Chapter Text
The breeze hit Wifies in the back, pushing him forward ever so slightly. Parrot was walking in front of him by a small fraction, and the leaves ruffled underneath his feet. The walk to the next city was peaceful and relaxing. Wifies had been selfishly sucking up every feeling of this since they left. Not having one definitive place to stay meant simply stopping by neighboring areas for a few nights rest and then heading to the next stop. Wifies didn't mind the constant moving as long as he was with Parrot. Though left unsaid, Wifies' contentment was felt with every syllable his wordless actions could muster. It made him feel alive, like he was truly a person.
Parrot hummed an unfamiliar tune, neither party speaking even as they entered the gates of the city. This city was huge, bigger than a normal one, and bursting with energy. Anxiety spiked through Wifies, and he instinctively captured Parrot's sleeve as they made their way through the slew of people. Parrot looked back at him for a fraction of a second, enough for Wifies to catch the change in expression on his face. He gripped tighter as they make their way to the front doors of the Inn.
"Alright, this is it I guess. I really hope it's nicer than the last one," Parrot stated, breaking the content silence they had fallen into.
Wifies simply hummed in agreement, dropping Parrot's sleeve as they pushed through the door and into the entryway. A small lady was standing behind a wooden desk to the left of the room, a bright smile evading the new presence of people.
"Welcome to the Farmer's Inn, how many I help ya' today?" Her voice boomed, and Parrot returned her smile with similar enthusiasm.
"We were wonder if you had any two-bed rooms available for tonight? We're simply traveling through," Parrot responded politely.
"Hmm..," The old lady flipped through a small check-in book that sat on the table. "Let's see here," She took a moment to look and then spoke again, "I'm sorry to disappoint boys, looks like all we have left is a one bed for the night. Would that still interest ya'?"
Parrot and Wifies both made eye contact, and Wifies simply shrugged. Outwardly he probably seemed indifferent, but on the inside his mind was reeling. He suspected Parrot to reject this offer but his response surprised him.
"We'll take it, if you would be willing to extend your hospitality," Parrot replied, no hesitation in his voice.
"Fantastic! Just two emeralds then my dears, I'll even cut ya' a deal," The lady smiled, noting the purchase in her book as Parrot handed over the payment.
She showed them to their room, located on the second floor down a short hallway, and then left them to it. Wifies and Parrot made their way into the room and sat their stuff down. The room was small, but not terribly so, with a desk in the corner of the room. There was also a door to their immediate right, presumably a bathroom, and this was definitely better than the last place, Wifies thought to himself. Parrot faced him finally once they'd settled in a bit.
"I can just take the floor, sorry bro, If we walk anymore today I genuinely think my legs will give up on me," He said, sitting down in the desk chair and leaning back in relief.
It took Wifies aback for a moment before he replied, "Dude no, I'll take the floor I really don't care."
"Are you really going to make me argue with you over who has to sleep on the floor?" Parrot deadpanned, eyeing him from the side and sighing dramatically against the piercing white walls.
"Not arguing, I'm resugggesting," Wifies retorted, not letting up. "I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor, you know that. You literally just said your feet were killing you."
"I'm not listening, don't care," Parrot replied, smiling as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the top rail of the chair.
Wifies rolled his eyes at his silly demeanor and decided this is a fight he is only willing to attempt after he was out of the clothes he was currently imprisoned in. He collected a change of clothing, and headed to the bathroom to shower. Once out, Parrot followed suit and Wifies took the chance to make a pallet on the floor with an extra blanket he always carried in his enderchest.
Parrot stepped out of the bathroom and huffed into the air once he spotted Wifies. Wifies pretended not to notice him, eyes already closed, and Parrot leaned over him aligning his face with his.
"Wifies," He poked Wifies in the side with his foot, "Wifies, Wifies, Wifies," He continued, mimicking his own voice in a typical parrot fashion. "Get up, I'm not playing."
Wifies refused to budge, pretending to be asleep despite knowing that it was absolutely not working in the slightest. Parrot paused for a moment before a new idea seemingly blossomed in his head, and Wifies felt a presence drop down beside him. All at once he felt two hands against his side, pushing him into rolling over once, and then again. His eyes shot open as he began resisting back against the pressure.
"What the hell, stop that!" Wifies shouted out, sitting up, hair thoroughly ruffled due to the interaction.
Parrot was smiling in a wild mischievous manner, "Get up, go get in the bed," His tone sharp but playful. "We aren't fighting about this, seriously."
"Not doing it. Let's just go to sleep," Wifies replied as he crossed his arms in a stubborn manner.
"Wifies," Parrot protested.
"Parrot," He replied, not letting up.
"Okay dude you know what, let's just both sleep in the bed," Parrot snapped, beginning to pull Wifies up into a standing position. "It literally doesn't even matter that much and I'm tired."
Wifies' reflection flickered in surprise for a second, "Okay, yeah, sorry Parrot," He said, partly not wanting to actually upset him while the other part of him was screaming internally.
"Come on, come on," He ushered Wifies to the bed patting his back forward. Wifies' previously resistant body folded immediately under his touch, obliging completely. Wifies hesitantly got into the left side of the bed, and Parrot slipped into the right side just after him. The bed was just big enough for the two of them despite their equal argument. The mattress was soft and it was honestly such a relief after so many harsh Inn experiences that he almost forgot about his current predicament. Parrot melted into the blankets while facing him, immediately making himself comfortable, nesting his face against the pillow. Wifies' heart leaped, and Parrot spoke one final time, "Alright, goodnight Wifies," and he closed his eyes.
Wifies closed his eyes too, but he was very much still awake. His heart pounded against his chest and he genuinely thought his soul would jump out of his body when he felt Parrot adjust a little. 'What the hell,' He thought, his brain short circuiting. Ever since starting this journey with Parrot, this second chance, he'd been trying not to get too close. Avoiding being obvious, different, had been the only goal in mind for the past couple of weeks. At first it was a sort of hyper focused task that required a lot of mental manpower, but something was changing. It was becoming harder to think through stuff, through his actions, and he was finding himself doing things on autopilot lately. Parrot made him feel truly human, so much so to the point that he wasn't able to stop the cloud that found its way over his vision. He was real, really here, and not only that but his feelings were even more real. They came to life in reactions, and clung to his sleeve. Not getting too close to Parrot was becoming harder to manage, and Wifies was finding himself releasing control of almost every situation he was put in.
It was manageable though, until now, as he faced Parrot's sleeping figure, the outline of his nose glistening in the moonlight. He thought back to when he first woke back up here, in this particular timeline, if that's what you would call it. A perfect moment of opportunity, the conversation about leaving to explore, Parrot's surprising agreement. He thought of all the things that have changed just in this past month, all the differences between them that he was clinging onto for dear life.
His thoughts slowly got quieter as the exhaustion finally hit him, and eventually he became encapsulated in sleep.
Wifies woke up all at once, a warm presence at his side. For a moment everything stood still against the silence of the room, until the sound of soft breathing reached his ears. Once heard it was all his senses attended to, and it began to slowly pull him back into a half asleep state. His brain thought of nothing in particular in this moment, only felt. Felt the warmth, the softness, tenderly building up and over his body in repeated waves. That was until the warmth shifted, knocking Wifies off of his axis. His eyed widened as he finally came back into reality. He blinked a few times, and the shifting to his right grew still. Wifies gained the courage in that moment to look over, only for Parrot to be staring directly back at him, with a much more relaxed expression than Wifies wore.
"Parrot..?" Wifies questioned, sleep still wrapped around his throat. Parrot's lips curved up just slightly, his bangs falling just slightly down towards the pillow as he turned his face to look at Wifies properly.
"Hm?" Parrot replied softly, making no effort to move. The sun had invited itself inside their room just slightly, encompassing the space in a light glow of early day. Wifies bathed in it for a second, and then two, before finding courage in the back of his mind to make a half-hearted reply.
"Morning," Wifies muttered back in the same tone as Parrot, voice unsure against the unexpected domesticity. Parrot simply hummed back again in response, eyes closing slowly. His eyelashes flickered against his cheek with each long blink, and Wifies could do nothing but stare embarrassingly at him. Despite this, Parrot didn't seem to mind or notice at all, as his breathing evened back out. Wifies couldn't help but chuckle at this, everlastingly amused at just how cute Parrot truly was. Time seemed to stretch on for forever as they laid there for a bit longer, neither person moving. Wifies slowly felt the weight of the calm mood bring him deeper into the mattress, and before he knew it his eyes began to give into the feeling.
When Wifies awoke again it was a bit later in the morning, and Parrot was standing in the corner of the room. He was rustling through his chest, carefully setting things down on the floor beside him as silently as he could, obviously trying not to awake Wifies from his slumber. Wifies smiled at this, sitting up and stretching out his arms with a signaled huff.
Parrot snapped his head toward him in surprise before he quickly turned back around, continuing his sorting. Wifies joined him in getting prepared for the day, packing up what little items were scattered about. As he finished up, he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Parrot's back as he finished packing up as well.
Wifies knew what was next. Besides the unexpected sleeping situation, their lives up until this point had become a comforting routine. They packed up, explored whatever current village they had found themselves in, and moved on to the next place. They never stayed in one place. It was a comforting feeling, something Wifies dreamed of in his past life.
The thought stopped him in his tracks for a split second, his steps faltering as he followed behind Parrot through the village. He forgot sometimes. Other times he pretended that all the memories he had weren't real, that it was all some sick dream. However, deep down he knew the truth. It lay in the thickly coated thoughts that found him in quiet moments. It clung to his sleeves. It found its way into even the most normal interactions, an all too familiar joke that stung into a déjà vu like state. Most of all, a broken spyglass, forever tucked into Wifies' enderchest, weighed him down continuously. It was as if there were a thousand of them, all clinging to him constantly, shards of glass still finding their way into the palms of his skin at every moment.
Even more so, though routine defined their relationship as of late, Wifies felt uneasy about today. Parrot was quiet, an abnormal thing, as he usually filled each moment with a comment or thought as if it were second nature. He was talkative, always had been, but very recently that fact had transpired into something deeper. He was attentive about things, seemingly always in thought. He was more calculating than normal. He thought things through silently, not sharing every realization that suddenly came to him. He seemed different, somehow. Wifies couldn't quite place what it was. He almost seemed more mature in a way, as if he carried his emotions with him instead of in front of him.
It was unsettling.
It scared Wifies. It made him feel like Parrot had realized something. That maybe he was catching onto him, even just a little, that he was noticing that something was off.
He couldn't shake the thought either, not when all these expressed thoughts and emotions bloomed back into his chest all at once. He couldn't escape the mindset he had stepped into, not when the quiet moments stretched on achingly with no distraction in place.
Parrot's voice snapped him back into reality, "Wifies, look ahead," Wifies looked towards where Parrot was pointing, and he spotted a pier off in the distance. "They probably sell some good boats, maybe we could change up travel for a bit?" Parrot added, smile meeting his eyes in excitement as he began walking faster towards the water.
Wifies rushed to catch up to him, Parrot too quick for Wifies to respond properly. Parrot began to converse with the trader, and he almost instantly made his decision. Wifies simply watched as Parrot's eyes gleamed against the ocean in vibrant hues. He leaned against the trading post as Parrot walked up and down the pier, before landing on a boat he seemed to have deemed just right. "This one," Parrot said confidently, "You ready?"
"More than ever," Wifies replied, anxiety easing into admiration. Despite everything, seeing Parrot come to life like this over the smallest things made this all worth it. This was why he was still here. This was why he didn't just simply repeat the same mistakes, why he didn't own up to his own existence, and why he was greedily soaking up every moment with Parrot. It wasn't out of the same motivation he had before, because regardless of the guilt, he knew things were changing. It was something different, deeper, more frightening. Even further, it made him care deeply about what Parrot thought, what he wanted, what would actually make him happy. He cared about the same things in some ways, but he found other things changing into ways he couldn't understand at all.
He couldn't push it down, not like he did everything else. So instead he tried his best to not show anything he felt. He stayed out of Parrot's way. He tried to avoid contact with him, never argued, and tried his best to play his role in Parrot's life before the Director completely consumed him.
Maybe that's why the past nights' events had shook him more than it should've. He truly didn't think he had it in him to not crumble at Parrot's will. Especially not now, when he was with him peacefully. Not when he still, everyday, held a secret in his heart that he couldn't bring himself to expose. Not when, sometimes, he still couldn't tell at times which thoughts were his and which were the Directors.
He got into the boat behind Parrot, giving him free will to take them wherever he so pleased. He tried to do that as much as possible, giving Parrot the choice to dictate their journey. It was an apology and a surrendering all in one.
"You've been quiet," Parrot said, allowing the boat to float freely against the calm waters.
Wifies stiffened a bit at the blatant statement. "Sorry, I'm not meaning to be," he replied, a bit too fast. He took in a deep breath and played with his fingers out of a habit of avoidance.
"Something bothering you?" Parrot replied, turning to him as best as possible with the small amount of space allowed.
"No, no it's just-" Wifies paused, unsure of how to end his sentence.
"Is it because of this morning?" Parrot replied, tone heightened just enough to be noticeable.
"This morning?" Wifies commented back, confused for several moments. The realization then hit him in a way he couldn't bring himself to face head on. "What do you mean?" He questioned again.
Parrot's lead on the conversation shifted, and suddenly he was avoiding eye contact. Wifies would have found it amusing if he weren't feeling the same rush of embarrassment creeping in on him just as hard. "I just," Parrot started off, voice wavering, "I hope that you weren't- uncomfortable or anything." He concluded, looking over at him with purpose.
Wifies forced himself to hold eye contact with Parrot, feeling a sudden urge to get his point across as he replied, "You could never make me uncomfortable Parrot."
Parrot's shoulders dropped, easing into the slight rock of the waves against the boat. "Sorry, I made this weirder than it should be," Parrot continued, "I just meant that I really am having a great time. Honestly bro, I haven't felt this stress free in months." He began to paddle again, the boat following his lead obediently. "Last night was the best rest I've had in so long." He didn't elaborate further on the last comment, and Wifies was grateful for this, the thought of it alone seeping into his skin like a warning. "And sometimes you're really quiet, and that's okay, but I get stressed out about it I guess. Scared that you aren't enjoying this like I am."
Parrot wasn't facing him anymore, completely focused on moving the boat forward. It prompted Wifies' response in a way, making the words flow out easier. "Parrot, if I can be real with you, this is all I've ever wanted. I mean that, like really mean it." His hands closed around the side of the boat, grasping for courage. "I'll go anywhere as long as it's with you," Wifies concluded, and every part of him meant it. Now, then, and in every life time.
This seemed to please Parrot, because the boat picked up happily, though he didn't comment further. The rest of the day went with ease and conversation slowly flowed back into its normal current.
They reached the next village with and found their way to another Inn settled on the edge of town. It seemed nice too, and Parrot must have taken note of this village on a map before they left, Wifies assumed. The real surprise came when Wifies heard Parrot speak up to the Inn worker, "One bed, please."
Huh?
"Parrot are you sure-" Wifies couldn't help but interject, and Parrot shushed him. Like actually shushed him.
"Let's go dude," He said, not even hesitating as they were walked to their room. With one bed. Wifies didn't even know what to do for five solid minutes after they entered the room and settled down their things. It's Parrot that spoke again, "I'm showering first this time," and he gabbed at Wifies' sides teasingly as he passed by him. He was teasing him.
Wifies could do nothing else except settle down into the chair, head in hands, as the running water from the bathroom tormented him. Next, he was showering too. He felt like he was floating, confusion resting under every corner of his skin. His biggest question, why? Maybe he really did just rest better, maybe that was it. Maybe it wasn't anything more than that. But Parrot had been acting strange all day, saying strange things, sentimental things. More than normal, and oddly closer to his heart. Wifies was officially at a loss. He was unsure of what path to take, or what to do next entirely. The fact remained on the surface at all times. Wifies was not supposed to be here. Not this version of him at least. The Wifies that Parrot killed, the one that locked him away, was being invited into a proximity he should never be allowed in. He thought back again, for the millionth time that day, about waking up after the explosion. He thought back to the confusion, and the denial. He thought back to his choice to use this opportunity to his advantage, and the way he so easily convinced Parrot to run away with him. His mind then settled onto the now. The softness of Parrot's voice, the obvious joking that was meant to make Wifies clam up.
But Wifies wasn't stupid, and neither was Parrot, that's where they always found themselves tangled together. Parrot may not have seen through his disguise, but he had completely seen through his emotions. He had begun making his own just as recognizable, and Wifies was weak. He would seep into every inch of anything Parrot gave him even if it was wrong.