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When Pure Vanilla’s eyes finally grew heavy, he no longer fought back. Sleep, something his body so desperately craved now, would come to him easily. Everything was as it should be, after all.
Shadow Milk slept beside him, having passed out much earlier. The slow rise and fall of his chest as he slumbered at last made Pure Vanilla smile. But what made his smile widen even more was what laid just by their bed in two small bassinets.
Their daughters. Brand new to the world. Dough still soft and warm from finally making their grand entrance just earlier that evening.
Neither Shadow Milk or himself had slept in over a day. Pain, sweat, screams, and so many tears… yet it ended with this very moment. Silence.
Well, outside of the soft sighs of two newborn cookies adjusting to the world around them.
Peach Cobbler Cookie and Blueberry Cobbler Cookie. He never knew the names of cookies came so easily, but the moment he and Shadow Milk saw them… they knew. The scent from their body, aside from the grosser ones, radiated their ingredients so profusely. Peach smelling faintly of peaches, vanilla, and warmed crumble. Her sister smelled almost the same, except with a strong scent of blueberries instead of peaches.
It came to their minds with hardly a second thought.
“Funny, one of them has one of my original ingredients.” Shadow Milk had mumbled to Pure Vanilla earlier, just moments before he’d fallen asleep. The tan cookie had raised an eyebrow at the comment. He… tended to forget that in his husband’s original body, it was claimed he smelled of blueberry milk. He recalled the scrolls he’d read of it, before they were even friends, in a desperate attempt to fully understand the cookie of unspoken loneliness.
Ironic, especially now.
Shadow Milk may have had a point in bringing it up, but he hardly elaborated. Instead, soft snores emitted from his lips, indicating that his rest had finally come.
Sleep. That’s what Pure Vanilla wanted. What he needed.
But what if one of the twins woke up and he didn’t hear? What if something happened and Shadow Milk needed him, but he slept too heavily to feel him attempting to shake him awake? What if-
No.
His hand travelled towards the staff kept right by his side of the bed. He stared into the clock, reading the time back.
12:34.
Pure Vanilla bit his lip. This was fine. He would be fine. Shadow Milk was checked over. The twins were okay. They were healthy, despite being early.
It was okay to breathe now. But for Pure Vanilla… breathing never came easy when it was this sort of thing.
Being a healer came with that. The need to care for everyone, even at the expense of himself. He was much more aware of it now, aware of how it made him think he needed to be second. That only when it was calm, could he then tend to his own needs.
He hadn’t even eaten today.
If Shadow Milk had realized, he would have scolded him, but with everything going on… just this one time, he would be fine without the nutrition. What Shadow Milk didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Tomorrow he would make sure he had a good breakfast. Shadow Milk as well. They both needed their strength if they were going to handle two newborns at once.
He turned onto his side, back facing away from his husband and their babies. He needed to sleep. His body… his body demanded it.
Sleep…
Sleep.
Sleep .
A warbled cry disturbed him.
Had Pure Vanilla fallen to slumber? It hardly felt like it, certainly not when his body shot up and he stared blearily into the darkness before him. Shadow Milk groaned beside him, curling sharply in on himself. He didn’t fully wake, not yet.
The second cry, much louder and much more protesting, joined. That was when Shadow Milk finally sat up.
The jester mumbled profanities to himself, many words Pure Vanilla had suggested they banned for the sake of the little ears that could hear. But for tonight… he figured he’d let it slide.
The cries did not soften. They wouldn’t without either of them soothing them. Shadow Milk had shifted first, twisting himself to stand up. Pure Vanilla, however, was faster, and quickly found himself on his feet.
“I’ll get them,” He placed his hand on Shadow Milk’s thigh, allowing him to sink back into the pillows with a disgruntled grumble.
As Pure Vanilla made his way across the room, the cool floor beneath his toes jolted him more awake. He approached the twins bassinets, staring down at their flailing forms, hardly visible with his blurred vision and the darkness.
Their choir was quickly identified. The one who started it, their elder daughter, Peach Cobbler. She lay whimpering in the soft yellow crib on his right, wailing in intervals while continuing to form O shapes with her mouth. Blueberry Cobbler, however, was simply loud beyond measure in the similarly shaded crib to the left. Pure Vanilla glanced over at her, her indigo skin darkened from her efforts.
One of these problems was far more identifiable than the other. Pure Vanilla reached down for Peach’s bassinet first, scooping her into his arms with a panicked yelp escaping her. It was like picking up a fresh bread roll with how warm and soft she felt in his arms. She squirmed, restless, searching. “You’re hungry, aren’t you, little one?”
She merely began her cries once again. Pure Vanilla cooed at her as he sat on the edge of the bed, just beside Shadow Milk’s still laying form.
“Go on, hand her over so at least one of them can stop.” Shadow Milk held his hands out, eyes narrowed darker than Pure Vanilla had ever seen. Exhaustion was overtaking him, what with the lack of sleep and body. Yet he persisted, still putting forth his all for their daughters.
“I was just admiring her,” he pouted, leaning to transfer over the bundle of peach and fuzz. Shadow Milk was precise in the way he took her, holding her to his chest after shifting aside his robe.
Pure Vanilla glanced back at Blueberry, who still protested for something. Something not quite tangible. Attention, maybe.
Luckily, Peach’s own cries had softened, now being replaced with a muffled suckling noise as she fed. A hum left Pure Vanilla’s lips as he leaned forward to pick up the still wailing infant.
“Now, what’s making you so blue, Blue?” Pure Vanilla chuckled, gently rocking Blueberry as she screamed. “Did your sister wake you up, hm?”
All he got out of her was a hiccup, cries breaking. She melted into his nightgown as he stood back up, crossing over to his own side of the bed. The still warm sheets awaited as he laid back in his spot, sat up now. Blueberry nuzzled against him as he sighed, glancing over at the forms of his husband and Blueberry’s nursing sister.
“Thought we’d get more shut eye, didn’t you?” Pure Vanilla placed his free hand on Shadow Milk’s shoulder. Shadow Milk shrugged, nudging the hand off.
“When did you go to sleep?” He asked. Pure Vanilla hummed, glancing over at the clock on his bedside table. His hand found his staff again.
12:37
Oh. He hadn’t fallen asleep at all. Or, not for long.
Pure Vanilla’s mouth opened, then closed. Words wouldn’t form. Shadow Milk, despite certain previous claims, had the tendency to notice Pure Vanilla’s unhealthy patterns far more often. One of the very first things in their friendship, it’d been Shadow Milk calling out Pure Vanilla’s poor sleep hygiene. It was one of the first times Pure Vanilla really started to realize that… Shadow Milk cared.
He didn’t mean to place more onto Shadow Milk. He was already stretched so thin as it was. So, instead, his eyes glanced down at Blueberry in his lap. She blinked lazily at him, her cries turned to soft mewls of disturbance. Not a single thought seemed to be inside her mind aside from the question of why in the world she was even awake.
Shadow Milk leaned over into Pure Vanilla’s shoulder. “You really should try and get some sleep.”
“I did try… they just had some bad timing, that’s all,” Pure Vanilla finally let go of his staff, allowing his vision to blur again. Shadow Milk grumbled, swatting his arm over at Pure Vanilla.
“Go to sleep…” The blue cookie muttered weakly, dragging his hand to caress Pure Vanilla’s cheek, “You can’t just… tip over… you’ll be useless…… you can’t leave me to take care of two babies alone………”
“I promise I’ll go to sleep once you’re all settled.”
“Once Blueberry is settled. I can handle Peach.” Shadow Milk firmly said, “It won’t be hard for me to fall back asleep… it’s too late to be awake, anyways. Not after the day we had.”
They shared a chuckle. Then fell back into a beat of silence. Shadow Milk’s head didn’t leave Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, only stayed. It was grounding.
“Did you ever see yourself being like this?” Shadow Milk asked him.
Pure Vanilla hummed. “What do you mean?”
“Like… sitting in bed with your newborn baby in your arms… and your former nemesis turned husband beside you with their twin.” The jester said. “Everyone always ranted about how natural you seemed for the role of a parent when I was pregnant. So why did it take this long? Why’d you decide now was time for a kid?”
Pure Vanilla considered the question. He was always fond of children, they were light and truth in its purest form. Back then, though… he never thought it would be right for him to bear a child into this world. It wasn’t like he had anyone to do it with. Of course, being him, he had a few suitors present themselves, but he never could make that sort of connection with another cookie. Not until Shadow Milk.
Shadow Milk, to his initial shock, had enjoyed the presence of kids. He’d explained to him how it never really changed, even when he… corrupted.
Though, it’d twisted his perception of enjoyment to something only he got a laugh out of. Their blind curiosity and malleable beliefs made them both the perfect targets of teachings, and for the basis of puppets. It’d been a sick form of entertainment. But he knew Shadow Milk. Shadow Milk had shifted far away from that.
Now he simply adored their innocence. As he’d explained it to Pure Vanilla, he could teach the children of Earthbread so much more about the world now than he ever could before. And they were the students for a reason, brains blank slates to be fed. It was more the essence of his original resolve as the Fount of Knowledge, but with the acknowledgment of reality. Something that made Shadow Milk feel… more complete.
But for Pure Vanilla, the reason he never considered having children of his own…
It was his immortality that always made him hesitate. He knew, emotionally, he could handle watching a cookie grow old. He’d already experienced it for centuries. But a child, his child? Having to grow old and watch him merely stay the same? He wasn’t sure how Hollyberry and Dark Cacao had managed to do it with their own children.
That guilt, of having someone look at him and be worried about leaving him. About the loneliness that came with immortality…
Shadow Milk made him reconsider it all. Shadow Milk was also immortal. No longer would he have to worry about such a reality, for he’d never be alone. Not with him by his side.
Pure Vanilla found his hand gently placed atop his daughter in his arms. “I guess there was just no you.”
“Me?” Shadow Milk said, “Wow, how lame.” He chuckled sourly, “What about me changed your mind?”
“Maybe it was your charming attitude, maybe your theatrics.” He teased, “But, in all sincerity, I suppose it was you being here. Life becomes fleeting when you live this long, and the idea of…” He trailed off, mouth still hanging open. He hesitated to speak further, instead taking in a deep breath. “You know what I’m referring to, I assume.” Shadow Milk reached out, grasping the hand atop Blueberry and rubbing his thumb across Pure Vanilla’s knuckles.
“I know it’ll be hard for you. For both of us,” Shadow Milk said, “But, I also know that we’re going to love them every second they’re here. It’s… it gets easier, with time, watching cookies go through the short cycle that’s a lifetime to them.”
“But have they ever been yours?” Pure Vanilla asked.
“No, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love some cookies like they were my family. You weren’t the first cookie I cared about, you know.” A faint pop emitted. Peach must’ve been done. Shadow Milk adjusted her over his shoulder, faintly tapping her back. “It is hard when you don’t have a constant, though. I like to think it’ll be easier having you here. Continuity. Someone that will always be by my side.”
In his arms, Pure Vanilla stared down again. Blueberry’s breaths had finally drawn a steady, calm rhythm. Nearly fast asleep.
Shadow Milk sighed, “She’ll need to be fed, too,” He moved his head off his husband's shoulder, “I’ll take her.”
“Don’t push yourself,” Pure Vanilla said.
“I’m not waking up again in twenty minutes when Blueberry suddenly realizes she hasn’t eaten in almost two hours.” The deadpan was laid down very thickly. Pure Vanilla understood immediately.
“Well then, how about we swap and I put Peach to sleep,” Pure Vanilla said. Shadow Milk shrugged, lifting up Peach to trade.
Pure Vanilla kept Blueberry adjusted in his lap while he took Peach, and then settled her down to trade off her sister. Blueberry soon enough was in Shadow Milk’s arms.
The blonde cookie took his peachy daughter up in his embrace, leaning down to kiss her forehead. She gurgled in response, clearly milk-drunk. “How can something so small… be so precious?”
Shadow Milk purred, nuzzling into his side for a mere moment. “By being related to you, you lump of sugar.”
Pure Vanilla blinked. “Yeah. I suppose maybe that’s a little true.”
It’s then he began to embrace the dark void of their room. The light above, a false enchanted sky twinkling stars and constellations he could hardly name in his haze. Antiseptics still twinged in his nostrils, followed by the smell of the clean linen they sat on. Their sheets had been replaced much earlier, after the old ones had been ruined by the birth.
The room felt… different. Warmer. Fuller. The air was no longer what he was used to, a new cacophony of tastes and sounds.
And all because of this. Because of them.
“Thank you.” Shadow Milk shuddered out. Pure Vanilla twisted, recognizing his body shaking. Oh. He was beginning to cry, it seemed.
“For what?” He replied. He considered reaching out, but he knew how Shadow Milk preferred to handle such strong emotions. If he wanted touch, he’d let him know.
“For all of this. For… for believing in me. For never giving up on me.” He sniffled, raising an arm to wipe his tears. He then took the arm and wrapped it around Pure Vanilla.
Pure Vanilla let out a satisfied hum, leaning into Shadow Milk. Things were quiet now, quiet in a more comfortable manner. Shadow Milk beside him, holding Blueberry as she rooted for food in an instinct she hardly understood. In his own arms, Peach, his daughter, who shared his same, dainty skin, even his eyes. She yawned, stretching out her limbs only to curl back up into the same protective ball she’d known all her existence thus far.
His eyes grew heavy, exhaustion finally beginning to win.
“Thank you… for being you.” He breathed in, then out, as the weight finally engulfed him. He matched Peach, now fast asleep in his arms. What he’d fought finally overcame him, not as foe, but as a welcome gift for a job well done.