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Betrayal hurts. To summarize, Shadow Milk Cookie thought, that was good enough.
The longer he stayed in this hazy, silence-induced slumber, the more that words escaped him. His mind hesitated with each leap from thought to thought. He drifts further and further from the sensation in his body. All the sensations. Being stabbed hurt, sure, but the way the pain clawed it’s way up to his chest and around his heart and squeezed tight felt worse.
He felt stupid. He felt silly. His mental audience wouldn’t let up.
Worst of all, he felt like a bit of a clown.
He should’ve known. All cookies, virtuous or vengeful, are the same.
Maybe being dead wasn’t so bad after all. It wasn’t the worst he could’ve done, anyway. It was quick. Shadow Milk Cookie feels his brow furrow just slightly at the thought.
That was different, at the least. It’d felt like an eternity since he could feel anything. Though, he wouldn’t describe it as a feeling, necessarily, more that he was just vaguely aware that he did.
It made him wonder about what had gone on in the outside world as he dreamt. The train of thought had brought him on and sped off with his mind. He forgot, for a moment, about being the Fount of Knowledge, and instead pondered the war happening on the surface.
An ache in his torso began to form. Minor, like a pinprick. He wondered more. Considered. He figured Dark Enchantress had gotten her way. That the heroes had fallen and relinquished all their power to her. To do with whatever she pleased. Well, if he was as good as crumbles now, what matter is that to him? Pretty soon, it’d all go dark and none of that would matter, right?
The ache worsened, centralized in one, small spot, like a string pulling from the middle of the area. It made him more conscious of it. More acutely aware. He could actually feel it, now, ever so slightly, the sensation growing closer to him, spreading over him.
He feels his brow furrow. He feels his body tremble. The center of his stomach feels warm and sticky. Agonizing, sharp, pain spirals out from the one singular point in his body to the rest of his dough. He anticipated things would be overwhelmingly loud as the chaos he envisioned Dark Enchantress throwing Earthbread into ravaged the land. He was wrong. Everything was quiet. Horribly quiet.
So he was alive.
His eyes open. Just slightly. His eyelids are heavy and threaten to cull his blurry vision. He’s being carried, his aching head nestled carefully in the crook of an arm.
He doesn’t have the strength to move much- to say anything, but he does look upwards to see who has become his knight in shining armor. They’re trudging forward with him in their arms and have an determined expression on their face. Stern, steadfast but still gentle. He tilts his head with as much energy as he can muster to get a better look at them.
The very slight movement catches the attention of someone who has been dying to see him. His eyes begin to lull closed. He musters up the energy to widen them just a bit when he registers who’s holding him. Pure Vanilla Cookie, his chin slightly crumbling, his face streaked with jam and hair all awry, looks down at him. His expression shifts completely. Shadow Milk likens it to a firework. Joy. Relief. Compassion. All at once. Pure Vanilla beams at seeing him. He’d love to reply, but his head is lolling to the side as not so blissful sleep- real sleep, not silencing- lures him back into it’s waters.
“Shadow Milk Cookie, I’m so glad you’re awake.”
His voice is like a lullaby. The overwhelming peace that washes over him is remarkable. He can’t help it. He’s too tired- and too weak to resist. His eyes fall closed and his mind is pulled under into a deep, pain-induced slumber.
He wakes again in an unfamiliar place. The room is dim, lit only by the waning sun and a small lamp to his side he can just barely register.
His breathing is weak, but at least he's breathing. The unpleasant sensation in his middle is something he can more finely process. It’s dull, but not half as bad as the initial intrusion of the serrated blade. He lifts his head just slightly, and a cursory glance around the room reveals the reason.
Pure Vanilla Cookie, his rival, a thief, lays asleep, head resting on folded arm, with one healing hand on laying gingerly on his middle.
His mouth curves into a frown at the sight. He wanted to shove him off. To wake him and ask him just what he thought he was doing. To mock his vulnerability, to laugh at a gesture he perceived as painfully foolish.
But he doesn’t.
He wants to believe that it’s because he’s too tired and too hurt to even begin to bother with scolding him. That he’s simply too weak to. That he just couldn’t find the strength to punish him for his insolence.
For being the beast of Deceit, he really really sucked at lying to himself. It made sense. Nobody could fool the Master of Lies. Not even the Master of Lies himself.
He notes now, the surface under Pure Vanilla’s hand. He’s been tucked in carefully under a remarkably warm Vanillian quilt. He isn’t entirely sure whether the warmth is from the idle magic of the healer or the blanket itself, but as this new body tends to run cold, he isn’t motivated to move from under it.
His gaze drifts to his body. He can feel a bandage over where he was stabbed. It was that bad, huh? His original clothing has been exchanged for an elegant, embroidered nightgown. It’s too big. The sleeves come over his hands and the collar is almost comically large on him. It wasn’t made of his preferred materials, but he wasn’t wholly sure if he was feeling good enough to break out the sewing machine just yet. Still, he admires the handiwork on the laced collar
and sleeves. He’d give it that, at the very least.
He turns his head to the side to look at Pure Vanilla. He looked so peaceful like that, his gentle face gilded with the golden light of the lamp. He also looked like he needed the rest, though he’d cleaned up since the last time they’d seen him.
Good. He thought. It should be a crime for anyone to come into the attendance of the great Master of Deceit looking like that.
It briefly occurred to him that it might have been a substantial amount of time since then, and that made a twinge of anxiety tug at the bottom of his gut. If he wasn’t awake to stand up for himself- to protect himself- then who would? Pure Vanilla Cookie couldn’t be trusted. He was a half-baked old fool who thought he could understand the whole world and everything in it.
He was silly, and that’s why they were both together now. Doing a foolish thing like saving a beast is something only a cookie like him would do. Something… beautiful, in a way. Stupid, yeah. But beautiful. He could admit that.
Shadow Milk isn’t sure how long he’s been staring at him. His eyes don’t feel tired, and they don’t leave the softly snoring Hero. He mentally traces the shape of his nose, the line connecting his chin to his hair, the curve of his eyelashes. He notes how a lock of golden hair rose and fell with each gentle breath, how it comes up to cover the mark on his forehead and down to let it peek out again.
They lift their hand to rest over Pure Vanilla’s- then hesitate.
He’s not sure if he wants to. Or if he should. On one hand, he doesn’t want Pure Vanilla getting any stupid ideas about his feelings on this arrangement, and he also doesn’t want to wake him. On the other hand, he wants to close the circuit, to seal the connection. He wants to reassure to himself that the care that brought him here and pulled him through this was real.
He briefly commends himself for the quick wit on the hand pun, finding himself chuckling softly over it. The motion sends a bolt of sharp pain through his abdomen. He sharply inhales, tensing from the jagged ache.
Pure Vanilla startles, waking and bringing himself up to survey what had happened. “Shadow Milk Cookie! Are you alright? Have I hurt you? I apologize, I must’ve dozed off-“
He weakly raises a hand, letting his head fall back onto the pillow again.
“Cool it with the questions, seriously. Just woke up, here.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie frowns. Maybe out of embarrassment, maybe from the rejection. His eyes are apologetic and soft. Just the kind of cakehound-eyed look that made Shadow Milk want to hurl.
“Ah- I am sorry. Just… worried about you.”
“Sweet.” He manages out. Speaking is harder than he thought. It felt as if even opening his mouth tugged on the wound in his stomach.
“Shadow Milk Cookie….” Pure Vanilla’s tone softens. His name is spoken as if it’s made of the finest silk and adorned with pearls. It’s deeply affectionate. Sickeningly so.
The healer relaxes, tension in his shoulders alleviates. He settles down again at his bedside. The proximity makes Shadow Milk nervous. They turn their head away.
“I am so glad to see you again, Shadow Milk…”
He scoffs, even if it makes him wince. “Don’t get all sappy on me, Pure Vanilla Cookie. Why are you even here? Don’t ya got a war to win?”
Pure Vanilla hesitates, brow furrowing in reaction to Shadow Milk’s wince before beginning to circle the bandaged area on Shadow Milk’s torso with more intention, hand glowing with golden light as he soothes over the wound.
“It is all over now. There is no more war to be waged, my dear Shadow Milk Cookie. For a long time.” Shadow Milk isn’t looking at him, but there’s a smile in his voice.
He turns his gaze back to him to survey what he’s doing. They’re distrustful of the blonde cookie. There’s no way that anyone sane could be this calm after all they’d both been through.
He almost winces as he sees the healer move his hand, anticipating it to sting just like everything else. Instead, gentle warmth floods the area and fills the rest of his body. He nearly melts from the relief of Pure Vanilla’s magic. He wonders how many other cookies have been awarded with so generous a gift as this. He might have to crumble them, whoever they are.
“Awwe. And you didn’t wake me for the grand finale? I’m hurt, I must say.”
This earns a laugh from Pure Vanilla. He shakes his head and offers him a little pout of pity. He doesn’t like it- being pitied- but he says nothing.
“I wouldn’t, even if I could. I am afraid I had to wait until it was all said and done to retrieve you. I am so glad you held on. You were very hurt. I was beginning to..” His voice wavers and he looks away, down, pulling a handkerchief off of the side table and quickly dabbing at his eyes. “I apologize- well.. I was beginning to lose hope. Then you.. woke. For just a moment. And looked at me. And… And I kept going.”
Pure Vanilla ceases the circling, now simply resting atop of the wound, still consciously healing it. He isn’t sure what to say, so Shadow Milk takes the opportunity to do what he intended on doing earlier. Wordlessly, he brings his hand over Pure Vanilla’s. Pure Vanilla smiles, tilting his head slightly with it so that a lock of golden hair falls over his face.
Shadow Milk smiles too.
It’s weak, but they manage.
“You didn’t have to do that.” He says, after a moment of gentle silence between the two.
“Why wouldn’t I have?” He frowns, bringing his hand over Shadow Milk’s to sandwich it between both of his.
“Because I’m… I didn’t need it.”
“It’s okay that you did.” He caresses over his hand with his thumb.
It’s a lot of affection, but Shadow Milk is shockingly okay with it. He excuses himself as just being too worn to complain about it.
“It’s not that. I’m not a good cookie. I.. didn’t deserve it.”
“You didn’t.” The answer catches him off guard. He was anticipating at the very least something cushy. He always was saying the dumbest, sappiest stuff. The man continually got the jump on him.
“I cannot be permissive of your actions, Shadow Milk Cookie, and I cannot dismiss the harm you’ve caused.” He continues.
“You are my other half. You and I were not meant to be apart. I know that, like me, and many other cookies, there is good in you. I have seen that. I know you have the capability to be good. I would be a fool if I denied you that chance.”
He gingerly squeezes his hand.
“I know that you can be greater, better, and you can shine as you once did. And with time, Earthbread, cookiekind, and you, can begin to forgive.”
“I believe in you.”
He reaches up to brush a lock of sapphire hair out of Shadow Milk Cookie’s face. They turn their head away from him, but don’t push him away. What he said was undeniable. It was true. He had done bad things. He wasn’t even sure if “bad things” was the right way to describe it. It felt so juvenile. They had hurt a lot of cookies. Worst of all, he had hurt Pure Vanilla Cookie.
Still.. if that was true, then so could be the rest of what he had said. They feel tears start to well up in their eyes. The opportunity to change. It was all his- no witch, no cookie, no power could take that away. He had the chance. It was up to him to take it.
Pure Vanilla gingerly moves his hand from atop of theirs to brush tears off of their face. Shadow Milk turns his head back to him. Sniffling, he braves the fear of vulnerability and makes eye contact with Pure Vanilla Cookie. Pure Vanilla rests his palm against their cheek to tenderly stroke off sweet teardrops. His brows raise and Shadow Milk fleetingly wonders if he’s done something wrong.
Pure Vanilla brings his hand to Shadow Milk’s forehead, pressing his palm and the back of his hand to the smooth surface.
“Ah, you’re burning up…” He frowns. He doesn’t sound all that concerned, but the look on his face says otherwise. Shadow Milk furrows a brow. He hasn't noticed anything too strange, but his body was feeling all sorts of new ways. Too many new and overwhelming ways to pick out something overtly wrong.
Pure Vanilla Cookie rises and turns to go get something from a travel chest at the far end of the room, and that's when Shadow Milk notices. He's limping. Had he really trudged all this way, injured and ailing… Just to save him? Was he really worth that much? Was the ability- the capability to change that laid within him that valuable?
Shadow Milk was a lot of things. But he was not that much of an idiot. How could he do something so selfish as to not take the seed planted for him and cultivate it in himself? When someone had done something so selfless for him. He turns his head to the side to watch Pure Vanilla forage through his medicinal items. He thought the way he looked without that big old hat, here on his knees, clumsily pilfering through his own supplies, tending to him was the best he'd ever looked. The fluffy feeling inside of him made him want to puke. He resists the urge.
Pure Vanilla exclaims as he discovers the item he set out for.
"Ah, here it is! This will do very nicely on that, you poor, sorry thing.."
He quickly shuffles back over to the bedside, this time taking a seat on the mattress to lean over Shadow Milk. He takes a look at what the healer has in his hand. It's an unassuming little jar. Pure Vanilla carefully removes the lid and looks over at him, using a hand to gently press against Shadow Milk's loose collar.
"May I? This salve needs to go on your chest, my dear."
They nod, quiet and curious. Pure Vanilla gingerly pulls down the collar of their nightgown with one hand, setting the jar on the bed and dipping three fingers into the salve. He lets it rest on his hand to warm up and begins carefully applying it to Shadow Milk's chest and slightly over onto their back.
It has a pleasant, floral but herb-ish scent. He instinctively wrinkles his nose and it causes Pure Vanilla to laugh. His laughter is gentle and melodic. Similar to the way he spoke. They hope they can make him laugh more.
"I know it is very strong, but the herbs are what makes it so healing." He says, tone tinged with amusement.
"I can take it. I've smelt worse." They reply quickly. This earns another chuckle from the hero.
"I am very sure you can." He says with a smile, lingering over their clavicle as he eases the salve into their skin. He's quiet, in thought, for a moment, then he speaks.
"..I wanted to ask you about something."
Great. Here it comes. Five minutes in his world and now he's just DYING for a few answers.
"Have you ever… been in love with someone before, Shadow Milk Cookie?"
Oh.
Wait.
What?
He hesitates. Pure Vanilla Cookie's face twinges with embarrassment. Before he can walk back what he said, Shadow Milk answers impulsively.
"No…. Not before you."
He isn't sure why he said that. It felt right. Too right.
Pure Vanilla seems to mull over the answer, nodding slow as he returns to massaging the salve into their skin.
He pauses as it clicks in his head. A mushy, sappy smile spreads across his face.
"I know we are meant to be together, Shadow Milk Cookie. I am so relieved to hear that you feel the same."
"Are you?"
"Of course."
"You… really mean that?" His heart skips a beat.
"I have never meant anything more."
Shadow Milk wants to kiss him. If they could've, they would've wrapped their arms around him and pulled him into the deepest kiss they've ever given. It wouldn't be hard to accomplish, as they've never kissed anyone before. But, they can’t. The injury keeps them from doing it.
He brings his gaze to meet Pure Vanilla Cookie's. His healing hand rests over Shadow Milk's heart.
"Pure Vanilla Cookie. Lay with me."
An astounding show of vulnerability, especially in spoken word. Pure Vanilla obliges. There is more than enough room in the bed for the two of them, so Shadow Milk doesn't have to move. Pure Vanilla climbs into the bed, laying down beside him with enough distance between the two of them for free movement. He settles on his back to match Shadow Milk, folding his hands over his stomach and smiling silly at the ceiling.
"You don't have to look so pleased with yourself, ya know." He teases him, turning his head to look at the hero.
"But I am pleased with myself!"
"Don't be." They move their shoulder to nudge him a little. The motion is tiring and hurts but they want to, so they will.
"I have every reason to be pleased. Earthbread is well. I am well. My other half is beginning to be well." Pure Vanilla turns to lay on his side to face them. "And for the record, I quite enjoy taking care of you." He has cleared up a fear Shadow Milk hadn't had the chance to develop.
"Mm. I guess.." He says, teasingly dismissing him. He lets the peaceful silence go a beat longer before he pipes up again.
"Well, I've been wanting to ask you a question, Pure Vanilla Cookie."
"Oh? What is it, Shadow Milk?"
"What's with this get-up?" He raises an arm to show off the oversized nightgown sleeve.
"Ah.." He chuckles lightly. "That is one of mine. Your old clothes were horribly soiled with jam. I figured that you would not mind if we matched for a bit."
"Mmhhm… Well, I'll let you know now, for future reference, of course, that I prefer silk nightgowns over cotton."
"I see. I will make sure to have some in your size next time." His words are spoken with mirth. He brings his hand again to rest over Shadow Milk's chest- this time over his collar.
"Good! It's absolutely not fair to me that you don't have at the very least half-decent clothes when I'm in my hour of need. Tch!"
Pure Vanilla Cookie laughs again. He wants to make him make that wonderful sound more and more.
"I will, I will." He says, nothing less than tickled about Shadow Milk's complaint.
Shadow Milk allows his eyes to slowly close, already worn by being up for so long. He felt more conscious of his body now. The ache in his stomach and his bones and in his head. The weakness in his legs and arms. The nausea and dizziness in the foreground of his sensory perceptions.
"I'm so glad you're here." Pure Vanilla Cookie says in a soft whisper. "I was worried we'd never share a moment like this."
They raise a brow, cracking one eye open. "A moment like this?"
"Yes, my dear."
Ew.
"Us together.. like this. We are not in danger. We are not fighting.. This is all I could've hoped for. Ever since that moment with you in the spire."
God, this guy talks a lot.
He feels his face flush a deeper blue. He scoffs, looking away but keeping his head turned to him. It isn't to dismiss him. Just that he couldn't handle such sincerity while looking him in the eye.
Pure Vanilla hums, knowingly, in reply. He brings up careful fingers to gingerly brush more hair that had fallen into Shadow Milk's face out of the way. "How are you feeling?" His tone is tender. Almost a whisper.
"I don't know."
"How so?"
"..I feel bad, sure. It hurts like an oven. But it also feels like nothing at all."
"I see. Could you show me where this nothing feeling is?"
"All over, I think. Kinda annoying. Feels a little… fuzzy."
"Could I take a look?"
Shadow Milk is quiet. He concedes with a nod of the head, gently pushing away the quilt as best they can. Pure Vanilla rises and does the rest of the work of moving it aside. He does a quick survey of the area, which on first glance, looks normal.
"Is it coming from one spot?"
"Kinda. It feels the most like that over the stab and spreads out from there."
"It might be a side-effect of whatever properties the blade had. Do you.. know of any?"
"Nope. Guy was a real quiet one. Never spoke to us. Even before .. all this." They motion generally to their face and hair.
"I see…" Pure Vanilla frowns. "Well, it's nothing we cannot fix.."
"You sure?"
Pure Vanilla Cookie's expression shifts. It was rare that Shadow Milk voiced a vulnerable distrust. He sits down at his side, flicking his wrist to summon some golden magic and beginning to soothe it over the spot Shadow Milk had complained about, same as earlier.
"I am more than sure, Shadow Milk. I promise that you will be alright."
"You said earlier you were beginning to lose hope. Don't try anything funny with me."
"That was then, this is now. I wouldn't lie to you." He replies, patient as ever. As much as they didn't want it to, his deescalation of everything irritated them.
Something in him wanted to fight. To get defensive. To push Pure Vanilla away after they'd just had that tender moment. But…
That was a choice too, wasn't it?
And they had to choose what was best. What was… right.
He lets out a sigh, letting his body relax under Pure Vanilla's touch.
"Then.. I trust you."
Pure Vanilla's eyes open just slightly at Shadow Milk's words.
"What're you gawking at, huh?"
"Ah- It is just.." He pauses, bringing his free hand to come up to his face, unable to control the wide, genuine, smile such a display of words caused.
"I am so happy to know that you trust me. I won't give you a reason to regret that."
"I won't give you a reason to regret trusting me either."
"I know you won't."
Pure Vanilla Cookie lifts his hand off of Shadow Milk. He gently pulls the quilt back up ontop of them and returns to laying at their side.
"Are you feeling any different now?"
"A little. Just feels warm there now."
"That's alright. Do you think you could eat?"
"Witches, no." Shadow Milk scoffs. The idea of putting food in his mouth is sadly nauseating. Even sweets. A rarity for a cookie with such a great sweet tooth. He finds himself thinking that he probably would've made a great witch. Morbid, sure, but he had a lot to think about on that subject. Grim humor was bound to come into play at some point.
"We'll try later, then. Is that alright?" Pure Vanilla is settled on his side. He reaches across the bed and takes one of Shadow Milk's hands into his own, tenderly inspecting it and feeling over every small detail, from their wrist to the tip of their clawed fingers.
"..Sure. Whatcha got? Maybe if I think on it for a while, I'll be more inclined to trying."
"..Ah." He frowns. "That.. I am not sure of. I will have to ask Hollyberry Cookie.."
"Forget it then."
"I will not!" Pure Vanilla firmly squeezes his hand.
"Shadow Milk Cookie.. You may not know this, but once I have set my mind on something, I do not often falter from it." His words are spoken with a kind, lightheartedness. Pure Vanilla Cookie was joking with him. "You will eat later. I intend to get you back to full health."
"I suppose I can understand. I am of greeaaatt importance. I'm a beast, after all. Rebuilding this place after the war is gonna take some real help. You half-baked old heroes just don't make the cut sometimes!"
Pure Vanilla Cookie laughs. "I know that. I do sincerely seek the insight of you and your friends in the wake of this."
"Of course you do. Everycookie does."
"I want your input. Not what you think that I want. I don't want you to impede your honest opinions with what you think I would want to hear the most."
Painfully sincere. Shadow Milk allows himself a weak smirk. "Sure, then."
"For now, though, I want you to rest." Punctuated with a gentle squeeze of his hand.
"…You should, too. Can't be falling asleep like you did. What kind of bedside manner is that?" They tease. It's rewarded with a bashful glance to the side.
"I apologize for that… I stayed up for quite a bit of the night in attempts to staunch your bleeding. You and the rest of the beasts. They are stable, if you would like to know."
They did like to know. Somehow, every single time, Pure Vanilla Cookie found a way to say exactly what they needed to hear.
"Yeah… I… would. Thanks." He mimics the hand squeeze gesture as a show of appreciation. It's definitely enough for Pure Vanilla Cookie. He brightens at it.
"But don't go pushing yourself, alright? Just- just.. do what you do best and be the lazy fool you always are."
Pure Vanilla Cookie hums. He looks amused. For once, he doesn't say anything in reply.
Shadow Milk cannot take being ignored like that. He arches a brow in offense to his lack of response.
"I mean it, you half-baked dummy. You." He punctuates by bringing both their hands closer to Pure Vanilla Cookie so he can weakly prod him in the chest. "Are going. To rest here. With me. Tonight. Got it?"
"Ah, Shadow Milk Cookie, I-"
"Doonn'ttt wanna hear it, 'Nilla Cookie. Go out and do whatever hero stuff it is you need to do, go be the face of the rest of your little menagerie. Just know I'll be here, waiting. And I hate being stood up."
This seemed to break through Pure Vanilla's initial hesitance. He could understand it. Kinda. When he was somebody who bothered with responsibilities and saving the world and nonsense like that, he also worried about not being present all the time. It drove him crazy. Pure Vanilla could do without knowing what that's like.
"..I shall rest here with you tonight, then, in the morning I must appear beside my friends at a meeting with Republic. I will return as soon as possible. Alright?"
"Sounds good. Don't rush. I'll survive."
Pure Vanilla Cookie looks doubtful. His expression dims a bit. "I.. must admit, I am worried about the gravity of your injury, and the fever you were running. I know you will be alright, but the first few days of healing are the most important to long-term wellness."
"..I'll be careful with myself, if that's what you're worried about."
Shadow Milk swears he can see Pure Vanilla let out an invisible sigh of relief.
"I am so glad to hear you say that. I hate to ask this of you, but I must request that you stay off your feet for the time being, at least when I am not around. And if you must rise, that you stay on the ground."
Shadow Milk sours at this. His first instinct was to craft a snarky reply about not doing what other cookies tell him to do. He bites his lip to avoid this. When he really thinks about it, he isn't sure he even actually wants to float. He feels bad enough just laying here, not using any magic. This sparks up a thought. His Souljam. Dark Enchantress siphoned it for her use.
His magic. What's happened to it? What if it's been damaged? What if he doesn't have it anymore?
What if it doesn't exist at all? What if he'll never be able to use magic again? This notion is agonizing.
He takes a sharp breath.
It doesn't help. He cycles through a hundred disaster situations. What if he's permanently vulnerable? What if he can never defend himself ever again? The Souljam was at the very essence of his being. What if he stops being him? What if he becomes something worse without it? What if he withers away and-
"Shadow Milk Cookie?"
Oh. Right.
Pure Vanilla's words are like a splash of ice cold water after an uncomfortable nap. He directs his gaze back at the blonde cookie.
"Are you alright?" He asks again, squeezing his hand. "You were a little spaced out and you looked very worried."
Pure Vanilla Cookie lifts Shadow Milk's hand to his lips to kiss it. It's in a princely way, but with their proximity and the exchange of words and intention earlier, it makes them blush.
"Whatever it is, I promise we can work through it together. I can see what I can do about staying here."
"No- no.. I… I just-" He stammers, unsure of if voicing his concern was right at all. How terribly uncharacteristic of him. This injury has him all sorts of jumbled up.
"I wanted to know about my Souljam. What happened to it?"
"Ah- that's an easy one. I have it. I was waiting until you were awake to give it back to you. I was worried you'd poke yourself on those prongs in your sleep."
It was that simple. Ugh. You always do this to yourself. Freaking out over the littlest of things.
"Well, I would like it back as soon as possible."
"Would you like for me to get it for you now, then?"
"No. Stay here with me." He replies quickly.
"For now."
Pure Vanilla Cookie chuckles softly, smiling down at Shadow Milk with a look of serenity that he isn't sure he's ever seen anyone make before.
"I won't leave your side, I promise."