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Wildberry tirelessly trudged through the snow, knowing he had only one goal to achieve tonight. To reach the Dark Cacao Kingdom and deliver a letter from Hollyberry herself.
He usually wasn’t one for emotions nor did he particularly care about the holidays, but to tell him to suddenly deliver a letter during Christmas was not okay in his books. He wanted to stay in the kingdom and relax in a corner, wearing a scarf– too short for his liking– the Queen knitted awkwardly around his broad shoulders and observed whether she would drink until she passed out. Instead, he was holding onto one end of it for dear life, thrashing wildly against his chest due to the strong winds that battered the cold kingdom.
He wondered how anyone could ever navigate this place if not for maps and familiarity.
“Annoying…” He grumbled under his breath, squinting to protect his eyes from snowflakes, feeling weight on his eyelashes. If Wildberry could look at himself right now, he’d look like he’d been powdered and rolled in flour.
Nevertheless, he has a job to do, and a man to meet.
The kingdom looked livelier, lanterns hung up in various colors and around houses, illuminating the usually drab gray exteriors. Flaglets (albeit, still in the white-dark-purple color palette the kingdom proudly waves) zigzagged above his head and offered a cute view overhead, looking up and wondering how much effort this took and when this started.
Answering that question wasn’t of priority though, and he beelined towards the palace just a pace slower than he’d normally find himself in. Perhaps it was the vibrance. Perhaps he was tired. Perhaps he was simply looking for his man.
Guards acknowledged his presence and led him inside through rows of wooden doors wrapped by beautiful hanji into the main chamber. It didn’t take long to open up to Dark Cacao who’d grown to start expecting his presence every now and then, both no nonsense men who said what needed to be said to get things over with quickly.
He handed the letter and scanned the room, no signs of any other people in the room except the King. Not that he needed any, but it must feel lonely to sit alone in such a grand room, dark and slightly tinged by the scent of incense.
“That darned persistent Hollyberry, always inviting me to her kingdom.” Dark Cacao belittled, though it was obvious there was a smile hidden behind the remark. Wildberry was good at spotting subtlety– he was a man of the finer details.
“Tell her I won’t be able to come.” The king announced, closing his eyes and heaving a big sigh. Perhaps he really wanted to go. “The kingdom is troubled enough as is, and these strong winds aren’t giving the people any comfort. My absence will also burden my generals further, and—”
“Alright, I understand.” Wildberry paused the King’s train of excuses and quickly nodded, hoping it wasn’t too impolite. Dark Cacao seemed to understand and stood up, slowly walking to the redhead and telling his men to open the doors. They walked out together, in slow pace as they held small conversations.
“Excuse me for earlier, I didn’t mean to look like I was grasping at all sorts of justification.” Dark Cacao spoke up first and coughed into his hand.
“... Don’t worry about it.”
“Harsh winds were present when you travelled here, no? I recommend you stay a while. By the time you’ve returned to the Hollyberry Kingdom your festivity will be finished, anyways.” The older man patted his back with encouragement, unable to make Wildberry budge from his posture. ”I’m aware you’ve recently become quite entangled with Crunchy Chip and I’m hoping you could… stay with him in the meantime. You’ll be off when the blizzard settles.”
Wildberry let a bit of silence sink in between the two, making the ancient ponder if he’d mentioned something sensitive about the two. However, he was just embarrassed that the king had caught on so quickly. Perhaps his red wax seal, scented envelope, and carrier pigeon was a tad bit obvious. “ Hm. I see. Where is he right now?”
“Wildberry!” A loud screech echoed through the tall walls of the interior castle, making Wildberry wince and break stoic character and Dark Cacao relieved as he watched his answer run up the stairs, racing with his wolves.
“Wildberry! You there?!” The familiar voice rang again, his excited face slowly deflating into dread as he saw who was walking beside Wildberry.
“O-Oh, g-good day Your Majesty!” He quickly returned form, back straight and arm in a salute as he tried to control his quivering lip. He wasn’t expecting the king to be out of his throne at this time, nor did he expect him to be walking comfortably along his partner.
“Calm your nerves, Crunchy Chip. You don’t have to be so formal right now, I am about to head somewhere else. Take Wildberry with your person for a night or two, for the blizzards are unrelenting and he needs somewhere to stay.” Dark Cacao nodded before stepping to the side and walking his own path.
Wildberry could swear he saw a wink from the ancient.
“Hey, you like the new decorations? I helped set them up.” He raised his chin up high, proud of his achievements in redecorating the center streets of the kingdom. “Or, this main road, anyways. I suggested this to His Majesty and Caramel a month ago, and the townspeople didn’t seem to mind much about the new change.”
Wildberry walked in slow steps despite his growing urge to hole himself up in blankets for Chip’s sake. The winter chill was seeping into him, so used to the vibrant heat of his own Kingdom. “That’s nice. It’s a wonder how you even reach up there.” He quipped, deadpan as he faced his partner’s direction, a few seconds passing before the joke made sense in his head.
“H-hey! I’m not that short.” Chip flicked his forehead, leaning closer but still staying comfortable on his wolf ride. “And I can jump very high. I’m probably taller than you if we both jump at the same time!”
“Really? You don’t say.” The redhead hummed again, looking at a store that sold rows of rock candies, peaking his interest and pointing towards it. “I’ll buy you something there, come on.”
“Sweets? Good luck making me eat that.” The wolf boy stuck out his tongue, whispering to his ride to change direction for a bit and walk alongside Wildberry. It happily obliged and even rushed towards the candy stand, the sudden speed nearly making the passenger fall face first into the snow.
“Hey, you–” He ruffled the fur of his wolf’s head, unable to look angry nor act like it.
Crunchy Chip refocused his attention to Wildberry, who was patting through his clothes, looking for his collection of gold coins. “You’re the reason why I have to go out and buy sweets nowadays, you know. My wolves love you. Or your treats. Whatever.” He rolled his eyes before hopping off his steed and standing right beside Wildberry.
It settled on him again how incredibly different their heights are. He’d found it daunting at first, but Chip quickly learned that the stature was nothing more than a front for his awkward personality.
“Missing your wallet?”
“I must’ve left it at home. I was rushing, and the carriage to the edge of Hollyberry kingdom was paid beforehand.” Wildberry smiled and hugged Chip closer. “Care to do me a favor?”
“Ugh. You're paying me back the next time you visit.”
“Deal.” A chuckle unlike his demeanor escaped him and it melted Chip's heart to see, his simple laugh blowing away the winter chill and buildup of snow that accumulated on both himself and his heart.
The exchange was quick, a few gold coins worth the exchange of the smile on their faces and the excited licks of his wolves.
It wasn't long before Wildberry let up his first sneeze. Chip didn't think much of it at first— sneezes were commonplace in a nation this cold— but he started looking closer at his partner. His fingers were hidden in his folded arms, his lips quivered with every small breath, and snow had piled on his hair and eyebrows.
“Hey, Wildberry you good?” Chip voiced his concern, slowly veering their relaxing walk to the direction of his residence. “We can go home if you want. Don’t really mind not being able to show you all the stuff I’ve helped set up right now.”
His partner fell silent for a few more seconds, looking earnestly into his own eyes. Chip could never get over the pretty shade of red on his face, like expensive rubies that shined whenever they looked right back at him— and him only. “If you really don’t mind. I know you like to show off.”
“What’s the point if you’re freezing out here? Might as well bring one of those Creme Republic toys out for a walk and I’d have the same experience.” The joke seemed to lighten both their moods, stealing a quick kiss in the moment on both their lips.
Wildberry much preferred being huddled in the warmth of five blankets. Slow exhales left him as he sat by the fireplace of Chip’s home, one that he’d grown to know every nook and cranny of every time he visited.
This time,he counted every notch and indent he could count on the bricks of the structure, taken by time and perhaps Chip’s own attempts at decoration. The flat surface above the mouth contained picture frames, scarce in the house the first time he visited. One of them was of a picture they took together during a return to the Creme Republic, right in front of the big tower that WIldberry could say he proudly conquered.
The thought of filling Chip’s home with memories and new things he’d never considered propping up before filled Wildberry’s soul with more warmth than a fire could give.
“Hey, here’s some hot chocolate.” A familiar voice spoke up behind him, placing himself right beside Wildberry on the floor and settling their mugs on a table behind. Chip took one by the handle and handed it to him, a soft blow to cool down the drink washing over the both of them. “Gotta warn you though. It’s bitter, I rarely have sugar in the house.”
“Do you just melt cacao tablets and espresso powder into a cup and call it a day?” Wildberry mused, but his smile quickly faltered when a confused look painted Chip’s face.
“Is there a problem?”
“... Plenty.” Apprehensively, Wildberry took the mug and took a slight sip. It was still bitter, but not to the extent that he was expecting. Much better than none, so he drank more.
“I put a bunch of sugar and creamer in yours. Figured you wouldn’t want whatever stuff I drink.”
The redhead hummed, handing back the mug and gesturing for him to join him inside the huddle. Chip gave another confused look, slowly crawling into his warm embrace, pressed firmly against Wildberry’s own body. Now they were both wrapped under the blankets and sharing twice the warmth.
“Jeez, you’re still cold.” Chip commented.
“S’why I need you here.” Wildberry mused, hugging him closer, feeling Chip’s warm body against his own, wrapping his arms around his neck. Chip did the same, binding his arms around his partner’s waist and looking up, noses an inch away from each other and feeling their breaths intertwine, cold and warm at the same time. “I miss you.”
“Don’t go starting with your cheesy shit again.” Chip spat before snickering, pressing his lips against Wildberry’s in such a soft manner that the colder man couldn’t help but smile as he was being bombarded by kisses.
He loved being here. All his initial anger seeped out of his head, replaced by the feeling of elation he was here, with the love of his life, being cuddled and being assaulted by smooches all across his lips and chin. He never regretted a single second he struggled in the snow, all the hardships they’d had to face prior to reaching this point.
“Chip, stop!” Wildberry felt like he was being buried in love, chuckling as he faced away from Chip who felt like a dog— too ecstatic to see his owner returning from work. “Jeez, I just invited you into the blankets.”
“Well, sorry for interpreting it as you agreeing to being warmed by me.”
“Warming me with kisses?”
“It's working, you’re all red.” Chip snickered.
“Rude.”