Chapter 29
"So, are you ready to start your advanced training?" Confidence Heart asked, tightening her black belt around her waist as she stood in the middle of the gym and faced Swift Heart.
She nodded, "Yup! I've been waiting all day for this."
"Good. First show me how high you can jump," Confidence instructed.
"And here I thought you had a challenge for me." Bending her knees she sprang a good six feet into the air.
Confidence whistled, "Impressive, I wasn't' sure if you were built for that kind of high jump. I guess we can skip the frog hops then."
Swift Heart shrugged innocently. "Jumping and running are my two best things. I'm kind of built for it, ya know?"
"Well like you said, being built for one doesn't mean you're good at the other," Confidence replied.
"Aww, I wanted to see her frog hopping," Love Heart called, laughing from where he and Grumpy were sitting with their robot kids.
Scowling at him, Swift Heart presented him with her hind end, "You see this cotton tail? It does not frog hop."
"Just ignore him, it's a good lesson to not let yourself get too distracted," Confidence said. "But as I said earlier it's time for you to put your all into this and as you've probably guessed, you need to learn jump kicks, because you can't always keep your feet on the ground in the middle of a fight."
"Got that right." Turning her back to the boys she said, "Alright Confidence. What's the first step?"
"Balance for jumps and how to land. Even if you miss you have to be able to land in such a way that you don't leave yourself too open for an attack," Confidence explained. "You have to land lightly enough that you don't spend too much time recovering from the hitting the ground, and of course it's best if you land on your feet."
"And not on that cute little cotton tail you're so proud of," Grumpy called.
"If I weren't ignoring you I'd say something unladylike about just what you think of my cottontail," Swift Heart called back. To Confidence however she asked, "So you want me to keep jumping and practice my landings?"
Confidence nodded, "Yes but do it while moving and try to move in a different direction and at different speeds each time. Also you need to make your jumps quicker, speed up the time between the start of your jump and when you actually leave the ground."
Swift Heart nodded and leapt into the air. As she landed she turned to the left as quickly as she could and jumped in that direction. She kept changing it up as she went along, preferring to do the fast jumps over the slow ones. A couple of the kids watching clapped and laughed at Swift Heart as she jumped around.
"Watch where you're going too and always keep an eye on what's around you," Confidence called to Swift Heart.
"Huh?" She had been in the zone and had totally forgotten anyone else was there. As such, she landed on a slippery spot on the floor and crashed to her back.
Confidence moved to help her up, "That's what I mean, if you zone out or stop paying attention in the middle of a fight then a lot worse will happen than falling on your butt."
"No kidding. It's just second nature for me I guess. When I run there is no need for me to pay attention to anything." Gripping the hand Confidence held out to her she let the fennec help her up.
The babies were giggling at Swift Heart's fall and Love Heart stroked the head of the fennec as they watched Swift Heart start her jumps again. "So Grumpy, what do you think about this?" he asked.
"I think if she is going to be falling a lot, then she is going to be pretty frustrated." He was bouncing the bunny bot on his knee while its bear counterpart slept in the stroller. "But I'm glad she's learning a new way to protect herself."
"I know what you mean. I wouldn't handle it well if something happened to Confidence Heart. Though if someone tried to take her captive then I'd probably be more worried for the poor guy who thinks she wouldn't fight back," Love Heart said, trying to imagine such a situation.
Grumpy nodded, "Can't argue with that. Plus I've already lived through that. Swift Heart being captured was one of the worst moments of my life." The baby bunny reached over towards the fennec and made garbly noises. Grumpy moved her closer to the other baby so they could interact. Another thud drew his attention back to the girls and he saw Swift Heart on the ground again. "Don't get frustrated. Just slow it down and pay attention."
"It's just like learning to drive." Confidence helped Swift Heart stand again, "You have to stop thinking too much about what your body is doing and more on what is going to happen when you do it."
"That doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't my body just do what I was telling it to?" She questioned.
"When you drive how much thought do you put into the act of turning the wheel, or pushing the pedals?" Confidence asked.
"Well I guess I don't put that much thought into it. It's sort of become second nature and I just sort of...got it. Point taken." Swift Heart looked slightly embarrassed.
"Everyone trips up their first few times so just keep trying and you'll get it," Confidence reassured her. Nodding she resumed jumping around, doing her best to think ahead.
Harmony was looking over at Brave Heart in absolute shock. It seemed like Brave Heart hadn't put their robot down since they'd brought it home. She hadn't even had a chance to do anything with it but give it its bottle once. "You sure you don't want me to handle the little tyke for a moment?"
"I can't help it Harmony, you know I want to be a dad," Brave Heart tickled the robot under its chin, producing some happy noises.
"Yea I know. And he is totally smitten with you it seems." Getting up she moved over to peer down at the little orange bear. He in turn tilted his head up and grew quiet. "Aww come on man. Don't quit your noise on my account."
"Do you really want to hold him?" Brave Heart asked.
Harmony kissed Brave Heart's mane. "Nah, I'm good. You enjoy him. When you are finally sick of him I'll take him off your hands."
"Might not be for a while," Brave Heart said, laughing.
"Hey technically I had him to myself for 2 weeks. And I hear sharing is good," she replied.
"Does this mean I'll have to look our actual kids for nine months?" Brave Heart asked.
"You got it daddyo." She patted him on the back before moving off to get a drink from the kitchen.
"Ah well, that's probably the least I can do." Brave Heart chuckled. "Harmony, want to the park for a while?" he called after his mate.
Coming back and drinking a diet coke she nodded. "I could go for some fresh air."
"Alright." Brave Heart stood up with their kid in hand and they headed out the door.
Harmony took Brave Heart's free hand as they headed for the park. It was such a pretty day she was sure they'd run into some other couples at the park. "I think the boy bot is cute and all, but when we do this for real, I hope we have a girl."
"I'll love it no matter what it is, but I'll hope for a girl too, for you." Brave Heart gave her a kiss.
"So compliant." Looking at the baby boy she said, "But like I said munchkin. I don't mind you." He finally responded to her and kicked his feet.
"He likes you," Brave Heart said as they arrived at the park to find Love-a-Lot and Valiant there with their kid.
Love-a-Lot smiled at them, "Hey you two. Come out to enjoy the nice day also I see."
"Yup," Brave Heart said as they moved closer.
"We didn't just want to sit inside for the whole assignment, figured we should have some fun," Valiant replied.
"Brave Heart suggested it for us." Harmony sat on the bench and smiled at Brave Heart, "Alright boys. Have fun and stay where I can see you okay?" She said in her best mom voice.
"I don't know how well the can crawl," Valiant said as he sat down in the sandbox. "Bright Heart did say they wouldn't jam up from sand though so they should be fine here."
"Well going off how well his walking refrigerator moved, I'm betting these tykes can go as well. Right sweetie?" Love-a-Lot asked her robot while tickling its cheeks.
"Let's hope they don't go crazy like that fridge then," Brave Heart said.
"Nah it's all good, Grumpy was there to edit him I'm sure. He is the more practical of the two," Harmony told them while sipping her drink.
"That's good. Hey!" Valiant held up his hand to block some sand thrown at him by his kid.
Love-a-Lot gently took hol dof his hands, "No no sweetie. That's not how we play. Throwing sand is not nice."
Harmony shook her head, "Brave Heart maybe take him down to the swing. I don't need you two tracking sand back in the house."
"Alright." Brave Heart lifted the bot baby up and carried him over to the swingset before he set the baby in one of the smaller swings with the leg holes so it couldn't fall out.
"Aw come on Harmony. A little dirt is good for them," Love-a-Lot told her.
"Them yes. My clothes, no," she responded with an easy smile.
"He likes the swing though," Brave Heart said, as he pushed the bear bot on the swings, causing it to shriek with joy.
Love-a-Lot laughed at his joy. "I can see that." She was currently helping her kid put sand in a bucket so they could attempt a sand castle.
"Ugg, man these kids are really taking it out of me," Champ groaned, "and it's ionly been four days, how are we gonna survive the next ten?"
Cheer looked at him bleary eyed from across the table. "Champ, I'm so tired I can barely lift the spoon from this bowl. And I feel like if I think about it I'm going to cry so can we not and just enjoy this brief moment of silence from those terrors in there?" She looked to the closed door of the spare bedroom.
Champ nodded. "Want some coffee?" he asked.
"Yes please." She said while eating some oatmeal.
Champ poured a mug of coffee for each of them. "Cream or sugar?" he asked.
"Yes to all the above." She mumbled. Rubbing her hand against her forehead she left it propped there, keeping her head upright. "I hope to the great wishing star after this I don't have to change a diaper for a long time."
"After this, me either," Champ said as he poured milk and sugar into Cheer's mug and handed it to her, adding a little milk to his to cool it down.
"Thanks baby." Taking the mug she took a little sip from it. "It's so unfair we got twins," she whined with a little sniff.
"Tell me about it," Champ agreed before taking a deep drink from his mug. "I'm sure the other twinners have their hands full too though."
She glared at him, "I doubt it. I bet only we got shrieking banshees with super sensitive ears. Playful and Funshine are probably planning family heists, Guidance and Anger I'm sure have a secret power to handle their twins, same goes for Confidence and Love Heart, and Grumpy freaking made these things. He must know ways to shut them up." Actual frustration tears slid down her cheeks.
Champ set his mug down and moved over to Cheer, giving her a hug, "There there, it'll be alright," he tried to reassure her, even though he wasn't' entirely convinced of his own words.
"I thought we'd be great at this. We are great at everything. But we suck." She cried harder, "I don't like sucking Champ."
"I don't like it either," Champ admitted, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.
Calming down she took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I'm just really tired." Taking another sip of coffee she began to feel a little more awake as well. "I'll just keep telling myself, our real kids won't be like this."
"They won't, I promise," Champ said. "And even if they are it won't be for a long time."
Holding his hand she nodded. "Champ, what are we doing? Are we really going to let two little robots beat us? We don't get beaten." Her former confidence was returning.
"That's the spirit. But not too loud, we should get what rest we can while we can," Champ said, smiling at her.
Leaning forward she kissed him, "Let's go to bed."
"Then we powder the tushy, tug up the diaper, and fasten you nice and snuggly." Treat Heart said out loud as she finished changing her baby girl's diaper. The yellow orange tye-dyed bear attempted to roll over. "Oh no no silly goose." Picking her up Treat Heart swung her around. "Let's go find daddy shall we?"
Birthday was in the kitchen going through a recipe book when Treat Heart and their daughter-bot entered. "Everything went alright?" he asked.
"We are daisy fresh and as wriggley as always." Treat Heart told him. She had the bot propped on her hip and she was playing with the long necklace Treat Heart had on.
"Well that's good. At least she's relatively calm." Birthday smiled.
"Yup. Find any good ones?" She asked looking over his shoulder at the book.
"Just some stir fries that sound tasty," Birthday replied.
"Yummm sounds good. What do you think little one?" The baby made a series of noises. "I think she agrees."
"Too bad we can't feed it real food," Birthday lamented.
"That would not end well. I'm pretty sure if we short circuit our baby it counts as a fail," Treat Heart replied with a giggle.
"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Birthday asked.
"Good question. Do we have enough food for your recipes or do we need to go shopping?" Treat Heart asked.
"Last I checked, I think we should go shopping," Birthday replied, shutting the cook book.
Treat Heart handed the robot over, "Take her for a second while I get my purse and change."
Birthday nodded and took the bot from Treat Heart. He looked down at the girl, "So how do you feel?" he asked.
"Vaaaaannnananan ceeewww laaaa pooooaaaa" She said to him matter-of-factly.
Birthday laughed, "Sure I guess so."
Returning Treat Heart said, "Alright lets go shopping."
"Right." Birthday stood up and followed Treat Heart out of the house.
In the cloudmobile outside, Treat Heart took her time strapping the girl into the carseat in the back seat. "Make sure you drive slow Birthday."
"I will," Birthday reassured her as he started the vehicle.
Once they were airborne Treat Heart dug a bag of M&Ms from her bag and offered them to Birthday, "Want some?"
"No thanks, I gotta make sure I drive properly," he said.
Smirking she poured some into her hand. "Open." She held her hand out, clearly ready to pop them into his mouth.
"Oh alroumph!" Birthday tried to speak only for Treat Heart to stuff them in while he was in mid-sentence.
"No talking with your mouth full, you'll set a bad example for our daughter."
Birthday just sighed inwardly and chewed up the chocolate in his mouth before swallowing.
"How do you think we are doing Birthday? With the assignment I mean," Treat asked.
"I think we're doing alright. I still can't figure out what the secret to getting the best grade is though," Birthday admitted.
"Neither can I." A whimper had Treat Heart turning around. Seeing the toy on the floor she picked it up and handed it back to the baby bear.
"Well at least we're trying," Birthday said.
"And there, I hope he stays asleep longer this time," Perfect said, emerging from the bedroom where the robot child's crib was.
"How can anyone sleep when they get to play cowboy all morning?" Tender Heart asked while looking to Perfect. He had been running the cub around on his shoulders and making horse noises.
"At least it seems to have worn itself out now," Calm Heart said.
"He. And yes he has quite the high energy meter." Perfect agreed with his head on Tender Heart's shoulder now. He was exhausted.
"Well you two can just sit there and I'll make us some lunch then," Calm Heart offered.
"I can help you Calm Heart. You fed the baby this morning after all," Tenderheart offered.
"Thanks for the offer, Tenderheart, but that act didn't require me to physically tire myself out. Just stay there and relax for a bit," Calm Heart insisted before she departed.
"Stay with me for now, Tender," Perfect mock-pleaded.
Smiling at Perfect he put his arm around him, "Sure thing honey."
"Mmm," Perfect sighed before watching Calm Heart go, a smirk on his face. "She's really something else though, Calm Heart I mean," he commented.
Tender heart nodded, "I've enjoyed having her here these past two weeks. I never knew we had so much in common with her."
"Even her build," Perfect said, giggling slightly.
Quirking an eye at the panda he asked, "And you've noticed this how?"
"Oh well, I just liked watching her work." Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss, "don't think I haven't seen you giving her the once over a few times," he added with a smile on his face.
"I was just checking her over in a totally harmless way. Not like there was much else to do," Tenderheart defended himself.
"Oh don't be defensive, Tender. I trust you," Perfect reassured him.
Tender Heart smiled at him and kissed him. 'I just wish I trusted me.' He told himself.
After they broke the kiss a thought occurred to Perfect. "Why don't we invite her to say?"
"Really? You don't think it' be too crowded?" Tenderheart asked.
"It hasn't really felt crowded these last three weeks, especially since we all share the same bed," Perfect replied.
"Oh I dunno. There were some nights when she was pregnant it felt a little crowded." Tender attempted to joke. "But I know what you mean."
"Yeah well, that won't happen again for a while. It takes longer for a real baby to grow." Perfect smiled.
Tenderheart nodded and patted Perfect on the shoulder. "We'll talk to her when she comes back about her staying for good."
"You know the kitchen isn't that far away, I heard everything you were saying," Calm Heart said as she re-entered the room.
"I thought you were cooking," Tenderheart said.
"I have to wait for the water to boil," Calm Heart replied. "But about your idea, I would actually like to keep living with both of you." She smiled, "it gets lonely at my house and I really like both of you."
"Just like?" Perfect asked, giving a grin.
"Maybe more, but I didn't think you two would be interested at all because you're gay," Calm Heart explained.
Tender Heart smiled at her, "Just because we are gay doesn't mean we can't like girls." He knew he was feeling something for her, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. This was all totally new uncharted territory.
"I think that means you're bi Tender," Perfect said, giving the bear a kiss.
Tenderheart shook his head, "But I've never felt like this about any other girl before. It's just been Calm. And, I dunno, the like I feel for her is not totally sexual." He countered.
"It's not unheard of for people of a certain sexual orientation to have feelings for someone of a sex they don't typically feel attracted to due to personal traits," Calm Heart sugested.
"Or because you have a more guy-like build," Perfect said, smirking.
Calm Heart laughed, "I'll take that a compliment." Her ears perked, "water's boiling," she said before she headed back into the kitchen.
Tenderheart was feeling a familair feeling in his gut. Whenever new things happened he hadn't accounted for, he tended to have anxiety attacks. The panic of having to deal with these unforeseen events made him nervous and antsy. His developing feelings for Calm Heart when he had acknowledged and been happy with the fact he was gay was setting off one of these attacks. "I just remembered I have some papers to look over." Getting up off the couch he hurried to his home office.
Perfect sighed, "Poor Tender." He stood up and followed after Tenderheart, who had shut his office door once he entered. Perfect quietly knocked on the door and asked, "Do you need to be alone?"
"You can come in." As Perfect opened the door he looked at him. Tenderheart was tossing one of his stress balls back and forth in his hands. "I just, um, needed some time to think. And relax. I just don't understand what's happening."
"Oh Tender," Perfect walked over to the bear and squeezed his shoulders comfortingly. "I know it's confusing but it's not a problem. Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered.
"Just let me wrap my head around this, and get used to these new feelings. You know I'm not good with change. And just be honest about how you are feeling," he told his boyfriend.
"Well I think it's good. Maybe not what I expected to happen when we started this project but it's not a bad thing at all," Perfect replied. "I won't mind sharing a house with both of you."
Tenderheart paused with his ball and looked straight at Perfect, "But will you be okay sharing me with her?" He asked him quietly.
Perfect gave Tenderheart a hug, "I'll need to adjust but I promise I won't be mad. You know the saying, the more love you share the more there is to go around."
Hugging Perfect back he replied, "I was just loving what we had. It was so new and exciting. Did you ever think this would happen?"
"No I didn't," Perfect admitted, "but this is new and exciting too. It's an adventure we can have with more people to shoulder the burden and we're all reasonable, we can work out any problems that come up." Nodding he began tossing the ball back and forth again, falling silent once more.
"Lunch is ready, if you two want some." Calm Heart was standing at the door to Tenderheart's office, a look of concern on her face.
"I'll be out shortly. I'm not feeling so hungry at the moment," Tenderheart told Calm, putting a smile on for her.
"I understand. It's only macaroni and cheese. I'll make up a grocery list for later," Calm Heart replied before leaving the office.
"Think she heard us again?" Perfect asked his boyfriend.
"Most likely. We'll have to remember her hearing is better than ours."
"Well it's helped so far, I think she understands how you feel. At least she's not pushy about things anymore." Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss, "I'm going to have lunch and help her make the shopping list, alright Tender?"
"Alright." He returned Perfect's kiss briefly. As his boyfriend left he sunk back into the office chair, deep in thought.
Snowy slumped down in a chair in the bedroom. "Finally she's asleep," he whispered, worried that he might wake it up.
Plopping down on the bed, Share curled up on her side. "I thought she would never go down. We'll have to learn some new tricks." She sighed.
"Maybe I can find something online," Snowy suggested. "Once I find the urge to stand."
Grabbing a pillow Share sighed and closed her eyes, "Oh no rush. Sit there for as long as you need."
"I'm getting up," Snowy finally relented. As he reached the bedroom door he turned and said, "Let's not have kids for a good long time, we're definitely not ready for this."
Share nodded, "No arguments. And I know it's so out of character for me, but I like having you all to myself." Cracking an eyelid she smirked at him.
"Nothing wrong with being a little selfish now and then," Snowy reassured her. "No one can be 100% generous all the time," he added as he headed to check for stuff on the internet.
Share attempted to get some sleep herself but couldn't seem to. Getting up slowly she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and went to find Snowy. Seeing him in front of the computer she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder, "Find anything?"
"A few tips on how to tire kids out faster. Keep them awake and active for longer periods of time so they sleep longer. I'm not quite sure where to look though," Snowy admitted.
"It's a good start. I can ask the others about what works for them too," she told him.
"If we can ever get out to ask them." Snowy looked up at her, "Cant's sleep?" he asked.
"Nope. It's cold back there," She told him with a sigh. "I really should though. All the books and stuff said moms should sleep when the kids sleep."
"Anything I can do to help?" Snowy asked.
Grinning she kissed him, "Come sleep with me?"
"I won't say no to that." Snowy smiled back and shut the computer off.
Share returned to the bed and reclined on it once more, wrapping herself up tight in the blanket. Closing her eyes she waited for Snowy to join her. She didn't have to wait too long as Snowy returned from the family room and lay down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled up with her.
"I see what you mean by it being cold in here, but I hope I can help."
Moving her legs to intertwine with her she murmured, "Oh yes. I'm feeling better already."
"Good, then let's hope we cna both get some sleep while we can," Snowy replied, giving her a soft kiss.
"Yup. Definitley no kids for a while." She stated as she snuggled against him.
Friend was sitting with the boy robot she and Secret had been given and was playing with it. She would hand it a block and it would just toss it or slam it on the ground. When it got one to sit on top of another it looked pleased with itself. "Good job kiddo." Secret just shook her head at the bot's antics but smiled nonetheless.
"Ow!" One of the blocks hit Friend on the cheek. Laughing it off she picked up a softer toy, "Let's try this one." Turning to Secret she said, "Want to join us?" Secret thought for a moment then shrugged and took a seat with them, whispering in Friend's ear.
Friend nodded, "Yeah he is. He likes messing with things I think. I could hardly keep him away from the toys when we got home." Secret tilted her head sideways and placed her hands under it, making a motion as if she were asleep.
"You think we should put him to bed? It might be hard. He's not tired," she said. Secret silently sighed and nodded before picking up another toy to offer to the robot baby.
He took the toy and looked at it before tossing it back at Secret. Friend giggled. "Between the two of us we should be able to tire him out."
Secret actually vocalized "Ow" when the toy struck her and she rubbed her head where it hit her.
Giggling Friend leaned over and rubbed the spot gently, "Just think what a good baseball player he would be if he were a real boy." Secret giggled back and nodded, handing a softer toy to the robot, only for it to hit her in the head again only less painfully.
"No no sweetie. At our hands." Friend demonstrated by tossing something gently to Secret. Secret caught it then passed it to the bot, making the tossing gesture for it to see.
This time it tossed it gently to Friend and she laughed out loud, "You did it!" Secret clapped her hands and smiled, before giving Friend a little kiss on the cheek.
They played with their robot child for another two hours before he finally began to yawn and rub his eyes. Friend picked him up to place him in the crib, but his arms wrapped around her neck and he fell asleep. "Maybe I'll just let him sleep here." Sitting on the sofa she held onto the bot. Secret sat next to Friend and whispered in her ear.
"Yeah he is." She whispered back. Secret yawned and lay her head on Friend's shoulder.
Friend gently kissed her girlfriend before resting her head on Secrets. "Just two weeks."
Defiant watched Lotsa playing with the elephant baby, tickling it's feet. "You really like her, don't you?" Defiant asked.
"Of course I do. She looks just like me." Grabbing the feet he tickled her belly with his trunk making it squeal.
Defiant laughed, "Well you do have a way with kids, Lotsa, but I'll be looking forwards to when it's just us again after this."
"Not feeling the fatherhood thing?" Lotsa asked while continuing to play with the baby.
"Well... it's more that we haven't had a lot of time to be just us, because of my breakdown after that... thing," Defiant replied.
Handing her a stuffed animal, Lotsa slowly got to his feet and moved to hug Defiant. "When this is all over, we can make some time for us."
Defiant hugged him back, "Thanks Lotsa. I appreciate that."
"I'm sure we could make a small vacation happen, once finals are over. Summer is so close." Lotsa continued to muse.
"I'll help you study for finals if you want, so you don't have to do another year at school," Defiant offered.
He grinned, "That would be awesome. And that's the truth."
Defiant laughed, "Yeah it is, and so is this." Defiant gave Lotsa a kiss.
"Yup that's the truth too." Holding Defiant's head gently he kissed him back.
The baby elephant started crying and Defiant reluctantly separated from Lotsa to check on it, "but I guess we'll have to save that for later." Defiant sighed as he picked up the elephant and started rocking it in his arms.
"It's not so bad. You'll see. Kids can be fun." Lotsa told him while bending to pick up the abandoned stuffed animal.
"Yeah I guess so," Defiant admitted. Sticking up her tiny trunk she attempted to trumpet. It came out as a stressed squeak. Lotsa laughed as did Defiant, "well she's trying."
"And that's all I ask. With practice you'll be able to do this." Taking a deep breath in Lotsa gave a loud trumpet.
Defiant watched the bot react. "She liked that," he commented.
"Of course she did. She's an elephant after all." Lotsa tickled her with his trunk once more.
