Chapter 11
Eleven
Miles
Heather seemed much warmer toward us when we returned, so whatever Duckie had said had worked. After a filling meal, she sat us down on the couch and proceeded to share album upon album of Duckie's baby pictures, much to his embarrassment.
"Damn, you were a cute baby," Mateo said, making Duckie groan.
"He's right," I agreed, watching in fascination as pink colored Duckie's cheeks. He only reacted that way when I complimented him, and I loved that.
"You're lucky you have so many pictures of you.
The earliest I have of My and me is when we were ten," Mateo said, and I smiled when I remembered the day we'd stumbled upon an album—and a printed one at that—full of pictures of the two of us.
Our dads had been taking them for years, and we hadn't even realized it.
Of course, we'd posed for a few pictures, like our yearly family Christmas ones, but most of them had been candid shots.
They'd done the same for our older brother, Micah, as well.
"Why's that?" Heather asked, and Mateo glanced at me to check. I nodded, and he turned to her.
"That's when our dads adopted us."
"Oh," Heather said, seeming unsure how to reply to that.
"They took tons of pictures of us too, like you," I said with a smile as Mateo turned to Duckie.
"I'll show you when we get back home. There's this one that was taken after we shifted for the first time, and I stole Miles's clothes before he could get dressed, and he chased me through the house. We were both naked, and our dads just about died laughing. In between taking pictures, of course."
I buried my face in my hands as Duckie laughed, resisting the urge to smack my shameless twin.
We looked through the albums for a while after that, neither me nor Mateo in any rush to leave after seeing how happy Duckie was.
"How about the three of you spend the night? It's too late to drive back," Heather's mom suggested, and while our senses were sharper at night so it wasn't a problem, I didn't argue. It was clear Duckie didn't want to leave yet, and I didn't mind staying.
"I'm up for that," Mateo said, and I nodded.
"Perfect. I have two guest rooms upstairs.
You two don't mind bunking, do you?" She glanced between me and Mateo, and we shook our heads in unison, not wanting to lose the acceptance we'd gained.
"There are spare toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet, though I don't have clothes for you to sleep in. "
"That's okay. I'll shift if I feel uncomfortable," Mateo said, and she smiled at him before leading us to the bedrooms. Was she making sure Duckie slept in the other bedroom?
Twenty minutes later, Mateo and I were sharing a queen-sized bed after brushing our teeth and calling our dads to let them know where we were.
We'd shrugged off our pants but kept our shirts on. Usually, I slept in my underwear, but I'd taken to wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants since Duckie came to live with us.
"Night, Miles," Mateo mumbled as he turned on his side with his back to me, and I flicked the lamps off before settling in.
"Night, Mateo."
Night, Duckie, I added through our bond, smiling when he returned the sentiment.
We stayed until lunch the next day before Duckie felt ready to leave. He'd grabbed some photos and keepsakes to take with him, and Mateo held the bag while Duckie hugged his mom. When they pulled apart, she cupped his face, her eyes misty, her lips trembling as she smiled.
Duckie swallowed hard, and I rubbed his back, wishing I could do more. He shot me a grateful smile, then kissed his mom's cheek. "I'm okay now. And I'll visit again soon, I promise."
His mom nodded, then glanced at me and Mateo. "Take care of my son, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Mateo said as I nodded, and she smiled, then pulled her arms away. I'd given her our numbers, and I was planning to get a phone for Duckie now that he was in his human form, so he could talk to her whenever he wanted.
Once we got home, Duckie perched himself on the couch, looking a little lost as he ruffled through the things he'd brought.
Now that he was human, we couldn't make him sleep on the couch.
Maybe he could take my room and I'd sleep on the couch?
Or maybe I could bunk with Mateo again like we had as kids. I didn't think he'd mind.
Oh well, we still had a few hours before we'd need to worry about that.
"Anyone else wanna go see the dragon babies?" Mateo asked a few minutes later, and Duckie perked up.
"How many are there?"
"Five of them. Veron hatched a few months ago, so they're older than the rest."
"They?" Duckie asked, curious, and I jumped in to explain.
"Dragons aren’t born with a physical sex. When Veron grows up, they might or might not identify with a binary gender, but until then, their pronouns are they/them."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Duckie said, and I wondered what other things he hadn't gotten a chance to learn about after being separated from his family and the supe world. I'd learned most of what I knew after our dads adopted us, so I could relate to him on some level.
"I'd like to see them. Would their parents mind?"
"Nah. They're family. Cam has already texted me about a billion times demanding we come see them," Mateo said with a chuckle, and I smiled. Cam was going to be one hell of a big brother. He had been one for us all these years, after all, so he already had some practice.
"You two go ahead. I have an errand to run first. I'll meet you there," I said, and Mateo shot me a curious look, then nodded, before turning his attention to our mate.
"It's not too far from here. Do you wanna walk or fly?"
Duckie thought about it for a moment, then said, "Walk," and I assumed he didn't want to show up naked to Raiden's house for the very first time.
Duckie
Dragon babies were freaking adorable.
They were all bare skin with the barest hint of a metallic shine and not much else. Veron was bigger than the rest of their siblings, but all five of them were curled up together in a large wicker basket that had been transformed into a cozy nest.
The younger dragons still had their eyes closed, but Veron watched us carefully with pale gray eyes similar to one of Cam's dads, Raiden.
I'd gotten the short version of Cam's parents' love story—how Raiden was the only original dragon, and how Cam was his stepson and had become a dragon after he and his bio dad, William, joined Raiden's hoard—from Cam, and it sounded like something out of a fairytale.
"We've got snacks!" William called from the other room, and Cam jumped up, giving me a grin.
"You hungry?"
Mateo had drifted away with his older brother at some point, and it was me and Cam in the bedroom-turned-nursery.
Cam was only a few years younger than me, and yet his cheerful nature made him seem a lot younger. He reminded me of Mateo, and I wondered how much influence he'd had on Mateo growing up. They seemed pretty close, while Miles was more like his older brother, Micah.
"I could eat," I agreed after a moment, and he grinned.
After giving Veron's head a soft brush, I followed Cam out of the nursery and into the living room, where the coffee table was laden with all kinds of snacks, most of them things I hadn't eaten in years.
"Hey." I glanced away from the food to find Miles and wondered how I hadn't noticed him. I was getting good at sensing when one or both of my mates were close by, though I wasn't perfect yet.
"Hey." I smiled, then claimed the empty spot beside him as my belly fizzled with nerves. I hadn't felt this nervous around Miles in my duck form, but every reaction felt heightened in this form, like I was feeling the full effect of my emotions for the very first time.
"Here," Miles said, and I glanced down to find him holding out a phone much like his.
"Um."
"I've added your mom's number, as well as Mat and mine, our parents', and some of the other clan members to start with."
"Is this for me?"
"Yep. You should be able to contact your mom or anyone else whenever you want," he said with a shrug, and I took the phone from him with some caution, touching the screen.
The homepage had a swirly, colorful display, and it was pretty easy to navigate, since Alex and Mateo had shown me various things on their devices, and watching them use their phones and tablets had taught me almost everything I needed to know.
"Thank you," I said, my voice getting drowned out by something Cam said to Mateo. Miles heard me, though, because he shot me a warm look and a nod before turning to the others and giving me a moment to gather myself.
We spent a few hours with Cam and his family—the Hawthornes, I'd learned—and I found it easy to relax around them.
They were some of the nicest people I'd ever come across, and it was clear to me that they considered Miles, Mateo, and Micah a part of their family, and that the feeling was mutual.
I wondered if I'd share the same closeness with them one day.
After we'd stuffed ourselves with pizza, fries, and ice cream, the three of us took our leave, and since we could barely move with how much we'd eaten—I may have overdone it a little—Miles and Mateo decided to take me on a walking tour of Mistvale before we returned home.
The sun dipped below the horizon as we walked down the residential street that had five trees for every house.
The houses all looked similar on the outside, with lush green lawns lined with tall, leafy trees, their barks covered in moss.
The air smelled like rain, like it always did in this town, and I breathed it in, humming as the scent of wet grass, wildflowers, and something musky tickled my nose.
Mateo pointed out the homes of quite a few clan members. After a while, the names started running into each other in my mind, and I wondered if I'd ever be able to remember them all.
"It's okay. I know it can get a little overwhelming," Miles said, noticing I was starting to lose it.
"Hey, wasn't Cam working on a list of clan members and how we're all connected? Do you think he finished it?" Mateo asked as he turned to face us and started walking backward.
"I'm not sure. We'll ask him later. It could be helpful," Miles said, and I nodded wholeheartedly.
"I'll text him when we get—oomph!"
One moment, Mateo was talking as he walked backward, and the next he was flat on his ass, his palms sinking into the mud he'd slipped on.
"Are you okay?" I demanded as I leaned forward, and he grinned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I tripped."
Miles grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up, scanning his brother from head to toe. His concern was sweet, and Mateo thought so too judging by the fond look on his face.
"That'll teach you to walk without watching," Miles grumbled, and Mateo chuckled as he tried and failed to wipe off the mud now covering the ass of his pants.
"Sorry. What did I trip on anyway?"
All three of us looked down to find the mound of mud he'd tripped over just as it... twitched. I blinked, unsure if I was seeing things, but before I could act, Miles was down on his knees and wiping the mud off a small, trembling body.
"What is it?" Mateo demanded as we both leaned closer to get a better look.
"It's a puppy," Miles murmured as he tried to wipe some of the mud off the dog.
"Fuck. Poor baby. Let's take him home and get him cleaned up," Mateo suggested, and Miles nodded as he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around the shaking puppy without a second of hesitation.
How had I gotten lucky enough to end up with mates as sweet as these two?