#wt!cassandra

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It would be bad enough if it was the younger two. Raph can (mostly) handle little brother teasing.

But bro doesn't know how to defend himself against big brother teasing.

This is actually something that I've been thinking about for a long time, haha.

And I thought writing it out would be a fun switch up from the comics I usually make (plus I need a break from drawing lol <:D)

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Noa Jones was sitting on the couch in the living room of the cozy little apartment he and Cassandra called home. 

As of the moment, the Australian felt anything but cozy. Earlier, he’d come home from a shopping trip and had been immediately met by what he liked to call ‘The Jones Bug.’ 

Which, for lack of a simpler explanation, meant trouble. 

He’d nearly dropped the eggs when Cassandra had looped her arm through his and all but dragged Noa to where he now sat on the 2nd hand sofa, one leg hanging over the side, the other tucked beneath him, elbow propped up on a knee. 

Casey was facing across from him, buzzing from nothing short of giddy excitement. 

The thought landed with a dreadful plop in Noa’s stomach. 

No, her getting overly excited wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Her fiery passion was even one of the many things Noa adored about her. 

The problem was that the last time he had ever seen her this gleeful about something, it had been at the city fair when she and Donnie had “accidentally” set a mascot dressed as the kid cartoon character Mrs. Cuddles on fire when they startled Raph so bad he got stuck in a tree. (On the bright side, it finally got the softshell turtle to sort out whatever ‘beef’ he had with Cassandra.)

Noa did allow himself to relax somewhat when he noted the lack of an evil glint in his lover’s eyes.

Though it only made him more curious as to why a wide grin spread across her face from ear to ear. 

“Babe, I need you to close your eyes,” Cassandra said, watching him intently. 

“You’re killing me,” Noa was unable to hold back a smile of his own. He’d been infected by her cheerful manner. 

Casey puffed out her cheeks, waving her hands in a shoo-shoo fashion. “Just do it.”

So he did, eyes shut as he felt her take his wrist and place some sort of soft cloth in his hand. He raised a brow.

She pulled away, and after a moment, Noa feeling her shift in her seat, spoke again. “Okay, okay. Open ‘em.”

Noa’s curiosity was replaced by confusion, looking down to see a dark, forest green baby onesie. Written on the front in bold white letters was the phrase ‘Daddy’s little sidekick.’

“Case, what is this-?” But when Noa raised his gaze, he froze, finally noticing the plastic stick Cassandra held up between two fingers.

A pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test. 

His breath caught in his throat, blinking at the slight sting in his eyes. “No.”

He gently took the test from her hands, double-checking, then triple-checking the faint double line, eyes darting back up to his wife. 

“. . .Is this real?” His voice, thick with emotion, was impossibly soft and a whole octave higher than it usually was.

Cassandra was practically vibrating, biting her lower lip as her grin somehow grew wider. She nodded. 

Noa nearly choked on a bubbly sort of laugh that rose from his chest, part squeal and part something that suspiciously resembled a small sob. It wasn’t the most flattering sound in the world, but born of pure elation. 

He pulled Cassandra close, leaving a quick peck to her temple before hiding his face in the crook of her neck, arms wrapped fiercely around her waist. “You’re pulling my leg.”

Casey just chuckled, patting his back while one hand ran through his hair. “I’m not, I swear.”

Noa’s shoulders shook, but any concern Cassandra had was snuffed out when he pulled away, hands on her shoulders. He was laughing, pure excitement plastered every inch of him - he did wipe away a few tears. 

“This is actually happening! We’re really- blimey, I can’t even-”

His hand came to rest on her stomach, misty eyes filled with wonder. 

It was way too early for any signs to appear suggesting that there was currently a little someone growing there. 

But the fact that there was. . .

In a comedically robotic fashion, he leaned forward until his forehead fell to rest on her shoulder. He sniffed once. 

“I love you so much,” he said, muffled. 

Casey laughed again, pulling him closer into a tight embrace, her own eyes starting to get a little wet. 

“Love you too.”

/////

Leonardo had been having a pretty decent day. 

He’d managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours the night before, and the rest of the morning had been spent with the people he loved most in the world. The family he once thought only death could reunite him with. 

So yeah, it was a good day. 

Which meant sugar cereal for lunch. 

“Please tell me you’re not really going to eat that,” came Mikey’s voice as he walked in on Leo making what can only truly be described as a food coma waiting to happen. 

The slider had piled Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Cocoa Puffs into a large bowl with milk, and to top it all off, he pulled a can of whipped cream from the fridge, flashing a devilish smile at his little brother.

“I’m at the tail end of my prime, Miguel,” Leo argued, “Sometimes you just gotta enjoy the small things.”

Mikey merely gagged as Nardo artfully finished off his craft with a fluffy mountain of white. 

“Don’t worry, Angelo, you can tell him you told him so when the old man suffers from severe gastrointestinal distress and has a violent episode of emesis later,” Donnie said from where he sat, not even bothering to look up from his phone. 

Moments later, Raph walked in with a stretch, only hesitating for a moment when heterochromic eyes fell on the abomination that was his little-big brother’s food.

“That’s just gross.”

Leo rolled his eyes, smiling fondly as he leaned against the counter and dug in. “Everyone’s a critic today.”

He got through half of it before Donnie’s device started ringing. 

“Greetings, yon lovebirds,” he said, picking up the call.

Leo didn’t even have to see the FaceTime screen to know it was Noa and Casey. 

“Hey, Joneses,” he called from across the room.

Mikey leaned in over Don’s shoulder, eyes narrowed. “Alright, what’s up? You look way too excited for a normal chat.”

“Well, we have some exciting news,” Noa said with a chuckle, voice crackling slightly over the phone. 

Leo listened in as he ate, glancing up for a moment curiously. 

“WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!” Casey whooped.

Leo choked on his next bite, dropping the bowl in the sink, pounding his chest with his prosthetic as he coughed on the cereal blocking airflow for an uncomfortable second too long. 

His brothers were looking at him, slightly alarmed - Raph had an arm reached out, ready to jump in and help.

“That’s amazing!” the slider managed, clearing his throat as he quickly pulled on a classic smile, hiding his shaky hands under the counter, out of view. “So happy for you both.”

Fortunately, the others seemed to buy it, turning back to congratulate the two soon-to-be parents. 

The next half hour was filled with chatter and excitement. Donnie offering suggestions on how to babyproof their apartment, Mikey and Raph going off on a tangent list of name ideas. 

Leo would chime in with the occasional idea, usually something ridiculous like ‘Turbo Glitterhound,’ his personal favorite being a phrase he learned from Hueso, ‘Bolas de Fuego.’

For all means and purposes, Leonardo played the part that he was fine. Because he was. Noa and Cassandra were going to be great parents; they had been in his timeline. And he was happy for them. He continued to tell himself that, even as his chest seemed to splinter apart one small piece at a time. 

He was happy, he was. Really. This was fine. Better than fine, this was fantastic. And he was okay. Everything was perfectly one hundred percent-

Leo shot up from where he’d been sitting at the table, chair nearly toppling over. He caught it before it could.

“Leo?” Mikey said.

“Be back in a sec,” the older slider called back with a cheerfully lazy and all too convincing smile as he left the room. And when he did, he dropped the act.

He was trembling, the world tilting on its axis at a nauseatingly dizzying angle. Each step he took was faster than the last, turning down the hallway, banging the bathroom door open before shutting it behind him.

And collapsed to his knees, wretching into the toilet bowl because his stomach had betrayed him. 

It burned in his throat, eyes stinging, pale and clammy hands clutching the rim of the bowl with a death grip. 

He gasped, gagging, trying to keep himself from dry-heaving for the fourth time in a row after everything had already come up. 

Donatello was never going to let him live this down, that was for sure. 

He rested his head on the cold porcelain, clutching at a stomach that twisted in knots. His breath was shallow, hitching in his throat, eyes shut tight to block out the world around him. He had headache already starting to throb in the back of his mind. 

Because all Leo could think about was Junior. 

He pressed his one good hand over his mouth to hold back a sob, and failed. It tore out of him, raw and ugly and wrong. 

He couldn’t breathe. 

This was supposed to be good news.

But all he could see was that little boy with eyes too innocent and bright for a war-torn world, who trusted in his sensei with his whole heart - and died because of it. 

He couldn’t do this. 

He couldn’t do this.

None of this was okay. 

He didn’t even realize he was crying until the tears dripped onto the tile floor, silent and endless.

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Their reactions were basically the opposite of each other.

Noa was overjoyed at the news, and while Leo was undoubtably happy for them. . . It was really hard to hear.

You can't expect me not to turn them into this meme. I had to.

Don't know how I feel about Noa's hair. I keep changing it cuz I'm just not happy with it yet.

(I feel like it was something he wasn't supposed to hear. Like a cuss word or something.)

So I have to apologize XD

I kept putting off this ask because I wanted to make a little mini comic for it. The idea of CJ's first word is just too adorable to me!

But I couldn't figure out what the word would be :(

While yes, having it be something he definitely shouldn't say is absolutely hilarious, I personally like the idea of his first word being something sweet. Maybe said at an unexpected moment, catching everyone off guard.

I came to the conclusion that his first word should be someone's name.

Which was where my troubles started.

The obvious choice would be Cassandra or Noa. An infant's first word is often along the lines of "Mama" or "Dada," and let's be honest, these two are awesome parents. They totally deserve getting to be CJ's first word.

If Cassandra, she's the kind of mom who would parade him around on top of her shoulders with undeniable pride. If Noa, there's no way the poor man's holding back those tears. Open the floodgates!

But then I thought, "What if CJ's first word was someone else's name?"

It got me thinking how an innocent moment like that would affect the others.

April would go full auntie mode, doing everything in her power to get him to say it again so she can record it and send it on the group chat as undeniable evidence that she's "the favorite." And CJ obviously wouldn't say it again until after she gives up XD

I could see Mikey being absolutely elated. He would one hundred percent be the one to have made it a competition, and he would be quite the smug victor (all in good fun of course.)

It would be something Donnie wouldn't have expected, and I think he would be deeply touched. CJ's always had a soft spot in Dee's heart, (he denies it.) It might be one of the many things that gets the guy to loosen up and let his guard down a bit.

For Raph, it would really help further illustrate just how much has changed. After everything he's done (everything he was forced to do that is,) there's still this innocent little bundle of joy that loves and trusts him. He's not the weapon the Kraang made him out to be.

And finally Leo. There would be a lot of mixed emotions. Surprise, joy, sadness, guilt. . . He would need to step away and take a moment to process it all. Does he really deserve a second chance with this kid? Someone who had relied on him, who Leonardo couldn't protect when it really mattered. He honestly doesn't know if he deserves that chance, or if he ever will.

Do I want to draw this someday? Yes! Absolutely!

But I'm going to have to do a LOT of thinking and decision making until then.

Am I overthinking this? Oh, one hundred percent. It'll probably end up being a bit underwhelming when I do get around to this, considering all the time I'm putting into planning this moment.

There's just so much potential. I could make it sweet. I could make it angsty. Most likely it'll be sweet- BUT MY POINT IS!!!

. . .I forgot what my point is, I'm basically just rambling at this point because this has been ridiculously hard for me to decide for some reason.

Like you said, Noa’s a pretty chill guy. He doesn’t pick fights, he doesn’t stand up for himself, would rather be the butt of the joke than let things escalate into a serious problem. He’s passionate, caring, and definitely strong in his own right, but rarely ever one to raise his voice in anger or retaliation.

However, there was one notable time where he lost his cool.

Noa doesn’t have the greatest relationship with his parents, and rarely speaks of them. However, when CJ was about a year old or so, Cassandra managed to convince her husband to take them to his extended family’s annual get together during the New Year - an event he’s skipped for the past several years.

The only reason Noa agreed was because Casey brought up the fact that Noa’s parents have never actually met their grandson, and at least deserved the chance to meet CJ.

For the most part, everything went fine. There was obvious strain between Noa and his parents, but they managed to get through the first day or two of the trip without any major arguments.

…until New Years Eve, when Noa’s parents brought up the heated subject of their disagreement with his chosen career in archeology.

And when their racist opinions toward yokai and mutants came up?

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ANYWAY.