Chapter Text
There were many days Tang Shen didn't want to rise from bed.
She would lay there, listening to the steady breathing around her. Her husband laid beside her, no longer human in body yet her Yoshi all the same, their daughter between them as she had been before they ran from Japan, and then their four sons - four mutant turtles. She would turn on her side and watch them all, dreading when her watch would read time to get up. She would cradle the faces of her children, settle them if sleep became restless, and marvel at how she had gained such a life in a single night.
It was tough, it really was, but she wouldn't trade it. Her family was all she needed.
The clock would eventually reach six and she would regretfully get up, place a kiss on each of their heads, and get ready for work. She would leave, slipping out from the abandoned subway, knowing that Yoshi would keep their children safe and cared for while she was gone.
She worked two jobs. It was exhausting. She knew Yoshi hated it, her having to provide for the family, the only one who could walk among the people topside. They still had to pay their two year contract for the apartment. She had to buy food to feed her family lest Yoshi rifle through the trash. Their home needed so much work, so many more essentials to make it comfortable.
Hamato Yoshi was declared legally dead after being missing for six months. Legally, she was a widower with a now eighteen month old child. It was the story she ran with, accepting the pitying looks even as she knew her husband was in their new home underground, away from those robots, away from the world, keeping their children from harm.
The world knew Miwa existed. She would have to go to school. They would look into homeschooling, if they could get the technology for it, but that was a hurdle to cross on another day.
Shen would work from seven to sometimes six or seven or maybe even eight at night, dealing with her stressful 9-5 to whatever artist freelance work she could get her hands on. She couldn't wait for the day they no longer had to pay for the apartment, when money would be less tight and not drained by a place they didn't use. It could go into more food for the growing five children, into what they needed for their home, into providing a better life.
She would return home, exhausted but smiling, to the chaos that came with one girl and four boys who had learned to walk and wanted to see everything. Their few possessions for the children would be scattered about, her kids playing while Yoshi kept an eye on them all as best he could.
"Mama!" Michelangelo got up from where he'd been coloring with Leonardo, running toward her.
She scooped him up for a hug, his little arms wrapping around her neck. "I've missed you too, my dearest. Did your father cook a good dinner?" Thank God someone threw out a working oven. It had been an ordeal to get it into their home and set up in the middle of the night, but it helped tremendously. She'd also bought a small fridge for drinks and other food. One day, she hoped it would be more than that.
"Papa cooked pasta!"
'With sauce,' she noted to herself, swiping a thumb across Mikey's freckled cheek. At least it hadn't gotten in his mask. "I'm guessing it was good?"
"Yup!"
A tugging on her pant leg brought her eyes down to see Leonardo, holding up his paper with a grin, his eyes a brighter blue than his mask. "Mom, I drew a picture!"
"Oh, let me see," she took it from him, trying not to giggle at how he bounced on his toes in anticipation. It was a picture of seven stick figures and she recognized every one of them. "What a beautiful portrait of our family! It's going on the fridge."
"And mine too?" Mikey pressed a hand to his plastron, baby blue eyes hopeful.
"And yours, too. How about you show it to me?" When he nodded, she sat him on his feet and Leo took his place in her arms. She pressed a kiss to his head as he nuzzled into her neck.
"Look! Look!" Mikey held up his picture. It was that of a pizza with a wide array of toppings, from what looked to by gummy worms to the standard pepperoni. He'd been obsessed with pizza since she brought two home last week, when she was able to get off early and wanted to surprise her family.
"Such amazing art - you will be one of the greatest artist of all time!" She praised, rubbing his head. "Both of you."
Leo played with a strand of her hair. "But you're the bestest." The way he said it so earnestly, so adorably, made her heart melt. It was her art that decorated the drab walls, her art that helped put food on the table, her art that got them a microwave - and it was only the second greatest of things she could do, the first being a caring mother.
"Thank you, honey." She set him on the floor and got Mikey's drawing. "I'm going to go put these on the fridge right quick. Where are your father and siblings?"
"Dojo," Leo answered before Mikey grabbed his hand, leading him back to where they'd been coloring.
She went to their little kitchen - they had a few essentials she'd grabbed from the apartment that were theirs, but most stuff was scrounged from trash. The structure itself was leftover from some employee kitchenette the subway station had. With a few magnets she'd gotten at a dollar store, she hung the art up - the small fridge was overflowing with artwork. It was just another reason they would need a bigger one soon enough.
She noted that there was a bowl of pasta leftover, untouched, and a little note that read in Yoshi's handwriting 'Tang Shen' with a heart. He always made sure she had a bowl or plate for whenever she came home after dinner. It was part of their new routine.
Leaving it for now, she headed to the dojo, the only place with natural light. It was dim, this time of day, yet cut through the leaves of a great tree that had somehow grown there, serving as a beacon of new life in their home.
It was easy to spot the rest of her family. Miwa and Raphael clumsily kicked a ball to each other - a game that would likely end in a wrestling match if they weren't watched. Donatello sat in Yoshi's lap, a book held by her husband in front of them and the young turtle reading quietly without any correction. Her second youngest son was already showing to be a gifted genius - rapidly learning to read and showing a talent with jumbles of electronics, not even a year old yet.
Raph spotted her first, smiling. "Mom!" His distraction allowed Miwa to kick the ball passed him, apparently scoring a 'goal' if her reaction was anything to go by. Her son's face changed from happiness to anger. "Hey, no fair!"
Miwa stuck out her tongue, doing a little victory dance. Before the situation could devolve into a fight, Shen moved and scooped them both up into a hug. "How have my little warriors been today? Behaving for your father?"
"One fight, Mama." Miwa held up a single finger with a smile, her other hand clutching Shen's shirt. Raph buried his face in her neck, seeking affection without asking, and she rubbed her thumb over the back of his shell. "Just one."
Well, that was an improvement from three.
Once she was sure they weren't going to fight, she put them back down to play and settled herself to sit beside her husband and Donnie. "And how has my little genius been?" She asked, tickling under his chin.
He giggled, squirming out of Yoshi's arms and into hers for a hug. "I learned new words!" He grinned, the cute gap in his teeth showing.
"Oh, which ones?"
"Creek, stream, waterfall, and ocean!"
"We learned about water masses." Yoshi clarified, putting the book to the side.
"Yeah!"
"My brilliant boy," she kissed the top of his head, giving him a squeeze before Raph called him to come play. She let him go, giving an encouraging nod, and then he joined his brother and sister.
With all the children greeted, she allowed herself to settle against Yoshi's side. He wrapped an around her and she shut her eyes briefly, letting the tension of the day go. She was home.
But not everything was right.
"What troubles you, my dear?" She murmured, opening her eyes just as Leo and Mikey entered, quickly joining in what looked to be a mix of kick ball and tag. The dojo was decorated with what they had brought of their lives in Japan - quilts, art, patterns that brought life and reminded of what they had left.
"What has troubled me since..." He sighed, trailing off. Her hand found its way into his, squeezing. She'd grown used to his change as a rat mutant. Most women might have ran. She did not. Man or rat, Hamato Yoshi was the love of her life.
"Release your burden to me. Let me help."
He gave her a small, sad smile. "That is all you have done. You have carried our burdens. My burden." He ran his thumb over her hand. "After all that has happened, everything with Saki, our home, running, becoming this..." He turned, refusing to meet her eyes. "This is not the life I wanted for you, Tang Shen."
She brought her free hand to his cheek, turning his face to hers. "It is a beautiful life as long as I have you, our daughter, and our sons."
His hand closed over hers. "I can't believe you still love me like this."
"I would love you if you were a worm, Yoshi. Don't be a fool."
He laughed quietly, that happiness back in his eyes. "You are too good for me."
"Never." She hugged him, pressing her ear against his chest, over his heart. He kissed the top of her head, arms around her, and everything was right again.
"You should eat," he told her after a few minutes. "I will keep an eye on the children."
She sat back with a smile. "I heard the pasta was good. You do such a good job taking care of them."
"I couldn't do it without you."
She bet that he could, if he had to, but that didn't need to be said. She was here. He was here. They worked together as parents, building a life for five children, away from the world that wouldn't understand their lives or choices. Regretfully, she rose, letting go of his hand to go get her food. "I will be back."
"We'll be waiting."
As she left the room, she heard the telltale sound of one of her children tackling the other, followed by Mikey's squeal. Shaking her head, she let Yoshi handle it.
Hours later, she leaned against Yoshi once more, their children laying on them. Yoshi had Miwa cradled in his right arm, Mikey laying across his legs. The latter already snored. Shen had Donnie and Leo in either arm, half asleep. Raph insisted on laying across her lap, stubbornly trying to stay awake but already losing that fight. Blankets surrounded them, wrapped around the children and the couple.
She hummed for a minute, getting her voice into tune before singing softly: "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..." One by one, her babies dropped off into sleep, snuffling and snoring. "And if that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."