PLANET MONTH

Day Twenty-Two: Light (Oneshot)

(more tsftlt, rushed one today sorry girlies

this is based off of my theory that planet is a light/power source!! it doesnt work quite the same on earth as it does at their home, but sometimes it can be seen, hes also a little bit scared of the dark :P)

--

It takes a while to convince Parrot's mom to let Planet stay at their house.

When she finally (reluctantly) agrees, Parrot wastes no time in dragging Planet by the hand back to their house, with what little possessions that they hide with the tall grass under the chessboard. 

(Parrot always insists that nobody here would try to steal from him. Planet never outright disagrees, but he gives him a look like he does.)

They're still not sure exactly what room Planet's gonna stay in. So them dropping all of their things off in Parrot's room turns into them sleeping there for the night.

He's stubbornly decided to take the floor, right next to his things, even though Parrot offered the bed multiple times. So instead, Parrot finds himself searching for every single blanket in his house that he could use to make them comfortable, which Planet doesn't object to.

It's only after he hands off the stack of blankets and pillows that reach far past their heads, to rummage the kitchen cabinets for soft dish towels, that Parrot's mother decides that Planet has 'plenty of blankets' and she's 'sure that your friend will be fine, sweetie.'

So after setting up Planet's big nest pile of blankets and pillows, Parrot is finally content with the sleeping arrangements. And also tired enough to turn the lights off.

He gets up out of bed and slowly shuffles over to the light switch by the door. (Really, Planet is closer to it, but trying to get out of the carefully made makeshift bed and end up throwing half the blankets all over the floor would really just be more the inconvenience for the both of them.)

"Wait!"

Parrot looks over at Planet, arm halfway outstretched towards the switch.

"Umm-" Planet stares at their hands. "Do you have a nightlight?"

Parrot looks around the room, confirming what he already knew. There were no other lights but his too-bright bedside lamp. He would never fall asleep with it on.

"Do you need one?" Parrot asks, instead of an outright no.

Planet frowns. "No! Just wondering."

Parrot chooses not to push the topic. He tries to meet Planet's eyes, which still seem to be more interested in the back of his hands than anywhere else in the room, especially Parrot.

He flicks the light switch off.

He flicks it again.

And again.

And again.

The light is still on, it had never turned off. He clicks the light switch a few more times back and forth for good measure. Staring at the bulb in the ceiling that stubbornly remains alive. He squints at it, after he looks for too long.

"Huh." He says outloud, flipping the light switch down before walking to where the light is and standing directly under it.

If he hadn't been staring at it for so long and didn't know better. He'd almost say that it had gotten a little bit brighter.

"Guess the lights are broken." He says, turning to Planet.

"Sorry." He responds immediately. They continue to stare down at their hands, but they look a little more strained now. Like they're trying to focus on something that isn't actually there, like a memory, maybe.

Parrot tilts his head. "What? Nah, it's not your fault man. It just kind of happens here sometimes, y'know?"

That last part was a lie, but Planet doesn't need to know that. Parrot doesn't want them thinking that their presence managed to somehow ruin the lighting in his house (because it didn't.)

Planet doesn't look totally convinced, but glances up at parrot anyways. Dark eyes hidden behind bangs of white hair. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Parrot says, a little too quickly. Trying to find a way to keep Planet's attention on him immediately, and away from whatever overthinking he was doing. "Uh, I actually have this game that I do, whenever this happens and I can't sleep. Do you want me to show you?"

Planet gives them one of those looks again. Where he won't say anything out loud, but his eyes will say that they don't really believe it. Although this time he smiles, maybe because he knows he's about to make Parrot improv an entire game if he's right.

"Yeah. Show me."

Parrot spends the rest of the night stumbling his way through some game he was still creating in his head. He falls asleep when the moon starts to fall over the horizon, and the lights never once turn off.