Chapter Text
1: Casey
"You're sure?" Casey asked, strangely not making fun of Raph.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Raph knew he was gay. No matter how hard he tried to like girls, he couldn't. He always found himself bored with playbunny mags and his eyes always drifted to the guys in porn. But the nail in the coffin was his many crushes on guys, that he mistook for admiration.
"It's chill if you don't wanna hang out anymore-" Case cuts him off.
"What are you on about dude? You're my friend, you likin' dick ain't gonna change that." Casey matches Raph's grin and soon enough they're wrestling on the floor.
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2: Mikey
Raph catches Mikey in the kitchen while he's making dinner. Mikey starts his "a master chef needs privacy" talk, but shuts up when Raph speaks.
"Can we..talk?"
Raph's voice was soft and vulnerable. Mikey knew that voice by now. He shuts off the stove and gives Raph all the attention he can, what with his ADHD.
Raph takes a breath, and forces the words out.
"I'm gay." Raph makes a point not to look Mikey in the eyes, but his head snaps up when his brother laughs. Embarrassment stings and quickly morphs into anger.
"What the hell are you laughing at!?"
"Raphie, dude, I know you're gay."
Anger gives away to confusion, "Huh?"
"That, or I thought you were ace or aro or something. I mean, you've never even spared a glance to any of the hot babes we've found."
Raph crosses his arms, he hardly understands how not checking out girls gave him away, "What if they weren't my type?"
"And I read your diary."
"MIKEY!"
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3: Donnie
Raph spends more time in the infirmary than he'd like to admit. It's now that Donnie is patching him up, that he decides it's time.
"Yo, Don?"
He can't hold in a snort when Donnie sighs overdramatically.
"Yes, Raphael?"
"Animals are gay, right?" He tries to be confident, he can only hope that he doesn't sound as scared as he feels.
Donnie is one of his favorite people to chill with. Casey is cool, but sometimes Raph just likes to watch Don work on his nerd shit.
"Well, yes! Homosexuality is present in hundreds of species."
"What about turtles?" Raph fidgets nervously. He hopes the coolest turtle (besides him, of course) in this place doesn't hate him.
"Of course! It's actually-..." There it is.
Raph looks away when Donnie looks up at him in shock. Donnie is trying to read him, he can see the wheels turning.
"You're.."
"Yeah."
There was a beat of silence, before Donnie hugged him.
"Thank you for telling me." Donnie is smiling when he pulls away, "Who else knows?"
"Just Mikey and Case. I'm goin' one by one."
Donnie nods, and a comfortable silence falls over them. This is why he thinks Donnie is the coolest.
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4: Leo
Leo is definitely Raph's least favorite brother. Don't get him wrong, he still loves him, but they both clash too much. They're both stubborn and headstrong, so they butt heads a lot.
Does this mean he think Leo won't accept him?
Maybe.
He interrupts Leo's meditation to do it, which probably wasn't the best idea.
"Raph, I'm busy-"
"We need to talk."
Raph doesn't want to argue, he didn't cone here to fight.
Leo glares at him, but says nothing, giving him room to speak. Confusion is evident in his gaze.
Raph sits across from him, there's no going back now. But, for some reason, Raph is struggling to get the words out. Anxiety is clenching his throat, choking him.
His voice is weak when he finally manages to speak. Hours of practicing in the mirror go to waste, as he can only muster a small, "I'm gay."
Leo's eyes blow open like he shouted it, though.
Jeez, was I really that good at hiding it?
Fear grips Raph's heart the longer Leo is silent.
This is it.
His big brother hates him now.
"I wish I wasn't. I really do. I wish I liked girls like you guys and I tried to. But I just can't. And I totally get it if you hate me and-"
"You think I hate you?" Leo's voice was pained, he looked offended. "Raph, I know we argue a lot, and god you're insufferable, but I don't hate you. Not now, not ever. And definitely not because you're gay."
Leo hugged him, and Raph was absolutely NOT crying. And they absolutely did not hug for the next ten minutes as Raph tried to calm his sobs.
"You tell me if a guy breaks your heart, I'll kick his ass."
Raph laughed, wiping his tears, "I will."
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5: Splinter
"What is it you needed to speak about, my son?"
Raph tried to breathe, this was it. Sitting with Master Splinter in the dojo was usually calming, but right now it was just anxiety inducing.
If Splinter didn't accept him, Raph doesn't know what he would do. He wouldn't be able to take it.
"W-Well, Sensei.."
"Be calm, my son. I'm sure I can help you with whatever it bothering you."
"I don't need help, I just..I don't know.."
"What do you need, Raphael?" The soft tone in Splinter's voice made Raph want to cry. He tried to hold back his tears, he's been doing too much crying lately.
"I..I need you to not hate me.."
Splinter wrapped his arms around his son, "Why would I ever hate you?"
"Because..I'm gay.." Raph hid his face in his father's chest, he wanted him to be close for a bit longer.
Splinter gently layed a hand on Raph's head, smiling down at him when the sniffling teenager looked up.
"My son, of course I accept you. Love is a complex and beautiful thing. it cannot only be confined to a man and a woman. You may love who you love and be whoever you wish to be. You should not let anyone make you feel ashamed for being brave enough to love."
Relief flooded Raph, more sobs bubbling up in his throat. He hid his face again and hugged his father, relishing in the hold he gave back.
Splinter still loved him.
Thank god
"Thank you Sensei.."
"Of course. I love you, my son."
"I love you too, Dad.."