"They don't need a jacket. Shell, will you calm down? You're even giddier than Mikey on a sugar rush!"
"I can't help it! Their first time outside..." Leo bit his lip, putting bottles, cloths, more and more diapers into a baby bag.
"Leo. Hey. Look at me." Raph grabbed his face and pressed a kiss to his lips. "We're just across the street, only sitting on the grass for maybe an hour or two. If we need anything, we can get it in less than a minute."
The older turtle sighed. And took another breath. "Okay. I know. I'm calm. Nothing's gonna happen." Raph couldn't help but chuckle.
As calm and collected their leader could be, sometimes he was just a big package of anxiety.
It was a nice Sunday in May, the triplets were a little over six months old now. Since all of their babies have mastered sitting up on their own now, they thought it would be nice to take them outside for the first time.
"Are you coming? What are you doing anyways?" Donnie's voice from downstairs reached them.
"I'm packing a baby bag!" Leo shouted back.
Down in the hallway Donnie rolled his eyes, adjusting the bag he was carrying. "Mikey and I have a bag here, ready to go. Come on, Kion and the others are waiting."
"Are my sweeties ready for their first trip outside?" Mikey asked out loud in the living room.
He and Donnie had fed the babies, and changed their diapers already, while Leo and Raph had been busy with whatever upstairs.
Ky eagerly crawled over to Donnie in a really fast pace. Out of his siblings, he was the only one already crawling. He was so eager to move, solely concentrating on that. He had yet to say his first real word, though.
Meanwhile Amy was the least mobile. She kept sitting up or laying on her belly, content to examine every possible surface and object. Lately she became engrossed with the couch, eyes wide when her palm went over the fabric to the leather bottom part. Aside from perfecting the word "Mama" to "Mommy" she didn't say much more, though she referred to the others as Da, Ba and Wa, since 'F' was too hard for her.
Nix wasn't crawling yet, but he shifted on the smooth surface to wherever he wanted to be. Mostly that 'wherever' was wherever one of his parents was. He'd hear their voices and babbled along, laughing a real laugh when they paid attention to him.
Lately he's managed to say "Fafa", his first real word. He even looked at Leo the first time he said it, but he used it for many other objects too. "Foo", meaning food probably, was the only other coherent word.
"Mommy!" Amy squealed when Mikey picked her up.
"Yeah my sweetie, we're going outside." Mikey chuckled, simply handing her to Leo when he and Raph came down the stairs.
"Now where is Nix...?"
He and Raph split between the kitchen and living room to search for the youngest, while Leo and Donnie waited with the other two in the hallway.
"Phoenix! Where's my little baby?" Mikey called, hoping to coax the little one out of hiding.
"We seriously need to tie bells around their wrists or something..." Raph muttered.
The past weeks they lost track of one of their babies a total of five times. Usually it was Ky, with his speed and lack of desire to start talking he was always hard to find when out of sight.
"It's a baby... where could he be?" Donnie frowned, adjusting his grip on Ky when the baby wiggled in his arms.
"Wait... didn't you take him with you when you came up to me?" Leo asked Raph, who paused in his search.
Mikey glared at both him and Leo.
"Are you seriously telling me you forgot our baby upstairs?!"
Donnie took a step back with Ky, staying behind his older mates as he tried not to laugh. He wasn't too worried, the doors to the other rooms and the bathroom was closed, there were security locks everywhere, he wouldn't be able to hurt himself.
Mikey was about to start a lecture, but caught himself and just turned around, jumping over the gate so he could get his youngest. All the while grumbling about stupid mates.
"Mommy!" Amy giggled, delighted when Donnie joined her laugh.
"Yeah, mommy can be scary..." Raph muttered with a frown.
"Aw guys, come look at this!"
The three adults exchanged looks before making their way upstairs. Mikey was in their bedroom on all fours, staring at something under the bed.
Curious, his mates followed, keeping a tight grip on Ky and Amy so they wouldn't wander off.
"So that's where your sweater went." Leo remarked, a tender smile on his face.
Nix had crawled under the bed, where Mikey had hidden his sweater, and curled up to it. He wasn't sleeping, just snuggling it and cooing, nuzzling the soft fabric.
"Phoenix, my little sweetheart, are you cuddling mommy's sweater?" Mikey asked, trying not to squeal and stuck his upper body as far as he could under the bed to reach his baby.
At the close sounding voice of his mother Nix looked up, squealing when he saw him. "Mah!"
"Yes, it's mommy. Now come here, baby, our friends are waiting in the park for us." Mikey stretched his arms and wiggled his fingers.
Nix laughed and worked his little body, shifting close enough to Mikey so he could grab him. The baby nuzzled his beak. "Mmmm. Mah."
"You got him?" Raph asked, hands on Mikey's ankles.
"Yup."
Raph pulled his youngest mate out from under the bed, chuckling at the "Woooosh!" Mikey let out and the surprised expression on their baby's face at the action.
"Let's go, we let them wait long enough." Donnie smiled.
A few minutes later they all sat on a blanket in the park. Raph and Bogen were by the swings with Elia, talking about whatever.
Amy sat half on the blanket, half on the grass and was engrossed with the different textures. Her little hands moved from side to side, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"When she makes that face she looks just like you, Donnie." Telon chuckled, reaching out to bop her beak.
The baby stared at him with a horrified expression, eyes filling with tears. She twisted her upper body and reached for Mikey.
"Mommy!"
Donnie couldn't help but laugh at the display, and Leo's worried face. Mikey pulled the girl on his lap, where she buried her face in his plastron.
"Aw, what is it honey? Telon is not so scary." He tried to soothe, tickling her chin with a smile.
"She was always wary with strangers." Donnie explained with an apologetic smile, while Leo kept putting Ky back on the blanket when he crawled too far off.
Telon chuckled. "Yeah, at this age it's worst. Elia always bit my aunt's finger when she'd come too close."
Kion held one of the stuffed bears out to Nix, sending a sideways glance at his mate. "In Elia's defense, I would've bit her finger too if she tried to touch me."
Nix looked between the bear and Kion, face in a frown that matched Leo's usual expression to a T. Right now Leo was really busy making sure Ky wasn't crawling out of sight.
"In my aunt's defense, you'd bite everyone you don't like." Telon rolled his eyes, trying to tickle Nix, who glared at him so darkly the doctor scooted back a few inches.
"I can't really say if that's more Leo's or Raph's face." Mikey said from where he was leaning over. At the sound of his voice, Nix smiled again.
"Mah." The green-eyed baby cooed. Mikey smiled and settled to lay on his side, propped up on his elbow.
Amy was sitting on the blanket again, though she moved to the edge again, pausing to sit and look up at Donnie. When he smiled at her, she giggled and threw up her arms. "Ba!"
Donnie teasingly pushed her back on her carapace and tickled her sides, making her squeal and laugh.
"They're so cute..." Telon sighed, resting his head on Kion's shoulder as they watched the babies move around and babble. "I want another." He whined. Kion rolled his eyes pushed the bear in his mate's face. He was seriously not in the mood to ruin his day with that talk. Again.
That action made Nix laugh, though he shied away when Telon tried to give him the bear.
"Fafa!" He cooed, working his little arms. His eyes widened in surprise when he lost his balance and fell backwards.
Leo caught him and lowered him gently so he wouldn't hurt his head. In his other arm he held a fussing Ky.
This funny green stuff tickled, he wanted to explore! Why won't fafa let him?
"Mommy, I hungry!" Elia yelled as she ran over on her short legs. She squealed in laughter when Telon caught and tickled her.
Raph and Bogen settled down on the blanket too, exchanging grins.
"What's so funny?" Kion asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion as he gave Elia some cut-up apple.
"Nothing." Bogen smirked.
"Oh, can we try that fruit mush again?" Raph asked from his spot next to Leo, taking Ky from him. The older turtle shook his head at him.
"You just want to sneak a few bites."
"Me? Never." Raph pretended to be insulted. Nobody was convinced.
Donnie rummaged through their baby bag and pulled out a jar of peach-banana mush. He opened it and handed it to Leo, along with a spoon and a cloth.
"Babies eat?" Elia asked around her piece of apple, content sitting on her dad's lap.
"If they want to, yes." Mikey answered, watching in amusement how Leo tried to feed Ky, while Raph held him.
It was so cute watching Leo open his eyes and mouth wide every time he brought he spoon to Ky's lips. Raph chuckled at the close-up show, but Ky tried to mimic the face of his fafa and opened his mouth wide.
It was already the fourth time they tried with solid food, so the boy knew what was coming. Surprisingly he enjoyed the mush way more than his bottle. Only very little went down his chin and Raph's arm.
However, after about six to eight spoons they had to stop. The last time he almost had half the jar and they spent the whole evening trying to soothe his aching belly due to gas.
Raph used the cloth to clean their firstborn, before letting him on the grass again. Seeing Leo tense, Raph laughed and went on all fours, crawling next to his son so he wouldn't get himself in trouble.
Leo handed the spoon and jar to Donnie before following Raph, also crawling. Elia perked up, thinking this was a new game, and did the same, pulling Telon with her.
"Unbelievable that these two are responsible for training the cops." Donnie sighed, shaking his head with a fond expression.
"Unbelievable these three are adults." Kion added, watching his mate crawl in a row with the others.
"I think it's cute." Mikey grinned, helping Amy to sit and turning Nix around so he too faced Donnie. The genius watched how his second son scrunched up his little face at the sight of the jar, while Amy's was fixed on the spoon.
While Ky was enjoying the mushed food, Nix hated it. And Amy was always more interested in the spoon, rather than the food.
"At least they're gonna be sleepy and won't make a fuss when we get them to bed tonight." Donnie said dryly, referring to Leo and Raph.
Mikey laughed and sat up from his comfortable position to help Don with the feeding.
"Here, try Amy, I'll hold her hands so she doesn't grab it."
Donnie scooped up some of the mush and opened his mouth to show Amy what she's supposed to do.
"Open wiiiiide for Papa." He coaxed, and with wide dark eyes she did.
Her mouth worked for about a second. "Ba." Donnie hurried to scoop up the mush and put it in her mouth again. He kept the spoon inside, feeling her tongue playing around until she swallowed.
"Ba!" She clapped her hands, then examined her hands with a surprised expressions. Did she just make that sound?
Mikey had let go of Amy to keep Nix still when he tried to flee from the food. He placed him in his lap and let him hold onto his fingers with both his tiny fists.
Donnie took some more mush on the spoon, deadpanning at the glare his youngest sent him. The baby edged his head away, kicking his legs and stretching far back against Mike's plastron.
"Oh come on, Nix, you have to learn at some point."
"Fffff."
Kion and Bogen laughed at the display. It's been almost two years since they had the food party with Elia.
Donnie opened and closed his mouth, waiting for Nix to mimic it. The boy just continued to glare and turn his head.
"Look, your sister eats it too." Donnie tried to coax, pushing the spoonful into Amy's mouth. His daughter, to his delight, swallowed the food, but grabbed the spoon and had a tight grip on it.
Don tried to pull it out of her mouth and away from her hand, but she whined and fussed when he did.
Mikey watched in amusement at how Donnie was playing tug-of-war with their six-month-old. He felt Nix pulling his finger to his mouth, gnawing on it. His two bottom teeth pressed into his skin, but not hard enough to hurt.
An idea hit Mikey. He dipped his finger into the mush and put it to Nix' mouth again. The baby hesitated before opening his mouth and sucking the mush off of it. He looked up at his mommy with wide eyes at the surprisingly good taste.
"It's good, hm? Want some more?" Mikey gathered some more and this time Nix opened his mouth immediately, humming and wiggling his feet.
Donnie sighed and used his free hand to fish out a play spoon from their bag. He held it out to Amy, who let out a cute gasp at the colorful object. As soon as her grip on the real spoon lessened Don took it, clearing his throat.
He handed the spoon to Mikey, who took it to try the next bite with it.
Nix frowned up at his mother when he saw him using that horrible object.
"Come on, sweetie, it's the same stuff. One bite, please? For mommy?"
Mikey brushed the filled spoon against the baby's lips. Reluctantly Nix opened his mouth with a scrunched up face.
Mikey let the spoon inside, like Don had done with Amy, until Nix had swallowed.
"Ffffff..." Some of the mush came out, but fortunately most of it stayed inside.
Gasping in an exaggerating way, Mikey held Nix over his head before nuzzling him. "Your first bite! I'm so proud of you!"
Nix squealed in joy, reaching to grab his face.
"Mommy!" Amy whined, watching her mother and brother jealously. She liked playing plane, way more than Nix did.
She frowned at Donnie. "Ba!" The genius grabbed the jar and tried to feed her another spoon. This time she obediently opened her mouth, struggling but managing to swallow the mush.
Donatello laughed and copied Mikey, holding her high, playing plane with her. A high pitched laughter came from her.
"You're learning so fast, honey." Donnie cooed, nuzzling the freckled face.
"BADA!" Came a loud screech of joy from somewhere across the park. The turtles on the blanket blinked and turned. Wow, they've crawled pretty far.
Raph was throwing Ky in the air, only a few inches, and catching him again. The baby was highly enjoying himself, the laughs coming from his belly.
Leo was anxiously hovering, seemingly scolding Raph.
"Did he say Bada?" Kion asked with a frown. Donnie laughed.
"I guess it's a mixture between baba and dada."
They all looked up when Mikey stood and stomped over to their mates.
"RAPHAEL! Have you lost your mind?!"
With wide eyes, Raph paused in his game, holding Ky still over his head.
"I told you it's dangerous!" Leo hissed at him.
"Oh shut up, we're ninjas, I won't let our son fall." Hesitantly he turned to see Mikey stomping towards them, a furious expression on his face that made Raph pale a shade.
Ky was still laughing, enjoying the view from so far up. The laughter turned wet when he burped, the mush mixed with his formula earlier hitting his daddy's head.
Raph was frozen as the warm liquid ran down his face. Leo carefully took Ky from him, taking a few steps back. He felt his own stomach churn at the sight of the light orange mix and had to turn his head away to avoid adding to the vomit.
Mikey came to a stop in front of them, taking Ky into his arms and nuzzling him, before glaring at Raph.
"Serves you right! Never ever do that again! I almost had a heart attack!"
With a disgusted expression, Raph wiped the vomit from his eyes.
"We were playing. He liked it."
"He's a baby, he doesn't know how dangerous that can be! You should know better." Mikey lifted and turned Ky to check for any injuries, of course finding none.
"I'm not a little kid, baby, stop scolding me..." Raph grumbled, blushing a little as some of the surrounding turtles stared, some of them in sympathy.
Mikey glanced around and sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry..." He grabbed a burp cloth from where it hung over his shoulder and handed it to Raph, before turning around with Ky to march back to their blanket.
Leo had a hard time holding back the "I told you so." Raph was punished enough with being barfed on again by one of their kids and Mikey scolding him in public.
Telon cleared his throat and awkwardly stepped closer again, Elia clinging to him.
"Daddy this fun! I wanna be plane too!" His eyes widened a fraction as he looked at his daughter.
The three adults glanced at the blanket, and sure enough Kion was watching them with narrowed eyes.
"Eh," Telon gulped, "Sorry honey, your mommy's gonna trounce me if I do that."
"Seriously, they look so harmless..." Leo shook his head, eyes still wide.
"But when it comes to their babies they turn into monsters." Raph finished, grumbling under his breath as he wiped more of the vomit away.
xxxxx
Ding Dong~
The sound of the doorbell made Mikey frown. Barely five minutes ago Raph and Leo left for the afternoon class in the dojo, he didn't expect any visitors.
Making sure the babies were okay in the playpen, he went to open the door. He blinked in surprise at seeing the mayor there.
"Good afternoon, Michelangelo, was it?" The turtle smiled pleasantly, holding up a big basket filled with diapers and various other baby stuff.
"Hello... uh yes. Just call me Mikey." He licked his lips, wary of the elder turtle.
They've met him when they had decided to stay here. He was at least thirty years older than them, but he didn't look like it. As turtles they had a pretty long life ahead of them.
Back in the city hall Mayor Voron has been very nice and helpful, and Mikey remembered how grateful they've been. Back then they weren't the slightest bit suspicious of the warm welcome. Now that they had some background knowledge, Mikey didn't feel so toasty around the other turtle.
"Mikey, yes. I know it's a bit late for a baby present, but I've been pretty busy. There's been a few problems I had to take care of. This is for you and your babies."
He handed the basket over, Mikey taking it with a polite smile.
"Aw, this is really nice of you. Thank you very much."
"Oh please, it's nothing. Usual treatment for those who lay multiple eggs." Voron grinned widely.
Mikey didn't really know what to say to that. He kinda really wished his mates were here. Somehow he didn't think it was a coincidence that the mayor showed up right after they left.
As if sensing their mother's unease, the babies started whining for "Mah!" and "Mommy!"
Smiling apologetically, Mikey took a step back from the door to put the basket to the side.
"Speaking of multiples, my babies need me. So thanks again and-"
"Aw, could I see them? I love babies!" Voron showed his white election-winning smile and Mikey couldn't help but agree. It would be rude to send the mayor off, right?
"Of course, please, come in." Mikey sighed and closed the door behind his guest, reluctantly guiding him to their playpen.
"Oh my, aren't you cute little babies? No wonder with such a pretty mommy!" Mikey chuckled in embarrassment, leaning against the bars of the playpen.
"And I bet you boys are going to be as strong and smart as your daddies."
"Yeah, they take after their daddies..."
Amy and Ky frowned at the stranger, while Nix downright glared. The turtle made them feel anxious with his presence, and their mommy seemed to feel the same.
The mayor reached inside to tickle Ky's chin, since he was closest to him, and was rewarded by a startled cry, the baby falling backwards in trying to get away from the scary man.
Immediately he stepped away from the pen, an apologetic and surprised expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, they aren't too fond of strangers." Mikey apologized as he bent to take Ky, the baby burying his face in his mother's shoulder.
"No, I am sorry. I didn't want to scare them."
"It's okay... uh, Ky was always easily startled." It was quite the opposite, but the mayor didn't need to know that. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" Anything to get him away from his babies.
"Thank you, that sounds wonderful."
Mikey placed Ky back to his siblings, quickly stroking over the other two heads to assure his anxious babies.
"Mommy..." Amy whined, but quieted when Mikey handed her a plush flower with a mirror.
To Mike's relief the mayor followed him to the kitchen and sat by the island while Mikey fiddled with their coffee maker.
"They are already talking? Wow, they must have Donatello's intelligence. At my last visit in Telon's office he seemed to be quite the genius."
Mikey bit his lip and schooled his expression before turning around and placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of the mayor.
"'Mommy' is the only word Amy uses. But I guess you could say they are all a little smarter than most."
"And they look so healthy, most multiples I've seen seemed to have problems gaining weight. Yours and your mates' genetics are fantastic."
"Thanks..."
"Leonardo probably told you, I was talking to him a few weeks ago in the dojo."
Biting the inside of his cheek, Mikey nodded.
"He mentioned it, yeah."
"You see, you are all young and healthy men, it would be such a waste to stop after three children, right?"
On one hand, Mikey was glad Raph wasn't present. His hothead would highly insult the mayor and risk them all being thrown out. On the other hand he would be glad to have some support.
"In a few years we might try for more. When the triplets are only a bit over a year old it's a little too early for our taste. Babies are a lot of work." He explained carefully.
"Of course, of course. Unfortunately I was never blessed with children, since my wife and I both are infertile. But I had lots of younger siblings, I know it can be hard to take care of them." Voron laughed and sipped from his cup.
If he didn't know the background, Mikey thought, he wouldn't suspect a thing. He'd even peg the mayor as a really friendly guy.
"But you know," Voron continued after setting the cup down, "we have a great nanny program, I can assign one to help you in the household or with the babies."
"We manage just fine, but thanks for the offer. We're really fond of privacy."
"Understandable. Intimate family moments are best shared with the family exclusively." Voron nodded with an understanding tone.
"Leonardo assured me you guys manage your time pretty well. Not many have his talent for organization, he's a real strategist, I noticed. And don't think I didn't notice the playpen was hand-made. I bet that was the work of Donatello. I don't even know what that is," he motioned to one of the vents, their AC, "but it seems to be another great invention."
Mikey didn't know where the mayor was going with this. It had to be a strategy of sorts. So he nodded and cleared his throat.
"It's an air conditioner. When it gets too hot you can turn it on and it blows cool air." Voron blinked in amazement.
"Like a reverse heater?"
"Uh yes. Sort of."
"See, that's what I'm talking about. With great ideas like these, and the know-how to make them real, Donatello has a great future ahead of him. When I first learned about Donatello's intellect and then found out about Leonardo's discipline, I thought they'd be perfect for the city hall."
Mikey blinked at Voron, still not quite getting why he was telling him this.
"Ah sorry, I forgot you weren't born here." Voron apologized with a chuckle. "Working in the city hall opens great opportunities. The members' families get really big houses, mansions, in The Heights. They get these fancy bracelets," he held up his wrist, where a black leather bracelet hung, "that gives them a 50 percent discount on absolutely everything.
They and their families get special treatments at the hospital, a free pass for every museum or other facilities they'd want to visit. And that was only a few of the pros."
"I don't quite see my mates behind a desk..." Mikey said after a few moments.
"Of course not. That'd be wasted talent. Donatello would work in our laboratory. He'd get his own section, with other smart minds to create things like this... uh, air conditioner. Things to make all our lives easier."
Voron thought he had Mikey captivated, smiling as he continued to talk.
"For Leonardo I was thinking about a place in our counseling round. Right now there's only four others, we come together once a week to discuss matters like the building of another daycare center, or trading business with the other cities, for example.
The payment both of them would receive is twice as much as now, in addition to the discounts. Raphael and you wouldn't need a job, and aside from one day in a week, plus maybe one or two emergency meetings Leonardo would be home all the time too."
Mikey gulped. Right now he cursed both Leo and Don for leaving such an impression on the mayor. Though, who would've known this guy was such a master mind?
"... Why are you telling me this, Mayor Voron...? I mean, it's their decision in the end."
"Oh, I'm planning on asking Donatello when he gets home, and Leonardo tomorrow at the dojo. I just thought I'd tell you the advantages of it myself. You know, so you can plan ahead."
Voron seemed to be pretty sure Donnie and Leo would accept immediately.
"What if they decline?" Mikey found himself asking, his stomach clenching.
"Why would they? It's a great offer. An honor to be chosen for the city hall. Telon applied several times as platinum level doctor." He smiled this friendly smile he seemed to have been born with, and it only made the ball in Mikey's stomach heavier.
"Who could decline such an offer? More money than they'd ever need, in addition to plenty of time with their big family."
His hands, out of sight below the kitchen island, clenched hard on his upper thighs as he tried to keep a straight expression on. He had to admit, the mayor knew how to play his cards.
Nix' wailing brought him out of his thoughts.
"Excuse me." And with that he hurried to the playpen. They all were anxious, their eyes tear-filled as they reached for Mikey, while their mother tried to keep it together. He tried to calm himself for the sake of his babies, but it was hard.
"It's alright, my sweets, everything's okay."
He wanted to curse the mayor, throw him out and to tell him to never come back. He also wanted to curl up in the playpen with his babies and cry. It was like the mayor was playing with his psychological and hormonal state.
"I'm home!" Donnie called when he entered the house, about to step into the living room when the mayor already greeted him from the kitchen.
"Hello, Donatello. Good to see you. Michelangelo is tending to the triplets. Really cute kids you got there. Do you have a moment?"
Mikey rubbed both hands over his face as he heard them talk in the hallway. Scooping a crying Nix up and bouncing him on one hip, he grabbed for one of the shellcells on the dining room table.
"Mikey? Everything okay?"
Raph had picked up immediately. Apparently the kids were doing something autonomously at the moment. Mikey took a deep breath to not start crying.
"Yes... I mean... can you come home? The mayor is here..."
"What the hell does he want?" Raph's voice grew colder at the mention of the nosy mayor. "Never mind, we'll send the kids home and be there in ten minutes."
"Okay... thanks, Raph."
"...Are you okay? Is Donnie home yet?" Mikey nodded, even though Raph couldn't see it.
"Yeah. Just... please come."
"We'll be there in a few." Raph promised before ending the call.
"Just a second, Mayor Voron, I want to greet my family." Don's voice.
"My, of course! Take your time!" Voron laughed and a second later Donnie appeared in the living room.
He took note of the fussy state of his babies and how pale Mikey seemed to be. Being mindful of Nix in his arms, Donnie wrapped his arms around his little brother.
"Hey, are you okay? What is he doing here?" The olive turtle whispered, nuzzling Mikey's face.
"Yes, he's just making me really nervous... He has a job offer for you and Leo..." He explained, leaning into the comforting embrace. "I called them, they'll be here in a few minutes."
"Okay sweetheart... don't worry, we talked about this, right?"
Mikey kinda didn't know why he was so upset. All the mayor did was being friendly and offering a great opportunity for them. There was absolutely nothing upsetting about it. Still Mikey felt as if he swallowed a giant ball of barbed wire.
"Okay."
"Did they calm down?" Voron stood in the doorway, a concerned expression on his face as he watched Nix in Mike's arms.
"Yes. They're just growing tired, it's time for their afternoon nap. Do you mind if we..."
"Of course not. I don't have any more appointments today, take all the time you need."
Donnie smiled politely at the mayor. "Thank you. Please, sit on the couch. Raph and Leo are coming home in a few minutes, they ended the class earlier because of the nice weather."
For a moment, a tiny fraction of a second, Voron's eyes narrowed. But then there was this pleasant expression again.
"Wonderful, then I can share the news with all of you at once!"
Ky started wailing too, as if feeling Mike's sudden fear, and Amy kept calling for "Mommy!"
Donnie picked her up and placed her in Mikey's other arm before taking a hold of Ky.
With his free arm protectively around Mikey's shell they made their way upstairs.
They weren't sure if the babies would sleep, but they were way calmer now that the stranger was far away. Amy needed a fresh diaper, so Mikey changed her while Don settled their two sons in their cribs.
"Did you see him? He's not happy that the others are coming home." Mikey breathed, mindful of the baby monitor in the corner.
Donnie wrapped his arms around him from behind, nuzzling the side of his face. "Yeah. Could be he's afraid we're more likely to decline if we're together."
"I don't know, Donnie. He's pretty sure you'll both agree... It's a really great offer, to be honest."
"Tell you what, we'll just listen to him, and then when he's gone we can talk about it in peace. He's got to give us time to think, after all." Mikey nodded and placed Amy on her belly in the crib.
Then he closed the curtains and took a calming breath before starting the lullaby. During the day it worked wonders to get them to sleep. Donnie stayed with him, smiling at the made-up lyrics.
Only when they heard the front door opening did they leave the nursery.
Leo and Raph have already found the mayor, they were exchanging greetings just as the younger mates entered the living room.
"I bet the kids were grateful for the early dismissal so they can enjoy this nice weather." Donnie said as he came over to greet his mates. Catching on quickly, Leo smiled.
"Yeah, you should've seen them."
"I'm gonna make another round of coffee." Mikey excused himself with a smile and took his time preparing the beverages.
The mayor was holding a great speech about the importance of family and kept praising Leo's and Don's skills for the next half hour.
Since Mikey and Raph weren't really involved in the matter, Mikey curled up to his most muscular brother, comforted by the strong arm holding him close.
He was subtly glaring at the mayor, suspicious of his motives.
Finally Voron came to the great offer and kept gushing over it to make it even more appetizing for Leo and Donnie.
"Oh wow. This is a very generous offer." Leo stated, hand entangled with Don's.
"Yeah, it sounds really tempting."
Voron grinned widely.
"I know, right? So, what do you say?" Raph raised an eye ridge, and then a few glances were exchanged.
"This is a big decision, I'm afraid. Would it be alright if we thought about it for a while?"
"Not a problem at all. Just let me know... let's say next Wednesday. Then I can have the house and contracts ready by Friday."
"Thank you, we'll swing by the city hall then." Leo promised with a polite smile.
Finally the mayor left and the turtles found themselves alone in the living room. For a while no one said anything.
"So. We all know he's doing this on purpose. To evade the whole scheme. Cause with Raph not needing to work at all and me having more than enough time off there's no reason for us not to get more children." Leo summarized, leaning back on the couch.
"Though you have to admit, it's a really tempting offer." Raph sighed, rubbing his eyes.
And it was. Mikey couldn't emphasize that enough. Leo could still keep the dojo for the afternoon kids classes with how much free time he had. Raph could stay at home with his family, like he wanted. And Donnie could go wild on this universe's tech, experiment and build as much as he wanted, and even get paid for it.
"I could use the next days to break down the components for the heat suppressants. Or snag a few of them. Mikey is the only one who needs to take them, so the mouth to his uterus stays closed..." Donnie's gaze was fixated on his coffee cup.
"We could just tell him we didn't manage to impregnate him. That our semen wasn't strong enough, whatever. That would keep him off of our case for a few years."
"You think that would work?" Raph asked, perking up.
"Psh, of course. Mikey's no female that could get pregnant every other day. Subs only have those two days during mating season, there's nothing he can do if it doesn't work out in that time."
Leo, Donnie and Raph looked at Mikey. It didn't matter that they all would love to accept. If Mikey was against it, they'd decline.
The freckled turtle sighed and leaned his head back to rest against Raph's arm. Donnie's idea was great. And likely to work too. All of them would be happy.
So Mikey shoved that bad foreboding feeling into a tiny corner of his mind and smiled.
"I guess we're moving to The Heights."