Chapter Text
“I still don’t understand why we can’t just leave the invitation here.”
“That invitation is made of paper, very flammable paper, and you should know more than anyone else how explosive Wile is. If we want him to get the invite, then we need to give it ourselves.”
Like usual, Paige was right, but Kevin still grumbled about being in the hot desert sun anyway. To celebrate the firm’s continued success in bringing the ACME corporation down, Paige thought it would be a good idea to celebrate. His niece may have also noticed how Kevin kept looking at the drawing and feather Wile left behind for him. Despite the utter chaos the coyote brought into their lives, the two humans would not have it any other way.
Perhaps sweating in the summer sun wasn’t so bad if it was for Wile-
“BEEP! BEEP!”
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind nearly toppled Paige and Kevin over. They coughed and squinted their eyes from the dust that followed.
That roadrunner sure knew how to make an entrance…
“Hey, Mister-uh Roadrunner! Do you remember us? We’re the lawyers that helped your coyote friend!” Paige waved her arms in an excited greeting. Neither she or her uncle had the chance to get to know the roadrunner as much as they knew Wile. All they really knew was that the bird was fast, loved birdseed, and was close friends with the coyote who chased him. At first, Paige and Kevin worried for the roadrunner’s safety, but it turned out that there was no need for concern. The roadrunner liked being chased and had developed a complex relationship with the one who was supposed to eat him. She never thought such drama could be accomplished with no words spoken.
After the trial at congress, Kevin and Paige realized that Wile would never go through with eating the roadrunner. Even if Wile himself wasn’t consciously aware of that. The pair of toons had played their game of chase for so many years that stopping it would be equivalent to dying. Seeing Wile in tears after the roadrunner confirmed that he considered the coyote a friend was all the proof they needed.
But one thing they did not learn at the trial was how jealous the roadrunner was. Wile’s obsession was not one-sided in the slightest. When the footage of ACME’s disastrous attempt to catch the speedy bird was leaked, Kevin and Paige felt fear towards a toon for the first time. The typical smile or silly tongue flick was gone as the footage only showed burning anger in the roadrunner’s gaze. Tweety, the bird ACME had captured and blackmailed to do their bidding, was petrified of the roadrunner after he nearly killed him. In the recording, the roadrunner had used his sharp talons to dig into Tweety’s body and slam him into the ground before he hissed and sped off. If Tweety wasn’t a toon, there was no doubt that he would have been dead. A territorial toon was not something to laugh about.
Even Bugs, the identity of their mystery caller (who Daffy revealed the second the duck heard his voice, much to the rabbit’s dismay), had mentioned how the roadrunner would try to chase off anyone who would catch the coyote’s interest. Including himself. Bugs had been on the receiving end of many pecks and kicks during the few times he visited the desert.
“Trust me, doc, ya don’t want to make that bird mad. I know a thing or two about crazy birds, but that one takes the cake!”
All that said, Paige was a bit intimidated by the roadrunner. She tried to give her best smile and nudged Kevin to do the same.
A beat of silence passed by.
The roadrunner stood still before cocking his head to the side. He was still smiling, but his eyes were sharp and his talons were deeply digging into the ground. “Beep! Beep, beep?”
“Morning, Mister Roadrunner!” Kevin said, scratching behind his head. “Oh gosh, I just realized that I never got your name.”
“Beep beep!” The roadrunner replied.
“Do you have a card like Wile does?”
“Beep!”
“Do you have a sign?”
The roadrunner was quiet for a moment before he pulled out a sign. It was likely the same one he used when he welcomed Wile back to the chase. ‘Beep Beep!’
Kevin swallowed. “Uh…”
Beside him, Paige gasped. “Oh! Is Beep Beep your name?”
A pleased trilled answered. “Beep Beep! Beep! Beep!”
“I’ll take that as a yes!”
“Well, Beep Beep, we came here to invite you and Wile to a party of sorts!” Kevin rummaged through his suit’s pockets before pulling out a slightly bent white card. “We’ve just wrapped up two more lawsuits against ACME-”
“BEEP!” Beep Beep’s feathers puffed out and ratted while he stomped his feet. He huffed and two plumes of steam came from his nostrils.
The man held his hands up and nodded. “Yeah, I know, those guys suck, but we wouldn’t be able to bring them down to begin with if it wasn’t for Wile. His case opened a lot of doors for toons to get justice. It’s thanks to you two that Porky and Tweety-”
Beep Beep glared. “Beep!”
“Will you stop saying the names of the people he clearly hates?!” Paige frantically whispered. It didn’t seem like the roadrunner had a temper, but it was obvious that the speedster was very impatient. If it didn’t involve being chased by Wile or the coyote in general, she guessed that the roadrunner couldn’t care less about whatever they were saying.
“Sorry! No more names!” The man agreed. He breathed out heavily. “Anyways. With these successes, we wanted to celebrate and invite you and Wile to the office. It’ll be happening this Saturday. We’d love to have you and Wile there.”
Paige hummed. “We’ve missed him! Actually, do you know where he is? We’d like to tell him in person too.”
The roadrunner turned away from them. His long, fluffy tail was facing them, and the two humans thought they had offended the bird again. They looked at each other, unsure what to do.
Until an explosion was heard in the distance.
“There he is.” Kevin snickered.
“Beep! Beep!”