Courting a Salamandrian

Chapter 28: The Reception (PART 2)

Arms locked and holding one another close, Raphael and Mona Lisa strolled through the outdoor reception area of their wedding. Going from table to table, the couple greeted their guests, engaging in friendly chit chat and thanking them for coming. Though most of the conversations consisted of the couple receiving endless praises of congratulations for their nuptials, sometimes they'd be given questions about their plans for the next chapter of their lives.

"So have you two decided where you'll be living?" Rockwell asked the couple, Leatherhead and Mondo Gecko nearby anxiously waiting for an answer.

It was a question Raph and Mona not only didn't expect to be given this evening, but one they weren't quite sure of the answer to. The couple was so excited and placed all their focus in planning their wedding that they never thought to plan out the events following the ceremony. The life they will be having together once the evening comes to an end.

"You're not gonna be living with us anymore, Mona?" Mondo Gecko pouted, before stating in an over dramatic fashion, "Damn you, Raphael! Why must you take her away from us!"

Leatherhead chuckles, comforting the mutant gecko as he tells him, "Mona Lisa is a married woman now, my friend. I'm sure she'd rather live with her husband than with all of us."

"I guess you're right..." a little smile grows on his face, "Hey, Mona. Since you won't be using it anymore, is it cool with you if I get your room? Yours has always been bigger than mine."

Mona giggles, "It's all yours, Jason."

"Yes!" He jumps in the air victoriously, "I finally got my bachelor pad! Cowabunga!!"

Rockwell rolls his eyes as he continues on with his previous query, "So then you two will be living in the sewers, I presume?"

"That's the plan. Mona will move in with me in the lair."

Rockwell's gaze grew more curious, as if he was studying the red turtle's answers, "How will your brothers feel about that?"

"They don't mind." Raph tells him, "There's plenty of room in the lair, we may have to move some things around, but we can make it work. April and Karai have both lived with us before in the past, so this won't be any different."

"Raphael, for those situations, they were temporary. April and Karai both eventually moved out. We're talking about a marriage living arrangement. Which is permanent."

Raphael didn't think of it that way. It is true, both April and Karai have lived in the lair in the past - for April, a few months so she can hide from the Kraang who at that point teamed up with The Foot Clan in order to hunt her down. For Karai, only a day before she ran off to fight Shredder alone, which resulted in her unexpected mutation. Raph foolishly thought that Mona Lisa moving in with him will be no different, but in truth it will not. Like Rockwell said, this change will not be temporary. As Rockwell continued on with his rambles, it made Raphael grow more worried about he and Mona's situation in the near future.

"But if you two truly believe that is the best solution then I won't pry anymore. Personally I'd find that living situation rather... unbearable. For newlyweds, you'd expect them to have their own home all to themselves, not live in a toilet with three roommates, but who am I to judge? I've never been married." Rockwell shrugs from his statement as he nonchalantly takes a sip from his martini glass.

Among the silence, Raphael and Mona Lisa share a look, wondering if their psychic monkey friend was right. Would that be an unbearable situation for a newly married couple? Living in the sewers with Raphael's three brothers. It would be nice to have a place for themselves and have some privacy, but where else can they go? Humans are still adjusting to the existence of mutants, so they can't just simply move into the nearest apartment for rent. Is this really how the couple will be starting their married life together? Living in the sewers with Raph's brothers?