Chapter Text
Blueberry Milk hummed, closing his notebook. All the necessary notes on his recent experiment are done and he can finally rest for the night. Closing his eyes, he leaned back into the chair, letting his shoulders sag. The quiet of the night was comforting.
He cracked his eye open, staring at the little flame of the candle on his table. The light flickered as the flame twitched. Though his gaze got averted to the tall vase in the corner of his table.
His breath shivered in what could be probably described as nervous excitement. He got reminded of what he was planning for tomorrow. His gaze stayed fixated on the beautiful rose in the vase. Dark blue like the night sky, decorated with golden ribbons.
His hand reached for one of the ribbons, carefully moving it a bit more to the side.
Perfect.
He smiled warmly at the pretty flower.
There was going to be a small festival in the town in 2 days and he had found the perfect spot for the show on a nearby hill. He is planning to ask his dear Truthless Recluse to come there with him.
He was originally thinking about bringing him to the actual festival, but immediately scrapped that idea. Truthless Recluse was quite literally the opposite of a social butterfly and his offer would have been declined in the speed of light.
So as the smart cookie he is, he came up with an alteration. He would just invite him to a little private spot on the nearby hill for some fun talking, playing games and perhaps they could then watch the fireworks of the festival from afar together.
The plan was perfect. All he needed was just for Truthless Recluse to agree to come. Which unfortunately was not an easy task. Rather faaaar from it. Truthless is all about being broody and estranged, it almost seems like any kind of social interaction is burning the cookie’s insides alive with such an attitude.
However, it’s not impossible. Afterall Sage is proud to say that he has incorporated himself in Recluse’s life quite a lot now. Be it a bit forcefully or not, he still did and he can do a little more. Besides a bit of socialising and fresh air will do his dear Recluse some good! He even bought a little rose to go with the invitation! Who could refuse that?
…
Okay, Truthless Recluse was exactly the person who would. Sage wasn’t gonna be the one in denial. Truthless wasn’t much into the whole accepting gifts thing. Sage once tried giving him a little book with poems and he pretty much had to force him to take it.
Since Truthless Recluse was almost like a walking cloud of depression, he thought it would be a great idea to give him something that would ease up that broody mood. So he wrote a bunch of sweet lighthearted poems and put them in a book. Something to brighten up the recluse’s day and make him look on the bright side.
And despite Truthless’s stubbornness, Sage knows how to be a nuisance and is glad to say that he was victorious in making him accept that gift. -Unless Truthless Recluse threw it away as soon as he was out of Sage’s sight.
…
Noooooo, he wouldn’t do that. Blueberry Milk shook his head sheepishly. Behind all that moodiness and bitterness lies a kind soul that would neeever do something like that. He’s sure that at worst Truthless Recluse would just put it on one of his old bookshelves and never look at it again.
Though he’s convinced tomorrow will be different. It’s just a flower. What’s there to refuse about a lovely rose?
Was it perhaps a little bit too much? Maybe? It was just for an invitation…
But the rose looked so nice and reminded him exactly of Truthless Recluse when he saw it at the market. Giving Truthless a flower, just to invite him for a little evening outing was perhaps a bit too much effort, but a nice effort at that.
Hah, it almost seems like he is inviting Truthless to a date! How fun.
…
Sage groaned, hiding his head in his hands. Okay, well…Sage wasn’t one to be in denial. Perhaps it was aaaa little bit of a date. He let out a sarcastic laugh at the thought of that.
Truthfully, he…he isn’t that sure what his relationship with Truthless is or what exactly he wants it to be. Funny, isn’t it? The sage of truth, the all-knowing scholar doesn’t even know his own feelings.
Blueberry Milk huffed. It used to be easy. At the very beginning Truthless used to be simply an annoyance. Just someone who would interrupt his lectures and even dared to curse him out. Though as he got to know more about Recluse’s opinions on a deeper level, the hermit began to peak his interest. And soon he made Truthless Recluse his debate partner.
Truth be told their relationship has grown quite a lot more casual these past few months and there simply was something intriguing about his Recluse beyond their debates. Sage isn’t quite sure what his feelings are right now. Uncharacteristically for an overthinker such as him, he kind of just decided to go with the flow, see where things go on their own.
And now he is planning to take Truthless on a date… Maybe not fully a date, but kind of a date. Not the outcome he would have guessed a few months ago.
Well, that is if Truthless would be even willing to-
Sage abruptly stopped his internal monologue. He registered an unexpected magical presence. In his house. Someone was in his home.
Sage quickly got up from his seat in alarm. If he could think of someone who would break into his house in the middle of the night, it would be Truthless Recluse. However, the magical presence was deeply unfamiliar. This could be bad. Who would even want to break in?
He carefully looked around his office. Nobody was there. Sage sighed. He went to quickly construct a magic circle for it to search the rest of his house.
But before he could even register it he was pressed up against the hard wood floor and everything went dark.
__________________
“Tsk, what an idiot.”
Shadow Milk fully stepped out of the shadows. He looked in disgust at the knocked out on the floor. What a stupid pathetic version of him, really. Well, time to get it out of his sight.
He opened a portal, letting the unconscious body slip in. He’ll deal with it later. Or never.
He’s been observing this universe for a little a while. As much as the “truthful” version of him made him want to pull his hair out, there was something that indeed piqued his interest. Or rather someone.
In all of the universes he had come across so far, this is the first one with a true Truthless Recluse. Not some kind of trickery or a moment of despair, but an actual version of his other half that is fully committed to deceit and believes in it. Shadow Milk just couldn’t let that beautiful opportunity just pass by! He could go play games with his favourite plaything once more! But this time with no tricks.
But! What fun would it be if he just barged in? Ah no, no, no. He wants to have a little bit more fun.
He walked up to a nearby mirror. His form shifted. Suddenly it was the sage of truth staring back at him from the mirror. Shadow Milk smirked. A few small hiccups, but he still got it. WIth his new unstable form, shapeshifting has become a lot more difficult. Though he learned how to overcome such difficulties anyway.
However, overlooking his form still made him want to roll his eyes. He really had to hold back from giving the sage of truth a make over. He really wasn’t a fan of such a pretentious look. But he has to keep it as it is if he wants to play his cards right.
Acting as a goody two shoes wasn’t a thing he wanted to do either. Though it could be fun to play the role of a truthful scholar, only to sew in a few pretty lies, knowing everyone is gonna eat it up. Haven’t played that role in quite a while.
But most importantly he had prepared a beautiful game for his dear Recluse. Shadow Milk turned around, walking towards Sage’s desk. His hand reached out for the dark blue rose.
Ah, yes, his dear Recluse. Such beautiful display of pathetic self loathing spiced with a bit of a savior complex. He cannot wait to dig his claws in. But first, let's play a game of pretend.
From the time he observed this universe, he was able to catch on to a little thing. It being Truthless's little trust in that pathetic version of him. How lovely. He twirled the rose in his fingers.
So he is gonna make sure Truthless regrets every bit of it. His fingers wrapped around the rose. With shadows breaking out of the illusion, the rose dispersed into petals.
Ah, careful there. Shadow Milk immediately fixed his hand. He really needs to be more attentive towards his shapeshifting with how unstable his form is.
Though that makes him wonder, how long will it take for Truthless Recluse to notice? Will he even notice the switch? How long will the game of charades last?
Oooh, he's already excited!