main character is a superhero named Ms. Marvel, but I also read a comic where the main character was called Captain Marvel, and even I can tell they're too different characters." Mikey stated as he held the comic out to Shelby.

Shelby took it, studying the cover with curiosity. "So there's a Captain Marvel AND a Captain America?"

"Dude, don't even get me started." Mikey stated, and when the two locked eyes, they both started giggling.

There was a small knock on the door, which opened soon after, revealing Leonardo in the threshold, holding two plates of steaming pizza. "Foods here."

"Ah, man. Sorry, Leo, I didn't hear you call." Mikey apologized.

"I didn't either." Shelby admitted.

"It's not a big deal. I figured you two were just preoccupied... and judging by the comic lineup we've got going on here, I can see I was right." He laughed. "So I just brought you some."

"Aw, thanks, Leo." Shelby stated, taking the plate Leo passed to her. He had given Shelby her usual slice of choice, four cheese pizza, which Master Splinter often ordered for them to share.

"No problem." Leo said as he handed Mikey his slice of triple deluxe. "But if you want more, I'm not catering." He clarified, staring directly at his younger brother.

"Ahh, bummer deal." Mikey muttered, and with that, Leo left the two back to business.

"Have you ever seen the movies that go with these comics?" Shelby asked before taking a bite of her pizza. When she turned to Mikey, she could see that he had already devoured half of his slice.

"Erm-" he paused, swallowing a large bite, "no, we don't really get the chance to see many movies. Just the ones you bring down here. Why, have you?"

"Oh, no. I mean, I saw the trailer for Avengers but that was before... well, before my mom died, and my brothers and I never got the chance to see it." She explained, before clearing her throat. "Not that it was important or anything, I was just curious."

"Aw, no way, Shelbs, we totally have to watch it now!" Mikey smiled, and Shelby found herself smiling too as her gaze danced within the light of his eyes. "I'm sure Donnie or Monica could figure something out." With that thought, he shoved the rest of his pizza into his mouth.

Shelby watched him, her faint smile remaining glued to her lips. Mikey was so sweet and considerate towards her- well, all of the Hamatos were, but there was something about Michelangelo that provided Shelby with a strong intrinsic warmth. That warmth beat steadily with her heart, shooting to her face, which flushed a pale pink, to her finger tips, which tingled with the urge to grab his hand, and her stomach, which fluttered and kicked and made her shiver.

"I love you." She sighed quietly.

Mikey froze, his eye widening as he slowly turned his head to face her. "What?" He asked, the question muffled from the mouthful of pizza.

Shelby frowned, momentarily confused, before her eyes widened. "Did I say that out loud?"

Mikey nodded aggressively, but otherwise remained frozen.

What was once a subtle flush on her cheeks bloomed into a full ruby red on every inch of her face as she instantly began scrambling to get off the bed. "I'm so sorry, I did not mean to say that." She muttered, her eyes now locked on the floor.

Mikey finally managed to swallow his food, following her movements as she stood. "No, no, dude, seriously-"

"I need to go." Shelby insisted, stepping towards the door.  Before she got very far, she felt a firm grip on her arm which spun her back and suddenly she found her face caressed in Mikey's hands as he planted on kiss on her lips. Her body was stiff at first from pure shock, but as reality slowly caught up to the gears turning in her head, she relaxed and leaned into the embrace.

After a second, Mikey pulled away. "What I was trying to say was that, seriously, it's not a big deal, because I totally love you, too."

Shelby's smile stretched ear-to-ear as she folded her arms around Mikey's neck and pulled him into a tight hug. The warmth in her chest felt like a thousand suns, growing until it burned in her throat as a couple stray tears rolled down her cheeks. The best feeling in the world was knowing that, after two years of feeling like she was drifting through the world alone, she finally had someone in her life that she could trust to love her.