Chapter 3: Sparkles of the Relationship

These two days of Nero's recovery in the vet clinic, under the care of Saba and Josh mostly, but even surprisingly, under Amanda's care, were going as quickly as flash. With someone being by his side, Nero was feeling like as if recovery was going to be real quick.

Then, in the morning of the second day... while Amanda was resting near his basket as he was peacefully sleeping, she was thinking how this was the day when he was going to be released. But what after he was going to be free? Were they going to see each other again as friends... or more than friends.

The sound of human steps were coming from the another room and Amanda knew exactly to whom it belonged to. Leaning closer to Nero's basket, it was enough for her to whisper in his ear: "Nero! Wake up! The vet is coming!" As much as she was expecting, she could have noticed Nero waking up. Just then, John came into the room.

"Alright, Nero. let me remove this bandage from your head and you're good to go." John commented, crouching down to Nero's basket and with Nero accepting the vet to take his bandage off, John was quickly over, without any pain being done when the bandage was removed. Clapping with hands, the young vet said: "Alright, you two, off to go."

With Nero getting on his paws, he felt absolutely no pain in his body, meaning that he was feeling quite fresh inside his body. Before heading outside, Nero said: "Amanda, mind you if I say goodbye to my aunt and uncle? They took care of me as well as you did." Amanda didn't object, but let him go greet them.

Heading to the room where John was resting in, he noticed that both of them were fast asleep so instead of nudging them to wake up, considering the fact that the two might have had a hard day last day, Nero whispered: "Aunt Saba, uncle Josh. Thank you for taking care of me during my stay. My dad and mom are going to be grateful for this." With enough words said, Nero decided to leave them be.

Returning to Amanda, Nero nodded to his friend, as if they were ready to go. Before Amanda could leave, Nero rushed to the dog doors and using his paw, pushed the dog doors. Blushing, he just said: "Oh... um... ladies first!" That earned the few giggles coming from her, which frankly amused him. As she was exiting, she was heard saying: "You're a gentle-dog."

With him being out, still blushing from Amanda's compliment, now the question was: what they could be doing now? Looking at Amanda, knowing how much she was with him during his recovery, he was ready to polish up their friendship so he had to ask: "Amanda... say, uh... do you mind if you come with me for a walk?"

Amanda, looking at Nero with a huge surprise, was wondering whether he should take it or leave it... being taken off the guard for a while, she was making her choice. In the end, while knowing it was not the rightest one, she was at least being honest by saying: "Do you mind if I go see my brothers and sisters, parents possibly? I haven't seen much of them these two days."

While being lightly disappointed that Amanda rejected his offer, with her being saddened by that, he was at least understanding enough to say: "Okay, have fun with them. Just to let you know, if you ever feel like, we can go out for a walk sometime." Amanda found that offer tempting and acceptable so she nodded in an approval and headed away to see one of her siblings, or even parents.

But before he could have headed to his family or friends, there was someone in the alley nearby and it was something like hissing, but the hissing he was hearing was not threatening one, but a rather one that was actually calling him to come, quite benevolently: "Nero! PSST! Over here!"

It took him a while, as Nero was heading towards the alley, that the voice was belonging to none other else than his brother-in-law Rodney. Once he was in the alley, Nero could have seen Rodney standing in front of him few meters in front, not giving any sign at all that he was going to attack Nero. Instead...

"You're wondering why I have called you here?" Rodney asked him quite casually, keeping his distance to make sure Nero wasn't feeling threatened at any moment. Nero nodded slightly, wanting to know what they were doing there, but his question was answered, although in a method "step-by-step": "Firstly, I want to congratulate you for the successful recovery."

"Thank you." Nero smiled, feeling that this kind of conversation beginning was quite welcome for him. Now Rodney made few steps towards him, with Nero no longer feeling like as if there was any kind of threat coming. Yet he had to ask: "Is there something else you want to tell me?"

No doubts, that was something Rodney was going to do - tell him some other things. With the look on his face, indicating how glad he was, Rodney didn't fret but to carry on: "Yeah. You know, not only that Saba and Josh were taking care of you, but it seems to me that... Amanda has got a soft spot for you... if you know what I mean."

While that was true, as Amanda was taking a good care for him, it all felt like that his question caught him quite surprised. Was Amanda looking after him because she wanted to repay him for saving her... or it was because Amanda liked Nero. Knowing that the truth was the better solution, Nero was strong enough to say: "Well... I do like how she was taking care of me... but she liking me? We've known each other for a short time!"

That still didn't discourage Rodney from his smiling. His favorite step-sister hanging out with the brother of his mate... why not?! While Nero was staring at him in awe, Rodney just said: "Don't be afraid to tell me... do you like her or not? If yes, then the next time you get to see her, ask her out for a walk."

Thinking about that offer, he knew that his new friend was making sure he was going to recover... or better, be more than a friend. If so, then it was all on Nero to say: "Okay... but I'll wait for her till she sees her family, then I'm asking her out, okay?" This just widened the smile on Rodney's face, with him responding: "Go for it!"

Patting Nero by his back, Nero laughed quite delightfully, with Nero being brave enough to smile and share some laughs. Now that this meeting was over, Rodney could carry on with his daily duties, such as being with his own pups, such as Neve living with him. However, Nero asked him one more thing, that one being off the topic: "Say, Rodney! I have heard that you are going to join the sled team, right?!"

Since that was one of Rodney's biggest desires, considering the fact that his own father was the famed sled dog, there was no doubt in that, with Rodney nodding greatly and saying: "When the next season of mail delivery begins, count me in the sled team!" With that said, Rodney headed off home whereas Nero kept smiling. Eventually, he decided to head to his family.

Of course, Nero's recovery and return home was greeted warmly and greatly by his parents Yukon and Yin, his sister Kiana and Amber and eventually by his uncle Yang and his mate Shira. They were glad that their special young husky was fine now and at the same time, were praising him for the courage.

"Just as I thought, my nephew, that the courage you have shown to your friend comes from your father." Yang let him beloved nephew know, patting him by his back as he was blushing that off. If he was this brave, then there was no doubt that his parents were so proud at him. But still...

"Hey, Nero. I think that Rodney has noticed something between you... and Amanda." Kiana teased her brother like any other sibling. Nero's look was as if he was trying to say: "Seriously, et tu, sister?" but it seemed quite useless to oppress his dear sister. But why Rodney was even trying to be a such gossip?!

Shira, who was present at Nero's recovery celebration, couldn't avoid hearing the words that had her son and her middle stepdaughter in the topic, so she just had to add: "Did I hear right? Nero, I didn't expect that you'd like my stepdaughter that much!" Nero tried to object, but with his sisters nodding in an approval, he just had to give up, seeing he was in minority when it came to this. Shira was also in favor of Nero being with Amanda.

"Nero, don't fret. Come on, I can take you to Amanda." Amber pulled her brother by herself, with them going out. But Nero was annoyed by the fact that no one was asking him about his opinions, so he had to say: "Amber, stop! Please stop! Amanda was just being kind enough to look after me!"

Amber, while being surprised that Nero raised her voice, was still optimistic-self. She just turned her head mischievously and let him know: "But still, you have to admit that her looking after you really paid off. I know you like her, don't you? Don't deny it." This was the moment he was thrown into the corner. He had to admit it.

"Okay, if you want to know... I do like her." Nero admitted, with that feeling actually being good instead of shameful. Amber didn't tease him or anything, but patted his back delightfully and said: "You see, that's the spirit! Now let's go find his sisters!" SISTERS?! Wasn't she trying to take him to Amanda?

"But I thought you were going to take me to Amanda, Amber!" Nero protested, wondering whether this was all a joke or not?! While following his sister, Amber just admitted: "To be honest, I don't know where Amanda actually lives. But I know where her sisters gather. I can provide you with their info about her residence."

Eventually, Amber and Nero got to the street near the outskirts of the sole town and she was right. Nero could have spotted three dogs there, being Elizabeth's pups. One was male, with black eye patches, Geed was his name. The other two were females, one wearing the green collar named Annabeth and the other one being white furred with black underbelly - Noir. These were Amanda's siblings, though Timber and Titanium were absent for some reason.

"Hey, guys!" Amber called the three siblings, with them paying attention, as if they already were knowing who Amber was. That was the best noticed by the only male there - Geed. It was no surprise that he was the one who greeted her first with "Hello". Noir and Annabeth followed.

"Hey there." Annabeth greeted Amber, trying to avoid any kind of awkwardness. Sure, she knew Amber only by looks, but she had no clue what her actual name was. But upon noticing Nero by her side, Annabeth was like: "And you must be Nero. Our sister was looking after you for two days straight!" The siblings were sure impressed by that.

"It was nothing special, just being a support for these two days, that's all." Nero was completely blushing, wondering whether Amanda's siblings actually knew if he was liking Amanda real good. The awkward silence was following, which was eventually broken by Noir, asking: "I think I know why you are here... are you looking for Amanda?"

As if she was able to read his mind, Nero tried to switch the topics immediately, feeling the huge amount of anxiety circulating in his body. However, Amber just had to say: "Yes, my brother is looking for Amanda - for the good reasons." Feeling quite embarrassed, Geed, Annabeth and Noir howled in surprise.

Nero turned his face towards Amanda, as if he was trying to tell her out of frustration: "WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME TALK?!" But he knew he couldn't yell at his sister. Eventually, Geed just spoke: "Did you come to see her because you like her?" This was getting more and more awkward for Nero as the time was flowing.

Then he decided that he was going to talk first because Amanda would not only tell them his desires, but she'd exaggerate with these so he said: "Amber, you don't need to. Yeah, I have come to see Amanda and it is possible that I even like her. But the thing is, I have no clue where she lives!"

The three siblings raised their eyebrows in surprise, with Annabeth being the one who decided to break this insurance as she was saying: "Alright. Want to see Amanda? I'll take you there so you two can spend time together. Come on, Nero!" Strange how the female that was years younger than Nero himself was able to be in command for this kind of things.

"Guess I'll follow them there." Amber shrugged with her shoulders off, wondering what was her brother trying to do. But the thing was - she felt some kind of odd sensation in Geed's presence and the thing was, as she was following them, Noir was heard saying: "Bye, Amber." yet Geed's greeting was more exclaimed: "Hope you have fun!" Shrugging that off again, she headed with Nero and Annabeth.

It didn't take them a long while to reach Amanda's house - it was just a house on the corner of the main street and the street facing the north. Them being on the porch, Annabeth was getting inside, with Nero following. However, when Amber was following, Nero just said: "Amber, let me do the talk, okay? I think you did your part."

With Amber getting in, Amber just sarcastically thought to herself: "Yep. I have done my part. Too bad I will be there for you too finish it!" Though, once the three dogs were in the house, Amanda was just coming out of the kitchen to the living room, just having a meal.

"Annabeth? What are you...? Oh!" Amanda was not only surprised to see her sister coming inside without saying "hello", but also the fact that the other two guests, Amber and Nero, were there. But the most surprising guest there was none other else than Nero! "Um, hey Nero."

Nero, who decided not to screw this meeting up, tried to keep his face straight, but with a silly smile on his face, just shyly said: "Hey, Amanda." Amber, who knew that this was going to happen, rolled with her eyes in an amusement. Still, she knew that from this point till onward, things were going to change. Amanda broke the silence: "What are you doing here?"

It was a bit unsure who was going to speak first, yet Amber nudged Nero two times so he could speak, with him looking at his sister as if he was trying to say: "Okay, okay, I get it!". Then, turning towards Amanda, Nero kept his cool to show her he was brave and confident, made few steps towards Amanda and asked her: "Amanda... you know how you were on my side these two days...?"

Sure enough, Amanda nodded to approve his sentence. IT was then when she realized that earlier this day, Nero was wondering whether she'd go for a walk with him or not. She didn't answer his question yet, being unsure herself. Nero moved on: "So... are you still up for that walk with me or not...?"

He knew that as soon as he was going to say it, the awkward silence was going to happen. But that didn't last for a long because at that moment, Annabeth was heading towards Amanda and whispered in her ear: "I recommend you to accept his offer. I can see that he's a great friend for you." These words felt like for Amanda that they were full of warmth.

With Annabeth stepping by, Amanda looked at Nero and soon enough, the smile on her face widened across her cheeks so she just said: "So... what are we waiting for?! Let's go, Nero!" Nero grinned out of the joy and before he could turn around, Amanda rubbed her nose across her cheek, with Annabeth and Amber watching in amusement.

"Ladies first." Nero sprinted towards the dog doors and opened them for her, with her giggling and getting out first, whereas Nero followed. This meant that Amber and Annabeth could leave the house, since they didn't live here. With the two friends leaving, they could have spotted them walking towards the beach.

"Can you believe that my little brother is succeeding, Annabeth?" Amber asked her friend in surprise, with Annabeth sharing the same joy as Amber herself. She just let her know: "And my baby sister as well? This is going to be really good for them... Amber." She took a break to say her name because not only she was hardly knowing her today, but it seemed like both Amber and Annabeth were going to be good friends.

Back at Nero and Amanda, who were now walking next to each other on the beach, with each of them being so happy together. It couldn't be decided who was happier of them both - Amanda, or Nero? Was it because Nero saved Amanda from Brick, or was it because Amanda took care of Nero when he was recovering?

"So, what do you have in mind, Nero?" Amanda asked him quite curiously, wondering where would their walk lead to today. Were they going somewhere else in the town or somewhere in wild? But Amanda could feel that Nero was not that crazy to leave the town, they just had to be nearby.

"Well, we are here." Nero said, stopping in his tracks on the peculiar spot of the beach itself. Amanda looked around to see what was so special here, but seeing that it was just a random spot on the beach, she was just wondering furthermore what would be so special. However, Nero just laid down, rolled on his back in the snow and the sand. With Amanda looking at him quite confused, Nero just said: "Won't you join me?"

As if there was anything else for them to do at the moment, Amanda was just like: "Oh, well.", causing her to lie down in the snow and the sand, rolling on her back. She was pretty close to Nero, with possibly them both being apart of each other less than a meter.

In order to avoid the awkward silence that was starting to brew so that the walk would not end up being quite embarrassing, Amanda spoke: "Wow... all I have to say is... wow." Nero felt like as if he was in her skin, knowing how it was to experience these odd events in the short time. Amanda continued: "We have been knowing each other well for a short time, but look where our friendship is just going!"

Nero leaned his head on the side so he could look at Amanda. He nodded on her comment, with him saying: "If it weren't for me saving you in that alley two days ago... I believe you'd have been traumatized by all that. It's just that I hate to see the innocent ones being the victims for nothing!"

While the sole memories of Brick just disgusted Amanda, she decided not to mention him ever again, but to be at the same wavelength as Nero by saying: "Then you'd not be suffering injuries... and even if you did your best to protect me... I just felt like being with you was the right thing to do!" She also leaned her head towards Nero.

Nero smiled widely, while blushing at the same time. The next thing he was saying was: "Now that we are here... have I ever mentioned to you that... I like you?" He was doing his best to remain courageous. While it was a bit obvious to her, she was not expecting that to come very soon. She just whispered softly: "And I feel the same thing for you..."

Both looked at each other in surprise, with their heads being quite close to each other, resting in the snow and the sand. It was just the matter of the time... both of them were closing in, as if they were about to rub their noses... meaning the start of something...

Suddenly, thanks to their advanced hearing, they distanced their heads as someone was coming, like a regular walk, but there was more than one coming. Amanda and Nero got up a bit to find who were the ones coming on the beach. And the result was...

"Mom? Dad?" Amanda asked, noticing Steele and Elizabeth coming in the distance. This couldn't have been a coincidence, someone must have told them about this. Both of their parents were honestly surprised by this scenery, but it was a rather pleasant surprise this time. "How come you are here?"

Elizabeth got the advantage first so all she said was: "You can thank that to your little sister Noir. Hope you bear no ill luck towards her." With that making a lot of sense, Amanda was actually glad that someone let her parents know she was with someone they could be possibly relying on. Also, Noir could have guessed Nero was going to be with Amanda. She just said: "Of course, Noir."

Steele, despite once being the notorious malamute of this town, was surprisingly not mad at this at all. Sure, he was hurt when Amanda compared him to Brick, but Steele knew Nero pretty well, even when he kidnapped him three and a half years ago, the event to regret for sure. He made his was to Nero and Amanda and said: "Amanda, I might have guessed you'd have chosen the right one."

Nero could have felt that from this moment on, he'd be referred as Amanda's boyfriend, so he decided not to interfere in Steele's line, but to listen instead. Steele was smiling in joy, putting both paws on Amanda and Nero's shoulders, with Lizzy standing by.

He was speaking to Amanda first: "Amanda, I know our relationship met a rocky path two days ago, but now it's going the real path again. Even if you have found a new friend in a short time, I'm actually glad you're able to find the right one for yourself. And as for you, Nero..." Steele turned his face towards Nero, who was doing his best to stay calm.

"Yes?" Nero asked, accidentally speaking, hoping he didn't interfere him, and thankfully he didn't. Steele could start: "Now that you have chosen my beloved daughter as your close friend, I am sure that in your paws she's going to be safe and furthermore, this could strengthen the bond between my family and your family, as seen with Rodney."

It was obvious at this moment that both Steele and Elizabeth were approving this relationship, with Lizzy embracing Nero and whispering: "Take a good care for my puppy, will you?" Nero slightly nodded on that one as both Steele and Lizzy patted his back. This meant one thing - he was officially Amanda's boyfriend, as well as she was his girlfriend.

"There's nothing more to hide, is it?" Amanda asked them all and with her parents being glad that their pup could see the life ahead of her, just headed to embrace her new boyfriend, rubbing her head against his chest and him rubbing his head against hers. This was going to be a day to a remember.