They the Wubbox : Rewritten

[Chapter 67]

Shiko laid on the couch, slightly curled up as his wings covered his arms and sides. His lower body was attacking him as usual, just as it did every month. He had no way to prevent this, and he refused to ever take medicine to lessen this pain. He said medicine would just ruin how life was supposed to go, and if the body was in pain, they would have to live with it and the body went in the direction it was supposed to.

Antibiotics? Sounds like an excuse to get an addition. Painkillers? More like killing y slowly.

Pompom was in the kitchen, heating up something he wouldn't be opposed to. It mostly just smelled like boiling water, until a vanilla scent started to waft over. What on earth could she be doing? But he didn't care, why should he? She didn't really care about him. He knew it since he got here. He always wished his father was the only one watching him, but unfortunately, he had a fake mother trying to replace him.

"Shiko, may I ask you something?" Pompom turned from the stove, looking to him from the other side of the counter.

"What, Pompom." He addressed her by name, not caring very much.

"...Why are you not very fond of me?"

"Because you're not my real mother, and no matter how hard you try, it'll never be true." Shiko hissed back, his wings flicking with attitude.

"But Air is your real father?"

"Yes."

"How sure are you?"

"He's the only face I was taught to find before I fell."

"If..your real mother then randomly someday tells you that Air isn't actually your father, you would believe her completely?"

"My mother would never be wrong, Pompom! She knows who my father is, and it is Air! Who else could it be?"

"I'm not saying either of you were wrong, Shiko, but if she were to someday happen to tell you it wasn't your dad, would you believe her without question?"

"Yes, but she would never tell me to find Air for no reason! Why else would she have sent me to find him? What significance would he otherwise have if not related to me?"

"Could it be he was the only Wubbox that would care for you whole-heartedly? Air's brothers Ice, Rare, or even Earth could have been just as good candidates for fathers, but Air is one that would be devoted to parenting his whole life."

"But I look like Air and my mother, not anyone else!"

"Can you describe what your mother looks like, Shiko?"

"That's not something you can easily put into words, Pompom! She's a god! Me trying to describe her is like trying to speak three languages at the same time, and backwards!"

Pompom sighed gently, looking away from him. "Alright."

The air was still thick with tension, the quiet almost deafeningly loud. Not a word or sound was made, even as the water of the teapot warmed.

Eventually, Pompom took the boiling water off the stove, and poured it in the glass, where the tea bag string hung off the side, slightly rising with the water, and almost immediately, color began to spin, and dye the water like a ballerina's spin.
She took the cup by the hot-pad underneath and by the handle, being careful as she walked back over to the table. She placed the cup onto the coffee table, just in Shiko's line of sight.

"...I didn't mean to upset you, Shiko…I just want to get to know you better. But if you don't want to try and get to know me, that's fine. You'll be moving out soon enough. You won't have to ever come back."

Shiko sat up, his wings unfolding from around him, and he brought his clawed hand up to push himself off the couch.
"...Where's dad?" He asked with a hiss, grabbing the tea from the table.

"He's at work. He's begun to fix himself. You'd want that, wouldn't you? He was in a really rough place for a while."

"Sure, but he took an awfully long time to get over it."

"Shiko, he…" Pompom paused, but eventually sighed. "You probably don't really understand what he went through. You've barely talked to either of us, so you can't just declare you know everything about everyone if you don't know them. Maybe if you asked your father, he could explain it to you. It's not my place to speak for him."

Shiko didn't add on, instead bringing the clear glass of tea to his lips, and taking a sip. He wasn't expecting the flavors that came to him, which was a fruity apricot, and a sugary vanilla. Usually, from what he knew, tea was just old, gross herbs in some water, but this was actually pretty good!

Pompom could see the surprise in his expression, and she smiled softly. "It's a tea I liked when I was younger…My siblings always thought I was crazy for liking it." She chuckled.

"...Well, it's decent." He huffed, his head wings flicking once with attitude.

Pompom got up after a moment, moving back over to the stove where she had left the box of tea bags. While she did, Shiko continued drinking the unusual white tea. He never thought he'd like tea at all, but this was different. Was Pompom rubbing something off on him?

She came back over, a small box in her claws. It read "LASO, Vanilla Apricot Créme White Tea", with a picture of an apricot next to raw vanilla strands, and a vanilla flower.

"You can take this with you when you move out." She told him softly. "There's many more of this you could buy, Plant Island especially."

Shiko kept a quiet glare, but took the box from her, and placed it next to his leg.

He didn't want to admit that she could help him, even if it was small. He was only grateful he could move out and be free, not having to live with them for longer than he had to. At least he had someone to go and live with when the time came.

———

I'm so sorry about being late on this one! I've been busy in other fandoms, and haven't been writing as much.

• Words : 1033•