You're The Sin, I'm The Sinner

12. Feathers and Friends

Frank's POV

I started the hot shower, locking the door and stripping off my clothes. Just my pants and boxers, but it felt freeing, which made me glad that I picked shorts instead of pants to change into. As I climbed into the shower, I felt relief, the warm water rushing over my face. It felt relaxing, kind of pulling me in as I soaked my hair and flipped the wet strands out of my face. Gerard was right, I think I did need a shower. At that thought, I turned around and washed my wings as I had been instructed before, having to turn around to wash the grime off my arms.

I tried to be careful of my wings, not touching them but still knowing that rinsing the feathers wasn't going to be enough. That tingly feeling when Gerard was brushing out my feathers wasn't the worst, but the aching part was. It went down once I forgot about it, being cautious to not touch my wings. With the molting brush in hand, it wasn't easy to control and my hand slipped anyways, though I didn't get that tingly feeling. I took my hand through the feathers, cleaning them while my body was under the water. Huh. If I ever got the courage to ask, I'd have to ask Gerard why I could touch my wings without the tingling, but it dawned on me that it was probably a personal question.

The more I think about it, I realize that I touched Gerard's, thinking it could have had the same effect on him. Again, I would ask, but it would probably embarrass both of us to even mention it. I had to rinse my wings one last time before getting out of the shower, running my hands through the feathers and only getting a few out. As I stepped out, I went to the separate room to shake myself off, slinging water every which way from my wings. As they dried, I looked around, seeing no feathers on the floor or the walls, smiling a little.

I was... I don't know, guess it was another emotion thing, but I felt it in my gut, swelling up. I rushed out and found my towel, drying up quickly and slipping on my boxers just as quick. I grabbed my shorts and ran out of the bathroom, almost flying down the stairs and stopping once I basically tumbled to the ground. I stood there for a second, catching my breath and looking at Gerard.

"Look! No feathers fell out!" I shouted, showing him the minimal bits of black feathers that were still in, but turning around and then facing him again. He stood there, red in the face, eventually looking away and putting his hand over his eyes. "Um, Gerard?" I asked quietly, looking at my wings and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Frank. I think you're forgetting something," Gerard whispered, which made me aware that I didn't put on my shorts yet. I kind of laughed awkwardly, slipping on my shorts quickly.

"Hehe, sorry, I was..." I stopped for a minute, trying to think of the word that would describe it, walking over to Gerard to remove his hand and seeing his eyes. "Oh, uh, I think you mean excited," Gerard chuckled out, leaning against the counter behind him. "Excited..." I repeated, smiling and spinning around with the new feeling. My wings spread out as I landed, showing off the almost white wings. "I give it a couple of more weeks, your wings should be white by then," He informed me, though I would say it would only take a week seeing as there were only so few feathers left.

I only nodded, moving and gently touching my wings. It was just... So bizarre, just to experience even one emotion, but I get the chance to experience them all. I looked at Gerard again, catching his gaze on my tattoos and smiling a little when he looked away. "They're pretty, aren't they?" I asked, folding my wings in and putting my arms to my sides. "Um, yeah- no, I was just looking," Gerard whispered, but it made me smile even more.

"I like 'em too if it's anything to ease you," I whispered, seeing him smile a little and nod. I went past him, hopping up on the counter and sitting down. All of that exciting feeling had reached its bliss point, chilling out from the exhilarating feeling that once felt like it was going to explode in my chest. Yet it didn't feel like the exploding feeling of anger. "Hey, do you have a journal that I could maybe borrow? Mywana said that it would probably be best if I kept track of emotions to look back on them to understand them," I explained, seeing him nod and push off of the counter. "Wait here, I know just the thing," He murmured, going up the stairs.

I kind of just waited, looking around and messing with the bottom of my wings as I then watched Gerard come down the stairs with a book in hand. "I know it's kind of plain, but I've had this one for a while," Gerard explained, handing me the black notebook with a blue tint. "Thank you, Gerard. Also, on the bright side of things, I can find a pen in my clean room now," I chuckled out as I opened it to the clean pages. It was lined pages, waiting for a pen or pencil to be put to the page. "Oh, so you cleaned up the tissues and feathers, huh?" Gerard teased, though I laughed and nodded, facing him as I still sat on the counter. "Yep, I even did my laundry, it's in my closet," I announced proudly.

"Well, I'm proud of you, it takes a lot of energy to clean up a mess like that," Gerard congratulated, smiling as he stood there in front of me. "Yeah, I've got some energy, finally," I whispered the last word as I heard my stomach growl, immediately grabbing my stomach. I only had a few crackers, I guess I would need more to keep what I now know to be hunger. "Oh, hey, I have some noodles for you, they're in the microwave," Gerard gently informed me, placing his hand on mine, which gave me that electric feeling against my bones. "Ha, thanks, the last time this happened, I devoured a few cans of chicken noodle soup," I mumbled, moving and hopping down to grab the cup of noodles. I sighed once I could smell it, grabbing a fork and hopping back up on the counter. "Thanks, by the way," I whispered, feeling my face heat up a little, brushing it off because the cup of noodles was right in my face as I took a bite. "Of course, anytime," Gerard replied, folding in his wings and sitting next to me.

"Do your wings hurt any?" Gerard asked, to which I stopped eating my noodles and kind of laughed as I chewed quickly, swallowing the noodles. "Way to be a restaurant waiter, asking me when I'm trying to eat," I teased, hearing him laugh a little bit and nod. "Well, my wings don't hurt that much right now, just a little dull pain in the base from stretching them too far," I answered, shoving a forkful of noodles in my mouth. I felt his hand on my back, a surge of light behind me, and my wings straightening. I almost dropped my noodles, looking at Gerard with a mouthful of noodles dangling from my lips. "Don't worry, you're an angel now, it was actually a bone out of place by the way," Gerard informed me, to which I tried to look at my wings to see that they were straight and even. "Well, I guess I have a higher pain tolerance than I originally thought," I whispered, moving my wing and putting my half-finished cup down. "Or you're a really good liar," Gerard suggested, which I shook my head vigorously. "It was just a dull pain, but thanks," I whispered, leaning against Gerard a little as I started to eat again.

I finished my noodles, broth and all, moving a little so Gerard could get up, but we just stayed there, sitting in somewhat comfortable silence. It was nice and warm, pulling my wings away from my back and bringing one around Gerard to keep the warmth. I heard him chuckle, looking over and smiling just a little as I felt his wing come behind mine. He was a lot warmer, which was funny considering I was always known as the walking heater most days. "It's warm here," I whispered, seeing Gerard look at me and nod. "Indeed it is," He replied, laying his head on mine as we stayed there in the silence for a little longer.