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“I’m under strict order of not letting anyone enter Shadow Milk’s chambers.” The high pitched voice resonated, immediately aggravating his already present headache.
”I need to see him, I have questions. This can’t wait any longer.” A quiet voice he knew oh so well replied.
”No, wait-“
If it hadn’t been for the conversation, Shadow Milk never would’ve heard the quiet door open, nor the light tap of footsteps on the floor getting near him. The overwhelming pain he felt was taking over all of his senses.
He grunted and thighted the duvet on top of his head. Candy Apple needed to learn how to be more active with threats.
Out of anyone, the blue cookie really did not feel like dealing with him right now.
As much as it pained him, he reached so one of his hands was outside the comforting warmth of his cover, and with the twist of a finger, without even looking, sent the unwanted visitor back outside the room, the door closing behind. But regrets hit immediately as he didn’t even have enough strength to lock the door magically after his maneuver, a quiet whine of pain escaping him.
Fuck. By the Witches, why did this have to happen?
Of course, the intruder was quite persistent, as proven time and time again already. He did not waste any second before entering again, this time his soft steps a bit heavier, clearly in an attempt to sound more threatening.
“Go. Away.” Shadow Milk grunted from under the pile of blankets.
”No I’m certainly not. You’ve been avoiding me for the past few days, right after leaving me with this… Truth. I deserve explanations, I deserve to know how, why.”
”You’re really bad at figuring things out by yourself aren’t you?” The poor version of his usual sing-along voice ended with a groan that sounded oddly similar to a whimper. He kept talking, hoping it would cover his display of weakness.
“Use your fucking brain and do shits alone for once.” Shadow Milk snapped, too tired to keep pretending he cared about his funny playful image he worked so hard to maintain. Right now, he needed to be left alone.
Suddenly, the sheets above him were pulled, as cold air surrounded him.
“What the FUCK?!”
He lifted his head to look at Pure Vanilla, or should he say Truthless Recluse, furious.
The other cookie looked at him with knitted brows, ready to go on a rant about his annoyance, but stopped before a single sound escaped his mouth, words suddenly forgotten at the sight in front of him.
Truthless Recluse didn’t really know what he expected, but it was not… This.
Shadow Milk seemed so… Small. His usually intricate and sophisticated outfit was swapped for an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxers. But what caught his eyes the most was the sheets under him.
A Stain of red was around the level of his hips.
The intruder didn’t have much more time to stare, as Shadow Milk apparently regained some energy from the disturbance, but it was enough for understanding to take place on his traits. The blue cookie warped the room with shadows, puppet strings appearing around the other’s limbs.
A dark, corrupted voice came from the cookie of deceit, only strict severity in his expression. “You weren’t supposed to see this, you brat. Now get the fuck out before I turn you into crumbs.”
The strings started to pull the blond cookie toward the exit, grunts of pain coming from Shadow Milk signifying that his new found magic was already running low, until Truthless Recluse managed to voice a “W- wait! I can help!”
The invisible force pulling him forward paused, and anger seethed through the cookie’s next words. “Are you making fun of me you-“
”No, no no no! I-I promise. Shadow Milk. Trust me, I understand.”
”Nonsense! Get. Out.” But the strings loosened, the bedridden cookie folding himself again in a fetal position, clearly in pain.
The former Pure Vanilla pushed his luck, and delicately pulled at the strings keeping him prisoner, untangling himself one bond at a time, then took a step back towards the bed. Shadow Milk truly wasn’t in a good state, folded in half, short pained breaths escaping him. Those cramps looked bad.
He took another step forward, then another, testing the other’s tolerance. But the blue cookie was in pain, it was obvious, to the point that he was completely forgotten already. So he risked sitting in the bed next to Shadow Milk, pulling back the sheets he had pulled away from him.
”Why are you still here?” The Beast growled, but did not make a single move to push him away.
“I’ll help.”
”You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Truthless Recluse sighed, and started working without adding another word. It was obvious Shadow Milk was not believing him, anyway.
With a twist of his own magic, perfect for this type of situation, he manifested a hot fabric bag filled with dried jellies, and a cup full of what seemed to be herbal tea. He was thankful that even without his Soul Jam’s power, he still had enough healing magic to help.
“Drink this, and put this on your lower belly.”
”No.”
”By the Witches, Shadow Milk. Listen to me.”
Effortlessly, Truthless Recluse took the other inside his arms, pulling him in a seated position, pillows behind his back to hold him in place. The blue cookie didn’t even try to fight, only mumbling insults. Then the heating bag was pressed against his lower belly, and a cup was held on his lips. He drank it without a word.
It was… Weird, seeing the other like this. It felt odd, so out of character. The energetic, loud, extroverted cookie was now so quiet and small, it was like the shadow of his normal self. Yet, Truthless Recluse knew what it felt like, so he did not question the change.
The two sat in silence, Shadow Milk dozing on and off, or letting grunts of pain escape him, and the blond cookie stayed next to him, sometimes caressing his shoulders during the moments that felt the more painful for the other, until about half an hour later.
“How?” The Beast cookie asked with a small voice.
”Mh?”
”How did you know? How… To help, I mean. White Lily?”
Truthless Recluse snorted at that, as if it was a joke. “No, no. I… Erm. Look.”
He pulled his own shirt upward, revealing some tightly wrapped bandages around his chest.
“I don’t usually bind that way,” He said softly. “With my robe, it was loose enough that I didn’t need to. But with his outfit…”
Shadow Milk stared at him, then the bandages, and finally softly said “How did I not know this?”
At this, the other replied with a simple raise of the shoulders, a way to tell he had no idea.
“You can trust me, you know? You might be unreliable, but I’m not. Or at least… I try not to be. For as far as I know… I want to be reliable. Even if you try so hard to make me something else.”
The blue cookie looked away, a flash of… Something in his eyes. He stayed quiet, but answered by slowly getting closer to the other. Regardless of the stained sheets, Truthless Recluse moved close enough to wrap his arms around the small and surprisingly cold body, and Shadow Milk let him. As much as the pain was more bearable, it was still too overwhelming for him to step back. So he stayed unmoving, and maybe leaned in a little. If the vanilla cookie noticed, he stayed silent about it.
Even with the pain, Shadow Milk still managed to wrap a thin thread of magic around the other’s head, so small you could only see it if you looked for it. Just to safely make sure his precious puppet would not remember the interaction after the night.
The cookie of Deceit had secrets, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way.