Work Text:
The scent of coffee wafted through the air, almost overwhelming Madeleine’s sense of smell. There was a constant buzzing (humming perhaps?) echoing through the corridor. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore the tension building in his muscles. He had fought countless monsters and villains and slayed them all! He was a savior! Yet somehow the idea of walking into Espresso’s laboratory made him quake in his armored boots.
He pushed down his nerves and rapped on the solid dark wood roll door, rocking back and forth on his heels. A heartbeat. Footsteps. He held in his breath and released it as the door opened.
There he was. Espresso cookie. Madeleine’s heart skipped a beat as cracked the door open with a scowl. His expression didn’t soften at the slightest, which was truly unfair. He had saved Espresso cookie’s life out in the wild!
“Ah. It’s you.” Espresso said, his eyes narrowing as he watched. “I’m sorry, no time to talk.”
Before he could close the door, Madeleine slipped his sword in the way and pried it back open. Espresso made no move to close it again, he just sighed.
“Apologies! But I am on a quest!” he declared, puffing out his chest.
Espresso rolled his eyes. “Good for you. May I go back to work now?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“This quest involves you.” He added, more quietly. “From Alchemist Cookie, I have a delivery.” He quickly moved to retrieve the small basket he had been carrying with him, shoving it into Espresso’s arms.
He paused for a moment, staring Madeleine down with a hesitant gaze before unwrapping the delivery. “Are these--” he glanced up at Madeleine and back down. “Are these sugar coated donuts?”
Madeleine nodded and leaned on the doorframe. “That they are! We both remembered you liked them.” He chose to leave out how he asked Alchemist to make them for this exact purpose.
“Well- I- uh.” Espresso cleared his throat and nodded. “Thank you. Send my gratitude to Alchemist Cookie for me.”
“I will… but I must confess, I came to do more than just deliver this.” He drew in a breath as subtly as he could. It was now or never, Madeleine. Just go for it. “I mean, a knight’s commander doesn’t typically run such errands.”
Espresso rolled his eyes again. Madeleine couldn’t help but notice how they glowed when the lamp light caught them just right. There were flecks of brown against their overwhelming flint that looked almost like coffee beans. It seemed fitting for such a caffeine oriented cookie.
Madeleine cleared his throat and picked up his sword again. “Apologies I-- You’re just the only one here from the Republic and…” he sighed and passed the hilt from hand to hand. “Maybe it’s foolish, but I thought you might miss it too.”
Espresso paused for a moment. His expression was entirely unreadable. He watched Madeleine, almost like an experiment of his, as he worked his jaw. Eventually he sighed and shook his head, his neutral expression falling. Espresso silently opened the door further before pivoting on his heels, cape swishing dramatically behind him as he withdrew.
Madeleine paused in the doorway for a moment. A small weight lifted from his shoulder, not unlike when he took off his armor for the night. He stepped inside and was immediately hit with the difference in atmosphere.
Espresso Cookie’s laboratory wasn’t a giant room, but he made use of all the space. The floor was crowded with various experiments, all laid out on tables just far enough from each other for Espresso to pass through. Vials and beakers of all sorts held brown liquid, presumably coffee, in various states of heating, cooling, and stirring. Shoved in the corner sat a large desk made of dark roll wood. A large chalkboard sat behind it, dozens of equations that soared right over Madeleine’s head.
It wasn’t just the furniture that felt crowded. There was something stifling about the air, something that seemed to push and pull in his chest, right where he channeled his light magic from. The smell of coffee was even more prevalent within the walls, which Madeleine didn’t even think was possible. He held back the gag forming in his throat.
Espresso crossed over to the desk, obviously unaffected, and pulled a chair from the surrounding clutter. He set it out in the limited empty space on the floor and set down the basket of donuts in the limited free space on his desk.
“I lack the time to stop and indulge you, but you’re welcome to stay if it is of some assistance.” he stated, walking over to one of the large glass bottles of coffee to examine it.
Madeleine scooted through the pathways, trying to avoid knocking anything over, and sat down, resting his sword and shield against the desk.
“What, pray tell, are you working on?” he asked, leaning forward to watch.
Scoffing, Espresso replied, “what aren’t I working on. I have limited patience for such ignorance.” He picked up his notes and jotted something down as he watched the liquid simmer over a fire.
The two stayed like that for a moment; Espresso continued to work while Madeleine sat in the small wooden chair. He watched as Espresso moved from experiment to experiment, dutifully taking notes. Dozens of empty coffee cups sat on the desk and around the room. It made sense for a cookie with such a proclivity for coffee magic, but it still begged quite a few questions.
Eventually he found the courage in himself to speak up. “Do you ever stop working?”
Espresso shrugged, his large collar flopping over further to emphasize the movement. “I simply don’t have the time to.”
Madeleine glanced back over at the cups then back to Espresso. There was always such a mysterious aura surrounding him, the hermit academia cookie and founder of an entire branch of magic. Yet sitting here, watching, finally able to see him, Madeleine couldn’t help but feel demystified. He could now see the dark circles under his eyes, mostly covered up by the rims of his glasses. He could see his slumped posture, the way he moved fast but a little jerky. It was like the only thing keeping him standing was the caffeine.
“Why not?” He asked. “What’s so important that you cannot leave it for even a moment?”
Espresso let out a deep sigh and punched the bridge of his nose. His eyes stayed closed for just a little too long. If he were a knight in battle, he would be slain for it.
“I don’t expect you to understand. My work is of the highest caliber, far from the mindless slashing you achieve. Mine takes practice. Precision. Intelligence.”
Madeleine shrugged. “I mean. You could still take a break for a moment, could you not? What is so important that you must be working at all hours?” He stood up, rolling his shoulder back to stand at his full, glorious height. “Come. Take a walk with me.”
Scoffing, Espresso set down his notes, approaching him with an accusing finger. “You dare downplay the importance of my work? Why, I have half a mind to kick you out of my laboratory for that alone!”
Madeleine stood his ground, staring into those flint eyes of his. The two stood, staring at each other. Madeleine’s heart threatened to beat straight out of his chest. It was like he was staring in the eyes of a charging boar or a fire breathing dragon, and just like when he faced them, he would not be backing down.
Espresso sighed and ran a hand through his hair, working out knots as he went. “I will give you five minutes, for your sake not mine.”
Madeleine gave him a hearty pat on the back and picked up his sword and shield, heading for the door. “Oh fantastic, we can go patrol the kingdom together!”
Rolling his eyes, Espresso quickly made one last note before following him out and closing the door.
“Right. Where must we go first?” He asked, crossing his arms as the two stood in there.
Madeleine thought for a moment, looking around the musty corridor. He could genuinely go on patrol, but why waste such an opportunity. He knew just the place to bring Espresso and maybe, just maybe, he would rest.
“Right this way!” He proclaimed, charging forth out the door and towards the castle. Espresso followed close behind, dragging his feet as the two went. Madeleine was convinced the only reason this cookie was standing was the caffeinated fumes, and once they got far enough away maybe this poor man would be able to take a nap.
Their footprints marked their path on the dirt roads as Madeleine led Espresso past the castle and into the forest behind. There were far less beasts lurking there, which normally was quite boring, but this time it was a necessary boredom to help this intelligent recluse.
The more time they spent in the sunshine, the lighter Madeleine’s chest was. Whatever dark energies were lurking in that terrible academic building had long lost their grasp on him, but Espresso seemed twitchy as ever. Had they not gone far enough? Madeleine was sure this was going to work, so why wasn’t it?
“You nag me for my work ethic yet here you are,” Espresso said, using longer strides to move alongside Madeleine, “you do nothing but patrol and fight. This area doesn’t even have enemies!”
Madeleine shrugged. “Yes. Well. It’s always important to keep the kingdom safe. Surely you understand that.”
A short, sarcastic laugh escapes Espresso’s lips, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Yes. I do.” He sounded bitter like the coffee he worked with. “That’s why I spend so much time in the lab, pioneering an entire school of magic.” He gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“Well, I know how to take breaks,” Madeleine added softly. Espresso spoke a language of riddles and sarcasm, but he would speak the language of divine light that flowed through his worthy bones. “Rest can do us all some good.”
Espresso rolled his eyes again, tossing his hair to the side. “Breaks are for people who can afford to stop thinking about their work.”
He was falling behind. Those dragging feet wouldn’t keep up for long. Madeleine slowed his pace as he watched Espresso rub his eyes underneath his glasses. Bingo.
Slowing nearly to a stop, Madeleine turned to look at the crossroads ahead. Just a little further. “And what would happen when you stop thinking about work?” He asked.
“Then I’d be consumed by homesickness, as I’m sure you would,” Espresso muttered. His eyes widened as he realized what he said, stopping beside Madeline. He looked away from the bright cookie and pulled his cloak closer around himself.
Madeleine gave him a soft smile and let his shield rest beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to let yourself feel homesick, lad.”
Espresso’s shoulder carried the weight of his hand, but he could feel him shaking underneath his large cloak. Espresso didn’t offer a reply.
“Come now. There’s something I want to show you just this way.” He said, moving to pick up his shield again and walk down one of the splitting paths. Espresso followed but said nothing.
Sure enough, only a few paces later the pair turned up to the glade Madeleine was searching for. It was a sweet little outcropping in the woods, allowing light to filter in from the leaves and warm the area. There was a tree near the edge similar to Clover Cookie’s tree. It provided a perfect outcropping for sitting and resting.
“It’s just more trees,” Espresso said, a quiet sleepiness creeping into his tone, “so what?”
Madeleine smiled and set his weapons down to lean against the tree trunk before sitting down himself. “Well, it’s a nice spot to take a break. Come. Sit with me. We can recount tales of our home and maybe fend off the homesickness for a little longer.”
Espresso stood there, feet planted in the grass as he watched Madeleine through half-lidded eyes. He looked back towards the path they came from then back at him. He worked his jaw for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh and joining Madeleine in the grass.
Almost as soon as he plunked down, Espresso had his eyes closed, bathing in the sun. His breath evened out into a slow, steady rhythm worthy of any bard’s song. Something about him lying there, bathed in a blanket of light made Espresso look at peace. More at peace then he had been when awake. Madeleine smiled and gently took off his glasses, setting them in the grass next to them.
Espresso rolled over in this sleep, landing on Madeleine’s chest. He wrapped his arms around his torso and stilled. Madeline’s heart soared as he watched the sleeping mound of dough attach himself to him. He thanked the divine power for the chance to see the more vulnerable side of his comrade. He gently ran his hands through Espresso’s hair, working out the knots as he turned up to the sun. As he laid there, light in his face and darkness in his hands, Madeleine finally felt at home again.