Bambina

45

"Ga ba ba va."

"No, I said Gabriele. Say my name, little human."

"Ba ba ga!"

"No! I said Gabriele, human. Gab-Ri-Ele."

"Baba ba."

"No!" He groaned. "You're not listening to me, you small cockroach."

Everyone was staring at him like he'd suddenly grown two heads. It was really a sight to behold and everyone wasn't sure if they should feel relived or scared.

Or maybe both.

Still, these past few days, the Cattaneo men were trying their best. Really, they were. Enzo is now the one who's in charge of diaper duty and is loyal to the schedules for nap time, feeding time and bath time. Sydney's the one  in charge of playing with her since he's the only one who could probably rival Luca's energetic energy. The two are actually great playmates. As for Achilles, despite his hesitance towards the little girl, he was also trying his best. He talks to Luca, brings her outside and sometimes he sings to her whenever he's got some spare time.

But it was probably Gabriele who's trying the most. He doesn't know how to console her when she's crying, he doesn't know how to play with her since he's not really a jovial person and he's too scared to bring her outside for a stroll. One thing that everyone was sure that he's good at was probably teaching Luca stuff. Stuff that Luca could probably understand and suff that she couldn't.

Now, he's forcing Luca how to say his name and the little girl was just super happy to just babble endlessly at him with incoherent words.

"I don't think that she can say your name yet, Gabriele." Pierre fretted worriedly as he watched him try his best.

The man looked over his shoulder and glared at Pierre. "She can. I believe in her. Plus, she needs to know who we are or else she'll just grow up stupid."

"Gabriele!" Enzo hissed at his brother's words and Sydney just seemed amused by it. "She's only a year old, what do expect? And your name is too long and complicated for her."

"So what should I do?" He asked in annoyance.

"Make it easy for her." Pierre suggested softly. "Gab or Gabi seems fine but I'm not sure if she can actually say it yet so go easy on her."  He then felt the need to suddenly add some manners to get Gabriele to follow him. "Please."

Gabriele only scowled. "Fine... I can't believe that I'm following you though."

Sydney rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're doing this. Are you torturing the baby? She doesn't need your name stuck in her mind."

He ignored the stupid brat and turned back to look at Luca who was staring at him with such intensity that it made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Say Gab, Lu." He softly said as Luca stood up on his lap. "Gab? Gabi? Say Gab, Lu, please?"

"Oh, no!" Sydney gasped, looking at Enzo in disbelief. "Did he actually...?"

Enzo grinned down at him. "I think he did."

Pierre's concern slightly lessened when he heard Gabriele call Luca by her nickname. Sure, it's still scary letting him carry Luca and actually letting him talk to her but that's why Pierre's there. He's watching Gabriele like a hawk, finding anything that is considered hatred in his actions.

So far, there's none.

Luca was creating spit bubbles and mercilessly patting Gabriele's face. It was amusing to watch actually. Surprisingly, Gabriele didn't tick. He was patient as he repeated his name for Luca to say it once.