Work Text:
Mystic Flour stood at her other half’s side on the wall above the dock, trying to disguise her distaste as best she could.
The docks of the kingdom overwhelmed her. Cookies from all around Crispia mingling, bringing with them the scents of sweet perfumes and pungent fish, and filling the air with their loud, excitable chattering. Every few moments, a pair of curious eyes traveled to her, and even under her borrowed cloaks, shivers of disgust travelled up her spine.
“Your subjects are staring.”
At her side, Dark Cacao huffed, his breath curling into almost pearlescent smoke under the rare, weak autumn sunlight. He looked at peace out here, away from the stress of his station, and, were it not for the countless eyes below, the day might've even been pleasant.
“And?”
Her lip curled, and she took a step back from the balcony, carefully suppressing the urge to shove her other half over the wall and watch him crumble into a thousand million pieces on the carved tile-stones below.
“They’re staring at me.”
“I’m not surprised. Given your insistence on the color white, you stand out quite a bit.” He turned and glanced over, barely formed crows-feet crinkling the weathered dough of his face.
“Why have you brought it up?”
“No reason.”
“No reason?” Dark Cacao’s hand turned upwards- a silent invitation that she soundly refuted- jabbing his hand with her fan until it faced down once again.
“None.” Another glance from one of the mortals below, and her stomach twisted.
“I…” She swallowed, took a breath, and forced the words through gritted teeth, tugging her cloak to cover her further in a futile attempt to dissuade the gawking. “It bothers me. The staring. It’s as though they want to take from me as their ancestors did.”
Dark Cacao took his time to process the words, then took a final, deep breath of the harbor air, then turned to face her.
“Do you want to go back to the castle?”
“You wanted to be here.”
“I asked what you wanted.”
She froze, biting her lip and fixing him with her nastiest glare. “But you-”
“Mystic Flour Cookie.” He sounded almost chiding, and the urge to shove him over the railing once again reared its ugly head. “For once, can you please just tell me what you want?” He sighed and shook his head, crown dipping down with the motion to press heavy on his brow. “I can’t read your mind, nor would I want to do such a thing. So if you want to go home, then tell me. ”
She paused, crossing her arms over her chest. “I…want… to go home.”
He smiled at that- a small thing that nonetheless sent a pinch of fury racing through her chest. How dare he act as though he was addressing a fresh-baked cookie, how dare he act as though asking her to be so selfish was a normal thing-
“That’s all you had to say.” He began to walk back to the castle, and she froze, casting a final glance towards the busy docks below. He had been so eager to see the docks earlier, almost herding her down to the wall with the promise of seeing the sights, and now he was simply going to sacrifice all that joy for her sake? Infuriating.
“You are being selfish for me.”
“I believe the word is ‘considerate’"