Author's Note: Hellloooo! So here's the series of one-shots I promised you guys. This follows the events of Penance and Ryoshuu. I will probably upload a couple of chapters at once since they are relatively short. The one-shots will vary in length, characters and rating. I will always notate the rating at the top.

Also, all of the chapters featured here are in chronological order. They take place roughly over a year following directly after the close of Ryoshuu.

Thanks for always sticking with me. You guys are awesome. Also, I'll probably update that little kid!Apriltello sometime. I doubt it will ever evolve into any kind of actual story, but it's a good pick-me-up if you're down from reading an awesomely tragic fic elsewhere on this site. Ha!

Rating: T (I suppose)

Donatello examined his handwork, tongue caught between his teeth.

He was making progress. That was the important thing. Still, he was worried. This had to be absolutely perfect, the unrivaled combination of beauty, strength and poise. Just like April. Stepping away from his lab table, Donnie took a moment to stretch his muscles. When his stomach growled in response, he carefully set aside his work and stepped into the living room of the lair.

"... the fight's on, come on!"

"But – but Crognar!"

"Mikey, you are too damn old to be watchin' that show."

Leonardo glanced up from his book. "Raph, let Mikey watch his show. You don't get to decide what he's too old to watch," he turned a page in his novel. "Especially not when you still play with toys."

"What?" howled Casey in delight. "You told me you threw those away!"

Donnie smirked, the angry flush on Raphael's cheeks definitely worth putting off dinner for a few minutes longer. He sauntered over to the couch and leaned on its edge, arms folded. Mikey snickered from where he sat crammed between his two brothers, using Raphael's moment of distraction to try and wrestle the remote away.

"They're not toys!" Raphael growled, jumping over Mikey and snatching the remote again. Casey jumped in and Leo yelped, and before long the four of them were embroiled in a full-on grappling fest. Donnie rolled his eyes.

"You're all a bunch of brutes," he told them plaintively.

Casey popped up, arms locked around Leo's neck. "Nah, we just – ow! - know how we like to settle things," he grinned, though it rapidly disappeared when Leo flipped him over the back of the couch. Donnie watched him fall, unsympathetic.

"Okay, well. I just came out for a snack and then I'll be back in my lab," he told them.

"What're you doing in there anyway?" asked Mikey, pouting when Raphael changed the channel with a triumphant snicker. The youngest brother massaged his bruised arm. "I mean, you're always in there. But lately you've been in there like... a lot."

Donnie beamed. "I'm working on something for April," he said.

"Ooh," Casey pulled himself off the floor and rolled over the back of the couch, landing in Raphael's lap and nearly getting pushed to the floor again before he scrambled off. "What is it?"

"A surprise," Donnie said, giddy. "Something really special."

"Yeah well," Raphael shifted and pushed at Casey with his feet. "Don't tell Mel about it. No offense, Mikey." He gestured to his brother. "But your girlfriend cannot keep a secret."

"Dude. You don't gotta' tell me," Mikey huffed. "I know more about April and Donnie's sex life than Donnie does." Donnie's jaw dropped and he let out the most undignified of squeaks, but Mikey only grinned and reclined on the couch, arms behind his head. "Don't worry, dude. You're doing a great job." He flashed his brother a thumb's-up.

Casey jumped up. "Okay, gross. I am done with this convo."

"For real," Raphael pushed away from the couch. "Let's go get some food."

"I'll be in my lab," Donnie said, mortified.

The other three left and Mikey jumped over, grabbing the remote and flipping it back to his cartoon. Leo glanced over from his spot on the end of the couch, apprehension coloring his features. "Does, uh... Mel really tell you that stuff?" he asked, silently planning a conversation with Ame in the very near future. Mikey's eyes remained glued to the television, but his lips quirked in a sneaky smirk.

"Nah," he settled comfortably in his spot and his grin grew. "I just needed to free up the remote."