꒰ ㆍ Shy Blue Eyesㆍ ⸝⸝ Chapter Fifty Seven

Instructions

A few hours later, Feather was curled up on his bed. Searchlight was still awake, tossing and turning like they used to because they could never get fully comfortable. Feather was half-asleep, but he was still aware of his surroundings and everything going on. "Mmmmnn," he whined softly, curling up around himself. He couldn't get himself to fall asleep. Searchlight rolled onto their side and draped their arm over his waist. "What time is it," Feather mumbled, covering his face with his hands. "Like, nine in the morning, I think," Light groaned. Feather sighed and sat up, making Searchlight awkwardly fall down onto the bed, since they'd been all over him during the night. "Come back to bed," they hissed, blindly reaching out for his shoulder, trying to pull him back down. "No, Light, I have to get up." "Don't go," Searchlight whined, their hand finally finding purchase on his wrist. "Light. C'mon. Let go. I'll be back in a few hours. And you're always welcome to get up too, y'know." They finally let go, their hand falling down onto the bed, allowing Feather to stand up. He stretched his arms above his head, then started getting changed. He got out of his loose T-shirt and boxers and slipped into a black compression shirt that had a big red heart over the chest and baggy light blue cargo jeans that he had drawn on in Sharpie (there were various words of unhinged Japanese all over the jeans). He tugged on a loose, soft gray hoodie that he left unzipped and let fall off of one shoulder. Searchlight lazily lifted their head off the pillow to look him up and down. "I think you should put a belt on," they said, their voice a bit groggy, "since your pants are so loose on you. They look like they're about to fall off." Feather nodded. "I'm about to." He grabbed his black-and-white studded belt, shoving it through the loops on the waistband of his pants. He quickly finished, stretching his arms over his chest. "Okay. I'm going out. Love you." He leaned down and gently kissed Searchlight's forehead, but they flinched and leaned back. "Oh. Okay. See you later." He stood back up, carefully padding out the door and shutting it softly behind him. Now that he thought about it, Searchlight had been acting weird lately. They never flinched when he tried to kiss them unless they really didn't expect it, but they had seen him lean down for it. And they'd felt... almost colder since they came back. Their skin felt warmer than normal, but they didn't have a fever. And their eyes looked like a different shade of red, almost. Almost pink. He shook the thoughts out of his head and forced himself to calm down. He walked away from the room, walking down the stairs to the common room where everyone was already. Charlie and Vaggie were cuddled up near the armrest on one of the couches, Lucifer was sitting a few feet away from them. Husk was sitting on the armrest opposite from Charlie and Vaggie's, and Angel had his head rested in his lap. Sir Pentious was sitting on the chair somewhat close to the couch. Nifty was lying on her stomach, carefully eyeing an ant that was skittering across the floor. Feather walked in, sitting next to Angel. "Hey there, Feather," Husk said, nodding at him. That got Angel's attention. "Oh!" Angel cried, instantly sitting up and throwing his arms around Feather's shoulders. "My favorite finally decided to show up!" "Dad, get off," Feather mumbled, halfheartedly trying to scooch away, but Angel just tightened his grip, making Feather whine softly at the feeling of his ribs practically being crushed. "Dad," Feather choked out. Angel finally pulled away, allowing Feather to breathe again. He gasped and coughed for air, literally wheezing. "Oh, the /drama,/ Feather," Angel purred. Feather finally caught his breath and turned to the rest of the group. Lucifer avoided eye contact, and Nifty left the room to chase the ant. Well, at least we had five people being engaged. Feather was the first one to break the awkward silence. "So, who called this meeting and why?"