Stand Up (2003)
By: AndiKaneUnderwood
It was late that day after school and Raph had stayed behind for an after school detention.
(It wasn't his fault this time. That stupid kid who threw the first punch, he was just defending himself.)
Don and Cody had also been staying after for a Robotics Project, so Raph was picking them up.
(Casey would normally be there, but he had a double hockey game so Cody was heading to the Hamato's for the night.)
As he turned another corner, Raph thought about the more recent moves their father, Hamato Yoshi (owner and Sensei of the only town dojo), had taught them.
It was called the Freezing Dragon.
It was mostly meant for someone with Leo's kind of powers, but that was okay, they could use it for their specific powers anyways.
Then, thinking of dragons, Raph remembered the new band of purple dragons that had attacked then while Mike and Don where on patrol.
(What they didn't understand about the Ninja Teams is that their powers are greater than what anyone knew. Even the Ninja Tribunal hadn't anticipated or understood why they where so powerful and not dead yet. Raph blamed Don's medical skills, Leo blamed their father's teaching, Don blamed their will to live, and Mikey didn't care.)
Raph sighed, stopping briefly to lean against the lockers, tipping his head back and closing his eyes.
Those men where faster than normal and nearly insane.
They almost killed Don because he had been trapped.
If Cody hadn't been pulling an all-nighter for his collage class and came to help...
Raph shuddered to think of the consequences that could've befallen his younger brothers the previous night.
He shook his head, clearing himself of those thoughts. It hadn't happened, no point to dwell on the past. Then, he shook his head again because he almost sounded like Leo.
TMNT~TMNT~TMNT
As he turned the final corner, Raph heard voices. One of them was harsh and rude, the other soft but sharp.
Raph recognized the second voice as his younger twin brother's best friend's voice. The first he didn't recognize, but he had a feeling it wasn't good.
He quickened his pace.
"No!" Cody growled, clearly fed up.
The fist voice spoke again.
Raph stopped twenty paces away. Don had his head down and his eyes where glassy, meaning he was mediating. Cody, on the other hand, was flushed and his eyes blazed as he stood toe-to-toe with a Purple Dragon, not giving an inch, nor backing down, just as he was taught to do.
Raph decided to step in, the bully was clearly about to hit the younger redhead and Don would never forgive himself if he was meditating while Cody got the ever loving shit beat out of him.
He stepped over and stood in front of his twin's best friend, stopping the bigger bully from hurting Cody.
"Wake up Don." Raph murmured to the redhead and was rewarded by a nod.
"Move." Commanded one of them, the leader.
"Not on your life." Raph replied, he jerked his head. "Beat it." He snapped.
The leader snarled and threw a punch, which was probably the dumbest thing he could've done considering who he was punching at.
Raph caught the fist, pushed it back and completed his move by dropping down and sweeping the leader's feet out from under him. He leaned in close and bared his teeth. "Touch them again and you'll get much worse than thrown to the floor. That's a promise." He snarled.
As he turned, Don stood behind him, holding on the his messenger bag tightly and conversing in quiet whispers with his younger redheaded friend.
Since Don seemed perfectly fine, Raph let it go.
TMNT~TMNT~TMNT
The next time it happened, Don had met Raph at the ShellCycle covered in bruises.
(The bike was a combined effort between the both of them, therefore it was just as much Don's as it was Raph's. Or at least that's what Raph thought, Don said it was made for Raph and "you drive it, so it's yours.")
"What happened to you? Get in a bear fight?" Raph asked, looking at one bruise and touching it lightly. It was very recent.
(A particularly bad one was blossoming on his cheek and Raph found that he very much wanted to murder the person who'd done it.)
Don flinched back from Raph's hand, hissing in pain. "No, I just ran into my locker door." He replied.
Raph lifted an eyebrow, seeing the lie in Don's eyes. "And this locker door wouldn't happened to be named Joseph Turner would it?"
Don looked up the side and Raph felt a flash of triumph run down his spine. He knew Don had been caught.
"Donny, why don't you fight back?" Raph asked. "You and I both know that you could drop 'em faster than the ShellCycle."
Don shook his head briefly and climbed on Raph's bike without comment.
Raph sighed, knowing pressing the situation would only result in argument, and handed Don the extra helmet as he climbed on the bike himself.
TMNT~TMNT~TMNT
After a week, Don met Raph by the ShellCycle covered in bruises again.
This time, Raph took Don's arm and pulled back to the steps, digging in the younger twin's backpack for the first aid kit he carried.
Don went without protest which made Raph wonder about a stomach injury, but after a light hand pressed to Don's torso. Raph ruled it out.
"You wanna tell me what happened?" Raph asked as he dressed one scrape.
Don shook his head again and Raph decided that he needed to press the issue now.
"I can't help you if you don't talk to me Donny." Raph told his younger twin.
Don shook his head and Raph sighed. "Come on, Donny. They're hurting you. Please. Let me help." Raph looked into Don's chocolate brown eyes and knew that he'd won.
Don looked back down and for a moment, he didn't speak.
"It wasn't just Joseph Turner." Don's voice was a whisper and Raph raised an eyebrow because Don being bullied was a topic they often discussed, but never had Raph heard Don's voice sound so low and broken.
"Who else was it?" Raph asked, knowing this was why Don wouldn't talk about it.
"Mercy David. The Israelite you went on a date with." And it all clicks into place.
Mercy hated Don. Donny had taken Raph's attention from their date because he'd accidentally set fire to his lab (in attempt to find out how to reverse the effects of their Mother's mutation) and had to be rushed to the hospital for breathing in too smoke and a few minor burns.
Raph had apologized excessively and hit the road on the ShellCycle, calling Leo for an update.
"I didn't fight back because I know how much you like her. I didn't want to hurt you by hurting her." Don's voice had tapered off into a whisper and Raph pulled his twin into a hug.
"You could never hurt me by standing up for yourself. Never." Raph told him and Don nodded as he gripped Raph's arms.
"Thank you." Don whispered as they walked back towards the ShellCycle.
Raph's nod and the quirk of his lips told Don that he'd been heard.
And if the next time the bullies tried to hurt Don met the floor and started crying...
Well, no one needed to know why.
SkyeDiamond, this is for your prompt "Raph finds out Don gets bullied and wonders why he doesn't stand up for himself". Did I do alright?