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Between the two of them, you could never go wrong with Autumn and Winter. It was their favorite time of year, when the weather got colder and things got quieter. It was peaceful for them, when they got to break out the warmer clothing they felt so comfortable in without the heat of the sun trying to melt them off the face of the planet.
For Wilbur and Karl, Autumn and Winter were the seasons of hot chocolate, sweaters, hoodies, and of course the good nesting material. Their thick blankets, the fuzzy blankets, all of the blankets in the damn house.
It was cuddle season, it was nesting season, it was-
"KARL! GET BACK HERE WITH MY DAMN SWEATER!"
-...season.
Yep, that was pretty common too. The peacock avian tearing through the house cackling his damn head off while wearing Wilbur's favorite purple sweater. Yes, a purple one. It was a turtleneck and a gift and Karl kept snatching it because of how often he wore it. Wilbur has returned the favor a few times by snatching Karl's hoodie. Now, the obvious solution would be to swap the two clothing articles. Yeah, they tried that. After the other's scent faded it wasn't as fun. Also, part of the enjoyment is the act of theft itself. Not even mentioning that when they did successfully swap the sweater and hoodie, it ended up with them stuck in the nest for like three days being feather-brained cooing over each other. Because bird brain is going to bird brain, and bird brains have possessive tendencies.
Regardless, the current situation was familiar, comforting, and not at all unusual for their home around this time of year. It was just a matter of making sure they didn't knock over any furniture. Especially not the bookshelves, it would take forever to resort all those books. Their home was essentially a small library with how many they had collected together over the years, with many soft spots for perching or snuggling down to read. Recliners, beanbags, some comfortable swivel chairs, at least two rocking chairs, and of course perches all over the house for them to fly up and land on. From little rods or platforms jutting out of the walls, to little nooks set aside for them to hide within.
Karl bolted into their shared bedroom with Wilbur hot on his heels, throwing himself at the peacock with a flap of his wings to tackle him into their half built nest. The avian squawked in both indignation and conflicting delight, the shorter thrashing around in his arms as he was scooped.
"UNFAIR!" The dramatic avian declared violently. "LET ME GO!"
"I got you before you hit the nest," Wilbur raised an eyebrow at his partner. "What about that was unfair?"
"I heard your wings flap you piece of shit!" Karl hissed, jabbing a finger at his chest feathers, which were currently visible due to the button up he was wearing.
He had unbuttoned the first two or so buttons in order to free the feathers. It was a loose fitting shirt, usually what he wore leading up to a preening session since it allowed more access to his feathers than his sweater did.
Then again, Karl had the sweater currently. It was big on him by a small margin, but enough for the peacock to deem it worth stealing. He only ever did this with clothes that were oversized on him, he liked the extra room and especially enjoyed when the sleeves were capable of covering his hands. Wilbur can't say he disagrees with the notion, especially during the season of spices and crunchy leaves. The crisp bite to the air left him quite fond of sleeves that he could hide his hands in when things got too cold.
"Yes, as a boost," Wilbur argued, shifting one of his arms around to push the other's hand away from his feathers. "You gave yourself a boost last time too."
The avian hissed and swat at the elytrian's hand, shoving himself closer and knocking Wilbur off balance. Causing the magpie to fall over into their half completed nest, now with the shorter laying on top of him.
"Oh now who's playing unfair?" Wilbur hissed, his tail popping against the mattress much to his partner's giggling delight.
Karl hummed, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and taking a deep purposeful breath. The taller sighed then, relaxing into their nest and placing a hand on top of the other's lighter brown curls. Slowly brushing through them with his talons and drawing a purr from his partner.
"I'm going to need my sweater back," Wilbur teased softly.
"Suffer in agony," was the quiet reply.
"Your hoodie is forfeit then," the elytrian purred.
The peacock avian hissed back in turn.
"It is~" Wilbur cooed.
"Shush," Karl grumbled back, pushing one of his hands up and over the magpie's mouth. "No more talking. Just snuggles."
The taller couldn't help a small laugh then, despite the hand covering his mouth. He shifted them around so they were laying on their sides, throwing a wing over his partner. Karl hummed then, snuggling closer and tangling his legs with Wilbur's. Despite the more bird-like nature of them as an elytrian. Wilbur sat up for a second to rearrange their pillows around them, fussing for a bit over their blankets too while he was at it until Karl grabbed his shirt and tugged him back down.
"Fix the nest later," the shorter grumbled. "Snuggles now."
"But the pillows-"
Karl sighed and wrapped his arm around the taller, retracting his talons to gently push fingers into the feathers at the base of Wilbur's wing. Immediately the magpie cut himself off with a startled chirp, his mouth closing.
"Done?" The peacock prompted.
Wilbur rumbled a purr, burying his face in the other's shoulder to hide a blush.
Yeah...Autumn was his favorite season at least. Karl had a preference for Winter.
Wilbur closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of old books and ink. Worn pages and lavender. Karl always carried that scent. Libraries and fragrant teas. It was a scent the elytrian sought comfort in during late nights when nightmares ravaged his mind. Those steady hands, sometimes taloned sometimes not...the kind that brushed lovingly over the spines of books, tracing the titles to look for the one he desired.
They were soft, steady, and loving. But they could also be sharp and precise.
Wilbur continued to purr, wrapping his tail around his lover.
Karl purred back, kissing at the side of his head, wherever he could reach with the magpie still hiding in his shoulder.
"If we put my sweater in the nest we're putting your hoodie in here too," Wilbur rumbled, low and quiet.
"But it's going to get cold," the avian whined back. "You have all your extra feathers to keep you warm!"
"Quid pro quo," the magpie replied. "I lose my sweater you lose your hoodie."
"I hate you," Karl hissed with no fire, lightly shoving his shoulder and causing the taller to laugh.
"You love me~"