Donatello could no longer contain himself. As soon as he waved goodbye to April, he flew over the roofs at light speed. The cool air stung his eyes as it whipped past him, but a smile was still permanently stuck on his face. He did fanciful flips between the building gaps and ran until his legs nearly gave out underneath him.

He slipped into the manhole and walked back through the abandoned subway tunnels to the lair. If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the heart-pounding sensations, every tingle and surge of adrenaline. He could almost taste her lips all over again, feel her delicate hands tracing his jaw and neck. He was still walking on air as he pushed through the turnstiles, wearing a dreamy expression.

"Dude, there you are!" Mikey yelled from across the lair, pausing the video game he and Raph were playing. "We were starting to get worried! What took you so long?"

Donnie was still soaring as he said, "Why were you getting worried? How long was I gone?"

Raphael scrunched up his face. "You don't even know how long you were gone? Dude, it was almost half an hour."

Donnie chuckled. "Oh, I guess we just lost track of time."

Leonardo looked over the back of the couch at him incredulously. "Did something happen? You're acting kind of... Weird."

At that remark, Donatello's cheeks flushed beet red. His heart was racing again, but for new reasons. "Uh- No! Nothing happened, we were just, um... Taking a leisurely stroll?" he stuttered out.

Leo raised an eyebrow.

Raph turned back towards the TV and unpaused the game. "Whatever, man. Let's go Mikey. Blanka versus E. Honda."

"Dude, I wasn't ready!" Mikey squealed. "You want next, Don?"

Donnie joined his brothers in the pit area of the lair. "Sure, why not." He could still feel Leo's skeptical glare burning into him.

He and Leonardo took the next round of Street Fighter, choosing Vega and Guile, respectively. Donnie smiled at his character.

Raph scoffed at their choices. "Come on, Leo. Don't you ever play with anyone else? And why the heck did you pick the evil Spanish guy?"

Donnie's cheeks lit up again. "He's fast. And I like his claw thing."

Leonardo fought valiantly against Donatello's onslaught, but stood no match for his heightened senses from the adrenaline he still felt. Vega flew all over the screen, avoiding nearly every attack Guile could throw at him. Donnie mashed the buttons of the controller, performing combos he did not even know existed. As soon as Guile took a final fall, Donnie jumped up from the couch.

"Booyakasha!" he yelled as he stood on the cushions.

Leo and Raph sat wide-eyed with their jaws hanging open and Mikey went from stunned to ecstatic.

"Dude, you kicked Leo's butt! I've never seen him get beat so bad!"

Leo stood from the couch and faced Donnie, crossing his arms over his plastron. "Okay, what the heck is going on? Something's weird with you, I know it!"

Donatello jumped down from the couch and cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed at his overzealous reaction. "What are you talking about? Nothing's weird!"

"Leo's right," Raph said, turning towards his brothers. "You walked in here smiling like a dork and then you beat him to a pulp with his best character? No, something's definitely weird." He got up and stood next to Leo, cornering Donnie against the couch.

"Did something happen when you were with April?" Leo asked.

Donatello's heart stopped and his skin felt like it was on fire. Should he tell them? Would they make fun of him? How would they react? He swallowed hard.

"No!" he yelled defensively.

Mikey gasped and pushed between his two brothers. "No way! Look at his face! Something did happen! What was it, Don? Did you tell April you're in looove with her?" Mikey teased.

He was frozen. He looked between all three sets of staring eyes, wondering what he should say.

"Well, um... It wasn't really..." He stuttered.

All six eyes grew wide and Mikey gasped again. "No. Freaking. WAY! You totally told her, didn't you?"

Raph's mouth hung open slightly and Leo started to smile. "Well, what did she say?" he asked.

Donatello tried to back away but bumped into the edge of the couch. Words kept getting jumbled in his head and he had trouble forming complete sentences.

"She... Well, we kind of-"

Raph rolled his eyes. "Spit it out already, Genius."

Donnie glanced between their prying eyes and he heard his heart rate increasing by the moment. A million excuses shot through his mind, but he knew he could not hide the truth from his own brothers. In a moment of panic, he broke.

"WE KISSED! Okay? We kissed!"

Donnie sat back onto the couch and buried his face in his hands, terrified of how his brothers were going to mock him. He peeked through his fingers at their expressions. Raph was stunned speechless. Leo's smile turned devious. Mikey was the physical embodiment of Donnie's own excitement about the kiss.

"Dude. No. WAY!" Mikey yelped.

Leo's sly grin made Donnie nervous. "So, were you any good?"

Donatello fiddled with the wrappings on his hands. "Well, she said I was..." he trailed off, not wanting to share every detail with them.

Mikey laughed. "And Raph said he'd never have a chance with her!" He punched his brother in the arm playfully, who was still too stunned to even speak.

Sinking back into his hands, Donnie groaned. "Can you just stop making fun of me and being weird about it?"

Raph snorted. "Making fun? Dude, this is awesome! I can't believe you actually did it!"

He looked up from his place on the couch to three grinning brothers. "But you guys always made fun of me before!"

"We only made fun of you because we never thought it would actually happen!" said Raphael.

"Seriously, this is amazing!" said Mikey, still teeming with energy. "You are one lucky turtle, bro."

"Yeah, April's pretty awesome," said Leo.

Donnie felt a newfound affection for his brothers. He had been so afraid of being made fun of that he never stopped to consider that they might actually be happy for him. He smiled inwardly and thanked them in his head.

Raphael slapped a hand on Donatello's shoulder. "Nice going, Don. Now all you have to do is not screw it up. Who would have know April would be a sucker for giant nerd? Alright, Mikey, we're up."

Michelangelo and Raph took the controllers and sat on the floor in front of the TV. Leonardo took a seat next to Donnie on the couch, still smiling at his tallest brother.

Donatello breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like gravity had loosened its grip on him now that his brothers knew about him and April. Leo patted him on the shell.

"Just so you know, we're really happy for you, Donnie," Leo said.

Donnie simply smiled and thanked him. He sat back and pulled out his T-phone to send a quick text to April.

Donatello: Hey, you still awake?

3April: Yup :)

Donatello: Well, the guys kind of forced me to tell them about us...

3April: Yeah? What did they say?

Donatello: They didn't make fun of me like I thought they would! They were actually really happy for me... And surprised that I actually told you that I liked you!

3April: Well I'm glad they're happy that we're happy Don :) And I am very very happy :) :)

Donatello: I couldn't be happier April :) Can't wait to see you in the morning!

3April: Let's make a ton of progress on the retro-mutagen tomorrow!

Donatello: Yes, let's! Sweet dreams :)

3April: Same to you, don't stay up too late! Goodnight :)

Donatello: I won't, goodnight :)

Donnie could not help but chuckle at the excessive use of smiley faces in their text conversation, but it was certainly a representation of just how happy he felt. With the approval of his brothers, he could not help but feel like he was the luckiest, most blessed turtle in the world.