Like Dreamers Do
2k3 verse

"Raph," Don murmured in a gentle voice.

"Hmm?" Raph responded, not having the energy to actually open his mouth. The pair had just engaged in a rather intense bout of lovemaking, and the larger male was drifting in a postcoital doze.

"What do you think about just before you go to sleep?" Don asked.

The question was just odd enough to make Raph open his eyes slightly. He glanced over at Don, who was using his bicep as a pillow.

"I don't know," Raph said, frowning. "Nothing I guess."

"It isn't actually possible to think about nothing," Don said, shifting a little and settling the palm of one hand on Raph's stomach. "It's like dreams, you may not remember them, but you still have them."

"So what do you think about?" Raph countered, growing curious as to where the genius' train of thought was taking him.

"They aren't thoughts per se," Don answered, "rather they're images. During most of my waking hours my head is filled with words, equations, schematics, and code. When I lie down and try to sleep, I see pictures."

"Of what?" Raph asked.

"Before we became 'us', it was usually projects, or family, or friends. Since we've been together what I mostly see is you," Don admitted.

"Sounds like a damn nice image to fall asleep to," Raph said, a hint of cockiness in his voice. "Does that mean ya' also dream about me?"

"May~be," Don said teasingly. "Now how about it? Your turn. What's in your head as you're drifting off to sleep?"

"I really don't know," Raph insisted. "Never thought enough about it to try and remember."

Don rubbed his face on Raph's arm. "Try tonight okay? I'm curious."

"Anything for you. There's only one problem," Raph said with a roguish grin, abruptly rolling over on top of Donatello. "I'm not sleepy anymore."

Looking up at his mate, Don's brown eyes gleamed with sudden desire. "Let's see what we can do about that," he suggested impishly.

Blurred Vision
2k16 verse

"Dammit Donatello, when are ya' coming to bed?" Raph asked gruffly, stomping into Don's work area.

Don's glasses had slipped down and he pushed them up higher before glancing at his mate. "I told April that I'd send her copies of that crooked lobbyist's emails as soon as I hacked into his account," Don said. "I'm almost there."

"She still tracking down everyone who ever helped Shredder or Sacks?" Raph asked.

"It's been her experience that when big money is involved, the only way to get justice is to take the story straight to the people," Don explained. "The people need proof."

"The American way, Donnie boy," Raph said, leaning a hip against the desk. "Innocent until proven guilty."

"Not usually our way," Don remarked, continuing to work. "We mete out our own justice on those we've deemed guilty."

"That was before April and Chief Vincent," Raph said. "Now we've got a couple of powerhouse females on our side. It's nice to have someone help with the heavy lifting."

They were quiet then, save for the sounds of Donatello's typing. Raph didn't leave; he knew that once he was no longer a constant reminder that Don needed to shut down for the night, his partner would lose track of time again.

After another ten minutes had passed, Don sighed and removed his glasses. Rubbing at his eyes, he said, "I hit another firewall. This guy is paranoid."

Raph frowned. If he didn't do something drastic, Don would insist on continuing and would probably be up an entire second night.

With incredible speed, Raph snatched the glasses out of Donatello's hand.

Surprised, Don spun around to blink at Raph. "What are you doing?"

"Saving ya' from yourself," Raph answered. "Ya' can't work without your glasses, and I want ya' to stop now and come to bed. I'll give them back in the morning. How strong are these things anyway?"

Holding them up, Raph tried to see through the lenses. Since it was hard to look at anything that way, Raph decided to put the glasses on. Due to the fact that his head was wider than Don's, Raph had to pull outwards on the earpieces.

"Don't break them," Don warned when he realized what his brother was doing.

"I won't," Raph said, being careful with how he bent the glasses. Once he was wearing them, he looked around the lair. "Whoa, I hope ya' don't ever lose these during a fight."

When Don made an odd noise in the back of his throat, Raph turned his head to look at him, peering over the top of the lenses. There was a predatory expression on Don's face, one that Raph didn't see all that often.

"Ya' okay Donnie?" Raph asked.

"You look hot in those," Don said, his voice sounding guttural. Stepping in close to Raph, Don ran his hands over his brother's plastron. "Let's go to bed."

"Ya' don't have to ask me twice," Raph said, reaching up to remove the glasses.

Don grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Leave them on," he instructed. "I want you to fuck me while you're wearing them."

Though surprised at the seldom heard vulgarity, Raph did not give his brother a chance to change his mind. Sliding an arm through Don's, Raph enthusiastically guided his brother to their bedroom, where their combined energies kept them up for several more hours.

Side by Side
2k7 verse

"How many rescues does that make?" Donatello asked as he and Raph raced each other back to the roof tops.

"Six," Raph answered, touching down a split second before his brother. "My record as Nightwatcher was seven."

"We can beat it," Don said enthusiastically. "We still have a few hours before it starts to get light out."

Raph's grin was enough to make Don's heart skip a beat. After Leo had returned from his trip to Central America, Raph had made peace with his older brother. Discovering that Master Splinter did not favor any of his sons over the others had helped with that and the defeat of the Stone Generals had convinced Raph that they were at their best as a team.

Little by little, the relationship between Raph and Don had eased as well, so much so that they enjoyed each other's company to the point where they often patrolled together. As time passed, Don discovered he didn't just prefer Raph's company, he craved it.

"One thing about this city that ya' can count on," Raph said, "crime don't take a break."

A shrill cry from below them made the pair glance at each other. "Sounds like number seven," Don remarked, speeding off in the direction of that sound.

Fifteen minutes later they left behind a pair of trussed up would be molesters. That the woman they'd rescued had screeched and run at the sight of them didn't bother the brothers' one iota; they were used to it.

Back atop the roofs, the pair decided to break for a snack, eating the little picnic type meal that Don had packed for them. It was an added part of their routine that they only did when they were alone. When Don had asked if they should include it in joint patrols with their brothers, Raph had said no, that he liked having that be something that only belonged to them.

Sitting next to each other on the roof's ledge, the pair stared out over the city and at the river in the distance. Don placed his hand down next to Raph's, not daring to touch, but close enough to feel the warmth emanating from Raph's skin.

Though it wasn't quite what Don really wanted, he still enjoyed the moment. It was broken by the squealing of tires, a loud crash, and a car horn blaring incessantly nearby.

"Damn, that sounded bad," Raph said, jumping to his feet.

Don followed him as Raph unerringly led the way to the source of the noise. Below them was a compact car, its front end completely smashed in due to a collision with a fire hydrant. The force had broken the hydrant loose from its bolts and water shot into the air, drenching the car and the unconscious woman inside.

Raph immediately ran to the hydrant, trying to find a way to shut off the water as Don darted over to the woman. The front window was smashed out and water was pouring into the car, threatening to drown the occupant.

No matter how hard he pulled on the door, Don could not get it open. He looked around for Raph, who was trying without success to shove the hydrant back over the geyser.

"Trade places!" Don shouted.

Without hesitation, Raph complied, slipping past Don as the genius ran a little ways down the street. Popping open a small metal cover in the asphalt, Don shoved the end of his bō into one of the spaces in a water cutoff handle. Leaning his weight on the staff, Don slowly turned the handle, closing the pipe that supplied water to the hydrant.

Turning, he saw Raph straining with the car door. Yanking the sai from his belt, Raph crammed them into the edges of the door on either side and peeled the metal back. Replacing his sai, Raph pulled his wrist guards over his hands and gripped the door.

With a loud shout, Raph ripped the door loose and tossed it aside. He was lifting the woman out of the car when Don reached him.

Taking her away from the wreckage, Raph stretched the woman out on the sidewalk and Don checked her vitals. There was a nasty gash on her forehead, but her pulse was good and so was her breathing.

Sirens sounded nearby and the brothers made haste in leaving the area. From a nearby perch they watched emergency staff load the woman into an ambulance and take her away.

Soaking wet, Don shivered as a cool breeze cut into his skin, his adrenaline rush fading. Raph on the other hand still seemed wired.

"Holy crap we're good!" Raph exclaimed.

"Yes we are," Don agreed, looking wistfully at his brother.

Without warning Raph was suddenly on him, wrapping his arms around Don and planting a solid kiss to his lips.

Stunned, Don could only stutter, "Wh . . . what? Wh . . . why?"

"Been wanting to do that for a long time," Raph husked against Don's mouth. "Kinda got the feeling ya' did too. Am I wrong?"

"No," Don whispered. "You are so right."

"So is this," Raph said, kissing Don again. "Let's go home and dry off. We have something we need to share with the rest of the family."

"I couldn't agree more," Don replied happily.

You're the One That I Want
2k12 verse

Everyone had been tiptoeing around Donatello for a month, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

April O'Neil had left them in order to attend an out of state college and Casey Jones had gone with her. He'd gotten a lucrative offer from a hockey league and they'd announced that they would be sharing an apartment.

Despite her kunoichi status and all of the things they'd gone through with her, April had decided that she needed human normalcy. She had begun to pull away from the turtles nearly a year after Master Splinter's death.

At first, Don had been maudlin, driving his brothers to distraction with his moping and sighing. Eventually though he'd gotten lost in his work, barely mentioning the girl who had held his attention for so long. When April did come to visit, she took great care to avoid being alone with the purple masked turtle.

Raphael hated seeing his brother in an emotional state, especially since he'd often expressed to Don that he and April would not work out as a couple. It was obvious that his prediction was spot on, but Raph avoided saying anything that would sound remotely like an 'I told you so'. Instead, he went out of his way to spend time with Don, even working on projects with him.

Now April was far away and living with Don's rival for her affections. Don's brothers fully expected the genius to react in an overly demonstrative way to that, but so far, the outburst had not been forthcoming.

Patrols had been sporadic, mostly because Leonardo was concerned about where Don's head was at. Tonight he'd decided that they needed to spend some time topside, but Don had made an excuse to get out of going with them. To Raph, his reason for remaining in the lair had sounded off, so much so that worry began to nag at him.

Just as Leo and Mikey were about to exit the tunnels, Raph opted out of the patrol. He was prepared to argue with Leo about it, but his older brother seemed to understand. While Leo and Mikey went topside together, Raph went back to the lair.

They'd only been gone for half an hour but upon entering their home, Raph could tell that something was wrong. The first thing he noticed was that the door to Don's lab was open and the genius was not inside.

Following his instincts, Raph went next to the dojo. Sure enough, he found Don seated on the ground under the tree. Raph's eyes widened when he saw the flask in Don's hands and recognized that it was from Master Splinter's stash of sake.

As Raph approached his brother, Don glanced at him and then took a long swig from the flask. Raph waited, counting to ten so that his first words wouldn't be to blast Don for stealing the sake.

"Master Splinter doesn't need it," Don said as he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

Raph pressed his lips together, knowing that Don didn't mean to be so callous. It was clear from Don's glazed eyes and the way he slurred his words that he was on his way to being very drunk.

Crossing over to his brother, Raph sat down in front of him. "Is this because April left? You don't have to suffer through it alone, Donnie."

"I'm not suffering," Don replied, staring blearily at Raph.

"Of course you're not," Raph said, trying to sound sympathetic. He wanted to understand. He wanted to help. "Why are you sitting here drinking alone?"

Don instantly held the flask out to Raph. "Here, drink with me then I won't be alone."

Raph accepted the flask and took a tiny bit of sake into his mouth just to appease his brother. Don seemed pleased by that, so Raph drank a little more and then asked, "You waited until we left to raid the sake, Don. Want to tell me why?"

"Can't take it anymore," Don said, pulling the flask from Raph's hand and drinking until it was drained.

"Can't take what? That April is with Casey?" Raph asked.

Don tossed the empty flask aside. "No! I'm not in love with April. Don't care that she took off."

His head dropped and he weaved a little, but despite the garbled words and the amount of sake he'd imbibed, Don seemed to be telling the truth.

Puzzled, Raph said, "Okay. So she's gone but you don't care. No reason to be drinking. Big deal, right?"

Don's head came up and he scowled at his brother. "It is! I don't know if it's 'cause she blew me up, or that she always liked Casey hanging off her, but I stopped having feelings for her ages ago. I mean, she's pretty and everything, but you're better looking than she is!"

As soon as the words popped out of his mouth, Don blushed furiously and looked down at his knees. Raph stared at him, his mind flashing through the last ten months. Until now, he hadn't realized just how much time he'd spent with Don, or how much he enjoyed their interactions. Apparently Don had fallen for him. To his own surprise, Raph found that concept was one he could easily live with.

"I think you're better looking than April too," Raph replied cautiously. "Better looking than anybody."

"Really?" Don asked, meeting Raph's eyes with a hopeful expression.

"Really," Raph said as he stood up. He held his hand out and helped Don to his feet. "You're more fun to be with too. Come on, let's put you to bed before the nasty part of drinking hits you."

"I love you, Raph. You're the one that I want. Sleep with me?" Don asked, allowing Raph to support him as they left the dojo.

"Sure," Raph agreed. "Anytime you like, as often as you'd like. I love you, too."

He meant every word.

End