It appears this story is randomly going to get a new chapter every year. I don't even know when I wrote this one. I was just sorting my google docs yesterday and decided to read this story again for fun (I truly am my own target audience because I crack myself up with some of the dialogue lmao) and at the end I noticed I had a fully written fifth chapter that just said it needed a grammar check. So here it is.

.oOo.

From the moment Donatello called them into his laboratory and they found out they were getting a little baby, Michelangelo had been ecstatic.

When she actually hatched he was already way past cloud nine. Floating among the stars he was filled with an amazing feeling of fluffy cuteness while imagining near future scenarios of him cradling the baby girl and playing peekaboo, and teaching her to walk and talk, and playing dress-up and tea time, and- and- and!-

Well… in the couple of hours since her hatching he had descended back to Earth, like an old deflated helium balloon, when he'd come to realize that taking care of her was going to be a lot of work, too, and that newborns weren't exactly fun playful rascals.

Today, however, he felt absolutely trapped: Chained to the ground with no way of running away.

He was seriously regretting jumping on the baby train so quickly. Maybe if he had an episode yesterday and closed himself in his room like Raph, his brothers would be going easier on him today. He was the baby brother after all.

Although did the "baby" title still belong to him now that they had an actual baby in their home? That was a scary thought Michelangelo wasn't prepared to think about yet.

"Why do I have to wash the diapers?"

"Because smelling you and your room we concluded that you'd mind it the least."

Mikey managed to look sheepish and offended at the same time. He scratched his arm, thinking what would be the best response to that.

"Because it's your turn, Mikey," Raph added seriously when no reply came and the youngest brother continued to hover above him. "Leo washed them yesterday, Donnie will do it tomorrow and then me. What's the problem?"

"Nothing…"

"Good."

The older brother turned his focus back to hemming a hole on one of the unused cloth diapers that was still getting adjusted for the baby girl and her tail.

Mikey continued to linger beside his brother by the kitchen table, being in no hurry to go anywhere, and watched him sewing with the ease of someone who's learnt the craft at a young age.

They were all pretty well-versed with a needle between their three meaty fingers but Raphael had probably gotten the most experience out of all of them. He really enjoyed crocheting with leftover yarn or sewing plushies out of fabric scraps when they were little. That was until he came to a conclusion that that sort of stuff was for girls and sissies.

Mikey kinda missed getting new plushies. Maybe that hobby would come back to Raph because of Taraya.

The younger brother continued to stand by the table until Raphael turned his face up at him with another questioning expression. At that point Mikey realized he would need to accept his fate. So he sloped out of the kitchen to eventually reach the bathroom and the small pile of dirty diapers.

Thankfully he found Leonardo in the pit watching television, and he had a reason for a detour.

The boy jumped down on the bench next to his brother and smiled at him innocently.

"What do you want, Mikey?" was the oldest brother's automatic response.

Michelangelo laughed nervously and scratched his back. "Funny thing… I was wondering- … Just a thought, y'know? … -what if we switched chores?"

"Hmm interesting thought…" Leo pretended to think about it with a poorly hidden smile behind the hand that was thoughtfully holding his chin. He answered blankly. "No, I don't think so."

Mikey's shoulders sagged before he redirected his gaze at the television screen.

"Oh, awesome! Is this a new episode? I don't think I've seen it before."

Leo only spared him a side glance before shaking his head while Michelagelo quickly got himself cozy on the couch.

One of the television channels that they had access to had recently started streaming an old cartoon about transforming robots that they haven't seen before. Mikey and Leo started following the series from the second episode, and Donnie had quickly gotten inspired by the idea and started making new blueprints for a possible future project. It, of course, all came down to if he would get fortunate enough in what Mikey called "junkyard bingo".

"You know, Mikey," Leo began to speak after a minute of them watching the cartoon, "the reason why you should get your chore done now is so the diapers actually get dry by the time we need them again and not an elaborate plan for you to miss an episode of Converters."

"I kno-o-o-ow! I'm on it!"

.

.

.

When Mikey returned from the bathroom, having finished pinning up the diapers on a drying rack, he found Raphael sitting in the pit.

On closer inspection he discovered Taraya snug in his arms trying to wrap her whole body around the baby bottle she was sucking on with gusto.

There was the cutest smile on Raph's face, the not-Dad Dad being completely unaware that he had an audience, and Mikey had the hardest time containing an "Aww!".

That was until he realized something and his face dropped into an irritated frown .

"Where's Leo?"

Raph almost jumped out of his skin when he heard his brother practically right in front of him. He immediately straightened up and looked toward him with a poorly hidden sheepish expression.

"The kitchen, I think."

Mikey immediately started towards the room leaving a confused Raphael to stare after him.

.

.

.

"I didn't switch chores with him. He just wanted to be the one to feed Taraya. He's been trying to hog her for most of the day and I don't think he even realizes it."

"He didn't try to hog her pooped diapers," Mikey grumbled with arms crossed defensively over his plastron.

Leo patted his shoulder. "Was it so bad?"

They both knew it wasn't but Mikey, feeling sour, felt the need to answer with "Yes".

To his satisfaction he received a loose one-armed hug he was hoping for. Even if it was given half mockingly, he couldn't help but smile and uncross his arms.

"Now, give me that before you hurt yourself." He snatched the pot from Leo's other hand.

The oldest brother was a disaster in the kitchen. Mikey was nowhere near being a clean and organized cook either but at least at the end of the mess he made, he finished the food and it usually tasted good. Especially if he played it safe and didn't experiment. Leo would just burn the food, possibly burn the pots, and the stove would miraculously stop working.

He began stashing the pots and pans back in the cupboards while he wondered what they could have for dinner. They didn't have much in the fridge. They always had their stash of about a million ramen soup packets in one of the cupboards but that was mostly for instances where there was really no other food around or no time to make something. And they had ramen last night when no one could be bothered to make anything else.

An idea that he never ignored popped into his mind. "What if we ask April for pizza! I think we deserve it."

Leo's expression soured up in shame and guilt at the mention of their friend. "April just spent most of her savings on getting us baby stuff."

"What?"

"Yesterday I insisted she tell me how much we owe her for all the supplies so we can pay her back. Eventually she gave up and showed me the receipt and I've never felt worse about her spending money on us."

"It was that bad?"

Leo nodded quietly.

"Then why don't we ask Casey? He has a job now."

Leo looked unimpressed and annoyed with his little brother's persistence to munch off of their friends. He scowled at him from where he was leaning on the counter.

"I'm kidding! Sheesh!"

After a minute of silence Leo asked. "Has anyone even told Casey?"