Work Text:
Cocoa Cookie had always been a rather refined individual. One visit to her cabin always made that apparent. But despite the warmth it brought and the welcoming vibe it gave, it always seemed to lack visitors. She generally didn't mind this painfully apparent fact, given that she struggles to socialize already, but there were some given nights where she couldn't help but to feel lonely.
This night being one of them.
She'd often spend nights like those slumped back on her couch, tucked under a rather large blanket, drinking the most indulgent hot cocoa she could think of preparing as she listened to her favorite songs. With the hot cocoa being delicately emphasized with flavors that reminded her of a particular cookie that honestly made her feel less lonely, even when thinking of him. And along with hearing his music? Well… she might as well not be alone at all.
Sure, the small exchanges she had with her dear friends throughout the day lifted her spirits, but not as much as this blissful combination did. There was something about a mint-kissed hot cocoa and beautiful melodies that really brought her to her happy place…
… but just as she was about to drift off to that immersive happy place, a knock at her door sparked her senses back to life, almost making her splash a bit of hot cocoa on herself as she tried to regroup.
"A visitor…?" She murmured to herself, placing her cup of hot cocoa on the coffee table in front of her. "At this hour? In this weather?" She stood up and walked to the front door of her home, eyeing it with a bit of concern. Who could be up at this hour?... Well, actually, she could think of a few cookies who would stay up this late; but who would visit someone this late into the night? Others generally sleep at this time, right? So wouldn't it be rude if--!
"Pardon me, Lady Cocoa. But do you have some time to spare?"
Cocoa Cookie yelped as soon as she caught sight of the cookie on the other side of the door that she so hesitantly opened. Her cheeks slightly flushed at the mere sight of him-- the cookie who was on her mind mere moments ago! "M-Mintcho!" She squeaked, frantically looking around before making eye contact with him. "What are you doing here!? Why are you out this late!?" Her eyes drifted downwards and caught sight of his signature suit jacket, all folded up and draped over one of his arms. "And why aren't you wearing your jacket!? It's freezi--"
"It's what I came here to talk about. May I come in, please?"
"I-I mean I'm not in decent clothing and I was getting ready to sleep soon but…" Cocoa tightly gripped the door she held open, suddenly nervous over the abruptness of his arrival. ".. Y-You can come in, Mint Choco…"
The cookie, Mint Choco Cookie, nodded, thanking the shorter cookie as he stepped into her warm home, his cheeks growing rosy due to the sudden warm embrace her house gave.
Cocoa stepped back as she watched him tap his feet on the doormat, ridding any sort of snow from his shoes before removing them. "So…" she spoke, her tone being more soft than it was moments ago. "... What did you want to talk about?"
"Ah! Yes--" He gave her a smile as he handed her his signature jacket. "My jacket was a bit sullied, and I was out of detergent. And since it was rather late all the shops were closed. And since I have a show tomorrow night I…"
"Came to me and see if I could wash it?" Cocoa interjected, finishing his sentence as she examined his jacket.
Mint Choco, with one of his arms now free, scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed at the whole series of events that led him here. "If it isn't too much to ask, Lady Cocoa."
"Oh! No it isn't! Don't worry!" Cocoa neatly folded the jacket back up and rested it over one of her arms. "Though… that means that you'll have to stay the night, y'know."
"I know." Mint warmly replied. "And I don't mind it as long as I know that my jacket is in good hands."
"O-okay!" Cocoa blinked, the blush she already had on her cheeks grew darker at that last comment. "I-I'll get started right away, then!"
"Thank you, Cocoa Cookie. I promise I'll make it worth your while."
"O-oh! No problem!" Cocoa stammered out, awkwardly beginning to make her way to the laundry room of her home. "Make yourself at home in the meantime!"
Mint Choco thanked her once more as she made her way out of the room, leaving him to himself. He wasted no time scanning the room surrounding him, taking in its rustic and welcoming aesthetic: the warm lighting, the beautiful wallpaper, the wood that accented it… it didn't take him long to get charmed by his lady's abode. He stepped forward, placing his hand on the wooden rail that fenced off the stairwell in front of the main doorway. "Lovely…" He uttered out, caressing the seamless finish of the wooden rail. "Every detail of this welcoming area is so… beautiful." He smiled. "Fitting for a lady such as herself."
He wandered around a bit more, eventually finding himself further into the living area portion of the room: its furnishings were a rather plush looking loveseat with an antique coffee table in front of it, all facing an open fire place with a small, warming glow that served as its flame. Aside from those key features, a record player was noticed; placed snugly beside the fireplace. He tilted his head to the side, noticing a familiar tune coming from it as he cautiously approached it; gasping once he clearly saw what the sleeve on top said. It was shoddily made, with rushed scrawlings on the front that could barely be read, a form of personalization that only he could recognize, other than Cocoa Cookie, of course.
Could it be? After all of these years of owning this, she still listens to it? And keeps it in great condition as well!? But… it was so old! He's improved so much since then when it came to songwriting! So--
"Mintcho?"
Mint Choco jumped at the sound of Cocoa's voice, nearly making him drop the makeshift record sleeve he held. He quickly turned around to see that Cocoa Cookie was already back, holding a greenish mug in her hands. "L-Lady Cocoa!" He stammered, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "You're back already!?"
"Yeah... And I…" Cocoa slightly raised the mug she held in her hands. "... brought you something to drink…! T-To warm up, of course!"
Mint Choco stared blankly at her for a brief moment before setting the record sleeve down. “Ah, y-yes.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you…” He nodded, wandering over to her without another moment of hesitation.
“N-No problem!” Cocoa smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed from the gentle touch of his hands as he took the mug from her hands. “A-Anything for a guest!”
Mint returned her smile, taking a sip of the sweet hot cocoa. It only took him mere moments to make note of a dull, minty taste that was masked quite well under the copious amount of sweetness her traditional cocoa recipe had; making him hum as the cup left his lips. “Say…” He glanced down at the brown liquid. “This tastes sort of… familiar.”
“Hm?”
“Yeah…!” He looked back up at the cookie that stood before him, his warm smile shifting into a somewhat smug grin. “Tell me, Lady Cocoa; when did you start to add mints to your beverages?”
“O-Oh! Uhm…” Cocoa’s blush grew darker as she timidly grabbed a lock of her chocolatey hair and began to play with it. “To be honest…? I started adding them to my cocoa whenever I felt lonely… I-It actually helps me quite a bit!”
“It does, does it?” Mint chuckled. “How so?”
“I-I… uhm…” Cocoa Cookie stammered, draping the lock she held over her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her blush. “Well… I-It reminds me of you! A-and you make me happy…!”
“I make you happy? Wouldn’t hot cocoa on its own make you feel that way?”
“Well… y-yeah, but…” Cocoa let go of her hair, allowing it to fall to her side before cupping both of her hands to her chest. “You make me… a special kind of happy.”
“A ‘special kind of happy’?” He cocked his head to the side, slightly confused. “What do you me--”
Before he could finish the statement, Cocoa Cookie ducked around him and rushed to the sofa, immediately reaching for her mug to take a rather large swig of her beverage. “N-Nevermind… I-It’s too embarrassing!”
“Ah, I see.” Mint, though slightly disappointed, nodded. Taking a seat next to the flustered cookie and took another sip of his cocoa. “Would you… like to talk about something else in the meantime? I-if you’d like to, of course!”
What seemed like short casual chit-chat to them, actually turned out to be rather deep conversations and tangents that went on for hours on end; having Cocoa Cookie speaking for most of it. A fact that Mint Choco Cookie honestly didn't mind at all! In fact, he found it to be one of his favorite traits about her-- the fact that she's more than passionate for her favorite beverage… it was quite endearing to him! So much so, that he felt a bit disheartened whenever she went up to either check on his jacket, or refill either one of their mugs. But whenever she came back, she always seemed to pick up right where she left off; having him drift back into his intent, and somewhat enchanted gaze.
It was no secret, at least, to him and his close friends, that he adored this cookie, and all of the tiny quirks she had. Every little thing about her was perfect, from her obsession with hot chocolate, right down to her angelic voice; a sound so lovely that it could lull him to sleep! Everything about her was absolutely wonderful, and seemed to get better as time spent with her went on.
Speaking of her voice, it was already working it's magic on him, making his loving gaze droop a bit in sleepiness. He let out a chuckled humm, intervening on Cocoa's ramble regarding her favorite hot chocolate blend. "Hey… Lady Cocoa…?"
Cocoa Cookie blinked, abruptly putting her rant on halt to look over at her guest. "Mintcho? You look--"
"Tired? Yeah, I know." He yawned. "I was getting kind of sleepy since your mellow rant about cocoa blends is making me feel all… relaxed."
"Oh shoot--!" Cocoa gasped. "I-I forgot that it was getting late too! I should take you up to your room now, I'm so--"
"It's alright." Mint mellowly replied, giving her a warm smile as he tried to sit up. "As much as I enjoyed your little ramble, it is time to get some rest."
"That's right, I--!" She paused. "Wait… what?"
"I said I enjoyed your rambles. Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, No! It's just..." Cocoa Cookie let out a huff, brushing some of her hair aside. "Other cookies generally find it… annoying, y'know?"
"Well… I think they're wonderful."
"Really!?"
"Yep." Mint moved himself closer to her on the loveseat, slightly leaning over the comforter that separated the two. "I guess you could say that… they make me a 'special kind of happy'."
Cocoa's face flushed over in a deep blush, quickly averting her gaze almost as soon as she laid eyes on him. She took a moment to take in the sudden closeness before placing a hand on his arm. "Does it… make you all warm? A-and fuzzy?" She mumbled out.
"Quite. And before you ask…" He leaned in a bit closer, moving his free hand over to gently place it on her cheek, turning her head back to face his. "It gives me a fluttering feeling, too."
Cocoa Cookie gazed at him with wide eyes, but before she could utter out another word, she felt a pair of brittle yet tender lips graze her cheek, ultimately stopping her from any sort of thought process imaginable. Even after he slightly pulled away and whispered: "You make me a special kind of happy too… my lady."
Speechless was very much an understatement to describe Cocoa's current state. Her heart could barely handle his gentle touch and his more-than-obvious romantic advances. It took her a while to finally find her voice again, but when she did, she brushed away both of his hands; making it so that she could lift her large comforter up for him. "Mmnh…" She hummed, averting her gaze from him once more. "... M-maybe we can stay down here for the rest of the night…" She tightened her grip on her giant blanket. "... And fall asleep when cuddling one another…? W-Watching the last few embers in the fireplace burn out?"
Mint stared at her for a moment, a bit confused with her proposal, but then smiled widely as he closed the gap between them; cautiously wrapping an arm around her waist as he did so. "I'd love that, actually."
As soon as the large blanket wrapped around him on his side, Cocoa Cookie found herself leaning on Mint Choco Cookie; her arms wrapped around his slender frame as she nestled herself closer to him. Falling asleep almost immediately in that position. Mint looked down at her as she drifted off to dreamland, stroking her bangs aside to gently kiss her forehead once he was sure that she was in a deep sleep; giving her a warm grin as he began to doze off as well.
At that point, he had to plan to come see her more often. Especially if it meant more blissful moments like these.