Work Text:
“Soooooo… what is it?”
“Look with your eyes! What the hell do you think it is?!”
Fire Spirit looked at the giant tree in front of him and rolled his eyes. No shit Sherlock it was a tree. But the frivolous bows and hanging papers off the branches clearly gave way to a more important idea.
Wasn’t his fault he was new to the Kingdom.
“A tree.”
“Bravo! You do have eyes! However! It is something more!”
“…well?”
“This! Is the Tree of Wishes! Wishes go in, dreams come out.”
Fire Spirit blinked at Stormbringer.
“Why didn’t you lead with that?”
“I like ragebaiting you, if you couldn’t tell.”
“No- I could tell. Anyways. Continue.”
“You see, this tree has the power to grant your greatest dreams! Your deepest desires!”
“…Really?”
“No. Of course not. Basically you hang a wish up with the paper, fold it up with your name and such, and it’s up to the ruler of the Kingdom to grant or deny your wish. I always wish for the sparkleberry jam here, expensive, however not too greedy I guess for the ruler here.”
“Ah, I see. I see it’s only for materials we want or need, right?”
“Yes! As long as you can compensate for your wishes, they will be granted. Watch!”
Stormbringer grabs into her pocket and pulls out wishing paper, asking for an omelette and a jellybean latte, putting a fair price on it as well. She folds the paper up and puts her name on it, flying up to a branch before hanging it up with one of the cords hanging down.
Flying back down, the two watch as a group of birds comes and unfolds the paper, reading it, and setting off before quickly coming back with what Stormbringer wishes for, wrapping it up in a present, and flying it down with the original wish attached to it.
She opens the present and begins to eat her lunch.
“See? Really simple! And it doesn’t even cost all that much!” She tosses a few coins up to the birds who take it back to the tree.
“I see… so… I can wish for anything… right?”
“I mean, don’t quote me like that, but it does have to be reasonable. Can’t really order like… 55 lambies, 55 rings, 55 matcha lattes, 55 jelly bear crowns, 55 rubyberry brooches, 55 jelly steak dinners, 55 fully castellas, 55-“
“Okay okay. I’m not ordering all of that. Hmmmm… what are the rules about sending stuff to other cookies?”
“Other cookies? Really? That’s what you’re concerned about? I mean, you could just write their name instead of yours and prepay for the service I guess. Why?”
Fire Spirit shrugs and looks at the tree.
“I can have a few of those wishing papers, right?”
“Sure. I have a bunch of them anyway. You can get them from the carpentry store if you run out.” She pulls out a bunch of them before messily depositing them in Fire Spirit’s hands. “Don’t spend them all in one place!”
“Heh, whatever, they are my wishes now anyways!”
—
Meanwhile, Wind Archer and Frost Queen overlook the clearing of a rather unruly forest.
“…Must they cut down the trees…”
“Sacrifices must be made for progress to take place. You know that. Besides, I’ve been waiting for a new Jampie Diner to be built ever since this Kingdom has gotten so busy.”
“I guess the ruler will be replanting more trees and flowers around the Kingdom anyways. But must it been so… cruel?”
They watch as the sugar gnomes hack away at the bark and roots with saws and axes. It almost makes him shudder.
The two of them hear a tweet and look above, the bird drops down and places the gift box in front of Wind Archer, who stares at it confused.
“I thought you didn’t make wishes.” Frost Queen remarked.
“…I don’t…”
He opens the box to find a lovely bouquet of candy flowers, along with a jellybear plushie and matcha latte.
Frost Queen searches for the wishing paper the box comes with and reads it.
“It has your name on it, however, no price. Must’ve been paid for upfront.”
Wind Archer looks at the gifts, however, he has no idea who could’ve sent them.
“Who would do… this?”
“Someone who likes you, obviously. I have one name in mind.”
“Who?”
“… you do not know? Hm. Maybe you should pay attention to your surroundings, the answer may be right in front of you.”
Wind Archer looks at the sugar gnomes working.
“No! Not literally! Just… observe who you interact with. Or perhaps the gift itself will show you who it came from.”
Wind Archer looks at the gifts, especially the matcha latte. There weren’t a lot of people that knew he liked the drink, however, it was still not enough to draw conclusions.
“Hm. Perhaps I should.” He holds the bear close as the bird takes away the box.
“What do you think of this?”
“It’s… charming, at the very least.” He sounds genuine in his reply, Frost Queen notes. She could hardly hear the way he seemed to soften at the mention of the gifts.
He likes them, he likes them a lot.
She only wondered how long it would take him to realize who his secret admirer was.
—
Weeks went past, and it seemed like almost everyday Wind Archer received a gift he had no recollection of wishing for, with it already being paid.
And the surprising part about this charming act was that Wind Archer kept everything that was sent to him. He savored the matcha, he put the flowers in vases, the stuffed animals were cute enough that there was a pile of them in his living area. However… he would have to plan to move them or at the very least give them to animals.
Even with his attention raised at the mystery of the identity of who was sending these gifts, he never had a suspicion of who it was.
So either Fire Spirit was really good at keeping up with the act or Wind Archer was insanely dense.
We all know what the truth and the lie is here.
He had no suspicion of how Fire Spirit asked him about the flowers that appeared in his arms or the gifts that would find his way. Or the way he seemed to genuinely smile at how Wind Archer admired his gifts.
Soon the gifts were sent with notes, varying from affirmations to compliments. Wind Archer was rarely complimented, so seeing the devotion to the gifts did put a red hue on his face. He kept those notes too.
In his mind, he wondered how he would thank whoever was sending these. The thought of it being a very specific cookie in his mind instantly made him blush, just to shake it off and scoff that that was impossible for how much of a stubborn, idiotic, and lazy cookie he was.
He shooks off the fact it could or could not be this cookie, and simply enjoyed being pampered with gifts. He could almost feel the jealousy radiating off of passerby couples and singles.
It was a feeling he didn’t often indulge in, being arrogant and in love, but it was a freeing yet humiliating feeling.
He could only wait until this secret identity came to light.
—
“So you wanna tell me why Wind Archer Cookie has around 55 candy bouquets in vases at his candy house?”
Fire Spirit feels the sweat evaporate off his neck as he feels Stormbringer stare at him from behind, caught in the act of writing yet another wish.
“Nope. And I doubt it’s 55.”
“Wrong. I counted. Anyways, I respect the hustle. Don’t know whether to applaud your act or Wind Archer Cookie’s density.”
“Yeah I have no idea why he doesn’t know it’s me yet. It’s a miracle.”
“Unfortunately this miracle will keep on giving until the end of times. It’s time to fess up.”
“What?! I can’t just ‘fess up’, how am I going to explain this? He doesn’t even… really like me that much…”
“He doesn’t really like anyone that much. Except for the gifts you send him. You saw it for yourself! He loves them! He loves you!”
“He won’t love them if he knows I send them.”
“Nuh uh. He likesssss youuuuu. And I’m surprised you don’t see it. Getting all red in the face at the thought of those gifts! Bleh! You want to know what Frost Queen Cookie told me the other day?”
“…what?”
“So- don’t tell her I told you this, or tell Wind Archer Cookie I told you this, but, he secretly hopes that you are sending them.”
“What?! Really?!” He beams, quite literally as his flames stoke.
“See? He likes you! You almost got me singing; Fire Spirit Cookie and Wind Archer Cookie sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!”
“SHHHHH!!!! No one else knows that I send them-“
“Oh really. HEY PAVLOVA COOKIE! DID YOU KNOW THAT FIRE SPIRIT COOKIE IS SENDING WIND ARCHER COOKIE LOVE GIFTS?”
Fire Spirit was close to extinguishing as Stormbringer yelled for all the other cookies around the Tree to hear.
“Of course! Everyone knows!” He replies, as well as other cookies around the tree nodding their heads and agreeing. “Of course, everyone except Wind Archer Cookie, that is!” The cookies agree to that too.
Stormbringer looks to Fire Spirit, having proved her point.
“Fine! I guess it’s time to reveal my identity.”
“Finally! So, how are you going to do it? Hm? What are you going to say?”
“I… have an idea for what I’m going to do.”
He gets out another wish paper and starts to write.
—
You, the player, look at the daily wishing gifts. 18/20, all but one wish remains. The other three wishes are on cooldown, and you just spent the last of your time skips.
2x prize count from Fire Spirit Cookie. Great! As long as he doesn’t ask for something unreasonable it’s-
What?
You look at the item, and realize it’s not an item at all. It’s the icon for Wind Archer Cookie.
You have him, but does this mean you are giving him up? You start to reconsider-- 5 MILLION COINS? AW HELL YEAH!
You claim the rewards and cash in that sweet chest and coins, going straight to the Coin Market by the sea just to spend it all on 55 pinecone birdies.
Because those are true stonks.
—
Wind Archer was walking along down the path, on his way to get something to eat, before he felt a tug as his scarf.
It was a bird, struggling to pull him on a different course. Confused, Wind Archer holds out his hand to offer rest to the bird.
“What are you doing?”
The bird looks at his unwavering compliance and tweets loudly as to call for help.
This time, a flock of wishing birds fly in and miraculously lift Wind Archer off the ground. The bird in his hand preens into its wing as it pulls out the wishing paper from underneath.
Wind Archer unfolds the paper to find Fire Spirit’s name plastered on the wish as well as his ridiculous request and price just to have Wind Archer ubered over to him.
Then he connected the dots. How could he have been so blind?
He felt his face burn up, hoping the turbulence from the air was enough to cool him down.
—
Fire Spirit paced around anxiously from side to side in front of the nice secluded greenery and picnic that was just built in the Kingdom.
Wind Archer would like this, right? He likes the forest and the greenery, hopefully he’s hungry for a meal like this! What if he already knows? What if he’s only been accepting the gifts out of pity? What if-
He takes a breath and shakes the doubt out of his flames. He can do this. He’s going to tell Wind Archer how he feels.
In addition, he’s not even sure that the ruler would grant his wish. He had seen how many wishes had fallen to the grass floor. Too many for comfort. He had used all his money for this too. He only had enough money now for a small jellybean burger.
He had also used his money for another candy bouquet, one last one, delivered in person this time, to show him how he felt.
ARG! This was all so corny and cringe! He wouldn’t even be surprised if Wind Archer rejected him! Oh, he would just throw himself into the sea and-
“Fire Spirit Cookie!”
Hm? Where did that come from?
Not from the left or the right, from, above?
He looks up at the spectacle, Wind Archer being flown in by a bunch of birds, suspending him in the sky. Fire Spirit swears his heart skips a beat at the sight.
Then the birds are gone. And Wind Archer falls.
Wait.
HE’S FALLING?!
Fire Spirit panics as he puts his arms out and catches Wind Archer in a bridal style carry.
His face burns bright red at the contact and how Wind Archer’s face is also red, blinking his annoyingly beautiful eyes.
From above, the wishing paper falls and lands right on Wind Archer’s stomach.
“You were the one sending me all those gifts, everyday, weren’t you?”
The innocent question has Fire Spirit worrying over nothing, as he nods with an embarrassing red face as the sweat evaporates off of him.
Wind Archer had been wondering how he’d thank the cookie who was sending him gifts. He had wondered how he’d thank the cookie if it happened to be Fire Spirit Cookie.
Now he had his answer.
He leaned in and pressed his lips on the side of Fire Spirit’s cheek, his hand also caressing the other side of his face as it pulled his face in.
Fire Spirit could swear smoke and steam shot out of his ears as his flames roared as Wind Archer kissed him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner that it was you. Thought you had the decency to show yourself sooner rather than later.”
“I-… I-…” Fire Spirit stuttered as he tried to compose himself.
“And thank you for all the gifts you’ve sent me. I’ve cherished every single one of them. I hope you don’t stop sending them… even now.”
He notices how Fire Spirit struggled to function, looking around, spotting the picnic and flowers. How sweet.
His hand guided his face again, this time he placed a kiss on Fire Spirit’s lips, gauging how he would react.
With the firm press of the lips, finally this seemed to fix Fire Spirit, feeling how his hands relaxed around where he was holding him.
“I love you, and I’m sorry for being an idiot.”
Wind Archer sported a small smile on his face, approvingly.
“Sometimes… your idiocy is charming.”
Fire Spirit smiled stupidly at the answer, carrying Wind Archer over to the picnic blanket, to where they would dine and stare up into the clouds, watching the birds flutter by. Some deliver gifts to other cookies.
And some would continue to deliver Wind Archer gifts he had no recollection of wishing for. Only this time, Fire Spirit would receive a gift back.
Each more cherished than the last.