Chapter Text
“STRAWBERRY COOKIE!!” Gingerbrave yelled, sprinting as fast as he could.
He was running across the kingdom, getting looks from the other cookies walking throughout the streets.
It was afternoon, so people were wrapping up and getting ready to settle down at home.
He saw Sparkling closing up his bar as he ran past. Also saw Herb finishing up taking care of his plants.
Gingerbrave was running so fast, he almost rammed into Avocado cookie.
“S-SORRY!” Gingerbrave yelled as he kept running. Avocado shook her head at him and kept walking.
“STRAWBERRY COOKIE!” He yelled again, heading towards the house Wizard Cookie and her share.
She only moved in because Wizard had politely said she could stay, laying down a lot of rules because of that.
But Strawberry is well-behaved so she hasn’t ever broken any of them.
Ginger saw Clover cookie sitting by a tree and practicing with his banjo.
(Banjo? Guitar? Idk)
He waved at him and then kept running.
“Why are you in such a hurry Gingerbrave?” Clover shouted.
“It’s a secret!” Gingerbrave laughed.
“Oh. Alright then!” Clover smiled and foxed his hat.
Wizard Cookie was sitting on the porch, fixing his glasses to look at Gingerbrave running towards him.
“Good evening Gingerbrave. If you need Strawberry she’s in the kitchen.” He pushed up his glasses, then pointed inside.
“Huff..Thanks Wizard!” The magic man nodded, looking back at his book.
Gingerbrave gulped as he heard Strawberry’s’ singing from the kitchen.
“Berry? You there?” He asked, popping his head into the kitchen.
“Oh, Gingerbrave! Yeah I’m in here!”
Gingerbrave smiled enthusiastically and walked into the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen island.
“Watcha making?” He looked at the flour on her face and apron.
“Er, just some tarts and cakes.” She chuckled.
“And yes, you can have some.” She shook her head at him in a caring way.
“Thanks so much!” His arms shot up in the air, waving.
She laughed again. “So? What is it you wanted to tell me?” She skillfully cracked an egg into a bowl, and faced Gingerbrave while mixing the bowl.
“Well uh- I saw..something.” Gingerbrave tripped over his words.
“Which was??” She asked.
“There was two cookies kissing!” He spoke at a fast pace.
“No way! Who? Licorice and Clover?” She guessed.
Gingerbrave shook his head.
“Rye and Chili Pepper?”
Nope.
“Sparkling and Herb???”
No again.
“Gosh, then who in the blazes is it?”
“Madeleine and Espresso.”
A quiet silence.
“Your absolutely lying. You have to be.” She placed the bowl on the counter, planting her arms next to it.
“I’m not! I swear.” He said worriedly.
“They were at each others throats when they first came here!” Strawberry said exasperated.
“Madeleine and Espresso just doesn’t make sense!” She grabbed his shoulders from across the counter and shook him.
“T-that’s what I saw!! I swear to the witches!” He pointed at Strawberry.
Strawberry stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled away bringing her hands to her hips.
She sighed. “I believe you Gingerbrave, but I need to see this for myself.”
“So that means??”
“We are going to turn into Almond Cookie juniors.” She smirked.
“Yeah!! We are going to figure out what’s between those two!”
“Buuut, I need to ask Wizard if you can stay over..” She sighed.
“What are you gonna give him?” Gingerbrave looked at the thing she pulled out her apron pocket.
“This gem I found. It might convince him, and keep him busy until tomorrow night.” She looked proud of herself.
“We have to be careful though. Don’t break any of his rules, alright?”
Gingerbrave nodded understandingly.
Strawberry walked out of the kitchen for a few minutes, while Gingerbrave was spinning in his chair.
‘I wonder what she’s gonna do..’ He pondered.
He heard the door open and close, and reached his head out to see Strawberry Cookie.
“So, what’d he say??” Gingerbrave kept spinning in his chair.
“He said yes.”
Gingerbrave jumped out of his seat. “WOOO!!”
—
So now they’re here.
Watching Madeleine talk with Espresso.
They’ve come this far so, they weren’t going to give up now.
They were close enough to hear their conversation and to see their faces.
Gingerbrave almost got caught a total of 3 times.
1. From talking too loud.
2. He tripped over Strawberry Cookie.
3. Almost got caught by hiding behind Avocado Cookie’s blacksmith shop.
“It’s not my fault Madeleine can hear everything!” He whispered shouted, from behind their hiding place in the bushes.
Madeleine and Espresso were outside Espresso’s lab, just talking. Well, more like it was pleading more than talking but still.
“You sure you don’t need anything, not even a little itty bitty tiny thing??” Madeleine pressed, hands on the other mans shoulders.
“No Madeleine. I don’t need anything, so you may go home.” Espresso grabbed the blonde’s arms and pushed them off him. It wasn’t really in a aggressive way, Gingerbrave noticed. More like a loving, caring way.
“As you wish, Espresso!” Madeleine gave the man his space and turned around to walk away.
“Have a good day!!” Madeleine waved without looking back.
Espresso waved back at him before retreating into his lab.
“Aw man!” Strawberry got up from their hiding spot in the bushes.
“It seemed like they just had a normal Madeleine conversation.” Gingerbrave observed.
“But we are kind of getting somewhere, right?” Strawberry started fiddling with her jackets strings.
“Maybe we can just ask Madeleine straight up?” He suggested.
“Madeleine can’t lie to save his life.”
Strawberry nodded. “Your right!”
“C’mon let’s go!” Strawberry grabbed his hand and ran to where Madeleine headed off too.
They ran across the kingdom, trying to see where the knight went.
Turns out, he went to his Altar to pray to ‘Celestia’. His Altar was located near the forest, trees beside the village land that led to the Altar.
They watched silently as he touched his sword to the ground and kneeled down and prayed.
He looked different from the cookie they knew, calm and collected. They could hear his breathing. Slow and calm like the wind.
After a few minutes of doing the same thing, he got up and sighed happily.
When he turned around, his face went from calm to thrilled.
“Hello Young Cookies!” His voice boomed.
“Hi Madeleine.” Strawberry smiled as Madeleine patted them both on the head.
“HELLO MADELEINE!” Gingerbrave matched the blondes enthusiasm, which made him laugh.
“Is there something you need? Or something troubling you?” Madeleine asked smiling and looked expectantly at them.
“Well uh- yes actually!” Strawberry fiddled with her hoodie strings nervously.
“Are you and Espresso friends??” Gingerbrave asked, looking the knight in the eye.
Madeleine’s face looked like it was doing backflips. He looked like he was going to say something, but then bit his tounge.
After a few minutes of silence, he settled on,
“Sort of??”
He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
Strawberry and Gingerbrave looked at each other, then looked back at the nervous cookie in front of them.
“I thought Espresso didn’t like you?”Strawberry Cookie pressed.
“Uh well- I wouldn’t say—“
“Unless you did something that made him like you more???” Strawberry continued, trying to urk him to say more.
“T-The thing is—“
“So I’m thinking maybe you guys had a bonding moment together? Maybe, shared something perhaps?”
“No one said anything about a moment!” Madeleine shook his hands in a disapproving way.
“AHA! So you shared something!” Strawberry pointed accusingly at the now flustered man.
“No no no no no,” Madeleine’s words got faster as he spoke. “me and Espresso didn’t— I mean we’re just friends, nothing more-“
“DIDN’T WHAT??” Gingerbrave asked.
Then Madeleine snapped.
Like mentally.
These kids brought Madeleine to a point where he just gave up on lying.
The older cookie whined, pressing his hands to his face in embarrassment.
He was on his knees, whining like a baby having a tantrum, and he was as tall as Gingerbrave now that he was on his knees.
“Dear Celestia….” Madeleine said, muffled by his own hands.
The knight sighed and removed his hands from his face, smiling nervously at the children.
“So you admit it, you and Espresso are together!!” Strawberry jumped up and down in excitement.
“Yes yes, me and my dear Espresso have a romantic relationship.” He smiled brightly, his cheeks a light pink.
“HE SAID MY DEAR, YOU HEAR THIS GINGERBRAVE??” Strawberry shook the astonished cookie until he was dizzy.
“Yes yes! I can hear Strawberry! Maybe calm down a bit!!” Gingerbrave shouted.
“Oh, right. Sorry!” Strawberry looked at her friend with concern.
“I didn’t know you would be so excited!” Madeleine exclaimed.
“So how long have you been together?”
Madeleine hesitated before answering.
“8 months. More or less, Espresso hasn’t warmed up to me justtt yet. But we’re getting there.”
Strawberry heard the emphasize on just, and it made her worried.
“I know Espresso is a very distant person. But if you were able to get into his heart, I think he’ll warm up to you very soon.” Strawberry patted Madeleine’s back reassuringly.
“And if you feel like you need help, just ask Latte Cookie. She’s his sister, so she must have something at least!” Gingerbrave chimed in.
“Thank you for the help young cookies! I will find Latte and ask for help!” Madeleine stood up and became his heroic self again.
“Good luck with that.” Gingerbrave shuddered.
“I don’t see why I’d need luck, but thank you!” Madeleine shouted back confidently.
—
Now he understood what Gingerbrave meant.
This cookie is intimidating.
Latte sat on the other couch across from Madeleine and sat her mug of coffee on the table in between the two of them.
“So, you are the person who has caught my brothers’ eye?” She asked sweetly, smiling at him.
“Y-yes ma’am.” Madeleine smiled back.
Despite her sweet-talking, Madeleine was frightened by her.
Espresso had told him, “That woman is satanic. Don’t get off on the wrong foot with her.”
Madeleine, being the person he is, chose not be believe it and shook it off.
“What is it you need from me?” Latte took a sip from her mug and placed it back down with a *clink* noise.
“Well—you see,” Madeleine hesitated. He breathed in and out, focusing on his question. “I need help to make Espresso warm up to me more. And you’re his sister so I thought-“
“Oh really?” She asked shocked.
“Espresso is salty with you? Not from what I hear.” Latte raises her eyebrow in suspicion.
“From what you hear?” Madeleine asks. What did Espresso tell Latte about him? Hopefully not bad sounding things.
“Yes. He likes you, immensely. He always wants to be around you. Like a baby duck following his mother. He sounds quite clingy to you.” Latte laughs in amusement at the thought.
“I would think Espresso would always want to be as close as possible to you. But I guess Espresso is always as stubborn as they get.”
“Really?” Madeleine put his hands on the table and stood up. “You think so?”
“Yes I do. I have no idea why he seems so cold with you.” Latte said affirmatively.
Madeleine looked at her in shock.
“Surely we are talking about the same Espresso? The cold, brilliant Espresso? Literally-does-not-like-anyone-within-10-a-10-mile-radius-of-him Espresso?”
Latte almost sounded like a witch with her cackling.
“You just haven’t seen his nice side. Where he let’s his guard down and becomes all soft. Like a little baby.” She wiped a tear out of her eye.
“He gets like that?”
“When he is at my house, all he does is lay around on the couch and sleep. He really needs it too.”
Madeleine nodded in understanding. He knew what she meant.
He always forced the man to go home and go to bed. It was quite sad. He wished he could be with him at all times.
“Anyways, just wait for him to open up alright?” She patted his shoulder assuringly.
“Oh, thank you so much!” Madeleine praises. “May I?” He opened up his arms.
“You may.” She giggles as Madeleine wraps his arms around her.
“Don’t wrinkle my clothes now!” She laughs again.
“Sorry missus!” Madeleine backs off and bows to apologize.
“I’ll show you to the door.” She beckons him to follow.
“Hope you have a nice day!” Madeleine shouts as he walks out the door.
“You too.” Latte says, as she shakes her head in an amused manner, and closes the door.