Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be but a simple trip to a developing kingdom. That was the impression Raspberry had anyways. Clearly fate had other plans however.

“You said this is the Vanilla Kingdom that’s being rebuilt?” Raspberry asked Pure Vanilla as they stepped foot in the town. There was the sound of young kids playing, construction going on, and chatter. Something that Raspberry thought would’ve been normal but it seemed to surprise Pure Vanilla. Suddenly, two children stopped and looked at the small group of heroes and their families, and then spotted Pure Vanilla.

“Oh! Oh!” one said excitedly. “What did Black Raisin say his name was again?”

“Pure Vanilla! Come on! We need to go tell her he’s here!”

Pure Vanilla chuckled as the two kids ran off. Then everyone looked at Pure Vanilla confused.

“PV,” Dark Cacao said. “Do you know these people?”

“Oh, yes, I’ve lived with them before, and helped as their healer. You didn’t tell me we were going to this kingdom.”

“I wouldn’t call it a ‘kingdom’ yet,” Golden Cheese huffed. “It’s getting there though, I’ll give it that.”

They continued to walk around the kingdom till they saw someone approach them. A young cookie with long messy black hair and a crow on her shoulder. Raspberry felt oddly drawn to her.

“Pure Vanilla!” the cookie gasped.

“I know that voice from anywhere!” Pure Vanilla laughed. “Hello Black Raisin! How have you been?”

“Very well, thank you. How are you liking this place so far? You didn’t tell me you were visiting.”

“It’s lovely, I didn’t know I was visiting your kingdom specifically.”

“Eh? Kingdom?! No, no that’s a bit too much too soon… I mean just a few months ago I was the protector of a scrappy village… Besides, it seems too small to be considered a kingdom.”

“I suppose you’re right. In that case I guess we should still call it the Raisin Village?”

“That’s what we’ve been calling it.”

Pure Vanilla nodded with a smile. “Very well then.”

“Oh, I forgot to acknowledge the rest of your party. I’m sorry I was just excited to hear you were visiting.” The crow on Black Raisin’s shoulder flew up as she gave a bow to everyone else. “Hello, welcome to our village. I’m Black Raisin Cookie, it’s nice to meet you all.”

Raspberry gave a curtsy. “It’s nice to meet you too, I’m Raspberry Cookie, expert swordswoman.”

“Wait, did that come off as too confident or cocky? Should I have waited for the other to go first?” she thought. “Hang on, why am I even worried about this? When have I ever worried about this?”

Black Raisin didn't mind though, she gave a smile and a small chuckle.

The others continued the introductions and Black Raisin gave them a tour. Everyone seemed to enjoy the new Raisin Village, and the small sights it had. Many people had excitedly greeted Pure Vanilla and welcomed the rest of the group as well. It was a lovely place, Raspberry could admit that. But she still couldn’t figure out why she felt so drawn to Black Raisin. That was the only thing on the way back home that she could think of.

When she got home, it was still the only thing on her mind, she just sat on her bed thinking about it.

Eventually, she muttered “Damn, she is gorgeous though…” And then it clicked in her head.

“ No, nononononono! Raspberry Cookie!” she scolded herself. “You just met her, you can’t immediately catch feelings like this, it’s stupid!” She layed down and turned over, slamming her head into her pillow and letting out a muffled scream.

“Why?! I don’t even think she paid any attention to me at all! But she is really pretty! But you don’t even know her, and on top of that you probably won’t get the chance to see her again!”

She rolled over again, pillow on her chest.

“Just let this go, she probably doesn’t even remember you…”

Chapter Text

Black Raisin was at the crow tree (a place she often goes to be left alone), sitting in her hammock with her head in her hands and feeling her face go warm. She really shouldn’t be falling for someone right now, too many changes were already happening!

One of the crows tried to nudge Black Raisin’s hand out of the way and she finally allowed herself to move it. She looked the crow in the eyes and gave a small chuckle.

“This is stupid…” She muttered. “I just met the girl.”

The crow instantly knew what was going on and decided to choose violence today. It took a raspberry off a nearby bush and set it in Black Raisin’s lap, then just stared at her for a reaction.

“Really?” Black Raisin asked. “You really went there, huh?”

Black Raisin softly chuckled and popped the raspberry into her mouth. “You’re a bitch.”

The crow cawed and flew back up to a branch. Now, Black Raisin tells all the crows that she doesn’t have a favorite, although they all know she’s lying. The one-legged crow flew up and perched itself next to Black Raisin’s head.

“Hey buddy,” she chuckled, scratching its neck. “What do you-..? C’mon guys…”

The one-legged crow also decided to be a bitch today, as it set down another raspberry next to Black Raisin.

“Who else is in on this joke?” She said, picking up the raspberry and showing it to the crow. It just gave a soft coo in response. “So that’s how it’s gonna be?”

She quickly popped the other raspberry into her mouth with a grin. “Jokes on you, I like raspberries.” She chewed thoughtfully for a second before saying “Hey, since when did raspberries even grow here?”

The question was just met with more soft cooing from the crows.

“You guys are little bastards, did you know that?”

This was met with yet again, more happy cooing from the crows, who were well aware that they were, in fact, little bastards. They’ve been told this numerous times.

Just then, Black Raisin heard footsteps coming towards her perch. She took a second to listen, one cookie, it was just one. She looked over cautiously and saw a cookie in a lightly used cloak, the hood over their head so that she couldn’t see her face. Although judging by what she could see, this cookie was rich. Their boots were bright white and went up to their knees, barely stained and well taken care of, with gold on the end of the toes. And they were heels as well, maybe two inches. The cookie wasn’t from around here, no cookies around here wore heels, let alone could afford them. It seemed like they were in black pants, although Black Raisin couldn’t tell. Everything else was covered by the cloak.

Was this cookie dangerous? She couldn’t tell. It was best to confront them now rather than later though.

Chapter Text

“This is a stupid idea…” Raspberry thought to herself as she trudged through the forest. “Since when have I fallen to this level of dumbassery?”

It was nearly ten o'clock at night judging by the sky, and here she was retracing the path to the Raisin Village because she wanted to see Black Raisin again. Was this even the right path? She felt lost. At least she changed into something more comfortable for this endeavor, but the cloak wasn’t enough to keep her warm.

She heard a lot of cawing from up ahead, signaling to her that this was the right path. She remembered that the Raisin Village seemed to be a paradise for crows, as there were tens of them all around the place.

“Maybe I should just turn back…” she thought. “My headaches are kicking in and I really don’t need anymore stress… Besides, why would Black Raisin be up at this hour?”

Well, she figured out one thing right-quick, Black Raisin was in fact up at this hour, and apparently energized enough to protect the village as she hopped down from a hammock in a tree and got into a defenseful position.

“Oi, state your name and why you’re here this late!” she told Raspberry.

Raspberry put her hands up defensively, the extra stress was causing worse headaches, she swore any minute she was gonna pass out. “I’m gonna be completely honest, I have no idea why I’m here, uh-.”

“You don’t know why you’re here? How do you not know?!”

The world was starting to spin on her, she was about to faint from her headaches, she could tell. She knew this was a stupid idea.

“I-.”

Lights were out before she could finish speaking.

***

The cookie fainted before Black Raisin could get much of an answer out of them. Of course no matter the intention, Black Raisin had to grab them before their head slammed on the rock in front of them.

“Holy shit…” Black Raisin muttered. “Foe or not I think it’s best to get you to the medical base…”

She lifted the cookie up and threw them onto her back, then grabbed both of their hands and held them tight.

“Crows!” she called. Please let the RVMB know I’m heading there with a cookie.”

The crows cawed in response and flew off. And with that, Black Raisin herself took off for the medical base.

***

“Black Raisin!” the cookies at the medical base said as soon as she got there. “We got your signal, who’s the cookie?”

“I don’t know, they fainted before I could get an answer, by the crow tree.”

“So not too far out good, we can take them from here.”

The medical cookies grabbed the cookie from Black Raisin and darted off to help them.

“Let me know when they wake up so I can see them!” Black Raisin called.

“Will do!”

***

The familiar flush of lights came to Raspberry as she blinked awake, although these lights were different, they were dimmer. Was she back in her room? No, the ceiling was different, but she couldn’t have been in the medical hall either as the lights were dimmer here than what it has. So where was she?

Two cookies looked over to her, two cookies she was unfamiliar with.

“Ah! She’s up!”

“Great, you ask questions, I’ll get her.”

“Right.”

One of the cookies left the room as the other walked over to Raspberry.

“How are you feeling?”

“Very… out of it I suppose… Where am I..?”

“It’s normal to feel ‘out of it’ after you’ve fainted. Oh, and you’re in the Raisin Village Medical Base, or some people shorten it to the RVMB.”

“Oh yeah, I did faint, didn't I? Wait, did you say I’m in the Raisin Village?”

“Yes ma’am, can I please have your name?”

“Er, Raspberry Cookie…”

The cookie scribbled down notes and then looked up at Raspberry confused.

“‘Raspberry Cookie’? Weren’t you in the village earlier today on a tour?”

“Uh… Yes, yes I was… News gets around here fast huh?”

“It’s a small village, people visiting is a rare sight so we tend to remember everyone’s names.”

“I see…”

“Do you know how you could’ve fainted?”

“It’s been a condition I’ve had my entire life, if I get too stressed I get headaches and if they get too bad I faint. It’s why it took so long for me to enter competitions...”

“Oh, ok good to know…”

The cookie that had left moments before had returned with Black Raisin at their tail. Black Raisin looked over on the bed and stared in disbelief.

“Is that-?”

“Uh-huh, it’s Raspberry Cookie, the one from the tour earlier today. Must be happy to see her again…”

Black Raisin’s face flushed up as the two medical cookies laughed. “Hey, don’t you guys start too, I already have to deal with the crows!”

She turned her attention to Raspberry. “What are you doing back here? At this hour?”

The gears racked in Raspberry’s mind as she tried to come up with an excuse that wasn’t “You’re absolutely gorgeous and I desperately wanted to see you again even though we just saw each other mere hours ago.” Because that excuse, was stupid. Although she couldn’t come up with anything great either.

“I… I have no idea… I guess I just wanted to see you again…” she finally confessed.

Black Raisin’s arm quickly covered her face as fast as it turned red. “W-well, you should’ve waited till tomorrow… It tends to get quite dangerous out there this late.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, if it’s as dangerous as you’re saying, why were you out there?”

“Black Raisin will often sleep out there sometimes, it helps her process all of the new changes,” one of the medical cookies explained.

“You don’t get cold?”

“No not really, considering that used to be where I usually slept.”

It was Raspberry’s turn to stare in disbelief. She didn’t really know what to say so she just muttered “Sorry…”

Black Raisin looked at her confused. “For what?”

“I- er… God why is speaking suddenly so difficult?”

Black Raisin started laughing. “It’s alright, maybe it just slipped out. I suggest you stay here tonight, I’d rather not have you head back at midnight.”

“Alright… Oh shit, I forgot to tell my family that I was leaving, they’ll be worried sick when they find out I’m not in my room!”

“Oh, hm…” Black Raisin pondered for a second, swaying back and forth, Raspberry found it quite cute. “I could wake you up early tomorrow morning so it doesn’t seem like you were gone for a super long time, does that sound alright?”

“Yeah, that could work, thank you for all the help by the way Black Raisin, I’ll need to find some way to repay you…”

“You don’t need to repay me, you didn’t mean to faint like that.”

“I know but you had to take time out of your night to bring me here and-.”

“You seriously don’t need to repay me! It’s fine, really.”

Chapter Text

Raspberry was quickly shaken awake by one of the cookies in the medical base.

“Good morning, no extra side effects from your little slip last night?”

“No, no I’m fine,” Raspberry told them. “Did Black Raisin ask you to wake me?”

“Yes ma’am, she’s waiting if you’d like to get up and head out.”

“I’ll be there, thank you for your help.”

“It’s not a problem, it’s my job, I wouldn't have applied if I didn’t want to help cookies.”

Raspberry just nodded as she got up and to head out of the room, it was only then she noticed how small it actually was. Including her’s, there were only about ten beds, this was a town’s medical base, surely they needed more beds? She also noticed a cookie in the back getting treated for a wound, barely wincing as it was being cleaned. She would often jump at the pain of that, but the cookie seemed unphased.

“They must’ve had to get wounds cleaned a lot then…” she thought.

She shook off this though and left to meet Black Raisin.

“Good morning Raspberry,” Black Raisin told her as she stepped into the room. “Are you ready to head back home?” She noticed she was carrying a small brown paper bag with her, tied to her belt.

“Sure, would you like to come with me?”

She didn’t plan on saying that last part. What moron would dare ask that?

“What?”

“What?”

“I mean… Sure, the long walk may help me with all these changes…” Black Raisin didn’t want to make eye contact, but she did give a small smile. She could see the medical cookies behind Raspberry give her a smug look and a thumbs up.

“T-thank you! I was really hoping to get to know you better so this would be a good time!” Raspberry said, feigning that she actually meant to ask the question. Hey, fake it till ya make it.

“You… Wanna get to know ME better?”

“Of course, if you’re ok with it. You seem cool.”

“I’m perfectly fine with it. Frankly, you seem quite cool too.”

OH. MY. GOD! She WANTED to get to know Raspberry more?? Seriously? Could this day get any better?

“I suppose it is a good thing I brought two of these, I got you some food for the trip if you’re hungry. It’s five o’clock so let’s get going before it gets too late in the morning.”

Apparently, it could get better. Food! It was also probably food she’d never tried before too, which excited her.

“Alright, let’s get going, thank you again.”

“As I said, it’s not a problem. Cookies need to look out for other cookies, especially when they’re in danger.”

***

It was a long trip from the Raisin Village to home, going by carriage brought the trip down to about an hour, walking however would take much longer, around two hours as Raspberry figured out last night. Of course that was only till Black Raisin’s perch, who knew how long it was between that and the village. But, luckily, they were half an hour in.

“Hey could I have some of that food you brought along?” Raspberry asked, pointing to the small paper bag on Black Raisin’s belt.

Now was the time for Black Raisin’s ultimate test of trust… It sounds cooler than it actually is but what does that matter?

“Sure, all I have are raisin buns though, I tend to make them a lot.”

“Ooh, I’ve never had raisin buns before, I’m perfectly fine with that.”

“You’ve… Never had raisin buns before?”

“No, we never got them, not sure why…”

She had no idea what to do with this information. This situation had never happened before.

“Here, try one, they’re my favorite.”

Black Raisin handed Raspberry a bun and waited for her reaction. Raspberry took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.

“Hm, I like it! I can see how they’re your favorite.”

Verdict reached, trustworthy. Good because she liked Raspberry. She reached into the bag and pulled out the one for herself and started eating.

“I can’t believe you’ve never had raisin buns before.”

“Truthfully, me neither, they’re good.”

“Glad you like them. Hey, so what do you usually do around this time anyways? You know, when you don’t decide to wander off and faint in a forest a good distance away from your home?”

“To be honest, I usually sleep till around seven, grab a quick snack, and then go for a morning walk.”

“So nothing too different from what you’re doing now?”

“No, just two hours earlier. What about you?”

“Typically, I’m training this early. And training can mean anything from combat to figuring out how to write with your left hand because you no longer have your dominant one. I’ve been doing the ladder for years now and still my handwriting is messy.”

“Oh, I thought you were born without that arm…”

“No, sadly. I’d rather not get into that though.”

“I wasn’t going to ask, don’t worry.”

“My dad often teases me whenever I’m practicing my handwriting, like he has much room to speak…”

Raspberry chuckled. “Fathers are like that, if you don’t mind me asking, is he in a similar situation?”

Black Raisin sighed. “Yeah, I don’t really wanna explain that either.”

“I won’t push you to, what type of combat do you practice?”

“It’s sort of it’s own style I guess. There aren’t any weapons involved unless you count my armor, and it’s mainly focused on tripping up the opponent. Most moves involve my legs for obvious reasons.”

“Interesting…”

“You said you were a swordswoman?”

“Oh, yes, I’m quite skilled with a rapier. I’m hoping to become my house’s greatest fencer. After all, I have quite the legacy to live up to haha!”

“Hm, I never have had a legacy to protect, unless of course you count my family protecting the village, but that’s it.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope, kind of hard to continue a legacy when what you’re focused on is protecting an entire village.”

There was a moment of silence between the two, nothing awkward. In a way, it was relieving.

“How far would you like me to walk with you?” Black Raisin asked.

“As far as you’d like, I honestly don’t mind the company. I mean, if you’re walking for two hours you may as well have someone to talk to, no?”

“Is this how you make friends?”

“Not usually, so far it seems to be an effective tactic though.”

She gave Black Raisin a teasing smile, who just chuckled in return.

“I suppose you’re right… You’re welcome back to the village whenever you please. Just make sure it’s not at ten o’clock at night again.”

***

The two finally arrived on the outskirts of the Hollyberry Kingdom, both laughing. The mood quickly turned somber though as they realized where they were.

“I suppose this is goodbye for now,” Black Raisin said. “As I said before, you’re welcome back to the village whenever you’d like.”

“Wait! You… don’t want to head in with me? It gives us more time to talk,” Raspberry said.

“If I did that, I doubt your family would believe you’d left sooner. It’s best if I leave now.”

“Oh… Hang on, I have an idea!”

Raspberry shuffled through her bag till she found a small card with her address on it.

“Until I’m able to head back, we can write to each other!”

Black Raisin took the card and stared at it with a smile. “That’s a great idea, just know they may be delivered by crow.”

“Crows can do that?”

“They’re smart birds, smarter than some cookies.”

Raspberry laughed. “Oh, I see.”

Black Raisin gave her best bow.

“I suppose, I’ll see you in our letters.”

She waved goodbye and walked back to her home, but Raspberry had trouble turning to go towards hers. All she could do was give a small wave and smile back. She watched till Raisin was nearly out of sight to finally turn around and head back home.

***

Raspberry finally reached home and went into her room the way she left it, through the window. There was only one issue this time around, her mother was leaning against her bedroom wall.

“Oh no…” she muttered.

“Where on Earthbread have YOU been?!”

“Mother, I can explain-!” She had finally brought herself to push herself through the window and onto her bed.

“I sure hope so, you had me worried sick when I saw you weren’t in your room! Your candle was still lit, and when I knocked and got no answer I assumed you were asleep. But when I went into your room to blow it out, I saw you weren’t in bed! Young lady, you sent me through all five stages of grief in one night!”

“I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just-...”

“Well it’s clear you snuck off into the woods, look at the sight of your clothes! And besides, if you hadn’t snuck off, why would you be climbing through your window?”

Raspberry couldn’t refute anything, so she just sat there in awkward silence. After a minute her mother sighed.

“Just…- clean yourself up, your Aunt Hollyberry is coming over later today, along with a few others. I’m sure she’ll get a riot out of this situation.”

Chapter Text

After yet another lecture from her father about her stupid decision, and a hectic dinner party turned to Princess Cookie sleeping over, Raspberry and Princess went off into her room for some much needed quiet. Princess was quick to notice something on Raspberry’s windowsill.

“Hey, is that a letter?” 

Raspberry followed Princess’s gaze. Sure enough, sitting on the windowsill was a neatly wrapped envelope addressed to Raspberry. 

“It is, that’s weird.” 

She opened the letter and quickly noticed the handwriting wasn’t as neat as the letter itself. Some words were frustratingly scribbled out and rewritten, and there was an apology at the end for “my horrendous handwriting” and saying how this was the third try at the letter. It was all signed with a decent attempt at a signature that read “Black Raisin”. 

“‘Black Raisin’?” Princess muttered. “Wait, the girl we met at the Raisin Village? You’ve been exchanging letters with her?” 

“W-well this is the first one-..” Raspberry sputtered, trying to hide the obvious red in her cheeks. Princess was quick to put two and two together.

“Ohhh… You like her don’t you? Is that who you snuck off to see last night?” 

“Shut up!” There were a couple awkward beats of silence. “Maybe…” 

“That’s adorable ! But I didn’t think you of all cookies could stoop to that level.” 

“Neither did I. Should I write a reply now or wait till morning?” 

The two looked at each other for a second before simultaneously saying “Write a reply now.”

Chapter Text

Black Raisin wiped her brow after another morning of endurance training. With a huff she sat down on the nearby bench and opened the cap of her water with her teeth. As she drank, she heard the caws the crows came up with when there was a letter to deliver. 

She readied the crumbs she carried with her for the crows as one dropped a fancy letter one her lap. She sprinkled a bunch on the ground and examined the envelope. It was too fancy to be from nearby, and in fact had a wax seal. She took a closer look at the seal to hopefully get any sort of hint of who the letter could be from, it had a crest engraved in it, one she recognized. Raisin hummed to herself trying to remember where she had seen the crest. Then it clicked. She had seen it on Raspberry’s coat, and the deep pink color would make sense for her. 

She quickly dashed back home and slammed the door open with such force that it made her father nearly jump out of his wheelchair.

“By the witches Raisin, what’s that about?! You made me think we had an intruder!” he scolded. Raisin took a minute to catch her breath.

“Sorry Dad…” by this point both her brother and mother entered the room as they probably thought the same thing her dad did. Raisin smiled as she held up the letter. “She responded.” 

Her mother sighed with relief “Well, thank goodness you’re safe but never do that again sweetheart.” 

“Sorry, I was excited.” 

Raisin sat next to her father as her mother took the end of the table and her brother sat across from the two. Raisin handed the letter to her father to open, who took it with a chuckle. 

“Refuse to make a fool of yourself?” 

“I just don’t want to ruin the seal.” 

“Ah, I see,” he laughed. He opened the envelope and took two neat papers and sat them in front of his daughter. Raisin's brother looked at the papers in shock.

“Holy shit she had a lot to say…”

“Mm, that’s usually a good sign,” their mother chuckled. 

Raisin examined the neat blue ink with her father, who elbowed her.

“Neater than yours.” 

She shot him a look “Would you have preferred to lose your arm?” 

Her dad crossed his arms and shrugged with a grin. “I’m ambidextrous, it wouldn’t have mattered.” 

“Damn it, you’re right…” 

With each word, Raisin felt her cheeks getting warmer. Raspberry had decided to constantly compliment her and it was one of the most heartfelt letters Raisin had received. There was also an entire paragraph of her thanking her again for bringing her to the RVMB and helping her and how she “had to refrain myself from sending money as payment.”

At the end it was signed “Raspberry Cookie” in large cursive letters with a note that said “By the way, I don’t think your handwriting is that awful, it’s legible and pretty clean, although I can always help you with practice if wanted.” 

Raisin smiled and looked up at her father. “See, someone says my handwriting is good!”

“She said it's ‘legible’, that’s different from good,” he joked. 

“She sounds like a sweet girl, I hope something happens between the two of you,” her mother smiled. 

“I’m still not sure, and besides we just met.”

“Well, at the very least we know she also likes you,” her brother said, pushing himself out from the table. “We can safely assume that if you do decide to confess she’ll say yes.”

“How do we know that?”

“‘How do we know that?’” her mother mocked. “Sweetie, I’ve never seen a letter with that many compliments since your father’s, and if you want proof I still have them.” 

“Don’t,” her father groaned. “Those were awful! ”

“They were adorable and I’m keeping them for forever.” Her mother walked over to her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Well, I need to go upstairs, I’ll be back later.” 

He started to wheel away and as he got close to the door her mother told him “Call me when you need to head back down again.” 

“I can do it myself.” 

“Black Cherry Cookie! We are not having this argument again, call me when you need to head back down again and I’ll carry you down.” 

“Okay, okay!” 

As he headed to the stairs, his kids laughed. Raisin’s mother shook her head and sighed. 

“That man is so stubborn, I’m shocked all he lost was a leg!” 

Raisin’s brother waved to her, “C’mon, let’s go on patrol.” 

“Give me a few minutes to change out of my training gear and I’ll join you,” Raisin told him. She’d have to write another letter later.

Chapter Text

After months of exchanging letters, Raspberry finally got the chance to go back to the village, she hadn’t felt that much nervous excitement since her first competition. Her mother was sitting on her bed waiting to help her to pick out an outfit when she heard the flap of wings and soft cooing. She whipped around to see a crow setting an envelope on her daughter’s windowsill and then picking at a small pile of trail mix that she hadn’t noticed before.

A few seconds later the crow flew away and she walked over to see what that envelope was. She examined it. Tan in color, nicely folded, and tied with two strings of twine. She flipped it over to try and get an idea as to who it could be from (and why the fuck they’d send it via crow to Raspberry’s window). 

Just then, Raspberry came out with her hair neatly done and immediately spotted her mother with the letter. She stopped in her tracks, panicked. Her mother looked up from the letter and at her daughter. 

“Raspberry, what is this?”

“A… Letter…” 

Her mother raised an eyebrow. “I’m aware, but who is it from and why on Earthbread was it delivered by crow ?” 

Raspberry moved her eyes away from her mother and quietly answered “Black Raisin…”

“What did you say?”

“It’s from Black Raisin..” she said, a little louder this time. 

“Who’s Black Raisin?” 

“The girl from the Raisin Village… The one with the crow?” 

“The… Well-...” Raspberry’s mother took a second to gather her thoughts.  “You’ve been exchanging letters?” 

“Mhm…”

“For how long?” 

“A few months.” 

“ Months? ” 

“Yes ma’am..” 

“How’d she know where to send it?” 

“...You remember the night I snuck off?”

“Ye-... Raspberry Cookie you did not!” 

“I’m sorry!” 

Her mother sighed and handed her daughter the letter before sitting back on the bed. 

“You are really something, Raspberry…” 

Raspberry nervously chuckled. She then opened the letter. The handwriting and signature had gotten better with each letter, she was quite proud of Raisin. The letter was as sweet as usual and after reading she smiled and set it with the rest in her drawer. 

“Hm, you like this girl don’t you?” her mother said. 

“She’s really sweet, I’m honestly very excited to see her again!”

“Dear,” she said. “I have not seen a smile like that since your father first fell for me, and it hasn’t stopped.”

“...Oh..” 

Her mother smirked. “Took you long enough to find someone…” 

“Mom!” 

Her mother laughed and put her hands up. “I’m just joking Berry, come on, let’s find you an outfit. All of that explains why you’re so excited.” 

***

The group finally reached the Raisin Village. The great heroes, House Raspberry, and the royal family were looking forward to seeing how the village was doing since their last visit. Although Raspberry was also looking forward to seeing Black Raisin, it had been far too long. 

Black Raisin was quick to come up to the group and greet them again as soon as she saw them, this time with her brother who introduced himself as Mulberry Cookie. He could’ve sworn he saw Raisin’s smile get brighter as she saw Raspberry. 

“I should’ve known you would’ve greeted us as soon as possible,” Pure Vanilla laughed. “Ah, and I didn’t get to talk to you the last time I visited, Mulberry Cookie, how are you doing?” 

“Oh, very well, thank you! My scars have healed up well. The place has been developing well, I wish you could see it!” 

“As do I, but from what I’m hearing all seems well.” 

“I’m glad to hear it!” Raisin said. “Oh, Raspberry Cookie! It’s great to see you again!” 

Most eyes were on Raspberry now, while Mulberry Cookie playfully elbowed and grinned at his sister, who shot him a look. 

“What-?” Hollyberry started.

“They’ve been exchanging letters, as I figured out this morning, ” Raspberry’s mother said. 

“I forgot to tell you…” Raspberry muttered. 

Hollyberry laughed while Raspberry’s mother let out yet another deep sigh. 

“Come on,” Raisin chuckled. “Let me show you what’s improved.”

***

After some of the others split apart to do their own things, Raisin invited Raspberry to her favorite spot, the crow tree. There was some much needed quiet there. They chatted for a while that was followed by awkward silence as the two both internally debated what they should tell the other. 

Finally, Raspberry broke the tension.

“Hey so, can I tell you something?” 

Raisin felt her heart speed up as she heard this, hoping maybe Raspberry would somehow say what she wanted her to. “Of course, what is it?” 

Raspberry took a deep breath before quietly saying “I like you… And, I get if you don’t feel the same way - completely understand actually! I just wanted to get that off my chest.” 

After a moment, she finally brought herself to look up at Raisin’s face. Raisin’s look of surprise softened into a smile. 

“I get it, you probably think this is ridicu-.” Raspberry’s sentence was cut off by a quick kiss from Black Raisin. 

“...I should’ve probably just said ‘I like you too’, I am so sorry ,” Raisin said, covering her face with her hand. 

“No, no it’s ok! I was tempted to do that as well,” Raspberry laughed. “Heat of the moment, I get it. Just expect my letters to get a lot more sweet.” 

“That’s possible?”

“I was holding back.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I was!” 

The two laughed and were quick to start chatting again. 

***

Raspberry and Raisin met up with the rest of the group for a few more minutes before they had to leave. Mulberry looked at his sister, waiting to see if she had finally confessed. When Raisin smiled and gave a thumbs up, his face read “It’s about damn time!”