Chapter Text
"Sunday!" Robin's wings fluttered in excitement as she leapt into his outstretched arms. "I got in! They want me to perform at the National Talent Show this year."
"That's amazing, I'm so proud of you my little dove" Sunday ruffled her hair affectionately.
Robin was the most beautiful singer, she deserved a chance to show the world her skill.
"I have to start rehearsing soon, they said that they would email dad to confirm everything" Robin explained she was still excited but Sunday could see she was nervous too.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Gopher" He reassured her, he kept his smile plastered on his face.
The living room was pristine, every surface immaculate and ordained with beautiful trinkets of gold. A large flat screen hung on the wall in front of a white leather couch. Gopher sat on the couch, using his laptop to work.
He seemed to be in a good mood, Sunday came over with a coffee and handed it to him before taking the chance to ask him about Robin's show.
Robin was peeking her head over the banister, looking down into the room, anxiously waiting. Sunday had shooed her to her room but she'd snuck out, she had to know what Gopher said.
"Absolutely not." Gopher didn't even look up at Sunday.
"Please sir, It is a massive opportunity for our family" Sunday chose his words carefully.
"It's discordant, do you want your sister to be corrupted by such rotten influence?" Gopher frowned.
"No... I-" Sunday said.
"Leave me to my work." Gopher cut him off.
Sunday didn't dare push further, disobeying a direct order was not an option. He turned to leave when he heard a small sob from above.
Robin. She ran back to her room when Sunday looked up and met her tearful eyes.
"Keep her quiet, I need to focus." Gopher sighed, uninterested in her distress.
Robin hid under the duvet, shaking as silent tears ran down her face. She knew she shouldn't cry; it only ever caused Sunday trouble, but she couldn't stop the tears.
Sunday ran into the room and huddled up next to her, his warm love made it hurt even more. As he held her she started to sob louder.
"It's ok" He shushed in her mind. She felt his strong emotions of love and worry through the telepathic bond.
Sunday stayed by her side till she fell into an exhausted sleep.
He was going to fix this. Once he was sure Robin was asleep he stood up and stared into Robins cheval mirror, he found it hard to look at himself. It made him feel sick to see his own body.
He steeled himself and left the room, focusing on his conviction to help Robin.
Other things didn't matter as long as she was okay.
Later that night Robin heard her door creak open. She was half asleep, for a moment she felt scared. Her tummy felt funny.
Who was it?
The familiar sound of Sunday's footsteps reassured her. The funny feeling in her tummy eased a little. Sunday gently lifted the duvet and lay down on the small bed besides her, she could feel him trembling next to her. His breath was quick and panicked.
Robin let him think she was asleep but nuzzled closer to him, using him as a pillow. She listened as his heart beat slowed and felt his muscles relax.
When she woke up in the morning he was gone.
He came back into her room a little later, pretending as if he hadn't been there before. Robin eyed him intently, he seemed fine but she knew he wasn't.
"Morning baby bird" Sunday had his church smile on. Robin always thought it looked silly and fake, "Good news!"
"What is it?" She said nervously, not daring to get her hopes up.
"Gopher said you can go to the show!" Sunday didn't mention that he'd also refused to help them with it. Sunday was sure he could organise everything for Robin himself.
He expected Robin to get excited again. But she didn't, it looked like she was about to cry again.
"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy" Sunday said anxiously. Had he done something wrong? He didn't want to upset his sister.
"I don't know" Robin felt all confused, the funny tummy feeling was there again. She reached out to Sunday for comfort, for a moment Sunday hesitated before grabbing her and holding her close.
"Its all good, its big news so its okay if you are shocked, you will be excited again soon!" Sunday said, in an attempt to persuade both himself and her.
Robin thought that Sunday must be right, he always was, she pushed the icky feelings away as best she could.
Sunday held Robin's hand as they crossed the street to her middle school. He was running late, Gopher wanted a big breakfast and it took longer to cook than he'd planned. If he was alone he could have ran the 30 minute walk to school and made it in time but Robin wouldn't be able to keep up with that pace.
"I gotta rush Robin, I'll pick you up at the usual spot" Sunday hurried her inside and ran back across the street and down the road to the high school.
It was his first day at a new school, he knew the way around because the middle school let all the students visit a few times during their final year. That didn't make it any less stressful.
He stumbled through unfamiliar halls trying to get to class, even though he was late the halls were still full of people.
Eventually he made it.
His new homeroom teacher was being lenient due to it being the first day for all the 9th graders. She just waved him in and he quietly took one of the available seats.
He didn't speak to anyone until lunch time. He was focused on just finding his classes and staying invisible. When lunch rolled around he felt his anxiety spiking again. The rush of people in the halls was overwhelming, the noise hurt is head and he felt trapped.
Gopher had given him money for lunch but it wasn't enough for both him and Robin. He gave it all to Robin to make sure she ate. All he had in his bag was an orange, it was better than nothing.
Avoiding the busy cafeteria became his main goal, he walked opposite the flow of traffic towards the library.
His heart sank at the sign on the front door.
'No eating in the Library.
Keep the books clean :)'
Just his luck. He shoved the orange back in his bag and went inside. At least it was a quiet place for him to rest. He was exhausted. Sleep was difficult at home. He shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind.
The quiet library felt safer than his own room, the smell of old books and the quiet background noise of people walking and reading was cosy, it wasn't long before he drifted into a light sleep.
Sunday flinched awake as someone touched his shoulder. His skin crawled, the sensation making him anxious.
To his relief the hand quickly disappeared.
"You alright kid?" An older man stood over the table, his greying brown hair was frizzed up and laying messily across his forehead. He looked down at Sunday with thick rimmed glasses, similar to Gopher's.
Sunday immediately felt uncomfortable, he looked for an escape. The man was between him and the door, blocking his only option.
Welt looked at the jittery boy in front of him. His wings were folded defensively in front of his face. A strange reaction, though being unexpectedly awoken could make anyone nervous.
"Sorry to scare you, its time for the next period, I thought it best to wake you" Welt said.
"Thank you sir, sorry to disturb" Sunday spoke with rigid politeness as he gathered up his bag.
"It's Mr Yang, don't worry about the nap I'd do the same if I had the chance!" Welt laughed.
Sunday just nodded his agreement before quickly escaping the library.
'What a strange boy' Mr Yang thought to himself as he headed to his own class.