Universes Apart || Rise Leonardo x Reader

⚀One

As I closed the door behind me, I put my hands over my eyes and suppressed the sob rising up in my throat. I had held it in the entire lonely, dark, chilly walk home, but I still wouldn't allow the emotion to escape. I spent too long on my makeup to ruin it like Mateo ruined my night. So blinking rapidly, desperately trying to pull myself out of the sadness clouding my mind, I walked into the kitchen.

My apartment was small, but it wasn't like I had much to put in it. The front door led to the only hallway in the house, connecting the bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen. Maybe if I had any sort of luck with dating I'd upgrade the space, but seeing as every time I tried to get out there and see what feelings bloomed, all I was left with was disappointment. Take my date tonight for example. It was a first date, so of course I spent a lot of time making sure my appearance was perfect. I'd spent more time than I cared to admit picking out an outfit and styling my makeup for all of that effort to go to waste when the guy didn't even show up. I spent the past hour trying to contact him, asking him if something came up or he was running late, for all of them to be left unread. So taking another ghosting, I packed up and walked home. I just felt bad for the waitress—she was waiting on my table the whole time and kept sending me sympathetic looks. I didn't have much for money but I made sure to tip her for her time.

Sniffing and blinking a couple more times, I submerged myself in baking. Maybe I liked food a little too much—at least that's what the mirror kept telling me—but it made the pain go away for a little bit. I crushed up graham crackers and added melted butter, then spread it across the bottom of a 9x13 pan to make a crust. I opened up a bag of butterscotch chips to spread across the crust.

A sound came from the living room, and I abruptly stopped all movement. I waited a couple moments, listening intently, but when nothing else happened, I just went right back to tossing butterscotch chips into the pan. Then the sound of something hitting the floor and my couch's springs creaking made me freeze. I had been so quiet coming in it was possible there was someone else in here and they didn't know I was home. Was I being robbed?

Panicking now, I quietly set the butterscotch chips down and slid my only knife out of its wood block. I would've called the police but I really didn't feel like alerting them unless I knew someone was there (call it anxiety but phone calls sucked enough already). Creeping towards the living room, I peeked around the corner. The light wasn't on, but I wasn't sure if I was brave enough to flip the switch.

So I sat there, staring into the darkness as I waited for my eyes to adjust. It was soft—barely audible—but I heard a sigh. My blood froze in my veins as my mind tried to produce any possible explanation as to why there wasn't a human being hiding in my living room. But with my eyes finally adjusted, I could see the shape sitting on the couch was indeed a person. They rubbed their bald head, sighing again, before looking at nothing in front of them. I was scared to breathe, worried they'd hear me.

"I guess I know why Raph takes it personally every time we mess up," the man said, chuckling dryly. "They just don't listen! And then they get hurt, and this happens..." He stood, walking back and forth quickly.

I watched, unsure of what to do. What was he talking about? I don't think this is what robbers and murderers talk about in their victims houses, or at least I hoped not. But the sword that I just spotted sitting on my coffee table said he was a threat, or was he just carrying it around for fun? My brain hurt at the discrepancies.

The man stopped, and I realized he was looking right at me. I felt my body stiffen as we both stared at each other. I wasn't exactly sure how long we both sat there, but it had to be at least a full 60 seconds of tension before I finally pulled myself out of it enough to flip on the lights. This, in turn, put me right back in my shocked state.