Chapter 2
Soon Breakfast was done, Eddie and Steve Deciding to eat in the living room. "So, what are we?" Eddie asks out of nowhere. Steve pauses, only for a second before answering. “I guess we’re dating.” Steve smiles as Eddie has a toothy smile that shows off his fangs. Steve smiled before looking at the clock behind Eddie. “Um, Eds. School is starting in like 10 Minutes…” Steve Saw the way Eddie's face dropped and immediately Steve's hindbrain started feeling bad for mentioning it due to Eddie now hurrying to eat his fruit and the fact Eddie was going to leave. Steve let out a quiet croon that begged for Eddie to stay. “I’ll be back later tonight, I have a d&d campaign. And I have to let uncle Wayne know I’m going to be gone for a couple days.”. Eddie pulled Steve’s head into his chest.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible Sweetheart. Just go get some rest.” Eddie kissed the top of Steve’s head as he went to the kitchen and set his plate in the sink. Steve smiled, he assumed if he had feathers they’d be puffed up. Eddie was back not a second later, placing yet another kiss on top of Steve’s head before leaving. Steve felt warm, his chest made a purring like noise. Getting up slowly he walked over to the kitchen. He was going to have to be pretty careful from now on. He doesn’t want to knock anything over. Shrugging the thought away he washed the dishes before climbing the stairs to his room. The nest Eddie had made wasn’t exactly perfect according to his hindbrain. But it’d have to wait, Steve was currently in dire need of a shower. Stepping into his bathroom he stripped any clothes he had on and turned on the water, keeping a hand in the water to determine the correct heat. He was going to make it a little more warm than a normal room temperature so as to not burn his wings.
He stepped in when it felt right, grabbing a soft hand towel. He began to wipe off what little blood was left and move onto his wings. Which were somewhat still bloody, the water having washed away any blood that it could. Taking the small towel he began to wipe away the leftover blood. Once he was sure he got it all he began to go about his normal shower routine. Washing his hair, then his body, and finally applying the conditioner. Standing there, letting the water hit him as he let his conditioner set in, he began to think. Has there been bird hybrids in his family? His parents didn’t have any bird traits. Maybe one of his grandparents did. He didn’t know much about them. He never met them, they were long dead before he was even born. Maybe he could go through the Attic. That’s where he put most of his parents' things, as he didn’t like thinking about them. He’s sure they were nice people, he never really knew them well. Would they be proud of him? He didn’t know. He’s not really sure if he wanted to either. Sighing he washed out most of the conditioner before getting out and drying himself. He checked his back out in the mirror, mainly for blood, but to also check out how the tears were healing.
They looked fine, they seemed to have scabbed over enough to move around. Steve stepped out of his bathroom, now faced with a new problem. He had absolutely no clothes that accomodate for his wings. He could just cut holes in the back of his shirts, though Eddie had left behind some shirts that had wing holes in them already. So that could work. Steve searched his closet for said shirts. Finding them hanging behind his old preppy shirts. They were perfect, one of them was a Hellfire shirt. Putting on the shirt and putting his wings through, it felt pretty comfortable and it smelled of Flock. Eddie particularly. Grabbing a pair of boxers and some black sweatpants, who he was sure was also Eddies he put the rest of his clothes on. He was of course tired. His body was going through changes pretty quickly. But he just shaked of the sleepiness and instead headed to the attic. Once he was in the attic, he began going through his parents' things. Most of the stuff was old clothing but then he came across a box. It looked really old. Opening it he found his mothers side of grandparents belongings. Most were pictures, His grandmother had wings. She looked kind.
Shifting through the box he found some old notes he wasn’t able to read due to the cursive being too hard to read. But they seemed to be signed by his Grandmother. Pulling out more of her things he found a feather at the bottom of the box. When his skin came into contact he felt a shock, pulling his hand back quickly he stared in awe. He didn’t think normal feathers did that. Reaching back into the box, grabbing the feather gently. It had shocked him again, but as soon as he held it in his palms the electricity started to sooth him. It felt nice, it didn’t hurt this time. The small shocks felt like gentle touches, soothing his mind and nerves. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He never met his grandmother. But he felt that in a way, she was trying to soothe him. To ease his mind, tell him it’s all going to be okay. Steve held the feather close to his heart. He let the tears fall from his eyes. Getting up he slowly made his way down the latter and to his room. Climbing into the nest, he cuddled the feather closer. Making all sorts of chirps and croons. His eyes felt heavy, falling into a dreamless sleep. He hadn’t slept long, only until lunch.
He awoke, his grandmother's feather still in his grasp. He decided to put it behind his ear before getting up and slowly walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Before he could enter the kitchen the phone rang. He wasn’t going to answer it but something told him to. So, walking to the phone he picked it up. “Uh, Hello Steve. This is Wayne. Eddie's uncle. I was wondering if you’ve seen him. He left abruptly last night without a word.” Steve took a breath, “I called him over. He stayed the night.” Steve could hear a small chuckle over the line. “Eddie must have been so worried. He was sad you hadn’t been answering for so long. So, how are you son?” Wayne said in a I’m not trying to be overbearing but I still care a lot voice. “I’ve been doing ok I guess. Family stuff popped up and I’ve been busy.” He answered. Steve heard a hum of acknowledgement from the other end of the phone. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it then. I won’t tell the kids, don’t worry. Bye Steve, take care.” Steve answered with a quick you too before hanging up.
Eddie’s uncle was nice, he never had an uncle. Only his aunt, she was more of the tough love kind. She was gentle when she had to be but fierce when it came to protecting the family. Shaking himself from his thoughts he went to the kitchen and began to make a sandwich. Grabbing some cheese and some ham he put them onto a slice and spread the mayo on the sandwich before closing it and taking a bite, only then did he realize his hunger. Basically gulfing down the sandwich, sighing in content as his body relaxed. The feather behind his ear gives him slight tingles. He giggled and moved to the couch. His wings twitched slightly, the air was slightly colder than his room. Grabbing the fluffiest blanket he laid on his stomach, covering himself and quickly falling asleep, into yet another dreamless sleep. He awoke to a hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. “Stevie.” The voice said. His eyes fluttered open to see Eddie. “There you are sweetheart.” Eddie’s smile was gentle. “Uncle Wayne said I could stay over for the week, though I should let him know next time I plan on staying over.” He said, chuckling. “Have you had dinner?” Eddie asked. Steve shook his head.
“Then let’s get something in that stomach of yours and then get you to bed cutie.” Steve’s face heated up at the comment. Taking off the blanket, Eddie’s smile grew "You wore my clothes. You’re too cute, Stevie.” Steve smiled tiredly, getting up as Eddie guided him to the kitchen table, sitting on a stool. Getting to work Eddie began cooking. What he was cooking, Steve couldn’t tell you. He was still half asleep, but whatever it was smelled delicious. His wings were itching though. looking back at them he could see that the pin feathers had grown to around half the size they should be. That should be slightly alarming. However, he does remember how his Aunt talked about his grandmother when he was younger. Something about when she got her wings they grew so fast. Maturing in only a couple days when it would normally take months. And with the runes around the house it must be making them grow at an accelerated rate. At this point his wing would be done before Saturday. He’d have to think about it later. Eddie seemed to have finished whatever he had been cooking. “You alright sweetheart? You were staring off for a while there.” Eddie put a plate of spaghetti in front of him. “Um, yeah. Just thinking about family stuff. I’ll tell you later.” Steve began to dig in as Eddie put away the seasonings and joined him moments later.
Soon they were both done, Eddie put the plates in the sink. Going back over to Steve, who was currently yawning. “Ready Loverboy?” Eddie gently began to guide Steve out of his chair as he nodded. Eddie led him up the stairs and into Steve's room. Setting him in the nest. “I’ll be right back Stevie.” Eddie entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Steve took this time to take the feather and put it in his dresser before climbing back into the nest. Eddie emerged seconds later in pajamas and climbed into the nest with Steve. Practically being dragged into Steve’s chest, just like the night before. Steve’s chest started making a purring noise as Eddie leaned in close, feeling himself fall asleep in Steve’s grasp. Steve made a happy chirp before falling asleep himself.