Perception

"I could check if you want." Don had sent Raph such a proposal one day, seemingly out of the blue, as Raph sat on Don's bed and Don sat in his chair, face glued to the computer screen. They'd been submerged in an uncomfortable silence that had nearly caused Raph to go crazy. In fact, he wasn't so sure he hadn't made the dive off the deep end. He had, after all, been staring at the same sentence in his book for half an hour.

"Check what, Donnie?" The uncomfortable silence was caused by what had happened just two days before—Raph's 'love confession'. Since then, they'd tried to act like a couple. Raph started spending time in Don's room; reading a book or asking senseless questions or staring at the ceiling in boredom, if neither worked out. And Don attempted sitting in the living room more often, while Raph watched some senseless violence on the television, but it was obvious when he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his quiet paradise and get back to work. Neither had seemed to realize how hard this "couple" thing would be.

"You know…I mean. I could run a few blood tests." Raph had started to wonder if they really were compatible at all. He had been sure they were, but it always felt like something was holding them back. Stifling them in a blanket of pure awkward. Pure awkward that hugged them both so tightly it had started to affect Leo and Mikey and even Master Splinter, who was none the wiser.

"…Fer what?" Raph wondered if it was the whole 'gay' thing. He wondered how Don felt about it. Surely, he didn't care much. He had, after all, been the one to kiss Raphael. Maybe he was worried Raph minded? Did Raph mind? He hadn't really given it any thought at all. The issue had paled in comparison to his original freak-out about them being brothers.

"To see if we're really blood related." The gears in Raph's head stopped.

"Ta' see…" Raph murmured, and then frowned. "What's that matter any, Don? We're brotha's either way, yeah?"

"Well, yes. We were raised as brothers, so of course. But, I mean…it's obvious that this is bothering you. This whole thing seems so forced and tense. We could do blood tests. If we aren't blood related, we can give this a go. And if we are…well…we can forget about it." Raph thought this over. Stared at Don with mouth slightly agape. He wasn't sure what he was thinking. Wasn't sure what to say in reply. But, luckily, he wasn't one for thinking.

"Whadda we need a test fer? I know yer inta' all that science mumbo jumbo, but what's it gonna prove? If we are related, I'll go back ta' watchin' you an' thinkin' all them stupid what-ifs 'til I go crazy. And if we ain't…" He shook his head. "I don't want that, Donnie. I like bein' yer brother. Leo and Mikey's, too, even though I swear Mike and I couldn't 'a been part 'a the same clutch or whateva'. I don't want that taken away, y'know? What's the humans' morals got anythin' ta' do with us, anyway? If we can't go up there and mingle with 'em, we shouldn't hafta abide by their rules."

"So…no blood test?" There was a small smile on Don's face, but Raph couldn't fathom why.

"No blood test."

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a voice drifted through in a way very reminiscent to two days prior.

"Ha! See, Leo? I knew Raphie'd pull through!" Mikey stood in the doorway, wiping at an eye dramatically. Leo was beside him, arms crossed, but a pleased smile on his face.

"…Wha'?"

"You passed the test!" Mikey pranced into the room gleefully, a grin spread across his beak.

"The what?" Suddenly, Leo was there, clasping their hands together and nodding solemnly, though the smile was still in place.

"You have permission to date our Donnie," he explained simply.

"Permission? So this was some sorta' trial?" Raph turned his eyes on Don. "You were in on this?" Don shrugged helplessly, and Mikey pranced over, slinging an arm across his shoulders.

"'Course he was! Donnie's been in on it from the beginning!"

"Mikey," Don weakly reprimanded, pushing him away.

"The beginning? You knew? Before I said somethin'? Fer how long?!"

"I had a pretty strong hypothesis after your second failed attempt at admitting it to me," Don easily replied, the smile on his face weak and seeking forgiveness.

"Why didn't ya' tell me? You could'a saved me all that trouble, an' ya' just stood by and let me make a fool a' myself? Did ya' like seeing me actin' the fool?" His tone rose. His eyes narrowed. His posture screamed danger. And Leo led Mike out the door and left Don alone to face the angry beast that was Raphael. Even in his angry haze, Raph felt that was a little unfair of them, even if he was thankful their argument wouldn't be put on display. Besides, he wasn't done with them, either.

"Raph…" Don sighed.

"I can't believe you, Don! I neva' would'a thought you'd be the one ta'—" he was stopped by hands on his shoulders. A beak pressed up against his.

"Maybe if you'd let me get a word in, I could explain myself," Don pulled away completely, and then sat beside Raph on his own bed, legs crossed and hands splayed on his knees. As if he was meditating. Raph grunted, turned to face him.

"I didn't do it because I thought it was funny," Don gently explained. "At first, it was because I wasn't sure. You were being a little obvious, but I was afraid it was merely…wishful thinking, on my part. I didn't want to put words in your mouth. I was afraid, if I was wrong, the consequences would prove dire. So I did what I thought was logical—I waited for more evidence." Don paused. When Raph didn't speak, he dove right back into his speech. "When you nearly confessed for the third time, I went to talk to Leo about it." Raph looked like he was going to say something, but Don beat him to it. "He didn't give anything away. Only answered my most specific questions. He told me it might be a good idea to figure out a confession of my own, if you were too shy—" Raph grunted, but Don ignored him, "—to do it yourself. Then it came down to getting over my own nerves. I've never been very good with emotion, you know? Logic is my thing, and it was hard to come up with something to say. So I decided to wait until you tried to confess again."

"Then why didn't ya'?"

"You didn't let me get a single word in on the fourth try," Donnie replied with something akin to amusement and fondness tickling his tone. "And when you left I saw Leo confront you, so I figured I'd need to wait again. But just as I was done developing my next game plan, Leo confronted me." Raph raised an eye ridge.

"Why'd he need ta' do that?" Don smiled sadly.

"He told me not to tell you."

"Of course it was the Fearless Leader that convinced ya' not ta' say nothin'!" Don raised his hands in a plea for peace.

"Raph, it's not Leo's fault—"

"Like shell it ain't! If it weren't fer him, we could'a avoided all that stupid drama when I did get around ta' confessin'."

"Raph, just hear everything out before you convict him, please. He told me 'Raph's not ready, Donnie. You can't tell him yet.' I was really confused. I thought if you were trying to tell me, you must be ready. But then he told me about his talk with you. He told me what you said…about how you were sick for wanting your brother."

Raph's breath hitched. "Naw, Don, I—" Don ignored him.

"It was upsetting to hear. Even more so when you proved him right by avoiding me the next few weeks. But I thought that I'd listen to Leo. Not just because he's our leader, but because he's proven how right his judgment can be, and I know he'd never mess around with our emotions. So I waited. I got anxious, especially when you started going topside more often, and started avoiding everyone, and then I realized I could be there for you as a brother…"

"Only you fell asleep on tha' job. Nice one, Donnie." Don punched his arm lightly.

"It worked, didn't it? After that, you opened back up a little. Enough for me to latch back onto the idea of a confession and run it past Leo."

"So how did Mikey catch on ta' all this?" Don looked embarrassed and rubbed at his neck.

"He overheard us talking about how I was going to get you to confess, to make sure you were 'ready', and he demanded we let him get it all figured out. I was desperate enough to agree, and…shocked it worked as well as it did."

"So this trial was a way fer you guys ta' see if I was still uncomfortable with tha' fact that we're brothers?" Raph crossed his arms and fixed Don with a stare that his brother matched.

"Yes," Don replied. Raph sighed and deflated.

"I guess it makes sense. Sorta'." He twisted his hands in his lap. Played idly with a sai. "Listen, Donnie. M'sorry fer what I said. I should'a known you'd neva' do nothin' like that. I mean…yer not…"

Don placed calming hands over Raph's, and Raph noticed him pulling them apart. Catching on, he slid his arms around Don, and pulled him into an awkward hug that got more and more comfortable the longer they stayed together, instead of the other way around. Raph sighed and leaned into his brother's plastron, content. Until he heard the familiar voice again, this time muffled by a door.

"Think Don's alright in there, Leo? Raph looked pretty P.O.'d, and I can't hear anything anymore!"

"Raph wouldn't hurt Don." That was Leo, the voice of reason.

"You're right," Mikey suddenly replied, sounding strange, "if anything, they're probably keeping each other quiet in much different wa—ow! Leo! It's bad enough that Donnie does it for Raph sometimes, but you?" Don let out an amused snort at Raph's neck.

"Guess we should let them know we're alive and virginal." But Don made no move to step away from his hot-tempered brother.

"I dunno, Donnie. For once, I'm not sure I wanna prove Mikey wrong."

And so they stayed in Don's room, until even Mikey moved away from the door, looking slightly pink.