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Multi woke at 7:00 AM sharp to the blaring of the morning alarms that summoned every worker within the Federation’s facilities.
He didn't linger in bed; he swung his legs,, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and immediately stepped toward the calendar mounted beside his lab desk. The lights on above it, displaying the exact date:
‘DECEMBER 28.’
Today was going to be a special day.
—
“I just… I’m not good at using my wings like Blue Bird is, and I’m not smart like my brother is. And I don’t think dad likes me as much.” The avian pitifully mumbled as he spread his wings for the examination.
“Cucurucho is not your father, so don’t call him that,” Multi corrected, his tone firm as he adjusted his clipboard, causing the avian to melt into a sulking pout.
“You’re always so mean to me.”
The young scientist let out an exhausted sigh, took a slow, grounding breath, and kept walking down the hallway.
“No, I’m not, Kaczuszka. Follow me, today is your yearly checkup.” The room was quickly left behind.
“Really?! Is it today? Why didn’t you tell me?” The avian’s eyes sparkled instantly, all trace of his previous sulk gone.
“I’m not allowed to, and don’t do too much, you need to be in your best behavior.”
“You always say that.” The hybrid smiled, stepping up beside him and grabbing tightly onto the taller boy’s arm as they walked. “Let’s go! I’m ready.”
They stepped into the sterile examination wing, the heavy sliding doors sealing shut behind them. Waiting inside the observation room was another boy, face identical to the one beside him.
But, oh so different.
Where Q-1 was bright, expressive, and clung to Multi like a shadow, Q-2 was quiet, sharp, and overly observant. Multi cared for them both deeply; they were easy to get attached to.
And human modification had always been a passion of his, eager to learn.
“Hey, Doc.” The second boy said quietly with a small smile on his face.
“Q-2.” The little scientist nodded, his voice softening, so quick you might miss it.
“Hiii!” The smaller avian greeted his brother enthusiastically, rushing forward. Q-2 just patted his back awkwardly as the other embraced him in a tight hug.
Multi stepped to the counter to review their medical charts, clicking his pen as the two subjects settled onto the examination table.
“I read a book about marriage,” Q-1 blurted out suddenly into the quiet room, swinging his legs back and forth.
Multi didn't look up from his papers. “Did you?”
“Yeah, so can we marry? When we get out?”
Multi frowned, his pen coming to an abrupt stop. “Don’t say that. This is our home.”
“For my birthday wish—”
“I told you not to say that word.”
Q-2 rolled his eyes at the scientist's warning, turning his gaze onto his brother. “You call it whatever you want to call it, don’t listen to the doctor.”
The hybrid preened, his posture straightening proudly. “Yes! So, as I was saying, for our birthday wish we wanted to know…”
He stretched his words out dramatically, turning his head to Q-2. His twin nodded in agreement to the requested question, though Q-1 stumbled over his phrasing and stopped, asking his brother for help to finish his sentence. The other complied as usual.
“We wanted to know who’s your favorite experiment.” Q-2 asked, as his brother smiled, grateful.
Multi closed the folder and got ready to take their blood samples.
“I don’t have favorites.” The small scientist replied. He heard a simultaneous whine from Q-1 and a sharp click of the tongue from Q-2. “You wasted your wish.”
“C’mon! You have to have one. We should be your favorites.”
Multi deadpanned, looking between the two identical faces staring back at him. Truthfully, he couldn't choose even if he wanted to. He liked Q-1's endless warmth just as much as he valued Q-2's fierce, protective loyalty.
But if both were an option, then it was an easy question to answer.
“Yes, you guys are my favorites, I guess.” To that statement, Q-1 clapped and nudged his brother to join him. He did so, looking amused.
“It’s not bad to have favorites, Doc. Cucurucho might like me, but we all know that blue bird is his favorite,” Q-2 said as his brother nodded along.
“And you spend more time with us than with KTB! We know you don’t like her brothers, and you like us both, so we are your favorites.”
“Then why did you ask?” Multi raised an eyebrow. “Also, they’re not her brothers.”
Both of the twins smiled at the same time as Q-2 replied with a smirk, “It’s always nice to get you to admit something.”
Multi just rolled his eyes, turning back to the counter, yet there was a faint smile tugging at his lips that he couldn’t quite hide.
“Whatever. Kaczuszka, go to the cafeteria. Your gift is there.”
The moment the words left Multi's mouth, Q-1 broke into a sprint to the exit, leaving a few yellow feathers floating in the air. Multi just shook his head, giving his recklessness a pass for today.
Once the footsteps were drowned out by the distance, the room fell quiet. Q-2 remained seated on the examination table, blood being drained and his dark eyes trailing Multi's every move.
“So who’s your favorite?” Q-2 asked softly.
Multi frowned, an awkward smile forming on his face as he picked up his clipboard again. “I already—”
“You can’t have two favorites.”
Multi stopped, his gaze fixating on the avian. “Who are you to dictate that?”
The hybrid remained unaffected.
“A favorite is a favorite because they’re the best one.”
“What if they’re both the best?” Multi stated, not backing down as he stared right into the boy's voidless eyes.
“Then neither of them is the best.” Q-2 tilted his head as he shrugged.
There was something more to this questioning that Multi couldn’t quite catch.
Before the conversation could go on any further, loud footsteps resounded from the hallway. Multi's keycard, still hanging from the wall, kept the doors wide open.
Almost making the cold facility feel less like a cage.
“I brought caaake!” Q-1 yelled, bursting back into the room. “Here.”
He started handing out plastic cutlery to Multi and his brother. As he reached Q-2, he also passed him 5 matches to light a fire. Q-2 caught it instantly, his harsh expression melting away as he offered his twin a tender smile.
Q-1 grabbed a piece of thick paper from his pocket, probably one of his past drawings, and rolled it tightly into a makeshift "candle." He stuck it into the middle of the small cake. Q-1 struck the match against another 4 matches, lighting the paper candle, and both twins leaned in close.
They blew the small flame out at the exact same time; Q-1 pressed his eyes shut with a bright, hopeful smile, while Q-2 let his gaze drift softly to the side, looking at Multi.
Q-2 got back up at the scientist as his brother started cutting the cake.
“One day,” Q-2 said quietly, his voice carrying a heavy weight. “You’re going to have to choose.”
Multi stared down at him. He felt his jaw clench, but he uselessly tried to hide his annoyance in front of the sharp-eyed avian.
“Then let’s hope that day never comes.”
—
Multi had a pounding headache, likely coming from the absolute, overwhelming stressful situation he had been put through.
“Multi! Multi! Multi”
“Guys, I— I think there’s no concert today, what the hell?” Multi said nervously, shifting his weight and looking frantically to his sides.
He was going to kill Ewroon.
His eyes caught the sudden flutter of wings. The hybrid standing to his right turned around, his brows furrowed, annoyed.
“Can you stop being so negative?”
Multi was completely taken aback by this guy’s tone. The winged man rolled his eyes aggressively, looking exhausted by Multi's mere presence after knowing him for a few minutes.
Then, the stranger's scowl dissolved back into a bright smile. “Where is Multi?”
The hybrid began scanning the crowd, leaning to Ewroon’s side and talking to him in hushed excitement.
Multi stared at the stranger.
Somewhere deep in his gut, a strange sense of familiarity settled. An inexplicable feeling that he knew the shape of those wings or the sound of that voice. Across his memories, he swears he saw two sets of yellow wings. There’s a yearning inside of him, of something he can’t quite remember.
But Multi quickly ignored it, as he caught sight of a new person.
Someone new arrived at spawn, wearing a blue hoodie with a Pac-Man design.
Multi took his chance and used him as his scapegoat. “Oh! This is Multi! Hello! Hello Multi, nice to meet you.”
The hybrid walked right beside the newcomer, stepping into his personal space. “Oh, this is Multi? You’re Multi?”
The guy in the hoodie looked startled, but immediately put on a serious face. “Hola, mi nombre es Multi.”
The spawn bursted into cheering and loud chatter.
Multi stood frozen as he watched the loud avian interact with the stranger.
For his first day on an island he had no memory of how he’d arrived on, things could be worse.