The Turn of a Feather

Chapter 6

"Careful... Careful..."

"Damnit, Antonio, shut up! I'm trying to work, and you are not helping!"

"Sorry... Are you sure that you-"

Belle threw down the needle and thread that she was using to stitch up Lovino's back. It bounced off the mattress and hit the floor with a clatter, but she couldn't care less. For the last half hour, Antonio had been hovering beside the bed, cautioning her and gasping every time she moved as if she would break her patient. If she had to listen to his griping and groaning for one minute longer, she was going to stitch up his mouth.

"Okay. How about this. Why don't you go to the store and get some fresh gauze? I'll need any that you can find." She said, pushing her friend towards the door. Anything to get him out.

"But I have some in the bathroom, I can go get that-" "Yeah, okay, get it then. Just leave." As soon as Antonio exited the room, she locked the door behind him. Sighing, the Belgian turned back to her unconscious patient. She walked back to his side and picked up the needle, re-sterilizing it and resuming her task of suturing the deep laceration closed.

As Belle's mind turned over everything from recently, her hands moved on autopilot, completing one stitch and moving on to the next without hesitation.

She was just beginning to actually process the situation at hand, however impossible it might be, and with Antonio gone, she was free to have time to think (and therefore freak out properly).

This boy has -had- wings! How...? Is he an angel? Or some kind of 'Maximum Ride' type experiment?! Woah, Belle. Slow down. Government conspiracies: BAD. Thinking rationally like you ALWAYS DO, DAMNIT: good.

The young doctor kept expecting to wake up back in her own bed, free from this crazy dreamscape. But she couldn't, she realized. So, she decided, suck it up and just don't even think about it. He's just another patient that just so happens to be a bit... different. Suddenly the boy groaned. Belle yelped and jumped a foot in the air, knocking over a box of supplies in the process.

"Wha'th'fuck?" Lovino rolled over slightly and opened his eyes. Belle couldn't help herself from being entranced by the gaze; his eyes were so green. Sadly, she could tell that Antonio had already claimed the exotic boy for himself, even if he hadn't outright said it.

While she had been staring at him, Lovino was staring back at her. He looked uncomfortable, and a bit nervous.

"Who the hell are you and where the living shit is Tomato Bastard?"

Colorful vocabulary... this should be fun. "You mean Antonio? He's not here, I told him to get some more gauze and then locked him out 'cause he was being a nuisance."

The kid stuck out his chin, trying to look threatening. "Even though I might agree with you on that just a little bit, that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass, even if you are a girl."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Belle put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

The boy's eyes widened a fraction, as if afraid of upsetting her. "Nothing! I just-"

Suddenly a thud and a loud "ow!" sounded outside the door. Belle rolled her eyes. "Antonio? I locked you out for a reason, you know. You're not getting in."

"But Beeeeeellllllleee." Came the complaining reply. "I need-" "No buts. Your friend is awake, and I haven't finished up the stitches yet. I blame you and your incessant whining."

Just as Antonio was starting to exclaim that his 'little tomate' was finally awake, Lovino bolted strait up in the bed, ignoring Belle's screeches of protest against messing up her beautiful stitches.

"You know?!" He yelled. "About-" he gestured to his back. "-this?!" He turned slightly to look at his new stitches, then at the medical kit spread over the hardwood floor. He seemed to process what Belle had been doing whilst he slept, and he turned toward the door.

"Antonio, you fucking bastard! What the hell is the matter with you? You can't just go telling every fucking person whatever shit you want to!"

He rambled on, paying no mind to his doctor standing with her mouth wide open, or Antonio's apologies and pleas for him to calm down.

When he finally stopped to breath, Belle whistled. "This one is quite something, Antonio. You really know how to pick 'em." She turned to the angel, ignoring his quickly reddening face. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Lovino turned an even deeper shade of scarlet, and Belle clarified quickly. "About the wings, I mean. Not... You know." She winked. "Besides, if I weren't here, you'd be in big trouble." She smiled as Lovino raised an eyebrow, seeming to calm down a bit. "Your wounds were infected from a certain useless spaniard's horrible 'stitching', if one can even call it that."

The Italian smirked. "Leave it to him. I knew they looked crooked." Belle laughed. "I agree. He's a sweetheart, but don't let him fool you into thinking he's got any kind of medical ability."

Antonio pouted outside the door. "You guys aren't being very nice, you know."

"If you hadn't noticed, 'nice' isn't really my strong suit, bastard." Lovino said. "But I like this human. She's agreeable."

A few minutes later, they finally let Antonio inside, much to his relief. A mild tranquilizer and half an hour after that, the stitches were finally finished. Lovino slept through the night in a drugged doze, while Antonio sat with his friend in the living room and told her the story of how he had found the angel in the forest, just after poachers had gotten to him. She listened to the tale with horror and anger spinning through her mind and stabbing at her heart, silently wishing the men who'd done it a very painful demise.

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A/N: I know that Belle is a bit (okay, a lot) out of character, but I couldn't get her personality right for some reason. Also, this chapter is dedicated to LauraClaire9 for being just about the only person to read the story😅. Anyway, round of applause for you! Thanks so much for reading, no matter how terrible it is. It means a lot!