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It was Mikey, in full chaos-gremlin mode, who eventually gave Master Splinter's number to Casey to pass along to his mother. Though it had been accompanied by a cackled "Good luck gettin' him to answer!"
However, after Ma Jones first called him to chat, Splinter did actually put in the effort to better learn how the phone his son had provided worked. It took a bit of practice, and a lot of help from Donatello, but he eventually got the hang of it and started keeping his phone on him more often than he left it tucked away in his bedroom.
To the collective surprise of all their children, Ma Jones and Master Splinter hit it off. They initially bonded over single parenthood, soap operas, and, based on the new healthy sheen to Splinter's fur, hair care.
Dating a giant mutant rat, Ma Jones quickly discovered, had the disadvantage of not being able to go out in public with him. They made due with late night walks, secluded rooftop gardens, and home dates. Their children remained baffled by the relationship.
April thought the whole thing was weird but sweet.
"They have a lot in common," she said, looking up from her laptop. She and Donny had claimed the dining table for a project, laptops and wires covering most of its surface.
"She's human," Raph argued from beside his punching bag, wrapping his hands.
"Hey!" Casey protested from behind the bag, prepared to hold it steady. "I'm human!"
"An' you ain't datin' a rat man, yer datin' another human."
"That's racist, Raphie," Mikey piped up from the couch, not bothering to look up from the comic he was reading.
"What? No it ain't! I ain't got a problem with her bein' human."
"Just bein' human while datin' yer dad?" Casey asked, irritated. He felt like his ma was being insulted, but he wasn't quite sure how.
"Well…yeah!" Raph spread his hands like the answer was obvious. "It's gross."
"Yeah, that still sounds racist, bro," Mikey said, hanging over the back of the couch with his comic dangling from one hand and pointing at Raph with his other hand. "How 'bout this: do you think it's gross 'cause it's a human and a rat man, or 'cause it's a human and our rat man? Try imagining Casey's mom with a different mutated rat dude who didn't raise us."
Raph looked annoyed for a moment, then he frowned thoughtfully. "Huh," he muttered.
Nodding solemnly, Mikey sat back down. "See? Ya aren't actually racist against humans and mutants dating, ya just don't wanna think about our father smoochin' on someone."
"Mikey!" Leo admonished, finally looking up from his book at the other end of the couch.
"Whaaat? You really think they're just havin' deep philosophical conversations about the latest plot line in Days of the World Turning when they hang out at Mrs. Jones's place?"
"Can we stop talkin' about it already?" Raph demanded, making a face and reaching for his water bottle.
Leo groaned, "Please."
Ignoring him, Mikey continued. "Anyway, I don't have a problem with it. I just can't believe Master Splinter was the first one in the family to get a girlfriend!"
"That happened long before you were old enough to think of such things, my son."
There were a few yelps of surprise and all eyes turned to the lair entrance, where Master Splinter was returning from visiting Ma Jones. He raised a furry eyebrow at them and watched as his words sank in.
Mikey sat up straight. "Wait, what?!"
Splinter gave a sniff of exaggerated indignation and said, "This is not, as they say, my first rodeo."
"Sensei!" Leo blurted in protest, while Raph choked on a mouthful of water.
"Dad's got game!" Mikey cheered, grinning.
Chuckling, Splinter patted his son's head as he passed. "Yes, Michelangelo. If that means I did more than just fight when visiting the Battle Nexus, then yes. I do indeed have 'game'." He stopped in the middle of the living room and turned to face his sons and their guests. "Speaking of the Battle Nexus—"
"Wait, is it time again?!" Mikey demanded, crushing his comic in a fist as he waved his hands excitedly.
Splinter smirked at him. "Yes, the next Battle Nexus is coming up soon, my son. We have, of course, all been invited to return. And we may bring observers."
"Observers?" Mikey asked, looking confused.
"The Daimyo has granted permission for us to bring friends who will not participate in the fights," Splinter clarified, gesturing to April. "If they wish, they may join us and watch from the audience."
"Oh!" April said, sounding surprised but pleased. "That sounds fun!" She grinned across the table at Donny. "I wouldn't mind getting to watch you guys fight without having to worry about you getting hurt."
Mikey stood and turned to face her, puffing his chest out. "Yeah! You can watch me defend my title as—"
"Oh here we go," Donny muttered, covering his face with one hand."
"—Battle Nexus Champion!"
April covered her mouth and giggled. "I can't wait, Mikey."
"Hey wait, what if I wanna fight?" Casey asked indignantly.
"Then you can prove yourself in a qualifying round like everyone else," Splinter replied serenely.
"I— Oh. Okay, sounds fair."
"Excellent." Splinter turned to April again. "May we make use of your basement to activate the portal, Miss O'Neil?"
"As long as it doesn't damage the building, I don't see why not."
"We will be travelling in a week's time," Splinter informed them, pulling out his phone. "I will let Cassandra know to meet us at Miss O'Neil's in the morning. If we get there early enough, we can find good seats."
Giving a pleased hum, he headed for his room while carefully selecting Mrs. Jones's number from his very short list of contacts. Once he was gone, the rest of the lair's inhabitants continued to stare after him for a moment.
"Ohhh, it's a date," Mikey finally said with slow understanding.
"Mikey!" several voices shouted at him, making him cringe and tuck himself back against an arm of the couch.
"I'm right though," he grumbled to himself, hiding behind his comic.
The morning of the Battle Nexus found the group in various states of dishevelment and grogginess. It was still dark out and only Splinter, Leo, and Raph looked marginally put-together, as the only ones usually up at that hour.
April was still brushing her hair and trying to stifle yawns, while Casey had fallen asleep leaning against the wall next to her. Donny and Mikey had made the mistake of staying up too late that night and were trying not to look too obviously like they only had a few hours sleep between them.
Mrs. Jones wasn't there yet, but had assured Splinter she would be arriving soon. In the meantime, Splinter was using a piece of chalk to carefully draw the symbols for the portal. Donny was recording video of it for them to study later.
"Hey Leo?" Mikey asked quietly, sidling up his brother. Leo looked apprehensive, but Mikey didn't let that stop him. "Ya think it means anything that Sensei invited his girlfriend on what's basically a family road trip?"
Leo paused, staring at him in slowly dawning horror. "Nnno?" he squeaked out.
"Ya couldn't try an' make that sound more believable, bro?" Mikey asked, distressed. "Leo, is Casey's ma gonna be our step-mom? Our step-ma??"
"I wouldn't do that to her," Master Splinter spoke up dryly.
Mikey looked over to find Donny and Raph giving him unimpressed looks while Splinter hadn't looked away from his drawing. Maybe he hadn't kept his voice as quiet as he thought near the end there. He flashed a sheepish smile and nervously fiddled with his fingers.
"I didn't say I minded," he back-pedaled quickly. "I'm totally looking forward to getting to know her better, Sensei!"
"Nice save," Donny told him, smirking a little.
"Shell-fer-brains," Raph muttered under his breath.
Mikey opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a clatter on the stairs. Moments later, Mrs. Jones appeared with a thermos in one hand and a paper cup with a lid in the other. "I'm here, I have coffee, let's get this show on the road," she greeted, heading straight for Splinter.
When Splinter wrinkled his nose, she grinned and leaned in to kiss his furry cheek. "Don't worry, tickle-whiskers, I gotcha that grass water ya like so much," she said, handing him the paper cup.
Splinter chuckled and nuzzled back, cupping the warm drink between his hands. "Matcha, my dear. And thank you."
"'Tickle-whiskers'?" Mikey whispered, staring in disbelief.
Over to the side, with his shell turned to the adults, Raph silently gagged and shuddered.
"Leonardo," Splinter called, turning to his son. "Would you like to practice the chant to finish the portal?"
"Yes, Master," Leo said stoically, taking his place in front of the chalk drawing while Splinter stepped aside with Ma Jones. Doing his best to ignore their quiet chatting, he mentally reviewed the words before reciting them.
When the portal swirled to life, Leo turned to Splinter expectantly and received a proud smile and nod for his efforts. "Well done, my son."
Leo beamed happily, until his brothers teasingly elbowed him out of the way to go through the portal. "Hey!"
The humans of the group were impressed by the grounds around the main battleground of the Battle Nexus, taking in the sights like tourists as they walked to the registration pavilion. The turtles guided April and Casey, pointing out places they had been (and gotten in trouble) last time they competed.
Meanwhile, Splinter and Mrs. Jones took the rare opportunity to leisurely stroll along arm in arm in some form of public. They had gotten there early enough there was no rush, so they sipped their drinks and chatted, Splinter regaling his paramour with stories of his many visits to the Battle Nexus. Soon enough, as most lines of conversation did, his stories turned to exasperated tales of his children getting into trouble, while Ma Jones laughed and nodded sympathetically. Then she shared her own stories of the misadventures Casey got up to as a child.
Luckily, they had already parted ways with the younger members of their group, so there were no embarrassed protests or complaints.
"So, Master Splinter," Ma Jones teased as they waited in the short line to registration. "You gonna try to impress me?"
"Would you cheer for me if I did?" he replied.
She pretended to think about it, taking a sip from her thermos before smirking at him. "I could be persuaded…"
He chuckled and wrapped his tail around her leg, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. He signed his name in the registration book, then glanced over his shoulder at her and winked. "Then I shall do my best to be impressive enough to persuade."
"Come, my dear," he said, offering his arm again. "Let us find you a good spot in the stands."
Grinning, she took the offered arm and gave his bicep a squeeze. "There anywhere around here for me to get one of those big foam hands with your name on it, tickle-whiskers?"
They got a few odd looks from other registrants as they exited the pavilion laughing their heads off.
She did eventually find a stall that could sell her a giant hand, though it was made of plant fiber instead of foam. Splinter was so surprised to see her waving it around and shouting his name, he almost didn't duck away from his opponent in time.
He spent the rest of the round grinning, much to the confusion and annoyance of his opponent.
When he won the round and was able to rest before the next, Mrs. Jones congratulated him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Casey quickly made his way down from the observation deck, pouting at having lost his first round. While Splinter's sons were passing around teasing words and congratulations in equal measure. Donatello in particular received extra teasing and congratulations for making it past the first round this time.
The universe (or perhaps the Daimyo) had a sense of humor, because the second round had Splinter up against Michelangelo once again.
"So, a rematch, huh?" his son said in one of his silly voices to hide his nerves.
"It would appear so," he agreed solemnly.
Michelangelo chuckled nervously, then spread his hands and offered, "Friendly spar?"
"That sounds most enjoyable, my son," Splinter said, then moved into a defensive stance and smirked. "If you can keep up."
"Oh-ho, them's fightin' words!" Michelangelo crowed, idly spinning a nunchaku.
"Then 'bring it', Michelangelo." He held up a hand and motioned for his son to come at him.
Tucking his nunchaku back into his belt, Michelangelo gave a joyful shout and ran forward.
To the audience in the stands, it no doubt looked like they were fighting in earnest. A brutal test of martial prowess between father and son, sensei and student.
If they were closer, the spectators would be able to see and hear Michelangelo stifling his giggles as he bounced around their sector of the arena. They were fighting, but it was more a game than it would be if they had been paired with other competitors.
Still, Splinter's son was certainly putting up a better showing than he would in the dojo at home. "I see you have brought your 'A-game', my son," he teased, hand shooting out.
Michelangelo escaped the hit with an unnecessarily showy back handspring, then popped up with a spinning kick that Splinter barely ducked away from.
"Well I gotta make ya look good in front'a your lady-friend," Michelangelo replied, grinning. "Can't give 'er a bad show, right?"
"If I had known all it took for you to take sparring seriously was to have a significant other watching, I would have brought one home sooner."
Michelangelo faltered in the middle of a flashy spin. "Wait, what?! Like I know ya said Ma Jones wasn't your first rodeo, but are you tellin' me you actually dated before? Someone you coulda brought to the lair?"
"There are many activities involved in rodeos," Splinter said, waving a careless hand. "Dating is one of them."
"Sensei!" his son protested, making a face. Splinter grinned and took advantage of the distraction, grasping Michelangelo's arm and flipping him over his shoulder. He was proud to see his little turtle turn it into a roll before he hit the ground, and quickly regain his footing.
With Michelangelo distracted, Splinter went on the offense and pushed forward.
"Y'knooow," Michelangelo drawled, ducking away from a punch and dancing away to give himself some distance. "If you lose, you could take some time to go show Mrs. Jones your statue. Betcha she'd be suuuper impressed. Plus this round's probably gonna go pretty long, Leo an' Usagi got matched up again."
"Ah, their spars can get quite lengthy," Splinter agreed, taking the moment of distance to shake out his limbs.
"Unless Leo decides to use some ninja sneakiness to distract Usagi," Michelangelo said, then winked and made an exaggerated kissy-face.
Splinter threw back his head to laugh, and that was when his clever, tricky son suddenly struck. Darting forward, Michelangelo swept his feet out from under him and grabbed his arm. Once Splinter hit the ground, his son gently pulled his arm back into a combination of an armlock and a wristlock.
He could have broken the hold without injury, especially with how loose Michelangelo's grip was, but…
His little turtle was far more clever than he was usually given credit for. Getting into your opponent's head could often be just as effective in a fight as how well you could hit them.
And taking Cassandra for a stroll through the Pavilion of Past Champions sounded quite pleasant. He could show off not just his own statue but that of his late master and the son who had currently bested him.
"Sooo? What's it gonna be, Sensei?"
Splinter chuckled and relaxed his tensed muscles. "You make an excellent point, my Michelangelo," he conceded, then signalled that he yielded.
Almost immediately, the grip on his arm changed and Michelangelo helped him to his feet. They both brushed the dust off his robe, then Michelangelo stepped back and grinned, hands on his hips.
"Well-fought, my son," Splinter told him, smiling.
Michelangelo winked as the Battle Nexus's magic began to teleport Splinter from the arena. "Have fun with Ma!" his son called after him, waving.
As Splinter appeared in the observation deck, he stepped forward to look down at the arena. Michelangelo was making victory poses to the delight of the audience. In another area, Leonardo and Usagi were indeed still locked in battle, swords flashing quick and close between them.
Smiling, he decided to take his son's advice. He turned away from the viewing window and went in search of his Cassandra.
Soon after, arms around Cassandra as he told her about Hamato Yoshi, staring up at his late master's statue, Splinter decided he didn't mind sitting out the rest of the fighting. He had enjoyed many Battle Nexus competitions through to the end.
Later, he would learn that it was actually Miyamoto Usagi who had employed ninja sneakiness and distracted Leonardo with a kiss. He would listen to his other three sons tease a blushing Leonardo, who would indignantly insist it wasn't an honorable tactic while his brothers accused him of sour grapes. (Much later, there would be a discussion between Splinter and Usagi-san regarding the samurai's intentions toward his son.)
Later, he would catch up with old friends and introduce Cassandra to the Daimyo.
For now, he was content to steal a few moments alone with the woman Michelangelo had jokingly called his 'canoodling partner'.
"I'm glad Casey met you an' yer boys," Cassandra said quietly. "You've been a good influence on 'im. God knows there was a time I was waitin' fer the cops to come knockin' at my door one day to tell me he'd been arrested or…worse. These days, I'm not so worried."
"I am glad we were able to provide you some peace of mind, my dear," he murmured, nuzzling against her cheek. "Casey has been a welcome addition to our little family."
Cassandra snorted and pulled away just enough to give him a suspicious look. "I'd hate to think how big that family'd be if ya weren't stuck hidin' all the time, ya chronic adopter."
Chuckling, he pulled her close and nuzzled her again, enjoying her giggle when his whiskers tickled her skin.
For now, there was no need for violence.