In…

Out…

Leo's breaths were slow and steady, reflecting his state of mind as he meditated. It was five in the morning on a saturday, but he was more than content to sit for hours, calming and preparing his mind for the tasks required of him that day.

There was a sudden creak in the hall floorboards, a whoosh of air as the door slid open. All of Leo's attention shifted to the figure at the door, though he didn't show it. Who would be up this early? Donnie had stayed up this late before, only coming out for the occasional cup of coffee, but wouldn't stop here on the way to a fresh mug of liquid sunshine. There was no physical way to wake Mikey up before 8, so that left-

Raph.

"Is there something you need, Raph?" Leo asked, letting his brother know he was welcome to enter. Raph walked as silently as he could to Leo's side and knelt beside him.

"Uh, Leo?" His voice was hesitant, showing he wanted something but was afraid to ask.

"Hmm?"

"Well, um… I-uh, wanted to...ask you something?"

Leo raised an eye ridge. "You don't sound very sure about it."

"Well I...uh…" Raph trailed off, making Leo glance at him in curiosity. Was he...blushing?

"I was wondering if… If you could…" He was becoming darker with every word.

"Yes?"

"HelpmeaskApriloutonadate?" Raph finally finished his thought, almost speaking too quickly to understand. Leo looked over to Raph, eyes wide. Whatever things he had been expecting him to ask, this was not one of them. Raph was a dark purplish-green. He wasn't joking. This was obviously very important to him.

'What do you want me to do?"

Raph's eyes widened. "You mean you'll help?" he asked, shocked.

Of course! I mean, it's important to you, right? That's what brothers are for. And no, I won't blab," he finished, seeing Raph's distrustful look. "What do you need help with?"

"Candles."

"Candles?"

"Yeah. Murakami-san said he's ok with having them in the shop, but he's not very good at setting them up, seeing as he's blind and all."

"What date and time do you plan on going out?"

"Today at six."

Leo blinked, then laughed. "Better ask her soon, then. What if she has plans?"

"She doesn't," Raph stated, folding his arms.

"How do you know?"

Raph's mouth tightened into a firm line.

Leo sniggered. "Stalker," he teased.

"Hey! I just-" Raph began, trailing off when Leo started to laugh.

"I know, I know. Now go get breakfast, lover boy. I'm meditating." Raph stood up and walked out, pausing at the door.

"Thanks, Leo." The whisper was barely audible, but he managed to catch it.

"You're welcome," he murmured back as Raph shut the door behind him.

It was precisely 2:13 in the afternoon, and Raph's nerves were eating away at his courage. He had to ask, soon. Heart pounding, he walked up to April.

"Hey, April?" he got her attention, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah, Raph?" She turned away from her computer, looking straight at him.

Oh, gosh. Her eyes.

"D'you, uh, wanna come walk around?" He stuttered slightly, frantically trying to keep his composure while staring into those blue-grey orbs.

"Sure!" she answered, closing the laptop. "I need a break, anyway." She stood up, and the two walked out of the Lair together.

They had been walking for a couple minutes and Raph had made several attempts to ask her before she finally stopped. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

He took a deep breath. This was it.

"Actually, yeah." He subconsciously reached up to scratch the back of his head, an embarrassed blush rising on his cheeks. Dang it, that was the second time today. At least he had the sewer shadows to partially mask it. "Would you, uh…" he glanced down at the ground then back up at her.

Ah, sewer apples. Those eyes were beautiful.

"Would you go out with me?" There. He had asked. Now all he had to do was wait for her answer. The seconds seemed to stretch on for hour as he waited. 'Oh crud,' he thought as she didn't respond.

"Me?!" Finally she spoke, an incredulous look on her face.

Raph chuckled nervously and glanced about. "Well, I don't see anyone else around…"

"Well, I uh, sure! I mean, of course! Uh…" April stuttered, searching for the right way to express her answer.

He laughed, loud and bright, all anxiety gone. "I'll pick you up at six then?"

"Yeah! I don't have anything going on tonight, so that's great!" They paused for a moment in happy silence before Raph spoke once more.

"Well, should we head back?"

April gave a quick nod. "Probably. I'll need to tell my Aunt I'm going to be gone tonight, anyway." She pulled a face. "Plus I've still got an essay to finish. Ugh."

Raph smirked. "Well, I don't think I'd be much help with that. It'd probably turn out worse."

Her sunny laugh lit up the dark, damp corridor. Hey, he wasn't Mikey, but he could crack a good joke once in a while.

April was sitting on her bed when the knock came at the window. Hurriedly, she walked over and opened the curtains. There was raph in his trademark red mask and, surprisingly enough, a black bowtie.

Smiling, she unlatched the window and pulled it open. "Where to?" she asked, grasping his proffered hand and climbing out.

He smirked. "That's a secret."

She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "Spoilsport. How do you plan on getting us wherever we're going, anyway?"

"Well, I wasn't able to hire cab, but there's always the default mode of transportation." Smirking even harder, he held out his arms.

April rolled her eyes with a smile. "Of course. I should've known." she said, and jumped up. "Oh, Mr. Turtle man!" Her voice was mockingly needy. "Please take me to wherever it is you wish to go!"

"Your wish is my command, madam." He teased back, and took off across the rooftops. Wind tossed April's hair back and forth, and her vision was watery and blurred. Finally they slowed down enough to allow her to blink the tears from her eyes and she realized where they were.

"Welcome Turtle-san, April-san. Your table awaits inside." Of course they were at Murakami's. Where else could they go? Other than takeout on a roof, that was. But as she entered the shop, she realized just how much of an effort Raph had put into this.

"Whoa…" She let out a sigh of appreciation at the decorations that adorned the shop. Candles lay about the tables and counters in an intricate fashion, each set in a position as to perfectly harmonize with the ones around it. She looked over to Raph in astonishment. "This is amazing!"

"Your table is this way." Murakami motioned to one of the tables on the far left, and Raph held out his arm.

"Y'coming?"

April nodded with a smile and linked her arm with his. She didn't know much about dates, but this one certainly had to set some sort of record.