"This is really not dangerous?" Leo asked from his place by the crib. He had one of their chairs pulled up so he could keep an eye on their kids as they played with the baby-spoons.
Donnie chuckled, putting his book away in favor of twisting to look at his oldest mate.
"Yes, I'm sure. Sides, with you hovering over them like this, nothing's gonna happen."
Amy examined the spoon she's been given, a concentrated expression on her face. She studied the object as if it held the world's secrets. She put one end into her mouth, chewed one or two times before pulling it out again to resume watching. She was such a curious little thing. Like Donnie, Leo thought with a smile.
Nix was laying on his carapace, kicking his feet and gnawing on the spoon relentlessly. His eyes were on the stars and moon hanging above him, though he sometimes turned his head when Ky or Amy made noise. They've been making sounds, mostly hums and squeals, and lately they began cooing vowels between their hums.
It was such a cute thing, to see them "talk" to each other.
Ky's spoon was laying by his side, the boy rather interested in lifting his head and shoulders. His tongue was sticking out, drool running over his cheek as he strained.
They all were able to hold their own heads for a longer time now. Ky was a master of rolling and shifting, not quite crawling yet but he was close, far ahead of his siblings as Donnie mentioned.
Amy was content whenever she was on her belly, she didn't move all that much aside from that. Though she really enjoyed when you played with her.
Nix moved more than Amy. He reacted to sounds. Whenever he heard his parents talk, he'd work his little body to shift towards the sound. His mommy's voice was his favorite, of course.
Lately he's become more and more used to his daddies, accepting them holding him, even smiling when they made funny noises. It seemed to make them happy.
Ky's concentrated expression turned to surprise when a hand on his carapace shoved him into a sitting position. His eyes followed the arm to his daddy, who smiled at his face.
"Raph, is this a good idea?" Leo asked, biting his lip.
"Chill, Leo. I'm holding him. Happy now, my little rascal?" Raphael cooed the last part at his firstborn, who watched his surroundings in amazement. This view was fantastic! Everything looked different!
"He shouldn't strain his spine so much..."
Donnie came over, settling on Leo's lap and leaning his elbows on the side of the crib.
"It's a good workout for him. Not more than five minutes at a time, though." He grinned at the happy expression their eldest made. He would've lost his balance if it wasn't for Raph holding him up.
"Ffffffffff..." Tiny droplets of spit hit Raph's hand from where Nix lay next to Ky. The youngest was twisting his mouth around the spoon, pulling it out to play with the funny sound he just learned making. "Ffffffffffffff..."
Donnie laughed at Raph's expression, using a cloth to wipe Nix' drool away.
"F is a hard letter." He commented, delighted when Nix smiled at him when he tickled his neck. "Could be 'Fafa' is going to be his first word."
Leo grinned at the thought. Despite the – in his eyes – stupid name, he was excited that one of his children could be saying it.
"Mmmmm..." Amy responded to her little brother's cooing, shaking her spoon with wide eyes.
"Aa... Aaaa... Aaaaa..." The three adults couldn't help but chuckle at Ky's input. It was as if they were really talking to each other.
"Okay, dinner's in the oven, we have half an hour. The bottles are warming up." Mikey announced as he entered the living room, the smell of baking lasagna following him.
He gasped in an exaggerating way at seeing Ky upright. "Is my little Ky sitting?" The baby squealed in happiness and reached for him.
Mikey took him and nuzzled his face, laughing when Ky grabbed at his cheeks.
"Mmm." Ky hummed.
"Aaaa...Aah." Nix responded before working his tongue around the spoon again. "Ffff..."
"When do you think they start talking for real?" Raph asked with a smile, his heart jumping in joy at the peaceful time with his family.
"Oh, I guess they're going to start sounding out some simple syllables soon. Da, Ma, Fa, Ba, things like that. Real words... oh, maybe in another two months at best. When they're about a year they're gonna start using words and understanding what they mean."
"Dad said you skipped the babbling altogether. He was worried you were mute, and then you simply blurted out the word 'Purple', like a boss." Leo remembered, eyes a little misty, but he was smiling.
Donnie giggled at the memory, leaning back to snuggle to Leo. "Yeah... he said we were watching Barney, and Mikey kept calling wrong colors. Ello, Boo, Geen."
Mikey outright laughed. He couldn't remember doing that, but he could totally imagine his little self doing that. He set Ky to lay on his carapace again, picking up Nix when he reached for him.
"I was the first to talk, he always told me."
"Yeah, and you never shut up since." Raph chuckled and neatly out-stepped Mike's kick.
"You're lucky I'm holding a baby."
"You're lucky we had those heat suppressants. With being as abstinent as we've been for whole months, we would've pounded you into oblivion." Raph snickered.
"You did pound me into oblivion once mating season was over. Twice." Mikey shook his head.
"Hey, it was the first time the kids slept for four hours straight, gotta use every chance for some nookie." Raph tilted his head to not-so-subtly check out Mikey's behind. "Speaking of..."
"Why don't you go get their bottles?" Mikey suggested with a glare, startled when all three of his mates burst out laughing. "What?"
"Nix!" Leo chuckled out, holding onto Donnie so he wouldn't fall off his lap as they shook with laughter.
"He was looking at your face and when you glared he just... mimicked it!" Raph laughed.
Mikey looked at Nix, who was chewing on the spoon again, meeting his mommy's gaze with wide eyes. Mikey wrinkled his beak before glaring at Nix playfully, the baby watching his face before also glaring.
Michelangelo couldn't help but laugh too, cuddling his youngest close, making him giggle.
"Aw, aren't you a cute little turtle? Mommy loves you all so much." Mikey cooed.
"Mm. Aaaaa. Mm. Maaaah. Mm." They all looked into the crib, where Amy was furrowing her brow in concentration. "Maaah. Mmm. Maah."
Donnie scooped her up, amused by how her concentrated face never faltered. He set her on his lap, holding her upright with his plastron and hands on her sides.
"Good work, princess. You're almost there." He coaxed with a grin.
Raph went to get their bottles when she was quiet, bottom lip sticking out in frustration. When he came back, Donnie took one of the bottles, trying to feed Amy as he cradled her in his arms now.
Raphael held out his hands to Nix, who stared at him with a blank expression, before hesitantly reaching out for him. His daddy grinned in triumph and started feeding the baby.
Since Leo still had Don and their daughter on his lap Mikey took a hold of his eldest again, giggling when he tried to sit up again. He accepted the bottle after a few moments, watching Mikey expectantly.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, talking time. Uh... oh, fafa's first word was 'Daddy', which made my daddy pretty proud. And your daddy's first word was 'Donnie'. Because your papa was following him around all day." He began talking and pacing, aware of his mates watching him.
When he told them they had to talk to Ky to get him to finish all of his bottle, they thought he was crazy. Until they tried.
Amy twisted her head away from the bottle. Usually she always finished it, never fussing during feeding time. "Mmm. Maah." She babbled again, edging away from the bottle. She wanted to get this out now! She knew she was almost there. She looked to where she heard her mother's voice, seeing him pace.
"And mommy's first word, believe it or not, was 'no'. Your grandpa told me, at that time I was always clinging to fafa, and fafa was trying to make him proud, so he always followed daddy and papa, and when daddy would do something he was not allowed to, he would always shake his little finger, like grandpa always did, and said 'no'."
He laughed at the image. It felt really good to talk about their childhood, when Splinter was still alive. They all missed him greatly, but it had something therapeutic to talk about it.
"Mah-maaah."
The adult turtles looked at Amy in surprise, their little trip down memory lane forgotten.
"Huh. That sounded like-"
"Mahmah. Mamaaaah. Mamamam. Mamah." Amy sounded out the word in various versions over and over again.
Mikey squeaked. Donnie blinked in surprise and got up from Leo's lap. He held Amy up under her arms and tilted his head. She was quiet, aside from burping into his face. He deadpanned.
"Did you say momma?" he inquired, nuzzling her. She just giggled, happy she managed to get the word out the way she wanted.
"Come on, say it again."
Mikey put the empty bottle away and held Ky upright so he could burp as he walked over, leaning his head on Donnie's shoulder.
"Don't pressure her, she did awesome!" He cooed, smiling at his daughter.
"Mama." She said in a cute voice, her little hand reaching out to him. Mikey felt tears blur his vision immediately, his chest tingling from that simple gesture.
Leo, face in a wide smile, grabbed Ky from Mikey so the freckled turtle could take Amy. He hugged the girl close to his chest, smiling despite the tears running down his face.
"Mama. Mama. Mama." Amy cooed over and over, giggling at the way he was hugging and nuzzling her.
Donnie pulled over a chair for Mikey to sit down and shook his head in astonishment.
"She already recognizes him as her 'Mama'. This is great... she's probably pretty far, mentally speaking."
"She's a little brainiac, like you, babe." Raph grinned, while Mikey could only hold onto his little daughter. His baby.
The hothead looked down on Nix, who was lifting his head to watch the scene. When he couldn't hold himself up any longer he settled against Raph's arm again, frowning up at him.
"So, when are you gonna talk, lil guy?" Raph teased, getting an exasperated huff from his youngest. "Shell Leo, he's so much like you it's ridiculous."
He held Nix under his arms too, trying to nuzzle his face to get a giggle out of him. He wasn't prepared for the baby spit hitting his face.
"Ffffffff."
Leo and Donnie laughed, Ky giggling along with Nix at the funny face their daddy was making.
"This. This just strengthens my theory that it's a miniature Leo. He just loves to annoy me." Raph grumbled without heat and handed the baby to Donnie so he could wipe the spit from his face.
xxxxx
So Leo agreed to join the police force's training system. He took up on the offer after they all had discussed it, to train the cops and recruits in martial arts.
It was a great job offer, with a great payment and Bogen assured him there were many other pros.
Raph had been a tough cookie. Mikey thought he would've loved to jump the chance for some action. However, becoming a full time cop would mean less time at home, sometimes night shifts.
And apparently, without his frustrations of having to hide in the sewers or the Foot and Purple Dragons agitating him, he was a big softy. Not even baiting him with telling him how much of a softy he's become worked.
After a long – a very long – talk they agreed on something.
Leo with his big wealth of patience would be at the dojo from 8am to lunch time to train the new recruits, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
And Raph with his muscles and gruff nature, would lead a course for the experienced cops, like Bogen every Tuesday and Thursday.
Tuesday and Thursday afternoon stayed for the children, where Leo and Raph would both attend because of the kids' different level of age and skill.
That meant Mikey would be alone with the kids for about an hour every Tuesday and Thursday, until Donnie would come home.
Mikey's tongue stuck out as he bent over the whiteboard on the kitchen island he was drawing and writing on. He was trying to work out a schedule for them. Fixed times for grocery shopping, bath times for the babies, and so on.
Satisfied with his work, he held up the board.
"Raphie!" Mikey shouted over to the living room. Their babies were awake anyways. In fact, Ky was grabbing on his toes. Their firstborn was really far with his motoric skills. Telon assured them that it was perfectly normal, that their babies were all like that.
"What is it?" Raph almost fell over Nix, who had been shifting by the door, but caught himself before he fell or trampled on him.
"Can you hang this up? There."
Raphael frowned as he stepped closer.
"What is this?"
"A timetable. So we can manage our lives properly." The green eyes fixated him with a wary frown.
"Did you turn into Leo?"
"No... I just thought it would be good. And I was bored. So shut up and do what I told you to." He stuck out his tongue cheekily and scooped up Ky before Raph would fall over him too.
By the door he picked up his youngest, carrying them both to the living room, where he put them in their crib.
He frowned when he didn't see Amy anywhere.
"Raph, where's Amy?"
Mikey heard Raph shuffle around in the hallway, fiddling with the gate on the stairs to the basement.
"She was on the blanket."
Since the blanket was empty, Mikey sighed and went on all fours.
"Aaaamy! Where's my little princess?" He cooed.
"Mama!"
Her cute little voice came from under the dining table, along with an unhappy squeal. Mikey crawled over, laughing when he saw his daughter's predicament. She had rolled and shifted, uncoordinated enough to land herself between the legs of the chairs. And now she didn't know how to get out again.
She started to cry when trying to roll over didn't work with these stupid wooden bars!
Mikey bit his lip to stop laughing and hurried to get her out from under the table and chair. He bounced her soothingly, kissing her temple.
"There, all good."
"Mama." She whined and hid her face in his shoulder.
"Yeah, you're tired baby. Here we go." He put her on her stomach in the crib. Automatically her hand came to her mouth, her single bottom tooth scraping against the skin as she put the knuckle of her index finger in, her eyes growing heavy.
Ky yawned cutely, smiling when Mikey bent down to kiss his forehead and cooing a few sleepy "O"s.
Nix was sucking on his pacifier, eyes examining the stars and moon he loved so much. Mikey pulled the curtains by the crib so it was a little darker, the babies growing more tired by the familiar routine before nap-time.
Making sure Raph was still in the basement, looking for tools to fix the board on the wall, Mikey started humming a lullaby.
He didn't remember the words Splinter sang to them, but the melody was burnt into his memory forever. He made up his own version for the lyrics, modifying them to fit his babies.
Mikey made sure to include all of their names, tickling their toes when he sang each name. It was such a cute sight to see them wiggle sleepily, but in anticipation when he sang, knowing what was coming at certain parts of the song.
Eventually they all fell asleep, and Mikey continued to hum the last part of the song until he was sure they were deep in dreamland.
"That was really nice." Mikey jumped at the comment and glared at Raph, a hand over his heart. The taller male walked over with a softened version of his smirk, nuzzling the side of Mike's face.
"You weren't supposed to hear it." Mikey admitted with a sigh.
"Why not? Mommy singing her babies to sleep. Perfectly normal."
"It's kinda embarrassing. I feel like a woman when I do that."
"Yeah, because it's such a manly thing to press out eggs of your ass." Raph grunted when Mikey punched his side and stomped off. "What?!"
xxxxx
"The mayor was at the dojo today..." Leo started when they all sat together for dinner. Their babies were put to sleep, so they had at least four hours of peace and calm ahead of them.
"Really? What did he want?" Donnie asked, sipping from his water.
"He talked to me about Raph's and my decision to work for the police."
His mates frowned.
"Why? The chief said it was a good idea..."
"Oh it is. The mayor approves that they learn a proper way to fight criminals. He's just not happy we're both part of the force."
Raph put his fork down and tilted his head. Mikey felt his intuition kicking in. Uh-oh.
"Are you kidding me? What's it to him?" Leo briefly glanced at Mikey before he answered.
"He not-so-subtly tried to tell me that one of us should stay home with Mikey."
"What? Did you tell him that he's alone for one hour, tops? And only two days a week?" Donnie inquired, while Raph shook his head.
"No, wait. It's none of his fucking business anyways. He's the mayor, not family."
"He hinted at the possibility of more children, and that Mikey would need help."
"I still don't get why he thinks it's his business... And he knows mating season is over, right?"
Leo shrugged, a troubled frown on his face.
"I told him that. He said I should think about it, and left. I asked one of the recruits, and he explained it to me..."
"Explained what?" Raph asked, agitated that the mayor tried to meddle with their life and choices.
"Apparently it's forbidden to take heat suppressants or preservatives. The only time they're allowed is up until a year after the female, or sub as they call the males, gave birth."
"So that's what Telon meant when he talked about the unfair treatment..." Donnie frowned. "The females and subs are basically forced to breed." Leo nodded, continuing his explanation.
"If the female's or sub's mate or mates are in a high-ranked job they are allowed to take the suppressants, so the alphas can concentrate on the job. The police seems to qualify as a higher rank, from what I've gathered."
Mikey sighed, shoving his plate away. "Donnie too. He almost counts as doctor already since he's Telon's apprentice."
"How do you know this?"
"Um... Bogen and Kion explained it to me about a month ago. I didn't..." He sighed again. "I didn't want to be forced to get more children before we, before I am ready. So I thought, if you joined the police, I'd be spared."
"Oh Mikey..." Leo pulled Mike's chair closer and pulled him into his lap, nuzzling him and letting out a few soothing clicks that he picked up in this dimension.
"Kion told me the mayor could dislike the idea of all of you working in these jobs. Because I bore triplets. It would be a shame if I didn't get more kids every two years, to stock up on the population."
Raph reached over the table to grab Mikey's hand, while Don scooted over to add himself to the hug.
"Why didn't you just tell us? We would've accepted Bogen's offer immediately. We're not going to force you to get another child when you're not ready."
Donnie kissed Mikey's temple and cheek. "Even though we wouldn't mind having more. We would love to, to be honest, but only when we're all ready." He assured, smiling encouragingly at his younger mate.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was just... I don't know. Scared. Because... shell, it sounds so dumb."
"It's okay, baby, take your time." Leo calmed, massaging the sea-green neck to soothe him.
Mikey took a deep breath. What was he afraid of? His brothers would never force him into anything. He always trusted them.
"When they told me about this, it felt like... like Bogen didn't really care, you know?" He rubbed his forehead, trying to explain it.
"I mean, I know he and Telon love Kion and care deeply about him. But Bogen didn't seem bothered at all by the way the whole pregnancy matter was handled. Kion was clearly upset, but from the way he acted I gathered that this was normal."
Donnie nodded in understanding, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Telon was eager to get another kid, even though he told me about how Kion downright refused. It was like he didn't care if Kion wanted it or not."
"The thing is," Mikey continued, "that this is the norm here. Sure, the females and subs are treated equally in most matters, the only exception is this. And they are forbidden to take high-ranked jobs, unless they're infertile or too old."
Mikey bit his lip.
"I thought, since we also reacted to mating season, and we took over some of their other quirks, like the chirping and clicking and what-not... I thought you'd take on this carelessness too. That you're gonna pressure me into getting more children."
Raph slapped down his hands on the table as he got up. He rounded the table until he was with this mates. His hands were gentle, though, as they tilted Mike's face up to meet his'.
"Mikey. We would never, never pressure or force you into anything you're not comfortable with. No matter where we are. And we certainly won't let a crazy mayor dictate our family plans."
Mikey sniffed and nodded, returning the nuzzle Raph gave him. Leo and Donnie tightened their holds, now both chirping.
"It's not like I don't want any more children, really. Just... not so soon. I hated the exhaustion and aches it brought, the hormone overload, the vulnerability, the... the fear that maybe the next egg won't survive. I can't do that again. Not now." Mikey couldn't stop the tears that ran down his cheeks now.
Sure, the pregnancy had some upsides too, but with how his hormones have been the past months he only saw the downsides. He still had nightmares about Nix not making it.
He let himself be held in his mates' arms, drawing comfort from their closeness.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. The mayor can't fire us, so you're save from being forced. And we will never change, we will keep loving you just like we did all our lives, okay?" Donnie smiled as he wiped the tears away.
Mikey let out a mixture between a sob and a chuckle and nodded. They should be sick of him with how sensitive he was. Another downside.
However, they were smiling softly at him, not an ounce of annoyance visible.
"I love you three so much." He purred involuntarily at the three-way nuzzle on his head and neck. A gesture to show him how much they loved him too.
Leo glanced at the clock and squeezed Don's shoulder.
"We have some time until they start waking up again. Why don't we relax in the hot tub for a while?"
The thought of cuddling – and more – with all his mates in their hot tub down in the basement was enough to get a churr out of Mikey. Raph grinned, relieved that they resolved another problem.