Chapter Text
The first time it happened, Shadow Milk hadn't given it much thought, brushing it away as a one-time thing. Assumption as it went. One that would be proven false.
Shadow Milk would argue that it mattered less in the grand of things. Such ordinary happenings.
But alas, his heart thumped. Strongly. Once more.
Curious minds.
Here was how it all had gone:
1.
Shadow Milk floated along the hallways―only slightly off the nauseous cream tiles, making a point to practice his everyday magic after the worst of his recovery had been pulled through.
He would have tried much earlier had the healer not insisted for him to stay off it until it was sure to be safe for him. A lot of unnecessary meddling from that one. It was a wonder that Pure Vanilla hadn't already exploded from the worries and concerns he seemed to carry everywhere with him.
Shadow Milk rolled his eyes just from thinking about it. Right, what did he have to gain from bothering with him?
At least he was able to get away from that stuffy room now, tinkering and prodding at items along the way. Vases nudged a little to the side, ready to topple over. Banners crooked slightly, images made off from its hinges. Paintings containing dots of blue and slight differences to its original state, vague enough to not be spotted at one glance.
His feet came into contact with the tiled floor as he contemplated a massive painting in front of him, skimming through architectural plans on how best to slip his touches into the grand art. He would at least admit that the painter must have had been a great one in their days.
The only thing very much grating his vision would probably be that peaceful and kind smile adorned on his other half's face as always, etched even in the artwork that dated back hundreds into the past.
Had he always smiled like that without a rest?
Where was the line until he himself collapsed?
A tap of a staff announced the arrival of the cookie that was just in his mind. The sounds made gentle against the material below their feet.
Shadow Milk floated slightly up again as he turned to face Pure Vanilla who approached him with the same smile.
"Good day to you, Shadow Milk." A gentle voice.
Pure Vanilla lifted his free hand, palm facing up. Not quite demanding. Not quite requesting either. A gesture that was held open for as long as Shadow Milk needed to decide.
Shadow Milk didn't take long to follow through, placing his hand against that open palm and let himself be slowly pulled close to the former. His floating made up for their height difference with Shadow Milk being slightly smaller. A fact that he very much resented.
Pure Vanilla smiled again. "I would ask if you had been enjoying yourself... But it seemed like you did. Judging by the small disparities I found along the way here."
Shadow Milk huffed. "What? You're going to scold me for that? There is barely anyone here to notice, y'know?"
Pure Vanilla stiffened at the mention of the lack of personnel in his kingdom before he smoothed it out with a smile. "No, of course not. It would just be kind of you if you were to dismantle all the changes made by magical altercation."
The hand beckoned Shadow Milk closer and he leaned into it willingly.
"You could just easily dismantle it as well," Shadow Milk retorted, studying the milky two toned eyes that seemed to open a lot in discard of the use of the staff whenever he was near enough for them to connect. "A little disturbance like this. It's nothing more than a child's play."
Pure Vanilla's lidded eyes stared at him with a long consideration. "Child's play, hm?"
"What?" Shadow Milk defensively asked, hair rising to the emotion. If the healer was going to point out how excessive it was to keep up illusion or that he should not cast as much magic, he swore to the Witches he would crumble him. Maybe not permanently. But enough to chew and spit him up.
Pure Vanilla simply shook his head in reply. "I was just thinking. It's nothing much though," he said but an amused look rested on his face, one that Shadow Milk wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been stuck gazing into those blue and gold orbs. The holder of the Soul Jam of Truth tilted his head, intention unreadable as he tugged at Shadow Milk's hand again. "Would you come closer, dear?"
Shadow Milk blinked confusedly for a bit, narrowed eyes in his hair floating around, before he complied almost too easily. Slowly bridging the remaining gap between them with every pull from the abdicated King.
A moment later, Pure Vanilla closed the rest of the distance when they were already face to face, soft lips capturing Shadow Milk's own.
A gentle press of a kiss that lasted a second before the one at fault was already retreating with a satisfied expression.
Shadow Milk was left frozen, mouth gaping slightly. Scrambling to make sense of the sudden affection.
Pure Vanilla moved along, as if nothing had happened at all. Squeezing Shadow Milk's hand before releasing them. "Well, I'll get to it then. I'll see you later, okay, bluebird?"
An adoring smile graced Shadow Milk Cookie last before the figure of his other half walked away into the silence of the castle, the only sounds being the taps of his trusted staff.
Shadow Milk stared dumbfoundedly at his back, watching as the saint fled the crime scene.
He felt the faint touch lingering still.
What was that???
It was not even their first kiss but a tremor still ran through the stubborn thing in his chest.
And it had just started.
2.
Shadow Milk scoffed as he floated behind and around the retired monarch who seemed to dedicate his whole attention to the piece of paper in front of him. Staff made to rest beside the table, its eye looking down at the workings that unraveled itself.
Inkwell tapped lightly as its contents were drawn out to cling onto the tip of the writing tool, scribbled words forming on the white surface of what was meant to be a letter.
Letters. The thirteenth one by now.
"Nilly."
"Hm-mm."
"Nillssss―" Shadow Milk whined into the air, pressing to Pure Vanilla's side and curling in into himself slightly like a ball of shadows mended together, peering up at the other's unwavering focus on the page. "Oh, c'mon!"
Pure Vanilla's smile twitched slightly at that. A small win. "Patience, bluebird."
"That's a tall request there."
Pure Vanilla giggled, not a pause in his writing and reviewing but something fond that was torn out of his sentimental chest nevertheless. Shadow Milk should hide his joy better. A purr scratching at his throat already.
Pure Vanilla shook his head fondly. "I'm sure you can do it. You're the most talented cookie in Earthbread, after all, are you not?"
Shadow Milk pouted, his hair strands bundling up and making a point to poke at the blonde. "I'm bored. Your friends couldn't possibly need all these many letters. Are you writing to the whole Earthbread?"
"Mayhaps."
"Urgh. You and your tendency to befriend anyone..."
"Why don't you write some too?" Pure Vanilla suggested, quite pleased with himself with the idea as if it weren't straight up a disaster.
"Me? The Beast? You jest," Shadow Milk drawled, disgust painting his tone. Something akin to a mock. A leering smile stitched on his lips. "You're talking as if the letters from your dear friends didn't contain their concerns of the serpent residing in your walls."
Pure Vanilla paused at last, quill being put down slowly as he turned his head, opening his eyes to catch Shadow Milk's mismatched pair―two blues that refused to blend together, always representing the inconsistencies in himself despite choosing Deceit only and abandoning his gold long ago.
"They are worried, yes, but they trust my judgment." Pure Vanilla stared at him like he could see through him. "I need you to trust me too. In extent, to trust in yourself as well."
The unrelenting gaze made Shadow Milk squirm, wanting to kick his feet and swim even more erratically in the air until Pure Vanilla got tired of chasing him with his eyes and had to switch back to his staff. He settled with slightly tilting too far into the side, his head almost on the same level with Pure Vanilla's lap. He looked up at his other half's following gaze with a frown.
Stubborn. "Okay."
Pure Vanilla smiled, reaching to cup his cheek. "Thank you, bluebird. You can practice with me first, if you'd like."
Shadow Milk leaned into the touch. "Pfft. You just want a letter from me, don't you?"
"Hm." Pure Vanilla hummed thoughtfully, a glint in his eyes that Shadow Milk couldn't quite catch. His hand traveled from the latter's cheek to around his waist, jostling the jester upright in his floating and guiding him to sit on the saint's lap, taking up the gap between him and the table.
Fluid motions that weren't resisted by the beast. Only receiving a raise of a brow.
With Pure Vanilla's hand secured to cradle him and his other hand resting on his thigh, Shadow Milk felt alarms blare in his mind. An event just from a day ago rising from his memories.
He wasn't fast enough though, because Pure Vanilla was already pulling him into a kiss by the back of his head.
The same one. A gentle press of the lips. Firmer this time. Before it was gone in a second. The hand pulling him in resting back on his thigh.
Pure Vanilla smiled as Shadow Milk was still taken aback. He continued the conversation without a flair.
"I would love to receive a letter from you, of course. That, I will not deny," Pure Vanilla spoke endearingly. He nudged Shadow Milk to rest his head against him. "But I am patient. You may take your time."
Shadow Milk didn't reject the gesture, nuzzling the crook of Pure Vanilla's neck and staying there in his confusion. "You..."
Pure Vanilla hummed in question.
Shadow Milk didn't know what to ask. "No, forget about it."
Pure Vanilla accepted it gracefully, the arm that wasn't busy wrapping around Shadow Milk's form in his lap reached to pick up the quill once more, falling into the rhythm of writing once again as his eyes closed and the one on his staff opened back up.
"Go to sleep, bluebird." A hushed whisper. "I'll carry you to bed when I'm done."
The promise of not having to part with his other half's warmth outweighed his conflicted feelings.
Soon enough, Shadow Milk nodded against him.
Falling asleep from the low hum of Pure Vanilla's breathing and the resonance of their Soul Jams.
After the second time, Shadow Milk was already ruminating the whole thing in his mind. Was it just a simple show of affection? Was it even necessary to act like nothing afterwards though? Or was it normal like that, exchanging kisses without anything set up beforehand, and he was the one weird?
It circulated and ate itself.
The show far from over.
3.
Shadow Milk leveled Pure Vanilla with an unimpressed look across the table. "Really?"
Pure Vanilla laughed sheepishly. "Going outside is a big part of your recovery, dear. I don't think it is that bad."
Shadow Milk sighed. "It is that bad." He sipped from his juice almost thoughtfully. "Especially since your prickly crow obsessed friend is gonna be here. At least give me alcohol."
Pure Vanilla immediately shook his head, crossing an X in front of his chest with his arms like when denying a play time to a child. "I don't think you're stable enough to be getting drunk. And it's midday."
"Meanie." Shadow Milk tried for an adorable pout.
"It is for your own good, bluebird." The beacon of Light did not budge on it.
Shadow Milk scoffed, sipping his drink again with a disturbing slurping noise on purpose.
He couldn't really say that it was truly bad here. The place lacked other cookies besides them because of the other residents playing outside. The low lighting in the Crow's Nest Inn made up for its lack of drama. Easier on his eyes than the endless white and gold of Pure Vanilla's abode. If there was anything than he'd approve of their dark companion, it would be her taste only in these settings.
Other than that, they might as well continue to send glares to each other whenever the world was cruel enough to put them in each other's way.
The woman was too protective of Pure Vanilla.
He gets it, really. Looking at his track history.
But on the Witches, he'd be damned if his grubby claims on the Ancient was to be revoked or something.
Pure Vanilla is mine. In any way.
The clatter of dishes onto the wooden table startled him out of his thoughts. A hiss escaping between his teeth. "Careful there―"
Black Raisin raised a brow at him. "You didn't hear me?" A small mocking smirk on her lips as she sat down directly opposite of Pure Vanilla. "Too busy coming up with new insults? Don't bother your little head."
Shadow Milk sputtered, scooting his seat closer to Pure Vanilla's side around the round table rather than her side. "You― Hah, of course my creativity knows no bounds. Who do you think you're talking to?"
Black raisin stared at him for a moment before slowly speaking as if spelling it out for him. "A patient who until recently couldn't even walk on his own."
Shadow Milk outright gasped in offence. The traitor beside him muffled a laugh into his palm.
A shame to all of them. Shame. Doom. The world had forsaken its greatest actor.
Black Raisin smirked at his blatant offended look, casually ignoring him as she offered a portion from the plate of fresh raisin bread to Pure Vanilla.
Shadow Milk ceased his fuss when he noticed Pure Vanilla's hesitance at grabbing one. Huffing in annoyance, he reached to take one first and fold it in half, offering the smaller part to Pure Vanilla. "He already ate before coming here. Me, though? Why, I'm starving!"
Pure Vanilla―as discreetly as he could―let out a relieved breath.
Black Raisin said nothing as she took one for herself, tilting her head at Shadow Milk who answered her gaze with a narrowed one. She chuckled lightly as she bit into the bun. "Glad you don't have a lousy taste then. These are good."
Well, she is not that bad in that way.
Shadow Milk resigned to a supporting character as the two chatted over the meal and drinks. Pure Vanilla invited him into the conversation occasionally while the jester bit into it with a teasing nudge to the former monarch and a banter with the appointed protector of the small community of Vanilla Kingdom as it stood right now. He sneakily handed a small part of his bread whenever Pure Vanilla looked like he still could handle more while Black Raisin pointedly paid it no mind. Shadow Milk offered praise for the delicacy at some point, words that he didn't register fast enough to show down. Words that had Black Raisin smiling behind her glass.
It was horribly... domestic to him.
To sit there and pretend that he wasn't a threat to Cookiekind.
To sit there and be treated like normal if not annoying by these two weird cookies.
Black Raisin turned to him. "Can you still eat?"
Shadow Milk considered the question for a second. "Depends." If it were cakes...
"It's a blueberry cake," Black Raisin confirmed. "Our chef is trying her hand in baking. It should be done now."
Shadow Milk forgot to mask his excitement for just a split moment. But it was enough answer.
Black Raisin stood up. "I'll get you a slice then. I can't let you go in the back because she is quite shy."
As Black Raisin walked away, Shadow Milk swiftly pinned Pure Vanilla down with his glare. "Did you tell her?"
Pure Vanilla giggled despite being put under the pressure. "Hm, I wonder."
Shadow Milk felt a nerve pop in his ire. "Nilla, I swear―"
His breath caught as he was abruptly interrupted by a peck on his lips that quickly went away before he could chase it.
Pure Vanilla beamed, unfairly composed despite his action. "It's cute that you like sweets so much."
Shadow Milk blushed profusely. "What― Why did you―"
Black Raisin returned right at that moment, almost sending Shadow Milk into a jump off his seat.
She put the slice of cake right in front of the wreck of a Beast before realizing his troubled look. "Why is he... bluer than normal?" She asked unhelpfully to the culprit.
Pure Vanilla giggled into the back of his hand. "I think he is just excited for the cake. Right, bluebird?"
Shadow Milk shook visibly as he hissed. "Yes, excited, yes." That smug little bastard―!!
"You like them that much? I can pack a few slices for you guys."
"Why, thank you, my friend!" Pure Vanilla replied with a smile.
Shadow Milk wanted to bite his neck clean off but he'd compromise with biting into the sweet treat for now, shoving the fork into his mouth as rage fermented below.
For now.
Just for now.
He would get him back on this soon enough.