Michaelangelo, You Made Me Smile (Book 3)

Babysitting

When I made it to Naomi and Raph's room, I didn't even have to knock. No. Naomi opened the door as I was about to raise one of the crutches to knock with that. She looked at me and blinked, like she was slightly shocked to see me.

I only smiled and said, "Hey."

"What're you doing?" she asked without saying any welcome back.

I looked down a little and muttered, "I was wondering if I could babysit for you..."

"With our twins?" she asked. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

Naomi sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at me. I looked at her and her tail flicked, tapping the door frame with the tip. She looked behind her and Raph came up behind her and looked at me. He must've heard because he didn't ask nor say anything. I smiled and shuffled a little as best I could.

Raph watched me while finally saying, "She can," then he looked at Naomi. "I mean, it could give you a break. You haven't been topside in a while."

"Because I watch them," she said with a side of bitter, glancing at him. "While you go out and play hero."

"I can't help it," he smirked. "They gotta look up to me!"

Naomi groaned then looked back at me, "You can watch them... But they grew a little fast."

"How fast?" I asked, curious on how mutant children of the next generation could grow.

"Mommy!" "Daddy!" I heard two voices mingle. Naomi closed her eyes while Raph sighed and turned toward the room.

"Can they walk?" I asked, shocked.

Naomi shook her head, eyes still closed. "No... But they can crawl. Which is almost as bad as walking..."

"I've babysat before," I tried to reassure her. "I can handle this."

Raph and Naomi now looked at me and I smiled. Raph sighed and Naomi only blinked. Both said, at the same time, "Okay..."

Raph backed up into the room while Naomi only moved to the side so I could walk in. When I did, I saw the room had changed a little. There were beaten up and dusty toys laying around with finger and hand prints painted on them; the dust collected on the hands that played with them. There was a pair of dented metal cribs, both with a child bouncing on their knees.

Melanie looked at me with her bright green eyes and I saw that her tail had grown, almost a foot or more in length, and it flicked. She watched me with the most curious eyes that I have ever seen. They glowed in the dim light, while her underbelly stood out. She also wore a simple diaper.

Adrian had stopped bouncing and was watching me as well. His blue-green eyes wide and cautious, but also with a glow of rebel. He had one arm in his shell, as if it was cold or maybe to play a prank on his sister that his arm was gone. I smiled as his arm came back out.

They were both young replicas of their parents, except for the eyes and the fact that they had no masks. But what color would their masks be if they did have one? I paused and thought about what colors would fit with them.

"Melanie's is going to be white," Naomi answered my thoughts again, making me look at her. "Adrian's with be cyan."

"Cyan?" I repeated.

"A bright neon blue," Raph answered. "April's getting all the fabric we need for later."

"Oh," I nodded. "So.... Where are their diapers and stuff?"

Naomi went to the side of the room where the cribs were push against. There was a minute dresser between them. She opened it and there were a neat row of diapers. She looked at the shelf and said, "First row is Adrian's. Second row is Melanie's. Bottom row is baby powder and wipes."