TMNT x Reader | Boyfriend Scenarios

4| When You Guys Get Closer - Raph

//Raph//

Ever since Raph had brought her the first time, Y/n had seemed to develop quite a habit of coming down to the Lair almost every day. Every time she'd seek Raph out and knock on his door, or call his name, and when he would turn to her, she would say, "Hey, Raph." And she'd wait for him to say something back. And when he did she would walk up to him, grab his shoulder and say, "Teach me something!" And the light in her eyes sucked Raph in, and it led him to the dojo every time. And today was no different.

She led the way into the dojo, spinning as they arrived, smiling at Raph and pulling him over to her. Raph watched as the sunlight peeking in from above sparkled over them, falling gracefully onto her luscious h/c hair, dancing across her cheeks and highlighting her e/c eyes. Although it wasn't outwardly obvious, he wanted nothing more than to grab her waist and hold her against him, just so he could stare into her beautiful eyes.

Raph cleared his throat, grabbing Y/n's attention. He pushed those thoughts from his mind, but it wasn't easy. In order to avoid them he had to sharpen his focus: teach her a new skill; do not get caught up in the way she moves or the way she looks at you.

"You ready?" Y/n asked, bouncing on her toes. "What're we learning today?" she asked.

"We're gonna do a review of an old lesson," Raph said flatly. "Throwing punches." He eyed her. He was prepared for her tricks this time, and he would not let his mind wander.

"All right," she sang, "but I've been practicing, so you better watch out." Her lips curled up in a smirk and she narrowed her eyes. She adjusted her stance, shuffling her feet across the rug, and putting up her fists just as Raph had shown her.

"All right, hit me," he said. She threw a punch. "Missed." She threw another. "Missed." She exhaled sharply. She tried a fake-out. He dodged it. "Try harder," he growled.

Y/n stopped. "What is going on with you?" she asked. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "You haven't teased me once today, and you're all angry for no reason." She huffed. "I mean are you all right?" she asked, still indignant.

But the thing with Raph is that everything that he puts out there is hard to read. And it's because most of the time it's not what he means. When he's angry, it means that he cares. When he's distant, it means he cares. And he cared about Y/n a lot. So much that he was scared that if he didn't cover it up she'd figure out how he felt. And if he lost her, it would destroy him. So he hid his feelings under a blanket of faux rage and distaste. Although what was directed at her was fake, the anger he harbored towards himself was real. This was the last way he wanted to treat her. He wanted to tell her how intoxicated he was by her. To take her out and show her things she'd never seen. To let her encounter things she'd never experienced. But he couldn't tell her how he felt. He was just an ugly mutant turtle. And that made him angry. For something he wanted so badly to be at his fingertips, but he couldn't grab it.

Raph pursed his lips and exhaled sharply through his nose. "There's nothing wrong. Do you want to learn or not?" he asked impassively. He half expected her to roll her eyes and let it go, but she dug her heels in.

"No," she said. "I don't have to learn from you," she continued, "I could get anyone else to teach me." That stung Raph, and more real anger began to rise.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? GO AWAY!" he barked, very quickly realizing it was an overreaction.

Raph saw a tear prick Y/n's eye, but she stood her ground. "I'm here," she started, "because I want you to teach me," she told him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But to Raph it hadn't been. "Because I like you." She waited for him to say something, but he didn't. "But if you don't like me, then I can find someone else. And I'll stop bothering you."