aloneindarknes7 | (no subject)

Title: Sleeping Arrangements
Author: Jordan Herbert
Pairing: RaphDon but could be seen as platonic love
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Rating: G
Word Count: 432
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and that makes me sad sometimes until I realize I can still write using them. Yay!
Author's Note: Everyone else was posting RaphDon tonight. So I jumped onto the bandwagon to help my OTP!~

Don rubbed at his eyes as he looked up at the sudden light in his doorway. It was their first week sleeping in their own rooms ever since Splinter had found a large, abandoned area safe enough to be called their home. For years they had all slept in the same bed, then when they were a little older, the same room. Now they had individual rooms.

But it didn’t feel that way to Don. The first three nights Mikey had come to his bedroom, seeking comfort and the familiar warmth of another. Leo had come the night after, when Don had finally convinced Mikey to try sleeping alone. Leo wanted to rest knowing that he was able to protect his brother if needed. It was a harder task to do in separate rooms. Don had slipped a little hint that Mikey was having problems sleeping and had caught Leo going into Mikey’s room the next night, leaving Don to enjoy his first night of sleeping as an individual.

Don had gotten one more night to finally sleep alone. He loved the independence. But it seemed like Raph now needed to be comforted from one thing or another.

“What’s wrong, Raphie? Did you have a nightmare?” Don asked. He had known, from all the nights prior sleeping with Raph, that his brother was stricken with horrible nightmares that made him cry out in his sleep and toss about wildly. Raph never talked about his nightmares when they shook him awake.

“No,” Raph protested as he closed the door behind him, casting the room back into darkness. “I,” he paused, “I just missed sleepin’ with ya.” Don was stunned by the honest admittance. “Can I sleep with ya tonight? I’ll go back ta my own room tomorrow.”

“Of course, Raphie,” Don slid over to press against the wall and held his blanket up to gesture Raph forward. Raph slipped under the blanket and pressed against Don as he settled down.

“Thanks,” Raph smiled.

Don shared his smile. “You know, Raphie,” Don reached out and lightly gripped his brother’s hand. “You don’t have to go back to your own room tomorrow if you don’t want to.”

Raph blinked, confused. “But don’t cha like having a bed all ta yerself?”

“I do,” Don admitted, “but I missed sleeping with you too.”

Raph grinned and squeezed Donnie’s hand. “Maybe ya can sleep in my bedroom tomorrow?”

“Okay,” Don nodded. The two smiled at one another until their eyes began to droop close with the weight of sleep. Slowly, they drifted off, but their hands remained connected.