Fey

Part 5

Akemi woke up to his phone buzzing. His alarm was going off, annoyingly jarring him from his peaceful slumber. He groaned and turned off the alarm, sitting up. A yawn that seemed too large to have existed made its way out of his mouth, his wings being pulled tightly to his back as he stretched his arms, popping his back. Slowly, he stood, pulling on a pair of gray sweatpants. From there, with his wings dragging limply behind him, he shuffled like a zombie down the hall and blindly went down the stairs. Kenneth was reading his morning paper and drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning, Aki. Any plans for the day?" Akemi grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, grabbing a coffee cup out of the cupboard over the counter that housed the dishwasher, sink, coffee maker, and a few other appliances. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen island. He took a sip, and a goofy grin nearly split his face in half. "Coffee..." Kenneth rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the paper in his hands. "Did you go flying last night?" Akemi nodded. "Yeah, probably stayed out too long. Didn't get to sleep until late." Kenneth looked up. "Where did you go?" Akemi smiled. "There are these wind currents if you go up high enough. You can just glide in one spot; you don't even have to flap your wings. Don't worry. I checked the scheduled flights and wore a transmitter on my ankle. I needed some time to think."

Kenneth looked up. "About what?" Akemi looked up, meeting his father's gaze. "Ben?" Akemi nodded, taking another drink of his coffee. "I'm afraid that after a while, he'll grow bored of me." Kenneth snorted. "You think Sakura never grew bored of me? That's part of a relationship, Aki. There'll be high and low points, but what matters is that you stick together." Akemi nodded. "But what if he's only with me because I'm Fey?" Kenneth shrugged. "It's a possibility, but I doubt it," Kenneth said, noticing the faraway look in his son's eyes. "If he's half what you think of him, he wants you for you, not your wings." Kenneth downed the last of his coffee, checking his watch. "I gotta go, Aki, I'll see you tonight." Akemi nodded, waving at Keneth as he left the room. He sighed softly, taking his phone out of his pocket. It was barely pushing 11, and Akemi already had no clue how to spend the day. His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up. 

Ben, 10:49 am
I hope I'm not waking you up, but it's too gorgeous a morning to sleep in
Pick you up at 5?

Akemi smiled and sent his reply. 

Aki, 10:52 am
You didn't wake me. I was enjoying a cup of coffee
Five is perfect. Dad won't be home until late. The hospital is working him like a dog.

Ben, 10:53 am
I figured you might be soaring through the sky, enjoying the clean morning air
How is the good Dr. Jacobs

Aki, 10:53 am
Kinda hard to fly when your wings are still asleep XD
Dad is fine. He's invited you to dinner on Saturday

Ben, 10:55 am
I feel honored, Aki. My parents are going out of town tonight, won't be back until next week, so my schedule is wide open. Just send me the time

Akemi smiled, pulling his wings up into place on his back. He looked around, realizing he was going to be alone for the day. Kara had swimming lessons, his father had work, and Akemi had... nothing to do. 

Aki, 11:03 am
Are you busy?
It's not a common feeling, but I believe I'm feeling lonely. 

Ben, 11:04 am
No plans for the day? I'm sure I can try to entertain you. We can make a day of it

Aki, 11:04 am
Are you sure? I don't want to put you out.

Ben, 11:05 am
You never put me out, Aki. I love spending time with you

Akemi blushed, reading Ben's words. After getting dressed in a plain sleeveless shirt and jeans, he walked outside and took a deep breath, stretching out his wings. He'd been gliding for hours last night. His muscles were rather stiff and sore. He cracked his neck and locked the front door before flapping his wings and kicking off the ground. He was gliding through the air when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and blindly banked left to avoid the water tower. It was an update to the cheerleading schedule. Practice for Friday was canceled. Coach Brandley had broken his wrist. Akemi frowned, opening his contacts and halting his forward momentum. He flew up and landed on top of the water tower, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Coach, it's Aki. You okay?" Coach Brandley sighed. "I'm okay, Aki. Unfortunately, it was my right hand, I can't write the plays we need for the practices. Y'all go ahead and take this week off. We'll do two practices next week to make up for it, It's just a minor fracture." Akemi furrowed his brow. "Okay... Are you sure you're okay? I can do a quick fly-by?" He heard the coach chuckle, which turned into a cough. His laughter often turned into small coughing fits. Coach Brandley was an avid smoker, a connoisseur even, of hand-wrapped cigars. "Nah, you ain't gotta do that, Aki. Thanks for checkin' in on me, though. You're a good kid." Akemi smiled, feeling the wind in his hair. "You're welcome, Coach. I hope your wrist feels better soon." He heard Coach Brandley sigh. "Yeah, me too, Aki. You best get going; sounds pretty windy to be ground-level." Akemi sniffed, looking around. "Yeah, I'm pretty high up. Bye, Coach Brandley."