tremble | wildchip

v

i like you..

crunchy chip arises from his satisfactory sleep after wandering countless hours in the markets of the republic's streets.
waking up on the edge of the bed, he alarmingly gets up properly.
'what does he think he's saying?!' he shouted to himself, flushing.
'wait, it was a dream, wasn't it. what the fuck am i thinking?'
he stands in place in the middle of the room for a few minutes, trying to remember what he had dreamt of. only blurred lines and colours could be pictured in his mind.
the sun has already greeted the endless void of the blue sky. was it late?
shit.
'shit!' crunchy chip realises the time, stumbling as he rushes out the door, forgetting to close it.
there was already a lot of people awake in the council house, from servants to seniors themselves.
scattered 'good mornings' and 'how are yous' clouded crunchy chip's mind, before stopping in his footsteps after running so far of a distance to catch his breath. it was suddenly a lot more quieter around him, but the only thing he could hear was his beating heart.

'hah... hah...'
footsteps are heard approaching him from behind.
'good morning.'
turning around, wildberry is seen standing like the soldier he was. the thing is... he looked different.
crunchy chip looks at what was different, his hair. it was no longer braided neatly, but it was messy and surprisingly long.
crunchy chip feels the pace of his heart quicken for some reason despite not even exercising.
'ah... my hair is what you're looking at. yes, i was planning to do it before you arrived, but you came earlier than i anticipated.'
crunchy chip averts his eyes.
'at least i beat you here.'
'i guess so.'

a mild silence breaks between them as wildberry begins to style his hair. he didn't look like he was struggling at all?
biting the hair tie even more, crunchy chip flinches from hearing the low growl coming from wildberry.

'wow, so you're struggling? you could've just asked for help, aha.' crunchy chip tries to act cool, approaching wildberry.
'ah. thank you.' wildberry becomes a little pink colour, and kneels down to prevent crunchy chip from doing his hair wrong, as well as to hide his expression.
crunchy chip heeds no attention and feels mildly insulted, scowling behind his back as he grabs the hair tie. using his hand to comb through it, his face softens.
wildberry's hair was vibrant and pink, and was soft to the touch, almost like a baby.
'gee, you take care of your hair quite well.'
'not really. i just tend to comb it a lot.'

that's a lie.
crunchy chip smirks, still half distracted by the feeling of his hair. he tries to style it the way he was taught by his comrade, caramel arrow cookie, a figure who was almost good at anything.
tightening the hair tie in place, crunchy chip examines how it looks but refuses to criticise his own self.
'there.' he steps back to help wildberry stand up again.

it was a braid on his scalp seperated by the hair tie which became a high ponytail. sure, it felt a little tight, but it was quite impressive coming from a cookie who has short hair.
'it wasn't the best, but i trie--'
'it feels and looks great. thanks a lot.'
it was the first time he was cut off by him, but doesn't mind. he scratches his face, acting oblivious.
'ehhh. you think so? whatever, lets get going.'
he walks quickly in front of wildberry, covering his face from burning as red as his eyes.
what are you even doing? are you insane???
comments ran through his head, feeling a bit light headed afterwards.
wildberry is seen gently feeling the braid quietly, smiling.

at the market, the pair received even more glares and whispers from citizens around them. it became like a dragging trail, which began to piss crunchy chip off.
'if you wanna say something, say it in front of our faces, you pussies!' he shakes a fist angrily at them, which made some glaring individuals look away.
wildberry tries to comfort him, patting his head in a way he was trying to tell him a message through morse code or something.
nevertheless, crunchy chip calms down, adapting to wildberry's peculiar touch.
'thanks..'
'it's no worry. but do watch your language whilst we're here.'
'sorry.'

the two had their eyes locked into each other's for a while, hair swaying along in the mild breeze. wildberry's hand lightly caresses the chips on the other cookie.

'hey, lovebirds! find a room to go do your business there!' a voice from somewhere shouts out to them, waking them up.

'apologies. let's get back to work.'
wildberry casually says, helping crunchy chip up, but was looking around the place to see who had said it. crunchy chip stands idly.
from that moment onwards, the atmosphere between the two became quite... awkward.
everything was clear, alright. the place was only filled with friendly smiles and eye-catching items. it was too eye-catching to the point it became an eye-sore. in short, it became boring.
the only thing that was also keeping crunchy chip awake and aware was the fact that he was making endless scenarios with wildberry cookie. he doesn't know how long he stayed up all night stressing about his co-worker, and now god knows how exhausted he was even if it was only early afternoon.
everything twists and mixes, all becoming a canvas of nothing.

"thank you for styling my hair. would you like me to style yours?
oh, sure. my hair is still short, so it'll be a bit difficult.
a cute tail-like ponytail was tied up in his hair at the end."

"i don't mind the idea of the rest of my future being with you.
shut up. you're just trying to seem and sound cool.
it's the truth.
well... i wouldn't mind that idea, either."

'...little man. li- crunchy chip cookie..?' the sight of a blurred hand clears up. how long was i caught fantasizing?
'crunchy chip cookie. if you're not feeling well, please tell me. i'll bring you into a place to stay for the meantime.'

crunchy chip remains unresponsive, yet thought he did. all he does was wave and stare deeply into the other's eyes, before collapsing on the spot. wildberry quickly picks him up, looking at real indoor shops or anywhere else that looked like a place for hospitality.

it's only the second day of a mission, yet so much has already happened.