Chapter Text
The bar had been rather quiet for the past hour. The ringer was hard at rest, as nobody had even opened the door in over two. It was to be expected, though, as the kingdom had been hit with heavy snow and was in the midst of the winter holidays. Most cookies were home at this time, enjoying the snow and one another’s company before what would be a big festival in a few days’ time.
Sparkling Cookie, since he lived in his bar with his siblings, didn’t bother not opening the bar that day. Even so, business was very slow and only a couple cookies stopped by. Sparkling didn’t mind, but he did find himself missing some of his regulars - they always found a way to make the day more interesting, whether intentional or not. The few that had decided to come kept to themselves, most curling up in the heated booth seats with hot cocoas. Only Vampire sat at his usual place at the counter, head cradled in his arms as the cookie slept the evening away.
While he manned the counter, he watched Apple Cookie, his younger sister, clean off tables with his eldest brother Cherry Coke Cookie. They both wore aprons, though Apple’s had some cute fruits embroidered into the fabric. Cherry’s was a pale green, matching the long stem that extended from the back of his head. Apple was stubbornly scrubbing at the wood, so much so that Cherry had her slow down in case she damaged the table. Her pet, Apple Rabbit, slept peacefully in the corner on a little pillow, finding it rather easy to rest while the establishment was so quiet and dim.
“Careful there, Apple,” Cherry waved his hands in a ‘slow down’ gesture. The longer, left side of his fluffy red hair was pulled back into a strange ponytail in which his stem was used as a hair-tie; Apple personally found it to be rather ridiculous looking as she would often declare, though her half-brother didn’t seem to mind.
Apple groaned overdramatically, tossing her head back to the ceiling; the blue baubles in her hair clicked briefly against one another as she did so. “There’s almost nobody here!” she complained, “Why can’t I go spend time at Pancake’s house?”
“Pancake and his brother aren’t in town right now,” Sparkling explained calmly, idly mixing up a couple of drinks. He periodically would glance at the window expectantly, though he was never greeted with anything more than gentle snowfall.
One of his regulars, a cookie with red hair similar to Cherry’s, raised his head lazily from its place on the counter, his voice a sluggish, amused trill, “What, am I not good enough entertainment?”
Apple pouted, “No, you don’t talk, you just drink and sleep a lot.”
“Fair enough,” Vampire Cookie yawned, leaning back dangerously on his barstool. “If you are so bored, why don’t you play a game?”
“I’m not allowed to run or blow bubbles in here!” Apple said, her little face scrunched up. She crossed her arms and attempted to look very serious, further becoming irritated when Vampire laughed.
“For good reason,” Cherry added, finding amusement in the duo’s banter. Sparkling hummed quietly, not offering any more insight.
“Well, surely there’s some kind of game that you can play.” Vampire shrugged, falling forward so his stool was once more flat against the ground. His upper torso flopped across the nicely wiped down bar counter, and he merely grinned when Sparkling gave him an annoyed look.
Cherry thought for a minute before fishing a small deck of cards from his back pocket. “I’m sure that a couple of these games wouldn’t hurt,” he smiled, sliding the stack smoothly from its casing. “What would you like to play first?”
“We always play card games, though,” Apple sighed, “Can’t we go outside and make snow-cookies or something?”
“Well… Maybe,” Cherry considered, snapping his fingers. The dim lighting from the overhead lamps made his silver eyes glint with mischievous yellow glows. “If we did happen to go outside and do that, maybe we could make ourselves some hot chocolate.”
Apple’s eyes widened and she bounced on her toes as she exclaimed, “With extra marshmallows? And cinnamon?”
Sparkling chuckled, offering, “I’ll let you choose what to add, how about that?”
Apple’s mind whirled with possibilities of different combinations that she previously may have been denied and she grinned, rubbing her hands together. The damp cleaning cloth that she still held in her hands proved to be still a little waterlogged and she yelped as it dripped onto her apron. Brushing it off, she said, “You promise? Promise-promise?”
“Hm, let me think,” Sparkling brought a hand up to his chin, pretending to be deep in thought as his antsy sister impatiently waited for his response. Cherry, already anticipating it, left to retrieve their coats and gloves from their personal coat rack in the back. Sparkling extended his hand to Apple, playfully saying, “It’s a deal, I promise.”
Vampire laughed as Apple bounded up to grab her older brother’s hand in both of her own and rapidly shake it, “Something tells me that you got the short end of this deal, Sparkling. She gets to go outside and get hot chocolate? What a steal.”
“She’ll be a good negotiator,” Cherry quipped as he came back in, tossing his brother his coat and then helping Apple put on her own. As she put on her gloves, he wrapped a scarf gently around her neck.
Sparkling looked down at his coat. “Even if barely anyone is in here, I still have to stay in and serve them,” he said dubiously. Cherry grinned, shaking his head.
“I’m sure that they can live without immediate attention for a little while. They know their way around the place fairly well,” Cherry chuckled. “Don’t you, Vampire?”
Vampire cackled tiredly, his voice becoming higher as if he had heard a joke, “Of course I do. If I didn’t still live with my sister, I’d ask to live here with all of you.” He grinned, twirling the idly substance in his glass in a lethargic way.
“You’d still have to pay for your drinks,” Sparkling said as he put on his coat; Vampire stuck out his tongue and took another swig of juice. He waved to Apple, who had opened the door and was swaying as she waved it back and forth in an exaggerated manner.
“C’mon, c’mon!!” she waved her arms around impatiently, the movement only becoming more animated as Cherry tried to get her to put on her hat.
“Don’t hold the door open, you’ll let out all of the heat!” Sparkling rushed to join his quarreling siblings, though he glanced back at his vacant spot behind the counter a few times before Cherry grabbed his arm and dragged him out into the snow.
Apple, having been let go many moments before and now adorned in a cute fluffy hat, skipped down the street, kicking up snow and nearly slipping at least three different times. Cherry called after her, “Come back! The park is the other way!”
Sparkling apologized to those still in the bar, though most of the cookies within didn’t seem to mind and found the situation more amusing than anything. He shut the door and was rammed into by Apple, making him slip. Cherry grabbed Sparkling’s arm to try and keep him up, inhaling sharply as he was quite close to banging his head against the window. The siblings ungracefully got themselves upright once more and ambled over to the park as if nothing had occurred (if one ignored the constant glancing between the trio).