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a quiet giggle slipped from shadow milk cookie as he lay on his chest atop his bed. the sheets were ruffled from his constant shifting, nearly pulled clean off the mattress. he didn't care, his focus on the small dolls in his hands.
they were hand-sewn, crafted by his hands weeks before. careful stitches made up their facial features. to him, they were perfect.
"'but you said you loved me!'" he spoke in a high-pitched voice, moving one doll as he spoke. "'well… i lied!'" moving the other doll this time, he dropped his voice low. another laugh escaped him as he continued along with his tragedy to an audience of one.
he hadn't registered how long he had been playing until his mind slowly crawled back to the real world, and he realized just how small his body felt. that wasn't right! he was supposed to be small, not just feel it-
huh?
it was around this point shadow milk cookie realized how messy his thoughts felt. rushing with words that were too big, too much, too much! he just wanted to sit there and play, not have his mind run rampant! it was scary to his muddled mind, and that scare only added to the mess in his head.
his grip on the dolls slowly loosened as he flopped backwards, his head landing on the pillow behind him. his body didn't feel right! he wanted to shift his form to fix it, but his thoughts couldn't focus enough on the process!
shadow milk cookie let out an annoyed whine, flipping onto his side to curl up into a ball. it helped feel small, but it still reminded him his arms and legs felt too long for his body.
all the focus on his bad proportions covered the sounds of footsteps hurrying closer and closer. the door to his room gently creaked open, causing his head to lift slightly from his pillow. oh- pure vanilla cookie! his expression lit up suddenly, fumbling to detangle his arms and legs in an attempt to rush to the healer stepping into the room.
"nilly!" he grinned, finally sitting up. "what are you doing here?" his tone was excited, but laced with an uncharacteristic softness.
pure vanilla cookie, hearing the smile in the jester's voice, matched it with his own. he made his way to the bed, taking a seat on the messy sheets.
"i heard something like a whine from across the hall… is everything okay?"
"um… not really, i think? i dunno…" shadow milk cookie tilted his head down, staring at his lap. the truth slipped out of him easier than he liked.
a hand found its way to his hair, threading through locks as eyes broke apart with every clump. he couldn't help but lean into the touch.
"what is it?"
"body feels too big… 'm supposed to be smaller than this an' i feel all weird."
pure vanilla cookie fell silent, the hand in shadow milk cookie's hair slowing down. his brow furrowed in thought, biting his lip- a bad habit he picked up from those days he spent under extreme pressure to decide.
shadow milk cookie was beginning to think he'd said something wrong, when pure vanilla cookie suddenly gasped in a little bout of air, letting it out in a quiet "oh".
"what were you doing before this?" he asked, a fond smile returning to grace his lips. his words were soft and comforting, a soothing balm to the uncomfortable feelings shadow milk cookie was having.
"playing with those dolls i made- remember them?" kicking his feet, he nabbed the dolls from behind him, handing one to his companion. "i was trying to come up with new play ideas with 'em!"
pure vanilla cookie hummed, holding the doll with his free hand. he carefully felt along the fabrics and threads that made it up. "i see…"
"… is that bad? is something wrong?"
"no, no! nothing is wrong, sweetheart. quite the opposite. i was just thinking of how i can help you with how you're feeling."
shadow milk cookie giggled, his legs kicking a bit faster in joy. "thank you!"
much to his dismay, pure vanilla cookie removed his hand from his hair, placing it on his lap. "it's late, are you getting tired?"
"nuh uh! i wanna stay up!"
the healer laughed softly, ruffling the top of shadow milk cookie's hair. "you're very silly, did you know that?" that comment caused him to beam with pride- "i can let you stay up for a bit longer, but you need to try to get some rest."
shadow milk cookie grumbled under his breath, before nodding. "okay… i promise."
"hm? is there something wrong?"
"it's jus'…" he fidgeted with the doll in his hands, "if i can't stay up then i can't hang out with you, an' i like doing that!"
"well," pure vanilla cookie's peaceful smile never once left him, "how about you get changed, and i can tell you a bedtime story?"
shadow milk cookie, with his muddled thoughts, didn't notice the irony in that idea. he jumped up, giddy at the thought of pure vanilla cookie staying.
"okay!" he agreed without a second to waste, rushing to where he stored all his extra clothes. while he wasn't a fan of wearing anything but his costume and frills, he'd do it if pure vanilla cookie asked.
his movements slipping out of his bodysuit were clumsy, and his hands fumbled with the buttons of the harlequin sleepshirt (which was patterened at his request. if he was going to be caught in normal clothes, they might as well be on brand). after a few minutes of struggle, he was fully changed, a proud little smile on his face.
he noticed, running back to pure vanilla cookie, that he was a bit less confused by how he felt. sure, it was strange, and sure, it was new (and uncomfortable with all these wrong proportions), but having the healer with him made everything better. he was taking care of him. he cared.
"i'm all done! storytime?" shadow milk cookie tumbled back into bed, nabbing both his dolls and climbing under the messy sheets.
pure vanilla cookie slid closer to the jester in bed, petting his hair. his hand rested on the side of curly blue and black, stroking it with a thumb. "let's see… have you heard the story of sword cookie?"
"no," he drew the word out with a giggle. a lie, and both of them knew it. "tell me, tell me!"
both of them also didn't care.
"well, in the beginning, sword cookie was just a boy, living with his brother and father. one day, long after the king of the kingdom had passed, his family was invited to a competition between knights, since his brother was one too."
shadow milk cookie's eyes began to feel heavy listening to the soft words. no, no! he wanted to keep hearing his story! he wanted to stay up all night!
as if to reprimand his thoughts, he yawned, leaning back into his pillows. pure vanilla cookie couldn't help but give a fond chuckle in return.
"sleepy?"
"no!" another lie. "keep going. i'll keep listening."
"hm, well… sword cookie, ever the helpful boy, noticed his brother forgot his sword at home. as he was searching for one nearby, he stumbled on a beautful gilded blade stuck in a rock, in front of a chapel. realizing he could bring it to his brother, sword cookie approached the blade…"
despite his lack of practice, pure vanilla cookie made for a rather good storyteller- at least, in shadow milk cookie's opinion. the gentle tone of his words mixed with his soft touches to his hair were the perfect mix to slowly lull him into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in ages.
his grip on his dolls tightened as his grip on consciousness slipped, the last thing he heard being a soft "goodnight, sweetheart" before peaceful dreams found him.