Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

After graduating, Espresso did not keep contact with the select few cookies he associated himself with. He was simply never that close with them, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they drifted apart anyways. 

Which is why it was quite the surprise when he runs into Butter Roll, in the Vanilla Kingdom of all places. 

From where he stands, Espresso can tell he hasn’t changed much in appearances - just more taller than he remembered - or maybe that was because he was on the stairs whilst Espresso was currently on the cobblestone path below.

They’re eyes meet, and the mage does the respectful courtesy of going over and initiating small talk. He hates small talk. 

“Butter Roll… I haven’t seen you since you were expelled from the academy.”

No, his eyes had not deceived him. Butter Roll had definitely grown.

“It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

In this midst of the dreaded small talk, they soon realise they are here for the same reason. The Vanilla Kingdom had been protected for years by a spell cast across its borders, a barrier casted by Pure Vanilla himself in hopes of preventing creatures from the surrounding forest from entering and causing harm. For as long as Espresso has lived here, there were never any issues with it.

Never any issues, until now at least.

It has come to every cookie's attention that the pesky creatures have somehow been making their way past the barrier. Sure, there was the occasional time one would slip through, but lately there has been far too many for comfort - and they have been getting more feral and aggressive.

Since his awakening, Pure Vanilla’s magic has changed. No one knows for better or for worse. It had become stronger, so he’s scared that if he tries to recast the spell, something will go terribly, terribly wrong. So in an act that pained him, he requested for assistance. 

Of course, being one of the kingdom’s finest mages, Espresso had received the letter almost instantly. And he knows this because the ink hadn’t even dried, staining his fingertips once he opened it. Even though he was busy with his own devices, Pure Vanilla funds his research, so it’s only obligatory that Espresso feels inclined to accept the request for help. 

After going inside and finding the ancient, Pure Vanilla must’ve sensed that they were familiar with each other, and assigned them as partners for the mission. 

Just like old times.

Yes it was early morning. Yes he was already on his third cup of coffee. What else was new?

Espresso was not doing any sort of experiments yet in his laboratory, just planning and brainstorming. He was already on his second piece of chalk as the first one faded to dust just moments prior, the mage is getting back into his old habit of taking polaroid photos of his notes rather than writing them down on papers. The lab already had enough papers pinned up as it is. 

But those said notes were of no use to him right now, his own experiments and findings would have to wait, he has a new mission to accomplish. 

Currently, he sketched up the barrier on the large chalkboard from memory, along with other rough sketches of the surrounding forest and the points where the breaches had been reported. From what he’s observed so far, there is only one continuous spot the creatures have been getting through at. How odd, just one spot…

None of his machinery was in active use yet. But everything has already been prepared in advance so he would not need to stop once he began. 

He went to take a sip from his mug, only for none of that familiar liquid to touch his lips. Empty. Already?

His brain was on autopilot, walking over to his coffee machine to start it back up again. Only did a knock from his door pull him out of that state. 

Espresso pauses and sighs. He can recognise that knock pattern anywhere. He crosses the room and approaches the door, he opens the keyhole and peers through. 

“Madeleine, I thought we agreed that you may only come after midday. It’s morning. Come back later.”

This was nothing new to the mage. Ever since they were assigned to go on missions together last year, the knight had made his own mission of befriending Espresso. And befriend he did. Espresso won’t lie, he found Madeleine to be extremely arrogant and self-centred the moment they met, but after seeing the knight try his absolute hardest to get Espresso to even tolerate him, the mage dropped his guard and reluctantly started to meet Madeleine’s advances.

Now a year has passed, and Madeleine, everyday without fail, somehow makes time to annoy (hang out) with Espresso. It got to a point where the two of them would be so deep into conversation that Espresso wouldn’t get any work done for the day. Okay fine, he didn’t mind small talk when it came to Madeleine.

“I know! But I’ve heard through the grapevine about your involvement in this mission. My knights and I have also been requested for help!”

They must have been assigned to patrol duties in response to the breaches… Maybe this oaf can be of use. 

Without replying, Espresso wordlessly unlocks the door. Madeleine beat him to open it, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. 

By the looks of it, the knight must’ve noticed the now cleanish laboratory. When he usually stopped by, Espresso’s equipment would be up and running and all over the place - with his desk cluttered with notes in handwriting Madeleine could not read. Even the floor was cleaned from any stray coffee beans. 

“Woah. Did I walk into the wrong cookies lab?”

Espresso doesn't entertain the silly question, instead setting down his empty mug underneath his coffee machine and flicking the switch down. “Very funny. No, you have not.” He says flatly. “I have my mission partner coming over tomorrow. I thought it be only respectable to make the place presentable.”

The mage rests one hand on the counter as he waits, glancing over to his chalkboard only to see sections of his writings smudged. Oh the curses of being lefthanded. 

While Espresso was mulling over the white dust stain at the side of his hand, Madeleine comes further inside, being mindful where he walks. He moved around a cleared section of the floor out of habit, even though there was nothing to avoid this time. He reaches for the usual chair he sat at, the one furthest away from Espresso’s equipment. He learned the hard way how protective his friend is of them all. 

The coffee machine dinged, and Espresso’s mood brightened slightly as the familiar taste of coffee entered his senses. His back was turned to Madeleine as he picked up his chalk again.

“Now. What has Pure Vanilla told you about all of this-”

“Awww, you were so cute!”

What.

Espresso whips his head around and witnesses the knight holding a small stack of photo cards in his hands. The stack of polaroid cards that held private information about his experiments. The mage could've sworn he put them away before. 

Espresso crosses the room in hurried steps.

“Where did you-”

Madeleine turns the photo around so Espresso could see. The image was slightly blurry as it was an older photo. In the frame, Espresso was seated at a desk, his sleeves rolled up and hair unkempt and falling into his face as he worked over a small pot. Behind him, a smaller chalkboard filled with his notes was the true reason for this photo. 

Ah, he remembers this one. He asked latte to take the picture.

Espresso plucks the photo from his hand, holding it close to his face.

“…Ugh. My hair was disgusting.”

Madeleine peers up to get a glimpse of it again. 

“You had quite the baby face.”

Espresso lowers the photo. “This was years ago. Back during my time at school.”

Madeleine tilts his head, still looking. “Is this a knight sitting next to you?”

Espresso’s eyes flick back to the image. “What makes you say that?”

Madeleine points to another subject next to him in the frame. 

“Long blonde hair. Yellow eyes. Fit.”

The mage couldn’t hold back his smile. “Are you checking out my partner, Sir Madeleine?”

“What? No, no, I’m just-!” Madeleine stopped himself as he registered the words. “Wait. Partner?”

Espresso sets the photo back down on the table and begins gathering the rest of them that Madeleine had scattered out.

“Yes. My partner for this mission.”

“I see…” Madeleine watches as he tidies. “So you both are familiar with each other?”

Espresso slides the stack back into the envelope, it was filled to the brim and sticking out, he’ll organise them better eventually. For now, they can go back into the drawers.

“I suppose so.” He shuts the drawer with a push of his hip. “Though we haven’t spoken in quite some time…” Espresso shakes his head to focus. “Moving on. What has Pure Vanilla asked of you again?” 

“I apologise, but you know I’m not much of a drinker.”

Espresso feels as if he’s been chained to this chalkboard all day, the piece of chalk he was holding was hanging on by a thread. Maybe he really should go back to writing on paper, its just became too much of a hassle recently to wait for the ink to dry. He’s a busy cookie afterall. 

Butter Roll had come over early morning, and it’s now just past sunset. Just like yesterday, no equipment has been turned on - apart from his coffee machine of course - today was just for theorising. Tomorrow is when the real fun can happen. 

“Oh, come on, Espresso. Just like old times?” 

Espresso shakes his head, finally setting the chalk down. He’s done brainstorming for today. 

“That was when I was younger and more immature.” He dusts his hands clean. “Alcohol isn’t good for our brains. We have a mission to accomplish.”

Butter Roll wraps an arm across the chair he was sitting on, he lets out a quiet breath. “You’re right,” he agrees, taking off his gloves and setting them on his lap, cracking his knuckles. “Though I think we deserve a little break, no?”

A break? Yes he was done brainstorming, but there was still so much to be done…

“Or are you still the obsessed, staying-up-all-night coffee mage I remember?”

Espresso lets out a huff.  “…Sometimes,” he admitted. “But I’m trying to break that habit.”

Butter Roll’s posture straightens at the admission.

“Oh?” he teases. “Is that so?”

Espresso turns to face him, what exactly was he getting at?

Butter Roll continued. “For whom exactly?”

Maybe they really should call in for the night. 

“For… me, of course.”

Butter Rolls' usual polite expression comes back. He stands up, taking his gloves with him. “Very well,” he says. “It’s late. I best be off, then.”

The mage grabs his keys hanging up from the hall tree, doing the honors of unlocking the door. The wind that makes its way inside was surprisingly cold for this time of year. 

“But I’m holding you to that drink,” Butter Roll adds as he reaches the door.

Espresso exhaled softly as they waved goodbye.

“We will see about that.”

“How… disgusting.”

Espresso flicked his hand once again, trying to shake off whatever gunk clung to his fingers. The sticky substance stuck to his hand, leaving its gross residue behind. He mentally smacks himself on the head for not bringing any sort of hand protection. The gunk wasn’t jam, he could say for the certain. Probably some sort of stupid light magic Madeleine had used to slay this cakehound. 

Madeleine slides his sword back into its rightful place in his sheath. He steps forward, also observing the abnormally large creature. 

The mage has never been out in this part of the kingdom before. They were surrounded by endless plains of flat grass, with old treestumps stubbornly stuck in the ground. Whatever had once grown here had been cleared out, and he briefly wonders why that’s the case. 

Just past the endless fields, he can see the silky shimmer of the protection barrier in the distance. He wouldn’t have registered it if he wasn’t looking for it, the pale blue blended in with the sky. 

“Be careful.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Espresso crouches again anyway, careful not to touch anything this time. The paws of the cakehound have already begun to turn back into flour. Strange, it usually takes up to a day to fade away.

“You said its drool was purple?”

“Not this one,” Madeleine replies. “The other one I slayed.”

Espresso paused just as fingers hovered short of contact.

“And where is that one?”

Madeleine looks beyond where the barrier was. 

“It… disappeared.”

Espresso’s brow furrowed. Disappeared?

“I commanded my knights to go inform Pure Vanilla,” Madeleine continues. “But when I turned around, it was gone.”

There was no other cakehound or creature in sight. Just the crumbled one in front of them. Espresso used the back of his hand to press lightly against the side of its open jaw before pulling away.

“…Give me your glove.”

Madeleine doesn’t question him. He pulls off both gloves and holds them out. Espresso only takes one, slipping it on - quickly adjusting it to fit his hand properly - before snapping off one of the cakehounds fangs free from its gums. 

He holds it up to get a better look. There was a trace of some type of purple substance at the base of it. It looks wet, but it wasn’t dripping by any means, just stuck in place. 

“I don’t have a vial to put this in.” Espresso rises to his feet. “Follow me to my lab.”

“Aye aye, captain!”

“Don’t be silly.”

The mage hands the extra glove back, stepping away from the carcass. The quietness in this part of the kingdom was eerie, and for some odd reason the silence gave Espresso goosebumps.

They were done here. Espresso had what he wanted.

Following the cobblestone path back to the heart of the kingdom was easier said than done. As they headed back, they passed the occasional knight on duty. They really have a lot of them out on patrol recently, don’t they?

Madeleine walks right beside him, chatting his ear off. Without his sugar horse, Espresso could really hear everything the knight was saying, usually the wind blowing in his ears would mute his voice a touch. But Madeleine didn’t bring his horse, Buttercup, on duty today. Shame, Espresso likes feeding her treats. 

But even without the horse, the walk wasn’t that long. At least, that was how it felt. 

By the time the familiar sight of houses came into view, the earlier silence was replaced with the sounds of voices and street music. Even in the midst of a semi-emergency, cookies still found ways to continue on, albeit more cautiously than before. 

They finally reach Espresso’s laboratory, it was like a second home to Espresso at this point. The fang was still in the clutches of his gloved hand, he could do so much with this. 

He reaches into his coat pocket, pulling out his keys and turning them over in his hand before bringing them to the door. The second Espresso placed them in the lock, the door pushed slightly open at the contact. There is no way on Earthbread he left his lab unlocked…

“Say, if you could spare an hour for your knight in shining armor, would you like to get… dinner… tonight…”

Madeleine’s voice drifted off as Espresso pushed the door open fully.

Butter Roll stood near the chalkboard, several diagrams had been drawn across the surface - some overlapping with Espresso’s earlier work. He continued to draw away as the two entered the room.

“Afternoon!”

“…Afternoon,” Espresso repeats back. “How did you get inside?”

Butter Roll only smiles and points a thumb towards the window next to him. The latch had been pushed up all the way, and it’s a surprise that the breeze coming through didn’t take away any of Espresso’s pinned up papers. 

“I came here and you weren’t inside. I unlocked the door for you as well.” Butter Roll winks. “You’re welcome.”

The mage could only nod, he hated cookies being inside his laboratory without him in there, but he bit back his tongue and made his way to his shelves - scanning the contents before finding an empty vial. 

Madeleine, ever the talker, extends a hand. 

“Sir Madeleine. Knight Commander of the Crème Republic. Charmed, I’m sure!”

Butter Roll grinned and took it. 

“Butter Roll. I sure am.”

As they exchanged greetings, Espresso had already found what he was looking for. He uncorked the vial before dropping the fang inside. It was about the size of his thumb, he’s surprised he has a vial thick and big enough to store it. From inside the glass concealment, the purple substance clinging to the fang was more prominent than if it was exposed. 

Espresso quickly labels it with a marker. Without looking, he tosses Madeleine’s glove back behind him. 

“You’ll want to disinfect that before using it again.”

Madeleine catches it mid-air, slipping it back on. 

“Duly noted.”

Espresso caps the vial and sets it aside, there was much he could study with it, but his attention was captured by the board.

He’ll be honest, Butter Rolls sketches were much neater than his own. Espresso was never much of the drawer, always the writer. 

“You’ve started without me?”

Butter Roll turns away from Madeleine. “Barely. I’m not too sure what equipment I’m allowed and not allowed to touch. I know you’ve always been protective of it.”

Madeleine lets out a quiet chuckle. “I suppose some things never change, hm, Ess?”

Espresso was close to rolling his eyes at him. Instead, he takes Madeleine by the arm and guides (pushes) him towards the door. 

“Bye. And no, sorry, I’m declining that dinner offer.”

Madeleine stumbles as he is guided out.

“Aw, what? But you love that place-!”

The mage hastily shuts the door. He’ll see that annoying knight tomorrow anyways. He always does. 

“Ess, hm?”

Butter Rolls voice brought Espresso back to the present. 

“I thought you hated nicknames.”

Espresso makes his way back to where the vial was placed, his heeled boots clinking on the hardwood floor. The purple substance that was stuck on the base of the fang has now dripped onto the sides of the glass. He picked it up and twisted it around, watching as it smudged from his movements. 

“I do.”

Butter Roll walks up behind him, resting a hand on the bench as he looks at the mage. 

“He seems nice.”

Espresso continues to observe the vial. “Inferientingly so.” He reaches out for a test tube rack, now suddenly appreciative of the size of his lab, mostly everything can be in arms reach. Only when he realises Butter Roll didn’t respond did he turn his attention to him. “…It’s not like that.”

Butter Roll pats the bench before pushing himself away. 

“Sure, sure. Can’t expect you to go for the same guy twice, can we?” He walks back to the chalkboard. “Tall, blonde, extremely handsome.” 

Espresso hums and puts the vial in the test tube rack. It was only a matter of time before one of them brought this up. 

“…Butter Roll, that was years ago. I’ve moved on. And I hope you have as well.”

“Ah! Good strike, sir!”

Praise was something Madeleine lived for. He needed to know if he was doing a good job. He needed to know that he was making a difference. That what he lived for wasn’t all for nothing.

Just as he pulled his blade free. The cakehound’s body hit the ground, its large limbs twitching once before going still. Despite them being in an almost empty, plain field, the creature had still managed to sneak up on him. He better not be losing his touch. 

“Thank you, thank you! Though stay on guard, please.”

It didn’t go past Madeleine that this cakehound was… awfully big in size. The usual ones that get in his way are smaller and less aggressive. But despite that, the colour and fur patterns still remained familiar to the others. 

“I almost feel bad. They appear cute, yet so feral.”

One of his knights cleared their throat. 

“Um… sir.”

Madeleine instantly turned around towards the younger.

“I advise that you please step back.”

Confused but alert, Madeleine looked behind him, trying to figure out what had prompted the warning. But that confusion hadn’t lasted for long. 

There was… goo? Goo coming foaming out of the cakehounds mouth, bubbling in a thick purple at a rapid pace. He watched as the tip of its tongue evaporated as the purple substance made contact with it. Dissolving. That was the word. It was dissolving. 

One of the teeth followed, the top of it becoming mushy before collapsing out of its mouth and melting into the grass.

“That is new.”

He listened to his knight's warning and took a step back, though he couldn’t bring himself to peer his eyes away from it just yet. 

“We need to inform Pure Vanilla about this.”

Madeleine could hear the sounds of metal boots clanking against grass. They had left without waiting for further instructions, and the Knight Commander was proud. Just to be safe, Madeleine peered his eyes away from the cakehound, instead watching his knights until they were out of his view. They weren't in a populated area of the kingdom. Who knows what dangers awaited out here?

Once he was sure there was no danger, his attention turned back to the cakehound. 

Or where it used to be. 

The carcass was gone. The only thing left to show for it was a singular fang on the floor.

“Do you think your coffee magic could help?”

Espresso grabs a disinfectant wipe and cleans the insides of the now empty vial. The sun pouring through the window caught on the reflection of it, causing the mage to squint as he was being brutally blinded.

The pair hadn’t even run more than two tests on it before the fang dissolved. Or more like melted, the residue was clinging from the inside of the glass. Espresso was seriously contemplating just to throw the whole thing away entirely. The fang didn’t even last them a whole day's worth of research…

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t.”

Espresso finally gets the last of the gunk from inside, scrunching up the wipe and tossing it at the bin across the laboratory. He missed. 

“There’s no healing aspects in it, but I’m positive if the protection spell completely breaks, I could hold a barrier to stop anything from passing.” He tilts the vial once more, double checking he didn’t miss a spot before lowering it. “Though it will only damage the poor creatures… which is the worst case scenario.”

With a flick of his wrist, Espresso uses his levitational magic to properly dispose of the wipe in the bin. He’s been trying to use that power less, it’s useful don’t get him wrong, but he fears he’ll start getting lazy if he keeps that habit up. 

“Plus, I wouldn’t be able to control my magic like that for so long.”

Butter Roll has his elbow propped up on the table, using his fingers to massage his temples before quickly giving up and letting his head drop forward, blonde hair spilling all over the table. His voice came muffled when he spoke. 

“That was such a waste of time!”

Espresso pays him half a mind. He turns away, opting to prepare himself another cup of coffee. 

“Nonsense. We learnt that whatever that purple substance was is resistant to that little whisk of yours… and isn’t so much to my magic.”

The mage watches as his coffee machine springs to life, the liquid pouring out and into his mug. In the matter of seconds, it was done, and Espresso happily sips on it. He licked his lips before replying. 

“Where did you get that, anyway?”

The whisk in question was resting on an empty space on a wall. It was fairly large in size, coloured in reds and whites. It looked very detailed, and well-maintained 

Butter Roll perks up, lifting his head off the table. “Ah, this old thing?” He gets up off the chair and reaches for it, twirling it in his hand. “I made it.”

Espresso leans back toward the counter in the meantime, one hand clutching his elbow while the other lifts his cup to his lips. Sipping it quietly as Butter Roll continued. 

“I started crafting it whilst enrolled in the academy,” Butter Roll says, shifting the whisk from one hand to the next, “and finished it after I was expelled.” He carefully placed it back to where it was before.

“What makes it different from any normal whisk?”

Butter Roll only smiles. “I made it with love!”

Espresso hums softly into his drink, taking one last sip, deeming it empty.

“Well, you do seem passionate about it. I don’t own one myself, I typically don’t cook at home...”

Butter Roll gives him a teasing look. “Because you forget to eat, or you just can’t cook?”

Espresso scoffs, setting the cup down on the counter. “For your information I could bake splendid coffee cakes… years ago… in food tech class…”

Butter Roll didn’t seem too convinced, but shrugs his shoulders. “Alrighty. I believe you.” 

Having wasted so much time today already, Butter Roll flips over the chalkboard. Espresso is glad he bought a portable one all those years ago so he could flip it around for more room, otherwise he’d be constantly erasing and writing, and the chalk would probably stain over time, and he would have to constantly spray it down and clean it.

Or he would just come up with a spell to do it for him. 

“Ah-how rude of me, I-”

“-So what did you do-”

They both started speaking at the same time. Butter Roll stopped first, clearing his throat lightly and gesturing towards Espresso.

“You go first.”

Espresso shifts on his feet.

“I was just saying it was rude of me to not offer you a drink.”

Butter Roll gives him a look.

“Like beer?”

Espresso deadpans.

“No. Coffee.”

Butter Roll waves a hand dismissively. “I’m okay. It’s all yours.”

The mage nodded. Right, he doesn’t drink coffee. He should’ve remembered that back from their schooldays. 

Espresso grabs the same mug as before, placing it back into the machine as it prepares for another batch. 

Butter Roll rolls his shoulder, doing all that writing standing up must be taking a toll on his arm. 

“So… what did you do after graduating?”

Espresso stills at the question. He was a private cookie, and didn’t go preaching about his life to anyone. But Butter Roll isn’t just anyone to him, or a stranger for that matter.

“I didn’t become a full-time scientist-researcher-pioneer, or whatever you may call me, straight away.”

He flinches as the coffee machine dinged. Did he mindlessly brew another one? Oh well. 

“I decided to teach.”

Butter Roll brow furrows.

“Teach? You? Teach?”

“Yes.”

Espresso aimlessly reaches for his newly brewed coffee.

“It was mostly for myself. To try and get connections with other staff before dedicating myself to my experiments full time.”

Butter Roll pauses his writing.

“…Connections as in relationships orrr?”

Espresso huffs. “Workforce related.”

The sounds of crickets outside brought his attention to the window. Was it really sunset already?

“It was how I managed to move here.”

If Espresso had to choose between Parfaedia and the Vanilla kingdom. It would be neck and neck, but all in all he would probably choose here… even though back in Parfaedia the cookies are more like him - magic wielders - it’s nice for a change to not constantly feel like he’s in some sort of competition. 

Plus, Parfaedia isn’t as colourful as the Vanilla kingdom. Sure, they both sport blue and yellow hues throughout, but there's more of a variety like browns, greens and pinks. Most cookies walk here instead of travelling on their broomsticks. Even the knights, who have the option of riding their sugar horses around, they opt to walk around instead. Speaking of knights, he wonders if Madeleine is still on patrol at this hour… 

“What about you?” Espresso asks. 

“Hm?”

“…Sorry. I’m terrible at small talk.”

Butter Roll snickers, but not in a menacing way. “I know.” He scratches the back of his neck. “What did I do after getting expelled, you mean?”

“Yes.”

Butter Roll let his hands fall to his sides before looking down at his hands. The chalk dust stubbornly clung to his gloves.

“Many things,” he says finally. “But… I’d rather not talk about it.”

Espresso gladly accepts that answer.

“I understand.”

Whatever Butter Roll had done to get expelled, it must’ve been bad. But Espresso doesn’t know for sure. They were long broken up by then, and he wasn’t the one for petty gossip. 

But it’s whatever.

He won’t pry. 

The sun had only begun to come up on this lovely spring day. The blue birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and there's a very anxious mage trudging through the cobblestone paths.

“It’s been a week, Madeleine. A whole week! And I’ve done nothing!”

Espresso starts walking faster, causing Madeleine to jog to catch up to him. The mage hadn’t intended to say those words so loud. He was just… stressed.

“Ess!” Madeleine whisper-yells, keeping his voice down. “There are cookies still sleeping!”

Funny. It was usually the mage telling the knight to shut up. 

Espresso glances around to the buildings they were passing. Every door was shut and every single curtain was closed. He takes a deep breath to collect himself. It didn’t do much. 

“I have to go update Pure Vanilla this afternoon and I have absolutely nothing to show for it!”

They turned down a narrower path, straying them away from the more crowded streets to the more quieter ones. Espresso’s foot gets caught on a bush filled to life with colourful petals. He kicked them off. 

Madeleine moves up beside him now instead of trailing behind.

“Surely you have something?” he offers, still attempting to keep his voice low even though the sounds of his armor are louder than life itself. “What about that fang you took? Does your mission partner have something to show?”

Espresso shakes his head the second Madeleine finishes speaking.

“Whatever we’ve done is not good enough for me.”

A few early risers had begun to appear. Now Espresso really has to try to keep his voice strictly to a murmur. 

They continued on, he hadn’t even asked Madeleine to come. The knight caught a glimpse of him throwing on his coat when he was making his way out of his house, and decided to accompany him. 

Like he has nothing better to do. 

The houses they were passing faded out as shops replaced them. And finally, what he was looking for came into view. 

Espresso knows when getting requested to come help a kingdom, they house you in an apartment complex. He would know, he’s been to many before. The one in the Vanilla kingdom was… fine. To say the least. It was bigger than the ones in the other kingdoms he’s been to - like Dark Cacao’s and Hollyberries - but it was less furnished than theirs. There were nine levels to this one, each having their own little balcony in order to get fresh air. The mage knows it can get quite stuffy in there.

The exterior reminded him of the Pure Vanilla’s palace, mostly painted with creams and blues. A wide set of double doors greeted them as they made their way over. It was already pushed open, with a handful of cookies walking in and out carrying supplies. No one that Espresso recognises.

Luckily, there was a notice board right beside it, with various pinned papers neatly arranged with names and room numbers. A bit of a privacy breach if you’d ask Espresso. But oh well, what could you do?

The mage adjusts his glasses as he scans the papers, looking for one name in particular. No, not Butter Rolls, but he can only assume this is where he’s staying as well. 

Come on come on he has to be here. No no…hm…aha!

Espresso rushes through the already open double doors. He hasn’t been here for years. And by the looks of it. It hasn’t changed at all. The place always had a certain smell to it that Espresso could never put his finger on. The place constantly smelt like herbs, potions and chemicals to the point where it was almost nauseating. But it was to be expected, the place was only here to house cookies capable of offering help, so it only made sense they would bring all their equipment like potions and such.

The hallways were long. Extremely long. Thankfully, the carpet quieted the sounds of Madeleine’s hefty armor, dulling both his boots and Espresso’s heels. 

The energy in this complex felt… off. 

“Who are you looking for exactly-”

“Sh.”

The weird energy makes Espresso quicken his pace. They make their way up the stairs, there's no windows in this section which means absolutely no light source. Level two is exactly the same as downstairs, which heightens the uncanny feeling the mage is having. 

His eyes flick from plaque to plaque as he passes, scanning and skipping over any name that is unfamiliar. 

Finally.

Espresso stops at the door, cream coloured with a dark brown handle. He knocks three times. When no movement can be heard from the other end, Madeleine speaks up.

“Maybe they’re still sleeping-”

Classic jinxing. It always works. The second the knight says that the door swings open. 

“Hello. You may not remember me but we went to the same institution-”

“Espresso!”

Prune Juice wraps Espresso into a gentle hug, he smells strongly of plums and chemicals. 

“I haven’t seen you in years!”

Espresso awkwardly pats Prune Juices back with one hand. The hug was quickly finished as Prune Juice let go, stepping back with a sheepish smile. 

“Apologies about my appearance, I haven’t gotten ready for today.”

He hadn’t. He was dressed in long-sleeved pyjamas, slightly wrinkled, with his pants just the same. His violet hair was in a low ponytail, slightly falling out and framing his face. 

Espresso absentmindedly adjusted the collar of his own coat. 

“No need. Sorry about waking you… may we come in.”

Prune Juice steps aside, gesturing them in.

“Of course.”

At least the energy in here was much nicer than outside. The sweet scent of plums wasn’t so bad. The room itself was cluttered, but not messy. Kind of like Espresso’s laboratory. He was a tad concerned however about the warning labels stuck on each jar stacked on the shelves…

Espresso steps inside carefully, and Madeleine follows, hyper aware not to accidentally knock anything over. The last thing he wanted is for something to explode. 

The mage places a hand lightly against Madeleine’s arm, starting conversation. “Ah, right. Prune Juice, this is Madeleine, my… um… friend.”

He lets go of his arm. 

“Madeleine, this is Prune Juice, my former classmate.”

They acknowledge each other with a small nod, and Madeleine’s demeanor instantly brightens. Prune Juice meanwhile, looks Madeleine up and down, taking in the man and all his armor. 

“Friend, you said? Or personal bodyguard?”

Yup. Espresso remembers now why he didn’t keep contact with anyone after graduating. 

The ‘personal bodyguard’ chuckles. “If only he’d allow me.”

Espresso rolls his eyes and steps further into the room, also hyper-aware not to brush against anything that could tip over. “Very funny. Anyways… how have you ah… been?”

Prune Juice turns around and gestures for them to follow. He sits himself down on the carpeted floor. A carpeted floor and presumably dangerous potions? This place is a walking safety hazard.

The pair follow and sit around a coffee table, which is also clustered with vials. Prune Juice takes a handful and carefully places them on the floor, wiping his mitted gloves on his pyjama pants. He looks at Espresso, and Espresso looks right back. They haven’t seen each other since what felt like a lifetime. Prune Juice looks much more confident in how he carries himself since last time he saw him. Who knew someone could change so much?

“It’s okay,” he says gently. “I know you dislike small talk. Is everything alright?”

Espresso makes a tiny, frustrated sound under his breath. Who was he kidding? It was a whine. He pushes his glasses up his nose, buying time, but Prune Juice was already watching him. Witches, he wasn’t an open book, was he?

“Not exactly…”

Oh how Espresso wishes he could pace up and down right now. It’s how he gets his thoughts out and clears his head. It’s why he’s constantly standing, but he knows it's rude. So he doesn’t. His gaze drifts around the room, over all the clutter and warning labels, anything to avoid looking directly at either of them while he speaks. When he does finally start explaining, Espresso never thought he sounded so defeated in his entire life. This mission should be a piece of cake for crying out loud! They’re just trying to find ways to stop the creatures from breaking past the protection spell. How hard could it really be!?

By the time he finished, he had one knee drawn up to his chest, with his fingers absentmindedly tapping the table in front of them. Prune Juice had his arms folded whilst he was listening. Madeleine meanwhile, looked more stiff and uncomfortable with his position on the floor.

“You’re okay, Espresso,” Prune Juice says after the mage finished his story (rant). “We’re all struggling. I’m sure Pure Vanilla won’t be mad or even upset - he doesn't seem capable of it.”

Espresso’s shoulders drop a touch. 

“I… I know that.”

Madeleine places one hand on Espresso’s back. Rubbing up and down in slow movements. Espresso lets him. 

“What if the three of you work together?” Madeleine offers, glancing between them.

Prune Juice tilted his head. “Three?”

“Yeah-well, four, I suppose.” Madeleine adjusted slightly, clearly more comfortable speaking now that there was help he could give. “Who is your mission partner?”

“…Mission partner?”

Espresso turns his head toward Prune Juice, does he not have a partner?

“Yes?” Madeleine speaks for him. “The cookie you’ve been assigned with. Or ‘buddied up’ with, if you prefer.”

Prune Juice shakes his head slowly. “I wasn’t partnered up with anyone?” His gaze shifts back to Espresso. “Who are you with?”

Ah. So maybe not all cookies were assigned with someone else. Strange. Espresso tucks a piece of hair behind his ear as he speaks. 

“Ah, Butter Roll. You may not remember him, he-”

“What!?”

Prune Juice immediately covers his mouth. His eyes dart towards Madeleine, then back to Espresso.

“Sorry. So sorry.” He lowers his voice, though his expression remains the same. “But Butter Roll? As in the man that was expelled?”

“Yes.”

There wasn’t any point dancing around it - there weren’t many cookies by that name, and fewer still who had left the academy in the way Butter Roll had. He tucks yet another stray piece of hair behind his ear again, watching as Prune Juice leans forward across the table. 

“Espresso,” he whispers, face as serious as it could be, “do you know what that man did?”

“I…” Espresso pauses, he really doesn’t know. “No. I didn’t care much for gossip.”

Not trying to get involved in gossip was hard if your name was Espresso and your best friend's name was Latte. Latte was much more social than Espresso ever was, painfully so. She constantly tried to get him to be friends with her friends. But the problem was she had too many friends, and it overwhelmed Espresso a lot. But even with her failed attempts at friendships, she never failed to tell Espresso all the ‘juicy’ gossip circulating around school. She would find Espresso in the library during their break periods and sit across from him when he was trying to study. Maybe somewhere along the lines she had told espresso about Butter Roll, but he didn’t really care enough to remember. That pretty much sums up his teen years.

“He’s mental,” Prune Juice says bluntly, then winces at his own wording. “Which is rude to say, but it’s the truth. He experimented on… dead things…”

Espresso frowns.

“Is that it?” he questions, he was expecting something much worse. “I used to experiment on dead frogs all the time?”

Espresso had such fond memories from those biology classes all the way back in high school. Granted, those were the worst years of his life, he’s lucky he got a scholarship into that school, otherwise he’d be in debt for presumably the rest of his life trying to pay off the tuition fees. 

Prune Juice shakes his head quickly.

“No, Espresso… like…” He lifts a mitted hand and points between the three of them.

Madeleine’s brows drew together, quickly connecting the dots. “Cookies?” he asks, his voice dropping. “As in crumbled… dead cookies…?”

Prune Juice nods. 

“They may have just been rumours,” he adds, though he didn’t sound convinced by his own words. “But I once walked past the principal’s office and saw him inside with Officer Almond. The doors were closed, but I could hear loud voices from within. He must’ve done something wrong with the law…”

No. There's just no way. The mage knew Butter Roll was always striving to achieve more, but so was everyone else?

“But… I knew him.” Espresso fidgets with his fingers. “If that’s true, then there’s no way I could’ve been that oblivious…”

His mind races back to all those years ago. There was nothing to suggest that Butter Roll would do something as taboo as that. Nothing at all. 

Or maybe there was, and Espresso just hadn’t cared enough to realise. Witches, he probably was the worst boyfriend in all of Earthbread. No wonder Butter Roll broke up with him.

Prune Juice posture straightens. 

“Wait-that’s right…” His eyes sharpen as he looks at Espresso. “Didn’t you used to date him? How have you never heard about this?”

First of all, he had asked Butter Roll to keep their relationship on the downlow. Not wanting his select few friends to know he had f…f… feelings. So the fact that Prune Juice knows about it is astonishing. 

Ugh. It was probably latte going around telling all their classmates. 

Madeleine leans forward so fast his shoulder bumps Espresso’s.

“What?” he questions, peering over to get a better look at his friend's face. “Espresso, you never told me this?”

Espresso doesn’t even look at him. He lifts a hand and pushes lightly against Madeleine’s face, guiding him back out and away from his personal space.

“I don’t exactly share information about topics like that,” he says flatly. “But we weren’t dating dating. It just sort of happened and -ugh- this is unimportant!”

Prune Juice purses his lips together, Espresso could tell he wanted to say more, but wisely chose not to. He looks at Espresso suspiciously. But whatever he was looking for within the mage, he didn’t find it.

“Sorry,” he settles for instead. “I’d rather not associate myself with him.” He brushes a stray label off the table’s surface with the side of his hand. “But you can come by my room anytime. What room number is yours?”

“Oh, no. I live here.”

Prune Juice’s eyes widen. “You left Parfaedia?”

“Yes.”

Parfaedia had been useful - with all the connections, resources, a place to steadily establish himself - but he knew it wasn’t forever. It has served its purpose. But it wasn’t here. Wasn’t here in the Vanilla Kingdom where he had his own home and laboratory. All the work and experiments he did was for himself (except for now in this semi-crisis). He’s finally where he wants to be in life. That was what mattered. 

“Anyways,” Espresso quickly dismisses the oncoming conversation, “back to the issue at hand.”

What was meant to be a short visit quickly turned into hours of sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Prune Juice’s notes spread out across the table. Espresso liked how easy conversation came for the two of them once they warmed up to one another. He’s sure Butter Roll won’t mind if he ditches him to work with someone else for one day. There's been many times during the past week where Butter Roll has left to go with his own devices afterall. 

At some point, Madeleine had to leave to go back on patrol. Even though he was up and working before any of the other knights, he is the Knight Commander so being away from his duties wasn’t really an option. 

Before both of them knew it, time caught up to them, and it was time to go.

The meeting room in the castle was a familiar place for Espresso. Probably can’t say the same for the other cookies here. 

Pure Vanilla took his place standing at an empty spot of the circular table, and everyone else took their places in their chairs. All invitees were given a notebook and a pen to take down notes. Espresso was much of an ink and quill guy, or even a chalk and chalkboard guy for that matter. But he would never complain. 

Espresso takes a seat without much thought, placing the notebook and pen in front of him. He could hear other cookies talking amongst themselves. No one sounded particularly hopeful.

Eventually, Butter Roll walks in, settling himself on the chair beside Espresso. And Espresso hates that across the table Prune Juice is giving him an “are you serious?” look.

Espresso attempts to look busy, flipping through the empty notebook pages, was Prune Juice seriously still looking at him?

The meeting began once everyone arrived. Prune Juice was right, no one had any new or useful information. Just observations that everybody already knew.

Pure Vanilla’s staff clenched tightly in one hand, though his posture was calm. He apologised for the strain this situation had placed on everyone. But Espresso was too distracted by his hair to register the words properly. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to get used to Pure Vanilla with long hair.

It kind of looks like Madeleine’s…

The sounds of loud, uneven clanking pulled Espresso out of his thoughts. He turns his head towards the noise coming from beyond the doors. And so did everyone else. 

The doors pushed open, and the mage couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

Strawberry Crepe, the one cookie in this kingdom Espresso can confidently say matches his brains, enters the room sitting on one of the two wafflebots they brought with them. They didn’t apologise for coming in late, so the mage guesses that means they must have some news to share.

And he guessed correctly. 

Behind them, one of their Wafflebot rolled forward in a ball. The metal joints clicking was quite frankly, an earsore. But the noise stopped as the wafflebot uncurled from its ball, its large claw clutching tightly onto something before placing it down at the centre of the table. 

A live, whole breathing, cakehound.

Almost immediately, chairs fell to the floor as cookies urgently stood up, even Espresso’s. Stepping back, everyone reached for either their weapons or positioned to ready spells if needed.

Espresso eyes were locked on the creature - on the way its chest rose and fell, on the way its head shifted slightly as it took in its new surroundings. On the way it didn’t… attack… or do anything at all…

Pure Vanilla lifted his staff, the glow gathering in the middle, but Strawberry Crepe intervened before anyone could harm the thing. 

“No no no!” they yell, waving their hands towards the cakehound. “It’s friendly. Can’t you all see!?”

If anything, that only made everyone in the room go on higher alert.

Strawberry Crepe clicks their tongue. 

“Ugh. You’re all so dramatic.”

They turned slightly and tapped the side of the Wafflebot. It responded in record time, adjusting its stance and lowering itself just enough for Strawberry Crepe to climb down. The sudden weight caused the machine to whirr, bringing back that horrific clanking noise. 

Strawberry Crepe jumped off the Waffelbots arm and onto the table, right next to the cakehound. They extended an arm out towards it, and Espresso felt his stomach drop at the sight. 

But instead of anything gory or horrific happening, the cakehound simply sniffed Strawberry Crepes sleeve, its tongue darting out to slobberily lick the fabric. Akin to what a creamwolf from the Dark Cacao kingdom would do to its owner. 

Espresso watches the creature’s posture, the lack of aggression, and the way it happily wagged its tail. He could tell everyone in the room was still on high alert. 

“Now watch.”

Strawberry Crepe clicks their fingers, and their Wafflebot reaches behind its back compartment before returning with a syringe. 

When the syringe was being handed over, Espresso had to stop himself from gasping as he saw the familiar, thick purple liquid that was filled to the brim of it. Same shade and everything. 

The second Strawberry Crepe got hold of the syringe, they drove the needle straight into the cakehounds side, injecting every drop of the liquid inside. 

Before anyone could process what was happening, the cakehound whined. Its body flinching, and head tilting as though it was confused. Its posture snapped tight, limbs locking before jerking sharply. Its mouth opened too wide, teeth bared as a low, broken snarl forced its way out. It was… horrifying. 

It was the same creature… but also not?

Espresso, at this very moment, instantly understood what was happening, much goes for everyone else in the room. Everything he’d been trying to do all had been answered. Whatever this purple goo was, it was allowing the cakehounds to become stronger. This is how they keep breaking past the barrier. 

Recognising a threat to its creator, the Wafflebots heavy arm came down and squashed the cakehound before it had the chance to lunge, bite, or even move. 

When it lifted its arm up, all that was left was jam and that purple guck.

“I cannot believe it! This mission may run smoothly after all.”

For the first time in over a week, relief spreads through Espresso’s body. Or maybe it was the satisfying feeling of finally having something useful to work with. Now that is a feeling he’s used to.

The mage holds the vial carefully at eye level as he tilts it towards the afternoon sunlight. The liquid inside swished against the glass sluggishly at the sudden movement. 

Hm…

“Absolutely unbelievable,” he continues, giving it a slight shake and watching how it reacted. “How did Strawberry Crepe manage to get samples for everybody?”

They were long gone from the castle grounds at this point, moving back into the livelier parts of the kingdom. Once Pure Vanilla had quickly guided everyone out of the meeting room and far away from the mysterious purple liquid, Strawberry Crepe’s Wafflebot handed out glass samples of the goo to everyone. Even Pure Vanilla, who took it, but not before scolding Crepe for putting everyone in danger. 

The scent of fresh bread waffled through the air, they must be getting close to the markets. It's risky to have stalls up and running with everything that’s happening, but Espresso can’t hear any sounds of voices or conversations, so there mustn't be anyone out buying.

Witches. He hasn’t had a proper meal since this mission began…

Espresso places a hand on Butter Roll’s shoulder, the gesture done in an act of pure excitement.

“And to think it was Madeleine that helped discover this goop,” he says, almost amused to himself. “Maybe that oaf really is smarter than he looks. Oh, he’ll be so thrilled once I tell him.”

Only when the mage glanced up did he realise Butter Roll wasn’t listening. Or even looking at him for that matter. He was facing directly forward, fingers clenching firmly against his own sample. 

Espresso’s hand drops from his shoulder.

“Apologies,” he says, the energy in his voice pulling back a fraction. “I don’t mean to be so loud. I’m just happy we can finally make some type of magic that’s resistant to this, and it can put less stress on the protection spell.”

He inspects  the vial once more in his hand, before slipping it carefully into his coat pocket. For real this time, he could do so much with this. 

“I cannot wait to get back to my own research.”

The mage takes another step before stepping dead in his tracks. 

“…Butter Roll?”

The man in question flinches, snapping back into reality, Espresso was a couple feet away from him now. 

“Oh. Yes. I’m thrilled as well.”

Espresso studies him. “You don’t appear so…”

Butter Roll looks down at the vial in his hand. For a second, that was all he focused on. Two cookies brushed by them, interlinking arms and murmuring hushedly. Espresso only looked at them briefly to see if he recognised them. But they were unfamiliar. The only familiar subject Espresso recognised was Butter Roll in front of him, continuing to calmly inspect the purple liquid.

Normal.

Everything seemed normal.

“I am,” Butter Roll says finally. Their eyes met, and Espresso can’t bring himself to tear himself away. “I can’t wait to get back to my own research also.”

A normal answer.

His shoulders drop.

“I just…” He pauses, placing the sample in his breast pocket. “Will miss all this.”

He takes a step closer.

“Us. Spending time together.”

Espresso’s arms instinctively fold over his chest, shifting from one heel onto the other. “Whatever do you mean? You will miss spending time with me?” He squints at the man in front of him. “If my memory serves me correctly, you broke up with me.”

Butter Roll’s chest rises up and down as he steadies himself, whatever this… confession was, was seriously starting to confuse Espresso.  

“And I was a fool to do so.”

Espresso hates how vulnerable he is feeling right now, he looks around them, as sees that it's just the two of them outside. The heels that he’s used to wearing every single day suddenly pained the soles of his feet. They’re standing on a ragged cobblestone path filled with rocks. Espresso is merely uncomfortable. 

Was he hearing things correctly?

Butter Roll closes the gap between them, pebbles crunching beneath his boots. He places his hands on Espresso’s shoulders, peering down so they are at eye length. 

“School was hard for me,” Butter Roll admits, whispering. “I didn’t handle stressful situations respectfully. You remember, right? I used to get pulled into the principal’s office because of it…”

Espresso tries his hardest to conjure up a memory of the scene. But he just couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. Though pretending he did was the safest option. 

“I do.”

Butter Roll’s lips curve into a smile, and then his posture softened just slightly. “I’ve changed. And it seems like you have as well. You appear… happier.”

Espresso tucks a hair behind his ear, the mage is long due for a haircut. He looks away, toward the empty paths everywhere. “Moving here… was the best decision of my life… is all I’ll say.”

Butter Roll nods, but didn't let go of him just yet. 

“Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy,” Butter Roll says quietly. He could probably hear the sounds of Espresso’s heart beating rapidly. Why is that?

Espresso took a deep breath, the faint scent of sugar and pastries doing absolutely jackshit to calm the anxiety in his chest. Politely, he takes Butter Rolls hands in his own and gently guides them off his shoulders.

“My lab?” he suggests. “We have work to do.”

Espresso fits the key into the lock, turning it only to realise it was already unlocked. Okay. This whole “breaking and entering into Espresso’s lab” thing was honestly getting ridiculous.

Quickly, he nudges the door open with his arm, noticing through his peripheral vision that everything has been untouched since the last time he came in here - and the smell of his perfectly made coffee had not disappeared, only now mixing in with the scent of vanilla. 

He lets out an audible sigh of relief when he realises the intruder was just Madeleine. Not in his armor, which was an unusual sight these days. 

The knight was sitting comfortably in one of the chairs. He held up the spare silver key in his hand, the same spare one Espresso gave him months ago so he would stop coming in through the window unannounced.

Without even bothering to shut the door behind him, Espresso strides over and reaches into his coat pocket, pulling out the vial and extending it towards Madeleine.

“Look. Do not open it.”

Madeleine’s eyes widened as he took it, he relaxed his hand as he clutched it, mindful not to put any more added pressure to the glass. He lifts it up to the lightbulb, swishing it around like Espresso was doing moments prior outside. 

“Wow…” he whispers. “How did you get so much?”

Espresso only gives a shrug. “You’ll have to ask Strawberry Crepe,” he says, right before grabbing Madeleine’s shoulder and shaking it excitedly. “But isn’t it incredible? This can all be over in no time.”

The mage is probably going to have to request for more supplies. When they experimented with the fang, it melted under the guise of Espresso’s coffee magic but was resistant to the tip of Butter Rolls whisk. He’ll have to go the old fashioned way and use just his machinery this time, just to be safe. 

“Though it does make me question some things…”

Espresso was unaware Butter Roll had not entered until he heard footsteps coming up behind him. The man shuts the door and flicks his attention over to the vial in the knight's hands, he raises a brow. 

“Like what?” he asks.

Before Espresso could explain his confusion, Madeleine stands up, taking Espresso’s hand within his own. Neither were wearing gloves, so the profound warmth spreading his hand made him jolt slightly. 

“My dear friend… may I talk to you?”

He squeezes Espresso’s hand tighter.

“Privatley?”

It didn’t go past Espresso that Madeleine’s demeanor was different.

“…Is it urgent?” he asks.

Madeleine doesn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

That was enough for Espresso. He withdrew his hand before turning towards the door and leading the way out of the lab, with a small quip over his shoulder to Butter Roll that he’ll only be a moment. They stepped down the mini set of stairs until Espresso decided that outside was the perfect spot - it’s dark, so he can barely see, but he drags Madeleine towards a streetlight that gives enough glow to see the other’s face clearly.

Neither of them spoke, and Espresso hated that. If Madeleine had something on his mind, why couldn’t he just spill it? He hates his time being wasted and hates even more that Madeleine possibly feels as if he cannot tell the mage something. They were friends. Right?

“Espresso.”

Finally.

“Ever since our beautiful, great, blossoming friendship bloomed,” Madeleine begins, and Espresso would've been slightly irritated with his choice of words under any other circumstances, “I have made it my goal, as a knight, to care for you, as I do for all my friends.”

“I’m aware. It is painfully obvious.”

Madeleine takes no offense. If anything, his expression softened at Espresso’s words.

“Still…” he continued slowly, as if he was choosing his words very carefully, “ever since our visit to that classmate of yours, you must know how uneasy I feel about Butter Roll. He’s… well… you know. I’d hate for you-”

“To get hurt?”

Espresso interjected dryly, almost defensive if someone were to really listen. Though when he blinks, that defense leaves his face and morphs into appreciation.

“I can handle myself,” he went on. “And Butter Roll…” His voice wavers for just a fraction of a second. “I don’t believe what Prune Juice told me about him is true. I’m sorry. I just don’t.”

Sensing Madeleine was not convinced, the mage continued.

“He’s not trying to hurt me,” Espresso adds. “Nor has he ever hurt me.”

“I understand that,” Madeleine sighs. “But please, Espresso, I-”

“Madeleine, just stop. Please.”

The knight was taken aback, but he didn’t seem to be giving up. He never does. If Madeleine was truly concerned - to the point it led them to this - then Espresso really doesn’t know what to say. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know, but-” 

“Madeleine,” he tries again, voice firm, “I don’t need you upsetting me while we’re trying to figure out this mess.”

Espresso pulls off his glasses, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. He doesn’t have any medicine in his lab for headache reliefs, so he’d hate to get one now of all times. 

“I… ugh.”

This is ridiculous.

“Just… go home.”

Under the streetlight, Madeleine’s hair shines as brightly as it does under any other real light. The knight has it tied in a ponytail, wrapped in a light blue ribbon one of his aunties gifted him. Espresso has only met them once, same goes with Madeleine’s mother, when they visited during the holiday period last year. Unfortunately for Espresso, they had liked him, exceedingly so. So he fears that won’t be the last time he sees of them.   

“…I’ll see you tomorrow?” Madeleine checks.

Espresso nodded, and Madeleine wished him farewell. He knew the other was only being overprotective.

Espresso has nothing to worry about, right?

Right?

“Thank you for taking me.”

Espresso rests one hand against the saddle to steady himself as the sugar horse galloped. He’s been on Madeleine’s horse, Buttercup, before - but he’s still not used to it. The fact that cookies learnt to tame such giant creatures is impressive. Espresso knows he would hate to do that, he simply just doesn’t have the patience, but it's not surprising Madeleine does.

But he doesn’t hate the creatures. Far from it actually. He always wanted a pet growing up, but he didn't have the funds. Maybe in another universe, he has two cats. Probably either black or brown in fur, and they follow him around. Espresso would pretend he hates it, but deep down, he adores them. 

Or maybe one day, in the near future, he’ll get one.

“Anytime!” Madeleine yells to cut through the wind. “You know I’m always happy to help!”

The further they rode, the quieter it became. The sounds of hooves on grass reminded Espresso of his time in the Creme Republic. When a knight there reaches the age of thirteen, they get gifted a horse to train and take care of. Madeleine’s mother probably picked Buttercup out for him, since the colour of her fur is white and golden. It suits him. 

The barrier came into view. The translucent blue was easier to see closer up. On foot, Espresso has never seen it up close before. Only when leaving the kingdom in a hot air balloon does it become visible. The complexion is akin to silk, and it feels like going through a cobweb when passing through.

“We’re here.”

Madeleine slows Buttercup to a stop, and Espresso is the first to jump off. Madeleine follows, reaching into the pouch connected to the saddle and pulling out a sugar cube. He passes it to Espresso, and the mage happily feeds it to Buttercup. 

After ordering her to stay put, they both walk closer to the border. And oh, the problem really was uglier up close. 

The tears were about three cookies tall. What surprised Espresso is how neat the gaps looked, they looked almost intentional. There were no bite or claw marks. The broken parts hummed and appeared to be attempting to fix itself, pulling and trying to shut the tears, but it was no use. 

Espresso steps forwards, and Madeleine instantly reaches out. 

“Woah woah woah.”

Espresso stops. If the knight wasn’t so strong, he’d pull away. 

“It’s by Pure Vanilla’s orders that we only go past in large groups,” Madeleine informs. “Two is not a big number.”

Espresso purses his lips. Witched dammit these stupid rules.

“Buttercup counts as three.”

“Ha ha! No.”

Espresso pulls his eyes away from the border, looking back at Madeleine. He was smiling at Espresso’s silly statement, but even the mage knew he wasn’t budging on this. 

“Can’t you just bend the rules for me?” Espresso pleads.

“Sorry, Espresso. Rules are rules.”

Espresso takes a step. “You have your sword, yes? I obviously have my magic. It’s fine.”

He is not going to tell Madeleine his magic was useless against the purple guck. No way on Earthbread. The knight would have him back on the horse and straight home. 

“You asked me to take you to the perimeter,” Madeleine pulls him closer. “Not inside.”

Espresso stupidly acts oblivious. “Did I? I don’t recall that.”

It didn’t work, obviously. 

“Madeleine,” Espresso tries again, “you’re telling me you’ve never broken a rule, ever? Not even during your school years?”

“I’m not breaking rules when it comes to your safety.”

From his time spent with the man, Espresso can confidently say he can read Madeleine like an open book. The knight needs some sort of assurance, even if it doesn’t mean much to Espresso.

“How about a deal?”

Madeleine sighs. “This already sounds like a bad idea.”

“We don’t go far,” Espresso points at the barrier. “And we’ll stay within arms reach at all times.”

Madeleine lets him talk.

“If we’re unlucky, and something bad happens, we’ll run back immediately.”

“Espresso…”

“If we don’t do this,” he continues, cutting him off before he could object, “then everything I’ve been working on is just theory.”

Espresso is a smart individual. Everyone in this kingdom knows that. His magic is great but his brain is greater. Only once, out of however many missions he’s been on. He’s only been injured once.

He doesn’t count on this being his second. 

“Let me do my job.”

They walk deeper without speaking. The further they walk, the more muddy and shallow the forest becomes. The tree's bark is a dark purple, not like that nice shade of brown that populates the villages of the Vanilla kingdom.

Madeleine keeps close. Close enough that Espresso can feel the air coming throughout his nose and onto his neck. 

“What exactly are you looking for?”

Espresso hears him. He just doesn’t answer. He’s more interested in the angry claw marks that are scratched on the ginormous trees. 

The mage stops in his tracks, and Madeleine bumps into him. A cakehound, obviously infected with that purple goo lies crumbled next to a tree. The jaw hangs open slightly, and even from far away Espresso can see the residue around its mouth. 

They cautiously walk over and Espresso drops into a crouch beside the carcass, reaching into his satchel before pulling out empty handed.

“Ugh. I didn’t bring gloves again.”

Wordlessly, Madeleine pulls his own off, handing them out to Espresso. He takes them and puts them on. They’re far too big, so he has to adjust them, flexing his hands once, then reaches for his tools. 

The syringe slides into its neck clean. It sits there empty for a second, like it's trying to resist before giving in. He pulls the jam out slowly, watching it fill to the brim. 

“You just needed jam?” Madeleine’s voice stays low. “You could’ve just asked-”

“Quiet.”

He transfers the sample into a vial and lifts it toward the light, which is a struggle to do so through the thick, large trees. He tilts the glass up and down. 

“I knew it.”

He reaches into his satchel again and pulls out the other vial - the samples that Strawberry Crepe has given everyone. He holds them side by side, angling them until the sunlight shines through both.

“Madeleine. Did you take biology in high school?”

“No. The only science I took was physics.”

Of course. The hardest science subject available, probably top of the class as well. He probably took something else hard like law as well. Nevermind. He’s getting distracted.

“Shame. It was interesting.”

“I’m assuming you did? Did you enjoy it?”

“No. It was too easy.”

Despite not teaching at the Parfaedia institute for years, Espresso can still pull out his strict teacher voice when needed. And Witches did he need that a lot back in the day. 

“Come here and look up. What do you see?”

Madeleine looks up to the vials directed at the sunlight. He leans in to follow Espresso’s line of sight. The knight's eyes adjust to the light with no problem, meanwhile the mage is squinting and fighting for his life. 

“Hm… sorry to disappoint, professor, but I really cannot tell.”

Espresso almost smiles at that before he catches himself. This is a serious lesson- ah no, conversation. 

“Do not call me that.”

He lowers both vials out of the sun. The strain in his eyes eases and he blinks a few times to clear the spots attacking his vision. It’s easier to think out from the sun. 

“Almost everything living that breathes and walks has jam in them,” he starts. “What’s in our jam consists of red jam cells and white jam cells. You usually cannot see them with the naked eye, but for some reason, with these cakehounds, you can.”

Madeleine nods along. It’s an easier said than done concept. 

“Ah… I see now. Is it those particles moving around?”

“Yes.”

The particles are easier to see in the sun, probably easier with a microscope if he owned one. He might request for Pure Vanilla to get him one. But the light works well enough. 

Madeleine takes the two vials in his own hands, placing them side by side. 

“…And you said you can only see them in jam?”

“Yes.”

“…So why are there only cells in the purple liquid?”

The findings were unsettling, he’s yet to tell Butter Roll. Madeleine was the one who discovered that purple guck after all. It’s only fair Espresso tells him first. He doesn’t know why the purple liquid has cells in it, when the jam doesn’t. But he’ll do whatever it takes to figure it out.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking…”

There is rustling from the trees overhead - right above them - and fallen leaves surround them. Espresso takes the vials back in his hold. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yes, please.”

If you had asked Espresso a year ago today what he would be doing at this hour in a semi-emergency kingdom crisis, it would not involve sitting at a small outdoor table with a drink someone else made for him, watching the Knight Commander of all cookies happily sipping on his monstrosity of a milkshake. 

It's vanilla flavoured. Madeleine always orders it. If Espresso were to buy a drink that contained milk - which he would never do - he’d most likely go for chocolate… okay maybe caramel… and maybe with a little cherry on top. 

“I am utterly speechless,” Espresso says, eyeing the drink. “That looks… exceedingly sugary.”

Madeleine takes a large sip. “It is delicious. Would you like to try it?”

Espresso thought the other man knew him. Apparently not. 

“Absolutely not.”

Their pastries arrive, and Espresso pushes the newspaper aside so they can be placed neatly in front of them. He hasn’t eaten something filling in a long time. It’s a bad habit, but one he’s had since he was a little boy when he was too busy researching. But if someone could convince Espresso to get away from his research. It would be Madeleine. 

Espresso takes a bite from his pastry. It’s heavenly. “Would you not get in trouble being here?”

“Trouble?”

“Not patrolling.”

“Ah.” Madeleine leans an elbow on the table. “Weekends. My understudy takes over. I have full faith in her.”

Espresso takes a sip of coffee. He’s surprised, knowing that Madeleine likes being the one in charge, that he would let someone else lead for a short while. 

“That is… surprisingly reasonable of you.”

Madeleine only chuckles, Espresso doesn’t remember saying anything funny, he dismisses it and continues. 

“As an estimate. How many creatures have you seen break past the spell?”

“Quite a few!” Madeleine beams, and the waiter turns his head at the booming voice. “They’re big, but no match for me of course!” 

Espresso’s shoulders dip at the volume, and he lowers his head, instinctively trying to make himself less noticeable even though they’re seated in the open. There is nowhere to disappear to here, no lab bench or chalkboard to turn toward. Espresso should really learn a teleportation spell. 

“I hate when you bring attention to us.”

Madeleine snickers, not bothering to hide the wide smile that follows. Espresso looks back on the newspaper he pushed aside moments ago. He still doesn’t pick it up. The idea of reading it feels unnecessary right now. Work can wait. He won’t bring up anything work related again today with Madeleine.

Madeleine finishes his milkshake and leans forward, being mindful to keep his voice down to not embarrass Espresso. “It wasn’t my intention to upset you yesterday.”

Espresso taps a finger lightly against the table. “...You did no such thing. I was more annoyed than anything. I worded myself poorly.”

Madeleine mimics his movements. “Still… I try hard not to judge a book by its cover… but if you-”

“Madeleine.”

The knight only sighs. Madeleine was stubborn in certain scenarios. But stubborn was Espresso’s middle name. 

“Okay fine.”

He reaches for a napkin from the side of the table and reaches forward, extending his hand toward Espresso’s face. Espresso reacts just as quickly, swatting his hand away and snatching the napkin from him.

“I’m no toddler.”

“I’m aware,” Madeleine replies. “I was ensuring you didn’t start finding me annoying again.”

Espresso scrunches up the napkin and places it in Madeleine's empty cup. “And how well do you think that worked?”

Madeleine places a finger to his chin, like he was pretending to think. “Hm…” he hums.

“Splendidly!”

“That’s no good…”

Espresso can’t keep his eye away from the test tube. The guck inside has been continuing to shift on its own, the purple substance rising and falling, like it was breathing. Like it has a mind of its own. 

Butter Roll stands a short distance away, fanning himself with a folded sheet of paper. Several of Espresso’s machines are up and running all at once around the room. They have a built-in system to release cold air so nothing overheats. Espresso implemented that years ago after he accidentally burned the palm of his hand. Though because of that, there is a horrific hissing noise that fills the room. It’s become background music over the years to Espresso. Butter Roll, not so much. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

Espresso crouches to get a better look, careful not to touch it. The purple liquid inside continues slosh, responding to nothing visible. It was being untouched by anything, yet reacting as if it was being touched.

“I do not remember this happening before… do you?”

Butter Roll lowers his makeshift paper fan, removing his goggles to see more clearly. 

“Can’t say I did…”

Espresso makes a small motion with his hand without looking away from the tube. “Pass me your sample.”

Butter Roll places his glasses back on his face. “No can do. I’ve already experimented on mine. It’s all gone now.”

Espresso really shouldn’t be surprised, if he hasn’t seen it in his lab, then it's good for gone. “Well was it moving like this one?”

Butter Roll almost stutters. “Uh… sorry. Don’t remember.”

He steps back again and resumes fanning himself, this time more desperately, the paper was bringing him almost no relief. His posture tightens as the heat continues to grow hotter. 

“Can I open the window?”

Espresso clicks his pen on, writing notes down on a notebook, the same supplies given to him during the meeting with Pure Vanilla. He might as well make the most out of it. 

“If you must.”

Butter Roll eagerly moves to the only window in the laboratory, loosening the latch and sliding it all the way up. Cool air hits both of them, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass. It is unknown to Espresso why Butter Roll even asked for permission, he was more than happy to come in through his window the other week. 

Butter Roll sighs in relief at the temperature shift. “How can you work in this heat?”

Espresso flicks to a fresh page. The notebook was small in size, only a few pages thick. If he keeps writing at this speed, it will last him until tomorrow if he's lucky. “My magic keeps me immune to heat,” he replies without looking up. “In the cold though? It is useless for some reason.”

Butter Roll lowers himself into a chair next to where Espresso is standing. The floorboards creeks with two cookies being at the same spot. Espresso almost feels bad for them, they’ve been under a lot of added pressure recently. Almost is the key word, he doesn’t have attachment to non-living things like floorboards. 

The folded paper finds its way in Butter Rolls hands again, but not before ripping off the gloves concealing his hands. There were a few strands of hair stuck to his jaw, likewise with Espresso, except Butter Rolls were due to the heat and Espresso was in desperate need of a haircut. 

“You know you should really tie up your hair when experimenting. Though I feel as if you of all cookies would know that.”

Sometimes, the biggest hypocrite is yourself. 

Butter Roll lets his hand fall from his hair. “Bad habits are hard to break.”

The response gives Espresso déjà vu. Out of everything, he hates that “bad habits” is the phrase that gives it to him.

“Agreed… I get that a lot.”

Butter Roll leans back in his chair, letting the open window blow through his hair.

“Hey… what were you going to tell me the other day?”

Espresso’s pen slows, then stops entirely.

“Hm?”

“The day we were all given the samples. You said it made you question some things.”

Espresso looks down at the now half filled page. Nevermind, he’s lucky if this'll last him until the end of the night.

“Ah, yes.” He sets the pen down. “Isn’t this all kind of… odd?”

Butter Roll resumes fanning himself, slower now that he’s more focused on Espresso’s words, being quiet as he listens. 

“The cakehound that Strawberry Crepe brought in… it was acting friendly.”

Butter Roll nods. “Yeah. I can see where you’re heading…” 

Espresso reaches for his pen again and moves it towards the bottom of the page. He sketches a half-assed image of a cakehound. The crumbled one Espresso took jam samples from with Madeleine. 

“It's basic knowledge that cakehounds aren’t necessarily evil… just wild beasts. So that one would’ve had to have been tamed. Who would tame such a thing? And nonetheless where on earthbread did Strawberry Crepe even find a tamed one?”

Butter Roll brushes all his hair to one side, raking them through with his fingers to take out any knots the heat might have made. “It did look different from the other carcasses I’ve seen. Different breeds perhaps. It may have been a stray.”

Espresso finishes the cakehound drawing. It looks horrendous. “Different carcasses?”

Butter Roll’s hand motions stop. “Oh… yes! The other day when you were out, I was off grabbing supplies, and I saw a bunch of them slain by the knights.”

Espresso rips off the page and pins it to the wall. 

“And where exactly was this?”

“Near the castle. Didn’t you see all the newspapers about it? And with the new safety protocols?”

No. No he has not.

“Yes. How could I forget.”

Butter Roll looks up at the new addition to the wall and hums. “Large creatures, aren’t they? They appear cute, yet so feral.”

Espresso looks up with him. Oh shit, he forgot to draw the ears.

“You seem troubled. My drink offer is still up in the air.”

Closing the notebook, Espresso decides he’ll just write with chalk for the rest of the night. He opens a drawer and sees the envelope filled with photos. Oh great, he still has to organise those. 

“Once all this is over,” Espresso places the notebook on top of the envelope. “I’ll have one drink to celebrate before you return home. Wherever that may be…”

Butter Roll slouches back in the chair, throwing his head back in despair. 

“You’re crumbling me here!”

Espresso doesn’t react to the dramatics. “No one is stopping you from going to the bar alone.”

“I don’t want to go alone. I want to go with you.”

Espresso sighs and picks up his packet of chalk, opening it to see he only has three left. 

“Let’s not lose focus.”

Unlike some cookies, Espresso prides himself on not breaking and entering. He knocks like any normal cookie would do and waits patiently with his hands behind his back. He hears shuffling from the other end, followed by the door swinging open just enough to reveal Strawberry Crepe, looking rather irritated.

“You’re lucky you’re you,” Strawberry Crepe mumbles. “If it was anyone else knocking at my door at this hour…” They drag a thumb across their throat in a slicing motion before stepping aside.

Espresso goes to shut the door behind him, but the Wafflebot beats him to it. It makes a little happy noise upon recognising the mage, and Espresso suddenly feels bad that it had to crumble that cakehound. But then again the Wafflebot isn’t a living thing. It’s a robot. But it can recognise Espresso… but then again it’s programmed to do that…

Oh whatever. It's all too confusing.

Strawberry Crepe’s workshop is a place Espresso has been to many times. Just like his own lab, there's pinned up papers and drawings, sketches on chalkboards. The only difference is the huge robots scattered everywhere, and the wires running from the roof to the floor. Espresso watches his step, he wouldn’t want the other to be mad with the mage if tripped on anything. Espresso was just more concerned with making a fool out of himself. 

“I’ll only be here briefly. Have you found anything new?”

Strawberry Crepe hops onto the back of one of their Wafflebot, the machine quickly compensating at the added weight, the digital eyes changing to a joyful expression. 

“Thanks for reminding me of my failures,” they reply. “No, I have not. I haven’t discovered anything since the meeting. This is all so annoying! Who cares if these pesky creatures are breaking through the spell, we have the knights to protect us! I wanna get back to my own work.”

Espresso follows Strawberry Crepe on their Wafflebot.

“We cannot rely on them with this forever. They have enough things to worry about. This matter just puts more stress on them.”

Strawberry Crepe points at a flame-torch on the table. The Wafflebot picks it up, giving it a once over to ensure there's nothing wrong with it before handing it over. 

“Why do you even care?” Strawberry Crepe asks. “I thought you hated those divine light-wielders… unless…”

They shuffle onto the edge of the Wafflebots head, kicking their legs back and forth with a shit-eating grin.

“Madeleine and Espresso sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

Espresso splutters, pausing in his steps abruptly and almost tripping over his own feet in the process. 

“What the-!? I-it’s not -we’re not- I don’t like him!”

Strawberry Crepe flicks the flame-torch on, a small blue flame appears, and the Wafflebot hands them over a metal mask without its creator having to command it.

“Mhmm… that’s not what the grapevines are saying.”

Espresso’s brows knit together. He kicks a wire that got tangled around his heel.

“Grapevine…? What have these cookies been saying!? And when have you of all cookies gossiped?”

Strawberry Crepe lowers themself slightly on the Wafflebot until they’re roughly eye level with Espresso. The mage can’t see their eyes behind the mask. 

“You can be honest with me,” they say, voice muffled behind the mask. “C’mon, I won’t tell a single-”

“There is nothing to say!”

Espresso won’t even let them continue the thought that he, Espresso, likes Madeleine in that sense. 

“There is no possible timeline where I have romantic feelings towards that annoying, foolish knight!”

Strawberry Crepe draws a heart in the air with the flame. It fades away the second the drawing is finished.  

“Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

First of all, Espresso doesn’t sleep at night. Second of all, he and Madeleine are just friends. Close friends? Possibly. They work together surprisingly well, they tolerate each other, they spend time together. Nothing about their interactions suggest a deeper interpretation beyond that. Espresso is far too occupied with his research and the current crisis at hands to entertain anything beyond that. Any additional attachment would only complicate matters that already require his utmost attention. 

…And, he’s sure Madeleine is the exact same. Busy like him. 

 Friends. Just friends…

Espresso steps out of Strawberry Crepe’s workshop just as the sky outside shifts from blue to orange. He’s the one that shuts the door this time, the Wafflebot waves him goodbye just as he does so.

The pebbles crunch beneath his feels as he walks, slipping him into a careful pace. A brush of cold wind flows through his body, and he pulls his trusty coat tighter around himself. Cold wind? On a spring day in the Vanilla Kingdom? Unheard of. 

Strawberry Crepe is one of the few cookies Espresso can remain in the same confined space for extended periods without it becoming draining. Their conversations typically revolve around their works and experiments. Today, though, they found themselves talking about anything and everything. Espresso usually declares that a “waste of time.”

The kid had told Espresso about the new regulations in place, how there are restrictions in some parts of the kingdom now. That probably explains why Espresso appears to be the only one outside right now. He was only half paying attention to what Strawberry Crepe was saying, he’ll update himself on all the new rules another time. He makes a mental note of that. 

Nevermind, he’s not alone. A familiar silhouette comes into his view. 

Butter Roll is without his lab coat, which makes Espresso wonder if he’s cold like himself right now. It only takes them twenty seconds to be standing in front of one another.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

Butter Roll looks around the empty space. “I just wanted to get some fresh air.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself.”

Butter Roll rubs his hands up and down his arms. He must be cold. “You seem tired.”

Espresso doesn’t feel offended at all. He’s been getting that all his life. “I haven’t had much coffee today.”

Much was an understatement. He had one. One singular cup. He brewed it before visiting Strawberry Crepe. Coffee is his saving grace, he wouldn’t know what to do without coffee - or any type of caffeine. 

Pebbles crunch behind him, and the pair turn around at the noise. 

Madeleine is accompanied by two other knights, they are both shorter than the Knight Commander but sport the same structure.

“Hey,” Madeleine knightly voice calls out, looking between the two of them. “What are you both doing? There is a curfew now.”

The new regulations must be curfews. Makes sense.

“Is there really?”

It doesn’t really matter to Espresso. He’s been spending more time at his lab than usual as of late, often staying until he begins to see double. On those nights, returning home isn’t his top priority. When he reaches that point, it’s easier to remain where he is and finish what he can before passing out somewhere in his lab. 

Bad habits really are hard to break.

Madeleine gives Butter Roll a look - and Butter Roll explains himself. 

“…I assumed the rules don’t apply to helpers like us.”

“Nope,” Madeleine replies straight away. “Only us knights are exempt.”

Butter Roll’s nonchalant smile stays where it is, though his lips press together briefly before relaxing them. 

Upon turning his attention back to Espresso, the strict knight demeanor vanishes. 

“Fear not, Espresso! I will do the honors of walking you home. And I’m sure my lovely friends here can accompany you back to the apartments, Butter Roll.”

Espresso can feel his face heating up. Has Madeleine always looked at him like that? 

Butter Roll shakes his head lightly, a small smile still in place.

“That is very kind of you, but I’m more than capable of walking back myself.”

“Apologies,” Madeleine's voice grew more firm, “but I cannot allow that. We have new safety rules for a reason.”

“It’s barely sunset,” Butter Roll chuckles towards the sky. “If by the odd chance I do get attacked, I think I’ll be fine.” He pats his arm once. “I have picked up working out over the years.”

“Yes, I don’t doubt that,” Madeleine says, glancing at the gesture before meeting his eyes again. “But raw muscle will do you no good without a weapon. I have the scars to show for it.” 

Scars? Madeleine has scars?

Espresso looks Madeleine up and down, trying to place where they may be. Hidden beneath his armor, out of sight out of mind, he concludes.

Butter Roll lifts his hands in surrender.

“Now, now. No need to show off in front of this one here.”

“I am not-”

“I’m only teasing,” Butter Roll takes a step back. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

Butter Roll leaves with a wave, turning around and Madeleine’s fellow knights follow behind him. Soon, it’s just Madeleine and Espresso. The mage pulls his cloak tighter around him once more. 

“I think I’ll return to my lab.”

Madeleine takes a step closer.

“At this hour?”

The mage kicks the pebbles beneath his feet, already walking to the direction of his laboratory. 

“I need you there with me. I need help.”

Espresso? Asking Madeleine for help? Say less! 

A singular cricket jumps through the gap in the window seal. Espresso grimaces at the bug and flicks it back outside, brushing his fingers against his coat hanging up on the hall tree afterwards. He keeps the window open just a fraction for air circulation. All his machines are turned off now, but the heat still clings to the air. 

Madeleine, for once, sits quietly, watching Espresso move between racks of shelves to find what he needs. He can hear glass clinking, and the mage returns to him and presses a vial they’ve both grown quite familiar with into his palms.

“Hold this,” Espresso demands. “Does it feel heavy to you?”

Madeleine lifts it like he would do with a weight. “Hm… I wouldn’t say heavy, but there’s definitely some weight to it.”

Espresso takes it back and flicks the glass with his pinky, watching the contents react inside. The purple substance shifts away from where he flicked. 

“I wish I could just do something more with this. If I take it out it just burns and dissolves whatever it touches.”

Madeleine only hums. “I wish I could do more to help.”

Espresso keeps the vial in his hand, choosing not to put it away just yet. “Your schedule is busy like mine. I believe keeping cookies safe is doing more help than I am…”

“Aw, are you praising me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

Espresso is only teasing when he says stuff like that - and Madeleine isn’t that naive to think he’s being serious… is what Espresso hopes so anyways. 

Another cricket jumps in the same spot as the last one. Irritated, Espresso waltzes over and flicks it away again, sealing the window fully shut. He takes a deep breath to calm himself, choosing to keep his back turned from the knight.

Well. It’s now or never. 

“Madeleine.”

He keeps his gaze beyond the window. It’s dark out, so he can’t see anything outside. However, he can see the contents within his lab through the reflections. 

“We are… friends, yes?”

Espresso watches Madeleine’s face in the reflection. 

“Why of course! I fought tooth and nail to get you to even respect me.”

Espresso internally winces at the words. The words bring up memories he doesn’t usually revisit. Their first meetings weren’t exactly pleasant. He remembers the way he dismissively spoke to the knight. Before even getting the chance to know him, Espresso decided exactly who Madeleine was and what he believed in without giving him the light of day. 

Thinking back on it now, it honestly makes him feel like a cunt - and he wonders if Madeleine ever felt the same about him. Even now. Even if he’s changed.  

“I don’t have many friends, Madeleine.”

Espresso moves slowly after he spoke, coming up to Madeleine and resting a hand on his shoulder, his other hand still occupied with the vial. The knight smiles softly upon the contact, he places his hand on top of Espresso’s, careful not to disturb whatever this vulnerable moment happening was. 

“My mother always used to say, less is more.”

Espresso’s grip tightens. “Do you trust me?”

Madeleine takes Espresso’s hand in his. The contact is mind numbing for the mage, like Stormbringer herself had intentionally struck lighting in his dough, and the static hurts but in a satisfying, good way - like a child on a trampoline that knows the static will happen, but that doesn’t stop them from having fun. 

“Of course I do.”

“Well then.” Espresso pulls his hand away. “You trust too easily.”

He nudges the vial to Madeleine’s chest. 

“Drink this.”

“What!?”

Espresso tsk’s. “Well come on now, I don’t have all night.”

“Espresso. You must be joking.”

“It only has to be a sip.”

“Espresso, are you trying to get me hurt?”

Espresso lets out a scoff, appalled that Madeleine even thought about that. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I believed it would make you crumble. My interest lies with the living anyways.”

That seems to settle Madeleine’s nerves, but not by much. He studies the mage, searching for any kind of humour plastering his face. There isn’t any. Espresso looks as serious as the day they met. 

Madeleine takes a deep breath, shoulders lifting before dropping. His vial shakes in his hold for just a second, praying to the divine that Espresso won’t fail him. Then he brings it up, squeezes his eyes shut and takes a sip. 

As he does so, Espresso crouches to observe him, laser focused on the situation unfolding.

Madeleine coughs, smacking his lips afterwards. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand.

“…That is vile,” he manages.

They wait a minute, but nothing happens. Madeleine doesn’t throw up or pass out or show any signs of illness. He stays exactly the same, complaining about the taste.

Espresso stays in his position, making Madeleine open his mouth more than once. The knight's face starts to warm, a pink flush warming his cheeks and ears. Whether it’s the substance of the close proximity is unclear, but he turns his head away. Their faces are far too close. 

After another minute passes, and Madeleine can see the stars forming in Espresso’s eyes. 

The national animal of the Pure Vanilla Kingdom are birds. Blue birds to be exact.

They are seen everywhere throughout the skies, delivering packages and letters. They are the sweetest creatures to ever exist, which is why they were chosen to represent peace, healing and harmony. 

In the mornings, they wake the kingdom up with their melodic chirping. Espresso remembers his first morning after moving here. He was tired from unpacking in both his new laboratory and home, he ended up dozing off on his balcony. When he woke up, one was perched on the railings, singing and jumping around until the mage woke up, it stuck by him until he went inside. 

Except now, there were no birds, nor was there any sunrise.

In fact, it was two in the morning. 

Pure Vanilla yawns and shuffles onto the edge of his blindly reaching for his staff as he begins flicking through the stack of notes resting in his lap. The candlelight beside his bed is dimming, and Espresso does the nice thing of relighting it for the ancient.

Unlike Pure Vanilla, Espresso was very awake. 

“My dear mage, I am thrilled about your discovery… but this couldn’t wait till the morning?”

Espresso clasped his hands in front of him, shifting his weight once from one foot to the next, it’s clear he stayed up all night drinking coffee. “I forget not every cookie has a sleep schedule like mine. But can you believe it? The answer was so obvious!”

Pure Vanilla skims through the pages.

“Light magic purifies it… how on Earthbread did you even discover this?”

Espresso adjusted his glasses, very wisely choosing not to mention the Knight Commander being his little test subject. “It reacts to light. Any light that isn’t artificial. Sunlight, the Divine Light… I’ll also assume your light.”

Pure Vanilla absorbs the information given to him.  

“What do you suggest we do?”

“Well, maybe instead of a protection spell, you use a light one?” Espresso says, already thinking ahead. “That way, it purifies whatever that infectious substance is affecting them. Though I am not an expert on your light magic… will it stop them from coming past?”

Pure Vanilla yawns again.

“There is only one way to find out.”

It doesn’t work.

The moment a knight crossed the boundary under the new light spell, holding a cakehounds carcass with his sword, the purple guck continued to droop down onto the grass below. Disproving Espresso’s theory. 

But how!?

“I’ve wasted everyone’s time…”

Back in his home, the sheets on his bed remain unmade, untouched since the last time he had slept in them...  whenever that was.

Madeleine sits beside him, and Espresso has half a mind to scold him for letting his armor touch his bed. But he decides at that moment, he really doesn’t care. 

Espresso lies on top of the sheets, using his cloak as a blanket, an arm dangling off the mattress. He can never show his face outside again.

Madeleine rests a hand on his back. “But at least you tried.”

“Not hard enough, apparently. Go fetch Butter Roll. Tell him he’s on his own. I’m backing out of this mission.”

Madeleine does soothing circles with his hand.

“Aw come on, Ess. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve made a minor slipup. What about the jam? Can you experiment on that?”

Espresso wants to groan, but he has no energy to. 

“I wish not to.”

Wow. Those are words Madeleine never thought he’d hear from the mage.

A lightbulb goes off in the knight's head, making up for the broken one currently in Espresso’s bedroom that he keeps forgetting to fix. 

“I know what’ll make you feel better…”

“No.”

“A nap, of course!” Madeleine cheers. “You’re already in the perfect position.”

Espresso pushes up and swings his legs over the bed, but before his feet can make contact with the floor, Madeleine puts an arm out and guides Espresso back onto the bed. The mage just lets it happen. 

Madeleine looks down at his face, taking in the darkened circles beneath his eyes, Espresso is without his glasses, so they’re easy to spot. 

“Be truthful with me. When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?”

Espresso blinks. “The other day.”

“That’s quite specific.”

Espresso huffs through his nose. “Why does it even matter?”

“Sleep is essential. I don’t know how you do it. If I don’t sleep for eight hours a night, I can’t function in the morning.”

Espresso looks away. Eight hours. Eight full hours of a day doing nothing. That time could be used experimenting and attempting to make a difference for Earthbread. Eight hours… 

The ceiling in his home is quite interesting. It’s painted white with a lightbulb that doesn’t work. Very interesting indeed.

The more Espresso stares at it, the more heavy his body feels. He didn’t feel like this before he laid down. The thought of getting up makes him even more tired. What is happening? He’s gone a whole month without sleeping before. Granted, he did end up at the healers office because of it, but still.  

For some reason, right here, right now, he’s sleepy.

He feels a hand brush along the bridge of his nose, the touch featherlight. Espresso doesn’t move away. His breathing remains steady, though slightly slower than before, his eyelids beginning to feel much, much heavier with each passing second. 

Why is he allowing this oaf to bring him to sleep?

Espresso now just realised Madeleine had been talking this entire time, his brain must’ve registered it as background noise. He can’t make out what the knight is saying, whatever it was it must be of little importance if it brought Espresso to sleep. 

Espresso doesn’t sleep much in his own bed. That’s a fact most cookies know, even if they’ve never seen it directly for themselves. His lab is where he ends up most nights, usually slumped over his desk and waking up in despair when he finds coffee stains all over his papers. 

Which is why he’s confused when he blinks awake. Not because he can’t see without his trusty glasses, but because he’s tucked nice and cozy into his sheets. It takes his mind a second to command his limbs to search for his glasses. Blindly, he reaches a hand towards the bedside table, assuming that where they are.

He feels the cool metal frames and places them on his face, he blinks a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust - and only then does he realise he’s not alone. 

Madeleine is asleep beside him, and Espresso could tell it was him without having to see his face from his hair alone. He blinks again just to make sure he isn’t seeing things or dreaming. He pinches himself just to make sure. 

Ow.

Yup, he’s awake. 

With the realisation settling in, his face warms up. Madeleine is in his bed, in his room, without having asked for permission. Thank the Witches the knight isn’t awake to see his face. 

Shamelessly, Espresso watches Madeleine’s chest rise and fall. He seems much more relaxed than Espresso right now, for obvious reasons. 

At least there's no more armor in his bed.

Outside, the sky is dark, and Espresso has a spike of panic when he realises he should probably wake Madeleine up. The man would have missed patrol today.

But he doesn’t. Madeleine is probably just as exhausted as he is. The kingdom won’t crumble if the Knight Commander misses one scheduled day of patrol.

Espresso lets his body sink back into the warmth of his sheets.

Perhaps for once, he can let himself rest.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Everyone makes mistakes!”

“But I’m not everyone, Butter Roll. I’m better than this. I know I am.”

They’re at the border. There are two barriers now. The old protection spell with gaps plastering it, and the new, simple light spell Pure Vanilla was confident in casting. Espresso doesn’t know why he’s keeping the light one up. It didn’t work. 

Butter Roll sits on the grass a short distance away from the mage, attempting to touch his toes with his hands. He’s trying to stretch away the aches in his muscles, he slept on a weird angle last night apparently. 

While he does that, Espresso paces back and forth, arms crossed over his chest. 

The night before had been…unexpected. He had gotten rest. Actual rest. An actual rest that was longer than eight hours. Madeleine had been gone by the time Espresso woke up again - and there was an unusual pit in his stomach upon witnessing the sight. 

So to clear his head, he came here. Back to the problem.

“Pure Vanilla wouldn’t have asked for help if he believed you couldn’t give it to him.” 

“That goes with the basis of everyone. I’m not special.”

Espresso can’t stop pacing, and it’s a shock he hasn’t made himself dizzy yet. 

Butter Roll stops stretching and fully lowers himself onto the grass. His arms are stretched wide, and he winces as the sunlight hits him directly on his face. He doesn’t bother to put his goggles on to shield his eyes, content to just squint up at the clouds forming overhead. 

“Espresso,” Butter Roll says, watching the clouds above. “How good are you at keeping secrets?”

Espresso looks down at him, his pacing never slowing. “Depends. I don’t gossip, so I'd say pretty well.”

Butter Roll props himself up on his elbows, still looking at the clouds, but he can see Espresso in the corner of his eye. “Back at the academy, I felt as if the professors underestimated my work. What I could do.” He pulls one knee up. “I won’t lie, I was always a bit jealous every time you scored top of the class.”

Being underestimated was something Espresso was deeply familiar with. Being scored top of the class was also something he was deeply familiar with. 

“I wanted to prove to them I was smart,” Butter Roll continues, pushing himself upright. Grass clings to his hair, and he brushes it off with his hands. “Prove that I was just as gifted as everyone else.”

Espresso’s pacing comes to a stop.

“Espresso.” Butter Roll faces him properly now. “Do you trust me?”

That unusual pit in his stomach he was feeling this morning comes back. 

“I… I trust my friends, yes.”

Butter Roll smiles. His arm comes around Espresso’s shoulders and pulls him close. 

“Come with me.”

They walk back without speaking to one another. The path to the apartments feels longer this time compared to when he walked with Madeleine. The crunchy sounds of pebbles have been drilled into Espresso’s mind these past couple of weeks, those well rested hours of sleep have Espresso’s senses sharper than ever, and the crunchiness makes his head hurt.

The apartment complex finally comes into view. The main entrance isn’t wide open this time, so Butter Roll has to open it with his keys.

They take the stairs. Espresso keeps a step behind, the cold from the hallway settling into his dough the higher they go. Once again does the scent of chemicals invades Espresso’s senses, and he wishes to leave already.

Butter Roll’s room is directly one floor above Prune Juices. He reaches into his pocket again to fetch the keys, there's an unusual amount on the keyring.

“The reason I got asked to help,” he starts, “was because Pure Vanilla checked my records back from the academy and figured I was fit for this mission.”

He keeps sorting through the keys as he talks.

“When the letter came through my PO box, I was confused because, well, my grades weren’t the best. Neither were my reports.”

Butter Roll finds the right key, then slides it into the lock.

“But I agreed to help on the basis I could experiment on whatever I wanted.”

His hand settles on the knob.

“Without any trouble.”

The door swings open, and the nauseating smell of chemicals disappeared. It smells like death now instead.

In the centre of the room, a small pile of cakehounds (if you can even call them that) are slumped up together. They’re small in size, skinny in the limbs but bloated in the stomach. The colour is off, they aren’t the usual white and red colour scheme. These ones are purple and black. They’re dead.

Butter Roll steps inside and holds the door open for him. “Come on now.”

Espresso knows he shouldn’t, but he steps inside. The door shuts and locks the second he enters. 

“Don’t freak out.”

Espresso can’t look away from the pile on the floor. “What… what have you been doing with them?”

He takes another step closer, heels stopping just short of one of the carcasses. Now that he’s up close, he can see the extent on which they are harmed. It’s disgusting. Disgusting because Espresso can tell these are baby cakehounds.

“What do you mean?” Butter Roll questions. “I made them.” 

Espresso’s head snaps up. “Made them? How?”

Butter Roll nods across the room toward his whisk, propped neatly against a workbench. “I’d rather keep this between the both of us. I know I got permission, but it’s still taboo to everyone else, and I don’t want word of mouth going around that I may be some sort of… psychopath.” 

Espresso steps back.

“So what I heard was true,” his voice wavers. “You got expelled from experimenting with dead, crumbled things.”

Butter Roll chuckles. “Now, now, Espresso. They aren’t crumbled. They’re just not fully baked yet.”

A sudden burst of anger flows through Espresso. “I thought you were on our side!”

Butter Roll moves before Espresso can step away again. His hand closes around Espresso’s wrist, firm so he stops in place.

“I am!” he insists, pulling him just slightly forward. “But can you really blame me for not passing up this opportunity!?”

Espresso snatches his hand back, the contact felt worse than any burn his machines could give him.

“Opportunity?” His voice rises. “You’re playing God! This isn’t right!”

The mage needs out right now. He turns towards the door, twisting the handle. It’s locked.

Behind him, Butter Roll remains still. 

“Don’t you get it, Espresso? This can lead to a new future for cookiekind.”

Espresso turns back in disbelief. “How could this benefit us in any way!?”

Butter Roll steps forward now, avoiding the jam and carcasses on the floor like they’re nothing more than clutter. “You really don’t get it, do you?” he says, almost amused. “We’re alike, Espresso. Brilliant, talented, misunderstood-who knows, if we worked together on this, my team could-”

He stops himself and clears his throat.

“We could be great.”

Espresso’s hands tighten into fist. “I want no part of this.”

Butter Roll almost looked amused. Reaching out, he places both hands on Espresso’s shoulders and crouches slightly. Espresso fights the urge to push him away.

“Don’t look at me like that, Espresso,” he whispers. “I thought you’d be different.”

Espresso remains silent. He’s speechless. What is he even still doing here?

Butter Roll lets go and unlocks the door.

“Please,” he adds, “don’t tell anyone.”

He opens the door for him.

“Not even that precious knight of yours.”