Chapter 6 - Mistakes We Make
A couple of days had gone by since the team took in Lindsey, the little tiger cub settling in gradually into his new home at the Hyperion. And, although they hadn't rushed into the decision, Angel in particular having gone through the pros and cons multiple times before making his choice. But still, the group of investigators were starting to rethink things.
It's not that they dislike the boy, he's actually quite sweet and endearing, especially with his way of questioning of everything that he sees. The problem is that they underestimated how difficult it was to raise a young boy, and perhaps they were not quite fully prepared for the role.
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"Lindsey..."
Taking a step into the brightly lit room adjacent to his bedroom, Angel casually turned off the hot water tap that hovered over the bathtub, calling out to the young boy who was playing quietly on the bed.
"Can you come in here, your bath's ready."
The vampire did not touch the water to test its temperature because he knew exactly how much pressure to apply to get it just right, a mis-sight that the second man in the room couldn't help but comment on.
"Hey, Angel... You might want to check that," Gunn suggested as he nodded subtly towards the bath's contents, his gaze quickly rolling away to avoid showing any notion of concern for the evil lawyer. And before he could be questioned further on it the vampire hunter quickly walked out of there, passing a happily skipping Lindsey on his way.
Angel, of course, didn't know what the other man was hinting at with his unsolicited advice, and so continued on like nothing had been said to him, lifting the young cub so that his human paws dangled just slightly above the water.
"Come on Lindsey, let's get you cleaned up."
It was only a few moments later that the kid shrieked in anguish, his knees shooting up to his chest as he yelled, "TOO HOT! "Too hot!" before curling up into an even tighter ball. Lindsey then clutched onto Angel's shirt as the vampire poured as much cold water into the bathtub as physically possible, whilst apologising to the young boy in hushed tones.
Damnit! Of course, the water would be too hot for a child, especially one with skin as thin and as sensitive as Lindsey's. Why didn't I think about that?
It was just another item in a long list of things Angel and his team didn't know about basic childcare, like when to go to bed at night, or what actually constitutes a healthy meal. And the consequences of making a wrong decision only seemed to get worse with each mistake. From constant sugar crashes to temper tantrums due to overtiredness, resulting in no less than six sorrowful crying fits that had the young cub hiccupping through ragged breaths.
At this point, the entire team was practically pulling their hair out over the constant errors they seemed to be making. Well, all except Gunn, who was still unwilling to help them, other than making snarky comments way too late to do them any good.
In fact, the only thing that seemed simple in all this was the one thing they thought would be challenging. But Lindsey actually seemed to have quite a good handle on his were-counterpart, even if he didn't have much knowledge about his gifts or how to control them. And though they knew that it would cause some troubles in the future, especially when school became a necessity, for now, they were just grateful, that the tiger acted more like a kitten around the hotel, a few throw pillows and scratched floor tiles be damned.
...
With the cold water added and the temperature thoroughly checked with the crook of the vampire's elbow, Angel hoped that the rest of Lindsey's bathtime would run smoothly so he could get the young tiger cub into bed at a decent hour for a change.
However, as per usual, things just weren't going the immortal's way.
Because fear had overwhelmed the young boy, still clutching at the vampire's shirt, his toes tinged red from where the boiling water had burned them, and he didn't want to go back into the bathtub, no matter what Angel told him about how the water was cool now. So, he kicked and thrashed, sending torrents of water up the tub's side and onto the floor, soaking the tiles where Angel had failed to put a mat or towel down. It was only when Lindsey was halfway submerged, and being held still by large hands, that he finally calmed slightly, tears still running down his cheeks as he tried to catch his breath.
"You're ok, Lindsey. I promise..." Angel sighed softly, his hand gently caressing the young boy's curls. "You're going to be ok."
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Despite his sodden shirt and slipping on wet tiles while attempting to lift the shivering boy from the bathtub, Angel carefully carried Lindsey to his borrowed bed in the adjoining room. The vampire was pretty much exhausted by this point, and really just wanted to put the cub down so he could grab himself a desperately needed drink. However, the boy was still wide awake and asking the vampire what seemed like a million questions.
In hindsight, Angel realised that the kid used learning as a coping mechanism, as a way to calm himself down through distraction and the joy of new knowledge. But right now, it was just so frustrating, and it kept the vampire from leaving when he wanted to. So, it was unsurprising that, after probably the seventh consecutive question, the vampire snapped at Lindsey, snarling harshly through his unsharpened teeth.
"DAMNIT', will you just go to sleep, for heaven's sake."
...
Suddenly, the room fell silent, even the air going still so as not to make any noise. The were-tiger's lower lip then started to tremble as he tried to hold back a new set of tears.
"Oh, God, Lindsey. I didn't mean to..."
The vampire tried to soothe the young boy, softening his tone tremendously in an attempt to rectify yet another mistake. But Lindsey only flinched away from his voice before hiding his face under the silk covers, as gentle mews escaped him.
Feeling defeated and even more drained than before, Angel retreated from the room, leaving the door slightly ajar as he looked back over so that he would not scare the cub any further.
"I'm so sorry, Lindsey. I'll make this ok... Somehow."
...
And while the vampire fled down the winding staircase, he did not notice the other man standing stoically in the corridor, Gunn keeping a careful watch over the young boy, as he always did.