A/N: I have absolutely no control over this story anymore. What was originally going to be nine chapters, with each one dedicated to a different month of Sang's pregnancy, we are now on Chapter Fourteen and who-knows-what-is-going-on. And I think a total of two weeks have passed since Chapter One...
Heads up, this one is a bit long. But you can't really complain about getting over 8,000 words, right?
Test Run
The silence in the room was smothering as my feet froze in place behind Kota.
"No worries," Sean quickly assured us as I turned around in horror. It was just an egg, and in my mind I understood that. But for the time being, that was one of our children.
And Sean just killed it, then hakuna matata-ed us.
"You murdered our baby!" Gabriel accused as Sean's head ducked behind the kitchen island.
"No, don't freak out," Sean rushed out while I stood there unmoving. "It was just the extras!"
"The extras?" I squeaked, watching as Sean stood up and tossed a soggy paper towel into the trashcan.
"Yes, I might've knocked over the carton," Sean explained sheepishly, sending me a contrite smile. "There were still two eggs in it."
"So Sang Junior is okay?" I asked, wanting to be completely sure.
"Sang Junior is more than okay, she's wonderful," Sean clarified, holding up his intact egg as he tossed the empty carton into the trash as well.
"Sang Senior, on the other hand, needs to relax," Victor said as he stepped up beside me, rubbing a hand up my arm. "Come on, Princess."
"I don't know why I care so much about an egg," I sighed, frustrated.
"It's not the egg," Victor assured me, his soft fingers trailing down my arm until they laced with mine. "It's what the egg represents."
"No, it's her hormones," Nathan argued, like it was obvious.
"Chicks go batshit crazy when they're knocked up," Gabriel agreed as we headed towards the couches again.
"Why do you guys keep saying I'm knocked up?" I winced as I plopped down on a seat between Victor and Gabriel. "That sounds awful."
"Well, it's true," Gabriel shrugged sheepishly. "No matter how awesome it is, we didn't exactly plan this shit."
"Can you please not call it 'shit'?" Kota asked tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he found a spot next to Nathan. "And I agree with Sang; 'knocked up' has a negative connotation."
"What should we say, then?" Nathan asked. "With child? Expectant? Preggers?"
"Just 'pregnant' works for me," I cut in quickly, not wanting this to turn into a brainstorming session.
"Fine, Sang's pregnant," Gabriel pouted, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the couch.
"Don't sound so disappointed, Gabe," Silas chuckled.
"Focus on the task at hand, gentlemen," Owen instructed clearly, and I straightened in my seat.
"How many rules are there?" Kota turned to Sean eagerly, readjusting his glasses. "And just how long does this game last?"
"And do you have a rulebook for Kota?" Nathan asked Sean teasingly. "He'll probably want it all in writing."
"I don't need it in writing," Kota mumbled half-heartedly.
"Okay, there aren't many rules," Sean started as he stood in front of us. "And we're all in this together, so don't go about purposely trying to get someone to drop their egg."
"So if there's foul play involved and we drop our egg, does that mean we still lose?" Luke asked, walking over to join us from the kitchen.
"Fowl," Silas snickered, covering his mouth with a large hand. I shook my head, but laughed along with him.
"Let's just refrain from any foul play, so it won't come to that," Owen commanded from his armchair. We all nodded in agreement, and I kept a special eye on Luke to make sure he was compliant.
"On that note, the rules are pretty simple," Sean continued, holding up his egg. "You'll care for your egg as you would a child, taking time to nurture and love it. If the egg cracks, you lose. If you misplace your egg, you lose."
"But what do we do with it?" Nathan asked, looking down at his egg warily. "It's an egg."
"You'll carry on with your day as normal, but your egg with always be with you," Sean explained. "You'll keep it safe, and take care of it's basic needs. I'm setting the stipulations that you need to 'feed' your egg every half hour, and change it once an hour."
"Change it into what?" Luke frowned. "An avocado?"
"Change its imaginary diaper," Sean rolled his eyes. "But the main rule is that the egg doesn't leave your side. You can use a shoebox or something to create a crib for it, but it always needs to be within five feet of you."
"What if we're called away on a mission?" Kota asked curiously, not looking up from where he was scribbling notes on a pad of paper.
"Then you better hope it doesn't involve hand-to-hand combat," Sean grinned, giving Sang Junior a pat on the head. "Other than that, we'll play until two o'clock. That gives everyone four hours to learn the art of parenting."
"Easy peasy," Luke declared, faking a yawn. "My hands have a gift when dealing with fragile things. Remember when I built that fort solely out of toothpicks and marshmallows?"
I did remember that. After a week spent designing and building it, the fort lasted long enough for Luke and I to play a game of Mousetrap inside of it before it toppled down. The structural design hadn't accounted for Luke getting hungry while inside it.
"It's probably a good thing we're not related by blood," North told Luke with a straight face. "If we were, I'd be getting a psych eval once a week to make sure whatever you have isn't genetic."
"You're just jealous of my silky, blonde locks," Luke sniffed, flipping his head dramatically so his hair flew behind him. Even I couldn't flip my hair that well.
"I'm not jealous of shit," North snorted, crossing his arms. "Can we get on with this?"
"Happy place, North. Find it," Sean answered lightly. "Lastly, no changing your schedules unless there's an emergency or call from the Academy. We're still treating Family Day as we usually would."
"Which means water balloon death match is still on?" Nathan asked with a grin.
"Yes, and it will still take place directly after lunch," Owen answered for Sean, holding Olivia securely atop his knee.
"I suppose we can officially start now," Sean said thoughtfully, looking around at the group. "Just one more thing. Make sure to mark your egg with a symbol or something to let us know which one is yours. That might stop some people from grabbing a new egg out of the fridge if theirs drops."
"Why did you look at me when you said that?" Luke asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at Sean.
"No reason, Mr. Sticky Fingers," Sean answered lightly, taking a seat next to Silas on the couch across from me.
"Oh, hold up! Check this out," Gabriel called, fumbling around in one of the end table drawers beside us. He turned, holding up a packet of colored sharpies. "We can use these to draw on them. Make faces and fun shit."
"We don't have to draw anything detailed, right?" Silas asked hesitantly, looking down at his egg unsurely. "I can just do a dot?"
"There's no regulations on the symbols or drawings. You have free reign," Sean eased his worries, and Silas let out a relieved sigh. "Preferably something that wouldn't be easy to copy, though."
"Here you go, Trouble," Gabriel pulled two sharpies out of the packet, black and orange, before handing it to me. I looked down at Emma, tilting my head in thought before pulling out a light pink marker.
"Can I have the black one when you're finished, please, Gabriel?" I asked, handing the package to Victor on my otherside.
"Sure thing, chicken wing," Gabriel answered distractedly, already drawing intricate, orange shapes all over his egg. I was tempted to sit and watch him, it was so mesmerizing to watch Gabriel do any form of artwork, but I had my own mission.
Uncapping the pink marker, I started doodling a bow near the top of Emma's shell. Quiet murmurs filled the room, the boys discussing one thing or another as we slowly brought our eggs to life.
I concentrated on Emma, carefully sliding the marker back and forth to shade in her bow as Gabriel began humming an upbeat tune next to me.
"Almost...done,...Trouble," Gabriel slowly informed me, sticking his tongue out in concentration as he swooped the black sharpie away from his egg in a grand flourish. "Done! It's all yours, sweetie."
"Thank you," I smiled, accepting the sharpie and leaning beside Gabriel's shoulder to get a good look at his masterpiece. My lips parted once I saw it, the orange lines interlacing and weaving all over the eggshell looked both delicate and beautiful. Glancing back at my egg, I saw a lopsided bow where my marker went outside the lines on two separate occasions. Gabriel had finished a piece of art in the same amount of time it took me to butcher something a seven year old girl could draw without any trouble.
"That's beautiful, Gabriel," I breathed, smiling at the proud grin he wore.
"It's alright," Gabriel shrugged, turning the egg over until I saw what turned out to be the front. I had to press my lips tightly together to stop the laughter from escaping.
Instead of a face for his egg, Gabriel had written in large, capital letters that filled up an entire side of the egg. Little Fucker.
"How's yours coming along, Sang?" Gabriel asked, eyeing Emma with interest.
"I don't have much yet," I admitted, uncapping the black marker and holding Emma up with my other hand. I held her as still as possible, hoping I wouldn't start to shake from the intensity of Gabriel's gaze. I took my time, drawing two dark circles for eyes and accentuating them with tiny eyelashes to make her a little girly. Moving down, I carefully drew a little smile for her mouth before leaning back and eyeing her over. I guess that'd do.
"You know what would make her look awesome?" Gabriel asked excitedly, pointing towards the top of her shell. "You should outline the bow in black, then add two accent marks near the middle of its circle. That'll make the bow really pop."
I followed Gabriel's instructions, the smile on my face growing as I saw that he was correct. The bow really was cute.
"Did you just draw a dick on yours?" Nathan asked North in disbelief, his raised voice being heard clearly throughout the room.
"I'm preparing him for the real world," North explained gruffly.
"But how is that...nevermind," Nathan trailed off with a shake of his head before going back to doodling on Donatello. I bit my lip, sorely tempted to see how North had decorated Jack, but I held my tongue.
"Are we ready to rumble?" Luke called out, hopping up from his seat across from us. "Let's get this party started!"
It took my brain a moment to catch up as Luke pulled three eggs out from behind his back. When he threw one into the air, I gripped Victor's arm like a vice beside me as Luke began juggling with all three.
"Luke?" Sean asked, watching him apprehensively. "Why in the world do you have three eggs?"
"I told you my swimmers were extra strong," Luke explained patiently, throwing one egg extra high into the air and doing a spin before catching it and continuing his performance. Victor cried out when my nails bit into his skin, and I hastily let go. "I would've had triplets, so I grabbed two more eggs."
"You realize you have a heightened probability of losing now, right?" Sean sighed, shaking his head. "You can't just use those two extras as backups incase you drop Thor."
"The greater the risk, the greater the reward," Luke announced, catching all three eggs and ending his trick with a low bow. Gabriel was the only one to clap. "I'm taking these three all the way to the Egg Olympics."
"What'd you name the other two?" Kota asked curiously, and I saw Max had a bunch of yellow marker atop his head. A goofy smile took over my face. Kota gave our egg-baby my hair?
"Well, this is Thor," Luke introduced, holding up one egg with a smiley face scribbled on the front. "Then this is Obama."
He held up the second egg, which had an identical smiley face to the first one.
"And this is Tom," Luke finished, holding up the third egg to face us. Same smiley face.
"Tom as in Tom Riddle?" Kota asked suspiciously. "Is this just because you can't call him V-"
"Don't say his fucking name!" Gabriel burst out beside me, and Victor jumped at the outburst, barely holding onto Charlotte before she went flying out of his hands.
"You seriously need to get over that, Gabe," Luke rolled his eyes, sitting back down on the couch. "He's not going to magically show up here."
"About time," Victor whispered in relief beside me, leaning over to murmur in my ear. "Luke's finally admitting that Harry Potter is fiction."
"He's dead," Luke continued patiently, as if pointing out the obvious. "And he's all out of horcruxes, so stop worrying about him."
"Nevermind," Victor mumbled, focusing back on his egg and sharpie. "Forget I said anything."
"I'm not worried," Gabriel denied adamantly with a shake of his head. "But I still don't say Beetlejuice three times fast, because you never know what shit might happen!"
"Wise words, Gabriel," Owen acknowledged as he stood up. "I need to go make preparations for Olivia, so I'll be back shortly."
"Ditto," Luke exclaimed, getting up from his spot and heading towards the connecting townhouse. "Daddy needs to get his babies ready."
"Same, but without the daddy nonsense," North joined in, standing from the couch and following Luke out the door. My eyes narrowed after him, skeptical if he was coming back or going to the TV room in Siberia and blowing us all off.
"Are you getting a crib for Emma?" Victor asked me softly as the other boys all stood up. Gabriel stuffed the remaining sharpies back in the drawer before taking off out the front door.
"I guess so," I answered uncertainly. "It's only four hours, but I know I won't be able to just hold her for that long."
"Let's go find something," Victor replied, putting the cap back on his marker before standing up. I accepted his offered hand and tried to get a good look at Charlotte as I stood up.
My teeth immediately clamped onto my lower lip to hold in the giggles once I saw her scribbled face. Victor was a dream when it came to music, but this form of art did not come easily to him. Charlotte's sleeping eyes were uneven, and her mouth resembled something that looked vaguely like a dill pickle.
I cut my gaze away before Victor could catch me staring, and we headed towards the stairs.
"I have a few dozen shoe boxes in my closet, courtesy of Gabriel," I told him as we climbed the steps. "Most probably still have the tissue paper in them, too."
"We can grab some Kleenex if we need to," Victor assured me, placing a hand on my lower back as we reached the second level and passed by Sean's room.
"Maybe we should get those dolls that health classes use," Sean's voice carried from Owen's room as we started to walk by. I glanced in, seeing Sean perched on Owen's bed, but no sign of the other man. "They use a computer program to track how well the baby is taken care of, and we can all learn from it."
"It seems unnecessary. I'm confident today will be satisfactory," Owen's voice floated out from his closet, and I stopped in the middle of his doorway with Victor following suit. "If I'm proven wrong, I'm sure the Toma team could provide the necessary supplies."
"They're children, Owen. Not supplies," Sean rolled his eyes, grinning when he noticed us hovering in the doorway.
"Either way, they have four babysitter-ready offspring that would be up to the task," Owen reasoned, stepping out of the closet in one of his charcoal grey, pristine suits. He was in the middle of tying a cherry red tie, flipping the end over as his fingers moved fluidly across the fabric.
"Owen?" I asked in confusion, my brain not comprehending why he was getting changed into something nice. "What are you doing?"
Was he leaving before the game even started?
"He's getting his head in the game, Pookie," Sean grinned with a laugh. "You know his suit can double as a safety blanket for Owen when he's nervous."
I bit my lip, half of me wanting to laugh at the unimpressed look that Owen shot Sean but the other half remembering what Owen said when we were up here earlier.
He really was worried about not being a good father. Maybe this game would be beneficial for both of us.
"Olivia is resting safely in her crib," Owen assured me, nodding towards the bed. I saw a small basket there, one Owen usually kept under his sink to hold cotton balls. The fluffy white material was still escaping out of the sides, and I was impressed by Owen's strategy.
"I think Owen was just about to sing her a lullaby, if you'd like to stay," Sean beamed, leaning back on the bed.
"No, that's okay," I smiled at his teasing, slipping my hand into Victor's and backing out of the doorway. "I'll leave you to it, Owen."
"How kind," Owen deadpanned, slipping on a pair of black loafers before heading towards the bed.
Victor and I continued towards my room, slipping through the door before I made my way to the closet.
"Do you have a color preference?" I asked Victor as he headed for the bathroom and I climbed onto the stepping stool.
"What do you think?" Victor answered somewhat sarcastically, and I bit my lip to stop a smile as I pulled a light grey shoebox off the shelf. I lifted the lid, appreciating the slightly musty smell as I saw a few pieces of white tissue paper hiding inside. Quickly selecting a soft yellow box as well while keeping hold of Emma in one hand, I hopped down from the stool and carried them both into my room.
"Found the Kleenex," Victor reported, holding up a handful of them as he exited the bathroom.
"Perfect," I nodded approvingly, placing both boxes on the bed and removing their lids. Victor split up the Kleenex, adding them to both boxes while I headed over to my desk. Rifling through the top two drawers, I tried to remember where Gabriel had put my craftbox after his most recent re-arrangement of my room.
"What are you looking for, Princess?" Victor asked.
"This!" I exclaimed victoriously, pulling the box out of my bottom drawer and searching through it. I took out a handful of bottles, not caring which colors were chosen.
"Which is...?" Victor trailed off, eyeing my hands as I turned towards him.
"Glitter!" I beamed, holding up the bottles and shaking them excitedly. "To make the cribs pretty!"
"Um, I...I don't...," Victor stammered, scratching his eyebrow as he eyed the bottles of glitter uneasily.
"Relax, you can keep your man card," I assured him, placing the bottles on the bed next to our cribs. "But we both have baby girls, so it's okay to use glitter."
There was a loaded silence as I watched Victor eye the glitter.
"Fine, just...just please don't overdo it with the pink," Victor sighed in resignation, wincing as he watched me unscrew the cap.
"Victor, if you really don't want me to, I won't," I promised, not wanting this to be painful for him. "I just figured this was your chance to spoil Charlotte with princess-y things, so I-"
"It's fine, Sang," Victor shook his head, squaring his shoulders. "Just do it. Now, before I change my mind."
"Okay," I giggled, too excited to back out now. I held the bottle over Victor's box, shaking it slightly and watching the golden glitter come tumbling out into the crib.
"Okay, that's enough!" Victor's tight voice stopped me after only three shakes, and I rolled my eyes while pulling back. There was barely any glitter in there.
I switched to the pastel pink glitter, sliding Emma's crib to the side of the my bed. Fluffing up the tissues a bit, I started jiggling the bottle over her Kleenex. The pink looked cute with the light yellow box, and I didn't stop until at least twenty shakes of the bottle.
"Beautiful," I breathed, picking Emma off the comforter and gently placing her inside the shoebox. She looked snug and comfortable in the mountain of Kleenex, and I did a test jiggle of the box to make sure she wouldn't roll around in it.
"Ready to head back downstairs?" Victor asked, picking up Charlotte's box, where she was nestled inside her own Kleenex. I nodded, leading Victor out the door and passing Owen's empty room. We started down the stairs, careful to hold our shoeboxes level.
"I mean it, that's cheating!" Nathan's voice could be heard as we hiked down the stairs. "Cut it out."
"He's right, North," Kota's voice joined in, and my eyebrows furrowed as I picked up my pace. "That's really pushing it, and you should take it off."
"How is this cheating, when you all made those cribs?" North retorted grumpily. "This is my version of a crib. I even left an air hole for breathing!"
We rounded the corner, and I snorted a laugh when I saw North facing off against Kota and Nathan. He was holding Jack in one hand, but...
"Is that bubblewrap?" I laughed, pointing at the haphazardly wrapped material being held together by a piece of duct tape around Jack.
North grunted an affirmative, sending me a look that dared me to say anything else on the subject.
"North," Kota pressed sternly, not budging on his decision.
"Fine," North sighed, heading back towards the door to Shangri-La. "I'll figure something else out."
"Thank you," Kota called after him before sitting back down on the couch. He sent me a warm look, his eyes bouncing between mine and Emma's shoebox. "What've you got there, Sang?"
"Emma's crib," I smiled, stopping in front of him and Nathan on the couch and presenting Emma's living arrangements. "Victor, show them Charlotte's."
"Eh, I'm not...," Victor fidgeted beside me as Kota and Nathan voiced their praise of Emma's crib.
"What's wrong, Vic?" Nathan asked, holding a cup. I looked inside, seeing Donatello with his purple sharpie mask nestled in between some napkins. "Show us what you got."
"Fine," Victor sighed, carefully holding out his shoebox so Kota and Nathan could see. They both peered over the edge, smiling when they saw Charlotte, before Nathan pulled back with a sudden cough.
"Wait," he coughed again, looking at Victor in surprise. "Hold up, is that glitter?"
"Yes," Victor admitted shamefully, and I poked him in the side.
"What's wrong with glitter?" I asked incredulously. "I put a lot more on Emma's, and I did that to Charlotte's."
"Nothing, Sang," Nathan shook his head with pinched lips, elbowing Kota in the side when he snorted. "Nothing at all."
I narrowed my eyes warningly at him before turning away and heading towards the kitchen. Silas was leaning against the counter, devouring a sandwich, while Luke and Gabriel had their heads together at the island.
"I just don't think it's possible," Luke argued, shaking his head as he crossed something out on the paper in front of him. "After getting that much height and being airborne for so long, the drop would definitely make it crack."
"Not if we had the pool of jello," Gabriel pointed out earnestly, using his own pen to draw a circle around something.
"It wouldn't be dense enough," Luke adamantly shook his head.
I walked around the island, giving them a wide berth, before stopping next to Silas at the stove.
"Is it lunch time already?" I asked in surprise, looking around for his egg but not seeing it anywhere. I carefully placed Emma's crib on the counter, shimmying my phone out of it's hiding spot before glancing at the time. 10:25. I had about five minutes before Emma needed to be fed.
"No, we still have some time. Carrying this egg around was making me hungry," Silas explained with a shrug, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"I'm sure it was," I laughed in amusement, looking over the counters again. "Where is Delphina?"
"Oh, she's right here," Silas answered, opening the cabinet behind him and pulling out a baseball cap. It was upside down, and I peeked inside when he held it out. There was little Delphina, sitting at the bottom of the hat.
"That's...an interesting strategy," I managed to say, noticing the lack of any tissues or support for his egg within the hat.
"She's safe," Silas assured me, opening the cabinet back up and placing her back inside. I bit my lip, picturing Silas hiding our baby in the cabinet when it's born to 'keep it safe.'
"Do you know what we're supposed to feed them?" I asked curiously. It's not like we had baby food just sitting around.
"Breastmilk, Trouble!" Gabriel called across the kitchen. "Whip 'em out!"
"Gabriel," I scolded him lightly after a beat while Luke just nodded along with him and Silas's eyes fixed on my shirt.
"What?" Gabriel asked innocently, widening his eyes. "Isn't that what newborns drink? I'm just trying to keep this game as accurate as possible."
"And accuracy involves me taking my shirt off?" I asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow at him.
"It'd be good practice," Gabriel pointed out with a shrug. "Once the baby is here, you'll be so used to it you'll be walking around topless all day."
"Khristos, help me," Silas breathed beside me.
"I will not!" I denied quickly, feeling the blush rise up my neck and take over my face. Thankfully my phone started vibrating, and I was able to distract myself by pulling it out. I swiped across the screen, seeing a new text.
Kota: 10:30 - Feeding time. xo
I bit back a smile, glancing up to see the back of Kota's head as he spoke with Nathan and Victor. He thought of everything.
"We need to feed them something," I stated, turning towards the fridge before Gabriel could make another comment about me taking my clothes off. I tugged the door open, taking a quick look around before zeroing in on the vegetable drawer. "Maybe a carrot?"
"Doc didn't say it needed to be anything specific," Luke said from the island. "Just that the babies need to be fed."
"Carrots it is, then," I nodded, pulling out a bag of baby carrots. I took one for myself, offering the bag to Silas as he shook his head.
"I already gave Delphina some of my sandwich," he said, pointing his thumb towards the cabinet.
"Luke? Gabriel?" I asked, holding the bag out to them.
"Thanks, Sang," Gabriel nodded, and I walked over to give them the bag before turning back to Emma's crib with her carrot.
"Here you go, little Emma," I cooed to her, holding the carrot up to her smiling mouth and waiting a few moments so I could pretend she took a bite.
The rest of the morning passed in the same fashion. After I finished feeding Emma, Owen and Sean both joined us from outside. They'd claimed to be getting the water balloons ready for our fight this afternoon, and after seeing Sean's drenched hair I didn't question them.
We made our way back to Siberia's TV room to put on a movie, picking up North from his kitchen on the way. Emma and I snuggled between North and Silas, with Jack occasionally joining Emma in her crib for company.
The first diaper change was a breeze, as we didn't really have to do anything. Sean handed out wet wipes and baby powder to help make it more believable. Kota surprised us all by managing to fold and tape a Kleenex, which looked shockingly similar to a diaper, onto Max.
When asked where the baby powder came from, Sean mumbled that it felt nicer than aftershave. That explained why Sean's skin always smelled so good and was baby soft after he shaved.
Lunch passed without any issues, and everyone's eggs had been kept well fed with happy nappies. Before I knew it, it was one o'clock and our greatest challenge was upon us.
Water Balloon Capture the Flag.
I had changed into my emerald bikini, slipping on a pair of white cloth shorts and foregoing a shirt for the time being. The boys wouldn't be wearing them, and it would just weigh me down once it was wet. Picking Emma up out of her shoebox, I grabbed my towel out of the bathroom before skipping downstairs and heading towards the loud voices carrying in from outside.
"Here we go, Emma," I whispered, tugging the sliding door open and stepping out into the sun's warm kiss. "Time to play with your daddies."
"Trouble, get your cute little ass over here!" Gabriel called from across the yard. "We're picking teams!"
I tugged my shorts down a bit before jogging over to where the boys were forming a makeshift huddle. The sight of all nine men in their barechested glory was something I would never take for granted, no matter how many years we'd been together. They were mesmerizing, and I spent a lot of energy keeping my gaze above their necks.
"Who're the captains?" I asked, holding Emma in front of me with both hands. A quick glance around the circle showed that everyone still had their egg with them. Or eggs, in Luke's case. I wasn't sure how he planned on holding a water balloon when his hands were already full.
"North and Silas," Owen informed me as the two captains took their places in front of us. "North, start us off."
"Baby," North announced gruffly, curling his finger at me.
I pursed my lips as I walked towards him, not sure if I wanted to smile or groan. They always picked me first. Every. Single. Time. No matter what the game, whenever I wasn't captain, I'd be chosen first. I told them it wouldn't hurt my feelings to be chosen last, but the boys just looked at me like I was crazy for ever thinking they wouldn't pick me.
Maybe it was because I cheated.
"Owen," Silas decided with a nod, and Owen joined the other team.
"Kota," North barked, and I gave Kota a soft high-five when he jogged over to us.
"Nathan," Silas chose after a beat. North eyed the eggs in Luke's hands before huffing a breath.
"Sean," North grunted, looking towards the doctor.
"Look, Sang Junior!" Sean gasped, holding his egg up beside his head. "You get to be on a team with your mommy!"
I shook my head with giggle at the ridiculous man.
"Gabriel, get over here," Silas nodded towards him, and Gabriel jumped up to comply.
"Vic," North decided, rolling his shoulders as Victor and Luke both went to their respective teams.
"You're going down, little brother!" Luke declared tauntingly.
"You can't even hold a fucking balloon, Luke," North retorted before turning back towards us. "Okay, here's the plan. Take Luke out."
"North, we really shouldn't target just one of them," Sean rolled his eyes with a smile.
"He's fucking with us, Doc," North argued, holding up Jack to make his point. "Trying to show us up by having more eggs. Like it means he's got a bigger dick or something."
"Um, what?" I choked on nothing, wondering where that'd come from.
"Luke is just having fun, North. Let him be," Sean answered patiently before clapping his hands together. "Now there are two hundred water balloons total. That means about twenty for each of us, so let's make them count."
"Fine," North grumbled, taking a deep breath before letting it out. "We'll go on the offensive, but nothing too sneaky. They have Luke and Owen, so they're bound to be up to something shifty. Keep your eyes peeled, and find that flag."
"Who's on offense?" Kota asked somberly, tapping his finger repeatedly against Max.
"Let's see," North frowned, looking us over. "I want Sean on defense with me. Kota and Sang, you're offense. Vic, you'll be our inbetween and spy. Sound good?"
We all nodded in agreement, and I felt the adrenaline start to flow as we neared starting time.
"Oh, wait!" I ordered, slipping a hand in my pocket and pulling out a carrot. "Let's feed them now, so we don't have to worry about it mid game."
"Smart, Sang," Kota smiled, and I almost dropped the carrot when I saw the pride in his eyes.
"What a thoughtful mommy," Sean agreed, accepting the offered carrot and holding it against Sang Junior. "Here you go, wubby lubby baby boo."
"Doc, stop," North groaned, rubbing at the skin between his eyes.
"Little Northy-worthy-poo is just jelly-jealous. Isn't that right, wubby lubby?" Sean cooed to the egg, placing a smacking kiss on the top of its shell.
The carrot was passed around, and once all of the babies were fed we turned to see Silas's team in a huddle two backyards over.
"You guys want front or back?" North's voice boomed across the space, starling me into dropping the carrot.
Thank gosh it wasn't Emma.
"We'll take the front," Silas called back. "Five minutes to hide your flag, then we'll start. Timer?"
"Counting down in, 3...2...1, go!" Kota called back, pressing a button on his watch. We watched the other boys jog around the house before making our own move.
"Birdhouse?" Kota asked, looking around the yard with a calculating eye.
"That'll be one of the first places they check," Victor shook his head, walking over to stand behind me and encircling his arms around my waist. I leaned back into the welcome touch, relaxed by the warmth of his bare skin against my back. "We need something either so obvious they won't think to actually check it, or hidden so well they'll never find it."
"How about the loose brick behind Siberia?" I asked, pointing towards North's townhouse. We'd discovered the oddity when Luke had been teaching a few of us to climb up the back of the house, and an entire brick fell out once we got to the second story.
"Luke knows about it, and he'll easily reach it," North shook his head with a frown.
"Even with his three babies?" Sean asked in surprise.
"He'd find a way," Kota agreed with North.
"What about that pipe near the birdhouse?" North asked, looking towards the forest behind us. "We could probably fit it in there."
"Then cover it with leaves," Kota nodded, his eyes narrowing on the shrubbery. "Let's do it. Everyone agree?"
With another round of nods, North took off into the trees, and Victor rested his chin on my shoulder.
"You look beautiful, Sang," he whispered against the skin beneath my ear before placing a soft kiss there, and I turned slightly to place a kiss on the tip of his nose.
"Thank you, Victor," I answered sincerely, resting my arms over his and tracing his exposed skin with my free fingers. "And you look handsome in that swimsuit."
"I'm glad that you're on my team, so it's not as quite as detrimental that you're distracting me," his baritone voice did funny things to my stomach as his free hand splayed across it. Flexing out his fingers, his pinky traced the top of my shorts. "I remember the last time you wore this bikini."
"You do?" I licked my lips, pushing further into Victor's hold when his lips brushed across my shoulder in a featherlight touch. Then his tongue joined in, dancing across the skin at the base of my neck.
Victor made a sound of agreement, pushing in closer even though I was already flush against him.
"The end of last summer," he murmured against my skin, his breath fanning over the part of my neck he had licked, and I shivered at the sensations. "Labor Day barbeque."
"You played your new song," I recalled, trailing my toes up one of Victor's bare feet as my fingers kept up their exploration of his forearms. "It was...remarkable."
"I much preferred playing you," Victor responded readily, lips smiling against my neck as his fingers trailed up to dance across my ribs.
"Oh, yeah?" I chuckled a little breathlessly as he started swaying us slightly, side to side. "Well, I think we both know how much I prefer your magical fingers playing me, too."
"Hey, lovebirds!" North called from behind us, sounding further away than I expected. "Pay attention to the game, we're starting soon!"
"Sorry, North," Victor called back, warm breath tickling my neck as he let out a sigh.
"Have you been working on any new songs lately?" I asked, turning around as Victor's arms loosened.
"A few things, but nothing I've written myself," Victor admitted, looking down at the grass.
"Can I listen to you play one soon?" I asked hopefully, smiling up at his shy expression.
"Of course," Victor's gaze shot up, engulfing me in their flames as his smile spread. "But for now, I need you to go to the other side of the house so I can concentrate on something other than how your bikini top is holding itself up with only a single bow."
"Good luck with that," I laughed, leaning up to give Victor a quick kiss before turning towards the house. I took off at a brisk jog, with Emma in hand, looking around the yard for Kota.
"Over here!" Kota's hushed voice reached me, and I saw him leaning against the brick at the edge of Headquarters. He placed one finger over his lips as I approached, before dropping his own voice to a whisper. "Stay quiet, we've got twenty seconds left on the clock before go-time."
Plan? I signed with my right hand after moving Emma to my left.
Find the flag. Don't get hit, Kota signed back before holding out a red bookbag. I accepted it, noticing Kota already had one attached to his own back. Kota helped me get my arm through one strap before lugging it onto my shoulder. Water balloons were heavy.
Good plan, I signed back with an eyeroll, causing Kota to smile. But how?
Stay hi- Kota cut himself off, dropping his hand and glancing at his watch. Go!
We shot around the corner, and I fell into line behind Kota as he crept along the wall. Slipping my free hand into the backpack's open pocket, I lifted out a balloon the size of an orange and held it at the ready.
We crept further down the side until Kota could glance around the corner, and I kept an eye on the opposite direction. There was an open grass area between Headquarters and the next group of townhomes, and we'd be able to see anyone who tried to run across.
Luke had gotten around this in the past by running around the surrounding townhouses or climbing over the roof of ours.
Kota's wrist tapped my arm, his own balloon held at the ready. I nudged him back, and we took off around the corner.
"Intruders!" Gabriel yelled from the mailbox area as he saw us. I launched my water balloon at him, seeing him instinctively duck before my gaze shot around the rest of the front yard. Silas was standing near the front landscaping of Siberia, and I caught the back of Nathan's head before he rounded the corner of Siberia and disappeared from sight. "Get 'em!"
Silas launched a balloon from two houses over, but Kota and I barely managed to jump back before it popped against the grass at our feet, showering our legs in the process.
After that, it was a massacre. Luke dropped a balloon on my head from a window above, and Kota threw two balloons rapidly at Gabriel, getting him square in the chest with the second one. Victor made his presence known from the other side of the house with Nathan trailing him, and I hurled balloon after balloon at Silas with as much power as I could.
Emma was safe and secure in my left hand, while I consciously kept myself from gripping her too hard.
"You can't run forever, Aggele!" Silas's voice floated after me as I took off around the house again. Kota and Victor were holding their own, and Luke had disappeared again. "If you come back here, I'll give you a nice, big hug!"
It was tempting.
"Sean!" I called out as I skidded to a stop in the backyard, looking around for any sign of said doctor. "Sean?"
"Retreat, Pookie, retreat!" Sean called, but it was too late. I turned, just in time to see that Owen had managed to sneak up behind me.
And he had the hose.
"No!" I cried, taking off for the forest as I felt the bitter cold jet make contact with my back. He had the nerve to dip the hose lower, hitting my bottom as I yelped, before moving up to my back again. "Owen!"
"You're looking a little wet, my dear," Owen called after me, a smile in his voice.
I blindly lobbed a balloon over my shoulder, praying it would hit him as I ducked behind the nearest tree.
"Pookie, up here!" I heard whispered above me, and I let out a relieved breath.
"Sean!" I called up quietly, squinting into the trees. "Hurry, Owen is down here!"
"Stay still, Pookie!" The hushed whisper traveled down to me, but I still couldn't see where Sean was hiding.
"Okay, just get down here!" I insisted, setting my bookbag down and pulling out another balloon. I was already over half out, only four remaining. We were toast. "We need to regroup."
"As you wish," he responded, and I looked up to see a blur of blonde hair as he dropped out of the tree.
But it wasn't Sean smirking back at me, it was Luke.
"Sorry, Pookie!" He grinned tauntingly, holding a balloon over my head and popping it with his lockpick before I could even blink. The water hit me like a hammer, drenching my already wet hair and trickling down my skin. "Better luck next time!"
Luke juked around the tree right as I held up my own balloon, but it was a lost cause. He didn't have a drop of water on him. Even three egg babies couldn't stop him.
As soon as I emerged from the trees, the madness continued. Balloons were thrown, orders were shouted, and eggs were protected at all costs.
But in the end, neither flag was found, and my team lost on account of all five of us being soaking wet.
We spent the next half hour relaxing on the porch. Sunbathing to dry off, and taking turns feeding and changing our tiny charges. Miraculously, they had all survived the water fight. I only wish I could've said the same about my hair. It was a mess.
With our egg game winding down and the sun making us lazy, we shuffled back into Headquarters and found ourselves back on the couches.
"I must excuse myself," Owen explained, heading towards the stairs as the rest of us sat down. I settled in Sean's lap, closing my eyes as I felt a nap coming on. "I need to freshen up with a shower."
"Don't drop the soap!" Luke called after him teasingly, before frowning thoughtfully. "Or the egg, actually."
"Is the game over, then?" Nathan asked, looking down at Donatello with a small frown. "We don't need to keep our babies, uh, I mean eggs, safe anymore?"
"Correct, the experiment is over," Sean assured him, smacking a noisy kiss on my cheek. I didn't bother to wipe off the little bit of slobber he left. "Sang knows she's going to be the best mommy in the whole wide world now."
I wouldn't go that far.
"In that case, I'm gonna get some hay and put these little guys under my nightlight to see if they hatch," Luke grinned excitedly, and he was out the door to his townhouse before any of us could stop him.
"Luke has a nightlight?" Was all Kota said.
"It's shaped like a narwhal," Gabriel explained with a nod as Silas got up and headed towards the kitchen.
"Since it's over, I'll put our eggs back," Victor volunteered, standing up and holding Charlotte's shoebox out to me. I looked down at Emma, overcome by how much I cared for this little egg. How much I wanted to protect her and take care of her. If I felt this strongly over an egg, how would I feel with our actual baby?
"Thank you, Victor," I sighed, planting a soft kiss on Emma's head before placing her in the shoebox with Charlotte. Sean added his egg as well, and Victor headed over to North.
"What the-" Victor froze as North placed his egg in the basket. With a puzzled glance at North, Victor lifted Jack out of the box and gave him an odd look. "Why is Jack so heavy?"
North shrugged, avoiding our eyes as he crossed his arms.
"North?" Sean pressed gently, causing North to let out an angry breath.
"Ihardboiledhim," North grumbled, looking down at his lap.
"What?" I asked, not making out what he said.
"I fucking hardboiled him! Okay?" North snapped, and we all gaped at him for a moment. Sean's shaking chest broke me out of my stupor as he exploded with laughter. I joined in next, helpless to the giggles taking over while North sulked. The laughter spread until North couldn't stop his own lips from twitching, and he shook his head.
"You guys are crazy," he sighed, uncrossing his arms and relaxing back against the couch.
"We're not the ones who hardboiled our baby," I pointed out teasingly, feeling a little sassy as North's eyes narrowed on me.
"Anyone else want an omelette?" Silas called from the kitchen, cracking Delphina against the side of a bowl before letting her insides fall into it. "I'm starving."
A/N: Alternative ending (because I'm starting to accept that my brain just can't stick to one path. I really wanted to use this one originally, but I liked the idea of ending this chapter with Silas going all Hannibal on us. You can just pretend that both happened, because that's what I'm doing):
"Let's get a family picture," I suggested with a smile, purposefully keeping my eyes away from where Gabriel was balancing Little Fucker on his nose. "With us and all of our egg-babies."
"Gabriel, do you have your camera?" Owen asked, holding Olivia dutifully in front of his stomach.
"Let me go grab it," Gabriel answered, and I looked over just in time to see him drop his head, Little Fucker falling in the process, before his hand swept up the egg in a flourishing gesture. "Ta-da!"
I think I almost had a heart attack.
"Where do you want us, Pumpkin?" Sean asked as Gabriel disappeared into the connecting townhouse. "On a couch?"
"In bed?" Luke suggested before Nathan chopped him on the head.
"Let's see," I hummed thoughtfully, looking around the room. "How about in front of the fireplace?"
"Then we can hang it over the mantle!" Luke grinned excitedly.
"We're not hanging up a picture of us holding eggs for other people to see," North protested with a sense of finality.
"But I wanna remember this," Nathan frowned.
"Put it in a fucking locket then," North shot back, sinking further down into the couch.
"We can put it in my bedroom," I suggested with shrug. "The only other people who are ever really in my bedroom are Jessica and Kayli. They won't care."
"Got it!" Gabriel shouted before he came flying through the door, bulky camera in one hand and a tripod in the other. "Where's the magic happening?"
"In bed," Luke fake-coughed into his fist, setting off a round of snickers as I rolled my eyes.
"We'll be in front of the fireplace, Gabriel," Owen instructed as he stepped forward, motioning us all to start moving. We dutifully followed along to the fireplace, and there wasn't a moment of hesitation or bumping into each other as we all immediately fell into formation. Sean, Nathan, Silas, North, and Owen formed the back row, stepping up on the fireplace stoop to get a little extra height. Luke, Kota, me, and Victor made up the front row.
"Okay, I'm setting the timer to five seconds!" Gabriel called out from behind the camera while he simultaneously tried to tame his mussed hair. "Everyone hold up their egg babies and give me an egg-stra special smile!"
Silas's laugh boomed from behind me at the pun, almost overshadowing North's grumble as Kota placed an arm around my shoulders. Victor slipped his hand into my free one, and I held Emma up proudly with my other.
"A little to your left, Nathan!" Gabriel instructed, his hand waving in the air to accompany the order. "North, we can't see Jack. Where's your fucking egg? Owen, stand a little straighter. Just kidding, that's impossible. Luke, stop kissing Thor! Sang, hold that smile, gorgeous."
I couldn't have stopped smiling if I tried.
"Just take the fucking picture, Gabe!" North barked, and Gabriel tweaked with the camera settings a moment more before he came flying over to us and took his spot next to Victor.
"Here we go!" He beamed, and Victor gave my hand a squeeze. I took one last look at Emma to make sure she was pointing at the camera before I looked back at it myself.
"Say cheese-omelette!" Silas called as the light blinked for a third time.
"Cheese-omelette!" I smiled, my eyes watering while I tried not to blink as the flash went off.
Not even a second after the camera clicked, I heard the distinctly dreadful sound of an egg splattering against something hard for the second time that day.
My shoulders tensed, and I risked a looked behind me as the family room drained of all sound.
There, on the stone step of our fire place and less than three feet away from me, was a shiny black loafer that I'd personally witnessed be polished to perfection on several quiet nights.
And it was covered in egg entrails.
"Shit," Owen cursed.