Over a month had passed since Mangle had started to meet with their subject, and they were moving into the labs. They didn’t have many possessions in their old apartment; they were almost never there, why would they need anything special? They had a bed, several sheets, a blanket for the summer, and a duvet for the winter. There was a dresser, which held all their clothes they owned and used everyday. Button up shirts, T-shirts (which doubled as undershirts), dress slacks, and socks ranging from grayscale to those funny-patterned ones their niece and nephew got them for gag-gifts whenever a significant event came around, but they always loved and wore whenever they went to visit their sister. A pair of dress shoes and tennis shoes rounded out the wardrobe. For pajamas, Mangle had a pair of sweatpants and whatever T-shirt they were wearing that day. Then of course, there was the undergarments they needed, but that went without saying.
They disassembled the bed in the hall and reassembled the bed in their bedroom, put on a mattress and sheets, set up their dresser, and it was just like home. They found a frame on their desk when they walked out, and a sticky note attached to it saying, Welcome to the neighborhood gift. Not like you have anything you can hang up, unless you’re the type to show off your diplomas. -Dr. James
Well, they were on speaking terms with Dr. James again. That was good. The awkward conversations over reports the past few weeks was the only contact Mangle had received from Dr. James. They couldn’t tell whether she was actively avoiding them, or if they were intentionally avoiding her, or if they simply didn’t go out of their way to see each other any more. Whichever it was, speaking, albeit sarcastically was a much-needed improvement. They inspected the frame and chuckled. It had a dragon design wrapping around the sides. So original. Like they hadn’t gotten that joke a thousand times since they had joined.
They hung up the frame over their bed, and walked out into the halls, knowing instinctively where It would be now. When they opened the door, they saw It crossing its legs and recrossing them, whining. “‘Angul, need to go bad.”
Mangle nodded and carried It to the bathrooms, and took off the diaper It had worn overnight. It was dry, somehow. Miraculously. Mangle didn’t expect that to happen again anytime soon. It climbed up to sit on the toilet and sighed as it finally stopped holding in its urine. “Fanks, ‘Angul.”
“Thanks for telling me you needed to go. Not that I couldn’t tell anyway, but I need to know these things. If you get good enough at it I might be able to get you a bathroom pass you can use when you need to go.”
It laughed. Mangle rolled their eyes. It had taken to laughing whenever Mangle deemed to be sarcastic, knowing from their inflection that they were joking, but not understanding why it was funny. “It, don’t forget to try to poop, okay?”
“I know, ‘Angul.”
“I know you know, but sometimes you need to be reminded.”
It’s language skills had leaped forward alarmingly in the time Mangle had been carrying conversations with it whenever they came in. And it was paying off. Mangle now had to deal with a potty-training chatterbox, who described in great detail how the janitor was nice enough to take it to the bathroom before it went to sleep each night, so It wasn’t as wet or messy in the mornings. While Mangle was grateful, they were wary about what might happen were It to tell that to the wrong person, like Dr. Milbridge, Dr. James’ replacement so she could keep to her desk and retire to bed at a reasonable hour. Were he to find out not only would he fire the janitor on the spot, he’d be keeping a closer eye on Mangle, and probably insist that all the hard work they had done to help It potty train be undone, to ensure it was still dependent on the scientists around it. Fortunately, Dr. Milbridge deemed it below him to actually seek out and speak to subjects. So It’s secret was safe, for now.
Mangle noticed It started to wobble and reflexively grabbed It by the waist, just as It was about to fall in. It shrieked quickly before realizing Mangle was helping. “F-fanks, ‘Angul.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mangle dismissed. “Less work on my end to clean you up after you fall in.”
“Yucky,” It muttered.
“Very yucky,” Mangle agreed. “Are you done?”
It swung its legs and thought about it, made a satisfied face, and nodded. Mangle let go and It pushed its wings hard, propelling it off the toilet. After wiping It and throwing the toilet paper in the toilet, and the diaper in the trash bin, Mangle had to hold back the little nudist from running out and streaking down the hallway to its room to put some clothes on so it wouldn’t have to streak, but still. “I stored a box if Pull-ups in here, remember?”
It brightened. “Oh yeah!”
“Oh, yeah, you forgot. Are you sure you didn’t just want to run around the halls naked?”
It wrinkled its nose. “Ew! No way!”
Mangle chuckled and passed It a Pull-up as they flushed the toilet and washed their hands, leaving space by the tiny stool for It to climb up as wash its hands as well. They stood there in companionable silence as they finished washing their hands, and walked out the door, running straight into Dr. Milbridge. He was confused at first, but grinned like a shark when he saw It. “Mangle, can you explain to me why you have an abomination following you into the bathroom?”
No. No no no no no. Really? Now? “I’m toilet training It. It’s this thing that kids learn so they can go to the bathroom when they’re older instead of having an accident. It’ll help deplete the amount of money we have to spend on diapers. Is there a problem, Dr. Milbridge?”
“I’d say there is. Do you really think having such an abomination so independent is a good idea? What if it were, say, to try and escape?”
Mangle clenched their fists. “All due respect, Dr. Milbridge, I have been working with It for over a month now. You have not. I can safely say there is not a flight risk if I simply toilet train the poor thing. It has been stuck in messy diapers its whole life, I mean, really, don’t you think you’d become more compliant towards the person who allowed you an escape from that?”
Milbridge cackled. “Oh, you are touched, Mangle! Touched right in the head! Thinking such a thing is even capable of gratitude, let alone being able to understand what it is and why it’s there? It’s a beast! I doubt it could understand even the most basic of concepts!”
Mangle looked down at It to see it frowning. “I know rai’bow. Richard of York gave battle in vain. ROY G BIV. Red orange yellow green blue indigo purple,” It explained in a vain attempt to have Milbridge treat it right.
Milbridge looked at It, stunned. “Did you teach it to say that, Mangle?”
Mangle shrugged. “I’m afraid not. It knew what you were saying and tried to prove its intelligence.”
Milbridge looked from It, to Mangle, and back to It. “Does it...have a name?”
“You’ve been saying it. Its name is It, based upon what it heard everyone call it. Smart, huh?”
Milbridge paled and crouched down to It’s level. “Oh, uh, hello, then. Do you...like...Dr. Mangle?”
It nodded eagerly. “‘Angul super nice! Shows rainbows, and plays with balls with me!”
Milbridge looked up at Mangle. “I do experiments in the form of toys and games,” Mangle supplied.
“Well, then. Um. I’ll leave you two to it. Have, uh, have fun?”
Milbridge walked into the bathroom and left the two of them alone. “Don’t like him,” It said.
Mangle chuckled. “No, neither do I.”
It was during It’s “Flight Training” that day as Mangle had taken to calling it Dr. James approached Mangle. “Milbridge is suggesting your subject be terminated. Care to explain?”
“I was taking It back from the toilet to its room when Dr. Milbridge ran into us and--”
“Us?” Dr. James interrupted.
“The subject and I. Using ‘us’ is grammatically correct, isn’t it?”
“Well, considering it's not a human, no,” Dr. James said.
Mangle rolled their eyes. “My mistake. I’m just still on ‘treating It like a person’ time. Anyway, Milbridge ran into me and asked what I was doing. I explained that I was toilet training It to save money on disposable diapers, and he said he didn’t think it was a good idea to have a subject so ‘independent’. He went on to go into how It was stupid and as you and I both know, It fights that whenever it can, so it said the colors of the rainbow in order.”
Dr. James looked out to where it was making running jumps and moving its wings in powerful strokes. “He certainly wouldn’t stand for that,” she said. “I’m not going to terminate it.”
Mangle sighed. “Thanks. If you did I’d be out of a job.”
Dr. James laughed. “You’re far too valuable to kick off the project over a dead subject, Doctor.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
They stood side by side for a while and Dr. James lifted an arm up to rest on Mangle’s shoulder. “I hope we’re still on...good terms after our disagreement a while back. I understand where you’re coming from, structured curiosity is probably the best way to deal with a subject such as this.”
Mangle looked down to their shoulder in confusion. “What are you doing?” they asked uneasily.
Dr. James removed her hand. “Trying to show a bit of compassion. I’ve been informed I was a bit...lacking in it towards you before.”
“Dr. James...this feels like a romantic gesture more than an apology.”
Dr. James laughed. “Wow, it must be quite a while since you’ve been on the dating scene then, huh?”
“Sort of. I’m aromantic.”
Dr. James tsked. “Oh. I see. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” she said flatly.
“Listen, Dr. James, you are an incredibly attractive woman, I just...don’t...really...want anything romantic. Not to mention it’s more than a bit unprofessional, don’t you think?”
“Of course, of course, it’s just...you look…”
“Fabulous, I know,” Mangle said as they struck a pose. “No one can keep up with this.”
Dr. James laughed. “Oh, I know a few people who’d love to argue with you on that point!”
Mangle grinned and went back to watching It. “This is truly a marvel of biology you’ve created, Dr. James.”
“Well, I did say it was my life’s dream, and I wasn’t joking. I remember reading books with dragons and thinking, ‘if only I could have a dragon of my own’. This is just an extension of that, really. I can graft wings onto embryos, I can graft wings on anything. I can have my dragon.”
Mangle nodded. “True. But this is better than selling dragons commercially, I think. Sure, the money isn’t the same, but...it’s incomparable.”
It sprinted and lifted itself off the ground for a full second before crashing onto its knees. “‘Angul! I flew! I flew!”
“I saw, It! That was amazing!” Mangle encouraged.
Dr. James looked over at them. “Ever want kids, Mangle?”
“Kids?” Mangle considered. “I don’t know. They’ve never really been in my cards, but if one were to come into my life I wouldn’t send it away.”
“The way you behave around the subject, I can tell you’d be a good parental figure. You have the fake enthusiasm and never-ending patience for it, to be sure. Catch you around.”
Mangle watched Dr. James go. A parent? Really? They saw It running across the gym, flapping its wings madly trying to fly, all because Mangle brought it up.
Maybe.
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