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 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:44 am
“Yes!” Cary exclaimed, a little more excited than he meant to be. His brother was just so smart, and he didn’t have to fumble to come up with the name himself, and Ethan didn’t think he was weird!
He didn’t know if it was smart; he’d like to think that it was, but Cary wouldn’t give himself that much credit. He knew he had some quirks so he did everything in his power to try and be as normal as possible. He was either hiding them very well or Ethan was just as good as he thought he was. Or both!
He wore a little smile as he took a small bite of the sandwich, and it was only after he’d entirely chewed and swallowed that he spoke again.
“Silkies, that’s right. And they should have some chicks, too. If we stop at the library before we head back, I’ll show you the website I saw it on.” He had a few library books in his bag, he’d take any excuse he could to make a stop there. Although, he should probably spend a little more time studying, but…”
Oh, Ethan had such a nice smile. It was so easy to get lost in the way his eyes lit up. The sun was hitting his face just perfectly, he looked like he was glowing.
His heart skipped a beat and he suddenly hoped his hair wasn’t as messy as it felt. He wished he’d gotten the sap off of the table.
Oh, he hoped he hadn’t been staring or making a weird face. He cleared his throat and asked, “Ethan, who designs your uniforms? Do you make them, too?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:44 am
“Of course I design and make them,” Ethan laughed, like how could anyone think otherwise, but he lifted a hand to wave dismissively at the thought. Not at Cary! Just the thought of his performances in general.
“That’s not to say I don’t have anyone helping me out. I’m not great with sewing. Glenn-- my older brother. The firefighter. He’s a lot better at sewing than I am, but I’ll at least double and triple check to make sure nothing falls apart.”
It was obvious that he was quite proud of his outfits. He thought they were pieces of artwork, and he spent a lot of time making them work with the music and theme he was going for.
“But… I don’t know if I’m spending too much time on the art and not on the jumps. More points if I can land more jumps. The artistry is just extra,” he waved his hand again before taking another bite.
“Some skaters get away with wearing their training outfits! But, they also make gold at the Olympics, so I guess it’s fine,” he huffed, but then flashed a grin to make sure Cary knew he was just joking.
---
Teddy smiled as he listened. He was excited about seeing the silkies and peacocks. But he also had fun listening to Cary and Ethan talk. It was nice that his brother had a friend. Besides, he didn’t have much to say, himself. So he could focus on eating his sandwich.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:44 am
Cary spent much of his time thinking about Teddy–what would be best for him, what would make him happy, what he could do to help, what he could do to make sure he was okay–there was a never-ending dialogue in his head.
If he wasn’t thinking about Teddy, he was thinking about what he should be doing, not necessarily for himself but just in terms of what he needed to do. Study enough that he wasn’t getting in trouble at school, keep the house clean so he stayed on his uncle’s good side, work hard, save everything. Keep a low profile. Get the sap off this table, he could feel it stabbing into his arm.
Ethan was looking right at him so he couldn’t sneakily try to pick it off; he held his arm over it and figured that was good enough.
The running dialogue in his head slowed–stopped, sometimes–when Ethan was there. He could just forget about all the worries, all the obligations. Maybe he’d feel bad about it later, but for right now he could just enjoy how warm his laugh was.
Ethan could have spent his time with anyone else, but he was here with them. Cary’s heart was loud in his chest and he absentmindedly rubbed it with his free hand before he just smiled and shook his head.
“I don’t know much about that,” he admitted, because it wasn’t like he’d actually watched the Olympics with any consistency–well, no, he’d watched some in the library because Ethan talked about such things and he wanted to be able to keep up with the conversation. “But I think it’s really neat that you have so many talents. It sounds a little exhausting.”
But Ethan had so much energy and dedication!
Cary might have had more time and energy if he didn’t spend it all worrying.
“Do you–do you have sketchbooks with ideas?” Was that a real thing? Ethan liked to show off but Cary didn’t want to pry. “I mean, I’d like to see. It sounds like you put a lot of work into all of your performances. I mean, I know you do, I know you practice for them. I just didn’t know there was so much else you did behind the scenes. I hope–I mean, if you wanted to share, I’d like to learn more about your costuming.”
And see them up close, or at least with pictures. He couldn’t help it! Cary was uncreative. He felt like a mule in a herd of show ponies. But, that just meant that he was always interested and impressed by what everyone else was doing! And just because he didn’t have any amazing or creative skills or talents didn’t mean he didn’t love to see what everyone else could do!
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:45 am
“I do have sketchbooks with ideas,” Ethan practically beamed with pride. He was clearly very interested in the design process, almost as much as the skating itself. “I’d love to get your opinions. I’ve been having trouble deciding on fabrics. Maybe you could come with me when I go shopping, if you have time. Teddy can come too, of course.”
Because Cary without Teddy seemed almost impossible. And that was okay. He was close to his siblings, but he couldn’t imagine being able to tolerate them for so long. Cary and Teddy were different, though. With Teddy being so much younger, it would be like Jack keeping an eye on him and Ewan. Although, he supposed that was kind of what his brother was doing now. Mostly Glenn, though.
“Let’s make it a date. We can grab dessert or something once we’re done. Or-- oh! I know of some food trucks that are pretty popular. Do you like cheese?”
---
“I like cheese,” Teddy picked his head up to watch Ethan, and then looked over to see what Cary’s reaction was. “That sounds like fun,” he said, although shopping was kind of boring. He knew Cary liked doing things with Ethan, so any excuse to get him to be around him was a good thing.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:45 am
Make it a date? Oh, his stomach was doing somersaults. Of course that wasn’t what Ethan meant, Cary already knew, but there was that part of him that was desperate to dream big. And Teddy had piped up so quickly.
Cary tried with some success not to stare at Teddy quizzically but he was pretty sure Teddy actually did not enjoy shopping at all. And he didn’t enjoy cheese that much.
Maybe he was trying to give Cary an excuse to hang out with Ethan. Cary nodded instinctively, before he could even think if poor Teddy wouldn’t just be bored out of his mind tagging along with them.
“That sounds fun,” he agreed, but only because Teddy had said it first! Cary felt a little warm, mostly in his face, and tucked his hair behind his ear sheepishly.
“I’d like that a lot, yeah. But, um–I don’t know if I have good opinions.” He didn’t think he needed to explain that he had no experience with deciding fabrics, and his opinion on fashion was probably even worse than that, but he wanted to spend time with Ethan. “Teddy’s got a better eye for things like that than I do. But I mean, he’s an artist, so–”
Especially if Ethan wanted to dress up like birds.
Cary forced himself to clear his throat so he couldn’t insist how useless he’d be to Ethan. He wanted to spend time with him, he just didn’t want to get Ethan’s hope up. He probably already knew Cary wasn’t skilled and was sort of dead weight. Cary tried not to think about it too much and just enjoy that Ethan wanted to spend time with him. Even if it might have just been out of pity.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:45 am
“I think you have great opinions,” Ethan countered confidently. “I like everything you’ve suggested, and you have good ideas for places to visit.” He hoped he wasn’t putting Cary on the spot too much. He didn’t want to scare him away now after everything. He’d been trying so hard to be chill about things. He just needed to make sure that Cary wouldn’t think him too weird to hang around.
And Teddy likes cheese! Perfect. Ethan cast a glance and grin in Teddy’s direction. Maybe even a little wink of gratitude.
“Good thing Teddy will be coming along too, then. I could always use the eye of another artist. But I also need someone who is more practical. Sometimes I get carried away and need Ewan or Glenn to tell me if I’m being too over the top,” he laughed, because while he did take his brothers’ opinions to heart, they were pretty helpless when it came to having an eye for things.
“Hey, thanks for coming to hang out with me. The other skaters are usually so competitive I can only hang out with a couple of them before I feel like I’m going crazy. I know you said you’ll eat anything, but if there’s anything you want to try, let me know.”
----
Teddy was glad that Cary relented. Ethan was good for him. And it was obvious that Cary liked being around him. He was a lot more enthusiastic about things when Ethan was there. And having any good thing to look forward to was better than what they had waiting for them at home.
And Ethan was nice to both of them. He hadn’t sent him away so he could hang out with only Cary. And he was always inviting him along. It was almost like having another brother.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:46 am
Cary laughed quietly, cheeks flushing faintly. “Well–yeah, any time. We can hang out whenever,” he said, briefly lost in the illusion. He quickly corrected, “Well–I mean, if our schedules work up!”
If he could get out of the house and bring Teddy along.
Cary hated the awkward and anxious feeling that blossomed in his stomach whenever he thought too hard about anything he’d already said. He often found himself replaying conversations in his head and cringing about how foolish he sounded, and even now he was wincing. Why did Ethan even want to hang out with him! He sounded so weird! He was so sure Ethan was just being kind, saying sweet things because he had a good heart. It made him smile, anyway.
“Thanks for hanging out with me, Ethan. I always like spending time with you,” he said, a bit softer. It wasn’t that Teddy wasn’t invited to the conversation, only that Cary just wanted to make sure Ethan knew how sincere his words were. Cary knew he didn’t really compete with the talented skaters, and he doubted that they were so competitive. Ethan was so charismatic and likable, he was sure that anyone would have been happy to spend time with him.
…Cary was just glad that he was the one who got to do it today.
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