Chapter Text
Don’t get him wrong, he loves his kingdom, he loves festivals.
But what Parrot didn’t love was how goddamn crowded it was.
Today was the one day of the year that Prince Wemmbu was permitted to have a public appearance—his birthday.
And because of the rare occasion, everyone, and he means everyone in the kingdom showed up, just to get a glimpse of the prince.
Prince Wemmbu was special, unlike his younger brothers, Zam and Eggchan, he was the heir to the throne. Thus, he wasn’t allowed outside, out of the kingdom’s fear of assassination. He wasn’t quite sure who, exactly, wanted to assassinate him—the kingdom hadn’t had any incidents regardless, but who was he to judge?
He’d never actually seen the prince before, usually too far back in the crowd to really make out his features. But he’s definitely heard descriptions, and wow, they do not do him justice.
Wemmbu—Prince Wemmbu, he did not want to get beheaded or anything, even in his own mind—had long purple hair, purple eyes, purple everything, really. He was gorgeous too, even more so than he was told of. If he didn’t make an appearance only once a year, he would definitely have thousands of ladies lining up to be his wife, and definitely not just for power.
He was on a parade float, gracefully waving towards the crowd, giving an effortless smile. Around him were dozens of guards, but one, his personal guard, stayed right beside him. His name was FlameFrags, unlike his reclusive charge, he had made quite a name for himself. Not only as a guard, but as the kingdom’s most skilled protector, guarding not only Wemmbu, but the kingdom itself, from any threats that arose.
Parrot could only dare to imagine what life would be like as a prince, living in a palace, being taken care of and watched over at every moment. It seemed like anyone’s dream, to be rich and carefree, not having to worry about where your next meal would come from, being paraded around like a work of art.
But to Parrot, it seemed daunting, and overwhelming at the least. I mean, who would want to spend their whole life memorizing forks and learning how to walk properly? He also wasn’t allowed to leave his castle, unlike his siblings, who were probably his only friends. The princely life seemed extravagant, but boring. Even that ginormous castle had to become repetitive at some point.
Why was royalty held so high anyway? Why was the mere appearance of the prince, even seeing a glimpse of the man such an extraordinary experience? He couldn’t lie though, he was really feeling blessed from the sight of him, it might have been societal pressure or whatever, but the man was truly, just, angelic.
Where Prince Wemmbu was held up on a pedestal, his brothers were rather… normal. Parrot, himself was actually friends (?) with Zam, and he was just a regular guy, and Egg seemed like he was too. After you got past the ‘oh wow, you’re a prince, I am forever grateful to have been blessed by your presence’ hurdle, they were literally just… people.
Now, Parrot didn’t know much, considering he didn’t live at the palace or was royal in any way, shape or form. But what he did know was based on either common knowledge or Zam’s word. And according to him, Wemmbu was just a normal guy too.
— — —
He tried moving closer to the parade float, but the closer he got, the less… civilized people had become. They were packed like sardines, everyone pushing and shoving one another to get closer. Geez, you would think they were lining up to greet the pope or something—and it was besides the point that Parrot was also trying to get to the front…it was for science.
Most people went to these festivals with friends, easier to make it to the front with more people to help you. And Parrot did try that, it’s just… well, he’d gotten lost.
He’d originally went with his boyfriend, Wifies, but with the amount of people in this crowd, they’d easily got separated. But they did account for this beforehand, if they were to get lost, they'd stay in the festival and meet up back at their house when it was done.
Thinking of this, and after a few too many bruises for Parrot’s liking, he’d decided to just head to the back of the crowd and head home. That was enough of the festival for today, at least he got to look at Wemmbu. His ego must actually be insane from this many people pushing and shoving just to get a glimpse of his figure.
Speaking of, he’d just gotten completely bodyslammed by someone, what the hell.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking. Are you okay?” The man rushed out, eyes frantically searching his body for any injuries. “Nah, it’s all good, not the worst that’s happened today probably” Parrot replied, it was an honest mistake and he didn’t get hurt, so why would he be mad? “Good, sorry again, bro!” The man apologized, already walking away to the front of the crowd. He might have a hard time getting there, but hey, he was freakishly strong with the bodyslam, he’d probably find a way.
Back to what he was doing, he’d have to make his way home. That was easier said than done, definitely, shoving his way through the masses. He loved having wings, super convenient and all that, but in situations like this, he wished he didn’t. God, he was definitely going to come home with a lot less feathers.
Since when were there so many people in the kingdom? It's definitely better than if they were all starved and diseased, but still. Their kingdom was large, everyone from even the edges of the land came for this event, even people from other kingdoms overseas could be found within the crowd.
He’d gone to the festival last year as well and it wasn’t nearly as crowded. As the years go by, and the chance of ‘Prince Wemmbu’ becoming ‘King Wemmbu’ grows more and more possible, more and more people tend to show up. And he understood why, he was the one man who the whole kingdom would fall into the hands of. It was a huge responsibility, but he was raised for one purpose and on purpose only.
The festival was nearing its end, the crowds slowly growing thinner. Suddenly, thousands of loud gasps rudely interrupted Parrot’s thoughts. He quickly turned around, hearing the commotion. Prince Wemmbu was ducked down, guards looking through the crowds. Did someone attack the prince? Holy shit. Is he alive?
The commotion stopped for a moment, Wemmbu was turning around to face the crowd, everyone held their breath.
…
Someone had thrown an egg at the prince.
And that someone had revealed himself.
Spoke.
The notorious trouble maker, and kingdom-wide nuisance, Spoke.
He’d never really done anything exactly harmful to the kingdom, only pranks, really. And thus, they could never legally arrest him. So he just stayed as a pest they could never get rid of.
Did this ‘egg throwing scandal’ seem a bit risky? If Parrot was him, he wouldn’t have dared.
Flame seemingly asked Prince Wemmbu whether or not he should catch Spoke, who was already on the run. But graceful as always, Wemmbu brushed it off and continued waving at the crowd. He somehow seemed even more elegant with egg splattered on his face, his whole life’s worth of training must’ve paid off.
A guard hurriedly handed Flame a cloth, at least he thinks, he was standing way too far, but at least he had enhanced vision from his bird traits. Flame gently wiped his face and plucked away any loose eggshells, seemingly rolling his eyes at the prince. But nonetheless, it was back to normal, the float continuing its path down the road.
Parrot should probably leave before the festival officially ends, to avoid the crowds in the main roads.
Wait. Holy shit.
The man he bumped into did look awfully familiar, despite the mask covering his face. That was Spoke.
So he did manage to make it to the front of the crowd, Parrot laughed to himself.
But that didn’t matter anymore, the damage was done, the egg was thrown, and no one got hurt. Now he had to find his boyfriend.
He’d, of course, first tried their house, but to no avail. Wifies was probably still at the festival, hopefully he’d managed to get somewhat close to the front by now. If he would leave when the festival ended, which he probably would, he’d probably make it home in about thirty minutes.
So, to pass the time, he could work on his piles of cases that he had to solve, …or he could do anything, literally anything else, and he really wanted to do anything besides his, well, job. And it wasn’t because he necessarily hated it, he loved solving mysteries and he was good at it, that’s exactly why he was a detective and why people chose to give their less important cases to him, rather than the kingdom’s law enforcement.
It was honestly not that deep, he was just feeling lazy. Plus, he didn’t want to start a new case without his partner (both in detective work and life).
So, he slumped onto his bed, already feeling the fatigue hit him as the comfortable warmth overtook him. God, since when could a bed be this comfortable? He’d vaguely managed to, at least, properly move his wings so he wouldn’t wake up with wing pain, and immediately after, he was out like a light.
— — —
“Parrot…Parrot, my sweet boy… Parrot” a soft voice spoke, slowly getting louder and louder the more he woke up.
“Mm, Wifies?” He murmured, blinking slowly. “Hey, birdboy, came home after the festival and I found the most adorable boy in my very own bed” Wifies laughed. “Stop it, bro” he replied incoherently.
“I made us dinner, if you’re up for some already” Wifies said, running a hand through Parrot’s brown hair. “Aww, you really are Wife-ies” Parrot giggled. “Hey, that’s really offensive, y’know? Husbands can cook and clean too!” Wifies argued.
“So are you saying you’re my husband?” Parrot smirked, clearly still half asleep. “Yes, of course, my beautiful boy” Wifies played along. “When did we get married? Did I sleep through it?” Parrot said, clearly confused, furrowing his brows.
Wifies, not being able to contain it any longer, began laughing so hard, he started crying. “Did you drink anything funny today, darling?” He said, wiping his eyes. “I think not? … Holy shit I just realized what I said” Parrot said, burying his head in his pillow, trying to hide from Wifies’ gaze.
“Aww, it’s okay, love, that was adorable” Wifies said, his mouth forming into a derpy smile. Oh my god, Parrot was in love, he might as well marry him already.
“That was so embarrassing, Wifies, break up with me now” Parrot said, a slight blush creeping onto his face, both out of embarrassment and also—his gorgeous boyfriend was right in front of him, how could he not?
“No way! I thought we were married!” Wifies laughed, “Now, c’mon, darling, let’s go eat. I made us some soup, and I got some bread from the markets” Wifies beckoned, already standing up. Parrot nodded, already mourning the loss of the hand in his hair, but stood up nonetheless. Slouching his way out of their bedroom, the delicious scent of, presumably, the soup Wifies made wafted into his nose. “Holy shit, that smells good” he said.
Wifies laughed, already spooning soup into a bowl, “It tastes better than it smells, love. Don’t doubt my abilities to be a good wife.” Parrot laughed, sitting down at the dining table, “I thought you said that was offensive” he scolded. “You’re right, my bad,” Wifies laughed, walking over to the dining table.
“Okay, here you go, one bowl for you, and there’s some bread on the counter if you want something to dip in it” He offered. Parrot grabbed the bowl steadily, setting it down on the table, “Thanks, Wifies” he said, taking a sip.
“Oh damn, you were right—this is good” he said, eyes wide open. “Never doubt me, love” Wifies said as sternly as he could while attempting to hide his laughs.
“Okay, now go eat up while I grab some for myself.”