Chapter Text
The days in the Vanilla Kingdom by far too quickly too quickly once his friends arrived. Between shared laughter, quiet conversation and reminiscing over memories dusted with time they focused on reclaiming what had been lost–hours spent together over clinking bottles of sweet berry juice and familiar smiles that felt like home.
Not that Pure Vanilla indulged much himself. His glass was rarely more than half-full; he’d never cared much for drinking the way the others did. Still, he enjoyed simply being there, listening, watching, letting their presence settle warmly around him.
Yet even surrounded by them, his thoughts often drifted elsewhere. He would find himself staring into nothing, caught in a soft reverie, missing a very specific embrace. He longed for the way those cerulean and golden eyes once looked at him—as if he were the most precious thing in the world. And though he tried not to dewell on it, he couldn’t help yearning for the memory of those lips, the gentle closeness, and the unmistakable scent of blue berries that lingered like bittersweet promise.
It wasn't normal to miss his boyfriend that much, yet there he was.
The only times he saw Blueberry Milk was during meals or when there was other people around them, which only resulted on them holding hands under the table or even sharing some fast hugs before being separated and, everytime he arrived in their shared bedroom after staying up until late in the night just reviewing and signing some paperwork or responding to some correspondence, he would always find the virtue curled below the covers and hugging his pillow, — a sign that he clearly missed Pure Vanilla as much as he did.
On that note, he decided he needed better time management now forward, knowing he couldn't spend all his time with friends and neglecting his relationship like that. One could say that the best way to resolve it was to make Blueberry Milk hang out with the ancients, however the virtue had denied his offer multiple times with the pretext of wanting to spend his time researching and expanding his knowledge, if that was even possible.
Mayhaps that was true, but the healer felt there was something more, especially after noticing how jealous Blueberry Milk could be. But then, who was Pure Vanilla to judge? Just the idea of the tables turning and seeing someone having romantic feelings for his boyfriend made his skin crawl.
The healer couldn't stop himself from biting his own nails while his eyes were on top of the cookie who was invading his thoughts during the whole day, watching how he was curled on a chair by the balcony door with a book resting on his lap. The way the golden sunrays glowed his presence and made his starry hair strands look even more sparkling needed to be studied, it always reminded him of the first time they saw each other, how the golden hue of the sun illuminated the Fount of Knowledge whole figure like a God that deserved to be worshipped and had left Pure Vanilla speechless.
Nonetheless, he had changed a lot in a good way, it was easy to tell how more light he felt by the way of acting and his posture, to not mentioning how his features didn't scream how tired he was and the deep black circles that were always marked under his eyes were completely gone. It was a great improvement to see how healthy he had become throughout their time together, like he was finally healing slowly.
"Are you going to just stand there and stare?"
His thoughts were broken by the sound of the virtue's voice, echoing around the chambers like it was coated with the sweetest sugar and making the healer's heart escape. Those mismatched eyes stared at him like a midnight sky filled with stars, a small grin curved on his lips before he got up from the chair, just to walk in direction of where Pure Vanilla was standing.
Pure Vanilla lingered where he stood, an absent smile resting on his lips as his hazy gaze stayed fixed ahead. The soft glow of the sun escaping through the sheer curtains reflected faintly in his eyes, as if he'd forgotten the world around him entirely.
"My apologies, my bluebird." he said softly, filled with love. "I was simply... admiring the scenery."
Blueberry Milk scoffed, turning away just enough for the purplish tint dusting his cheeks to be obvious, — it could've been easily interpreted as annoyance or irritation, but was obviously far from it. It was the way fond words always unraveled him, the way affection always found its way past his careful composure, Pure vanilla had learned to recognize it with ease, and he cherished it more than he'd ever admit aloud.
After a brief pause, Blueberry Milk stepped closer with hands settling on his hips as if gathering courage. "I didn't expect you to still be here, I thought you'd disappear again before lunch time."
The healer's smile faded when those words hit him, replaced by something gentler yet heavier after noticing that each one hold a thread of pain for the lack of quality time due to his own inaccessibility in the past week, being busy between work and trying to make sure his friends feel welcomed, not wanting to leave them feeling left out or ignored, — which only ended up with his boyfriend being the one feeling abandoned.
"I know," Pure Vanilla murmured as he reached out to hold the mage's hands, feeling the familiar warmth and magic beneath his touch. "I haven't been around as much as I should've been."
Blueberry Milk squeezed his hands, eyes softening, the tension easing from his shoulders as a small smile followed, quiet and hopeful.
"You've been busy caring for everyone. I understand that." The virtue moved their hands closer to his face, kissing the back of the healer's hands. "But I won't deny that I'd like some of that care today."
That was all it took. Pure Vanilla laughed quietly, relief blooming in his chest as he lifted one hand to cup the other's face and press a brief, sweet kiss on his lips, lingering just enough to promise more soon.
"Then today is yours..." he promised, his eyes closed in crescent moons when his smile grew even bigger. "A proper date."
His hand reached out to hold Blueberry Milk's, intertwining their fingers before walking out of the bedroom and taking the very familiar trail down to the Castle's entrance. The silence was quite comforting for once, his heart beating steadily against his chest cage when thinking this would be their first date without any disguises, just by themselves.
Perfect for the moment they were slowly walking towards.
As they finally stood beneath the pastel sky, the healer couldn't help shifting his gaze to the flowers surrounding the entrance as petals drifted on the breeze, Pure Vanilla felt the moment settle into something precious, especially having Blueberry Milk beside him, really there and, for once, there was nowhere else he needed to be.
His thoughts drifted, unbidden, towards the future ahead them. He imagined holding Blueberry Milk's hands, not to apologize for anything, not in stolen moments between duties, but in certainty. A promise made without rushing, without fear of being pulled away by responsibility, he wanted a day where the virtue would never have to wonder if he was forgotten, where the warmth he offered other's would finally rest where it belonged.
He pictured a ring shaped into something that reminded them of each other, infused with gentle light and something simple, something honest. A proposal not born from obligation, but devotion, from choosing again and again the cookie who stood beside him now. Pure Vanilla felt his heart swell with quiet resolve, he wasn't ready to say those words just yet, but they were dancing on the tip of his tongue nonetheless, carrying them carefully, like something sacred and waiting for the perfect moment.
Soon. He promised to himself as his free hand reached secretly to the velvety box hidden on his robes pockets, where Blueberry Milk would have not a single hint of its existences.
They had a whole day together for him to choose where.
The first stop was a rather lavish restaurant located in the Kingdom's Town Square, Pure Vanilla could see through his staff how Blueberry Milk raised one of his dual colored eyebrows as soon as he entered the place, probably overthinking on why they were there as his gaze inspected the whole place. The last time they went out to eat in such elegant place was on their first date, due to both preferring to pick some takeout and eat in somewhere quieter, like the time they did a picnic in a landscape or the various times where they picked some pastries to share back home.
"I wasn't expecting you to take me out to a restaurant out of all places..." The virtue commented, clearly trying to process what was happening. His eyes widened in what seemed realization before moving to Pure Vanilla's direction. "Wait! Is our anniversary today?!? No, that was months ago... Is there any important celebration that it's escaping my old man's memory?"
The healer shook his head between laughs, finding it adorable how worried he looked with the possibility of missing an important date. "No, just every day is important when I'm with you and deserves to be celebrated, darling."
Blueberry Milk raised both eyebrows, obviously caught off guard by those words. "You're being such a sap today, more than normal."
"Perhaps, I just want to show my boyfriend how much I appreciate him being beside me." the healer moved to be in front of the other before leaning in to leave a soft kiss in the middle of his forehead, not caring if they were in public and people would probably see their demonstrations of affection. "Can I ask you to please pick a table for us while I will place our orders, my love?"
The blue cookie looked directly at him for a few moments before nodding his head in response, his cheeks still covered by that soft purplish blush as he finally turned to walk around the tables and trying to decide which one would be ideal for them. Pure Vanilla took a deep breath while taking his path to the counter, catching the attention of a brown haired woman with doe green eyes, she was wearing pink and green clothing that caught perfectly the chic earthy vibe of the whole restaurant.
Filled with excitement yet maintaining her polite tone, the woman finally spoke. The healer noticed she was wearing a name tag, Pistachio Truffle. "Good afternoon, our Majesty. How may I help you?"
The healer quickly looked at the menu before ordering the food, knowing exactly what were Blueberry Milk's preferences when it came to meals. The waiter rapidly wrote it in a notepad with precision, the smile in her face not faltering even once before setting the pen on top of the counter and asking him about desserts, that ended up with her saying a lot of names out of loud.
Pure Vanilla tapped his chin softly before an idea popped on his mind. Maybe this would be the best idea to execute his plan. "Do you perhaps do custom cakes?"
"Of course, our Majesty!" The woman answer while her hand picked the pen again, ready to write. "For something very detailed, it has to be ordered a day before but, if it's something simple like writing a phrase, it takes less."
"I would like to order a mini cake with a simple phrase written then, if it's possible." The healer spoke as his voice suddenly dropped, turning into a simple murmur. "and I have to request for it to stay as a secret, I beg."
"Your Majesty can count on me. What happens here, stays here!" She spoke while writing in the notepad. "May I ask what's the phrase you would like in the cake?"
The ancient breathe in slowly as the anticipation started invading his senses, his hands were all sweaty while he gripped his own robes. "It would be a simple... “Will you marry me?” in blue icing, please."
The woman almost dropped the pen in surprise as her green eyes moved up to look at the blonde, she rapidly clear her throat before going back into writing the order. "Your order will be ready in a few. We will take it to your table, so don't you worry!"
Pure Vanilla responded with a simple smile and head bow before turning around and walking around the restaurant, opting for looking around the place to see the different decorations and noticing how dim the light was, only having some fairy lights illuminating the place and a few wall candles emitting a golden hue midst mahogany wood floors and walls.
His vision ended up falling on top of Blueberry Milk, who had picked a table distant from restant crowd, probably in hopes that would give the couple a more peaceful meal instead of intriguing any cookies present. The healer couldn't stop mesmerizing the other's beauty, from the soft blue cheeks filled with a constellation of freckles to the little frown in his face, highlighting his dimples in complete concentration, his long starry-sky hair waved behind his back flawlessly as some strands were hold behind his pointy ears that twitched in alert at the minimum sounds.
For the Virtue of all Knowledge, he surely looked he was baked to be the holder of all beauty instead.
The ancient finally sat in the chair in front of Blueberry Milk, drawing his attention and watching how those dreamy eyes focused solely on him. "Oh my! Why is such handsome man sitting beside me?"
That lured a laugh out of Pure Vanilla, who decided to fall into the playfulness of the moment. "Just wondering if the most attractive Cookie I ever saw in my whole life is single."
"Oh, you're talking about lil old me?" Blueberry Milk answered in a gasp, pretending to be surprise by such blatant flirting. His voice turned into a purr as he reached to hold the ancient's hand. "I always can make an exception for such cutie like you."
Both ended up bursting out laughing, probably grabbing some unsolicited attention in the meantine but it wasn't something the once king minded, his focus was all on top of the smile drawn on Blueberry Milk, being able to see all his teeth glistening into the faint light and how he was glowing with utter happiness. That always made Pure Vanilla's heart warm, not wishing for nothing else than always seeing that special spark in him.
It was inevitable how he always ended up forgetting about their surroundings when looking at the love of his life, it was like they automatically entered a bubble just for them and not caring about what could happen if people found out about their relationship, part of him wanted everyone to find out. His reverie was again crashed down when a weather appeared to place their respective foods in front of them, the smell of the meal hit his nostrils enough to almost make him drool.
His attention shifted to the food in front of him, trying to hide the nerves of what was going to happen next as his hands started to get sweaty all over again, despite knowing that the answer from the other cookie would never be a no, the anticipation to finally put a ring on his finger was turning his emotions into a huge turmoil.
To finally call Blueberry Milk his fiancé, for them to finally be engaged.
"Here's your desserts, sir! Enjoy!"
The voice of the waitress brought him back to reality, his eyes darted in their direction, completely expecting, his heartbeat increasing as the anticipation only got worse, just to—
... Wait, that wasn't what he ordered.
"Strawberry Jampies?" Blueberry Milk commented completely oblivious, an eyebrow raised in a silent question, probably expecting something tart instead of sweet. Cerulean and gold eyes moved up to gaze at the blonde in front of him, just to be filled with concern instead of confusion. "... Baby, is everything okay?"
Pure Vanilla's mind was racing, how was that possible? He clearly ordered a cake with the question written in it with blue icing. His face was ghostly pale when he turned to look at the virtue, not knowing how his words had been mistranslated. "Yes, darling. I just need to—"
His words were interrupted by a scream nearby, both cookies rapidly turned their attention to a table a few meters from them and watching a woman jumping of what seemed happiness while the man's face was covered with complete panic, both set of eyes were set on a small cake on top of the table.
"Yes, my love! Of course I want to marry you!"
The man shook his head while his hands gripped on the woman's dress, clearly trying to make her stop driving all attention on them. "Vanilla Cannoli, please sit down, there must've been a mistake, I—"
The whole restaurant arrupted in cheers as Vanilla Cannoli pulled the man up from his chair, forcing him into engage with the attention before stealing a kiss from him. It would've been a cute moment if Pure Vanilla wasn't so sure that their desserts got switched somehow, especially after seeing how the other cookie looked more agitated than proud of proposing to his girlfriend.
Blueberry Milk's gaze traveled back to the healer, seemingly pleased upon witnessing the supposed marriage proposal happening in front of their eyes. "Oh my! To live to view such lovely moment, that was surely so adorable."
The healer didn't answer as his vision was focused on the jampie in front of him, taking a bite of it to his own mouth. He tried seeing the bright side of all this situation, another couple got engaged and had the opportunity to celebrate it thanks to that mistake and yet Pure Vanilla felt disheartened with that failed attempt, not knowing how to move from there, but he knew he had to, it was too early to give up on that idea, especially when they still had so much time ahead of themselves.
And maybe he had the perfect place in mind.
The second stop was the landscape nearby the barn where his sheep reside, a little throwback to the only time where he brought Blueberry Milk to that place and they ended up spending quite a long time laying on the grass hugging each other. The breeze caressed his dough the same way as that day and bringing a floral fragrance mixed with wet grass, a perfect combination to calm his nerves down a little bit as they walked through the fresh meadow.
Pure Vanilla walked in direction of the gate to finally let the flock walk freely around the pasture, some running away freely while others were busy getting a quick snack. The healer turned in his heels to look at Blueberry Milk, noticing how he was sitting under the same tree as last time and looking at him with the same lovestrucked gaze, the type that could make everyone's heart escape a beat.
It was the perfect place to propose, no interruptions and it was just them in the middle of nature.
The walk to approach the blue cookie felt longer than normal, his mind overworking on what words would be the best ones to say before dropping the question. It felt strange to be so stuck when usually lovey-dovey words flowed out of his tongue with naturally when addressed to Blueberry Milk.
"You're acting quite off today," the virtue spoke with eyes half-closed as soon as Pure Vanilla was in front of him. "is there something I should know?"
The ancient shook his head before crouching in front of Blueberry Milk, their gazes meeting in result. "There's a few things I would like to tell you."
The virtue's eyelashes flutter a few times before tilting his head to the side in a silent question, Pure Vanilla could see how those mismatched eyes reflected a combination of curiosity with a sprinkle of fear, probably fearing the worse could leave the blonde's lips after all this time.
"There's a lot of things I would love to say to you, regarding how I'm thankful for having you, how fortunate I am for waking you beside you every morning," his hands hold the other's hands carefully, like he was porcelain that could break in any moment. "Meeting you was the best thing that could happen to me, and everyday I spend with you only makes me certain that I want us to stay together forever..."
His fingertips caressed the back of the other's soft hands, their eyes still looking at each in the eyes. The virtue's eyes moved for a few moments to what was happening behind them, giving Pure Vanilla an opportunity to reach to inside his robe's pocket to grab the velvety box hidden all this time, his fingers trembled when finally touching the velvety texture and—
Blueberry Milk rapidly got up from the grass, making the healer get startled and almost fall in his back. "Wait! The lamb running away!"
Before the healer could process anything, the virtue ran in direction of the baby lamp like his life depended of it, in hopes to catch it before something worse happened to the little animal. It didn’t take long before Pure Vanilla joined the chase, robes fluttering as he hurried after the little animal, doing his best not to cry out in pure frustration. Of all days this day his luck had chosen to abandon him completely.
Another proposal attempt had failed…
Blueberry Milk noticed the shift in him almost immediately once they left the meadow, their steps turning back toward the Castle. The brightness in Pure Vanilla’s expression had dulled, replaced with something quiet and heavy. Gently, Blueberry Milk reached for his hand, offering a warm smile.
“Cheer up, my love,” he said softly. “The lamb is fine now. Everything turned out okay.”
The lamb was fine, safe, calm, and already trotting off as if nothing had happened, yet Pure Vanilla couldn’t bring himself to feel the same relief. His carefully planned moments had unraveled one after another, each interruption piling onto the last. As the sun began its slow descent beyond the vanilla-colored horizon, painting the sky in warm hues of sugar gold and lavender cream, the weight in his chest only grew heavier.
Soon, they would have to head home. Soon, this day — meant to be perfect, meant to be the day would quietly come to an end.
And the words he had practiced so many times would remain unspoken.
The virtue seemed to have a lightbulb moment, turning to the healer while clasping his hands together. "I have an idea on how to cheer you up! What about we go to the beach watch the sunset? A flawless end for our date."
And that's how their third and last stop ended up being a beach in the South of Crispia, thanks to Blueberry Milk's other realm that let them travel around in a record time. The couple sat on the prestine sand while looking at the sky gaining a mix of orange and red hues as the sun went slowly down, it was a stunning vision to witness with his own vision and was enough to calm his outgrowing anxiety.
Perhaps, the main reason behind the failure of the two precious attempts was due to it not being meant to be there, maybe the destiny wanted them to get engaged at the beach with the sunset as the perfect background for their plans.
He just needed the perfect moment for it to happen.
"I think this is my first time watching the sunset so clearly," the healer spoke before taking a deep breath, being hit by the smell of salty water invading his lungs. "It's so breathtaking, I could stay in here for eternity."
Blueberry Milk hummed with a smile on his face, his eyes not once moving to look at Pure Vanilla. "I used to watch it a lot back in the Spire, the tower was so tall that I could spot anything from up there."
The blonde leaned a bit closer to rest his head on the virtue's shoulder. "You must miss the Spire a lot..."
"I miss it when you were there with me," he commented while shrugging carefully, being aware of Pure Vanilla trying to get comfortable beside him. "I would never miss it before you came and after you left, it didn't feel like home, just a prison where I was supposed to stay."
"Leaving you was the most painful thing I had to endure," he whispered in a sigh, the memories of their goodbye appearing in his mind like a movie. "I wish I had stayed, that we could've been together for eternity back then..."
"You staying wouldn't been a good idea, especially how things played out after." The virtue finally turned to face him and forcing the healer to adjust his posture, his hands cupped one of his cheeks carefully. "Besides, we are together now and no one can separate us ever again."
Pure Vanilla ended up leaning to the touch like he was starved, feeling the other's finger moving in circles against his cheek. "Nothing and no one can, I will never let you go."
The virtue took his free hand in direction of the silky cornsilk waves, running his fingers carefully between the strand in a caress. "I still can't believe it was all your yearning that brought you to me, it's so funny to think it back."
Pure Vanilla shook his head, not being able to contain a smile that started appearing in his face. "Yearning is one way to put it."
He ended up lowering his head, reminiscing of that fateful day he couldn't stop thinking about the Fount of Knowledge and reliving all those memories that he had found about during his time in the Spire of Deceit, it still hurt to see the image of once a virtue being so overstressed and begging the Witches to help him, to guide him the way to a life without so much pain.
"Back then, I was scared of messing things out, scared that I could've lost you forever if I took the wrong step." he continued with nostalgia clinging on his tone, a goosebump ran his spine upon reminding all of that. "I really was terrified with the possibility of losing you, my Fount..."
The sudden feel of a pair of lips on his cheeks was enough to startle him, despite knowing exactly who they belonged to. "But everything worked up in the end, don't you think? We are here together now, belonging for each other."
It was true, they had overcome all the fears and mistakes of the past and have grown so much together, learning how to understand each other with just their posture or how their eyes would sparkle. They weren't the same Pure Vanilla and Blueberry Milk they used to be when they first met, covered by trauma and sorrows of what had happened in their respective lifes and not knowing what to expect from what destiny had reserved to them, — just to be surprised with a blossoming love that only become stronger by the day.
"I really hope that we are soulmates in every universe too," the healer murmured in a whisper, his light yellow and milky blue eyes shimmering like a starry sky when looking at Blueberry Milk. "because I want every single version of me to belong to every version of you."
The way the virtue's breath hitched while his cheeks gained a darker shade almost made the ancient feel satisfied in some way, not denying how adorable he looked when he was all flushed like that. He took the liberty to lean closer, feeling the other's breath brushing against his skin softly before leaving a quick peck in his lips, trying to fight the urge to just kiss him in front of everyone that was walking around that beach.
What were the chances of them getting recognized anyways, even if they were historical figures? Not that he minded it anyways.
"I really want to spend the rest of my days beside you, Blueberry Milk. That's the biggest truth I hold dearly," Pure Vanilla spoke with determination, trying to camouflage the building anxiety inside of him. "That's exactly I'm sure this is what I—"
The words died on his mouth as soon as he felt something hitting his face with full force, enough for his body to fell into the soft beach sand and could've been knock him unconscious, — which somehow it didn't.
"Pure Vanilla!" Blueberry Milk screamed in panic with all his lungs, the healer could feel the other's fingers holding his face carefully, fingertips warm with magic and probably trying to heal him. "Can you hear me, my love? Please..."
The healer maintained unmoving, his half lidded eyes moving in the virtue's direction and not being able to see anything other than a haze of different hues thanks to his very poor vision sight, yet he could tell how desperate his boyfriend looked by seeing him in that state. Any injuries didn't matter in the end, Pure Vanilla could heal himself by just snapping his own fingers.
But what he couldn't heal.... Was that the fact that his plan failed again.
He could hear some steps approaching where they were standing, followed by a totally unrecognizable voice. "Oh, Witches! I'm so sorry, we lost control while playing volley. Is he okay?"
The world was really against him. The healer blinked a few times to try startling the tears away, not wanting to start crying there when the attention was all on him, he couldn't feel any type of pain other than his heart aching on his chest while the sun was finally going down, the sky being covered with darker blues the more it disappeared in the horizon.
What an unfortunate end for their day together.
The couple finally entered the Castle when the moon was finally going up the sky, illuminating the streets with its silver glow and announcing the start of night time, the perfect time to go back home or even go to bed for the early sleepers. Pure Vanilla felt completely devastated despite trying to maintain a smile in his face, keeping that mask of pretending everything was alright although his mind was a huge mess and a headache was invading his whole head, — probably due to overthinking, or perhaps thanks to being hit by a ball straight up in his face.
That surely didn't hurt more than his dignity and the feeling that he failed for a third time, not managing to finally hold Blueberry Milk's right hand and finally place an engagement ring where it belonged, having the opportunity to finally introduce him to everyone as his fiancé and starting to prepare their wedding, something that both of them had promised to each other multiple times and had
And yet now he didn't know how he could persecute the plan without anything happening in the meantime and ruining the moment again.
He only needed to find the right place first, but where?