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It wasn’t unusual for Parrot to come home to an empty house.
Most of the time, his parents were busy with work related stuff, or just whatever they thought were important enough to come home at midnight. Although he was the oldest out of his three other siblings, they would always still be outside, despite all their classes ending earlier than Parrot’s – and obviously, as the responsible big brother he was, he knew where everyone really was.
Spoke would always be with Jamato or Planet, going around the city near their hometown just for the fun of it. Wemmbu would always either be with Zam, playing video games inside her “empire” (which was literally just her house) or somehow hanging out with Eggchan in a nearby library, despite not liking reading all that much. Flame would always be with Manepear, his quote-on-quote “second older brother,” often helping him with his basketball skills.
Even so, it was Parrot’s special day today. He was literally turning 14, and yet, the house was as quiet as he last left it. A small, sad frown appeared on his face as he dropped his bag right in front of the front door.
Sure, Parrot knew he had Wifies, but it wasn’t like he was at school all the time. The avian knew deep down that he wants to spend more time with the dog hybrid, often reminiscing the times during their childhood where they’d search for 6-year-old Spoke’s silly “hidden treasures” in the playground near their house. Parrot sealed those warm memories into a treasure box deep inside his heart, knowing he had other responsibilities now – and that was, of course, taking care of his siblings.
Parrot never really minded having a lot of weight placed on his shoulders. He knew he was a smart kid that could easily focus on certain tasks, but sometimes, he wishes that he could just have a break. Maybe just for one day, he thought to himself, where he could just walk home peacefully with Wifies, not having to worry if his siblings came home late or not. Nevertheless, Parrot shakes his head at the thought. Afterall, his parents trusted him with such a big responsibility for a reason.
And yet, despite the constant reassurance he tried telling himself, Parrot felt his eyes slowly getting wet. He wasn’t a crybaby, he could hold his tears in easily, but somehow, someway – water started trickling down his cheeks.
Parrot could hear himself start sniffling, instinctively covering his nose up with his sleeve, not really minding the fact that his blazer could get wet. Quietly, he tries calming himself down, wiping his tears away with the fabric. He’s never felt this vulnerable in a long, long time…
But no one was home, no one was here to see him – so it was okay for him to let his guard down just this once, right?
With a final deep breath, Parrot crouched down to get his school bag, silently zipping a small part of it open to see what he has to work with before dinner. Alongside his textbooks, he had homework for literature and math, which were bearable subjects for the avian. On top of the paper laid a little circular ying-yang locket, a gift from Wifies with a picture of the two best friends taking a selfie together while eating ice cream. Parrot noted to himself that he’ll treasure the gift, keeping it under his bed where most important things were stored. Another thing that was present inside his bag was a… uniquely handmade horn from Dean, the boy telling Parrot that it was special since it was a custom-made “goat horn.” Parrot truly appreciated the gift, but he doesn’t think he’s going to use it any time soon.
With the comforting thought of two friends remembering his birthday, Parrot’s emotional state would brighten up in an instant, a small sense of joy clearing up his otherwise lonely mood. Some might argue two people wasn’t a lot, but Parrot was still grateful. It makes him feel appreciated, in a way.
And so, with a new sense of determination on continuing the rest of his day, Parrot started moving his feet. It moves almost automatically, clearly used to the same routine that he had whenever he got home. After passing the living room, he went to the kitchen, where most of the light switches were for the first floor. Parrot would lift his hand up, flicking the switch, and the house slowly started to light up. Now, he just needed to go to his room, do his homework, and wait for his brothers to–
“Surprise!”
Parrot flinched. His eyes widened.
He knew that voice. Wait no, that was wrong – he knew those voices. The sound wasn’t from one person, he now realizes it.
It was from three.
And all of them were his brothers.
Parrot turned his head around, finally witnessing what was hiding in the darkness all this time. All three of his brothers – Spoke, Wemmbu and Flame – were all standing behind the dining table, a small, tiramisu cake present on it. It seems like they were just in time as well, since all three of the siblings were still in their uniform. Though, before Parrot could even process their expressions, the youngest out of the four suddenly rushed up to him and hugged him, burying his face into Parrot’s chest.
“We’re so so so so so so sorry we didn’t say anything earlier!” Spoke would almost immediately cry out, gripping the avian even tighter. “Before you get mad, we– it wasn’t my fault Flame and Wemmbu still told me to keep quiet even when you were–”
“Okay, okay! I get it!” Parrot immediately interrupted Spoke, not wanting to get reminded of his previous breakdown. “I– I’m not mad, bro. Why would I ever be mad?”
“Uhh… because you don’t like surprises?” Flame spoke up, his arms crossed as he huffed. “You’re our brother, Parrot. Of course we know that kind of stuff.”
And yet, despite the hint of irritation Flame was clearly trying to give out, Parrot could see how… soft his face truly looked. Even though half of it was covered with a blindfold, Parrot knew his little brother too well to know if he was actually “mad” or not. In fact, Flame looked rather embarrassed, even giving off a I-know-this-isn’t-excatly-the-kind-of-gift-you-like-but-I-really-wanted-to-do-something-special-for-you type of vibe.
“Hey, no– I know that stuff!” Wemmbu suddenly butted in, giving Flame a nudge on the shoulder. “You weren’t the one who remembered it, I was!”
“Alright, can we please not fight right now?” Parrot would sigh in slight exhaustion, gently pushing the voidling off of him. “Did you guys really do this by yourselves? I mean, how did you guys even afford the cake? Could’ve sworn none of you gets an allowance from mom and dad.”
“We saved up all our money,” Wemmbu and Flame replied in unison, suddenly not minding the existence of each other the moment Parrot was the one asking the questions.
“Yeah! I also knew you liked tiramisu because of Wifies!” Spoke announced proudly, walking right back to his original position, next to Flame. Parrot blinked once out of confusion, but shrugged the little fun fact off.
An uncomfortable silence followed afterwards.
Neither of the boys knew what to say.
Flame felt a wave of nervousness wash over him, silently contemplating if agreeing on Wemmbu’s idea was the right decision or not. Wemmbu tried to keep up a confident guard, silently wishing the Parrot wasn’t mad at him in the slightest. Spoke, on the other hand, had his bright smile still stuck to his face, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes anymore.
Spoke, Wemmbu and Flame had surprised Parrot for his birthday.
Parrot didn’t like surprises.
Spoke, Wemmbu and Flame had probably made Parrot upset.
Parrot wasn’t upset.
He smiled.
Parrot carefully walks up to his siblings, placing his bag on the dinner table. The three other boys suddenly tensed up instantly. They knew Parrot wasn’t one to get angry at them, but at the moment, their anxiety took over–
–and it was slowly washed away when Parrot’s warm arms wrapped around all three of them, giving Spoke, Wemmbu and Flame a sudden sense of comfort.
“I… thanks a lot, guys,” Parrot whispered, his voice barely audible. “And yeah, you guys were right. I don’t really like surprises all that much.
But hey, who am I to complain? I'd always like something if my siblings were the ones giving it to me.”
And with that, all of their walls came crashing down.
Spoke returned the hug with full force, almost pushing Flame and Wemmbu out of the way. Wemmbu, suddenly excited by Parrot’s reassuring words, also wrapped his arms around the two. And finally, Flame – he wasn’t much of a hugger, everybody in the room knew this, but who was he kidding?
The four siblings hugged each other in comfortable silence for what seemed like a good few minutes. Parrot was, of course, the one to let them all go, his smile as wide as ever.
“I thought you guys forgot about my birthday,” he would admit sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. With this newly found information, Spoke gasped in shock.
“What?! No way, we would never!” the voidling assured Parrot, only for it to be followed by a grumble from Wemmbu.
“Flame probably would.”
“I heard that, you know!”
“Okay, for my final gift, is it possible for you two to not bicker for the rest of the day?” Parrot gave out a small laugh, instantly silencing both of his younger siblings. “Let’s eat this cake, yeah? I think it’s enough for four people.”
“Yeah! And we can play video games later!” Spoke cheered, raising his arms up to reveal a… what the hell, was that a switch?!
“Uhh… Spoke, where’d you get that?” Flame asked, his shoulders dropping slightly. Wemmbu looked equally as confused.
“Um… from Planet? Obviously!” Spoke giggled, quickly trying to guide them all over to the living room. “C’mon, guys! You’ll all love playing Mario Kart!”
As the three younger siblings walked into the living room, one beaming with excitement while the other two was utterly confused and a little hesitant, Parrot was left alone in the kitchen, eyeing the cake in front of him. It’s been a while since all four siblings were truly hanging out together. Sure, they all ate dinner on the same table almost every day, but it never seemed genuine – almost reluctantly, Parrot has noticed.
Nonetheless, even though he doesn’t like surprises, even though it was clear all three brothers didn’t exactly want to team up with each other – they still did, all because it was Parrot’s birthday.
All because they wanted to make their big brother happy.
“Yo, Parrot! The game’s already set up!” Wemmbu would call from the living room, making Parrot quickly snap out of his thoughts.
“Ah– right!” Parrot laughs softly. “Coming, I’m coming!”