Shaving was surprisingly fun. Sure, Ed was a little shaky, from both excitement and inexperience, but he managed to avoid cutting himself, which was a start. He cleaned his face of the remaining shaving cream and gave himself a once-over. He looked like his old self again. Well, mostly. His jaw was devoid of any peach fuzz or diffuse hairs you might see on tween boys, and if you looked closely you could see a shadow where he hadn't shaved quite close enough. He rubbed his chin, feeling the odd sand-papery texture when he rubbed against the grain, and odd smoothness when he rubbed with it.
Ed jumped when there was a loud knock on the door. It was his brother. "Ed! Hurry up! I gotta take a piss!"
Ed quickly put his shaving kit away and opened the door for his brother. Jacob eyed him curiously. "Did you shave already? You're only going to have to shave again in the morning. You could've waited until then."
Ed merely shrugged and stepped out of the bathroom, leaving it to his brother. He wondered how Jacob felt about his 12 year old brother already being able to grow a full beard, while he was just starting to be able to grow sideburns. Ever the curious child, Ed decided it was time to do some research.
After several minutes, Jacob finally left the bathroom, his bladder relieved. He was almost immediately ambushed by Ed, who was holding a notebook and pencil. "Ed?"
Ed smiled at his older brother. "Hey, Jacob. I was doing a... project. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"
Jacob crossed his arms and sighed. "I guess. How long is this going to take?"
Ed shrugged. "Oh, not too long."
Ed followed Jacob to his room. Jacob flopped onto his couch while Ed sat in his brother's computer chair. Ed cleared his throat. "My project is on familial genetics. I figured that since you're my older brother, you might know a few more things than I would."
Jacob shrugged and grinned. "Makes sense. Ask away."
Ed looked down at his notepad, pretending to write. "Alright. Um, first question: I've never seen Dad grow a beard before. Can he grow facial hair?"
Jacob half turned to look at his brother from his position on the bed and raised an eyebrow. "No, Dad's never been able to grow facial hair. You know that."
Ed looked up form his notepad. "Don't you think that's a little weird?"
Jacob's brow furrowed as the thought about it. "No. Yes? I don't know. I mean, I grew up knowing he can't grow a beard. I guess it's kind of odd, but it's not really weird to me. It's completely normal."
Ed nodded, pretending to take notes. "So, what about me? Isn't it weird that, at 12 years old I'm already capable of growing a full beard?" Ed held his breath, hoping his question wasn't enough to break whatever perceptions his powers had but his brother under.
Jacob chuckled. "Not as long as you shave before you go to school, you little freak. Ed, what are these questions really about?"
Ed was impressed. The powers really worked. As far as everyone knew, the fact his dad couldn't grow a beard and he could was completely normal to his whole family. Ed shrugged. "I told you, a project."
Jacob sat up on his bed and looked directly at his little brother. "Ed, if you're feeling insecure about your facial hair you know you can talk to me. Heck, at your age I would've done anything to be able to grow a beard like you can. I bet all the kids at your school are jealous. I'm just glad I don't completely take after dad and I can grow anything at all." He tugged lightly at his beginner's sideburns. "Listen, it's getting late. You'd better start getting ready for bed before Mom gets on my case for keeping you up late."
Ed nodded. "You're right." He hopped out of his brother's computer chair. He glanced up at his brother's face. He observed his sideburns and the dark shadow over his upper lip that might some day be a mustache. Ed had an idea. He suddenly gripped his brother in a hug, being sure to pull up the back of his shirt and make skin contact in the process. He'd already successfully tested his "steal" ability, now to try his "copy".
"I want to copy how quickly and dense my beard grows and give it to my brother, being the only one to realize that him having a beard is not completely normal." The thought passed unheard by his older brother. There was, again, a slight tinging and disorientation as his powers took effect.
Ed backed away, his brother surprised by the sudden hug. Jacob laughed. "What was that all about?"
Ed shrugged nonchalantly. "Uh, it's just a thank you for being such a good big brother."
Jason raised an eyebrow curiously. "Since when were you so mushy? Like I said, scram before Mom gets on my case."
Then, suddenly, there it was. Like a time-lapse video, dark stubble grew in over Jason's jaw. Ed hadn't specified the beard length matching his own. It appeared as a generous coating, looking extremely similar to what Ed had before he'd shaved, though instead of being a couple day's worth, Jason appeared to have about a week's worth. Jason ran a hand over the thick stubble on his cheek, but otherwise not reacting to it.
Ed gestured toward his brother's face. "Aren't you going to shave?"
Jason smirked and ran a hand over his almost-beard. "Not just yet. I'm going to see how long I can go without shaving before Mom makes me get rid of it. When I was your age I had to shave everyday before school, so I haven't really been able to really grow it out, you know? Now that I'm 16, I can get away with it a little more, y'know?"
Ed nodded, still amused by his own powers. "Right, sure. I'll, uh, see you later." Ed quickly made his way out of his brother's room. He glanced at the Chronivac's hiding place. He'd really done it. He could copy and steal anybody's physical attributes and lifestyles that he wanted. He had a few more experiments in mind for school tomorrow. But for now, sleep. He did feel oddly tired. Perhaps using his powers used up his energy. That made sense. He dressed in his PJ's and rolled into bed, eager to see what a business day's worth of growth would look like on his face in the morning.