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Theo awoke in the way too early morning to Parrot knocking at his door and barging in.
"Theo, dude, wake up. We have things to do today."
The cockatiel let out a sleepy groan, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What..? Parrot, the sun isn't even up yet." He grumbled, looking at his window.
"It's coming up right now!" Parrot replied, almost defensively.
Parrot did this a lot, even when their day wasn't even too busy, he'd wake Theo up before the break of dawn and insist they had things to do. He was never sure if it was an anxiety thing, a macaw thing, or just a thing Parrot did. He didn't ask, either.
"I stayed up so late last night with you.. gimme a couple minutes." Theo cracked open one eye, not noticing he'd laid back down until just now. Parrot, as per usual, had stayed up working until ungodly hours last night. And Theo, being Theo, had to stay up with him or else he couldn't sleep.
Slight codependency. Nothing much.
"Bro.."
He could practically hear Parrot pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Whaat? It's your fault!"
"Dude.. you can go to sleep before me. It won't kill you."
Theo frowned, sitting up.
Deciding Parrot wasn't going to give in, he stretched out his wings fully in an attempt to wake up, feathers catching on the barely there sunlight.
The silence that rung out meant a lot. To Theo, at least. It probably meant nothing to Parrot, but Theo didn't like to sit in silence, with Parrot staring at him like he could read his soul.
"Soo.." He dragged out, finally meeting Parrot's eyes. "Are we getting breakfast first?"
Parrot rolled his eyes fondly and nodded.
That motivated him to jump out of bed, always ready for the nice meals the chefs cooked. It was a huge difference, going from poverty and small, tasteless meals, to this, where he had everything he could want to eat, however much of it.
Parrot didn't leave the room for him to change, sitting on the end of his bed instead.
Theo blinked. ...Okay, then. He'll just go to the bathroom and change.
He gathered his clothes and hurried to the smaller room.
A small golden necklace dangled over his chest, with a tiny wing charm at the end. It matched with Parrot's own, except his was silver. He stared at it for a moment, thinking back to Parrot's behavior this morning. It wasn't the first time he'd acted like this, but usually it meant he wasn't feeling good. The guy was extremely clingy when he got sick— not in the cuddly way, but in the 'i need to keep you in my sight as much as possible' kind of way.
But the thing was, Parrot didn't seem sick at all. His feathers were glossy and bright, his eyes were focused, and he didn't look any paler than usual.
Hm.
Theo hurried to change, coming out of the bathroom to see Parrot still in the same place he was, gaze distant and angled at the ground.
He frowned, walking up to the macaw. "Parrot."
Parrot's eyes widened for a second, looking up at Theo like he hadn't noticed him standing directly in front of him.
"Hmm?"
"Are you sick?"
Parrot blinked a couple times in disbelief. "No, I feel fine. Why?"
Theo narrowed his eyes, pressing the back of his hand against Parrot's forehead. Oh, it felt perfectly normal.
"You're just.. acting weird. I dunno." He shrugged after disproving his theory.
"Am I?" Parrot tipped his head to the side, a quizzical frown on his lips, like always. He didn't know a Resting Confused Face could exist until he met Parrot, who always looked like he was solving an equation.
"Yeah, man. You're acting just like you do when you're sick." He huffed, trying to put off the lingering worry he had.
"I act a certain way?"
Theo couldn't help but break into laughter. "Yes, you do. You follow me around like a lost puppy."
Parrot looked like he was lost. "I didn't know that." Then he hummed, like he just learned something interesting. Vaguely, Theo hoped that wouldn't make him stop; he kind of enjoyed being followed, until Parrot stood by the bathroom and sneezed while he waited for Theo to be done.
Parrot stood suddenly, making Theo take a few steps backward in surprise so they didn't collide with each other. "Let's go to breakfast." Then he walked off.
Theo watched him for a second in confusion before following, speed walking to catch up. He always had to be either literally at his heels or next to him. He preferred to be by his side, because when he was behind him, his wings covered his vision and face. Parrot also seemed less tense when Theo stood next to him instead of behind, explaining that he was 'sensitive about his wings'. Maybe it's because of all the prisons he'd been in before, where using his wings could resort in all sorts tragedies.
The smell of pancakes filled the air, making Theo's stomach rumble hungrily. "Dude, I didn't know I could even be hungry this early in the morning." He joked. When Parrot just let out a huff, his smirk fell into a frown.
Something was wrong with his friend, and he was going to find out what it is.
So, as he settled into his seat, he told himself to be a little more like sick Parrot. He was going to follow his friend around until he figured out what was wrong.
Breakfast didn't introduce any new problems. Parrot didn't have a big appetite, but that was normal, he didn't eat much in the mornings.
He acted almost normal, aside from the way he'd glance at the empty seat next to him.
Theo didn't know who the empty seat was for. When Parrot asked for it to be added and didn't let anyone sit in it, he told Theo it was 'for a late friend'.
After breakfast, Parrot, like usual, sat in his office and worked. Theo stayed with him, of course, because who was he without Parrot next to him?
But the normalcy didn't last long. Parrot was shuffling way more than he usually did. To most, it was a small thing that didn't matter; unnoticeable. To Theo, it was another hint something was up.
"You're moving an awful lot." He commented, fidgeting with one of his bracelets.
"My bad." Parrot replied, and stopped his moving.
Theo narrowed his eyes, standing up and walking behind Parrot, absently putting his hands on his shoulders.
"Your page is blank."
Parrot had been staring at a blank page for five minutes. Theo had noticed as soon as the scratching stopped, because he'd been listening to it stop and start unevenly for the past thirty minutes.
"That it is." Parrot replied, leaning back and resting his head against Theo's stomach like he didn't have a perfectly good cushiony chair to rest it on, meeting his eyes upside down.
"Okay, you can't keep denying it. What's wrong, Parrot?" He demanded.
Parrot frowned.
Theo sighed, voice softening. "Parrot, I know somethings wrong. I'm worried for you, dude."
Parrot sat up, looking at his empty paper again. "..Okay, I'll give."
He perked up the tiniest bit, hopping up to sit on the side of the desk.
"Wifies.. died today, two years ago."
Oh.
That was what's bothering him.
Now Theo felt really bad.
"I know it's stupid to act like this, and still miss him after everything he did, but.." a pause, the sound of swallowing back a sob.
"I do miss him. A lot. I think about how there could've been a different way, if he'd just been a little bit more there. I wonder if he'd be proud of me. As king, I mean. What I've done."
That was a lot. Theo wasn't very experienced in comforting people, like, at all. He wasn't a vulnerable guy whatsoever; he never had to be before.
But he knew that was what Parrot needed, was to be comforted.
Internally, he cursed himself. Why couldn't he be more like Wifies? Wifies would know what Parrot needed or how he was feeling. But Theo isn't Wifies. Theo is Theo.
Dumb, stupid Theobald.
He gulped, staring at Parrot, who was looking at the ground now, wings curling up tight.
"You know, whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. I don't know a lot, but you did what was right. That much I know. It's not your fault that he wasn't himself. As much as you act like it, you can't always keep everyone safe. Wifies.. I don't think he'd want you to live mourning him like you killed him. I think Wifies killed himself by choosing his actions." Theo took a deep, shaky breath, now looking away.
"And.. I think he'd be really proud of you. Wifies always wanted what was best for you over anything else. You've told me that, so tell yourself that. I think he is really proud of you, wherever he is now. How could anyone not be?"
His voice went quiet at the end, cracking ever so slightly.
Parrot just sighed, staying quiet for a while. Theo's feet kicked nervously against the desk drawers.
"Theo,"
His head turned to Parrot, who wasn't looking at him, but the necklace in his palm. It was silver with a tiny yin yang charm at the end, swaying back and forth like it was trying to hypnotize him. Pretty symbolic.
"Thank you. I really needed to hear that." Parrot chuckled dryly, clutching the charm with his other hand.
"Yeah. It's no problem." He smiled nervously, insecurity rushing through him, making him pull his wings even closer to himself.
Parrot thankfully didn't seem to notice his self consciousness, busying himself with putting his necklace back on.
"I'm always willing to listen, Parrot. I don't want you suffering in silence, or whatever." He laughed a bit, but it was weak and awkward.
Wifies wouldn't be thinking of himself right now. He'd be making Parrot feel better, instead of letting self pity consume him.
The question rung in his head again.
Why can't he be more like Wifies?
"I think I'm gonna take a break. Just for today. I.. have some places to visit, by myself." Parrot said suddenly, standing up and picking up his shawl.
"Oh." Theo blinked, watching him walk toward the door. "Okay. Have fun. Be safe."
"I don't know about fun. But I'll try." Parrot smiled at him, with that stupid soft smile that made him feel like he actually mattered.
The door closed behind Parrot. Leaving Theo in Parrot's office, sitting on his desk, all alone. Theo didn't like being alone. What was he without Parrot next to him?
He sunk into Parrot's desk chair and curled his wings around himself, crossing his arms tightly against his chest.
Hopefully Parrot would feel better when he came back.
And hopefully talk to him about something more cheerful.
Theo didn't like sitting in silence.