Closed What's In a Name

[Professor Angel Castillo]

If Angel had thought he had trouble sleeping before Amanita was born, it was nothing on his sleep schedule now. He wasn't even sure what time it was now, just blissfully content that she was safe and sleeping quietly, even if it meant he couldn't move himself for the foreseeable future. But it was fine, Angel was pretty sure he could spend hours here, just staring at his daughter. She was just so impossibly small it made Angel want to cry.

Distantly, he wondered if maybe he was a touch hysterical from the stress. Even more distantly he wondered if his father had ever held him with such a level of awe and decided firmly that it was definitely the lack of sleep talking. He shook his head, twitching the finger that was currently resting lightly on Amanita's chest and knowing vaguely he should really put her back in her crib soon. Just a few minutes, he reasoned.

 

[Ella Arora]

Ella needed to move out. While she loved her sister and had enjoyed living with her for the past few years, it was becoming more and more clear that Josephine was building a happy little family of her own and that Ella should probably find somewhere else to live sometime soon. Josephine had never said it, but Ella knew it was time to leave her and her boyfriend to their little family.

That didn't mean Ella didn't appreciate living with her little niece most of the time. The baby was adorable and made Angel more tolerable by association. But Ella still couldn't resist messing with him a bit. She headed into the living room and saw Angel sitting with a sleeping Amanita. She watched them for a moment, then cleared her throat. "I've been wondering what you're going to name the next one," she started, by way of greeting. "Portobello?" She smiled a bit, raising her eyebrows. "Though I don't think Josephine actually realizes you named her kid after a mushroom, does she?"

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel tried not to jump when Ella cleared her throat, casting her a wary glance now that he was aware she was in the room, though he was mostly grateful he hadn't managed to drop Amanita. At the very least he could use her as a shield if Ella came after him. He hadn't missed how her expression softened, if ever so slightly, when she was around Ama.

When Ella spoke however, Angel could only tilt his head in confusion before the dawning realization of what she was saying hit. A mushroom. Amanita was the name of a mushroom. "Shiii-Take. Mushrooms," he fumbled, glancing down at Amanita and back at Ella. The name had just come to him when he and Josephine had been discussing it. Angel hadn't even thought why he knew it, just thought it was pretty. A mushroom. He'd named their daughter after a mushroom. "Don't tell her," he said, voice a quick, whisper. He usually wouldn't put any stock in trying to gain any favours from Ella, but desperate times. "She'll kill me and then Ama will never know her father," he said pleadingly.

 

[Ella Arora]

Ella couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at Angel's stricken expression and his words. She hadn't even considered he hadn't done it on purpose. "You did it accidentally?" She asked him, stifling her laughter. She didn't often laugh that freely, but this was truly hilarious. Ella grinned, considering this situation. "I don't think that will make her like it any more. Maybe if you play your cards right she won't have to find out." She said mysteriously, though she was mostly teasing him. Ella didn't really have anything she wanted from Angel, it was just fun to make him sweat a bit.

 

[Josephine Arora]

Josephine had heard that having a baby was exhausting, that new parents barely got sleep. But the reality of it still was not something she had been prepared for. She had taken a nap, glad Angel had been able to look after Amanita for a bit. She was heading downstairs to check up on them both when she paused at the unexpected sound of Ella laughing. Her sister had really opened up a lot more over the past few years, but it was still a fairly rare event. Josephine smiled slightly, she hadn't thought the two of them got along very well. But as she headed towards the living room, she caught a bit of their conversation. Frowning, she spoke up as she stepped in, adjusting her hair. "Find out what?" She asked, guessing there was only one 'she' they could be talking about.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

If his hands hadn't been full, Angel would have dropped his face into his palms, but as it was he could only weakly try to shush Ella as she laughed, glancing down and giving Amanita a gentle bounce to keep her settled. "You wouldn't-" he started to say, though he quickly shut his mouth again when Josephine appeared in the doorway, teeth clicking as he moved to cover his expression with an innocent smile. "Find out that Ella agrees Ama has my eyes, not yours. Sorry, sweetheart, the Castillo genes are just too powerful," he said, cutting his eyes towards Ella and back to Josephine.

 

[Ella Arora]

Ella snorted at the expression on Angel's face at the sudden appearance of her sister. He seemed intimidated by her, which Ella took as a good sign. Her sister was incredible, if her boyfriend wasn't at least a little bit in awe of her Ella would have chased him off long ago. Ella almost told him he was an idiot for making up a lie where she agreed with him. That wasn't very believable. Thankfully, she was in a charitable mood. "I actually told him that your eye colors are so similar it doesn't really make a difference and you can't really tell. Not surprisingly, he heard what he wanted to hear." She told Josephine with a slight smile, glancing at Angel with raised eyebrows.

 

[Josephine Arora]

Josephine knew the smile Angel was giving her meant there was something going on he wasn't telling her, but she also couldn't imagine Ella covering for him. At least not if it was something important. She took it in for a moment, then sighed. "Right." She said, reaching over to take Amanita from Angel. "Regardless, she has my eye shape, which is what matters." She told him, though in truth the baby looked more like Angel to her. Something that made her all the more fond of her daughter. She gently cradled her daughter and stroked her soft hair for a moment.