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Wind Archer’s plate of jelly was cleared in an instant, as he nourished himself with food for the first time since the war began.
Now that Dark Enchantress was gone, Gingerbrave and his crew gathered the entire kingdom together for a grand feast to celebrate the new era of peace that would once again grace earthbread.
He looked around at the different tables. The ancients table was quiet, as the heroes honored their fallen friend that nobly sacrificed her life for peace. There was a vase of beautiful white lilies on the table, and tucked in Pure Vanilla’s hair, just beneath his hat, was the single lily that had fallen, signaling that the battle was over at last. It hadn’t even wilted since the battle; the lily stayed fresh as ever.
Gingebrave and his friends were happily munching jellies, excitedly talking to one another. Clover was playing a tune and some cookies were singing along. Vampire was snoring on the table, an empty wine glass in his hand.
Wind Archer turned back to his own table, where all of the legendary cookies were talking with each other. Millennial Tree and Sugar Swan were having a peaceful conversation. Sugar Swan had recovered fully since her face off with Dark Enchantress. Her beautiful fuschia feathers sparkled in the late afternoon sun as she laughed at Millenial Tree’s comment.
Stormbringer, with all her static electricity, was trying to make the tablecloth float with her lightning. Frost Queen had a chilling aura around her as she sipped her boba. Black Pearl was probably haunting the depths of the duskgloom sea, because she didn’t show up to the feast. Moonlight and Sea Fairy were hand in hand, beaming as they fed each other jellies. The two finally had time to properly spend time to themselves, after years of yearning for each other.
Fire Spirit was seated right next to him, munching on a jelly as he watched the two lovebirds. “Jeez, get a room, you two.” He chuckled under his breath.
“Give them time. They haven’t seen each other in a long while.” Wind Archer stated.
“Psh, they have all the time they need. The bad guys are finally gone.” Fire Spirit picked at his plate as he stared out at the happy cookies. “Y’know, I’m glad that we finally ended this war. The fiery passion and the determination of all these cookies was what got us this far.”
Wind Archer raised a brow at his surprisingly meaningful words. “Yes, we fought and we didn’t give up.” He said. “Many lives returned to nature, but we held on.”
“Now that we don’t have to fight obsessive cookies of darkness, beasts, and that giant witch, we can finally relax and chill out.” He leaned back in his chair, almost falling over in the process.
Wind Archer found himself smiling just a little at his act, but he had to make a point. “I have to always keep an eye on the flow of life energy. We never stop with our duties.” He said simply.
“C’mon, Windy. Stop being so upright all the time. Relaxing every once in a while is good for you.” Fire Spirit leaned his head on his arms and smiled at him. “I’m sure life energy can take care of itself for a day.”
Wind Archer sighed. “Why are you so keen on me taking a break from my duties?” He asked.
“Umm… it’s nice to have a break once in a while! You’re always so tight and stern, I’m surprised you even have emotions.” Fire Spirit looked around, avoiding his gaze. “And also, it would be fun to, like, hang out… sometime.” He stammered.
The two sat there looking at each other.
“…so why aren’t you coming to me?” Wind Archer was rather confused about what Fire Spirit was trying to say.
“You always are so paranoid whenever I’m in the forest, afraid that I'll burn something down.” Fire Spirit looked out at the kingdom, and then back to Wind Archer. “And I was thinking more like… going out to a diner or a movie, or something."
Wind Archer looked down and fidgeted with his napkin. “I’ll… consider.” He finally said.
When he looked back at Fire Spirit, he was beaming. “Sweet! We’ll figure out a date.”
His face went red and his fiery hair began flickering with vigor. “Uh— not a date! A date, but not, like a da—“
Wind Archer suddenly realized what Fire Spirit was trying to imply, all these times he had tried to get him off duty.
He thought that Fire Spirit was just joking around and teasing him, a stark contrast to his own commitment to his duties.
To his own surprise, he blushed.
As much as he disliked how unseriously Fire Spirit took his duties, he had to admit that when the time was right, Fire Spirit would be of great help to the guardians of nature. Without him, the war would’ve been harder to fight and the heroes would’ve lost more than they’ve already lost.
Everyone did a part in ensuring peace on earthbread was restored.
Plus, the few times that Wind Archer would see genuine happiness blossom in his eyes filled him with a type of unexplainable joy. It was uncommon for him to successfully calm down the snarky, loud mouthed cookie and be genuine for even a minute.
He could get used to him as a long term partner.
Plus, they’d already tolerated and worked together for millennia. What's a couple more going to do to him?
“Sure, it’s a date.” His lips curved into a small smile.
“Oh! Yep, date. Uhm, it’s- a date.” Fire Spirit was stumbling over his words, waving his arms around.
He set himself down on the table, his right hand now resting directly on Wind Archer’s left hand. He fell silent.
Wind Archer was prepared to pull away from the scorching heat of Fire Spirit, but his skin felt warm, like sitting in front of a flickering bonfire.
It was… comforting.
Okay. Straight to physical touch. Wind Archer’s face was surely as warm as Fire Spirit’s hair now.
His eyes landed on Fire Spirit’s.
In the dying sun, his eyes a bold, deep crimson.
their gazes lingered on each other for a second too long, as if they wanted to do something else.
But before they could make a move, Gingerbrave jumped up from his seat and called out, “hey guys! Do we want to start roasting marshmallows?”
Everyone cheered and began to stand from their seats, making their way to the sandy beach overlooking the sparkling soda oceans.
Both Fire Spirit and Wind Archer secretly didn’t want this moment to end.
But Wind Archer forced himself to tear his eyes away from Fire Spirit’s, stood, and held out a hand. “Come on. They’ll probably need us for the bonfire.”
Fire Sprit took his hand once again, and the two began to make their way to the beach.