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It had been a difficult day for Shadow Milk Cookie. He had tried to keep himself busy, but everything felt off. The quiet of the spire felt unsettling without Pure Vanilla around. His usual chaotic thoughts had simmered down into a deep, gnawing irritation that he couldn’t shake.
“Pure Vanilla…” Shadow Milk grumbled, sitting on the edge of their shared bed, glaring at the empty space beside him. He wasn’t used to the silence. “Why does he have to go to her domain for a whole week?”
He knew the answer, of course. Pure Vanilla had explained it to him multiple times, but it didn’t make him feel any better. The other ancients had called a meeting—one that required his presence—and Pure Vanilla, ever the dutiful leader, had to attend.
“It’s just a week, Shadow Milk. I’ll be back before you know it,” Pure Vanilla had said with a gentle smile, rubbing his shoulder. “You’ll be alright. I promise.”
But the reassurance did nothing to quell the knot tightening in Shadow Milk’s chest. The idea of being without him—without Pure Vanilla’s calming presence—felt like a weight pressing down on him. A week was too long. Too long to be apart, too long for him to sit idly by while Pure Vanilla was surrounded by the other ancients, people Shadow Milk wasn’t sure he trusted. Especially White Lily.
The thought of her made his chest tighten even more. She was calm, composed, everything Shadow Milk wasn’t, and she always seemed to get Pure Vanilla’s attention. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
As the day passed, Shadow Milk’s mood only grew darker. He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t sit in this empty room and wait for his beloved to return. He would do something about it. He had to.
The next morning, after another restless night, Shadow Milk stood in front of the mirror, hands on his hips as he stared at his reflection. His eyes narrowed.
“I’ll show him,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll go. I’ll be there. He won’t have to miss me if I’m right there with him~!!”
A wicked grin spread across his face as the idea formed in his mind. He knew how to do it—he could use his teleportation abilities to appear wherever he wanted. Sure, he had a tendency to misdirect his teleportations more often than not, but that was a risk he was willing to take.
“I’ll show up, uninvited,” he said to the empty room. “And then Pure Vanilla will see that he doesn’t need anyone else. He doesn’t need to go to that meeting without me.”
A few moments later, Shadow Milk closed his eyes, focusing his energy, his hands twitching as he began to concentrate on Pure Vanilla’s location. He pictured the domain in his mind, pictured the smooth stone walls, the tall columns, the way Pure Vanilla’s voice would echo softly through the grand hall. But his focus wavered slightly as he envisioned the calm expressions of the other ancients—the ones who might be too preoccupied with Pure Vanilla to notice him.
I’ll just pop right in and surprise him. He’ll be so happy to see me.
But the energy surrounding him was miscalculated. The moment his teleportation spell went off, he was sent hurtling through the air, disoriented, unable to stop himself. For a split second, he panicked as the familiar feeling of spinning and warping took over, his body twisting uncontrollably. And before he could even blink, he found himself plummeting.
Thud.
With a startled yelp, Shadow Milk landed ungracefully—directly onto Pure Vanilla’s lap.
The room fell silent.
Pure Vanilla’s eyes widened in complete surprise as he blinked down at the disheveled Shadow Milk in his lap, his hair wild, his face flushed from the sudden fall. His robes were slightly askew, and his breath was ragged from the shock.
“Shadow Milk?” Pure Vanilla’s voice was gentle, but there was a hint of confusion in his tone.
Shadow Milk blinked up at him, his hands instinctively clutching at Pure Vanilla’s robes to steady himself. He glanced around the room—only to see the other ancients staring at him with wide eyes. Dark Cacao, White Lily, Golden Cheese, and the others were all present, their gazes fixed on him, the meeting having paused in its tracks.
He could feel his cheeks burn as he realized the absurdity of his situation. But instead of retreating, he pouted and crossed his arms, trying to look as confident as possible in front of the ancients.
“Surprise,” he grumbled, shooting a quick glare at White Lily, who had raised an eyebrow in obvious disbelief.
“Shadow Milk… what are you doing here?” Pure Vanilla asked, though his tone was calm, almost like he was speaking to a child. His hands carefully moved to hold Shadow Milk’s shoulders, trying to steady him.
“I told you I was going to surprise you,” Shadow Milk said, his pout deepening. “I don’t like being left out, okay?”
“Not the best timing for surprises, though,” White Lily commented, the edge of her voice clipped with irritation. “We’re in the middle of an important meeting, Shadow Milk. I think you should leave.”
But Shadow Milk just shook his head stubbornly, his gaze flicking over to Pure Vanilla’s face. “No. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be with him. I want to be here.”
Pure Vanilla let out a soft sigh, his hands now resting on Shadow Milk’s trembling arms, trying to offer some comfort amidst the tension in the room. “Shadow Milk… you should have waited until the meeting was over. You’ve caused enough distraction already.”
At that moment, Shadow Milk finally looked around at the others. The ancients’ faces were a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and mild irritation—aside from golden cheese cookie, she was obviously waiting for a source of entertainment.—He could feel their eyes drilling into him, but he didn’t care. He only cared about one thing: the gentle warmth of Pure Vanilla’s hands on him.
“I don’t care about your meeting,” Shadow Milk muttered, looking up at Pure Vanilla with those big, round eyes. “You said you’d be back in a week. Well, I can’t wait that long.”
Pure Vanilla’s face softened, and he slowly nodded. “I understand. But you should have talked to me about it first. I don’t want you to be upset.”
Shadow Milk huffed, but the sharpness in his tone faded, replaced by something more vulnerable, more childish. “I missed you.”
The other ancients exchanged quiet glances, their irritation tempered by the raw honesty in Shadow Milk’s voice.
“You’re not making things easy, Shadow Milk,” Dark Cacao muttered, but there was no real anger in his voice—only a hint of amusement.
The tension in the room slowly began to dissipate as everyone turned their attention back to the two of them. Pure Vanilla offered a soft, knowing smile, though it was tinged with a touch of exasperation.
“I’m glad you missed me,” he said, lifting Shadow Milk gently off his lap and guiding him to sit beside him on the ground, away from the table. “But you’ll have to behave during the meeting. I’ll give you all the attention you want once it’s over.”
Shadow Milk grumbled, but he finally relented, leaning against Pure Vanilla’s side and crossing his arms like a sulking child. He wasn’t going anywhere, not if Pure Vanilla was right there.
And as the meeting resumed, Shadow Milk couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of contentment. Sure, he might have interrupted the meeting, and he definitely hadn’t been invited, but for the first time in days, he felt like he was where he truly belonged.
Right next to Pure Vanilla.
Uninvited. But never unloved.
he also enjoyed being able to throw glares at White Lily every-time she even looked at pure vanilla, it was funny seeing her hold back from just pouncing on him.