Chapter Text
“Do you EVER cut it? Your hair has become way too long, it’s almost starting to drag on the floor when you walk.”, Shadow Milk, the Cookie who controlled all Deceit in this world, complained. He was standing behind his lover, Pure Vanilla Cookie, who was in turn sitting on a stool, his eyes closed like usual as he enjoyed the affection of his other half.
That ‘affection’ being him furiously trying to brush the other’s long blond hair without hurting him as best as possible. The two had taken a bath together earlier, and were now getting ready for bed, as was part of their daily routine, which was cherished by both of them dearly.
Routines had always been important to them, the comfort they provided having kept Shadow Milk ‘saner’ than the other Beasts before their inevitable corruption, as well as having helped in redeeming him with Pure Vanilla’s help in his kingdom. The latter had found out pretty early on that keeping Shadow Milk in his presence, bringing him along to whatever he was currently doing was pretty helpful, and reduced the deceitful Cookie’s outbursts and mischievous deeds. In a way, he had become much calmer. Although that really wasn’t visible to anyone who had never seen the two interact before but was now witnessing the scene in the bathroom.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see how long it has become?”, Shadow Milk yelled, brushing the last tangled strand of hair. Of course, he was only complaining because it was in his jam, because being kind or complimenting the other was something his past self might have done, but was so far away from his present self that the thought alone disgusted him. In truth, he loved touching Pure Vanilla’s hair. Would the other not let him brush it for one evening, he would probably end up throwing a fit, missing the sensations of running his slender fingers through the silken hair after he had finished brushing it, so lost in thought that he might even mumble a sincere word of appreciation for the other. If Pure Vanilla caught it, responding with a sigh or a soft-spoken “thank you”, Shadow Milk would get embarrassed and deny ever having said anything like that, but he couldn’t fool the Cookie of Truth, who would then always press a kiss onto his cheek in return.
“Why yes, I am blind, Shadow Milk. Well, partially, that is. I didn’t notice it had become this long, though… Do you mind cutting it?”, Pure Vanilla responded, chuckling awkwardly. He knew that his lover wasn’t really mad at him for growing out his hair, but he also didn’t want it to become a burden. “Cut it? Hm, I guess I could do that, it’s no big deal for me. However, I do want a reward.”, Shadow Milk giggled, quickly grabbing a pair of scissors out of his other-realm.
“A reward? I think that can be arranged, dear. Be careful not to cut too much, alright?”, the Cookie of Compassion asked, a hint of pleading in his voice, apparently not having thought the idea of letting an unhinged Beast cut his beloved hair through.
“I’ll cut it however I want it to. Don’t complain afterwards.”, Shadow Milk ordered, a sinister giggle escaping his lips as he lifted the scissors to the ends of the other’s hair. To the latter’s surprise, he quickly became very focused, forgetting about all the comments he wanted to make to scare the other, spewing lies such as: “I messed up, we gotta go bald”.
Instead, he was quiet, so quiet that Pure Vanilla could hear every single cut of the scissors that were way too sharp for his taste, every single strand of hair gliding through the air, landing on the floor with so little sound that only a blind Cookie could even hear it.
“It’s done.”, were the first words cutting through the silence, followed by a “Thank you”, and a hand running through the freshly trimmed hair, admiring the amount of experience that had to go into such fine cuts that made tracing over the edges with his fingers feel so heavenly, he could use it as a new stimming method. His hair wasn’t significantly shorter, but it seemed to be the exact same length it was when he first obtained it, the day of his Awakening. The day when he and Shadow Milk became friends.
“I love it.”, Pure Vanilla whispered, standing up from his stool to be able to better run his fingers through his hair, before turning to face Shadow Milk.
“Heh, I knew you would love it. You chose the best of the best to cut your hair. Who else but me could have done it so perfectly? Honestly, you’re lucky to h-“, the jester’s rambling was disrupted by a kiss that was placed onto his lips, sealing them shut. Two hands moved up his cheeks, caressing them softly before resting on his jaw, as the kiss was deepened lovingly. Shadow Milk instinctively closed his eyes and wrapped his hands around his lover’s slim waist, that was covered in a silken white sleeping gown. The fabric was so thin that Pure Vanilla could feel each finger separately as they rested there, grasping him with every clashing of their tongues dancing in each other’s mouths.
“That’s your reward for cutting my hair so perfectly.”, Pure Vanilla whispered after he broke the kiss, his hands remaining in place, thumbs drawing comforting circles on Shadow Milk’s cheeks. The latter was blushing furiously, a significant switch up from his earlier sassy attitude. But, it didn’t seem to be all gone: “Is that all? A mere kiss? You give these out for free, usually.”
“My, how needy you are, Shadow Milk. Are you asking for another reward? The book I’m using to train you only recommends one reward per accomplishment.”, Pure Vanilla responded, putting his index finger to his own lips and staring at the ceiling as if he was genuinely thinking about this. Shadow Milk scoffed at that response. He was being trained to be kind by the other? How dare he try this on him, an almighty Beast?
“Wow, you seem angry. Don’t worry, I’m joking. Can’t handle a pinch of Deceit now, can we? I’ll give you another reward if you so wish for it, my dear.”, Pure Vanilla chuckled. The other was about to complain again, stating in the most furious tone that he wasn’t ‘angry’, or unable to differentiate between the truth and a joke, when the other’s fingers started tracing along his chest.
“What are you-“, he gasped, taking a hesitant step back. He was stopped however by another hand grasping his wrist, followed by a mumble: “Shh. Just relax.”
Silence. Shadow Milk’s breathing became heavier as two warm hands continued tracing over his chest. His pointy ears flapped as his whole body shuddered slightly, to which Pure Vanilla responded by getting even closer, their hips now pressing together. His lips were curled into a warm smile.
“Shadow Milk. You cannot imagine how happy I am to have you here. You were capable of change, and you put your trust into me.”, Pure Vanilla began, eyes locked with those of Shadow Milk, “You’ve learned to adapt despite how difficult it has been for you. I’m so very proud of you.”
Shadow Milk quietly listened to all of this as if he was in a trance. Pure Vanilla was prone to telling compliments and praise, so it wasn’t an unusual occurrence. The deceitful Cookie could never get enough of this. It reminded him of his days as the Fount of Knowledge, when people would come to him and praise him for his works and accomplishments every day. He had never told his partner about this, yet the latter still found out that he enjoyed it, and now used every chance he had to speak a word of admiration.
“You seem much healthier than when you were at the spire. I can tell by your expression, the way you react to my touches, how you always crave for more, no longer afraid of the consequences of reaching out your hand to me. And I must admit, it makes you look damn stunning right now.”, he whispered, one hand climbing up to his face again, gently cupping his cheek for a few seconds before sliding over to his ear. He began caressing it faintly with his fingertips, careful not to hurt him, knowing how sensitive that spot was.
The Jester was slightly confused, naturally, the amount of praise received at once messing with his brain. The blush on his face grew undeniably. Soft purrs began escaping his lips, before he managed to bring out a sentence: “But I-I always look like this…”.
“You do. That’s why I’m telling you. You always look adorable. Such beauty deserves the highest form of praise.”, the Healer uttered softly in response, leaning in to place a few kisses onto Shadow Milk’s neck. He didn’t begin sucking or biting, no, he was merely kissing his skin as if he was the most precious and delicate thing in the world. He wasn’t doing this for pleasure, he was doing it out of admiration.
This revelation began dawning on Shadow Milk, so he started relaxing significantly, switching from standing upright to using his magic to float like usual. He was touch-starved, even after living with a partner as touchy as Pure Vanilla for so long. That’s why every little caress felt like heaven to him, and he was almost unable to resist any of it.
Without his own knowledge, his eyes closed, the ones on his face as well as on his hair one after another. Upon noticing this, Pure Vanilla pulled away from his neck, and lifted the hand that was previously lingering on his lover’s chest to bring it up to his hair to run his fingers through it, making sure to avoid the eyes. His calming voice returned, breaking through the silence, “Your hair is incredibly soft.”
The blonde placed a tender, long-lasting kiss onto his lover’s forehead, repeatedly tracing his fingers over the back of his head before running them through his hair again. “So very soft… I could do this all day.”, he muttered, his lips still brushing against that same spot.
The latter let out content purrs, still leaning against the caressing motions on his ear. “I’m not stopping you, darling.”, he murmured, keeping his eyes shut. He really did lose his façade quickly around the Cookie of Truth.
Pure Vanilla pressed another kiss onto his lover’s forehead, before placing his hands down onto his waist. He elegantly stepped around him, wrapping his arms around Shadow Milk’s torso as he was standing behind him. “I love holding you like this, my dear. I have never met a Cookie with a waist as slim as yours.”, he whispered.
A gasp escaped the latter’s lips as the distance between the two Cookies was closed suddenly, Pure Vanilla’s chest pressing against his back. Slender fingers began tracing all over his upper body, his stomach, chest, even up to his neck. He shivered as hot breath met his nape.
“Nilly, just what are you-“, a kiss was pressed onto the back of his neck, followed by a few quiet words whispered against it. “You’re so sweet. Your taste is. The noises you make. The way your body moves to my touches. How you try to keep up your cool-headed façade, even while you’re melting against me.”
Shadow Milk went quiet. He didn’t know what the other was up to, as he had never done anything like this before. It was odd, but at the same time, it felt incredibly great to be loved like that. So, he let it happen. The tension in his body subsided further, as he let himself be held up only by his own magic and by an arm wrapped around his waist. Pure Vanilla’s other hand moved towards his chest again, drawing circles into it. No, not circles. It was the shape of his Soul Jam that he was outlining.
“You’re so soft.”, Pure Vanilla began, placing a series of kisses onto his lover’s nape, each in a different area, “I could spend my day doing nothing but cuddling you, tending to your every need. You deserve it, really. You’ve been isolated for so long, I want to make up for that.”
“You’ve been making up for it for quite some time now, ‘Nilly.”, Shadow Milk muttered, placing his palm onto the hand on his chest. He began carefully lifting his lover’s hand, bringing it up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it.
“Well, are you satisfied?”, Pure Vanilla asked, amused at his reaction. “Very”, came the response, followed by Shadow Milk turning his head over his shoulder expectantly.
Pure Vanilla stepped around him again, just as gracefully as he did before, meeting the other’s lips with his own as he was halfway through.
During the kiss, his arms wrapped closely around Shadow Milk’s head, as if he was shielding him from all the danger in the world, never wanting to let him go again. To his surprise, the other’s hands wandered around his waist, resting on his back as he pulled him into a hug which was so tight that, had they worn their Soul Jams right now, the gems would be clashing against each other constantly, the sensations sending both of them into a state of pure bliss.
The Healer was yet again the first to break the kiss, panting softly as he stared into the other’s mismatched eyes longingly. “I can see the whole galaxy in your eyes, dearest.”, Pure Vanilla whispered, his hands once again cupping his partner’s cheeks.
He wiped a few strands of hair out of his face, with the latter leaning into the touch immediately, closing his eyes. “I love you, dear.”, he whispered, caressing the underside of Shadow Milk’s chin, drawing content purrs out of him. The grasp on his waist loosened, until his arms fell to his side uselessly, completely absorbed in the sensations of his partner’s touches. He was so easily stunned, it was truly adorable.
“I’m assuming your silence means you like the reward, hm?”, Pure Vanilla asked, his voice quiet. He cupped Shadow Milk’s face in his hands, putting an end to his caressing motions. The latter did not open his eyes, he just kept floating, waiting for his partner to continue. ‘He sure does need a lot of attention’, Pure Vanilla thought, chuckling amusedly.
“I’m so glad we always brush your hair first, how would I be able to do that now while you’re so unresponsive?”, he joked, carefully picking the other out of the air and carrying him to their bedroom. ‘Carrying’ was a strong word, considering Shadow Milk weighted practically nothing when he was floating. Perhaps, ‘dragging along’ would’ve fit better in any other scenario but this, because right now, Shadow Milk was resting his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, rubbing his cheeks against his neck needily, as he clung to him like his life depended on it.
“I love you so much, ‘Nilla…”, he muttered, nibbling on the other’s neck.
The Healer chuckled at these words, at how blissful and happy they sounded. It was always amazing to see Shadow Milk’s resolve melt away completely at his hands, even though he wasn’t doing a lot. Gently, he placed him onto the bed, before laying down beside him, covering the two with a fluffy blanket.
Naturally, the Jester immediately clung to him again, burying his face in the crook of his neck and wrapping his legs around his torso and thighs. Pure Vanilla pulled him close, sweeping his fingers through his hair for one last time before placing a goodnight-kiss onto his forehead. "I love you too, Shadow Milk."