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Cotton Candy rested her head on Roguefort’s shoulder, listening to their rambling about a special jewel they had recently stolen. As they went into detail about its vibrant color, she felt her eyelids grow heavier. Just hearing their voice was so soothing, she didn’t realize she’d stopped paying attention to their words.
Perhaps Roguefort noticed the extra pressure on their side, or Cotton Candy’s silence, because they eventually nudged her. “Are you awake, my dear? Or would you like a nap? I’d love to continue later if you’re too tired right now.”
Cotton Candy jolted awake. “Oh! Sorry.. Um.. a nap would be nice..” Despite dating for a long time, and even getting married very recently (it still felt unreal to her), she still got flustered so easily.
When Cotton Candy was about to get up, Roguefort abruptly scooped her into their arms and began walking to their bedroom, causing her to squeak in surprise. “Roguefort.. You don’t have to carry me to our bedroom!” If she wasn’t blushing before, she sure was now.
“Oh, but my dearest! What kind of spouse would I be if I made my poor sleepy wife walk all the way there by herself?” they replied.
Cotton Candy giggled, kissing their cheek. “You spoil me!”
Soon they reached their room, and Roguefort gently set her down on the bed and began tucking her in. Halfway through, they paused. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”
Cotton Candy smiled. “I thought you’d never ask!” Just as suddenly as Roguefort had scooped her up, she grabbed their waist and dragged them under the sheets. Roguefort purred happily and wrapped their arms around her.
“Sweet dreams, love.. I’ll see you when we wake up.” They kissed her forehead.
“I’ll see you in my dreams..” she murmured sleepily, fatigue quickly washing over her again. She then closed her eyes, welcoming sleep with open arms.
Crowberry knocked on the door again, beginning to get impatient. Usually they’d answer by now! And she knew they couldn’t be away since Roguefort’s car and Cotton Candy’s motorcycle were both parked in front of the house!
As it tapped its foot and pondered in frustration what could possibly stop them from answering the door, an idea came to its mind.
Roguefort had once given her a spare key to the house, saying, “If we’re ever away or I don’t answer the door, feel free to come in! Perhaps you could even try to steal a few jewels off of my hands while you’re there~!” It often wondered what that last comment meant. Was it a challenge? Doesn’t matter.
Crowberry fumbled through her feathers with one wing (the other was holding a gift bag for the newlyweds) to find the key, and after a moment she managed to pull it out. She then inserted it into the keyhole, turned it, and sure enough the door unlocked. For some reason, she didn’t expect it to actually work, and she just stood in the doorway in shock.
It hesitantly took a step inside and closed the door behind it, then looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to its usual visits, except Roguefort and Cotton Candy were nowhere to be seen. She supposed she had to find them herself.
She began searching rooms. Not in the kitchen, not in the living room, not in a treasure chest (ooh, there were a lot of gems in there, though!), not in the pantry..
She wasn’t even sure why she looked for them in such odd places. There was one room Crowberry hadn’t checked, though, walking by it a few times. Their bedroom. It felt forbidden to go in there, seeing as she’d never been invited. Despite being a thief, it still wanted to keep the two’s respect for it..
It paced back and forth in front of the door, weighing its options. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to look. If they got mad at her, she could just tell them that.
Finally, it stopped pacing and took a deep breath. The door was slightly ajar, probably to let some light in. It did seem quite dark from what it could see, after all. She took a step forward and pushed the door open a little more with a creak.
It was, in fact, dark. Except for a corner of the room illuminated by a small nightlight sitting on a bedside table. In the bed the table was beside were…
Those stupid lovebirds… she thought affectionately. Roguefort and Cotton Candy were fast asleep together in the bed.
Now being careful not to make too much noise, it approached the bed, setting the bag of gifts on the bedside table behind the nightlight. She wondered who the nightlight was even for. It was probably Roguefort, as they were the one facing it, but that didn’t make any sense… Why would a phantom thief be afraid of the dark?
Speaking of Roguefort, Crowberry could hear soft rhythmic purring coming from them. That was one of Roguefort’s traits she did know they had. It was so calming, she almost wanted to fall asleep to it like Cotton Candy probably had.
As she gazed at them, she suddenly felt a strong urge to bring them comfort. How? Why, of course, as a bird, Crowberry was very skilled in the art of nest building. And nest building involved gathering things from somewhere else in one place. Crowberry’s brilliant plan was to bring as many pillows and blankets back to the bed as possible and make the sleeping couple cozy and warm.
Thus, she began another search. However, this time, instead of a pair of lovebirds, it was for the softest things it could find around the house.
In their bedroom were a few spare blankets, which it gladly took and covered the blanket they were already underneath with. When she couldn’t find anything else in that one room, she ventured out to the living room, where she stole a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and a few pillows. It then hastily made its way back to the bedroom and deposited its findings onto the bed.
This process was repeated a few times around the house until Crowberry had created the most perfectly comfortable “nest” for the two. It stepped back and admired its work proudly. While she stared, she decided she should leave them alone now. They’d know it was her that had visited from the letter in the gift bag.
Perhaps she could snatch a few shiny jewels from that chest on her way out…
“...Rogue?”
“...”
“Roguefort!”
Roguefort groaned sleepily. “I’m awake, dear… What is it…?”
Roguefort opened their eyes and was greeted by first their wife’s beautiful face, and second the realization that there was a ridiculous amount of pillows and blankets on the bed that certainly weren’t there before.
“Did... did you put all those on our bed? I-I mean! It’s okay if you did! It's just...” Cotton Candy’s face turned red with embarrassment.
“I can’t say I did… I’m just as perplexed as you are.” They sat up to get a better view of the bed. Goodness, there were even more of them than they thought. Who did this?
As they looked around, something quickly caught their eye. There was a bag on the bedside table. Thankfully, whoever left it there took enough care to not block the nightlight’s glow. They reached over and grabbed it, bringing it to their lap. By now, Cotton Candy had also sat up and was looking at it curiously.
Roguefort’s eyes brightened. “Perhaps this’ll give us a clue!” they said, pulling a card out of the bag. It didn’t appear to be a calling card, which was a relief. Their precious jewels were (hopefully) safe from undeserving hands.
Eager to know who it was from, they opened it and found a name at the bottom. They smiled as they read it. Of course a bird would show its affection by dragging pillows and blankets to its loved ones.
“Ah, it was our beloved Crowberry.” Although they were happy she had paid them a visit, they were a little concerned now. It hadn’t been a calling card, but it was still a card from a fellow jewel thief that had been in their house without their realization. They chuckled a little. This must’ve been how victims of Phantom Bleu felt!
Cotton Candy sighed dreamily. “Crowberry… Oh, I just wish I could’ve said hello! I should write her a letter!” Not even waiting to see what was in the bag, she got out of bed and dashed out of the room, presumably towards her work station. Roguefort soon followed. Not to write any letter of sorts, but to make sure they still at least had their most prized jewels.