She drummed her fingers impatiently on the table as she waited for Raph. Her thoughts were flying from one thing to the next; she was finding it hard to calm herself. Her stomach dropped to the floor when she finally saw him walk through the door. 'Am I going to react like this every time I see him?' she thought feverishly. He looked around as he slid into the booth across from her. He slumped back, propped his arms up behind him, and let out a tired sigh. Becky felt a pang of guilt for dragging him out. "Long day?" she asked timidly.

He nodded. "Yep. Work is work, ya know?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. It's been a long work week for me too." She thought back to all the mishaps she had and blushed furiously. "So…" she started, "What's with the mask and weapons? All part of your bouncer gig?"

He pointed to his eye mask. "This?" he asked. "Well, I'm a ninja. At least, I used to be. Me and my brothers are ninjas. We struck hard and could fade away into the night without a trace."

Her eyes widened. "Wow."

He laughed at her expression. "What? You act like you ain't never met a mutant ninja turtle before."

They both laughed. Conversation flowed between them easily. Becky felt so comfortable talking with him; it seemed as if they had known each other for years; for forever. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. He ordered a burger with fries, she a grilled cheese sandwich-and they laughed and talked into the night. Around midnight or so the waitress came up to them to let them know the diner was closing.

"Do you live around here?" Becky asked as they walked out into the chilly night.

"Yeah, just a few blocks from here. But I'll take ya home."

She looked up at him, surprised. "It's a bit of a hike. I actually took a taxi to get up here."

He smiled lazily at her as he took her arm in his. "Ah, it ain't that cold out, and I like to walk."

She grinned, grateful to be in his presence just a bit longer. They walked in silence, listening to the wind rustle through the trees lining the streets.

After a while she asked him something that had been bugging her all night. "Raph, why do you wear that trench coat when you're out in public? I mean, I know you didn't wear it tonight, but you were wearing it at the bar last week and when we first met. But really why bother with it at all?"

He sighed. "I get tired of all the people staring all the time. Even though the 'oots are here and most people have accepted them, they still stop in their tracks whenever they see somethin' they don't understand." He looked up at the stars. "It's kinda why I don't really associate with humans. I mean don't get me wrong, some of you are alright I suppose." He grinned wryly. "But for the most part people in general piss me off."

She nodded in agreement. It was something she could vaguely understand herself. Her own personal dealings with people in general made her somewhat disillusioned about the morality of mankind. She had a hard enough time dealing with people socially as it was, she couldn't imagine how much harder it had to be doing it with a shell and green skin.

In almost no time at all they had reached her apartment. They stood there in silence for a few awkward moments before Raph cleared his throat and asked "So…uh…when can I see you again?"

She looked up at him and was caught once again by the intense gaze of his dark eyes. "How about Sunday?" she asked, finding herself losing the ability to breathe. "We could go to the park. I'll pack a lunch if you like."

He laughed throatily. "A picnic? What are we, in grade school?" But he nodded just the same and answered, "Yeah, that'd be great." He leaned towards her and for onw wild second she swore he was going to kiss her. She half closed her eyes as he brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. His touch on her face was warm yet cool at the same time, and it sent shivers down her spine. He turned and disappeared into the shadows leaving her breathless ad slightly disappointed.