This is based off an TMNT AU I had where Splinter owns a popular underground Jazz Club in 1920's New York City called 'The Dojo', where Raphael and the rest of his brothers (who are young adults in this AU) are famous singers for the club. I may never write an entire fanfic on it but I decided to make a oneshot of the moment when Raph first meet Mona Lisa in the AU. 

I hope you enjoy!

Link to song sung in this oneshot:  

~~~~~

The curtain closed and the lights dimmed. Young and older men in the audience cheered and whistled, demanding an encore from the young lady who just finished her risque performance. The lights began to brighten again, still dim but more easier to see in the club, as it was time for a short break before the next performance.

"See?" Casey said after finishing his fifth drink. "I told you this was what you needed!"

"Yeah, drinking alcohol while watching women strip. What a night..." Raph said sarcastically. "Why'd you guys take me to this strip club anyway?"

"First of all, it's not a strip club. It's a burlesque club. There's a difference! Galactic Gals is a classy place!" Casey said, "Second, you said your family was getting on your nerves and I thought a night with your friends drinking and watching some lovely dolls dancing around would help cheer you up."

"Well, yeah! My family has been annoying me with the family business and it's been stressing me out, but I don't think seeing a bunch of broads making a fool of themselves is what I need right now..."

"You just need another drink." Slash said, patting Raphael's back as Raph slammed his head on the table with a groan. Slash turned to a nearby waitress and asked for another round, making sure she was tipped generously.

"Slash, aren't you off the sauce? You've been clean for a while," Raph asked.

"Lay off, will ya? I'm enjoying myself for one day!"

Soon, a waitress came to the boys' table and gave them another bottle of liquor with some fresh shot glasses. Casey grabbed the bottle, filled the glasses, and gave them to his friends. They raised their glasses and clinked them together. Quickly, the shots went down.

As the boys enjoyed their drinks, the club lights began to dim again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, but mostly gentlemen," the announcer jokes, "Galactic Gals Burlesque Club proudly presents our final performer for tonight! We saved the best for last. She's the finest and rarest jewel of our club! Give it up for the lovely, Ms. Mona Lisa!"

The audience cheered in excitement as the club went completely dark. Nothing but the sound of the audience's excitement filled the room. Casey and Slash clapped and cheered along with the rest of the men, while Raph did not engage in the 'fun'.

He doesn't want to be here. He wanted to spend a night out with his friends, but not like this! Drinking booze and gawking at pretty girls like idiots was not his plan for a fun night.

A single spotlight shines on the stage. The audience cheers.

If his brothers find out he's at a place like this, they'll tell father for sure. Splinter will kill him if he finds out. Raphael knows his father doesn't approve of these kinds of clubs, but Casey and Slash insisted they go check it out. Why did he listen to them?

The audience quieted down as the musicians began playing.

Casey and Slash said this would cheer Raph up from the family drama he's going through, but this is not helping. There's nothing about this club that will make him feel better. He hates this place and just wants to go. There's nothing that will-

"You had plenty money, 1922." A lovely voice sang.

Raphael's eyes widened as he looked up and saw the source of the voice. On stage he saw a tall lizard girl. Her glossy bluish-gray skin, speckled with silver scales, glistened in the spotlight. She was wearing a long shimmering black and white dress which clung tightly to her body. Her hands and arms were enrobed in long black gloves. The dress was cut dangerously low - down her chest - and she had a dangly pearl necklace wrapped around her neck, draped in layers. On her head she wore a white silky headband, accented with a black ostrich feather. Her make up was smoky, and sparkled in the spotlight. She was elegant. She was beautiful...

Slinking around the stage, she continued singing, "You let other women make a fool of you. Why don't you do right, like some other men do?"

Raph sat up as he watched the lovely girl sing.

"Get out of here. Get me some money, too." Taking off her long gloves, she tossed them into the audience. Over her shoulder, she playfully smiled. The men cheered.

"You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about..."

He's never seen anyone like her before.

"You ain't got no money, they will put you out."

She sang as she began to unwrap her pearl necklace and toss it to the side.

"Why don't you do right, like some other men do?"

The men cheer and whistle at the girl, encouraging her to do more.

"Get out of here. Get me some money too."

Raphael stayed silent, watching her in amazement.

"If you had prepared twenty years ago. You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door. Why don't you do right, like some other men do?"

She runs her hands up the back of the sequin gown. Unwraps it, the fabric flowing in the back, covering her lustrous tail. Now she wears a high-low dress that shows off her long legs.

"Get out of here. Get me some money too." She sang as she showed off her legs, seductively. The men begged for more. Raphael's face began to heat up.

"Get out of here. Get me some money too." The beautiful girl playfully smirked at the audience as she began to take off the high-low skirt of the dress, revealing a small flapper dress underneath it. Like the last one, the dress was black and white, and it sparkled in the spotlight. The more skin she showed, the more wild the men in the audience became.

She removed the fabric that was wrapped around her waist, turning her flapper dress into a silky black camisole and slip. The crowd went wild.

"Why don't you do right..." She looked out into the audience and her beautiful yellow eyes met with Raphael's, who was sitting across the room. She smiled at him. Raph's heart began to beat fast and his face blushed even redder.

"Like some other men," she blows him a kiss, "Do?"

She twirls at the last note and finishes half sitting, half lying on the stage floor. The theater erupts with thunderous applause, whoops and cheers.

Mona Lisa playfully giggles, "Sorry gentlemen, but that's all you'll be seeing tonight," she winks.

The crowd 'awws' in disappointment as Mona Lisa takes a bow and turns to exit the stage through the red curtain, but not before blowing one final kiss out to the audience. The audience clapped and cheered, more for her than for any of the last girls who performed.

They begged for an encore.

They wanted more from her. They wanted to see more of her.

Raphael sat there still in a trance from her performance. It was like all his stress and his worries disappeared for a moment. Who was she?

"She was a fine dame," Casey said looking at his friends with a smirk.

Slash nodded, "She was definitely the best we've seen tonight."

"Such a shame, though, she didn't show more like the other girls," Casey joked. Slash laughed, agreeing with his friend.

"I thought her performance was great the way it was," Raph said.

"Since when did you start caring about the performances?" Casey asked. "You're the one who didn't want to be here."

"Maybe it's because that lizard dame blew you a little kiss at the end," Slash said as he winked at Raph.

Raph blushed, not saying anything. He knew his friend was right. He only started to enjoy the show when Mona Lisa came on stage. There was something about her. The way she controlled the stage, the elegance, and confidence she had. She was enchanting. And he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Slash took one final shot then stood up, "It's getting late. We better head back. We got to work tomorrow."

The boys take their coats and put them on. They leave money on the table for the waitress and begin heading out the door.

"You're performing at The Dojo tomorrow night, right Raphael?" Casey asked as they leave Galactic Girls.

"Yeah, my father wants me to -"

Suddenly there was a loud gasp. "Raphael Hamato?!"

The three boys turn and see a group of reporters. One young reporter smiles as he looks at Raph. The rest of the people in the street look at the young turtle.

"Look! It's Raphael Hamato! The famous jazz singer!" A young lady cheered.

Raphael noticed that some of the reporters are regulars for The Dojo, always spilling gossip and rumors about his family and his father's club.

"Oh no..." Raphael said to himself. If news spread in the papers that he was at a club like Galactic Girls, his father will know for sure.

Suddenly, before Raph knew it, there were reporters, paparazzis, and fans crowding Raphael. Casey and Slash stayed close to their friend as the cameras began to flash and reporters began attacking him with questions.

"When's your next performance at The Dojo?!"

"Why are you here at this risque club, Mr. Hamato?!"

"Why hasn't your sister performed at the club recently?!"

"Is it true your family is going bankrupt?!"

Raphael was able to squeeze past the reporters and make a run for it into the alley next to the burlesque club. Casey and Slash stayed behind, trying to stop the reporters from following. Unfortunately, they were only able to give their friend a few seconds of a head start before the reporters shoved the two friends out of their way.

In the alleyway, Raph saw an entrance into a building and quickly went inside, finding himself in a long hallway. A keen eyed reporter saw him run into the building and began following, calling to his colleagues to join him.

Raph had to hide. He saw another door in the hallway and without hesitation, Raphael rushed into the room and closed the door quickly behind him. Leaning close to the door, he heard the reporters entering through the alleyway entrance of the building. He stayed quiet, listening to the reporters storming the halls, looking for him. It's gonna be awhile before they give up looking for me. Just need to lay low for-

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" an angry voice shouted.

Raph turns and sees a tall lizard girl in the room with him. She was wrapped in a silky robe, looking at him with her furious yellow eyes. She looked familiar. That's when Raphael put the pieces together: he's in the changing room for Mona Lisa, the burlesque dancer he saw perform tonight!

Raph's face turned bright red as he began to stutter his words in a panic, "I-I'm sorry! I'm just here trying to..."

"What? To try and get to see more while I'm in the middle of changing, you pervert!" she growls as she takes a perfume bottle off her vanity table and throws it at him.

Raph ducks, as the bottle misses and breaks against the wall, "NO! I'm not a pervert! I swear!"

"I could call security right now!" she threatens.

"No, you don't understand! I'm just trying to hide!"

Her guard begins to be let down, "Hide? From who?" she asks curiously.

"...Reporters."

She looks at Rapheal like he's joking. He gestures to the door, telling her to look outside for herself. She walks up to her door, opens it, and peaks outside, seeing reporters down the hall, still in a search.

She closes the door and turns to him, "Wait a minute," she said, "You're Raphael Hamato. The jazz singer from The Dojo, right?"

"Y-yeah. You've heard of me?"

"All of New York knows you and your brothers," she slightly smiles then sighs, "I guess you can hide here, until those reporters leave."

"Thanks... Mona Lisa, right?" Raph asked.

She nods.

Raph smiles, "I-I really enjoyed your performance."

"Oh, you watched the show?" she asked, shocked.

"Y-yeah! I was the one you blew the kiss to at the end."

"I do that at the end of every show, but I thought you looked familiar," she smiled at him, "I'm flattered, but I'm surprised a high class rich boy like yourself was at a place like this tonight."

"M-my friends dragged me here. You know," Raph says as he rubs the back of his neck, "You're a lot different from when you were on stage."

"It's all an act." She says as she sits down in front of her make up table looking into the mirror. She begins fixing her stage makeup, "A way to get the male audience to come back. No one really likes it when you act like a brute and give an attitude, so I give the men what they want, a playful flirty girl."

"Well, to be honest, I like this version of you better. You're more... " He blushes, "...Real"

Mona blushes, "Thank you."

The two performers stayed silent for a moment. They could hear the reporters still outside. Mona gets up from her seat and goes up to a divider that's in her room.

Looking at Raph, "Listen, I know you need to hide in here, but I-I need to change... Could you, um, just turn around for a moment?"

Once again Raph's face begins to heat up, "Oh, um, s-sure..." He turns and walks up to the door. He rests his arm across the door and leans his head on it, covering his eyes.

"Hey," Mona said from behind the divider, "I'm sorry I threw a perfume bottle at you."

"It's okay, I kinda deserved it. I'm sorry I walked in on you... changing." Raph said, slightly embarrassed.

Mona shrugs, "It's fine. Men usually sneak into my dressing room. They're always trying to see more than what I gave on stage. That's why I got defensive before."

"That's horrible."

Mona sighs, "I'm used to it.

"Doesn't your boss do anything about it?"

"He doesn't really care, as long as I make him money..." Mona says annoyed. "Alright you can look now."

Raph uncovers his eyes and turns to see Mona. See was now wearing black flats with a dark blue dress that went down to her knees, with the sleeves stopping at her elbows. Her dress was not fancy or elegant like her costumes she had on the rack or like the one she wore tonight, but yet Raphael still thought she looked lovely. She grabs her coat and puts it on.

"The reporters have probably left by now, but I'll help you get out of here safe just in case."

Mona Lisa left her dressing room with Raphael following close behind her. They carefully snuck out of the building and left through the alleyway to avoid the press that were waiting out front.

It was a dark night, but the street stayed brightly lit. The street lamps and bright neon signs for all the clubs and shows in the big city kept the streets illuminated. Raphael insisted that he walk Mona Lisa home, as a way to thank her for helping him, but mostly as an excuse to keep talking with her. As the two walked down the brightly lit street, they continued their conversation.

"So how long have you've been a dancer for the club?" Raph asked.

"A little over a year now," Mona answered, "I wanted to be a professional dancer for the theatre or join the ballet, but I was only able to find a job here. I wasn't too excited about it at first, but it's good money. I get to do what I love, singing and dancing."

"You are a great singer..." Raph says softly.

Mona blushes at Raphael's complement. "What about you?" she asked. "I can tell you're not a fan of this famous life you live."

He smirks, "What made you guess that?"

"You were hiding from reporters in a burlesque performer's changing room instead of basking in all the glory, like your brothers."

Raph huffs, "Leo thinks the world revolves around him and loves the praise from reporters and fans. Mikey just loves the attention and gives the fans what they want. Then there's Donnie who's just in it for the money. They all love the spotlight in some way or another."

"And what about you? How do you feel about your fame?"

Raph was quiet, he didn't know what to say. No one ever really cared to know how he felt. Not even his family.

"...I guess I was just forced into it. The moment my dad found out I could sing, he put me on stage. I enjoy singing, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wish I could just leave the spotlight and do something else with my life."

"Well, Raphael, I guess that makes two of us."

The two smiled at each other as they continued to walk down the street. They talked and enjoyed each other's company under the bright lights of the city. It was not long before Mona stopped in front of an old apartment building.

"This is me," Mona said. "Thanks for walking me home. You didn't have to."

"It's the least that I can do, after you let me hide in your dressing room," he joked.

Mona giggles, "Anytime. And thank you for coming to see the show."

"Well, you're the only one I enjoy watching...," he blushes.

"Why? Because I was half naked?" she teased.

Raph awkwardly laughed as he began to blush again. She was right, that and her singing he enjoyed too. "Y-you know, Mona Lisa, maybe if you want," Raph begins to rub the back of his neck, "Um, you could come and see me sing sometime. I'm performing a solo tomorrow night if you want to come and watch."

She smiles at him. Mona then leans in and softly kisses Raphael on the cheek. She whispers in his ear, "I'd like that." She gives Raph a loving smile then opens the door to the apartment building. Before entering, she turns to Raph one more time, looking at him over her shoulder. She bats her eyes as she smiles, then enters the building.

Raph softly touches his cheek where he still felt the warmth of her lips. He lovingly sighs and he begins to walk home, having her on his mind for the rest of the night.

~~~~~

EDIT:  You know when I said "I may never write and entire fanfic" on this oneshot? HAHAHA! I changed my mind >:3  Your guy's love and support for this oneshot encouraged me to turn this short story into a full length fanfic. Go check out my TMNT 1920s AU "Turtles in the Roaring 20s"!!