April had the room next to Mikey's, which wasn't exactly fun at 3 a.m. when the ninja decided to play EXTREMELY loud video games. Not that she complained; from walking around when everyone was asleep, she'd decided the only one who wasn't annoying at night was Leo.

Raph would either talk to Spike or play the games with Mikey (the latter usually resulted in a certain younger brother getting beat up). Donnie was up most of the time mumbling about some new sciencey thing she didn't even pretend to understand- that in itself wasn't bad, it was more the random beeps and typing that drove her insane. Leo seemed to be, as always, the responsible one who listened to Splinter and got some sleep "so he could be just as successful in combat as Captain Ryan in Episode 23 of Space Heroes"... April'd figured out not to ask when he went into dork mode.

So on yet another restless night, while she sat swinging her legs to the beat of her heart and lazily wishing she were taller because the tips of her toes still couldn't touch the floor from the ledge she perched on, the eldest brother appeared without a sound. It was a comfortable silence, sitting there next to each other in the almost pitch blackness of the Lair, until he spoke.

"I think," he began, seeming unsure how to word it. "I think I'm over Karai. Like, for real."

The redhead grinned. "Smart move, L. She wasn't exactly right for you."

Turning serious, she continued. "Don't worry, Leo. There's a girl who's perfect for you out there. You've just got to look."

A few moments later, Leonardo turned the conversation. "So how about you? Got a boyfriend up on the surface?"

She blushed profoundly. "Not really, no. Not even more than one actual friend."

"Good..." he muttered.

"What?!" April exclaimed, inching away.

"Oh god, not me! Ugh, I shouldn't've said anything."

She thought for a moment. "Then... Who?"

There was a slightly awkward silence before he said, "I, uh, I really shouldn't say..."

She nudged him with her elbow, grinning. "C'mon, please?"

"Well, uh..."

She froze in realization. "It's Donnie, isn't it?"

He nodded and stepped back. "I, uh, I'm just going to... Go now. So, yeah." And he slunk back to his bedroom, leaving no evidence that he'd ever left.

-—-

There'd been clues, of course.

The way he blushed and stuttered when she was around, how he went out of his way to help her, the time he'd "joked around" with Metalhead's speakers. But she hadn't allowed herself to believe it until now.

-—-

Donnie was staring at Leo, soaking in what he'd just said. "What do you mean, she knows?"

"She just kind of... Figured it out." He said sheepishly.

"And you confirmed it?!" Donatello was fuming, and his brother could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Well, um, yeah." Leo answered. "But it's not like you were gonna tell her. I did you a favor."

"How the hell is that a favor?! I would've told her on my terms, thanks, and now everything's going to be all awkward and, ugh, I'll just pretend nothing happened and maybe she'll forget."

"Sure. She'll forget. And while she's at it, she'll grow a shell and call the mutagen mom." At this he rolled his eyes. "Face it, Don, that's the kind of thing that sticks it your head, and its not like you were discreet about it or anything, it was pretty obvious to everyone."

Donnie leaned his forehead on his palm, closing his eyes and thinking deeply. He shook it off. "No, okay, if I pretend I don't know she knows then maybe she'll think you don't know what she thought you knew and she'll question what she knows."

He had blurted it all out quite fast, and Leo nodded, telling him, "I have no idea what you just said, but okay."

"Just don't mention it t- hey, April! What can I do you for?" The girl had walked into the lab without a sound.

"Hey, um, Donnie, can we talk?" She looked at Leo pointedly.

"Alone?"