rise! leo x reader oneshots

| What Lies in The Dead Stars |

!! (gn! reader) !!

{ Requested by @Elmosnugget / art done by me }
(see the end of the chapter for more)

Thank for the request reader! I already had an idea similar to yours and decided why not combine the two? As promised angst is HEAVY in this one. Enjoy everyone!

apologies, vani

[tw]: mentions of death, religion, the afterlife, wounds, and cursing (everything mentioned is not meant to defend anyone. if sensitive, do not read any further)

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Leonardo knew better than to wish on dead stars. He just didn't believe that wishes could come true.

Well, Leonardo doesn't exactly know what kind of wish come true this is.

He was floating, that he knew. A tingling sensation spread around his body, almost like a protective cocoon. He couldn't tell if he had his eyes closed or if it was just too dark to see anything. It was quiet. No, it was deathly still. It was the same thing but Leonardo has always been dramatic no matter his age. Though, he wasn't feeling poetic at the moment. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all. It was...hazy.

So for now, Leonardo let himself be carried through the forever void of nothing.

But where to?

Heaven? Hell?

Leonardo was certainly not religious but he had expected the pearly white gates of paradise in the afterlife. But was this the afterlife? Was this it? A soul carried through the endless road of the universe like a bag of bones? He felt the fingers of his hand twitch slightly at the breeze, glad to be feeling something.

Unaware, Leonardo found himself in light. But it wasn't any radiant lumination. It was more like a glow. Dashes of indigo and yellows scattered around him, like a group of butterflies fluttering in slow motion. It was like a captivating sight of the Northern lights. He was going somewhere. To a specific direction. And he didn't know where.

Leonardo stared hard into the gleam around him, figuring out the blocks of color and shapes in it. He remembered now. He was a warrior. No, a coward.

Casey. He left the boy to save the entire universe by himself.

Regret fell heavy in his lifeless heart. With a single push of hope from Leonardo and his brother Michaelangelo, Casey Jr. was sent back in time. Their time on Earth was over and there was nothing any of them could do to save it. To save you. He felt his soul tighten in grief.

This was his retribution, wasn't it? To spend the rest of the afterlife wandering alone with the stars. Your blood was on his hands now. He screwed up.

But Leo wasn't going to spend his time grieving anymore, he's learned that lesson. Despite the losses, he saw a chance to start over.

And Leonardo wasn't going to miss a second chance of saving his family.

The glow of the tunnel was now starting to move at a rapid pace clockwise, spinning faster and faster by the second. That is if the matter of time even existed in this indistinguishable reality. His eyes squint as the glow became more iridescent. Leonardo had never in his life seen a set of precious diamonds before but it was the only thing he could compare to this image. Beautiful, yet haunting and suspenseful.

He couldn't feel anything in his body except winds blowing him towards whatever was at the end of the eternal tunnel. But he could feel it. It was a calling. A calling from somewhere out there. It was buzzing with joy and this made Leonardo feel his heart in his throat. There was excitement but he didn't even know where it was coming from. Maybe this was some sort of punishment for his sins. But why had it felt so good?