Chapter Text
Fire Spirit doesn’t know when, how, or why he grew to have feelings for the florist in town, Wind Archer. Was it an instant sort of thing, or was it a gradual process? He’s not even sure, because he wasn’t paying attention until it was too late. The only thing he knows for a fact is the exact moment he realized how he feels: that one time he managed to make Wind Archer laugh.
There seems to be some weird, unspoken rule that those with the best laughter are the ones who hide it, and Wind Archer is no exception. Moments when he cracks a mere smile are already so rare, so when Fire Spirit actually managed to make him outright laugh at one of his stupid jokes once (that he doesn’t even remember at this point), that’s when he knew.
He doesn’t know where they’ll go from here, but he hopes he can see more of that smile, hear more of that laughter… Maybe it’s just Wind Archer’s personality to be so overly serious, but it’d still be nice to see him show joy more openly. Especially since he’s been through so much lately…
Oh yeah, it’s time for some exposition in case there’s anyone new here, huh? This is Fire Spirit Cookie, born in the flames of the Dragon’s Valley. He used to just chill by himself over there, but in recent years, he’s been hanging around town a lot. The cookies in civilization are… an interesting bunch, and time tends to pass by quickly whenever he’s around them. Fortunately, none of them seem to bat much of an eye at his presence, which makes his life a hell of a lot easier.
The guy sitting across from him is Wind Archer Cookie, his… friend? Yeah, he supposes they’re friends. It’s complicated, really. As mentioned above, Wind Archer runs a flower shop, which means he’s more integrated into society than Fire Spirit is. It’s kind of an odd thing to consider since he gives off those same demigod(?) vibes, between his origin in the forest and those apparently magical arrows he’s always carrying around. But from what Fire Spirit has pieced together, the reason he came to this community years ago was… a certain cookie he had a connection with.
So what are these two doing here on this day? Well, the easiest way to answer that question is to read the previous stories set in this universe, but in case no one wants to do that… Wind Archer went through a breakup, and Fire Spirit did his best to help him out of his funk. The latter ended up catching some feelings somewhere down the line, which wasn’t really part of the plan, but it’s nothing worth thinking about too much. They’re just stupid feelings.
Oh, and another thing that’s important to keep in mind is that Wind Archer is very much aware of said feelings. They had a brief discussion about it, but there hasn’t been much of a resolution, given Wind Archer’s current life situation—trying to move on from his past relationship and all. Fire Spirit understands, so he’s in no rush to push him for an answer. After all, it hasn’t stopped them from being on a not-really-date at this tea shop; he’s perfectly okay with Wind Archer taking all the time he needs, especially when they’re able to still hang around each other like this.
“Hey, are you even listening?”
Ah, time to take a break from all this exposition. Wind Archer’s snapping his fingers in front of his face to get his attention.
Fire Spirit turns his attention towards him. “Yes?”
Wind Archer huffs impatiently. “I’m asking you what you want to order. Get your head out of the clouds and figure out what you want already.”
Ah, classic Wind Archer. So blunt about everything. Surprisingly enough, it adds to his charm.
Fire Spirit glances down at the menu in front of him. Right, he never did specify where exactly he and Wind Archer are at right now, did he?
They’re at the new tea shop that just opened up a week ago. Wind Archer wanted to visit and see for himself what it’s like, and Fire Spirit offered to be here with him.
Not that he cares about this place nearly as much. He’s only here because he wants to spend time with Wind Archer. If it weren’t for that, he probably never would’ve stepped foot in here.
“I still haven’t decided,” he finally settles on giving as an answer, but he doesn’t bother picking up the laminated sheet to pore over. He can see out of the corner of his eye that there are a lot of options to choose from, but he’s not really in the mood to look through all of them. He doesn’t dislike tea, but it’s not really his favorite, either. That’s all.
(Okay, maybe that’s a lie. That’s not all. There’s also the fact that ordering here would mean having to order from… him. And he’s not really feeling up for that.)
Wind Archer, being ever so perceptive, raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you even interested? You don’t have to force yourself to be here just because I am.”
“I’m not. Forcing myself, I mean,” Fire Spirit elaborates before Wind Archer can misunderstand him to be saying he isn’t interested in being here with him. “I just got distracted, that’s all. My mind was wandering. Happens to the best of us.”
Wind Archer hums, his piercing green eyes scrutinizing Fire Spirit. God, those eyes. They’re so pretty. He’s so pretty. “So you don’t have a problem with this place.”
“I don’t. Honest.”
(It’s not the place itself that he doesn’t like. It’s who runs it. But he can’t just say that out loud in front of Wind Archer of all cookies, can he?)
He takes this chance to look around the shop, soaking it in properly for the first time. On one side are two rows of tables and chairs, some for two and some for four, and on the other side is a bar counter with stools aligned in front of it, allowing for several more seats for customers. Behind the counter is where… the guy who works here does his thing, preparing tea for everyone with his ingredients and… and machines and… okay, Fire Spirit doesn’t really know the process for making tea drinks. Whatever, who cares? Anyway, there’s also a ‘Staff Only’ door next to the counter, as well as a restroom in the far corner in the back of the shop. The interior of the entire place is brown with green accents—wooden walls that give off a cozy atmosphere and green hanging lights adorning the ceiling.
Hmph. Everything looks… nice, as much as he doesn’t want to admit it. Actually, now that he thinks about it, where’s the guy who runs this place? He’s been making references to him this whole time, but he doesn’t see him—
“Hi, guys!”
At the sound of that damn cookie’s voice right above him, Fire Spirit screams and whirls around to glare.
“…Hi, Herb.” Even though he can’t see the look on his companion’s face right now, Wind Archer’s tone makes it clear that he’s judging Fire Spirit pretty hard for that reaction. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been good, Windy,” Herb smiles. “I’m glad you could make it.”
…Welp. Looks like Fire Spirit can’t hold off on talking about this guy in his exposition any longer. Shit.
There’s a third player in this story, and that’s Herb Cookie, the very individual who opened this tea shop. Before this, he used to also be a florist, running things alongside Wind Archer up until several months ago, when… when he did something unforgivable.
“Don’t be ridiculous. There was no way I wasn’t going to come eventually.”
Wind Archer and Herb were childhood sweethearts. Cute premise, right? That sort of thing would make most people go squee. Too bad the ending was a bit of a downer for them.
“Still, I appreciate it! I know it’s busy at the flower shop sometimes.”
They broke up. It’s sad, but nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of relationships that blossom early ultimately fizzle out. That’s not really what bugs Fire Spirit about the whole thing.
“It’s really not that big of a deal… I like what you’ve done with the place.”
What bugs Fire Spirit are the circumstances surrounding their breakup. At first, before he really got involved, they sounded like stupid love problems to him, but the instant he laid eyes on Wind Archer and saw how he was faring…
“Thanks! Sparkling helped a lot with the design.”
Fire Spirit has to hold back a grimace at that. That’s right… They broke up because Herb developed the hots for the local bartender, and he then left Wind Archer with the shattered pieces of what was once their relationship. Fire Spirit was there to see just how much of an emotional toll it took on the green cookie, and… it was hard to watch.
There was an incident that took place not too long ago, when everything reached its climax and culminated in a giant mess where they all saw just how poor of a state Wind Archer was in—a state that he was only in because Herb had left him that way. Before witnessing everything going down then, Fire Spirit had been willing to give Herb the benefit of the doubt that maybe he isn’t such a bad guy, but afterward…
Hm.
To be fair, Herb and Wind Archer have patched things up since then, and both of them care enough about each other to remain friends even after everything. Fire Spirit, however, has never been friends with Herb, so he’s not about to put on his rose-colored glasses and declare that everything’s all good and the way it should be. He has enough tact to not profess this openly to Wind Archer, but…
He does not like Herb. Not one bit. And he’ll never forgive him for what he’s done.
For breaking Wind Archer’s heart.
“Are you two ready to order?” Herb asks all innocently like he’s never done anything wrong in his life.
“Yeah, I think I’ll have the iced jasmine green tea with the grass jelly. I’d like it if you could cut down on the sugar, though,” Wind Archer adds as an afterthought as he hands his menu to Herb.
“I should’ve known,” Herb laughs. “You’ve always liked that flavor ever since we were kids.”
Wind Archer actually laughs at that, too, and Fire Spirit isn’t sure how to feel about it. He really does think that Wind Archer’s laugh is something to be treasured, and he’s happy to hear it again, but… a dark, ugly feeling simmers in the pit of his stomach nonetheless. Herb is… able to get him to laugh… even when there’s nothing funny going on. It took Fire Spirit weeks and weeks to get him to even show him his smile. Unbelievable. Even after everything Herb has done, he’s still able to trigger such a reaction so effortlessly.
“Fire Spirit?”
Fire Spirit snaps out of it when Herb addresses him, and he looks up at him.
For a second, all Herb gives him is a blank stare, but he dons a polite smile before Fire Spirit can really try to figure it out. “Would you like to order something?” is all he asks.
“…I’ll have what he’s having,” Fire Spirit responds curtly, gesturing his head toward Wind Archer and returns his own copy of the menu to Herb. He never got the chance to actually look through what’s available, so this is an easy way out. Plus, he’s not picky, so he’s pretty sure he’d be fine with this jasmine tea stuff.
“Coming right up.”
Once Herb is out of earshot, Wind Archer eyes Fire Spirit suspiciously once more. “Are you absolutely sure you’re okay?”
Damn, is he really that obvious about it? He’s been told before that he wears his emotions on his sleeve. “It’s not a big deal, I promise,” he settles on as a response since he realizes that saying that nothing’s bothering him isn’t going to fly. “I don’t… really wanna talk about it, to be honest. But it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’m not worried.” There it is. Wind Archer tends to go into denial mode whenever he gets called out on being nice. Seriously, what’s with that? What’s so wrong with admitting you’re a nice guy on the inside? “It’s just ruining the mood.”
Fire Spirit knows better but still chooses to play along. “Heh. Sorry.”
“That wasn’t an invitation for you to apologize!” Wind Archer snaps. Probably because he feels bad that Fire Spirit is saying sorry for something that doesn’t warrant it. “You’re…! Ugh.”
Pfft, he’s cute. That’s a compliment, obviously, but Fire Spirit isn’t going to utter it out loud. Wind Archer’s way too proud to accept that label lying down.
Unfortunately, just as his mood is finally starting to improve, he shows back up again.
“Here you go!” Herb cheerily announces his presence, re-emerging with a tray in hand with two tea glasses on top. He sets both of them down onto the table—one in front of Wind Archer and one in front of Fire Spirit—before handing them one plastic straw each. “Just as you ordered. Hope you enjoy!”
Wind Archer immediately dunks the straw into the tea and takes a sip from it, and his eyes light up at the taste. “This is good,” he says once he swallows. “You really know what you’re doing.”
“Heh, thanks,” Herb grins and hugs the tray close to his chest. “You two came at a good time. There aren’t a lot of people here right now, so I was able to get your drinks ready right away.”
“Were things really busy earlier?” Wind Archer asks him.
Herb nods. “Yeah, it’s been a pretty hectic week. Sparkling has this friend named Cheesecake who’s apparently really well-connected, and she came by to check the place out on the second day and gave me a boost on her social media…”
Fire Spirit blocks out the conversation right then as he stares at the ice cubes floating in his glass, quickly finding that there’s no room for him in this exchange. Well, maybe there is, but he doesn’t feel like searching for an entry point. There Wind Archer goes again, so open and honest with Herb about his feelings, a vast contrast in behavior from how he is with everyone else… Geez, these thoughts swirling in Fire Spirit’s head are so annoying. So what if it sort of feels like he’s an outsider amongst this trio? It’s not like this is the first time he’s felt this way, so get used to it already, you bastard.
That last part is foreshadowing, by the way.
“Hey, pay attention.”
At the sound of Wind Archer’s voice, Fire Spirit once again is brought back down to earth, and he sees the other two cookies staring at him. “What?”
“Ugh, you’ve been like this the entire time we’ve been here,” Wind Archer grumbles before turning back to Herb. “Sorry, Herb. You’re going to have to repeat what you just said.”
Oh, was Herb trying to talk to Fire Spirit? Well then. The red cookie would be lying if he said he cares for this development. The less he interacts with this… this chump, the better.
Still, for Wind Archer’s sake, he looks up at him and waits for him to say whatever it is he wants to say. He’s taken aback when he sees that Herb has that same unreadable expression from earlier, only to mask it once again with a smile that looks too authentic to not be real, but also too suspicious to not be fake.
“I mentioned how it’s been hard to run everything by myself, with how busy it’s been,” he explains, “and how it’d be really nice to have a helper around. And then Windy brought up how much you helped him at the flower shop.”
Yeah, I was cleaning up the mess you caused, Fire Spirit is tempted to sneer, but he doesn’t. Instead, he states matter-of-factly, “All I did was sweep the floor and stuff. I didn’t really help with the flowers themselves.”
“That doesn’t mean you were any less helpful,” Wind Archer mumbles, averting his eyes and redirecting his focus to drinking his tea. Knowing him, he’s thinking of another way Fire Spirit came to his aid. “You may as well take the compliment.”
The butterflies flutter in Fire Spirit’s stomach at the sight. He’s said this already, but Wind Archer’s… cute. It’s like he’s trying his best to express gratitude, but he doesn’t really know how to overcome his own ego. Granted, there have been a few times Fire Spirit has caught him with his guard down, but this is the type of thing he’s come to expect from him for the most part.
“It’s got me thinking, actually,” Herb cuts in, ruining everything. Why does he have to ruin everything? “Would you like to work for me, Fire Spirit?”
The fuck?
“What,” Fire Spirit deadpans.
“What?” Wind Archer is equally surprised at the seemingly sudden proposal. “Where’s this coming from?”
Herb tilts his head like he just asked a perfectly normal question. “Well, if Windy says you were helpful, then you must really be, right? And like I said, I might as well find myself a second pair of hands.”
No. Hell no. Fire Spirit is not putting himself in a situation where he has to see Herb on a regular basis. He’d rather eat glass.
…That’s what he’d like to reply with, but… Wind Archer…
“Sorry, but I’m already busy with my job at the flower shop.” He crosses his arms and looks to his companion for backup. “Right?”
This is the part where Wind Archer is supposed to agree, and this conversation will end, and Herb will screw off back to behind the counter, and he can finally enjoy his time here. Unfortunately, however, Wind Archer does not do that.
Instead, he scowls in confusion. “Wait, that wasn’t a job.”
That’s what you’re focusing on?! “I’m pretty sure you tasked me with sweeping,” Fire Spirit argues. “That counts as a job.”
“And I’m pretty sure I only did that because you insisted on coming to the shop every day, and I didn’t like you standing around all idly.” Wind Archer rolls his eyes. “There was no hiring process whatsoever.”
“But I still did as you asked. Which makes it a job.”
“I never paid you. Which makes it not a job.”
“Didn’t make a difference to me. I don’t mind working without pay.”
“Well, you should. Because that would be illegal.”
“I’ll make sure to give you a paycheck and everything if you agree to this,” Herb interrupts before they can all get too sucked into this topic. “I wouldn’t just ask you to do something like this without going through all the proper processes.”
“Uh, I don’t really care about stuff like that.” Fire Spirit remains unconvinced. He’s not struggling to make ends meet or anything, and the biggest problem to him is still the fact that he’d be forced to be around Herb all day. Turning back to Wind Archer, he relents, “Fine, so that thing I did at the flower shop wasn’t really a job. Still, if I say yes now, wouldn’t that be a problem for you, too?”
He hopes Wind Archer gets the hint that he low-key doesn’t want to do this and will help him refuse Herb.
“Huh? Not really.”
Goddamnit, that’s not what you were supposed to say! Why are you so cute but so dense?!
“It’s not like I can’t handle the flower shop on my own,” Wind Archer continues like he isn’t metaphorically shooting Fire Spirit with a bunch of arrows right now. “Also, you weren’t… planning on continuing to go over there, right? Again, that wasn’t a job. I had no intention of keeping you around for that long. I couldn’t just expect that from you when you were never an official employee.”
He has a point, Fire Spirit realizes. He was only ever at the flower shop for things completely unrelated to work, things that he’s already accomplished and resolved. Of course he isn’t expected to continue helping around, now that he has zero reasons to do so.
But shit, he sure as hell hates having all of his justifications for saying no to Herb fly out the window. His fake justifications, that is. At this rate, he’ll be forced to spill the real reason that he’s so reluctant.
“Oh, so I guess you’re free, after all?” Herb asks. “That’s good. Not that you’re obligated to accept my offer even if you are, obviously.”
“What am I even gonna get out of accepting…” Fire Spirit finds himself muttering before he can stop himself. When the words are out, he looks to Wind Archer to see his reaction, only to see none; the guy’s just continuing to drink his tea as he watches him.
That’s… a good sign, right? A good sign that he doesn’t have to hold back too much when it comes to Herb?
To answer his question, Herb begins, “Well, you get a free drink once per day…”
Meh.
“You get to interact with a lot of customers and get to know them…”
Whatever.
“We’ll get to know each other better…”
Fuck that.
“…Ah! And there’s one final perk, but uh… I don’t think I can say it right now. Not when he’s here.”
…What?
“What?” Wind Archer echoes Fire Spirit’s thoughts and looks around, trying to find the individual Herb’s referring to. “Who?”
While he’s distracted, Herb makes a gesture with his head that only Fire Spirit sees, and his words suddenly become clear—well, not really. Knowing who he is doesn’t help Fire Spirit understand what in the hell he’s talking about… unless Herb knows about how he feels…?
…Well then. That’s embarrassing.
Anyway, this 'perk' probably isn’t even anything, despite how mysterious it seems. It doesn’t change Fire Spirit’s mind on how he feels about this job offer, so he shouldn’t think too long and hard about it.
“So how about it?” Herb, now finished, asks once again. “Don’t feel pressured to say yes or anything. If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
Here’s Fire Spirit’s chance. Here’s his chance to say no and be done with this topic and probably not have to deal with Herb for the rest of the day—hell, he just told him that he can say no! All he has to do is utter a two-letter, single-syllable word and this will all be over.
Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Wind Archer silently watching him, also waiting for his answer. What would he think once Fire Spirit refuses…? Wait, why is he even thinking that way?! This situation doesn’t involve Wind Archer, so why would he have any opinion on what Fire Spirit decides to do? Sure, he really cares about Herb, and Fire Spirit would maybe look a little unimpressive in his eyes by turning down the offer, but it’s unreasonable to expect him to have any strong feelings about the current issue.
Yeah, yeah. Just say no already, you dumbass. You didn’t survive the flames of the Dragon’s Valley only to be too chicken to say no to some random cookie who runs a tea shop.
Fire Spirit opens his mouth to give his answer—
Later that evening, Sea Fairy and Moonlight are relaxing in their shared home, watching a movie together. It’s about an especially brave cookie who was born in the oven of an evil witch, destined to eventually be killed and devoured, only to rally all the cookies around him together so they can escape their doom. The two of them are about two-thirds done with it when Moonlight suddenly decides to speak up.
“This is really nice.”
“Hm?” Sea Fairy, having not expected her long-time girlfriend to break the silence between them, glances at her. “I agree… I think it’s wonderful these characters are all fighting their fates… I’m glad you recommended this one…”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Moonlight meets her gaze and smiles tenderly. “I love being able to just… spend time with you without a care in the world. And I never want to take that for granted.”
“M-Moonlight…” A faint blush appears on Sea Fairy’s cheeks. “What’s with this all of a sudden?”
Moonlight shrugs and pauses the movie with the remote control. “It occurred to me while we were watching just now, and I wanted to say it. Does it bother you?”
“N-no, of course not… It’s very sweet…”
Moonlight’s smile grows. “Then I’ll continue to say it any time I want! I hope we can be like this forever!”
“Q-quiet down…” Sea Fairy looks away, her face redder than ever. “What if someone hears you…?”
“Come on, I’m not being that loud,” Moonlight pouts. “We’re in our own house right now. Who else could be here other than you and me…”
Suddenly, the lights in the room turn on, and in walks Fire Spirit, who’s clearly in a foul mood.
“…and Fire Spirit…” Moonlight sighs, regretting giving him a spare key to the house when they first moved in.
“Ladies,” Fire Spirit starts as if he didn’t just come into their home unannounced, stopping right in front of them and blocking their view of the television, “I screwed up.”
“We were in the middle of watching a movie…” Sea Fairy complains.
“Continue once I’m done. Anyway, I screwed up,” Fire Spirit repeats, clearly waiting for one of them to take the bait and ask him what happened.
Moonlight knows he’s not going to budge until they humor him, so she yields. “What’s up? Weren’t you going to go to that new tea shop with that cookie you like?”
“Yeah, and we went.” Fire Spirit tightens his grip on the plastic to-go cup in his hand, and the other two wonder what exactly is in it. “Then the owner decided he wanted to hire me for whatever reason, so he asked me if I was willing.”
“I thought you didn’t like the owner?”
“I don’t.”
“Wait, wait, what owner? You like someone, Fire Spirit?” Sea Fairy interjects, not following what’s going on. “What’s happened since I last saw you?”
“To make a long story short, he has a crush on the florist in town, and the tea shop owner is this crush’s ex-boyfriend,” Moonlight explains. “Fire Spirit hates him because he’s jealous or something.”
“I’m not jealous,” Fire Spirit grumbles. “I just think he sucks.”
Sea Fairy looks thoughtful. “Sounds complicated…”
“It is. But anyway, he asks me that stupid question, right? And obviously, I don’t want to do it, so right away, my head is screaming no.”
“Uh-huh…” Moonlight slowly nods, wondering where this story is going. “And then what happened?”
Fire Spirit stares down at his hand, finally acknowledging the cup he’s carrying for what feels like but can’t be the first time. Sighing, he removes the lid and raises the cup up above his head.
Moonlight instantly realizes what he’s about to do and protests, “Wait, don’t—”
His hand tilts, and what looks to be jasmine tea comes spilling out and drenches him from head to toe. Not even a second later, his vibrant, orange dough has turned a dull grey, and his flaming hair has been reduced to nothing but ash.
“…I just cleaned this morning…” Sea Fairy mumbles as she gazes at the fresh puddle on the floor beneath him.
Moonlight only shakes her head in exasperation. Fire Spirit has a bad habit of doing that every time he’s upset.
“Me and my big mouth…” Fire Spirit finally murmurs, dropping the cup and its lid to the floor.
“…Ah.” Moonlight thinks she’s caught on to what happened. “You… you said…”
Fire Spirit nods dejectedly and confirms her suspicions:
“I said yes.”