Together As Mutants (Book Six)

CXXVII. Feeding Them Solid Foods

Leonardo

Dean squirms in his high chair as Destiny prepares some baby food for him. The other women sit nearby looks rather exhausted; Taylor with three-month-old Copeland, Annalise with two-month-old Mitch, and Sarina with her twin one-month-olds.

Dean, at five months old, is now big enough to try some real food. Destiny spoons some of the apple and pear purée into a little spoon, holding it out to him.

"Come on. Open up," she coaxes.

He presses his lips together, pouting and refusing the mush. She sighs, trying again, but her attempt is met with refusal once again.

Leo walks into the kitchen, saying a quick "good morning" to the other girls before kissing Destiny on the cheek. His sapphire eyes flicker to Dean, noting the pouty face.

"How's our little man this morning?" he asks.

"He doesn't want to eat," she explains, a tired edge to her tone.

Leo pauses, his face pensive. He gets an idea, kneeling down to Dean's eye level.

"Where's daddy?" he asks, covering his eyes. He pulls his hands away and grins. "Peekaboo!"

Dean laughs, and Destiny takes the chance to place the spoonful into his mouth. His tiny lips pucker as he gets used to the flavour of the new food, his laughter silencing.

"Please don't spit it out...not again," she pleads under her breath.

He swallows, a content smile falling across his face. His tail wags, and he reaches his hands out to his parents.

"Mo! Mo!" he coos.

They had come to learn that that meant "more", and Destiny grins as she feeds him some more. Leo goes to the cupboard, taking some soft baby biscuits and giving two to him. He giggles and gnaws on the new treat, the start of a few teeth starting to show in his gums.

"You're welcome," Leo murmurs, hugging Destiny's waist.

Raphael

"Gah!" Raphael yelps, wiping the baby food off his face.

Copeland giggles and waves her spoon excitedly. Raph sighs, trying to take it from her. She hugs it against her plastron, trying to hide it away.

"TAYLOR!" he hollers.

The ex-gang member walks into the kitchen, still looking sleepy.

"Mmhmm?"

"Your daughter doesn't want to eat," he grumbles.

Taylor glances between the two, then laughs when she sees the food still on his mask. She grabs a cloth and starts wiping it off, earning a few noises from her husband.

"Ugh. You've gotten so motherly," he whines as she finishes wiping off his face.

"Well, you've gotten so fatherly," she retorts. She turns around, moving to eye level with her little girl. "What's wrong, Copey? Not liking the food?"

"Uck," she gurgles.

"How can we get her to eat?" Raph asks.

"Destiny? We need advice!" Taylor calls.

The wolf-raven woman enters the room, keeping seven-month-old Dean in the crook of her arm.

"Yes?"

"How'd you manage to feed Dean solid food?" Raph asks.

She smirks, picking up the jar of food. "Well, I don't think Copey likes mashed yams and carrots. That's a first."

"Bleh," Dean agrees, tugging on one of Destiny's curls.

Copeland grins at her cousin, giggling at the sound of his voice.

"You fed her vegetables? She's your daughter. Why would she want that?" Taylor asks.

"I might not have read the label," Raph grumbles, going and finding a new jar.

"Try fruit. It's a good one to start out on," Destiny suggests before she leaves.

"Bananas?" Raph asks, holding the jar up.

"Give it a shot." Taylor shrugs.

He opens it, digging out a small spoonful and holding it out to Copeland. She opens her mouth readily and gobbles it down, giggling with glee as she claps her hands.

The two parents breathe a sigh of relief.

Donatello

"Dakota, please? It's just some new food! You like experiments," Donatello coaxes. "Please, honey bear?"

Dakota squirms and tries to avoid the spoonful of mashed veggies. Beside her, Sarina feeds Asher easily. The little turtle gobbles down anything that comes his way on the spoon.

"Dakota Grace, you listen to me right now. This is good for you, and it'll make your brain big and smart," Donnie says sternly.

She huffs and crosses her arms.

"Honey, if you don't eat your food, your brother will be smarter than you," Sarina points out.

Dakota opens her mouth instantly, allowing her dad to scoop the food in. She swallows it, opening her mouth again. Donnie smirks and gives her another spoonful, glad that she's finally eating.

Asher giggles and waves his hand towards her, and she reaches out and grasps it as they both take another spoonful each.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo nibbles on pizza contentedly while Annalise tries to feed Mitch a spoonful of mashed creamed corn.

"Mitchell Jerome, you will eat this food or so help me-" she starts.

Mikey places a hand on her shoulder, calming her. "No need to sound like Raph."

"I HEARD THAT!" the mentioned turtle yells from outside.

Mikey takes the spoon, grinning as he looks to his blond son. "Look Mitch! It's corn! That's not bad!" He eats the corn, and his face twists. He spits it out, sticking his tongue out. "UGH! That's so gross!"

Mitch giggles, and Annalise huffs as she rolls her eyes. "Yeah. You're a big help."

"We can't feed him that!" he insists. "He needs some real food! Like..."

He turns and grabs a slice of pizza from the nearest box. He hands the simple slice of cheese pizza to Mitch, who grasps it in his strange hands eagerly.

"He can't eat that either," Annalise says. "What's he gonna do, gum it to death?"

They both look to their blond son, who is indeed giving his best shot at chewing the pizza. Mikey takes it back carefully, cutting the slices into tiny pieces and throwing them in the nearby blender. In a few seconds, the slop is ready.

"Ew..." the blonde woman moans. "Mikey-"

"Ssh, Lisey. This is just to get him used to solid food. You can feed him that gross corn later," he interrupts.

Mikey takes the spoon and gives it to Mitch, who giggles with glee and opens his mouth. He gobbles down the pizza mush, gurgling as he claps his hands together.

"Oh, wait. He's your son. Of course he'd like that." She sighs and places a hand on her forehead. "I'm going to take a nap."

"I'll be here!" Mikey grins proudly as he feeds Mitch another spoonful.