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"Ok Annibale! Today is the day !" Donnie coached, sliding his arms under his youngest son and hefting him into his arms carefully.
It's been two years since their children were born, a whole year and Donatello thinks it's high time his youngest baby finally says his first words!
"You and me? We're gonna work on you talking! And show mama how smart you are!"
Giovanni had already started babbling half coherent words, not full words but he was pretty close to saying 'fuck' fluently. Thanks Leo.
Artemisia never even bothers trying to speak, she instead prefers to chirp or babble nonsensically at anyone willing to at least pretend to listen to her.
Merisi was close! He was doing so well at getting the beginning of easy words out that you could pretty much understand everything he said.
Annibale, bless him, couldn't get a coherent word out to save his tiny soft shell.
And while it was precious to watch him babble at Leo when the slider bent over the cribs edge to wake him and his siblings, it got hard figuring out what he wanted when he couldn't properly say it.
"Now, my tiniest genius, let's try out something simple first; like mama or papa and then work out way up to bigger words!"
Donnie gently places Annibale amongst some blocks with brightly coloured letter blocks.
What Annibale lacked in saying words, he was actually getting well skilled in spelling them. So Donnie figured putting sounds to the things his son spelt would help in his pronunciation.
"Can you spell mama for me? Mama?"
Annibale barely takes a few moments before grabbing the necessary letters and spelling out Leo's beloved title in front of him.
"Perfect! Amazing job Anni! Now can you say Mama? Ma-ma ."
"Meh."
"No, mah, mah-mah.'
"Mimuh."
"Close! Mama. "
"Mimimimimim."
"Ok, now you're just being cheeky. C'mon bud I know you can do it! Just say Mama!"
"Ma!"
"Yes! Yes, that's so close! Just one more Ma buddy! Mama!"
"Ma!"
"Ma!"
"Ma!"
"Ma!"
"Mameh!"
Donnie whoops, startling Annibale into delighted giggling, "I'll take what I can get!"
He quickly scoops up the tony soft shelled slider, practically slipping out of the nursery and to the living room.
"Guys! Anni said Mama!" He announces, stopping in the opening of the family living area with Annibale cradled in one arm.
He is not surprised by the sight of Artemisia trying to chew off the end of one Raph's spikes, the big snapper keeping his hands above his head and hovering over her incase she fell off of his shoulders.
"He did? Oh me gosh Anni!" Mikey squeals, jumping from his spot on the floor to jump across the strewn out toys and skid to a stop just in front of Donnie.
"Bubba say Mama! C'mon lil man I wanna hear you say it!" He encourages, wiggling his fingers in front of the toddlers face and smiling widely at the delighted giggles it earns him.
"Mameh!" Annibale's tiny voice squeaks, it immediately starts the other three babies in their own chants for Leo.
"Eee! Oh sweet pizza supreme in the sky! Good job buddy!" The slider congratulates, scooping the baby from Donnie's arms and twirling him around in the air.
"Mameh!"
"That's me! Yes baby!"
"Wait! Bubba, can you say Daddy?"
"Dehdee!"
"Ok country bumpkin, you are most certainly Raph's baby." Mikey says, earning an offended gasp from said snapper.
"Hey! There ain't nothin' wrong with how he said it!"
"He said exactly how you say it dude; like a lil country bumpkin."
"Tch, ain't nothin' wrong with that."
"Next thing we know he's gonna say 'howdy' or 'y'all'."
"That'd be cute though!"
" Any way, I'm not done teaching him words, so gimme the child." Donnie says, clapping his hands twice and getting Annibale's attention.
"Dehdee!"
"I'm papa bud, not 'dehdee', but A for effort!"
"Pehpeh."
"I believe in you Anni!" Mikey says as Donnie whisks the baby from Leo's arms and back towards the nursery, Annibale happily leaning his whole body into Donnie's chest and waving back at his other parents.
They work at it until Anni and the other babies are put down for a nap, by the time April comes to have quality 'Auntie Time' he can say the words mama, papa, daddy, and pops! (In various degrees of actually saying the word properly, but they'll get there)
It's just a matter of time.
—
Giovanni's tiny hands batted at the back of Mikey's head as the box shell turtle moved about the kitchen, giggling to himself as he swiped at his bandana tails and the pieces of cloth bounced around. Giovanni seemed particularly entranced by their masks, always pulling on them or smacking them when he got the chance.
Luckily, he got the chance pretty often, anytime he wanted to be held he seemed to only choose whichever one of them were busier at the time. And of course, none of them could exactly say no to any of their babies, so whoever Gio was demanding to be held by usually strapped him to their back with a baby sling.
It always meant ample Mask Time™ for the three year old, so of course he loved it.
"Ok bud! It's time to eat, let's get you outta this thing." Leo's hands slipped under Gio's little arms, ready to hoist him up and out of the sling.
He wasn't ready though! He wanted to keep playing!
"NO!"
It startled Leo enough that he pauses, Mikey turning around to look at Gio pouting in his mama's hands.
"Gio, bubba, very happy you've finally said your first words. But the sass is very unnecessary." Leo amends, tucking the baby into his hip and planting a kiss on his forehead.
It doesn't stop the growing pout on the baby's face, but he does let himself be placed into a high chair next to his sister.
At the same moment, somewhere in the nursery, another baby is saying his first words.
—
"Ok! Let's get ya all nice and dressed for dinner ok? What're you thinkin' Isi? Llamas or chickens?"
There's a loud clatter, something plastic falling to the ground that Raph knows is one of Merisi's toys.
"Fuck!"
That has Raph choking on air, whipping around to look at his oldest son in astonishment.
Merisi looks back up at him, his favourite sippy cup on the ground and an angry pout on his chubby face. He repeats himself, because obviously pops needs two heart attacks in a row.
"Fuck! Mah cuh!" Raph doesn't even register picking the dinosaur themed cup up and handing it to his son, who gives him a delighted 'didou!' in return.
Raph stands there for a long moment, staring at the floor in a shock he's never felt before.
One thing enters his mind once he finally snaps back to his own brain.
' Goddammit Leo.'
—
Artemisia is four years old!
She's four just like her three little brothers! And her pops tells her she's getting bigger everyday!
But you see, Artemisia doesn't talk. Not like her brothers do, they talk all the time, Anni loves telling her all about the little buildings he makes with his blocks and Merisi likes to talk about becoming a ninja like their parents. Gio doesn't talk much, but it's still more than she does.
It's not that she doesn't know how to talk, she knows all the words Papa teaches them and she's great at spelling!
She just can't talk . She can chirp and make noises and she can do what she thinks is talking but Mama can never understand her when she tries to tell him she loves him.
It makes her sad .
She doesn't like not being able to talk like her brothers. She's too old to still be baby talking!
But no matter how hard she tries her words come out too mumbled and messy for people to understand.
So she just. Won't try anymore.
Papa keeps trying to help her, he sounds out the words into little pieces and helps her try them all out separately but she just can't seem to put them all together.
Daddy says she doesn't need to talk for him to understand her, she doesn't really believe him but her Daddy would never lie to her.
"Genius number one! C'mere please!" Papa's voice calls from down the hall, Artemisia immediately perks up where she sits next to mama.
She chirps in response, pushing herself up onto her feet and following her papa’s voice.
“Chirp?”
Papa turns in his big chair, holding his hands out with a big smile she’s come to know means he’s thought of something awesome .
She crawls into his lap, chittering in question as she settles.
“Ok bugger, your favourite Papa has just come up with the best idea ever.”
“Chirp!”
“Yeah I know I’m so smart and handsome thank you sweetheart- Hey!” she pushes her hand into his cheek, not hard, but enough to make him have to stop talking. She’s seen her pops do that to papa and mama a lot .
“ Any way, ignoring your very rude interruption- I have a very good idea of how you can learn to talk!” papa says, smiling down at her sweetly. She gasps, her hands bouncing up and down in the same way daddy’s do when he gets really excited.
A way for her to talk!? She can finally talk to her brothers!!
“Now, with this particular way of speaking, all four of you kiddos are gonna have to learn it!”
“Chirp?”
“Me and your dads and mama already learned this way of talking, me and daddy use it when we get too overwhelmed to use words.”
Daddy and Papa can’t always use words? Like her?
“Chiir?”
“Mhm, sometimes talking is just really hard to do, so we use our hands to talk instead!”
Hands? How are you supposed to talk with your hands? That’s silly!
The very thought makes her giggle, covering her mouth with her hands and kicking her feet just a bit.
“Yeah it is a bit silly isn’t it? But it helps us a lot! Do you want me to teach you a few words?”
“Chirp!”
“Ok, ok, here lemme sit ya right up here-” papa sets up onto his big desk, adjusting himself in front of her and holding up his big hands “talking with our hands, is called sign language!” As he says the word papa moves his hands in circles, Artemisia copies the gesture with a very serious look on her face.
Papa sits and teaches her a bunch of words, she learns the alphabet and a few words like food or water.
When daddy calls them into the kitchen for dinner she’s so excited to show her mama and other dads!
She stomps happily to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway and puffing her chest out to make herself bigger.
“Mikey! Artemi has something to tell you!” papa declares, grabbing the bigger box shell’s attention.
“Oh? What is it, my tiny princess?” daddy asks, bending down to look at her properly.
She bounces on her toes, taking a second to quell her excitement enough to start moving her hands.
She taps her fingers on her forehead, flicking it out in a little salute before spreading her fingers out and tapping her thumb against her forehead.
Daddy’s eyes light up, a tiny gasp as she continues.
She points to herself, then makes her hands into little fists and crosses her arms over her chest ending it with pointing to his chest.
I love you!
Daddy’s eyes water for a second before he giggles and bundles her up into a hug.
“Oh! Artemisia honey! I love you too! Dee, you’re teaching her TSL?”
“I thought since she’s been having so much trouble speaking, I could teach all the kids.” papa says, shrugging his shoulders and tapping his fingertips along Artemisia’s shell.
“That’s an amazing idea! Oh I can’t believe none of us thought of that before now!”
“Well, that’s why I’m the resident genius and you three are not.”
“Just gimme a kiss you dumb dumb.” papa and daddy lean in real close, pressing their faces together and smooching for a long time.
She thinks it’s sweet when her parents smoochy kiss, it means they’re in love!
Her brothers think it’s gross because they’re dum-dums.