#raphael 2007

I loved you anyway,

TMNT 2007 Raphael x reader

A/N: I’m so sorry I turned this into a mini series instead of a short fic- I was writing and got a little carried away, and it ended up way too long for a single Tumblr post. So I’ll have to split it into a few parts. Thank you for your patience with me 💔 if anyone would like to be tagged in the next part please let me know:) it’ll be out tonight!

Warnings: lil bit of freak

── .✦

“You should stay for dinner. Haven’t seen much of you lately.”

Casey spoke absentmindedly, leaned back against the couch while some rerun hockey game played on the television.

You’d been busy lately. Busier than usual.

You loved spending time with your brother, but sitting around watching hockey highlights on repeat wasn’t exactly what you had planned for your Saturday night.

“If it’s okay with you and April, I’d love to,” you smiled, sitting across from him.

From the kitchen, you could hear the faint sounds of dishes clinking together and a knife tapping rhythmically against a cutting board while April slowly worked away at dinner.

“You hear Leo’s home?”

Casey asked, not even glancing away from the TV.

During Leonardo’s absence, you’d grown close with a certain hot-headed turtle.

Raphael would probably hate hearing you say it, but Leonardo really was the backbone of the team. Him leaving had made the others crumble like a house of cards.

Especially Raph.

Restless.

Harder on himself.

You tried helping where you could. Bringing dinner to the lair, staying longer than planned, listening when one of them needed it.

Somewhere between late-night talks and patched-up bruises, Raphael stopped feeling like only your brother’s friend.

Casey knew you cared about Raph.

He just didn’t know how much.

“Yeah,” you answered carefully. “I heard.”

Casey snorted.

“Whole place feels weird now.”

Before you could answer, movement outside the apartment window caught your attention.

Your eyes flickered toward the fire escape.

And there he was.

Massive shoulders hunched beneath the darkness, red bandana tails moving slightly with the wind.

Raphael.

He jerked his head once toward the rooftop.

Impatient.

Brief.

Like he expected you to understand immediately.

Before long, you watched Raphael haul himself further up the fire escape with practiced ease, disappearing toward the rooftop.

Casey’s attention stayed glued to the television, completely oblivious to what had just happened beside him.

You shifted on the couch and stretched your legs, trying to appear casual.

“Would you mind if I got some fresh air?”

You nodded vaguely toward the window.

Most people would probably question why fresh air apparently meant sitting on a fire escape in the middle of New York.

Casey wasn’t most people.

Casey had spent enough time around mutants, rooftop patrols, and strange routines to stop asking questions years ago.

He reached for the remote, shutting the television off with a click.

“Yeah, go for it.” He stood, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

“I’m gonna see if April needs help with dinner.”

Your chest loosened slightly.

“Thanks.”

Casey only waved you off before disappearing toward the kitchen.

You waited a beat.

Two.

Long enough not to look suspicious.

Then crossed toward the window and slid it open.

── .✦

The cold New York air hit immediately, sharp enough to send a shiver down your spine.

You definitely weren’t dressed for rooftops tonight.

Fingers curling around the metal ladder, you climbed carefully, shoes scraping against iron steps worn smooth with age.

The city sounded different up here.

Louder.

Sirens somewhere in the distance. Honking. The hum of people still moving below while the world around you slowed.

By the time your head cleared the rooftop ledge, Raphael was already waiting.

He sat on the rooftop edge, arms crossed loosely over his plastron.

For a moment, you only watched him.

In your eyes, Raphael had always been something unfair to look at.

The sharpness of him.

The scars.

The way he carried himself like he expected the world to swing first.

He turned toward you before you could linger too long, a small, knowing grin pulling at one side of his mouth.

“There y’are,” he said.

Your chest warmed immediately.

“Hey, big guy.”

The nickname earned a faint huff from him.

You walked over and sat beside him, leaning against his shoulder without thinking.

Neither of you questioned it anymore.

At some point, it had simply become normal.

“How’d you know where I was?” you asked, tilting your head up toward him.

His arm came around your shoulders almost immediately, heavy and warm as he pulled you closer against his side.

Casual.

Protective.

Like breathing.

“Casey mentioned you were headin’ over tonight,” Raph muttered.

Your brows lifted slightly.

He glanced down at you then, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“Said he missed havin’ ya around.”

You smiled softly at that.

Guilt tugged at your chest for only a second before fading.

“Well…” you shifted against him slightly, “I was invited to stay for dinner.”

His brow raised.

“Yeah?”

“I just said I needed some air first.”

That earned a low laugh from him.

Quiet.

The kind you only heard when he was relaxed.

“Hope it’s April cookin’ and not Casey.”

You sat up immediately, looking at him with mock offense.

“What!?”

Your hand came down in a light slap against his shoulder.

“C’mon, my brother can be a great cook.”

Raphael barked out another laugh—more surprised this time.

“Nah.”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I’m bein’ realistic.”

You crossed your arms.

“Okay-One time..”

Raph stared.

You pointed a finger at him.

“One time Casey burned pasta and suddenly he’s banned from kitchens forever?”

Raphael looked down at you with the most unimpressed expression imaginable.

“…The guy could burn water.”

Silence.

Then—

“…Okay,” you admitted slowly. “So he may not be the best cook..”

His shoulders shook slightly with another laugh.

You froze for a second.

Watching.

Because moments like this with him still caught you off guard.

Raphael happy.

Relaxed.

Looking younger somehow.

Less like the turtle carrying the weight of everything on his back.

His laughter faded after a moment, but the small smile stayed.

“Yer starin’.”

You blinked.

“Hm?”

One brow lifted.

“What?” you smiled faintly.

“I can’t admire my boyfriend?”

Raphael looked down at you immediately.

Expression unreadable for all of two seconds.

Then—

The corner of his mouth twitched.

“Boyfriend, huh?”

His arm around your shoulders tightened slightly.

“Didn’t think we were there yet.”

You blinked.

Your head pulled back fast enough to look at him properly.

“…What!?”

He stayed completely serious.

You knew Raphael like the back of your hand,part of you knew he was just messing around

“So what,” you stared at him, already defensive, “I’m just the girl you casually make out with every now and then?”

The smallest huff of laughter escaped him.

You stood from your spot abruptly.

Two could play this game.

“Well,” you sighed dramatically, dusting off your pants. “Guess I’m gonna head out then.”

You barely managed a step before a large hand wrapped around your waist, halting your movement immediately.

“No,” Raph muttered, tugging you back toward him. 

“Don’t get like that. Y’know I’m messin’ with ya.”

“Mhm.”

You hummed, pretending to stay unimpressed as you stared out across the city instead of at him.

His hand stayed where it was.

Warm.

Familiar.

“Maybe if you ask me nicely to stay, I will.” You smiled faintly.

One brow lifted.

“What?” A laugh slipped through his words.

“It’s not like I’m gonna get on my knees and beg.”

Something crossed your mind then.

Quick.

Mischievous...

Your smile softened before you could stop it.

“That’s not fair,” you murmured.

“I’m always on my knees for you, but you’re not gonna get on your knees for me?”

The last part came out quieter than you intended.

Different.

The teasing underneath it dulled just slightly.

You watched his expression change almost instantly.

The smile at the corner of his mouth faltered.

A flush spread across his face before his eyes flicked away from yours.

“…”

For once—

Raphael looked caught off guard.

You smiled down at him—soft, satisfied—

before he moved suddenly.

Faster than you expected.

In one quick motion, he hooked an arm and shifted you off balance, guiding you down onto his lap before you could even react.

“Hey—!”

Your breath hitched in surprise, eyes widening as you steadied yourself against him.

But then it settled.

And you realized exactly where you were.

His arms around you.

Warm.

Solid.

Like you belonged there without question.

The expression on his face softened the second you looked at him properly.

Something quiet and almost fond.

Like he didn’t know what to do with it, but he wasn’t stopping it either.

You lifted a hand without thinking and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.

He went still for half a second.

Then leaned slightly into you like it was instinct.

“Y’know I love ya, right?” he murmured.

Carefully.

Like he was checking something real.

You didn’t hesitate.

“I love you too,” you said softly. “With all my heart.”

That did it.

Something in his expression shifted—subtle, but real.

And before you could even process it, he leaned in first.

His hand slid to your waist, pulling you closer as he kissed you—slow, warm, certain in a way he usually wasn’t with anything else.

Your arms wrapped around his neck almost immediately, pulling him in just a little deeper.

It wasn’t rushed.

It wasn’t messy.

Just… real.

When you finally pulled back, the world felt quieter than it had a second ago.

Like everything had paused just long enough to let you breathe.

And then—

A voice snapped through the rooftop.

“You gotta be kidding me.” 

The words cut through the rooftop like a slap.

Everything stopped.

Raphael’s grip loosened instantly, his entire posture shifting in an instant—protective, alert, ready for a fight before his brain even caught up.

You turned your head too fast.

And there he was.

Casey stood near the fire escape, frozen halfway between stepping fully onto the roof and turning around.

His eyes were wide.

Not angry yet.

Just stunned.

Like his brain hadn’t finished processing what he was looking at.

You.

Raphael.

Too close.

Too familiar.

The silence stretched for a beat too long.

Then Casey’s jaw tightened.

“...I can't believe this.”

His voice came out lower this time.

Sharper.

You instinctively shifted off Raphael’s lap, standing quickly, hands half-raised like that could somehow fix what had already happened.

“Casey—”

“No.”

He cut you off immediately.

One step forward.

Then another.

His eyes flicked between you and Raphael like he was trying to find the joke in it.

“No, don’t start with that.”

Raphael stood too now, slow and deliberate, putting himself slightly in front of you without thinking.

Casey saw it.

And that only made his expression harden.

“Get out of the way, Raph.”

“No.”

The answer was immediate.

Flat.

Casey scoffed.

“Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah,” Raphael said simply.

That was worse.

The calm.

The lack of hesitation.

Casey looked at you again.

Really looked this time.

Something shifting in his expression—hurt slipping in under the anger.

“How long?”

Your breath caught.

“Case—”

“How long has this been goin’ on?”

The rooftop felt colder suddenly.

The city noise below didn’t matter anymore.

Everything narrowed to that question.

And the way his voice dropped on the last word.

Like he already knew the answer wasn’t going to feel good.

“You,” Casey said, taking a step closer to Raphael.

His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the hurt in it now.

“I trusted you. You were my brother. I shared everything with you, I watched your back, you were my ride or die—”

His jaw clenched.

“And now I find out you’re screwing my sister?”

The words cracked through the air between them.

Raphael’s expression hardened instantly, but there was something flickering underneath it too.

Not guilt.

Not exactly.

More like he’d expected this.

Still, the accusation landed.

Hard.

“Casey—” you started.

“No,” he snapped without even looking at you.

“Don’t.”

His eyes stayed on Raphael, blazing now.

“You had all this time to say somethin'. All this time, and you kept it from me.”

Raphael’s shoulders squared.

“Wasn’t tryin’ to screw anything up.”

Casey let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

“Yeah? Sure looks like it.”

The air on the rooftop went tense and thin, like one wrong word could make the whole thing blow apart.

Casey turned away, like looking at the scene in front of him had become too much.

He took a long breath in through his nose.

Slow.

Controlled.

When he spoke again, his voice had dropped into something steadier—dangerously steady.

“(Y/N), go back to the apartment.”

A pause.

“I need to talk with Raph.”

You didn’t move right away.

Didn’t speak.

Because something in his tone told you this wasn’t something you could fix by staying.

It was already bigger than that.

Slowly, you stepped back from behind Raphael.

The space between you felt wrong immediately.

Cold in a way the wind had nothing to do with.

You glanced up at Raph once.

Just for a second.

His eyes flicked to you too.

But he didn’t stop you.

And that hurt more than anything Casey had said.

You turned toward the fire escape and left without another word.

The metal steps creaked softly under your weight as you descended..

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

Me when I See Raphael:

So, these are my draws of the nightwatcher and (obviously) Raphael