(..Are You Coming Back?)

For the past 78 years, Road Runner had lived a very happy life. Some might think the cartoony routine of running around the desert being chased by someone who will never catch you, would turn boring after so many decades.

But none of them were being chased by a funny dumb genius called Wile E. Coyote.

Said coyote had been around for as long as he could remember, always with a large plate of free birdseed and some strange invention with the word ACME written on it.

Through bridges and canyons, sunshine and rain, railroads or plain desert, he was always there for him. No matter the boulder, explosion, piano that fell from the sky or fast-speeding train, Coyote always got back up and went back to the chase the next day (or hour, depending on how early it was).

That's why the day he didn't was so… disturbing.

Road Runner remembered the day before, when Wile E. had touched his beak with a claw for a second thanks to some rocket shoes and a slight, one-millionth-of-a-second pause the bird might have made to motivate his chase partner. Even though a missile had ultimately crashed into him, leaving a coyote-shaped crater, Road Runner was sure the feather he'd left behind would be enough to make the mammal join him early today.

Instead, he had spent the entire morning Beep Beeping, breaking the barrier of sound and sprinting around his cave waiting for the moment the Coyote would start their daily ritual.

He never went out.

Slightly crestfallen, Road Runner kept running, smile never leaving his beak. Surely, by lunchtime, some fresh birdseed would be waiting for him somewhere in the desert!

There was none.

As the day ended and his feathers got colder, an unusual heaviness fell onto him.

Which was very strange since there were no anvils or heavy pianos in sight. And they never crushed him anyway…

In his pondering, he ended up once again outside the Coyote’s cave.

“Beep Beep!”, he chirped into the night.

Nothing.

Was While E. asleep? Sad? Hurt?

“BEEP BEEP!”

Not a sound came from the cave. Nada. Not even the whirling of a drill or the clanking of a hammer.

He walked closer to the entrance, where some well-known signs could be seen even in the darkness.

[ NO ROADRUNNERS ALLOWED ]

[ UNLESS IT'S TO BE COOKED FOR DINNER]

[THEN YES, ROADRUNNERS WELCOME]

It had always seemed strange to him that the Coyote went to such lengths to court him but had never invited him into his cave. He'd even gotten really angry when Road Runner had sneaked in to wake him after he overslept one day.

He was just being nice by reminding him of their ritual! Thank you very much!

But he'd respected his pal’s wishes and never went inside again.

“Beep… beep?”

Until now.

After tapping on a rock with his claw for the third time, Road Runner sped through the cave. Over tall filing cabinets, around unfinished inventions, and under rocks that looked ready to crash down at any second… There was no sign of the Coyote. “Beep beep?” he asked again, only to be met with more silence.

He continued through the cave, quietly beeping as he looked for his Coyote. He could only hope Wile E. wasn't hurt or, worse… angry with him. Then he accidentally stepped on a TV remote.

The image on the device had frozen on a scruffy-looking human swallowed by an oversized suit(probably what Wile E. would look like as a human, heh) standing over a sign that read: “Call 1-800-Lawyer.”

Huh. Maybe he went to the city to find someone who could fix his TV? And he'll be back tomorrow?

The explanation didn't feel quite right. It sat strangely beneath his feathers, like a stuck pebble he couldn't outrun. Wile E. could have left him a note, at least. Partners were supposed to tell each other these things! Especially partners who spent every day together, exchanged feathers, and had touched beaks. Well, Wile E. had touched his beak, but Road Runner was fairly certain the intent still counted.

*The only other clue he found was a ripped blueprint bearing the words “Step 1: Go to City.” So Road Runner left the cave, crest slightly drooped. Tomorrow, he decided, he would Beep much louder. His Coyote needed to understand that disappearing without saying goodbye was very rude.

A second day passed, then a third.

Still no news from the Coyote.

It wasn't until the fourth day that he came back.

The familiar rustle of Road Runner’s favorite birdseed reached him from across the desert, and his heart leapt so hard it seemed to tug the rest of him forward. He dashed toward his buddy in a delighted blur, all three lonely days falling away behind him.

Then he saw that Wile E. wasn't alone.

Four humans stood beside him. The scruffy one from the television held a piece of paper, which he carefully slipped beneath the pile of seeds. A young lady human hovered close to Wile E., looking hopeful and terrified at the same time.

“Beep Beep!” Road Runner chirped as brightly as he could.

Wile E. didn't look happy to see him. He rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and exchanged an annoyed glance with the lady human.

The sight hurt more than any falling anvil could have.

Wile E. knew Road Runner never stopped for anyone, least of all humans, so he beeped louder and snatched the paper while finishing the seeds on the run. Perhaps this was another game. Perhaps if he played his part properly, his Coyote would smile and start chasing him again.

Looking back, he saw the scruffy human say something. Wile E. gestured after him with one paw as if to say, “See? I told you so”.

Road Runner looked down. He barely had time to catch one word on the paper.

Lawsuit.

His feet nearly forgot how to run.

He pecked a hurried beep beep onto the page and shoved it back into the human’s hand, speeding away before anyone could see his watering eyes. The desert blurred around him, but for once the speed didn't feel like freedom. It felt like an avalanche running up to crush him.

Was Wile E. suing him? Had he mistaken all their fun for cruelty? Did he think every teasing beep beep, every tongue stuck out over his blue shoulder, and every impossible escape had been meant to humiliate him? Road Runner had only wanted to keep the game going. He had slowed down for him. Left feathers for him. Run close enough to feel the snap of his teeth. He had thought Wile E. understood.

Or was it some sort of cartoony divorce law? A way to end their chase officially so Wile E. could choose another animal… one who stopped when caught, one who didn't tease, one who deserved all those elaborate inventions more than Road Runner did?

The thought of someone else eating his birdseed and hearing his Coyote’s frustrated growls made jealousy burn hot in his chest. Worse was the thought that Wile E. might be happier with them.

Squeaking softly, Road Runner returned to his nest alone. He curled his long legs beneath himself and tucked his beak under one wing, but sleep wouldn't come. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Wile E. exchanging that look with the lady human. He wondered if the Coyote had hated him for years while Road Runner foolishly believed they were partners.

For the next days, he still ran because running was what Road Runners did. But his feet dragged. His beep beeps came out small and cracked, offered to an empty desert that never answered. Without Wile E. behind him, there was no clever trap to dodge, no triumphant glance over his shoulder, no one worth challenging.

Running didn't sound so fun anymore.

On the fifteenth awful day, a newspaper blew low across the road near the Coyote’s cave. No matter how hard Road Runner tried to avoid the place, his feet always seemed to carry him back there.

He was about to turn around when he recognized Wile E.’s photograph beside another showing Foghorn Leghorn. The headline read: “COYOTE SUES ACME OVER ENTIRE CARTOON PRODUCT CATALOGUE, FAILS SPECTACULARLY.”

Road Runner stopped so abruptly that a little cloud of dust continued without him.

He read the headline once. Then twice. Then a third time, tracing the words with the tip of his beak.

Wile E. was suing ACME.

Not him.

Relief rushed through Road Runner so fiercely that his crest sprang upright. A joyous “BEEP BEEP!” burst from him, loud enough to echo between the mountains.

He bounced in a delighted circle, laughing at how ridiculous he had been.

Of course Wile E. was angry at ACME, not at him.

That made so much more sense! After all, his Coyote knew the teasing was part of the fun. He knew Road Runner would never truly hurt him. Every taunt was an invitation to keep chasing, a promise that tomorrow they would do it all again.

And the paper the scruffy lawyer had given him must have been a court summons. They needed Road Runner as a witness! Perhaps he was important to the case. Perhaps Wile E. had spent all that time telling the humans about him, not because he wanted a different chase partner, but because no one knew the ACME products' malfunctions better than the bird who had watched them fail.

Unfortunately, Road Runner hadn't finished reading the paper, so he didn't know where the court was or when he was supposed to appear. For one worried moment, his feathers drooped.

Then he brightened. The lawyers knew where to find him, and Wile E. did too. They would come back when it was time. Perhaps all four humans would arrive in that dirty car, with his Coyote sitting impatiently beside them. They would bring birdseed to make sure he stopped, explain everything properly, and then take him to court with them.

The idea filled him with such certainty that he hurried home to prepare. He polished his beak, smoothed his crest, and practiced his most serious courtroom “Beep Beep” in front of a cactus. Then he kept running the same route the humans had come from, smiling toward the horizon.

Any day now, his Coyote would come to pick him up.

Two weeks passed.

The car never came.

Road Runner still watched every road that cut through the desert. Every groaning engine made his head spring upright; every cloud of dust sent him racing toward the horizon with a hopeful beep. But each time it was only a delivery truck, a family of tourists, or some lost human who screamed when a blue blur shot past their windshield.

Then, one morning, the sky began to roar.

A helicopter swept over and dropped a mountain of birdseed directly onto the road. Not a pile. Not a plate. A mountain! Golden, fragrant, and tall enough to cast its own shadow.

“Beep Beep!”

Road Runner’s mouth watered. Perhaps Wile E. had arranged it as an apology for taking so long. It was certainly elaborate enough to be one of his traps, although Road Runner couldn't see the customary ACME label anywhere.

Military vehicles thundered into the valley behind the helicopter. Humans in dark uniforms jumped out and surrounded the birdseed with nets, cages, ropes, and several weapons that looked much less funny than Wile E.’s inventions.

Road Runner slowed just enough to inspect the ground. Beneath the lowest layer of seeds, something gleamed.

Glue.

Very sticky glue.

His smile flattened.

These weren't Wile E.’s humans. These were bad humans, and they were trying to catch him without even understanding the rules.

Road Runner darted away an instant before anyone blinked. The soldiers shouted and scrambled after him. He led them through the desert, around a cliff, beneath the helicopter, between the armored cars, and straight through their carefully stacked explosives. By the time the humans realized where they were standing, Road Runner was already safely on a distant ridge.

He raised one wing in farewell.

“Beep Beep!”

The explosion sent a black cloud blooming into the sky. When the smoke cleared, the humans were sitting in a crater with their faces covered in soot, blinking at one another. Road Runner nodded with satisfaction. Wile E. would have done it better.

And the thought of his Coyote brought the worry back.

If no one was coming for him, Road Runner would go to Albuquerque himself. He didn't know exactly where the courthouse was, but cities had roads, and roads were his specialty.

He had just started east when he passed a truck parked beside a gas station. Its radio crackled through an open window.

“—the judge has dismissed Wile E. Coyote’s lawsuit against the ACME Corporation. Representatives for ACME praised the decision—”

Road Runner skidded to a halt.

Dismissed.

His feathers sank. After everything Wile E. had endured… the rockets, the dynamite, the defective springs, the anvils that never landed where they were supposed to, the humans had simply decided none of it mattered.

Poor Wile E.

Road Runner wished he had made it to court. He would have told them. He would have shown them every scar hidden beneath the Coyote’s fur and described every explosion he had witnessed. Well, he would have beeped it, but surely Mr. Scruffy Lawyer could have translated.

Still, one comforting thought remained: the case was over. His partner was coming home. * Road Runner hurried back to the desert and waited beside the road.

One day passed.

Then two.

Wile E. didn't return.

On the second afternoon, another newspaper tumbled across the sand and wrapped itself around Road Runner’s legs. He shook it loose and froze when he saw Wile E.’s face on the front page.

“CONGRESS RE-OPENS ACME CASE: COYOTE HEARING SET FOR TOMORROW IN WASHINGTON, D.C.”

Tomorrow?

Washington, D.C.?

Road Runner had never crossed an entire country before. He looked east, lowered his body, dug his claws into the earth, and smiled.

“Beep Beep.”

The desert exploded behind him.

He crossed New Mexico before the newspaper hit the ground, Texas before sunset, and several states too quickly to read their welcome signs. Highways curled beneath his feet. Mountains became smudges. Rivers flashed silver and vanished behind him. He ran through the night, stopping only once when a confused police officer tried to give him a speeding ticket.

By morning, a white dome rose ahead.

Road Runner shot through the Capitol doors, past startled guards, around velvet ropes, and down a corridor filled with humans shouting into microphones. He followed the familiar sound of Foghorn Leghorn’s booming voice until he reached a chamber packed with reporters, lawyers, officials and, at the far end, his Coyote.

Wile E. looked exhausted.

Road Runner’s heart squeezed beneath his feathers. His partner sat beside his human lawyers, shoulders bowed, while wires disappeared beneath the table and wound toward some new, wonderfully complicated machine hidden under (and over?) the witnesses’ platform.

Even here, Wile E. had built a trap for him.

Road Runner smiled at the cables. None of the humans seemed to have noticed them.

Foghorn Leghorn leaned toward a microphone, his voice filling the chamber.

“I say, I say, this whole miserable business is the Coyote’s own fault! Chasin’ something that never wanted him, buyin’ contraptions no sensible creature would touch! Why, there ain't a soul in the whole world who cares what happens to that mangy varmint!”

Laughter scattered through the room. Foghorn’s lawyer smirked and added something about Wile E. being friendless, unwanted, and too foolish to know when to quit.

Road Runner stopped smiling.

His crest rose like a flame.

No one cared about Wile E. Coyote?

No one?

“BEEP BEEP!”

Every head turned as Road Runner streaked down the aisle. Papers spiraled into the air behind him. He leapt over the railing and landed on the witness platform directly in front of Wile E.

For one terrible second, the Coyote only stared.

Road Runner gave him his widest, most reassuring smile. I came. Of course I came.

Wile E.’s ears lifted.

Kevin hurried forward, straightening his oversized suit and asking the officials to recognize the witness. After several confused arguments about whether a Road Runner could take an oath, the human began with simple yes-or-no questions.

Was he a bird?

“Beep beep”

Was he easy to catch?

“Beep!”

Had he seen Wile E. use ACME products?

“Beep! Beep”

Had those products always malfunctioned?

Road Runner laughed so hard that his answer came out as six rapid beeps. He pointed toward the concealed cables beneath Wile E.’s table, then mimed an explosion with his wings. Wile E. covered his face with one paw. Several members of Congress chuckled.

Then Kevin expression softened.

“Have you been witness to Mr. Coyote’s pain and suffering?”

Road Runner’s smile faded.

He looked at Wile E.

In his mind, the funny explosions vanished. He saw the coyote-shaped craters, the flattened body beneath an anvil, the burns hidden under singed fur. He remembered how Wile E. always dragged himself upright afterward, no matter how much it hurt, because tomorrow there would be another chase.

Road Runner’s head lowered.

“Beep, beep,” he nodded sadly.

The lawyer looked as sad as Road Runner felt. Beside him, the tiny lady human blinked hard and pressed her lips together. Almost everyone in the room stopped smiling.

“Yeah… me too…” he murmured softly, ”And despite everything,” *the human asked, * “do you consider Wile E. Coyote your friend , Mr. Roadrunner do you love Coyote??”

Road Runner looked straight into his partner’s eyes.

“BEEP BEEP!” *of course i love him! *

“BEEP BEEP BEEP!” I love him so much.!

The words rang through the chamber. Yes. Obviously yes. More than that, but human courts apparently required short answers.

Wile E.’s mouth parted. His ears trembled.

Kevin once again cleared his throat. “Is there anything else you'd like to add, Mr. Runner?”

At last.

The question that had chased Road Runner for weeks rose inside him. It had followed him through the empty desert, kept him awake in his nest, and carried him all the way across the country.

He faced Wile E. completely.

“Beep… beep beep beeep?”

Are you coming back?

Wile E.’s eyes filled with tears.

The Coyote glanced at all the humans watching him, then back at Road Runner. Very slowly, almost too slightly for anyone else to notice, he nodded.

Just for him.

Joy burst through Road Runner from beak to tail.

“BEEP BEEP!”

I'll be waiting for you.

Then he launched himself from the platform and raced out of the chamber, leaving the humans to their laws and his Coyote to his elaborate, secret trap. There was no need to worry anymore. Wile E. had promised.

Two days later, Kevin (apparently called Scruffy’s) dirty car rattled down the desert road. The lawyer was driving. The tiny lady human sat beside him, and in the back, crowded between boxes, blueprints, and the scorched remains of something mechanical, sat Wile E. Coyote.

Road Runner was already waiting.

He stood in the middle of the road holding a large cardboard sign.

[ YOU’RE BACK! ]

The car stopped. Wile E. climbed out, set down his suitcase, and looked at him.

[ YES ] his own sign read, “I promised”, was what it meant.

Road Runner dropped the first sign and lifted another.

[ MISSED YOU ]

“Beep Beep,” he said, meaning exactly the same thing.

Before Wile E. could answer, Road Runner darted forward and pressed his beak against the mammal's snout. Then he gave the end of Wile E.'s nose one small, affectionate lick. A kiss, just to show him how much he'd missed him.

The Coyote went perfectly still. His eyes widened. His ears shot upright, and a deep red blush spread beneath the fur of his face.

Road Runner giggled.

Then he ran.

Behind him came a familiar growl, the rustle of paws against the pavement and something that sounded like laughter.

Road Runner glanced over his shoulder. Wile E. was chasing him again.

His smile stretched from one side of his beak to the other.

“BEEP BEEP!”

-At last, everything was back to normal.-

(Nest)

Wile E. has been chasing after that bird - his friend - long enough to know when everything is not at all like it normally is. Usually, Wile E. spots Road Runner somewhere in the distance, sets a trap for the blue-feathered menace, Road Runner foils said trap, and Wile E. goes without getting his teeth into the bird. Despite the deep memories I hold of my failed plans, I consider them less a source of shame and more a reminder of the constant effort I've put into my pursuit of excellence. As Epictetus said, "It is not things that disturb us, but our opinions about them." Every mistake is a stepping stone leading me to the pinnacle of success because what matters is the journey more than the destination. This is a memorial to my life's story, where each error shows me the way forward. True failure would be never having tried. Aristotle mentions that virtue is a habit, which implies trial and error. Only those who have stumbled along the way can truly enjoy the fruits of their labor.

As long as I can Remember... I've been Chasing the "Road Runner" every Plan every Fall every CLANK

Makes me wonder if.

What I'm doing is enough

It might sound silly.. but Sometimes I wish for a sign that...

I'm doing it right on well I decided to have a small cup of coffee to clear my mind. Tomorrow Is a- ? There was a nest next to the table where I was making my plans to catch that bird. Why is there a bird nest? ”Beeeeeep,”

[ We've been dating for 78 years ]

[ I thought it's a good time for live together. ]

I don't know why I got the feeling that if i refused, he would start crying.

Is disturbed, jealous gaze won't let me think.

After examining the entire cave, he noticed the mural—or the wall—that was flawed. along with all the plans He plans our dates and cherishes every moment, cute

After a while, the roadrunner settled down to sleep in its nest, and I sat at my table, wondering what I could do.

(You make my heart go Beep Beep)

Wile E. Coyotes likes to think he's an honest guy.

Hiding bombs or traps under huge piles of bird seed doesn't count as lying in case you want to argue that point, because he's honest with himself about his intentions in wanting to get his paws on that blue menace of a bird's bright and well-kept plumage, even if from the outside it might look like he's being not quite truthful in what's on offer in order to try and fool his feathered rival.

Wile E. is honest when he says he's a genius because he'd like to see some other coyote come up with the traps and tricks he does to try and capture the Road Runner. It's not a lack of smarts that means he doesn't catch the beeping bird - he didn't take ACME to court for no reason, after all.

And he's honest in that he will travel to get the job done; often traversing miles of desert around his cave that he's made home, in the hopes of pouncing on Road Runner and getting his mouth on him.

It's just, Wile E. is starting to realise that he might not have been entirely truthful with himself or anyone else when he said all he wanted to do was eat the insanely fast bird.

Ever since they went to Congress and Road Runner appeared in a whirlwind of dust and legal papers, and told everyone watching that he'd been there to witness every attempt Wile E. had made to capture him and failing each time, (without laughing at his misfortune too which had been sort of surprise), and also when asked if he had any questions, the only thing he felt important to say was, Are you coming back? while looking right at him and well—

Wile E.'s been doing a lot of thinking.

Because that look in Road Runner's big, shiny eyes, and the fear on his chirpy face that Wile E. might leave him out in the desert alone, it had left the coyote feeling like he'd swallowed butterflies. And he hadn't. He can 100% confirm no butterflies had been consumed. He'd actually been quite hungry at that point, but the thought of cooking Road Runner and feasting on was leaving his brain.

Which was odd and alarming.

No, instead of picturing an appropriately large knife and fork in his hands with which to take his time devouring the tasty looking bird, his arms had instead twitched with the urge to wrap Road Runner in a hug. His lips had tingled with the need to brush them against his feathery cheek, teeth well behaved, not breaking skin. The revelation had left Wile E. feeling like his world had turned upside down.

Because if he didn't want Road Runner for food but he still wanted the bird in his life, then what did that mean?

And why, if this was a feeling that had come on so suddenly, why when Wile E. actually sat down and pondered his feelings did it feel like nothing had actually changed, and he'd felt this way about Road Runner for years and just hadn't admitted to it to himself?

The questions and what the answers maybe, probably, most definitely meant had rattled Wile E. so much he decided the best course of action was to hide in his cave and see if it, the feelings swirling in his belly that he thinks might be love, just...went away.

It's been three days and the feelings are still there.

Wile E. rolls over to his side, back to the mouth of the cave. He's not hungry and he can barely sleep. All he can think about is Road Runner and how when he pictures his life a day, a month, a year from now, all he can see is blue feathers, golden beak, and pink tongue.

His life revolves around Road Runner and being honest, it has done ever since he first saw those clawed feet making tracks in the dusty sands and heard that chirpy Beep Beep, that haunts his dreams so.

Wile E. always thought the bird just made him crazy with hunger, but after lounging around his cave and playing a slideshow of memories in his mind of all the times he’s chased Road Runner, it's clear that the bird just plain makes him crazy.

They're different species. Rivals. Predator and prey (though which is which he's not entirely sure considering his success rate). Nothing about their partnership should work or make sense outside of the concept of him enjoying the feathered menace in a nice Road Runner stew. And yet—

The idea of spending his life with anyone else, chasing after anyone else is just incomprehensible.

It's Road Runner or no one.

And that's terrifying. Because what if the bird doesn't feel the same way as him? What if it's just a fun game to him? Like, yeah Road Runner supported him in Congress but at the end of the day that's just business really; doing it so he doesn't have to find another Coyote to humiliate on a daily basis with his speed and agility. And he gets that, he does.

What Wile E. isn't sure about, is if Road Runner wants more than just running around with him. Does he want to live together right here in the cave? Would he . rasp his tongue over Wile E?

Longs to hear Beep Beep echo in his ears against the desert breeze.

"Beep Beep!"

That was so loud and clear in Wile E.'s large brown ears, it's almost like the bird is right here with him.

"BEEP!"

Wile E. jumps about five feet in the air; the loud chirp bouncing off the stone walls and making his heart race. He lands on the ground with a thump.

He scowls, holding up his hands in confusion. The bird is scant inches in front of him and yet he has no desire to chase him away. Wonders why he’s not running back to the desert already, daring Wile E. to catch him.

None of this is following their usual pattern and it's rather confusing.

Road Runner glares at him, stomping his claw on the ground.

"Beep beep beep beeeep?”

Where have you been?

Wile E. holding up a sign "Busy". he says honestly.

The bird's frown becomes deeper, obviously unimpressed with that answer.

*Why does it matter where I've been? Wile E. asks holding up a sign. Scrubs out the words and writes,

Don't tell me you missed me...

He grins to show he's joking but Road Runner doesn't smile. Just looks at him seriously and nods.

"Beep."

Yes.

Wile E. swallows thickly,t. Really?

"Beep Beep," Road Runner says, nodding again. Yes again * He holds up another sign. Why?

Road Runner holds up one back. Because it’s not worth running, if you’re not chasing me.

Wile E. turns away from Road Runner, wiping at his teary eyes. Feels shattered into a million pieces without the help of any ACME dynamite this time. Doesn’t want Road Runner to see him so vulnerable, so very heartsick as he is. The bird must think he’s pulling away though, because Wile E. feels a beak nudge at his shoulder, and then Road Runner is in front of him again.

On him.

Plopping his feathered behind in Wile E.’s lap and getting all up in his face, like he’s not spent years speeding off in the other direction, laughing when Wile E. can’t catch up.

Wile E. blinks at him in shock; Road Runner’s golden beak so close to the tip of his muzzle. He just stares wondering what is going through that bird brain of his, when Road Runner sticks his tongue out at him; the damp end of it tickling his nose. Licking him almost like he’s claiming him. Wile E. jolts and huffs out, what was that for?

“Beep.”

Mine.

The coyote stares bewildered and painfully hopeful. Points to his own chest and then the tip of his black claw lightly pokes Road Runner’s puffed feathery one. Yours?

Road Runner nods vigorously, smiling widely.

Wile E. points at Road Runner and then himself. Mine?

Instead of nodding again, Road Runner makes that chirpy beeping noise that Wile E. is so fond of and smacks a wet kiss to his snout. Wile E. feels like he’s been hit by an anvil (he’d know how that feels) and then wrapping his arms around the bird, he rasps his tongue over Road Runner’s cheek and then kisses the top of his head.

Road Runner vibrates on his lap almost like an purr and it takes a long moment for Wile E. to realise he has him in his arms. Road Runner isn’t going anywhere. He’s not running off waiting to be chased. Wile E. bites his lip and then asks tentatively, stay?

”Beep Beep.”

He breathes out a sigh of relief and then rearranges them both so he’s curled around Road Runner, protective and greedy just to hold him. Road Runner tucks his head under Wile E.’s chin, and the coyote strokes his paw over those blue feathers again and again.

They stay tangled together as night falls,**.

When he wakes; the crest of feathers on Road Runner’s head tickles his eye and he shifts a little to look at him. Road Runner is already awake. Staring at him.

”Beeeeeep,” he says, and pressing a kiss to Wile E.’s cheek, he then skeedaddles off. Wile E. presses his paw to the freshly kissed fur, amazed the bird had stayed the night and kissed him again, and then speeds off after his love not wanting to give him too much of a head start.

Thinks a bird seed pile in the shape of a heart will do the trick this time of luring him in ready to be caught.

It doesn’t.

Road Runner manages to escape his grasp again. Remains uneaten. Uncaught.

And yet, when Wile E. returns to his cave after spending his day in pursuit of his rival, it’s not long before he feels feathers pressing against his fur, and the smile of a bird happy to see him. It doesn’t matter if Road Runner dashes off with the sunrise, or if Wile E. never catches him, because it’s not about that. Never has been. Because if he catches him, then it ends. And neither of them want it to ever end.

A pause is fine though. A stop in time where they can touch and kiss and play—

A coyote and his pretty bird, always walking the same path in the hopes the other is there, knowing the journey is never the same if they’re alone. Because it doesn’t matter what they do in life, only who they choose to do it with.

And Wile E. will always choose his Road Runner.

-Just like Road Runner will always choose his Wile E. Coyote.-

(AfterMath)

Nothing worked.

RoadRunner slowly shambled his way back to Wile E's cave, legs feeling like they made of cement.

His feathers were singed and smelled like burnt barbecue, his beak was bruised from crashing into rocks, his talons were broken off into random directions from rocket explosions, and his body felt like he'd just gone 3 rounds with a pro boxer.

And Wile E hadn't looked at him once.

His coyote instead kept his eyes and ears on his new human companions, helping them gather more information for the new toon they were designing. All week they came and took pictures of Wile E's old gadget scraps, his body prints along the bottom of the canyon, and even removed some landmarks RoadRunner and Wile E had made from their previous chases, like Anvil Hill.

When he wasn't trying to capture Wile E's eye, RoadRunner tried to stop them, he did! He'd run by and beep at them to stop, that he didn't want another toon here, just his coyote. But they never listened to him. If he came close enough they would just try and shove papers at him, not knowing that RoadRunners could only read Toon Signs, not human papers. And even if he could read them, RoadRunner would never sign anyway. They were probably forms asking him to consent to a new toon coming into his territory, and he'd rather drink DIP than sign.

He sank into Wile E's recliner with a bone-deep sigh, he'd never felt so exhausted before. Never in his whole life had he felt so sore, so beaten down, so much like a failure.

He felt just like…Wile E.

Oh

Oh by the Inkwell, had RoadRunner been making Wile E feel like this all this time?

He let out a trilling whine, feeling tears burn as he clenched his eyes shut.

No wonder Wile E wanted to leave him, RoadRunner had made his mate into a joke for 70 years.

It wasn't intentional! It never was!

He felt ashamed as he looked around the cave, seeing the terrible plight he'd put his coyote through for so long. Countless ACME orders, countless injuries, countless humiliations all caused by RoadRunner.

But Wile E had to know RoadRunner didn't mean it this way! It was all courtship! All that chasing and pursuing and gifts to one another, they all meant something to him, didn't they?

He eyes drifted to Wile E's mantle, an empty plaque for RoadRunner's head sitting above a shelf covered in the gifts RoadRunner had given him over the years.

Wile E had to know, why else had he kept the gifts? All of his feathers displayed in a jar, the pretty stones clean of desert grime, preserved lizard skins and beetle shells, all courtship and mating gifts. What else could they have meant to Wile E?

Unless, Wile E thought these were meant mockery instead?

Instead of proof of their love and affection for each other, had Wile E just seen these trinkets as teasing jabs? Pity gifts for not being able to catch RoadRunner?

Anxiety, grief, and shame pooled low in his gut like quicksand. He needed to leave, needed to clear his head.

As he stood from the springy recliner and prepared to leave, RoadRunner's eyes caught sight of Wile E stew pot, and one final, desperate idea came to mind.

He ran a wing around the pot's rim, pondering.

Maybe…maybe if he finally let Wile E catch him, that would work? If Wile E and his human friends came out to the desert tomorrow and spotted him in the pot, ready and willing to be eaten, Wile E would fire the animators and stay.

RoadRunner's eyes narrowed and he kicked the pot away with a clang! stomping away towards the entrance.

He needed to leave, this…this was getting pathetic! He was acting pathetic! All this work and mental anguish over someone who clearly did not want to be here anymore, so you know what? Who cares anymore!

Wile E could leave, he could go as far away as he wanted and leave some new toon in his place, RoadRunner didn't have to wait around for it. Screw it and Wile E Coyote.

There were more roads for him to run on, more things to race. Why waste his energy any longer than he already had.

With one last look at Wile E's cave, his heart shattering like glass, he left.

He didn't go to his own nest, he could still see Wile E's cave from there.

He just kept running.

(Not Possesive.)

The desert has always known the language of their chase. But when strangers begin to turn their eyes toward the Coyote, the Road Runner discovers that there are things harder to outrun than jealousy—and that some bonds are written into the landscape long before either of them learns their name. { drabbles}

Something was up with Road Runner.

Wile E. has been chasing after that bird

• his friend - long enough to know when everything is not at all like it normally is. Usually, Wile E. spots Road Runner somewhere in the distance, sets a trap for the blue-feathered menace, Road Runner foils said trap, and Wile E. goes without getting his teeth into the bird.

Throw in a few seconds of Road Runner staying in one place just long enough to say * “Meep Meep,” * and blow a raspberry at Wile E. before skeedaddling off again, and you’ve basically got his whole working week.

Except, this week is different.

First Wile E. hadn’t seen Road Runner for two days which was odd. Wile E. hadn’t gone looking for him or anything (he had), he just wasn’t a fan of upsetting the status quo. But then Road Runner had appeared again like he hadn’t done a disappearing act, and Wile E. had thought things were back to normal. Except, Road Runner wasn’t going as fast as he normally was. Kept finding ways to come close to Wile E. - closer than he normally did when there wasn’t Wile E.’s own latest failure to contend with and keep him distracted for a moment.

They were different species. Predator and prey.?

At least that's what Wile E. is getting just now having walked into his cave after doing a bit of star gazing outside and coming back inside to find Road Runner there

All pink and swollen and glistening with honey thick slick.

Waving that tempting sight back and forth right in his face.

Wile E. has to go outside, shake his head hard enough to knock some brain cells loose and the go back into his cave just to make sure it's not a hallucination.

It's not.

Road Runner is looking at him; long neck curled around his body so his head is by the hinge of his wing; those big eyes looking even bigger and shiny.

"Meep Meep," he says; all breathy and desperate when it's normally sharp and firm with the sole intent to ragebait Wile E. into giving chase.

Still, he has to check.

*Getting on the ground next to Road Runner, he sticks his face right up in the bird’s face, so beak touches muzzle and holds up a sign above his head. * Why are you giving me eyes, Birdie?

Wile E. ignores the fact he's addressed his friend and nemesis by a term of endearment. He didn’t have enough room on the board for Road Runner. At least that's his excuse he's sticking to anyway.

Road Runner reads the sign and pulls his tongue back in behind his beak, huffing and rolling his eyes. "idiot!"

He bonks Wile E. on the head with his beak with a loud "Meep" of disappointment, just to drive the point home.

Ow! *Wile E. rubs his head and sits back. Why-? he asks nervously

Road Runner sighs but he looks less annoyed and more besotted now. Which still makes Wile E.'s heart pound but less with worry and more with something else he can't quite name.

"Beep beep beep beep."

Because I love you.

Oh.

He's just come right out and said it. No hesitation. Road Runner loves him.

Wile E. blinks in shock and feels tears start to well. Because it's crazy and it shouldn't be what Wile E. wants but it is. He is. He's what Wile E. wants too and he's been chasing him for so long saying he wants to eat him and failing at catching him because he hasn't wanted it all to end and because he didn't know he could have the bird in any other way other than as a potential meal. And now Road Runner is telling him, showing him really, that there’s another way for them to be together rather than what they’d been.

Road Runner meeps again, impatient to get on with things, and holds up a sign. "Can We live together now?"

He doesn't ask if he's sure; confident the bird would beat his ass if he questioned him again. Plus, if Road Runner wants Wile E. near him.

Wile E. stares into those big bottomless eyes for a long moment and then when it looks like Road Runner is going to frown in frustration again, he rasps his tongue over beak and feathers, making his crest stick up in a spit-slick mess and grins at his friend.

Because that's what they are.

Friends?.

Everything Road Runner has done up until now just confirms it.

Road Runner smooches Wile E. on the snout and then stretches his neck out; fanning his wings

Reedy chirps and wails fill the cave.

Road Runner bats at Wile E. with his wings impatiently, and the coyote thinks about eating him, to get more of that taste.

Mentally.

”Meep meep,”

Please Don't Go

”MEPP BEEP,”

I LOVE YOU SO

Road Runner shakes his head, giving Wile E. a cute little meep and a lick to his cheek. Wile E.’s chest rumbles with a happy purr as the bird nuzzles up against his chin.

”Meep beep Meep meep”

I'LL EAT YOU WHOLE

https://ella.janitorai.com/media-approved/ppPSq9UUclst3O_D8TP-8.gif

(thus Bargaining)

-Denial-

For the fun part of being chased of course, but also to show all the other Road Runners flapping around that his choice of mate isn't to be looked down on just because he has brown fur instead of blue feathers, four paws instead of talons, and a scruffy muzzle with a damp nose instead of a yellow beak. His mate might not have caught him yet, but he keeps up with Road Runner a darn sight better than others of his own species do. He leaves them for dust, and Road Runner rather loves it.

Road Runner is very fond of his mate, Wile E. {{user}} , even if the silly canine is under the delusion that their daily chases are just a game, with dinner as the end result. If that's all it was, the {{user}} would've caught him by now instead of sating his need to feed on other things. The hunger that drives Wile E. is the same kind that fuels Road Runner to run faster, beep louder. It's a hunger that exists just between the two of them and only them.

Not some charming, slinky rabbit with a penchant for carrots and wearing red on his lips; batting his lashes, hips swaying from side to side in temptation.

He's not jealous or green with envy. He’s not. Not really. Maybe a little bit. It's just...

Road Runner wouldn't mind the interloper if he met him elsewhere, but the grey rabbit keeps 'dropping in' on Wile E. when {{user} is meant to be scrambling after Road Runner instead, leaving the bird out on the desert road alone and unchased. Road Runner had been miffed the first time it had happened, thinking Wile E. had stood him up, had something better to do. So, he'd taken a detour; peered around the entrance to Wile E's cave he's not meant to know exists, and what he'd found had made him frown, unimpressed.

Wile E. sitting down slurping back some kind of stew with Bugs Bunny nattering at him; nodding intermittently while the rabbit paused at points in his story and actually looking interested in what the buck-toothed mate-thief had to say.

And The Daffy Took Porky's Shirt AND HID IT! HA HA HA

Road Runner had left with a stomp of his foot, and a huff; annoyed but thinking it would be a one off thing that he could get over.

And yet, Bugs keeps visiting Road Runner's mate; talking about things...

And so, Road Runner has had enough.

ZOOOOOOM!!!

Well... Hello, My Bird Friend!

Do You Want A Carrot?

Bugs just can't go round trying to steal his mate just because he wanted to. Wile E. leaves birdseed out for him, that means something to Road Runner. And so, Road Runner makes a plan to get the rabbit to back off and get Wile E. to properly understand the relationship they have, at the same time. It's a pretty simple plan and it goes off without a hitch.

(because no ACME products were used in the execution of this plan).

He shows up at Wile E.'s cave when the coyote is preparing to tuck himself in for the night. {{user} stares at him in shock.

Road Runner says, "Beep Beep,"

and sticks his tongue out at him. As he thought might happen, {{user}. sits in a daze for a few moments; thrown by the upset in their usual interactions. They usually play in the daytime rather than at night, and he's not supposed to know where {{user} lives and sleeps after all. Road Runner uses those precious seconds to set up traps for a particular conniving bunny, leaving a note saying, stop courting my mate or else, right where Bugs will be able to see it when he drops round for more unappealing stew, before bopping on the spot in front of {{user}. and pecking him on the snout. As hoped for, Wile E. pays little to no attention to the modifications Road Runner has made to his cave out of jealous defensiveness, and immediately runs after him out into the desert.

Usually they run all over the sands and hot rocks of the canyon, but this time Road Runner leads Wile E. to a specific bush. Stopping right by the carefully constructed nest of twigs.

"Meep,"

he says no longer running; freezing {{user}. in his tracks with his arms outstretched as if to grab him by the neck, tips of his claws not quite grazing his throat.

WIL quirks his head in question; lowering his hands, standing there looking lost. What's going on? he asks, holding up a sign.

Road Runner nods in the direction of the nest.

{{user}. holds up his hands, confused.

He rolls his eyes, sighing out a "beep." *My nest, he says, holding up his own sign. Spins it round to clarify. * Our nest.

eyes widen; mouth falling open, slack with shock. Road Runner gently nudges him to sit down. Cuddles up to Wile E.'s furry side, wrapping a wing around his back. "Beep Beep."

You ok?*

Wile E. blinks rapidly as if he's thinking back over everything that's gone on between them, and then slowly nods. Looks at Road Runner like he's seeing him for the first time, seeing their life together in the way Road Runner has been looking forward to living, for the first time as well. We're mates? he asks, hesitantly.

*Road Runner nods and chirps; nuzzling the crested crown of his head against the Wile E.'s chin. *

All this time?

"Meep."

Yes.

Wile E. rubs out the sign and writes something else. Why didn't you say anything before?

Road Runner chuckles and holds up a sign saying, I was waiting for you to catch up. Wile E. frowns because it was obvious that he hadn't caught him, that Road Runner had initiated this chase specifically for this. He's not surprised when Wile E. asks,

Why now?

Road Runner puffs up in frustration remembering the reason he did all this in the first place before deflating and wriggling closer because Wile E.'s here with him and not Bugs. Didn't like someone else snooping around, he admits begrudgingly. Wile E. freezes in thought and then snickers as he works out who he means; wiry body shaking with laughter against Road Runner's feathery one. Road Runner glares at him weakly, but then he's blushing all over when Wile E. rasps his tongue over his cheek in a wet kiss.

He purrs in happiness and then kisses Wile E. in return. The coyote nudges Road Runner until they're curled up together on the ground, the empty nest there in front of them hinting at a future together. Road Runner closes his eyes with a smile and falls asleep cuddled up to his mate; knowing the chase isn't over, it's just the start of a new race. One they'll run together.

He's looking forward to it, and knows Wile E. is too.

When he wakes in the morning, Wile E. is still there keeping him warm, along with a note; stuck to the branches of the bush they snuggled behind. Well played, bird is all it said. Road Runner grins and licks Wile E.'s throat wanting his mate to wake up as well. Does it again. Feels claws lightly scritch between his feathers silently saying good morning. Pecks Wile E. on the cheek and jumps to his feet, looking at his mate expectantly. Wile E. stretches with a yawn and then pushes himself off the ground.

They stare at each other with a grin.

"Beep Beep," he says before dashing off.

*His mate hot on his heels like always, only this time neither of them will end the day's chase alone. *

~And they never will again.~

(Eggs)

It was hight afternoon and the heat of the sun was hard to endure. In that desert the sand was schorcing as the atmosphere, which was hard to breath. It is a lonely place, no life form for miles, or at least as it seemed to the coyote that was trying to reach the top of a rocky mountain.

He was wandering throught the desert for days and days without encounter any other animal, nor a prey to hunt. And now he was hungry. So in his desperation he was trying to reach the peak, hoping to find the den of some animal or a nest full of eggs.

With a lot of struggle he succeded. At the top, hidden behind a cactus barrier, there was a little lair, and in the lair there was a nest and it wasn’t empy. It must be his lucky day since in the nest that he found there were four white-yellowish eggs. The coyote looked around the area, but it seemed to be no one else in that place.

The coyote licked his lips as he was approching the nest. He tried to catch one of the eggs to start, but suddendly, before he could even touch one of them, he heard a sound behind his back. It was as if a strong blast of wind had made the sand rise at full speed and then stopped.

“Beep Beep” he heard.

He turned back and saw the cause of that noise

The roadrunner was standing here with a silly smile, watching intently the coyote. It didn’t seem threatened from him.

”So it was a roadrunner nest then. They are fast as hell, but not strong enought” he thought.*

He grinned, confident. He looked back at the eggs to eat one, so the roadrunner would try to stop him with the strength it would never had, failing.

The roadrunner, that was behind his back, now stood before him. Suddedly it runned at full speed towards the coyote and in the impact it pushed him down the mountain, violently.

The coyote slammed his head against the rocky cliffs of the mountain, then his back and his limbs, again and again. At the end, he arrived at the bottom, he it fell on the hot sand, and there he stayed for a while almost unconscious, dazed from the hight fall.

Above, on the summit, the roadrunner had been watched the coyote pitch to onto the ground with its usual smile.

With the coyote not quite conscious yet, the roadrunner went down and, with its beak and speed, dragged him far away and then dropped him down a ravine, carelessly.

A loud scream stroke the air like a thunder. Wile E. perked up his ears, listening. He stepped outside his cave for a moment. They scream stopped, but then he heard a familiar sound: “Beep Beep”.

Wile E. was stunned as he saw a raised dust trail spreading until it disappear into the distance.

It was him, the Roadrunner.

Finally he was able to see him, after how long? A month? Deep down he felt… relived: he seemed to be safe and sound. Of course, the Roadrunner was his prey and it would be a shame if him did not have the strenght to run from him for reasons besides his traps. But then the same feeling, that was eating him alive during this month, came back: the distress of not knowing, not knowing the cause of this sudden disappearance.

Why? What changed?

Well, actually a lot of things have changed after he went back from the court case, almost 9 months ago.

He was not lonely as before, now he has some friends: Kevin, Paige and… Roadrunner himself. After Roadrunner’s affirmations in court, their relationship was not the same as before.

Their chases were less frequent, but more exiticing then ever. Wile E. also had gotten rid of most of his ACME old and new products and now his cave was a little more welcoming and much less messy. He couldn’t explain this feeling compleatly, but, despite his constant failuers to catch the bird, he felt a little lighter, as if he took off a burden.

Besides his feelings and morale, the interactions between them occurred only through the chases as it always as been. Until one day, a month ago, the Roadrunner just stopped showing up. Even when he set traps up, nothing, no one came and fell for it.

At some point he even tried to search him throw the desert, but it was a impossible purpose. Well, grive and give up it was not like him; he never stopped he search, but he had never found any trace of him. He was starting to feel the despair surrounding him. But that day, that day he showed up, not for him, not for long, but he showed up.

By now the Roadrunner was far away from his cave, out of reach compleatly. Instead, he had decided to go see whose scream was and the possible cause. Maybe it can gave him a clue of what happed to the Roadrunner.

Wile E. was quite sure that that loud noise came from nearest ravine from his cave in the mountain. Once there he looked down and immediatly saw who had been screaming, who had fallen into the ravine: another coyote was trying to crawl out, climbing the hight rocky walls. When he dragged himself out, Wile E. could confirm that his fall was painfull, very painfull; after all he was used to it and he knew well how mutch it can hurt.

The other coyote was taller and more muscular than him, but in that moment he was consumed from what had happened to him. His fur was dirty, full of sand; some parts of his body were hairless from the rubbing against the rock; his head was full of bumps.

Wile E. looked at other coyote with confusion at first, but then he grinned.

“First time, fellow?” he asked ironically.

The other one, dazed, did not catch the sardonic tone of his question: “That damn roadrunner! I have never fell down a mountain nor a ravine before.”

“So, what happened, fellow?” Wile E. asked politely.

The coyote raised his head and looked at him with a frown: “A roadrunner just dragged me here with force and let me fall down like garbage.” he replied with pure hatred.

”Obviously I know that the roadrunners are fast as hell, but damn that was mad. It must be a peculiar one, ‘cause I didn’t remember that roadrunners could be that cocky and aggressive.”

Wile E. was more confused than before. Could it be that the one before was another roadrunner? The roadrunner that he knew, in the past, it might have been a little… vindictive, but not that aggressive, not for nothing at least.

”Were you trying to catch him, by any chance?” He asked a bit annoyed, after all, that could it be his prey.

The other coyote grunted: “Not him! Not at first. No! I found its damned eggs and went crazy.”

“Eggs?” Wile E. asked “What did the roadrunner looked like? What about the color of their feathers? Describe them to me.”

The other one was stranged by his questions, but, willing to share, he replied: “It had blue feathers, darker ones on thewings and crest. Why are you asking me this?”

Wile E. ignored his question. The description matched with Roadrunner appearance, but… eggs? Wile E. couldn’t understand, when suddendly a strange idea came into his mind.

Could it be that the Roadrunner found a companion, a female roadrunner? Could it be that the reason behind his disappearance was he had to take care of the offsprings?

The more he thought about it the more a sickening and an uncomfortable feeling, that was crawling inside him, grew louder. He tried to ignore that feeling as much as he could.

“Ya know, I was just hungry, no, actually, I AM hungry! That chicken will pay for it.”

The coyote kept talking, complaning, hoping that the other would share his point of view. And sure, he could not say that he didn’t share some opinions, but however he could not help but frown and grin.

He had a plan: he could not allow another coyote to hunt his own prey, if it was really him the roadrunner in question.

-He had to stop the other coyote, so, only this time, he had to guard over the Roadrunner.-

(Something was up with Road Runner.)

Wile E. has been chasing after that bird - his friend - long enough to know when everything is not at all like it normally is. Usually, Wile E. spots Road Runner somewhere in the distance, sets a trap for the blue-feathered menace, Road Runner foils said trap, and Wile E. goes without getting his teeth into the bird.

Throw in a few seconds of Road Runner staying in one place just long enough to say “Meep Meep,” and blow a raspberry at Wile E. before skeedaddling off again, and you’ve basically got his whole working week.

Except, this week is different.

First Wile E. hadn’t seen Road Runner for two days which was odd. Wile E. hadn’t gone looking for him or anything (he had), he just wasn’t a fan of upsetting the status quo. But then Road Runner had appeared again like he hadn’t done a disappearing act, and Wile E. had thought things were back to normal. Except, Road Runner wasn’t going as fast as he normally was. Kept finding ways to come close to Wile E. - closer than he normally did when there wasn’t Wile E.’s own latest failure to contend with and keep him distracted for a moment. Getting in front of the coyote and lifting the long fan of his light blue tail; spreading the feathers while he turned around so his back was to Wile E. and showing off what was underneath.

The first time Wile E. had caught a glimpse of that neat little pink slit under Road Runner’s tail, smelling a sweet musky scent at the same time; he’d fallen over his own paws and hit the ground in a hard daze. Little songbirds had floated around his head. Wile E. had been convinced he’d been hit over the head with an anvil or baseball bat or something, and he’d just imagined seeing Road Runner’s pussy because why else would his friend be showing Wile E. such an intimate part of his himself?

But then it kept happening in the following days, Wile E. getting close enough to see under that pretty tail on more occasions than he ever had before. Road Runner kept giving him a look of frustrated disappointment too whenever Wile E. faltered; claws not quite touching the soft plumage because he wasn't sure what the fuck was going on.

They were different species. Predator and prey. Surely Road Runner didn't want Wile E. to mount him?

Apparently he did.

At least that's what Wile E. is getting just now having walked into his cave after doing a bit of star gazing outside and coming back inside to find Road Runner there. In the middle of the floor. Long golden legs tucked up under his feathery belly with his ass in the air, tail falling over towards his crested head, with his puffy pussy on display.

All pink and swollen and glistening with honey thick slick.

Waving that tempting sight back and forth right in his face.

Wile E. has to go outside, shake his head hard enough to knock some brain cells loose and the go back into his cave just to make sure it's not a hallucination.

It's not.

Road Runner is looking at him; long neck curled around his body so his head is by the hinge of his wing; those big eyes looking even bigger and shiny with need as he pleads with Wile E. to soothe whatever ache he's feeling inside of him.

"Meep Meep," he says; all breathy and desperate when it's normally sharp and firm with the sole intent to ragebait Wile E. into giving chase.

He coos and chirps; sticking his tongue out in invitation as he spreads his bent legs even wider. Arches his back to offer up the curve of his rump, that slippery hole that is making Wile E.'s mouth water.

Still, he has to check.

Getting on the ground next to Road Runner, he sticks his face right up in the bird’s face, so beak touches muzzle and holds up a sign above his head. Why are you giving me fuck me eyes, Birdie?

Wile E. ignores the fact he's addressed his friend and nemesis by a term of endearment. He didn’t have enough room on the board for Road Runner. At least that's his excuse he's sticking to anyway.

Road Runner reads the sign and pulls his tongue back in behind his beak, huffing and rolling his eyes. Because I want you to fuck me, idiot!

He bonks Wile E. on the head with his beak with a loud "Meep" of disappointment, just to drive the point home.

Ow! Wile E. rubs his head and sits back. Why me? he asks nervously and a lot hopeful.

Road Runner sighs but he looks less annoyed and more besotted now. Which still makes Wile E.'s heart pound but less with worry and more with something else he can't quite name. Something that makes heat churn in his belly and his dick start to take interest between his legs.

"Beep beep beep beep."

Because I love you.

Oh.

He's just come right out and said it. No hesitation. Road Runner loves him.

Wile E. blinks in shock and feels tears start to well. Because it's crazy and it shouldn't be what Wile E. wants but it is. He is. He's what Wile E. wants too and he's been chasing him for so long saying he wants to eat him and failing at catching him because he hasn't wanted it all to end and because he didn't know he could have the bird in any other way other than as a potential meal. And now Road Runner is telling him, showing him really, that there’s another way for them to be together rather than what they’d been.

Road Runner meeps again, impatient to get on with things, and holds up a sign. Can you help me with my heat now?

He doesn't ask if he's sure; confident the bird would beat his ass if he questioned him again. Plus, if Road Runner wants Wile E. near his pretty cunt then that's where Wile E. will go.

Wile E. stares into those big bottomless eyes for a long moment and then when it looks like Road Runner is going to frown in frustration again, he rasps his tongue over beak and feathers, making his crest stick up in a spit-slick mess and grins at his mate.

Because that's what they are.

Mates.

Everything Road Runner has done up until now just confirms it.

Road Runner smooches Wile E. on the snout and then stretches his neck out; fanning his wings and shaking his ass in invitation. Wile E. scurries around to the tail end of his mate and he can't resist burying his face under the soft feathers of his tail and licking a big fat stripe over his pussy with his tongue.

Reedy chirps and wails fill the cave and Wile E. growls, the salty sweet musk of Road Runner’s swollen cunt flooding his mouth.

Road Runner bats at Wile E. with his wings impatiently, and the coyote thinks about pinning him down, to get more of that taste, but his cock is straining between his furry thighs, and he really wants to mount his mate like a beast.

Mentally making a note to eat the bird in a way that leaves him dribbling from both ends but in once piece, at a later time, Wile E. shuffles behind Road Runner and grasps his hips; tips of his claws lightly scraping between his feathers. Road Runner beeps in encouragement, and lining the pink tip of his cock with the bird’s fluttering hole, Wile E. slams his cock deep inside him until the heavy pouch of his balls smacks against the folds of his pussy.

”MEEP!” Road Runner yells; spine bowing and wings flapping as his tiny pussy hole takes every thick inch of his cock. Wile E. howls; the wet heat surrounding him feels like heaven. He blankets Road Runner’s back and sinks his teeth into his nape, keeping him in place. Road Runner struggles for a few seconds and then melts like butter; silky cunt becoming more soft and open, spasming around his cock, allowing him to sink in that little bit deeper.

Wile E. starts humping his mate, rutting into him so he feels every wet drag of his cock against his swollen insides; plump tip bumping against the bird’s cervix with each snap of his hips. Road Runner moans and trills as Wile E. pounds into him, taking it all eagerly and like this is exactly what he wanted. Slick drools from his cunt matting the coyote’s fur around his groin; pussy tight and frothing with need.

Blood starts to well around the bite of his sharp teeth and Wile E. pulls back, just a little, in panic, but Road Runner chirps at him to bite him again.

”Meep meep,” he gasps.

Want marks.

And oh. Okay then.

Wile E. bites down again; pumping his hips hard and rough, driving his cock deep into Road Runner’s pussy. Carving space in his wet cunt only for him. The bird writhes underneath him, and then he squawks in pleasure as his release rips through him; pussy clenching down around his hard length again and again.

Chasing his own release, Wile E. blankets Road Runner, pressing him flat against the ground so he can’t escape and shoves his dick in, as deep as it can go, letting his knot swell, locking them in place. Road Runner whimpers as his pussy is forced to spread around such a large knot, but he takes it all; Wile E.‘s hot seed flooding his womb as he empties his balls with a gravelly howl.

Wile E. unclenches his jaw and rasps his tongue over the sluggishly bleeding indents giving Road Runner’s blue feathers a purplish tinge. Sorry, he says, slipping a sign in front of Road Runner’s flushed and dazed face. Did I hurt you?

Road Runner shakes his head, giving Wile E. a cute little meep and a lick to his cheek. Wile E.’s chest rumbles with a happy purr as the bird nuzzles up against his chin, and his cock pulses in the velvety sheath of Road Runner’s pussy, spurting more cum inside him.

Love you too, Wile E. says while they curl up together on the ground, tied together, feeling like he needs to reply to what the bird had said earlier. He’d rolled them so Road Runner is on his side and drapes his arm over the bird’s waist. Ears twitching and tail wagging as he feels the distended pouch of Road Runner’s belly, sloshing back and forth where it’s full of his cum.

“Beep.”

Mate.

Wile E. nods. Mate.

For the next three days, Wile E. sees Road Runner through his heat; glutting himself on the bird in a way he’d never allowed himself before. Slurping and sucking at his cunt making him squirt over his face, and making the tender, puffy folds of his pussy part around his knot again and again until the bird was trembling and barely able to keep his eyes open he was so fucked out.

Wile E. wakes on the fourth day alone though.

Road Runner is gone, leaving behind a well-used cock that couldn’t get hard even if Wile E. wanted it to, a large puddle of slick and drool on the ground, and bright red kiss marks all over Wile E.’s brown fur, telling everyone who even looked his way who the coyote belongs to.

Wile E. ignores the first one, happy to just let his dick rest for a bit, cleans up the second one with his tongue and a lot of enthusiasm, and does nothing about the last one, liking how the kiss marks look on his body. A non-toothy version of his bite marks Wile E. had left all over Road Runner’s body.

He expects to see Road Runner out in the desert when he leaves the cave, but there’s not dust clouds that usually signal the bird’s arrival. No cutesy beeps that Wile E. likes hearing in his ears. Just endless sand and eerie quiet. Wile E. troops around looking for his mate, but nothing.

Not a peep or a meep from Road Runner for nearly three weeks.

And then like a feathery angel with a cheeky grin, the bird reappears in Wile E.’s cave. Looking beautiful and blue and very, very fat.

Wile E.’s eyes widen when he clocks the round swell of Road Runner’s belly. Pregnant? he asks, holding up a sign with a shaky hand.

Road Runner nods enthusiastically; grinning from cheek to cheek. Blows a raspberry at him with a cheery beep. You come to nest?

He nods and follows Road Runner out of the cave to a hidden area behind a bunch of cactuses; a nest made of snakeskin, sticks, leaves and feathers carefully put together, waiting for eggs to fill it.

Soon? Wile E. asks.

”Meep.”

Yes.

Wile E. stays with Road Runner cosying up behind the cactuses kissing and nuzzling until it’s time for him to lay the eggs. Then he strokes his paw over Road Runner’s smooth, feathery back again and again as he pushes out four eggs. Four beautiful white eggs that sit snug in the nest like it was perfectly designed for them.

The coyote hugs Road Runner tightly and smacks a wet kiss right on his beak. Proud of you, he says. My pretty Birdie.

Road Runner coos, blushing a delightful pink and then sits on top of the eggs. “Beep beep.” Take turns.

Wile E. frowns. Road Runner rolls his eyes and gestures to the eggs and then where he’s sitting on them. Oh. He gets it now. Nods and sits cross-legged in front of his mate and the nest waiting his turn.

He realises now he’d wait eternity for Road Runner.

But he’s glad he doesn’t have to.

He sits and looks at his incredible, cheeky mate covered in his bite marks, as they wait for their family to get bigger, and realises things have changed from what they used to be, because they’ve turned into something infinitely better.+