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Angela is sitting in the back of Chanse’s car.
She had been wobbly on her feet after their improv show and Chanse decided to drive her to his apartment. He had convinced her to sit in the backseat by telling her she could rest better, but it was actually because he was concerned she would drop before he could get her to his home.
And unfortunately before he could get her there, she does drop, a new and slightly scary experience for the little.
Angela whines quietly and Chanse glances at her through the rear view mirror to see her frowning, tears in her eyes. “Hi Angie,” he coos gently, making sure to imbue his voice with joy.
“I’m so excited to see you.” he continues, “We can cuddle, have a snack, and watch some Bluey.”
She blinks a few times, tears falling as her fingers drift into her mouth. “Eee” she mumbles through them, turning her head to look out the window.
Deciding to just let her be, he switches the music to Moana and continues to drive home. He continually checks behind him to make sure she’s ok, but she seems enamored by the cars driving by, the tears slowly stopping by themselves.
They pull into his apartment and he parks his car, grabbing of both their bags out of the car before pulling open her door.
Angela looks up at him, a small smile on her face. “Eee” she coos quietly, reaching for him.
“A happy baby.” he says excitedly, pulling her into a hug, “This is a fun surprise.”
She giggles quietly, sticking her fingers back in her mouth as he releases her.
“Are you ready to go up?” he asks, holding out his hand to hold hers, but she just blinks at him, “You gotta take Chansey’s hand so we can walk up to my apartment.” he adds, hoping she just needs an explanation.
Angela holds her arm up at him, opening and closing her fist with a hopeful expression on her face.
“I don’t know if I can carry you that far,” he mumbles, leaning down to pick her up anyway.
He places his hands under her thighs and lifts her up as he stands, glad that she wraps her arms around his neck without his instruction.
Deciding that speed is the key to success, he quickly closes the car door and leans her against it to grab his keys from his pocket and lock it. He carries her inside and waits for the elevator, even if it’s only two floors, before getting to his front door. Arms aching, he leans her against the wall so he can place the key in the lock, rushing inside to place her on the couch.
“We did it!” he cheers, bleeding excitement into his voice and grinning proudly when the little claps.
He crouches down in front of her to get her boots off for her. He's never seen her this little and happy before, but he's hoping this means she's getting more comfortable with him and isn't some kind of step back.
“We got your shoes off!” He tells her as she claps again, “Do you wanna change your clothes?”
She looks down at her clothes and nods, pulling at her jeans.
Deciding to not even bother asking, he braces himself before picking her up again and carrying her to his room, placing her on his bed.
He quickly finds a pair of soft shorts she'd left at his apartment and one of his bigger shirts. “Do you need help?” He asks gently, looking down at her.
Angela hums and nods her head so he steps closer and takes a deep breath.
Chanse didn't have seeing his best friend naked on his bingo card for this year, but he'll do anything for Angie so he quickly gets her out of her outfit and into her pajamas.
“All done.” He says proudly when he pulls her shirt over her head, internally cooing at how big the shirt is on her.
She giggles, signing ‘all done’ before planting her fingers in her mouth again.
Deciding it's a fight he doesn't want to deal with tonight, he ignores it for the moment, quickly changing his own clothes while standing behind the little, thankful that she’s too focused on his stuffed turtle Leo to turn around.
“How about we wash our hands so we can chew on them in peace?” He asks rhetorically, huffing as he picks her up again and carries her to the kitchen, placing her on the counter next to the sink.
He manages to get her hands washed quickly and without upsetting her, holding them under the running water and cleaning them himself. She immediately places her fingers back into her mouth once they’re dry and he coos, kissing her forehead.
“Do you know how old you are?” He asks curiously, looking through his cabinets to find food while also making sure he's within arms distance of the baby.
She hums, tilting her head almost 90 degrees as she thinks before ultimately shrugging.
“That's ok,” he quickly assures her as he walks over with, two water bottles, a box of Cheese-its, and a handful of mini Reese's cups.
He picks her up and carries her to the couch, hoping for the sake of his arms this is the last time he has to carry her tonight.
Placing the food next to him as he sits, he places a straw into one of the bottles and holds it up to Angela's lips. “Can you take a sip for Chansey?” He asks hopefully, relieved that she listens and slowly drinks the water.
“Good job.” He praises, placing the drink on the table before grabbing the remote and turning on the tv.
“Whatcha wanna watch, Angie?” He asks, flipping over to Disney+.
She doesn't answer, instead she crawls into Chanse's lap facing away from the TV, resting her chin on his shoulder.
“Hi baby,” he coos quietly, wrapping his arms around her, “You're such a sweet little girl.”
Angela reaches her hand that's not in her mouth up to his head, gently playing with his hair. “Eee,” she chirps happily, twirling her fingers through his curls.
“Are you saying Chansey?” he asks, turning his head to kiss her temple.
“Ya!” she answers proudly, lifting her head to look up at him, a cute smile on her face.
Chanse smiles back, “I love you, Angie,” he tells her, “It’s so great to see you so happy.”
She lifts her hand out of his hair to sign ‘I love you’ inches from his face before deciding to poke at his cheek.
He turns his head slightly, pretending to nibble on her fingers and she looks at him in shock for a couple seconds before dissolving into giggles, resting her forehead on his chest as she laughs.
“Was that silly?” he asks rhetorically, repeating the action as she raises her fingers up to his mouth.
This repeats a few times until Angela sleepily rests her head back on his shoulder, leaning her head against his.
“A sleepy baby,” he coos as he rubs her back slowly, deciding to try the techniques he would use on babies to get them to sleep.
“Eee.” She mutters, lifting her head up slightly to kiss his cheek before letting her eyes flutter closed.
“You're so cute.” He whispers, kissing the top of her head. Moving his other hand up to run through her hair as well as support her head for when she inevitably falls asleep.
“Chansey loves you so much,” he murmurs, “You did so good tonight.”
He continues to murmur kind words to her as she slowly drifts to sleep, her head slowly falling into his hand as he holds it up.
After making sure she’s fully asleep for a while, he carefully shifts her out of his lap, laying her on the couch before grabbing his extra bedding from the closet and tucking her in.
Chanse watches her for a minute before returning to his room to retrieve Leo, carefully placing him under the blanket with her. After watching a little longer and enjoying the peaceful expression on her face he decides to head to bed, leaving the hall light on, as he walks to his own room to go to sleep.
He lays in bed and looks up at the ceiling. He may not be as religious as he was, but he closes his eyes and prays that tonight was a sign of things to come.
That things were finally going to get better for Angela