The others started to take notice that he always wore sweaters, even when it was hot. It was the middle of summer and they were going through a heat wave. He felt bad that he usually never talked to them even though his owners probably gave up on looking for him. The talks he did partake in were lengthy and fun and they got to know a lot about each other. He had made sure to never talk about his looks, power set, or past. As he was thinking about this, he decided to make them breakfast, since they usually had cereal or leftover take out for breakfast. In the morning, he made waffles, bacon, and eggs. Half of the waffles were chocolate chip. By the time he was done, the others were waking up. Everyone came out and was staring at the platter.
"Some of the waffles are chocolate chip."
"NEVER LEAVE US!"
Rownan shouted, hugging him.
"I'm guessing none of you know how to cook…"
"stay with us forever…"
Said Patoran, also hugging him.
"I'll try my best. But I plan on teaching you at least the basics."
"Thank you"
Said Lolan, also hugging him. After a while, everyone sat down and ate, Vigil saved his share for later, he didn't want to flash his teeth just yet. His wings started to hurt, they must've been growing again. He needed to free them, to stretch them. But there was no real space in the privacy of his room, and people might see him from outside. He would have to wait until they all went to work, his shift wasn't until much later so he could afford to wait.
"Hey guys! My boss gave me the day off today!"
"That's cool Patoran!"
"I wish my boss was as nice as yours."
Never mind, he would just freeze time and do it now. He closed his eyes and everything froze, except for him. He got up and took off his sweater, his wings came out, they were longer than last time. He stretched them, the wingspan was at least 10 meters now. He stretched for a few more seconds then went back to his original position at the table, sweater and all. When they were done, everyone went to their rooms. Except Vigil, he scarfed down his breakfast as fast as he could and put back on his mask. He washed the dishes and went back to his room. He heard the front door open and close, a few minutes later, heard the front door open and close again. It was just him and Patoran now, he went off to find him and saw him in the kitchen.
"Hey Pat, do you wanna do something?"
"I wanted to know what you were hiding under all that."
"Under all what?"
He dreaded this question, he knew it was hot and regular people wouldn't have sweaters on with the hood up.
"Don't act ignorant, you know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Well, I just feel cold alright."
He was lying, he was sweltering in that sweater.
"You'll get a heat stroke like that…"
Suddenly there were two Patoran's holding his arms while another took off his hoodie and mask.
"There, that wasn't so hard."
"Give them back!"
Vigil exclaimed while covering his mouth.
"Promise not to put them back on?"
"I promise I won't put on the sweater."
"Not good enough, we are in the middle of a heat wave an-d…"
Patoran noticed the scars and small burns along Vigil's arms.
"What… happened? A-are you ok? Do you...need help?"
"No, not anymore, thank you for caring, but I'm fine now…"
He realized that he hadn't covered his mouth for that last bit. Patoran looked terrified, Vigil felt disappointed, he had hoped they wouldn't care but he had been too scared to test it,
"I'll be in my room."
He went to his room and started to cry, his parents were right, no one would ever accept him if they knew what he was. He was a monster, a demon, nothing would change that. He sank deeper and deeper into a hole of emptiness and memories as he sobbed. After a few minutes, he wiped his tears and got ready for work. Patoran knocked on the door,
"can I come in?"
Vigil put on a sweater.
"Sure."
Patoran came in with his sweater and mask, he put them on the bed.
"Do you need a hug kiddo?"
"N- … Yes.."
Patoran gave him a big hug, and Vigil broke down. He cried into Patoran's shoulder, as Patoran comforted him.
"It's okay, I'm sorry kiddo, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
Vigil loved every second of this, he never really hung out with the others. Yet here he was, getting a hug from someone he barely knew. Someone purposely made contact with him, to comfort him. It was almost foreign to him, yet here he was. After a while, Vigil calmed down.
"It's fine Pat, you were just looking out for me, and you didn't know."
They stayed like that for a while, then Vigil pulled away.
"I have to get to work, if I don't get back for dinner then you should probably order pizza."
"Got it."
He left for work, when he was done, he closed up shop and started the walk home. He froze time and flew the rest of the way, landed next to the door and put away his wings. He unfroze time and unlocked the door, walking in. Everyone was at home and gathered around a pizza, joking and laughing.
"Hey! V!"
Patoran waved him over to a seat next to him.
"So, I may have let it slip, what I found out earlier. But, since I accidentally showed you what I can do, the others are going to show you they can do!"
"Let me guess, they have manimal family members so they have super powers or something...."
"Yes, powers would be accurate."
Lolan proceeded to show him his telekinesis, by taking Vigil's mask off of his face.
"Hey!"
"We all know anyways, and you need to take it off to eat."
"I still need it for work, so can ya give it back, please?"
"Alright, here."
Rownan then started shooting electricity from hand to hand to showcase his power.
"So you generate more electricity than regular people?"
"What do you mean, 'more than regular people?' Regular people don't generate electricity."
"Your thoughts, memories, sensations, movements, and feelings are from a mix of chemicals and electric codes in your brain that are sent throughout your nervous system. So technically all people can make electricity, which is one of the reasons why people get shocked all the time. Also why there's electro-shock therapy, and why hospitals shock patients who are dying."
"So, I might be able to read minds?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Rownan put his hand on Vigil's arm, Vigil thought,
'next time we order pizza, get a meat lovers.'
When he pulled his hand away, Vigil asked,
"What was I thinking?"
"That next time we order pizza, to get a meat lovers."
They kept talking about what else there might be to their powers, Vigil didn't have anything to say so he spaced out. Not only was Vigil happy they accepted him, he finally got some peace of mind. He started to feel tired, he put his head down and fell asleep. When he woke up, he was in his bed, he felt overwhelmed, something warm and cozy was surrounding him. As he became more aware, he realized that he was the little spoon in a cuddle. Then he smelled lavender and pomegranate, those were the essential oils that Rownan put in his hair spray. He was curled up on top of Rownan's chest. They were cuddling, and he didn't want to move but Rownan woke up. He started to get up except Rownan pulled him back.
"It's a holiday, no one has work."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Vigil got a text, it was his boss reminding him he had a day off. Vigil put down his phone and went back to cuddling with Rownan.
"Ro?"
"Hm?"
"How did this happen?"
"After you fell asleep, I carried you back to your room and put you to bed. But you wouldn't let go, then you pulled me into bed with you. I fell asleep after a while, and… you know the rest."
The newly embarrassed Vigil blushed a bit, and noticed his tail was wrapped around Rownan's leg. Vigil unwrapped it and hid it, hoping he didn't notice. Then, he cuddled a few inches closer… Rownan smiled sweetly.
"V?"
"Hm?"
"Why didn't you talk to us unless you had to, the first few months?"
"M-my o-parents were… mean, to put it nicely. When I finally escaped, I was scared that they might come after me. I didn't want you guys to get hurt in my mess, so I kept away. It's been a bit more than half a year now, so I figured that it was safe enough to get to know you guys better."
Rownan looked at Vigil and gave him a squeeze,
"We're always here for you… never forget that."
Vigil squeezed him back, and soon drifted off. Patoran came in and started to shake them awake,
"wake up kiddos. Time for food."
Vigil, half asleep said,
"tell Travis I'm doing chores."
"Who's that?"
"How drunk are you?"
Vigil questioned, still half asleep.
"Vigil, who's Travis?"
Vigil came to his senses,"Travis? That's my brother, was I sleep talking…?"
"You cooked for your brother?"
"Yeah, it was m-mom's idea, but she didn't trust me to make her and dad's food."
"Wait, you mentioned being drunk?"
"I probably thought you were… my dad for sec, he was… nicer when he was drunk. Otherwise, dad would've gotten out the remote."
"remote?"
"Huh?"
"Probably, but now I'm going to cook and you all are going to watch. The most I'll let you do is get ingredients."
Rownan starts making offended princely noises, then sees his point and grumbles.
"Alright, I'm gonna go to my room."
"I'll get started, wait is it lunch or brunch?"
"Brunch. We skipped breakfast to sleep in and it's not lunchtime yet."
He made bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches with fruit salad. The day went by uneventfully, they all went to bed and then worked the next day. When they got back however, around evening time . They had finished dinner, no one was tired and they were all bored.
"I know, truth or dare!" Patoran suggested
"I'm in"
"as am I"
"fine. Pat, you go first."
"Lolan, truth or dare?"
"Dare"
"I dare you to… kiss your crush."
Lolan blushed and walked over to Patoran, he kissed his cheek and sat back down. Patoran turned into a tomato, and buried his face in his hands. Lolan looked at Rownan,
"Rownan, which one?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to kiss your crush."
Rownan blushed and looked at Vigil, and went over to where he was sitting. He kissed his cheek and whispered into his hoodie,
"hope you feel the same."
Before sitting back down. Vigil was about to have a heart attack and his face looked like it had been dyed bright red. He covered his face and made a sound only dogs could hear.
"P-Patoran, um truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Do you like Lolan back?"
"Y-Yes. Vigil, which one?"
"Truth"
"do you like Rownan back?"
Vigil quietly answered,
"m-Maybe."
"I think this is enough for one day. Patoran, a talk?"
Lolan intervened, Rownan came over to Vigil on the couch and asked,
"you ok?"
"N-no."
Vigil put Rownan's hand on his chest so he could feel his heartbeat. Rownan did the same, they were both beating rapidly and you could hear it if you were quiet enough.
"Guess we're both not okay." Rownan said jokingly.
Vigil said quietly, "…I never thought you would like a piece of trash like me, so I didn't say anything."
"Well as someone who cares about the environment, I am obligated to pick you up. 8:00pm tomorrow okay for you?"
"Y-Yeah. Yeah that sounds good…"
Vigil blushed even more and was about to pull up his mask to cover it since he wore it around his neck. Rownan stopped him,
"Vigil, please don't hide that beautiful face from me. I want to know what you're feeling when we do things together."
You could practically see hearts in Vigil's eyes, Rownan had all the heartstrings and knew just how to tug them.
"A-Alright… goodnight Rownan."
Rownan kissed his forehead, he whispered "goodnight."
He went to his room,Vigil sat there, redder than a tomato, absolutely frozen.