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Chapter Text

All Pure Vanilla asked was to be Shadow Milk Cookie’s friend. Of course it would make the Beast cookie mad. Of course, it would make him start attacking and tiring himself out. Still, that wouldn’t mean the healer would give up his endeavor.

“It doesn’t have to be like this Shadow Milk Cookie.” Pure Vanilla said. “Please, you can stay at my kingdom. We can be friends. You wouldn’t have to be so alone.”

“Would you STOP saying that?! I'm NOT lonely!” Shadow Milk shouted in a fit of rage, he started to attack Pure Vanilla further, only making himself more and more exhausted with each missed hit. His breathing got quicker and quicker, as he slowed down.

“Shadow milk, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Pure Vanilla cried out. He raised his staff to stop him, maybe even try to heal the jester to knock some sort of sense into him but Shadow Milk put a quick stop to it. He used another burst of adrenaline and smacked Pure Vanilla’s staff out of his hands using his own.

Cracks started to appear along Shadow Milk’s soul jam, the jester was looking even worse and fatigued with each little crack along the smooth surface.

“How…. DARE you! Acting like you even care? All you want IS TO SEAL ME BACK INTO THAT TREE.” Shadow Milk yelled. Pure Vanilla didn’t even have to defend anymore, he just had to move away from the weak attacks. “WAIT…!!”

The soul jam placed on his brooch was one step away from becoming shattered. Shadow Milk’s eyes widened, and he felt a lump in his throat. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” He positioned himself, ready to lunge again, but Pure Vanilla swiftly used his staff to put a sleeping spell onto Shadow Milk. He grabbed him before the cookie fell to the floor and held him bridal style.

“Pure Vanilla? What are you doing?” Gingerbrave asked.

“Aren’t you going to defeat him? It’d be so easy! He’s asleep right now.” Wizard Cookie added.

“My friends, I appreciate your concern, but I meant what I said about giving him a chance. There’s a better way to end this.” Pure Vanilla said, beginning to walk away.

“But…!” The trio said in unison.

“Shhh,” He gently hushed them and turned around to give them a soft smile. “Don’t worry, I know what to do. Come, let us return to the Vanilla Kingdom.” He beckoned the children to follow him as they left the palace full of lies.

. . .

Shadow Milk had woken up in a strange new place. The sun shone through a large window right next to the bed he had woken up in. If he had to guess, he was in the Vanilla Kingdom his other half resided in. He felt anger and although he wanted to, he did not act on it. When trying to use his magic, he found it wasn’t working. All he could do was shapeshift but even then, it was for a few seconds at most.

He needed to figure out a plan. He was supposed to have the stolen soul jam by now! But noooo he was stuck in this room all because the gnats had to break his soul jam. He sat on his bed, too tired to do much, and began to think of a plan to break out of this place.

He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice night had fallen and moonlight had illuminated the room. A sudden sound filled the room and there was a light knock at his door. He didn’t give an answer but whoever it was decided to rudely barge in anyways. It was Pure Vanilla. Of course it was Pure Vanilla. Always trying to be the big grand hero.

The jester stayed quiet and let the healer creep further into the darkened room. Shadow Milk hoped he was at the very least unnerved at the silence. Would serve him right for trying to bother him. Thinking he, the great and extremely handsome Shadow Milk, needed help. That he needed friends. Pure Vanilla just needed to buzz off and leave him alone.

“I’m sorry, was there something you wanted? Is this your own sick twisted way of trying to gloat?” Shadow Milk snapped at him, not being able to take the silence that came with trying to be quiet and to also get the upper hand in whatever conversation was about to take place.

“Not at all, I was wondering if you were injured? Or needed to eat anything? If you need any help at all?” Pure Vanilla questioned, unbothered by the jester's jabs. “You seemed to be exhausted after our confrontation.”

“You little pest! Do you really think I need help?! Kidnaping me? That doesn’t seem like you’re helping me!” Shadow Milk snarled, sparks of anger igniting inside him. “You’ve stolen me away from my spire just like how you stole MY SOUL JAM.”

Pure Vanilla gave him a sad but stern look. “I didn’t steal your soul jam. It was given to me.”

“Doesn’t matterrrrr~ It is still oh so very rude that you have it instead of ME!” Shadow Milk sang and huffed, rolling his eyes. He dramatically crossed his arms and looked out the window, looking to the moonlit gardens. “If you wanted to be as goody-goody as you pretend to be, ya think you would give it back, hm?”

The room filled with silence and as the time stretched on, it only made Shadow Milk angrier. Why wasn’t he responding? He couldn’t just ignore him like this! He whipped his head around to face Pure Vanilla.

He was greeted with a face with a sad pitying look. There was nothing but compassion in the soft yellow and blue eyes that bore into him and it made Shadow Milk feel sick. He glared back at Pure Vanilla.

“We aren’t going to get anywhere if you keep lying to yourself.” Pure Vanilla stated. “I still would like to become friends with you, no matter how much you want to fight it. I'm not going to give up on you.”

“Oh! You are SUCH a liar~!” Shadow Milk sang. “You just wanna let my guard down and seal me back into that horrendous tree, just like your little friends want to do the same to my comrades.”

“Well yes, that was my original plan. But there is another way. We wouldn’t have to seal you again if you’d be willing to change.”

“Whateves…”

“Just give it some thought, please.” Pure Vanilla asked, getting up from the bed. “My door is always open if you need anything. Just alert the guards outside your room and they will get me. Goodnight, Shadow Milk Cookie.”

Great now he had to deal with guards outside his door too? Shadow Milk watched as the blond left the room and was left to sit in mind numbingly boring silence once again. This was just as bad as the stupid tree. The jester groaned as loud as he could, to let off some steam if anything. The room remained silent.

Suddenly it hit him all at once. Why didn’t he think of it before? Duh, it was as obvious as him being the star of a play. He was the Beast of Deceit. All he needed to do was lie to the gullible old thief. Pure Vanilla was literally handing him the solution. He would pretend to be his friend and then he would finally be able to let Pure Vanilla’s guard down and take back what was rightfully his. How hard could that be?

Chapter Text

Shadow Milk woke as sunlight filled his room. Huh, that was weird. He didn’t remember even falling asleep in the first place. He wasn’t sure he even needed to sleep at all. This must have something to do with his soul jam being cracked. 

Speaking of that… He looked down and inspected it. There were cracks all along the surface and it had lost its glow, turning into a grey color. He huffed. “Bleh, those fools really did get me, didn’t they?” 

He looked up, not wanting to have to look at the pathetic state of the soul jam. Instead, he was going to look at the state of this absolutely abhorrent room. The furniture wasn’t terrible he supposed, it could use some blue though.

There was a wardrobe, a bed, a desk and a bookshelf. Your average room needs. Unfortunately for Shadow Milk, he didn’t own anything so there wasn’t any point in having any of it. Well, actually maybe the bed was nice… 

A knock on the door got Shadow Milk out of his thoughts. He really needed to stop getting so lost in them. Same as yesterday, the visitor rudely barged in without a second thought and without an answer from him. 

“Good morning, Shadow Milk! I came to wake you, but it seems you’re already up!” Pure Vanilla greeted as he walked through the door. “How are you feeling this morning?” 

Shadow Milk hated him with every fiber of his being but the only way to get his soul jam and get out of this place was to act friendly. It’s a good thing he had so much practice with all his performances otherwise he might not make it. 

He tried to keep his voice light and airy. “My oh my, I’m feeling soooooo much better than yesterday, Vanilly!” 

Pure Vanilla gave him his usual gentle smile. “Well, I’m glad a good night's rest could help. Do you need anything to eat or have any unchecked injuries?” 

“Nope! I’m feeling A-OK.” Shadow Milk said, giving his best grin. “I think I’m ready to try giving this friendship thing a chance. Maybe it won’t be so bad~”

“Really? That was surprisingly quick.” Pure Vanilla asked, raising an eyebrow. An amused smile tugged at his lips. 

“Mhm,” Shadow Milk rapidly nodded his head. “It was a littleeee bit quick BUT, you see, in the night when sleep seems to elude you, you have a lot of time to think. Oh, ESPECIALLY about your past actions and how you want to change them, Amirite?” 

“Right…” 

“And I feel oh-so-badly about how I treated you and so many others.” The actor then tried out his best remorseful face. Maybe he could even pretend to cry too… “Well, it really wasn’t very nice of me, was it? I can only hope to make it up to everyone someday, somehow.” 

“I’m sure the others could forgive you in due time.” Pure Vanilla reassured. “But you’ll have to put in the work.” 

“Believe me, I’m going to!” 

“Well, alright then. Glad to hear it” Pure Vanilla chuckled. “For now, I’m going to eat breakfast, you’re welcome to join me if you’d like.” He said, walking to the door.

“Now, now, us beast cookies don’t need to eat so I’ll be fine and dandy just joining you, isn’t that what friends are supposed to do?” Shadow Milk asked. 

“Mhm. Some of them do.” Pure Vanilla looked like he was about to laugh again while Shadow milk started to trail behind him. “It seems like you're starting to get the hang of this. I’m proud of you.”

The jester froze in his tracks. “...What?” 

“Ah, I said I was proud. This must be very hard for you, so I wanted to show I appreciate it.” 

“Is that so? Well, thanks…” Guilt gnawed at Shadow Milk’s insides. He then got annoyed at said guilt for gnawing at him. Pure Vanilla was a thief AND a traitor so there was nothing to feel bad about. In fact, Pure Vanilla was the one who was supposed to be feeling bad. “Now, now, enough of the sappiness, come on! I wanna hang out with my new dearest friend!” 

. . .

The pair went and had started breakfast and so far, it was happening without any problems. Shadow Milk made sure to be enough of his old self, as not to be suspicious, but polite enough that it seemed he changed. As far as he could tell, Pure Vanilla was falling for it, hook, line, and sinker!

They made small talk and Shadow Milk threw in some fake stories about his life. It was always fun to do that. Pure Vanilla didn’t say much to them though, he just quietly listened as he ate his food. 

“I’m going to be tending to the gardens today, you can come with me to do that as well. Although, I would understand if you wanted some time alone, I’m unsure if this is alot for you all at once.” Pure Vanilla said, when he was finished eating. 

“I would love nothing more~” Shadow Milk bowed and grinned at the healer. 

Pure Vanilla shook his head but was smiling at the jester's antics, nonetheless. He led him outside and through the gardens before they finally reached their destination. “Here, I have a new section in my garden. We can split it in half.” Pure Vanilla said, pointing to a patch of dirt.

“Hmm? Split it in half?” Shadow Milk echoed. 

“Yes. You’ll get to put whatever flowers you’d like there.” Pure Vanilla explained, he showed his companion the flower seed bags that had been placed near the patch of dirt. 

Shadow Milk couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him. “Really?! You’l let little o’l me decorate?” 

Pure Vanilla snorted. “Mhm! Have fun with it.” He began to grab some seed bags and do work on his half of the flower bed. 

Shadow Milk rubbed his hands together. Oh, he was going to have fun with this. He was going to make Pure Vanilla ever regret letting him be near his garden. He grabbed some seeds at random and placed them also at random. 

There was no order, rhyme or reason to where he put them; the only goal was to make it disorganized as possible. Pure Vanilla was meticulously planning out each little seed, Shadow Milk was doing the complete opposite. 

“Hah! That was a piece of cake~!” Shadow Milk proudly said, looking over his work and dusting off dirt from his hands once he had finished. Pretending to be friends with Pure Vanilla wasn’t a half bad time. AND he got to mess up his garden as a little side quest. So far, this was the perfect day. 

“Silly Vanilly~!” He sang and went over to the cookie in question. “I’m done with my section!” 

“I see you’re having a good time.” Pure Vanilla smiled. “I can’t wait to see how it looks when it’s all grown.” 

“Me too!” Shadow Milk giggled. His section was going to look so bad, and it was going to throw the whole garden into shame. It would be like having everything go well with a play but at the last second both the lead and understudy get sick, AT THE SAME TIME ON OPENING NIGHT. 

Suddenly Shadow Milk felt a drop of water fall on his face. He held out his hand to check if it was raining. The drops began to come down faster and faster by the second. It was raining hard and fast. 

“Shadow Milk, let’s go, we need to get inside and quick, before we get too soaked.” Pure Vanilla grabbed the jester's outstretched hand, and they ran back inside the castle. 

When they were safely inside, Shadow Milk started to giggle some more. “Oopsies, that could've been very bad, couldn't it have been? So~ What now?” 

“Ah, I’m always happy if you’d like to join me, but we’ve been together a lot today, do you need a break?” Pure Vanilla asked, giving Shadow Milk a once over. His eyebrows were furrowed, and a small frown was placed upon his lips. "Surely this too much for you?" 

“No, no, no, my good fellow! I am doing quite swell!” Shadow Milk retorted. “Spending time together really showed me how much I needed a friend, and you were right!” 

“Well… okay.” Pure Vanilla waved him to follow him as he walked. He led them to his office. It almost looked like a mini library. There was a desk and bookshelves lined the walls. A fireplace crackled and in front of it a chair, perfect for the rainy day they were having. Shadow Milk made a move to go to the chair. 

“Right now, I’m going to be writing letters to the other ancients. We’re trying to find your… the other beasts.” Pure Vanilla said, making his way to the desk. “You can talk if you’d like, or you can read any of the books here.” 

“Oh, oh, oh! Is there anything I can do to help find the other beasts?” Shadow Milk innocently asked. 

Pure Vanilla sighed and rubbed his temples, he was about to sit down but started to walk towards his companion instead. “Listen, Shadow Milk. I am aware of what you’re doing because I did the same to you, remember?” The healer was gentle as he said his words and there was no malice behind them but there was a growing exhaustion.

“Say what now?” Shadow Milk questioned, attempting to keep his voice steady and even. He felt his heart drop and a lump appeared in his throat. Was he losing his touch? His raw talent for acting? This had to be about something else, right?

“I know you; you’re a good actor but not with me. You’re faking all of this, but I wish you wouldn’t. I believe you can change but it wouldn’t be that fast overnight.” Pure Vanilla gave Shadow Milk another sad smile that made the beasts insides turn with disgust and fear. “I’ve played along all day to see if it would help. If that's what you need to do, to change, then that’s alright. Just know you aren’t fooling me. I’m not going to give you information on the other Beasts.”

“My, my, how rude! I’m not trying to fool anyone, and you don't know ME.” Shadow Milk shot back immediately, his voice strained. He would never forget the betrayal he felt in that moment Pure Vanilla tricked him, but he certainly could ignore all those feelings. How dare he act like he knew him over and over. Pure Vanilla knew nothing. “AND thank you so so SOOO~ much for reminding me how you lied to me and how you’re OBVIOUSLY doing it again now. Tsk, tsk, tsk, EXCUSE ME for trying to do the same.” 

“I’m not lying to you? You’re powerless in my kingdom. If I wanted to try to hurt you in any way, I would’ve done so already.” Pure Vanilla explained. Shadow Milk’s glare softened but he quickly recovered back to a razor-sharp focus. That unfortunately made sense. “There is no advantage to me trying to deceive you this time, I just want to be your friend. Truly.” 

“Ha! You JUST want to be my friend? You’re LYING. There’s no possibility you’re not. Trickery is not a good look on you, pal.” Shadow Milk accused again, his voice threatening to break halfway through his mocking. He didn’t know who he was trying to convince at this point. He stood up from the chair and in front of Pure Vanilla. “You’re just trying to lower my guard down and then strike me when I least expect it! Just to get me back for all I’ve done! Nice try!”  

“I know last time I did lie to you, but this time I promise I’m not.” Pure Vanilla held out his hand. “Please, trust me, Shadow Milk.”  

“But you’re lying.” The jester’s voice was quivering and could not hold the power or volume it usually had. He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, trying to stop the tears that were forming there. “I hurt you… there's no possible way you… or anyone else would want to be friends with me after that.” 

“I do though.” 

Shadow Milk fell to his knees, trying desperately to stop the tears that tried to overtake him. He felt so stupidly pathetic. How soft had he become to break down in his enemy's home of all places? All because he got caught in a tiny little lie.

He couldn’t attack him; he had no power. He couldn’t fight this; he had no rebuttal. Pure Vanilla really did have no reason to lie. It's not like Shadow Milk even had a soul jam he would want; it was shattered. There was no reason not to trust him. Pure Vanilla even let him into his garden. The jester turned his gaze up from his place on the floor and looked at the healer's outstretched hand and warm smile. 

Then gathering most of his energy, Shadow Milk took a deep shuddering breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and ran. He didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to leave that room. He heard Pure Vanilla shout after him, but he ignored it. He should try to just leave this place, even if he was weak, and regroup with the rest of the beasts and figure out a new game plan. 

But he ended up back at his room door. There was no one guarding it, there was no one currently guarding him.  He could make his escape now if he really wanted to. But he didn’t know if he wanted to. Tending to the garden with Pure Vanilla was… not the worst thing in the world. Better than that tree at the very least. 

The sound of footsteps filled the empty, silent hallway. Shadow Vanilla panicked and ripped open his door, then shut it, as quietly as he could. Maybe no one would look in here for him and just think he’d left. He set his back to the door as a failsafe, this way no one could get in even if they wanted to. If he was in a more joyous mood, Shadow Milk might laugh triumphantly over how smart he was. 

A knock at the door. He sighed and his heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute. “Shadow Milk Cookie? Are you in there?” This little cookie really wasn’t getting it was he? 

“LEAVE ME ALONE YOU LITTLE PEST.” Shadow Milk yelled back; he felt his hands shake. Whether from fear or anger, he couldn’t tell. “I CLEARLY don’t wanna talk! Learn to read a room!” 

How was he supposed to recover from this? His one idea didn't work out. Curse Pure Vanilla and all of his kingdom. Curse himself for staying. Why did he have to stay? He should’ve just ran away completely. He hated himself for not leaving when he could've a few moments ago, but also for not being able to trust Pure Vanilla too. For cracking his soul jam in the first place. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t do that. For what felt like the first time in his long life, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to fix the problems he caused.

“Hmm, well… alright. I'm sorry.” Pure Vanilla said through the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, we can talk more then. Sleep well.”

Shadow Milk didn’t respond, he was trying to focus on getting his breathing under control. He could hear the quiet footsteps fade away and his heart began to calm. He was so tired. He wasn’t supposed to get tried. Well, at least not from things like this. 

Something else was off too. His stomach felt empty and like it was eroding on him. That wasn’t supposed to happen either. As soon as his heart had gotten a grip on itself, it decided to pick the pace right back up. 

Being like this was so tiring; Shadow Milk had no idea how other cookies lived like this. No wonder they had to turn to lies and deceit just to keep on living. So far life without his powers was terrible. 

He got up off the floor when concluding enough time had passed. He slowly made his way across his room and slipped into bed and under the covers. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and as he fought against them, his thoughts were racing.

He wished he’d never cracked his soul jam. He wished he’d never fallen into deceit. He wished he wasn’t alive right now. In fact, maybe it would've been better if he hadn’t even been created at all. As much as he tried, his eyelids were beginning to win the battle, and he fell into a fitful sleep. 

. . .

Another morning, another knock on Shadow Milk’s room door from Pure Vanilla. This time, the cookie actually waited for a response. He finally decided to learn some manners.

Shadow milk had been awake for an hour already, trying to think of a way to get out of this. Still trying to convince himself to somehow leave the kingdom but he couldn’t. His throat felt dry, and he swore his stomach was somehow in his throat. Pure Vanilla wouldn't give up though, he said it himself. Might as well bite the bullet. “Come in...” 

“Good morning.” Pure Vanilla calmly greeted and walked towards Shadow Milk’s bed. Sunlight streamed through the window, making it seem as if Pure Vanilla was practically glowing. He pointed to the foot of the bed. “May I sit here?” 

“Sure. It’s your castle anyways… And besides, it’s not like I care….” The jester responded, not getting up from his spot under the covers. Pure Vanilla sat down, careful to avoid disrupting where Shadow Milk was placed. 

“So, I understand yesterday was a bit overwhelming,” He started. 

“Ya think?” Shadow Milk snapped. He rolled his eyes and buried himself further under the covers. “Surprised you weren’t born yesterday with that kind of observation.” 

“Shadow Milk, could you please let me talk?” 

An uncommon flash of shame and red-hot embarrassment hit Shadow Milk. “Be my guest…” He mumbled. 

“Thank you. As I was saying, I know it didn’t turn out very well and I’m sorry that I upset you.”

“It’s whatever.” 

“Hey, I know you’re cozy right now, but can you come sit by me?” Pure Vanilla requested, patting the spot next to him.

Fighting off another insult, Shadow Milk got up without saying anything and sat next to his other half. 

“You don’t have to answer now, you can think on it, but please, just think of giving me a chance. I promise I’m not lying to you.” Pure Vanilla pleaded, he had opened his eyes and was gazing very seriously into Shadow Milk’s. 

“Oh yeah? Why dontcha prove it then?” Shadow Milk responded, he really did not want to have this conversation again. Didn’t they just have it last night?! How many times did they have to keep having it? 

“Hmm.” The pair sat in silence and against his better judgement, the jester wanted nothing more than to give in to the offer and lean on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder to rest. He’d seen other cookies do it to each other before and for whatever reason he wanted to do that with Pure Vanilla right now. It was probably just another side effect of the soul jam being cracked. Gross. 

“I can't prove anything. It’s going to be very difficult, but you’ll just have to trust me. I know I tricked you last time, but I still mean what I said, that wasn’t a lie.” Pure Vanilla finally replied. “We are meant to be together. Friendship is a good start to that.” 

Quiet returned and the words hung heavy in the room. Pure Vanilla could still be lying but it’s not like Shadow Milk’s life could get any worse from here. He didn’t have the soul jam, his powers or anyone on his side who knew where he was. AND even if the healer was tricking him again at least Shadow Milk wouldn’t be as lonely for that short period of time. 

“You really did mean that?” Shadow Milk whispered. He put the palm of his hand facing upright on the bed, in between them. “That we were meant to be together?” 

Pure Vanilla tenderly held Shadow Milk’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Of course I did.” He used the same amount of volume as the jester did in his voice. 

“And you pinky-promise, you’re not tricking me again?” Shadow Milk pressed, trying to read Pure Vanilla’s expression. Just like every other time, there was nothing but compassion and warmth.

Pure Vanilla let out a soft laugh. “Yes, I pinky-promise.” He lifted his free hand and held out his pinky. 

Shadow Milk looked from Pure Vanilla to the pinky. He took it using his own. “Fffffine. I guess- we could try… giving this friendship thing… a go...” 

Pure Vanilla was beaming. He could give the sun a run for its money with how bright his smile was. “I’m very happy to hear that. I think I’ll like being friends with you.” 

Shadow Milk gave him a small nod in response, he felt very sick. But he also felt the smallest, most microscopic bit of excitement. If Pure Vanilla wasn’t lying he really wouldn’t have to be so alone anymore, and he would get to be not alone with him. Someone who kind of, maybe, sort of understood him. But if this was another trick, the fall from that was going to hurt more than anything Shadow Milk had ever felt before. 

Chapter Text

Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla were still holding hands on the jester’s bed. It was right after they both decided to be friends. They sat in a mostly comfortable silence as the time ticked on. But as the time slowly ticked on, Shadow Milk’s discomfort only grew. 

The hand holding was getting to be too much. He liked the touch and being close to Pure Vanilla very much, but it was starting to make his skin crawl. He didn’t want to upset the healer though; he couldn’t mess up this supposed friendship right off the bat by accidentally offending him. Instead, he shifted in his seat, hoping that would help. It didn’t. 

Thankfully, Pure Vanilla seemed to notice the discomfort and let go of his hand. “Would you rather I stay or give you some space right now?” 

“Not exactly sure about what I want right now...” Shadow Milk replied. He already felt so exhausted and sick AND even with their quiet sitting it was still only morning. They sat in a now awkward silence, while Shadow Milk tried thinking of what to do.

Shadow Milk’s stomach made the decision for him and decided to make a growling noise. Ugh, what was that for? Could his body stop making weird noises and doing funky things for five minutes? 

“Ah, do you need something to eat? We can get some food; it’s time for breakfast after all. Although, I thought you said beasts didn’t get hungry?” Pure Vanilla questioned. As far as Shadow Milk could tell, he didn’t sound mad, just confused, which was good. 

“Oh, you’re telling me! I thought we didn’t have to either!” The jester exclaimed. He whipped his head around to face Pure Vanilla. “How do you LIVE like this? It makes me feel like a pathetic little gnat!” 

The healer softly laughed. “It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Plus, there’s lots of delicious things to eat, I'm sure you’ll find something you’ll like. Have you ever had food before?” 

“Hmm... Once or twice….” He’d only ever been given a handful of things to try and even then, he didn't really care for any of them. He doubted Pure Vanilla was right about this but if it might make his stomach stop making weird noises, might as well go along with it. 

“How about this,” Pure Vanilla started. “I’ll go make us both some food, something good to try for one of your first times eating. Then I’ll come back to get you, and we can eat together?” 

“That’s the BEST idea you’ve had all day, silly vanilly!” Shadow Milk agreed. 

Pure Vanilla nodded. “Alright.” He got up and walked to the door. 

“See you later alligator~” Shadow Milk said to him, before he left. He could see the healer smile and he waved to Shadow Milk before fully leaving him alone once more. He moved under the covers again, he wasn’t planning on sleeping again, it was just comfier there.

. . .

Shadow Milk must’ve dozed off because before he knew it, Pure Vanilla was waking him up. “I made brunch.” He softly said. The jester was too sleepy to ask what brunch even meant. They walked to the dining room in silence, Shadow Milk resisting the urge to lean on Pure Vanilla for support as they walked. He was still trying to wake himself up as they arrived at their destination. 

“I made eggy bread, and then there are berries or syrup you can put on top of it.” Pure Vanilla said, sitting down.

Shadow Milk sat in the seat next to him and looked over everything on the table. There were small bowls of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. There was a bottle of syrup, and a small stack of what Shadow Milk concluded to be the main course. “Eggy bread?” 

Pure Vanilla laughed. “Yes, I know it sounds weird, but it’s good.”

“Hmm. I’ll just take your word for it…” He watched as Pure Vanilla started to dish himself some food and tried to follow what he was doing. “You’re supposed to put the syrup on the bread? Wouldn’t that make it soggy?” 

“Not exactly. I’ve never really thought about it.” Pure Vanilla smiled. “I think it does just a little, but the sogginess is just syrup flavored. If you don’t want it like that though, you could just put the berries on it instead. Nothing at all works too.” 

“Are you sureeee everyone does this every day?” Shadow Milk felt a mix of confusion and disgust. “This is all very complicated just to eat food.” 

“Don’t think about it too much and you’ll be fine.” 

Huh, being a regular old cookie sure was interesting so far. He observed as Pure Vanilla used the fork and knife that was by their plates, to cut the bread into a small piece and eat it. 

He followed suit and took a bite of his own piece of eggy bread with syrup on it. It felt weird in his mouth as he chewed. He must've made a face because Pure Vanilla looked to be holding back a small laugh. How very rude. 

“Ugh, this feels funny. And NOT in a good way.” Shadow Milk stated once he had finished his first bite. “I’m sick of this already…” 

“It probably will for a while. But you have to eat, if you don’t you might pass out or hurt yourself. Just try to focus on how it tastes.” 

Shadow Milk groaned. “Fine, fine, fine.” He went in for round two, which happened to be somewhat better than the first time. He focused on the taste and it was okay. Wasn’t terrible, wasn’t the best. 

This was dumb, he was moving onto the berries. He tried the strawberry first and liked the firmness of it. Much better than the soggy feeling the bread gave right off the bat. “These are good.” He commented after eating one. 

Next was the blueberries. Again, he didn’t like the mushy feeling it came with. Same with the raspberries, although both of those he liked the taste of better than the eggy bread. He expressed these feelings to Pure Vanilla. For the rest of the meal, he only ate the strawberries. Pure Vanilla noticed and had given Shadow Milk all of the ones he originally taken for himself.

“So, what are we gonna do today?” Shadow Milk asked, once both of them had finished up.

“The only plan was to take it slow today.” Pure Vanilla replied. “If you’re still feeling tired, you could take a nap?” 

Shadow Milk bit back a yawn. Eating did make him tired, which didn’t make sense but then again nothing about these new problems did. “Psh hahaha I’m fine… I don’t need a nap.” 

Pure Vanilla grinned and raised an eyebrow. “And you’re sure about that? You look a little sleepy.” 

“Yes, yes, I could run a mile.” Shadow Milk doubled down. “Now, COME ON! We need to do something today. We’re burning daylight!” 

“Haha, well then. What would you suggest we do?” 

“I dunno what do friends even do?”

“Hmm. It’s not exactly a friendship adjacent thing to do but perhaps we could get you a new outfit?” Pure Vanilla suggested. “We wouldn’t have to if you didn’t want to, but I didn’t know if you might find something else to be more comfortable. Or at the very least so you could have more than just the one.” 

A new outfit? Shadow Milk had been wearing his Jester’s clothing for a long time. He looked down at it. Maybe a new outfit wouldn’t be so bad. It was getting a little boring wearing the same thing every day. 

“Alright, alright, that couldddd be a nice little change for the regular ol’ routine.” Shadow Milk said. “BUT only if I get to keep the old one too.” Another outfit would be fun, for sure, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to part with his old one forever. 

“Of course,” Pure Vanilla answered. “That’s yours, I wouldn’t make you get rid of anything you didn’t want to.” 

Oh. Shadow Milk was ready to fight him on this and turns out he didn’t need to. “Why thank you, that is oh-so generous of you. Now, where are we gonna get this new outfit from?” 

“I was unsure if you wanted to leave the castle just yet. So, I have some old clothing I don’t wear anymore in my closet that you can have if you'd like.” Pure Vanilla said. “Or if you didn’t like that option, I’m positive there’s some extra clothing from the villagers around here someplace.” 
                                                       
“Ohhhh! Is that so? I get to STEAL your clothing?!” Shadow Milk laughed. He suddenly felt like he had enough energy to actually run a mile, and this time he wasn’t lying about it. 

“If that’s what you’d like to call it.” Pure Vanilla snorted. 

. . .

“Do you own anything BESIDES robes?” Shadow Milk questioned, disgust clear in his voice. He could hear Pure Vanilla chuckling in the background while the jester searched through the clothes he had set out. “Look, look, I appreciate this golden offer, but I don’t know if I can WORK with this.” 

They had ended up in Pure Vanilla’s closet a few minutes later, after cleaning up the breakfast mess, much to Shadow Milk’s displeasure. But he had somehow gotten through it and was now getting to decide what he was going to steal from poor ol’ Pure Vanilla. 

“I can try finding that extra villager clothing, if you don’t like any of this.” 

“Could you?” Shadow Milk asked, not looking up from the mess he made on the floor.

“Mhm! I’ll be right back.” Pure Vanilla left the room and Shadow Milk was left completely alone. 

Shadow Milk was so absorbed in his task that it took him a second to realize he was fully left alone. There was no guard outside the door. He’d been granted another chance to leave if he wanted. Yet again, he didn’t want to. He shook his head, going back to his clothing hunting.

Pure Vanilla had returned a few moments later and with a small bag of things. “Ah, there wasn't much outside of the robes.” 

Shadow Milk playfully rolled his eyes and searched through the bag Pure Vanilla had gotten him. "That tracks." Between what he found in Pure Vanilla’s old clothing and this, he could make a decent outfit. Nothing as good as his jester one, but a nice change that wasn't horrendous. 

“Okay, okay. I THINK I got it~” Shadow Milk sang, clutching the items to his chest. 

“That’s good to hear!” Pure Vanilla pointed him to the bathroom connected to his room so Shadow Milk could get changed. “If you don’t like the way any of it fits let me know and we can find something better for you.” 

“Okie dokie, I’ll be sure to let you know~”

Shadow Milk put on the outfit with no issues. He left the brooch that held his soul jam off of it, why would he even put it on anymore? It was shattered there was no reason to. 

The jester looked at his new outfit in the mirror. He felt no particular way about the person who was staring back at him. He looked… kind of weird. Handsome obviously, but weird. He wanted to change something but what? It wasn’t the clothing; that was fine, for the most part. 

He had chosen a pair of black pants, with a baggy tunic that went down to mid-thigh. Along with that he had a cloak that had a waffle cone like pattern on it. His shoes were boots that he could slip on and had a cuff with the same pattern of the cloak on the top of it. 

He tilted his head side to side. That's it! He’d had the same haircut for who knows how long. A change might be nice. But at the same time… this was his hair. That was a part of him. Changing it made him anxious; he couldn’t just shapeshift it to whatever he wanted anymore.

PLUS, he would have to ask for Pure Vanilla’s help, it’s not like the jester knew how to cut hair. Shadow Milk sighed and anxiety churned in his stomach. He wanted to do this but if he accidentally hurt himself attempting it, the healer might make a huge fuss about it, and he didn’t exactly want that to happen. 

And at the same time, if he DID ask Pure Vanilla to help, Shadow Milk would literally be asking him to hold a sharp object while his back was turned. AND what if he made his hair look bad?! Did he even know how to cut hair?

“Is everything alright in there?” Pure Vanilla’s voice cut through his thoughts. “It’s been a while, but no rush at all! Just checking!” 

“Yeppers, doing just PEACHY in here~” Shadow Milk called back, hoping he was loud enough that Pure Vanilla could hear him through the door. 

He had to make a decision soon. Sure, cutting his hair made him relatively nervous, but this whole friendship situation with Pure Vanilla also made him nervous so he might as well put one more match into the fire and have a nice new haircut. And he was supposed to be giving this friend thing a shot, didn’t friends help each other out like this? 

He opened the door and stuck his head out, heart racing. “So, whaddya think, hypothetically, of my hair being shorter?” Shadow Milk asked. “Now, now, before you answer, I know I’m going to be gorgeous either way, I just wanted to know what you thought too...? I guess…” 

What was he saying?! Once he got started it was like he couldn’t stop! Why should he care what Pure Vanilla thinks? He was just supposed to be asking if he was willing to cut his hair, not his thoughts on it. 

“Ah I see. Well, I think you’d look nice with any type of hair really.” Pure Vanilla chuckled. “You have the personality to pull anything off and it might be pleasant to try something new.” 

“Oh.” The small grin that had spread across Shadow Milk’s face was uncontrollable. He really hoped Pure Vanilla meant what he was saying. But Shadow milk couldn’t let the healer know his words affected him that much. “Very good. Very good! That’s what I thought. Glad to know you passed the test.” 

“What test?” Pure Vanilla asked, an amused smile gracing his lips. 

“The ‘do you have good taste’ test, duhhh, you silly vanilly... You aced it with flying colors! Congratulations~” Shadow Milk made fake cheering noises and clapped. 

Pure Vanilla went with it and gave a small bow. “Why thank you.” That earned him a smile from Shadow Milk, he didn’t think Pure Vanilla was actually going to play along. The healer raised up from his bow, but his smile faded a bit. “Ah, wait, do you even know how to cut hair? Um… would it hurt to cut your hair? You do have those eyes in it.” 

“Oh! Oh, right…” Shadow Milk tapped his foot in thought, he’d never tried cutting his hair before, he didn’t know. “Come on, it’s going to be fineeee~ Besides, you’re a healer, if it does hurt me, you can just heal it.”

“Well, I don’t know… I wouldn’t want to hurt you even if it was by accident.” Pure Vanilla frowned. 

Oh, he really didn’t want to hurt him. Maybe he could be trusted with a pair of scissors when Shadow Milk wasn’t looking after all. Although, he could just be saving face right now and hurt him later. Shadow Milk shook his head, trying to settle his thoughts. They both pinky promised, they were friends now, he needed to stop being so suspicious. 

“Please, please, pleaseee~ C’mon Silly Vanilly what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“You could get seriously injured?” Pure Vanilla reminded him. 

Shadow Milk huffed. “I wouldn’t say ‘seriously’. More like mildly hurt at most. It’s a small price to pay for a good haircut.” He held his hands in front of him “I’ll tell you if ANYTHING hurts at all! Pretty sure those eyes are just for looks anyways. If they were alive, they would’ve gone away with all my powers.” 

“Hmmm.” Pure Vanilla hummed. “That’s true.” He took one last look at Shadow Milk’s excited, pleading face. He sighed, shaking his head with a smile. “Okay, let’s do this. Do you want me or you to cut it?” 

“Hmmm…” Shadow Milk tried thinking of something to say that wouldn’t make him look dumb for not knowing to not cut hair. He used to be the virtue of knowing things, one would think he would know how to do it.

“Ah, wait actually. If you wouldn’t mind, may I do it?” Pure Vanilla asked. “I could have less trouble doing it.” 

“Very well, if you’re insisting.” Shadow Milk shrugged. “I guess you can do it.” 

“Perfect. Let’s get started, shall we?” 

They had brought in an extra chair into the bathroom and Pure Vanilla found some scissors that could be used for cutting hair. The chair was facing away from the mirror because Shadow Milk had wanted it to be a surprise for when he saw the final product. Also, so he wouldn’t want to back out halfway through. 

They had started, Pure Vanilla gently and thoughtfully cutting through all the hair while Shadow Milk waited. 

Sitting in the chair for so long was starting to bore him, he wasn’t aware he had THIS much hair. Thankfully his brain was amazing and could come up with some pretty wonderfully awful ideas. He’d just had a thought that could spice this whole haircutting business up.

“OW!” Shadow Milk suddenly exclaimed. Pure Vanilla stopped immediately and hurried to face him, looking over the spot that had just been cut. His brows were furrowed, and he looked worried. 

“Hehe, I got you~ Nothing’s wrong.” Shadow Milk giggled. His giggles stopped once he saw Pure Vanilla wasn’t laughing with him. 

“Shadow Milk Cookie, don’t do that.” The healer scolded. “You knew how nervous this was making me.” His mouth was a flat line and shook his head, returning to the job of cutting the hair. 

Oh, now he really did sound angry. Well at least as angry as Pure Vanilla could get. Shadow Milk’s mouth got dry and he didn’t know what to say. He messed it up. Great, now Pure Vanilla wouldn’t want to be friends anymore. And amazing, even better! He had a side of guilt to go with the nausea he was feeling. 

Quiet blanketed over the bathroom. The only sound being scissors cutting, which somehow only served to make Shadow Milk more anxious. Pure Vanilla still hadn’t stopped being careful while handling his hair, but he had sounded so mad. 

Maybe after this Pure Vanilla was never going to talk to him again, maybe even throw him out. He wouldn’t, right…? He was never that cruel. But Shadow Milk had been. Perhaps this would be the final straw for him. 

“Pure Vanilla?” Shadow Milk whispered, “We’re still friends, right? You don’t hate me…?” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. 

The scissors stopped and Pure Vanilla moved to face him. He gently held out his hand for Shadow Milk to take. Shadow Milk grabbed it and held it like a lifeline. He tried keeping his face neutral but was failing. Worry was written all over it. 

“Of course we’re still friends.” Pure Vanilla replied. “You just made me upset, which happens in any relationship.” 

Relief flooded over Shadow Milk faster than he’d ever care to admit. He felt like he could breathe a little easier again. He nodded, but didn’t know what else to say. 

“I don’t mind your harmless pranks and tricks.” Pure Vanilla explained. “But I do have a problem if they make me think you or someone else is hurt. Or if anyone gets hurt, period.” 

Shadow Milk nodded again, it's like a frog was stuck in his throat and he couldn’t get any words out. It’s not like he wasn’t going to try though. “Sorry…” He croaked out. He held onto Pure Vanilla’s hand a little tighter. Why was apologizing so hard?!

He felt so pitiful. An itty-bitty part of him wanted to maybe, just maybe hug his other half. That seemed like it would help his still somewhat racing thoughts and nerves. He kept his mouth shut though. He was the one who hurt Pure Vanilla, it wasn’t like he deserved one anyway. 

“Thank you, I forgive you. Just keep what I said in mind, alright?” Pure Vanilla said, letting go of the jester’s hand and turned to go back to his task.

“WAIT!” Shadow Milk exclaimed at the loss of the healer's touch. Pure Vanilla faced him again, expression just as worried as when he said he was hurt earlier. Shadow Milk nervously laughed. “Psh haha… oopsies. I just wanted to look at my hair before we continue.”

Shadow Milk took a quick glance into the mirror behind him. He barley paid any mind to the way his hair actually looked. Why did he just do that?! He didn’t need a hug. He could take care of himself and his own emotions. He wasn’t a helpless little bug. “Yep, yep. Looking good as always~ You can keep going.” 

“Are you sure?” Pure Vanilla definitely looked unconvinced, but Shadow Milk wasn’t going to back down, he was fine. 

“You bet! I’m doing super-duper great!” Shadow Milk panicked. “I didn’t need anything at all~ Just wanted a quick check. Hehe.” 

Pure Vanilla hesitated, “Well… if you say so.” He resumed cutting the hair and even after Shadow Milk’s accidental outburst, the tension in the air had disappeared. “Just let me know if you do need anything at all.” 

“Righto. You got it, pal.” 

The rest of the haircut was uneventful, but thankfully didn’t last much longer. Shadow Milk was starting to get antsy for having to sit still for too long but Pure Vanilla got done just in time. 

“Alright. You can take a look now. I hope it’s to your liking.” 

Shadow Milk turned to face the mirror. It looked like his old hair, just shorter. He still had his bangs and the little swoopy parts under his pointed ears. But it made him somehow feel lighter and more refreshed. He shook his head back and forth, testing out the way his hair felt. Shadow Milk loved it. 

AND asking Pure Vanilla for help didn’t turn out as bad as he thought. He didn’t get hurt and got to have sort of a good time on the side, if he didn’t count the trick he pulled and the aftermath of that.

“Ah… Thanks. For cutting it.” Shadow Milk said, getting off the chair and turning towards but looking anywhere but Pure Vanilla. He fought the urge to fidget with his hands. He didn’t want to look stupid while trying to thank someone for once. He was starting to learn that genuinely thanking someone was just as hard as apologizing. 

“You’re more than welcome,” Pure Vanilla beamed. “You look very nice!” 

“Well, aren’t you just so, so, sweet~” Shadow Milk grinned back. His stomach did a flip flop at Pure Vanilla’s complement, it was almost like butterflies were there. He ignored it.

So far, friendship had given him a fancy new haircut and outfit. He turned back to the mirror to inspect his hair further. This whole friendship thing was going a lot better than originally expected. Pure Vanilla still hadn’t betrayed him, and Shadow Milk had felt more hopeful than he had been willing to be in a very long time. 

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, the pair had fallen into a simple routine. Shadow Milk would start his day by getting awoken by Pure Vanilla, they would eat together during mealtimes, do whatever the healer had planned for the day, and sleep. 

It was very rare that they weren’t together, and Shadow Milk hated even having to think about it, but it was nice not having to be alone. He had someone to talk to and joke with. Someone to spend his days with. It made him feel gross but fuzzy and warm inside all at once. But it was a little overwhelming for him. 

He understood Pure Vanilla promised this wasn’t a trick. That they were meant to be together. He believed it, he really did. 

But for almost no reason at all some small part of him was trying to get him to think otherwise. And that part was growing. Each passing day, each little touch, each kind act Pure Vanilla had done for Shadow Milk had made him begin to grow more and more suspicious and he didn't know why. 

He knew he was being illogical and unfair but Pure Vanilla was being too nice for someone who had been hurt by Shadow Milk. He had fed him, given him new clothing, a place to stay and companionship. They were getting closer, and Shadow Milk had been letting his guard down faster than he had wanted to. This had gone on for far too long, if something was going to go wrong it had to be soon. Pure Vanilla had to be getting ready to strike at any moment. 

He couldn’t go to Pure Vanilla with these worries either, that would most likely just offend him and then he would prove himself too difficult of a friend and he would end up alone. He was in a vicious cycle he didn’t know how to get out of. 

He jumped once he heard Pure Vanilla’s usual knock in the morning. It was fine. He and Pure Vanilla were friends, he needed to calm down. But he couldn’t and his nerves only grew. Pure Vanilla was going to hurt him. 

“Good morning!” Pure Vanilla greeted as per usual, his smile as bright as the rising sun. 

Shadow Milk knew he didn’t have to say anything in response, he wasn’t a morning person, according to Pure Vanilla, and most of the time didn’t say anything at this time. He hopped out of bed and tried to act tired while secretly analyzing the healer. 

It was only after they got through most of breakfast that Pure Vanilla tried to say something more. Shadow Milk was usually talking by then. “Ah, are you feeling alright? You’re more quiet than usual.” He asked, expression full of worry. 

“Yes, yes. Doing great. Haha.” Shadow Milk laughed nervously. He watched as Pure Vanilla gave him a weird look but went back to eating his food after nodding. Shadow Milk kept watching him, making sure nothing was off.

He felt so sick he could barely eat the food in front of him. He would have to eat something though; Pure Vanilla would scold him if he didn’t. He nibbled on the strawberries that had been placed out on the table. 

Fruit usually appeared during breakfast and Shadow Milk noted more often than not, it was strawberries. He also noticed that Pure Vanilla wouldn’t eat many of them when they were set out, usually giving all of them to Shadow Milk. It was a little suspicious and didn’t help Shadow Milk’s paranoia. 

He stayed that most of the day too. He felt very distant and the only thing he could focus on was how Pure Vanilla was acting and making sure nothing was happening. He tried saying things here and there, but nothing felt right, and the pair stayed mostly silent with each other all day. 

Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla had ended up in the healer’s office during the evening. Light rain could be heard hitting the windows as Shadow Milk watched both Pure Vanilla reading a book on the chair in front of the fireplace, and the fire. Pure Vanilla had offered him the chair, but he declined, worried it was just a part of some scheme.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been acting… off. All day. Are you positive you’re doing well?” Pure Vanilla asked, looking at where Shadow Milk had sat down on the floor.

“Yep! Just a little sleepy hehehe.” Shadow Milk laughed, he put on his best award-winning smile. 

“Ah I see… If it’s alright with you, may I get a hug?” Pure Vanilla asked, randomly. He didn’t make a move to do anything just yet and waited for Shadow Milk to respond. 

Shadow Milk looked at him. What was he trying to do? Who did he think he was trying to trick? This was going to be it. He was going to hurt him somehow with this. Stab him in the back mid-hug. Wait, he would’ve done that before. With the scissors and the haircut. He already had a chance to do that. It had to be something though. This had to be a trick, somehow. 

The jester didn’t want Pure Vanilla to think anything was off, he would have to play along as best as he could. “My oh my, looks like somebody needs some affection~” He sang. “How the mighty have fallen.” 

Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes, smiling all the same. “Is that a yes?” 

Shadow Milk searched his face. Every nerve felt as if it was shaking and jittery in his body. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Why couldn’t he think of anything to say right now? He thought he was so good at acting, why was he having trouble with it? 

“It’s alright if it’s a no. You don’t have to at all.” Pure Vanilla reassured him. He smiled as Shadow Milk watched meticulously as he went back to reading before pausing once more. “I don’t mean to overstep but is something bothering you? You’ve been watching me carefully all day. Did I do something wrong?” 

“SILENCE!” Shadow Milk finally snapped, standing from his spot. He couldn’t take it anymore, why did he keep asking? What was he planning? He tried to ignore Pure Vanilla’s slightly hurt look. “WHY do you keep asking? Are you trying to get the upper hand so you can trick me AGAIN?” 

“No! Of course not, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m asking because we’re friends and I’m worried about you.” 

“But why? Wouldn’t it be easier just to get rid of me? You've let my guard down and you can seal me up in that tree again then never have to deal with me again. You have a PERFECT moment to do that right now!” Shadow Milk felt tears prick at his eyes which only made him more annoyed. Why was he snapping at him? He felt overwhelmed by his racing thoughts and everything he'd felt the past few days. 

“Why would I do that?” Pure Vanilla looked genuinely confused. 

“Well, I don’t know. Let’s see the facts, shall we? I JUST snapped and yelled at you. Accused you of trying to trick me again when all you’ve done is offer your kindness.” Shadow Milk glared at him. “I'm difficult to have around, I'm one extra mouth to feed, one more worry you have. Seems like enough reason to me…” 

“Well, truthfully? Yes, it would be easier.” Pure Vanilla said, and Shadow Milk’s heart sank. He did ask, and got the answer he was expecting, he didn’t know why he wanted anything different; he had no right to feel sad. He was being difficult and what Pure Vanilla said made sense even if he didn’t like it. 

“But I don’t want the easy way, I want the way where we stay together, and you get to heal. The easiest way isn’t always the best. And I don't mind if you're one extra worry.” Pure Vanilla said, holding his hand out for Shadow Milk to take like every other time they've had this same fight. Shadow Milk felt the tension start to lift from his body. He wanted to grab it again. “I told you I’m not going to trick you; I'll say it as many times as you need. I understand trusting is hard.” 

Shadow Milk slowly and gently grabbed onto his hand again, it felt like it was supposed to be there. Like it was meant to fit perfectly into Pure Vanilla’s. He really was being paranoid, wasn’t he?

“I know you got angry, but it’s not like I wasn’t expecting that to happen. It’s going to happen occasionally. You have a lot of emotions you’re still dealing with.” Pure Vanilla held onto Shadow Milk’s hand a little bit tighter. “But next time, instead of having them blow up, you could talk to me about how you’re feeling? I’m a good listener and I can try to help ease your fears and worries.” 

“Hmmm.” Shadow Milk hummed. He felt embarrassed for getting mad in the first place and being paranoid for so long. “What if it offends you? Then you don’t wanna be friends anymore?”

“You’ve done worse to offend me. If you were going to do something that made me not want to be friends with you, it would have happened by now.” Pure Vanilla gently laughed. 

Shadow Milk felt his face heat up. Pure Vanilla was right yet again. He wasn’t used to getting outsmarted this much. “Fine… I’ll think about coming to you when I’m up late at night with my thoughts.”

“Thank you! Was there anything else you were worried about?” 

“No, not currently…” 

“Alright then, how would you feel about that hug now? It might help you feel better?” Pure Vanilla asked once more, he let go of the jester's hand and held out his arms, standing from his chair.

Shadow Milk hesitated. Witches, he really did want that hug. So, so, badly. Pure Vanilla just proved the jester could trust him yet again. He was truthful with him, saying it would be easier to get rid of him, but he didn’t want to. If he was going to trick him, he would’ve lied about his answer. Pure Vanilla proved he was trustworthy enough to hug. 

Shadow Milk felt nervous; he’d never done this before. He took one last look at his other half who only kindly smiled in return, and he hugged him. And Shadow Milk was so glad he did. Maybe they really were meant to be together.

Pure Vanilla was warm and comforting, it was like as soon as they hugged, Shadow Milk felt safe, as silly as it was. He felt his legs give out and he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. Pure Vanilla held onto him, not letting go. He gently dropped them down to the floor, sitting, Shadow Milk basically in his lap. It wasn’t really a hug anymore; it was more like Shadow Milk was being held. The jester buried his face into the crook of Pure Vanilla’s neck. 

He felt very embarrassed but didn’t have the will to let go and get up. He was safe in Pure Vanilla’s arms. He tried fighting the tears that pricked at his eyes, but they won this time, and he couldn’t stop them. He was sobbing, sobbing like a little fool. 

How pathetic had he become? How far had he fallen to end up here? He was supposed to have Pure Vanilla’s soul jam and have this whole affair with him be over, ending with him more powerful than ever. 

But instead of that, Shadow Milk was crying on the floor being held in his friend’s arms. Pure Vanilla gently ran his fingers through Shadow Milk’s hair, letting him take all the time he needed as Shadow Milk clung to him and leaned into the touch. The beast didn’t know which of those outcomes ended up being better. 

Eventually, his sobs quieted down and all he felt was exhaustion. His breathing calmed then he yawned and felt his eyelids grow heavy.

“Crying does take a lot out of you.” Pure Vanilla softly chuckled. “But it helps you feel better, so it’s worth it.”

Shadow Milk lifted his head from his spot-on Pure Vanilla’s neck to look at him, less than impressed. “The jury’s still out on that one…” 

Pure Vanilla laughed, making Shadow Milk feel a little less tired. Shadow Milk started to get up from his place in Pure Vanilla’s lap, but the healer stopped him. “Here, just rest. I’ll bring you back to your room so you can sleep.” 

Shadow Milk laid his head back down. He was too tired to fight it and getting carried sounded better than walking at the moment. He would worry about the embarrassment of this entire moment later, right now he just wanted to sleep. 

Pure Vanilla got up off the floor, with somewhat of a struggle. He carried Shadow Milk bridal style and began to walk back to the jester’s room. Shadow Milk started to doze while being carried. Pure Vanilla was surprisingly cozy, and he smelled nice too as an added bonus, like vanilla and flowers. He didn't notice that as he was crying his eyes out.

“Are you falling asleep?” Pure Vanilla teased as they roamed the empty, moonlit hallways. 

“No, no, no,” Shadow Milk yawned again. “Just resting my eyes at bit, that’s all~” 

“Whatever you say, strawberry” 

Even though he was just ‘resting his eyes’ and half asleep, Shadow Milk made a mix between disgusted face and a smile. “...What? Strawberry? Really? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m DEFINITELY not red.” 

“Ah well, whenever we have them, you eat those more than anything else at the table. That's why we have them almost every morning, so if you don’t like anything there at least you have that.” Shadow Milk could hear the smile in Pure Vanilla’s voice. “And you call me Silly Vanilly, am I not allowed to give you a nickname too?” 

“Whatevs… Do what you’d like, I’m not in charge of you…” Shadow Milk mumbled. The nickname made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside but feeling that way made him feel disgusted and he already felt embarrassed enough for one night. 

“Do you want to be dropped off at your door, or brought to your bed?” Pure Vanilla asked, as they arrived at their destination.

He had an outburst, cried, and was carried. He was NOT getting tucked in, even if he was tired that was enough shame for one night, he wasn’t going to add more to it. “The door, if you wouldn’t mind~” 

Pure Vanilla softly set him down. “Alright, I hope you can get some good sleep.”

“Yes, yes, you as well, don’t let the bed bugs bite yada, yada, yada. Nighty- night, silly vanilly~” Shadow Milk said, waving to Pure Vanilla as he opened his door, too tired to talk much longer.

“Goodnight.” Pure Vanilla waved back before Shadow Milk shut the door after slipping inside. 

Not long after that, and as soon his head hit the pillow, Shadow Milk was out. That night he had what was probably the best sleep of his life.  

. . .

“I had an idea while you were resting, would you like to try cooking with me today?” Pure Vanilla questioned on their way to eat the next morning, he didn't mention yesterday's events at all, which Shadow Milk was grateful for. “You can help me make muffins.”

Shadow Milk grimaced. “Bleh, I don't know. I just woke up…” How Pure Vanilla always had this much energy in the morning stumped him. 

“It’s not too hard and fun! Things taste better when you make them yourself.” 

“Is that so?” Shadow Milk thought about it a moment more. If Pure Vanilla was wrong about things tasting better, he could get to rub it in his face later or if he was right, their breakfast would taste better, either way Shadow Milk was winning. “Very well, I’ll help.”

Pure Vanilla beamed. “Perfect! Let’s get started.” He held out his hand for Shadow Milk to take, which he did, and led them both to the kitchen. 

It was your average kitchen, stove, oven, the works. Nothing special. There was a lot of counter space though, all of it decorated with the soft Vanilla kingdom colors. It was cozy. 

“It’s probably for the best if you take off your cloak and wear an apron before we start.” Pure Vanilla stated, doing what he was asking, himself. He set them down off to the side, away from everything. Then he threw Shadow Milk an apron. “Wait- you do take that off while you sleep right?” 

“Yes. I’m not a fool. And WHAT about that big ol’ hat of yours? Shouldn’t you take that thing off if we’re cooking?” Shadow Milk asked, pointing to it. It really was a huge hat. Why Pure Vanilla went through wearing it every day, he would never understand. It had to hurt his neck…

“Oh right! I almost forgot.” Pure Vanilla put it next to the rest of their stuff. “We have to wash our hands now.” Shadow Milk did as he was told, putting on the apron while Pure Vanilla washed his hands, then washed his own hands once the sink was free.

Shadow Milk had an idea. It was harmless, just like Pure Vanilla had wanted when it came to tricks. After washing his hands, instead of drying them, he flicked the water at Pure Vanilla. “Achoo!” He exclaimed, holding back a laugh. 

Pure Vanilla laughed. “Hey…!” He grabbed the towel next to the sink and held it out to Shadow Milk. “Use this, instead of ‘sneezing’ everywhere.” 

The jester snatched it from his hands. “My sincerest and most heartfelt apologies, I was feeling a tad bit under the weather.” 

His other half rolled his eyes, grabbing bowls, measuring cups, and the ingredients Shadow Milk assumed they needed to make muffins. “I think things will go smoother if I operate the oven and you mix everything up after I portion it. Would you like chocolate chips or strawberries to go in them?” 

After Pure Vanilla’s comment about the strawberries last night, Shadow Milk had to pretend not to like them at all costs. “I think we should go with the chocolate chips. They’re just so good, amirite?” 

“And you’re sure about that choice?” 

Shadow Milk nodded his head quickly. “Yes, yes. Very sure. Surer than sure in fact.” 

“If you say so, strawberry.” Pure Vanilla grabbed chocolate chips and added them to the ingredients pile. Shadow Milk’s jaw dropped. Oh, how dare he. Right after he chose the chocolate chips too! He would have to plan his revenge later. 

Pure Vanilla started to measure out the ingredients, putting flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in one bowl, with a well in the center of the ingredients. He got a separate smaller bowl and put eggs in it, along with some milk and oil. 

“First, you’re going to mix the smaller bowl. Then dump that into the bigger bowl into the center.” Pure Vanilla instructed. “You’ll need to mix those together next. The batter will need to be lumpy, so don’t stir too much. Then add the chocolate chips, as many as you want and mix it more.” 

Shadow Milked nodded his head. “You got it! I’ll have these all mixed up in NO time.”

“Alright, I’ll just be over there if you need me, lining the muffin tins.” Pure Vanilla explained, leaving Shadow Milk to do his task.

“Okie dokieeee~” 

The minutes passed and Shadow Milk was minding his own business, stirring the ingredients together. He heard the sink turn on behind him but thought nothing of it. He was very focused on making sure the ingredients were perfectly stirred when Pure Vanilla decided to strike. 

“Achoo!” Pure Vanilla yelled, well yelled as much as Pure Vanilla does. He flicked water at Shadow Milk.

Shadow Milk gasped dramatically, biting back a laugh. “USING my own tricks against me?! I’m so hurt~” He pretended to wipe a fake tear from his face. “How shall I ever recover?” 

“I’m sorry, you must’ve gotten me sick after sneezing…” Pure Vanilla pretended to sniffle. 

Shadow Milk laughed. “Oh my, I didn’t think it was contagious. Silly me~ Psh hahaha-” He couldn't stop giggling. It wasn’t even that funny, he had no idea what his problem was. He put his hand over his mouth, trying to stop them. Pure Vanilla looked amused, eyes shining with mirth. 

“Everything’s ready over there, did you finish your mixing?” Pure Vanilla asked once Shadow Milk had calmed down and got in control of his laughter. 

“I just need to add the chips.” Shadow Milk responded, he grabbed the bag and dumped some in, glancing at Pure Vanilla to see if it was too much. He didn’t look upset, so Shadow Milk poured a little more in, then mixed them. 

“We just need to portion these into those paper liners, then bake them for 25 minutes then we can finally eat them.” Pure Vanilla said. He waved for Shadow Milk to follow him, and they got spoons, one for each of them, and started to portion them into the paper. 

Shadow Milk watched and followed Pure Vanilla’s lead, trying to match his in how much muffin batter there was in them. After that, they put them in the oven and had to wait. 

They took those 25 minutes mostly chatting about nothing in particular. Shadow Milk listened to stories Pure Vanilla had about his adventures, the healer listened to him talk about nothing important, just his opinion on all the foods they’ve had so far. 

Finally, the muffins did get done and even after that, Shadow Milk had to wait, Pure Vanilla insisted that they had to ‘cool down’ much to his dismay. Shadow Milk groaned. “Come on, we’ve been waiting foreveerrr~”

Pure Vanilla shook his head, smiling. “You can last another five minutes.” 

Once Pure Vanilla had decided enough time had passed, he handed Shadow Milk a muffin. He bit into them, and thought they tasted really good. They were kind of fluffy too, much better than that eggy bread a few days ago. He looked at Pure Vanilla, who smiled and seemed to agree with him. “Chocolate Chips were a good choice.” The healer commented.

“Why thank you~ I’m always right so it only makes sense~” Shadow Milk giggled. 

Okay, maybeeee Pure Vanilla was right, making them together somehow did make the food taste better. He could never admit that though. 

Chapter Text

The pair was sitting at the breakfast table, around the time Pure Vanilla would usually be giving Shadow Milk the rundown of what the day was going to look like. For the past few days, the healer had been occupied by work in his office and Shadow Milk was growing bored of sitting around all day. 

“I was thinking, your room doesn’t quite fit you,” Pure Vanilla explained. “Would you like to redecorate it? I don’t have much we could use but I want you to feel comfortable since you’re staying here. I know we haven’t done much together these past few days, and this would be a good way to spend time together.”

Shadow Milk gasped overdramatically at the thought. “Really?! That’s the best idea you’ve ever had! I appreciate the hospitality oh-so very much but the room really is quite… uninspired… You do need to add more blue to this place.”

Pure Vanilla softly laughed. “I’ll be sure to keep your design expertise in mind.”

“Good, good. Glad to hear it.” Shadow Milk nodded seriously but went back to his wide grinned expression after a moment. “Redecorating sounds amazing~” He paused thinking of what he wanted to do. “Would you happen to have any paint?” 

“Hmm, I’m sure there has to be some. I’m guessing you’d like blue?” Pure Vanilla asked.

“BINGO!” Shadow Milk praised. “Any blue will do but if you have a darker shade that’d be just lovely.” 

“I’ll see, but before we start you should know this could take a longer time than you'd expect.” Pure Vanilla explained. “We’d have to prep and clean the walls and wait in between layers for it to dry.”

“Obbbbviously, silly~” Shadow Milk rolled his eyes. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew how long paint took to dry. But watching it dry would be better than having to look at whatever tacky color had been chosen for the walls. 

“And you’re sure you want to go through all this work?” Pure Vanilla questioned, he wasn’t discouraging, just trying to make sure Shadow Milk was willing to go through all the work. The beast hated doing it after all. 

Shadow Milk felt a hint of annoyance wash over him. “Yes, YES. I’m SURE.” 

“I’m sorry, my apologies, I didn’t mean for it to upset you. We can get started right away!” 

The trickster felt an increasingly familiar wave of guilt hit him. “Tsk, it’s whatever… Let’s just go.” 

. . .

Shadow Milk had been given the monumental task of cleaning up breakfast, while Pure Vanilla went to hunt down paint. Cleaning was already one of the worst things ever, but now that he didn’t have a buddy with him, it was ten times worse. He was additionally tasked to bring cleaning supplies so they could wipe down the walls before painting. It seemed tedious to Shadow Milk, but he really wanted to paint so he didn’t complain. 

He had been waiting for Pure Vanilla for a couple of minutes in his room, that was where they had decided to meet after they both finished what they needed to do. He was staring out the window, watching the sky when Pure Vanilla made his grand entrance. 

“What are you WEARING?” Shadow Milk exclaimed, disgust eident in his voice. “Are those jeans?” 

Pure Vanilla had shown up in a pair of simple blue jeans and an older looking pastel yellow sweater. He had also brought navy blue paint and several brushes along with paint rollers but that was in the back of Shadow Milk’s mind for the moment. 

“Yes, they are. I didn’t want to wear my robes as they could get paint on them and ruin them.” Pure Vanilla frowned. “This is an old sweater I don’t wear much anymore, and I don’t mind getting paint on these.” 

“You are one funny cookie…” Shadow Milk gave him one more weird look before moving on from the whole situation. For his sanity it was best not to dwell on it. 

Over the course of the day, they had moved all the furniture away from the walls and into the middle of the room and had cleaned them up. And even when it was hard, Shadow Milk kept his complaints to a minimum. He needed to make a point to Pure Vanilla, and he did ask to paint after all so it would be illogical to complain. 

At one point Shadow Milk had convinced Pure Vanilla of letting him climb onto his shoulders to get the higher points of the walls near the ceilings. There had almost been one or two times he had fallen off but for the most part, everything went perfectly. 

It was only when they finished the second coat of the navy paint and Pure Vanilla suggested adding a third, Shadow Milk couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Hold it, HOLD IT! Does it even need a THIRD coat? We’ve already done TWO. C’mon it looks fine,” Shadow Milk huffed. 

“I suppose this is your room, so you can decide to do what you’d like, but it might look better with another.”  Pure Vanilla said. “But for now, we could take a break and have a picnic outside in the gardens. It’s a nice day out and the fresh air will be good for us after smelling so much paint. Then you can make a decision after?” 

Shadow Milk reluctantly agreed to the idea, not wanting to wait longer but he had no choice in the matter and might as well take a break. They left the room and went to the kitchen and just made sandwiches, nothing special.

Pure Vanilla grabbed a blanket, and they departed for the gardens. Shadow Milk had gotten to choose where they sat and he chose the area where they had planted those flowers oh so long ago. 

“You should find a hobby.” Pure Vanilla announced, after they had gotten further into their meal, and they had already been chatting for quite some time. 

Shadow Milk frowned and glared at him, was he trying to insult him? “Why? I’m doing just fine without one.” 

“So that when I'm busy then you’ll have something to do?” Pure Vanilla explained. “You usually end up staring at the fireplace whenever I cannot give you my full attention.”  

Shadow Milk stayed silent for a beat. So, what if he did stare at the fireplace? Was it a crime to? He didn’t THINK so. 

“Well, well, well, if you’re oh-so great at coming up with things, what hobbies would you suggest?” Shadow Milk said, rolling his eyes, bitterness sneaking its way into his voice. 

“You could write your own play.”

Oh, maybe that wasn’t a bad idea after all. He did love to perform and very obviously had a natural talent for it. Although, he was curious of how much Pure Vanilla had thought about this and wanted to hear more.  

“Uh huh. And what, do tell, would it be about?” Shadow Milk questioned. 

“Anything at all. You know and have experienced many things. I’m positive you could find something.” His other half responded. 

Shadow Milk shrugged; all excitement he had about this idea deflated. It would be fun to make a play but who would even listen to it if it was about things he knew? Unless he was lying or exaggerating about his experiences, he doubted anyone would care. 

Although maybe he could try it out but write something completely fictional instead, and just not tell the audience. Or tell them it was based on a true story when it wasn’t at all. AND it could be drama filled. He would have to put this thought on the back burner for now. 

“Ah, and If you don’t like that idea, you could try crochet or knitting? I often do that in my spare time, and I could teach you.” Pure Vanilla smiled at him; Shadow Milk dared to think he looked a little excited at the prospect as well. Unfortunately for the healer, Shadow Milk felt the exact opposite. 

“Crocheting… knitting… you’re trying to make me a SENIOR citizen.” Shadow Milk groaned. “I already know how to sew, so what would the point of learning that be?” 

Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes. “It’ll be good for you; there’s never a downside to learning more. I could give you a quick lesson right now? To see if you’d like it. The paint should be drying for another hour, if I remember correctly, and that’s the perfect amount of time.” 

Shadow Milk looked at the beaming face, and all his reservations washed away, how did he ever say no to him? It simply didn’t make sense. Ugh why did he think that? Pure Vanilla was making him grow soft and it was positively disgusting. “Ffffine… but if I don’t like it at any moment, we’re ending it.” 

Somehow, Pure Vanilla’s smile shone brighter. “Deal.” He held out his hand and waited for Shadow Milk to shake it. The jester sighed but grinned, shaking his hand. 

Pure Vanilla immediately got up and went back inside to get the supplies without another word, which made Shadow Milk laugh. Pure Vanilla was really excited. He waited alone on the blanket, looking around at the garden. 

They sat near their flowers they planted what felt like years ago. Shadow Milk gazed upon them, taking them in, some buds were beginning to show, others further along in their growth than others. Pure Vanilla’s flower bed still looked as organized as ever. Somehow, Shadow Milk’s mess made the healer's spot look better. It annoyed him but he shoved those feelings away. 

Pure Vanilla had returned with a box of supplies he had brought, and the lesson wasn’t as treacherous as Shadow Milk thought it was going to be. It was amusing to watch Pure Vanilla be that excited about something. He wasn’t a bad teacher either, Shadow Milk was getting the hang of it, Pure Vanilla encouraging him the whole way. The jester could see why Pure Vanilla liked crochet, even if it was elderly. If they did it together, Shadow Milk would take little issue to making this one of his hobbies. 

. . . 

The ancient and the beast had returned to the room after cleaning up their mess outside to reevaluate the situation. Shadow Milk thought the walls kooked just fine with only two coats, but something was missing. After racking his brain, Shadow Milk figured it out. 

“Oh! Vanilly, I’ve made a decision, and I have an idea~” Shadow Milk sang, turning to the healer. 

“And what would that be?” Pure Vanilla looked amused. 

“All you NEED to know is that it involves white paint, the rest is a secret. Would you happen to have any?” 

Pure Vanilla snorted. “Alright. I do believe I saw some, but I’m not exactly sure. I can go check?”

“Yes! Yes! Pleaseeeee.” Shadow Milk pleaded, bouncing on his toes.

Pure Vanilla had left the room to find the paint, and Shadow Milk rubbed his hands together excitedly. This pace was going to look great by the time he was finished with it!

Minutes later, the ancient returned to the room, two more paint brushes and a bucket of presumably white paint in tow. He set them down where Shadow Milk was standing. 

“Here you go. May I ask what you’re planning on doing with it now?” Pure Vanilla questioned; curiosity written on his face.

“I guesssss I can let you in on the secret. You see, I was just thinking this room really has a lack of eyes to it, and we need to add some along the walls.” Shadow Milk explained, opening the paint can and dipping the brush in. He began to draw a decently sized eye on the wall and noticed Pure Vanilla’s lack of movement. “Whaddya standing around for? You do know how to paint eyes, right?” 

“Ah, I would love to help, I am just unsure of how you want the eyes to look. I wouldn’t want to mess up your room.” 

“Oh? Not to worry, pal! I can give you a little lesson, here and now!” Shadow Milk then explained how he liked the eyes to be drawn. A simple curved line for the top and a curved line for the bottom. There would also be a sharp oval in the middle, with three lines for an eyelash at the top. “TA-DA! And that is how you draw your very own eye!” 

Pure Vanilla softly clapped his hands. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind as I go.” 

Shadow Milk nodded his head matter of factly, “As you should~” 

They went around the room adding eyes until Shadow Milk was satisfied. The pair met up where they started, standing next to each other, looking over the eyes. The jester adored them. 

Then, Shadow Vanilla grinned. He just had another great idea, they just kept coming. He grabbed his paintbrush, dipped it into the leftover paint and swung it in the direction of Pure Vanilla. The paint hit the healer all the way from the side of his face down to his waist, it definitely got him good. Little dots had managed to get on the walls too. 

Pure Vanilla turned to Shadow Vanilla, his face was blank, but his eyes were calculating. This counted as harmless, right? Shadow Milk had flicked the water at him while baking muffins the other day and figured this would be fine as well. But paint was harder to clean than water, so maybe not? 

Just when he began to actually worry and was lost in scattered thoughts, Pure Vanilla quickly and silently dipped his paintbrush into the bucket and splashed paint onto Shadow Milk before the trickster could block it. 

“HEY!” Shadow Milk shouted and giggled. “That was VERY rude!” 

“You hit me with water and now this,” Pure Vanilla teased, shaking his head. “It’s only right that I get to defend myself and fight back.” 

“You’re just very easy to throw things at~" Shadow Milk shrugged, folding his arms.

“Is that so?” Pure Vanilla looked entertained, stepping closer to the jester. 

“Mhm~” Shadow Milk looked him up and down, why was he closing the distance between them, what was he about to do? “Vanilly, whaddaya think y- AH!” Shadow Milk was cut off by his own yell as Pure Vanilla gently grabbed Shadow Milk’s hand that was holding his brush, pulled him closer, and using his own brush started to paint on the trickster's forehead. 

“ARGH! NOT the face! You’re damaging the MERCHANDISE!” Shadow Milk yelled, giggling while trying to fight back using his free hand. He tried shoving Pure Vanilla's face to get him to stop. “I thought you didn’t like to fight!” 

“I can make exceptions.” Pure Vanilla laughed. “All I’m trying to do is paint a star for you like mine, what makes you think I’m fighting?” 

“Sure, sure! You’re not even PAINTING my forehead ANYMORE!” Shadow Milk continued to shout. He used his free hand to stop fighting off Pure Vanilla and grabbed the brush in his other hand. “Ha ha! That’s IT, 'nilly! You’re gonna regret EVER starting this!” 

He started to flick the paint at him again, Pure Vanilla held onto his other wrist in an attempt to stop it. Even though they were fighting, Shadow Milk didn’t fail to notice Pure Vanilla never stopped being gentle. Sure, Pure Vanilla was trying to restrain Shadow Milk just to paint on his face more but even when holding onto him, he was never aggressive. The jester could easily leave his grip if he wanted to.

Luckily for Shadow Milk, he had longer arms than Pure Vanilla. He somehow struggled good enough to paint Pure Vanilla’s cheek before getting pulled away again. “HA! GOT YOU!” He triumphantly exclaimed, swishing the paint brush at Pure Vanilla once more, and not many droplets hit him. This was not good; he was running out of paint. 

Little dots had scattered themselves all along the walls, Shadow Milk turned his head trying to find the paint bucket but noticed them instead, pausing the fight. Pure Vanilla stopped his paint attack and let go of the beast’s wrist while he was distracted. “Ah, it seems to have gotten on the walls. Not to worry, we can clean it up.” Pure Vanilla assured. 

“No, no, wait- OH! This is MARVELOUS!” Shadow Milk turned to his companion, beaming. Pure Vanilla looked a little concerned at the sudden shift but tried to smile anyways. “LOOK! The dots are like stars. How could I not have thought of that?! We HAVE to flick more paint everywhere to add more, it’s only natural.” 

“Sounds perfect.” Pure Vanilla stopped furrowing his brows and a real smile showed itself on his face. “Should we split up? We could cover more ground that way.” 

“Verryy smart plan, ‘nilly.” Shadow Milk sang, getting started on his side, Pure Vanilla going in the opposite direction of him. Unsurprising to literally no one, flicking a bunch of little paint dots onto the walls was the easiest part of this whole ordeal and they both finished rather quickly.

“Anything else you’d like to add?” Pure Vanilla asked, looking over the work. Shadow Milk observed, taking everything in, deciding what else it needed. It was chaotic, no doubt, but Shadow Milk loved it, this room was starting to look less tacky. But there was one, well two, things missing.

“Hmm, it NEEDS a sun and moon. There are stars so it only makes sense.” The trickster looked at Pure Vanilla. “Go pick a place and draw a sun, I don’t mind where, whatever you think is best~” 

Pure Vanilla nodded, grabbed his brush and began to walk before he turned back. “No looking, it’ll be a surprise.” 

Shadow Milk raised an eyebrow, grinning. “Oh really?~ I see. Fineee… I’ll go along with your silly little whims for now.” He hopped his bed that was still in the middle of the room and placed his hands over his eyes. He heard Pure Vanilla’s footsteps fall on the floor once he was situated. Shadow Milk waited a few moments, heard Pure Vanilla stop and looked around, to take just a little peek. 

Pure Vanilla was in the same spot. Oh, how charming, he fooled him. How-ever did the healer know he was going to do that? A tinge of irritation hit him but delight quickly overpowered it, Pure Vanilla looked as if he was about to burst out laughing, which entertained the jester. 

“No peeking!” Pure Vanilla scolded, although an amused look shone on his features. “I said it’s going to be a surprise.” 

“Fine, FINE- I won’t this time!” Shadow Milk said, whipping back around and covering his eyes again. Pure Vanilla must’ve made his footsteps quieter. The NERVE of that man. He would have to get revenge on him later. Come to think of it, he still had to get revenge for the muffin incident… 

A small seed of fear had planted itself in Shadow Milk’s chest. He had his eyes closed and had no idea where Pure Vanilla was in the room. He tried to convince himself it was okay. He could trust Pure Vanilla. He’d cut his hair, held him while he ugh, cried… It was going to be fine. He was just painting the sun Shadow Milk requested. 

“Alright, the sun is finished.” Pure Vanilla announced, walking back to Shadow Milk. Relief made the fear disappear and helped Shadow Milk calm back down. 

“Took ya LONG enough.” He huffed, scanning the room, trying to find the sun. His amazing eyes couldn’t find it and he tried not to get annoyed about it. Shadow Milk would just have to find it later, he had a moon to paint. “Myyyy turn~” 

He knew exactly where to put it too; on the wall the desk was facing. That way whenever he used it, he could look at it. Shadow Milk strode on over to the spot he thought of, with all the confidence in the world. As he got closer, something that was not an eye was already painted there. 

This is where Pure Vanilla had put the sun. It was simple, just a circle with lines coming out of it for the rays. Inside of the circle Pure Vanilla had decided to take some artistic liberties it seemed, as there was a smiley face. Of course he had given it a smile.

Shadow Milk put his moon right next to it and gave it a sharp toothed grin to contrast Pure Vanilla’s work.  He smiled to himself and went back to his companion. “All done~ I can’t believe you would steal my spot for the moon. What a copycat…” 

Pure Vanilla laughed. “Well then, besides the paint was there anything else you’d like? We could figure something out, I'm sure of it.”

“This should be fine, for the time being. I’m just ALLLL tuckered out from that hard work!” Shadow Milk theatrically placed the back of his hand to his forehead and sighed. “But- It may have been just a little TEENSY bit worth it. We really LIVENED up the place~” 

“I agree. It looks absolutely wonderful. It fits you now.” Pure Vanilla observed.

“Why thank you, vanilly! You don’t think the eyes are too much?” Shadow Milk asked, looking over their work, he didn’t think Pure Vanilla would call it ‘wonderful’ of all things, it had definitely surprised him, then again, he was surprised Pure Vanilla was his friend in the first place. 

“Not at all, they’re perfect. I like it.” Pure Vanilla beamed, earning a smile from his other half on return. “Ah! Not to ruin the moment but we have paint everywhere. It’s even in your hair. It might be best that we clean up before eating and settling down for the night.”

“For the night?” Shadow Milk was confused and looked out the window, he’d somehow forgotten it was even there earlier. The sun was just barely beginning to set and how’d it get to be so late? Now that he noticed, the light in the room was getting dimmer. “Huh…” 

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “I feel the same way. Now, let’s go get cleaned up, shall we?” 

They left for Pure Vanilla’s bathroom; the same one Shadow Milk got his hair cut in. Pure Vanilla had given him a rag and they washed their faces off, giggling the whole time. 

Shadow Milk almost felt ashamed for how he was acting, he was supposed to be powerful and feared, not laughing uncontrollably over some paint on his face. But the joy he was feeling and having Pure Vanilla laugh alongside him overpowered any of that shame that tried to slip through the cracks. 

“Now onto the hair. Ah- Would you like to bathe?” Pure Vanilla asked once they had finished with their faces. “That seems like the simplest approach.”

Shadow Milk didn’t want to do that at all. He actually was a little tired from all the work, even if he did play it up for Pure Vanilla. “Not really… Cantcha just get another washrag or something?” 

“No… That wouldn’t exactly work or be the best for your hair.” 

“Ugh, why must some simple paint be so difficult?” 

“I know. Though, if you don’t mind me asking, when was the last time you’ve cleaned your hair?” Pure Vanilla questioned. He looked more concerned than judgy, so Shadow Milk figured it was most likely safe to tell him without backlash or disgust. 

“...Well, it’s been… a WHILE” Shadow Milk mumbled. “I didn’t exactlyyyy have time between what? Trying to get my revenge, steal back the soul jam AND being stuck in a tree for years upon years. You know how it is, amirite?” 

“I see… How would you feel about sitting on the edge of the tub, and if you lean back, I could attempt washing your hair that way?” Pure Vanilla asked, rolling up his sleeves. “But it might get some water on you…” 

Shadow Milk looked him up and down. It probably would be better if the healer helped him, but that was just plain embarrassing. He could do it himself! 

Although, on the other hand, accepting would mean Pure Vanilla would run his hands through his hair again, and it did feel nice. This could be a way to get to do that once more, all while saving Shadow Milk the shame of having to ask for affection. 

“Go right ahead~” Shadow Milk shrugged. “I’m just oh-so very tired, I couldn’t possibly do it myself, I simply don’t have the energy~ A bit of water won’t kill me.” 

“Whatever you say, strawberry.” 

UGH, it was like Pure Vanilla tried to bring that up during the most EMBARRASSING times. He was already getting to wash Shadow Milk’s hair, why did he have to add salt into the humiliation wound with that nickname? He had to ignore the way it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside and bit his lip to stop a smile from creeping on his face.

Pure Vanilla first made his hair wet, which Shadow Milk made sure to lean back so as to not get any water on himself. Then he ran his fingers through Shadow Milk's hair, lathering the soap. Shadow Milk had to fight every instinct in his body to not lean into it. He could not have another moment of weakness in front of Pure Vanilla. Once was already enough for an entire lifetime, thank you! 

Shadow Milk felt his eyelids grow heavier as time went on. This was, as unfortunate as it was for him to admit, very soothing. He couldn’t fall asleep though. Yet again, it would be embarrassing AND what if Pure Vanilla did anything while he was asleep? He highly doubted there would be any tree sealings happening but he still needed to take precautions. 

The both of them remained mostly quiet for the rest of the night, the day's events taking a toll on them. The silence wasn’t suffocating though, Shadow Milk didn’t feel the need to talk much, which was a surprise to even himself. He retired to his quarters not long after washing his hair, which no water got spilled anywhere on him, success! And not falling asleep around Pure Vanilla as hard as it was. Double success!  

Shadow Milk had a quick snack as well, Pure Vanilla not wanting him to go to bed on an empty stomach. The healer had also sent him off with a robe, just to wear to bed while his other clothing got the paint washed out of them. Shadow Milk was too tired to really mind it.

His furniture was still in the middle of his room because the paint was still drying, and they took it as an extra precaution to not put it back just in case. Shadow Milk had rejected an invitation from Pure Vanilla to sleep in the ancient's room instead. He had claimed that he wanted to sleep in his new painted room, and didn’t mind if the bed was in the middle of the place. Pure Vanilla tried to object but Shadow Milk wouldn’t let him have it. 

The trickster went to bed that night, looking at the walls and feeling more comfortable in the room than he ever had. Maybe it wasn’t so bad not having his soul jam back.  

Chapter Text

Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla were in the healer's office for the day. Pure Vanilla had looked more stressed than usual, and instead of a fun activity they had ended up there. Something about how he needed to message the other ancient heroes, he didn’t tell Shadow Milk much, but the jester could tell something was definitely off. In fact, one wouldn’t even need to be connected like they were to tell something was wrong. 

Pure Vanilla was writing something in what Shadow Milk assumed to be a letter, with his brows furrowed. Shadow Milk silently watched him, wondering what was happening. Last time he asked about it, it didn’t end well at all, so it was best to keep quiet about inquiring what was being written. 

Shadow Milk surprisingly didn’t like seeing Pure Vanilla upset though. It wasn’t even a quarter as joyful if it wasn’t the trickster being the one to mess with him. Making Pure Vanilla stressed was his job alone, he had to help him. 

And, on top of that, Pure Vanilla had helped him paint his room, fed him, seemingly forgave him, Shadow Milk would have to start repaying him at some point. He still wasn’t fully sure if this wasn’t a trick but at the very least, he had housed him and was a VERY gracious guest. That deserved something. 

What would he do though? How could he help without getting in the way? What did cookies even do to be nice? It’s not like he’d had any practice with it. At the very least, first things first, he needed to go to a different room to plan, he couldn’t think with Pure Vanilla in the room. 

That would also get him out of Pure Vanilla’s hair, maybe helping him indirectly? Or maybe it would just stress him out more? Ugh, this is why he wasn’t nice- it was like a mental minefield trying to figure out the best routine. 

“I’m going to my room~” Shadow Vanilla announced, getting up from the chair and heading for the door, all sorts of ideas flooding in his head. “See you later, Vanilla-gator.” 

Pure Vanilla looked up from his desk, exhaustion framing his features. “Ah, is something the matter?”  

Shadow Milk shook his head quickly and waved his hands. “No, no, no! Not at all. I just wanted to work on my new hobby, you looked busy and that was the REASON for it in the first place, no?” 

“Hmm. That is true.” Pure Vanilla looked a little suspicious of him but didn’t say anything about it. He smiled before looking back down at the letter he was writing. “I hope you have a good time. Come get me if you need anything at all.”

“Mhm~” Shadow Milk hummed in response, leaving the room without another word. Pure Vanilla had stopped leaving a guard around the room or having someone constantly be with Shadow Milk. Come to think of it, that had stopped for longer than Shadow Milk realized. When they painted his room, Pure Vanilla trusted him enough to leave him alone, grabbing supplies. 

Shadow Milk had been comfortable enough to roam the halls freely but oftentimes, much rather preferred to stay with Pure Vanilla. The hallways were a little tricky to traverse without his other half, all of them looked mostly the same, but he eventually did make it back to his room. Once inside he began to pace and plot. 

What to do, what to do, that was the question. Shadow Milk could make him food? No, that was an absolutely terrible idea, he didn’t know how to make anything. Not to mention, he could start a fire, which would only serve to stress Pure Vanilla out more! 

Although, he could try to make him tea. If his memory severed him correctly, and it always did, Pure Vanilla liked it. He knew where the kitchen was, and he couldn’t possibly start a fire trying to heat up some tea. 

He left his room with a flourish, almost running out the door and to the kitchen. Once there, he figured out a mini plan in his head. First, get a kettle and put some water in it. Second, heat up the water, and while it’s heating up, find the vanilla tea bags. Third and finally, get the mug, make the tea and bring it to Silly Vanilly. Easy enough. 

The kettle wasn’t hard to find, thank the stars. Lickity split, Shadow Milk had it on the oven, which was surprisingly easy to figure out. He thought ovens might be more complicated. Next up was to start searching the cupboards for the tea. 

Before he actually started, something in him paused. What was he doing?! He was making tea for Pure Vanilla? The thief of his soul jam? He felt like he’d suddenly gone crazy. Shadow Milk wasn’t the type to do nice things for people. He felt a little sick with himself, every time he thought he was at his lowest, somehow his dignity and pride grabbed a shovel and kept digging further down. 

He shook his head. Shadow Milk had to get back on task before his thoughts strayed too far. Pure Vanilla was stressed out and was in desperate need of tea. He continued on looking through the storage, ignoring how gross he felt with himself. 

He was on the last cupboard, it had to be there, otherwise his whole plan was a waste! He stood on his tippy toes, trying to get the best view inside. So far? Nothing. He moved things around looking this way and that. Where could it be?! He felt frustration rise in his chest. That mixed with his sickness was not the greatest thing he’d felt, that was for certain. 

“Shadow Milk? What are you doing?” Pure Vanilla’s soft voice filled the otherwise silent air. 

Shadow Milk whipped around, almost hitting his head on the cupboard door in the process. “Oh, ha ha, you know. Just making a good ol’ cup of tea!” 

“I thought you didn’t enjoy tea? Ah, are you giving it another try?!” Oh great, Pure Vanilla looked excited, Shadow Milk didn’t want to lie to him about trying the tea again, because he didn’t want to do that at all. 

“Well, it wassss SUPPOSED to be for you…” Shadow Milk spoke quietly before raising his voice. “But the tea bags are NOWHERE to be found. You need to organize your kitchen better, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to find anything.” 

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “They’re in the cupboard you were just in. They should be near the back.”  

“What?!” Shadow Milk went back to look in the cupboard, and sure enough, they were there. “I’m going to burn these into ashes… Serves them right for being hard to find AND tasting absolutely vile.”

Pure Vanilla softly chuckled. “They’re not that bad, you really should try it again. It gets better each time.” 

Shadow Milk gave him a disgusted look. Just like when the healer suggested crochet for a hobby, he looked excited and hopeful. Sure, this time it was more toned down, but it still was just as hard to say no to. 

The trickster was trying to be nice, which felt so shameful already, he didn't know if he could add another blow to his pride for the day. Lately he’d had way too many hits to it, and it was starting to get annoying. 

“Blegh, maybe another day, I’m having a good one right now and would rather not ruin it…” Shadow Milk let him down slowly. He went back to search around in the kitchen, this time for a mug. Pure Vanilla quietly watched on the sides, softly laughing as Shadow Milk continued to figure things out. 

After the mug, everything was easy peasy lemon squeezy. All the pieces had come together, Shadow Milk completed his plan and gave the completed drink to Pure Vanilla. “Taaa-daaaa! Get ready, this’ll be the best tea you’ve ever had.” 

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Pure Vanilla beamed, taking a sip. “It is pretty good, for being made by someone who hates tea.” 

Shadow Milk grinned, the healer had some sass to him today, that much was for sure. “Yeah, yeah, it was nothing, Forget about it.” He switched to a disgusted face. “Seriously FORGET this happened.”

Pure Vanilla smiled. “Already forgotten. Although may I ask what brought this on?” 

“You look… maybe just a tad itty little bit stressed.” 

“Ah, I see. You can tell?” Pure Vanilla laughed awkwardly. “Is it really noticeable?”

“Well, you see, it wouldn’t take a genius to see it.”

“That makes sense. I’ve just been more stressed than I’d like, and one of my old friends sent me some… less than ideal news today.” Pure Vanilla revealed, sipping the tea. 

“Oh, oh oh! Would you like to talk it out? Give me the hot new gossip?” Shadow Milk suggested. Pure Vanilla had told him to talk about it when he was feeling a lot, and it only made sense that it would be the same way the other way around. 

Pure Vanilla gave him a sad smile then sighed, putting his mug down. “Yes, I should tell you what’s going to happen, it wouldn’t be right of me if I didn’t.” 

Shadow Milk felt his stomach drop. Wait, what did he mean, what’s going to happen? Was this it? Was he finally getting kicked out? Pure Vanilla had decided enough was enough and that’s why he’d been so stressed out all day. He must’ve been writing to the other ancients about a plan to get rid of him. 

Shadow Milk’s worries must’ve been written on his face, because Pure Vanilla looked mortified. “Ah! My apologies!” He grabbed Shadow Milk’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intent to worry you. I should’ve worded that better. We’re still friends, nothing has or will change about that.” 

Shadow Milk blew out a breath of air. “Come on, Vanilly. You can’t scare a guy like that.” 

“I know, I’m sorry.” 

Pure Vanilla looked massively guilty, and Shadow Milk realized he couldn’t let this go on for much longer. “It’s fine... Now, now, enough of that, we have bigger fish to fry~ What’s happening?” 

The ancient looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. “Please let me finish before you say anything.”

Oh great, that was never a good sign in a conversation. “Okay, I’ll give you a chance. But just the ONE.” 

“White Lily is coming to visit.” Pure Vanilla announced, like ripping off a bandage, he wasted no more time to say what he needed to say. 

Shadow Milk’s jaw dropped. White Lily? The little pest that interrupted his plans and cheated during his game? Pure Vanilla held up a hand before Shadow Milk could shout. The jester folded his arms, anger clear on his face. 

“She just wanted to check up on me, now that you’re here.” Pure Vanilla explained. “She was worried about how I was doing after the... events that took place in Beast Yeast.” 

“Check up on you? What? Do they think I'm going to kill you? You’re fine!” Shadow Milk rolled his eyes. 

“I told them you're staying here of course, they’re just worried. White Lily most of all.” 

“UGH! Why does it have to be HER out of all of them?!” Shadow Milk groaned loudly. 

“I understand you’re frustrated-”

“ZIP IT! I don’t need your FAKE ‘I’m trying to be nice, and I understand you oh- so well.’ talk. What I NEED is her out of my life, FOREVER! Why can’t you stop this?!” 

“Please don’t interrupt me.” Pure Vanilla scolded. “As I was saying, I know it’s frustrating. This isn’t the outcome I would have wanted either, even so, she's already on her way, there’s not much we can do about that, and she is still my friend whether you like her or not. I want to see her.”

“If you were smart, which I KNOW you are, you would rethink that terrible, terrible choice.” Shadow Milk retorted, rolling his eyes. “Annnnd we could kick her out, reject her as soon as she arrives. There are SEVERAL things we could do, you just need to think of all your options, Vanilly~” 

“Shadow Milk, I gave you a chance, you can give her one too. She is my friend, please don’t speak ill of her.” 

The jester’s jam ran cold. Pure Vanilla might have been unfortunately right in this situation, but this was White Lily they were talking about. She was the worst. 

“We’ll let her stay for a day or so she can rest up for her trip back to Beast Yeast, and then she’ll be gone.” The healer continued, trying to give Shadow Milk a reassuring look. “While she’s here, may I ask you to try being as nice as possible? You don’t need to be perfect, just civil. I know it’s unfair, but I’d appreciate your willingness.” 

Shadow Milk glared at him. “Fine, but don’t expect me to go out of my way to see her. It’s not like there’s much a choice in this anyways-”

Pure Vanilla gave him a sad smile. “Thank you.” 

. . . 

Today was the day White Lily was coming, and Shadow Milk had a plan. He wasn’t going to leave his room at all. Sure, it was going to be boring, and he might get a little stir crazy from staying in that one place for so long but that was much better than seeing her. 

Pure Vanilla had decided to check in with Shadow Milk before she arrived. Shadow Milk had felt some resentment for the healer stir in his soul for letting her come but it was Pure Vanilla’s castle after all, he had no say in the matter and Pure Vanilla didn’t budge when it came to White Lily. 

“I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to but you’re welcome to spend time with us if you’d want. You don’t have to stay cooped up in here all day.” Pure Vanilla suggested, after hearing Shadow Milk’s plan of staying in his room. The ancient was sitting in his usual spot at the edge of Shadow Milk’s bed. “You could even try… being friends with her?” 

Shadow Milk started to make fake gagging noises. “Ha! Nice joke, silly Vanilly, but there’s a reason why I’m the clown and you’re not. That’s a hard pass from me.” 

“You know, you two are more similar than you’re willing to think.” 

Shadow Milk gave him a death glare, that couldn’t possibly be true. “Now whyyyy would you even think of saying that? That's very, VERY rude to say. Didn’t your mother teach you how to be polite?” 

“It was worth a try. Ah, I have to go now, I’ll be seeing you. Come get me if you need anything.”

“Yeah, yeah.” 

. . .

The day was uneventful. It was like Shadow Milk was a time loop and every time he went to look at a clock barely any time had passed. The jester wasn’t looking forward to the next few days based on that alone. Pure Vanilla had come in twice to ask if he wanted to join them to eat, but both times Shadow Milk had rejected him.

Shadow Milk had also done a bit of eavesdropping and spying to pass the time. That turned out to be a bad idea. Usually, it was very fun but not this time. He watched Pure Vanilla and White Lily on the side as they sat in the gardens. Somebody had to check on them, who knows what they were getting up to. 

They were just talking. Shadow Milk couldn’t hear them from where he observed but was Pure Vanilla laughing more with her than he did with him? It looked that way. What made her so special? They shared a soul jam, what did she have to offer? 

Shadow Milk wasn’t stupid, he saw how close they were, and it made him feel all sorts of fearful and gross inside. He hated White Lily. Why did she even have to be here? It was like she was stealing Pure Vanilla away from him. After that he didn’t have much energy to continue watching them.

Now, it was dinner and Shadow Milk had been kindly forced out of his room by Pure Vanilla to eat. The healer had promised he didn’t need to talk if he didn’t want to, he just ‘hadn’t eaten all day’ and ‘needed to eat something’ according to Pure Vanilla. 

The beast picked at his food, glaring at it while the other two quietly talked and laughed with each other across the table from him. He needed to put a stop to this, it was making his appetite disappear.

 Shadow Milk cleared his throat loudly. “Hellooo? Whatcha talking about?” 

“Ah! I’m sorry.” Pure Vanilla exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to exclude you; we were just talking about something that happened long ago. What would you like to talk about?” 

“Oh nothing much, nothing much…” Pure Vanilla raised a brow at that. Right, be nice, like he asked. He already messed that up, maybe he could save it. Through gritted teeth Shadow Milk asked, “Hi… White Lily Cookie, how are you?” He couldn’t bring himself to include his usual playfulness into his question, talking to her was already hard enough and having to be nice to her took it out of him.

“Hello Shadow Milk Cookie, I’ve been better. How about you? Not getting into any trouble, are you?” White Lily asked, an unamused look on her face. “How's the reformation going?” 

“No, no. Not at all~ It’s going great! I have been the perrrfect guest for your information.” Shadow Milk proudly boasted. So what if that wasn’t the truth, and there had been some fights, she didn’t need to know and have even more ammo against him.

“I'm sure you have been.” She clearly didn’t feel the need to hide the sarcasm in her voice. 

“Excuse me? If I may be so bold, what are you trying to imply?” 

“Haven’t you been lying to everyone for years? You could be lying about this whole reformation. Thinking about it, you could be lying right now. I can’t see you being the perfect guest.”  

“Psh, that’s in the past. Let’s let bygones be bygones, shall we? I’m a changed man. I’ve seen the error of my oh-so very corrupted ways.” Shadow Milk said, putting on his most innocent and regretful look. 

“Well, what if you hurt Pure Vanilla again? You’ve done it before, what’s stopping you now?” White Lily cookie fumed. “Getting new clothing and cutting your hair isn’t going to change anything, who do you think you’re fooling?” 

Pure Vanilla opened his mouth and began to say something for the first time in the conversation but got cut off by a louder Shadow Milk fighting back. 

The jester had tried to be civil, for Pure Vanilla and Pure Vanilla only, but at this point, he felt it was only fair to defend himself. He stood up and leaned across the table. “OH-HO! That’s rich of you of all cookies to say~ Doesn’t the name Dark Enchantress Cookie ring any bells? Or have you forgotten? You’ve hurt him too, why do you get a chance for redemption, but I don’t?”

“Because you’re acting as if you haven’t done anything wrong!” White Lily got up from her own chair. “I regret what I did, and I’ll spend every day trying to fix and make up for what I’ve done. I don’t think I deserve his forgiveness either, but at least I’m self-aware about it!  Do you even feel remorse?” 

“Ha! What I feel is absolutely NONE of your business. I don’t need to explain myself to a little pest like you. That’s beneath me~” 

“ENOUGH! The both of you.” Pure Vanilla shouted, standing up himself and causing both his friends to pause and look at him, startled. He looked… unhappy to say the very least. While he wasn’t glaring, he was getting dangerously close to it. His mouth was a tight line. “Sit. Down.” 

The pair sat back down in silence, chairs awkwardly making noise against the floor and a heavy tension blanketed the room. Shadow Milk stared at his plate, his heart feeling like it was going a million miles a minute in his chest. He was still angry at Pure Vanilla but couldn’t get himself to look up. 

Pure Vanilla turned to Shadow Milk. “Do not insult my friends,” He then turned to White Lily, his voice getting slightly softer, which Shadow Milk unhappily noticed. “The same goes for you too. He is also my friend and a guest in my home, do not start fights with each other. Do you both understand?” 

Shadow Milk nodded along with White Lily. It was the first, and hopefully only, time he’d ever been on the same page as her. 

“Good, thank you. We’ll talk more about this after, for the time being, let’s just try to finish the meal without killing each other.” Pure Vanilla sat back down. 

Shadow Milk quietly sat in his chair; his appetite still hadn’t returned. The awkward air in the room was almost too unbearable to stand. Nobody was really eating or talking anymore. White Lily spoke up first. “If you’re ready, we can talk now.” 

“I am, let’s go into the other room. Shadow Milk, stay here, we’ll talk once we’re done.” Pure Vanilla replied, his voice still had an edge to it. He got up from his seat and motioned for White Lily to follow. Shadow Milk observed him leave without an answer or second glance towards him, into the kitchen connected to the dining room.

Shadow Milk could hear them arguing, what, did they think he couldn’t hear them or something? Pure Vanilla had calmed down from that first initial shout but still was louder than usual. 

If he was this upset with White Lily, Shadow Milk didn’t even want to think about how angry he’d be with him. Which was exactly why he started to listen in on their conversation, they were being pretty loud, and it was the perfect distraction to his own feelings. 

“We need to seal him up in that tree again. I don’t like this. He is dangerous.” White Lily stated. 

“I appreciate your concern, really, I do. But this isn’t helpful. I don’t think you should've come.” Shadow Milk heard Pure Vanilla explain. “This isn’t what’s best for him right now, he still holds a lot of resentment for you.”

“As do I for him. He caused the death of Elder Faerie. He hurt you. He’s hurt so many others as well. He could do it again. He’s the beast of deceit, how do you know he’s not lying right now?”

Pure Vanilla’s voice was getting more muffled, his temper must’ve been dropping because it was getting harder to hear him with each passing word. “I am able to handle myself if that situation arises. I know what he is, and he already tried to lie about being changed before. I don’t believe he would try to do that again.”

“I understand you can handle yourself, but I don’t want to see you dead because of your kindness. He cannot be trusted under any circumstance, even if he lied and got caught before. What if that was a part of his plan? You heard Elder Faerie; they need to be sealed up in that tree where they belong.” 

Pure Vanilla had further quieted down and Shadow Milk couldn’t hear much more. He liked the healer's soft voice in most instances, but in this way, it was very inconvenient. Shadow Milk sighed, he couldn’t leave yet, well he could, but he didn’t want to disappoint Pure Vanilla further. Although maybe he should; leave him alone to be with his precious little Lily. 

Shadow Milk got up from his chair. Who cared if Pure Vanilla was mad at him, he was just as mad in return, he didn't need to stay. He didn’t need him. The jester began to leave.

“Where are you going?” Pure Vanilla asked, getting Shadow Milk to stop his escape plan by the door. They must’ve finished their conversation or Shadow Milk wasn’t quite enough, either way it was annoying and thwarted his plans. 

“Aw, shucks you caught me~ I was just going back to my room, I couldn’t possibly eat one more bite of my dinner.” Shadow Milk said dramatically, hoping the theatrics would be enough to soften his wrongdoing. 

“I thought I asked you to stay so we could talk after.” Pure Vanilla sternly questioned. 

“Oh my, oh my, silly me. I must’ve forgotten.” 

“Is that so? In those few minutes you already forgot?” 

“It’s been SUCH a long day; it slipped my mind…” 

“Ah, I see. And you’re sure that’s what you want to go with?” 

Shadow Milk hesitated but ended up nodding. “Yes, yes. I’m sure. That’s my final answer.” This was making the list of some of the worst lies he’s ever told in his life, but he was too deep into it, not to mention White Lily was standing right behind Pure Vanilla. Earlier she had pointed out he could be lying; Shadow Milk wasn’t going to let her take a win. At least, he wasn’t going to outright admit it. 

“Alright then. We can go to your room, but I’m coming with you. We’ll talk on the way instead.” Pure Vanilla moved to catch up with the beast, giving him a strained smile. Shadow Milk didn’t smile back, he just looked him up and down and shrugged. The healer turned back to White Lily. “I’ll be right back, feel free to go about as you please, I’ll find you once we’re finished.” 

The walk through the halls was silent at first but Shadow Milk put a quick stop to that. “Have you decided to use your head and tell her to leave yet? Is that what you’re going to do when you go back to her?” Shadow Milk asked, taking the upper hand in the conversation and keeping his distance from Pure Vanilla as they walked.

“No, I told you what was going to happen. That’s still not changing over one disagreement.”

Shadow Milk rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Worth a shot.”

“Listen, strawberry-” 

“DON’T call me that.” Shadow Milk hissed. What? Did he think they were all buddy-buddy again? Pure Vanilla welcomed White Lily cookie in when he could’ve turned her away, which would’ve been better for EVERYONE, Pure Vanilla didn’t get to use that nickname after that. “Why don’t you go back to spend some more time with your BETTER friend, hmm? We’ve talked enough about this, and I can manage to make it to my room myself.” 

Pure Vanilla’s eyebrows furrowed, and a rare frown showed itself upon his face. “Shadow Milk, that's not what I think at all, and you know it.” 

“Actions speak louder than words~” 
 
Pure Vanilla sighed, running his hand through his hair the best he could with that giant, foolish hat of his. “It might be best if we stop talking about this for the time being and say goodnight for today. We’re going to come back to this another day though.” 

“...What?! But it’s still so early!” 

“I know that, but you can stay awake if you’d like, I’m not saying you have to sleep, you’re still welcome to leave your room, do whatever you’d like within reason. All I’m saying is for right now, we should take a breather from each other for the night. I understand you’re feeling-” 

“You don’t KNOW what I’m feeling. You don’t know anything.” Shadow Milk snapped. 

Pure Vanilla sighed again. “I think we need to spend some time… away and not with each other tonight.”

Shadow Milk’s heart dropped, Pure Vanilla didn’t want to see him anymore, in favor of White Lily. Jealousy clawed at his insides. Pure Vanilla was HIS other half, not hers. The jester hadn’t really even gotten to see Pure Vanilla today, and the few times he did, it just ended with both of them being upset. 

“Fine, FINE! If that’s what you want! Sounds amazinggg. Let’s do that.” Shadow Milk didn’t stop the bitterness from creeping into his voice. He turned to his door, ready to leave without another word, but Pure Vanilla had other plans. 

“Goodnight, my friend.” Pure Vanilla softly said, Shadow Milk only glared at him and entered his room, giving the door a slight slam to close it. He leaned against it not wanting to move and heard Pure Vanilla’s steps fade from the hallways.

Argh, why was he feeling so much all at once!? He felt white hot anger mixed with jealousy and tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. The all too familiar nausea in his stomach had decided to make a reappearance as well. This is why he didn’t have friends, all they did was hurt you and make you feel like fresh hot garbage in the end. 

Shadow Milk went to lay on his bed, back turned away from the window and tried to stop his racing thoughts and cease the tears that began to run. He cried once on accident and from then on it was like he couldn’t stop, how oh-so very lovely. He furiously tried wiping them and felt his throat tighten as he tried to stop it. 

Pure Vanilla was sure to hate him after tonight, ESPECIALLY with that little lily pest showing up here and his own stunt at dinner. She was going to say something, do something, to convince Pure Vanilla to finally get rid of him. 

And fine, if he liked White Lily soooo much better than him, Pure Vanilla could have her instead. He didn’t need Pure Vanilla; it’s not like the guy cared anyways. If he cared, White Lily wouldn't even be here.

Shadow Milk wouldn’t stand for this though. He would have to get Pure Vanilla before they got him, but how? The last he checked; his soul jam was still shattered. Which left him with almost no tools at his disposal. He couldn't lie again; Pure Vanilla figured him out very quickly last time. What to do, what to do… 

A bang hit Shadow Milk’s room window and quite literally made him jump out of his thoughts. He whipped around to peer out it, seeing if he could spot anything from his spot. He couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. 

If only Shadow Milk had his powers right about now… He wasn’t a coward though, powerless or not, he needed to inspect the noise. Nobody was going to try breaking into HIS room, especially not with him looking and acting this pathetically. That shame was for him and him alone.

He wiped his eyes for a final time and creeped over to take a peek outside the window. What could even be out there, especially at this hour? Maybe it was White Lily cookie, here to mock him…

He gazed out and no one was there, only the moonlight shining down on the grass. He shrugged it off, no matter, he needed to get back to his evil planning anyways. Before he turned around, movement caught his eye. 

Two figures emerged from some of the greenery. None other than Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were standing outside his window. The smaller cookie beamed and waved her hands excitedly at the jester. Black sapphire gave him a small smile and his own toned-down wave. Well, this was very convenient for Shadow Milk. The perfect opportunity was laid out right in front of him. 

Chapter Text

Candy Apple and Black Sapphire cookie were here. Time to begin for Shadow Milk to being his performance. He let a large, unnerving grin take over his face. He hadn’t done that in a while, it felt weird, but nice, to do. He opened his window to better communicate with the menaces out on the lawn. They weren't that far down, but it would be hard for one to get up to where Shadow Milk’s window was from the grassy ground. 

And, Pure Vanilla did say he could stay up and didn’t need to sleep just yet. Besides, Shadow Milk could do what he wanted, he wasn’t going to let that fool get in the way of what he was doing. He didn’t need him. 

“HELLOOOO!” Shadow Milk sang, albeit quietly. He couldn’t accidentally have Pure Vanilla and White Lily overhear what he was doing.  “My dearest minions, it is oh-so wonderful to see you again~ Although, may I ask how you managed to find little old me in this GROSSLY humongous and tacky castle?” He propped his arms up onto the windowsill and rested his head on them. 

“Ooo! Ooo! I can tell you!” Candy Apple was basically yelling, which worried Shadow Milk. She really did need to be quieter and based on Black Sapphire’s glare, he agreed. “We looked in all the windows! Most of them didn’t have anybody though…”

“Be quiet, Candy Apple. As she was saying, we were unsure if it was you in there, you look… different.” Black Sapphire added, and unless Shadow Milk was mistaken, he looked almost suspicious of something. “Regardless, we wanted to give it a try and-”

“AND IT WAS YOU!!” Candy Apple exclaimed. “He he he, I’m SOOO excited to see you!” 

Black Sapphire clapped a hand over her mouth and put his finger up to his lips using his free hand. “Yes, this is very exciting! But you are being far too loud for someone who is trying to sneak around. Be. Quiet.” Without another second wasted and in a flash, he removed his hand from Candy Apple’s mouth, a grimace placed on his face. “You are disgusting!” 

“Don’t put your hand over my mouth and I wouldn’t have to lick it.” 

“If you were quiet, I wouldn’t have needed to do that! I cannot believe you.” Black Sapphire scoffed and Candy Apple only giggled hysterically in response. 

Shadow Milk had almost forgotten what a handful the pair had been, but he didn’t realize he’d sort of missed it. He would get to boss someone around again, which was one of his favorite activities and at the very least their antics were slightly entertaining. 

“Yes, yes! It is so very nice to see you as well, my minions.” Shadow Milk spoke, swallowing all his earlier feelings, he needed to stay focused, he was going to get Pure Vanilla. “It has just been oh-so DREADFUL here.” 

“I’d bet so.” Black Sapphire said, shaking his head. 

“Although, I do wonder, how did you two happen to find yourselves here?” Shadow Milk asked.

The pair gave each other a look and Candy Apple nodded at the radio host. 

“You see,” Black Sapphire began to explain. “We’ve been in the faerie kingdom undercover after your disappearance. It ah… hasn’t been the most successful endeavor we’ve done. But we heard White Lily had been coming here, and figured you might be here as well, after all Pure Vanilla was the last person you had been with, and we had no other leads.”

“Ohhh, very smart!” Shadow Milk grinned. He hadn't excepted them to figure things out that quickly, usually they'd be too busy bickering to do anything without him leading them. 

Candy Apple looked as if she was going to explode with happiness. “Thank you!” She still was loud, but Black Sapphire’s previous grievances must’ve made her finally listen. 

“Master, if it isn’t out of line for me to ask, what did they do with your hair?” Black Sapphire suddenly asked, a calculating look on his face, Shadow Milk didn’t like it. 

“Oooo yeah! What happened? Did that fool, Pure Vanilla make you do it?” Candy Apple asked, resentment clear in her voice as she glared. 

That’s right, his hair WAS shorter and… and Pure Vanilla was the one to help him with it. He was the one to help him with everything. Maybe Shadow Milk was being paranoid again and should’ve talked about it instead of jumping in. 

Then again, Pure Vanilla was somewhere inside this very castle talking with White Lily. After abandoning him. He said it was ‘just for the night’ but with White Lily here, it was sure to be much longer than that. He was with the person who happened to hate him the most and already tried convincing Pure Vanilla that he was a threat. Now that Shadow Milk wasn’t there, he couldn’t even defend himself! 

The jester usually paid no worry when it came to most cookies, but she certainly was a problem. Pure Vanilla had very clearly liked and held her with much respect. He didn’t think that being friends since school would outweigh being the other half of someone's soul, but apparently Pure Vanilla didn’t think the same. 

“Helloooo? Anyone in there?” Candy Apple asked, waving her hands as close as she could to Shadow Milk’s face. Black Sapphire had Candy Apple on his shoulders so she could get higher up to the window. 

“My sincerest apologies,” Shadow Milk said, voice filled with faux sorrow. “I was just reliving the horrors of my time here. Yes, yes! you’ve guessed correctly! That PATHETIC gnat forced me to cut it.”  

Candy Apple gasped very overdramatically. More dramatic than the jester, which was saying something. He had taught her well. “I know, I know. I think he was just jealous of how good I looked, compared to him. Had to bring me down a peg! Had to try humbling me!” Shadow Milk said, shaking his head and frowning. 

“He forced you to cut your hair?” Black Sapphire echoed, raising an eyebrow and setting Candy Apple back down on the floor. “I wouldn’t doubt that, but why does your room like that? Its walls look to be painted perfectly for you.” 

Shadow Milk felt a flash of anger, he didn’t know Black Sapphire could see that far in. And although he may be powerless, they didn’t know that. He could still threaten, just fine. They were still HIS henchman; they didn’t have any grounds to question him. “Excuse me? Last I checked, I’M still the one in charge of this whole operation. So, unless you want to become nothing more than a little purple stain on that grass, I would suggest not speaking out of turn.” 

Fear showed itself creeping upon the radio host’s face. “My apologies my lord, I didn’t mean to offend you. It won’t happen again.” 

“Great! You best be happy I’m feeling merciful tonight~” 

“Yes. Thank you.” Black Sapphire bowed.

“That's better~ Anywho! For now, we must lay low, the lily pest is still here and unless either of you want to try your hand at beating the BOTH of them, this fight is taking an intermission.” Shadow Milk took a glance at them, and they both shook their heads, still rattled from their master's outburst at Black Sapphire a few moments before. 

“Oh, I am just SOOOOO very glad we’re on the same page. I shall stay here and gather intel on this self-righteous fool, and you both can disguise yourselves and remain in the kingdom, stay hidden. And if some less than true rumors happen to pop up over the next few days, so be it.” 

“Great idea, master!” Candy Apple praised. 

“The brats right for once my lord, it’s good to see you haven’t changed under Pure Vanilla’s scrutiny.” Black Sapphire added a smirk on his face. 

“HEY!” Candy Apple glared at the radio host, who happened to ignore her. 

Normally, Shadow Milk loved getting compliments, applause, the like, but this made his stomach twist. This didn’t feel right. He should be putting a stop to this right? Or not started in the first place. He was starting things in Pure Vanilla’s home, which had been welcomed in. No, he was mad at Pure Vanilla, he had abandoned him, and White Lily was going to convince him that they shouldn’t be friends. Pure Vanilla deserved this, right?

This time he wouldn’t hide his disdain, he couldn’t fake again, Pure Vanilla would figure it out. Shadow Milk wouldn’t need to wait long, just until White Lily left, that’s when he figured Pure Vanilla was planning on striking anyway. 

Shadow Milk had his minions, he was sure he could figure out something to finally be able to defeat the healer. First, he was going to sleep, he was far too tired to do any scheming now, besides he would have all of the next day to plan, assuming White Lily was still there. And to sleep that meant he had to get rid of his henchmen, just for now.

“We can’t talk much longer, we wouldn’t want to get caught, now would we~? Meet back here in three days' time, I’ll go over our plan then. Try not to kill each other before then. Ta-Ta for now!” Shadow Milk waved at them. 

Candy Apple looked a little distraught but quickly recovered. “Bye!!” She waved. Black Sapphire gave nothing more than a small nod, and the two went back into hiding. Shadow Milk closed the window and walked back to his bed, laying on it.

He finally took a breath there. The night had felt like it had gone on for what had to be the same amount of years he was trapped in that tree. The dinner and fight with White Lily had been a million years ago. 

Shadow Milk looked out the window one last time. Maybe he should go tell Pure Vanilla what happened. No! He couldn’t. That would just be more evidence for White Lily AND they were done talking for the night. He didn’t need Pure Vanilla. 

Shadow Milk glared at nothing in particular and closed his eyes. Enough of this, it was time to sleep so he could wake with a clearer head, he couldn’t stand his scattered thoughts any longer. He buried himself under the blankets. His heart felt heavy as he fell into a restless sleep. 

. . .

Shadow Milk felt so, so, very ill, and it was terrible. It was the same feeling he got whenever he was uneasy and it usually passed, but this time, it didn’t. He went through the morning with a constant feeling of anxiety and nausea resting in his stomach. He tried to ignore it, and pretend it wasn’t there. But it never faded, never ceased. He laid down, hoping it would help, but it didn't. 

He had woken up much earlier in the morning, other cookies might consider it to still be in the night, it happened to be that early. He couldn’t fall back asleep, the anxiety was too great to ignore, although he tried his best to. He looked out the window, replaying the night before and fighting with himself. 

He kept switching back and forth on what he’d done. Whether it was right or not. He usually LOVED to lie, to cause trouble but this time, it wasn’t in good fun. Pure Vanilla would be disappointed. Shadow Milk shook his head, sick of the thoughts rattling around in them. Being evil was much easier, he didn’t have to worry about all of this. He shouldn’t care about Pure Vanilla being disappointed. Most likely, they weren’t going to be friends anymore. 

But Shadow Milk’s sickness only got worse when Pure Vanilla inevitably came in for the morning. He’d come later than usual. Probably too caught up with White Lily, he must’ve forgotten about him. Shadow Milk felt disdain spike in his chest. 
 
“Good morning!” Pure Vanilla smiled. The beast made no effort to get up and stayed under the covers, facing away from Pure Vanilla. “Ah, just so you are aware of the situation. White Lily is gone. She left earlier this morning. That’s why I’m a bit late.” Pure Vanilla awkwardly chuckling and walking over to Shadow Milk as per usual. 

“...What?” Shadow Milk’s voice was no higher than a whisper. He somehow felt even worse. This didn’t make any sense, Pure Vanilla said she was going to stay for a few days, why was she leaving early? This had to be a part of his plan of getting rid of him. And HOW was he supposed to scheme now? Whatevs, it’d be fine, he was good at improv and would manage something. 

“I could explain more if you’d like.” Pure Vanilla offered, moving to sit at the end of the bed, where he usually sat. 

Shadow Milk saw him from the corner of his eye and mindlessly moved his legs out of the way to make sure Pure Vanilla would be comfortable. He then caught himself. Wait, he was supposed to be angry with him, he was supposed to hate him. He shouldn’t be moving so sitting on HIS bed was less of a hassle for the healer. No matter, he would recover next time he was given the chance. 

“Go for it~” Shadow Milk mumbled, trying to glare at Pure Vanilla from his spot on the bed. Pure Vanilla took one look at him and began to move. 

“Oh, my dear, you don’t look well. Is everything alright? Is it about last night?” Pure Vanilla’s voice was filled with concern. He got up from his spot and cupped Shadow Milk’s face in his hands, trying to look for anything physically wrong. Shadow Milk melted into the touch instantly. He then scolded himself internally for it again. Since when did he become so bad at acting?! Was how exhausted he felt really that obvious?

Then, his mind replayed what Pure Vanilla had said. MY DEAR?! Shadow Milk’s heart felt like it was going to explode. He had never called him that before. In fact, no one had ever called him that before. Pure Vanilla was just trying to let down his guard, wasn’t he? 

“Why did White Lily leave early?” Shadow Milk asked seriously, all of his usual playfulness in his voice had taken a leave. It almost killed him, but he managed to grab Pure Vanilla’s wrists to move his hands away from cupping his face. The warmth left and he wanted it back, so very badly, but somehow, he would have to manage. He had to remind himself that he didn’t need Pure Vanilla. 

“I-” Pure Vanilla moved to sit back in his spot and put his hands in his lap. “I’d like you both to be friends, someday of course. And I do like her presence here. But I feel as if it was doing more harm than good, for you especially. I thought it’d be best if she left today, so she did.”

“You did that for me?” Shadow Milk couldn't hide the surprise in his quiet voice.  He was supposed to be mad at Pure Vanilla. Pure Vanilla was supposed to be just as mad at him, why wasn’t he following the script? 

“Yes. I’ll admit it was selfish of me to want White Lily here.” Pure Vanilla gave him a sad smile which made Shadow Milk feel guilty. The jester wasn’t going to speak up about it though. “I know everything that’s happened these past few weeks has been hard for you, and I don’t want to make it worse. I know for you being around her is... not pleasant.” 

Shadow Milk’s heart dropped. His face must’ve shown his despair because Pure Vanilla looked concerned once more. “Shadow Milk? I thought this would make you happy.” 

Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were going to be here in three days and expecting Shadow Milk to have a plan to beat his other half. He didn’t want that anymore. What he wanted was to stay with Pure Vanilla. 

WHY did he do what he did? He was just angry and jealous, he should’ve thought about it more instead of just diving right in! White lily was gone, and Pure Vanilla’s kindness and companionship remained. Shadow Milk was still there. Just like every other time this happened, every outburst, every mistake, Pure Vanilla still hadn’t cast him out. 

“I- I have to tell you something.” Shadow Milk blurted out without thinking. He quickly climbed out from his cozy spot and sat next to Pure Vanilla. His heart was beating so fast, he swore he was going to die on the spot. He had to tell Pure Vanilla. Tears pricked at his eyes. He fought them, he didn’t deserve to cry, he didn’t deserve forgiveness, he messed up big time, again. He never was going to change, was he? He deserved to be back in that tree even if he wanted to stay with his other half. 

Pure Vanilla grabbed the jester’s hands, sensing the anxiety radiating off of his companion. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Shadow Milk could start off small work up to his big reveal. He didn't know how he would manage otherwise. “I called you a pathetic gnat!” He cried, ripping his hands from the healers. He didn't deserve such a gentle touch. 

Pure Vanilla looked confused but tried to assure the distraught trickster. “Shadow Milk, you’ve called me that before…? I can handle some name calling. I may be old, but I don’t crumble that easily.” 

“No, no! It was last night! Not back when I was still trying to steal your soul jam.”

“Alright…” Pure Vanilla let a beat pass while Shadow Milk waited in agony. “I’m sorry but I’m having trouble finding the problem. Everyone says things they don’t really mean in anger. It happens.” 

Shadow Milk was only stalling at this point, he knew he wasn’t making much sense. He just needed to get it out, like ripping off a sticky bandage, taking his time wasn’t going to help any. He just needed to get it over with. “Ugh, Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were here last night!” Shadow Milk shouted. 

“Ah, I see. So that’s what this is about.” Pure Vanilla frowned. “And what did you tell them?”

Shadow Milk felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Why was Pure Vanilla being so calm about this? “That I was here gathering intel to beat you and steal the soul jam… and maybeeee that YOU forced me to cut my hair.” 

Pure Vanilla looked at him blankly then covered his mouth and turned to his side, hiding his face. What was he doing? His shoulders were shaking, and he stayed mostly silent. 

“What are you doing?!” Shadow milk loudly asked. 

“Out of all the things you could have lied about me doing, you chose that? A haircut?” Pure Vanilla laughed, turning around. “And here I thought you were the Beast of Deceit. The master of lies.”  

“I’m gonna kill you…” Shadow Milk mumbled as his face burned hotter. He switched back to his usual loud self after hearing more of Pure Vanilla’s laughter. “Hey, HEY! They asked about it! What was I supposed to say, smart guy?” Shadow Milk was not amused at the slightest at Pure Vanilla’s mirth. Well, maybe he was amused just a little. “It’s not MY fault I’m rusty at lying. Besides, it had been a LONGGGG day, and my soul jam is shattered, maybe that’s why I’m so horrendous at deceit now.”

“I see, that does add up.” Pure Vanilla smiled. “Well, what else happened?” 

“I instructed them to come back in a few days, then I said that’s when we would try fighting you and stealing the soul jam, blah, blah, blah. You know, just the usual.” 

“Ah- That is… not ideal.” Pure Vanilla’s smile fell but he didn’t look… angry, just thoughtful. “May I ask why you lied about all of this?” 

“Oh! I'm SOOOOO glad you asked…” Shadow Milk mumbled sarcastically. “Maybe, just maybe, I had thought you had abandoned me for White Lily. And that she just so happened to convince you to lock me back up in the tree.” 

Pure Vanilla remained silent for a beat. “In that case, I have another question. How do I know that any of what just occurred isn’t part of some scheme you’ve made to finally beat me and steal my soul jam?” He asked. “How do I know that every night when I lay down to rest you won’t try to leave? That you’re not going to try something when I’m most vulnerable?” 

“Huh?! What does that have to do with ANYTHING?” Shadow Milk questioned in return. Pure Vanilla didn’t say anything and nodded, waiting for Shadow Milk to answer. Shadow Milk thought about it and stayed silent. Once reaching his conclusion, he tried to think of some excuse, some joke, anything that would prove the healer wrong, but he couldn’t. “You don’t…” 

“Exactly. We both have to trust each other. I know you’ve been trying, I can see your efforts and I’m proud of you for it! But would you be willing to trust me a little more though?” Pure Vanilla gently smiled. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but please. I keep giving you chances, but you’re not giving me any. I’m not going to send you back to the tree, I promise.” 

He was right, whenever things like this happened, everytime Shadow Milk had only gotten mad at him in return and thought the worst. “I KNOW! I know… But this time it was that little-” Pure Vanilla gave him a look which caused him to stop. 

Shadow Milk took a breath and continued. “This time it was White Lily Cookie. She’s been your friend FOR-EVER, and she doesn’t like me, in case you haven’t noticed. If anyone was going to change your mind about me, it would’ve been her and I ALREADY made you just oh-so very upset.” 

“Ah, I can see why you came to that conclusion. Well, with that being said, yes, I do care about her opinions and feelings but, I also care about yours. I am well aware of how… dangerous she knows you are, and I completely understand why she thinks that. But she isn’t going to change my mind about you. No one could change that. You’re my other half.” 

Oh. He actually did think the same as the jester. Shadow Milk was just being paranoid again. He really needed to stop doing that. 

“I-” The words got caught in Shadow Milk’s throat and he felt his stomach roll in disgust. He felt so low. He could only get it out through being quiet, which he hoped was good enough for Pure Vanilla. “I’m… sorry. About scheming with my minions.” It was genuine but he made a disgusted noise with a matching face and looked anywhere but the healer. 

“Thank you. And while I’m not… happy about you doing that, I’m glad you told me.” Pure Vanilla concluded, beaming at the jester, who only took a small glance at him. “There’s still gonna be consequences for it though. I don’t appreciate you going behind my back because you were upset.”

Shadow Milk felt his stomach drop, he thought he was in the clear. He apologized and everything! What was Pure Vanilla going to do? He couldn’t exactly imagine him being cruel, but anything was possible. He certainly deserved any cruelites given his way. And he was powerless, he’d definitely try fighting back but it wouldn’t add up to much. 

“When we clean up after meals, you’re on dish duty for a month.” Pure Vanilla announced, and Shadow Milk could tell he was hiding back a small smile. 

“...What?”

“Well, I forced you to cut your hair, didn’t I?” Pure Vanilla teased. “This seems in line with that; Forcing you to do some manual labor.” 

While Shadow Milk was glad about this outcome, it was much better than he was expecting, Pure Vanilla was being far too lenient with him right now. “Are you serious? That’s it? Helloooo, earthbread to Vanilly! I told my minions to spread rumors and lies around the kingdom, anyone with half a brain could see that warrants a harsher punishment!” Shadow Milk argued. 

“With how much you hate dishes, I don’t think there’s a worse punishment to give. You always complain when doing them, and it’ll give you time to think about what you’ve done.” Pure Vanilla chuckled lightly.  

Shadow Milk didn’t laugh. He sat there looking at his hands, and Pure Vanilla’s playful demeanor fell. He grabbed one of the jester’s hands and gave it a small squeeze. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s too harsh for what you’ve done.”

Shadow Milk looked up and opened his mouth but got cut off. “I fully understand what’s happened.” Pure Vanilla explained. “But you told me, when you could’ve kept lying about it. I think some credit is due for that. You telling me at all is good. I’m proud of you. We all do things in anger we regret, and we’re going to make a plan to fix it and you're going to make up for it.” 

“But I don’t deserve another chance, I’ve already messed so, so many times. I don’t deserve any of this. Especially your forgiveness.” Shadow Milk whispered. He couldn't believe those words left his mouth. But it was too late and now he couldn't go back. 

“I’m afraid that’s not up for you to decide.” Pure Vanilla softly said. “It's my forgiveness, isn’t it? I will give it to whoever I please.” The healer cupped Shadow Milk’s face again and gently kissed his forehead, which caused a silly little grin to creep onto Shadow Milk’s face. It was embarrassing of course, but the giddiness won over that.

“Now come on, we'll figure out the rest later. For now, a little blue bird told me that there’s going to be a certain fruit that someone likes on the breakfast menu today.” Pure Vanilla beamed, gazing fondly at Shadow Milk. 

The healer stood up and using both the beast’s hands pulled Shadow Milk to his feet. Shadow Milk still couldn’t wipe the smile from his face but despite this, he rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?” 

“Not if I can help it, strawberry.” The ancient hero laughed. 

Chapter Text

Just as Pure Vanilla had said earlier, strawberries had made their appearance at the breakfast table. There was also toast, eggs and bacon. Nothing too special.

They sat down and began to dine. After everything was situated, and both had what they wanted, Pure Vanilla began to speak. “Hmm, we still have to solve the problem with Candy Apple and Black Sapphire. They’re coming here in a night or so, correct?” 

“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.” Shadow Milk said, bitterly.

“I see. How willing do you think they would be to change sides?”

Shadow Milk gave him an unimpressed look. "How willing would you think?" 

They talked about what to do before finally deciding on something Shadow Milk could only hope would work. Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were two very interesting cookies, it was hard to say what was going to happen, even if he had known them for a while. But he had Pure Vanilla, so it couldn’t be so bad.

While they talked, Shadow Milk ate his meal just fine, as per usual but he noticed a certain someone wasn’t. Well, to be fair, Pure Vanilla was picking at it, moving it around but still he wasn’t eating it. Something had to be done about this, if Pure Vanilla was going to get on his case about eating, Shadow Milk would simply have to do the same. “Didja poison the food?” The jester questioned, raising an eyebrow at Pure Vanilla.

“Ah- Of course not!” Pure Vanilla looked horrified at the implication. Or… maybe he was nervous that he got caught? “What makes you say that?” 

“I don’t know, just the fact that you aren’t eating. Only people who are trying to poison someone let their guests eat while they don’t.” 

“Oh… I’m just not hungry, nothing to be worried about.” Pure Vanilla stated, he chuckled awkwardly. What a TERRIBLE liar, how did he ever manage to trick Shadow Milk? It was kind of embarrassing for the jester to be beaten by this big of an amateur.

“Hmmm, very interesting… although, wasn’t it you who said eating was important?” 

“Well- Yes but-”

“Ah, ah! No buts. If I have to, you have to. Them’s the rules, pal.” Shadow Milk said, seriously despite his words. What a foolish cookie, always telling others to take care of themselves but never doing it himself. “It simply wouldn’t be fair otherwise, wouldn’t you agree~?” 

Pure Vanilla stayed silent. He looked at his food, clearly nervous and having zero desire to. Hmm, Shadow Milk would just have to find a better way to convince him. 

“C’mon just a littleeeee? Pretty please with a cherry on top?” Shadow Milk pleaded. “I’ll tell you a REALLLYYY funny joke, maybe even two if you’re lucky~” 

Pure Vanilla slightly smiled. “What’s the joke?”

“No, no! You’re not tricking me, mister! Do you take me for a bigger fool than I am? We have to shake on it first!” Shadow Milk got up and held out his hand to Pure Vanilla. “I’ll tell you the first half, then you’ll eat some, and I’ll finish the joke after. But only AFTER you eat enough.” 

The healer looked at him with an unsure look on his face. He sighed and took the jester’s hand, giving in to his other half. “Very well.” Pure Vanilla replied, he didn’t look very enthused, and his behavior was worrying Shadow Milk. It was most rude to worry the trickster like that, to make him care for him. It filled Shadow Milk with fear, and he hated it.

“Okay, okay. The beginning is a question. What is the most groundbreaking invention?” Shadow Milk asked, sitting back down. “You can think about it while you finish, no rush! I only want your best guess.” 

Pure Vanilla kept quiet and only nodded. Shadow Milk went back to finishing his own meal but made sure to keep an eye on the healer, making sure he wasn’t somehow going to lie about eating the food. 

Eventually, Pure Vanilla had finished half, and didn’t look good. Shadow Milk figured that was enough, he didn’t want to go too far. “That’s good. I can tell you the other half now, but first! Does the audience have any guesses?” 

The ancient’s smile had finally made its reappearance at the mention of the joke. “Hmm, the best I could come up with is medicine, but I took it too seriously and it’s a joke so that doesn’t seem to fit. Maybe… a pickaxe?”  

“Oooo, very good, very good! You were close.” Shadow Milk nodded, genuinely a little impressed. “But the correct answer is…” He made drum rolling sounds. “A shovel!” 

He looked at Pure Vanilla, who looked confused for a moment then his face morphed into a smile that he tried to hide with his hand. He started to snicker behind it. “That is…” He shook his head and started giggling more, which only caused Shadow Milk to beam with pride.

“The best joke you’ve ever heard? I know.” Shadow Milk said, shrugging his shoulders and grinning pointy ear to pointy ear. 

“No… It’s so… cheesy.” Pure Vanilla finally got the words out and started to calm himself. 

“Whatever! You LIAR! You liked it.” 

“Well, that is true… But- Oh! I almost forgot, we have to go feed the birds today, come on.” Pure Vanilla said. Shadow Milk looked at the mess they were about to leave, no matter, that was a problem for future him, he wasn’t one to complain about skipping out on some work. 

They walked out to the gardens, Pure Vanilla somehow always having bird food on him, so they didn’t need to grab any. They had already done this once before, it happened a few days ago. Pure Vanilla had taught Shadow Milk what to do, so he didn’t need any instructions. 

He held out his hand and Pure Vanilla put some seeds in it. Shadow Milk gently tossed them on the ground and watched as the birds came down. What the beast found odd was that along with the bluebirds, there were crows. Those didn’t seem like they would like each other too much, but he supposed it didn’t matter in the long run. 

“Excuse me, it seems like someone needs my presence.” Pure Vanilla got up from where he was. Shadow Milk watched him leave and a dark-haired cookie met up with Pure Vanilla a little way away from where they were feeding the birds. She had a crow resting on her shoulder and began to discuss things with the healer in a hushed tone. 

Shadow Milk could not hear a thing. While things like this weren’t super unusual, a cookie needing Pure Vanilla, the castle remained mostly vacant. Shadow Milk had only seen a few of the residents of the Vanilla Kingdom pop in from time to time, here and there. They hadn’t said much, avoided him, and he followed suit. 

But he had never seen this particular cookie before. Which was surprising, according to Pure Vanilla not many people lived here. New faces weren't common. She looked tough, and unapproachable. The pair didn’t talk for much longer before she left once more, without even a glance to the jester. How rude, maybe HE didn’t want to notice her either. 

“Who was that?” Shadow Milk asked once Pure Vanilla returned to his side.

“Ah, that was Black Raisin Cookie. I’ve known her for quite some time now. She’s very reliable.” Pure Vanilla explained. “If you’d like, I can introduce you to her, or we could all do something together! She’s a good friend once you get to know her. I do enjoy her company.”  

“Hmm, maybeee, maybe not. I’ll decide later.” Shadow Milk shrugged. “Kind of got my hands full at the moment, you know with the looming issue of evil minions and one friend is already a lot to deal with, amirite?” 

Pure Vanilla softly laughed. “I understand, I too have a friend, he is quite the handful. He once splashed water and paint at me,” Pure Vanilla hushed his voice and leaned down to whisper in Shadow Milk’s ear. “I’m beginning to suspect he has no sense of manners.”

Shadow Milk’s jaw dropped. He turned to face Pure Vanilla who moved away from where he whispered and was feeding some birds, acting all innocent. “You wouldn’t possibly know him though.” The healer reassured. 

“Well, he sounds like a DEEE-LIGHT to me~ I would imagine he’s very handsome too. That’s just a guess though.” 

“You could say that.” Pure Vanilla teased.

Shadow Milk’s heart soared, and he softly smiled and looked back to his own birds. He didn’t know if Pure Vanilla was JUST teasing, or simply being nice, either way, it was a nice little ego boost for the morning. 

. . . 

Tonight was the night Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were planning on making a return. The last two days managed to pass surprisingly fast. The pair was in the ancient's office, Pure Vanilla working at his desk, while Shadow Milk was lounging about on the armchair, legs over the sides of the armrests, crochet hook in hand. He was currently trying to make granny squares. 

Pure Vanilla had told him if he made enough, he could combine them into a blanket. It seemed easy enough at the time, but it was tedious. It was making Shadow Milk drowsy, and he felt his eyes grow heavy. 

The crackling fireplace mixed with the faint sound of Pure Vanilla writing something was… comforting. The blanket the jester had wrapped around him gave him warmth, and the fire helped. He tried to focus on the granny square he was crocheting, Pure Vanilla said he was getting better at it. It didn’t help much with his current sleepy situation though. 

Maybe he would just close his eyes for a minute, and let it pass. Pure Vanilla wouldn’t try anything while he was asleep, right? Shadow Milk felt himself drift away, completely forgetting about the crochet supplies he was holding. 

His dreams flipped through scenes quickly. He dreamt of trees and the dark side of the moon. Of knowledge and spires. Then it flipped to a garden, with a certain blond-haired cookie sitting on a picnic blanket in the middle of it. He called out to Shadow Milk waving him over. The Jester joined his side, a smile on his face. The scene was odd, the moon was high in the sky, but for whatever reason Pure Vanilla decided to Picnic. 

“Just the cookie I was looking for!” Pure Vanilla beamed, but it was off. 

“Yes, yes. It is I! Your wonderful playwright, actor and clown! What’s going on?” Shadow Milk replied, not wanting to show his suspicion. 

“I was having a picnic. It’s a wonderful day out, wouldn’t you agree?” Pure Vanilla’s grin was a little too large, it was unnerving to Shadow Milk, and he didn’t know what to say. “But now, I think I just want to dance with you.” 

Pure Vanilla began to grab Shadow Milk’s hands without a response and dance with him, even though Shadow Milk’s protests after the fact. The beast's heart began to race as they spun around the garden. Soft music played from somewhere and Shadow Milk looked around to find it, how was that playing? 

“What’s gotten into you?” Shadow Milk questioned. Not that he didn’t like the idea of dancing with his other half, quite the opposite in fact. It just felt… out of character for Pure Vanilla to be so sudden about it. Paired with that uncanny smile… 

“Just figured it might be nice to leave you with one last good memory before you go away. It’s the least cruel way out.” Pure Vanilla matter of factly stated. 

Shadow Milk felt his heart drop to his stomach, and he tried to stop the dance, but Pure Vanilla kept pulling him along. “...What?” 

“You are far too much of a hassle, it’s not worth it anymore. White Lily was right. It’s high time you went back to where you belong.” Pure Vanilla shrugged, frowning. “You deserve it. For all the harm you’ve caused."

Shadow Milk tried to rip his wrists out of fake Pure Vanilla’s hands. This couldn’t be happening again! Tears pricked at his eyes. “No, no, no. You said you wouldn’t. STOP IT!” He yelled. Fake Pure Vanilla only laughed at his struggles.

Shadow Milk woke with a start. His breath was quick and almost out of control. Where was he again? This didn’t look like his room. He looked around quickly, taking everything in. Right, he had fallen asleep in Pure Vanilla’s office. The fire was dying and outside, while there was still daylight, the day had definitely lost a considerable amount of it. 

Pure Vanilla had entered into his vision. The healer was on the floor with his own blanket and back against the chair Shadow Milk was in. A book was in his lap, but it was being ignored at the moment, the healer's focus was on Shadow Milk, his brows furrowed.

“Strawberry?” Pure Vanilla asked, his voice low, not wanting to startle his sleepy companion. “Are you alright?” 

Shadow Milk looked at him. Pure Vanilla wouldn’t seal him away again. It was just a dream. He needed to get over it, he was fine, everything was fine. He was in the castle. Pure Vanilla promised he wouldn’t end up in the tree, and he had to trust Pure Vanilla. 

Shadow Milk couldn’t stand the chair he was lounging in anymore, maybe Pure Vanilla had the right idea about sitting on the ground. The beast moved from his spot and slid down to sit next to his companion without a word. 

He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and put his knees to his chest. He didn’t exactly feel like talking but the silence was deafening. “Never better.” He didn’t know what else to say, he kept opening and closing his mouth to say something, but nothing was sticking. 

“You look like you’ve had quite the dream. Would you want to share what it was about?” Pure Vanilla’s voice filled the quiet Shadow Milk was trying to snuff out. 

“Eh, it was about nothing that matters.” Shadow Milk muttered.  “Just your average nightmare. You know the regular.” He went quiet again. Maybe he could tell Pure Vanilla, it couldn’t possibly be that bad. “We were in a garden, and we went to dance and…” 

Shadow Milk felt his face begin to heat up. He probably should’ve omitted the detail about them dancing but it was done now. “And you started to act all weird. Then… then you said you were going to take me back to the tree and I wasn’t worth the hassle anymore.” 

Several beats of quiet followed Shadow Milk’s recounting of the nightmare. “Hm, I see. That was very unkind of dream me. We don’t share the same opinion at all.” Pure Vanilla finally responded. “If it helps, I’ll defend you against anyone who wants to even think about sealing you back in that tree.” 

Shadow Milk’s frown straightened out to a thin line, and he raised an eyebrow. “Right… and what if that someone was you?”

“I’ll fight a mirror.” 

That caused Shadow Milk to laugh. It certainly wasn’t the best joke in all of Earthbread but- it wasn’t the worst either. Maybe if he was in a better mood, he wouldn’t have even laughed at all, but right now, he needed it. Silly Vanilly lived up to his name, that was for sure. “Ha! I’d love to have front row seats to that fight. My bet’s on the mirror~” 

“My own friend, betting against me? I’m hurt.” 

“Oh, I don’t know. The mirror is sharp, it could hurt you pretty badly.”

“I’m a healer, I could just heal myself.”

“Hmm…” Shadow Milk hummed. “I SUPPOSE that’s a good point. I might have to replace my bets then.” 

“Thank you, glad to have your support.” The silence stretched on for a minute or so. “I put your crochet supplies on the desk if you wanted to continue that.” Pure Vanilla suggested. 

“Blegh, I don’t think so. It made me fall asleep.” 

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “Alright, fair enough.” 

Instead of starting another activity, Shadow Milk watched the dying fire as Pure Vanilla continued reading the book he had before he had gotten distracted by Shadow Milk’s nightmare dilemma. 

They were sitting close, so close in fact, they were almost touching. Shadow Milk felt a familiar urge to lay his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder. He used to be the fount of knowledge, he used to have so much power, he used to be able to control anyone he wanted with a simple lie, so if he could do that, he could work up the courage to lean his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder. 

He sucked in a quiet breath, hopefully Pure Vanilla didn’t hear. And slowly, rested his head on the healer's shoulder. Pure Vanilla took a quick glance at him and returned back to his book. “You comfy?” 

“Very much so, yes. 5 Stars~” 

“Glad to be of service.” 

They stayed like that as the sunlight outside faded and soon the moon started to make its grand entrance for the night. “Strawberry?” Pure Vanilla said, closing his book. Shadow Milk knew it was time, Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were going to be here soon. 

"Let's get this over with." Shadow Milk groaned. 

They silently walked to Shadow Milk’s room; it was like a death march. Then they waited. Shadow Milk assumed another thing was going to be thrown at the window. Sure enough, it came, and he got into position. He heard Pure Vanilla whisper some quick and gentle words of support "You got this!" Then, Shadow Milk opened the window, and there they were, his minions, as smug and excited as ever. 

“Hello, my dearest minions!” Shadow Milk sang through almost gritted teeth. He had his largest and fakest smile placed on his face. Hopefully it didn’t look too off, although, faking things might not matter in a few minutes. “Good to see you both again~” 

“Good to see you too, Shadow Milk Cookie!” Candy Apple yelled. 

Black Sapphire immediately hushed her. “What did I say about being loud? We aren’t trying to have people hear us, we’re not on air right now! SHUSH!” 

“Now, now! have something I simply MUST tell you both!” Shadow Milk’s voice wavered, stopping their fight. This was it; this was his moment. “I don’t think we should defeat Pure Vanilla anymore. The two of us mayyyy have become… what you could call… friends!” 

Pure Vanilla made his entrance right on queue, just like a play. He waved to the two outside the window. They looked so, so shocked. It made Shadow Milk smile for real. “Now, I know we had a different plan! But plans do change frequently, don’t they? But if you’d hear me out, we could be MORE powerful with him!”  

“So… you’re his pet now? How far have you fallen?” Black Sapphire asked, unimpressed with the idea. He smirked at Shadow Milk. “Does he give you treats for when you’re on your best behavior?” 

Shadow Milk’s face burned violently, and his chest was ignited with anger. “How DARE you speak to me like that! Dontcha know I could-” 

“You could what, exactly? I have no doubts your master would put a stop to anything you tried. He has to keep you under control somehow afterall.”

Shadow Milk opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Pure Vanilla. “His ‘master’ is able to hear you. If I can beat him, I will certainly have no trouble with you two.” Pure Vanilla smiled; it was a little menacing. “Please be civil and listen to what we have to say, or you are welcome to leave.” 

Black Sapphire looked surprised but wiped that face clean off quickly. 

“He’s kinda scary when he’s mad, be careful.” Shadow Milk heard Candy Apple whisper, loudly, to Black Sapphire. 

“I have this under control. No need to tell me what I can see.” The radio host angrily whispered back. “Besides, even without Shadow Milk, I still think we could take him.” 

That caused Shadow Milk to roll his eyes. He never thought Black Sapphire was the delusional type but there was a first time for everything. Pure Vanilla continued. “You may stay here as well. You can start anew here. It’s not much but it’s the best we can offer. Shadow Milk is right, we could all be more powerful togther. What do you think?”

“I think that is the sappiest thing I've heard. But fine, I'll entertain the idea. We must confer with each other first.” Black Sapphire glared at the pair. “Candy Apple, if you would.” He started to move and motioned for the smaller cookie to follow him. They walked across the lawn, to a bush rather far away, out of earshot for Shadow Milk. 

They started to talk, and at first looked like a normal conversation but over time turned into an animated argument. Shadow Milk could hear very faint voices from across the courtyard. Black Sapphire was smart to keep their discussion that far away, if they were any closer Shadow Milk definitely would’ve been able to make something out. 

“You do know they’re probably plotting against you, right?” Shadow Milk looked at Pure Vanilla, an amused look on his face as the minions argued. “You’ve just given them the perfect opportunity. And I meannn, c’mon, if I was in their position, I would be trying something~”

“I know, because you did.” Pure Vanilla smirked. "Unsuccessfully, may I add.” 

Shadow Milk’s eyes widened, as did his smile. He was slowly becoming more aware of the fact that Pure Vanilla had some bark along with his bite. The healer kept both well hidden. “EXCUSE me?! How dare you, that was different.”

“Uh huh, and what made it so different?” 

“Ah, ah, ah, silly vanilly! Don’t tell me you forgot! Like I’ve said BEFORE, and if you would be a dear and actually listen this time, my soul jam is shattered, I’m no longer… talented at deceit now because of it.” Shadow Milk folded his arms and huffed. “THAT’S what made it different. Those two over there still have their skills intact.” 

“I see… Although, in all seriousness, would you want to try fixing it? Your soul jam I mean. You keep mentioning how it’s shattered.” 

Shadow Milk felt what could only be described as an ‘emotion salad’, there were a lot of feelings at once, mixed together. Some positive, most negative. “To start, what makes you think it can be fixed? It’s shattered and I don’t think some glue is going to do anything, it’s not a prop from a play.” 

“No. That’s not what I mean.” Pure Vanilla grinned before turning more serious. “Mine has been broken before and I’ve managed to fix it. I don’t see why yours couldn’t do the same.” 

Now that was very interesting. Pure Vanilla had fixed his shattered soul jam before? Shadow Milk wouldn’t have to be stuck powerless anymore?  That was good information to know, but he still had more questions. “Secondly, aren’t you scared to try helping me fix it though? Hellooo~ When I had powers I…” Shadow Milk paused to think of the words. “I was dangerous. I hurt you, pretty badly might I add… Any cookie in their right mind would be worried about that.” 

“Yes, and I agree, I don’t think there’s many who wouldn’t be. With that said, I understand what it’s like not having it. It’s horrible, I wouldn't wish that upon you.” Pure Vanilla explained. “And I’d like to think you’re staying here and not plotting against me, not because you’re powerless, even if it was started out for that reason, but because you’re my friend that’s what you want.” 

“Hmmm, you're an interesting fella, you know that?” Shadow Milk looked away from Pure Vanilla, he couldn’t give him too much power over him. He had avoided the question but hoped Pure Vanilla didn't notice. And look at that, perfect timing for the perfect distraction, Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were coming back to them. “I’ll think about it though. I do miss being able to float around. We can discuss it more later, right now we have two little menaces on our 12 o’clock.” Shadow Milk said, nudging Pure Vanilla. 

“It appears so.” 

“So, we have decided to take your offer.” Black Sapphire stated Candy Apple nodding enthusiastically along with him once back to their orgional spot. “But- There are some terms we want to address.”

Shadow Milk raised an eyebrow. Terms? They were getting an offer to stay but wanting to discuss issues THEY had? It rubbed Shadow Milk the wrong way that Black Sapphire had said that. If anything, Pure Vanilla should be the one telling his terms. 

“Go ahead.” Pure Vanilla nodded. 

“First off, we are not your charity cases, you might be trying to fix my lord but-”

“I don’t want to fix him.” Pure Vanilla said sternly. He looked offended more than anything as he spoke the words. Shadow Milk’s eyes widened but he stayed silent as the healer continued. “I like him as he is, I just wish for him to be my friend.” 

Black Sapphire didn’t look convinced. “I find it hard to believe that. Even with all his lies and deceit? Don’t you have the soul jam of truth? That seems like quite the contradiction.” 

“I am aware of what soul jam I have. I do not mind his lies, as long as nobody manages to get hurt in the process, that I will not tolerate. His harmless tricks and pranks are no issue at all. They’re charming, if anything.” Pure Vanilla looked just as unimpressed as Black Sapphire. They sat in a silent stare off that went on for too long. 

Shadow Milk looked at Candy Apple, who looked like she was about to laugh once meeting his eyes, and he wanted to himself. Surprisingly she still hadn’t said a word since returning to the conversation, she was mostly just glaring at Pure Vanilla the whole time as Black Sapphire took care of things. If Shadow Milk had to guess, the radio host told her to leave everything to him and for her to stay quiet. He was curious how much longer she would last. 

But onto different issues: How long was this going to last? Pure Vanilla could be stubborn if he wanted to, and Shadow Milk knew the same of Black Sapphire. If things got worse, they could be here for a while to say the least. 

While Shadow Milk was fine waiting to see how this played out for a little longer, he did love the dramatics of it, Candy Apple didn’t share that same sentiment. “C’mon Sapphy! Hurry UP! It’s cold out here!” 

“Fine, if you must insist. I guess it’s about time to change the channel anyways! Moving on!” Black Sapphire growled, annoyed. “We will stay here, for the time being. But we aren’t going to try changing. Do not expect us to. Next-”

Candy Apple groaned. “He doesn’t have any more conditions; he’s just lying to you.”

“HEY!” Black Sapphire shouted. Shadow Milk wondered if a fight was about to break out below him and giggled. 

“It’s cold out here!” She protested. “We haven’t slept in a REAL bed for forever! Besides I don’t mind if we stay, as long as Shadow Milk is here!”

Shadow Milk rolled his eyes but fought off another laugh at Candy Apple’s impatience. “Alright, I agree to that, as long as it's within reason. I have my own conditions, if you wouldn’t mind.” Pure Vanilla stated, waiting patiently for a response. Shadow Milk was glad he took over this whole situation and it surprised him. Both at his calmness at the lack of control and Pure Vanilla being so assertive. 

“Go on.” Black Sapphire crossed his arms. 

“You are welcome to stay, make yourself at home. But you will not harm anyone while you are here. Insulting my friends will not be tolerated. If you have a problem, you will work it out nicely. Do not destroy anything while you are here. Do I make myself clear?” Pure Vanilla gently but sternly asked. 

“Yes.” The pair said in unison. 

“Lovely! Then we’ll show you to your rooms now. There’ll be no more discussions for the night, it is getting rather late. If there are any more questions, I ask that you save them until morning.” Pure Vanilla requested, to which both cookies nodded. 

Using both of their strength, Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla somehow managed to pull the two cookies in through the window. Black Sapphire gave Shadow Milk a look that could wilt even Pure Vanilla’s flowers and said, “You’ve been awfully quiet, I’m surprised you could even do that. What, cat got your tongue?” 

Shadow Milk glared and opened his mouth but one look from Pure Vanilla got him to stop. The smirk from Black Sapphire told him what the radio host was thinking. 

Candy Apple skipped as the awkward group walked through the halls, looking at everything. Black Sapphire did the same, although he was walking elegantly and taking much more subtle looks. They all somehow arrived at their destination without somebody fighting or killing another. 

“For now, you both are going to share a room, we can find better ones in the morning.” Pure Vanilla said, gesturing at the door. “As I said, we’ll go over more in the morning, but for now, it’s time to rest. Goodnight you two.” 

Black Sapphire stayed silent and entered the room, glaring at the two.

“Goodnight, Shadow Milk!” Candy Apple waved, skipping into the room. Shadow Milk softly waved back. The door shut and Shadow Milk felt relief flood over him. Pure Vanilla had been a great help. They looked at each other, weariness written on their faces and started to walk away from the door. 

The two minions were in the room and hopefully going to bed soon. Shadow Milk let out a loud, overdramatic sigh once he knew Pure Vanilla and him were out of earshot. “So, remember how I said they would probably be plotting right about now?” Shadow Milk asked as they walked. 

“Yes.” Pure Vanilla was smiling, he still didn’t look worried in the slightest. “I'm used to it; there's no reason to worry.” 

“1. That is just a liiittle bit concerning you think that and 2. It just so happens that yours truly MIGHT fall under that scheming umbrella,” Shadow Milk explained. “They know where my room is, and I wouldn’t doubt it if they tried to find me and convince them to join their plan again.” 

Pure Vanilla nodded, waiting for Shadow Milk to finish. “I- What I’m thinking… is if I could… if we could…” UGH, was this so hard? 

“You’d like to have a sleepover?” Pure Vanilla raised one of his eyebrows.

“No, no, no! Don’t get it twisted, ‘nilly. I wouldn’t call it THAT. We’d just be sharing a room for the night to take some much-needed precautions~” Shadow Milk put a serious look on his face and tried not to laugh. “There’s strength in numbers, and trust me, I know how dangerous those two can get.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure…” Pure Vanilla fought a grin. “It appears to me that without their leader they seem to be unable to do anything without turning it into an argument. I’m sure we’d hear them disagreeing about the plan before it happens.” 

Shadow Milk blew out a puff of air, very dramatically. “You’re telling me. Imagine BEING that leader! Oh, the horrors I witnessed…” Shadow Milk faked a shudder which made Pure Vanilla chuckle. “As I was saying, if I crashed with you, I wouldn’t have to worry about my beauty sleep getting interrupted by a bunch of hooligans.” 

“You make a good case. Well then, you may come find shelter in my room for the night. After all, I couldn’t possibly have you lose any of your ‘beauty sleep’” 

“My oh my! You are TOO kind~” Shadow Milk grinned. “I’m oh-SOOO glad we can see eye to eye!” 

The healer laughed and led them to his room door. Pure Vanilla locked the door once inside and gave Shadow Milk a smirk. “They won’t be able to interrupt our sleep now. Whatever they’re planning, it'll have to wait until morning at the very least.” 

“Oooo, very smart!” Shadow Milk praised, giggling. 

A look of worry washed over Pure Vanilla. “I can only hope that when we walk out there, the castle isn’t completely destroyed. Ah, anyways,” He nervously chuckled. “You may take the bed; I can sleep on the floor.” 

“Nonsense! We can share the bed, silly. It looks to be big enough for the both of us.” Shadow Milk replied. “Just make sure to stay on your side and I’m sure we won’t have ANY issues.” 

“Are you sure? I really can just sleep on the floor, or in your room if that’d make you more comfortable.”

“Sure, I’m sure! Come on! It’s going to be fine~” Shadow Milk assured, nodding his head quickly. 

“...If you say so. Now, I’m going to go get my night clothing on.” Pure Vanilla yawned, and Shadow Milk nodded. Once he got confirmation everything was okay, the healer entered his closet. He returned a few minutes later. He had on a men’s nightgown, and it was pastel yellow. 

Shadow Milk was surprised the ancient didn’t have a matching nightcap to go with it. It was straight out of an old book. It did fit Pure Vanilla though, he looked like he was about to get the best sleep of his life. 

“I LOVEEE the outfit.” Shadow Milk teased. “It looks like it was made around the same time I was baked.” 

Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes. “It’s comfortable. I’m sure it’s better than what you wear to bed, you should give it a try, I don’t mind sharing one.” 

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, silly ‘nilly. I don’t have any night clothing.” Shadow Milk said, taking off his shoes and cloak, he didn’t sleep with those on. It would just be unsanitary AND uncomfortable. 

“Oh my!” Pure Vanilla looked horrified. “You’ve spent all this time here and I’ve never given you a pair of night clothes!” 

Shadow Milk laughed. “Vanilly, it’s fine. I used to sleep in my jester outfit, and while it is ABSOLUTELY fabulous and gorgeous, this is an upgrade from sleeping in that.” 

“No, this won’t do! I have an old pair of pajamas you can have! I’ll go find it!” Pure Vanilla said, disappearing into his closet. Pure Vanilla usually didn’t have that amount of hustle, Shadow Milk rarely got to see it, but everytime it made him amused. First the crochet, now this. They were simple things, but boy, did the healer get excited.

Pure Vanilla popped back out a few moments later, he really was rushing. “Here, I was trying something new at the time, that’s why they’re blue.” Pure Vanilla explained, handing over the set to Shadow Milk. It was a long-sleeved poplin pajama set, they were light blue and white striped. “Don’t fret. It has pants. I know you don’t like robes.” 

“Awww how thoughtful~” Shadow Milk sang and went to the bathroom to change. 

Shadow Milk got changed as fast as he could, the pajamas weren’t too bad and left his other clothing in a pile on the counter. He was too tired to worry about the implications of wearing Pure Vanilla’s clothing.

He left the bathroom, and Pure Vanilla was already in the bed, under the covers. Shadow Milk made a move to join him. The two halves didn’t say much to each other as they settled in the large bed. The day had taken a toll on them. 

“Goodnight, my dear.” Pure Vanilla said, yawning right after saying it and seeing Shadow Milk had gotten cozy. “Sleep well.” 

Shadow Milk felt a grin take over his face and he tried to calm the growing feelings of giddiness. He was trying to sleep at the moment, not star in a one-man play. He didn’t need to be energetic, besides, it was just a nickname, nothing more. 

Despite Black Sapphire’s embarrassingly accurate claims from earlier, Shadow Milk might be okay with that fact. Being Pure Vanilla's 'pet' had its perks. Hey, he wasn’t lonely anymore, and he was having a sleepover for the first time in his life! That didn’t seem so bad. Or… he was just lying to himself. He couldn’t tell sometimes. 

Shadow Milk shook his head, trying to clear it. “Yeah, yeah. You too. Don’t let the bedbugs bite and whatnot.” He heard a soft giggle from his side. He felt his happiness meter spike again and tried ignoring it. It was time for sleep.

A few minutes passed, and the quiet wasn’t suffocating, it was a nice blanket over the room and Shadow Milk felt safe with Pure Vanilla. It was easy to feel safe with him in moments like this. He felt small bits of gratitude for it.  

“Vanilly?” Shadow Milk whispered. He only half wished his other half was awake for what he was about to say.

“Hmm?” Pure Vanilla hummed, close to being fast asleep. Shadow Milk must’ve woken him up. Rats, now Shadow Milk actually had to answer him. 

“Thank you.” The trickster stayed quiet, being any louder would break the soft feeling the room currently had. 

“For what?” Pure Vanilla asked, still sleepy but sounded a little more awake now. 

“Oh, well, I was gonna say, thanks JUST for letting me stay in your room tonight but-” Shadow Milk turned his head and looked at Pure Vanilla. The moonlight came peeking through the curtains on the window, illuminating his face. His eyes were half open, trying to focus on the jester, but still somehow, even while half asleep, Pure Vanilla’s soft smile remained. It made Shadow Milk lose his entire train of thought. He was so pretty; it was unfair really. 

“Shadow Milk?” Pure Vanilla questioned after the silence stretched on for longer than necessary. 

“Oh right. RIGHT.” Shadow Milk shook his head, he had to get back on track. “I guess I kinda owe you one for all you’ve done.” Shadow Milk’s face burned, hopefully Pure Vanilla would forget this ever happened by morning. “Thanks for everything. For letting me stay here and giving me a second chance, you know, all that jazz.”  

“Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Pure Vanilla kept his voice light, as if speaking any louder would scare the other off. His eyes started to fully fall, as did his smile. “Goodnight, Shadow Milk. I’m glad you’re here.” He grabbed Shadow Milk’s hand as he pulled the covers tighter around him. 

Shadow Milk held on to it, he wouldn’t mind falling asleep like this. “Awww how sweet~ It’s a pleasure to grace you with my presence. Nighty night, Vanilly.” 

Not long after, the pair had fallen asleep, nearly at the same time, hands intertwined. Soft snores filled the air as they both were at peace. The night went by, free of nightmares. 

Chapter Text

The birds chirped outside and Shadow Milk yawned from his place on Pure Vanilla’s bed. The morning came far too fast for his liking, and he just wanted five more minutes to sleep. He was slowly beginning to understand why Eternal Sugar was always sleeping. 

Shadow Milk had the thought to move the comforter so he could bury himself deeper, to hide away from the world for a bit longer before having to face everything, but his arms were occupied. Why was the pillow he assumed he was holding so warm? He opened his eyes, swiftly blinking away the blurriness, and looked at what he was holding. 

Shadow Milk was hugging Pure Vanilla’s torso, on his side, while one of the healer’s arms was lightly placed around Shadow Milk in return. The jester felt his face heat up and at the speed of light, shut his eyes tight again. 

Pure Vanilla looked to be asleep, but it was hard to tell if he actually was and Shadow Milk didn’t get a very good look before the world went dark for him. The hero wasn’t snoring, and Shadow Milk wasn’t sure if he even snored in the first place. His breathing was steady but that could literally just mean he was alive. 

From Shadow Milk’s absolutely, undeniably, humiliating place at Pure Vanilla’s side, he tried to assess the situation. How was he even supposed to recover from this? He should’ve never asked to have a ‘sleepover’. He knew he moved around in his sleep, a lot, but he didn’t think it was going to be this bad, so he ignored it when asking. 

Shadow Milk could pretend he was still asleep and move then. It would be a difficult performance; his arm was stuck underneath Pure Vanilla and how it even got there in the first place was beyond him. But that was the only option he had, might as well give it a shot. 

The second Shadow Milk started to shift, he hadn’t even moved a centimeter, Pure Vanilla started to stir. “Strawberry…? Are you awake?” His voice filled the air and lacked any signs of tiredness. The hand was removed from Shadow Milk’s back and the beast felt Pure Vanilla stretching. 

He could lie… continue with his plan of pretending to be asleep, but there wouldn’t be a point, would there? He opened his eyes, slowly, as if he had just woken up for the first time. He removed his arms from the healer and stretched. Pure Vanilla laughed at the display happening beside him. 

“You woke up a few minutes ago, didn’t you?” The healer chuckled, getting up off the bed. He was not one to sit around in the mornings, was he? 

Shadow Milk’s eyes got as big as saucers, but he put them back to their usual state fast. “No, no. I’ve-” He cut himself off and put a drowsier tone to his voice. “I just woke up~” 

“Uh huh.” Pure Vanilla walked to enter his closet, and Shadow Milk wondered what he was in such a rush for. The only thing causing Shadow Milk to be this awake and alert was the embarrassment of accidently cuddling Pure Vanilla, in the healer’s bed of all places!

He could jump out the window, run away and hide forever. He barely worked himself up to putting his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, but Shadow Milk’s subconscious had to betray him and pull this stunt. 

He could at least hide in the bathroom for now, all his clothing was in there, and it was unoccupied seeing as Pure Vanilla was in the closet. Shadow Milk silently got off the bed and put his plan into action. 

Making it to the bathroom without Pure Vanilla spotting him, Shadow Milk sighed with relief once inside. He would just ignore everything that happened and would deny if Pure Vanilla tried to bring it up again. 

His face burning, Shadow Milk got ready for the day, switching his pajamas for the daytime clothing and left the previous outfit on the counter for the time being. He found a brush while snooping in the drawers and ran it through his hair. Then, he splashed cold water in his face, trying to cool it down so he could manage going out again without freaking out in front of Pure Vanilla. 

After deciding enough time had passed, he left the bathroom to find Pure Vanilla waiting for Shadow Milk outside the door. “Hi,” The ancient hero greeted.

“Hey…? Didja need something?” Look at him innocently but silently hoped the healer wouldn't mention the morning cuddles again.  

“Yes, I’d like to brush my hair, but you were in there, so I’ve been waiting my turn.” 

“Oh, right." Shadow Milk felt relief fill his body. "Bathroom is alllll yours~” Shadow Milk heard Pure Vanilla chuckle to himself as the beast walked over to where he left the final parts of his outfit.

“Soooo, what’s on the agenda today, vanilly?” Shadow Milk asked, projecting his voice for Pure Vanilla to hear. He started putting on his boots and cloak for the day. The outfit was still… working. It was comfortable, functional. But Shadow Milk was growing tired of it; it missed the distinct flavor of well, him, with it. He would have to plan on getting a new one soon, he didn’t know how but that was a problem for future Shadow Milk. 

“Hmm, are Candy Apple and Black Sapphire going to wake up soon?” Pure Vanilla responded, 

“No, they usually sleep late into the day.” Shadow Milk explained. All of them had been more night owls than anything else. “If something needed to get done earlier in the day it was annoying AND hard to get them to wake up. Though, threats usually did the job.” 

“Alright, that’ll be good to know for the future. But perhaps, without the threats.”

“If you want to make it harder for yourself, sure.” 

“Moving on, to answer your question, I have some things to attend to in my office. You’re welcome to join me as I do it, then we’ll find our guests a permanent room in the castle, and we’ll see what time it is after all of that.” Pure Vanilla exited the bathroom and joined Shadow Milk's side. 

“Okie dokie.” Shadow Milk replied. “Seeing as I have literally NOTHING else on my agenda, I think I can come with you.” 

“I would love nothing more, my dear.” Pure Vanilla smiled, holding open his room door for Shadow Milk so they could both leave. 

. . .

“Holy MOLY, how much mail does one cookie need?! What, are you messaging all of Earthbread?” Shadow Milk inquired, sifting through the pile on Pure Vanilla’s desk. Envelopes of all different sizes covered it. Some had already been open, others were still sealed and waiting to be read. He really did have some things to attend to. “We were JUST in here yesterday!” 

“Well, I didn’t finish everything. Some of them still need to be addressed.” Pure Vanilla admitted. “You looked so cozy, by the fireplace and asleep. I wanted to join you and figured these would be okay for just one more day.”

“Join me...?” Shadow Milk felt his cold heart warm up for that. “I was asleep, I wouldn’t have even known, silly Vanilly.” 

“I know, still... it was nice sitting beside you. And it worked out in the end, but now…” Pure Vanilla awkwardly chuckled.  “I’ll have to face the consequences of those actions.” 

“Womp womp womp waaaa~” Shadow Milk sang in response. Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes, playfully, which caused the jester to giggle. 

“Oh!! And wouldya look at that~ I left my things here, now I’ve got something to do too.” Shadow Milk noticed his crochet supplies among the mess upon the desk. He snatched them and set up camp in the chair by the fire. He left his legs hanging over the arms of the seat again, hoping this time he wouldn’t fall asleep. 

Pure Vanilla made his way to the desk, beginning to fix up the mess more and got to it. The pair worked, for the most part, in comfortable silence. The sound of a quill scratching paper and quiet mumbles from Shadow Milk talking to himself about his project filled the passing time. 

“Shadow Milk?” Pure Vanilla finally said, being the first to say something for the better part of an hour. 

The cookie in question peered over the side of the chair and looked at Pure Vanilla. He put on what was sure to be an award-winning smile and replied. “You caaaalled?” 

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you please come here? I need to talk to you about something, and it would be easier if you were over here.” 

“If you say so~” Shadow Milk strolled over, sitting on the arm of Pure Vanilla’s desk chair, leaning over the side to look at the organized mess on the desk. It looked better than it had when they first got here, Pure Vanilla was definitely making his way through everything. “Sooo, what’s going on? Is it gossip?” 

“No, not that. But before you say anything, please let me finish what I’m saying.” Pure Vanilla requested, keeping the letter close to his chest. 

Shadow Milk raised a brow. As long as the lily pest wasn’t coming over again, it would be fine. Nothing could compare to the horror of that day. On second thought, there was one thing, but Shadow Milk was currently trying to trust a certain someone on not making it a reality. 

“Alright, fine. You get one chance, BUT only because you’ve piqued my interest.” Shadow Milk pretended to huff and held up a finger to Pure Vanilla to make himself clear.

“Thank you… You know of my other friends, right? Particularly Hollyberry in this case.”

Shadow Milk could mostly remember all of them, at the very least, he could recall Pure Vanilla talking about them once or twice. Specifically, Hollyberry though? That was the one with Eternal Sugar’s souljam… Shadow Milk nodded. “The strong pink one?” 

“Mhm! She’s asked to meet you and for us to visit her, at her kingdom. I won’t say yes to anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with, but I was wondering if you like the idea of that.” Pure Vanilla said, showing off the letter. “You haven’t been able to leave the castle yet, and I haven’t been able to travel there for quite some time. I understand if it’d be too much, but it has the possibility of being fun!” 

Hmmm, the Hollyberry Kingdom? Shadow Milk didn’t know much about it. He really should start reading some of the books Pure Vanilla had… 

The castle was getting kinda stuffy as well. He was sure Pure Vanilla wouldn’t mind him exploring other parts of the kingdom, but based on how little people lived here, Shadow Milk didn’t have much drive to ask. It didn't seem very exciting. 

“If we went, where would we even be staying?” Shadow Milk investigated further. 

“In her letter, she said she would have a place for us in her castle. All I need to do is say the word, and she’ll have everything ready for us.” 

A huge new castle, bustling with people, and there was a possibility Shadow Milk would be left alone. Alone in a room in an unfamiliar place. What if this Hollyberry person was planning something? 

Trying to trust Pure Vanilla was hard enough. Now there was his friends getting thrown into the mix. They had no reason to like him; he had harmed their friend.

He wanted to go, really, he did. But the risk of getting harmed in the process seemed too high. Although based on how Pure Vanilla would come to Shadow Milk’s defense to multiple different people, maybe something else could work… 

“I’ll consider going along with this, but! In return, I have demands.” Shadow Milk finally concluded. 

Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes but the smile on his face gave away his true feelings. “And those are?” 

“We need to share a room.” Shadow Milk announced. But then, he remembered that morning, the cuddling incident. “Separate beds. There is strength in numbers, as I said, and it proved to work. But I don’t see any need to share a bed.”

“I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem. I wouldn’t mind that at the very least.” 

“Great! You’re tipping the scales in your favor~” Shadow Milk nodded along. “Now, this next one isn’t a demand, more of a question.” 

“Go right ahead. Ask as many questions as you’d like.” 

“What’s it like there? I’ve never been, never had the time or anything, amirite? You know how it is.” 

“Oh! I’m glad you asked.” Pure Vanilla beamed. “It’s a wonderful place, and I’m sure you can imagine it, but there’s lots of berries. They have a large market; we could go shopping if you’d like. And while there’s probably not going to be one while we attend, they hold lots of festivals throughout the year. It’s a very merry place; I think you’ll like it.” 

Shopping, huh? That would be fun. Even with the walls painted, Shadow Milk’s room was mostly bare. Maybe he could get some things to make the place less empty. And there were lots of berries? Pure Vanilla would be there too, so far, it sounded good, no reason to say no. The healer did say he thought he would like it, maybe it’d be a good idea to give it a try. 

“Fineee- Tell your little friend we’ll go. I guess.” Shadow Milk tried to act put out, but really, he was excited and looking forward to it. Even though he didn’t know when it was happening, at least it was soon. 

“Perfect! I’ll write to her right away so we can figure it all out!” Pure Vanilla excitedly grabbed a new piece of parchment on one of the small piles on his desk. He began to scratch and write away on it, Shadow Milk quietly giggled at his urgency. Then, his smile faded, they had a problem. 

“Oh wait, wait, WAIT! Stop your letter writing- Whatever will we do with our two new problems?” Shadow Milk sighed dramatically, again trying to cover ho whe really felt and how upset he was over this issue, the potential it had to stop the trip. “They kinda throw a wrench into these plans, don’t they?” 

“I don’t see why they couldn’t come. If they wanted to, of course. Or unless you would want to leave them here? Then that would create issues.” Pure Vanilla explained. “I don’t trust them staying here without us.” 

“Oh, reeeeally?” Shadow Milk raised a brow. “Hollyberry wouldn’t mind two more pests, showing up? Unannounced, may I add~” 

“Not at all, she would just consider it an opportunity to make another friend.” 

Shadow Milk gave him a look. “You and your friends have no sense of self preservation. I don’t know how you’ve made it so far in life or how you managed to get the soul jams.” 

Pure Vanilla opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then continued to write the letter and tried unsuccessfully to hide an amused grin on his face. Shadow Milk waited for him to say something for a few more seconds before speaking up. 

“Hey! What?! What were you gonna say?” Shadow Milk asked. “You can’t just do that to a person! It’s very RUDE.” 

“No, what I was going to say was rude, so I’ll just keep quiet instead. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.”

“Argh! Vanilly c’mon!” Shadow Milk groaned and got up from his perch on the chair. Pure Vanilla ignored him, still covering his smiling mouth. Shadow Milk huffed and switched to his sweetest, nicest voice. “I promise I won’t be mad, just tell me, pleeeeease.”

“I think it's better to leave some things unsaid.” 

“Okay, fine, fine. I see how it is.” Shadow Milk folded his arms, frowning and looking out the office window. He had to get some petty revenge on Pure Vanilla somehow. He turned back to face the healer, and a scheming smile spread across his face. 

He quickly made a reach for the quill Pure Vanilla was using to write, trying to take it. Pure Vanilla moved but not in enough time, the action causing a stray line to spread across the rest of the paper. Pure Vanilla looked up at Shadow Milk, mouth in a flat line but eyes twinkling.

They were both holding on the quill and without saying anything else, Shadow Milk started to move it around on the page. He doodled a badly drawn Pure Vanilla on the paper, writing ‘pest who won’t tell anyone anything’ next to it and an arrow pointing to it; just in case anyone viewing the letter got confused. 

The entire time, neither made a noise or had let go of the quill, Pure Vanilla kept a loose hold on it so the jester could make his art. Shadow Milk finally did relent once he was finished with his art and sat back down on the side of the seat. 

“I have to restart now.” Pure Vanilla said, tone even, but his mouth was slightly turned up at the corners, eyes shining with amusement. 

“I think you’re just being overdramatic, you can keep it! My art is VERY lovely~ Someday it’ll go for millions, and you’ll thank me.” 

“Oh, I’m sure, but right now? It ruined my letter.” 

“Aw shucks. Good thing you have a whole stack of paper though, right?” 

Pure Vanilla playfully shoved Shadow Milk, it was gentle but still had some force. The jester got knocked onto his feet, off his sitting place.

“Wow, wow, wow.” Shadow Milk said, shaking his head disapprovingly, moving back to his crochet chair. “I see how it is. I’ll be over there if you need me and would like to apologize.” 

Pure Vanilla laughed and grabbed another paper to write on. “Sounds good, I’ll consider it.” 

Shadow Milk scoffed and sat down, starting up his project again. Not long after, Pure Vanilla called out for him again. 

“Strawberry?” 

“Yes? Would you like to finally apologize for your oh-so hurtful actions?” Shadow Milk replied, not getting up. 

“No, but I’ve finished the letter. But I’ll wait on sending it to Hollyberry later today in case Candy Apple and Black Sapphire don’t want to join.” Pure Vanilla came into Shadow Milk’s view, standing over him. “But speaking of them, we should probably wake them soon. We can tell them about our outing while we eat, I’ve learned that conversation goes well when over food.” 

“Ughh, do we HAVE to?” Shadow Milk groaned, forgetting about one problem and onto another. He set his things down on the floor in front of the chair. “It’s so nice, so quiet without them here…” 

Pure Vanilla snorted. “I know, but it’s getting later into the day, any longer and I fear we’ll start to smell smoke and when we walk out there’ll be a fire somewhere if we don’t get to them first. Besides, don’t you like them? Aren’t they your friends too?”

“Huh? I don’t know who told you that, but I’ve never considered them friends. Sure, sure. I like ‘em enough, I wouldn’t keep them around if I didn’t but-” Shadow Milk shrugged. That wasn't a lie, whether it was believable or not. “They’re just people to help with the dirty work and spread the good word of deceit. They are my henchmen and nothing more.” 

“Hmm, if that’s the way you see it. Although, they’re here to stay and I don’t think you're in a position to spread much of anything.” Pure Vanilla gave Shadow Milk a soft smile despite the somewhat insulting words. “You could try being friends with them now.”

Shadow milk frowned and furrowed his brows. “I don’t know if that’s the good idea you THINK it is."

“I understand they’re a bit… much when they’re together. With that said, just think about it. You all already know each other, and it’s clear they like you, and you said you liked them. So that first step is already taken care of.” 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that last part. Didja see how Black Sapphire was acting last night?!” Shadow Milk crossed his arms and shook his head. The disrespect, the audacity. The beast regretted not saying anything more about it after Pure Vanilla shut him down and it happened twice, he was getting soft in the healer's presence. 

“It’s just an idea; you don’t have to act on it.” Pure Vanilla started to walk towards the door; a smile filled with mirth painted on his face. “I understand if you can only handle one friend.”  

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn't you? You freak. But I’m PERFECTLY capable of making friends.” Shadow Milk followed him. 

“Then prove it.”

Shadow Milk glared at him as they walked out of the office and down the hallways. “I know what you’re trying to do. I understand I can play the part of a fool, fantastically, but it’s not gonna work on me.” 

“I’m not trying to do anything, just putting you up to a challenge. Should be easy for you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever….”

Before Shadow Milk knew it, they arrived at the minions' resting place with no complications besides some more light teasing from Pure Vanilla. 

“You’re ready?” He asked as Shadow Milk placed his hand on the doorknob. 

“Yeppers, ready as one can be with these two.” Shadow Milk said, opening the door. 

The room inside was in a similar style to the rest of the castle. Pastel yellows, whites, and light browns decorated the area. There were two beds inside, one on the left, one on the right, a window in between them. Black Sapphire had claimed his spot on the right, Candy Apple on the other. 

Candy Apple was fast asleep, oblivious to the world, meanwhile, Shadow Milk’s rumor spreader began to stir and get up from his place under the covers. He sat up and the sleepy expression he had disappeared once he noticed the visitors. 

“Gooooood mooooorning, my most loyal followers~” Shadow Milk sang, giving them a bow for an extra effect. Candy Apple sat up at the noise, blinking away sleep. “I know things between us are… tense. But I do hope you’ll join us for a conversation and as an added incentive~ There’ll be food.”

“I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE, MASTER SHADOW MILK COOKIE!!” Candy Apple giggled, jumping out of bed as if she had all the energy Earthbread had to offer and wasn’t just sleeping literally a few seconds ago. 

Black Sapphire stayed in his spot and looked at Shadow Milk. He didn’t look as angry as last night, which was a major improvement. Maybe he was just grumpy from lack of sleep? Still, what he said crossed a little bit of a line. Shadow Milk was too frazzled to do anything about it earlier but could bring it up today.

“May I converse with you, my lord? Just the two of us.” Black Sapphire asked, fixing the sheets on the bed. Once they were perfect, he sat on top of them, crossing his legs and placing his hands in his lap. His face wouldn’t give anything of his feelings or thoughts away. 

Shadow Milk looked at Pure Vanilla, hoping what he was thinking came across to him. The hero was his other half; it shouldn’t have been hard for him to figure out. 

“Candy Apple, if you would kindly join me in the kitchen? We’ll make something to eat while these two talk.” Pure Vanilla asked, he had placed himself in the doorway and had a welcoming smile gracing his features. 

The minion made a face that looked very disgusted before a quick, wicked grin replaced it. “Kya ha ha! Sure! Let’s go, shall we?” She skipped to the door and Pure Vanilla’s flashed a worried expression to Shadow Milk before fixing it. He mouthed a simple ‘good luck’ to his other half and went after the excited minion, shutting the door on his way out.

A heavy silence made itself known in the room. Black Sapphire wouldn’t stop staring, and Shadow Milk couldn’t stand it. “Say what you’re going to say, I don’t have all day.” Shadow Milk relented bitterly, sitting across from him on Candy Apple’s bed. He sat far more casually than the radio host, but in a similar fashion, had crossed his legs. 

“I must apologize for my harsh words last night.” Black Sapphire started; his voice had a hint of nervousness to it. “They were only to sell the act I thought you had going on.” 

Shadow Milk raised his eyebrows. What a surprise, the problem just fixed itself. Wasn’t it nice when things worked out? And he didn’t have to do any hard work. “Well, well, well. Look who’s come to his senses. I’m just oh-so glad you could finally see the error of your ways~ Although I DO have to ask, what do you mean, act?” 

“At first, I assumed it was all a part of the scheme. That you were just pretending to be friends as a way for us to get closer to the soul jam. So, I insulted you, to make it seem as if I was opposed to this whole thing. But as time went on, I realized it wasn’t an act at all.” 

“Good job on figuring it out! It’s not like I told you what was happening or anything.” Shadow Milk mocked. 

“You’re the beast of deceit; it’s why I joined you after all. Forgive me for thinking the master of lying was doing just that.” 

That was true, Shadow Milk WAS the master of lies, it would only make sense for his henchman to think that was what was going on. “Hmm, that is a fair assessment, consider yourself forgiven. Was there anything else you had to say?” 

“Thank you, my lord. There is. As I laid last night, trying to sleep, I began to have a thought. Where was your souljam of deceit? It’s missing from your person, is it not? Candy Apple may not have realized, she’s far too distracted in her one-sided competition with Pure Vanilla, but I did.” 

Shadow Milk’s heart dropped, Black Sapphire wasn’t supposed to notice that. The trickster knew just how observant the radio host was, but he didn’t think it would ever be used against him. “I had just put it away for the night, nothing more, nothing less. You don’t need to look so far into it.” 

“You didn’t have it when we first met up either.”

“NEWSFLASH! That was also at night.” Shadow Milk grumbled. Just how much did he know?

“Then where is it now?” Black Sapphire rebuked. 

“Must’ve left in my room, silly me~” 

“If you're insisting on that. But this does beg the question, why aren't you floating around? I’ve never seen you willingly walk in all my time of being your underling.” 

“What’s going on with my soul jam is none of your business!” Shadow Milk yelled. Who did he think he was? He ought to do something about this but… but Pure Vanilla would know. The healer was kind, not stupid. He would definitely figure out what happened. Shadow Milk fought back a groan; he hated having such a peaceful friend sometimes. 

“Excuse me, if I’m out of line once again-”

“Ha, ha, ha, that’s funny! You’ve been out of line this whole conversation.” 

“Regardless, have you fully thought this one through? Pure Vanilla has become even stronger; he could crumble you or try to get you back to that tree you've always had a distaste for.” Black Sapphire said. How dare he act as if Shadow milk didn’t consider that. “Especially if you lost your powers.” 

“You don’t think I’ve thought about that?” Shadow Milk growled. He wasn’t stupid, sure he could be irrational and reactive around Pure Vanilla, but could anyone blame him? The guy stole, okay, maybe not completely stole, but took his soul jam. It would be hard to rationally think about him. “I know what I’m doing.” 

“Do you? He lied to you. Tricked you into thinking he was on your side.” 

“Thanks for bringing that up! You’ve ruined my whole morning.” Shadow Milk bitterly said. Sure, they were friends now, but thinking of that moment still left a disgustingly resentful taste in his mouth that he would have to fight to get rid of. “Get. To. The. Point.” 

“I don’t want to see you get hurt. Especially by an old pathetic fool like him.” 

“Oh.” Shadow Milk’s anger dissipated and was replaced by shock.

“He almost crumbled you back at the spire, his power is dangerous. Especially now that he has even more of it. And somehow, you’re without your soul jam. We shouldn’t be playing with fire like this.” 

“Awww~” Shadow Milk cooed, he made it sound as mocking as possible to cover up any real emotion that would try seeping through. He thought Black Sapphire was about to turn against him. He ignored the rest of the words. “You care?”

Black Sapphire rolled his eyes, well eye, his haircut did cover up his other one. “Of course I care! I’m not loyal to you for the fun of it! I didn’t spend all those years serving you just to watch you crumble so easily!”

“Pssh, I’m not going to crumble.” Shadow Milk waved him off. Whatever seriousness that had built up in the room had fallen away. “He likes me too much to do that. Trust me, who could resist me?” 

“Both you and the brat are out of your minds.” Black Sapphire pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“If it makes you feel better, I do think we could be more powerful with him. Sureeee, there’s not going to be any taking over ALL of Earthbread through lies and deceit, but hey! We’d be safe here; he’ll protect us from his friends so we wouldn’t need to worry about that anymore.” Shadow Milk tried to convince him. He didn’t have a reason to give Black Sapphire on why it was a good thing to stay here, well, not any good reason that wasn’t mortifyingly pathetic to admit.

“And how do you know he's willing to do that for us?”

Shadow Milk stayed silent for a moment. “He’s done it before. When the lily gnat was here.” 

Silence fell over the room as Black Sapphire thought through his choices and what to say. “I still think you’re foolish for going along with him. And once you decide to realize that I will tell you as such. But if you’re truly insisting on this, know I’ll follow your lead, my lord.” He nodded at Shadow Milk, expression determined. 

“Happy to have my favorite radio host back on my side~”

“Although, I will mourn the loss of the entertainment the source of our lies bring.” Black Sapphire sighed, grabbing his staff and getting up from his bed. 

“Pssh, WHO do you take me for?” Shadow Milk laughed, standing. “I may be trying this,” He made fake gagging noises and the actual words after were difficult to get out. “Friendship thing, but a pinch of deceit is always good for the soul. I’ll let you know any chances I get to have some fun.” 

“Thanks, it soothes my soul to know you haven’t changed too much.” 

“Oh, but how come Candy Apple is less torn up about this than you are?” Shadow Milk asked, as they exited the room and walked the halls, Shadow Milk leading them to the kitchen. He was amused thinking about it. She didn’t seem to have lost any pep in her step and acted as if nothing had happened. “We both know how she is, I must say, she’s surprising me.”

Black Sapphire sighed and rubbed his temples. “She’s convinced herself that she can use this as an opportunity to show you she’s better than Pure Vanilla and that you don’t need him. I figured that’s why she was so eager to leave with him this morning as well, she concocted some plan in her mind, I’m sure.” 

“I see, I see. Sounds like her.” 

They continued their walk without further conversation and got to the kitchen with no complications. “Ta-da! Here we are, the kitchen.” Shadow Milk sang, holding his hands out to present the door that was in front of their faces. 

“Wait-” Black Sapphire put a finger up to his lips and pointed his ear toward the door. Shadow Milk followed his lead and pointed his sharp ended ear to the kitchen, eavesdropping. 

“Please, stop trying to put eggshells in Black Sapphire’s omelet.” The pair heard Pure Vanilla’s muffled voice through the door. “You wouldn’t like it if he did the same to you.” 

“Argh!! Why do you have to be such a DRAG!! It would be funny!!” Candy Apple complained back. Black Sapphire and Shadow Milk exchanged a knowing look. No doubt, Pure Vanilla had his hands full. Without a word, Black Sapphire adjusted his clothing, dusting his shoulders and fixing his hair, then opened the door. 

“It would be hilarious, it really would. I think we should add some to yours as well, keep the fun going for everyone.” The radio host made his grand entrance into the kitchen, Shadow Milk close behind, which caused the two to turn their heads.

Pure Vanilla noticed Shadow Milk and his eyes wrinkled when he grinned. “I’m glad you two could join us, we’re just making some breakfast.” 

“Interesting, you really trust this one around a stove?” Black Sapphire questioned. 

“Ah, well, I was watching. There was almost a fire.” Pure Vanilla awkwardly laughed. 

Shadow Milk started to giggle hysterically, Candy Apple joining him, the other two looking at them worriedly. “Sounds par for the course.” The jester said in between giggles.

Pure Vanilla shook his head, fondly. “Besides that, there were no more complications. After this is done, we can eat.” He explained. “You two watch the eggs, remember what I told you, Candy Apple. Make sure it doesn’t burn. I have to grab the utensils so we can finally eat.”

“Hmm, alright.” Black Sapphire hummed. “Pay attention, brat."

"HEY! I am!" 

Pure Vanilla motioned for Shadow Milk to follow him, to which the trickster did. They went to the cabinet with the plates and below it was the one with the silverware. Pure Vanilla started to grab what was needed and place it on the counter, then whispered to Shadow Milk, “Black Sapphire seems to be in a much better mood, I’m assuming you resolved the issues?”

“Yeah, yeah. For the most part.” Shadow Milk said, grabbing the pile and holding everything for Pure Vanilla. “He doesn’t trust you.”

“It's good everything's fine between you two. And I figured that. I… I didn’t do anything to earn his trust, quite the opposite actually.” 

“Eh, he’ll be fine, just give him time.” 

“Hmm." Pure Vanilla looked troubled but appeared to move on quickly. "If you say so.” 

“Wait, wait-” Shadow Milk said, grabbing Pure Vanilla’s arm as the healer turned to return the others. 

“Everything okay?” Pure Vanilla looked worried, his brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth pointed down. 

“Just what did you and Candy Apple decide should go in my omelet?” Shadow Milk asked accusingly. 

“Oh, we just made it plain because normally you don’t like very complicated foods. I hope that’s okay?”

Shadow Milk unwillingly began to smile softly. “Hmm, that’s acceptable~ Good job, ‘nilly.” 

Pure Vanilla opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Black Sapphire yelling. “Stop trying to mess with mine!” 

“NO! I was the help first, that means I’m in charge! You’re just here to watch in case something happens to me.” Candy Apple fought back. 

The two soul jam holders faced the situation at the oven. Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were physically fighting, which happened to be very dangerous considering the stove currently on. 

“Hey! Knock it off you two!” Shadow Milk yelled, going up to them and setting down the plates. He pulled them apart from each other. “I swear…” 

“Apologies, my lord.” Black Sapphire bowed. 

“Yeah, sorry, Master Shadow Milk.” Candy Apple looked to the floor and kicked an invisible pebble, pouting. 

Pure Vanilla followed close behind. “Please refrain from fighting each other. Thank you two for helping but I’ll take over again.” 

Everything was thankfully done not long after, and the healer put all the food on the plates, giving each person a fork and knife along with their meal. “The rest of the day is going to be busy, and it’s late. It’s for the best if we eat in here instead of the dining room.” Pure Vanilla stated, handing out the plates. “You may start to eat, and if it’s more comfortable for you, it’s okay to sit on the counters, we’ll clean everything after.”

“Don’t mind if I do!” Candy Apple hopped onto a free clean countertop, sitting on it. Black Sapphire stood next to her, leaning his back against the counter for support. Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla went to the counter space across from them, close to each other. 

The minions must’ve been hungry, they stayed uncharacteristically silent as they ate. Shadow Milk did the same, keeping an eye on Pure Vanilla and if he was doing the same thing as everyone else. The healer was eating small bites that were few and far in between, but eating, nonetheless. 

“So, whaddya think?” Candy Apple asked Black Sapphire. “Aren’t these the best omelets you’ve ever had in your life?!” 

“Considering I’ve never had one, I’m sure you did your best. I’m glad Pure Vanilla was there to help you otherwise-” Black Sapphire sharply sucked in a breath and looked away from her, grimacing.

“Arugh! I KNEW I shoulda put eggshells in it!” 

“You really should've let her.” Shadow Milk whispered to Pure Vanilla. “Would’ve made for a great show to go with the food.”

Pure Vanilla was smiling but shook his head. “I think I made the right call.” Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were continuing their conversation, but at a lower volume, they had resolved the fight. Because they were distracted, Pure Vanilla kept whispering. “Would you like to tell them about the trip, or me?”

Shadow Milked sighed, taking a bite.  “I, for one, have already had one too many EXHAUSTING talks today. You tell them, I’m far too tired~” If they did object, he could always jump in, but it was Pure Vanilla’s turn to deal with it right now. He just got done with Black Sapphire. The healer nodded in acknowlegement. 

“We have much to discuss today.” Pure Vanilla announced. The minions turned their attention toward him, curious looks on their faces. “As I mentioned last night, we’ll be finding your new rooms today, unless you both would like to keep sharing…?” 

“NO!” They both shouted at the same time.

Black Sapphire cleared his throat, composing himself. “Please, spare me. I cannot stand another night with her.” 

“Hey! As if you’re ANY better! You’re no fun! You didn’t even want to play truth or dare before bed.” 

“It was late. We needed to sleep, brat.” 

“Whatever, dough-brain! ALL I know is, I NEED a new room.” 

“Agreed. I’m happy you could finally use your brain and agree with me for once.” 

Pure Vanilla had a tired, albeit amused smile as Shadow Milk watched on. He was perfectly okay with observing from the sidelines, this was one of the best decisions he made in a while. It was very entertaining if he did say so himself,

“Glad you’re on the same page. We’ll get that taken care of then. Onto our next order of business. I understand it might be a lot to take in, considering you’ve just arrived and are getting situated here, but we have some news.” 

They looked curiously at him once more. 

“We’ll be making a trip to the Hollyberry kingdom and we’re wondering if you’d like to join us?” 

“WOULD I?” Candy Apple shouted, jumping off the counter to cackle. “Ha, ha! Yes, yes, yes, yessss! A vacay!” 

“Hmm, it could prove to be entertaining.” Black Sapphire looked to be debating the idea, tossing it around in his head, before landing on his answer. “I’ll accept this most gracious invitation. Thank you for the invite.” 

“Amazing! We’ll get everything prepared for that then!” Pure Vanilla turned to Shadow Milk and beamed. The jester returned it in full. It was official, everyone knew about and was on board with it. Witches help the poor souls in the Hollyberry kingdom, Pure Vanilla and his odd little group of a reforming villain along with his two chaotic minions were going to be arriving sometime soon.  

Chapter Text

For the past week or so, Pure Vanilla was becoming increasingly stressed out as time went on. Which was saying something. The ancient always seemed to be filled with a mostly well-hidden anxiety. 

Shadow Milk would think it was from the arrival of the Vanilla kingdom's two new residents, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a smooth transition. Besides a fight that almost got physical between the two, Candy Apple and Black Sapphire had settled into the Vanilla kingdom without much of an issue. 

Instead, this time, it was because of the group's trip to the Hollyberry Kingdom, they were leaving the next morning. It was currently the night before, and all of them were sitting at the dinner table while Pure Vanilla was giving them a rundown of everything that was going to happen. 

“Please, hold all your queries till the end while I explain everything…To begin, Hollyberry has graciously sent an airship to pick us up, we’ll need to be ready in time.” Pure Vanilla explained. “We’ll need to be at the port at 6am so we can get there at noon.” 

Shadow Milk loudly groaned, clearly wanting Pure Vanilla to know his distress. His minions quickly followed with their own. Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes, and the corners of his mouth threatened to turn upward despite the exhaustion he felt.

“Everyone can sleep on the airship, don’t worry. We’re just arriving early so there’s more time we’ll have to spend together. With that out of the way, listen carefully. They have invited us to their kingdom; you all will be on your best behavior.” Pure Vanilla stressed, anxiety unhidden on his face. “Be polite, have manners, no mischief at all. Understood?” 

“You got it, gramps!” Black Sapphire and Candy Apple yelled in unison. Gramps was the nickname the pair had randomly decided upon one day, and anytime Pure Vanilla asked them to do something, they would respond with it, much to Shadow Milk’s amusement. 

Pure Vanilla didn’t seem to mind much though, sometimes the pair earned a laugh from him, other times they got a playful eye roll in response. He hadn’t gotten sick of it yet. 

Pure Vanilla looked to Shadow Milk, waiting for a response from him as well. The jester grinned widely and fluttered his eyes at the stressed healer. “Wouldn’t DREAM of trying to cause any trouble.”
 
“Good, thank you. Next, remember, do not wander off alone, always have a buddy with you. It doesn’t matter who. If you get lost, I’d rather it be two of you, than just one.”  

Pure Vanilla looked to each of them again for another check to see if they were paying attention. A quick nod from everyone at the table got him to continue his lecture. 

Normally, Shadow Milk would try speaking up, maybe telling a joke, but he was ready for the conversation to be over and the only way through it was not saying anything at all. It was a shame though; he did love to yap. 

“Okay, before we leave, we need to pack light. Everyone gets one bag, we’re only going to be staying for a couple days.” Pure Vanilla explained. “We need to start after we finish this conversation. With all of that said, does anyone have any questions? Please, make it quick, we have a lot to do.” 

“Can we shop?”  Candy Apple raised her hand. “I’ve heard they have a marketplace, and I wanna get stuff, my room is SOOO BORING compared to the spire.” 

“While there’s no reason for the bad manners, I agree with her.” Black Sapphire gave her a stink eye before nodding along. “This place is… with all due respect… tacky.” 

Shadow Milk beamed with pride. He said the same thing and was glad his minions had a similar thought. Pure Vanilla noticed the look and one of the corners of his mouth tried not to point up. “Yes, we can get some things. Although, we might not be able to get much.” 

Candy Apple groaned and mumbled a quick, “Better than nothin’ I guess...” Under her breath. 

“Anything else?” Pure Vanilla did one final once over at the group, all remained seated and silent. It was good this whole discussion was wrapping up; Shadow Milk’s attention was beginning to wane. “Perfect, let's get going then.”

-

“Ya know, we really should’ve done this earlier.” Shadow Milk was sitting on Pure Vailla's bed with one leg over the other, leaning back and watching the ancient’s stress with much amusement. “Maybe NOT the night before?” 

“Really?” Pure Vanilla deadpanned, placing things in his bag. “Thank you for your expertise.” 

“Annnnytime. I know you need it~” 

Pure Vanilla ignored the jester’s insult and ran into his bathroom to grab his few final things for the trip. They had given Candy Apple and Black Sapphire their own bags and sent them away. 

Shadow Milk wasn’t even sure they had anything besides some pajamas Pure Vanilla had given them to sleep in, but he wasn’t going to stop it. After all, they did need a bag if they were going to shop. 

“And you’re sure you have everything packed?” Pure Vanilla called from his bathroom. Shadow Milk could hear drawers opening and closing, things gently clattering around inside.

“Considering I don’t have a lot, yes. You worry too much, ‘nilly.” He teased, laying down on the soft bed sheets with a huff. He had left his bag by Pure Vanilla's bedroom door. The whole reason he was here was because he needed to drop off the bag and wanted to bother Pure Vanilla a bit. 

Pure Vanilla popped his head out the bathroom door and squinted at him, not amused with the antics this time. “Really? Where’s your soul jam then? I can’t imagine you’d want to leave that behind. And you have something for the trip there? You’re going to get bored, we have to fly by airship, it’s going to be a few hours, even if you do fall back asleep.” 

Shadow Milk pursed his lips and got up; he hadn’t accounted for that. “I have to go check on Candy Apple and Black Sapphire, I’ll be right back.” 

“Uh huh.” Pure Vanilla shook his head and went back to his packing. Before Shadow Milk had left the room he shouted for the trickster again. “Wait, bluebird!”

Shadow Milk poked his head back into the doorframe, the bluebird nickname was new but not entirely unwelcome. Better than being called strawberry all the time. “Yesss?” 

Pure Vanilla pointed at Shadow Milk’s bag. “You forgot that.” He smiled; fondness placed in his eyes. “Don’t take too long, we don’t want to go to bed too late.” 

“Of course, of course. I’ll be back before you know it.” Shadow Milk said, snatching his bag from the ground, and dashing out the room. 

The jester’s tiredness must’ve been getting to him. As he passed through the halls, he felt as if something was off. He passed a small table he could’ve sworn had a vase on it. No matter, it wasn’t his problem, Candy Apple or Black Sapphire must’ve broken it at some point and just not told anyone. The rascals. 

He arrived at his room with no further issues, and luckily for him, everything seemed to be accounted for there. He placed the bag on his bed and strolled to his bookshelf, ready to grab what he needed. First the soul jam. 

Shadow Milk inspected his soul jam. It was still shattered and dull as ever, nothing to write home about. Small wisps of blue appeared here and there but they were very faint. 

A small part of him did want to leave it here, it was of no use to him anymore, it’s not like he needed it. Another part wanted to throw it out the window because he let it get to that state. But it was still his soul jam. He slipped the cool metal brooch, shattered soul jam and all, into his pocket. 

Moving on, he grabbed a book he’d stolen from Pure Vanilla’s collection and his usual crochet supplies he’d been carrying around with him whenever he got bored. If he had to guess, he was close to finishing a blanket, Pure Vanilla did have a lot to attend to, and Shadow Milk had no plans of his own, so he had the time. 

Shoving all the items in the bag with not a moment to lose, he trotted right back out the door to return to Pure Vanilla. 

When he made his reappearance to the room, the healer didn’t look any more relaxed than before. He was sitting on his bed, waiting for Shadow Milk’s return, fidgeting with his hands and looking off into the distance with a thousand-yard stare.

“Hellooooo? Vanilly, wake upppp.” Shadow Milk said, after placing his bag next to Pure Vanillas by the door, again. He poked the healer in the shoulder before flopping down on the bed next to him. “Nilly, c’mon. Hellooooo? Anyone in there?” 

Pure Vanilla slightly flinched, realizing Shadow Milk’s presence next to him. “My apologies. Did you get everything? Your soul jam is in there?” Pure Vanilla ran his hand through his hair, causing Shadow Milk’s heart to spike for no particular reason. Now wasn’t the time for his heart to be doing any of that, he had bigger fish to fry . 

“Yes, yes. And my night clothing and blah, blah, blah.” Shadow Milk mocked, making his voice higher and squeaky. “Are there any other frivolous questions and/or requests you have? This is your last chance, I’m ready to HIT the HAY.” 

A beat of silence passed, Pure Vanilla obviously thinking, running through some mental checklist in his head. “Ah, I almost forgot!” He stood up suddenly, searching his nightstand for gardening shears. He grabbed Shadow Milk’s hand and led him through the halls. “We have to go get some flowers.” 

“Alright, ALRIGHT. Slow down there tiger. The flowers aren’t going anywhere.” Shadow Milk giggled, mostly letting himself get dragged along, amused with Pure Vanilla’s sudden burst in energy. Getting dragged would be so much easier if he could float again but alas, he annoyingly still couldn’t. “Why’d you even have those in there?” 

“One never knows when they might need them. Sometimes you need to garden in the middle of the night, it helps calm the mind.” 

Shadow Milk barked out a laugh. 

The pair entered into the moonlit gardens where Pure Vanilla ran to one of the flowerbeds, crouching at one filled with all sorts of pink flowers. Or at least Shadow Milk thought they were pink, he couldn’t exactly tell because of how dark it was, but Pure Vanilla seemed to know what he was doing. 

The healer began to, as gently as he could, snipping some of the flowers in the bed using the shears he brought along. He grabbed one of Shadow Milk’s hands and placed the flowers in it when it was disconnected from the ground. 

He did this a few more times, Shadow Milk holding the ones he was given not even half as gentle as his counterpart was cutting them. “Nothing wrong with a little flower collecting late at night but, would you like to share with the class why we’re doing this?”

“Hollyberry invited us over, the least we can do is bring her a little something as a thank you.” Pure Vanilla said adamantly, not faltering with his task of collecting flowers. 

“Ohhh~ If you say so.” Shadow Milk stayed planted where he was, taking the flowers when Pure Vanilla needed, but his focus wasn’t on that. He looked up at the stars that brightly twinkled above them. 

Somehow Shadow Milk lost track of what he was doing. He hadn’t looked at the night sky like this in what? Thousands of years? Not that he’d ever want to admit it, at the end of the day they were just silly little stars, but they were beautiful. He could sit here all night if he could. He needed to come out here more often. 

Shadow Milk finally managed to break his trance on the stars; he needed to ground himself again. He Became aware of his surroundings again, only to find Pure Vanilla was standing up next to him, silently watching the jester. “Ah! ‘Nilly, what are you doing? You CREEP!” Shadow Vanilla shoved Pure Vanilla away, not enough to hurt but to get the point across. He turned away from him, his face burning. How long was he staring? How did Shadow Milk not notice? 

“I was just enjoying the view, that’s all.” Pure Vanilla said, taking the flowers from Shadow Milk, who had a loose grip on them, so it wasn’t a difficult task. “This should be enough, we’ll replant more when we get back.” 

He made a move to leave the gardens before Shadow Milk grabbed his free arm. “Wait! The pink is great and all, but we need to add a blue one to the mix. That would make it FABULOUS, dontcha think?” 

Pure Vanilla’s eyes crinkled with fondness. “We can add a blue one, it’ll be a nice change of color against the pink. Do you mind if I choose which one?” 

“By allll means, go right ahead, ‘nills. Just needs to be blue~” 

“After this, we should go check on Candy Apple and Black Sapphire. They should be done by now anyways, it’s late and we need to get to bed.” Pure Vanilla said, panic clear on his strained face. He found the blue flower he was looking for, snipped it, and added it to their bundle.

Without saying another word, or getting a response from his other half, Pure Vanilla began his trek back to the castle, walking as fast as he could without running. Shadow Milk sighed and tried catching up to him. The man really needed to calm down. 

“Hey-” Shadow Mik called. When Pure Vanilla didn’t look back, Shadow Milk pulled the healer's arm toward him, causing Pure Vanilla to stumble and finally stop. He looked back at Shadow Milk, a distressed look on his face.

“Listen here, you need to breathe silly vanilly! It’s all going to be a-okay. I’ll check on them, you make sure you have everything you need to do, done.” Shadow Milk instructed. “Watching you is making ME stressed out, if I start growing grey hairs, I’m blaming YOU.”

Pure Vanilla softly chuckled. “Now we wouldn’t want that, would we? Thank you though, your help is appreciated.”

“Eh, it’s not a big deal. Besides they’re MY minions anyway, I should be in charge of them. It’ll give me a chance to boss someone around.” Shadow Milk shrugged. 

“Sure.” 

“You don’t know anything.” Shadow Milk huffed, he waved goodbye to Pure Vanilla. “Well, this has just been deeelightful, but I gotta go. See you later alligator~” 

Without waiting for a response, embarrassment pushed Shadow Milk out of the gardens, and into the castle to find his henchmen, fast. He could hear Pure Vanilla laugh behind him before he fled the garden, but he ignored it, face flushing. Thankfully, before he knew it, he was at their doors.

“Hey! Are you two ready yet? C’MONNN, we don’t have all night.” Shadow Milk loudly complained, knocking on each of their doors. Pure Vanilla had made the decision to put them next to each other but away from Shadow Milk, for the jester’s peace of mind. 

Candy Apple opened hers first, it was on the left. “Hello, Master Shadow Milk!! Didja need something? I’ll do ANYTHING you need!”

Black Sapphire’s head popped up above hers not even a second later, rolling his eyes. "How may we help you, my lord?" 

“If you would be so kind, and open your ears for me, I ASKED if you two are ready yet? It’s late and getting you two up before 10 is a hassle so pack it up.” Shadow Milk crossed his arms, whatever was taking them so long, he didn’t want to know.

“We’re almost done! I PROMISE!” Candy Apple replied. “Just a few more minutes.” 

“Mhm, we’re on the verge of finishing!” Black Sapphire added. 

“It’s your funeral when you stay up all night. You know, take as long as you want, I was just supposed to check on you.” Shadow Milk waved them off. “Pack or don’t pack, goodnight!” He turned his back on them. 

“Goodnight, master!” They both called out, before quickly shutting the door again.

Shadow Milk could hear the very faint laugh of Candy Apple as soon as the door was shut, the same laugh that was obnoxious and happened whenever she was scheming. What were they doing in there? Shadow Milk shook his head and walked off, whatever it was, it wasn’t his problem. 

He made his way back to Pure Vanilla’s room where, inside, the healer sat on his bed, already in his old man nightgown and looking two seconds away from passing out. “Are they ready yet?” He asked, yawning.

“No clue, they said they were almost done but who knows with those two. I’m going to sleep whether they’re packed or not.”

Pure Vanilla furrowed his brows before they settled back down to normal. “Well, alright. As long as they actually said they were almost done.” 

“Excuse-moi? I'll have you know they did say that. I have NEVER lied in my whole life.” 

“Uh huh.”

“See? You agree. Glad we’re on the same page~”

“Whether you're a liar or not aside, are you staying here to sleep or going back to your room?” Pure Vanilla questioned, placing himself under his covers. 

“Ehhh, I’ll just sleep here, it’s much easier that way. Besides, I’m counting on you to wake me up in the morning.” Shadow Milk said. “Couldja pass me a pillow and blanket though?” 

“Why? You can sleep next to me; I really don’t mind.” 

“The floor looks very comfortable.” Shadow Milk really didn’t want to sleep next to Pure Vanilla again, lest he ended up snuggling with him once more. But at the same time, he didn’t want to trudge all the way back to his room after running around the whole castle. 

“The tile floor?” Pure Vanilla clearly wasn’t convinced in the slightest.

“Mhm! It’s very comfy, you should try it out sometime.” There was a beat of silence. “Not tonight though.” Shadow Milk quickly recovered from the almost blunder. 

“No, bluebird. You can’t sleep on the floor.” Pure Vanilla frowned. “Get up, I’ll just sleep there instead. It’s okay, you can have the bed.” 

Shadow Milk raised a brow before shrugging. “Alright, if you’re insisting.” If he couldn’t convince him, might as well take the offer given to him. They switched spots, settling in swiftly. Shadow Milk felt only slightly guilty for making Pure Vanilla sleep on the floor, but he was too tired to really care. 

Due to the lateness of the night, they went to bed MUCH later than what Shadow Milk had gotten himself used to, there were no goodnights between the two. Just the sound of snores filling the air.

-

Morning came far too fast, and it was a nightmare for Shadow Milk to wake himself up. Pure Vanilla did manage to rouse him from sleep, before hurriedly running off to try and get the other two up. 

Shadow Milk dragged himself from the bed after what was probably too much time to linger and got ready for the day, slowly. He was constantly two seconds away from placing himself back on Pure Vanilla’s comfy bed and falling back asleep. Who needed a trip anyways? 

When Pure Vanilla came back, he brought along Candy Apple and Black Sapphire, who had in fact packed their bags. They sat with Shadow Milk on Pure Vanilla’s bed, as Pure Vanilla got ready himself. 

Shadow Milk sat in the middle of the two, both of them leaned their heads on Shadow Milk’s shoulder. All three of them kept falling in and out of sleep. Normally, he would shove them off, threaten them if they’d ever think of doing that again. Sure, they were close, but touch of any kind was off limits. 

But this time he let them stay. It was too early for him to really be bothered by it and besides, they were his henchmen and a good source of warmth since it always seemed like he was cold.

“We have to go.” Pure Vanilla whispered, taking Shadow Milk’s hands and crouching in front of him. The jester opened his eyes and shrugged the two pests off his shoulders and they both groaned. Once they had all their things, they had left the room. 

Silence remained between the group. The only sounds being the footsteps of the cookies and the shuffling of the bags. They got to the Vanilla Kingdom’s launchpad, where a large airship sat.

The airship was your normal airship, nothing Shadow Milk hadn’t seen before. He was too tired to really care what it looked like anyway; portals were his preferred method of transportation. A few benches were on the deck, Shadow Milk chose one to sit on, keeping his bag in his lap. 

After a few short minutes of exchanging pleasantries with the captain, Pure Vanilla sat next to Shadow Milk without a word. Shadow Milk felt the airship come to life and lift into the sky not much later, 

The first two hours were quiet, Black Sapphire and Candy Apple dozed in one corner of the airship, on the floor without a care. The two soul jam holders sat in the other, on a bench sitting next to the other, Shadow Milk asleep, Pure Vanilla knitting next to him.  

The next hour went by a little louder, the two henchmen both had chosen a book from Pure Vanilla’s library the night previously. They mostly stayed quietly reading but every so often one of them would pipe up and as per usual, it turned into bickering before dying down. 

In the same hour, Pure Vanilla passed each of them an apple and muffin to eat. 

“Are you even able to eat that?” Black Sapphire asked Candy Apple, he was half joking, half serious. “It’s an apple and you’re…” He sucked in a breath. “Well…” 

“No, you weirdo! It’s not a candy one, so it’s fine! Duhhh!” Candy Apple replied, chomping into her apple. 

“Of course, how could I be so stupid…” Black Sapphire deadpanned, muttering to himself, taking a moment to think before munching on his own food.

Even with the banter, Shadow Milk didn’t fail to notice the healer didn’t have anything for himself. He rolled his eyes, Pure Vanilla had no right to call him a handful, and while the healer didn’t cause trouble, he was just as tiring. 

Shadow Milk ate a bite of his muffin before loudly complaining. “UGH, this is disgusting! Who made these?” 

Pure Vanilla’s brows furrowed, and he frowned. “Ah, do you not like them? I don’t have any other options…” 

“UGHH, of course you don’t…” Shadow Milk paused for a moment. Pure Vanilla looked a little distressed, perfect. “Here you finish it.” Shadow Milk thrusted the muffin into Pure Vanilla’s hands. “I don’t want that absolutely REVOOOOLTING slop.” 

“Oh, I-” 

“There's no place to put it.” Shadow Milk doubled down. “We can’t throw it off the airship, I wouldn’t want a poor, innocent, unassuming cookie to have to deal with it instead. You’re the one who gave it to me so it’s only fair you’re responsible for it~”

“Shad-”

“No if, and, or buts, silly vanilly. If I had to eat it, you have to suffer with me.” 

Pure Vanilla huffed, knowing Shadow Milk wasn’t going to give up on this. “Fine.” He slowly ate and finished the muffin. Shadow Milk had to turn away, not wanting Pure Vanilla to see the wide grin that had overtaken his face. 

They were in the final hour of the trip when things started to take a turn. Candy Apple suddenly groaned from her spot on the floor. “How much longer? It feels like we’ve been here FOREVER.” Shadow Milk looked up from the crochet he had started, he was surprised she kept herself entertained for that long. 

Black Sapphire looked like he was two seconds away from throwing Candy Apple off the airship. “I thought you brought a book. Whatever happened to that?” 

“I finished it and now I don’t know what to do.” She groaned, laying back down on the deck dramatically. “I thought it was going to take longer to read, ughhh!” 

“Give me a moment.” Pure Vanilla stated, interrupting the two. He reached into his bag and pulled a small deck of cards out. He tossed them to Black Sapphire, who caught them with ease. “Now you two can play a game.”

Black Sapphire smirked. “You’re smarter than I give you credit for, thanks.” The radio host started shuffling the cards. “Would you like to be dealt in?” 

“Oh!” Pure Vanilla looked genuinely surprised before a gentle smile softened on his features. “I’d love to.” He moved off the bench to join the two on the floor. 

Black Sapphire nodded and turned his attention to Shadow Milk. “And you?”

“Count me in. But don’t come crying to me when I inevitably win~” 

Through the use of cheating, Shadow Milk did manage to win. Black Sapphire and Pure Vanilla were very obviously suspicious of him, but neither tried to call him out on it so that was a win for him. 

They played a few more games, ending with Shadow Milk being the winner with three wins under his belt, Candy Apple in a solid second place, Black Sapphire and Pure Vanilla behind them, both tied for last. 

“We should be close. If you look over the railing, and don’t fall over, I think you’ll be able to see the kingdom.” Pure Vanilla told them, placing the cards back into the box, cleaning up after the final game. 

Shadow Milk listened to what he said and looked over the nearest railing. Below sat a vast jungle and beyond it the shores of the ocean. There was a big city, vibrant pinks appearing more often than others. Canals lined the streets and in the not so far distance sat what was presumably the Hollyberry Palace, it was as pink as everything else, greenery surrounded it. 

“Woah! This is way different from your boring kingdom!” Candy Apple shouted from where her and Black Sapphire gazed over the railing. 

Shadow Milk laughed, far too loudly than what was necessary as Pure Vanilla shook his head. “It’s not too shabby…” Shadow Milk mumbled. 

Sooner rather than later, the airship landed in a secluded place with enough room for it to fit. “Follow me.” The captain cheerfully said, waiting till everyone was situated with their things to lead them down the plank that was placed for them to get off. 

As they walked through the street, Shadow Milk’s nerves felt jittery, there were far too many people here. All sorts of cookies were shopping, talking, dancing. Every so often a small set of cookies playing string instruments would show up, putting a soundtrack on for everyone living their lives day to day. 

Tables and shops were everywhere; there were many canals in the city too. Cookies were in boats, floating through them. Different puppet shows popped up here and there, Shadow Milk would HAVE to check one out before they left, it would be crazy for him not to see one. 

But despite all the fun, it was a little too loud for Shadow Milk, he never thought he’d miss the quiet of the Vanilla Kingdom, but here he was, somehow missing it. There were too many people he had to keep an eye on; he didn’t have his powers as a backup in case something happened. Knowing this, he subtly stayed close to Pure Vanilla as they walked through the streets.

The captain of the airship led them through the city, finally reaching the castle. Two guards posted outside the door, opened them, showing a large foyer where the cookie Shadow Milk assumed to be Hollyberry stood. Cookies going every which way filled the area, but only she stood stagnant. Upon noticing their arrival, Hollyberry's face broke out into a large grin.

“Holly!” Pure Vanilla said, the smile clear even in his voice. He ran up to her, placing his bag on the floor. 

“Pure Vanilla! My friend, it is amazing to see you! I’m very glad you accepted my invitation.” Hollyberry’s smile was as welcoming and friendly as the rest of her. She held out her arms and Pure Vanilla hugged her in return.

She picked him up easily and swung him around a bit for good measure. Black Sapphire and Candy Apple exchanged a quick look and moved to hide behind Shadow Milk. “Hey!” Shadow Milk whisper-shouted at them. “Why’d you throw ME under the bus? Get in front of me!” 

“You’re our leader, you're supposed to protect us.” Black Sapphire argued.

“Uh huh, comes with the responsibility.” Candy Apple agreed, neither of them letting up. 

“Yeah, I don’t think so!” Shadow Milk scoffed. “Last I checked, it was the other way around. You’re the henchman.” 

Shadow Milk must’ve been too loud, Hollyberry had finally set Pure Vanilla down and turned her attention to him. “Ah ha! And is this your little blue friend I’ve heard so much about?” Hollyberry boomed, she really was quite loud. “Well, any friend of his, is a friend of mine.”  

“LITTLE?!” Shadow Milk exclaimed and he could hear Pure Vanilla chuckle in the back. “How dare you, I’ll have you know-”

He couldn’t get much else out before getting caught into a big hug from the pink woman. Jeez, she really knew how to take a cookie’s breath away. Shadow Milk panicked and in an attempt to get her away, started pulling away and wiggling around in her grasp. It hadn’t been more than a few seconds but he was one second away from shouting. Thankfully, she noticed his discomfort and set him down. 

“Oh! You’re not a hugger, are ya?” Hollyberry laughed awkwardly. “I’m sorry. You’re Shadow Milk, right?” 

Shadow Milk glared at her. “What gave that away? Yes, I'm him. The one and only~” He hissed. Maybe this whole trip was a mistake, and they should all just go home now. Pure Vanilla gave him a concerned look. Shadow Milk turned away from him. Disgust rolled over him, he didn’t need Pure Vanilla’s pity either. 

“It’s alright, Hollyberry.” Pure Vanilla assured. “Thank you for inviting us. It’s wonderful to see you again.” 

“Of course! It’s always good seeing old friends. And meeting new ones!” She turned to Black Sapphire and Candy Apple. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Candy Apple!! Shadow Milk’s number one assistant.” She said, using both her hands to grab the hand Hollyberry outstretched with the intent to shake. She shook it up and down energetically, which caused Hollyberry to laugh.  

“Well, aren't you energetic? I’m glad to make your acquaintance.” 

Black Sapphire rolled his eyes at Candy Apple’s declaration. “Salutations. Black Sapphire, famed radio host and Shadow Milk’s favorite assistant. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” In contrast to Candy Apple’s energetic, sporadic, handshake, Black Sapphire’s was elegant and refined. 

Before Hollybery could even say anything, Candy Apple started yelling, causing a few heads to turn in their direction, in confusion. “That is SO NOT TRUE! I’m his favorite.” 

“I’d love to disagree.” 

“YOU’RE TH-”

“Candy Apple, Black Sapphire.” Pure Vanilla raised his voice, his eyebrows in a straight line along with his lips. He stared the pair down. “Settle down. Now.” 

Meanwhile, Shadow Milk had to stifle a giggle. He wouldn’t try so hard to hide it but he really did not want to play with fire while Pure Vanilla was still mad. Figures those two would start a fight this early on. It was almost like they had no shame, no decorum. But what they lacked in dignity they made up for in entertainment.

“Looks like you’ve got quite the eccentric group with you.” Hollyberry commented, she said it with no malice, instead with a gentle playfulness. 

Pure Vanilla chuckled, features finally returning to normal. “You could say that.”

“Now, if you’d follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms. We’re burning daylight!” Hollyberry said, then held out her arms. Shadow Milk took a step back from her, he was not hugging her again. “Hand over your bags! You’re the guests after all, what kind of host would I be if I made you hold them?” 

“No we couldn’t possibly-” Pure Vanilla started, furrowing his brows at the offer. 

Shadow Milk cut him off. Maybe Hollyberry wasn't so bad. “Well, if you’re insisting!” He gave his bag to Hollyberry with no issues. “C’mon ‘nilla. Don’t be RUDE, she’s just trying to help.” 

“Uh huh.” His two minions agreed in unison, handing Hollyberry their own bags. 

“Come on, gramps, accept the nice lady’s offer!” Candy Apple giggled to herself. 

Hollyberry’s face twisted with confusion. “Gramps?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Pure Vanilla said, but his eyes shone with fondness.

Hollyberry held out her hand to him and gave him a nod. A silent plea for Pure Vanilla to relent. The healer sighed, forking over his bag for her to carry. “Well, alright, gramps." She teased, holding everyone's bags. “Let’s go!” 

She gestured for everyone to follow her the best she could while holding everything and away they went, through the hallways. Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla walked side to side, the rest in the back. “How’ve you been?” Shadow Milk could hear Hollyberry ask ahead of him.

The jester looked around at the decor of the whole place while overhearing as much as he could. This place was a lot more crowded than Pure Vanilla’s castle. Cookies were all over the place, talking and discussing, servants tending to their duties, it was a lot different than what Shadow Milk had gotten himself used to. He didn’t care much for their presence; besides the fact it made eavesdropping much harder. 

“I’ve been doing well. Having a new friend to spend my time with has been enjoyable.” Pure Vanilla said, which caused Shadow Milk’s face to break out into an uncontrollable grin. There was some probable evidence that Pure Vanilla’s friendship wasn’t a total act. But honestly, who wouldn’t like spending time with Shadow Milk? 

“I’d believe so! Who wouldn’t appreciate that?” Hollyberry replied and a beat passed before she spoke again. “But you can be honest with me. You look tired. Have you been eating well?” 

Pure Vanilla nodded. “Yes, Shadow Milk and the others eat with me now.” 

“Hmm, alrighty. And you’re getting enough rest? You look exhausted, Vanilla. There are dark circles under your eyes.” 

“Oh.” Pure Vanilla turned away from her, fidgeting with the ends of his robes, discreetly, but Shadow Milk caught it. “I’ve been fine, you don’t need to worry about me.” Hollyberry only gave him a sad look in response. The two had ran out of time to talk, the group had arrived at their destination. 

“Well, here we are. These are your rooms! They’re side by side so it’s not hard to find each other in case you need something.” Hollyberry explained. “Vanilla and Shadow Milk will be on the left with the little one and Black Sapphire, was it?” A quick nod of confirmation from the said cookie was all she needed to continue. “They’ll be on the right. You’re welcome to go get situated in the rooms, I’ll be waiting out here for whenever you’re ready.” 

“Thank you, my friend.” Pure Vanilla smiled.

Hollyberry returned the smile and finally gave him back his bag, then began to hand out the others. “Of course.” 

Inside their room sat two canopy twin sized beds, each one on opposite sides of a wall. Each bed had a nightstand next to it with a lamp on it and a rug between the beds. To finish it off there was a small closet on the right side on the same wall the door was placed. To the left was an open door, leading to a washroom.
 
Shadow Milk threw his bag to the bed on the right and laid on it for a moment. A few seconds of him shutting his eyes couldn’t hurt. Across from him, Pure Vanilla did the same. He looked ready to fall asleep on the bed and never get up again but got up anyway. 

He quickly unpacked his bag, as if he’d done this a million times before, clearly, he was well seasoned in this area. He put his clothing in the closet, and his toiletries in the bathroom at the speed of light. Once he was finished, he went to the door, placing his hand on the knob. “Strawberry, she’s waiting for us.”

“Fine… But must you insist on using that humiliating nickname?” Shadow Milk complained, getting up from his spot. He thought he had shaken the nickname. 

“Yes, it’s one of the simple joys I get in life.” Pure Vanilla smirked. 

"Whatever..." 

Outside, Candy Apple and Black Sapphire were already done with packing and were in a lively conversation with Hollyberry. “There you two are!” Hollyberry announced, stopping the discussion. “Got everything settled?”

“Yes, the rooms are lovely.” Pure Vanilla praised. Shadow Milk stayed quiet, he would not be forgetting the audacity she had to hug him anytime soon. “It’ll be a treat getting to stay here for the next few days.” 

“Perfect! I'm glad they're to your liking.” She looked at Pure Vanilla up and down. His dark circles hadn’t faded, and he did look more rough for wear than usual. “Hey, I’ve got an idea.” She told the group. Then more a little quieter, to Pure Vanilla, “My friend, you look ready to pass out where you are standing, why don’t you stay here, and we’ll go out? Nothing too fun, we’ll want you there for that.” 

“I don’t know… what if things get out of hand?” Pure Vanilla looked nervously at Shadow Milk and the others. That look was RUDE, Shadow Milk had been on his best behavior lately, even after getting a hug! He wouldn’t try anything! 

Besides, it wasn’t like he could anyway, he was without his powers and the hug had proved Hollyberry to be strong enough to put a stop to him without breaking a sweat. The risk seemed greater than whatever small reward it would bring. 

“Do you doubt my skills, my friend?” Hollyberry frowned. “I can assure you I’m more than capable of handling things myself if things go astray. You need rest. Please let me handle this.” 

Candy Apple posed dramatically with two thumbs up and Black Sapphire stood next to her, nodding his head in agreement with Hollyberry’s proposal. 

Pure Vanilla’s focus was on Shadow Milk though. He grabbed the jester's hand and pulled him off to the side, asking for a quick moment to Hollyberry, who agreed whole-heartedly to the request. 

Pure Vanilla opened his mouth to say something, but Shadow Milk cut him off before he could even get a sound out. “Ya know, she’s right. You really SHOULD get some rest. How am I supposed to bother you during this trip if you pass out?” He folded his arms and shrugged. “For once in their lives, one of your friends might be right about something.”

The healer looked unamused and was very serious with Shadow Milk. “I’ll be fine with whatever happens, whether I need to rest or not. I just need to know if you’re okay going with her.” 

“We’ll aren’t you just the sweetest~” Shadow Milk cooed. “You trust me with her?” 

“Ah, I’m not worried about her, bluebird. But I know you were concerned about-” 

“I wasn’t concerned about anything. Don’t know where you got that idea from.” Shadow Milk scoffed, rolling his eyes at Pure Vanilla. Embarrassment heated his face, Pure Vanilla wasn’t supposed to figure out he was worried about anything. “I’m not some helpless, defenceless child, I'll be fine without you.” 

The healer sucked in a breath and slowly let it out. “I know you’ll be fine, but anyone would be nervous in a new place with people they don’t know. Especially you-” 

“You don't know what you're talking about. I’m doing great! In fact, I’ve never been better.” 

Pure Vanilla sighed. “If you say so.” He concluded, understanding he wasn’t going to get anywhere with the trickster. Without another word, they walked back to rest.

“Alright… I’ll stay.” Pure Vanilla finally agreed.

Hollyberry put her hands on Pure Vanilla’s shoulders. “Thank you. Get some rest, friend. You’re more than welcome in the kitchen or call any of the help to get something for you. Please find the time to get something to eat.” The energetic and joyful cookie had softened to a concerned one right before their eyes.

Pure Vanilla slowly nodded. “I’ll try. Don’t worry so much Holly.” 

“Bah, You’re my friend! It’s my job to worry.” She laughed, her excitable demeanor returning as if it had never left. She gave him one more big bear hug, which Pure Vanilla easily returned, laughing alongside her.

Shadow Milk felt a twinge of jealousy at the scene, but it was nothing as bad as when White Lily was with his other half. He grumpily looked to the side, not wanting to watch anymore. So far, while she wasn’t terrible, Hollyberry hadn’t made a strong impression on him besides being willing to take his bag. 

“Alright! Are you all ready to set out? We’ve all decided to go to the marketplace while you two were talking, I hope that’s okay?” Hollyberry asked, causing Shadow Milk to stop ignoring the scene in front of him. Pure Vanilla gave Shadow Milk a quick wave before returning to their shared room. 

“I don’t care; whatever floats your boats.” Shadow Milk shrugged. Now that Pure Vanilla was staying here, the chance of this little experience being fun had lowered drastically. Leaving was better than staying cooped up though, so might as well go along with it. He didn’t need Pure Vanilla. 

“YESS!” Candy Apple cheered, she seemed more excitable than ever. “WHOOO!” 

“Very well! Let’s get going. We’ll need to be back in time to have dinner with Pure Vanilla!” Hollyberry commanded. And with that, the group was off to explore the Hollyberry Kingdom, leaving Pure Vanilla behind to rest. 

Chapter Text

“Here’s the marketplace, just say the word and we’ll look at any stall that any of you desire!” Hollyberry announced, showing off her kingdom's market with a flourish of her hands. They’d arrived without issue, although Shadow Milk could feel himself begin to sweat. The kingdom’s climate was far too humid for his liking. 

Candy Apple and Black Sapphire gasped and turned their heads to each other. With a pair of matching mischievous grins, they started to run around on their own completely ignoring Hollyberry, and soon enough they were lost in the crowd of people. Shadow Milk couldn’t blame them, although he would try. They shouldn’t leave their leader out to dry like this. 

“Seems like we were a bit too boring for them!” Hollyberry laughed loudly, lightly hitting Shadow Milk’s shoulder as if they were the closest of friends.

Shadow Milk could always chase after them and leave her here alone. He didn’t exactly care but he DID care about what Pure Vanilla would think. If the healer found out he’d left Hollyberry all by her lonesome, that would most definitely upset him and would end up with Shadow Milk having to do dishes for another month. He definitely did not want that outcome to become a reality so staying with Hollyberry was part of the script. 

“Soooo,” Shadow Milk said, ignoring her comment completely and he looked around, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of wanting to follow the minions. “What’s the plan?” 

“I didn’t exactly have one, I more so planned on you guys going where you’d like.” Hollyberry admitted with an awkward chuckle. "Anything you want to do." 

Shadow Milk felt irritation crawling on his skin. It was hard to think, there were so many people around, he wasn’t used to it. Besides, wasn’t Hollyberry the host, wasn’t she supposed to figure all this out? “Hmm.” 

“...Hey, if you can’t decide, why don’t we get a treat for our friend? Since he couldn't be here with us.” Hollyberry suggested, concerned gaze directed at Shadow Milk as she noticed his silence. As soon as Shadow Milk looked at her, she looked away and around at every overcrowded stall. The jester rolled his eyes; he didn’t need her pity. 

Ignoring that, he followed Hollberry’s line of sight. Merchants had set up shop everywhere, their stalls in all sorts of shapes, styles and colors. Vendors shouted at the cookies walking past, trying to sell whatever it was they had to offer. It was a lot to look at and it wasn’t helping Shadow Milk feel any less overwhelmed. The place was too loud, that was for sure.  

It was VERY different from the Vanilla Kingdom. The most action that place saw, according to Pure Vanilla, was a cookie named Strawberry Crepe trying to start trouble with these things called Wafflebots? Whatever those were. That was just what his other half had told him. Shadow Milk never thought he’d miss that quiet until now, but it turned out the only loud he liked was the cheer or applause from an adoring crowd. 

He didn’t exactly want to search for a gift for Pure Vanilla, he’d much rather choose one for himself, but Shadow Milk was told to play nice, and that meant going along with the pink cookie’s whims. It’s not like he had any idea of what to do either. 

“Hmm, whatcha thinking?” Shadow Milk asked, raising a brow to her. Pure Vanilla never really stated what kind of treats he liked, if any. Shadow Milk knew he liked tea, flowers, and sheep too. But treats? That was out of Shadow Milk’s wheelhouse. 

“Hmmm.” Hollyberry looked around before pointing to a specific shop that stood among the many. It was overflowing with people, coming to and fro. From the little patches of what Shadow Milk could actually see of what was inside, it looked to be filled to the brim with candies and other delicacies. “How about some candy? Almost every cookie likes it, and it wouldn't go stale as we look around more once we’re done.” 

Shadow Milk shrugged, passing the idea around in his head. “Why not? It looks like it's the place to be if the amount of people is anything to go by, there must be SOMETHING good there.”

“Candy it is then! Onwards!” Hollyberry announced, leading the jester to their destination. 

As they walked, upon seeing Hollyberry, several cookies of the kingdom waved or greeted her. She was just as friendly back, quickly asking how they were before they went their separate ways. Shadow Milk felt annoyance bubble in his chest, they could be going much faster if she didn’t feel the need to talk to every cookie.

Shadow Milk went ahead; he saw the destination and no point in waiting for Hollyberry or her oh-so adoring crowd. She could catch up, so this didn't count as ditching. He pushed through the crowd and arrived without a scratch. Shadow Milk started his search, getting lucky with the shopkeeper being too distracted to give him a proper hello. 

Looking through the options, and with all the people filling the place making it somewhat difficult, Shadow Milk landed on chocolates as the most suitable answer to his and Hollyberry's conundrum. The healer was a guy named ‘Pure Vanilla’. Plain old chocolate would be the obvious choice to choose as the most basic, safest answer. Although… Pure Vanilla was anything but his name. Shadow Milk hesitated. 

What else was there? White chocolate? That could work. Licorice… eh. Shadow Milk searched through the items before scolding himself. He should NOT be putting this much work into a gift for someone else, much less Pure Vanilla. He was getting too comfortable with the man. 

He started looking in any random direction and upon spotting one that would be perfect, his face lit up with a devious smile as he grabbed it and looked for Hollyberry. He didn’t have any money of his own, so he needed her. Although, stealing was always an option.

“Ah, my new friend, it looks like you've gotten away from me!” Hollyberry boomed, showing up at the jester's side right on que. There went Shadow Milk’s stealing scheme. “Sorry I wasn’t able to help. What have you got there?” 

Shadow Milk held out the bag of candy he'd decided on. “Here, this one. He'd like these.” 

Hollyberry gave him an uncertain look. “Gummy worms?” She quickly flipped to a more cheerful persona as if nothing had happened, but Shadow Milk could still see the confused look in her eyes. “And what makes you think that?” 

“Well, he likes gardening, doesn’t he? That includes dirt and what is in dirt? Worms, of course!” Shadow Milk explained. He didn’t include the fact that he’d mainly just thought it’d be a little funny to give Pure Vanilla bug themed candy, even if it didn’t really have worms in it. “Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense to give our dear, dear, friend this?” 

Hollyberry finally gave an approving nod, all uncertainty erased. “Well alright then! You do raise quite the point. Gummy worms it is!”

“Thank you very much~ Happy to help.” Shadow Milk sang with a small giggle.

“I’d imagine Vanilla would like hearing about this. We could tell him how you picked them out when we get back!” Hollyberry said, nodding to herself as if she’d just had the best idea in the world. 

“NO!” Shadow Milk said, much too loudly it seemed, seeing as several heads turned their way. His cheerful mood had left as quick as it came. He glared at the cookies staring, causing them to turn away as if nothing happened in the first place. Some people really just needed to mind their own business. “I don’t need Pure Vanilla to be getting a big head about this whole friendship thing.” 

“Ah I see.” Hollyberry had a funny look on her face, like Shadow Milk had told her a joke somewhere in his words that he was unaware of. “Then we’ll say I dragged you here, and you were just here for moral support.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Shadow Milk huffed, rolling his eyes. Pure Vanilla and his friends were so weird. Why would anyone feel the need to tell another about that? 

He’d found himself wishing for Black Sapphire and Candy Apple to return. He craned his head to try looking over the heads in the marketplace, trying to find them. No luck. Shadow Milk frowned, this wouldn’t be an issue if he could still float, stupid shattered soul jam. 

“Would you like to pick something out as well?” Hollyberry questioned, gesturing to everything in the stall and getting Shadow Milk out of his thoughts. “Take your pick and consider it a gift to commemorate our new friendship!” 

Shadow Milk’s looked at Hollyberry who showed him nothing but what appeared to be a genuine and warm grin. Her eyes crinkled and twinkled even upon Shadow Milk’s frown and side eye. 

The jester didn't think of them as friends just yet, but he decided he wasn’t going to rain on her parade OR more importantly, pass up on a free gift. “Don’t mind if I do~ Thank you for this oh-so gracious gift.” Shadow Milk bowed, getting back into character and earning him a hearty laugh from the cookie next to him. Shadow Milk grinned, even if he didn’t consider them friends, she was certainly a lively audience. 

He turned and began to look through all the bright colorful candies in the stall again, tapping his foot as he thought. Every color of the rainbow had made its appearance somewhere on the shelves, though pinks and reds had taken the spotlight.

Ignoring those, warm colors were never his favorite, Shadow Milk focused on the blue ones. There were only two flavors found within the hues of blue. Blueberry, which was a given, and something called Blue Raspberry? Shadow Milk had never heard of it; it must’ve been created while he was sealed off from the rest of the world. He needed to try it. 

After some tough deliberation between gummy candy shaped like sharks and a mysterious bag of candy called moonberries, Shadow Milk chose the moonberries. They appeared to be small bite sized pieces of gelatin, with miniscule blue sugar-coated crystals covering its entirety. According to the label, they were blue raspberry flavored, perfect. 

“I’ve made my choice!” Shadow Milk announced, grabbing the bag from off the shelf it had been placed on, and holding them up for Hollyberry to see.

“Ooo! Moonberries!” Hollyberry exclaimed. “They’ve never been my favorite but I think you’ll enjoy them. You’re both blue after all.” 

The ancient had chosen one for herself. "You ready to leave now?" 

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Shadow Milk grinned. 

They joined the line to pay the seller and got their candy in a paper bag which Hollybery took before Shadow Milk could make a grab for it. After a small conversation Shadow Milk couldn’t care to listen to between Hollyberry and the shop owner, off they went. They walked out of the crowded shop, getting out of the way of everyone else trying to purchase something. The road outside of it wasn’t much better, it was full of cookies. 

“This way. We’ll decide what to do next over here.” Hollyberry commanded, loudly, to make sure Shadow Milk could hear over the bustling crowd. She led Shadow Milk over to a bench, somewhat away from the rest of everything. People where sparser over here, and Shadow Milk was a little grateful for it but he kept it to himself. Hollyberry sat down on the bench and patted the spot next to her after noticing Shadow Milk made no move to join by her side. “C’mon! I don’t bite.”

Shadow Milk narrowed his eyes at her but sat down, nonetheless. He was tired, so sitting would be nice, it wasn’t because she asked. The jester sat as far away from her as possible on the small bench, he did believe she was truthful when saying she didn’t bite, but he saw no reason they had to be any closer than necessary. 

“Here you go!" Hollyberry tossed him the bag of moonberries. "Why don’t you try them? We didn’t get them for nothing.” 

Without saying more to her, Shadow Milk began to open his bag of treats. There was no point in waiting or rejecting the idea, it’s not like he wanted to anyway, he wasn’t a cookie with much patience to begin with. 

He grabbed a candy and inspected it. There was the off chance someone had tried to poison it. Who knows, a seller might get a twisted sense of amusement from poisoning the cookies they got their pay from. Shadow Milk certainly would've not so long ago. 

“Everything alright?” Hollyberry gave him a quizzical look. “My kingdom only has the best of the best, promise!” 

“No, no! Everything is just swell~ But I WAS thinking… shouldn’t friends share?” Shadow Milk grinned holding out one of the candies for her in the palm of his hand. She could eat one first, to test the waters, find out if it’s really safe to eat. 

Hollyberry looked surprised before a smile took over in its place. “For me? How generous, thank you!” She accepted the gift readily, and without a second wasted popped the candy into her mouth. She looked away from Shadow Milk and started watching the cookies in the marketplace. 

After determining enough time had passed without the possibility of immediate poisoning, Shadow Milk followed suit and tossed one into his mouth. His eyes widened and he felt a smile creep on his face without his permission. Strawberries were NOTHING compared to this. 

He looked back down at the bag. If he had to, he was going to drag Pure Vanilla back here tomorrow and make him buy every bag that shop had to offer of these, so he could stock up for when they were back at the Vanilla kingdom. Maybe he could even convince Pure Vanilla to get the sharks too… 

Hollyberry chuckled at the beast’s reaction. “I take it you like them?” 

He wiped the smile off his face and shrugged. Shadow Milk didn’t even notice her attention was back on him. “They’re not bad, although I MUST give my compliments to the chef for a job well done~” 

“Ha ha! I’ll be sure to tell them.” 

Shadow Milk couldn’t tell if she was serious, she was a talkative cookie so it made sense she might actually do that. "You do that." 

Shadow Milk continued to eat his candy, slightly swinging his legs while sitting, watching the commotion around him. A couple was outside a shop, having a heated argument. Near them, there was someone who appeared to be trying to steal from an older cookie. Shadow Milk watched intently, amusement clear on his face when the robber was successful.

Hollyberry ever so softly tapped Shadow Milk’s shoulder, the touch was so light he barely registered it happened. “Hmm?” Shadow Milk raised a brow, returning to his attention back to his place on the bench next to Hollyberry. 

The ancient hero held out the bag of Candies she had bought for herself. “Would you like to try some? Take as many as you’d like.” She had chosen a bag of bite-sized pink gummy candies that had a white strip at the bottom. “They’re called strawberry puffs. They ought to make more flavors, but the strawberry is still good.” 

Shadow Milk looked between her welcoming face and the open bag, before cautiously reaching in and grabbing a small handful. He put them in his own bag of candy but left one out to try. 
 
Without a second to waste, he ate it, no time like the present. It was fluffy, sweet, and did live up to the strawberry flavor. It wasn’t bad, it just paled in comparison to the moonberries. “Hmmm.” Shadow Milk hummed. “Not bad, not bad…” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow Milk spotted a vendor whose wares were all sorts of flowers and had an idea pop into his head. Hmm maybe… Hollyberry did seem to want only the best for Pure Vanilla, flowers HAD to be included in that. Pure Vanilla liked them, he had a whole garden for crying out loud, and it would be a nice surprise to go along with the candy. 

Shadow Milk nudged Hollyberry’s elbow, which successfully got her attention. “What’s going on?” She asked. 

“I have an idea, if you’re willing to hear a clown out?” Shadow Milk put on an innocent look for Hollyberry to further convince her to listen to what he had to offer. It’s not like he had any money and could go get them himself, she needed to be onboard with this plan through any means necessary. 

“Yes?” 

The jester pointed to the flower stand. “I was thinking… Pure Vanilla likes flowers, right? They would be a nice surprise along with our other gifts and he’s been just oh-so stressed. What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t do everything in our power to cheer him up?” 

“He does like his flowers, doesn’t he?” Hollyberry nodded while thinking. She stood up, waving for Shadow Milk to join her. “I don’t see why we couldn’t. Good idea, Shadow Milk!” 

“Thank you~ it wasn't hard tough. All my ideas are good.” 

Hollyberry softly laughed next to him, shaking her head.

. . . 

“Welcome, welcome!” The vendor announced as the pair walked into the stall, she gave a friendly albeit overly enthusiastic wave.  “Well I haven’t seen you before, it’s always nice to see new customers. Isthere anything I could help you with?”

“It’s good to see you, Tulip Cookie! I hope you’ve been doing well. We’re just looking for some flowers for our friend.” Hollyberry explained to her, Tulip cookie nodded along listening intently with each word the pink haired cookie spoke. 

Unlike Hollyberry, Shadow Milk faded the seller’s voice out and started to scan the many boxes of greenery surrounding them in the stall. There were flowers everywhere, this task was going to be rather difficult. He looked around, trying to find a flower that was screaming Pure Vanilla’s name. Shadow Milk got slight Deja vu, didn't he just do this at the candy shop? He shook his head at himself. It didn't matter, now was time to find some suitable flowers.

Daisies, no. Roses, no, again. They were too icky and romantic. Lilies? Absolutely, positively not. Shadow Milk gave the lilies a glare just in spite then quickly returned to his task before he finally found it. The perfect flowers.

There, right there, Phloxes. These flowers looked to be right up Pure Vanilla’s alley. And from what Shadow Milk could recall, Pure Vanilla’s garden didn’t have any of these. Perfect! Shadow Milk grabbed a few of various colors. He gave them a sniff, and a soft scent of Vanilla filled his nose. Somehow there was a level above perfect, and Shadow Milk had just found it with these flowers. 

Maybe one more kind would do, to get some variety. Taking another once over at everything the shop had to offer, he landed on some yellow daffodils. Grabbing a few to add to what he had gotten; he made a little bouquet with them. 

“Oh! Would you look at that?” Hollyberry praised, taking notice of what Shadow Milk had chosen. She was still prattling on with the shopkeeper. As per usual, Shadow Milk had to take things into his own hands. Luckily for Hollyberry, Shadow Milk was used to it from his minions and wouldn’t be too grumpy about it. “Didn’t even need the shop owner, did you?” 

“Nope! I know MY other half better than anyone, wouldn’t ya say?” Shadow Milk said, proudly displaying the flowers off. What he had chosen was better than anything anyone else could’ve come up with. He should get a standing ovation for this really. 

“Hmm. I guess you’re right about that, huh?” Hollyberry agreed, turning her attention to Tulip Cookie. “How much?” 

Shadow Milk buzzed with a small bit of excitement. He didn’t want to toot his own horn but who was he kidding? He’d chosen the perfect flowers, and loathe as he was to admit it, couldn't wait to give them to Pure Vanilla.

Finally looking up from his masterpiece, Shadow Milk spotted an odd shop in the close distance. While it looked like the others and was near the full marketplace it was still a bit out of place and further away from the rest of the stalls. There were fewer customers in it, maybe one or two who left quickly. How curious. Shadow Milk wanted to see what was going on.

He took a glance at Hollyberry, who had paid for the flowers in full, but STILL hadn’t stopped talking to Tulip Cookie. Without saying a word to Hollyberry, he fought the crowds, holding the flowers protectively to his chest, and went to the mysterious and unknown shop. 

On the shelves in the shop, there were a bunch of miscellaneous items, seemingly of no value. But some of them looked familiar… Was that the book he brought?! 

Sure, there were more than one of those books in the world. Shadow Milk didn’t doubt that, he wasn’t stupid. But this particular one had the cover damaged in the exact same spot as the one he’d brought. And right next to it, was that the missing vase from the vanilla castle he saw just the night before? 

He looked up to find the owner. At the counter sat two cookies, one in hues of Purple and Black, the other in green and white. They looked less than enthused at Shadow Milk’s presence in the shop and were doing a terrible job of hiding it. There was no doubt in the beast’s mind, the stand was being run by none other than Candy Apple and Black Sapphire Cookie. Tsk, tsk. He taught them better than the acting skills they were currently displaying. 

“My oh my, now what do we have here?” Shadow Milk muttered, walking up to the counter where the two of them stood.

“Hello sir!” Black Sapphire gave a friendly wave, fixing his displeased look. “Welcome to our humble establishment. What can we do for you?” 

“Oh, not much, not much at all. I’m just wondering where you happened to find ALLLLL these intriguing items?” Shadow Milk blinked innocently, gesturing to the things around them. 

“We’re orphans who have been travelling around all of Crispia. These are our recent findings from the Vanilla kingdom. We’re just trying to make an honest living to reach our next stop.” The disguised Black Sapphire explained. “It’s been so hard without our parents.” 

Candy Apple sniffled next to him, placing her head in her hands. Black Sapphire patted her back, “There, there. It’ll be okay.” 

Shadow Milk rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. You can cut the act now. Show’s over.” He said, leaning on the counter, still being cautious of the flowers. “You’ve got a good cover story but it’s not fooling me.” 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about, good sir.” Black Sapphire frowned, holding his hands in front of him. “You must have confused us with someone else. 

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Shadow Milk was growing tired of this game. It was undoubtedly funny, but he wanted his things back. Why they had to be difficult about the whole thing was beyond him. Who did they think they were fooling? Shadow Milk wasn't the average cookie. 

“Sir, what did we do to you?” Candy Apple sniffled again, and tears filled her eyes.

The jester rolled his eyes. “I’m taking back my stuff.” Shadow Milk started to pick up the few things they had so unjustly stolen from him. “And, If you split the profits with me, MAYBE I won’t think about telling Pure Vanilla. I recall him saying ‘no troublemaking’, right? I think this counts~” Shadow Milk sang his words and grinned. He held out his hand so they could shake on it. “Deal?” 

“We’re ending this broadcast! Yes, it's us. Congratulations, you’ve caught us, no need to tell the old fool. We’ve already planned on giving you 5%, you’re our master after all.” Black Sapphire quickly said, trying to stop Shadow Milk.

Shadow Milk tapped his finger on his chin. “ONLY 5%? Seems a little low for being the mastermind of every one of our operations, not to mention being the Master of all deceit. That HAS to count for something. Besides, what did our dear old ‘Nilly tell us? No troublemaking. Maybe we should listen to him.” 

“You’d SNITCH on us like that?” Candy Apple gasped, Shadow Milk had never seen her look so horrified. He stifled a giggle that was rising in his throat. 

Behind her, Black Sapphire didn’t look as shocked, more disgusted than anything. “And when did you become such a stickler for rules?” 

Candy Apple whined, being much louder than she probably should’ve been. “Tricking people is so much more fun!! And we get money from it!” 

“Who knows? Maybe the power of friendship really HAS changed me for the better~” Shadow Milk shrugged. 

“I wouldn’t say for the better…” Candy Apple mumbled, pouting and looking at the ground. 

“Fine, we’ll have it your way.” Black Sapphire made a reach to grab and shake Shadow Milk’s hand. glaring. “You’ll get 10%.”

Shadow Milk moved his hand before they finalized the deal. He started to wag his finger at him instead. “No, no, no. Silly Sapphire, my silence costs MUCH more than that. 25%. Remember, beggars can’t be choosers.” 

Black Sapphire gaze darkened. “You wouldn’t dare. You’re bluffing.”

“Oh really? Would you like to test that?” Shadow Milk smirked. He turned around to find Hollyberry in the crowd. The flower shop wasn't too far away and she was tall, so it’s not like it was hard. The poor cookie looked confused and frantic, assumedly searching for Shadow Milk. He started to wave his arms around. “Hollyberryyyy~ Over here!” 

She spotted him and a relief overtook her face. She started to wave back, moving through the crowd, stopping to mutter out quick apologies to everyone she passed. 

“Fine, Fine! 25%!” Black Sapphire quickly said. “Shake on it. Hurry!” 

“See? Was it really that hard?” Shadow Milk gladly shook the radio host’s hand. “It was a PLEASURE doin’ business with you~” 

Either way, he wasn’t going to tell Pure Vanilla. They weren’t causing much harm as it was, just taking some money from people who were fool enough to buy their things. Shadow Milk was rather proud of them pulling off this scheme all on their own, he should’ve thought of it first. What Pure Vanilla didn’t know wasn’t going to kill him. 

Despite this, Shadow Milk might as well try getting something out of it. Undoubtedly, the money was nice, but the annoyance written on the radio host's face and the horror on Candy Apple’s was worth its weight in gold. Shadow Milk couldn’t place a price on it. 

“What have you managed to find here?” Hollyberry asked, appearing at Shadow Milk’s side, observing the mismatched items around the stall. “What is this? An antiques store? I didn’t know we had one of those around here.” 

“Oh no, no, NO. You’ve got it all wrong. These two poor and absolutely MISERABLE cookie’s parents have passed away. Now they’re trying to make enough to make it to the next kingdom using whatever they can find. It brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?” Shadow Milk explained, sniffling a little and wiping a fake tears away.  

While she didn’t cry, Hollyberry did frown and looked sympathetically to the disguised pair. “I’m sorry.” She said, “Losing a loved one is always tough. I hope this’ll help.” She reached into her coin purse and gave them a handful of the treasure found inside. “I don’t want to purchase anything, consider this a donation from the Hollyberry Kingdom to help you along your travels. Witches know I’ve had my fair share of them.” 

Behind her, Shadow Milk mouthed "You're Welcome~” with a smug smirk placed on his face. He subtly bowed to the pair. Both of them had ecstatic smiles on their faces. Hollyberry had given them way more coins than what was necessary. 

“Ahhh! HE HE HE!!!” Candy Apple shouted, using both hands to snatch the coins from Hollyberry’s outstretched hand. She shoved them in a jar behind the counter, giggling as she did it. 

“Excuse my dear sister’s poor etiquette.” Black Sapphire gave a quick stink eye to Candy Apple before taking Hollberry’s still outstretched hand gently. “Thank you so much. It’ll do wonders for our journeys. We’ll sing praises of the Hollyberry Kingdom along the way!” 

The ancient hero gave one of her signature boisterous laughs. “You don’t need to go that far, we’re just happy to help you out.”

“Still, it’s very much appreciated.” Black Sapphire said, somehow, he made his eyes teary. "It'll help us for quite some time." 

“I'm glad. I hope you have safe travels.” Hollyberry turned to Shadow Milk, releasing her hand from Black Sapphire's soft grip. “And you, are you ready?” 

“Almost…” Shadow Milk nodded to Black Sapphire. “You wouldn’t happen to have any bags, would ya?” 

“Right away, sir!” Black Sapphire reached behind the counter and pulled a brown paper bag, handing it over to the jester. Shadow Milk grabbed it from his hands with an impressed look. They really had thought of everything. 

“Ta-ta for now! Good luck with your stand~” Shadow Milk waved to them once he had all his things situated. His ‘new’ items were placed in the paper bag, and he held it with its flimsy handle, the flowers they’d bought cradled carefully in his other arm. 

“Thank you again!” Black Sapphire shouted back, both him and Candy Apple playing their parts very well and waving back as if their life depended on it. 

Hollyberry and Shadow Milk left the stall, Shadow Milk with a newfound spring in his step. The whole interaction was quite amusing to orchestrate, so far it was the best part of the day. 

“So, if you wouldn’t mind me asking, how’d you get all those things?” Hollyberry asked, pointing to the things in Shadow Milk’s hands. 

“Pure Vanilla gave us each some money at the beginning of the trip, so I bought these things.” Shadow Milk explained with a simple shrug. 

“Ah! That sounds like him.” Hollyberry nodded, smiling.

While Shadow Milk agreed, he had thought about Pure Vanilla far too much in the past hour than what was considered healthy. They needed a scene change, and fast! “What’s next on the docket?” Shadow Milk asked. He took a final glance at everything they had gotten; a grin placed on his lips.