the stargazer - tmnt (3) [✔]

twenty six

CHAPTER 26

THE POLAROID

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"GOODMORNING Sunshine." 

Piper narrowed her eyes and groaned at the sunbeam hitting her in the eyes. She rolled to one side, exhaling a short mumble in response to Leo's laughter. He sprawled himself over her side and leaned over, laughing at the dried drool in the corner of her mouth. 

"You've slept a full 12 hours," chuckled the blue clad turtle. 

"And I'm aiming for more," slurred the girl. She was still half asleep, causing Leo to grin. 

The night before, Piper had another nightmare. She couldn't sleep at all let alone close her eyes without seeing her brother. After telling Leo, the blue clad turtle insisted she slept in his bed with him, even though they had been doing it for nearly three weeks already. 

Of course, she obliged and a few minutes later, Leo was holding her flush against his chest while the two fell asleep- his nose in her hair and her cheek resting on his arm. 

Now that they were awake, Leo couldn't get enough of the sleepy girl. He still hadn't told her how he felt, but he knew that she had an inkling of what he was experiencing. After Florence told him that Piper was showing the same signs, he saw the blonde completely differently. 

A snore left Piper's lips, earning a mischievous smirk from Leo who rolled to his nightstand and quietly pulled out a Polaroid camera. He crawled off the bed with light steps- thanks to his ninja training- and inched in front of Piper. Holding the camera upwards, he managed a perfect angle of her face and took the picture. 

Piper's blonde hair was sprawled across her chin and forehead, but her rounded nose and freckles were perfectly visible. Her thin yet plump pink lips were jutted out as she slept, causing her breath to gently push one strand of hair up and down. Her long blonde lashes, smeared with mascara from the day before, flickered and fluttered like gentle butterfly wings. 

Leo smiled and held the Polaroid in his hand with an adoring smile. 

Bending down, Leo gently placed a butterfly kiss on Piper's temple. When he pulled away, he chuckled at the faint smile that perched up the corners of her lips. 

She didn't wake up or stir, causing Leo to sigh but knowing that she was sleeping without any nightmare comforted him. 

Letting her sleep in his bed, Leo turned around and left the room. Carefully, he shut the door with a faint click. 

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HER funeral was three weeks later. 

A day after they had come back and broken the news to Mikey, Nadia and Florence had to find Carly and tell her that Piper had passed away in an accident, a bitter lie that they could hardly say out loud. 

Carly, broken and confused, took the news like everyone else and collapsed into tears. After selling a few things with Nadia and Piper's help, Carly could afford a decent coffin and a place next to her brother where the blonde was buried just a week later. 

Another week after her burial, the turtles had their own funeral on a cloudy Friday afternoon. 

They had each brought something to commemorate Piper and her passing instead of flowers since Piper's foster family and friends brought flowers. 

Surrounding the headstone with their items in their hands, the turtles and the three girls were silent. Some were in denial, and some were slowly accepting the fact that the blonde was gone.