Chapter Text
“All done!” Milk Cookie said with a smile. “That should keep the curses away!” Licorice put a hand to his forehead as Milk Cookie’s hand left it. His head now felt cool to the touch. It wasn’t cold enough to be unpleasant and, really, Licorice thought that a spell like this would be quite nice during the summer. “Uhh, is the spell supposed to make my head feel kinda cold?” Licorice asked.
“Oh-! I’m sorry about that,” Milk said. “That seems to be a side effect of all of my spells…”
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Licorice shrugged. “So… how long is the spell good for?”
“Hmm… I’m uncertain.” Milk sat on a chair in front of the examination table, facing Licorice. “Dark magic can’t affect your mind at all while the spell is protecting you, so if you think it may be wearing off, you could test it yourself with a spell.”
“Hey… Yeah, I could do that! Would an illusion spell work?”
“Does it affect the mind or the eyes?”
“The mind.”
“That should work, then!”
“Cool! Thanks again!” As Licorice scooted off of the table, Milk Cookie’s smile faltered. “... Licorice?” He asked. The mage turned, slightly worried at the other’s change in demeanor. Was there some catch to the spell? With Licorice’s luck, of course there would be-
“How’s Bat-Cat?”
Licorice felt the welling tension leave his chest, but it was replaced by a dull ache. “... It’s… ok, I guess,” Licorice replied. “Bat-Cat’s up and running around, but… its ears…”
“Still singed?”
“Yeah… B-but that’ll heal, right?”
“Licorice Cookie… I’m sorry.” Licorice felt any hope in his chest fade as Milk continued: “Some of the burnt meringue on the edges of its ears will flake away, but… the rest of it may never leave. Try not to think of them as an inability to heal. Some think it’s just the body’s way of trying to protect against what caused the damage, should it happen again.”
Again? Licorice could hardly handle the thought. It must have shown on his face, because Milk Cookie was giving him a concerned look again. He smiled warmly, then stood. “Licorice Cookie… you don’t have to worry about any harm coming to you, nor your friends. It’s safe here.” Licorice was unable to suppress a scoff. “... Even after everything I’ve done for her?” Licorice asked. Milk nodded, then patted him on the back. “You’re not working for her anymore, right?”
“Right…”
“Right! Of course, not everyone is entitled to forgive you, but… Well, if you need protection, we’ll be there.”
Protection?! Licorice wanted to pull away and glare… but Milk Cookie seemed to be a protective person. Of course he would say something to such a clearly powerful wizard like Licorice, someone who could obviously protect himself! Milk Cookie meant well, so Licorice decided that he could let that little remark slide. Licorice mumbled a quiet “M’kay,” before walking out of the clinic.
Licorice waited just outside of the building, his arms crossed. He still was not properly acquainted with the kingdom’s streets, so he would have to rely on Vampire to guide him around for a while. As he waited, Licorice tried to focus on the positives of this place: The biscuit road he was anxiously tapping his foot against was a nice shade, and complimented the similarly-colored brick and biscuit buildings well. While he was not a fan of such cheery weather, the sunlight shimmering against the dewdrops and leaves of the flowers lining the kingdom’s streets was, admittedly, a pretty sight. Even the dark alleyways around here looked clean!
Unfortunately, try as he might to pay attention to the positives, all he could see and feel was the eyes of the onlookers passing by, their occasional glares making him slightly hunch over where he stood.
All he could hear was their whispers. His inability to make out whatever horrible gossip they were sharing made his hands crawl up the sides of his arms.
Where was Vampire Cookie?! If he was here… they would still be staring, but at least Licorice would feel shielded. He could hardly stand their judgemental stares. Licorice had already received enough of those to last a lifetime, and didn’t need more. Sure, he had just stopped working for the enemy of these people, but… Well, he wasn’t doing anything bad at the moment, was he? All he was doing was waiting for his boyfriend to pick him up!
These people really couldn’t wait a few more seconds for Licorice to leave, then murmur about him? Weren’t these goody-two-shoes citizens supposed to be nice? Why were they whispering about Licorice right in front of him, then? Were they… mocking him? They knew that him sticking up for himself would just look like him yelling at strangers, didn’t they? For the sake of his reputation, he wasn’t allowed to fight back. Were they taunting him, trying to make him slip up?! The nerve of these people… Licorice was only here to be with someone he loved, and now these fools were trying to get him chased out?!
A sudden touch to his shoulder made Licorice jump and turn. He calmed down once he saw Vampire Cookie flinch, retracting his hand. “Eh- Whoops,” Vampire said, slipping his usual smile back on. “Sorry, did I scare ya?”
“N-no, I was just-... No.”
Vampire put his arm around Licorice, and began guiding him down the street. “So?” Vampire asked. “How’d it go?”
“No problems. The spell should be working now.” Licorice got a few odd looks from passers by as he said that. What, were they assuming that Licorice was discussing some evil plan out in public? Of course they would think so little of him…
“Cool,” Vampire said. “Sorry I took a second. I, uh… fell asleep again. At least I’ve already got the spell, though.”
“Why couldn’t we do it together?” Licorice asked, making puppy eyes at Vampire. “It could’ve been a cute couple thing…”
“Ah, of course,” Vampire chuckled. “There’s side-by-side couples check-ups, and then the oh-so-romantic side-by-side protection charms from that one awful coworker.”
Licorice giggled. “Well, now we’re both immune to her nightmares!”
“Yeahh!” Vampire cheered. “Celebratory nap when we get home?”
“Didn’t you just have one?” Licorice snickered.
“Heyyy, this one’s a special occasion.”
To Licorice, Vampire seemed extra goofy during their walk. While Licorice enjoyed it, he couldn’t help but wonder why Vampire was acting this way. Did something good happen while Licorice was away…? No, no, that was just wishful thinking. Vampire Cookie probably just had a really good nap.
Once the two made it back to Vampire’s house, however, Vampire’s smile fell, causing Licorice’s smile to do the same. As soon as he shut the door behind them, Vampire turned and placed a hand on Licorice’s shoulder. “Did anybody say anything rude while I was gone?” he asked. Surprised, Licorice replied, “N-no, it was mostly just weird looks while I was waiting on you… Why?”
“Ah… Ok.” Vampire held Licorice’s hand, leading him towards the stairs. “When I came to pick you up, you were… kinda freaked out.”
“Pshh, what? Nah, I was just-... Y-yeah, everyone was staring at me again…”
“You know they’re not gonna do anything to you,” Vampire said, floating next to Licorice as he climbed the stairs. “You stole a crown way before we had laws set up here, and the Hollyberry Kingdom stunt was… well, in the Hollyberry Kingdom.”
“Shh! I don’t think anybody knows the spiked punch was what made everyone so angry!”
“Dude, we’re inside my house.”
“Alchemist Cookie could overhear!”
“She won’t care.”
“He’s right,” Alchemist chimed in, crossing the hallway the two had just reached.
“Nosy!” Licorice called, before continuing towards the hall’s end. “Vampy, I know they’re not gonna lock me up or anything, but… they know I’m trouble. Even if I don’t do anything bad, they could still chase me out!”
“They won’t,” Vampire said, softly placing his hand on top of the one he was holding. “Sure, they’re still antsy about everything, but… just give ‘em some time.”
“But-”
Vampire landed, raising his hand from Licorice’s hand to his cheek. Licorice stopped, looking into his soft, warm eyes. “Nothing bad will happen to you,” Vampire soothed. While Licorice knew that Vampire saying it didn’t make it reality… it felt like, when he looked at him like that, maybe it did. Licorice went quiet and, after a moment, allowed himself a small smile. “There it is,” Vampire said, smiling back. “Now, c’mon. There’s a surprise in your room that oughta cheer you up.”
Once Vampire opened the door to the guest room, Licorice started giggling. Four plastic clamps had been used to clamp a light purple blanket to the oak headboard and footboard of the bed, effectively stretching the blanket tightly over the bed, like half of a wide tent.”What did you do that for?” Licorice asked. “What?” Vampire shrugged. “You said you liked the curtained beds back at the vacation house. We don’t have a spare one here, but… is this ok?”
“Oh, I like it!” Licorice said, walking across the room to the bed. “It might even be better than the curtains, actually. The space in there is smaller, so it’ll just be cozier! This was a nice surprise…” As he turned to look back at Vampire, Licorice noticed him chuckling. “What’s so funny?” Licorice asked.
“Oh, nothing, nothing… It’s just… that’s not the surprise.”
“Oh… What is it, then?”
“Look under the blanket.”
As soon as he did so, Licorice squealed, yanking his scythe off of the bed and into his arms. “You found it!” he cheered, spinning in place. “You actually found it! Ohh, you’re amazing!”
“Not really,” Vampire shrugged. “It was sitting outside the kingdom’s walls.”
“It-... Huh?” Licorice stopped to look at Vampire, then noticed the note tied to the middle of the scythe’s staff. He turned the small, folded-over card in his hands. Its edges weren’t entirely straight anymore, with small, inward bumps randomly wrinkling its sides. He didn’t look away from it as he addressed Vampire: “... Vamp, did you put this here?”
“Nnnope. I found it like that, note and all.”
Licorice flipped the card open, and found neat handwriting inside:
“Dear Licorice Cookie,
You have rarely parted with this scythe, so I thought that it must hold some significance to you. I’m going to leave it outside the kingdom’s gates, so I’m sorry if a guard finds it first. I also apologize for the fact that we cannot bring more of your belongings to you.”
“We”? Who was this writer talking about? If Bat-Cat and Brute were in the kingdom with Licorice, then… who was trying to help move Licorice’s things? He kept reading.
“If we repeatedly went into your room, took things, and moved them to the kingdom, Dark Enchantress Cookie would surely notice. If done once or twice, however, it may be possible to get away with. If there is anything else you want me to attempt to retrieve, you know where to find me. Returning to these woods is risky, of course.”
“These woods”... Dark Choco Cookie? Dark Choco Cookie was the one who brought Licorice’s scythe to the kingdom? But, if he wasn’t supposed to return to the base without Licorice, and Licorice had dropped the scythe in Dark Enchantress Cookie’s throne room… who had gotten the scythe? Licorice supposed that this was where that “we” came into play.
“If another minion of the darkness sees you, I cannot protect you without getting locked away myself. Then, I would be unable to do anything for you. If you send someone else, however, then I have an excuse not to do battle with them. I was told not to leave these woods until I captured you. Other Cookies are not my priority.”
“Locked away”... Licorice frowned at the thought. He was starting to realize just how much Dark Choco Cookie had been risking for him. If Dark Enchantress Cookie zapped Bat-Cat so badly just for defending Licorice, what would she do to someone who helped him get away? Even worse than that, Dark Choco was trying to help him move out! Pomegranate Cookie had thrown Dark Choco into a vision of all of the worst parts of his past at once before, just for disobeying her. If Dark Choco got caught… what were they going to do to him?
The entire time that Licorice and Dark Choco had been around each other, all Licorice had ever done was mock and ridicule Dark Choco for his past. Why would Dark Choco risk so much for him? Sure, Dark Choco probably wanted to help someone who actually had a shot of escaping the darkness, when he saw it as being impossible for himself, but… after everything… why…?
Licorice slouched as the hand holding the card lowered. His guilt must have been showing on his face, as Vampire Cookie’s smile had faded. “What’s it say?” he asked.
“Dark Choco Cookie… He’s the one who got my scythe back…”
“And…?”
“And I… kinda used to pick on him for his past… a lot… And, let’s just say, his past was… rough, to put it lightly. REALLY lightly…”
“Ah… Well, you’re sorry, aren’tcha?”
“... Maybe a little…”
Vampire slipped his usual smile back on, floating over and putting a hand on Licorice’s shoulder. “You can tell him that later, then.”
Licorice couldn’t meet his eyes. “... Vamp… you know I’m not a good person, right?”
“Eh…? How so?”
“I… I can get kinda rude when I’m annoyed at people, and… well, people annoy me a lot … I-I have zero qualms with stealing, or vandalism, I’m mean to people for fun sometimes, and-”
“Hold on, hold on… Nobody gets hurt, right?”
“Uh-” Licorice looked at him. “What, like, physically?”
“Yeah.”
“N-no, I don’t-... I’m evil, not heartless .”
“So it’s just insults and pranks?”
“Mostly, yeah… but, again, I’m kinda mean about it-”
“Dude, you quit working for an evil overlord less than a week ago. I’m not expecting you to go clean overnight.”
“... You… think I’m gonna change?”
“Well, now that you’re out of an environment where you’re constantly struggling for ways to make the two people above you on the social ladder not make you feel like you’re on the very bottom… yeah, I think you’re gonna bully people a little less.”
… Some part of Licorice wanted to be offended, but it really had felt like that, sometimes… Ok, a lot of times. Dang it, why did this guy have to be so good at reading him?!
Vampire Cookie lifted up a corner of the sheets and crawled into the bed-tent. He turned, and smiled welcomingly at Licorice… who couldn’t return the smile. “... Wh-... What if I can’t do it?” Licorice asked.
“Hm? Can’t do what?”
“What if I can’t be good? I-I’ve been living as a bad guy for a really long time now, and I… I’m not used to being good. I don’t know if I can be good just because I want to, because… well, what if I don’t want to? What if I’m trying to be good, but it doesn’t feel right for me?”
“Be good out of spite,” Vampire shrugged.
“... Huh?”
“You’ve been evil out of spite, too. That’s why you turned in the first place, right? People kept calling you bad, so… you tried to master being bad out of spite?”
“I-... Huh… I guess…?”
“Then you can be good out of spite, too.”
“But where would I draw spite from?”
“From them.” Vampire pointed at the window, at the houses outside.
“Them…?”
“Mhm… You’ve gotta be a little mad at ‘em, right? I mean… they don’t even know you, and they’re acting like that. They won’t take your word for it that you don’t work for her anymore. Heck, I can’t leave you outside the doctor’s office for a few minutes without them scaring you.”
“I-I wasn’t scared! They just… freaked me out, a little.”
“They probably don’t believe you can go good.”
Licorice’s brow furrowed. “... They wouldn’t, wouldn’t they?”
“Well? You wanna prove ‘em wrong?”
“Yeah…” As Licorice thought about the idea, he realized that it just might work. Vampire Cookie was right. Licorice had been running on spite alone for years! Of course he could count on it to turn his life around! “Yeah! I’ll show them!” Licorice cheered, raising a fist.
“That’s my Licie… Now c’mere.” Licorice giggled and crawled into bed with him. As Licorice had predicted, the blanket suspended over the bed had made it into a snug, cozy little space. The light in the room partially shone through the blanket, giving the small space a violet tint. Licorice sighed, laying on his side, and nuzzled into Vampire’s shoulder. “You know me so well,” he said. “Mhmm,” Vampire responded, holding him. Licorice closed his eyes, and let himself relax…
Then Vampire kissed the top of his head.
Licorice’s eyes snapped open, and he immediately felt his cheeks growing warm.
His mind started swarming with thoughts.
What just happened?
Did that just happen?
Was he supposed to do something now?
Oh sweet sugary stars above, was he supposed to kiss him back??
Licorice slowly looked up at Vampire, who lazily looked back, with his usual wide, relaxed grin on his face. Seconds later, a look of realization crossed Vampire’s face, before his grin turned sheepish. “Ohh shoot, sorry… Should I have asked first? I, uh… wanted to, and kinda didn’t think about i-”
“D-do it again…” Licorice said, immediately hiding his face in the other’s hold. Vampire seemed surprised only for a moment, then laughed that wonderful laugh. “Alright,” he complied, kissing Licorice’s head again. Vampire held him closer, softly stroking his back.
Licorice had never felt more protected than he did in that very moment. Vampire Cookie had said it before, but Licorice could really feel that Vampire would never let anything harm him. Never. Licorice could hardly describe the feeling he felt balling up in his chest. He felt… He felt…
“I-... I love you,” he whispered.
Vampire put his hand on Licorice’s cheek, and gingerly tilted his head up to look him in the eyes.
“I love you, too,” he whispered back. “... May I?”
Licorice nodded.
And then, Vampire kissed him again.