Chapter Text
Things were good for a while.
Espresso had settled well into Gingerbrave’s kingdom, a small, quaint little place nestled in the middle of a vast forest by the sea. Its citizens were wonderful, and everyone helped each other to help the place grow to the degree it did. He admitted that he begrudgingly helped out with some of the chores himself - even mundane tasks such as sweeping.
Of course, the serenity he finds shatters in pieces - all in a moment.
It was a day like any other, though Espresso this time took to drinking coffee at the nearby Cafe with Latte.
She tapped her glass against the table thrice, signaling the other to pay attention. He glanced up at her, a curious gleam in his eyes. "I heard Gingerbrave invited someone new to the kingdom, and they're coming over today."
"Is that so." Espresso replied, his eyes slowly drifting back to the book he borrowed from Creampuff, an unamused tone in his voice.
From above the pages he was reading, he saw his friend pout. "C'mon! You never greeted the other newcomers when they came, 'cause you always say you're busy," her expression morphed into a mock offended face, pressing a hand against her chest, "like, you weren't even there to greet me!"
Espresso merely rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee afterwards. “My work does not rest, Latte, therefore I should not as well.” Before she could say anything, several people began to gather, walking towards the entrance.
"Hey, Wizard!" Latte called out to the nearest person, who had stopped following Strawberry to turn to her. The small magician approached them. "What's going on?"
"Oh. Gingerbrave mentioned a new person was arriving today." Wizard said and pointed his staff towards the entrance. "He said he was some sort of famed knight from across the sea, so everyone got really curious."
"Oooh! Sounds exciting!" Latte reached over and began lightly tugging on Espresso's sleeve, nearly making him spill his coffee. "Essy! New person! C'mon, let's go see!" She got off the chair, fully tugging Espresso along now. He sighed, lamenting on his half-finished coffee and the book he was made to abandon.
As they approached the kingdom’s entrance, the crowd had already surrounded the stranger. Espresso tilted his head. Despite his unamused reaction towards hearing that a new citizen was joining their kingdon, he could not help but at least be a little curious. What could have caused this ruckus?
A booming laughter. A voice that Espresso had dreaded hearing once more. “Do not fret, citizens! I, blessed by the Divine, shall make time for you all!”
Now that he and Latte were closer, he could see a towering figure - swathed in light, the pure white armor gleaming in the sun. That familiar, arrogant grin on lips that Espresso knew too well, his blue cape fluttering in the wind.
He froze when he fully recognized him, the yawning, familiar feeling pounding in his chest.
Madeleine. Madeleine is here.
He's been trying to avoid this. The raw, aching, dull pain caused by Madeleine all those months ago, yet here he was - acting in the high and mighty way he always has. Of course - of course fate would make Madeleine pop back up in his life when he was beginning to adjust to a life without him.
Espresso could feel Latte stiffen her grip on his arm, her gleeful expression falling and being replaced with one that was of pure concern and pity.
Madeleine lifted his head, surveying the rest of the crowd. The smile he had on his face fell, though the others hadn’t noticed, when he met Espresso’s eyes. His face quickly morphed into recognition, then of something that he couldn’t quite describe - regret? Longing? Remorse? Espresso cared not, or at least very little.
Because before Madeleine could make his way through the crowd, Espresso had swiftly turned his back, shaking off Latte’s grip on his arm. His heels clicked against the pavement as he made his way back to his lab, barely registering how hard his nails were digging into his palms.
“Ess…” A whisper against his ear, an arm wrapped around his torso - Espresso opened an eye at Madeleine’s murmuring. At his lover’s behest, the magician had decided to go to sleep early alongside him.
“Hm…” Despite his protests earlier, his fatigue had unfortunately caught up to him - and he must admit, he was incredibly tired. “I never pinned you down as a sleep-talker, commander.”
Espresso wriggled out of the covers slightly, turning to gaze at Madeleine.The knight, who had been sleeping on his stomach, slowly opened his eyes too. “And I thought I told you to go to sleep, Ess.”
“How can I?” Espresso whispered, fondly, brushing a lock of hair away from Madeleine’s face. “I have the most beautiful man next to me.”
Espresso never imagined when he embarked on that expedition, he’d fall head-over-heels fast for the paladin he despised so much. Though complete opposites, they’ve turned out to be quite a pair. He rarely enjoyed being wrong, especially when it came to his judgment of other people, but… he was incredibly glad he turned out to be incorrect when it came to Madeleine.
“Careful, Espresso.” Madeleine mumbled, voice groggy. “You might run out of compliments before I fully wake up.”
Espresso chuckled, moving his hand to rest on Madeleine’s cheek - A feather-light touch from his fingers. “I do not think I’ll ever run out of words of endearment for you, love.”
Madeleine reached over and took his hand, pressing it against his cheek. He stayed silent for several moments, until he turned his head and kissed Espresso’s palm.
“I’m here to stay.” Espresso said - no, whispered - the words, making his overwhelming fondness for the knight extremely clear. “Now and forever. I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”
Madeleine said nothing, only squeezing his hand in response. “...I love you.”
Espresso smiled, only kissing him in return. Because if his lips and his words and his actions weren’t enough to express the overwhelming amounts of love and adoration for his stupidly endearing knight, then he doesn’t know what will.
He loves Madeleine. So fucking much. And all he can hope is that it stays that way.
“I wanted to check on you and see if you were okay.”
Latte stood by the doorway to his laboratory, her hands tucked behind her. Espresso had her back turned against her, his focus on the equations he’d been writing on his blackboard.
Once he returned from the crowd, Espresso had to take a breather for a moment - his back leaning against his front door, hand over his chest as he steadied his breathing, fighting the tears that were prickling his eyes.
He threw himself into his experiments after, to try and distract himself, to think about anything else - anything. He’d been working the whole day until Latte came by, inviting herself in with a spare key he’d given her.
Espresso still didn’t turn around when he said, “I’m alright. Thank you for your concern.”
“Well, I’m not convinced.” She said, stubbornly crossing her arms. “You left pretty quickly once Madeleine noticed you.”
Espresso said nothing once more, just beginning to speed up his writing. Latte paused for a moment, the only sounds around being the scratching of chalk against the blackboard, and her slow steps towards him.
“Listen,” Latte said, voice gentle, “I know how much you two loved each other, and I know it was hard when it ended.”
“I don’t know if you’re over it or not, but…” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let me know if you need to talk about it, okay?”
He nearly snapped the chalk in half with the way he gripped it. He’s hoping Latte hasn’t noticed, because he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to explain the twisted ache in his heart right now. He truly felt like he was moving on. He really did - so why did it feel like seeing Madeleine again was like tearing open an old wound?
In fact, if anything, Espresso finds that his heart is still yearning for those days. The dates they went on, the intimacy they shared - all of it. But things change, don’t they? And it is completely normal to mourn the loss of a relationship, right?
After all, Espresso was the one who ended the relationship. He was the one who took his bags and left Madeleine and everything behind. He is the one continuing to dwell on what happened in the past.
“Espresso?” He had been frozen for several moments, his hand having stopped moving as well. He slowly turned around, placing the chalk down - meeting Latte’s concerned expression.
“I’ll be fine, Latte.” He said, soft, just being able to keep his voice from breaking. “I will be okay.”
He is completely over Madeleine. Or he’ll learn to be.