Growth
"Ugh… haah…."
How long had it been since I'd slept this well?
"Nnngh…!"
Sunlight poured through the wide-open window, warming my face. Feeling thoroughly refreshed, I stretched my arms high overhead.
"Hwaaah…."
I was mid-yawn, one wing lifted to cover my mouth, when—
"…Finally awake, huh."
A fragrant scent I'd never smelled before drifted over, accompanied by Huey's voice — somehow sounding a little worn out.
"Why are you here?"
I tilted my head, still not quite grasping the situation. He stepped closer.
—Thwack!
"Peep!?"
His eyes, ringed with dark circles as if he'd pulled an all-nighter, met mine for a brief second. Then he smacked me square on the forehead with whatever he was holding.
"What the hell are you— mmph!"
"This isn't your room. It's mine. Eat this and get back to your own room already."
Before I could finish yelling about what he thought he was doing, something soft and springy was shoved into my mouth. The texture was bouncy yet smooth, and I instinctively bit down on about half of it.
"Mmph…."
I was still savoring the faintly salty, tender something when—
"Here. Another bite."
"Ah… mmph."
This time it was a little crumblier, with a rich, nutty flavor. Every time I swallowed, more of it found its way into my mouth as if by natural law. I just kept accepting it.
"Gulp. Okay, seriously, what is this all of a sudden?"
When it seemed I'd finished, he held out a cup of water. I took it in both wings and sipped, then protested that cramming food into someone's mouth the second they woke up was a bit much.
"Breakfast time already passed, so just eat this. And put some damn clothes on properly."
Huey turned his back on me, waving a hand toward one side of the room.
"I pulled those out while you were sleeping."
"Ah. Right."
Only then did I notice the draft around my crotch. I gathered up the underwear and bottoms he'd pointed to, pulled them on haphazardly, and announced:
"I'm dressed."
"Then go to your room. Let me get some sleep."
I watched him quietly. He was oddly determined not to meet my eyes. Looking closer, I saw he was sitting in a chair, fiddling with something.
"What's that?"
Curiosity overflowing, I asked. Huey answered without looking up.
"What you just ate."
I'd been wondering what that was, so I drifted closer — drawn also by the unusually pleasant scent coming off him today. He'd shoved something into my mouth out of nowhere and I'd just eaten it, but… what exactly had he fed me?
"What are you hiding so carefully that you—"
I stepped up beside him and saw something I could not believe.
"HEY—!!"
"Ow, damn it. My eardrums."
An oval egg with a familiar milky-white shell. He'd apparently boiled it while I slept, and was now peeling the shell off with one hand.
"You— you you— yoooou—!!"
The moment I realized what I'd just happily eaten, my face went nuclear. I didn't even try to hide it.
"What? You've been eating everything I cook just fine. Why the freak-out all of a sudden?"
"Th-that's completely different—!!"
I shouted at him. Huey just looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"…It's the same thing, though?"
He brushed the remaining shell crumbs off the egg with a few casual taps of his fingers, then — right in front of me — took a big bite.
"Mmph. Tastes fine to me."
Watching him do that, I—
"Ugh, ah, uuugh…!"
—suddenly remembered the way he'd licked the… fluids… off the surface of the egg I'd laid last night.
"You pervert—!!"
My nipples had been sticking out shamelessly since morning, so I wrapped both wings around my chest to hide them, screamed that, and fled — leaving Huey sitting there mid-bite, staring after me with a thoroughly baffled expression.
And so I bolted to my room without even stopping to breathe.
"Ah, for real… I was out of my mind!"
I threw myself face-first onto the bed and thrashed, silently screaming as the previous night's memories slowly resurfaced.
—You can touch my chest more if you want.
I had genuinely lost it. Yes. Heat had fried my brain. That was the only possible explanation. There was no way I would have said something like that otherwise.
"Ren."
Sure, having my stomach rubbed had felt good… and my chest, too… if I was being honest, that had also felt good…!
"Ren?"
Anyway, I couldn't just keep drowning in this body's pleasure. If I ever wanted to return to my original form, I needed to start practicing a little more self-restrai—
"Ren!"
"Peeeyaahk—!?"
Holy—!!
"…Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you that badly."
"Lu-Lu-Lucy? How long have you—?"
I hadn't sensed anyone coming in at all.
"I saw you sprinting to your room on my way back from a walk and followed you. You really didn't notice?"
She tilted her head as if she'd assumed I must have known she was there. I just clamped my mouth shut.
…There was no way I could admit I'd been completely lost in last night's memories.
"At any rate, it seems you had quite an enjoyable evening. I never imagined you wouldn't even come back to your own room."
"…Peep."
Lucy looked at me with the eyes of someone who'd just found a fascinating new toy.
"Heh. You spent the whole night in Master's room, I see… So, did you finally do it?"
She made a ring with the thumb and index finger of one hand, then poked her other index finger through it.
Even someone as uninterested in that stuff as me knew roughly what that gesture meant.
—Thwack!
"Ow."
"What are you even saying, you little brat."
I calmly lifted a wing and bonked her on the crown of the head.
"Who are you calling a brat?!"
"You."
I stuck my tongue out at her. She bristled at the word "brat."
"Oh…? Is that a challenge?"
"Bring it."
At this rate she was going to launch herself at me the way she did with Huey, so I quietly prepared to counter. Lucy crossed her arms with a look of pure disdain.
"Fine. I'll settle for your chest today."
"…Huh?"
Words that made me doubt my own ears tumbled out of Lucy's mouth.
"This is your weak spot, isn't it?"
Hoping against hope that she was joking, I kept my mouth shut like a mute. She uncrossed her arms and started making kneading motions with her hands.
"Wow, I've never seen Master that worked up before. He was completely absorbed, just kneading away."
"Peep… peeyaahk—!"
I had no choice but to concede defeat.
"Well, even when I was wrapping the bandages I wanted to squeeze them once. They really are that soft."
"Stop! Stooop—!"
Only after I circled behind her and wrapped my wings over her mouth did I manage to ask:
"You… saw…?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
So she had watched my entire disgraceful performance from start to finish last night. And then she'd pretended not to know just so she could provoke me.
"I slept soundly under Ren's wings last night."
……
"And tomorrow night, and the night after. From now on, I will always sleep under Ren's wings. Agreed?"
……
"If you'd rather not… well, my mouth is starting to itch. I suppose I should go have a little chat with Cheonyu first…"
"R-right! Wings, yes. You slept under the wings! My head was a little fuzzy so I forgot. Whew…."
Come to think of it, this kid wasn't exactly normal either. She'd been suspiciously quiet for a while — clearly waiting for a moment just like this.
"Heh. Wise decision."
"Ugh. Anyway, what did you come for?"
Lucy approached with a bright little smile. I asked what business she had first thing in the morning.
"I came to wrap your bandages, of course."
"Ah."
She held up the bundle of bandages in her hand so I could see it clearly.
"I can cover myself with your wings tonight, so please remove your clothes for now."
"…Fine."
My chest had been bouncing around annoyingly since earlier anyway, so this time I obediently stripped and sat on the edge of the bed.
However…
"Hmm."
"…What is it now."
Time passed and I still didn't feel any bandages being tied. I turned to look behind me — and found Lucy staring holes through my chest.
"This… is not a joke, by the way?"
"Okay, just tell me why."
"Your chest seems to have gotten bigger."
"…What?"
That was ridiculous—
"Looking closely, your hair in the back seems a little longer too… No, wait. Now that I think about it, it's weirder that your hair hasn't grown at all until now."
When she asked if she could feel them for a moment, I nodded. Lucy carefully placed her hands on my chest.
—Squish.
"Mm, this is… hmm…."
"Nnh…."
She set her hands under my breasts and worked them with subtle little motions. The memory of Huey's hands exploring my chest last night flashed through my mind and I flinched — but somehow managed to hold still.
"I see… No wonder Master was kneading them like a man possessed."
"Shut up."
I glared at her as she murmured in what sounded like genuine admiration. Lucy smacked her lips as if disappointed, then finally pressed the bandages to my chest.
"At any rate, they have definitely gotten a little bigger."
"…I really didn't need these to grow."
"Agreed. If they were mine it would be one thing, but I have no interest in watching someone else's chest get larger."
She was smiling, but the force in her bandaging hands told me her mood had soured considerably.
"There. Done."
"Thanks."
With Lucy's help I got the bandages on and dressed again.
"Well then, I'll see you later."
"Yeah."
She suggested a walk after lunch and headed off to her own room. I saw her out, then quietly patted my now-tamed front with a wing and muttered under my breath.
"If something's gonna grow, could it at least be my height…."