❤️🐢 | beauty

                                    

                                          
raph x alopecic reader
disclaimer : mention of cancer, emotional distress
enjoy!
_______
You stared at the text in front of your phone with wide, sore eyes.
"(y/n) i'm really worried about you. i'm comin over."
It was from Raph, a person you had grown impossibly close to over your starting journey with an impossibly devastating disease on your life.
Cancer.
It felt ridiculous to have such a condition when you're a teenager, as cancer seemed like a disease that grew when one grew old. But it latched onto you way too early in life, developing in your breast like a parasitic thief of nutrients. You had been taking chemotherapy for two weeks until this point, and the treatment caused your hair to fall out in clumps. You had cried at the sight of your dead hair in your palms and couldn't stand to keep experiencing it. So, after your most recent session, you shaved your head completely.
You sat in your bed, shaking. You couldn't let Raph see how you looked now. You did have your decorative head-wrap to cover your loss, but he would know what happened. He would know because, damn it, he knew everything! Raph knew you better than you knew yourself and you couldn't keep any secrets from him.
You didn't answer when your window was tapped on. You cowered back into your pillows, heart pounding. The knocking got louder, and soon you could hear his muffled voice loudly whisper for you. You stayed quiet and perturbed. After a while, the knocking stopped. A feeling of guilt replaced your intense fear. He left, you thought.
Of course, Raph wasn't really one to give up with you. You jerked when your room's door suddenly opened. Raph had simply entered your apartment like a normal person, which was something you hadn't accounted for. You urgently cloaked your head with your covers.
"Raph..." You whimpered fearfully.
He looked around the room for just a second for you.
"(Y/n)? Where. . .oh, there you are. Hey," Raph smiled, approaching you. "You okay?"
You drew the covers closer together and over your face, making sure you could still see him. ". . .no."
Raph's smile dropped. Millions of scenarios went through his head about why you were upset, each one heightening his protectiveness of you.
"Did something happen? Did somebody say something to you?" Raph glared; not at you, but rather at the suspicion that you've been hurt.
"No, nothing's happened, I just..." Your voice trailed off quietly.
Raph curiously tilted his head when your voice died down. Then, he noticed how you were covering yourself with your blanket. At once, he had the impression you were hiding out of pure fear or maybe insecurity. He made himself comfortable on your bed, then extended his hand toward the only barrier between him and whatever you were hiding. You understood it would be more suspicious to cower back, so you just let him remove it.
After your blanket fell, Raph looked at your headdress and blinked. "Is it this wrap thing?"
"Um...a little..." You mumbled.
His browbones furrowed with concern. He reached for the headdress, only to get grabbed by the wrist. Raph looked at you, tense, before a gasp got caught in his throat. Your eyes were watery, verging on tears.
"(Y/n)!" Raph exclaimed, engulfing you with a big hug.
You started quietly sobbing on his shoulder, and he understood why. He always did.
"(Y/n)..." Raph repeated soothingly, caressing your back to calm you down.
"It's g-gone. . .I-I-I had my nurse sha-shave it o-off. . ." You stuttered uncontrollably.
Your tears accidentally dropped down upon his scaly skin. Raph sighed deep in his throat, his lips pursed with passionate sympathy. He held you tightly, rubbing your back until your sobbing reduced to subtle sniffles. You stayed in the crook of his neck the entire time. A long silence filled the room. Raph continued to caress your back up and down, wishing he could just snap his fingers and make your burdens disappear.
"Take off the wrap," Raph softly said after a while, pulling away to look at you.
Your lip quivered at the thought, but you could never refuse him. You laced your hands behind your head and began to unravel your headdress. Raph said nothing as you let the wrap fall in your lap, revealing your head that was barren of any hair. Raph's expression stayed warm and unbothered by this change. Because you kept your eyes on your hands, Raph had to use his thumb and forefinger to lift your face up to him. He stayed quiet for a moment, admiring you longingly. Then, a small smile appeared on his face.
"You are so gorgeous," Raph simply said.
Your brows rose in shock and your face grew warm. His words had just comforted your broken heart in a way no one ever had before. You smiled back with appreciation, feeling a lovely chill going down your back.
"Even though I'm literally bald?" You sadly laughed.
Raph huffed a single chuckle.
"Well, it makes two of us," He said, taking his hand off your chin to run it over the top of his bandana.
You giggled, and Raph felt relieved that he could still make you laugh at a time like this. After your laughter faded, however, the atmosphere seemed to grow thicker. You looked at him with a shy smile. Almost instinctually, he smiled back. Your face felt warmer than before as he took your cheek in his hand. As both of you locked eyes, you could no longer to hear the blaring traffic outside or see the room behind each other. You were focused solely on one another, feeling an urge that didn't need to be spoken upon.
At last, Raph leaned down and pressed his lips to yours. You quietly sighed, closing your eyes and curling your arms around his neck. He gingerly pressed you back into your pillows. One of his hands held your cheek and the other one rested flat adjacent to the dip in your waist. You brushed your fingers along the tails of his bandana, feeling your lips part for a moment before returning. No debaucherous intentions, just showing love and feeling comfortable.
Eventually, Raph pulled away, his face a lovely hue of orangish-red that proved an aching love for you.
"You don't need hair to be a New York beauty, (n/n)," He grinned, kissing your forehead.
"Oh my gosh," You chuckled with pink cheeks. "Cheesy..."
Raph chuckled too, hooking you up and resting you on his lap. You let him coil his arms around you, simply smiling like a fool in his plastron.
Raph was your best friend. He was somebody you could tell anything to, could cry with, could laugh with. He cared for you like no other person could, not even your nurses. You needed him in your life, and him, even more so. Raph wouldn't have been the turtle he was today without you. The patience you've taught him, the healthy behaviors you've taught him, the empathy. The love.
There'd never be a future that Raph wouldn't be there to love you.