The Fall of the Aftons

039: Michael Afton

"Come on, come on, come on!" Michael said demandingly, though his words were aimed at himself. This was the eighth time he'd tried to take his necklace off, and he was so tired of his failure. He just wanted it to come off already. "Yes!" he shouted excitedly once the clasp finally came undone. He let the necklace slip from around his neck and land in his hand. He set it on his dresser, then got dressed and went downstairs. 

"Good morning, Michael," William greeted when Michael stepped into the kitchen. "Do you want to help me make chocolate chip flapjacks?"

Michael grinned. "Yes, please," he said politely. He lifted his arms so William could pick him up easier.

William gave a small smile and lifted Michael from the floor, then rested him on his hip. He handed Michael the whisk he was using to stir the batter. Michael gently took the whisk and pushed the metal utensil through the thin liquid. 

"Where's your necklace? You wear it every day. Why aren't you wearing it today?" William asked curiously. He lightly tapped Michael's chest where the three stones typically lay. 

"It's, um... It's a birthday tradition," he explained quietly. He continued to stir the pancake batter.

"It's the twenty-eighth already? Happy birthday, bud," William said, a slight chuckle in his voice. "Gosh, it's already been six months?"

"Yes, it has," Michael answered, chuckling. "Half of a year."

"Half a year of what?" Terrance asked through a drowsy yawn as he walked as slow as a sloth into the room. He sat at the kitchen table, slumped in his chair. He hadn't gotten dressed yet as Michael and William had. He was still in his pajamas, his hair messy from sleep.

"Since I've adopted Michael," William answered. He gave Michael a quick smile before he looked at his nephew. "Could you please go get his birthday presents for me?"

"Presents? There's more than one?" Michael asked after Terrance obediently left the room. He was so used to getting only one present from Aster. The thought of getting more than that felt weird. The only time he got more than one was when Khael thought that Mike might enjoy it more than he would've.

"Don't worry, bud. It's only two. I figured you'd be a little nervous if you got a lot, considering your upbringing," William told him assuringly. He gently took the whisk from Michael's hand and set it in the sink, ready to be washed later in the day. He set Michael down on the tiled floor and went to prepare the griddle on the stovetop--or hob, as William called it. "Are two flapjacks enough? Or would you like more than that?"

"Yes, that's fine," Michael said as he grabbed three plates, forks, and knives from the countertops. Thankfully, William and Terrance had moved the piles of dishes so that they were always where Michael could reach them.

Michael stepped away from the countertops and started to set the table, softly humming a nursery rhyme that Khael normally sang unrelentlessly on their birthday. The song used to annoy Michael since he had heard it an obsessive amount

"You do realize that you don't need to do all of the chores, right, Michael?" Terrance asked, laughter in his voice, as he walked into the kitchen wielding the presents. 

"I like to help out," Michael explained with a small shrug. "I always did with my birth family." 

Terrance set the presents on the table and snatched the leftover dishes from Michael's hands, then lifted them out of his reach.

"Hey! I need those!" Michael shouted, laughter filling his irritated words.

"Not this time! Sit down and open your presents. I'll set the rest of them," William told him as he took the dishes from Terrance's gentle grip. He set the plates out of Michael's reach on the countertops. "Now open your presents, silly."

Michael sighed irritably and carefully climbed onto his chair. He took the smallest present off of the table first. He tore the wrapping paper off, smiling when he saw the book he'd asked for a few months ago. "It's the book I wanted! Thank you!" he exclaimed joyfully as he jumped down from his chair and gave a big hug to both Terrance and William. 

After a small fit of laughter passed, Terrance took the last present off of the kitchen table and shoved it into Michael's hands. "We think you'll like this one the most," he said. Both he and William grinned when Michael tore it open just as fast as the previous gift. 

Michael could've recognized the scent that wafted from the box in any scenario. He carefully took the gift out of its parcel, letting the cardboard cube fall to the floor with a muted thunk. Cautiously, he unfolded the thick fabric. It was exactly what he thought it was.

It was the blanket he and Khael used to share whenever winter rolled around.

He heard his family talking to him, but he wasn't paying any attention to any of the words coming out of their mouths. He was distracted as he bathed in the familiar scent of his old home. As he inhaled the warming aroma, he could remember one particularly frigid night when there had been a blizzard. The wind had beaten relentlessly against the thin walls of their home. The air was so cold that it bit at you, making it too freezing to sleep. Neither of the Song twins could fall asleep in their beds. So, after confirming that Michael was awake, Khael called him over. Michael had practically jumped off of his bed as Khael went to the closet to grab the blanket from the small closet they shared. The two of them had snuggled up together inside the closet, where it was warmest because it was closest to the boiler. Their body heat had radiated off of them, warming each other up until they had both fallen asleep. 

"How did you even get this?" Michael asked after he gave Terrance and William each a ginormous hug and somewhere around a million thanks. 

"We found a spare key at your old house. It was hidden in the dirt inside of a vase with a dead plant," William explained. He lifted Michael from the ground and adjusted his blanket so it wouldn't fall off his shoulders. "If there is anything you want from your old home, just let us know and we'll take you as soon as possible. Does that sound okay?"

Michael nodded his head, beaming.