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normal-sea-urchin · 1 year ago

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Casey Jones Fucking Dies: Chapter 5

here it is, after like, 3 days, 2,755 words of raph going through it, leo's kind of a jerk in this one, but yeah, please enjoy, so sorry for postponing it and making it so long

What April said resonated in Raph's mind for the next few days. What did she mean off? And what did she mean his 'vibe'? Do the rest of the guys think he's being weird? Wait, duh, of course they do, they told April that. He pondered all these thoughts while lying down on his bed, legs dangling off the edge.

In their defense, he had been acting weird. All this weird stuff, the white fog in the sewer, his sai constantly going missing, his stuff getting knocked over, the face in the mirror, all of it. It'd been bizarre for him, so he could only imagine how it looked to his brothers and April. Considering that Mikey didn't seem to react to the white fog in the sewer tunnel, he probably didn't see anything, so whatever was wrong had something to do with Raph.

Why was all this happening to him; was it some kind of elaborate prank by his brothers? Maybe god is punishing me for what I did he jokingly thought to himself. Or maybe it's a ghoooooooost.

"Hehe..." he chuckled. Wait. Wait hang on. That's it. What if that's it? What if this whole thing, with the nightmares and restless nights, the cold gusts of winds, and that haunting face in the mirror. Raph felt his brow furrow as he delved deeper into his thoughts. If he was really being haunted, then by who? Or by what?

"Uhhhhhh, dude?"

Raph launched up from his comfortable position on his bed, turning to see who was in the door. Mikey. it was just Mikey. Raph was so deep in his thought that he didn't even hear Mikey walk in.

"You okay?" Mikey asked, swinging his arms back and forth and teetering on his feet. "You seemed like, way spaced out."

"Uh- Of course I'm okay!" Raph lashed out, getting off his bed and placing his hands on his hips(?). How long had Mikey been standing there, watching him?

"If you say so bro. Anyways, pizza's here." Mikey mentioned walking away into the living room. Raph retired his arms to his side. He waited a few moments before following Mikey into the living room. As he turned the corner from his doorway to the conversation pit, he took a moment to dive back into his previous thoughts.

Haunted? That's dumb. Like, Mikey level dumb. There's no way he was being haunted. It's not like ghosts are real. That's stupid.

_______________________

"Hello my sons." Master Splinter greeted, walking from the kitchen to the living room with a cup of tea in hand.

"Hi Sensei!" the turtles collectively saluted, turning their attention from the TV to their father.

"Would any of you like to join me for meditation in the dojo?" Splinter suggested.

"Of course Sensei!" Leo perked up. Mikey and Donnie both respectfully declined, leaving Raph to choose. You know what, with all the weird stuff that had been happening to him recently, he could probably use some meditation.

"Ya know what, sure." Raph answered, getting up and turning to walk towards the dojo. After realizing the room had fell silent with the exception of the TV, Raph turned to face his brothers. His brothers were all staring at him with blank faces, eyes wide.

"What?" Raph snarled.

"You're choosing to meditate? Because you want to?" Leo questioned. Now that Raph thought about it, him choosing to meditate over watching cartoons was extremely out of character; to say nothing of everything else that had happened after Casey Jones's death.

"Raphael may meditate with us if he wishes to do so." Splinter interjected, ending the conversation. And with that, the two turtles and their father walked into the dojo to start meditating.

About half an hour later, all three had slipped deep into their meditative state. Raph felt his mind clear, it felt nice with all that had been happening to him the past two months. His mind began to flood with those thoughts. His thought process tracked back to the white haze with the green glow in the sewer tunnel. And with that, his brain traced its way back to the face in the mirror. The image flashed in his mind. The pale, skull like face framed by what looked like oil, or grease. Something dark and dripping like that. Except this time, the image stuck im his brain for longer than usual. Like it was staring at him.

Raph felt his breath grow faster, and faster. The face distorted, twisting into a mask of rage. And just like that, the face disappeared again. Raph heard a far away whisper, but he couldn't quite understand it. A few seconds passed and he heard it again, but still couldn't understand it. A few seconds passed and his mind cleared again. He attempted to calm his breathing. He let his shoulders fall and his jaw unclench, not even knowing he had tensed up in the first place.

A few more seconds passed and by then Raph had returned to his blissful meditative state. But then there came a thought. Or, a vision? There was more whispering, and something was getting closer to him, rapidly.

"You left me to BLEED!" screamed a voice, accompanied by the flashing image of the face from the mirror!

"AAAH!" Raph yelped, finally opening his eyes and jumping back. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder did he realized he was back in the dojo.

"Raphael! are you alright my son?" the tall rat asked, readjusting his hand on the turtle's shoulder. Raph glanced behind his father to see Leo was standing just behind him, his brow furrowed, showing his concern.

"I- yeah I'm fine. I'm okay." Raph lied, turning his eyes back to his father, trying to steady his voice. The image of the face flashed in his mind again, making him wince a bit.

"Are you sure?" Splinter inquired, strengthening his grip on his son's shoulder.

"Hai Sensei." Raph assured, deciding it was time for him to leave. He wiggled out of his father's grip and made his way to the door. The second he was out of the dojo he made a beeline to his room. He thought he heard Donnie ask him what happened but he didn't care. When he reached his room, he slammed the door behind him and leaned his shell against it. He let himself sink down to the floor, curl up, and cry. Like he did all those nights ago. He sat in front of his door and cried.

_______________________

Two days passed and things were seemingly back to normal. When Leo asked Raph about what happened in the dojo, he simply lied and said he saw a really big roach. He could tell his brother wasn't satisfied, but he didn't really care. All he could really think about for long periods of time was what did happen in the dojo? It was becoming clear to Raph that whatever was happening was probably more than a hallucinations or his imagination. This was real.

Maybe he was being haunted. Maybe it was a ghost. April said his 'vibe' was off, maybe it was the ghost she was sensing. That still leaves the question of who's haunting him. Raph had a solid guess about who he was being haunted by, but he didn't like the idea that he was being haunted by the guy he had killed; which raph still had a problem coming to terms with. He still didn't know how he was ever going to tell his brothers.

But nevertheless, he had to keep up with his duties as a ninja, haunting or no haunting. His brothers were patrolling the city, hopping from roof to roof. It had recently rained, making the terrain a little slippery. Of course this was no problem for the group of ninja. They gracefully leaped from an apartment complex to an abandoned warehouse. There was a glowing purple light coming through the window, which typically meant the Kraang.

"Ok team," Leonardo started, peering through the roof light, "I say we go for a stealth attack. They don't seem to be too alert on the left side of the building so I recommend we sneak through there." A collective affirmative grunt came from the of the team. They began to walk over to the left side of the building, where they then snuck through an air duct.

"BOOYAHKASHA!" Mikey yelled, as he fell out of the air duct, landing on a kraang-droid. "Aw yeah dawg, the turtles are in the house!" The rest of the turtles landed beside him in battle position.

"It is the ones who are called the turtles!" one of the Kraang-droids reported.

"The ones who are called the turtles are not meant to be in the place known as this place!" a second one stated.

The four turtles all ran off in different directions, each taking on a dozen kraang-droids. Leo dug his swords into the chest of a Kraang-droid before using them to lift it up and throw it at a few other Kraang, knocking out at least four. Donatello twirled his bow staff around him knocking out any Kraang before any of them could reach him. His defense came to a halt when one of the Kraang jumped onto the end of his bo staff and crawled towards him.

Meanwhile Raph was stabbing Kraang-droids left and right. One came up behind him but before the bot could land the attack, Raph whipped around and kicked it to the ground. With the Kraang-droid on the ground, Raph raised his sai up to prepare for an attack and-

Wait. This wasn't right. Oh no. This was- This was just like that night.

While Raph was deep in his thoughts, the Kraang-bot took the chance to shoot its laser gun at Raph, and right in the middle of his shell too. This sent Raph flying back, making him crash into a pile of crates. He groaned in pain.

"Raph! Mikey, Donnie, retreat! Raph's down!" Leo commanded. Mikey and Leo rushed over to Raph and lifted him up, each of them slinging one of Raph's arms over their shoulders while Donnie twirled his bo staff to prevent any more lasers from hitting them. Leo and Mikey guided Raph down a corridor that led to an exit, with Donnie short behind. By then the Kraang had stopped trailing them.

Leo and Mikey gently sent Raph down on the pavement of the dark alleyway they were now in. "Raph! Raph are you okay?" Leo worried, checking to see if Raph was bleeding or had any cracks in his plastron.

"Ugh, I'm fine, Lame-o-nardo." Raph snapped back, pushing Leo's hand away from his plastron. He hated the look on his brothers' faces; they looked at him with fear and what seemed like pity on their faces. Yeah, well Raph didn't need their pity.

"Lame-o-nardo!?" Leo yelled, "In case you didn't notice, I just saved your life because you messed up!" Raph hated how Leo was right. He wanted to yell at Leo and nitpick every mistake Leo had ever made, but he didn't have the energy to fight.

"Whatever, let's just go home." Raph growled through gritted teeth. Lifting himself up, shooing his brother's hand away, to show he could stand without help. And with that, all four turtles disappeared into the sewers of New York, and began to make their way home.

_______________________

The walk home was relatively normal, aside from the uncomfortable silence. Even mikey was quiet. Raph walked behind the rest of his brothers, staring down at his feet as he walked. He watched his footsteps send ripples through the sewer water. He glanced up to try and see Leo, who was leading, but his two younger brothers blocked his line if sight. He turned his head back down to face the puddle he had just stepped in.

Oh no.

As raph stared into the puddle, he was met with another face staring back at him. The very same face that he'd seen before in the mirror. The very face he'd seen while meditating. And now it was here again. The skull-ish face staring back at him with blank eyes, still with what looked like oil covering its face. Raph felt his entire body freeze as the image in the puddle sent shivers up his spine. His breathing increased and grew heavy. The face remained monotone, with the exception which squinted at Raph.

And after what felt like hours but was really only a few seconds, Raph reclaimed his voice and much like he had two days ago in the dojo, jumped back and let out a scream of terror. The rest of the turtles whipped around in response to Raph's scream, but Raph kept his eyes locked on the puddle. After a few blinks, the face disappeared, and it was at this point that Raph lifted his head up to meet Leo's gaze. The turtle masked in blue was glaring at him, and gritted his teeth before lashing out.

"What is your problem, Raph!?" he yelled. "You've been acting weird for months!? Is there something you aren't telling us!?" Leo continued to glare at Raph.

Raph remained silent, simply staring back at Leo. His thoughts were scrambled. they were like fog, unable to grasp, simply floating around, leaving Raph unable to piece together a sentence.

"GODAMMIT RAPH!" What is with you?" Leo screamed, wishing his brother would talk to him for once.

"Leo-"

"Not now Donnie!" Leo scolded. "Listen Raph, if you can't talk to us, if you can't take missions seriously, then you can't be on the team anymore." the turtle threatened.

"...What?" Raph finally spoke.

"You heard me. Keep acting weird and messing up missions, and you're off the team." Leo reprimanded.

"Leo, dude-" Mikey whispered.

"Mikey." Leo warned, shutting down the conversation. He turned to continue walking, followed shortly by Mikey and Donnie, and eventually Raph. The rest of walk home was silent; Mikey and Donnie didn't want to risk ticking off Leo more, and Raph was deep in his thoughts.

He was once again thinking about the haunting face. The one from the mirror, and his meditative vision, and now the one he had seen staring back at him from the water. Upon having seen him a third time, Raph realized where he'd seen the skull pattern before. His mind turned back to roughly two months ago, in the streets of suburban downtown New York. The fight with Casey Jones, Casey Jones who had been wearing a skull mask.

This connection left Raph knowing he had a question to ask April.

_______________________

"Hey April? Can I ask you a question?" Raph was standing behind April, who was sitting in the conversation pit, doing something on her computer. She turned to face him with a blank look on her face.

"Uh, sure. What's up?" she permitted, putting her laptop at half-mass.

"Um, it's about that Casey guy, you said he was your friend." Raph clarified.

"Oh, uh, yeah. What about him?" she responded, trying to mask the sorrow in her voice.

"I was uh- I was wondering what he looked like." Raph muttered. April stared at Raph for a while, looking tired despite having been full of energy just a moment ago. She sat her laptop aside and brought her legs up to her chest.

April pulled out her phone and opened an app, though Raph couldn't see which one. "Here." she mumbled, passing her phone to Raph. He took the phone from her and turned his eyes to the screen. It was a picture. A selfie. April was in the lower right corner, giving a toothy smile. In the top left corner was...

It was a teenager, about April's age. He also gave a toothy smile, though he seemed to be missing his two front teeth. He had dark brown eyes. He had a bandanna tied around his forehead, securing his hair. His hair which was a dark black and very greasy. It framed his face in a very familiar way.

"That Casey?" Raph asked April. She only responded with a silent nod of her head.

This just about confirmed it. The night of his death lining up with the beginning of the weird occurrences. The skull faced mask. The possible grudge against Raph. And now the black hair. Maybe it wasn't oil or tar that framed the apparition's face, but instead it was hair.

And that was it.

Raphael was being haunted by Casey Jones.

Masterpost/Chapter 1/Previous/Next

#tmnt #2012 tmnt #casey jones #2012 casey jones #2012 raph #raphael #casey jones fucking dies

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cherrb333 · 3 months ago

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2012! Dad Leo au (basically he adopts the 2018 turtles)

Chapter 2: an argument and four little strays

Check out the first part if you haven't already lolol

Also this is inspired by this post so check it out^^ I love @sunnyyyteaaa art alot, it just has that...how would you put it... eh it just has that eatable vibe ya know? Anyways, on with the chapter lolol

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Leo was usually the most rational of the brothers, always the one who would get praised by his father. The eldest was always held up to the high standard of being the perfect leader, always hated by their siblings(mostly Raph) for simply being put on that pedestal. They hated it. They hated being perfect, hell they weren't even sure they were a he. They sighed as they put their head on their knees. They would never, never be good enough. Tears brimmed their eyes, overflowing onto their dark green-scaled cheeks. They felt wrong, so wrong. They whimpered into their hands, scratching at the scales. They felt as if everything on their body was burning, they wanted to scratch away all the feelings. Their chest tightened as the words from earlier broke through their barrier, cracking the stability of their mental health from the inside. It hurt so much. It was so confusing, everything was so confusing. Eventually after running for a while, their feet gave out. They shivered as they dropped into a curled ball on the cold concrete floor. Maybe leaving the lair in cold weather without a coat was a bad idea. Ideally, Crying in a random sewer hallway wasn't on their bucket list today but they needed a mental break. From their brothers, from the tension... This was their safe place, this area of the sewer was theirs. Only theirs, and it was always peaceful. The only sound was the dripping of a distant leaky pipe, a welcome change to the usual shouting of their brothers. The peace, however, was broken by a light shooting down the hall, illuminating the dim sewer walls in a red-orange mesh of light. Leo jumped up, glancing around frantically, tensing at the sound of struggling and distressed chirps that sounded eerily like what he and his brothers did when they were young. Subconsciously, their hand went to the katana on their hilt only to falter when they realized the weapons weren't there.

Damn it! They had left them in the dojo! Ugh, right, their fight with Raph. It had been late, they had just finished a meditation, and they were about to head to bed when they ran into Raph. Leo had already been on edge from patrol earlier. Leo had never snapped before. Raph had made a comment that triggered Leo so badly that they just…. lost their cool. They got into a brawl. Of course, the two had fought before, but nothing as bad as this.

“Maybe Dad would still be alive if you didn't have a stick up your ass all the time. I'm tired of this Leo! Maybe you should have died instead…” He remembered the words as Raph landed a hard punch on the older box turtle. Leo had cried out, tears streaming down their faces as he ran out. Maybe there had been shouts, but they couldn't have heard them through the static that buzzed behind their ears. As they ran out, all they could remember was the distant shouting, and the blurry face of their brother’s regret. They hadn't even noticed their weapons were not in their hilt.

“God damn it!” They cursed under their breath shaking their head as they held their hands out, and cautiously inched forward towards the distressed calls. Their feet were silent on the concrete, just like how master splinter had taught them. They could do this, they didn't need a weapon. They slinked into the pipes, walking along the cold metal, light on their feet to reduce the creaks and alert whatever the threat was. As they made it closer, they could make out four small turtles from where they were perched…wait a minute…

They were shocked to find that these were not any ordinary turtles, but mutants, just like them and their brothers. That worried them. What were the four tots doing here all alone? And why did they…look like…oh… his breath hitched as he realized who exactly these four were. They may look different in features, and species, but they couldn't be their brothers and them, but from another dimension. They had dealt with other dimensions before but had never dealt with ones as young as these four were. No matter that, Leo had to help these four, they couldn't just leave them out here, where they could get hurt. He and his brothers had been much older before master splinter had let them wander the sewers.

He dropped down quietly inching forward slowly to get a better view of the situation. From what he could see, three of the tots were surrounding a larger spikey-shelled creature, no doubt older by a few years. As he inched forward, he flinched as he kicked a rock by accident. Oops. The purple-marked soft shell tot perked up, turning around and narrowing his eyes at the stranger that stood static behind the four. The little softshell stood on wobbly scraped legs, holding his hands out as he sheltered his other brothers, hissing and baring his tiny fangs at the taller turtle. Leo flinched, holding their hands up in surrender, glancing around for some sort of cause for the blood, noticing it coming from behind the softshell. Their eyes widened before hardening into a serious look.

“Calm down, little guy, I promise, I'm not the bad guy. I’m just like you” They bent down, reaching behind their head to pull at the straps of their mask, pulling it from their face to the dark green scaled skin on full display. Their faces were shaped weirdly, triangle-esque, and had no nose. All around, the perfect description of a turtle. As they reached their hand forward, purple sniffed it, still growling, feral in overprotectiveness for his brothers. Leo flinched hissing as Purple latched his mouth onto the scaled finger, biting down an iron grip that drew blood as it pierced Leo’s fern-green skin, tearing through the flesh under the scales. Leo jolted, pulling their hand up, carrying the growling softshell with it. Blood dripped onto the floor, dribbling out the side of Little Purple’s mouth as he dug his teeth deeper. Leo shook his hand, trying desperately to get the softshell to let go.

“Ow! Owowowow! Ok, ok! Fine, but at least, let me help the big guy!” Leo tried, watching as the softshell dropped his grip on Leo’s finger. Tears crept out, tiny ones that were unnoticeable unless you really looked close. He brought his finger into his mouth instinctual and began to suck on the small bite mark, he pulled it away from his mouth to assess the damage, sighing when he saw the bruising around the small bite marks, and the tiny amount of blood that dripped down his finger in a dark red line. From the corner of their eye They watched as the purple-marked soft shell puffed out his chest threateningly, looking smug, and hissing at Leo. He inched around the dangerous one warily, watching in the corner of their eye as they assessed the damage on the spikey one. They immediately noticed the giant crack on its shell, cutting through the spikes and dipping over to just below their head, which also had a giant gash there. They also noticed a cut along the big turtle's eye. Their eyes furrowed, assessing the snapping turtle for any broken bones, turning them over onto their back, being careful of the crack, and feeling around for any fractures. They would have to take these guys back to the lair for a better examination, but for now, they couldn't see anything too concerning. Being a ninja had its perks. All their brothers were trained in medical standards by their father. The purple-marked one growled, crawling forward to watch the older turtle work warily, still hissing at them, but calming when the red-striped one pressed a head bump into his head, churring at his twin and hugging him, their tail whipping back and forth as they snuggled together, ultimately calming purple down. The orange-marked one was the most friendly, despite his brother's hesitations, he crawled forward, chirping at the stranger happily, and placing his tiny hands on the older box shell's lap and looking over at his older brother concernedly. He squeaked, nudging his head against the older box shells hand to get over to his older brother. Leo huffed, he needed to get these four to the lair, and fast.

○•○•○•at the lair•○•○•○

The lair was cold and eerily quiet as Leo entered with the four baby tots in toe. It had taken some convincing on his part to make the purple one come, but once the little ankle biter saw that Leo was leaving with his brothers, he couldn't not follow. Leo held the big spikey one on his back as the red slider clutched his tail from behind, and the orange one stuffs the tails of his mask into his mouth playfully, chomping down on them like they're a snack. Purple followed along on his hunches, hissing every few seconds to show he still did not trust the box turtle with a blue mask. The journey through the lair was quiet, occasionally filled with the sound of quiet growling. Eventually,Leo made it to the medbay without much encounters with his obnoxious brothers(thankfully). He slowly placed the two on the ground beside their brother as he grabbed the spikey turtle from his back, and placed him shell faced up to the ceiling. Now that he was in better lighting he could see the damage way clearer. It had been a lot worse then he had originally thought. The crack on the snappers shell ran from his right shoulder down to his middle and then spiraled out as if a jack hammer had been slammed against it. He ran his thumb along the crack, sighing as he began setting up the medbay and sterilizing the open gash that poked through the shell. Once that was finished, he began to thread the sewing needle to begin stitching together the wound. He poked through the hard exterior skin, threading the stitch in zigzag along the wound, pulling it closed with every stitch. Once that was finished, he cut the thread and tied it to seal off the stitch, then adding Another line of disinfectant before placing a bandage over the wound. Once that was finished, he began working in the crack. Luckily, he had a little more field In this. being The oldest of the four turtles, he had to be prepared. when they were younger, his brothers were always constantly getting hurt. He had on more then one occasion had to repair his brothers shells when they were too rough with each other or even after a very intense fight that lead to severe injuries. in fact, All the brothers had been trained in first aid. It was very beneficial given the life the four had lead so far. Sure, it had been years since they had last fought the foot clan or even the kraang, but there was always something that had to be stopped. The life of a ninja was always moving. He shook his head of the thoughts, finishing Up patching the young snapper before turning To the younger tots who were looking around the room curiously. The slider was watching him with big blue doe eyes. Oh boy. he Felt his heart swell with adoration, already fond of the four, even if one Of them wasn't so fond of him. Then it hit. What was he going to tell his brothers!?

Also on another note, so sorry it took so long to post this I kinda lost motivation, it's been a hectic summer this year lolol, plus I'm still working on the next part for the kid leo au dub and honestly, I am zapped lmaooo, but anyways, hopefully I'll get back into the groove of things and start writing more, I have so many ideas I'm working on for this story you don't even know, my thoughts for this story are all over the placeXD also I don't actually hate 2012 raph man in fact to be honest he is my favorite character, but ya know, conflict is fun heheheh

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Masterpost | previous | next

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #save rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #leonardo #rise leonardo #donatello #rise michelangelo #rise raphael #tw injury #tmnt 2012 au #2012 x 2018 tmnt #tmnt au #2012 leo is a dad au #headcanon #2012 leo is trans #a little talk of biting injury #2018 donnie is a little shit #oop the trauma:0

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melancholysway · 2 years ago

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Serendipity (2007!Raphael x Fem!Reader) 7

CHAPTER VII: Connectedness

Chapter key:

——— = a flashback is happening or ending (——— followed by italics means the flashback is beginning)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ or ====

= perspective change

~ = small time skip

It had been a couple of weeks since you first met Raphael’s family. Determined to learn more about each member, you took the time to know each turtle individually.

You started first with Leonardo. He was the one you sensed that was wary of you the most. In just a few weeks, you learned some about who you later found out was the leader of the brothers.

---

“Leo?” After a couple of soft knocks on the shut wooden door, Leonardo pauses moments from beginning his meditation. He recognizes your voice and gets up from his criss-cross position.

Sliding the door open, he’s greeted with your smiling face. The only time the two of you have exchanged words was when you first met him, and the little comments you made here and there in a group conversation together.

“Hey, I was actually gonna start my woo-sa session,” Looking behind Leonardo, you see the different shelves full of lit candles and ambient white-noise playing from a tiny speaker.

“Did I interrupt? My bad, I just wanted to say hey to you,” Leonardo shakes his head and tells you it’s okay, inviting you inside the dojo.

“The vibe is nice in here,” You compliment, Leo seemed very clear of mind, and he thinks about how you would feel if he asked if you wanted to join him for a bit. Judging by the way Raphael has been acting around you, it’s clear that the turtle has a thing for you, and he didn’t want to get in the way of it or cause his brother to be jealous.

“That’s the point of meditation, you need a clear room with good energy and a good mindset to reach nirvana,” Sitting back down in his position on the chestnut rug with Japanese kanji text woven into it (thanks Raphael, for knitting that,) he pats the spot across from him, and you walk over to sit, accepting his invitation.

“Wanna try?” He asks. Leonardo seemed to enjoy meditation when it was on his own, but he was pausing his session to teach you how to do it. So, why not take this opportunity?

“Yeah, I’ll give it a shot.” You mimic Leo’s position, and sit criss-cross, your elbows resting on your knees. He takes a deep breath in, and you do the same.

“The goal is to clear your mind, anything negative you may be feeling prior to this session should be gone by the end of it.” You like the sound of that, the only thing you’ve been stressed about somewhat is work. Everything in your life has been going great so far, you repaired your friendship with Raphael, and you expanded your friend circle when he introduced you to his family. Was there something else that might be making you slightly stressed?

Maybe the fact that you were struggling with your feelings toward the hothead. You’re trying to find some type of courage to figure out what to say to him. I mean, what’s the worst he can say? He doesn’t see you that way? Besides, there’s been plenty of times you both have flirted with each other (although in a joking manner.)

So yes, maybe you needed this meditation session.

You follow Leo’s instructions, and he takes his time teaching you the proper way to begin meditating. It’s something new to you, but you were open to trying something that infatuated one of Raph’s brothers. Copying Leo, you’re breathing in and out the same time as he does, and you soon find yourself calm. Closing his eyes, you do the same, darkness now engulfing your sight.

Your mind on the other hand immediately raced to Raphael.

Your friendship hadn’t changed, if anything, it was better. But he constantly made his way into your thoughts, especially when you were down in the lair.

Speaking of the lair, it was a great place. Something new always happened down there, and you came to love it. Whether it be Leonardo trying to cook something, Donatello blowing something up in his lab, Splinter giving you the latest gossip on his soap opera, or Michelangelo playing a new video game and skateboarding in places he shouldn’t.

Raphael seemed to like spending the most time with you when he could anytime you were down in the lair. Alone, might I add. Sure, he spent time with his brothers and you as a group, but he much preferred to be with you alone. Whether it be trying to impress you in the dojo when he decided to give you some self-defense lessons, or just chilling in his room (you came to like Raphael’s room, it was quite comfortable.)

Speaking of, Raph’s room (although it might be pretty shocking to some,) is clean. During Leonardo’s absence and when he was the Nightwatcher, Raphael only really used his room to sleep. Unlike his brother Donatello who had tiny little inventions scattered on his desks everywhere, and Mikey who had a bunch of random items he bought online with his Cowabunga Carl money. Leonardo is the turtle with the cleanest room, and Raph comes in second place. Raph’s living quarters become slightly cluttered if he’s having a not-so-good day, or Mikey’s been inside. Not only that, but he makes sure it’s spotless when you visit (just in case.) he usually only had weights neatly stacked if he wanted to get a quick workout in his hammock.

Anyways, back to your meditation session.

Unbeknownst to you, a whole hour had passed. You opened your eyes after you felt several taps on your shoulder by Leonardo. He smiles, “How was it?”

“I feel like…” “Brand new?” The brown-eyed turtle finishes your sentence. You laugh slightly and nod, “Yeah, brand new.”

“Glad I was the one who popped your meditation cherry,” You give Leonardo a poker face and he gives one back, and suddenly both erupt in a fit of laughter and snorts.

“Mikey is constantly moving and distracted, Donnie can’t seem to clear his mind, and Raph isn’t always up to meditate most of the time.” It was mainly Leonardo and Master Splinter who took meditation seriously and made it one of their hobbies, so you were open to meditating more.

After talking with Leonardo a bit after, you realized he was a pretty easy-going turtle. He sometimes could be cocky due to his leadership title, but he always was able to back it up. Not only that, but he was still getting used to being back in New York. He was so used to foraging and finding food in the outskirts of the South American village he protected, that his diet didn’t go back to normal until a whole month after his return. He gladly told you stories about the people he protected, how they didn’t have much but were so appreciative of every little thing they received. He still regrets prolonging his training, as it hurt his and Raph’s relationship, but he’s trying. Trying to make up for lost time. Trying to make up for the fact his brothers at one point thought he was possibly dead in South America when the letters stopped, and it took a toll, especially on Raphael. Leonardo knows that he and Raphael are indestructible as a pair, so it’s important to him that he mends their relationship.

While Raphael and Leonardo argue often (usually about the dumbest things, like “where’d you hide the remote,” or “did you eat my leftover pizza you thief,” you get the idea,) it’s just sibling rivalry. In terms of combat, Raphael is always Leonardo’s first choice when it comes to teaming up or splitting into groups of two during a mission. Although it’s hard for Raph to follow orders if he has a better idea, he still teams up well with Leo. The reason tensions were at an all-time high when Leonardo came back was because Leonardo was inserting himself into things about Raph’s life he wasn’t around for. So, who was he to just stroll in and tell Raph what he should and shouldn’t do when he’s been gone for nearly two years?

Not only that, but Raphael wants to lead. Since Splinter chose Leonardo all those years ago when they were 15 to be the leader, Raphael has wondered what was so special about the oldest brother. It could’ve been Donnie, who was smart and thought every plan through before they even started, (not Mikey, definitely not Mikey,) or Raph. Raphael has a strong personality that often clashes with Leo. Raph is more direct, crude, and uses violence to get his way when it comes to criminals and the Foot, while Leo is the opposite. He’s more glass half full, uses reasoning, and is calmer (he also doesn’t put up with Raphael’s shit most of the time, and lets him know that.) The difference between the two, and why Leonardo was chosen, was because Raphael lets his anger get the best of him at times, and that is the most lethal trait to have.

You noticed Raphael’s anger showed the most when he spoke about criminals or Leonardo during his training. It was never directed to you intentionally, although you may get a sarcastic remark back sometimes when you talked to him, or one-worded answers when he was not at his best. Raphael displayed anger when he talked since he didn’t know how to express how he felt through words at times.

---

“You seem down tonight, Raph.” Sitting beside Raphael on your bed, he sighs as his metal form lays on your bed in frustration.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem like it,” you retort.

“I said I’m fine.” You were still getting used to Raphael. Even though you both talked over dinner for the first time a couple of weeks ago, you were still getting to know him. Just a few moments ago, Raphael came knocking on your window. You had opened it up, and he greeted you with a quiet ‘hey,’ then proceeded to plop down on your bed.

Instead of prying inside Raph’s mind, you decide to stay silent. Besides, some people liked to have company while they sat in silence. You knew how it was when you had a bad day and didn’t want to talk to anyone. But, you enjoyed having Stella beside you while you quietly were in your thoughts.

So, you sat next to Raph in silence. His helmet indicated he was staring up at your ceiling and said not one word.

You didn’t mind it, though. Raphael was never a burden to you, anyway. No matter the few times he randomly came over without notice. So, you grabbed a book from the nightstand next to your bed to pass the time. You needed to read a chapter for your 11 AM class the next day anyway, so now was a good time.

After what appeared to be an hour and change, Raphael sits upright and turns to you.

“Me n Casey were doin’ our regula route, until we got on the roof n heard a woman screamin,' ' Setting down your book in front of you and turning to Raph, you give him a confused look.

“I don’t…no, I do know what happened, I just…fuck!” He angrily slammed his metal fist on your bed, and if it wasn’t a soft surface, it definitely would’ve scared you. You’re wondering what exactly Raphael saw to make him act this way, so you ask.

“Tha same that woulda happened to ya that night,” You caught on, and it made your stomach churn. “But we were too late. I failed…an…how can fuckin�� people be that way?!” Raphael continues to yell about how the Purple Dragons are pieces of shit, and he’s right. He goes on about how he saw red and beat all of them up in one shot while Casey helped the woman. She saw The Nightwatcher fight her attackers, then passed out; and was scratched and bruised. They bring her to the hospital, and they take it from there. He’s so heated (and for good reason,) that he doesn’t realize you get up to stand in front of him on the bed.

“Raph, I know, it’s the worst thing a woman and even a man can experience. I know, people are terrible. But think about how many more ‘Purple Dragons’ are out there that do the same thing that we don’t even know about, you at least are stopping those terrible men in this city.” You have a point there, and Raphael knows it. But, it’s the way he thinks, even though he can’t save everyone.

“You’re a protector, I see that. You have empathy, I feel that. You constantly keep New York City safe, and you saved this woman from being left out in the street vulnerable. She’s going to wake up knowing there are good people in the world. She’s going to wake up knowing you saved her. It’s a traumatic thing anyone can go through, I know that, but just think about how grateful she was when you saved her from any more harm.”

It wasn’t the way you spoke or the passion in your eyes. It was your words. You constantly found the right words to make Raphael feel better, and if not all the time, you were always right.

You wondered if you said the right thing to Raphael, as he is still looking at you through his visor. He lifts his arm and gently moves you to the side. Raphael gets up, and heads toward your window.

“Um…did I say something wrong?” You ask, confused as to why Raph is acting this way, he shakes his head, back turned to you.

“Nah, you…” He pauses, then sighs, “I needed ta hear that.”

Raphael leaves, and you’re alone again in your room, content that you said what you said.

11:30 PM

You always know what to say n what I need to hear without even tryin

11:32 PM

You didn’t fail, Raph. I don’t see it that way, and nobody in New York sees it that way either. I'm sure of it, you’re a protector.

Sometimes, Raphael was caught up in beating himself down (much like Leonardo does,) that he doesn’t see all the good he’s done. He was glad that he had a friend like you to level out his mind when he got that way, and he couldn’t appreciate you more.

---

You were satisfied with your meditation session and would try to integrate it into your nightly routine as a way to sleep better. You could thank Leonardo for that.

Leonardo thought you were pretty chill. Though he didn’t say it out loud. Initially, he was wary of you and wanted to know the full story about how you knew about Raphael. So, you told him after meditating when he asked.

He was sympathetic towards you once you told him.

“The Nightwatcher wasn’t his best time as it went against Sensei’s wishes, but I’m glad he saved people. He used his skills for good, that’s for sure.” He responded.

Then, he started to talk about how he felt after coming back from South America.

“I wasn’t…myself at one point. I was so caught up in being the best leader I can be, I failed to see that my brothers needed me,” Leonardo was sincere, and you could tell he still regrets his extended time abroad.

“You can’t change the past, but you’re here now, Leonardo. From the looks of it, I see the relationships you have with your brothers are pretty healthy.”

Leo needed to hear that.

He needed to hear that he was doing just fine. Someone other than Splinter to tell him he was doing a good job, on the whole, coming back from South America thing.

“Although I wasn’t here before you left for your training, I see a stronger leader in front of me who cares about the wellbeing of his family. You’re doing just fine, Leo.”

Leonardo’s eyes widen, he isn’t used to hearing such sincere words from anyone but Splinter or April. So when he hears it from you, someone he hasn’t known for so long (and whose words are spot on,) he’s appreciative.

“Thank you, Y/n.”

All in all, you felt closer to the leader in blue than you did the first day you met him.

Two days later, you came back to the lair.

Now it was Donnie’s turn.

You were sitting with three out of the four brothers, as Donnie was cooped up in his lab working on something.

“I win, little brother!” The winning Mortal Kombat cutscene is displayed on the TV screen, and Leonardo basks in his victory. Mikey sighs dramatically and gives the controller to Raph. The four of you were currently having a Kombat match against each other, and you reigned victorious against Leonardo, while Raphael beat Michelangelo, leaving them two to figure out who would make fourth place. Looks like it was Mikey. To be fair, Mikey was up all night previously “training” for this match, so he was playing half-awake.

“Best two out of three?” Mikey asks sheepishly, and Leonardo looks at him laughing, “Sure, watch me beat you again. Raph, keep count of how many times I win against Mikey.” Leo seemed to be into video games when it was necessary, and he liked the little competition it brought.

“I feel like Donnie would win against you, Leo.” You say, looking over at the lab. You hadn’t seen Donnie since you got here. Raphael had told you one night that Donnie was always working on something, always trying to stimulate his brain, always trying something new. He had only come out of the lab for more coffee, or to toast up a pop tart (yeah, his diet is terrible, poor guy.)

“You think so? I disagree.” Leonardo seemed to have a personality shift when he wasn’t in “leader mode,” He was more outgoing, less bossy (according to Raph,) and loved to find a way to have a little brotherly competition. Raphael did say Leo was always in leader mode when he got back from South America, but he’s slowly but surely going back to how he used to be.

So, you did exactly what Leonardo ordered: get Donatello.

Getting up from the spot next to Raph on the couch, you make your way down the hall to Donatello’s lab. You can hear soft classical music playing on the other side of the door, and you knock.

“Come in!” He calls out, opening the door, you see the purple-clad turtle tinkering with a small device on his table, holding a tool that looks hard for someone with larger hands like him to use.

“Oh, hey, Y/n. I didn’t know you were here,” Donnie says as he looks up at you, you smile as he continues working on the little item in his hands. He has these magnifying goggles on, and he looks pretty funny. His brown eyes are much bigger because of them, and you can faintly see specs of light honey brown in his eyes.

“I’ve been here for a good hour and a half,” You say, “Mortal Kombat tourney.”

“I totally forgot about that, has Mikey lost yet?”

“He was the first to.”

“I knew it, he owes me twenty bucks now.”

Donnie offers you a seat next to him which you accept, as you watch him staring intently at what now looks like a broken phone with a shell on it.

“I didn’t take you as someone who likes classical,” You motion to his PC that’s gently playing music.

Donatello smiles, “It helps me focus better.”

After a short small talk with Donnie, he tells you that he’s working on fixing Mikey’s shell-cell, (this also was when he told you he invented functioning phones that were probably better than the phones today, as they were slightly more technologically advanced thanks to his smarts.) Mikey accidentally dropped it while skateboarding the other day, and it cracked. You wondered what else the turtle has made, and he tells you.

He explains anything he can get his hands on, he’ll fix or upgrade. He helped Raph make his bike, and other than the shellraiser (that wound up being Mikey’s Cowabunga Carl van,) it’s his most fun invention yet. How years ago when they were still in their young teens, he “upgraded” an animatronic at April's job at a kids' pizza party place, and it turned into a disaster.

“She got fired, but hey, it gave me an excuse to fix something,” He finishes.

He then explains what else he’s made. How he used to have insecurities about his weapon of choice. He wished he could have a weapon as lethal as Leo’s, or as sharp as Raph’s. So, he tried to upgrade his weapon. After fighting with it during a mission to stop the foot from transporting mutagen from TCRI, it malfunctioned. Long story short, he’s content with his bo staff now.

Donatello also talks about the many times he’s fixed objects around the lair. After explaining how Leonardo can’t cook to save his life, he says he has to fix the toaster often. Other times, he has to repair the practice dummy in the dojo, because Raphael has so much energy to let out after sparring or training, that he takes it out on the poor guy.

He’s scared he’s been talking too much; that he might bore you to death as he does to Raph. He can’t help when he gets excited about his inventions. But, this leaves his mind when he sees a graceful smile upon your lips as you ask the question that’s been in your head since he started talking.

“Which invention are you most proud of?”

“Well,” He pulls an item out of the drawer beside him, and it’s a small MP3 player that looks peculiar.

“Around the time we were almost 17, we busted into an abandoned TCRI lab, I was searching for scraps I could use, and I found an incredibly advanced micro-chip made from, get this!” Donnie starts to rile himself up, and you can see the excitement in his eyes. His voice is higher, and he sounds like a teenage girl geeking over her favorite boy band.

“Self-assembled chain-link copolymers!”

“Wow!”

“I know!” He squeals.

“I don’t know what that means exactly, but it sounds interesting, Donnie!” It appears you set off a light in Donnie’s head because he grins widely and puts Mikey’s shell-cell to the side.

“Now, if you don’t mind, let me tell you about the origin of chain-link copolymers,”

After 20 minutes of Donatello giving you a history lesson (you were very lost, but he seemed excited to tell you about it,) he tells you that this advanced piece of military technology causes the MP3 player to continuously upgrade and download new music by itself. It’s really interesting, the way Donatello explains it. His vocabulary is extremely complex when speaking of science.

The topic is changed when you find a common interest in a most recent conspiracy theory that’s brought up soon after. Donnie is a really intelligent turtle, from his knowledge to his vocabulary. His personality was a mixture of a nerdy smart ass, and a fangirl when it comes to science. It was easy to talk to him, however, he would bring up a scientific theory you had no knowledge of briefly, but he gladly took the time to explain it to you. Donatello speaks quickly because he has so much pent-up knowledge that his brothers really don’t want to hear about, he has to let it out in some way. Afterward, a few knocks are heard on the door, and Donnie grants them entry. Once the door is opened it reveals his older brother, Raphael.

“Leo thinks he can beat cha, and he won’t shut tha hell up ‘bout it, I’m gettin’ tortured out there,”

“Statistically speaking, I have a much higher chance of beating Leo than all of you combined,” You giggle in response, and Donnie gets up from his seat.

You follow Raphael and Donatello out of the lab and take a seat back on the couch.

“Booty Shaker Nine Thousand is out of his cave!” Mikey exclaims, earning a laugh from everyone but you and Donatello.

“Will you ever put that to rest?” Donnie sighs.

“I’m never gonna let you live it down, bro.”

“Live what down?” You ask curiously. All three brothers smirk, as Donnie tries to steer them away from the story they’re about to tell.

“Four years ago, Splinter had us handcuffed together for a bonding exercise. It was meant to build our team's morale,” Leonardo starts. Donatello rolls his eyes, honestly, his family and friends knew the story at this point, so it’s only right they tell you.

You were damn near laughing by the end of the story.

During this team bonding, Donatello was handcuffed in between Mikey and Leo, and couldn’t type on his computer. So, when Raphael was trying to figure out the password and got it incorrectly four times (another will lock him out of Donnie’s computer,) the purple bandana turtle caved in.

“It was booty shakah’ nine thousand, wit what?” Raphael snickers and smirks at his little brother, who sighs in defeat.

“Capital B and three Y’s. What? You knew I loved to dance,” You chuckle at the funny story that puts a glimpse into the turtles' lives when they were a couple of years younger. You wondered what other stories they were keeping from you.

“You guys remember when Splinter had us gang up on Raph during sparring and allowed us to insult him?” Mikey breaks down in laughter at the thought, and you couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Dontcha fuckin’ dare, Mikey!”

Oh, Michelangelo.

The final turtle. You had already felt pretty close to Mikey from the moment you met him. The baby blue-eyed turtle. He seemed very excited every time you came to the lair for the past couple of days. He was extremely talkative and loved your company. He remembered how Donnie fixed your camera and asked if you could bring it when you came down.

He did in fact use up all your film (which you didn’t mind, Mikey is allowed to be starstruck by a polaroid camera, and you were flattered he was intrigued by your hobby.) Mikey took more photos than you did in one day. He would take surprisingly good off-guards of his brothers (Raph actively avoided Mikey when you came down to the lair with your camera.) and you planned on getting Mikey a small photo album book to keep them in. The one Splinter has is filled up already with photos from their youth (you have yet to go through it with him and the turtles.) The first photo he took on your camera was the two of you, and you had to take another one to keep for yourself. Michelangelo was a bundle of joy and clearly was the comedic relief of the group.

Needless to say, the time you’ve spent so far with Mikey has been welcoming.

So when he heard you were coming down to the lair today, he was ecstatic.

Splinter had invited you to watch the brothers spar to pick up on some self-defense moves. Leonardo was ready to show off his skills, Donnie was nervous, he always wasn’t so good when people watched him spar (especially April, even today he still gets nervous.) Michelangelo was always excited to show some of his moves. Raphael on the other hand was actually feeling anxious. Sure, you’ve seen him fight before once, but not without his suit, or with his real weapon. He made sure he was in tip-top shape for this sparring session, as he wanted to win against all of his brothers. It wasn’t the competitive part of him, it was the “I want to impress Y/n” part of him.

---

“Ya actually comin’?” Raphael asked as you continued brushing your hair in the mirror. Sparring normally started around 7 AM every morning, and finished at around 9 or 10 depending on Splinter. When Splinter informed his sons after having the conversation with you about it, Raphael took it upon himself (like he always does,) to swing by your house and walk you to the lair. He was shocked you were wanting to see him and his brother's spar. He wondered how he was gonna wake you up, but he didn’t have to. There you were through the window, bright and early brushing out your beautiful h/c hair while Stella watched from your bed.

“Shell yeah I am!” Raphael couldn’t help but smile slightly at the way you picked up on him and his brother's lingo. “I get to pick up on some of your moves-”

“Just my moves?”

“You know what I meant,”

“I actually don’t,” Looking at Raph through the mirror, you see him smirk at you, to which you stick your tongue out playfully.

“Who knows,” You turn around after placing your brush on the vanity dresser. “I might get to see you get your shell kicked- again-, that’s a great way to start my morning.” You responded to Raph’s sarcasm, to which he laughed.

“Ha! Don’t make me keel ova laughin’ this early. Ya have no idea what ya’re ‘bout ta witness, Y/n,” Raphael says. His pride was not to be tampered with today, and he was anxious enough. But, he was ready for you to eat those words once the sparring began and ready for you to be starstruck.

But still, what if somehow, he was caught off guard?

---

Michelangelo was notorious for using his pranking skills to his advantage and often would play around during sparring. He would trip his brothers with his nunchucks at such high speed, that they never saw it coming. Other times, he would pull out a smoke pellet or water balloon and throw it at them (Splinter still doesn’t know where he keeps them, he has so many.)

So whenever Raph went up against Mikey, he wouldn’t mess around. Losing to Mikey solely because of a water balloon to the head was embarrassing, to say the least.

Finishing up, you take a look in the mirror one last time. Lately, you’ve been taking a bit of extra time to make sure you look presentable when you meet up with Raphael. It didn’t bother him, per se. In fact, he cheered on the inside when you decided to wear your hair out in its natural state. And, the little things. Like today, where you ditched the oversized sweats and put on a pair of loose shorts. Both were equally comfortable, and it allowed you to let some skin show. A long sleeve tee with a pair of vans, and you were ready to go.

You were undeniably beautiful. Raphael still beats himself up for that one night in the city with you where he completely embarrassed himself talking out loud. He remembered the look of pure happiness on your face when he accidentally turned his thoughts into words. He wondered how it would’ve gone if he told you how he was starting to feel about you right then and there.

Yes, hothead Raphael. tempered, rash, crude, and violent teddy bear Raphael is embarrassed because of an innocent college girl. Although he was your age and mature enough, he still has the hopeless romantic teenage boy inside of him (much like Donatello.)

“Good morning, Miss Y/n.” After following Raphael to the dojo, Splinter is the first to greet you. Leonardo is there, too. He sits alone beside the candles along the worn wooden shelves, polishing his katana blades. His chocolate brown eyes have a glint of admiration in them, as he carefully cleans his weapon with ease. He smiles to himself as he looks through his reflection in one of the twin blades.

The dojo is beautiful. It has many different weapons from Japanese culture during the Samurai period. Beautifully smelted katanas sit in their cases on the top shelf, with midnight black and wine red wooden carved sheaths surrounding them. The floor is an old wooden tile that’s been polished and used for training. There’s a large tree that sits around the middle of the room, and you wonder how it grows without any sun. There are many different Japanese symbols around the dojo. There’s one on the rug near the blades, but you aren’t quite sure what it means. Next, there’s black paint in the middle of the birch wooden floor that makes out a kanji symbol as well. It’s a beautiful atmosphere in the dojo currently, and you can’t wait to see the turtles fight.

“Good Morning, Master Splinter; Leo.” As Leonardo finishes up, he replies with a “Good morning” back. Afterward, Donatello and Michaelangelo both come into the dojo, and everyone is there. Mikey walks up to you and gives you a big hug, to which you give back. He smells faintly of fresh spring- probably from the soap he used this morning. Raphael glares at his youngest brother, although Mikey hugs anybody he could get his hands on. Donatello waves his hello, and you return the gesture. You could tell by Donnie’s body language that he was on edge.

“Each of my sons will spar against one another, feel free to ask questions if you have any. I or Leonardo will be more than happy to answer.” Leonardo looks up and gives a slight smile towards you after hearing his name from Splinter as if to let you know to not be afraid to ask as many questions as you want. You feel comfortable to be observing and kneeling next to Master Splinter, giving you a full view of the center. You see that each turtle is in one corner of the room. Leonardo is to your top right, Donnie your top left. Raphael is at your bottom left, and Mikey is at your bottom right.

Splinter begins by pairing up Leonardo with Mikey. Already, Mikey’s groaning in defeat when the fight didn’t even begin yet.

“Come on, Sensei! You know I’m gonna lose the second we start!” Michelangelo was hoping he could go up against Donatello first. They’re around the same skill level, and he’d sure pick Donnie over fighting Leo. Although Mikey knows he's guaranteed to lose this round, he still has some tricks up his shell.

“You will never know unless you try, Michelangelo. Hajime!”

“Ow.”

“Ow!”

“DUDE!” After being pinned by Leonardo once again, Mikey manages to flip over back on his feet. He’s not tired at all, and neither is Leonardo. If it were up to Mikey, he could probably go for around 2 hours with the right competitor, so long as it’s not Leo.

“What? It’s trai-” Catching Leonardo slightly off-guard from his outburst, Michelangelo throws a smoke pellet in front of him, then disappears. You’re watching in awe, wondering how he just did that without Leo noticing.

“The goal of defense is to divert your opponent’s attention to get an opening, Miss Y/n.” Master Splinter says to you, not taking his eyes off the fight. A cloud of smoke appears behind Leonardo, and Mikey is right behind ready to make his move.

However, Leonardo knows his brother’s tricks too well.

This goes on for quite some time. Mikey is dropping smoke pellets every time Leo gets close, and laughing as he moves to different areas of the dojo. Leonardo is slightly annoyed but knows that Mikey has to preserve the rest of the pellets for the other spars. Once Mikey finished teasing Leo, he’s now looking for a way to get him to be distracted, while Leonardo is waiting for Mikey to call it quits. He’s already feeling bad enough that he’s his little brother’s first opponent of the morning. Suddenly, Leonardo catches his little brother off guard while doing a backflip, and he messes up his landing.

Now, Leo is on the offense, jabbing his katanas in places Mikey can easily defend for the sake of safety and sparring. He’s continuously doing this, not giving his brother a break at all, which is just cruel, Leonardo.

Before it gets too close, Leo grabs Mikey’s nunchuck and flips him over once again on his shell, but this time, Leonardo sits on top of his plastron.

“Yame!” With that, Leonardo gets up from Mikey and extends a hand for his little brother to grab. Groaning, the blue-eyed turtle accepts his hand weakly and slowly stands on his two feet, rubbing his head in discomfort.

“You have fought well, Michelangelo, but I have told you, there is always a way. No matter who the opponent is, you must give it your all, even if it is against the leader. Do not automatically assume you will lose just because of Leonardo’s title. He has weaknesses, too.”

“Hai, Sensei.” Bowing down, Mikey kneels in the corner. How this works is, that he will wait for the next person to lose (or win) against Leonardo to spar with next. No matter the victory or defeat, each turtle will spar with one another at some point during this session.

“Donatello, it is your time.” It seemed like Donnie was in his own thoughts because as soon as he heard his name, his eyes and head perked up at the sound of it. He chuckles nervously at his Sensei and walks toward the center of the dojo.

“Um, hey Leo.” As Donatello retrieves his wooden box staff from the back of his shell, Leonardo draws his katanas and gets into his fighting stance.

“You look nervous.”

“No! Me? Never!”

“If you say so Donnie,” Looking over at Master Splinter, Donatello sighs. His Master can sense the nervousness within him, and thinks it’ll be a short round. But, who knows?

Donnie gets into his fighting stance, but he looks very tense. Not relaxed, unlike Leonardo.

“Hajime!”

“How can I…” Donatello says to himself as Leonardo runs straight to him with his attack. Donatello has been able to get some hits in, same with Leonardo. However, Donnie is carefully watching how Leonardo moves, and his mannerisms. Thinking analytically of what his next move should be. However, Leonardo can think on his feet and beats Donatello to the punch with an attack. Donnie tries to do what his younger brother did to Leo and throws him off. After pressing a button the end of Donnie’s Bo staff turns into a blade, and Leonardo is cautious (although he knows Donnie won’t hurt him,) and is on the defensive. He dodges multiple attacks from Donatello, all while Donnie is thinking about each move he makes and how it’ll affect the outcome of this sparring match.

Donatello is not the best when it comes to strength, he’s more of the weaker ones in the group. He is, however, stronger in the intelligence category.

He’s well aware of his limits and how long he can fight and strives to overcome them by stepping out of his comfort zone. He’s already up for a challenge when his weapon requires extreme skill to do damage to his opponent.

This fight goes on longer than the last with Mikey, as it’s a lot of circling each other for Don and Leo after the first few attacks. Donnie is analyzing Leonardo, and Leonardo is waiting for his attack so he can counter it and finish.

This comes quick, as Donatello dodges the sudden attack from Leonardo, and before the leader can get back to defend himself, Donnie sweeps him off his feet with his Bo staff, tripping him. It’s not normal for Leonardo to lose, but sometimes, he may mess up a time or two.

“Yame!” Although Leonardo could’ve easily gotten up and taken down Donatello, Splinter calls it quits on this round. Donatello found a way to weasel around Leonardo with his thinking process and was lucky enough to have it be perfectly executed.

Leonardo and Donatello bow to one another. Looking over at Splinter, the rat smiles sincerely at the tech-savvy turtle.

“You still have yet to become confident in your abilities, Donatello. Although you are older, you still have yet to learn to find it within yourself to be self-confident. You are stronger than you may think. Rely on your raw physical talents, not your mental talent, you may not always have time to think during a fight.”

Donatello takes in what his master is saying. He does have a confidence issue, as he thinks he isn’t as good as his brothers when it comes to physique. If anything, he’d rather leave the brute fighting to Raphael.

“Hai, Sensei.”

“You may return to your post, for now, Leonardo. Raphael, please take his place.” Cracking his neck, Raphael is pumping himself up for which brother he has to fight. Donatello is praying to the Gods it’s not him that Raph spars with first because everybody knows the first person Raphael fights against will receive 1000% of Raphael’s pent-up energy.

“Sucks to be you now doesn’t it, Mikey?”

“I’m shaking in my shell, dude!” Glaring at Donnie after his comment, Mikey walks toward the center of the dojo, meeting Raphael halfway.

Unfortunately, Michelangelo will be the one to fall victim as being Raph’s first opponent.

Raphael couldn’t seem to smirk at how easy he had it. He thought he would have to go up against Leonardo first, but he figured Master Splinter knew that would be a long fight and to save it for last. He circled Mikey like he was a rabbit and he the lion, waiting restlessly for Splinter to say the lovely word that allowed him to release all his energy. Raphae’s amber eyes were devoid of any emotion other than passion, he was ready to perform the art he grew up loving so much. Ready to use the pair of sai he’s trained with since he picked them up for the very first time in yet another sparring match; they were so reliable. Mikey’s eyes were filled with anxiousness, which was normal before he sparred with his older brother.

“Hajime!”

===

You felt like you were watching a master at work.

You couldn’t help but admire Raph, and only Raph. The way his different muscle groups would flex depending on the move he was doing, or the way the small beads of sweat littered his emerald skin, causing it to glisten in the light. While the point of observing today was to watch both of the opponents, you couldn’t take your eyes off Raphael. You watched as he sprinted toward Mikey immediately after Splinter’s word to begin. How he did multiple flips and spins to throw his baby brother off, stabbing inches away from Mikey’s limbs, and jabbing his sai in Mikey’s plastron when he couldn’t avoid his attacks quick enough. How Raphael does this thing where he looks at his sai’s for a split second before he does another attack on Mikey, to fix his grip if it’s loosening up. Or how he pushes his mask tails out the way when they rest on his shoulder after moving so much, and how sometimes he would purposefully put them over the front of his shoulder so Mikey couldn’t grab them and pull him down.

Raphael is gifted, he knows that.

And now, you finally see why.

You see how he goes for the punch, not thinking twice about his actions. His weapon is close-combat oriented, so he has no time to second-guess himself and his moves.

Raphael clearly has the upper hand in this fight, he’s the strongest member of the team. Mikey knows this and uses rather odd approaches to better his chance at beating Raph.

Like throwing a water balloon at Raphael’s head as he was running toward him.

“Mikey!” Raph’s voice booms throughout the dojo. You’re scared for Mikey, knowing he’s probably going to get his ass beat because of that. Raph’s face is slightly red, but you can’t tell if it’s from sweating and adrenaline, or embarrassment.

It’s some of both.

You watch, giggling softly at the comical scene in front of you. Raphael is chasing Mikey around the dojo, and Mikey is throwing smoke pellets left and right to get away from him.

“Say ‘hi’ ta Don~” Raphael teases, he tightens his grip on the headlock he has on Mikey, and he uses his sai to make his baby brother’s hand move to say hello to a laughing Donatello. You feel bad for Raph’s little brother right now, but you laugh regardless.

“Hi, Donnie…Okay okay! Mercy!”

Raphael then glances at you, his green lips curling into a smirk along with a wink before he flips Michelangelo over on his back, immobilizing him.

“Yame!”

“Hit me…with…a fuckin-“ “Raphael. Language.” “-sorry, Mastah Splintah. Freakin’ watah balloon again…n’ see what happens,” Getting up, Mikey blows a raspberry at his older brother, then retreats to his designated corner. Raphael stays in the middle, and you continue to observe the rest of the duels.

Raph vs. Donatello ended pretty quickly.

Donnie vs. Mikey, this one was probably the most entertaining in your opinion.

Or so you thought.

Humor-wise, it was fun, but hands-down the best spar to watch was Leonardo vs. Raphael.

It seemed neverending, watching them both completely match each other’s energy. You watch as Raphael uses his sai as a means of offense rather than the defense on Leonardo’s twin katana. The sai were made to defend against the katana, which is what made this exhilarating spar all the more interesting.

It’s coming to a grand climax, Leonardo is getting some great moves in on Raphael, who takes them like a champ. That is until Leo makes him stumble on his two feet, and by that point, he’s retaliating and going on the attack. The loud clash of tamahagane against metal rang all throughout the seemingly quiet dojo, with only the heavy breathing from the two oldest brothers to be heard. You wait in anticipation to see which brother will catch the other in a split-second weak moment, and jump at the opportunity to win the sparring match.

This anticipation, however, is stopped abruptly by Master Splinter.

“Yame!” Suddenly, Leonardo and Raphael back off of one another. You can’t tell who won this exciting finale, but you think it’s a draw. Both are equally talented, and you are sitting wondering who would’ve won if they were able to continue. But, you sit next to Splinter, feeling slightly edged at the fact that you’ll never know who would’ve beat who. Seeing Leonardo and Raphael spar against one another just for that satisfaction is almost a guilty pleasure.

“Although I would like to see how this will play out, I will also like to see Cody break up with Donna. You are all dismissed, and if you need me, I will be watching my morning stories.”

So, that was it, huh?

That was a great start to your morning, and it seemed like an amazing morning workout for the four brothers.

As they all gather their weapons (and Mikey picking up his mess of popped balloons off the floor,) you watch Donnie leave the dojo first, more than likely to claim the shower. Donatello never liked sweating, anyway.

“Makes me feel slimy,” is something he would definitely say.

“I knew I came for good reason,” You say as you walk up to your red-banded friend. Raphael glances at you by his side, and he ruffles your h/c hair, his green fingers lingering on your head when he’s finished.

“Ya got ta see Mikey get an ass-whoopin', a well-deserved one too.” He replies. You can tell he’s still on edge, not putting his guard down. This is probably common, Raphael looking around in search of Mikey, to make sure he doesn’t get pranked while being in the comfort of his own sewer.

“Don’t forget the water balloon to the face, I know I won't.”

“I think ya’re a masochist, love seein’ me in pain.” You laugh at Raphael’s response

God, you hated this.

This feeling of anxiousness when you were around Raphael. It was getting harder to ignore it, and you felt like your younger self again in high school crushing over a boy. It was getting quite annoying, that fluttery feeling every time Raphael was around. It was quite frankly, dumb.

Dumb for you, let’s be clear.

Look at you, in freaking college! The last thing you have to worry about is confessing your feelings to a guy, you have, like, 10 assignments due.

And also, you aren’t a sappy teen anymore, you’re a woman! And it’s time you take some charge.

Better said than done, might I add.

Like right now, as you walked with Raphael as usual down to the lair, it seemed like the more the two of you did, the closer you both got. Physically speaking. If you heard a noise in one of the tunnels, you would automatically shift slightly closer to Raph. Who knew what else the sewers could be harboring anyway?

So when Raphael actually insisted on carrying you back home on his shell, as you were visibly tired from your long visit with his family, you knew you had to muster up the courage and tell this turtle you were falling for him.

---

“I gotcha, Y/n,” Raphael whispered. After the movie night with the family and April and Casey, it was around one in the morning. You and Raphael had actually made it to the end of the 4th movie you all had watched awake. Mikey, the most excited for this night, passed out first during the start of the second movie. Everyone followed soon after. With Donatello snoring quietly next to you, and you using Raphael’s shoulder as a headrest, you found yourself ready to fall asleep. That was, until, Raphael said he would take you home. For one, he knew you’d be more comfortable in your bed. Two, it gave him the opportunity for more one-on-one time.

Raphael wondered why he suddenly turned soft when he was attached to a female. It may be because he realized his mutant body is already a turn-off, and his attitude might enhance that. He also didn’t want to scare them off with how dangerous or violent he could be; no- he would save that side of him for combat.

The last thing he would want is to hurt you. If anything, he wants to protect you.

Raphael is notorious for being the most violent, moody, and 2nd place sarcastic member on the team (1st place for most sarcastic goes to Donatello.) But, he’s growing up. Part of growing up for him and his brothers was realizing their flaws, and how to mature past their teens.

For example, Michelangelo tried to implement training more into his days rather than gaming. He’s slowly getting better at it, and this was enhanced during Leo’s absence. He had to stay in shape somehow working with all those deadly children.

Donatello was already mature for his age when he was younger, but he tries little by little to fix his diet- he knows he’s getting older, and he can’t keep living off of pop tarts and coffee because he’s too busy to cook for himself or eat Mikey’s food.

Leonardo is the leader- he had to mature long before his brothers did. He carries the burden of the leader, which means acting maturely in different circumstances when it comes to battles. Leonardo has yet to realize he isn’t Mr. Perfect, no matter how much he trains. To him, his main flaw is that he can’t cook. There’s no way he can fix this, but he hopes that someday he’ll magically get better at it (just in case he gets a girlfriend and wants to cook for her, you know, so he’s preparing for the future.)

Raphael on the other hand is in the middle. Physically, he’s very much matured beyond his teenage years. Mentally, he struggles with his temper at times. It’s not as bad as it was when he was a teen, but he still struggles with it. He’s yet to realize he can’t be mad at the world for being, well, the world, and can’t fix it to his liking all by his lonesome. Raphael’s flaw would probably be the lack of words since he’s always struggling with putting his emotions into sentences. He’s done pretty well with you, but he wonders why he can’t be like that with his family. It may be because he wants to uphold the image as the brother that doesn’t take shit from anyone, or the brother that a lot of things just don’t phase him.

“You’re just as tired as me Big Red, I can walk.” You reply softly. Raphael scoffs, and his half-lidded eyes stare into yours as he smirks.

“I ain’t tired. Com’ere,” Raphael motioned for you to come over after he quietly got off the couch, and you followed suit. He bent down slightly in front of you, welcoming you on his shell. It wasn’t out of the ordinary. Raphael liked having you on his back. He knew you would be safer that way as opposed to mirroring his parkour. The obvious look of tiredness in Raphael’s eyes is what made you feel bad, but he insisted, and Raphael was one stubborn turtle.

The ride on Raph’s shell home seemed to go fast. You were going in and out of sleep when Raphael was going through the sewers, and the only sounds you heard were his steady breathing and water dripping from the many drains. After a couple of minutes, you were out.

Raphael noticed this and took more precautions for the ride to be less bumpy.

Once out of the manhole, he hoisted you up again and back on his back, going up the fire escape and onto the rooftops. He picked up speed and jumped when necessary to not wake you up. Your arms wrapped loosely around his neck, and your legs snaked around his waist, this was the closest he got to you physically.

Finally, Raphael arrived in front of your window. He gently tapped you awake- and as you woke up groggily, he put you down back on your feet. You’re now on the roof next to your apartment window. You faintly see your reflection from it, as well as the blackened sky that was rid of any stars, only a single white dot that resembled the moon. You see Raphael beside you as well.

“Thanks, Raph.”

“Ya fell asleep quick, started snorin’ in my ear n everythin,” He joked, letting out a slight yawn.

“I…don’t snore, do I?” You squinted at your turtle friend, and he laughed at you overthinking about snoring in front of him.

“It’ll be our lil’ secret, alright?” Raphael watches as you struggle to find the key that unlocks the window. He hopes you don’t find it at all, so he can be with you a little while longer. But at the same time, he hopes you do so he can get some sleep himself. After fishing it out of your bag, you unlock the window.

“It was nice to spend some time with your family, I loved it,” Smiling at Raphael tiredly, you slide the window open.

“It’s always nice ta see ya, Y/n. Ya know dat.” He responds.

“God, I don’t remember the last time the two of us just hung out in my room, you know?” You were right. Ever since the whole Winter's Corp thing happened, to meeting his family, and spending some time with his brothers, you and Raphael haven’t had any time together. It was only right, Raphael was your first friend out of the four, who you’ve known the longest, and who you felt the closest with.

“Are ya sayin’ ya wanna just hang out like…tha two of us? How we used ta?” He asks. Confessing to you about how he’s feeling may be easier than he’s making it out to be, he thinks.

“I…yeah, I am saying that.” You let out a tired yawn, and Raphael doesn’t want to keep you away from your bed, so he ends it.

“See you tonight?” Raphael watches as you enter your room, and stands in front of the entrance. He’s hoping he could see you tomorrow (well, today, you know what I mean,)

“See you tonight.” You smile tiredly at your friend, and before you could slide the window close, he stops you.

“And don’t stay up any longa, ya look ‘bout ready ta knock right ‘bout now.”

“Yes, mom.” You reply jokingly to Raph, as he rolls his eyes.

Raphael watches as you get comfy in your covers before dozing off, realizing he needs some advice.

And who better to ask than Casey?

Okay, no. He probably should ask April. But, he needed a guy’s perspective. Hopefully, Casey can give him some decent advice later on in the day.

---

“April says you should go for it ^•^” Raphael reads the message over and over again from his bud Casey, but he for some reason can’t make sense of it. Go for what, exactly? What should he ask Y/n? Or what should he tell her? Why is it so hard?

He’s not a teenage mutant ninja turtle anymore. Well, he’s still a mutant. He's most definitely still a ninja, and he’ll always be a turtle.

A teenager! That’s right, he’s not a teenager anymore.

Coming to terms with his feelings and expressing them with words is going to be the most non-teenage thing he’s done.

He’s not sure when the right time is to tell you. Honestly, when is there a good time to confess your feelings? Is he even ready to be that vulnerable to you? To lay his romantic feelings out on the table?

He knows it won’t be like those corny romance movies April watches, that’s for sure. It sure as hell won’t be as dramatic as Splinter's telenovelas, either.

He’s overthinking how he’ll talk to you. Overthinking how you’ll react.

He decides to tell you when he sees you later.

Actually, no.

Wait.

Does he?

It can wait.

Looking at his reflection in his room from his hammock, he sighs. He’s lying down with his head facing the mirror, as he thinks: this is what she sees.

It’s what everyone sees.

He WANTS to be normal. He thinks it would be much easier to tell you (and he thought the same with Sabrina,) that it would be much easier to speak his feelings if he was human. He’s confident in all categories, except his looks.

So, he decides to wait. Let this night be the last one of you both being friends before he changes that with his words.

Getting up, he starts getting ready to head over to your place.

Nothing special, just coming as he is. He’s still getting used to not wearing his suit around you. It’s much more difficult to hide his facial expressions with no visor to cover them.

As he uncovers the manhole, he goes through the city on his usual route to your place. Not thinking much of his pace, his usual light jog.

That is until he gets to your window and sees it broken from a distance.

Suddenly, his jog becomes a sprint, and he utilizes his vision that was preserved from when he was a turtle to better see into the darkness that was your room. He can’t see anything, but he panics as he realizes he can sense there’s someone who’s not you inside.

It was at this moment he knew he would confess to you the moment he found you and you were safe with him.

===================

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