#nightwatcher

TMNT 2007 ‎ꫂ᭪݁

A/N: No one asked for this but I thought I'd give 2007 Raph some love.

I remember when I watched this movie for the first time on DVD, I was in a camper and was like 8 years old and I thought Raph as the night watcher was so bad broo.

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Dating Raph means loving someone who is always carrying too much on his shoulders, even when he swears he is fine.

He acts tough about everything, but you learn fast that he is a lot softer than he wants anyone to know.

At first, he tries to keep the Night watcher part of his life totally separate from you. not because he does not trust you, but because he does not want you anywhere near the danger.

That works for approximately five minutes, because Raph is terrible at hiding things from someone who knows him well.

The extra bruises, the strange absences, the late-night tension, the way he comes back from “a walk” looking like he fought a small war.

Once you figure it out, he expects you to be mad. Instead, you are more concerned that he is being reckless and running himself into the ground.

he does not handle being worried about well.

If you try to patch him up after patrols, he gets all grumbly and stubborn, but he still sits there and lets you do it.

He acts like he does not like being fussed over, but the truth is he secretly loves the quiet tenderness of it. the way your hands are gentle. the way your voice drops softer when you tell him to hold still. the way you make him feel human after a night of violence.

Being with Raph means learning that he expresses affection in rough edges and protective habits.

He stands between you and danger without even thinking about it.

He remembers what makes you nervous. He walks you home even if you insist you are fine.

and if someone makes you uncomfortable, they will very quickly find out what a terrifyingly patient Raphael looks like when he stops being patient.

The Nightwatcher side of him makes him even more intense about keeping you safe. He worries constantly about whether you could become a target because of him, and that fear makes him both distant and clingy in the strangest ways.

Sometimes he goes quiet for hours after patrol, still stuck in that Nightwatcher mindset, jaw tight and shoulders rigid. Those are the nights where you do not push him to talk. You just stay close, let him breathe, and remind him that he is home now.

he would never admit it, but your calm is one of the only things that pulls him out of his own head.

when he is in a bad mood, he gets more sarcastic, more sharp around the edges, and a little easier to provoke. But you are one of the few people who can cut through that with the right look or the right touch.

He acts like he is above cute couple stuff, but he absolutely has a weak spot for subtle affection. brushing your fingers over his hand. leaning into his side. resting your head against his shoulder while he pretends not to notice.

You call him “my hero” in a teasing voice after he comes back from being the Nightwatcher, he will groan, look away, and be visibly flustered for the next ten minutes.

His favorite kind of date is not fancy. It is late-night walks, rooftops, shared food, and sitting somewhere quiet where he can let his guard down without feeling watched.

The most romantic thing he does is not grand gestures. it is the way he always comes back to you.

No matter how bad the night gets, no matter how angry he is, no matter how much he thinks he has to carry alone.

He is very protective, but not in a controlling way. He wants you safe, not trapped. He would rather stand beside you than cage you.

If you ever tell him you are scared he will disappear into the Nightwatcher part of himself and stop being the Raph you love, he gets real serious real fast. Because the truth is, he needs you to remind him he is still allowed to be soft.

with you, he has a place where he can take the mask off, even if only for a little while.

and when he finally lets himself relax, there is something devastatingly sweet about it. All that sharpness fading into exhaustion, all that anger melting into trust.

loving Raph while he is the Nightwatcher means loving the worst nights too. It means being patient with the parts of him that are bruised, angry, and afraid. but it also means getting to see the side of him no one else does: the loyal, tender, fiercely devoted man underneath all that fire.

he may never say “i love you” a million times, but he shows it in a hundred small ways, every single day.

and once he loves you, he loves you hard.

Nightwatcher Bonus Hc's .⋆♱

Like said before, He doesn’t tell you at first.

Not because he doesn’t trust you—but because he does. And that somehow makes it worse. He doesn’t want you carrying the weight of knowing what he does out there.

You notice the bruises before anything else.

He brushes it off every time.

“Training.”

“Just a rough patrol.”

“It’s nothing.”

It’s never nothing.

He gets quieter as time goes on. Not distant—just… heavier. Like he’s always thinking about something he can’t say.

When he holds you, it’s tight. Not suffocating—but firm, grounding. Like he’s making sure you’re real, safe, there.

He prefers seeing you at night. Claims it’s just when he’s “free,” but really it’s because it’s easier to slip away afterward without questions.

Some nights, he’ll leave mid-conversation.

You’ll be laughing, talking, existing—and then something in him shifts.

“I gotta go.”

No explanation. Just urgency.

He always comes back softer after those nights.

Quieter.

Almost… guilty.

You start putting pieces together before he ever tells you.

The timing.

The injuries.

The way he reacts to crime in the city—too personally.

When you confront him, he freezes.

Not angry. Not defensive.

Just… caught.

“…You weren’t supposed to find out like this.”

The Nightwatcher reveal isn’t dramatic—it’s heavy.

Mask off. Silence.

You see all of him at once.

He expects you to be scared. Or mad. Or to leave.

Instead, you just look at him like he’s still Raphael.

That messes him up more than anything.

After that, he doesn’t hide the injuries anymore—but he still downplays them.

Old habits die hard.

You become the only place he actually lets himself decompress.

No attitude. No sarcasm.

Just him, tired and leaning into you like the world’s too loud.

He hates that his Nightwatcher life puts you at risk.

He becomes hyper-aware of your safety.

Walking you home turns into escorting like a bodyguard.

If someone even looks at you wrong?

He’s already tense.

He struggles with balancing both sides of himself.

Raphael, your boyfriend.

The Nightwatcher, something darker.

Sometimes he pulls away emotionally after rough nights—like he doesn’t deserve to be soft with you.

You’re the one who pulls him back.

Reminding him he’s not just what he does in the shadows.

He’ll never say it outright, but you’re the reason he doesn’t go too far.

You’re the line he refuses to cross.

Late nights where he comes back exhausted and just collapses beside you?

Those are his favorites.

No talking. Just your presence.

He learns, slowly, to let you in more.

Not fully—not all at once.

But enough.

Loving him feels like loving something guarded and sharp-edged…

but also deeply loyal and yours in a way he doesn’t give to anyone else.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Where my Raphael girls at?

Nightblood would then be a sibling to the Nightwatcher. On the level of the Stormfather, made from the Wind, and the Sibling, made from the Stone.

Finished wip !

The Nightwatcher