Mikey felt his stomach doing nervous flips as he leaped over the rooftops, his heart beating double time as Donnie's words kept running through his mind.

Can I really tell her about what I'm feeling like? What'll she think? Will she think it's weird? Will she think I'm weird?

Then he started thinking something that bothered him even more.

What if she doesn't feel the same way?

That thought had always bothered him, but somehow it was even worse now. The idea that she might not feel the same way about him that he did about her was just as scary as the idea of jumping into battle without his weapons. But whatever the case, he knew he couldn't keep this to himself. Whatever happened, if he didn't do this, he would feel even worse than he would if she said she didn't see him the same way.

Despite his nerves, Mikey couldn't help but grin when he saw Grace on the roof of their usual meeting place. His grin grew bigger when she turned and smiled widely, her sharp blue eyes bright. As always, he held out a fist as he approached, and she bumped hers against it.

"Hi, Mikey," she said. "It's great to see you."

"Great t' see you too," he replied, still grinning. Inside, though, his mind was spinning. What should he say? When should he say it? To his surprise, Grace looked a little closer at him, and a look of concern came to her face.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little, well, stressed."

Mikey ordered himself to keep his face calm; he must have let it slip.

"It's fine, just… got a lot on my mind. Nothing bad."

Grace continued to look at him with concern, but to his relief she didn't push it any further.

"All right. So, did you have anything in mind to do tonight?"

He looked at her, cocking his head at the tone of her voice.

"Well, not if you had something ya wanted t' do."

An eager smile came to her face.

"Actually, I did… I passed an outdoor party on the way here. They were playing really great music, and I thought you might want to see. I mean, I know we can't actually go to it, but you can hear from other buildings."

Mikey couldn't help but grin; he could see the eagerness on her face, but also a hint of anxiousness. She didn't just want to do this for herself, she was hoping it was something that he'd like too.

"Awesome!" he said. "Sure, we can do that!"

Grace's face lit up, and Mikey felt a now familiar warmth fill him at the sight as he smiled back at her. Stepping back, he gave a playful bow.

"'Kay then… lead on, good madam."

She laughed, and the sound made him laugh too.

"Of course, sir." She gestured. "Come on, this way! But stay sharp, remember."

"You got it," Mikey replied, and with that he followed her as they raced across the rooftops, with an air of excitement but still on alert. It didn't take long before Mikey heard faint music in the air, and he followed Grace as it grew louder and louder. Finally, she stopped on the rooftop of a larger building, moving to the edge and gesturing for Mikey to join her.

"Down there," she said, her smile eager. Despite the nerves still swirling in his stomach, Mikey couldn't stop himself from grinning as he moved up beside her and looked where she was pointing. On a rooftop further down, there were white and blue lights strung up and a large group of people mingled, some dancing to the upbeat song that was playing. Still wearing that eager smile, Grace sat down on the ledge of the roof with her feet dangling over it, and Mikey joined her. Almost on instinct, his fingers began tapping out the rhythm as he swayed in time. When he glanced at Grace, his grin widened when he saw she was doing the same. His smile then faltered as the question he needed to ask but still hadn't began echoing in his head, bringing with it a new set of questions.

What do I say? What can I say? What'll she say? What'll she think about me? Will she be happy? Will she be weirded out?

Despite his growing unease, Mikey pushed it down and took a deep breath. If he was going to ask her The Question, it may as well be sooner rather than later. But before he could open his mouth, a new song began, and Grace's gasp of delight made him turn his attention back to the roof below.

"May God bless and keep you always, may your wishes all come true, may you always do for others, and let others do for you…"

"How did they get this version of the song?" he heard Grace exclaim. "It's not available for purchase anywhere I looked!"

Mikey cocked his head… he didn't recognize the woman's voice singing, but he was sure he'd heard this song before. It sounded like a Bob Dylan song he heard once, but he couldn't say for sure. He looked at Grace.

"Mean something t' you?"

She nodded, still watching the party below.

"When I was little, my father told me that my mother and he were able to get this song for their wedding. It was the one they did their first dance to."

Her eyes grew a little wistful, shining with feeling.

"He would sing it to me too, and he always told me at the end that I would meet someone just like he did. I always wanted to dance to this to this song with someone too."

At those words, a thought came to Mikey. It set his stomach swirling even more, but he ordered himself to ignore it.

Don't be a wimp. You can make her happy this way.

Clearing his throat to gain her attention, he stood. Grace looked up at him and frowned.

"You want to leave? Something wrong?

Mikey quickly gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, no way," he said. "I just was wondering, if… if you wanna…"

After few more moments of hesitation, struggling to think of some way to ask but coming up with nothing, Mikey finally threw caution to the wind. Taking a quick breath to steady himself, he held out a hand like he'd seen young men do in films and stories. Thankfully, no further explanation was needed. Grace's eyes went a little wide, then her face once again lit up. She took his offered hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"Definitely," she said. "I'd really like that."

Remembering how he had seen couples dance on shows and in books, Mikey copied the pose; placing one hand on Grace's waist (which prompted furious blushing for them both) and took her other hand in his. It didn't take effort before both were moving in a slow, sedate pace as the song drifted up from below.

"May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true… may you always know the truth, and see the light surrounding you… May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong, may you stay… forever young."

Slowly, Mikey felt his insecurity lessen. His heart did a little flip when Grace smiled up at him, then laid her head against his chest. Carefully, he released his current hold to wrap his arms around her. She didn't pull away, only sighed happily as she returned the embrace. With that his insecurity seemed to melt away, until all he could focus on was the feel of her in his arms.

Now. Tell her now.

Mikey cleared his throat, relieved when his words came out calm; the way he was feeling, he'd expected it to crack.

"Grace?"

"Hmm?" she hummed without looking up. The orange-banded turtle paused once again, then took a deep breath.

"I… dunno what you'll think about this," he said slowly. "But I gotta get it off my chest."

She stopped at that, looking up at him with an enquiring expression, and he was sure he could see nervousness in it.

"Okay… what?"

Mikey took another deep breath, and then the words seemed to come tumbling out.

"Well, see… you're one of the coolest people I've ever met. You probably just wanna stay friends, and I'm totally fine with that, but… I was thinking if you wanted to, we could… well, you and me could be…"

He saw her sharp blue eyes widen, her mouth going a little slack. Immediately Mikey felt his heart fall. He was right… he'd pushed too much. He opened his mouth right away to apologize, but before he could say anything she lifted a hand and touched her fingertips to his mouth, stopping his words. She gazed at him, her eyes softening and shining with feeling, then spoke in a quiet yet clearly heartfelt tone.

"When we came here to New York, I never imagined I'd meet anyone like you. We really haven't known each other that long, but I feel like I've known you my whole life. You're such a wonderful person, inside and out, and I've never felt about anyone the way I do about you."

Mikey's heart began beating faster, hope rising in him.

"So… you do wanna…"

She never stopped smiling as she nodded.

"I'd like that. A lot."

At those words, he felt an almost uncontrollable urge to let out a loud whoop, and nothing but sheer instinct kept him from it. Never taking his eyes off her, he reached up and removed his mask. He wanted her to see his face, completely unencumbered. She kept gazing at him for a while, then a smile lit her face.

"You have blue eyes too," she murmured. His mouth curved in a grin, one that he knew was different from his usual joking one. Reaching out, he brushed back a few strands of dark hair from her face, and she closed her eyes as if savoring it. Slowly and cautiously, he leaned down toward her. He knew this was how people showed they really, really liked each other, but he'd never actually done it himself. Heck, he figured he'd never do it. But Grace never faltered. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down the rest of the way.

It was probably the most amazing, heart stopping feeling Mikey had ever felt in his life. Closing his eyes, he reached up to touch her hair, running it through his fingers. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but finally they broke the kiss. Grace looked up at him for a moment, then her smile grew teasing as she raised a brow.

"For someone who's never done this, you're pretty darn good."

That brought a laugh bursting out of him.

"Ditto."

With a soft laugh if her own, she lay her head against his chest again. Neither of them spoke, but no more words were necessary. They stood there, listening as the words of the song drifted up to them.

"Forever young… forever young. May you stay… forever young."