I propped my feet on the railing around the porch.

"We should've brought the chairs out long ago," April commented.

"Yeah, then Raphael and I wouldn't have had to sit on the floor," I said.

She looked at me. "Addy, you cannot tell me you didn't enjoy being that close to him, can you?"

I gave her a wide-eyed look in return, then smiled. "Of course, I enjoyed it."

"Hm." April leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face.

"And just what exactly are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Ever consider a turtle for a boyfriend?" she asked, and my jaw hit the porch floor.

Shadow came out to join us. "There's nothing wrong with that, Addy. Compare any of those four to most guys..." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Shadow!" April said, nearly laughing.

"What? It isn't like they're really related to me. I just call them my uncles. Doesn't sound quite as bad as brothers..." Shadow said.

"So, I'm not crazy, then?" I said.

"Addy," Shadow began, "You've already got him. Face it." She paused. "And if you're crazy, then I'm crazy, too." She winked.

"I'll agree to that!"

Shadow turned to the door. "No fair listening, Mikey!" She jumped up and ran in after him.

April smiled. "It's nice having things back to normal."

"Yeah," I said, absently. God, what have I gotten myself into? I think I'm actually in love with a mutant turtle.

"Normal? What's that?" Raphael asked, appearing in the doorway. "Geez, nearly got run over by Mikey an' Shadow."

"I think maybe I'll go see if I can keep them from wrecking the house," April said, then winked at me. She got up and went inside.

"So... ah, did you talk to Leonardo?" I asked, then glanced over at him, in time to see him take April's vacated seat right next to me.

"Yeah," Raphael answered, simply. "You an' April were talkin', too."

"Yes," I said, then added, "is it me or did things become awkward all of a sudden?" I looked up and met his gaze.

"For me, everythin's been awkward," he said, then set his feet on the railing next to mine.

Silence settled in. It was so quiet I could hear my heart quicken its pace. It was just a matter of waiting now...

"So," Raphael began, calmly, "what exactly do ya do on a date, anyway?" He looked at me and smirked at my surprised expression.

The End... for now.

Stay tuned for the sequel/prequel fic, #2 in this series.

Continue to "", Chapter One