Chapter Text
"So...how'd you end up here in the Faerie Kingdom in the first place?"
Shadow Milk went quiet. He hadn't really thought of that since he'd fallen out of the tree..
"I was...running from....the playwright."
"May I ask why?"
"She controls almost everything I do..last time I saw her she was handing me a script that hinted at a bad future."
Shadow Milk stared at the ceiling. The air was suffocating and his arm was still not fully healed. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Can we go outside?"
*****
The air was cooler under the trees. The air was misty. Not quite dry, but not quite raining. The actor drew in a cold breath and slumped back against the tree he was under.
"Feel better?"
Shadow Milk nodded, captivated by the stars that were just beginning to show against the deep magenta sky. They were beautiful. The stars where he lived never really shone as bright as here.
He gazed over the clearing. His eyes locked on a golden object. My crown, he realized. He hadn't even thought of it. It had just sat there in the grass for day after he fell.
He tried to get up but he used the wrong arm to push himself up. He cursed and fell back down, cradling his arm and wincing.
"Careful, dear." Pure Vanilla gently checked over his arm to make sure it hadn't started bleeding again. "Are you okay?"
The pet name went into Shadow Milk's head and sank slowly. He didn't know if he loved or hated it.
"Wh- e- yeah..yeah.."
Pure Vanilla didn't look convinced, and Shadow Milk wasn't sure he was convinced himself. The faerie king just sat next to him, following his gaze.
"We never did grab that, did we?"
Shadow Milk shook his head. His arm throbbed as he sat staring blankly at the crown.
"Shadow Milk?"
"H- what?"
Pure Vanilla's face showed concern. He got up and walked over to the crown he retrieved it for Shadow Milk and and handed it back to him.
"You alright?"
"Yeah.."
Shadow Milk traced the gems on the crown with his eyes. He set it aside and looked to the sky with a sigh.
He couldn't get the thought of the playwright to leave his head. She'd asked him if he was happy constantly and changed nothing when he'd said no.
Warm arms wrapped around Shadow Milk. He tensed up, not sure how to react at first. After a few moments he finally wrapped his arms back around his partner.
Shadow Milk's face was buried in Pure Vanilla's shoulder. He forced tears back. It's been so long since he'd last been hugged...