Angelo, Nathan and their pets

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Nathan stops by to check on Angelo, bringing Bella with him. Much fun ensues, including Angelo trying and failing to get Bella to give him a nickname. Mostly fluff.



Angelo was sitting in his room, by the computer, trying to work. This was made considerably more difficult by the puppy chewing his shoe. As he wanted to make it clear visitors were welcome, the door was standing half-open.

Outside, Nathan paused, listening both with his ears and his mind. Smiling, he leaned down, setting Bella on the floor and giving her a scratch on the head and a little push forward.

She looked up at him and then went scuttling through the door. "WHEE!" she shrieked, seeing Joyita, who immediately left off chewing Angelo's shoe and bounced at her. "Whee, cane! Play!"

Angelo glanced up, startled by the sudden noise, then laughed. "Hello, Bella. Are you by yourself or is Nathan out there?"

"Right here," Nathan said amiably, pushing the door the rest of the way open and coming in. "Just figured I'd give her the opportunity to make a grand entrance."

"Whee!" Bella shrieked joyously, flapping her wings and capering around Joyita, who was wagging her tail excitedly and yipping as she bounced. "Dance, cane! Dance!"

Angelo grinned, watching the animals "dance". "Well, she sure managed that. Seems to have got over the fear of dogs, doesn't she?"

"My bird is a very smart bird," Nathan said sagely, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the wall by the door. "Although I take exception to the idea that she's plotting to take over the world."

Angelo snickered. "Her an' Delphine probably could, between them. Did you ever figure out how Delphine got into the cage?"

"Oh, I have no doubt about how she got into the cage. Closing and locking the door behind her? That's the perplexing part." Nathan smiled at Angelo, a little more gently. "Good to see you in such good spirits."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, well. The Professor says he knows who did it an' it won't happen again, an' 'most everyone's been really great. An' it's really, really hard not to be cheered up with this one around", he added, nudging the still-bouncing Joyita gently with his foot.

"I imagine," Nathan said mock-gravely, looking at the puppy. "I'm glad the Professor's figured it out, too. It's probably even for the best that he handles it." Nathan gave Angelo a sideways look, waiting for his reaction to that.

Angelo had come to the same conclusion, some days before. "He might've told me, you know", he said quietly. "If I'd insisted. But he asked me not to, gave me his word whoever wouldn't get away with it. An' Paige an' a half-dozen others would've taken turns tryin' to hurt them, if it'd got out."

"Definitely for the best," Nathan said, content that Angelo did believe that. Whatever little shit had been responsible for this was Charles' to discipline, thankfully; his concern was Angelo, and if he was to the point of being able to come to that conclusion and believe it, he was coping well. A proud smile tugged at Nathan's lips almost involuntarily. "You know you're just adding further evidence to the pile of reasons you're better than this person?"

Angelo looked up at him quickly, unable to help a smile. "...I try. Not to say I wouldn't like a half-hour alone with them an' my sword, but I'm not gonna have Paige or Clarice or Kitty - she promised vengeance, did I tell you that? - doin' anythin' that'd risk gettin' them kicked out of here on my account. An' I'm not sure I could keep it to myself, if I knew."

"Recognizing your limitations, too," Nathan said, the smile sneaking out. "When did you become older and more mature than me? That's very embarassing."

"Bah!" Bella told him enthusiastically. "Sucky baby!"

Angelo grinned down at her. "Now, I wonder who taught you to say that. Someone's been spendin' time with Domino, I think."

"That obvious, huh?" Nathan gave her a mournful look. "All the women in my life, ganging up on me..."

Angelo laughed. "So what made Domino teach her that one?"

"I was sulking a bit one day, not long after Charles stopped making me fall asleep. Bella picked up that particular endearment very quickly."

Angelo blinked. "...Oh, it's supposed to be sulky? Right, that makes more sense now."

"No, sucky. Dom was accusing me of being a suck, and a baby. She shortened that to 'sucky baby', just on a whim, and Bella started repeating it." Nathan grinned. "Like I said. The women in my life are mean."

Angelo laughed. "She picks things up real fast, doesn't she? She learned the names of everybody in the house yet?"

"Most, I'd think. Although some people have nicknames, as opposed to getting actual names. Pete, for example, is 'Smelly'..."

Angelo laughed out loud. "Bet he loves that. What other ones has she given people?"

"Miles is 'pretty green', Alison is 'Shiny!'" Nathan grinned. "Charles is 'Shiny head!'"

Angelo grinned back. "Clever bird", he said, leaning down to her level. "Give me a nickname, then, Bella."

Bella tilted her head at him, cooing for a second. Joyita sat down, but kept wagging her tail. "Anglo? Good?"

Angelo nodded patiently. "Yeah, that's my name. I'd like a nickname, Bella."

"Nick! Nicknick!"

Angelo laughed, reaching down to scratch her head. "Not quite what I had in mind. Nathan, some help here? I wanna know what she'd call me."

Nathan whistled, and Bella looked back at her, craning her head around. "What's Angelo?"

"Anglo!"

"Yes, we know that part. What's Angelo?"

Bella tilted her head at him, at a truly bizarre angle. "Cute! Nice! Anglo good!"

Angelo was laughing helplessly by the end of this. "Well, at least we know she likes me, an' not just for my dog." Joyita decided to try and lick Bella, apparently feeling neglected, at that moment.

"Sorry," Nathan said, spreading his hands wide. "I guess the nicknames have to be spontaneous. Maybe she just hasn't found yours yet?"

Angelo nodded. "Oh well. I'm sure it'll be good when she does." The pets had now started "dancing" again.

"Pah! Pah!" Bella was squealing at Joyita. "Slobbery! Slobbery cane!"

"She's not that bad", Angelo protested mildly. "Thought you liked getting your feathers wet?"

"Pah! Pah!" Bella fluttered up into the air, swooping in low circles around the room. Joyita, deliriously happy, kept springing up to try and catch her.

"If you hit any furniture, feathers, I'm going to laugh at you," Nathan warned her.

"Hah! Hah, cane!"

Joyita was a very sweet and friendly dog, but not the brightest, and seemed unable to grasp the concept that she would never catch Bella. Or perhaps she was just enjoying the game too much to give up. Angelo watched them both in amusement. "Delphine adopted her too", he informed Nathan. "Ended up pinnin' her down in the back of Paul's car an' washin' her like a kitten."

"She's entirely too cute," Nathan said, bending down and snapping his fingers. Joyita immediately came running over to lick his hands, and Nathan picked her up. "Hey, you," he said with a chuckle as she tried to turn her attentions to his face. "That mean bird chasing you?"

"Nate!" Bella said indignantly as she settled on top of a bookcase. "Mine!"

Angelo turned to look at Bella, amused. "Well, if you wanna get like that, she's mine actually. Or did you mean Nate's yours?"

"Nate! Mine! My Nate! MINE!"

Nathan made a cheerful face at the bird. "I think Joyita's marking her territory, feathers," he said with a chuckle as the puppy tried to wash his face exuberantly. Bella cut loose with a stream of Italian profanity and Nathan grinned, bending over to put the puppy back down. "Don't want to be ruining their budding relationship," he explained to Angelo, then stretched out his arm. Bella swooped over and landed there, hissing and grumbling at him as she climbed to his shoulder.

Angelo managed to keep a straight face as he answered, "Bella's possessive, huh? 'Least she's forgiven Moira for stealin' you away now." Deprived of both a bird to chase and a Nathan to lick, Joyita turned her attention back to Angelo's feet.

"It's a tenuous detente," Nathan said gravely. "I live in constant fear of the resumption of hostilities." He winked at Angelo, then nodded at the computer. "I should let you get back to it. Just wanted to stop by and check on you, again."

Angelo nodded, lifting his shoes out of range of Joyita's teeth. He located a chewtoy somewhere on the desk and dropped that for her instead. "Just a bit of homework. 'm glad you came by."

"We should make that date for the gym, soon," Nathan said with a smile, turning to go.

"Bye!" Bella squealed, turning backwards on his shoulder. "Bye, Anglo!"

Angelo nodded again, calling after them, "I'm up for it when you are. Bye, Bella!"