Work Text:
Click click click.
Wilbur pauses in the rocky doorway leading out of the meeting room deep in Pogtopia, looking back over his shoulder with a shocked expression, the first time in a long time he's expressed anything other than a worried scowl. That sound...
Y/N gazes back at him with large eyes, wrapping the weighted woolly blanket tighter over her shoulders.
A feathered tail swishes gently behind her, eager, and the soot coloured feathers behind her ears raise slightly, hopefully.
Finally.
Maybe she can get his attention this way.
She swallows and does it again, bird instincts making a quiet clicking sound deep in her throat, accompanied by her tail fluffing up.
Click click click.
I need you, is what those clicks mean.
Wilbur's large brown wings shudder in response, the tall young man twisting to face her, a mixture of emotions on his face.
Y/N blushes softly when the other's brown eyes gaze deeply into hers, no longer having that glazed appearance which caused an ugly feeling in her stomach.
There's a flash of movement, and she startles as Wilbur darts across the room to kneel in front of her, looking up while his tail wags slightly.
A soft, yearning trill echoes through the room in response to her sounds.
When she looks down at him, she makes a sad warble at the sight of his slowly fraying trenchcoat, at the dark bags under Wilbur's eyes and at the way his face is beginning to appear gaunt and ghostly, wings folding behind her back instead of in their relaxed position. His face crumples at Y/N's sounds and withdrawn wings, avian instincts unconsciously responding with an apologetic croak to whatever he's done wrong.
"Please-" Wilbur whines softly, shifting on the stony floor as he gazes at her with confused desperation. His hands come up to grip her weighted blanket tightly, running his thumbs over the knitted orange fabric.
"Please Y/N, my angel, you sound so beautifully sad. What's the matter?"
She doesn't say anything for a moment, watching as he scans her face worriedly, speckled tail flicking occasionally. Finally, Y/N leans down cups his cheek gently as she whispers, "I've been so lonely Wilby. You've left me here alone in this place without you for months. I just want my mate back."
Wilbur's pupils shrink in horror as he processes what the other avian says, tail feathers lowering.
"I-"
He shakes his head, still confused, sitting up a bit more so he can be closer to her.
"But darling, I brought you here so you could be safe with me. I'm here-"
"You keep ignoring me Will, barely talking to me. For months. It's like I'm nothing. This is the first fucking time you've talked to me in weeks."
The words come out flat, but behind them a woeful chirp echoes.
His expression morphs into something of shock and fear and regret as the penny drops for him. The countless days in Pogtopia had begun to blur together, but apparently not for his mate.
"I-I have?" Wilbur's voice is hoarse as his wings begin shaking. "Oh god Y/N, I didn't mean to-didn't know I was-didn't see that-" He cuts himself off as he rises into a standing position and moves close to his mate, carefully brushing hair out of her face. The distraught male sits beside Y/N on the couch and pulls her into an embrace, blanket and all, the feeling of his lanky form cuddling her again sending a relieved shiver through her wings.
She sees his wings copy her shivering, Wilbur inhaling sharply against her neck at the sensation, a needy croak escaping him.
"Oh fuck, I missed you darling." He whines his realisation into her skin, arms tight but comfortable around her waist.
"I'm so fucking sorry. I didn't realise I was ignoring you, and for so LONG. You're not nothing to me, you're my everything and I'm sorry I've made you feel like shit Y/N."
With another croak he pulls away from her neck and holds her face in his hands so Wilbur can pepper Y/N's face with kisses, blinking away tears.
"I love you darling," He murmurs, pressing his forehead to hers, letting out a breathy laugh of relief when a hand comes up and brushes away a tear trailing down his face with her thumb instead of pushing him away.
"I love you so fucking much."
It breaks the dam, and suddenly they're both crying, Y/N surging into her mate's arms and crying against his neck while he presses his face into her hair and clutches her closer, breaths gasping and raw as his eyes burn with tears.
He's back. Her Wilbur is back, and here, and holding her, crying with her. The cracks in Y/N's heart begin to knit together again.
They stay together crying for a long time, draining most of the loneliness, isolation from each other and grief out of their system.
It's Y/N who pulls away first, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her blanket, eyes red-rimmed as she holds Wilbur's hand. He leans against her shoulder, rubbing his eyes tiredly. They hook one of their legs together on the couch, the action again familiar and reassuring that things were going to be okay.
"I've felt like hell all this time. You promise you won't leave me alone again Will?" Y/N asks him quietly, glancing up at her tall mate, sooty coloured wings shifting on her back. "You promise that this vendetta you have against Schlatt and the others won't affect us?"
Wilbur takes her hands in his, kissing her knuckles gently, eyes shining with both appreciation for his mate's forgiveness and regret for what he did to her.
"I. Promise." He emphasises his words slowly, assuredly. "I promise you Y/N, my mate, my perfect angel, that I will never fall back into that mindset again and hurt you. Never ever."
His mate smiles softly, clicking in the back of her throat again, this time not to get his attention. Wilbur smiles too, clicking right back.
I need you.
I need you too.