Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Why was life created?

Why were only certain living beings destined for power, for wealth? What, or who, got to decide everyone’s fate?

What beings gifted the world cycle of life and death?

And why did only they get a say?

White Lily was more than ready to find out.

She had her notebooks, filled to the brim with countless hours of research, stacked against each other in her bag. She carried old texts, maps, and countless other tools a researcher, like herself, would need.

She needed to know the truth.

The night was quiet as White Lily packed her things neatly away. Her study, full of chalkboards of theories and messy piles of papers, was being cleaned out for the most important documents. She could no longer keep her journey for the truth in her study.

White Lily needed to explore.

Freedom. She was destined to go far and wide for the answers she sought out. The people—assuming the power even was a person—wouldn’t make it easy for her. She spent her life studying life. Her fellow colleagues and partners were satisfied with the information they possessed, but White Lily always felt like there was more.

And there was. Not many believed her, though.

One person did.

White Lily stopped packing her things. She stood still as her mind wandered, Pure Vanilla. He always believed in her, even when her ideas were silly, when her theories were proven false, or when fellow researchers called them impossible.

Pure Vanilla was always by her side.

He didn’t understand it like she did, though, as he was also one of the people content with the current world. Pure Vanilla was a guiding light for his people, their friends, for her. He is the person that inspired her the most.

Going out into the world meant leaving that light behind.

White Lily wasn’t afraid of discovering something new, or wandering in lands she had never been. That was the thrill of the chase. She was nervous, feeling sweat cake on her hands, but she had never been afraid.

But now, she was.

How could she leave Pure Vanilla behind?

The thought made her swallow hard, shaking her head. The moonlight and the small candle on her desk was the only light in her study. From the window, that moonlight illuminated her sorrowful face. White Lily’s plans were to leave during the night.

How could she do that to Pure Vanilla?

She groaned, slapping her palm to her face—it was a major detail miscalculated. Pure Vanilla wouldn’t approve of her leaving, but she could not just leave without saying goodbye to her lover.

She stared at the bag by her desk. Was it too late to unpack it?

“...White Lily, my dear, what are you doing…?” 

White Lily jumped with a squeak, turning towards the open door to her study. A barely awake Pure Vanilla stood in the doorway, his voice a hushed whisper. His pale eyes glimmered in the moonlight, making her heart sink.

“Vani…What—Why are you out of bed?” White Lily felt her heart begin to race as she rushed to her blind lover’s side. “And where is your staff, dear? How did you manage to find your way down here…?”

“Hm…” Pure Vanilla rubbed his eye and yawned, listening to her footsteps get closer. “You were gone from bed…I know my way to your study easily…”

White Lily chuckled, leading Pure Vanilla’s hands to her body. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and resting his chin on her shoulder. He received a peck on the cheek.

Pure Vanilla blinked himself awake. “Your clothing does not feel like your nightgown…”

She froze. Because it wasn’t.

White Lily was wearing her normal dress, just slightly altered for adventures. She felt Pure Vanilla stir, feeling her outfit and squinting his eyes to study the room. 

“White Lily, what are you doing?” His voice sounded more alert.

“Ah,” Her voice was meek, giving Pure Vanilla a clear sign she was up to something. “I…I was just…Not tired anymore, my dear.”

“You are lying to me, why?” 

“I—”

Pure Vanilla let go of his lover, moving carefully across the room. He squinted at the contents of her desk, not seeing the usual clutter, he frowned.

“White Lily.”

She rushed over, directing Pure Vanilla away from the desk. “I have merely been doing some…late night studying, my dear! I awoke a short time ago, and—and a new theory unraveled in my mind, and—”

“A new theory to leave?”

White Lily felt sudden guilt weigh her down. His voice cracked, despite his attempt to sound stern. 

“I…I was not—”

“Spare me, dear. I…I know you too well…” Pure Vanilla’s voice was barely audible, like his will to live was being sucked from him. He continued to look around the darkened study, eventually finding her packed bag.

“Dear, ‘tis not what it—”

“Were you going to leave now?”

“...”

“...”

The peaceful moonlight that shone in Pure Vanilla’s eyes now became dread as it highlighted the tears that dared to spill. White Lily sighed, not wanting to lie anymore.

“I…I was…” White Lily looked away, ashamed.

“Where will you go…?”

“...”

“I am not quite sure,” White Lily ran her dainty fingers along the desk, she avoided Pure Vanilla’s prying, saddened eyes. “Wherever my journey takes me…”

“When will you come back to me?”

“...”

Pure Vanilla hugged his body, attempting to comfort himself. “You will come back to me, right?” 

“Of course!” White Lily took her lover’s hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. “I…I knew you’d disapprove, but you must understand! There is something else out there, something bigger than the powers we were given…!”

“You say this often.” 

White Lily paused, he sounded unsure, unconvinced. She pursed her lips as she began to pick up her things. Why wouldn’t he support her now, when she needed it the most. She could handle the world.

White Lily was a grown adult, not a child.

“I know you do not believe what I know to be true, but I cannot find the answers I seek in this study.” Her voice was monotone, it made Pure Vanilla look away. “I must venture, Pure Vanilla.”

“But—”

“This is why I was planning to leave while you slept.”

The room felt heavy. White Lily’s frustration shone on her face, but Pure Vanilla could not make out her emotions; he couldn’t see. He could not see the reason it was so important for his lover to leave. He was able to support everything she believed in until now, until it risked her life. 

Pure Vanilla couldn’t keep her safe if he did not know where she was.

He stood there, facing White Lily. The tears that dared to spill from his eyes distorted his vision more. He took White Lily’s hand gently, and fell to his knees. White lily looked shocked. A gasp escaped her mouth watching the tears roll down Pure Vanilla’s check, she also began to cry.

“What are you—”

“Please,” Pure Vanilla begged. His voice was quivering. “please do not leave me…”

“Pure Vanilla—”

“Please, Lily! Please. Please. Please! Not on your own, you cannot. Please—!”

His begging mixed with his desperate sobs. Pure Vanilla pulled White Lily closer from her waist, crying into her dress. White Lily stood in awe, moving her hands to play with Pure Vanilla’s soft hair. 

“My love, I need you, please…! Please! Stay with me…”

“I have to do this, dear.”

“Please—!”

“You do not understand.”

“Don’t leave me!”

“I have to go now. I am traveling with a group, for now. They are awaiting me.” White Lily wiped the tears from her eyes, kneeling down to her sobbing lover.

She cupped his cheeks and kissed him slowly. She watched sadly as Pure Vanilla squinted to see her closely, trying to put one final picture of his love in his mind. He pulled her closer, all his weight fell onto the person he relied on the most.

“Shh. My love, I will be back.” She stroked his hair and rubbed his back. Her light voice soothed him, but not enough for him to let go.

“Please…”

White Lily peeled herself off of Pure Vanilla, who grasped unsuccessfully in the air for her. He listened to her footsteps get quieter.

More panic set in.

“Lily, please! ‘Tis dangerous—please, no! Please—” He tried to get up to go after her.

“I know it is, but I am prepared.”

“You are—you are facing something larger than us! Lily, please—”

“I am prepared.”

“Lily…!”

“I love you, Pure Vanilla. Do not mourn me, for I will be back with the answers I seek.” White Lily smiled to herself, she knew she would learn the truth, but that smile faltered seeing Pure Vanilla still on the ground. “I am leaving now.”

“No, NO! Lily, Lily please!” Pure Vanilla got up, trying his hardest to see her. His head began to hurt from crying and squinting.

“Lily!”

No answer.

“Lily!?”

No answer.

“...White Lily?”

No answer.

Falling to the ground once more, Pure Vanilla sobbed uncontrollably. He hugged his body for warmth, because his warmth was now gone. He tried once more to call for his lover. Maybe she was still there, and this had been a simple nightmare. Pure Vanilla slapped himself in the face—it hurt.

“...White Lily…?”

Chapter Text

Golden Cheese hugged her body, shivering from the frigid cold. Rather than folding her wings neatly behind her, she wrapped them snugly around herself. Even with the extra furs that Dark Cacao supplied her, she struggled to keep herself warm.

She fidgeted on the floor next to her lover in a room of the Citadel. She sat in on an important congregation with Dark Cacao. She muttered a curse, Golden Cheese had assumed inside would be significantly warmer than outside. She was very wrong.

Even with the burning fireplace and the heated floors, her teeth continued to chatter.

She brought her frozen hands to her face, breathing hot air onto them. She rubbed them together, the friction brought only slight relief. Golden Cheese huffed an annoyed sigh.

Screw being from the Parmesan Desert.

Slowly during his conversations, she began to scoot closer and closer to Dark Cacao’s strong arm. As if she was doing something wrong, Golden Cheese would stop every time Dark Cacao turned to glance at her. With his grumpiness, she wasn’t keen on potentially annoying him, especially during his meeting.

Finally getting close enough, Golden Cheese wrapped her cold hands around his arm, pulling it away from his body. She maneuvered herself onto his lap, swinging her legs over his crossed knees. She made herself comfortable.

Golden Cheese buried her face into his shoulder, smiling with relief at the sudden warmth. She snickered at her victory.

The room fell silent during Golden Cheese’s change of seats. The advisors exchanged confused glances. They watched the scene, muttering to the person they sat closest to. 

Dark Cacao glanced down at her. He watched his lover with amused eyes as she smiled up at him. He received pecking kisses to his jawline as she cuddled into him for his warmth. Normally, Dark Cacao would have been very annoyed at the unprofessionalism. This time, he chuckled.

Was she that cold?

Starting up the meeting again, Dark Cacao continued speaking professionally towards his advisors; acting as if his gorgeous woman wasn’t in his lap.

His cold stare forced the delegates to disregard Golden Cheese, even though the unusual, publicly wholesome situation of their stoic king was rare. Some advisors looked away, pretending they didn’t see anything. Some cleared their throats, and some fiddled with their papers and writing utensils.

Golden Cheese waited patiently for Dark Cacao to finish his meeting, much warmer than before.

She traced circles on his chest, running her manicured fingers lazily up and down his body. She played with his hair, and dusted off his hanbok. She kissed his neck, and scratched his back. Golden Cheese smiled every time she felt his hands switch positions holding her, as he would let go from time to time.

She acted as if the room was empty.

Golden Cheese smirked, thriving with the attention she was giving herself.

“You are all dismissed.” Dark Cacao’s voice disrupted her daydreaming. She turned and watched various men and women rise from the floor, leaving the room with idle chatter.

Golden Cheese stayed sitting down, waiting for all the guests to leave. Hearing the door slide closed, she switched her position to straddle him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, waiting for him to comment on her behavior.

Dark Cacao flipped through the papers he had been given during the meeting. He wrote some things down and sorted them without saying a word to Golden Cheese. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his lover frown. Contrastingly, he felt a smile pull at his lips.

She wanted attention. Golden Cheese always acted out for a reaction.

He wouldn’t give one to her just yet.

With her dramatics, Golden Cheese scoffed at Dark Cacao ignoring her.

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Hm?” Dark Cacao continued going through his paperwork.

She pulled herself further up his leg for his attention, poking his shoulder.

“You’re ridiculous! How can you ignore me if I was the one that gave you company during the dreadfully, boring meeting?” She dramatically complained.

“Oh?” He teased.

“Yes, daring. If it weren’t for me and my glimmering presence, your meeting would have been dreary.”

“Kingdom policies and regulations are not meant to be glamorous…”

Golden Cheese pouted. “You make everything dreadful! If you’d put some dazzle in your life, you wouldn’t be as grumpy and serious…”

“Then you must be my “dazzle”, I suppose?” Dark Cacao casually commented, still working on his papers. “You are my light.”

Golden Cheese gasped.

“Awh! Aren’t you the sweetest thing!” She pinched his cheek, then kissed it.

“Hm.”

She looked back at the papers on the small table, frowning. Papers were taking up his attention. She ripped the pen from his hands—if Dark Cacao truly wished to keep the pen, Golden Cheese would not have taken it so easily—and threw it on the table. The action made Dark Cacao look up at her.

“Talk to me you grump! I’ve been sitting for sooo long!”

“Seeking attention today, My Queen?” He held her hips, pulling her until she was right up against him. “You made yourself at home during the meeting, did you not? Is that not enough for Her Radiance…?”

With the use of her royal titles, Golden Cheese giggled as her cheeks flushed.

The warmth that she was seeking before was no longer needed.

“Were you that cold that the earlier unprofessionalism was necessary?”

“Yes. I was very cold.”

Dark Cacao rubbed up and down her arms. “‘Tis warm in here…”

Golden Cheese gawked. “No way! Feel my hands!” She shoved her hands dramatically in front of him.

He took her bare hands in his gloved ones, kissing one. He raised his eyebrows unbotheredly.

“This is cold to you?”

“I am native to the desert you buffoon!” She hit his shoulder as he chuckled at her. “Yes, this is absolutely freezing for me!” 

“Apologies…” He lifted her dainty hands and rubbed them in his calloused ones. He brought them to his mouth, breathing hot air onto them as he kept rubbing them. He kissed every knuckle on both her hands, keeping eye contact with Golden Cheese.

Her wings fluttered with surprise. She giggled, hitting him again due to her flusteredness.

“Stop it, you!”

“I thought you wished for my attention…?”

“Stop being a tease, you asshole!” She cupped his face and kissed him, laughing.

Dark Cacao smiled. He tsked and shook his head. “Ah, you must be clearer, my dear. Are your hands still cold?”

“No, they are not.” She inspected her hands, then tilted his face towards her and kissed him. “At least you can do something useful…”

Dark Cacao eyed her, lifting his eyebrows with an are-you-serious look. She laughed in his lap, hitting his shoulder. 

“I believe you mean “thank you”...”

Chapter Text

Feeling her stomach churn, Hollyberry quickened her pace towards her bedroom. A guard had urgently told her strange noises had been coming from there. Hollyberry had laughed it off.

Wittily, she told the guard to go inside to see what jungle animal had accidentally made itself at home.

The Hollyberrian guard had only shaken his head.

“My Lady, this is urgent.”

When the guard spoke, he sounded rushed—and vaguely annoyed at his queen’s humor.

Hollyberry had fallen silent, her eyebrows raised with confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“The doors and windows are locked, barricaded shut. And there seems to be a cry coming from inside that does not sound like an animal, My Queen.”

Hollyberry stood still, her thoughts were wild; someone crying?

In her bedroom?

She thought for a moment. It wasn't her son, he had gone out to the market this morning.

He hadn't returned yet.

Who else would be in her room?

“Whatever do you mean?”

“There is someone inside, and I have been sent to ask for permission to begin striking down your door.”

“I’m sure you men are hearing things…” Hollyberry chided, she didn’t believe there was actually a person.

The guard stood firm.

Hollyberry sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Seriously…? Yeah, I will come with you then…”

“Of course, My Lady.”

Hollyberry had thought her men were going crazy.

As she walked, she recalled her nativity from the earlier conversation, how could she forget her?

White Lily was visiting.

White Lily would be the only person in her bedroom. Her eyebrows furrowed, walking quickly alongside her guard.

If it was White Lily, why would she have the doors barricaded closed?

Arriving at her quarters, Hollyberry saw three other men deliberating. They were leaning close to the door, attempting to hear what was going on inside.

“What is going on?” Hollyberry sternly asked, making the guards turn at the voice.

“There is someone inside, My Lady!” One man motioned towards the door. He shook the door handle, it was locked. “We attempted to use the keys, but the door will not budge.”

“Do you hear anything?” Hollyberry moved close to the door, putting her ear against it.

Listening carefully, she heard a very faint noise, but it did not help in identifying what the problem was, or who was inside.

“May we use force, My Queen?” Another man asked, preparing his sword and shield.

Hollyberry thought for a moment. Whoever was inside—she was praying it was anyone but White Lily—would most likely get scared from the ruckus  of breaking down the door. She clicked her tongue, staring at the grandiose entrance.

What other choice did she have?

“Yes, we will. We will have to work quickly. If there is an intruder, or something else inside, I would like to know who before they potentially run away.”

The men spoke as one. “Yes, My Lady.” 

Readying themselves, the guards began using various tools to break the frame of the door. Hoping they could simply move it to get inside.

Hollyberry watched, snickering at them. It was a lot smarter than her preferred method—which was simply busting down the door with her own body. 

She waited as the men made quick work of the door, sliding it out of their way. The door halted suddenly. The men attempted to maneuver it, but their attempts were futile.

Hollyberry chuckled at them.

“My Lady! Come see what holds this door…!” One guard called for Hollyberry.

The group of men looked confused.

“What? What did you find?”

Walking over, she peeked at the inside of her room. Her cheery face went slack in an instant. Alarm bells rang violently in her head.

Vines.

Vines barricaded the door. Looking into the room, vines also barricaded the door to her bathroom. Hollyberry felt her stomach drop.

“White Lily.” Her voice was breathless and barely audible. The panic in her face made the guards prepare for a violent attacker, not hearing the words out of their queen’s mouth.

“No, put your weapons down.” She demanded, turning back towards the men. “Thank you for your assistance and for bringing this to my attention, gentlemen, you are no longer needed here.”

“Are—Are you positive, My Lady…? There could be—”

“Positive.” Her voice was low as she entered her room, turning to make sure the men were leaving behind her.

Watching them leave, Hollyberry rushed quietly towards her bathroom. Vines entangled the wooden door, forcing it shut. Every possible bad situation was playing in Hollyberry’s mind.

Her heart raced.

Trying to calm her breathing, she placed her hands gently against the door. She then placed her ear on the door too. Hollyberry listened closely. 

Choked, attempting-to-be-silent sobs were coming from the closed bathroom door. Ragged breathing was mixed with quick, sucked in breaths. The pattern of sucked-in breaths and whines continued for as long as Hollyberry listened. The saddened cry sounded exactly like White Lily.

Hollyberry felt her blood boil; what was White Lily doing?

How long had she locked herself behind the door?

Tears pricked her own eyes.

Hollyberry needed to get inside. 

She needed to help her lover, somehow.

“...White Lily?” Hollyberry spoke calmly, putting her ear against the door to listen again. She heard the ragged breathing hitch, a clank of something dropping to the tile floor of the bathroom, and nervous shuffling.

Hollyberry frowned, she didn’t get an answer.

She pursed her lips at all the movement from inside. In a poor attempt, she shook the door handle, hoping by some miracle it was unlocked. After doing so, vines tightened around the door.

“White Lily, I know you’re inside…” She tried again, taking a deep breath. “Come out, please, sweetheart.”

The shuffling continued, but no answer.

“White Lily?”

“...”

“Sweetheart, come on…”

Hollyberry felt her hands itching, she needed to hear her voice.

“...”

“C’mon baby, please…!”

“...”

Hollyberry pursed her lips waiting for an answer. She exhaled, her mind wasn't easing anxiety.

What if she'd already…

“Fuck it.” Hollyberry muttered. She backed away from the door, preparing herself.

If White Lily wasn’t going to open the door for her, Hollyberry would force her way inside.

Putting her shoulder to the door, she stood at a small length away from it. Leaning back, the large woman used her body weight to create momentum, slamming her shoulder into the door.

A panicked squeal was heard from inside. The fear from the suddenly loud bang made the vines slither away. Taking her chance quickly, Hollyberry continued to bash her shoulder into the door before White Lily could wrap her vines back around.

The door swung open. It hit the wall with a loud crash, slightly coming off its hinge. Not having the time to be proud of her strength, Hollyberry moved inside.

“I apologize for having to do that, but—” Hollyberry’s words came to a fearful halt as she stared down at White Lily.

White Lily tried to cover herself. Her once quiet sobs were loud. She coughed and wheezed on the floor, unable to catch her breath.

Her ungloved arms were covered in seeping blood. A mass of small knicks to larger cuts traveled all the way from her wrist to her elbow. The blood trailed off her pale skin onto the cream tiles of the floor. There were towels covered in blood surrounding her, and a razor blade on the ground.

Hollyberry, with her mouth agape, stared in stunned silence. Her lover was doubled over on the ground, blood staining everything she touched.

“...White Lily…” Her tone was nothing but gentle. She stepped cautiously closer to the mess, feeling a bead of sweat roll down her face. A pungent, metallic smell wafted around the room uncomfortably.

Hollyberry continued getting closer slowly, but White Lily kept backing away. Her face was puffy with tears, and snot dripped from her nose. But the saddened eyes morphed into angry ones. Her face, not only red from her crying, was now red with rage.

“Get away from me.” White Lily’s voice was cracked and shaky, but the threatening tone made Hollyberry halt.

“Sweetheart, I—”

“I do not care. Get. Away.”

Hollyberry pursed her lips. “I just—”

Like a swell of a symphony, White Lily looked at Hollyberry with pure violence in her eyes.

“I said, get out! Get. OUT! Why—why do you not understand a word of what I’m saying!?” White Lily rose from the ground, throwing her arms around in a fit of rage.

Now, White Lily was advancing, and Hollyberry was the one backing away. 

“White Lily, you need to relax!”

“Why must you bother me!? LEAVE!”

Hollyberry had her hands in front of her. “I am not leaving!?” 

Through more sobbing, White Lily cradled her body as she screamed wild curses and pleas to be left alone. Hollyberry attempted to advance again, but was met with crazed, flailing arms. She backed away before White Lily actually landed a blow.

White Lily fell to the ground. Hollyberry was forced to watch helplessly, tears rolling down her own face.

Every time she went to get closer, White Lily screamed.

She made it impossible to approach.

Hollyberry felt her mind wishing she never opened the door.

Chapter Text

Dark Cacao inhaled the frosty morning air. He walked against the rising sun, simply taking in the calmness before the day began. 

He felt the frost bite at his nose and fingers, even with his thick gloves. He was already dressed for the day, his heavy furs were necessary due to the below freezing temperatures; the cold didn’t stop him. Snow crunched beneath his heavy boots, the noise frightened roaming animals in his area. Dark Cacao listened to the scattering.

He navigated his normal pathway for his morning walk, even if it wasn’t extremely light out yet, he followed the path he knew by heart.

He exhaled, watching his breath freeze in the air.

Unable to rest, taking his morning walks was something Dark Cacao looked forward to; nature graced him time to clear his head.

Walking every morning, away from responsibilities, away from his subjects, Dark Cacao was able to start the day with a decent headspace—some aspects that caused him stress could not be controlled by a morning stroll.

Dark Cacao blinked, lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. Walking in the direction of the sunrise prompted him to turn around, telling him it was time to start his journey back to the Citideal.

The sound of distant snow crunching put the King on alert. He squinted against the sun, stopping in his tracks to listen to the unexpected noise. It was not the sound of a scurrying animal, which Dark Cacao quickly confirmed. 

It was the sound of another set of footsteps.

Going on high alert, Dark Cacao narrowed his eyes and scanned the area. Nothing

seemed to be out of order, but he remained keen as he started walking back. He frowned, his calm, morning walk became a scout for a potential attacker.

“...Hey! Shoo, you, shoo!” A woman’s voice made Dark Cacao turn quickly on his heels in the direction of the sound.

The mysterious woman’s voice, seemingly in need, made Dark Cacao—very begrudgingly—leave his path. He muttered curses.

Wading through the forest, he pushed past snowy branches and bushes towards the voice. As he got closer, knowing from the muffled voice becoming clearer, he started to realize he recognized the voice.

He furrowed his eyebrows, continuing to maneuver his way towards the woman.

Arriving at a small opening in the forest, Dark Cacao made sight of the woman in front of a berry bush. In front of the berry bush, the woman was arguing with a rabbit, who was enjoying a meal.

Dark Cacao felt a smile pull at his lips as he sighed with relief.

The woman was White Lily.

“Come on!” She picked up the rabbit, who began attempting to kick her defensively. Huffing, she threw it a few feet away from her. “I am trying to study this bush and these berries! I cannot if you eat them all…”

White Lily stared down the rabbit, who sniffed around and stared at her. The animal stood, completely unfazed by reprimands. She rolled her eyes, picking up her notebook from the ground.

So immersed in her investigation, White Lily never noticed Dark Cacao walk up behind her. She muttered to herself, studying the bush and its berries respectively. While talking, she jotted down observations messily with her pen, and, with detail, sketched out the plant.

She shivered, her cheeks flushed from the cold. Thankfully, she wore all the garments Dark Cacao gave her to protect herself. 

“Fascinating,” She exhaled, mesmerized by her findings, “I have never seen white berries like these before…I wonder if they are edible...”

“They are not.” Dark Cacao spoke up, causing White Lily to jump, yelping with fright. She dropped her notebook and pen onto the ground and hugged her body close before realizing it was someone she knew. The excitement made the rabbit run away.

“Good gracious, Dark Cacao!” White Lily cleared her throat, blushing from embarrassment.

Dark Cacao picked up her belongings from the ground, handing them back to her.

She smiled nervously, running her fingers through her hair. “T—Thank you…”

“Those are called Snowberries. They are poisonous to humans and certain animals. They grow in the harsh winters, making them sustainable food for various animals like elk or rabbits…”

White Lily scribbled down the information Dark Cacao gave her. She nodded thoughtfully, tapping her pen to her cold lip. “I’ve never seen these before.”

“They are native to these lands.”

“I see.”

“That would explain your…argument with that wild rabbit.”

White Lily gasped, covering her mouth. “You…you saw that?”

“I’ve been standing here for some time, I heard a voice…What are you doing awake this early, dear?”

“Heh…” White Lily hugged her notebook, flustered. “I saw that you were gone from bed so early…I figured you were busy, so I took the time to come explore the wildlife while the world was quiet…”

She looked up towards the thick trees that blocked the fully risen sun. The warmth made it slightly less cold, but not by much.

“If you are that curious about our native wildlife, I can schedule you a personal tour with one of my Wolf Soldiers. They know the lands better than anyone.”

“...Thank you, dear. But I’d rather look for myself!” She flipped through her notebook pages. “The adventure and thrill of finding something new on my own is something I enjoy…!”

“Hm.”

She closed her book. “Why are you out here, dear?”

“Walking before mounds of stress are loaded onto my shoulders…” He pulled White Lily close to him, kissing her frozen nose. She chuckled.

“Ah…” White Lily looked around the area they were in. “You were walking in the forest?”

“No, there is a pathway. I diverged from it hearing a voice, which happened to be yours.”

She looked down, covering her face with her scarf. “Oh, dear! I…I didn’t mean to interrupt your time!”

“No matter, your presence is nothing but lovely…”

“Awwh…” She looked away shyly, prompting a quiet chuckle from Dark Cacao.

Suddenly, White Lily gasped. She tapped her notebook with enthusiasm, thinking of an idea.

“I know! How about we walk back together, dear? I’d wish to show you the other nature that I have found, maybe you know about them? Oh! Maybe there are more creatures I haven’t seen along that way!”

Dark Cacao listened to her ramble on and on. She talked excitedly with her hands, holding her worn, leather-backed notebook in her hands.

He felt lighter in her presence, a light at the end of his tunnel.

White Lily trailed off, looking at Dark Cacao who wasn’t answering her—he never realized she was at a point in her rambling where he was supposed to answer. She pursed her lips and looked down.

“Or, if—if you enjoy your silence, then I’ll…walk back by myself…!” She chuckled nervously, tucking hair behind her ear.

Dark Cacao shook his head. “Nonsense, my dear. I want to hear all about your findings…” He picked up her hand and kissed it, watching the light return to her face.

She jumped up and down like a giddy child holding onto one of Dark Cacao’s arms with her free hand. “Really? Really!? You are the sweetest! And—And the best!” 

“I—”

“Thank you!” She kissed him happily on the lips. Because of her excitement, the kiss was broken off quickly as she bounced her heels.

Dark Cacao couldn’t hide his smile if he tried.

“Come along, dear…” He put his arm out for her to hook it, which she did. “We must start traveling back, now.”

“Yes, yes, of course!” She followed him as they began walking, flipping pages quickly in her notebook to locate her most recent findings.

Dark Cacao watched her as he guided the two of them back onto the pathway. As soon as they came out of the forest, White Lily intriguingly wandered around the pathway. She stopped in front of another plant to inspect it.

He couldn’t think of any other way to spend his morning.

Chapter Text

The party was bustling. Extravagant guests with even more extravagant personalities littered the banquet hall. At the center of attention, like always, was the radiant queen, Golden Cheese.

Her stunning body and charm helped her constantly amaze crowds. Her magnificent jewelry was nothing but gold, and her dress was an electric teal. Her hair was unnatural, defying many peoples’ standards for a woman—Golden Cheese flew higher than anyone's expectations.

The Goddess was bold, the shining spotlight naturally came her way.

Anyone who doubted her was proven wrong in an instant. Her femininity and power shocked many, and inspired all.

Quite literary at the center of attention. Pure Vanilla watched his lover with a smile from the balcony. Golden Cheese was near the center of the hall, charming and chatting with every guest that passed her way.

Pure Vanilla enjoyed her bold personality—he loved seeing Golden Cheese be herself.

Deciding it would be proper to join her, Pure Vanilla began his journey towards the center of the hall.

The vast amount of guests made Pure Vanilla’s walk much more difficult.

His blind, pale eyes stayed closed, allowing himself to see through his staff. Groups littered around the banquet hall partially  blocked the vision of his tall staff. In order to navigate the crowd, Pure Vanilla would have to maneuver his staff in all sorts of directions.

Evidently, making him more prone to bumping into people.

He sighed, no longer looking forward to his walk.

His lips were pursed, and his hands gripped his staff. Having no other choice, Pure Vanilla began walking, hoping for the best.

The crowds up on the balcony were not nearly as bad as the ones Pure Vanilla studied below him. He was able to make it to the staircase easily with a polite “excuse me”. Pure Vanilla quickly descended the stairs.

Now, he faced the daunting part of his journey.

The banquet floor was nearly covered with guests. Swallowing, Pure Vanilla took his first few steps forward, immediately getting bumped into.

“Oh, sorry, Sir! I apologize!” The lady that accidentally bumped into him bowed, embarrassed.

“Not to worry, ‘tis alright.” With a warm smile, Pure Vanilla reassured the flustered lady. Waving her off, his warm smile dropped.

Great.

He was no longer looking forward to making his way to Golden Cheese at all.

With a heavy sigh, he continued to slowly weave himself through the crowd.

With his staff not being capable of wide peripheral vision like humans, it wasn’t uncommon for him to miss an object, or a person. The heavy crowds put Pure Vanilla at a larger disadvantage.

Bumping into a man with oof, Pure Vanilla saw the guest stare confusingly at his one-eyed flower staff.

“I apologize—"

“Watch where yer going.” The man with slurred speech grumbled, walking past Pure Vanilla. The drunken guest hit him purposefully on the shoulder as he was walking away.

Clearing his throat, Pure Vanilla shook his head at the rudeness.

He continued on his way towards Golden Cheese.

Finally, his radiant lover was in sight. It had taken the blind healer much longer than anticipated to even get close to Golden Cheese—bumping into more than a few guests on the way.

He tried his best to not let the frustration show on his face. Though, he was relieved that he would finally have another set of eyes to lead him through the crowd.

A large group of people surrounded the social Golden Cheese. They all laughed loudly and talked even louder; Pure Vanilla would guess that at least half of them were drunk. He exhaled, grounding himself, before pushing through the ring of people.

While doing so, Pure Vanilla was bumped by a walking guest.

The collision wasn’t harsh, but it caused his staff to accidently tip the wine glass that Golden Cheese held in her hands. The glass toppled over, spilling the rich liquid onto her lavish dress.

A string of gasps rang in the crowd.

By the time Pure Vanilla shot the passing man with a dirty look, all eyes were staring at the red wine stain on Golden Cheese’s outfit. She fell silent, and Pure Vanilla realized the mess he made.

Guilt made his stomach drop as he watched the anger form onto Golden Cheese’s face.

“Ah, Golden Cheese, I—”

Without saying a word, Golden Cheese harshly yanked Pure Vanilla’s free arm and began to drag him through the crowd. Her grip was tight, and her heels clicked angrily on the floor. With so many guests in the crowd, no one noticed the stain on her dress unless they looked. 

For Golden Cheese, it was a problem. 

The Goddess was always the center of attention. It was her confident image that made her persuasive, successful. 

Now her dress was ruined?

The complete opposite.

“Golden Cheese!?” Pure Vanilla shouted at her, trying to get her to let go. He caught up to her pace in walking, but he couldn’t arrange his staff in a position where he could see where he was going.

Pure Vanilla was forced to let Golden Cheese drag him along.

From what his staff was able to see, eyes were all over the two of them. Whispers between patrons and his attempts to pull his arm away made him frustrated and confused.

Golden Cheese’s head whirled with anger and embarrassment.

All eyes were on her, and she looked like a mess. 

Why the hell did Pure Vanilla bump into her?

Finally getting away from the crowd, Golden Cheese came to a sudden halt in an empty hallway. The sudden stop made Pure Vanilla bump into her again. Before getting a chance to argue his case, Golden Cheese wiped around to face him.

“What in the world was that, Pure Vanilla?!” She shouted like her lover was a violent animal.

Pure Vanilla was taken aback by her rage. He understood that she was upset, but it was an honest accident.

Brushing himself off, he gripped his staff steadily in front of him, to see all of Golden Cheese.

“My dear, it was an—”

“I do not care what it was!”

“Let me argue my case…”

“No. You ruined my dress, you ruined my night.” She flailed her arms angrily. 

“I ruined your night?” He muttered, absolutely bewildered.

Golden Cheese seethed. “Yes. You did.”

“Why? Because I was accidentally bumped into?”

She tightened her fists. “Your bug-eyed staff hit my drink.”

Pure Vanilla was taken aback. “I—”

“My dress is absolutely ruined!” She pulled out the fabric, aggressively showing Pure Vanilla the stain.

“I know your dress is ruined, I am trying to—”

“You are not trying to do anything, Pure Vanilla. You only make things worse.” Golden Cheese looked down at her dress, trying to wipe off excess liquid with her hands.

“What wrong have I done if it was not my fault?”

She scoffed. “You have that staff for a reason.”

“Don’t you see that—”

“Excuses.”

He motioned behind him. “But that man—”

“Excuses, Pure Vanilla.”

“Stop interrupting me.” Pure Vanilla deadpaned, losing his patience. His seriousness made Golden Cheese cross her arms with sass.

“How do you expect me to navigate a crowd that large efficiently with my circumstances?” He slightly waved his staff, stating the obvious. The staff’s one eye tore through Golden Cheese, making a shiver run up her spine.

“Is that not what that staff is for?” 

“‘Tis. But when an able person is barely able to make it through a crowd of that size, how exactly do you expect me, with this staff, to make it through easily?” He calmly explained, but Golden Cheese’s face was still twisted with annoyance. “Thus, I bumped into numerous guests along the way, and I just happened to knock over your glass. I apologize, dear…”

Pure Vanilla watched her unchanging face, making his rational disappear.

“Golden Cheese, do you even care?”

“I care that you ruined my dress.”

“...”

“What?” His voice faltered.

Golden Cheese shrugged. “I care that you ruined my one-of-a-kind dress, and embarrassed me in front of my patrons.” 

“I am blind! How do you expect me to navigate successfully? I am still in need of assistance in large crowds, my staff is not much use if people are blocking the way!” Pure Vanilla’s voice rose, gripping harder on his staff. “What is so difficult for you to comprehend?”

“You’ve been able to easily manage before.”

“That—I?” Pure Vanilla’s voice cracked, but he cleared his throat quickly. “No? I have not?”

Golden Cheese sighed, her stomach dropped with guilt as she rubbed her face. “....Look. I was busy out there.” She motioned back towards the banquet. “I was speaking to very important figures and you embarrassed me.”

“Is that what I am…? An embarrassment?” Pure Vanilla felt his cheeks heat up, suppressing his anger.

“You wouldn’t be if you would be more careful.” Golden Cheese pointed towards him.

“Are you—!”

“I don’t have time to stand here with you.” Golden Cheese put her hand up, excusing herself from the conversation. “Excuse me, dear, I must change my outfit, the guests are waiting for me…”

Mouth agape and his pale eyes open, Pure Vanilla watched Golden Cheese strut away.

Unbelievable.

“You are leaving, just like that?”

“If the crowd was too much for you, you should have stayed on the balcony.”

A pang of sadness filled Pure Vanilla’s heart, replacing his rage. He replayed the conversation, and saw nowhere within it that it had been his fault.

As Golden Cheese turned, the hem of her stained dress brushed his leg. The scent of her expensive perfume clung to him as she walked away, heels clicking angrily.

Pure Vanilla stood still, fingers tightening on his staff. In the quiet of the empty hallway, he could hear the party’s laughter behind him. He closed his eyes, swallowing a lump in his throat.

He made the best of his disability, yet she blamed him?

He sighed and looked down, maybe it was the alcohol making her careless.

“...I just wanted to be with you, my love…”

Chapter Text

A grandiose banquet in the Hollyberry Kingdom was just getting started—even though it was close to midnight. The party had started in the early evening. Five star courses with the finest foods and drinks energized the patrons for a long night of dancing and socializing.

The banquet floor was filled with people as far as the eye could see. Gloved ladies with lush dresses paraded around with their men, and young men hyped each other up to chase after young ladies. The orchestral music swayed folks on and off the dance floor. Drinks were continuously being served by well-dressed waiters throughout the night, as it was customary for Hollyberrian’s to have a drink.

Because of the party, some—if not all—lost count of just how many drinks they’ve had.

The atmosphere was exciting and bubbling, and slightly drunk. Even diplomatic conversations were full of life from intoxication. Dark Cacao watched the party from the back of the room, frowning.

Gatherings in the Hollyberry Kingdom were extremely different from the ones he had in his own kingdom. They were more serious, and it was quite rude to get so intoxicated.

Dark Cacao scoffed.

Here it was encouraged.

He held a glass in his hand, swirling the wine around aimlessly. The liquid inside was barely touched, Dark Cacao had sipped it out of politeness to the waiter.

He hated alcohol.

The stoic man watched the frivolous banquet, his face twisted in annoyance. He’d never refuse an invitation from his lover, but he loathed the parties.

Dark Cacao would rather consume himself in his work—or freeze to death back in his snowy homeland.

He tapped the glass impatiently. He glanced at a watch on his wrist, rolling his eyes.

With night falling, the party would only get wilder.

Dark Cacao was stuck in a drunken party.

“There you are!”

A boisterous female voice made Dark Cacao turn to look in the direction of where it came. He frowned harder.

He enjoyed his corner, the music wasn’t as loud, but it was clear enough for him to enjoy the skilled orchestra. The conversations were away from him, the people were away from him.

He could sulk in peace.

With Hollyberry arriving, and coming straight towards him, he feared she’d force him into the crowd with her. He’d have to socialize with flocks of drunk imbeciles.

He shook his head.

“Good gracious!” She walked next to him, holding a glass of her own. She smiled up at him, nudging his arm. “Look any happier and folks might just attempt to strike a conversation with you!” 

“...”

Her laughter faltered. “C’mon, sweetheart…It isn’t that bad…!”

“Hm.”

“Really?” She eyed him. “You won’t have a good time if you do not try to have a good time.”

“Hm.”

“Sweetheart…” She sighed, taking a sip of her drink. She noticed his hands holding his full glass.

“At least drink a glass!” She pointed to it with her own glass.

“And become a mindless fool?”

Hollyberry cleared her throat in surprise at the response. “You’re dramatic…”

“Am I? Look ahead of us.” Dark Cacao motioned in front of him.

A drunken young man and woman attempted to slow dance. The music was upbeat and lively, not appropriate for a slow dance. The couple kept crashing into each other, and tripping over their own feet. They laughed, snorting, and struggled to get off the ground.

Hollyberry snickered while Dark Cacao judged them.

“They're just children, babe…”

“‘Tis distasteful.”

Hollyberry sighed heavily. Smiling up at Dark Cacao, she laughed.

Dark Cacao stared blankly at her “What is so funny…”

“I’ve got to stop inviting you to these things…You’re very uptight…”

Their conversation fell silent as they both began watching the party unfold. Hollyberry turned to look at Dark Cacao, who looked very unhappy. She chuckled. Taking his glass from his hands and finishing her own, she placed them on a nearby table.

“C’mon, sweetheart.”

“What?”

“We’re going somewhere else.” Hollyberry took his hand, leading Dark Cacao out of the crowd. He was grateful to finally be leaving the main banquet room, but weary of where his lover may be taking him.

Exiting the hall, Hollyberry hooked Dark Cacao’s arm as they walked into less populated hallways. They made their way towards the back of her palace.

“Where are we going?” Dark Cacao asked.

“Well, you’re not having a good time, and I want to spend time with you…’Tis why invite you to these events in the first place.” Hollyberry looked at him, trying to read his neutral expression.

“And?”

“Seems it may be past your bedtime!”

Dark Cacao blankly looked forward as Hollyberry stopped to laugh at her own joke. He sighed, letting her use his arm to hold her up so she didn’t fall laughing.

“Are you drunk?”

She wiped her eyes, her laughter quelling. “Far from it. I am just absolutely hilarious!”

“I do not have a ‘bedtime’...” He shook his head.

“Well, you’re cranky.”

“By the Heavens, woman, just take us wherever you’re going…” Dark Cacao pulled her forward to keep her walking, exasperated.

She followed him, exhaled after her laughing fit. “Alright, alright! We’re going, you grump…”

Leading him for a little longer, the two made it to Hollyberry’s quarters. Thanking the guard posted outside for opening the door, she led Dark Cacao inside.

“You’re bedroom?”

“Like I told you before, I want to spend some time with you.” She rubbed his arm. “And you were avoiding me like the plague before!”

“Hmpf. You would have forced me to socialize…"

“Oh, the horror!” Hollyberry faked a terrified face, slapping her hands to her cheeks. “Dark Cacao, socializing!? Dear me, whatever will we do!?”

He sighed again, rolling his eyes. He watched Hollyberry walk to her vanity, where she began to pull out makeup-removing wipes. She laughed hard.

“Heavens!” She chuckled, finally catching her breath. “...Undress yourself, put something comfortable on…”

Dark Cacao looked down at his robes, then back up at her. He felt his shoulders lighten.

They weren’t going back to the party?

Hollyberry snickered looking at Dark Cacao, who finally figured it out.

“You finally got it?”

“We are not going back?”

“Nope.”

Dark Cacao began to remove his formal attire, hiding his pleased expression. He’d never admit out loud that her chaotic company was his favorite thing.

Surprisingly, it was calming.

“Is it not rude for the queen to abandon her own banquet?”

She shrugged. “Sure is. I don’t mind the reprimands, though…” She undressed herself as well.

After replacing their formal clothing for something more comfortable, Dark Cacao stood behind Hollyberry as she finished discarding her jewelry and undoing her hair. He snaked his arms—over the chair—around the strong woman’s waist. He rested his head on top of hers.

“Sweetheart, I’ve got to brush my hair.” Hollyberry attempted to shoo the large, clingy man off of her back.

He didn’t budge.

“Really? You avoided me all night and now you won’t let go of me?” She stared at him through her mirror, unable to hide her smile.

She adored when Dark Cacao got clingy, since he wasn’t a very “affectionate” person—which was a lie. From his hardened exterior, many believed Dark Cacao to be cold, stern, and heartless.

Hollyberry easily saw past that. She thought of her lover as a big ol’ teddy bear.

“Sweetheart~” She reached her hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Let me finish…”

“Hm…” Dark Cacao moved her hair away from her neck, burying his face in the crook of it. He took in the smell of her perfume.

She stood and turned so Dark Cacao hugged her front side instead of her backside, letting him fully embrace her. In the new position, she was able to brush her hair.

She braided her thick, pink hair in one tight braid while Dark Cacao pecked kisses to her neck.

Looking at the wall a few steps away from them, Hollyberry took the opportunity to take her lover off guard. Smirking at her plan, she pushed Dark Cacao backwards into the wall. When doing so, she laughed at his confused face.

“Holly—!” 

Hollyberry cut off his stern voice by suddenly pinning him to the wall. She looked up at him with a sly face, chuckling at his wide eyes.

“What—”

Cutting him off a second time, she kissed him passionately. Dark Cacao accepted the kiss, wrapping his arms around her. Gripping him by his hair, she forced his face closer to hers as they kissed. The kiss was so passionately harsh that they were forced to push away from each other for air.

Hollyberry laughed, out of breath as she wiped the string of saliva off her mouth. Dark Cacao let his hands lovingly roam around her back, unable to hide the small smile from his face.

“...What was that for…?”

She shrugged, kissing him quickly. “Not sure. Do I have to have a reason for kissing you?”

“Forcing me against the wall?”

“You don’t like it, baby?”

Dark Cacao swallowed, feeling his cheeks flush. “I never said that…”

“Okay, then!” She pulled his body against hers, watching his face flush at being commanded around during such an intimate moment. She smiled. “I suppose it may be my little apology for sticking you in that banquet hall!”

“I see.” His voice was quiet. He focused on controlling his beating heart.

“The party wasn’t so bad. Was it, sweetheart?”

“...”

She laughed at his shyness. It only made her more inclined to kiss him. She pressed butterfly kisses all over his face.

He turned away from her, flustered, but she felt his smile only grow bigger.

“Right?”

Dark Cacao pushed her face away, but Hollyberry only moved his hand back to her back. “It was awful…”

“I was having fun, but I do admit, seeing you all shy is a million times better!” She laughed heartily, pinching his heated cheek. “Don’t you agree, baby?”

Dark Cacao swallowed, avoiding eye contact with Hollyberry, who only chuckled at him.

“...R—Right…”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla slowly blinked his eyes open, yawning. He groaned, tossing himself around to get comfortable again in his bed. He reached out his arms, feeling for Dark Cacao in the darkness of the bedroom.

Half-asleep, he sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He didn’t feel Dark Cacao when he reached out—odd. Pure Vanilla yawned again, unable to wake himself up.

His hair was tousled, and his blind eyes were squinted in a poor attempt to see around the room. The bedroom was completely dark, since it was nighttime, which left Pure Vanilla with no sense of his surroundings.

He cleared his throat. “...Dark Cacao…?”

Pure Vanilla croaked into the darkness. He rubbed his face to better wake himself up, feeling tired lines on his cheek from sleeping.

“Dark Cacao…?”

His quiet voice received no verbal answer, nor a sound indication that his lover was around.

Finding the silence worrying, Pure Vanilla moved his arms wildly across the bed. With his foolproof method, if Dark Cacao was in the bed, he’d end up hitting him. Sighing, Pure Vanilla didn’t feel his lover.

Carefully, he slid off the warm sheets of his bed. He felt his bare feet on the cool wood, grabbing his aidful staff next his nightstand. With his staff in hand, he closed his eyes, letting his one-eyed staff adjust to the darkness.

With his unblurry vision, he scanned the room—no Dark Cacao. He walked towards the bathroom, checking inside, and then checked the balcony.

Still no Dark Cacao.

Pure Vanilla frowned. He was very much looking forward to going back to bed with Dark Cacao, not without him. Begrudgingly, he dragged his feet to the door of the bedroom, walking out.

Entering the hallway, Pure Vanilla stared blankly in both directions.

Where could Dark Cacao have gone if he was no longer in the bedroom? 

Still groggy, he messaged the bridge of his nose to think.

If Dark Cacao had left the room completely, Pure Vanilla reasoned, he could have been having an unrestful sleep. Frowning at the thought of his lover not sleeping well—like always—Pure Vanilla narrowed his search down to two places.

Where he would rather him be: outside, in the Vanilla Kingdom's main garden to walk around.

Where he would rather him not be: in a training room, punching a dummy in the dead of night.

“Curse you…” Pure Vanilla groaned, leaning his head on his staff. He decided to start with the better case scenario. 

The garden.

Beginning his walk that direction, he hummed a simple tune to keep himself alert and awake. Walking through the silence of the corridors made shivers run up his spine, finding the silence unnerving.

Making surprisingly quick work of the long walking distance, he arrived at his walk-through garden. Entering, he inhaled the calming scent of various types of flowers. Pure Vanilla smiled, hoping Dark Cacao was inside, he felt very proud that others enjoyed his love for nature. 

“Dark Cacao?” He called in the darkness of the garden. There were small lights placed around the walking path, but not enough to illuminate the whole lot of greenery.

Waiting for a response back, Pure Vanilla pursed his lips. The worse case scenario was creeping into the back of his mind faster than he wanted it to.

He always tried to give his lover the benefit of the doubt—he hated that his first thought of Dark Cacao disappearing was him attempting to harm himself. But, with his notorious record, Pure Vanilla was forced to jump to those conclusions.

The only thing different was that Dark Cacao promised he wouldn’t hurt himself anymore.

Or, at least if he did, he’d promised to tell Pure Vanilla.

He scowled, shaking his head. Pure Vanilla called out for him again.

“Dark Cacao!?”

He picked up his pace through the serene garden, his sleepiness no longer present.

Reaching the end, he smacked his lips—no Dark Cacao. Refusing to believe that he could be elsewhere, Pure Vanilla turned around and searched the garden again, head to toe, for his lover. 

“Dark Cacao!? Come on, love, please be in here…!” He bit his tongue.

Pure Vanilla was in denial, he knew exactly where Dark Cacao was.

And it wasn’t here.

Cursing, he sped up his walking pace as he left the garden. He let memory lead him to the small training grounds where he was positive Dark Cacao would be. Pure Vanilla mumbled a prayer into the darkness, praying that he was still jumping to conclusions.

Arriving at the training area, he stopped to catch his breath. With racing adrenaline, Pure Vanilla placed his free hand on his chest, calming himself.

Exhaling, Pure Vanilla stepped inside and looked around. The area was dark, and not a soul was insight.

He blinked wildly, what?

Where was Dark Cacao?

Moving even more frantic than in the garden, Pure Vanilla searched the area. In every corner, behind every dummy, everywhere.

“Dark Cacao!?” He felt his heart pound in his ears.

He was nowhere to be found.

Chuckling from disbelief, Pure Vanilla stood in the middle of the empty training grounds. Deeply breathing, he gripped his staff tightly.

On one hand, he was relieved that Dark Cacao wasn’t here, but, on the other, he was more worried than before.

“Okay,” Pure Vanilla rationed with himself, thinking hard about his lover. “If I was Dark Cacao, where would I be…?”

Unsure, he decided to begin walking around his castle and checking around the corridors; he could be walking around inside. Satisfied with his newly rushed plan, he sped out of the training area.

“Dark Cacao!?” His voice echoed in the large, empty halls as he began to walk around.

“Pure Vanilla?”

The sudden voice made Pure Vanilla jolt in the darkness. He turned around to see Dark Cacao standing a little away from him. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. 

“There you are!”

“You have been calling me?”

“Of course.” Pure Vanilla walked over, wrapping his arms around his lover. “I awoke and you were missing…”

Dark Cacao reciprocated the hug. “I apologize….I heard you calling my name earlier. I’ve…I’ve been attempting to locate you.”

Studying him with little light, Pure Vanilla found nothing unusual about Dark Cacao. The thought of his lover harming himself quickly faded from his mind. He rubbed his cheek tenderly, only noticing his tired eyes—which was normal.

“Where were you?”

“Walking.”

“I see,” Pure Vanilla hooked his arm. “Come, let us go back to bed. I am tired…I’ve been running around looking for you, I was worried…!”

“Hm.” 

The walk back to the bedroom was silent. Pure Vanilla leaned his head on Dark Cacao’s shoulder as they walked. Dark Cacao felt his exhausted eyes wide awake, his teeth gritting. He kept his sharp eyes forward, avoiding the jarring eye of the judgemental staff.

His hands trembled. He exhaled as quietly as possible.

Arriving back, Pure Vanilla sighed with relief, sitting back on the bed. He listened to the click of his lover shutting the bedroom door behind him. With his staff having adjusted to the darkness, he watched Dark Cacao ready himself to get back into bed.

“Are you ready to go back to bed, my love?” Pure Vanilla soothingly rubbed Dark Cacao’s arm. He paused for a moment.

His arm was tense.

Pure Vanilla’s eyebrows furrowed, narrowing his eyes.

“I am.”

Thinking about it more, Dark Cacao’s answers had been short and decisive—not that short answers weren’t normal for the stoic man. This was different. Pure Vanilla pursed his lips at the tone of his voice.

Looking at his arm, his staff’s eye fell onto Dark Cacao’s hands. Pure Vanilla felt his mouth fall slightly open.

He was wearing gloves in the middle of the night.

“Pure Vanilla.” Dark Cacao’s deep voice broke Pure Vanilla’s train of thought. “You’ve zoned out…”

“And you lied.”

Dark Cacao licked his dry lips. He knew Pure Vanilla would figure him out—he hoped he wouldn’t have figured him out until the morning, when it was easier to hide. He looked away, ashamed, and sighed.

He did lie.

“Why are you wearing gloves? ‘Tis nighttime…” Pure Vanilla’s voice was not angry, but disheartened. He felt rage bubble in his stomach that he pushed down; it wasn’t a good time to get angry.

Dark Cacao refused to make eye contact.

Pure Vanilla reached over and turned on a lamp. With the newfound light, he could clearly see the gloved hands. He bit his cheek.

“Dark Cacao…”

“...”

“What happened?”

“...”

“Talk to me…”

Pure Vanilla reached over for his hands, making Dark Cacao flinch away. At Dark Cacao’s jolt, Pure Vanilla flinched as well. He sighed, slightly frustrated with his lover.

He promised.

“I am not angry with you…I want to help you.” He attempted to soothe the larger man.

It wasn’t working.

“You are disappointed…” His voice was quiet as his head hung low. He played with his gloved hands. He pressed down at his fresh injuries, sending a burning pain through his hand.

“I…” Pure Vanilla placed his staff down to see Dark Cacao clearly, then scooted closer. “I am.”

“...”

“You’ve lied to me, again…And you promised.”

“...”

“What am I to do? You lie to me all the time just to hurt yourself, love.” Pure Vanilla attempted to take Dark Cacao’s hands once more. He flinched again. “It pains me to see you like this—you feel the need to go behind my back because you hurt so much.”

“...”

“But I also get frustrated. I have given you other outlets that simulate this want for pain in a safe way. And, even if you do hurt yourself, I wish to know to be able to clean your injuries—you never clean them.” 

Pure Vanilla tried to establish eye contact, but Dark Cacao kept his head turned away. He watched as Dark Cacao swallowed hard.

“Do you not trust me?”

Dark Cacao quickly turned to look at his lover. He cleared his throat seeing Pure Vanilla’s disappointed face. He felt guilty.

He should have hid it better.

“Of course I—! trust you—”

“This tells me you do not.”

“I—”

“If you trusted me, you would not go to such lengths to lie to me.” Pure Vanilla’s voice was unwavering. He took Dark Cacao’s hands even though he flinched. “And if you trusted me, you would listen when I try to help you. I have given you other ways—”

“It does not feel the same—”

“But why do you lie to me? ‘Tis what I don’t understand…”

Dark Cacao blinked rapidly. “I...”

“You?”

Pure Vanilla gently pulled the gloves off of Dark Cacao’s hands. Both hands were wrapped in messy bandages—it looked rushed. He glanced up to see Dark Cacao’s face, he had tears in his tired eyes.

“I understand you have gone through so much, and I will forever be here to support you.” He slowly unwrapped the bandages, crinkling his nose at the sight of his lover’s busted up knuckles. The faint smell of blood filled the air. “I also understand it takes time for one to change habits, especially poor ones, but you show no signs of changing.”

Pure Vanilla gently forced Dark Cacao to look at him. Sadness filled his heart seeing tears fall down his face.

He shook his head. “...I know that showing vulnerability is difficult for you, but how am I supposed to help you, and be here for you, if you do not tell me anything?”

Dark Cacao said nothing, he kept himself quiet as he cried.

“You’d be correct,” Pure Vanilla sighed. “I cannot help you if you lie and break promises…”

Dark Cacao’s breath hitched, but he didn’t speak.

Chapter Text

White Lily groaned into the darkness of the bedroom. She tossed and turned in bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. She kept her eyes closed in hopes that—when she would eventually find a comfortable position—she would doze off.

It wasn’t working.

Her eyes shot open, and frown was plastered on her face. White Lily, lying flat on her back, stared up at the ceiling blankly.

She was exhausted, but restless.

She listened jealously to the quiet snores of her lover next to her. Turning her face to look at him, Pure Vanilla slept soundly at her side. Pulling out her pillow from underneath her head, she slammed it into her face, screaming into it.

She stopped once she ran out of breath, thanking that the pillow muffled the noise.

White Lily pulled the pillow off of her face and onto her lower stomach. She listened to the silence, hoping her boredom would lull her to sleep.

White Lily’s mind ran a million miles a minute.

She felt so stressed that she couldn’t sleep, but so tired that she could fall asleep in an instant.

Flipping onto her stomach, she forgot to move the pillow as it folded underneath her body. Moving her arm to grab it, cursing, the pillow ended up shifting downwards, between her thighs.

She gasped quietly. The weight from her body forcing the pillow down put a pleasurable pressure to her vagina.

Rocking her hips into it on instinct, she felt her nightgown being pressed into her panties, which pressed against her clit. The fabric gave a pleasurable friction as she rocked her hips into the pillow again.

She swallowed her saliva as a potentially awful idea popped into her head.

She straddled the pillow, pressing her lips shut as she wiggled her hips for friction. Her eyes trailed to Pure Vanilla, who was sleeping with his back turned to her.

Exhaling, she paused to think.

Pleasuring herself in the same bed as her sleeping lover would be rude. If he woke up, she believed he may be angry with her.

Or…

White Lily felt a tingling sensation from her vagina. Or, he would watch her, maybe even touch her as well. The thrill of being quiet enough to not disturb her sleeping lover made White Lily press further into the pillow. She bit her lip as the dirty thoughts took over her mind.

“...Damn…” White Lily whispered, lifting up her night gown and grinding herself into the pillow.

It was a risk she was more than willing to take.

Putting the cloth of her gown in her mouth to muffle herself, White Lily kept her eyes on Pure Vanilla as she humped her pillow. Her hands were planted firmly onto the pillow as she arched her back, further pressing herself into the plush.

White Lily sighed at the waves of pleasure she gave herself with every movement.

Moving one hand from the pillow, she grasped her boob. Beginning to grope herself, she exhaled through gritted at the extra touch. She pinched her nipple, twisted it, and pulled it while continuing to rock herself back and forth; the pleasure went straight to her clit.

White Lily furrowed her eyebrows with focus, closing her eyes to fully engulf herself in the feeling. Her heartbeat violently as she attempted to keep herself alert for Pure Vanilla’s stirring.

She was losing focus on caring if her lover woke up.

It felt too good.

She felt herself getting wet, making it easier for her to slide herself up and down the pillow. Dropping the gown from her mouth, she pushed away the pillow from beneath her. Sitting on her knees, spreading herself, she let her hands roam from her chest to her thighs.

She squeezed her boobs, biting her lip while giggling. She let her hands fall to hips, and then to her thighs, squeezing the small amount of loose skin.

Exactly how Pure Vanilla would touch her.

Pure Vanilla. She sighed breathlessly, thinking of his name. She let her hand move to her soaked panties, slipping in her pointer and middle finger inside from the waist band.

Her eyes and mouth went wide as a breathless gasp escaped her mouth. She ran her fingers up and down her wet clit. Feeling more noises begin to bubble from her throat, she pressed her hand harder onto her mouth. 

White Lily flicked her fingers up and down quickly, wanting to reach her high. She closed her eyes again as her body bounced and rocked against her moving fingers.

Rustling sheets made her freeze.

Her eyes shot open. While Lily watched Pure Vanilla turn around in his sleep. He settled, now facing her direction.

She felt her body tremble with nerves and anticipation, breathing heavily.

She wanted Pure Vanilla to wake up so bad, moaning at the thought of it.

Rearranging herself, White Lily fixed the pillow against the headboard as she sat against it. She removed her clothing, tossing it haphazardly to the side. She then spread her legs, putting herself on full display.

She ran her fingers up and down herself, spreading her folds. She giggled shamelessly at the wetness that clung to her fingers.

She ran her middle finger downwards, towards her slit. Sticking the tip of her finger in her entrance, she slowly got herself into the feeling. She leaned her head back on the headboard.

White Lily pushed the single finger more and more into her hole. Closing her eyes, she sighed with a wide smile on her face. 

She began to slowly finger herself.

The wetness of her vagina made a squishing sound as she continued the motion. She let her free hand grope her breast.

White Lily giggled and gasped, feeling herself get messier and messier below.

She kept her half-lidded eyes on the sleeping Pure Vanilla, making her grow more aroused.

Pulling the finger out, she moaned, moving it to rub her clit. The warmth of the finger made her rock her hips into it.

“Fuck…Come on…!” She mewled into the silence. Her eyes were closed, feeling herself get closer to her high.

Pure Vanilla slowly blinked his eyes open. Swallowing, he listened closely to the noises he heard.

Even while blind, the noises his lover was making were unmistakable. 

He laid still in bed, listening to the sounds of White Lily not caring if he was awake or not. He felt himself slyly smile, rubbing his eyes to fully wake himself up before closing his eyes again to see through his staff.

Luckily for him, his one-eyed staff was placed in the perfect direction to see all of White Lily.

His lips curved more and more into a cheeky smile. Waking up in the middle of the night, his gift was seeing White Lily shamelessly touching herself.

She continued to grope her breast, but now two fingers moved in and out of her hole at varying paces, toying with herself.

“Hah…Pure Vanilla…” She moaned her lover’s name into the air, thinking no one would hear her.

Slowly, Pure Vanilla sat up, trying his best to be sneaky. He kept quiet as he reached his dainty hands over her vagina. He placed two fingers on her clit.

White Lily gasped with surprise, then moaned. She opened her eyes to see Pure Vanilla sitting next to her, his warm fingers rubbing her clit. She stopped fingering herself as blush spread to her cheeks.

“Pure—Pure Vanilla!” She squirmed as he continued to rub her.

He circled the bundle of nerves with his finger, applying different amounts of pressure. He moved his finger up and down, spreading her folds for better access.

“Did you believe that being this loud wouldn't awake me…?” He leaned towards her face, kissing her lips.

“I—!” She was cut off by his passionate kiss.

White Lily forced her tongue into Pure Vanilla’s mouth, surprising him, but he happily reciprocated as their kiss became sloppy. Continuing to pleasure her during the kiss, Pure Vanilla ate up all of his lover’s sighs and gasps.

Breaking it off, a string of saliva connected to the two.

“Go on, dear.” He took her still hand, leading it back to her hole to finger herself again. He smiled at her as she widened her eyes. “Keep pleasuring yourself, moan my name like you were before…”

Doing as she was told, White Lily started up with her fingers again. She bit her lip, flashing Pure Vanilla a dirty smile.

Her quiet sighs turned into breathless mewls as she received pleasure from multiple spots. He kissed her lips, and groped her chest as White Lily felt herself rocking into both sets of fingers.

“Vani, oh! Vani…Vani don’t stop!” She cried, pulling him close by his shirt. “I feel—I feel it, Vani!”

“Keep going, dear. I won’t stop unless you tell me too.” He continued, brushing loose hair being her ear. He pulled her closer by her neck, kissing her sweetly.

White Lily’s eyes went wide, the squeezed shut as she quickened her pace, finally reaching her high. She stopped fingering herself, using both her hands to stabilize her body as she feverishly rocked her hips into Pure Vanilla hand, chasing the last bit of pleasure. Her gasps grew desperate, ending off with a loud, pleasurable sigh.

She leaned herself onto the headboard, breathing heavily. Noticing, Pure Vanilla started to slow down his rubbing, kissing her cheek.

“Are you okay?” He gently asked her, taking his hand off her clit, moving it to her waist.

White Lily stared at him through lidded eyes. She spoke, panting. “...When did you…? When…?”

“When did I wake up?”

She nodded.

Pure Vanilla rubbed her thigh. “I am not exactly sure, but you were already in this position…”

White Lily nodded again, catching her breath. She felt sweat on her eyebrows, and her hands were sticky with her wetness. She swallowed, her throat dry as she stared lovingly at Pure Vanilla.

He kissed her cheek again. “I will be back with items to clean you, dear. Stay here…” Pure Vanilla squeezed her thigh reassuringly as he got off the bed. He grabbed his staff with his clean hand. 

“I was not planning to go anywhere…” White Lily sighed, still catching her breath, watching him.

“Just precaution.” He giggled.

“...You’ll hold me?”

“You don’t have to ask, of course, I just want to clean you, first…” He came back quickly, hugging her before heading back to the bathroom. White Lily giggled.

He stopped just before entering the room, turning back to face White Lily.

“Oh, and next time, my dear…” He chuckled. “Just wake me up.”

Chapter Text

“Where is it?” Golden Cheese moved haphazardly around Hollyberry’s bedroom.

She opened ottomans, tipped over chairs, and threw the neat covers off the bed. She groaned, after digging through the closest—where she temporarily stashed her clothes—unable to find what she was looking for.

“Where’s my dress?”

Golden Cheese stood, breathing hard from moving crazily around the large bedroom. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked around.

She whined, frustrated, rubbing her temple, trying to think of where she could have put her dress.

The piece of clothing was incredibly difficult to miss: a long, fiery-orange gown adorned in sequins. It was one of her oldest dresses, proven by the tiniest sequins she had to have sown back on. Along with all the stains removed and the seam tears it endured.

A million times.

While the dress could be due for recycling, Golden Cheese couldn’t part with it. It was her reliable dress. She wore it when she had nothing else to wear—or when she disregarded the rest of the dazzling dresses that she owned. 

She spent nearly ten minutes searching for the dress. Frustrated tears pricked her eyes as she stared blankly around the room. Golden Cheese sniffled.

The creak of the door made Golden Cheese jump. In came Hollyberry, who held a mysterious bag. Closing the door behind her, Hollyberry furrowed her eyebrows; she was at a loss for words.

She stared at Golden Cheese, who was in her panties and a bra, standing in the middle of her nearly trainwrecked bedroom. Hollyberry blinked in surprise, smacking her lips.

“Cheese…?” She spoke gently, her confusion was very present. Golden Cheese hugged her body in the middle of the room, trying not to cry. “Cheese, babe. What's happened in here?”

Golden Cheese tightened the hug she gave herself. “Nothing.”

“Come on…” Hollyberry put the bag down on the bed. She walked closer to Golden Cheese. “I know that face.”

She looked away from her lover, scrunching her nose. She didn’t fight it when Hollyberry rubbed her arms worriedly.

“I told you I’d be right back, and to finish getting yourself ready…What happened?”

“I can’t find my dress…” She mumbled, trying to stop herself from crying so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup.

“Which dress?”

She cleared her throat. “My orange dress. I cannot find it!” 

“I see,” Hollyberry scanned around the room. “It cannot be that hard to miss that you had to tear up the room, sweetheart…”

“I was looking for it!” Her voice broke. “And…And I cannot find it, anywhere!” 

“Alright, alright…” She hugged Golden Cheese, rubbing her back. “Wait, which orange dress are we speaking about? You have a lot of those…”

“The—The sequin orange one!? My favorite one!?”

“Ah!” Hollyberry chirped, “I gave it to the housecleaners to wash it! Along with your other ones…”

Golden Cheese stared at Hollyberry with wide eyes. Her lip trembled.

“...You…You put it…it with the laundry?”

“Sure, you wore it a few nights ago. The cleaners and I decided to wash the dresses

you wore…” She tilted her head at Golden Cheese, trying to read her face. “What’s wrong?”

She looked more angry than upset. “You cannot just throw that in the wash!”

“Oh, do not fret, sweetheart! They are hand-washing it with great care, along with your other dresses. It’ll be fine!”

“No, no! You…You do not understand!” She wiped away the tears that fell down her face. “That dress is too old to be washed! I—I…It must be washed a certain way! It’ll tear beyond repair!”

Hollyberry bit her lip—she didn’t know that. She sighed, hugging Golden Cheese while she cried. 

“I didn’t know…”

“What am I supposed to wear!?” She sobbed, hugging Hollyberry.

“Sweetheart, you have so many dresses in the closet…” She stood her straight, wiping her face. “...Do you wish to wear one of those?”

“NO. I—I want to wear my orange dress! You’ve ruined it!”

“Easy, come on, babe…I’m sorry for ruining it…” Hollyberry held her lover close, swaying with her. “I wish you would have told me…”

“...”

“You really do not want to wear those other dresses?”

Golden Cheese mumbled, defeated, as she calmed herself. “No…”

“Well,” Hollyberry let go of her, stepping back to grab the bag on her bed. “I do have a gift for you, sweetheart…”

“...A gift…?” She meekly asked, she couldn’t ignore her love for gifts, even while being upset.

“Yeah. Open it.” Hollyberry handed her the bag.

Taking the bag, she wiped under her eyes, cleaning off her smudged makeup. She took out the red tissue paper, and felt her stomach do flips.

“Oh my days, I hate you so fucking much!” Golden Cheese yelled at Hollyberry, who began to laugh, with surprise as she pulled out the contents of the bag.

An exact duplicate of her favorite orange dress sparkled in her hand. She dropped the bag onto the floor, carefully unfolding the dress.

“Shut. Up!” Golden Cheese’s eyes were glimmering as bright as the dress. The sequins were brand new, and the seams were perfectly stitched. The bright orange cloth was no longer discolored in certain places.

“How does it look?” Hollyberry teased, earning herself a slap on her shoulder.

“I hate you so much, Holly!” She held the dress and covered her mouth, trying not to cry again. “I thought you’d ruined my dress…?”

“C’mon! With how much you spoke—not to mention wore—that damn dress, you really thought I didn’t know you only washed it a certain way?” She laughed. “I’m not a fool, baby…”

Golden Cheese was admiring the dress. “I love it…It looks exactly the same!”

“Yeah, ‘tis all handmade…those seamstresses are talented, ain’t they, sweetheart?”

She nodded happily.

“Now, I’m not sure why you never got this dress remade earlier, but I figured it was finally time to get you a new one.”

“Sentimental purposes…” Golden Cheese rubbed the dress, feeling the individual sequins. “...For some reason…that dress means a lot to me…”

She trailed off, looking at Hollyberry. “...Did you really wash the old one…?”

Hollyberry chuckled, crossing her arms. “Look in the bag.”

“Ugh, I am going to kill you!” Golden Cheese gasped, picking up the bag again.

Underneath more tissue paper, her old dress was folded up nicely at the bottom of the bag. She put the new dress excitedly on the bed, pulling out her old dress. She hugged the fabric, then hugged Hollyberry, jumping up and down.

“You don’t know how much I hate you right now…!” She had her face buried into Hollyberry’s shoulder, her voice muffled.

“I thought it would be funny to give it to you that way…turns out you got way more upset than I thought ya would. Sorry about that, baby…” Hollyberry kissed her, all smiles.

Golden Cheese punched her shoulder, this time, playfully. “I hate you.”

“I love ya too.”

“Like I really hate you.”

“I really love you too…” Hollyberry snickered, rubbing her back. “Now go put that dress on. I want to see you in it.”

Golden Cheese giggled while picking up the new dress. Her smile was contagiously bright. “You like me in this dress?”

“I love you in anything you wear.”

“Thank you…” She slyly smiled back to her lover.

“Of course.”

Golden Cheese began to unzip the dress. “You’re still an asshole…”

Chapter Text

Soft footsteps echoed in the vast corridors of the Hollyberrian palace. Pure Vanilla hummed a tune while walking, staring out the grand palace windows to the jungle outside. He inhaled, the fruity scent of berries and the intense smell of an expressive cuisine made him smile.

He adored the Hollyberrian Kingdom.

Pure Vanilla found that the differences between his lover’s kingdom, and his own kingdom were starkly different. The upbeat and passionate nature contrasted the quiet, humbleness of the Vanilla Kingdom hugely. Yet, Pure Vanilla found the boisterousness a pleasant change.

Sometimes.

The Vanilla Kingdom had been known for its peaceful atmosphere and its upbringing of many talented healers. The Hollyberrian Kingdom was known for its production of some of the finest wines and liquors, an abundance of different fruits, and many successful Houses.

The pace of life in the Hollyberry Kingdom was fast; do everything as soon as possible. Contradictory, the Vanilla Kingdom was slow, with citizens doing what they can, when they are ready.

There was no pressure to be someone at home, while there was certainly pressure in the Hollyberry Kingdom to be someone. The Berry Houses were always holding competitions that flattered their own—their whole purpose was to make their competitors look as poorly put together as possible.

Because of the fast paced lifestyle, many flourished, but many suffered. There was an awfully large difference in social classes; helping the rich, hurting the poor.

Pure Vanilla was not the person to feed into stereotypes, he believed they were harmful radicalizations about groups of people that were created unjustly. He’d rather talk to someone in person and make his own judgement based on what he saw. Not based on rumors people spread.

The biggest stereotype of the Hollyberrian folk was that they indulged in alcohol often, too often. 

To the point where many were suffering alcoholic addictions. 

The fast paced lifestyle needed fast, easy to reach, “solutions”. First hearing about it, Pure Vanilla felt enraged

 How could people make that assumption?

Sadly, as Pure Vanilla had seen the first time he visited the kingdom years ago, it was true.

Pure Vanilla frowned at the thought of it. Every civilization had its good and poor qualities, it made him sad that addiction was one of them.

He continued to walk the halls of the Hollyberrian palace, continuing towards his destination, Hollyberry’s quarters. He tried to shake the thought from his head.

The issue was a result of poor-management and despair of the kingdom. The Dark Flour War devastated the people, including the Queen, making many turn to alcohol to cope.

Pure Vanilla’s frown deepened, his mind not shaking his negative thoughts.

Hollyberry’s ways of coping made her dismissive and avoidant to her problems. She left everything in the hands of her son—which he was much too young to handle—and fled the very kingdom she worked tirelessly to bring together.

When she had confessed the issue to him, Pure Vanilla had wished he could have been there for her.

Arriving in front of Hollyberry’s bedroom, a guard was present. He cleared his throat, finally managing to ward off the negative thoughts in his head. His staff eyed the room before him, and then eyed Pure Vanilla.

Connected to his all-seeing staff, Pure Vanilla opened his blind eyes in suspicion from the warning from his staff.

Something was wrong.

“Entering, Sire?” The guard posted out front asked, moving away from the door. She held the door handle, preparing to open it.

Pure Vanilla nodded. “Yes please, young one.”

The guard nodded, opening the grandiose door for Pure Vanilla. He felt his lips thin, and his heart rate increase. The telepathic warning from his staff left his mind racing, again.

Entering the room, the smell instantly gave Pure Vanilla his answer. Closing his eyes to see—and in disgust—he covered his nose from the strong smell in the room.

Alcohol.

He sighed. A mixture of wine and various hard liquors created a headache-inducing smell in the bedroom. He scanned the room, looking for the consumer of all the alcohol lingering in the air.

“Whoo’s there…?” Pure Vanilla listened to a slurring woman’s voice from the small couch in the corner of the room.

Turning his staff in that direction, he frowned.

The burgundy couch was covered by a sprawled-out Hollyberry. A nearly-empty bottle of wine, and small empty shot bottles were littered along the couch. Losing a traditional wine glass, Hollyberry drunkenly held the wine bottle in her hand.

Taking a deep breath, Pure Vanilla prepared himself as he walked over to greet his terribly drunken lover.

Seeing her face to face, he rubbed his temple.

Her formal attire was thrown off to the side. Her only coverage was a white, red wine-stained undershirt—it sat messily on her torso—and her panties.

Her hair was all taken down. The long length of it was spread around the couch, almost hitting the floor. Hollyberry’s eyes were half-lidded and glassy; she looked as if she could cry. Her face was flushed, and her makeup was smudged.

He exhaled. What was he getting himself into?

“Ohhh…! Vani!! It’s you…heyy…!” She hiccuped, wiping drool from her mouth. She sat up on the couch, snickering at nothing as if she didn’t just look like she could cry.

“Hello, dear—”

“You wanna drink, babyy~! I got plenty…” She confusedly looked around her. “Hey, who drank my…Ohhh, sh’tupid, I did…!” She laughed like a mischievous child.

“...Thank you for offering.” Pure Vanilla shook his head, chuckling at her as he picked up the empty bottles on the couch.

“Y’know…you could have some’a thiss…?” Hollyberry lifted the wine bottle. Pure Vanilla watched her unfocused vision follow his movements. He shook his head again.

“No thank you, dear…”

Hollyberry giggled at whatever she thought was funny as Pure Vanilla tidied up her room. Despite his previous chuckle, he was nothing but serious as he found other empty bottles around.

“She is going to get sick…” Pure Vanilla muttered to himself, shaking his head. He turned back to her, she was crying.

Rushing over, Pure Vanilla sat next to the severely drunken woman. He took the wine bottle and placed it on a small table in front of the couch. He then took her hands gently.

“Dear? Why are you crying?”

Hollyberry let her body weight fall onto Pure Vanilla. While he had decent strength, Hollyberry had a very strong, curvy body.

Throwing her weight on him, they both fell back.

“Holly?” He asked again, running his fingers calmly through her hair.

“I’mm fine…” She coughed, wrapping her strong arms around Pure Vanilla. She leaned her head into him. Pure Vanilla cringed at her heavy alcohol-smelling breath. “Jus…Jus’a really, really, realllyy bad person…”

“Oh? Why do you think that?”

She pouted. “‘Cause I’m drunk…” 

“Well,” Pure Vanilla kissed her. “That doesn’t always make you a bad person…”
Hollyberry giggled, making Pure Vanilla blink at her rapid changing emotions.

“Yeaah. But since I’mma…hmm…whas’it called…?” Hollyberry wiped her eyes; her demeanor quickly changed again.

Pure Vanilla tried to move his face away from hers to avoid her breath. “What is what called?

“Hey. Don’t be goinn’ anywhere, baby…” She gripped him tightly in her arms as she dizzily sat up.

Thinking her strength while drunk would be substantially less than what it normally is, Pure Vanilla gasped with surprise as she picked him up. She sat down, placing him on her lap, straddling her. Her grip tightened on his waist.

“Ah—!” He tried to speak, but his throat felt stuck. He swallowed.

“Stay here.” She demanded. “I’m…I’m talkn’ to youu…”

Pure Vanilla stiffened. The warmth of her arms wasn’t the same.

“I—I wasn’t going anywhere, dear...” He muttered, taking a deep breath. He gasped again feeling sloppy, uncoordinated kisses to his neck. Instead of enjoying himself, he felt annoyed and uncomfortable.

Pure Vanilla redirected her face away from his body; shivers ran up his spine. He cleared his throat while she laughed at the wall. Her hands held his waist tightly so he’d remain with her.

She was drunk and unaware. Pure Vanilla felt his stomach churn, he wasn't sure if the touch was out of love or loneliness, but it didn't feel right.

This wasn’t her. It was the alcohol. But even knowing that didn’t make her grip feel any safer.

Her hands on him made him uncomfortable.

“Uh, you were speaking before, something about you being a horrible person…?” He redirected her train of thought, hoping she’d give up touching him.

“Oh yeaaaah! I’mma…uh…um, an alcoholic!” She chirped the word out like it was the best word in the world. “Yeaah, then I jus’ left! Its’jus too much…”

“I see…” Pure Vanilla sighed, feeling his heart grow heavy. “Why did you drink this much today?”

Hollyberry dramatically began to think. While thinking, she picked up the wine bottle from the table. She took a big swig of it before Pure Vanilla took it from her. “Hey. Sweeeetheartt!”

“No more.”

“Give…Give it back.” Hollyberry tried reaching for it in his hands. Pure Vanilla, while being held tightly to her stomach, reached back and placed it on the table again.

Hollyberry groaned. “Babe…your bein’ annoyinggg…!” 

“No more for you. You will get sick.”

She chuckled. “I don…don’t care.”

“No.” Pure Vanilla stood firm. Hollyberry groaned, leaning back on the cushiony couch in a man-spreading position. In the process, she pulled Pure Vanilla towards her, making him gasp.

“I don’...I don’t like you.” She sneered, still keeping close.

He shrugged, squirming in her lap. “...So be it then.”

“I need that, baby.” She looked up at him with her glassy eyes, they were pleading.

Pure Vanilla exhaled. He thanked his lucky stars that he had amazing patience. “No, I do not care…”

She scrunched her nose with anger, but tears welled in her eyes. “You hate mee then?”

“No, love…” He rubbed her shoulder. “I would never.”

“Gimme it back, babe!” She started to cry, holding onto him.

Pure Vanilla wrapped his arms around her, pecking a kiss to her cheek to quell her cries. They sounded like pathetic whimpers, barely cries, just broken gasps for air. He stared down at her silently.

He came to the sad realization that he regretted coming inside, it would be a long night.

Losing herself in the various bottles she drank, Hollybery didn’t even look the same.

Chapter Text

The smell of chalk dust wafted around the room. White Lily wrote vigorously on her chalk board—a new theory had come to mind. She wrote her thoughts on the board, then stood back to examine them.

She turned to another board, on it were photographs with detailed explanations next to them. Some photos were connected by different symbols and a pinned long thread. It was confusing to someone randomly analyzing it, but for White Lily, it all made sense.

She tapped the white chalk to her chin, the dust staining her skin.

Pure Vanilla watched her. His staff followed her every move as she paced back and forth around her study. Warm, sunny light shone through the window, illuminating her face just right. Her magenta eyes sparkled with brilliance, and her fair skin glowed in the light.

He listened to her mutter to herself for hours. He walked in and out of the study on numerous occasions, all to which White Lily never batted an eye to. Pure Vanilla figured she’d forgotten he was even in the room.

He chuckled at the thought of it.

She was too immersed in her studies.

Pure Vanilla was perfectly fine with that, his entertainment was watching White Lily flourish.

She bloomed, like the blossom she was. This was her passion.

White Lily turned to her desk, digging madly through files of notes.

Pure Vanilla scanned the messily organized desk. He wondered how she knew where certain documents were so quickly—she had so many. Files of research reports, essays, and any other type of documentation she required for her research looked to be tossed around.

She pulled out a file, flipping through its contents quickly. “...I know you are in here…Where are you…?”

Her eyebrows were furrowed, biting her tongue with deep focus; it stuck out of her mouth slightly.

Pure Vanilla felt his lips curve into a soft smile. The chalk powder on the tip of her chin, her focused face, everything about her.

She was gorgeous.

“Found you!” She gasped, pulling a paper out of the file. White Lily turned back to face her various information-filled boards. Paper in hand, she began to quickly write on the board again.

It brought him feelings of nostalgia being inside her study, watching her work. When they had been in the academy together, they did similar research all the time. Hours of reading through essays, conducting research, asking surveys—it was mildly annoying. It was easy for Pure Vanilla to stray away from the lifestyle, but White Lily thrived in it.

The only thing that made those days in the academy so special was White Lily.

It made his heart full to see her continue her passion.

Pure Vanilla arose from his chair. His footsteps echoed in the silent room as he made his way over to White Lily.

He used his staff to study all the notes, theories, and possible explanations for her research. Though the topic of her research was extremely philosophical, Pure Vanilla had no problem supporting her work. He brushed a file on the desk as she walked past it.

“White Lily?” He chirped, standing next to her and the chalk board. She continued to write, too focused to hear him.

He giggled. “White Lily…?”

Again she disregarded him. She tapped the chalk to her chin, muttering something too quiet for Pure Vanilla to hear.

“White Lily~?” He cooed, leaning closer to her. She turned to face her other board, using her finger to closely study a photograph.

Pure Vanilla snickered.

“Lily, dear?” He spoke louder, walking up directly behind her.

White Lily finally turned around. She gasped and jolted backwards. 

“When did you get behind me!?” She had her hand on her chest, her eyes wide with sudden fear.

Pure Vanilla laughed. “I’ve been standing here for a few moments…”

“Oh.” White Lily turned back to her chalk board, ignoring him. Her eyebrows furrowed suddenly as she whipped her head back towards Pure Vanilla. She knocked into her chalk board, causing loose chalk to fall on the floor.

Her face was red with embarrassment. “Oh, dear…”

Pure Vanilla knelt down to pick up the loose chalk, laughing. He handed the broken pieces back to her.

“Sorry, Vani.” She slapped a hand to her face, shaking her head. “I should watch where I am going more often…!” She spoke, disciplining herself.

“Not to worry, dear.” Pure Vanilla smiled sweetly. “Mistakes happen.”

“Have you been speaking to me?” She tucked hair behind her ear. “Uh, before I…dropped the chalk…”

“I had been, yes.”

White Lily whined, looking away from Pure Vanilla. She played with her hair.

“I…I apologize! I was invested in my thoughts…” She muttered, wrapping her fingers within her soft, white hair. “What did you need, Vani?”

Pure Vanilla’s heart thumped. Even though they had been a couple for some time now, he still felt himself grow nervous around her. She was perfect—clumsy and kind. She cared so deeply, and always sought out for the righteousness of others.

He swallowed, the biggest smile plastered on his face.

White Lily tilted her head, unsure why Pure Vanilla had gone silent.

“Dear?” She asked, feeling her cheeks heat up more with his staring. She suppressed a nervous giggle.

He stepped closer to her, pressing his thumb onto her chin, he tipped it up. She melted into a smile.

“You're beautiful.” He mumbled, using his thumb to wipe the chalk dust off of her chin. 

She giggled, setting down her chalk on the table. “...Thank you…What’s with the sudden compliment…?”

He pulled her into a hug with his free arm. “Do you know you still make me nervous?”

White Lily quickly reciprocated the hug, giddy laughter gave her a cheesy smile. “Still?”

“Mhm.”

She traced circles on his back. “Aren’t you the sweetest?”

His staff’s one-eye trailed respectfully around her body. “You mean everything to me. I love watching you be so confident in yourself.” 

She pressed her face into his shoulder, blushing. Pure Vanilla could feel the biggest smile on her face.

“‘Tis very attractive.” He leaned his staff against the edge of the board, wrapping both his arms around White Lily.

“Oh stop!” She laughed, peeling herself off of his body. She covered her mouth to hide her blushing face. “You flatter me…”

“No, ‘tis all true, dear, you are amazing. I am simply stating facts!” He giggled, pulling her hand away from her mouth. “Do not hide from me...”

“Sweet words from such a silly man…” White Lily giggled, leaning herself back onto Pure Vanilla, snaking her arms around his neck.

They stayed like that for a little while, hugging each other while swaying. They cuddled into each other, the warmth of standing in the sun made their faces slightly warmer.

Pure Vanilla broke the silence. “Lily?”

“Yes?”

“May I kiss you?” His sweet voice matched his bright smile. White Lily lifted her head, laughing, to look Pure Vanilla in the eye.

“Of course you may.” She cupped his face, pulling it closer. “You do not have to ask…”

“That is respectful…What if you did not wish for a kiss?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

They both laughed. Pure Vanilla’s blind eyes were open. He was able to admire her with his darkened vision up close. Both full of smiles, their lips came together in a sweet, tender kiss.

They kissed a few times, each time they did the kisses were slower, full of feeling. Finally they stopped, staring into each other’s eyes deeply.

The world felt as if it spun to the constant beats of their connected hearts, as if their love ruled the world.

“I love you.” Pure Vanilla whispered, leaning his forehead onto hers.

She kissed his nose, rubbing his shoulders. “I love you too…always”

Chapter Text

Everything was gone.

Golden Cheese stood deathly still. Where her grand kingdom used to stand, was now nothing but debris and sand. Lavish structures were split in two, clothing and food littered the desert sand. Her citizens were spread around the vast area dead.

Everyone was dead.

The once reigning queen fell to her knees. She choked a sob as she reached out her shaking hands for the dead body closest to her.

A child, looking barely over the age of five, lay motionless in her arms. Her tears trickled down her cheek onto the face of the child—she stared into their lifeless eyes.

Doing what she could, her trembling hands closed the child’s eyes shut.

Crawling in the sand, her powerful wings dragged behind her like a dead weight.

She sobbed crawling to everybody in the sand, praying that someone would be alive.

Her prayer flew like smoke in the air, blown away by the dry desert winds.

She stopped her pathetic crawling in front of a man with jackal-like features. Her eyes went wide.

Next to him, was another man dressed like a bird, and a woman with long—now dirty—white hair. They looked to have perished close together; the jackal man died holding onto the woman, and the bird man had his arms out in front of the others.

It looked as if he was protecting them.

Golden Cheese screamed.

She wailed her fists into the ground in sorrowful rage. She tried her hardest to lift the group into her arms—her babies. Unsuccessful due to the dead weight, Golden Cheese laid herself between them.

She hugged the lifeless carcasses, unable to feel their warmth.

No one survived. 

That Dark Enchantress. She did this.

Golden Cheese balled up her fists laying on the sand. She hiccupped and coughed from her crying fit. She sat up, rubbing the dead bodies that surrounded her gently.

She hoped they’d feel her warmth, even if they had been long dead.

Her mind was dragged from one memory to another; the barren desert slowly shifted to the Hall of Heroes in the Vanilla Kingdom.

The Ancient Heroes had reunited after years of suffering, thinking each other had died. They hugged each other tight and cried together in celebration.

Those happy moments moved past in a blur. A certain string of phrases—she was too enraged to hear the full sentence—lingered in Golden Cheese’s head.

“White Lily…Dark Enchantress…soul…in two…”

White Lily, the woman she cherished the most, her soul had been split in two.

One half was that monster that eradicated her home, her people, her babies. Everything she worked so hard to harbor—gone in an instant.

All because she was curious about their origins?

How life was created?

Who controlled the world?

She ruined everything.

Golden Cheese gasped for air as she jolted awake from her sleep, clutching her chest. She struggled to catch her breath as she heaved loudly in the dark bedroom. Her body was sticky with sweat, and tears fell from her wide eyes.

What the hell?

She looked around the bedroom frantically.

It was dark. There were soft sheets on top of her trembling body. She hugged herself.

A soft stirring made Golden Cheese yelp, pulling the sheets to her chest.

Looking to her side, her lover groggily sat up from the bed. Her eyes darkened with anger as her watery eyes focused on White Lily, rubbing sleepiness from her eyes.

“Golden Cheese…?” White Lily’s soft, sleepy voice made her fists clench at her sides. She watched with pure rage as White Lily yawned and scooted closer. “Goldie…What’s the matter…?”

Before White Lily was able to lay her head on her lover’s shoulder, Golden Cheese shot out of bed. Throwing the sheets off of herself, she stormed towards the bathroom.

White Lily gasped, jumping away due to the sudden movement.

Her grogginess disappeared quickly, narrowing her eyes with worry.

White Lily watched the silhouette run into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. The bang caused White Lily to jolt, straining her tired bones.

“What…?” White Lily rubbed her head, attempting to get her wits about herself before going to confront her lover. She stretched and left the warm bed, her nightgown dropped to her feet as she walked towards the bathroom door.

Getting closer, she heard sobbing from inside. She frowned, leaning her ear on the door to listen closely.

She knocked lightly. “Golden—”

“Go away!”

“Uh,” White Lily pursed her lips. Golden Cheese was obviously upset and angry, but she didn’t want to leave her alone. “I just want to—”

“Go the hell away!” Her voice was strained, the shrill of her screaming made White Lily cringe.

Golden Cheese sat on the cold, tile floor against the door, she had no intention of letting White Lily in. She didn’t want to see the face that tore her home to ruins.

It didn’t matter that they made amends.

It didn’t matter that Golden Cheese had grown to understand White Lily’s curiosity, and that White Lily atoned for her mistakes.

It did not matter that they are two separate beings.

She always wished White Lily never went to seek the truth. 

White Lily bit her lip. She tapped her finger rhythmically on her side, trying to think of what the problem may be.

Sighing, she figured Golden Cheese had a nightmare.

“Did you have a nightmare…?” White Lily spoke calmingly to the door, hoping for an answer that wasn’t screaming.

Golden Cheese choked out a sob. “I hate you!” 

White Lily blinked in surprise, nodding her head at the newfound information. She rubbed her face, feeling her own eyes water.

White Lily knew what this was about.

Pursing her lips, guilt made her stomach drop. She hesitated as she put her hand against the door to knock again. Instead, she turned around, sliding down the door into a sitting position. 

“I know you do not want to hear my voice, Goldie—”

“You are exactly right. I don’t.” Without her screaming, Golden Cheese’s voice was muffled behind the door; it was full of bitterness. White Lily could still hear her crying.

“I…” White Lily hugged her knees to her chest. “I did not know that would happen…”

“Well, it happened.”

“...”

“‘Tis all your fault.”

White Lily exhaled loudly. “I know.”

“Don’t comfort me, you took everything…” She whispered, sneering through her tears.

“I know.” White Lily blinked back her tears, focusing on deescalating her lover. She hoped by calming her down, they could talk more rationally. 

Golden Cheese choked a sob behind the door.

“I apologize…I never meant to harm anyone…” 

Golden Cheese held her head in her hands behind the door. “I do not care.”

“Hm.” White Lily wiped a tear from her own face. 

She knew there wasn’t much that she could say to comfort her lover. When Golden Cheese was angry or upset, she held a grudge for a few hours.

“You slaughtered them all! My people, my—” She whined. “You ruined it all!” 

But White Lily was tired of this argument. She tried to be understanding—and she was—she let Golden Cheese berate her whenever she grew upset about this topic.

She always stayed quiet, not wanting to escalate it further.

“She is not me.” White Lily sighed, turning towards the door.

Golden Cheese’s anger was always displaced—they are not the same person.

“Yes it was.”

“No it was not! I fell into the depths and my soul was split in two. She is a part of me, but not me!” White Lily spat, tears fell down her face. She covered his face with her hands.

Golden Cheese widened her eyes. “But—”

“No! You cannot continue to blame me when I have apologized and done everything I can to rectify my crimes.” Her voice cracked.

“That doesn’t—”

“I had given you all the time to decide if you were going to forgive me or not. You chose to love me again!” White Lily sobbed, hitting her head. “And now, you give me the cold shoulder over everything!”

Golden Cheese listened, only growing more upset. “You don’t—!”

She hit the ground. “‘Tis not fair! I am doing my best, and my best will never be good enough for you!”

Both their cries filled the emptiness of the room, somehow making it more empty than before. White Lily listened to the sound of her own ragged breathing, only growing more upset.

“I did not think…think I would split in two! I never thought that half—half of my wits would destroy…become evil!" White Lily gasped for air, barely being able to breath. “I—I never anticipated it would destroy everything you loved, that we loved!”

She waited in draining silence for a response from the other side. They felt so far apart even though they were behind the same door.

They just had to open it.

Neither of them moved.

“...Did you suffer!?” Golden Cheese cried, her voice was shaky.

“Of course—course I have, I still am!” She wiped her eyes much like a child would, her 

“Good! We…we all suffered because of what YOU did!” Golden Cheese yelled, her voice breaking into wailing tears.

“IT WAS NOT ME!” She screamed while she sobbing. She hit the door, the ground, herself, anything that was in reach.

Golden Cheese jumped from the other side of the door, scooting herself away from the erratic banging. Covering her mouth, horrified, she cried just as loud as White Lily did.

She was afraid, not thinking straight.

“Stop blaming me, stop blaming me, stop blaming me, stop, PLEASE!” White Lily curled up on the ground, hugging herself as she screamed into the night.

She continued wailing the same words over and over.

Her throat felt raw.

“Lily…” Golden Cheese hiccupped from the other side of the door. Her voice was full of fear and pain as she crawled closer. She stuck her shaking hand underneath the crack of the door.

“Lily!” She choked, begging her lover to stop. “Lily, stop screaming…No more Lily, please…!”

Chapter Text

The lights of the Hollyberrian palace began to dim as another grand ball was coming to an end. Hollyberry personally walked special patrons out of the palace, thanking them for coming, and wishing them well. Some of the more drunken visitors were escorted out by guards.

Hollyberry chuckled at the messy silliness of the clean up.

She scanned around the emptying palace, searching for one person in particular.

Pure Vanilla.

Standing on the main floor of the banquet hall, Hollyberry was unable to spot her lover. The gentle man in pale colors was normally an eyesore amongst the bright and flashy colors of the Hollyberrian Kingdom.

She turned in place, squinting into the corners of the hall. The only people she noticed were cleaners tidying up the mess of the party, and the last few drunken guests being ushered out. She huffed, crossing her arms.

“Something troubling you, My Lady?” One of the palace-cleaners passed by her, stopping due to the Queen’s confused face.

“Ah, yes, young one!” Hollyberry turned, facing the young lady. “Have you seen Pure Vanilla?”

“Sire Pure Vanilla?” The cleaner tapped her chin.

“Yes, have you? I cannot seem to find him…I suppose the mess of the party got us separated!” She chuckled.

The young lady thought hard, pursing her lips. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Yes, My Lady, I do know where he’s gone!”

“Oh, good girl!” She patted the cleaner's shoulder affectionately. “Whereabouts?”

“The garden, My Lady! I saw him leave the bustling hall maybe an hour or so ago…I believe he’s in the maze…”

“The garden maze?” She questioned, tilting her head. “I didn’t even realize it’d been that long…”

“Oh, yes! He certainly is. I noticed him from when I was up on the balcony just a moment ago…”

“Why would he go into the maze?”

“I am unsure, My Lady.”

Hollyberry puffed her cheeks, thinking hard. “Too crowded…? No, no, he normally doesn’t mind crowds…Unless he got pushed out? Did someone bother him? Or…Or maybe the music was too loud…?”

The young lady giggled at Hollyberry’s muttering as she argued with herself. She began to sweep the floor in the area the two were standing in.

“May I offer my opinion, My Lady?”

“Go on.”

“Doesn’t His Majesty prefer nature? Maybe he simply went to enjoy the Gardener’s work…”

“Yes, he does, but he’d tell me, for sure…!” She tapped her chin, and whispered to herself. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

The cleaner continued to sweep. “Maybe he could not reach you. There were a large number of guests tonight, My Lady…”

“I suppose…”

A moment of silence filled the conversation as Hollyberry continued to mumble to herself. The cleaner tapped Hollyberry on the shoulder, catching her attention.

“Maybe you should go search for him, My Lady…?”

“Oh!” She slapped forehead, shaking her head. ‘You’d be right, I should!”

Hollyberry began walking in the quickest direction towards the garden maze. She groaned, spinning back around to the palace-cleaner.

“Thank you, young one!” She shouted across the empty hall, her voice echoed.

“Of course, My Lady! Do find him!” The young lady called back, laughing to herself.

“Will do!” She rushed out of the hall.

Arriving outside, the coolness of the night breeze mixed with the humid jungle air, making the night warm. She stood on her tip-toes on the top of the grand staircase that led down to the garden. She tried to see over the clean-cut shrubbery of the maze.

The berry bushes were all meticulously taken care of by the Royal Gardener. The maze was complex to those who’ve never seen it, but to Hollyberry, it was simple clock work. She’d been walking in this garden since she was a young lady herself.

Near the center of the maze, she spotted a head of pale blonde hair. Next to the hair, she saw the yellow orchid petals of Pure Vanilla’s staff.

A smile melted onto her face.

“I wonder if he’s lost.” She muttered to herself, chuckling as she rushed down the steps into the maze.

Pure Vanilla ran his careful hands along the well-maintained shrubbery. He hummed to himself as the breeze brushed his shoulder-length hair away from his neck. He stopped in front of beautiful flowers growing wildly out of the shrubs.

“...Pure Vanilla!?” A voice calling his name caught his attention.

He turned towards the direction where it was coming from, perplexed.

“Pure Vanilla!?” The voice was closer. He was able to distinguish it as a female’s voice. He pursed his lips, worry filled his mind.

Who could be calling him?

He scoffed at his misplaced worry as the voice quickly clicked in his mind.

It belonged to Hollyberry.

“Holly?” He called out into the maze, turning his head in all directions.

The area he was in seemed to be the relative center. He had passed by a fountain a few moments ago—which he assumed to be the true center of the maze. In that area, there was a four-way intersection. After choosing a path randomly, he ended up where he was currently standing.

His chosen path led him to another opening. The area had a beautifully stone-craved bird bath full of water.

Sadly, since it was nighttime, there were no birds.

“Pure Vanilla~?” Hollyberry cooed, peaking her head around a shrub with flowers. She smiled seeing her lover.

“Holly!” Pure Vanilla’s voice was gentle. He turned his staff in her direction, finally hearing her voice clearly.

“There you are!” She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around her lover. 

Pure Vanilla chuckled, leaning into her strong hug. “You’ve been searching for me?”

“Oh yes!” She kissed his cheek, turning her face so he could reciprocate the kiss. He pecked her cheek. “You vanished on me, sweetheart…”

“I do apologize." 

“You weren’t with me to thank the guests, either.” She brushed hair away from his face, not truly mad at him.

“Apologies, dear…” He smiled up at her. “The patrons were becoming much too…” He paused, trying to think of a respectful word to describe the Hollyberrian crowd.

“Crazy?” Hollyberry laughed.

“Comfortable. Let us do comfortable…” He chuckled, laughing at her while shaking his head. “Too much alcohol for my liking, so I removed myself.”

“Why didn't you come find me?” She rubbed his back.

He tutted. “I attempted too, but the crowds were much too…”

“Comfortable?” She snorted, mocking his voice.

He pursed his lips, Hollyberry couldn’t hold her back, her laughter staring at his passive, judgmental face. 

Pure Vanilla rolled his eyes. “Yes, comfortable…” 

“You should have asked a guard!” Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she stopped laughing. “They would have led you to me, sweetheart.”

“Oh well, I found myself drawn to your gardens, my love.” He looked around, inhaling the fresh air. “They are simply breathtaking…”

“I should take you to speak with the Royal Gardner in the morning, they’ll appreciate your gratitude for their work, and love for nature.” She placed her hand on his lower back. “Come now, sweetheart, let us get back inside.”

“Oh, but I wish to look around more…” Pure Vanilla backed away from her guiding hand. He motioned towards an opening in the maze. “I have not been that way yet.”

“Trust me, babe, ‘tis the same on all sides…” Hollyberry laughed, feeling the excitement of the party leave her body. She was tired.

“Please, dear!” Pure Vanilla took her arm, holding it gently. He pleaded with her knowing she’d break and allow him to stay. He opened his pale eyes for effect, batting his eyelashes in the way he knew she adored. “Just a little longer…”

“I’d say yes,” She yawned, “But you like to take little old man strolls!” She doubled over, laughing at her own joke.

Pure Vanilla opened his blind eyes, eyeing her as he pouted. Seeing that, Hollyberry coughed as she quelled her laughter.

“Oh, dear!” She teased. “Are you angry with me?”

He crossed his arms. He looked displeased with Hollyberry. Seeing his seriousness, she sighed and pulled him closer.

“Aww, c’mon, baby!” She ran her thumb along his cheek. “You cannot be angry with me with those beautiful eyes…”

Pure Vanilla turned his face away in spite, but the compliment made his cheeks flush.

“You like that?” She smooched his cheek, leaving quick kisses that Pure Vanilla had to force himself not to smile at. “Hm? You like when I compliment you?”

“Stop it!” He pushed her face away, attempting to continue his pouting. It failed.

She turned his face back towards her. Her lipstick stained his cheek, she gave him a goofy smile. “Stop what, sweetheart?”

“What you were doing before…!” He tried to turn his face away again, but Hollyberry was still holding it towards her. She placed a long kiss on his lips, surprising him.

Breaking it off, he turned his face away as he blushed furiously at the sudden intimacy. He felt lipstick smudged on his lips. Hollyberry snickered.

Hollyberry wiped the corner of her mouth, smiling at her smudged makeup. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“...That was not a funny joke…” He muttered, closing his eyes to see her.

“It wasn’t?” She snickered.

He paused. It was slightly funny. He enjoyed his walks slowly, it was better to take in nature’s beauty that way. 

“...No.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You are as old as I.” He knowingly mocked, believing he had the upper hand in their playful bout.

Hollyberry nodded at the logic. They had both been living for thousands of years by now, being immortal kept them looking relatively young.

“Sure we are. But I could imagine you walking around, all hunched over like a shriveled up old man!” She snorted at her joke, briefly acting out the scene.

“Do not insult the elderly…” Pure Vanilla reprimanded her, but his lips curved up at her reenactment of an elderly man. “That is rude, you know better.”

She calmed herself down. “‘Tis the truth, though.”

Pure Vanilla sighed. “We could have walked more by now…But you must make your insensitive jokes…” Pure Vanilla leaned his head into her shoulder, still trying to beg for more time outside.

“I know you want to stay outside.” She tried leading him towards the exit again, rubbing her face. “I promise we’ll walk in the morning, babe, I’ll show you everything, but I’m exhausted…”

“No.” Pure Vanilla held firm, holding onto his staff.

Hollyberry snickered, thinking of an idea.

“You sure?”

“Yes.” He smiled, thinking he won her over.

“Are you really sure?”

He furrowed his eyebrows as his sense of accomplishment flickered into dread.

What sort of joke was she planning now?

He spoke cautiously. “...Yes…I am sure…” 

Instead of agreeing with him, Hollyberry took his staff from his hands. Before Pure Vanilla could process her taking his staff away, she used her free arm to easily hoist him over her shoulders. She hooked her arm around his leg, and grabbed his dangling arm to secure him.

“Hollyberry!” He tried to sound angry, but his bubbling laughter contradicted him.

He squirmed in her secure fireman hold, but quickly gave up seeing he would not budge off her shoulders.

Hollyberry beamed, proud of her strength as she laughed just as loud as her lover.

“What’sa matter, sweetheart?” She began to walk back the way she came. “You get a free ride!”

“Put me down, Hollyberry!” He playfully demanded, giggling. She looked up to see him smiling wide.

“Nope, we’re going to bed! Holly’s exhausted!” She quipped.

Feeling something staring, Hollyberry looked at the one-eyed staff’s wide and judgmental eye from being away from its holder.

She cringed at the staff, giving it a snooty face. “I don’t think you bugged-eye friend likes this very much…” She shivered, calling the staff a name seemed to upset it—though she wasn’t quite sure how.

“You know I can see your faces!” Pure Vanilla snickered from her shoulders. “Ignore it, dear!”

“‘Tis a little weird carrying this around, you know…” She held it away from her body as if it carried a deathly plague.

Despite her discomfort from the aidful staff—and unreasonable feeling of existential dread—she smiled up at Pure Vanilla’s laughter as she made her way out of the maze.

Chapter Text

Hollyberry hummed to herself as she flushed the toilet in the bathroom. She walked past the vanity mirror, reaching for the doorknob to leave. She stopped, moving back towards the mirror to admire herself.

She had quickly decided to use the bathroom before putting on her extravagantly poofy gown since it was difficult to use the facilities with it on. She looked in the mirror.

She wore a nude, strapless bra with subtle lacy details. Frowning, she felt that her rather large breasts kept popping out of the padding. Rolling her eyes, she shoved her hand in her bra to fix it.

Hollyberry wished to avoid tapping her breasts tonight.

She inspected the rest of her body. Her tummy rolled over the band of her panties, making the underwear look slightly tight on her chubby skin.

It wasn’t, the panites fit perfectly.

She rubbed her curvy thighs and stomach, trailing her finger along various stretch marks covering those areas from her pregnancy years ago. She smiled, always wondering why many women found them shameful.

Hollyberry always looked at the markings as a reminder that she was able to bring her beautiful son into the world.

She squished the extra fat of her stomach, snickering and rolling her eyes. Her stocky plumpness made her extra strong; she was much stronger than any average man. She flashed a smile in the mirror, flexing her arm muscles.

She loved her body.

Satisfied with her self-adoration, Hollyberry opened the door of her bathroom, walking out.

The evening sun shone warmly through the large windows. She looked around for her lover, Golden Cheese, who was supposed to be getting ready for the night alongside her.

Scanning the room, she met eyes with Golden Cheese.

Golden Cheese stood next to Hollyberry’s bed. She had her arms crossed teasingly behind her back as her siren eyes locked with Hollyberry’s own. Her outfit for the night was nowhere to be seen.

Hollyberry laughed, shaking her head.

Instead of her gown, Golden Cheese adorned herself in lacy lingerie.

The matching two-piece set was a deep mulberry decorated with a surplus of bows.

On the straps of the bra were flowy, tied bows, which lead into the lacy, see-through cups of the bra. Her supple breasts were pushed up with the wire of the bra. A stitched pattern of bows covered Golden Cheese’s hard nipples.

Her bottoms had straps that crossed over her upper stomach—the straps pressing into the subtle amount of extra fat of her stomach. The band of the panties held onto her hips snuggly, outlining small dips in her body. The specific thong-cut of the bottoms showed off the majority of her thighs and ass. Covering her private area was the same see-through fabric and stitched pattern on the bra.

“Look at you.” Hollyberry snickered, letting Golden Cheese walk herself deliberately slow towards her.

Golden Cheese snaked her arms around Hollyberry’s neck. She couldn’t hide her smile as she laughed with Hollyberry. “Do you love it~?”

“You can’t even act all sexy without laughing!” Hollyberry wrapped her arms around Golden Cheese’s waist. They leaned their foreheads together with goofy smiles on their faces.

“Hush.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you like it, or not?”

“Of course I like it, sweetheart…” Hollyberry rubbed up and down her lover’s sides, letting her eyes roam shamelessly.

Just the way Golden Cheese liked it.

Golden Cheese giggled, feeling blush rise to her cheeks. She leaned her body into Hollyberry’s strong arms for a hug.

“Any particular reason you’re wearing this instead of getting ready…?” Hollyberry kissed her cheek, rubbing her back.

“Mmm,” Golden Cheese pretended to think about it. Pulling herself off of Hollyberry, she tapped her chin, dramatically thinking. Her lover snickered. “I’m not sure, darling…”

“You’re not?” She teased. “They I suppose you’d be more than happy to change out of this and put on your normal evening attire?”

Golden Cheese devilishly smiled up at Hollyberry. Taking her lover’s hands, she led them to her ass. She bit her lip feeling the warmth of her hands on her bare skin.

Hollyberry tutted as she teasingly disapproved. Shaking her head as she squeezed her thick ass

“Or,” Golden Cheese blushed more, placing her hand on Hollyberry’s breasts. “We could be slightly…” She trailed off, placing her other free hand over one of Hollyberry’s hands on her ass. “...Late to the event tonight?”

“Late?” She raised her eyebrow, continuing to grope her lover's ass. “Why should we be late?”

“Maybe there is something more exciting to do…?” She stared deeply into Hollyberry’s eyes. She stuck her fingers in Hollyberry’s bra, pinching her nipple.

Hollyberry bit her tongue, the tension making her vagina tingle. “Is there?”

Golden Cheese squeezed her thighs together, putting pressure on her clit while keeping her eyes locked on Hollyberry. Hollyberry pulled her lover flesh against her body, feeling herself growing more and more interested in what Golden Cheese was proposing.

“Goldie, sweetheart~” She cooed, feeling herself squeeze her legs together as her heartbeat increased. “You’ve gotta use your voice. Tell me what you want, hm?”

Golden Cheese felt her normally bold self become shy. She made a subtle sound, attempting to grind herself into her lover.

“Baby.” Hollyberry kissed the corner of her lips, stopping her from grinding.

Golden Cheese exhaled, frustrated. “Let’s do something before the event…I’ve been so worked up…” She whined.

Their legs seemed to position themselves automatically so that they both had an ample amount of each other's upper thigh to grind against. Hollyberry let go of Golden Cheese’s hips, letting her hump freely.

“We don’t have much time.” She moved her body to match her lover’s humping pace, feeling wetness present in her panties.

“Anything.” Golden Cheese demanded, putting her arms around Hollyberry’s neck for support while moving. Her voice was breathless as she focused herself on her movement. “I really…really don’t care…”

Hollyberry, as much as she was enjoying the friction, peeled Golden Cheese off her, who huffed a frustrated sigh. 

She snickered. “What got you so in the mood?”

“Really? You’re going to ask me questions?” She whined, crossing her arms. “Darling, just do something to me! Anything!”

“Are you pouting?” Hollyberry laughed, caressing her lover’s cheek.

She pressed herself onto her lover. “Yes, I am. Do something!”

Hollyberry sighed, picking up her snotty lover like a sack of potatoes. “Such a needy baby you are…”

Golden Cheese giggled. Hollyberry carried her to the edge of the bed, placing her down. Golden Cheese scooted towards the middle of the mattress as Hollyberry climbed on.

“Something quick, understand?” Hollyberry let Golden Cheese straddle her pelvic area. “Don’t expect anything fancy, babe...”

“I won’t!” She wiggled her hips excitedly, smiling at the wave of pleasure she received. “Heavens, just you speaking is plenty…”

“Really?” Hollyberry snickered, using one hand to stable herself as she leaned back, she used the other hand to grab her lover’s ass.

Golden Cheese rolled her eyes at Hollyberry’s teasing tone. She grinded her clit down onto Hollyberry’s clothed own. Hollyberry let go of her ass and pulled her face closer for a rough, passionate kiss.

Golden Cheese moaned into it. The kisses started slow and sensual, but that pacing was quickly lost as they became wet and sloppy. They pleasurably sighed into each other’s mouths.

Hollyberry slipped her tongue into Golden Cheese’s mouth as their kisses grew more frantic. They both buckled their hips upwards, into each other, fighting for pleasurable friction.

Due to their sloppy movements, neither were receiving the pleasure they desired. Golden Cheese stopped abruptly, making Hollyberry eye her.

“This…this position isn’t working, Holly!” Golden Cheese wiped her wet mouth, whining.

“Shit.” Hollyberry rubbed herself through her soaked underwear as Golden Cheese backed up off of her pelvis. “I know.”

Golden Cheese forcefully bounced and grinded her tingling clit on Hollyberry’s leg, groaning with frustration. Hollyberry caught Golden Cheese by surprise, quickly undoing the clasp in the back of her bra.

“Take this off.” Hollyberry commanded breathlessly, palming herself.

Golden Cheese swallowed as the dominating voice went straight to her clit. She quickly followed the instructions, even reaching behind Hollyberry to unclasp her bra. 

“This—” Hollyberry ran her thumb up and down Golden Cheese’s clothed clit. She mewled, buckling her hips into the finger. “Lift up your hips…Take it off.”

Again, Golden Cheese slyly smiled at the breathless voice.

She lifted her hips as Hollyberry pulled the lingerie off her body. The wetness from her vagina caused her panties to stick to her clit. As Hollyberry pulled them off, a sting of wetness connected the bottoms and her vagina momentarily, Golden Cheese giggled.

After having bottoms removed, she reached for the band of Hollyberry’s underwear. “Take yours off.”

They maneuvered around the bed so that both were naked. Once the clothing was desperately stripped off, they hungerily kissed each other again.

Breaking off the multitude of kisses, Hollyberry spread Golden Cheese’s legs open, causing a gasp. She then slotted herself between her lover’s legs in a scissoring position. Golden Cheese giggled, biting her lip, as she looked at Hollyberry.

Hollyberry laughed too, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. “Damn you.” She sighed, pinching Golden Cheese’s nipple. “...You got me all worked up, too…”

“That was the plan, my darling~” Golden Cheese hit her shoulder playfully.

She reached her manicured fingers towards Hollyberry’s clit. She pressed her thumb into the bundle of nerves, beginning to circle it. Hollyberry gasped and sighed at the pressure, she buckled her hips for more.

“You like that, darling?” Golden Cheese gasped as Hollyberry grinded herself into her finger, which, due to their scissoring position, forced the finger onto Golden Cheese’s clit as well. “Hah! Does that feel good?”

“Shit, baby…” Hollyberry bit her lip, closing her eyes at the feeling. She reached her hand towards Golden Cheese’s clit, applying the same pressure to hers.

They both gasped and mewled, shamelessly. They moved their hips, grinding their wet vaginas together to chase their highs. 

“Fuck, Holly! Please—please keep going…!” Golden Cheese gasped loudly, squeezing her eyes closed. 

“Hah! Yeah, that’s it, baby, go ahead—fuck!” Hollyberry felt herself getting closer watching Golden Cheese become undone.

Her pace grew frantic as her moans grew louder. “Hah! Haah, fuck…!” She arched her back, attempting to gain as much friction as possible, reaching her high.

Hollyberry moaned in response to her lover, still chasing her own. Golden Cheese took deep breaths, riding out her high. Calming, she swallowed saliva into her dry throat.

Seeing Hollyberry was close, she picked up her pace again with her finger. She circled the sensitive area recklessly, then slowed her pace dreadfully. She smirked at Holyberry's varying faces.

“Goldie! Hah, Goldie, please—please more…!”

“Look at you~!” She giggled, putting her lips to her nipple, sucking it. Hollyberry gasped at the extra feeling. “You need more, my darling?”

Hollyberry nodded, buckling herself harder into her lover’s moving fingers.

Golden Cheese kept her finger moving as she got on her knees.

She leaned down to lick her clit, flicking her tongue skillfully up and down the nerve. She held onto Hollyberry’s thick thighs to support herself, hearing her moans becoming higher pitched.

Hollyberry gripped onto Golden Cheese’s hair, pushing her face into her vagina for the extra pressure. Golden Cheese smiled, sucking on the area, and squeezing her thighs to egg her on.

Hollyberry screwed her eyes shut, her loud gasp turning in a melting sigh. Looking up at her face, Golden Cheese slowed down her pace to help her lover ride out her high.

Once Hollyberry calmed, she pulled Golden Cheese up, kissing her lips.

“You…You weren’t kidding when you said you got worked up…Huh?” Golden Cheese leaned onto Hollyberry, who was sprawled out on the bed. Hollyberry chuckled, breathing heavily.

“Fuck” Was the only word Hollyberry could manage while her body calmed down from her harsh high. She held Golden Cheese close as she laid on the bed.

Golden Cheese straddled her abdomen, smiling brightly. Hollyberry shook her head with a silly smile of her own, seeing her lover’s goofy one.

“Thank you, my darling~” She cooed, pecking kisses from her breast to her jawline. She stopped, making eye contact with Hollyberry. “I feel much better now, thanks to you.” She kissed her lips.

“Your welcome, sweetheart…” Hollyberry rolled her eyes, laughing.

Golden Cheese glanced towards a clock in Hollyberry’s room, reading the time, she gasped.

“Oh, Holly! Look at the time, we’re—Wah!” She attempted to get off of her lover, but Hollyberry used her strength to roll over, grabbing Golden Cheese while doing so, and making her lie down next to her.

“...Darling?” Golden Cheese couldn’t resist laughing. “What of the event…?”

“Ah…We can just make a grand entrance later—like how you like to be? Fashionably late?” Hollyberry snickered. “I don’t feel like going now…” She buried her head in the crook of Golden Cheese’s neck “…I want to lay with you.”

“Oh!” Golden Cheese clapped her hands. “We can be fashionably late! We could even match, darling!”

Hollyberry rolled her eyes, smiling. “Whatever you want, baby…”

Chapter Text

“Dark Cacao, he is lying straight to my face!” White Lily exclaimed, pacing around the room they were in. She ran fidgeted nervously with her long, braided hair. “He’s scaring me, Cao! He won’t listen, he won’t reason—he just shuts me out!”

“Slow down, dear…” Dark Cacao attempted to listen to White Lily’s worries.

She spoke rapidly, making her words jumble together. He stood up from his chair, rubbing her back to soothe her.

White Lily exhaled, collecting herself. “Pure Vanilla is lying. And not a little white lie, ‘tis a large lie!” She muttered, pacing back and forth again.

Dark Cacao furrowed his eyebrows—a big lie?

“Whatever do you mean?”

She groaned, stopping in her tracks. “He insists he’s eaten, but I see him skip meals, or just pick at his food…”

Dark Cacao tilted his head. “Pure Vanilla is not eating?”

“No, and I’m not certain when the last time he had a full meal was!” She explained using her hands. “He…He—I see him eating small little snacks? Barely anything…” She messaged the bridge of her nose.

“Everytime I ask him to sit down and eat a meal with me, he’s refused…Or when he does agree, he disappears for a long time afterwards.” She crossed her arms, standing in front of Dark Cacao, looking up at his face.

“That is…odd of him.” Dark Cacao pursed his lips.

White Lily jumped up, failing her arms. “I know!”

“You must calm your nerves, Lily.” He took her arm, squeezing it firmly. “You will not think rationally if you panic…”

She tutted. “Sorry…I—I know.”

Dark Cacao hummed a response, deep in thought.

“How do you know?”

“Well,” White Lily took a deep breath. “I noticed him leaving my side more often than he normally does—”

Dark Cacao stopped her, putting his hand up. “Pardon, but how long has this been happening for?”

“Oh, four days now. I started getting worried about this yesterday…”

Dark Cacao shook his head, unhappy with the information he was being given. “Four days!?”

“Mhm.”

He crossed his arms. “Alright…Go on.”

“As I was saying, he keeps disappearing on me. After we share a meal, directly after he finishes eating, he leaves the room.” She swallowed, shaking her head. “I followed him this morning, after we shared breakfast, and…” White Lily trailed off, only concerning Dark Cacao more.

“And?” He urged her on.

“He went to the restroom…” She pursed her lips, glancing up at Dark Cacao’s stern face. “He went to the restroom and forced himself to regurgitate it all…”

Dark Cacao felt his mouth part in surprise. 

“He forced himself to regurgitate it all?” His voice was full of disbelief.

“Exactly!” White Lily rubbed her face. “I would have never thought of this being the problem!? I was unaware he even struggled with eating…!”

Dark Cacao stayed silent, his mind running endlessly.

Why was Pure Vanilla doing this?

And why was he lying about it?”

“Hm.” Dark Cacao made only a sound, his eyebrows furrowed. White Lily felt herself shrink.

“Are…are you angry…?”

He stared at her like she was crazy. “With whom?”

“Uh…”

“You? Not at all, dear.” He rubbed her shoulder.

She looked away, pursing her lips. “No,...not I…”

He raised an eyebrow. “Pure Vanilla, then?” She nodded. “...No, not him either. I am heavily concerned for him.”

“Oh.” Her voice was small. She chuckled at her foolishness. “Well…What will we do?”

“Confront him.” He simply stated.

White Lily bit her lip. “Don’t you think it’d be too harsh…?”

“Unfortunately, there is no other way to go about it.” Dark Cacao walked towards the door to leave the room. He turned back to White Lily, offering her his hand. “Besides, I am familiar with…hiding potentially fatal issues…He will not say anything unless he is confronted.”

White Lily nodded slowly, walking over to Dark Cacao. She took his hand.

“You also know that well, Lily.”

She sadly smiled. “You’d be correct”

He opened the door to leave, guiding her out first. “Then you know this is the only way.”

Pure Vanilla held onto his staff with weak, trembling hands. He knelt down against the cold toilet, breathing harshly after throwing up in it. 

He sat himself back, attempting to collect himself.

He held his dizzy head feeling drained. Sitting on the cold tile floor made him shiver. His blind eyes were open, but he quickly screwed them shut—through his darkened vision, the room was spinning

Seeing through his staff, he frowned at the watery bile in the toilet; there was barely anything inside. He reached to flush the toilet, flicking the handle downwards. He erupted in a coughing fit, his throat burning.

Dropping his staff on the ground, feeling its judgment as it clanked onto the floor, he covered his mouth with both hands to muffle his loud coughing. Tears streamed from his eyes.

His stomach rumbled harshly, making him double over. 

Being so immersed in his attempt to stay quiet, Pure Vanilla never heard the creaking of the wooden floor outside of the bathroom.

Someone found him.

White Lily slowly opened the door, biting her tongue, praying it didn’t creak. She glanced back at Dark Cacao. 

“Are you sure?” She whispered, wiping her hands on her dress. Nerves made her palms sweaty.

“We do not have any other choice…He needs to eat.” He whispered back, pushing the door open further.

The door creaked.

White Lily gasped and Dark Cacao scrunched his nose at the sound.

Pure Vanilla shot around, eyes wide and bloodshot as he stared in the direction of the door.

He wiped the saliva from his mouth as he frantically backed himself into the wall behind him.

His breathing was irregular, and he felt his whole body trembling.

He couldn’t make out the figures in front of him.

Stepping further inside, White Lily and Dark Cacao looked around. White Lily quickly gasped, running to Pure Vanilla on the ground. Dark Cacao stayed standing by the door, still scanning around.

“Pure Vanilla!” She called running over to him.

Too panicked to correctly process the voice he was hearing, Pure Vanilla braced himself.

He yelped with fear, letting out a choked sob.

Dark Cacao grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back to him bewildered.

“What are you doing!?” She raised her voice, putting her arms out in front of her.

“Do not shout.” His voice remained level but stern. “He cannot see you, and he is panicking.” Dark Cacao pointed to the staff on the floor. Since Pure Vanilla’s eyes were open, the staff’s one eye wasn’t.

Pure Vanilla squinted his eyes, attempting to make out the people in front of him, he couldn’t. His burning tears only blurred his vision more, making him nauseous as he cried. His head throbbed and his mind felt scattered.

 “Whose there!?” He choked out through heartbreaking sobs.

“‘Tis Dark Cacao and White Lily, dear…” Dark Cacao clearly spoke, letting go of White Lily as they both approached him carefully.

Hearing Dark Cacao’s deep voice clearly, his breath hitched.

They found him.

Just as fast as his sobs quieted, they echoed in the bathroom at full volume.

“NO! No, no, no…NO!” He pleaded, trying to back away but he was already flesh against the wall.

“Vani!” White Lily picked up his staff from the floor, placing it against the sink. She sat on the cold tile next to him, and Dark Cacao followed suit.

“NO!” He coughed, frantically swatting his hands around so they couldn’t get close to him.

His face was red from his sobs. Snot dripped from his nose and his throat felt deathly dry. His stomach continued to grumble during his breakdown. Every time it did, he only sobbed in more pain.

White Lily’s attempts to get closer were futile as Pure Vanilla kept failing around. Tears fell down her face, watching the sight with horror.

“Dark Cacao! Do something!” Her voice cracked as she begged.

Dark Cacao’s stomach did flips while watching Pure Vanilla, normally calm and peaceful, have a violent breakdown in front of him. He shook his head, doing the only thing he could think of.

“Pure Vanilla, that’s enough…” Dark Cacao grabbed his flailing hands, causing Pure Vanilla to scream.

Holding both Pure Vanilla’s arms with one hand, he kept the man from swatting as he sat on the ground next to him. WIth his free hand, he pulled Pure Vanilla into his lap, the crying man’s back pressed against his stomach.

Forcing Pure Vanilla’s hands flush to his sides, he wrapped his strong arms around him in a secure hug to keep him in place.

While Dark Cacao worked quickly, Pure Vanilla’s cries didn’t subside.

He was confused. Pure Vanilla could hear voices, feel people, but he didn’t know what was happening. He felt claustrophobic being held down.

Dark Cacao tried to gently hush him, placed his head in the crook of Pure Vanilla’s neck, kissing him tenderly. 

“Must you hold him like that…?” White Lily looked at Dark Cacao, her teary pleading with him to let their lover go.

Dark Cacao felt Pure Vanilla’s body push into his stomach as he panically gasped. While Pure Vanilla wasn’t that much shorter than Dark Cacao, he felt frail and tiny in his arms.

“He's flailing, Lily. I don’t have much of a choice but to secure him like this until he calms down.” He swallowed, feeling Pure Vanilla squirm from underneath him. “I am not holding him tightly...”

“But!” White Lily took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together.

Dark Cacao shook his head. “I have too…But look, my dear, he is calming.” 

Pure Vanilla’s wailing sobs turned into weak whines as he wiggled in Dark Cacao’s hold. Slowly, Dark Cacao loosened his grip on Pure Vanilla, letting his arms free as he immediately touched around him.

“...Cao?” He mumbled, feeling Dark Cacao’s face with his trembling hands.

He tousled his long hair, patted his face, and he felt his arms, they were built with muscle. Then, he reached out in front of him, where he made out where he squinted to see another blob.

He felt White Lily’s face, trailing his hands to her hair. He automatically recognized her braided hair.

“Lily…?”

“Yes! Yes, I am right here, in front of you…” She took his shaking hand in hers, squeezing it. “And…And Cao is right behind you, holding you…!”

Pure Vanilla swallowed, taking shaky, deep breaths. The adrenaline began to fade from his body, leaving him with soreness. The exhaustion haunted his face, and he went limp in Dark Cacao’s arms.

Dark Cacao fixed his lover’s position, turning his body so Pure Vanilla’s shoulder was pressed against his chest. He gently rested Pure Vanilla’s head on his collarbone, kissing his forehead.

His normally cold eyes were filled with worry as he held the trembling man close.

“Oh, my dear…” White Lily caressed his cheek, still holding his hand. She wiped the tears from her own eyes.

“Why did you lie?”

Chapter Text

“Come on, Lily!” Golden Cheese had her arms crossed as she paced around, barefoot on the grass. She whined, urging her lover. “Are you almost finished?”

White Lily was sitting on her knees in the grass. She carefully picked berries off of various bushes in her garden.

The day was gloomy. Clouds covered the sun as cool wind wisped through blades of grass. Golden Cheese watched darker clouds approach.

“The storm is getting closer, Lily!” She groaned.

White Lily turned around, shooting her lover a glare. “I am going as fast as I can…!” She plucked ripe raspberries and blackberries off her plants.

“Well, hurry up! I do not want to get wet.” She shivered. Just thinking about the rain wetting her large wings, making them heavy and droopy, was enough to make her stick out her tongue in disgust.

“Dear, I told you it would take me some time to harvest these berries.” White Lily sighed, carefully weaving her dainty hands through the thorns of the berry bush. “There are thorns.”

Golden Cheese pursed her lips, staring into the darkened sky. The rain clouds were quickly approaching.

“Couldn’t you’ve done this later!” 

White Lily giggled. “You said you wished for a berry dessert…I am collecting the berries to make such.”

“Yes, great.” She rushed her words, lightly shaking White Lily’ shoulder. “I do appreciate it, darling.” She pointed aggressively towards the sky. “But the rain!?”

“Goldie, are you afraid of a little rain?” She teased, shaking her head. “Rain is simply water.”

She tutted. “No?” Golden Cheese crossed her arms, blinking unbelievably at the accusation. “Come now…”

White Lily laughed, continuing her work on the bushes. “You sound like you are.”

She scoffed. “I am most certainly not.”

“Like the way a feline scurries from water…” White Lily mindlessly muttered, mostly to herself.

“I am no cat.” Golden Cheese gasped, putting her hand to her chest, completely appalled. She thought about the comment for a moment, then chuckled. “Though, if you meant how felines are the duality of fiercefulness and grace, then you’d be correct, darling. 

“That is not what I meant.” She plainly stated.

Golden Cheese rolled her eyes, shooing her direction.

“Being in the rain is very peaceful…” White Lily hummed, popping a berry in her mouth. She reached behind her, handing one to her lover. “The coolness is nice, I like it especially when it hasn’t been humid.”

“I’m going to get all wet!” She took the berry from White Lily, eating it. “Why would that be peaceful?

White Lily dropped a handful of blackberries in a basket. Switching her basket to an empty one, she moved further down the row of bushes. “You can just dry yourself off afterwards.”

“Whatever, darling,” She rolled her eyes. “Just hurry up…!”

Golden Cheese eyed the clouds again, pursing her lips. “...Are you almost done?”

“I’ve finished with the  blackberries…” White Lily pointed to the very full basket behind her. “I was going to harvest these raspberries too, since they are ripe.”

Golden Cheese took a handful of berries out of the basket, happily eating them. SHe spoke with her mouth full. “...How long will that take?”

“Depends on how many thorns I have to work around.” She shrugged, enjoying her time. She didn’t worry about the clock of impending rain like Golden Cheese was.

“Why did you not just wear gloves, darling?” Golden Cheese folded her wings behind her, squatting down next to her lover. 

“I think the gloves are too bulky.” She skillfully weaved her hands around thorns, only suffering a few knicks. “Besides, I like feeling it with my hands.”

“The thorns?” Golden Cheese asked, concerned.

“No, silly,” White Lily chuckled, putting a handful of raspberries in the basket. “The prick of the thorns doesn’t bother me so much, I meant the texture of the berries. It feels nice.”

Golden Cheese nodded. She watched her lover quietly as she worked through the bushes in the garden. Periodically, she would turn to look up at the clouds, frowning every time.

White Lily paused, looking at her lover doing so.

“You know, dear,” White Lily nudged Golden Cheese, who turned to look at her. “If you help me, I don’t see why we won’t make it back inside before the rain hits us.”

Golden Cheese perked up. “You think so?”

“I don’t see why not.” White Lily shifted herself over. “Do you know what the ripe ones look like?”

“Yes, I do…” Golden Cheese got on her knees. She’d watched her lover harvest enough vegetation that she felt she could be a master at finding the ripest ones.

While she wasn’t happy to be picking berries, arduous tasks far beneath the Radiant Goddess, she figured being in the rain was worse. 

“Good!” White Lily beamed. Her smile made Golden Cheese roll her eyes, smiling a little herself. “Just watch for the thorns, we only have about five more brushes. Together, we’ll be done in no time!”

“Yes, yes.” Golden Cheese focused on her bush. “Just focus, Lily…”

White Lily covered her mouth, laughing about how serious Golden Cheese was taking her task. 

The two worked, harvesting berries. White Lily watched Golden Cheese work with extra care, while simultaneously working too fast.

She giggled as her lover would move on from a bush without collecting all the berries, which White Lily happily picked for her.

At the final bush, Golden Cheese stood up. She studied her hands.

“And barely a scratch on my precious hands!” She chirped, accomplished. “See that, Lily? We’re done!”

“We are done.” White Lily giggled, standing on her bare feet. She picked up the two baskets. “Let us head back inside, my dear, the walk from here back inside is a bit long…I hope you do not mind.”

“That’s alright,” She dusted herself off. “It has not rained yet, so I do not think it—”

As if Golden Cheese jinxed it, rain began to pour. It wasn't heavy enough to be life-threatening, but it was heavy enough that Golden Cheese squealed.

The cool rain made her shiver. Bouncing up and down, she cringed at the squishing her feet made in the wet, slowly becoming muddy, grass.

In a poor attempt, she shook out her wings to get rid of the wetness—it didn’t work. She yelped when the shaken out water from her wings wet her.

“Ughh! Nooo!” She whined, covering her hair. Scrunching her nose, she looked over at White Lily.

She blinked, her anger for the rain suddenly disappeared.

White Lily’s joy-filled laughter made her complaints of the rain look stupid. Her lover twirled around, the water clung to her body, making her hair stick to her face. As she spun, the hem of her dress flicked water in a beautiful circle as water splashed beneath her feet.

Her heart skipped a beat.

White Lily looked gorgeous in the rain.

She looked gorgeous all the time.

White Lily looked at Golden Cheese, who was just as wet as her. She expected to see an angry face, but was met with a smiling one.

White Lily laughed.

“See, dear!?” She shouted over the pattering rain drops. “This is not so bad, is it?”

Golden Cheese felt a warmth radiate in her heart. It warmed her from the cool rain sticking to her bare skin. She used one of her large wings to cover herself, and the other she extended over White Lily.

Golden Cheese laughed, pulling White Lily close to her. “No, no this is not as bad as I thought it would be…!”

Her eyes were wide as if she’d just discovered something beautiful, stealing her breath away. She reached her hand out beyond her wing, smiling at water on her arm. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

She inhaled the earthy smell of the rain, her smile taking the place of the blocked sun.

White Lily held the baskets in her hands, admiring Golden Cheese take it in. She felt her heart flutter with a rare lightness.

She giggled, leaning her wet hair on her lover's wet shoulder. Their eyes met.

It was soft for a moment. But it quickly turned into laughter as they studied how soaked each other were.

“Thank you for the wing…” White Lily wrapped her arms around Golden Cheese.

“Of course…” She hugged her back.

Pecking her lips, making a smooching sound to tell White Lily she wanted one. White Lily snickered, pressing her lips onto her lovers.

They kissed chastely.

“We should head back inside now…” White Lily let go of her.

“We will,” Golden Cheese sighed, looking around her. She wiped the water off her own face, and then White Lily’s. “But maybe we’ll stay outside for a little longer.”

White Lily gasped, smiling ear-to-ear, then it faltered. She pursed her lips, hoping Golden Cheese wasn’t just saying that for her. “Are you truly okay with that? I…I know you do not like to be wet and—and in the rain, and—”

“Nonsense, my darling.” She laughed, putting her hand on White Lily’s cheek, pulling her closer for a kiss. “I’m already wet, there’s no harm in getting wetter…”

Chapter Text

Golden Cheese sat perched on the metal railing of the balcony. She held onto the bars loosely with her hands, her legs dangling over the railing. With her legs crossed, she swung them back and forth.

She enjoyed the silence.

The sun had just finished setting. Its wondrous colors fading into the bleak night. The moon shone brightly, but never as brightly as the sun. She watched with tired eyes as the cool jungle breeze swayed the leaves of the Hollyberrian palm trees.

She felt the wind in puffy hair, tickling the nape of her neck. The gust ran through each individual feather on her magnificent wings, making her shiver. 

Golden Cheese took a deep breath, but nothing she did quelled her rapid pulse. In the Hollyberrian Kingdom, the night was just getting started. The various, nightly balls had just begun.

As much as Golden Cheese enjoyed socialization, the beautiful music, the blinding alcohol, she couldn’t will herself to any party tonight. She couldn’t even find the motivation to dance with her lover.

The Hollyberrian social events were much similar to parties the Golden Sovereign once held in her own kingdom.

She swallowed hard. Her kingdom.

Though it had fallen from evil hands, and all her people had been murdered, she used her golden Abundance to create a new home. She preserved her people, mummifying each individual dead body, and brought them back to life. They all live happily in her virtual realm.

No outsiders. No conflicts.

Peace and prosperity.

Golden Cheese felt tears in her eyes as she gripped the metal bars tighter. She shakily sighed.

She made the decision to let the virtual realm go. Her friends needed her help to ward off the same evil that brought tasteless genocide to her kingdom.

Her need for revenge fueled her.

She didn’t want to. Content with continuing to live blissfully within her lie, but she had to.

It had been a choice she made unconsciously when that little group that Pure Vanilla sent finally found her. They passed judgment, passed the trails.

They arrived with purity and good intentions.

She denied, raving she would never leave her world.

Leaving her world had meant letting go, physically and mentally. She needed the power that she used to uphold the virtual realm to fight, therefore she had to dissipate her world. 

Golden Cheese had simply been in denial.

She stopped swinging her legs on the railing. The glittering navy dress she wore sparkled in the moonlight. The tears that she dabbed gently off her face, as to not ruin her makeup, shimmered the same.

While grateful to have the power to revive her followers at any point—so long as their souls stay connected to her Soul Jam—leaving her home behind caused her the same pain she felt a decade ago.

Putting her people back to rest made her feel alone.

A failure. Unable to protect those she cared deeply for.

Her eyes drifted, half-lidded across the jungle horizon. The palm trees surrounded by thick grass blurred to her golden dunes. Cold, dead bodies were littered around the warm sand.

She shook her head, covering her eyes with her hands as she cried.

She listened to the faint music of the orchestra below her. The steep melody brought her back to reality. The bustling chatter from inside was loud enough for Golden Cheese to hear upon the highest floor of the Hollyberrian palace.

Her dull eyes fell downwards. She stared intently at the beautiful brick pathway below dangling feet. Around the pathway were beds of roses, various stone statues, and well-maintained shrubbery.

It was a beautiful outdoors area.

The area was used for smaller outdoor gatherings, Hollyberry had told her once while showing her around the palace. They’d spent many hours of their time here. The thought of Hollyberry made Golden Cheese smile briefly.

That smile quickly flickered away.

Being in the Hollyberrian Kingdom so many times, she knew the palace like the back of her hand now.

She also knew no one would come to the area until the morning.

Shame ran wildly within her head. Its oppression clouded her judgment, making her feel all sorts of wrong. She felt unworthy of her possessions, unworthy of her title, unworthy of her powers. 

Golden Cheese didn’t feel right in her bones. 

She wore the most expensive jewelry; the necklace she wore hung heavy from her neck, like a dead weight. The lines of bracelets and bangles felt like chains. Her bold earrings made her head drop in shame. She wore the most tempting perfume, but the rich, smoky scent felt suffocating. 

Everything felt sticky on her, like she needed to rip it off. She felt like pulling out her hair, her aching heart.

Golden Cheese felt empty.

She didn’t care anymore if someone heard her sobbing—she cried unapologetically.

Golden Cheese held on tightly, her sorrowful rocking weight caused her to lean too far at times. In those moments, her heart pounded into her ears.

But it felt liberating, something about the thought of falling. Instead of her flying high, like everyone expected of her to, she could fall.

She stopped rocking. But what would it even do?

She was immortal, the Soul Jam kept its holder alive for centuries. 

Letting gravity pull her down wouldn’t kill her.

Instead of shying her away from the idea, knowing it would be futile, her eyes glimmered with excitement.

How many times could she fall before destroying her body?

Would the pain of thinking she couldn’t die be satiated?

Golden Cheese wanted—no, needed to try.

Holding onto the railing with both hands, tears smeared her makeup, and the stains dripped onto her dress.

She didn’t care.

Her body trembled with fear. Everything in her mind begged her to reconsider. But she shook it away, following the tiny, shoved away voice.

Let go.

With trembling hands, her sweaty palms let go of the railings.

Golden Cheese closed her eyes and leaned forward.

A loud crash caused her to scream. Before she could even react, something suddenly grabbed her wing, causing her to shriek as it jerked her off the railing.

Hollyberry had looked almost everywhere for her lover. Every hallway, every garden, every open banquet hall, her bedroom, everywhere.

She felt lost—and slightly panicked—unable to find her.

After asking around, no one had seen Golden Cheese.

Her search veered away from the most populated places, moving to the more secluded ones. The places where she took her lover when they needed time to themselves, when they needed to talk, places where they hugged, kissed, and felt young again.

Hollyberry felt her stomach drop more and more as each location she checked was without Golden Cheese. She let her mind stray to the worst possible scenario. It forced her to pick up her pace from walking fast to sprinting around her palace.

Not stopping to catch her breath, she skipped steps as she ran up to the highest floor of her home. She rushed down the corridors, fighting herself not to lose hope.

Entering the final corridor, at the very end of the hall, were two sliding panel windows. 

She felt the color drain from her face.

Hollyberry breath hitched seeing Golden Cheese’s dazzling navy dress at the edge of the railing. Wasting no further time, Hollyberry ignored her heaving chest as she ran towards the doors. 

She reached the door, forgetting to mind her strength as she slid it open. The crashing snap caused Golden Cheese to jerk, the shrill of her lover’s scream made her cringe. 

Hollyberry reached out her arm as far as it could go, grabbing onto Golden Cheese’s wing.

She yanked her back over the balcony, ungracefully into her arms.

They both sat on the balcony with silent shock. Hollyberry held Golden Cheese tightly to her heaving chest. Golden Cheese laid motionless, mouth slightly agape as tears streamed down her face.

“Wha—What the—” Hollyberry could barely catch her breath. “What the hell were…were you thinking!?” She broke the silence, keeping one arm wrapped around her lover’s upper body, and one hooking under her legs, pulling her closer. “What is wrong with you!?”

Hollyberry’s fear was misplaced with blinding rage.

"We cannot die! Why—Why would you…Why would you even ATTEMPT to throw yourself off a fucking blacony!? Are you crazy!?”

Spit flew out of her mouth while she screamed as tears ran down her face. Her face was twisted with an angry scowl. She shook Golden Cheese, whose eyes were still glazed from shock. 

“ANSWER me!”

Golden Cheese listened to Hollyberry’s fearful heartbeat, putting a shaking hand on her own.

A wave of realization hit her in a short moment of mental clarity, as if Hollyberry’s presence helped her think straight.

Golden Cheese began to wail. She couldn’t contain her sobbing as she latched onto her lover for dear life.

Hollyberry blinked, the sound of her own voice startled her. She froze, seeing the terror in her lover’s eyes. Her anger melted into pure horror.

Her maternal instincts kicked in. She kept Golden Cheese close, rocking back and forth to soothe her. She placed gentle kisses to her forehead, wiping her tears with shaking hands as they both cried.

She whispered gentle words, her own voice quivering. She tried her best to atone for her screaming.

“I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here. Let it all out…” She swallowed a lump in her throat, watching Golden Cheese break down in her arms. She brushed hair away from her lover’s face. “I’ll…I’ll protect you, now.”

Golden Cheese hiccuped and choked. She felt the warmth of Hollyberry, but the sickness from her attempt let her feel no comfort. 

Her face and eyes felt puffy from crying. She mumbled unintelligible phrases.

Hollyberry caressed her cheek. “Shh, I’m right here. I’ll take it away…All the pain…”

Chapter Text

Boxes were scattered all over White Lily’s study. Some were sealed shut, and some had been opened, contents removed. The study looked chaotic.

The lull of the birds chirping outside, with the sun beating down from the windows outside made White Lily decide it was a day for cleaning.

One person loathed the idea.

Hollyberry shook her head as she stared at the beautiful weather outside the window. The day was perfect for quite literally anything but cleaning.

White Lily insisted, and was even more insistent due to the fact that she had Hollyberry’s strength to help her.

While flattered at the compliment, and always looking for a time to show off her strength, Hollyberry wished she chose a rainy day to clean.

“You know,” Hollyberry huffed, lifting a resealed box back on top of a closet shelf. “The weather’s beautiful, sweetheart…”

White Lily sighed, using a small pairing knife to open a sealed box. “Every five minutes, you complain that we are in here.”

“Yeah, babe, ‘cause this weather is not for cleaning.” She groaned, putting her hands on her hips. She stared at the pile of boxes that were taped back up. “Do all of those gotta go in here, babe?”

“Mhm.” She confirmed, reading through a packet she found in the box. “The nice weather motivates me to finish, so I may head outside.”

Hollyberry shook her head, lifting a heavy box with ease over her head, up on the shelf. She dusted off her hands, then picked up another one.

“What’s even in these boxes?”

“Old papers that I’ve used in my research, and other belongings of mine.” White Lily threw a stack of papers in a large empty crate. “Some of these essays are outdated, I cannot use them as sources anymore...”

“Sure,” She widened her eyes at a surprisingly very heavy box. Hollyberry huffed as she hauled it over her head. “Good lord.”

White Lily turned back, watching Hollyberry work through the boxes. “Are you having trouble, dear?”

“Pft!” Hollyberry chuckled. “Not at all, baby, this is lightwork! Give me a real challenge!” She flexed her muscles as White Lily giggled at her.

“You sounded like you were struggling before.”

“You really make use of every inch in these boxes, that’s for sure.” She lifted another one up, grunting. “Nothing I cannot handle!”

White Lily shook her head, turning back around. When doing so, Hollyberry put down the box she picked up. Shaking out her hands, she glared at White Lily with a surprised face.

“What the hell is in this damn box…” Hollyberry muttered under her breath, preparing herself as she lifted it up towards the shelf.

White Lily raised her eyebrows, hearing talking. “Did you say something?”

“No, babe…” Hollyberry wiped her forehead, exhaling. She looked over at White Lily again. “You don’t suppose you have a lot more boxes left, do you?”

“Hmm.” She looked up from her papers and scanned around, counting to herself. Hollyberry followed her line of sight, slapping her palm to her face.

“We have at least ten left…If not all of them have papers, it shouldn’t take much longer.” She chirped. “Besides, you only have two more to haul away for me, then you can start helping me look through these!”

“Perfect.” Hollyberry rolled her eyes, excited to dig through old, dusty boxes.

Hauling her last two boxes into the closet, Hollyberry pushed the remaining boxes close to where White Lily sat. Sitting on the floor next to her lover, she reached over for the paring knife.

Grabbing the closest box to her, she unhappily cut the seal.

Inside, were stacks of papers.

“Oh boy.” She sighed, narrowing her eyes to read the information written messily on one.

“What’s inside?” White Lily asked, picking up the knife, and moving onto another box of her own.

“Papers.”

“Of what kind?”

Hollyberry picked up the folder on the top, scanning it for key details. “Looks like old scrolls…Says something about worshiping…?” She furrowed her eyebrows. “A religion of some sort”

Hollyberry read the paper with zero knowledge. She knew the research White Lily conducted was philosophical, so the paper being information on religion didn’t surprise her too much.

“What’s the date on the paper?” She glanced over, scanning its contents.

“Doesn’t look like it has a date…”

“Oh!” White Lily shooed her off. “That is no longer the preferred worshipping method for that religion. This specific religion is super niche, not many people know of it.”

“How do you know about it?” She bewilderedly asked, letting White Lily take the scroll from her hand excitedly. 

“Aha,” She chuckled nervously. “Long story, dear…” She put the scroll back into the box. “You—You can seal that box up. That contains important information…!”

Hollyberry tilted her head. She opened her mouth to ask about it, but the thought of White Lily ranting for hours didn’t sound exciting.

“I really promise you, ‘tis nothing bad. It was just arduous for any member of the religion to trust me enough to lend me the information…” She held up her hands with a wobbly smile.

“You confuse me, babe…” Hollyberry chuckled, reaching for the tape roll to seal the box shut.

White Lily chuckled nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What? I didn't obtain it in a poor manner…If—If that is what you’re implying…”

“I wasn't.” Hollyberry snickered. “But you saying getting all defensive makes me wonder…” She spoke in a teasing tone, nudging White Lily's shoulder.

She flushed from embarrassment, pushing Hollyberry away. “Just…Just open another box!” 

“Alright, alright!” She snorted, pushing the resealed box away from her. Hollyberry pulled over the next box. She raised her eyebrows.

The box felt surprisingly light compared to all the other boxes Hollyberry had lifted to put away. Whatever was inside tumbled around, making muffled clinking noises against each other.

It surely wasn't paper.

“Hey, baby, this box’s pretty light…” She picked up the knife and cut the tape.

“Is it?” White Lily scooted closer to Hollyberry. Curiosity flickered in her eyes. “I don't recall stacks of papers being light…”

“I’m not sure ‘tis even paper.”

“Huh?” She sat on her knees to get a better look inside the box.

Opening the flaps of the box, Hollyberry looked inside. Her face melted into a smile.

White Lily pursed her lips. “What's inside, dear?”

Hollyberry chuckled quietly.

She reached inside, pulling out various pieces of golden jewelry: thick bangles and a necklace. Each contained beautiful ruby jewels incorporated throughout them.

Placing those to the side, she reached back in and pulled out a dusty dragon stuffed animal. While dusty, its green and red color scheme remained vibrant.

Dropping the toy, she carefully lifted out a stack of pink envelopes. The seal of golden wax was broken, and the letters remained inside.

White Lily gasped seeing Hollyberry pull out the contents of the box. She bounced excitedly on her knees. 

“I thought I’d lost these!?” She cheered, picking up the miscellaneous trinkets.

“What’s all this?” Hollyberry continued pulling out various other pieces of Hollyberrian memorabilia from the box. A cheesy smile decorated her face.

“These are all the gifts and letters you’ve given me!” The brightest smile on White Lily’s face made Hollyberry blush. “I thought I’d lost them all, I had been devastated…”

Her voice was full of astonishment. “You kept all these?” 

White Lily laughed. “Of course! I—I do not wear gold, I usually wear silver jewelry, but those bangles, and that necklace you had given me years ago. Remember, dear?” She sat shoulder to shoulder with Hollyberry. “The first Royal Ball you invited me to, you had said I looked nude without the jewelry!"

“I did!” Hollyberry snorted, admiring the jewelry in White Lily’s hand. “I remember that!”

“Yes! You gave me some of your favorite pieces at the time…Luckily they matched my dress, but I couldn’t part with them. So I kept them…” She rubbed the ruby stones in the center of the necklace.

“And that dragon stuffed animal…” White Lily picked up the toy, brushing the dust off with her dainty hands. “You won this for me that same day…That market you took me too.”

“I do recall…” Hollyberry leaned her head on White Lily’s shoulder. She held the letters in her hand, shuffling through them all.

Her stomach fluttered. Each handwritten letter that Hollyberry wrote her was kept in pristine condition inside the box.

Hollyberry’s voice softened from its usually boisterousness. “And you kept all these letters?”

“Mhm! I love the way you write…And—And I could never get rid of them. I suppose I shoved everything in a box one day and forgot about them…” She rubbed her arm, laughing at herself.

Hollyberry was quiet next to her. She sat with the biggest smile on her face, admiring all the keepsakes White Lily had of their relationship. Her heartbeat slightly faster in her chest—it was pure joy.

Noticing Hollyberry wasn’t laughing, White Lily nervously fell silent. She leaned over to study her lover’s face. All her nerves vanished.

White Lily couldn’t hide her smile. Hollyberry’s eyes were glossy as she ran her fingers through the items. 

“...Holly?” White Lily softly called her name. She rubbed her back, feeling happy tears well in her own eyes too. “Are you alright?”

Hollyberry turned, pulling White Lily’s face close to hers, kissing her happily. White Lily smiled, wrapping her arms around Hollyberry’s neck while they kissed.

Breaking off the kiss, Hollyberry pulled White Lily into her lap.

“I cannot believe you kept…everything…” She whispered to White Lily, leaning her forehead on her lover’s. A tear slipped down her face, but White Lily wiped it off.

“Of course I did.” She exhaled, laughing as she wiped her own eyes. Hollyberry kissed her again, pulling her closer on her lap. “I apologize for making you cry.”

“No, baby.” Hollyberry hugged her tightly. “This…This made my day.”

“See?” White Lily perked up, her voice shaky from crying. “This was the right weather for cleaning!”

Hollyberry laughed contagiously loud. White Lily covered her mouth and laughed with her as Hollyberry shook her head.

“No, it is not.”

Chapter Text

Dark Cacao stood in front of the bathroom vanity. His pensive gaze bore into the mirror, his eyes trailing along his bare chest.

His heart ached.

Being a soldier, a king, wasn’t simple. Bruises welled on his arms, and scabbing slashes and gashes were littered along his body. Some injuries required stitches, sutures, or the nauseating feeling of healing magic binding his skin back together.

Injuries, new and old, decorated his body like wilted flowers on a grave.

Some scars he picked at. Ripping the scabs off his skin, he forced his body to keep the memory of his hurt alive.

He ran his calloused hand over the permanent scar on his chest. Under his rough finger tips, he felt the texture the injury left behind. The lethal sword slash ran from his collarbone to his abdomen.

The reason for the attack, the person who gave him this injury, Dark Cacao would never forget. He felt his heart pound in his ears as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

He missed his son.

Dark Cacao mindlessly scratched the large scar on his chest, trying to find something to pick at.

Part of his mind berated him for touching the injury. Though the attack happened a few years ago, his constant probing caused the healing process to slow.

On top of that, while his healers were able to repair the major internal damage, the injury grew infected multiple times due to his touching.

His mind drifted back to the horrific moment.

The yelling, the fighting—Dark Cacao had been wrong. But the boy lifted his sword to him, nearly murdering him. His rage-filled mind clouded his judgement all those years ago. 

Dark Cacao had been wrong. What kind of father had he been?

An awful one.

He banished his son away, of course he sent his son away. Throwing away and ignoring his problems was much easier than sitting down and handling them. He blamed his son, but he knew well that their falling apart was his own doing.

Why didn’t he love the boy more? Dark Cacao didn’t know why he couldn’t simply be a good father.

Maybe because he struggled to be a good man.

Dark Cacao's breath hitched, he shook his head.

What was he thinking?

His thoughts were running wild, he gripped the edge of the vanity in an attempt to ground himself.

He was a good man; he was righteous, Resolute. He was a part of the Heroes that saved lives.

But he wasn’t a good father, and he was never a good man to himself.

He blinked rapidly, shaking his head. Dark Cacao never realized he was breathing irregularly until he heard his heaving gasps for air.

He swallowed, planting his hand firmly on his chest, he focused on himself in the mirror. Lifting his free hand up to his face, he wiped his cheek.

He was crying.

Staring closer into the mirror, his eyes were wide and shaky.

With his hand near his face, he noticed the deep yellowish bruises mixed with fresher scabs on his knuckles. Dropping his trembling hands, he looked down at them.

Tears dripped from his face onto his hands underneath him. He moved his fingers over the fresh injuries, pressing down on them.

His hand throbbed as the dull ache shot through his hand. Dark Cacao sucked in a sharp breath, gritting his teeth.

It burned.

But the feeling felt good. It forced his mind to focus on the physical pain rather than the haunting memories. 

Dark Cacao punched the granite sink with full force. He inhaled through gritted teeth at the impact, jerking his hand back and shaking it out. Pain shot through his entire hand.

Holding it up to his face, his hand trembled wildly as the fresh scabs were busted off. His raw skin was inflamed and burning as he blew on it to minimize the itching burn.

He cursed.

Throwing his body into unnecessary harm became the way he forced himself to live. An endless cycle of unhealthy coping.

A hell that he put himself through.

“Why are you crying?”

Dark Cacao jolted at the soft woman’s voice. His pulse that thundered from the moment before skipped a beat.

His eyebrows furrowed. Who was here? Dark Cacao snapped towards the voice, his fists clenched, ready to attack.

His fists unclenched as his hands dropped. He forced his trembling body to stand straight.

“White Lily.” Dark Cacao croaked. He remembered the tears streaming down his face and wiped them quickly, pretending that they were never there.

His ragged breathing felt as loud as screaming with the dreadful silence between them. With the silence, the faucet leaked drops of water lengthy seconds apart. The air felt still.

He threw his arms behind his back, pretending to clasp them dutifully like he normally does. He gritted his teeth—it was a poor excuse for a lie.

The two felt miles apart in the small bathroom.

White Lily’s face was molded into a frown. Dark Cacao felt her eyes studying him intently, making him anxious. She exhaled through her noise, bringing her long braid over her shoulder, she messed with it.

“...I apologize for—”

“How long have you been standing here?” The question sounded more like a demand. He sounded threatened, with his voice full of sudden rage.

White Lily confirmed her accusation by locking her calm eyes with her lover’s wide, fearful, eyes.

She swallowed. “I apologize—”

“Answer me.” He snarled, backing away.

White Lily ignored her beating heart. She refused to let her mind convince her that Dark Cacao, solely because he was afraid, was dangerous. She stood her ground, keeping her voice level to hopefully soothe him.

“Not long. I…I heard a loud bang…and crying.”

Dark Cacao stared at her, frozen. He wanted to move, push her out, pull her close, cry in her arms—do something.

He stood still.

“Be not afraid, my dear…” She cautiously stepped closer. Dark Cacao backed up again, bumping into the vanity. She took a deep breath. “...What troubles you?”

Dark Cacao stayed silent, trying to ground himself enough to form a believable lie. His mouth parted, as if he was about to speak, then it closed.

“Can…Can you hear me…?” She stepped closer again, only a foot away from him.

The closer she got, the more she could hear his uneven breathing. She was able to notice the tear stains on his face, and the tears that pricked in his brooding eyes. It made her heart ache.

Dark Cacao nodded. His eyes flew all over his lover to convince himself she was someone safe.

She bit her lip, carefully reaching one hand towards his arm. She felt his eyes boring holes through her as she placed the gentle hand on his tense arm.

White Lily waited for a negative reaction. She nodded happily when there wasn’t one.

Taking a chance, she reached up to his face. She caressed his cheek tenderly.

“Talk to me, dear.” She whispered.

White Lily jumped as Dark Cacao suddenly wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down to bury his head in her neck, kissing it. She smiled bittersweetly, snaking her arms around his neck. She ran her fingers through his hair.

They stood together, swaying in the silence. White Lily listened carefully for Dark Cacao’s breathing to calm, judging when it would be appropriate to investigate the noise she heard.

“...Cao, dear, woah—!” White Lily gasped as Dark Cacao let go of her as soon as she started speaking.

She looked panicked, unsure what Dark Cacao was doing. He took one of her bare arms, turning her wrists facing him.

White Lily blinked in confusion.

She tilted her head, looking down at her forearms to try and understand what Dark Cacao was looking at.

There was nothing unusual about her arms, though old scars of small cuts ran up her forearm to her elbow. They were faded, but the reminder of her struggles was still present.

Riddled with her own faults, she’d learned better outlets to unleash her rage, no longer taking a razor to her skin.

Dark Cacao’s sharp gaze at her arm made her mind race. She found it odd that examining her was his first reaction after whatever he had just put himself through.

“Dark Cacao, my dear,” She rubbed his arm. “Please talk to me.”

“...Does harming yourself help you?” Dark Cacao quietly asked, staring at the faded self-inflicted wounds.

White Lily’s eyes widened at the sudden question, scoffing.

“What?” She let a judgmental tone slip as she stared at Dark Cacao with a bizarre look. “What do you mean?”

He remained quiet but firm. “...Does harming yourself help you?” 

White Lily thought about every reason why her lover could have asked such a random—and oddly personal—question. She studied her arms, then her gaze traveled to the shaking hands that held it.

Oh.

White Lily sighed. His breakdown from earlier, and his seemingly random question all made sense.

She lifted his larger hand in her smaller ones carefully. She pouted at the inflamed knuckles, and noticed various colored bruises, skin tears, and burns causing stress to his skin.

White Lily rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand. “No, dear…Harming myself did not help.”

“...When I am hurt…It does not—” Dark Cacao struggled to put his thoughts into words. He cleared his throat, pursing his lips, as he tapped his finger anxiously on the vanity behind him.

“When you hurt yourself, your mind only focuses on the pain…right?” She attempted to guess his thoughts.

Dark Cacao nodded.

She nodded in response, playing with Dark Cacao’s hands to quell her own nerves. “Because you need a distraction. Harming yourself isn’t a safe distraction.”

“...”

“I understand your mentality…" She took a deep breath, lifting her arm up to showcase her scars. “I thought it was the only way, too.”

“I don’t want to…” Dark Cacao trailed off, his voice cracked as White Lily noticed his trembling lip.

“What do you not want, my dear?” She cupped his face, furrowing her eyebrows with worry. “Tell me. Help me, help you.” 

All Dark Cacao could muster was a shake of his head. White Lily bit her tongue, thinking.

“You don’t want to hurt yourself anymore?”

“...”

“...It doesn’t go away…Everything hurts…” Dark Cacao rubbed his face, he tried to muster a braver voice but he couldn’t. “I am tired, Lily.”

“...”

She exhaled, swallowing the lump in her throat.

White Lily wrapped her arms around him squeezing him tightly. “We will find a way. I promise.” She spoke surely, hoping it gave Dark Cacao hope.

She forcibly blinked back her tears. Dark Cacao buried his face into her neck, latching onto her. White Lily felt her heart drop hearing a broken sob from her lover. 

Dark Cacao began to weep in her arms. 

“I know it hurts, I’ve felt your pain before…” White Lily’s voice quivered. Her memories of her past self attempting to understand her emotions did nothing to soothe her. She felt a few tears slip down her face.

Despite her poor memories, she focused solely on Dark Cacao.

Dark Cacao couldn’t stop his wailing even if he tried. He felt weak for breaking down, but crying into White Lily somehow made him feel the slightest bit lighter.

“But,” She started, running her fingers through his hair. “Reaching out for help is very brave, dear…” She cooed, tucking his hair behind his ear. “You’re being very brave.”

“Lily…” He muttered, holding onto his lover with all the strength he had. 

Feeling Dark Cacao lean too much of his heavy frame on her, White Lily guided them onto the floor. She took a moment to wipe her eyes and collect herself.

The floor was cold beneath them, making White Lily shiver. She put out her arms, feeling her lover’s warmth as he cuddled into her frail body.

White Lily shakily sighed, planting a soft kiss to his temple. She gently rubbed her hand over the haunting scar on his chest. Dark Cacao gripped that hand tightly.

“I promise you. I will be with you the whole time.”

Chapter Text

Lit embers of the fireplace crackled and popped, filling the silence of the bedroom. Dark Cacao’s large hands tended to the fire, wafting a smoky, bitter chocolate aroma around the room.

On the floor next to the fireplace, Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla sat. They watched the flickering flames, eating up its warmth with greed.

The heated floors of the lonely bedroom warmed their bottoms, and the furs Dark Cacao gifted them helped to stop the frosty ache of the frigid Dark Cacao Kingdom.

A lull of silence put an odd tension in the bedroom. Nothing was wrong—no quarrels, no bickering. The unexplainable silence between the three made starting a conversation seem worse than suffocating.

Hollyberry rubbed her hands together in front of the fire, shivering in her specially made red coat—colors like such weren’t custom for the Dark Cacao Kingdom. Pure Vanilla hummed to himself. His blind eyes were open, watching the darkened blob of fire blaze.

Dark Cacao stood straight after feeding the fire. He dusted his calloused hands off and gazed towards the two on the ground. He studied them, nodding, feeling satisfied with their comfort.

The thump of his boots made the two watch Dark Cacao as he moved across the room. He walked towards the bedroom door, sliding it open and closed as he left.

Hollyberry’s gaze immediately snapped to Pure Vanilla.

“Oi,” She tapped his shoulder, getting the blind man’s attention.

Pure Vanilla jolted from the sudden touch, he turned in the direction of the sound. “Hm?”

“Don’t you feel like you're suffocating in here?” Hollyberry leaned closer, whispering.

She watched Pure Vanilla swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Suffocating, how?”

“Like,” She sighed, shaking her head. “His room feels so heavy. I feel it in my chest.” She rubbed her chest, specifically where her heart lies.

While everything was spotty, Pure Vanilla could distinguish the deep frown on his lover’s face. He felt a similar one plastered on his own.

“Hm.” He turned his head back towards the fire. “I feel what you’re describing…”

Hollyberry shrugged, shaking her head. “Nothing’s happened all day. I thought we were all fine—”

“We have been, and we are.” He assured, placing his gentle hand on her thigh. “I believe the lingering feeling is just exhaustion.”

“This heavy?” She tutted, shaking her head in disagreement. “I get it, I’m tired as well. But this feels… heavier than that, does it not?”

Hollyberry tapped her leg, the soft pat-pat blended with the fire’s crackles. She looked at Pure Vanilla, pressing her lips together. “I know you feel that too, just admit it.”

“I never denied it.”

“...”

“It feels as if speaking will cause a rupture of emotions…” She trailed off, casually dusting the hem of her dress. “I know we haven’t spent intimate time together in a long while, but…”

Pure Vanilla chuckled sadly. “More than just a ‘long while’.”

“Exactly.”

The sounds of the fire echoed in the empty room as they fell silent. 

“His bedroom holds memories for him.” Pure Vanilla spoke up.

Hollyberry blinked. “Huh?”

He closed his eyes, seeing through his staff that was carefully leaning on the corner of the stone fireplace. “Don’t you see the photographs turned around?” He pointed to one of Dark Cacao’s nightstands.

Hollyberry followed his hand.

On the small table, a lone picture frame was turned away. It faced the cold walls of the bedroom.

“And look, dear,” Pure Vanilla motioned around the room. “If you look closely, there are empty nails on the walls…”

Hollyberry pursed her lips, heaving a heavy sigh as spotted the empty walls. “I do see…”

“You know Dark Cacao,” Pure Vanilla opened his eyes again. His two toned eyes gazed into the fire. “He carries the guilt of…everything on his shoulders—like stained armor, never removed. His only motivation is his past anger and current sadness.”

She laughed sadly. “Almost like the hefty shoulder armor he wears means something!”

Pure Vanilla eyed her disapprovingly.

She shrugged, furrowing her eyebrows and putting her hands up. “What, sweetheart? I’m simply callin’ it as I see it…”

“Do not mock someone’s struggles.” He sighed, rubbing the floor beneath him.

“You speak in riddles and metaphors all the time.” She scoffed. “If I truly aimed to be rude, I would have said something completely different!”

Hollyberry felt the eerie weight of the room silence her. She pouted.

“C’mon, baby…You know I’d never insult him like that…”

They continued to go back and forth expressing their worries for their lover.

It had been years since they’d been back in the Dark Cacao Kingdom. Nothing was different—the frosty air, the proud citizens, the celebration of hardships and culture.

The only thing that changed was Dark Cacao.

They pointed out every small detail of Dark Cacao’s bedroom and behaviors that showed obvious signs of his struggles.

He was more silent while simultaneously being more relaxed. He wasn’t as uptight as he used to be when they were much younger, and before the war.

He was significantly happier, but his depression seemed much worse all at the same time.

Dark Cacao listened quietly behind the door to his bedroom. He held a small tray. Three cups of different flavors of hot tea wafted their scents together, creating a beautiful aroma.

His lips were pressed thinly listening to his lover’s conversation—their conversation about him.

The sweet scent made him feel sick.

Taking a deep breath, he held the tray with one hand and slid open the door.

Hearing the door slide open, Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla’s conversation fell silent. They turned back, welcoming Dark Cacao with bittersweet smiles.

“What have you brought, dear?” Pure Vanilla’s gentle voice was soothing, aiding Dark Cacao in brushing off the conversation.

Hollyberry rubbed her hands by the fire. “Smells like tea?”

Dark Cacao nodded, placing down the tray carefully on the floor. The tea cups were a fragile porcelain, decorated with important sigils of the Dark Cacao Kingdom. 

Hollyberry hummed, picking up a certain cup from the tray. She lifted it to her nose, smiling at the smell. “Where’d you get Raspberry-Cranberry tea from, sweetheart?”

The flavors were reminiscent of her berry homeland.

Pure Vanilla lifted another teacup, smiling as he automatically recognized the warm Vanilla Chamomile. “And vanilla? You do not house vanilla here…”

“Trade.” His answer was short. Dark Cacao sat down between his two lovers, craving their body heat as his heart felt cold.

Hollyberry took a sip of the tea, feeling the warm liquid slip down her throat. She sighed, a bright smile of satisfaction lit her face.

The satisfaction was replaced by a sudden, unnerving judgment as she glanced over in Pure Vanilla’s direction. 

Specifically his aidful staff’s direction.

She bit her tongue in her mouth, raising her eyebrow. The one-eyed flower spoke silently to its holder, making Pure Vanilla frown. He heeded its words.

Pure Vanilla looked over at Dark Cacao, who was focused entirely on the calm, blazing fire. He held the fragile porcelain in his hands, taking sparse sips from it. Hollyberry shivered at the staff’s gaze, but she followed the eyes of Pure Vanilla to Dark Cacao.

“Cao, dear.” Pure Vanilla placed down his teacup, it clicked against the metal tray. “It was not our intention to be rude, or speak negatively of you behind your back.”

Hollyberry scrunched her nose, so he heard?

Dark Cacao swallowed. His gaze flicked from the fire to his teacup. “I’ve no idea what you're speaking about.”

“Do not lie.” Pure Vanilla stated firmly, but the tenderness of his voice never left “Speak up if something troubles you.”

“...”

“What you heard us speaking about was not anger directed towards you.”

Hollyberry placed down her teacup, chuckling solemnly. “Sneaky you…Listening behind the door?”

Dark Cacao felt his pulse quicken. Not enough to panic, but enough to make his mind run wild.

“...I don’t mean for my hospitality to cause you stress.” He muttered, controlling his voice so it did not crack. He stared at the fire, not wanting to look either of them in the eye.

“Your hospitality has been just fine, baby.” Hollyberry rubbed his arm. “You had garments made just for us, you’ve made sure we’ve been warm. Hell, you brought us flavors of tea that aren’t native to your lands!” She nudged his elbow, smiling.

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “She’s right. You do not have to speak to have good hospitality.”

Dark Cacao felt a small weight lift from his shoulders. His eyes trailed from the fire to the turned away photograph on his nightstand.

“The room is bleak…I apologize.” He placed down his teacup, the clink came in par with a tear pricking his eye. He scrunched his nose, sniffling it away. “I cannot bear to look at photographs of…”

“Worry not.” Hollyberry scooted closer, wrapping her arm around him. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way…Just…concerned for your wellbeing…”

Pure Vanilla leaned himself on Dark Cacao. He kissed his neck. “We are here for you. You need not say anything, we simply know you too well.” He giggled, beaming up at him. “We see the little things.”

Dark Cacao heaved a sigh. He shook his head with a small smile. “I don’t mean it to be so obvious.”

Hollyberry tutted. “You don’t realize it ‘cause you're so used to it.”

“It has been years since we’ve spent time such as this together…You notice these things?” He questioned, looking down at the ground.

“Hm? You’re implying that just because we haven’t seen each other means we forgot about each other?” Pure Vanilla blinked, shaking his head. “It does not work like that, silly.”

“Yeah, you grump, what makes you think that?” Hollyberry snickered, placing her head on his broad shoulder. 

“...”

“...I’m not sure.” He felt his heart flutter from their sincerity.

Dark Cacao shifted himself away from them. Before they could ask why he was moving, he wrapped his strong arms around both of them, pulling them to the ground.

They laughed, filling the smoky room with hearty laughter. Dark Cacao felt his chest untighten, and his body relaxed. He laid on the ground with them both on top of him.

Pure Vanilla cuddled into his embrace as Hollyberry sat up, straddling his thigh, shrugging the coat of her shoulders. 

“If I’m gonna lay with ya, the coat’s going to make me melt into a pile of sweat!” She laughed, laying back on top of Dark Cacao. Pure Vanilla chuckled.

“This is not sweltering, dear.” He ran his fingers along Dark Cacao’s chest. “This is comfortable.”

“No way,” She got herself comfortable, feeling Dark Cacao’s arm wrapped around her back. The fire seemed to crackle higher, as if the happiness in the room fed it more wood.

“With the fire, the floors, and Cao?” She argued, tucking a piece of hair behind Dark Cacao’s ear. “Cao’s like a warmth machine!”

“I am not.” He rolled his eyes at the comment.

He never thought of himself as ‘warm’.

Dark Cacao thought of himself as cold, cruel—he thought he was nothing worth saving, nothing worth loving.

A lost cause.

“Actually,” Pure Vanilla interjected. “You are very warm, almost all the time.”

He blinked. “...Am I?”

They both laughed at his utterly surprised tone. He laid underneath them, recounting all the times his lovers and friends had cuddled up to him for his warmth.

Maybe he was warmer than he thought.

Chapter Text

“You must be more careful, my dear.” Pure Vanilla reprimanded the stoic Cacaoian man in front of him.

Dark Cacao sat on top of a medical bed, his legs hanging off the open side of the protective bars. Pure Vanilla stood in front of his legs, holding his staff in one hand, and commanding his magic with the other.

Dark Cacao felt his eyes drifting anywhere but Pure Vanilla’s face.

His royal robes were discarded, leaving him with simple pants and no shirt. He hissed as Pure Vanilla’s healing magic flowed freely throughout his body.

The pure swirls of warm, yellow magic worked through each gash and bruise on Dark Cacao’s broad chest. He scrunched his nose, scowling, feeling his skin burn as it bonded back together.

He tapped the sterile white sheets with impatience. Looking up, he squinted his eyes at the bright, white ceiling lights. Pure Vanilla noted his fidgety behavior.

“Do not get angry…” His blind eyes were closed, studying Dark Cacao through his one-eyed staff. “You are too reckless.”

“I am not reckless.” His voice was a low angry grumble, as if he was warning Pure Vanilla not to press him further.

The healer only chuckled.

“Come now, my dear,” He soothingly spoke, moving his hand over to another set of injuries. Dark Cacao gritted his teeth at the feeling. “You do not scare me.”

Dark Cacao eyed him.

Pure Vanilla lifted his eyebrows, pretending to be shocked. He laughed at him again.

“I know the magic bothers you.” He leaned in to kiss the stubble of hair on Dark Cacao’s chin. “...You’re sitting very well for me.”

Dark Cacao’s heart skipped a beat. The single phrase of a praise made his mind jumble, twisting his stomach into a knot.

His pupils dilated and he swallowed hard at the words. Seconds later, his eye twitched.

Not only did Pure Vanilla’s magic concentrate on another area, the itchiness of his skin slowly regenerating itself made him want to scratch it, but his pathetic reaction to a simple praise.

He shook his head, feeling his heart pound in his chest. A single phrase was causing the supposed stoic king, one of the strongest leaders in all of the continent, to falter.

He hoped Pure Vanilla didn’t notice his pathetic reaction.

He did.

Pure Vanilla watched Dark Cacao’s deep, purple eyes turn into little black buttons. He pretended not to watch Dark Cacao battle an internal conflict over the praise. 

He chuckled.

The laughter caught his lover’s attention. The tapping on the plastic sheets only grew faster and louder.

“I have to do the largest gash now, dear.” Pure Vanilla warned him before moving his hand towards a deeper gash on the left, lateral side of his abdomen. The wound had gauze protectively on top with medical tape holding it in place.

Normally, Pure Vanilla would have taken care of the largest wound first—Dark Cacao made that difficult. The injured man had been squirming and pushing his hand away when he tried to earlier. 

Dark Cacao clenched his fists, knowing he couldn’t avoid the awful feeling any longer. Pure Vanilla watched as Dark Cacao’s teeth visibly clenched and listened to the anxious taping grow louder.

“Easy, dear.” Pure Vanilla rubbed his arm gently. “I know you dislike the feeling, but I’ve held it off for some time now…This is the last one left.”

He groaned, sneering. “Just finish.” 

Pure Vanilla sighed, setting his staff to the side. He rolled up the long sleeves of his flowy, saintly-robes. With care, he undid the tape on his abdomen. Taking off the gauze, he exposed the deep cut to the cool air.

Dark Cacao hissed. They both stared down at the wound with frowns. Pure Vanilla took one of Dark Cacao’s hands.

“You’ve been sitting so well for me, my dear.” He rubbed his thumb on his lover’s calloused hands. He leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Just stay still for a little longer.”

The praises and gentle kiss was enough to make Dark Cacao’s breath audibly hitch. Pure Vanilla noticed his eyes nearly disappear from his growing pupils.

He swallowed, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

Pure Vanilla giggled at the reaction, taking the opportunity to quickly heal the wound. While Dark Cacao still flinched at the magic, Pure Vanilla watched him not fuss once about the magic binding the injury together.

After finishing, Pure Vanilla cupped his lover’s cheek with two hands. He felt his burning face, smiling at Dark Cacao’s eyes filled with a look of needy anticipation.

Pure Vanilla kissed his lips chastely, pulling away just to admire Dark Cacao. He looked to be in a trance from his words.

He tenderly rubbed the area that he just healed.

“All done, dear. You must be more careful and less carefree on the battlefield…” He dusted his hands off, turning around to throw away the used medical supplies. “You did so well, dear. I know you don't like sitting for this, but you sat like a doll.”

Dark Cacao rubbed his face as Pure Vanilla turned away, trying to pull himself together. The amount of genuine praises in a short span of time made his mind short circuit. All his Resolve to not seem desperate was crashing.

“If only you sat this good every time I had to fix you up.” Pure Vanilla hummed, still turned around, but he watched Dark Cacao’s reactions from his staff leaning on the wall.

He smiled slyly.

Dark Cacao cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. “...May I leave, then?”

Pure Vanilla shook his head. “And not say thank you? Where are your manners?”

Dark Cacao pursed his lips.

“...Thank you.” He shook his head, getting off the medical bed.

“Do not be so reckless, do you understand me?” Pure Vanilla turned to face him, pointing at him with seriousness.

“I will not be.”

“Good boy.”

Dark Cacao blinked. Without giving the words enough time to register in his head, his body reacted first.

His words sent blood flowing straight between his legs. He felt his dick harden, tightening in his boxers. Heat rushed to his face, making him cover his mouth with embarrassment. He pretended he was rubbing the stubble on his chin instead of hiding his flustered face.

He looked away from Pure Vanilla.

Pure Vanilla blinked open his eyes, being up close to his lover, he saw his reaction almost perfectly.

“What’s wrong, dear?” He asked innocently, playing dumb.

He knew Dark Cacao too well.

Pure Vanilla placed his hand on his lover’s bare chest, directly over his pecs. He rubbed his thumb teasingly on his hardened nipple.

“You don’t like it when I call you that…?”

“I do.” His answer was too fast and far too desperate for his liking. He clenched his jaw at his response.

Pure Vanilla laughed sweetly, too sweetly. Dark Cacao frowned, giving Pure Vanilla his best angry eye.

“You admit it so quickly…” He cooed, watching Dark Cacao falter under the pressure.

Dark Cacao felt the heat between his legs grow as his erection rubbed against the fabric of his boxers uncomfortably.

Pure Vanilla stepped closer, and Dark Cacao stepped back.

“Don’t back away.” He reached out, gently tugging his wrist to pull him closer. Pure Vanilla felt his own arousal growing watching Dark Cacao’s shyness.

“Come to me, pretty.”

Dark Cacao sighed, letting Pure Vanilla pull him closer. He wrapped his strong arms around the healer’s thinner waist. He buried his warm face in the crook of his lover’s neck as Pure Vanilla snaked his arms around him to rub his back.

Pure Vanilla closed his eyes to see out of his staff against the wall. He smirked, seeing the tent in his lover’s pants. Letting go of Dark Cacao, he reached downwards, palming his erect dick.

Dark Cacao sighed at the pleasure. Tightening his hold on Pure Vanilla, he buckled his hips into his hand, squished between their bodies.

Pure Vanilla wriggled his hand away. Dark Cacao pursed his lips at the loss of friction, staring into Pure Vanilla’s playful eyes. The healer tutted at his lover’s pants, stained with precum.

“Oh no, dear.” He reached up to his lover’s face, caressing it gently. “You don't get to touch yourself until I say.”

“Pure—”

“No. What I say goes, pretty.” He tilted his head, still upholding his gentle tone. “That means no grinding, or buckling into me…”

Dark Cacao gasped, his mouth slightly parted. Then he groaned. “Unfair—”

“Do you understand me?” He pinched his nipple, making his body jolt from its suddenness.

“...”

“Are you okay with that?” He spoke clearly, cupping Dark Cacao’s face with one hand.

Cruel, Dark Cacao thought. What makes it worse is Pure Vanilla’s saintly tone of voice filling his stomach with butterflies.

Despite his defiance, his mind was fogged with need and his body shivered in anticipation.

“...Fine…” He answered gruffly.

“Good.”

Pure Vanilla pulled Dark Cacao’s face down from his neck, kissing him softly. Dark Cacao held Pure Vanilla close, pushing their bodies closer for whatever friction he could get without rutting against him. They both gasped quietly at their throbbing erections grazing against each other through the fabric of their clothing.

Their kisses grew louder and messier as Pure Vanilla grinded into him. His sighs and grunts made Dark Cacao furrow his eyebrows, frustrated. He did whatever he could to force himself not to follow his lover’s motions.

Pure Vanilla broke off the kiss, pushing Dark Cacao away with a chuckle. A trail of saliva connected the two as Dark Cacao pouted.

“How’d this happen, pretty boy?” Pure Vanilla teased his lover, letting Dark Cacao pull him hungrily back over. He smiled so innocently as he stroked his dick once with a feather-like touch.

Dark Cacao huffed under his breath. He leaned into his lover’s neck, kissing and sucking hickeys along his collarbone. Dark Cacao’s hot breath on Pure Vanilla’s neck roused him even more.

Dark Cacao kept his hands tightly around Pure Vanilla’s waist. They twitched, fighting against his wants to desperately pleasure himself.

Pure Vanilla smiled, watching Dark Cacao work to physically restrain himself.

“Pure Vanilla.” Dark Cacao rasped, trying to busy his hands so he didn't disobey his lover’s orders. Pure Vanilla ran his fingers through Dark Cacao's silky hair.

“What is it?” He pushed lightly on Dark Cacao chest, leading him to walk backwards towards the medical table. Bumping into it, the rattle caught Dark Cacao off guard, giving Pure Vanilla a chance to harshly palm Dark Cacao's dick.

Dark Cacao whimpered.

“Talk to me, pretty,” He kept the friction going, changing his touch from harsh to gentle. He felt the fabric of his underwear against his erection become abrasive listening to the way Dark Cacao shakily sighed at the pet name.

Pure Vanilla wiped the sweat of Dark Cacao's brow. His face was twisted between satisfaction and need. He felt his heart pound in his chest. He was able to reduce the coldest man to nothing but mush with nothing but control.

Pure Vanilla bit his cheek. His saintly robes weren't able to hide how hard his dick was.

He loved it.

Dark Cacao grunted, forcing himself to keep his hips back, holding onto Pure Vanilla so hard his knuckles were white.

“You’ve been listening to me so well, haven't you?” He whispered close to his lover's ear. Dark Cacao groaned, whining as he leaned his head into his neck.

“Look at you not touching yourself. You’re so good at following my instructions…”

Dark Cacao squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight against his twitching hips. He moaned into Pure Vanilla’s neck.

“Such a good boy you’ve been…” He tucked hair behind his ear, trailing kisses down the sweaty man’s neck.

His agonizing pace continued as he played with the tip of Dark Cacao’s dick through his clothes.

“You’re a mess, pretty.”

“Mhm!”

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “Yeah? You’re a mess?”

“Hah—Mhm!” 

“You're my little mess, huh?” Pure Vanilla’s voice was low. “Heavens, you’re such a mess you cannot even respond to me?”

“Nhgh! Vani—Please!”

“Good boy.” He purred, pulling down the hem of Dark Cacao's pants, stroking his length through the underwear. Dark Cacao hummed in pleasure.

Pure Vanilla felt Dark Cacao’s dick begin to twitch. The moisture on his boxers began to accumulate in a puddle of need.

“You’re close, pretty?” 

Dark Cacao’s mind was too drunk on his lover’s touch and plentiful praises to answer. He grounded himself, holding onto the medical table as he felt his high approaching.

If he was in his right mind, he’d curse on how easy it had been for Pure Vanilla to get him off.

“Yes or no, pretty boy?”

“Yes.” He managed breathlessly. He gasped as Pure Vanilla quickened his pace.

“That's it, pretty boy. Make your mess in your clothing.” Pure Vanilla urged him on, pinching the hot tip from the boxers. He kissed Dark Cacao, swallowing his gasps and groans with a smile.

Dark Cacao broke off the kiss, panting. He groaned as he focused on keeping his hips from grinding into his lover’s hand. Every time his hips buckled out of sheer desperation, Dark Cacao bit his lip, looking down at Pure Vanilla to see if he was displeased.

Pure Vanilla could cum at the sight.

“You’re so good at listening, pretty.” Pure Vanilla rewarded his good behavior by kneeling down, placing a kiss to his tip.

“Hah—!” Tears pricked Dark Cacao’s eyes from the overwhelmingness of the situation. He leaned his head back.

“Look at you holding yourself back, following my directions…” Pure Vanilla licked the fabric, tasting the bitter chocolate mess his lover was making.

Dark Cacao’s eyes went wide at the new sensation. He gripped Pure Vanilla’s hair from his scalp, pushing his head into his crotch. 

Pure Vanilla pulled his head away, looking up at the man’s half-lidded eyes above him. Dark Cacao whined stupidly at the loss of pleasure, his unfocused gaze landed on Pure Vanilla, who clicked his tongue.

“What did I say?” He raised an eyebrow.

Through his foggy mind, Dark Cacao tried to think back. “No grinding…no…”

Pure Vanilla palmed his own erection listening to Dark Cacao repeat back the instructions given to him. He gasped quietly as he focused on Dark Cacao’s voice—a mess of mumbles and panting.

He gripped his hips after Dark Cacao finished talking. “Good boy, you remembered, but pushing me into your crotch counts…”

Dark Cacao swallowed hard. The tears that pricked his eyes spilled, not only from the disobedience, from the loss of friction that pushed back his oncoming release.

“I…Fuck—I didn’t mean…I—” He rambled, gripping the table harder.

“Don’t you cry.” Pure Vanilla comforted him, rolling up his boxers to kiss his thighs.

He felt his lover tremble.

“You’ve been so good I’ll let it slide, pretty, yes?”

Dark Cacao exhaled. “Yes.”

Pure Vanilla chuckled, leaning towards his dick again. He continued licking the tip through his underwear, feeling his own dick twitch as his lover’s quiet sounds.

Dark Cacao immediately gasped, feeling his pushed off high come racing back. He gripped Pure Vanilla’s blonde hair, careful to not disobey again.

“You're so close, pretty.” Pure Vanilla spoke in between flicking his tongue on the tip of his length. He enclosed his mouth on the covered dick, sucking on it.

“Vani—!”

Dark Cacao cursed under his breath, his words barely coherent with all his pleasurable noises. He felt his core tightening with each movement of his lover’s tongue.

“Fuck, hah—Please, I’m—!”

“Yeah? You’re close?” He hummed over his tip. Pure Vanilla glanced up through his eyelashes, watching his lover.

“Vani!”

“Be a good boy and make your mess, pretty.” Pure Vanilla pulled his mouth off his erection to demand. He watched Dark Cacao body tenseing. “Buckle your hips, grind against my tongue.”

As if he was trained, Dark Cacao buckled his hips, groaning with relief as he felt ropes of cum stick onto the fabric of his boxers. He held Pure Vanilla’s mouth flesh to the area, feeling his chuckles on his dick.

The tension he felt vanished, and was replaced by his sloppy mess and half-lidded eyes. He stared down at Pure Vanilla, heaving.

Pure Vanilla stood up, pushing the hair that clung to his sweaty face away from his lover’s face. He smiled gently, pulling Dark Cacao closer by his throat, kissing him sweetly on the lips.

“Good job, pretty…Do you feel the pretty little mess you made?” Pure Vanilla rubbed the sensitive area. Dark Cacao’s dick twitched from the extra stimulation, he nodded.

The larger man dropped his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Dark Cacao let his body relax, hugging Pure Vanilla.

Pure Vanilla had other plans.

“Oh no, pretty boy” He undid his saintly robes, letting them slip gracefully to the floor. Dark Cacao felt his heart pound in his ears.

Pure Vanilla’s white pants contained a large wet spot, and a painfully erect dick. He smiled when Dark Cacao shook his head, swallowing hard.

“What’s wrong?” Pure Vanilla flipped their position, so he now leaned on the medical table. “You can take more, can you not?”

Dark Cacao exhaled, collecting himself. Pure Vanilla stroked his cheek, bringing him back from his high.

He smiled, tutting. “...Yes.”

“Good boy.” Pure Vanilla leaned his forehead to Dark Cacao’s. They laughed together for a moment.

“Then kneel for me, pretty boy.”

Chapter Text

“Stop moving, Cao.” Hollyberry spoke sternly. She held a cotton pad in her hand that was doused in hydrogen peroxide.

Dark Cacao’s eye twitched as he sat, reluctantly, on the toilet while Hollyberry attempted to tend to his wounds. On the counter of the sink was medical tape, gauze, and the bottle of peroxide, all barely touched due to Dark Cacao continuously flinching and pulling himself away.

“You didn’t let the medics do this, so now I have to…” Hollyberry dropped her arms, her voice full of exasperation as she pleaded with him. “Just work with me, babe.”

Dark Cacao slumped against the toilet, gritting his teeth. He didn’t let the medics dress his wounds because didn’t want them dressed.

And he wasn’t going to let Hollyberry do it just because she was his lover.

She shook her head, sighing, annoyed.

If Hollyberry didn’t know better, she’d think Dark Cacao’s face was permanently frowning.

The pair had run into a pack of snarling animals while on their walk in the Hollyberrian Jungle. Both strong and skilled, they fended off the pack easily, only coming out with minor injuries.

Hollyberry, anyway.

Dark Cacao let his fight with the savage animals drag on. So long, to the point where he was almost overpowered.

Hollyberry watched, helpless due to drooling animals wanting to make her food, as her lover let the creatures attack him. 

From the scuffle, Dark Cacao gained gnarly claw marks all over his body. They went deep into his skin, the blood seeping into his clothes as it dripped down his skin. His body became inflamed, making him extremely sensitive.

Hollyberry was banged up herself. She had gauze tapped to her forehead as one of the animals caught her off guard, mostly from her extended, horrified glances at Dark Cacao. The only other injuries she suffered were small kicks to her arms.

Fortunately, none of the cuts were deep enough for stitches.

Hollyberry let her medics work quickly on her, laughing with them as she was a regular visitor to the infirmary. She knew the lead doctors by name, and even teased the newbies as they tended to her.

On the contrary, Dark Cacao fought against the medics who tried to help him.

He raised his voice, pushing them away. He became so enraged at their desire to help him he got physically violent.

Hollyberry had to actually hold Dark Cacao back from hurting her people, which she was not pleased about. But, she understood, to an extent, his struggle.

Dark Cacao had always loathed getting his injuries tended to. The process of sitting still made him antsy. The bright lights, the unreasonable chatter, and he hated the feeling of healing magic binding his skin back together.

It made him uneasy, especially due to his common acts of self-harm, anything healing related put him on high alert.

Now, Hollyberry was stuck trying to tend to the multiple, careless injuries on her lover’s skin. 

And she was losing her patience fast.

“If you do not stop moving, I will pour this whole bottle on you.” Hollyberry threatened, shaking the bottle violently in her hand. Dark Cacao watched her with unamused eyes, and gritted teeth.

With her free hand, she held Dark Cacao’s arm firmly. She gently moved the cotton pad along one gash. Dark Cacao exhaled through his nose, his face twisting in discomfort.

“I know it burns, just…just work with me, sweetheart. Please?” Hollyberry shook her head, pressing her lips thin as she focused on his arms.

She was praying he didn’t pull himself away.

He grunted, and evidently pulled his arm away from her hands. She backed off, nodding at a decent amount of cuts she cleaned up.

She looked at the pad, it was covered in blood. Hollyberry scrunched her nose, tutting, as she threw it away. Reaching back to the counter, she picked up another pad, pouring peroxide on it. Dark Cacao watched her every move.

“C’mon, Cao…” Hollyberry leaned in, kissing his forehead. She smiled tiredly. “You’re being a biggg baby, now.”

Dark Cacao grumbled under his breath. It made Hollyberry roll her eyes.

“I get it. You don’t like it. Who likes getting hurt?” She sat on his lap, rubbing his bare chest tenderly.

Dark Cacao’s eyes flickered between Hollyberry and the cotton pad in her hand.

While letting her clean his wounds would be easier, Dark Cacao would rather feel the ache and burn of his skin.

He’d rather try and ignore the painful itch he needed to scratch deep within his body then let his mind run wild. The anger he felt, the guilt he couldn’t let go of. It felt easier to be in physical pain rather than mental pain.

So he’d rather it burn. Back home, the medics only insisted Dark Cacao be medically checked a few times before giving up—they knew their king wouldn’t allow them to touch him.

They learned to move on, going to help people who actually wanted to be helped. 

He felt his body twitching as he swallowed hard. Something burned, he couldn’t tell if it was his mind, or on his actual body.

Here, in his lover’s kingdom, the medics were persistent. They were trying to pull him over, trying to force their good natured hands on his injuries.

“Dark Cacao!”

He blinked, focusing back on Hollyberry’s words. He squinted with the warm light of the bathroom as his ears honed in on the snapping of Hollyberry’s fingers.

Hollyberry sighed. “There you are. I was talking to you, grump.”

Fully focused again. The dull ache became a blazing fire on his skin. He looked down, realizing that Hollyberry worked her way through all the claw marks on his arms and face.

She smiled, pleased with her work. Hollyberry got up from Dark Cacao’s lap, beginning to clean up the medical items scattered around.

“You haven’t said much, sweetheart.” Hollyberry raised her brow.

The opening of cabinet hinges, the thumps each item made as it was put away, and the clicks of containers sealing shut drowned out Hollyberry’s voice.

Dark Cacao cleared his throat, mindlessly scratching a wound hidden underneath the gauze. Hollyberry glanced over, hearing the raspy rustling below her.

His eyes looked glazed, and his eyebrows were pinched together in focus.

She shook her head. “Don’t scratch it, Cao. You’ll make it hurt more.”

“...”

“I need to.” His answer was short, focusing solely on putting pressure on the wounds.

Dark Cacao sucked in his breath through his teeth. The pressure that he pressed into his skin made his arm tremble.

“What?” Hollyberry blinked, bewildered. She reached over and swatted his hand away from his arm. “Why, what? You’re talking stupid, baby!”

His voice quivered. “I must.”

“Why must you?” She knelt down, looking up at her lover to study him. Dark Cacao took a deep breath, his chest was tight.

His mind ran wild—he needed it to stop.

“...It helps.”

“You must be clearer.” She took his hands, squeezing them. “What helps? What does pressing the gash help?”

“The pain.” He rasped.

Dark Cacao attempted to fight against her grip as the urge to hurt himself made it hard to breathe. Hollyberry clenched her jaw, grabbing him by his wrists tightly. He locked teary eyes with hers.

She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“...What does the pain help with?”

Dark Cacao shot her a glare as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His heartbeat was wild in his chest. “You would not understand.”

“Well,” She chuckled in disbelief. “I’m trying to understand, baby, but you’ve got to be clearer.” She struggled to keep Dark Cacao’s hands in her grasp as he continued to wriggle his wrists away. 

Hollyberry spoke through clenched teeth. “You cannot tell me ‘it helps’ and I should know what that means?”

Dark Cacao ripped his hands free. Hollyberry rushed to grab them back, but Dark Cacao stuck them behind his back. She tugged at his arm with all her strength, but quickly stopped when Dark Cacao winced in pain. 

Hollyberry backed away, hoping that giving him space would make him stop whatever he was doing.

Dark Cacao was breathing heavily. “It…It does not concern you.”

“You—fuck—you are my concern?” Rubbing her hands, she also breathed hard. “I love you, Cao,” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “And you worry me a lot.”

Dark Cacao bit his tongue. His stomach felt like an arrow shot through it. He refrained from probing at the gauzed-wounds by standing up.

“You would not understand.” His voice was loud and defensive.

“You know what I understand?” Hollyberry barked, her patience snapping from his tone. “I understand that you’re reckless!”

Dark Cacao scoffed, furrowing his eyebrows. He held his trembling hands together.

“Reckless?”

“Yes, reckless.” She slammed the cabinet door closed after putting everything away.

Dark Cacao widened his eyes, watching the wooden door bounce a few times before settling. He scowled at Hollyberry.

“You carelessly throw yourself in the way when harm presents itself!” She spoke with her hands.

“You are hypocritical.” He sneered. “You do the same, damn thing.”

“Here's the difference, babe.” She chuckled, shaking her head with a frustrated smile. “I do throw myself in harm's way. But when I do it, I'm protecting others, selflessly.” She pointed to herself, aggressively poking her chest as she emphasized each word.

“When you throw yourself in harm's way? You're looking to hurt yourself!”

Dark Cacao clenched his fists at his sides. “You're claiming I don't protect—”

“That's not what I meant.” She quickly cut him off. “I meant that protecting is the only time I throw myself in harm's way so recklessly. I don't fight just to get hurt!”

“I—”

“You?” She looked him up and down, “You’re selfish.”

“You got violent with my medics, Cao! I had to hold you back, HOLD!” She failed her arms out. “Do you know how that felt!?”

“...”

“No, ya wouldn’t! You’re too damn absorbed in yourself!”

Dark Cacao’s breath hitched at her words. His clenched fists shook angrily at his sides, but he couldn’t build one once of rage against her. His angry scowl melted into pursed lips, forcing himself not to cry.

She was right. He was selfish.

He couldn’t live without the pain. His life revolved around his suffering—a potent addiction. He couldn’t stop even if he tried his damn hardest. He was trapped.

And he put himself there.

Selfishly.

He locked himself away—he let nobody in. He had the key in front of him to let himself out, yet he continued to wail on the locked door.

And he did it selfishly. 

“You handle your body as if you're a training dummy!” Hollyberry spat, angry tears welled in her eyes from yelling. “You’re not made of straw, or wood, or steel, Cao! You’re a fucking person, damnit!”

Hollyberry groaned with livid frustration. She rubbed her face, putting her other hand on her hip, she tried to collect herself. Dragging her hand down her face, she looked at Dark Cacao.

He stood completely still, all his muscles tensed. He stood so still that it seemed like he wasn’t even breathing—she squinted her eyes just to make sure. He still had his hands clasped out in front of him, and his gaze was hazily glued to her.

In his mind, he felt small, even though he towered over the woman in front of him.

Dark Cacao did everything in his power not to cry.

She took a deep breath, shaking her head. Hollyberry watched the wetness in her lover’s eyes, feeling guilt creep into her stomach. She bit her lip.

Looking to the ground, she shook her head.

Though she never meant to make him cry, it was more important to her that he understood. Hollyberry stepped closer, her footsteps echoing in the bathroom.

She reached her hands to his face, wiping his tear-filled eyes. “I dunno what you want me to do, baby…I cannot fix this for you.”

“...”

“You cannot keep living like this.”

Chapter Text

White Lily laid wide awake in bed. Her mind raced with endless thoughts about her research, vital ideas that she needed to write down.

In any case, she would quickly slip out of bed to jot down her wild ideas. If she was feeling particularly restless, like tonight, she’d get up and go directly to her study.

That wasn't happening.

She sighed. Lying on her back, she stared blankly up at the ceiling. White Lily was so lost in her thoughts, she began to visualize her hand-written notes perfectly on the dark ceiling.

She pouted, trying to move her hands to rub her face. She couldn’t.

On both sides of her, her lovers held her tightly as they slept soundly. Their bare skin against each other created enough warmth for just a light sheet to cover the three of them.

Dark Cacao clung to her, his long black hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. His head was nuzzled in the crook of her neck, with his hands wrapped around her body. His hot breath tingled her skin, making her hair stand up.

Pure Vanilla was cuddled up to her the same. His shoulder length, blonde hair was tousled, poking her shoulder as he snored lightly. He hugged her arm.

She bit her lip—moving around was currently impossible. She would hate to wake them by getting out of bed, especially since Dark Cacao was a light sleeper and didn’t sleep well.

White Lily felt her arms going numb as static tingles made her limbs hurt. Her body began to feel sore. She needed to get up, stretch, and put her racing mind to ease.

Pursing her lips with determination, she carefully wiggled her arm out of Pure Vanilla’s loose hold. Lifting the free arm in the air, she shook it around to wake it.

With her now free arm, she gently propped herself up on her elbow. She held Dark Cacao’s head carefully, making sure he didn’t slip off her. Dark Cacao moaned quietly, making White Lily freeze.

She bit her lip, waiting a few, long seconds to pass before moving again. After propping herself up, she slowly made her way to a sitting position while guiding Dark Cacao’s head down onto the pillow.

She shivered, feeling the cold air on her skin. She no longer had the warmth of the men larger than her to shield her. Exhaling with relief, she was sitting up with both her lovers still sleeping peacefully at her sides.

White Lily blew a soundless raspberry. She needed to actually get off the bed.

On the king size mattress, the three of them fit nicely. The only person that took up most of the room was Dark Cacao, with his large frame.

Herself and Pure Vanilla were much smaller than he was. There was wiggle room on the bed, though White Lily didn’t think she had enough to sneak through.

Lifting the sheet that covered her legs upwards, she pulled her legs out from beneath it. Placing her legs on top of the sheet, she began her deathly slow scoot to the foot of the bed.

White Lily held her breath as her lovers stirred multiple times within her trip. Her lips were pressed shut, trying to control her breathing and beating heart. 

Sticking her tongue out in focus, she guided her legs over the wooden footboard of the bed. Planting her bare feet on the ground, she slowly stood up. 

White Lily glanced behind her, successful. She silently cheered.

Both her lovers were still sleeping. They sprawled out a bit more with extra room on the bed. Dark Cacao had found his way to Pure Vanilla, spooning the blonde.

She exhaled, tip-toeing away from the bed as she looked around the dark room for her journal.

Getting to the wooden desk in the corner of the room, she lifted the heavy leather-backed book. Inside was White Lily’s documented personal life and most cherished research.

The pages were bulky due to additions of scrapbooking: taped photographs, dried aspects of nature, extra pages shoved in between.

She smiled, finally being able to open the book to write down her ideas. She reached her hand towards the small desk lamp, then hesitated.

Looking back, more stirring made her weary.

With the extra light, someone was bound to wake up. She shook her head, knowing that her lovers would drag her back to bed without hearing her out.

White Lily hummed to herself, thinking of a solution. Gasping quietly, then covering her mouth from the stirring she heard, she had an idea.

Instead of working at the desk, she planned to head down to her study.

Clutching the journal to her chest, White Lily tip-toed towards the door of the bedroom.

The floorboards beneath her seemed to not appreciate her idea as each step she took resulted in a gnawing creeeak below her. Every time the sound erupted into the room it echoed.

With every step, she heard more and more rustling from the bed. 

White Lily prayed that both of them stayed asleep. They were both equally grumpy when awoken.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw at each noise until finally got to the door.

Placing her hand on the cold, brass doorknob, she held her breath as she turned it open, painfully slow. A barely audible click rang in the bedroom as she pulled the door open.

She heard a voice cheering in her head—she was almost there. All she needed to do was slip through—

“Where are you going?”

White Lily gasped loudly and jolted at the voice. She pressed her lips together as she heard a grumbling voice directly behind her.

Cursing in her mind, White Lily bit her tongue.

So close.

She slowly spun around on her heels, placing her journal behind her back to hopefully hide it. She was face to face with a barely awake Dark Cacao.

How did his large frame avoid creaking the floorboards?

His arms were folded in front of his chest. His face was molded in his signature frown, but his eyes were half-lidded from just waking up. There were red lines all over the half of his body that had been cuddled into hers, the fabric of her nightgown temporarily engraved in his skin. 

He yawned, still managing to stare daggers into her.

White Lily chuckled nervously, pulling one hand from behind her back to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Cao, dear—”

“...What are you doing awake?” His words were barely audible with his low grumble.

“I…I needed to use the restroom!” She blurted out. Watching Dark Cacao raise an eyebrow, she kicked herself internally.

That was a completely unbelievable lie.

He cleared his throat. “The restroom?” 

“Yes…Yes, dear…” She answered meekly.

“...”

Dark Cacao stared at her, unamused. “Where, in a bush? There’s no need to leave the room for that.”

She giggled nervously. “Okay, okay! You got me…I was going to take a walk!” She lied again, hoping Dark Cacao hadn’t noticed her journal.

“...”

“Why would you lie about taking a walk…?” He mumbled, taking a deep breath.

“Well—”

“You don’t need your journal to walk.” Another voice called from the bed.

 White Lily pouted, rolling her eyes. She almost had Dark Cacao convinced—at least she thought.

Pure Vanilla, always sharp…

The blind man rubbed his eyes. White Lily and Dark Cacao both turned back watching Pure Vanilla walk carefully through the dark. He came up behind Dark Cacao, wrapping his arms around him, snuggling into his warmth.

“You have your journal?” Dark Cacao asked, unhappily.

White Lily gripped the book behind her. Her sweaty palms were making it difficult to hold the leather.

“No—”

“I saw…I saw you pick it up…” Pure Vanilla mumbled, his voice muffled against Dark Cacao’s bare back.

White Lily groaned. “You were sleeping. You must have been seeing things, my dear…”

“Do not play me for a fool.”

“I am not trying to, Vani…” She rubbed her cheek, her voice strained with exasperation.

All she wanted to do was jot down her ideas.

“You were sleeping.”

He peeked out from behind Dark Cacao’s back. Even through the darkness, she felt Pure Vanilla's pale eyes glaring at her.

“...You thought I was.”

She scoffed. “You still were…”

“You were in the middle…I was holding your arm. You left.” Pure Vanilla answered her with an abnormal amount of sass.

“I saw you cheering to yourself.” Dark Cacao bluntly added.

White Lily massaged the bridge of her nose, thanking that the dark hid her embarrassed face. 

“You are not going to your study now.” Dark Cacao rubbed his tired eyes. “Come back to bed.”

“It will only be for a moment!” White Lily pleaded, reaching back for the doorknob. “I just—”

Pure Vanilla let go of Dark Cacao, sleepily grabbing White Lily. His warm body leaned onto her, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

“Don’t go…” He pressed his face into her neck trailing kisses along her bare skin. White Lily shivered at the feeling, making her heart race.

“But I was—”

“Please.” His voice was raspy with sleep as he batted eyelashes up to her. He knew she couldn’t resist.

Before she could respond, White Lily gasped as another pair of warm hands snaked around her from her backside. Dark Cacao’s large hands rested on her chest as he buried his face on the other side of her neck.

“Stay.” He whispered. She felt the scratchy stubble on his chin tickle her neck.

White Lily felt her face flush, overwhelmed by their sudden affection. Their roaming hands forced the journal onto the ground and they mushed her between them.

She scoffed, trying to convince herself she was annoyed, but White Lily melted between them.

Their sappy display of affection, and the whispered pleas for her to stay, immediately changed her mind. She couldn’t hold back a giggle.

“Fine…I’ll stay.” She tried to push the men off of her, but they wouldn’t budge. She kissed Pure Vanilla’s cheek, then craned her head back to kiss Dark Cacao’s.

“Boys?” She spoke again, gently shaking the blonde in front of her. “Don’t you fall asleep standing here…”

Getting no responses, she laughed as she wiggled her way out of their hold. Pure Vanilla rubbed his eyes, definitely having fallen back asleep while holding her. Dark Cacao cleared his throat, groaning, feeling her leave.

“Lily…” Dark Cacao croaked, grabbing her wrist.

“Come on, boys.” She picked up her journal with her free hand. 

As she walked to the desk, tugging Dark Cacao behind her, Pure Vanilla aimlessly followed the soft, thumping footsteps he heard.

Stopping as she put the book down, the two quickly coiled themselves around her.

White Lily laughed. “Boys!” She scratched the crown of Pure Vanilla’s head tenderly as he nuzzled his neck. Dark Cacao rested his face on White Lily’s hair. Smelling her her floral scent, he smiled.

“Come on, you two…We have to go back to bed…” White Lily grabbed both their hands, pulling them back to their bed.

“You’re not gonna go this time?” Pure Vanilla mumbled, squinting, as he watched White Lily crawl into bed. Dark Cacao tipped Pure Vanilla’s head up, kissing him goodnight before he walked to the other side of the bed.

Sitting herself back in the middle, she reached out her hand for him. “No, my dear.” 

Pure Vanilla made a pleased noise. The bed creaked as both men climbed up and settled themselves next to White Lily. After they all settled, she pulled the sheet back over all their legs.

She turned to Dark Cacao. Cupping his face with both her dainty hands, she kissed him softly. He hummed, grabbing her neck so she’d kiss him again. White Lily chuckled, rubbing Dark Cacao’s shoulder. 

Pure Vanilla reached out, turning her face towards him, kissing her as well.

Breaking off the kiss, she laid down, her lovers following her. They all cuddled up, their arms laying on top or loosely around each other, their bodies pressed comfortably together for their warmth as the lull of the night consumed them.

White Lily yawned, smiling softly. “Goodnight, boys…”

Chapter Text

Dark Cacao stood in a field of soft snow. Thick flakes fell haphazardly from the cloudy sky, obscuring his vision. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the snow, he squinted, scanning in all directions.

He was alone. Where was he?

The barren, snowy plains lacked any type of life; no nature, no people. The blinding white stretched as far as the eye could see.

In the center of it all, at least what Dark Cacao assumed to be the center, was himself.

“Hello!?”

He shouted. His booming voice felt small, worthless in the long stretch of land.

There was no answer.

The Cacaoian turned around, furrowing his eyebrows. The snow crunched underneath his boots.

Suddenly, a heavy thickness lingered in the air. Dark Cacao gripped his chest, it weighed him down. For some reason, the stoic man felt panicking was the proper response to his situation.

His eyes widened as fear swallowed him whole. He looked around, but there was nothing.

What was causing him this much stress?

The area was dead silent beside the howling winds. His long hair flew crazily in the strong wind, the frost cut through his tough bones.

On instinct, he reached behind him for his GrapeJam sword. His eyes widened as he gripped wildly in the area where the sword was supposed to be.

Dark Cacao scoffed, he was weaponless.

His uneven breathing felt louder than the wind, he called out again.

“Hello!?” His voice cracked with fear, surprising himself. Dark Cacao cleared his throat, there was nothing around him, no one to hurt him.

What made him so afraid?

He paused, heart in his throat as he listened closely. Something was speaking.

The unknown being muttered words too quiet for Dark Cacao to hear. He felt an odd relief in hearing the voice.

So, he wasn’t alone.

“Hello!?” He shouted more urgently. “Who is speaking!? Show yourself!” 

The winds ragged. The sudden increase of speed caused Dark Cacao to stumble on his feet before planting himself firmly to the ground. He braced himself.

He felt his hair being thrashed around so violently that its long length whipped his body. He shielded his face as he determinedly kept himself standing against the wind.

Within the wind, he heard the voice again. It moaned, like a wooden floor underneath a weight too large for it to bear.

He struggled to focus on the voice as he put all his effort into keeping himself upright. His leg buckled beneath him, forcing him down on a knee. Dark Cacao yelped, the feeling of his leg giving out beneath him sent a shooting pain up his body as it twisted.

Luckily, he caught himself before his face slapped the ground. He felt angry tears prick his eyes.

His limbs burned against the weight of the wind. It blew as if its sole purpose was to knock him down. Gritting his teeth, he shakily stood back on both legs. His eyes went wide, and then squeezed shut from the pain, he felt as if he could scream.

His Resolution kept him standing, he was strong.

Right?

The single thought of doubt sent the strongest gust of wind. It toppled the Cacaoian over.

Dark Cacao yelled out, tumbling in the wind. He continued to get beaten by the vicious attack as he went down.

He tried to steady himself, but there was nothing to hold onto. He tried to grab a hold of the ground beneath him, but the snow was too pure for someone so guilty to hold onto it.

The wetness of the snow drenched his clothes, making him shiver violently. The voice of the wind steadily grew louder and louder.

Dark Cacao’s eyes blinked in confusion, hearing exactly what the wind had been saying.

“Nothing” was the only word the wind croaked.

The gusts calmed for a brief moment. Dark Cacao trembled as he stood, hugging himself as he shivered. Snot that dripped from his nose and the tears that he cried were freezing down his face.

He looked around.

Nothing was there.

The whispers of the winds turned to spiteful screams in an instant. The sudden noise made Dark Cacao move to cover his ears. The Cacaoian was knocked back to the ground by inhuman gusts of wind.

Nothing—the wind screamed at him, as if something had been his fault.

Nothing—the wind berated him, as if there was something he could control.

Nothing—the wind beat into him, as if he was strong enough to take it.

Nothing.

There was nothing surrounding him, because everything was on his shoulders.

He couldn’t take the pain.

Dark Cacao shot out of bed. His breathing was frantic as his wide eyes darted around the room. It was dark, and he was too panicked to think straight.

He felt his ponytailed hair sticking to his sweaty, bare back as he rushed himself out of bed. His breathing turned into pathetic pants. Confused, he spun around frantically in the bedroom.

A lamp light flicked on suddenly. Rustling from sheets made Dark Cacao back away from the bed. He backed himself into a corner, tears streaming down his face as he tried to gather his wits.

“What’s happening!?” Pure Vanilla looked around, trying to focus on the room with his blindness. He squinted at a darkened blob of pink, Hollyberry, who had turned on the lamp and shot out of bed.

The blind man rubbed his eyes. He tried to wake himself up enough to close them to see out of his staff.

He slid off the bed, grabbing his wide-eyed staff from against the nightstand.

“What the hell?” Hollyberry shouted, rubbing her face violently. She shook her head to work off her grogginess.

“Hollyberry!?” Pure Vanilla swallowed, his throat cracking due to its dryness. “What is going on? Where is Dark Cacao?” His voice was frantic.

Hollyberry rushed around the bedframe to Pure Vanilla’s side, helping her lover up. “Relax, baby, relax!”

Pure Vanilla held onto her tightly. “Why are you shouting? What’s wrong?” 

“I—!”

About to speak, Hollyberry widened her eyes. Pure Vanilla dragged his hand down his face, still attempting to wake himself up.

Her bright eyes were locked onto the nearest corner of the bedroom. Next to a panel of large windows, Dark Cacao sat trembling.

She blew a raspberry, smoothing down her messy hair—she tried to make sense of the past few seconds. 

“I don't…" She trailed off, pursing her lips as her brain fully began to comprehend the situation. “I think…I think Dark Cacao had a nightmare…?”

“He did?” Pure Vanilla squeezed Hollyberry’s bare arm tightly. Realizing, he let go. “Apologies, I—I didn’t mean to hold onto you so harshly. I was afraid…”

She tutted, exasperated. “That's not my concern right now, Vani.” 

Pure Vanilla picked the crusts from his eyes, still trying to fully wake up to see. He pursed his lips at his lover.

Noticing, Hollyberry sighed. “Ah, fuck…I apologize, babe…You’re alright.”

“Worry not.” He gave her a reassuring smile, finally closing his eyes.

Within seconds of closing his eyes, Pure Vanilla gasped, covering his mouth.

His heart dropped seeing Dark Cacao hugging his knees, crying. He snapped to look at Hollyberry, who had her jaw clenched focusing on their lover.

“He had a nightmare…?” Pure Vanilla mumbled to himself, putting the scrambled pieces together. “Did he run out of bed?”

Hollyberry scrunched her nose. “That’s what I’m thinking. That’s why I jerked awake…I think I was holding onto him, or somethin’...”

“I believe he slid past me…” He chuckled, running his fingers through his tousled hair. “...And almost knocked me off the bed as he jolted out…”

Their conversation fell silent as Dark Cacao’s sobs quieted down. He hiccupped and heaved to catch his breath. The crying man slowly calmed himself down.

His deep purple eyes were shadowed by his dilated pupils as he stared at his lovers deliberating by the nightstand.

Pure Vanilla walked closer, his staff thumping on the ground caused his lover to scoot farther back into the corner. He stopped in front of Dark Cacao, only a foot away.

The blind man knelt down to Dark Cacao’s level, taking a deep breath. Hollyberry appeared next to him, also sitting down on the ground. She shook her head, leaning into Pure Vanilla’s ear to whisper.

“I don’t think he’ll say much, baby.”

Pure Vanilla pursed his lips. He nodded to her, agreeing, but waved her off with his free hand. He mouthed to her.

“We must try.”

The woman shook her head. “I know, but what if he works himself up more?”

“We do not have many other options, Holly.” Pure Vanilla whispered back, standing firm. “He never acts like this. This is serious, whether he will respond to us or not does not matter.”

She smacked her lips. Meeting Dark Cacao’s exhausted gaze, her stomach twisted.

Dark Cacao watched the two of them speak quietly in front of him. Letting his anxiety get the better of him, his mind spat endless negative thoughts.

Tears welled in his eyes.

“Cao?” Pure Vanilla’s gentle voice made the trembling man jolt. “Dark Cacao? Do you hear me?” He kept his voice clear and level. 

Swallowing hard, his glossy gaze scanned between them. He nodded slowly.

“That’s good.” Hollyberry nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. “At least he’s responsive.”

“Dark Cacao?” Pure Vanilla scooted closer. “Do you know where you are?”

He stared blankly at Pure Vanilla. If he did or didn’t, neither of them would know.

The blonde nodded, working with little information. “You are inside, in our bedroom. Holly and I are sitting in front of you…”

“You’re safe, sweetheart.” Hollyberry chimed in, her normal boisterous voice was replaced with a soothing one. “Just us here…”

Dark Cacao listened, his mind working a million miles a minute. His chest rose and fell harshly, making him wheeze. They watched his shaking body slowly relax.

Pure Vanilla and Hollyberry looked between each other. Speaking with him was going better than they thought.

“Good job on soothing yourself, my dear.” Pure Vanilla praised him. Scooting himself closer, he was able to get close enough to carefully place his hand on Dark Cacao’s leg.

The man stiffened, but did not force his lover’s hand away.

“You did a good job, Cao.”

“Yeah, not to worry, sweetheart!” Hollyberry shifted herself closer. Hovering her hand over his arm, he flinched. A few seconds later, he relaxed to her touch. “Nothing’s gonna hurt you.”

Nothing.

Dark Cacao’s eyes widened, his breath hitching. The sudden reaction caused Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla to eye each other with worry.

His body ached as the piercing winds blew through his bones. A dull, throbbing ache gnawed at his whole body. He threw his hands to his face. The frozen snowflakes made his face sting with a sharp pain.

The single word it spoke.

Dark Cacao, in a frenzy of panic, pushed his lovers away from him. Tears streamed down his face as he choked out a heart-breaking sob.

The warmth of the bedroom became the same lonely frost as the weather attacked his body.

The two quickly moved away. Hollyberry bit her lip at the reaction, guilt pricked tears in her eyes. She looked at Pure Vanilla, who had his blind eyes open, unsure of what to do.

“Was it something I said!?” Her voice cracked, on the verge of tears.

Pure Vanilla took a deep breath. “Maybe. It—It depends on what this nightmare he had was about…!” He reached out for her arm, rubbing it. “You said nothing bad…”

Dark Cacao tried to compose himself. 

The single word—it was as if nothing meant everything.

He was ashamed with how he was acting, curling himself up and crying in a corner. He was no child. 

He wouldn’t speak. Dark Cacao couldn’t force the words out of his mouth even if he tried. When he did, he babbled nonsense. His sobs turned into wails that were relentless on the ears of his lovers.

But the single word spread its thick branches across his mind. It rang like toll bells, calling for his death. 

He thought it was nothing. His lovers coddled him, he heard them vaguely.

They “claimed” it was safe, and that he was loved and cherished.

Dark Cacao stared past them, into the dark window. The word still lingered—nothing.

They’d never understand.