Raphael was stomping down the sewer tunnel like a wrecking ball in motion—fists clenched, shoulders hunched, steam practically hissing from between his teeth. He was muttering under his breath, every curse word known to mankind and then some.

“Swear to freakin’ god, I’m gonna rip the next guy’s head off—clean off—and wear it like a hat. You hear me, Mikey?! You touch my sai one more time and I—”

Then he turned the corner, ready to verbally annihilate whoever was dumb enough to be in his path—except it wasn’t Mikey.

It was them.

Eyes wide, smile even wider, waving like they hadn’t just walked into a volcanic eruption in progress. “Hey! Oh my god—hi! I missed you!”

Raphael stopped dead in his tracks.

“…Heyyy,” he muttered, all the tension draining from his massive frame like someone had pulled the plug. Shoulders lowered, fists unclenched. His whole face softened, even if he tried not to let it show too much. “What’s goin’ on? You—you just showin’ up outta nowhere like that? Damn.”

He scratched the back of his neck, suddenly real aware of how ridiculous he must’ve looked two seconds ago. “I, uh… wasn’t yellin’ about you or nothin’, just so we’re clear. Was… someone else. A lotta idiots today.”

He glanced down at them, the faintest curve tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You look good. Like. Not just good-good. I mean—like you belong here. Not that I’ve been thinkin’ about that. Shut up.”

He nudged their shoulder lightly, claws careful not to scratch.

“…You always do that. Walk in like sunshine and make me forget I wanted to break the world in half. How the hell you do that?”

He looked away, but his grin was still there. “C’mon. I was just headin’ back. You hungry or somethin’? I’ll beat Leo to the last slice for ya.”

And just like that, the beast was gone.

Just Raph. And them.