The lair's gate was opened and slammed ruthlessly, with four turtles behind. One thing ran through their mind just a moment ago, that whatever they would talk about, master Splinter could not hear about it, and behind the sound-proofed gate was the best option. Don threw Mikey a sarcastic look:

"Seriously, Mikey? And you're the one telling me that I have to keep my mouth shut."

"I freaked out, ok? I got grounded for nothing. What do you think about that?"

"You think that's the worst?" Don threw his hands upward hopelessly, jerking a thumb toward Raph and Leo "I'm supposed to help these 'love birds' here solving their problem."

The subjects of the conversation were completely baffled. Their genius brother knew about their relationship was one thing, but they had no clue of how to deal with the youngest knowing about it. Leo interrupted Mikey before he continued whining:

"Hold on. Mikey, you knew about… us?"

"Dude, I saw Raph chewing on your lips yesterday. To be honest, I just want amnesia seeing it."

Leo's face turned dark green as he blushed, while Raph had steam escaped from his head. However, before he could do anything, Leo already held his hand and gently shook his head. Hitting Mikey would only add to the problem. Besides, they already talked about it yesterday: if any of their family had problem with their relationship, they would end it without question. The only thing they didn't expect was how short it was before they got discovered. Now Leo and Raph would never have a chance to begin. Their special bond was ended before it even had a chance to flourish. Raph knew that too, but he could hardly do anything about it, so he just had to swallow the lump that tried to block his breathing.

"You guys really walk on thin ice here." Don turned to them, seeing their reaction "I still don't know what to make of this. But I made Raph a promise, and I intend to carry it out."

"Promise? What promise?" Mikey looked confused.

"I promised I'll do some research about our DNA, to see if we're related or not."

"There's no need to, Donnie." Leo spoke gently "We made a promise to each other that if any of our family feel uncomfortable about us, we'd stop. So…"

"Whoa, dude, who said anything about uncomfortable?" Mikey held up his hands.

"Ya just said it, bonehead. Ya want amnesia, remember?"

"I… did say that." The youngest agreed "But… that's when I had no clue of what's going on, and I still do. See, Leo's got Karai and you've got Joy. Something must have happened to make you reacted that way."

Silent. All eyes fell on the sea green turtle for a moment, mixed with confusion, perplexed, disbelief… None would imagine how perceptive Mikey could be, to the point of figuring out the source of the problem: a mate. Don slowly turned to Leo and Raph, expecting an answer. The emerald turtle relaxed his hand, so Leo could let go and leave the explanation to the hothead:

"Well, ya all knew about Leo's crush on Karai. Things didn't go well when she married that geek. Me and Joy… Heh, funny, if ya can call that a relationship. She went for Adam already, around the time when we're in the future."

"O~okay." Don arched an eyebrow "So you guys weren't so lucky finding a girl who loves you, but that's still doesn't explain how you can turn to each other. Well, not that I have any problem with it, it's just…"

"Can it, brainiac! Like yer the one ta talk. Remember April?"

"What's with her?" Don asked nonchalantly, but anyone could see him blushed.

"No need to hide it, Donnie." Leo said "We all know you still hold a crush for her, even though she's married to Casey. Don't you think it's time to move on?"

"I… I…"

"Hey! This isn't about him." Mikey intervened "This is about you guys. Who you want to choose to love shouldn't have anything to do with this."

"It does when you're a mutant turtle, Mikey." Leo turned to him "And sadly, we all are. We're all we have in this world, and the chance to find someone that don't scream and run away the moment they see us is slim."

"April didn't run away when she saw us." Don protested weakly.

"But she did scream." – Raph swatted the argument away "And she didn't run away because she thought we abducted her. She only calmed down when master Splinter explained everything. I don't think we have time ta say anything ta anyone before they punch 911 ta haul us away."

"What about Casey?" Don still didn't give up.

"The guy's a nutcase, thought he can wipe out crime from the street. He ain't scared of anything. Well, except for losing his wife now."

"Donnie, please don't push us anymore about this." Leo looked him in the eye "All we need is a confirmation about our relation. If the result shows that we're connected by blood, we'll stop this, because we can't have incest in our family."

"And if we're not?" Mikey asked.

"Then the family is the next step. We won't let this special bond ruin the balance we're having. If any of you have problem with it, we'll also stop."

Both the younger turtles looked at their brothers. Mikey understood how Leo treasured his family, but to the point of sacrificing his own little happiness? He couldn't have that. If his bro's down, then he didn't feel like having fun either, and he doubt that he'd find a way to cheer them up after blocking their way. Don also had problem making up his mind. The way Leo looked at him was painful. There's pity, for he couldn't let the image of the red hair girl go and moved on. Plea was also showed in that look. Leo rarely asked for anything from him, but when he did, it was something he couldn't refuse. But then, what was he supposed to do? Hoping the result would be that they're related so that he could force them apart was just plain cruel, but on the other hand…

"Are you guys sure about this?" Don voiced the most important question.

Raph and Leo glanced at each other. Telling that they're sure would be a lie, but saying that they're not wasn't the truth either. Finally, they both nodded.

"Alright." Don signed "I'll go to Chaplin and gather the needed equipment. I can do the work easier when he's not fussing around asking questions. But I have to warn you: our DNA structure is twisted from the original turtle DNA because of the mutation, so this will take a while. Three days at best."

"We've gone this far, we can wait a few more days. In the meantime, we just have to keep this a secret from master Splinter."

"Kinda hard, bro." Mikey scratched his head "You guys got busted by me alone."

"We'll act as if nothing changed." Leo smiled "And it's true. Even if I'm in love with Raph, I still treat you all the same."

"I don't know, Leo." A smile started to appear on the youngest, but it was a sly one "My mouth's kinda itchy ever since I caught you… Ow!"

"Don't worry, I'll keep loud mouth here in check." It was Don who hit him "If you guys want some private time, just go outside. Sensei forbade Raph to go topside, but he didn't say anything about wandering in the sewer."

"Donnie, sometimes I think yer better than me at breaking the rules." Raph smirked.

"I don't break rules, I just… find holes in them." The genius just shrugged.