//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Absence Of A Mother // Story: The Bug In The Basement // by Skijarama //------------------------------//     A short while later, Eventide set about preparing something for them to eat. He had enough leftovers, he said, and it wouldn’t be a problem. In the end, he was able to scrounge up a small plate of two apples and leftover chicken from the previous night’s dinner. While Fluttershy and Eventide ate and talked, Beebee remained nicely situated on Buddha’s belly, resting and listening to them discuss various things over their food. Most of it went right over his head, though. Grown-up stuff, he figured.     Eventually, though, Buddha apparently got tired of being used as a makeshift mattress. With a snort of dissatisfaction, she rolled to the side, sending Beebee sliding off and onto the floor. He landed on his rump with a yelp of surprise, then pouted at Buddha in supreme offense. “Heeey! I was napping on you!” he protested in a whine, lightly thwacking his hoof on her hip.     The golden retriever just looked at him with a flat expression for a few moments, unquestionably unamused by the impact. She then rose up to her paws and began to walk away, leaving Beebee behind on the floor. He watched her go, then spun around so his back was to her. He crossed his forelegs over his chest and huffed in an adorably childish sulk, shoving his nose into the air. “Fine!” he called back at her. “I didn’t wanna nap on your tummy anymore, anyway!”     He then noticed Eventide and Fluttershy looking down at him with charmed smiles. He glanced back at Buddha, then at his dad and aunt. A sheepish smile grew on his face. “Uhm… sorry?”     Eventide chortled under his breath and shook his head. “Yeah, you should leave her alone for a little while. You’ve been so hyper today, I don’t think she can really stand much more of it,” he advised, no small amount of mirth in his voice.     Fluttershy gave a nod of agreement. “Yes, and you should probably keep resting anyway. You’re probably pretty worn out, still.”     Beebee groaned in disappointment, but he had to concede the point. As nice as his rest on Buddha had been, he was still feeling pretty worn out. All the same, he got back up onto his hooves to slowly trudge over to the base of the table. Once he got there, he looked up at the people staring down at him. They observed him, curious about what he was up to. His eyes danced back and forth between them for a short time, studying them with his own form of curiosity. When Fluttershy took an absent bite out of what was left of the apple Eventide had given her, he knew his course. After a few moments of figuring out the angle, Beebee crouched and jumped, giving his wings a quick buzz to help him along. He soared up through the air and pulled himself up onto the table without issue, swiftly plonking down onto his backside once he was up. His eyes then fell onto the apple in Fluttershy’s hand. “Um… can I have some of that?” he asked hopefully.     Fluttershy just stared at him, bewildered. After a few moments, she shook herself, cleared her throat and spoke up. “Uhm… Beebee? You don’t usually eat physical food, right?” she asked in confusion.     Beebee nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, but Dada lets me have some of his food every now and then. It doesn’t really fill my tummy, but it tastes good,” he answered before pointing at the apple. “I’ve never had an apple before. May I?”     Fluttershy looked down at her apple, then up at Beebee. She then looked over at Eventide for approval. He just shrugged and gestured vaguely for her to do as she saw fit. With that done, Fluttershy she smiled and looked at Beebee again. “Sure, little guy. Here you go,” she said pleasantly before passing the bug the entire thing.     Beebee’s eyes went wide at first, as he had been expecting only a piece or a slice. Granted Fluttershy had already eaten half of it, but still! He looked at Fluttershy and grinned happily. “Woah! Thank you, Aunt Fluttershy!” he chirped before pulling the apple closer with his hooves and sinking his fangs into it. He let out a thoughtful hum as he ate, clearly giving the taste and texture a great deal of consideration.     Both Eventide and Fluttershy watched him eat, amused and pleased by his demeanor. Beebee couldn’t help but pause briefly in his nibbling as he saw the thick swaths of pink mist falling off of both of them, doubly so from Eventide. He capitalized on it, though, sucking in what he could as he ate with intense inhales. As a result, he began to hiss and snarl through mouthfuls of apple as he ate, surprising both of the adults.     Fluttershy’s mouth formed a surprised ‘o’ at the sound, and she looked over at Eventide in confusion. “Um… does he usually make noises like that?”     Eventide shrugged. “No, not really,” was his response before he turned his attention back to Beebee with an amused smirk. “But I don’t mind. It’s kinda cute.”     Fluttershy couldn’t argue with that and giggled when Beebee let out a particularly loud snort. Sadly, any further discussion was stifled when, suddenly, the sound of singing birds came from Fluttershy’s pocket. She quickly pulled out her phone to check and see who it was that was calling her, and her eyes lit up with recognition. “It’s my mom. Wait a second, please,” she said before answering the device and holding it up to her ear.     Beebee watched her intently as she talked, even as he devoured the apple she had so kindly gifted to him. Her speech was lost on him, though, with one sentence echoing in his mind over all of the others.     “It’s my mom.”     Beebee’s brow furrowed as he swallowed another piece of apple. “Mom…” He watched her for several moments as he gave it some thought, then turned to watch Eventide.     Fluttershy gave a curt nod into her phone. “Okay, Mom, thanks so much for reminding me. I’ll be there soon,” she said before ending the call and stuffing the phone in her pocket. She rose from the chair with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m terribly sorry, you two, but I have to go. I need to be at the animal shelter in a little bit, and my mom was just reminding me to head over there.”     Eventide nodded in understanding. He rose and went to see her to the door  “Alright, we’ll see you later, Fluttershy. Thanks for coming over,” he said before glancing at Beebee over his shoulder. “Say bye, Bee.”     Beebee was snapped out of his ruminations at the sound of his name and looked at Fluttershy with a big smile. He waved happily at her as she made her way for the door. “Bye, Aunt Fluttershy! And thanks for the apple!”     “You’re very welcome, Beebee,” came the response. Fluttershy flashed them both one more heartfelt smile, then slipped outside, closing the door behind her.       Shortly after Fluttershy left, Eventide and Beebee set themselves down on the chair to watch TV. They had wound up settling on a nature documentary channel by Beebee’s request and had spent the last few hours just watching whatever came on the channel. The sun was starting to set now, and the light of the sun had long since turned a deep orange. On the TV screen, a couple of colorful birds could be seen in a tree, tending to their eggs while the narrator talked about what they were doing. Eventide was only paying half-attention to the television if he was being honest. Most of his attention was occupied with his own internal musings, and the feeling of Beebee resting against him.     That all changed when Beebee shifted to look up into Eventide’s eyes. He didn’t say anything, though it was clear he had a question on his mind. Eventide focused on Beebee, sitting upright. “What is it, Bee?” he prodded in a relaxed tone. “Got a question?”     Beebee looked back at the screen for a moment, his wings twitching on his back. “Uhm… Those birds… they’re parents, right?” he said quietly, his voice sounding unsure. “A mama and a dada… taking care of their eggs.”     Eventide nodded slowly. “Yeah. These birds mate for life. They’ll stay together for the rest of their lives.”     “Kind of like you and Aunt Fluttershy?”     Eventide leaned back a bit in surprise, his brow furrowing. “Uh… no. Fluttershy’s your aunt, not your mom. She and I aren’t even in love, so…” he gave an absent shrug.     “So… I don’t have a mama?” Beebee finally asked. Eventide looked away and let out a heavy sigh. Of course, He had known that this question would come up sooner or later, but he had really hoped it wouldn’t. It was hard enough when Beebee caught on to the fact that he was adopted… Eventide sat up a bit more and muted the TV with the remote.     “I’m sorry, Beebee, but no. At least, not one who’s here. I mean, you never know. Maybe you do have a mom out there, somewhere. But if you do, she isn’t here…” he said gently while holding Beebee close. “Fluttershy’s not your mom, but she does love you. And so do I.”     Beebee gave a slow, hesitant nod, although he visibly relaxed, undoubtedly from the love that Eventide was making an active effort to emphasize internally. Beebee rotated in his father’s arms to return the hug, wrapping his forelegs around his neck and resting his chin on his shoulder. “I love you two, too,” he said in a hushed voice, closing his eyes. Not far away, resting on her side with her back against the coffee table, Buddha turned her eyes to watch them, curious.     Eventide saw this and smirked. “And I think Buddha probably loves you more than the rest of us,” he observed playfully. Beebee leaned back and craned his neck to look at the dog in question, and his face lit up a little with a small smile.     “Yeah, Buddha really doesn’t hold back. She lets out a lot,” he acknowledged with a small laugh. But then, Beebee looked back at Eventide with his somber expression returning. “So… how come I don’t have a mama? Why isn’t Fluttershy my mama?” he asked in a soft, unsure tone, his face falling.     Eventide hesitated for a second, his brain working to find a good way to answer his son’s question. Eventually though, as always, he settled for the truth. “Well… I mean, I guess Fluttershy is kind of your mom. She’s helped me take care of you ever since I found you, and she’s here whenever I can’t be, but, well… we call her your aunt because that’s a somewhat closer equivalent. And you remember how I found your egg under the tree in the yard, right?”     “Uh-huh.”     “At that point, you weren’t my son. But then you hatched, you came into my life as a grub, and, well, six months later, here we are. And don’t forget Pete,” Eventide reiterated with his smile returning. “Maybe you don’t have a full-time mommy, but you do have us. You’re our Pete, and we’re your birds.”     Beebee gave another smile at that, his expression brightening at the memory. He leaned into the hug again, looking past Eventide and out the window. For a time, the two were silent, just enjoying the other’s embrace. Eventide took the opportunity to shut off the TV when the documentary shifted gears to lions on the hunt for some wild elk. Beebee didn’t need to see that, especially not right now.     “Do you have a mama and dada?” Beebee suddenly asked, his question coming completely out of nowhere. Eventide went outright rigid at the question, and Beebee suddenly drew back, a guilty look on his face. “O-oh no! Why are you upset?! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad!” he quickly apologized in a frantic voice, scooting back a little.     Eventide sucked in a breath and shook his head dismissively while forcing down his feelings. “No, no, you’re fine. I’m not upset with you, Beebee,” he assured quickly, though he did gently move Beebee down to the floor so he wouldn’t have to be right in the flow of the emotions.     “But you are upset!” Beebee protested, taking a few steps back once he was on the floor. “Dark blue, black… red,” he shuddered and backed away even more. “There’s a lot of red in there…”     Eventide turned his eyes up to the ceiling, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another, and another. After almost twenty seconds of breathing, he got his rampaging thoughts in order and looked down at Beebee again. Those large, glowing blue eyes were boring up into him, filled with an apology and boundless curiosity. Eventide sighed and slid out of the chair and onto his knees in front of Beebee. “Okay, Beebee, look… I do have a mom and dad, your grandparents. But I would really appreciate it if you didn’t ask me about them, okay?”     Beebee tilted his head in confusion at the tone in Eventide’s voice. “But… why not? Do they know about me?” he asked carefully, flinched back a little, presumably at more outpouring emotions from Eventide.     Eventide shook his head slowly. “No… they don’t. And I’m not going to tell them about you, either. Not anytime soon, at least.”     Beebee inched forwards a little, his ears standing up with curiosity. “Are they… bad people?” he pressed tentatively.     Eventide’s eyes drifted away from Beebee, finding the dull grayish-brown carpet under them far more interesting. “...No. They’re good people. I’m just…” he shuddered at the memory. “I’m just not on the best of terms with my mom. We had a bit of a… disagreement before I moved here.”     “What were you disagreeing about?”     Eventide shook his head. “Beebee-”     “What were you disagreeing about? Why not let them know I’m here?” Beebee asked in a more pressing voice, his eyes pleading. “I have a grandpa and a grandma. Why can’t I meet them? Why don’t you like your mom?”     Eventide screwed his eyes shut and lifted a finger in warning. “Beebee… please stop. I get that you want to know, I do, and I’ll happily tell you when you’re a bit older. But my parents… or, rather, my mother is a very touchy subject. I had to deal with a lot of drama because of her, and you already have a lot to deal with,” he explained before opening his eyes. “So please don’t ask me about her again. Or, at the very least, wait until we’ve moved and gotten settled in wherever we’re going.”     Beebee gave a slow nod and looked down at the floor. “Okay, Dada… I’m sorry I made you mad,” he apologized softly, his ears drooping along with his wings.     Eventide saw the sad sight and visibly wilted. He scooted forwards and gingerly scooped Beebee up into his arms, holding him tight against his chest. “Hey… I’m sorry I scared you…” he whispered quietly into his son’s ear while gingerly stroking the back of his head with a hand.     Beebee hiccuped, then nodded as he clung to Eventide’s chest. “I kn-know… I can s-see it…” he choked out before going silent.     Buddha, at this point, seemed to finally get fed up with just watching them interact. She rose to her paws and quickly made her way over to them, a concerned look on her face. She sat down in front of Eventide and softly put her muzzle between Beebee’s wings, allowing the small bug to know she was there and feel her comforting presence. It seemed to work, too, as within a few minutes, he visibly relaxed. Eventually, he turned around and lifted a hoof to stroke Buddha’s cheek.     “Th-thanks, Buddha… good puppy,” he said weakly before leaning into Eventide again. “I’m tired, Dada. I think I’m ready for sleep…” he mumbled, his voice indeed getting drowsy.     Eventide nodded. “Alright, if you say so,” he said before standing up and tenderly carrying his son down to the basement, tucking him in and wishing him goodnight.