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They're 15 and the only friends they have here are each other.
Casey just moved here and Raph still hasn't been able to make any concrete friends since entering highschool with his brothers. After needing to do a partner project in Biology together, the two seemed to slot together like two perfect puzzle pieces, and now they seemed to be attached at the hip.
Raph goes to all of Casey's hockey games and Casey goes to all of Raph's wrestling matches, and they always cheer for each other no matter what. They hang out almost every second they can and they seem to know so much about each other already.
They help each other on the homework for classes they're struggling in and help each other beat video game levels they still can't get past.
They've even accidentally swapped clothes at a few points. It's not their fault that they have nearly identical jackets.
Raph teaches Casey about hobbies he's taken up after having nothing to do in the sewers for 15 years and Casey teaches Raph about human society so he can fit in like he wants to faster, even though Casey thought Raph was doing just fine.
Casey's fingertips are always stained with spray paint after Raph started teaching him to throw up his own designs on sewer walls and Raph is getting better at talking to humans and remembering social cues.
They stay over at each other's places for sleepovers way too much, even if Casey's room is already cramped and Raph still shares a room with his brothers. At Casey's they don't have to worry about it as much, but at Raph's, they had to wait until they definitely knew his brothers were asleep before Casey would bring his sleeping bag up from the ground and crawl onto Raph's mattress and he'd sleep the opposite way as Raph in his sleeping bag.
Raph was never a big physical touch person, unless you count jabbing or poking at his brothers to annoy them, but suddenly he was. At least with Casey. They'd sit right up next to each other on the couch even when they had the whole couch to themselves and they'd often lay their legs across the other's. Whenever Casey was over for dinner they'd sit right next to each other and whisper and bump shoulders the whole time.
In school they always begged the teachers they had classes together with to put them next to each other on the seating chart, and usually they'd say yes because both of their grades seemed to improve when they did- somehow, even though they seemed to talk about anything BUT the assignment.
They were usually seen with their arms around each other's shoulders talking about probably the most random things you could talk about. Writing they'd seen on the school bathroom stalls and walls, movie news, what type of off-brand Oreo's were the best- really anything.
It was so obvious to everyone around them that they were hopelessly in love with each other, but neither of them admitted to even themselves that they were.
--
They're 16 and people are starting to hate the mutants again.
Guess acceptance and inclusion only last so long. Raph shouldn't be surprised at how fake people are. Apparently it's easy to forget who saved New York.
Kids in the hallways snicker and point at Raph and his brothers now. They call them aliens and hunchbacks and "muties" behind their backs as if they can't hear the words slip out of their mouths clear as day.
Raph can see people glare at his cousins. He can see the hate accounts on Twitter, Tiktok, and other platforms. He's enraged- fucking furious. His brothers and family pretend they don't see or hear any of it and it makes him feel even more angry. They should be mad. They should be livid, just like him.
Casey was never deterred though. He sat and listened to Raph whenever he went on with angry rants about how fake people can be when they try to be accepting just to seem good on paper, and how they talk about him and his FAMILY basically right in front of him and then have the audacity to act surprised when he whips his head around and gets pissed.
Casey is mad about it too. And Raph didn't even know until Casey got suspended for it that he'd gotten into multiple verbal fights in school over it, and the school had finally had enough after a physical one. Casey didn't even do it just for Raph, too, but for his whole family. Casey had been around them all so much at this point that they were like cousins to him, too. Almost like in-laws.
Raph rushes straight to Casey's apartment after school when he heard the news. He barges into Casey's room and can see him holding an ice pack up to his cheek and he can see the dried blood under Casey's nose and Raph blows up.
Not at Casey. Never, ever at Casey. He starts yelling about stupid people are, and how Casey shouldn't have to be doing that for him and his family, and Casey gets mad too, not at Raph, but at the idea that the mutants should need to defend themselves at all just because some idiots can't keep their mouths shut when they don't like something.
After a lot of angry tears (and maybe a few sad ones that they'd never admit), Raph makes them both hot chocolate in the kitchen and they sit down on Casey's cramped bed, throw a big blanket Raph stole from their living room over both of their shoulders and watch a few movies on the beat up TV Casey's set up across from his bed.
Raph's legs are laying across Casey's and his head leans Casey's shoulder. Casey's cheek is resting on the top of Raph's head and neither of them talk for a bit but there's an unspoken "I love you" hung in the air between them and neither of them can tell if it's platonic or beyond that.
--
They're 17 and they don't know what they are anymore.
They're still best friends and they know that. But whether they're just that or something more is something neither of them can tell.
Even though by now, of course, they've both made other close friends, they're still each other's number one. It's rare to even see them without each other anymore.
Everyone thinks they're dating. Teachers stopped seating them next to each other sometime around the end of last school year because they thought they were dating. Their classmates all think they're dating. Even Raph's family have been asking them if they're dating and Raph always says no, but his brothers keep poking fun at him and asking when he's just gonna admit to them that they are dating.
Raph remembers that more than once has he gone over to Casey's place and his mother had called Casey out from his room, saying, "¡Casey, tu novio está aquí!", and even though Raph wasn't great at Spanish, the word novio stuck out perfectly.
Casey would come out of his room, confused, and then they'd both laugh and explain again to his mom that they weren't dating, and his mother would fondly shake her head, chuckle, say something about oh, she's just old and she's forgetting things, and shoo them away with a look on her face that told them that she seemed to know something they didn't.
They can't blame everyone for thinking they're dating. They hold each other's hands when they're nervous, they say "I love you" to one another all the time (just platonically. Obviously), they hug each other hello and goodbye, and even though they'd deny it, they'd cuddled a lot more than just once or twice.
At some point they just stop correcting people when they say they're dating. Raph can overhear whispers in class that always sound something like 'I think Raph and Casey are dating now,' and he never interjects anymore to correct them. It's just tiring at this point, is what he tells himself. It's just not worth it to constantly correct people, is what he says. But he knows its because he doesn't really mind when people think they're dating. They might as well be at this point, right? Is that how these kind of things work?
He feels bad because he knows they're not dating and he's letting people believe they are. He feels selfish. He feels selfish because if people think they're dating that means that Raph is Casey's and Casey is Raph's and if people think they're dating then people will know that and they'll have each other to themselves, and Raph knows that he sounds so, so selfishly in love, but they're just friends. Obviously.
--
They're 18 and they're worried about the future.
It's nearing the end of the school year. Their last year in highschool. They're spending whole afternoons just talking about college because they've both been wanting to go through same one since they first met at 15.
Casey was offered a scholarship at a school up in Minnesota for his hockey skills and Raph and his brothers have all gotten scholarship offers from colleges around the country because they all want to be known for having their first mutant graduates, but none of them are from the college Casey got a scholarship for.
They don't want to be apart. They've been around each other so much for the past 3 years that without each other they might just wither away if they go to separate colleges. And they know they depend way too much on each other, but they don't really care.
Finally Casey's school caves and offers Raph a scholarship. A partial one. But Raph doesn't care. He doesn't mind if he has to pick up a part-time job or two to pay for the rest of his tuition.
Mikey and Leo are taking a gap year and Donnie accepted a scholarship for a school all the way in Oregon. While Raph wanted his brothers to do what made them happy, he was scared. He and his brothers had stuck together for 18 years, even through the past 3, and Raph is scared. Raph is going up to Minnesota with Casey, Donnie is going across the country and Mikey and Leo are staying in New York, and nobody has even moved around yet and Raph feels like his heart is being stretched into strings and being pulled across miles and miles already.
One afternoon they're talking about this kind of stuff again and Raph breaks. He hasn't cried in a while- the last time he really cried was probably when Casey got in a fight when they were 16 just for him and his family. And before that the last time he cried was probably when he was 11 and he twisted his ankle while chasing Mikey around while playing tag in the sewers.
Raph is saying sorry over and over and over again and trying to wipe away the hot tears on his face, but Casey hugs him and he sobs even more.
Raph feels so pathetic. He's a legal adult now and he's crying because he doesn't want to leave his brothers. He shouldn't need Casey to be holding him like this just to make him feel better. He's trying to say all of these things through the sobs ripping their way up through his throat and Casey looks him in the eyes and tells him it's okay to be upset about this and Raph cries even more.
Casey is so nice to him and he doesn't deserve it. He shouldn't need it. He shouldn't be so upset over this. He should be toughing it out.
Raph doesn't know when they left Casey's room and his apartment, but now they're in Casey's car and Casey is driving them to Raph's favorite fast food place. And Casey stops at the gas station and gets two slushies (piña colada for him and Mountain Dew mixed with pineapple for Raph. Casey got Raph's favorite flavors because of course he knows his favorite), a box of Whoppers for himself, and a bag of Raph's favorite candy, those mini versions of the sour rainbow bacon gummy candy, and Raph nearly starts crying again because Casey is so kind to him, and he can't believe he lucked out on the greatest best friend in the world.
Casey buys Raph's favorite fast food and they sit in his car in the fast food parking lot and Raph laughs weakly as he wipes more tears from his eyes while they eat, and then Casey reaches over and puts an arm around Raph's shoulder, and all of a sudden Raph is sobbing all over again.
Their food is forgotten for a bit and somehow Raph made his way onto the driver's seat, straddling Casey and burying his face in the space between Casey's neck and shoulder. Raph still feels so embarrassed. He shouldn't be crying like this. They were just friends. Casey shouldn't be holding him like this.
But Raph is crying like this, and Casey was holding him like this. And Raph hated how safe he felt in that moment. "Just friends" don't do this. "Just friends" might buy each other food and comfort each other when they're upset, but "just friends" don't hold each other like this. They don't hold their best friend close on their lap like this after getting them all their favorite food and spending their own hard-earned money because their best friend is just a bit upset because they're not ready to leave everything they've ever known behind. And Raph is suddenly terrified.
They're in the parking lot of a fast food place that kids from school visit a lot. They could see this. Anyone could see this. And Raph is so, so scared. Scared of being seen like this. Scared of being seen when he feels open and soft and vulnerable.
His breathing gets a bit faster, his heart going a bit faster, and he hoped Casey wouldn't notice, but he does.
"Are you okay?" Casey asks.
Raph shakes his head and before he could even think he's telling Casey in a shaky voice that he doesn't want to be seen by anyone else like this. That he's scared of people knowing he can be vulnerable.
Casey understands. Raph gets back to the passenger seat and he sits quietly and drinks his slightly melted slushie and finishes his food. And he feels embarrassed. He's the tough guy here. He's on the wrestling team and he hasn't cried in years, and the last time he was probably held like that was when he was probably 3 or 4, crying over a scraped knee or a paper-cut by his dad.
And Raph is scared of not knowing what this was. For a few years he's ignored how romantic he and Casey's friendship seemed, but now it feels like he's being suffocated by it all. Maybe he's overthinking it. Raph himself didn't even know if what the love he felt for Casey was platonic or romantic anymore. He's scared.
When they get back to Casey's apartment and into his room, Raph barrels into Casey and they both fall onto Casey's bed. Raph's head is right above Casey's heart and he can hear his heartbeat, which is relatively normal, but he knows his own is still going a mile a minute. Casey puts his arms over Raph's shell and Raph finally feels better again.
--
They're 19 and they're in college.
They're sharing a dorm room because their scholarships pay for on-campus housing. They only have one bed because they've cuddled during sleepovers and even just hanging out so much that it doesn't matter anymore. With only one bed they have room for a couch and a TV, anyway, so it's a win-win.
Casey is majoring in computer science, the absolute nerd, and Raph is majoring in art, the even bigger nerd.
Casey's texted Raph probably 8 times at this point and all of them are left on delivered, which can only mean one thing- Raph is holed up in one of the library's study rooms working on another art assignment. Again.
Casey passes through the library, peaking into the small windows in every study room for a moment to find which one Raph was in.
Eventually he finds the room Raph was in and knocks on the door.
After no answer for a few moments, he knocks once and slowly opens the door. Raph is hunched over a piece of watercolor paper taped to the back of a handheld whiteboard. He doesn't look up. He tells Casey to go away, and that this is due next week, and he's barely just finished the wash (Casey has no idea what that means), and he needs to work on it tonight or he'll have to turn it in late.
Casey rolls his eyes and walks up behind him, pulling the paintbrush from Raph's hand. Normal Raph would snatch it back, but Tired Raph just weakly tells Casey to give it back, you asshole. Casey pushes the watercolor paper, the paint water cup, and the watercolor kit to the other side of the table.
Casey is telling Raph that he needs to come home and go to sleep, because don't think Casey hasn't noticed that as soon as Raph thinks he's asleep, he gets up and sits at his desk to work on his art assignments for an hour or two, and then climb back into bed before Casey wakes up.
Raph stares at the table awkwardly and mumbles some kind of apology, and then Casey rolls his eyes fondly and tells him that it's okay and to pack up his stuff.
Casey holds Raph's hand the whole way home.
--
They're 20 and Raph is staring at Casey as if he'd just admitted to murder.
Casey's breath is caught in his lungs and he's so ready to bolt out of the room or tell him it was just a prank, and Casey's heart is going so fast that it might just stop on the spot.
Because Casey had just told Raph that he was in love with him. Romantically.
The expression on Raph's face was unreadable and Casey is terrified that Raph is going to say that no, of course he doesn't love him back, and that Casey is crazy it he thinks that he ever would and that he never wants to talk to him again.
Instead, Raph's eyes turn glassy and he starts laughing, and for a split second Casey thinks he's laughing at him, before Raph pulls Casey into a hug.
"I love you too!" Raph says.
Casey can't help but let out a sort of dry sob and wrap his arms around Raph too.
"Are you okay?" Casey asks Raph, because Raph is crying into Casey's hoodie, and who wouldn't be confused and worried?
"Yeah," Raph says and he clutches Casey tighter. "Of course I am."
And Casey and Raph smile because they're both here, and everything is okay.