LicoVamp: Magic Lovers

Freshly Brewed

Mornings are always so peaceful in the kingdom. Despite cookies commuting through the streets, there is a freshness to the air and a united atmosphere that only those who make their rounds around the city can truly enjoy. Vampire likes simply wandering around, he does so often, and since most cookies know of Vampire's habits they often don't fuss over him loitering. Once in a while he'll wave to an acquaintance or two and then move right on. He only really properly greeted close friends, most of which had jobs or careers that took up much of their time, so he rarely passed them on the street.

This time was different however. As he turned a corner he found two familiar faces.

"Sparkle? Herb?" he called to the cookies before him.

The duo turned. They carried brown paper bags of various fruits and vegetables, and they wore worn-out, slightly dirty clothing, which was far from their usual attire.

"Vampire? I'm surprised to see you out so early!" the bubbling blonde teased with a tired smile.

"Ah, you know me. Full of surprises! But what about you two? I mean this kindly but you look awful."

The duo laughed. Herb lifted the bag he held up to his chin, as if to showcase it better. "I wanted some produce from Carrot Cookie, and you know her. If you want something, you gotta work for it!" He exclaimed with a laugh.

"And I had the misfortune of accompanying him." Sparkling added.

Then there was a strange silence after wards. The trio were all good friends, they were familiar in each other's mannerisms to know there was a... tension. The silence made Vampire a bit uncomfortable, but as he was about to break it, Herb spoke.

"Where were you headed, Vampire?"

"Nowhere in particular. I passed by the Juice bar but I already knew it was closed."

Sparkling then chimed in, "It's not opening today, I'm taking the day off to help Herb."

Herb nodded. "We were headed back to my house. Would you like to join us Vampire?"

Vampire nodded his head, "Of Course!"

<———>

As they reached the plant-covered home, Vampire held open the door for the two cookies behind him. The walk there was quiet. The duo was exhausted from the work and the heavy bags they carried, and Vampire enjoyed the scenery he passed by near daily. 

Sparkling set down the bags on the counter and took a big stretch. Herb set his bags beside Sparkling's and took off the white apron he often wore. He folded it and laid it in a basket on the floor. He pointed to it and told Sparkling to set his coat in, so he could wash it. As he obliged, Vampire watched across the kitchen island he leaned on.

"Vamp, since you're here could you help wash the vegetables." Herb announced as he motioned to a bag on the counter.

Vampire slid over to the other side of the island and nodded. Herb took the basket of dirty clothes to the back as Vampire and Sparkling went through the produce.

"So Vampire, you left pretty early last night, something happen?" Sparkling asked.

Vampire turned over to look at the cookie, who had his back to him as he went through the bag of fruit. He figured the question was innocent enough so it wouldn't hurt to slip in a little lie.

"Nah, nothing happened. Just, decided to change the routine a bit and... maybe get some more hours of sleep." He didn't feel all to bad about lying to Sparkling. There was no way of Sparkling to know the truth anyways, right?

"Mhmm, so you took your friend with you too or..." he trailed off.

The way he emphasized "friend". He knew. No doubt about it. Vampire set his arms down that held a head of cabbage and stared at Sparkling and he must've felt it too because not to long, Sparkling turned to meet his gaze.

Sparkling looked calm, completely unfazed, but he knew Vampire knew. They both simply stared at each other for a minute.

"... Yeah, I did. He liked the bar, thought you all were real nice."

"Is that so." Sparkling's eyebrows raised slightly, but his unimpressed expression remained.

Vampire nodded despite the fact Sparkling had turned back to washing the fruits and sorting them onto decorative plates. "He's been helping around the house too-"

"Yeah, yeah. 'great once you get to know him' right? Vampire, really, I want to trust you on this but I just don't see what you do. So just give up on trying to convince me, like I have for you."

The room falls quiet again. Vampire and Sparkling continue to clean the produce. There is no tension in the air, but more a sadness. The two held a friendship for so long, this has been the most conflict they've ever had.

A hand fell onto Vampire's shoulder, startling him. "Don't worry Vampire, I think Licorice Cookie is funny." Herb exclaims.

Sparkling shakes his head. "Funny only gets cookies so far."

"He's more than that! He's ..." As Vampire trails off he lowers his hands to the bottom of the sink and peers at the faucet. Sparkling was right, it's best they agreed to disagree.

Author's Note: Happy New Year!! Thank you for all the support and I hope to bring updates a bit more consistently! Wishing you all a lovely 2023!