"Mona? Can I come in?" Raph asked, after softly knocking on his girlfriend's bedroom door.

Raphael grew worried when Slash called him earlier that day about Mona Lisa. According to Slash and the other Mutanimals, Mona has been acting strangely and wasn't her usual self. She has been less engaging with everyone, refusing to be a part of friendly banter with her friends. Showing no desire to go on patrol or even train with the others. Not even batting an eye when told she missed out on a good fight against some street thugs. Mona would remain quiet, a gloomy look on her face as she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

"She's been like this for the past few days," Raph remembers Slash telling him, and according to his friend, it has gotten worse. Mona Lisa was now locking herself in her bedroom at the Mutanimals lair. All day she has refused to come out and speak to anyone.

A moment goes by before Raph finally hears Mona's voice faintly through the door, "...Sure."

Raph opens the door into Mona's room, finding his girlfriend sitting on the floor next to her bed, hugging her legs. Scattered on the floor were many fashion and make-up magazines. Raph could guess she has been sulking in that position for quite some time.

Mona Lisa did not react when Raph entered the room. No eye contact or warm loving greeting. Raph gently closed the door to give them some privacy. He joined his girlfriend, sitting by her side on the floor. The room was quiet. Not a single word was being spoken between the couple. Only the faint sound of their gentle breathing could be heard. Raph looked at Mona, her eyes in deep thought. Her lovely face painted with a sorrowful gaze. He rarely sees her like this. Something was bothering her.

"Mona, are you alright?" Raph finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Slash told me you were-"

"No, Raphael. To be frank, I am not fine," Mona tells him bluntly. Her tone was cold, but still hurting.

Raph was shocked by her tone. He really has never seen her like this. Carefully, Raph wraps his arms around Mona's shoulder to comfort her.

"Tell me what's wrong."

Mona Lisa was quiet, thinking. She seemed to be considering whether or not she should tell him what has been bothering her.

"Mona, hun, please, I'm worried about you."

Mona then takes a long deep breath, still refusing to have her eyes meet with his. She finally tells Raph in a quiet tone of voice, "Last week... I was at April's for one of her 'girls nights' as she called it. Shinigami brought over these beauty magazines from your planet for us all to look at and... I noticed something..."

"Notice what?"

"That I am nothing like these Earth women..."

"Well, of course you're not," Raph was confused. "They're human Earth girls, you're from Salamandri-"

"Raphael! Look at these women!" Mona says in distress, grabbing and opening the closest beauty magazine near her, frantically flipping through the pages. "These women are so ... beautiful! They have shiny hair, long eyelashes, and smooth skin! This is what Earth men like you are attracted to, yes?! But I don't have what they have!"

Raph was taken aback by Mona's outburst. He couldn't believe that this is what has been bothering her. For as long as he's known her, Mona has been so confident and comfortable with her looks. He never thought he would ever see Mona in this much distress and panic, and over silly beauty magazines of all things.

"Mona, that shouldn't bother you. I don't care about the woman in those magazines. I like how you look."

"Alright, then what about the others?"

"The others?" He was even more confused.

"April, Karai, Shinigami, Renet!" She explains. "They are all more beautiful than I because they meet Earth's expectations for women, while I don't! April with her rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes, Karai and her flawless skin, Shinigami's long perfect silky hair, and Renet with her large..." Mona's voice suddenly softened, her cheeks turning slightly red as she said in a shy tone of voice, "Chest..."

"...What?"

"I'm flat chested!!" Mona cries, squeezing herself tightly to cover what she believes to be her non-existent breasts, "I don't have hair, eyelashes or even breasts. I realize now that I will never be like those beautiful Earth women in those photos. My body is disgusting..."

"I, um... like your body just the way it is..." Raph says in a timid tone, his face starting to fluster. It felt embarrassing saying it out loud. Not that he's ashamed to say it, he did speak the truth. Raphael is just never used to saying his deepest, most personal thoughts aloud, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to share for her sake.

"I honestly don't care about that kind of stuff. I don't have hair either so it doesn't matter to me, and neither do eyelashes. And if you ask me, your breasts are amazing!"

Raph quickly realized what he said and facepalmed himself. Maybe a little too much personal thoughts...

"Uh, Wh-What I mean to say is that I think you're already beautiful just the way you are!"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better..." she mumbles, turning away from him.

The couple grew silent once again as Raphael saw his girlfriend begin to cry. It broke his heart knowing that Mona was feeling this way. He didn't want her to, but these magazines and their high beauty expectations of women are what got to her. Raphael found this so foolish that Mona Lisa would even think to compare herself to those women. She's already beautiful in his eyes. The first time he saw her, even before he truly fell for her, Raph could admit that he found Mona attractive. How confident yet elegant she stood. Her strong demeanor and grace when she spoke. Her burning bright golden eyes and sparkling silver spots. If it wasn't her punch that made him fall for her, Raphael was sure that her beauty would've been what got him instead. There's a reason for why he later gave Mona her nickname in the first place.

That's when another memory from their past sparked back into Raphael.

"Do you know why I gave you the nickname Mona Lisa?" Raph asked her in a soft gentle tone, carefully turning her around to face him, holding her in his arms.

Mona lifts her head, wiping away a few tears running down her cheek, "Y-You said it is a painting of the most beautiful woman in all of art."

Raph smiles, "Exactly! So every time I call you 'Mona Lisa', it's a reminder that you are a beautiful work of art."

His words were seeming to get to her as Raph saw a faint smile grow on Mona's lips, possibly remembering the day they first met and he offered her the nickname.

Raph kept going, "You know, most of the time these photos are altered to make the girls look better. And the ones that aren't, the models practically starve themselves, only eating like a grain of rice a day. If you ask me, that's more sad than attractive."

"I'm still nothing like those women..."

Gently, Raph takes Mona's hands, their eyes finally meet as he gives her an assuring smile, "And I'm glad you're not! Mona, I don't care what those other girls look like. They mean nothing to me. It's you whom I love and care about, and there's not a single thing about you that I would change. Everything about you is already perfect, from your bright beautiful eyes to your gorgeous smile and of course your smoking hot body."

Mona giggles as her cheeks begin to blush from her boyfriend's compliment, whipping away the rest of her tears.

Raph smiles as he pulls her closer to him and softly kisses her cheek, "My beautiful work of art." He whispers as he goes for another kiss, "My Mona Lisa."

Mona couldn't help but giggle as Raphael began to attack her with kisses. Quickly kissing her all over her cheeks, neck and shoulders.

"Raphael," Mona is able to get out through her laughter, getting ticklish from her boyfriend's many loving kisses, "Stop! Okay! Okay!"

Raph smiles as he keeps on going, "I won't stop kissing you till I know you're feeling better!"

"I am! I am!" Mona laughs, playfully hitting his shoulders.

Raph stops his kisses and pulls away to look at his girlfriend, caressing her cheek, "There's that beautiful smile."

Mona blushes, placing her hand on his that rested on her cheek, "Thank you for your kind words, Raphael. It really meant alot to hear it from you. I can't believe I let such a foolish thing get to me so easily..."

"It's alright, we've all had our insecurities about our looks from time to time, myself included. I just don't want you to ever be upset and think I don't find you beautiful, or even worse, believe that you don't think you're beautiful."

Mona Lisa knew Raphael was right. She could see in his eyes that he was hurt from the mere idea of her believing he would ever find someone more attractive than her. He loves her for her, and that is all that matters. Mona Lisa knows it will take her some time to recover – she isn't like any other women on planet Earth after all! But as long as she keeps hearing her love call her that nickname, that is all the reassurance she needs.

Soon Raphael gets up from the floor, smiling at Mona Lisa as he takes her hand to help her up from the ground as well, "Come on, how about we burn these stupid magazines?"

Mona smiles and nods as the couple begin collecting the fashion and beauty magazines from her bedroom floor, and soon head off outside to dispose of them.

Raphael looked at his girlfriend, admiring the gorgeous smile that had finally returned to her face. He knows that not everyone will agree with him on how beautiful he thinks she is. There were times even his brothers questioned him on what he sees in her, but their judgment does not matter to him and it doesn't matter to Mona Lisa either. They love each other for who they both are and that is all that matters. Donatello was right with what he said back in Dimension X.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

And to Raphael, Mona Lisa's beauty is beyond compare.