#reader x raphael

Leonardo

It was a few months into you knowing the ninja turtles, and only a few weeks since you had started dating Honor Boy

He took a while to get the hint

It was the honeymoon phase of your relationship and, of course, you wanted (needed) to spend every second of every day together that was physically possible

You practically had your name on the lease (if they even leased the sewers)

You usually joined Leonardo when he meditated, even though it didn’t always end with the two of you still meditating

One day, he asked you if you wanted to train with him

Sure, why not?

The days that followed were probably the worst days of your life

Two days straight of doing everything Leo asked you to do

Squats, deadlifts, running through the sewers

You had never felt more like death in your entire life

Did you mention that you really never worked out before this?

A week in, and four days filled of vigorous training, you found yourself like a cement block in his bed

You had no energy to move

It almost hurt to even breathe or turn to lay on your side

“Sweetheart, whatcha doin’? Come on, it’s time to go!”

“More training?” you barely got out

You would surely die if you had any more

As much as you wanted to please him and join him on his daily activities, this simply wasn’t going to happen

“Bailing on me already, huh?”

You didn’t want to, you didn’t want to think of yourself as a quitter

But your body had other things planned

Most of them involved acting a corpse and not moving unless being moved by force

“Can I take a rain check, hon? Please? I don’t think I can handle another session”

“I keep forgetting that you’re not used to this. Did I push you too hard?”

“A little”

Then your favorite turtle crawled into bed with you

He could probably use a day off, too

Raphael

This boi was so excited that you wanted to weight train with him

His brothers would train with him sometimes, but it never lasted long

No, he trained for hours at a time in the weight room

And his baby now wanted to join him?

Oh, he was elated

“Come on, babe, let’s see what your maxes are! We can do bench first”

And you absolutely loved it

It was exhilarating, feeling so much power run through you as you lifted those weights and could feel those muscles almost tear apart

Sure, you could only lift barely one-fifth of what he could, but I digress

Raphael immediately had you on a 4-day schedule. Rest day, upper body, lower body, rest, upper body, lower body, rest

His own routine was a lot more complicated and consisted of less rest days

He figured you needed an extra day off

By the second upper body day, you could feel your body start to give out

You were in the middle of doing five reps of over one hundred pounds on the bench

By now, Raphael thought you were comfortable enough to not need him to spot you

As you began to grunt out the word ‘four’, you gasped

No, this was not your day

You could hear Raphael’s bar and weights hit the ground instantly

“Baby! Babe, are you okay?”

The bar you had been lifting had landed right on your throat when your arms gave out

“Fine” you managed to say

Was that really your voice?

“Four reps at one-twenty-five, that’s pretty good, baby”

You did, in fact, not feel ‘pretty good’

‘Shit’ was a far better descriptor

Raphael wasted no time sitting you up and placing you in his lap, observing your neck

“That does not look good”

Leonardo

You were truly a mess

Your head felt full, your sinuses were stuffed up the wazoo, you couldn’t hear anything but a buzzing noise out of your right ear

It was pitiful

There you rested on the futon in Leonardo’s room, surrounded by a blanket of your used tissues

Only half of them were filled with snot

The other half were wet with salty tears

“It’s okay, honey, you’ll feel better soon”

*sniffle* “But what if something happens to me?”

“What do you-”

“What if this is the end?” *cough*

“Hon, this isn’t the end. You’re just sick.”

Leonardo kissed your forehead

“I just love you so much and I can’t tell you that enough” you were crying again

Leonardo took it in stride

“And I don’t tell you enough that I love you”

He put up with your dramatic ass like a pro

“Would you love me even if I were a worm?”

“Baby, yes I would”

“Are you going to leave me for a worm??”

Well, almost like a pro

Raphael

This guy pretended everything was fine when he was around his brothers

But when it was just you and him?

Oh, he was a worry wart

You were typically so put together

This threw him off completely

He seriously thought you were days away from death

Sure, you were walking around and talking, but you resembled a zombie

“Hey! Hey, do you need me to get you some tea with honey, babe?”

You started to cry again

“That’s so sweet and thoughtful of you!”

*tears*

Raphael’s heart was racing

He ran to the kitchen at top speed to make you some tea, huffing and puffing, pacing with every step

He did that after getting you back into bed, of course

When he brought you the tea, you started bawling again

“You’re just so sweet and good to me, Raphie”

You never called him that, ever

But he was not about to tell you off about it

His baby was sick, and he needed to take care of you

Even if it meant himself having a heart attack

Donatello

This guy knew illnesses

He had to play physician for his family after all

However, he was not ready for you to be this steaming pile of mess

“Donnie, Don Don, Tellie, Donatelli, Donnie-Telli”

He was trying to keep it together

Sure, it stressed him out to be out of the lab for such long periods, but his love was more important than that

The lab was far more predictable tho

“How’re you feeling, Princess? Any cooler?”

You started to hum ‘Burning Love’ by Elvis, ignoring his question

He shook his head, pressing his palm to your forehead in lieu of a thermometer

“You are burning up still”

“Can I have another blanket? And cuddles from my lovey-dovey?”

Who was he to say no?

Lab time could wait

He gathered up as many blankets as he could carry and brought them to your bedside

If Princess was cold (even though you had a fever), Princess needed blankets

He cursed himself for not having a heated blanket

You scooted yourself as close to him as physically possible, practically glueing yourself to his side

He kissed the top of your head gingerly

“Now, what about Burnin’ Love?”

Michelangelo

“Does my Angelcakes need some more cuddles?”

Mikey was the most on top of things when you were sick

He was at your side constantly, handing you a tissue at any sign of a sniffle

Even when you babbled on about nonsense things, he supported you

“I can’t believe I did this thing five years ago, how embarrassing!”

A waterfall of tears

Mikey just kissed those tears away

“Angel, I’m sure it was really nothing! You’re probably the only one that remembers that happened!”

“But what if they remember it, too?”

He barely knew what you were talking about, but boi did he try his best to keep up

“So what if they do? Fuck ‘em! You’re here now, killin’ it”

You were akin to a koala on his arm

It was just so easy to cling on to, plus the coolness of his skin complimented your fever

“Are you sure you love me?”

“Of course, Angel! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Even though I’m so messed up?”

“Angelcakes, I love you because you’re the way you are, like how you love me the way I am”

“Can’t believe you love me when I’m such a mess”

“Angel, Angel, Angel”

And he was. After all, you had a thing for guys like him. Not turtles with red bandanas, per se, but big strong guys. Buff guys. Guys who were rough around the edges, but soft on the inside.

You remembered what Mikey had said once. That Raphael is like a teddy bear, if teddy bears were incredibly violent. That kind of spice, that kick.

Plus, just look at him! The guy oozed sex, whether he knew it or not.

Oh, God. Did you guys have sex?

You quickly looked around the room you woke up in.

No, this was your assigned room. You were alone. No Raphael or any other terrapin to be found.

You felt yourself breathe a sigh of relief. If there was even a chance of something between yourself and Raph, you didn’t want it to be based solely on the physical aspect. That wasn’t what you wanted. You deserved a connection, not just sex with a great looking guy.

Not that sex with a great looking guy was bad. It sounded incredibly not bad.

Were all those fanfictions right about him?

Would you even find out?

“Achem. Y/N?”

You jumped at the sudden new voice. You turned around quickly to see the exact person enveloping your thoughts. “Raph! Raphael, I mean- hey!”

He gave you an odd look before walking towards you. “Did you sleep well?”

Raphael was holding a tray. On it looked to be a small cup with some pills, two empty cups, and a steaming kettle of tea. “Donnie said you might need some medicine to help with the hangover.”

That was so thoughtful.

“Right,” you said. “Thank you. I hope I wasn’t too crazy last night.”

He laughed. “Crazy? Last night was alright. It was pretty fun. We’ve never had a party like that before.”

“I just thought it would be a nice gesture, since you guys took me in and all.”

You downed the pills, which you were told were Tylenol, and he poured you a cup of tea. They really did enjoy their tea.

“Do you remember everything from last night?” Raphael asked you slowly.

You paused. Was this a trick question? Did y’all do stuff last night that you might not remember? Your nether areas felt fine, so you figured you didn’t. You didn’t feel sore, but your body did feel like it could sleep all day.

“Last thing I remember was answering your truth question.” You chose your words extra carefully.

He clicked his tongue. “Do you remember what you said?”

“A little?” You gave him a small shrug.

Then it hit you.

What you said.

Oh, fuck. Did you really tell him you weren’t sure he would meet your expectations?

What an asshole response!

And you admitted that he had been your favorite?

There you went again with your face getting hot.

“I think you remember now,” Raphael said softly, though when you looked up, he was smiling. “Really tore through me, huh?”

“I really shouldn’t have said that, I just felt so on the spot-” you stammered. “Yeah, you were always the one I looked up and read about, but- that stuff’s kind of embarrassing to admit, you know? Especially in front of everybody.”

“You made me eat a lemon.”

You scoffed. “You would have made me do worse if I had chosen dare.”

He paused. “You’re probably right. But seriously, did you mean what you said last night? Did meeting me not meet your expectations?”

This was the most genuine you had ever heard him be. It stung that he might have believed those things you said. Why did you have to be such an ass?

“No,” you said firmly. “I just didn’t want to admit it. Again, it’s kind of embarrassing. It’s a dream come true to be here, but the expectations are everywhere.”

He listened intently as you explained your view on fanfiction in your universe. How everybody wrote everybody different- there’s a general personality each character has but when placed in situations that aren’t canon, you can’t really predict how each one would react.

“A lot of it is imagining how you guys would react in a relationship setting, which is hard because we never truly see you guys in those situations. One writer might think you act one way, one might think totally different. The general consensus with you is that you’re passionate, feisty, have a soft side for your significant other, and very ‘wears the pants in the relationship’.”

You were a little uncomfortable explaining this to him, but he had a right to know how he was portrayed. You just hoped this wouldn’t ruin his opinion of you or your chances of being together.

Raphael went silent for longer than you were comfortable with.

You sighed, leaning back against the wall you were sitting against. “Too much?”

Then he started laughing.

“You really are somethin’ else, Y/N.”

Was that it?

He just smiled and shook his head. “To think you’re imagining me in a relationship and I’m imagining you in red.”

“You- what?”

“C’mere already.”