Work Text:
ParrotX2 had always been alone.
He had grown up an only child, with parents too busy to pay him any mind. His father was always drunk, his mother always working. By the age of seven, Parrot already knew when to usher his father to the bathroom to vomit and to have pain relieving medicine ready in the morning. By the age of eight, he knew the recipes of his mother’s favorite meals and how to be the perfect listening ear when she raged at having to come home to the sight of an unconscious husband and “useless brat”. So it wasn’t hard for Parrot to learn a useful life lesson: the only person he really had in the world was himself. He swore when they passed that he would never let himself fall into the same trap of really, truly caring for someone.
So when did that change?
“Parrot? Parrot! Are you awake?”
Parrot opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. The room was dark, the only thing allowing him to see being the dim lamp on his desk. I definitely turned that off last night. What time is it? The sun isn’t even up yet. Above him was Flame, who seemed to be trying to shake him awake. Well, he had succeeded, damn him.
“Flame? What’s going on?” Parrot lifted himself off the bed (he had to sleep on his stomach, as UU dorm beds were not made for avians) and sat up. He let his tired eyes focus on Flame and-
“Oh my god bro. Did you fight with Wemmbu again?”
Flame was clutching his side in a way Parrot had become all too familiar with. And more obvious than that was the red patch steadily growing underneath Flame’s grip.
“Parrot, bro, you gotta understand it wasn’t my fault-"
A sudden hiss cut Flame off, and a slam echoed through the room. Both the avian and blaze hybrid turned to the window, where a familiar tiara-wearing student was climbing through.
He seemed to be deep in concentration, trying to be as quiet as possible. He noticeably winced as his platform boots landed on the hard wooden floor before silently closing the window and giving a smug grin to his entrance hatch. This smile dropped quickly, though, when he turned around to see Flame and Parrot watching him.
“You!” He pointed at Flame, clearly outraged. “What are you doing here?”
Flame glared back. “Well, what are you doing here?”
Parrot looked between them and frowned. “What are you both doing here? This is my room.”
Both men quickly turned to him and began to speak.
“Parrot, look bro I just need your help. This asshole-“
“Parrot, this dickhead attacked me and I could use some help-“
Parrot put his hands up. “Both of you shut up right now.”
They shut up. Sometimes Parrot couldn't believe they actually listened to him. He supposed they wanted something from him though, so they wisely decided to be compliant.
Upon closer inspection, Parrot saw that Wemmbu’s shoulder was stained red, similar to Flame’s side. Well, it seemed his unexpected guests were here for the same reason then. Typical.
“You.” Parrot pointed at Flame. “Sit here.”
He stood up from the bed and had Flame sit near the end.
“You.” This time he pointed at Wemmbu. “Sit there.” He pointed at the head of the bed.
Wemmbu sat obediently, thank the Creator, but Flame immediately started to whine.
“Parrot, why do I have to sit next to this guy? He-“
Parrot stared at him and Flame promptly closed his mouth.
The silence lingered as Parrot ruffled through his closet in search of his medical supplies. He usually left them near the front, since they had to be used quite often on these two idiots.
Finally, he found his usual kit. Opening it, he grimaced and turned to the two intruders.
“I’m running low on gauze. It should be enough for the two of you but-“
Wemmbu waved his hand.
“Don’t worry about it Parrot, you know I’ll give you money. How much do you need to restock? Let me get out my enderchest.”
Parrot immediately moved to stop him, as usual. “I don’t need your charity Wemmbu-"
“Charity?" Wemmbu snorted. "Parrot, you’ve patched me and Flame up more times than I can count. At this point I owe you a shulker full of diamonds blocks.”
Parrot hesitated. I barely have enough money for food and rent. Medical supplies are expensive. Taking the money is the logical choice but…
“Bro, oh my god. Take the money! Wemmbu is right, we owe you.”
Wemmbu immediately turned to Flame and hissed, “I’m paying him what I owe. You owe him your own shulker.”
“Wanna fight?" Flame grinned. "When I win, you pay for both of us.”
Parrot quickly interceded at this point. “Both of you shut up, I’ll count the shulker as payment for all services rendered.”
Both men laughed at his wording (“Nerd!” They chimed in unison) as Parrot made quick work treating the two. The sun still hadn’t risen…what time was it? He glanced at the clock. 2AM.
These motherfuckers.
As Parrot put away his supplies, there was a sudden knock at the door. Parrot paused for a moment before sighing with realization. He glanced at the two men lounging on his bed, who were now giving each other a knowing glance. How did they know he was coming?
At least the two weren’t fighting. Wemmbu and Flame had been hardcore enemies for all of freshman year. It had been exhausting. They were campus legends now, well known for being the strongest of the strong here at Unstable University. Most stayed out of their way, even though they seemed to have come to a relatively truce early this year. Of course, they still go bored from time to time and sparred to keep their skills from getting rusty—or so they claimed. Parrot suspected they just enjoyed battling each other.
Turning away from them, Parrot went to open the door when it suddenly opened without him unlocking it. Damn exploiting abilities. Just like the two buffons already in the apartment, the third intruder had no sense of boundaries (Parrot wished he could hold it against them). A haggard looking Spoke pushed his way inside, holding a giant comforter under his arm.
“Parrot? I had a nightmare again-“
He paused at seeing both Wemmbu and Flame on the mattress in the bedroom.
“Hey! That’s my bed! Get off!” He dropped the comforter on the floor and leaped forward onto the bed, securing himself a spot between the two.
“Actually,” Parrot said dryly, “That’s my bed. How the three of you manage to fit on it is still beyond me.”
The voidling offered both Wemmbu and Flame a fist bump (it was returned) before sitting up. Spoke was well known to always get his way, and Parrot was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say next.
“Here, I’ll sleep with you on the bed, while Wemmbu sleeps on the carpet here by the bed, and Flame sleeps on the floor. Just like usual!”
You gotta be kidding me.
Wemmbu and Flame stood up and stretched before moving to their assigned places, stopping for a second when Parrot, flabbergasted, spoke. These people were getting way too comfortable, damn it!
“Woah woah woah, wait a second. Why are Flame and Wemmbu staying tonight? Don’t you guys have homes?”
Wemmbu looked insulted. “I have a home dude. I just would rather be here.”
The room turned to Flame.
“Uh…” He played with his blindfold. “Actually, Lomedy kicked me out again sooo…”
Parrot rolled his eyes. “I told you to just get your own apartment, Flame. Lomedy likes you as a friend but hates your lifestyle, bro. It would be so much easier if you two just lived apart.”
For some reason, the room seemed to freeze at Parrot’s words. The three trespassers shared a look Parrot couldn’t decipher. Ok, seriously, what is going on?
It wasn’t that Parrot didn’t know they had secrets. Even before he had met them, each seemed to have a past they were hesitant to speak of. Bits and pieces came out at times, especially when one of the guys wanted advice, but Parrot doubted he would ever know the full story of each. That was for the best. Recently, they had started expecting secrets from him too, and that was not happening.
“Parrot, come on, pleaseee? Let us stay?” Spoke gave him a wide eyes stare. Parrot was weak against that stare. He knew Spoke was manipulating him, but unfortunately, he was falling for it.
After a tense second, he sighed.
“Ok, fine. But this is the last time guys, I’m serious.”
The three hummed in acknowledgment (it was sarcastic, Parrot knew it was sarcastic damn it) before getting settled. Wemmbu took Parrot’s comforter and passed his cape to Flame. Flame laid down on his own cape and got comfortable under the dragon hybrid’s. And Spoke pulled Parrot to the bed, ushering him under the comforter he had brought before wrapping himself tightly around the avian.
Silence fell on the room.
“I had the dream again. The one where Mapicc dies.” Spoke said suddenly.
Parrot let out a breath. Ever since the summer had started, and Mapicc had left campus for home, Spoke had been having bad dreams. Dreams where his ex-best friend, Jamato, came back to torture him, or take his friends away, or just straight up kill anyone Spoke cared for. Mapicc was often the victim.
“I know, Spoke. It’s okay. Mapicc isn’t dead. He’ll come back in the fall, and you two will be together again. You know what I say, right?”
“Best friends don’t just die on you that easily.” Spoke repeated the words Parrot had told him so many times before, and Parrot smiled. He ruffled the younger man’s dark hair.
“You got it, bro. Send him a message tomorrow, tell him you miss him. He’ll respond and tell you he misses you too.”
Spoke buried his face in Parrots chest. When has this become so regular? This time last year, Parrot would have balked at this scene. And yet now comforting Spoke felt as natural as breathing. In fact, being with the other two also felt so…normal. It had been a long time since Parrot hadn’t been alone. He liked being alone. So why was he so okay with this? It didn’t make any sense.
“Thanks Parrot. You always know what to say.”
Parrot patted the guys back and waited. He could have his internal crisis later. For now, Spoke should sleep.
Soon enough, Spoke’s snores began to echo around the room (joining Flame’s, by the Creator that man was a loud sleeper) and Parrot sat up. The two on the ground also seemed to be asleep, so he walked quietly to the kitchen for a glass of water.
Best friends don’t die on you that easily.
A vision of a young boy, sporting a yin and yang sweatshirt and matching purple and grey headband flashed through Parrot’s mind. A picture of a long time ago. The last time he wasn’t quite so alone.
Parrot quickly put his glass down in the sink and blinked the sight away.
Not tonight.
He turned back to the room, expecting to see three large, sleeping masses polluting his space. Instead, there were two loudly snoring men and one pair of red eyes staring at him.
“What’s up bro?” Parrot whispered at Wemmbu.
Wemmbu hesitated.
“Parrot. I know it’s late but…uh…you know it’s hard for me to reach my back and…”
This again? Parrot rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Wemmbu, if you need me to oil your wings, you can just ask.”
Wemmbu grimaced but relented. The dragon hybrid hated asking for help, but it had to be done. “Fine. Parrot, could you oil my wings for me? You know I would ask Egg but he went home and-“
And usually Parrot wouldn’t be so honest, so blunt, but it was 3AM now and he was tired of this guy’s bullshit. “Wemmbu, You were asking me even when Egg was around, since he’s a ‘busy guy’ and all that. You know I’ll help. No matter what.”
The moment the words were out of his mouth, Parrot grimaced. Yeah, he regretted saying that immediately. Time to distract.
“Come here to the kitchen and sit down on the floor. I’ll grab the oils.”
The oils for Wemmbu’s wings weren’t the sorts of things Parrot usually had in his house, but this has happened enough times that, at some point, Wemmbu had brought his supply over and shoved them in a cabinet. And there they had stayed.
Parrot retrieved them as Wemmbu gently shut the bedroom door behind him. The dragon hybrid sat on the floor, crossing his legs and opening his wings. Parrot sat behind him and applied the oil, carefully stretching the wings without tearing them. Wemmbu’s wings were delicate—he had been in too many fights over the years, so they had been damaged significantly. Keeping them working required patience and precision.
Luckily for Wemmbu, Parrot was well equipped with these skills.
The comfortable silence lingered between them. Parrot felt Wemmbu relax after a few minutes before actually beginning to snore quietly. The bird hybrid resisted the urge to laugh, finishing the job before considering how to proceed. He needed to put the bottles away, but Wemmbu was leaning again him and would surely wake up. That might be for the best though, the kitchen floor wasn’t very comfortable-
“Parrot? Parrot!”
The bedroom door slammed open to reveal Spoke. His eyes were manic, his voice out of breath. At the sound, Wemmbu woke up immediately and jumped to his feet, looking for danger.
Well I guess there’s my solution.
Parrot stood up and picked up some of the bottles, putting them away back into the cabinet.
“Spoke, it’s okay. I was just taking care of Wemmbu’s wings. I’ll be there-“
Spoke threw himself at the bird hybrid, who rushed to put the bottles down. Just like everything else with Wemmbu, these oils were expensive. Breaking them wouldn’t be good.
“Parrot, I had another nightmare, it was so bad, Parrot please-“
Parrot ran his hands down the back of Spoke’s hoodie.
“Hey, it’s okay. Mapicc is okay-"
“Parrot, Mapicc didn’t die. You did.”
Parrot froze and stared at the voidling. It wasn’t that he was shocked by the idea of his death. Parrot had dreamed of his death so much it felt more like a memory than the future. No, what was more shocking was that Spoke would be so upset by the idea. I mean, I knew he cared but…would me dying really be that bad for him?
He continued to stare down at Spoke, who was pushing himself into Parrot’s chest with a single minded intensity. Wemmbu had come over now and was patting the poor guy awkwardly on the back, as if unsure how to comfort but trying anyway.
“Spoke.” Parrot said carefully. “I won’t die. You know I won’t.”
Spoke detached himself quickly from Parrot and glared at him in sudden anger. Spoke was the temperamental sort, but usually knew when to bite his tongue. Parrot wasn't sure what exactly had changed. The dream? There's no way...
“I don’t know that Parrot! I don’t!”
Parrot blinked gaped at him in shock. Spoke continued, not caring. Parrot wasn’t sure he had even seen him like this, so angry.
“You’re not a good fighter! And you don’t take care of yourself! You think we haven’t noticed?”
Parrot began to feel a little offended.
“Excuse me, I am a great fighter, bro. And I take perfectly good care of myself-“
“You don’t, dude.” Wemmbu interrupted. “You don’t eat much unless one of us comes over to eat with you. You don’t get nearly enough sleep at night (“And whose fault is that?” Parrot asked dryly. Wemmbu ignored him.) and you are always looking out for everyone else before yourself. I’m not saying we don’t benefit from it, but you gotta admit you aren’t exactly safe from death. And you being weak in a fight doesn’t really help your odds.”
For a moment, it was quiet. What did Parrot even say to that? Should he argue? Agree? Where was this going? What was their end goal with this?
“We’ll protect him.” A tired voice sounded from the bedroom. Everyone turned to see Flame leaning against the doorframe. His tattered cape was back on, and he idly wiped his sword with it (where had that come from?) as he spoke. “Parrot’s a bad fighter, yeah. But we’ll protect him. And we can train him too, so he’ll atleast be able to defend himself while we take out the enemy.”
Parrot couldn’t believe what he was hearing. These guys must be deluded from lack of sleep. Protect him? “Flame, you cannot be serious-“
He turned to Spoke and Wemmbu, who were nodding along to this nonsense! Spoke no longer looked distressed, only determined. Parrot didn’t like it when Spoke had that look on his face; the void creature always saw things through, no matter what.
Parrot glanced at the clock. 4AM. Maybe some sleep would knock some sense into them.
“Look guys, let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay? Back to sleep please, I have a 9AM class that I don’t want to miss.” And I’m going to pretend this entire conversation was a vivid hallucination.
The three agreed to this and moved back to their spots, finally out of energy and ready to rest. And this time, Parrot fell asleep with them.
~
Parrot’s alarm rang out into the room. He blinked his eyes open to see Spoke still asleep, arms thrown across the bed and one leg lying on top of Parrot’s. Parrot quickly turned off the alarm and moved to the kitchen. He didn’t usually eat breakfast, but the three would definitely be expecting something, and pancakes were easy to make.
He idly gathered the ingredients and planned out his day. Class at nine, seminar at ten, library at noon…
He began to whisk the dry items. Lost in thought, he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until he turned around to combine the wet stuff and found his three overnight guests sitting on his too-small couch watching him with unfamiliar apprehension. Seriously, how do they always fit on my furniture? And what do they look so weird about?
“Uhh…” he stopped whisking and put the bowl down. “What’s up guys?”
Silence.
Parrot raised an eyebrow and started the wet ingredients bowl.
Finally, Spoke began to talk, slowly. Parrot wasn’t sure he had ever heard him speak with such caution.
“Parrot, you know how Mapicc says I’m too chaotic to live with?”
Parrot hummed in acknowledgment as he whisked. This was true—Spoke had confided in Parrot that Mapicc had once told him “it’s hard to deal with your bullshit by myself.” Though they made up afterwards and were very close, Mapicc was known to get a bit frustrated with Spoke’s living habits.
Wemmbu spoke next. “And you know that Egg’s more of an academic. He likes his space for writing those papers he’s submitting to his science board or whatever. Plus, he refuses to fight, so my enemies keep attacking him because we live together.”
Parrot nodded. This was also true—Eggchan was a self proclaimed “lover, not a fighter.” However, Wemmbu was quite strong and always battling. Egg preferred peace but was often brought into these fights unwillingly. Though they were the best of friends, Parrot also privately thought living apart would better suit them. But where is this going? “Yesss…?”
Flame cleared his throat. “And obviously Lomedy doesn’t really like how I live my life. Always fighting and that stuff—that’s why I don’t ask him to heal me up, since he gets tired of my bullshit real quick and gets mad.”
Parrot was so confused. Flame was also telling the truth. His best friend and him had a very tumultuous relationship, often taking breaks from one another since their lifestyles were so different. Lomedy was an agricultural major and hated fighting, while Flame was in battle nearly every day. They argued over it often, and it was well known that the two would part ways for days at a time when they needed a break. Lomedy would stay with some farmer friends if he left the house, and Flame would usually stay with Parrot if he was kicked out. But again, while this was true, it was information Parrot already knew. Why were they repeating it to him? “Why are you all telling me about how your best friends don’t like living with you? I promise you they still love you guys, you just don’t live well together-“
Flame cut him off, and Parrot could tell he was rolling his eyes underneath that blindfold. “We know, Parrot. That’s fine. We’re saying we want to move out.”
Parrot blinked at them. Privately, he considered this to be a very good decision on each of their parts.
He continued to mix the ingredients. “Okay? Move out then guys, I don’t-"
Spoke jumped up suddenly. “That’s it, I’m telling him!” He made his way to Parrot and put his hands on the other man’s shoulders.
“Parrot. We want you to move in with us in the fall!”
Parrot stopped whisking.
What?
He turned to the other two guys sitting on his couch and was shocked to find them looking nervous. He had never seen such a look on Wemmbu’s face—obviously the guy could be a little anxious when asking for help or advice, but this was a whole new level of edginess he had never seen. And Flame looked the same! On some level, Parrot was touched.
Unfortunately, this would never work.
Parrot took a deep breath and stepped back from Spoke. “Look guys, I appreciate the invite, but let’s think about this critically for a second. It’s June. There’s no way we can get an apartment to move into in two months-“
“Wealreadyhaveone.”
Huh?
Flame has spoken so quickly Parrot didn’t believe he heard him right. “What?”
“We have an apartment. A four bedroom. We planned to ask you for a while now.”
It took Parrot’s brain a moment to unfreeze, before suddenly, it was moving a mile a minute. You have got to be kidding me. There’s no way. Genuinely no way these guys are that stupid. Parrot could not believe his ears. It was impossible for him to be hearing what he thought he was hearing.
“Bro. Are you telling me you three got an apartment for us all to move into without asking me first?”
Spoke cringed and stepped forward. “Parrot, listen, okay? We know you’re really defensive and have boundaries and everything-“
“So why would you think this would be okay?”
“But you’re our brother! We need you!”
Parrot stared at him. Brother? His friend spouted nonsense all the time, but this was another level. “Spoke. Wait a second. Do you know we…aren’t related?”
This felt like it should be obvious. Parrot was part bird. Spoke was part void-creature. Flame was part blaze. Wemmbu was part dragon. It was scientifically impossible for them all to be brothers.
Spoke rolled his eyes. “Not like biological brother. You’re our brother from another mother!”
Flame laughed, and it was Wemmbu’s turn to cringe. “Please don’t say that ever again.”
He turned to Parrot. “Parrot, look. You’re good to be around and we like you a lot, okay? I don’t have siblings, but if I did, I guess this is what it would be like. That’s what Spoke meant.”
“And we need you!” Spoke repeated. Parrot glanced at him to see the voidling grinning at him in open encouragement. Again his wishes, Parrot felt something warm in his chest. This was...kind of sweet.
But then someone had to go and ruin it.
“And you need us.”
Parrot turned to Flame, ready to insist no he did not, but Flame continued. “Parrot, listen. I know you do a lot for us—let us help you back. We’ll be good roommates, we promise. And at the very least, we can help train you and protect you."
His voice lowered suddenly as he muttered, "And maybe get you to eat three meals a day.”
Excuse me?
“Protect the king!” Spoke cheered before Parrot could splutter out a response. Parrot took the time to side-eyed him instead. He was far from a king. Also, why did everyone think he needed protecting?
“Guys, look, I signed my lease for next year and…” This was sweet, it really was, but-
“I’ll pay to break it.” Wemmbu said immediately. “I already talked to your landlord and we came to an agreement.”
“You talked to my landlord?!”
Spoke shuffled his way in front of Parrot before the bird hybrid could stomp his way over to Wemmbu and punch him.
“Parrot. Please.”
Parrot looked at Spoke.
He looked at Flame.
He looked at Wemmbu.
And he out a sigh. Whatever.
“Okay. Let’s move in together.”
A cheer went up around the room, and all three men swarmed Parrot in a hug. Parrot tensed for a second, then let his shoulders drop. He put his arms around the group and hugged them back carefully, oh so carefully.
Parrot had sworn nearly two decades ago that he wouldn’t ever care for anyone. He had broken that promise once, and been burned in response. And it seemed like he was going to break that promise again.
Oh well. Maybe this time…
Things will be different.
“Also, I think you’ve missed your lecture. It’s 9:20.”
“What?”